Holistic or sequential approach to curriculum: what works best for young children?

Abstract

In this article two approaches to constructing a curriculum for young children are considered: the Holistic approach and the Sequential approach. In both constructs all developmental areas are included in a longitudinal line of development for children aged three to six. In the Holistic approach all of the developmental areas are integrated around a unifying theme to which all of the activities are connected. It is a horizontal approach with no hierarchy in difficulty or complexity. In the Sequential approach each developmental area is considered separately with no relationship to the other areas. It is a vertical approach with a distinct order of difficulty and complexity. Which approach is most effective for the optimal development of young children? Which approach is structured in a way that is most natural for children and provides for both the development of children’s self regulation and optimal stimulation of learning by the teacher? It is concluded that the holistic approach works best with a sequential framework as structuring principle. Both holistic approach and sequential framework are applied in the Pyramid Method (Van Kuyk, 2003, 2009). Research makes clear that this approach works in practice.