An article written by Zeynep Isik-Ercan in 2017 for YC Young Children magazine and published in issue 1 of volume 72 on pages 15-22 is titled “Culturally appropriate positive guidance with young children.” This work is devoted to the interpretation and adjustment of teachers’ work, taking into account the cultural practices prevalent in various societies. Throughout the text, several cases are considered in which children’s behavior is determined by multiple cultural factors, depending both simply on the customs adopted in the family and on the large-scale cultural differences. At the same time, examples of the resolution of such near-conflict situations are given, serving as a demonstration of the effectiveness of these practices. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of combining the academic approaches with the reality and values present in the child’s family. The teacher should not create a value dissonance in the child’s mind but should help establish a stronger bond between parents and their children. The main takeaway from the paper is that members of this profession need to broaden their cultural knowledge to assist and identify learning opportunities.
From my point of view, this approach is one of the most correct for education. It seems to me that training in any area should take place considering the personal characteristics of the person being trained. Each person is unique, and it is imperative to consider the uniqueness of children, for which, of course, it is necessary to study the context of the family. Although a detailed and in-depth analysis is far from always possible, it seems to me that closer contact between teachers and parents can positively affect the entire process of learning and caring for a child. In the end, education and training are not the prerogatives of only the teacher or only the parents, but it is a cooperative process. Therefore, the joint work of the two parties can only be welcomed. However, for this contact to be established, it is necessary to have a sufficiently broad cultural base that will allow teachers to adapt to the requirements of children and identify their needs on the fly. Thus, I fully agree with this paper and believe that every teacher should strive to apply such culturally appropriate approaches in their practice.