ABSTRACT
Integrated working also springs from a greater understanding of early brain development, specifically the work of neuroscientists like Susan Greenfield. This research into brain development has endorsed the work of Vygotsky and I3runer in that it has shown the social nature of early learning and the impact of early experiences em subsequent development, emphasising the importance of supporting the development processes of young children within the context of family and community. Research on brain development also demonstrates how essential touch and early bcmding and interaction are to the young child in laying down essential neural pathways, as well as creating an individual's sense of themselves. It has also shown clearly what the Jesuits always knew, that the young brain is infinitely adaptable and receptive to the range of stimuli it finds about itself:
The brain of a two-year-old has energy consumption at the full adult level; by three years old it is twice as active as an adult's brain, at which level it remains until nine or ten years of age when (amazingly) it starts to decline ... The brain continues to 'rewire' as it is greeted with successive forms of stimulation and each novel experience that requires a response. Experience changes the brain. Everything that a baby sees, smells, hears, tastes and touches alters the way the brain develops in an increasingly situation-appropriate way.
