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(Unit 8) Topic 1: The Whole Child

4 Clock Hours of Early Childhood Education

The Concept of Continuum

Topic 1 Page 7

The continuum concept is an idea, coined by Jean Liedloff in her 1975 book The Continuum Concept, that human beings have an innate set of expectations that our evolutionary process has designed us to meet. The developmental continuum refers to a wide range of skills and concepts that children are expected to achieve as they move through the different levels of development.

According to Jean Liedloff, the continuum concept is the idea that in order to achieve optimal physical, mental and emotional development, human beings — especially babies — require the kind of experience to which our species adapted during the long process of our evolution.

For example:

Infants whose continuum needs are fulfilled during the early, in-arms phase grow up to have greater self-esteem and become more independent than those whose cries go unanswered for fear of "spoiling" them or making them too dependent.

The early childhood learning continuum indicators are the developmental steps that a learner performs to demonstrate knowledge. They are not academic standards, but reflect a continuum of skills that are needed for all learners to be successful. The indicators are based on child development theory and authentic observations of the steps young children move through. These measurable indicators provide educators with information concerning what the learners should know and be able to do across a continuum of age or grade ranges.

The link between school readiness and high-quality care for early childhood is evident in every developmental domain and in every content area. Caregiver practices and center policies determine whether or not children will leave their program with the proper foundation for school-readiness. Educational research has consistently proven that there is a strong correlation between the quality of early childhood experience and later academic success.

School readiness is often defined within only a few dimensions of development. True readiness for school should include a foundation of social and emotional competence and a curiosity to continually seek out “what, why, and how.” True readiness is not a measurable set of criteria, but a foundation for later learning built on rich experiences.