Hi, the books offer good reading so you understand how values & beliefs can impact on practice but what values and beliefs do you personally hold?
You'll need to choose a personal experience that has had an impact on you and write about how it might affect your practice.
This might be something that you value now as an adult ie. something about your lifestyle and how you feel about other's lifestyles. Your regligious belief and how you feel about anyone who has a different or no religious affiliation or it might be an expeirnce from your childhoold and the you were brought up eg. wew you expected to behave in certain ways, what words/langiuagewere you expected to use, could you ask questions and have conversations with others in the family, did you eat meals and drink in set ways or dress in clothing that influences how you feel about others who could do all this differently?
This is an older thread that might help:
http://www.silkysteps.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11028
and this from
page 352/3 of this EYE handbook
The impact of personal experiences, values and beliefs on professional practice
How we respond to people and situations is a result of a range of factors, including our own personal experience, values and beliefs. In terms of working with children, these can affect our responses so it is important to be aware of them and then, if necessary, to change our practice. The ability to analyse and reflect on our personal experiences and consider how they are affecting practice is what makes adults who work with children professionals.
Personal experiences
By the time we work with children, we have clocked up millions of different experiences which will of shaped us in ways that sometimes we may not even realise. If for example you moved home several times during your childhood, you might be more empathetic towards a child and their family who have just moved into the area.
On the other hand, if you had been bullied at school, you may overact to a two year old who has snatched a toy from another's hand, when actually this is pretty typical age-related behaviour. While we cannot undo our personal experiences, it is important to recognise their potential impact on out bahaviour thought processes. While personal experiences can make us more empathetic, it is important not to make assumptions that a child in similar circumstances will feel and deal with it in the same way.
Values and beliefs
As well as our direct personal expeiences, the way that we were raisied and the community and society that we grew up in will also shape us. This is because we gain our values and beliefs from our parents, school and wider society. While the impact of personal experiences can be easy to pinpoint, it can be harder to recognise the impact of our values and beliefs. This is because many of us continue to live and work in the community and society in which we were raised. Our beliefs and values may seem 'normal' and so we may not even question the impact of them on our practice.
A good example of this is the way that, many years ago, most children had married parents, while today the statistics show that many children will be born to cohabiting parents. For adults who grew up in the previous era, this change in family structure might have challenged their values about family life.
How values and beliefs can impact on practice
There are many ways in which our values and beliefs can impact on our professional practice. We may, for example, assume that a family has the same values and beliefs as us and so not have important conversations about issues that affect children's care and education. We may also be judgemental about families who do not share the same lifestyle, beliefs or values as us.
Look at the following five statements and think about your values and beliefs in relation to them:
- Divorce should be made harder if there are children are involved.
- Women are naturally better at child rearing.
- Nature knows best when it comes to premature babies.
- A higher band of tax should be placed on sugary foods such as chocolate.
- It is sad when babies are in day care for 50 hours a week.
The Case study:
Kylie is an experienced childminder. Jayden is four years old and has just started with Kylie. He has settled in well and is happy.
It's important that practitioners recognise what values they hold, their religious beliefs and how they manage those values to ensure their professional practice continues to welcome and include all the children and their families attending the setting. His mother has made an appointment, though, to speak to Kylie. Apparently Jaden has come home a little upset, sayinmg he does not want to eat lunch at Kylie's. Jaden's mother and Kylie have a long talk. It turns out that Kylie's way of sserving food is very different from that of Jaden's family. In Jaden's family, vegetables and salad are eaten separately rather that at the same time as the main dish. Kylie thinks this is a bit odd, but does not say so. Next time Jaden comes around, she lets him serve himself and makes a poimt of saying how he is missing by not havimg everything together.
1. What assumption did Kylie make based on her values and beliefs?
2. How are Kylie's values and beliefs affecting her practice with Jaden?
3. Why is it important for us to recognise that our values and beliefs may not be shared with the families with whom we work?
A few more expmples that might help ..
- A vegan is required to serve meat to meat-eating children
A meat-eater is required to serve meat free meals to vegan children.
- Some has a religious belief that is different to a child and their family in the setting and is required to support the child iin learning about and celebrating their religion.
A humanist who does not a religious belief is required to support and celebrate the religion of a child and their family attending their setting.
- Someone who resides at a permanent address is required to welcome and include children and their famillies who live in Traveller communities.
best wishes xx
The impact of personal experiences, values and beliefs on professional practice Unit 3.13 AC 2.1
& 
Linear Mode
