ABSTRACT
Introduction Independence has a long and proud history in traditional early years practice in western Europe. For example, Friedrich Frfibel (1826) believed that 'the purpose of education is to encourage and guide man as a conscious, thinking and perceiving being'. The philosophy of the toddler and infant schools in Reggio Emilia is founded on the belief that a thinking, independent people will not easily submit to domination by political dictato rs. The belief in the right to independence of thought is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) where it is stated that 'You have the right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously' (article 12). In most societies, as a child reaches adulthood they have to take many important decisions such as what job to train for, where to live, whom to live with and what to aim for. These decisions are easier to tackle if the individual has what is often called 'a strong sense of
identity', a positive view of themselves as someone whose views matter and who, to some extent, can inf1uence events in their lives. Sir Christopher Ball, in
his outspoken report to the Royal Society of Arts in 1994, declared that, 'No-one learns effectively without motivation, social skills and confidence - and very few fail to learn successfully if they have developed these enabling attitudes and
"super skills" of learning '. These powerful words suggest what we, as early years
practitioners, have long believed. We believe that the 'what ' (curriculum content)
of teaching and learning is far less important than the 'how' (active, interactive
and independent processes ). Many successful leaders and entrepreneurs have not necessarily had high IQ ratings but have succeeded because of these 'super
skills' of high motivation, self-esteem and good social interaction.
