18. ELDA Focus: Identity and Belonging – Nurturing Self-Awareness and Relationships

The second Early Learning and Development Area (ELDA) in the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) is Identity and Belonging. This area focuses on helping children develop a positive self-concept, understand their place in their family and community, and build healthy relationships with others. It's about feeling secure, valued, and connected.

Aims of the Identity and Belonging ELDA: The primary aims of this ELDA are to enable children to:

• Develop a strong sense of self and self-worth.
• Understand and appreciate their own family, culture, and community.
• Form secure attachments and positive relationships with peers and adults.
• Develop social skills like cooperation, empathy, and conflict resolution.
• Gain a sense of agency and confidence in expressing their needs and ideas.

Developmental Guidelines (Examples for Babies, Toddlers, Young Children, Towards Grade R):

• Babies (0-12 months):
  • Beginning: Respond to familiar voices and faces, show comfort with primary caregivers.
  • Moving On: Smile in response, show interest in other babies/children, begin to recognize self in mirror.
  • Advancing further: Express joy at seeing familiar people, may show stranger anxiety, begin to express preferences.
• Toddlers (1-2 years):
  • Beginning: Start to use "me" or "my," show possessiveness over toys, imitate actions of others.
  • Moving On: Seek comfort from familiar adults, show awareness of other children, engage in parallel play.
  • Advancing further: Begin to share toys with encouragement, show empathy when others are upset, understand simple rules like "no hitting."
• Young Children (2-3 years):
  • Beginning: Start to articulate their name and age, identify family members, show increasing independence in routines.
  • Moving On: Engage in simple cooperative play, take turns, express their feelings (e.g., "I'm sad"), show awareness of gender roles in play.
  • Advancing further: Develop friendships with peers, show understanding of rules in games, begin to understand fairness, appreciate cultural differences in their immediate environment.
• Towards Grade R (3-4 years/ages 4-6 if this is the focus for Khula):
  • Self-Concept: Express pride in their achievements, talk about their feelings and preferences, understand they are unique and belong to a family.
  • Relationships: Initiate and sustain play with peers, share and take turns without constant adult prompting, resolve minor conflicts through discussion, show care and concern for others.
  • Cultural Awareness: Begin to understand and appreciate their own cultural background and show respect for the diverse cultures of others in the group.
  • Sense of Agency: Express opinions and preferences, make choices, and demonstrate increasing independence in daily routines and problem-solving.

Examples of Activities for Adults to Promote Identity and Belonging:

• Create a welcoming and inclusive environment where every child feels safe and valued.
• Encourage children to talk about their families, cultures, and traditions through photos and stories.
• Facilitate cooperative play, helping children negotiate and share.
• Read books that celebrate diversity and different family structures.
• Help children identify and express their emotions appropriately.
• Assign simple classroom responsibilities to foster a sense of contribution and belonging.
• Teach songs and games from various cultural backgrounds.