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# Introduction

In this free course, The family at the centre of early learning, you will explore the effect of family on children’s early development. The eminent child psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner remarked, ‘every child needs an adult who is crazy about him (or her) in order to grow up’ (Bronfenbrenner, cited in Penn, 2008, p. 46). Such key adults are often found within the family, making this social group significant for young people throughout their childhood and beyond. For young children the family is the foundation for their developing sense of belonging and self-identity. It also stands at the centre of their early learning.

However the family is not a fixed entity. Families are made up of different ‘constellations’; they are infinitely varied, and people within family groups connect in different ways. Children themselves are also active in using relationships within their family to explore their own learning opportunities:

> Childhood… varies across contexts and by circumstance, shaped by the durable patterns of‘rules and resources’ that structure human life.

(Pugh, 2014, p. 75)

> Children differ, and what they find important also differs— they present a multiplicity of voices, rather than a singular viewpoint.

(Norðdahl & Einarsdóttir, 2015, p. 153)

So, thinking generally about the family as a context for children’s learning is made up with complex layers of relationships and cultural influences unique to each group.

In this course, you will begin to explore these complexities further. You will start by thinking about the ways in which childhood experiences have an impact on how, as adults, we understand and respond to children. You will then look in more detail at learning within the family, using the description of one five-year-old girl’s trip to London with her grandparents to reflect on what this involves. You will also become more familiar with looking at the findings from research studies in order to understand complex ideas – in this instance, the influence of culture on children’s learning. Finally, the course closes by looking specifically at ‘stay and play’ or ‘parent and toddler’ sessions, so that you can consider whether family learning changes as children begin to attend organised groups away from their home environment.

This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course E109 Exploring perspectives on young children’s lives and learning.

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OpenLearn - The family at the centre of early learning
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