When we talk about holistic learning, it always entails
the progressive pedagogy called the Whole Child Approach (WCA). Initiated by
the the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), this
approach is a fresh take on what holistic education means, taking into
consideration all the aspects of a young learner´s journey towards long-term
development and success. With its tenets, the Whole Child Approach seeks to
create challenging and sustainable learning environments for young learners,
shaping them into well-rounded individuals.
Recently, particularly in early-childhood education
policy-making and practice, the idea that the WCA represents an incomplete
methodology has proliferated. Policy-makers who are against the whole child
approach often argue from a practical standpoint: they look at a child and see
their education as a sort of investment. This is how they think: if the process
of "investing" in a child's education takes too much resources, it
should be accelerated in such a way that it fits the demands of the working
sector. They see education merely as a preparation for a child to join the
workforce. Hence, they see any attempt to create spaces for holistic learning
as a waste of time and resources.
