Educational Leaders And Public Policymakers

Early childhood education has many benefits and there is the potential for many significant outcomes if universal preschools were put into place. Some feel that children who start kindergarten without previously attended preschool sometimes lack certain skills such as social and communication skills and an inability to follow routines. There were also studies done that found attending preschool could help to close the achievement gap in the grade school years. A child’s first few years of life are most important, and they absorb the most during those years. By providing universal preschool, all children would be benefiting, especially those who are in at-risk families or part of the lower class. As a society, we have a responsibility to help the children in our communities and provide them with the education they need in order to help them succeed in life.

On February 12th, 2012, in his State of the Union address, President Obama discussed the long-term benefits a universal preschool would have on today’s society. “In states that make it a priority to educate our youngest children…studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level, graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable families of their own. We know this works. So let’s do what works and make sure none of our children start the race of life already behind.” (Obama) Unfortunately, an overwhelming number of children, from low-poverty areas, are unable to access high-quality early childhood programs for their preschool aged children. Consequently,

Statement of Issue: Many minority children and children from low-income families enter kindergarten without the academic skills they need to succeed. Math and reading abilities at kindergarten entry are powerful predictors of later school success. Research shows kids who start school already behind are unlikely to ever get caught up to standards. Hispanic and African American children are anywhere from 7 to 12 months behind in reading and 9 to 10 months behind on math when they enter kindergarten. Access remains extremely low to high-quality early education do to a couple of problems. First, rates of access to early education vary widely as a function of children’s socioeconomic backgrounds. Secondly, the quality of most early education programs is not high enough to substantially improve academic readiness. Considering the tremendous potential for high-quality preschool to improve children’s outcomes, this policy brief will consider how a universal publicly funded pre-kindergarten program in the United States could decrease both disparities in access to early learning and achievement gaps at kindergarten entry.

Recent studies on early childhood education have shown that children who have access to quality pre-kindergarten education tend to have higher educational attainment than those who do not have the opportunity. While the literature is by no means uniform on this, the bulk of current evidence suggests that such policies will likely be helpful, especially for students in low - income and minority school districts. Only time will tell, of course, if such programs can help to make inroads into the seemly intractable achievement gaps, but based on current evidence, it is a policy worth

Just think about this one tiny effect. Imagine that you are about to start school at the age of five, and once you arrive you see that kids around you are more prepared, confident, and eager to learn. These young smiley five year old faces don’t make you happy. In fact, this makes you depressed, and saddened. Early education, also known as preschool is of vital importance. Preschool or an early educational establishment is a group of people offering early childhood education, before the age five. They offer enriching courses for children, and help prepare them for the transition into elementary school. Children who use the opportunity of an early education have a huge advantage. On the other hand, children who don’t enter preschools seem to lack in certain areas, and lag behind. Many children in our country do not attend preschool at the age of three or four, and directly enter kindergarten without the early learning opportunity. This issue of a less advantage situation could eventually lead to a bigger disadvantage when it comes to learning. Many parents aren’t willing to send their children to preschool in their early years as it is over expensive and unnecessary for a three year old to enter school. I, on the other hand, disagree with these people. If children learn from early on, there won’t be any need to worry about others who have advantages. I believe that early education should be mandatory, and since many people can’t afford preschools, public school districts should have their own preschool grade for all younger students.

Despite the evidence advocating for the effectiveness of these programs, some people still have some misgivings of the benefits. In “Pre-K’s Promise vs. the Actual Evidence” by David J. Armor, it is said that early education is unimpactful

According to Friedrich Froebel, “Children must master the language of things before they master the language of words.” Author David Elkind wrote an article titled “Much Too Early” about the difficulties children may face when they attend preschool at an early age. His purpose was to inform readers that the idea of children attending preschool would be a bad idea for their academic background in the future. Although children may be very anxious and excited to start school at such an early age, their ability to catch on and develop quickly may be at risk in the end.

Not only is universal preschool necessary for targeting sensitive periods, research showed it develops skills in preparation for future education and sets students up for success. Children enrolled in programs similar to preschool demonstrated higher achievement or IQ test scores, displayed more motivation for learning, and gain success in later education and adulthood (Heckman). In the study by Skibbe et al., an extra year of preschool had a significant impact on decoding and letter knowledge that was highly predictive of later reading success. While self-regulation and vocabulary was associated with maturity and not additional schooling, these results may only be reflective of the group examined. These children were from middle or upper class,

“Research shows that young children’s earliest learning experiences can have powerful long-term effects on their cognitive and emotional development, school achievement, and later life outcomes” (Mead, 2012). The literature reveals that a strong collection of research exists that indicates children who attend high-quality preschool programs have better health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes than those who do not

It is a well-known fact that low-income children are falling behind their high-income counterparts due to restricted access to high-quality preschools and education. "Researchers estimate that half of the achievement gap in high school can be attributed to children’s experiences before age 5” (Olinsky, 2014). Having access to high-quality preschools increases the likelihood that a low-income student will graduate from high school, attend college, and earn higher wages as an adult. Although forty states have already adopted federally funded preschools, this should be mandatory in all 50 states and be available to all children “regardless of their background, start on a more level playing field, thereby combat inequality for the next generation of Americans” and “will give all children more of a fair shot to realize the American Dream by working hard and playing by the rules” (Olinsky, 2014; Pazzanese,

The emotional and social skills you learn at a young age make a remarkable change in your life ahead. While the development skills are just as important, learning the basic three “R’s gives the children a head start. Of course the earlier in life you fill the “blank tablet,” the better off you’ll be. So, don’t forget emotional, social, development, and an early start are all factors you receive out of preschool. Many students who went to a good preschool end up with veter success. Therefore preschool should become required for students to attend. Next, ask yourself, what would have happened if I went to preschool? Would I have achieved more in

Children’s education has been a major topic for discussion in the past few years, specifically preschool education. A child’s education is one of the most important things throughout their whole life, which is why preschool is so important. Preschool lays the foundation for a lifetime of learning. It provides support for fundamental cognitive growth that is needed for future learning abilities. Preschool provides social interaction that helps with their speech and communication skill. The basic skills that preschool teaches children is crucial to their success in kindergarten. Because of all of the skills that are taught to these children, preschool should be mandatory nationwide.

The Preschool Puzzle article talked about whether universal pre-K is worth the cost for taxpayers or not, the article included both political and scientific arguments about the topic. The article talked about two long-term studies that have been made on the affects of pre-K. The first is the Abecedarian Project, in this study, researchers had four infants assigned to a full-time early education program from birth to the age of five and followed them through their adulthood. The researchers found that these children scored higher on tests, were more likely to go to college, and had greater academic achievements. The second method is called the Perry Preschool Project, this study involved low-income children who were assigned to an intensive

It is a clear and worthy investment. The question lies in which preschool program is the most effective. Previous reviews of programs have focused on if they contributed to later success, but a few of them compared the programs on their effectiveness. A number of programs showed positive results continuing to the end of kindergarten and beyond, signifying that the preschool involvement had impacts aside from early exposure to academic content. (Johns Hopkins University, 37). Also, several programs had effects on oral language skills, which are emphasized in most preschools.

Successful primary education attainment is imperative for entering college, embarking on a career and participating in civil society (Garcia & Weiss, 2015). To be sure, there are studies which suggest that successful outcomes for children depend on their readiness for entry into primary school – therefore, mandating early childhood education is paramount to addressing the inequality within the United States public education system.