The Benefits of Early Childhood Education

Child care is incredibly important for the youth because has been proven to improve children's development. Early childhood education has a countless number of benefits, including more equitable long-term outcomes for children of diverse economic backgrounds. Additionally, investing in these benefits early on helps create future workforce, secure long-term

Why you have chosen to be in the field. Children in this field can develop a positive self-esteem, foster a love of learning, and develop important social skills. I choice the field of child development because preschool age children are eager to learn and a joy to teach. I enjoy creating developmentally appropriate activities for children. They enjoy a variety of activities and need to be guided through play. The qualities most preschoolers share are they love to take on roles such as a mommy, teacher, or other grown up role, they want to please the adults and they are learning to communicate their needs. Early childhood education research shows children who attend preschool programs are more likely to succeed in many things such as going to college, graduate high school, staying out of prison. Children will learn important social skills that may help them such as learning good manners at snack, raising their hand during circle time, and many other skills. I plan to further my education by reading books by child development experts, taking more child development classes/workshops and professional development workshops as needed.

Early childhood education started with a mother in Europe in the early 1800’s. She educated children outside of their homes and soon this idea traveled to America during the Industrial Revolt. Schools were organized in factories, churches, and private homes while parents worked during the day these

“Early roots of play as a best practice for early learning was documented by Plato, a Greek philosopher, who insisted that play is considered a natural activity of childhood.”(Ingrid Crowther, 2011, Pg. 2) Early Childhood Education is a term that refers to educational programs that are devoted to children from birth to the age of eight. “Children of this age learn by exploring and investigating; therefore, their environment should support and encourage this process.”(Rebecca Isbell and Betty Exelby, 2001, Pg. 11) Early childhood environments should be attractive and exciting. These environments should allow children to work and play using proper resources, materials, and tools.

Children dont have to go to a legit child care facility to get an early education. Early childhood education comes in many forms most of the learning starts at home. “Playing with your child helps keep your child engaged in the kind of play where learning occurs. Your interest, questions, and comments as you play alongside will help your child use toys productively,”(How to Support Children’s Approaches to Learning?). In saying that children learn best through play based experiences they learn from things they experience or items they can touch and hold. Children learn from the comments thier parents give, they pick up on the little things. Children who don’t participate in some type of quality education programs are 50 percent more likely to be placed in special education. Children are also 25 percent more like to dropout of school and are 60 percent more likely to never attend college. 40 percent are more likely to become teen parents ,and finally 70 percent more likely to become a teen parent.

according to Dennis Raphael, income is related to health outcomes such as infant mortality, readiness to learn, low birthweights, reoccurring childhood injuries, and numerous other health conditions derived from mental and social problems. In addition, income determines the quality or whether children receive early childhood programs, also a maker for multiple life circumstances that can be linked back to the quality of the children’s diet, clothing, housing environment, and learning opportunities in educational and recreational settings. Therefore, early childhood development and income go hand-in-hand, without one, the other will suffer resulting in a lifetime of poor health outcomes and lack of opportunities for

This is significant as, children of pre-schooling age receive a head start in early education; the same as their affluent peers. This not only improves the educational attainment for

In the best of cases, the returns on a preschool education compared to the cost of enrollment is nearly seventeen times, an enormous benefit for a relatively low cost. (Schweinhart) This number comes from the results of the High/Scope Perry Preschool Project, a 40 year long, completely comprehensive look into how the addition of a preschool education positively impacts students from low income, urban families. The findings included, among other things, a 14 percent employment rate increase and $5,000 average annual wage increase in children who were able to attend a preschool compared to their less educated peers. Other benefits included included an 11 percent increase in homeownership, 17 percent increase in the ability to own two or more automobiles, 26 percent higher likelihood to own a savings account, 35 percent decrease in violent crime, and a 27 percent increase in likelihood to have the custody of children. (Schweinhart) These numbers would seem to indicate that preschool enrollment is an incredible value for the health and stability of a community, however all of these benefits may take decades to fully

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.

It is likely that children who being sent to childcare centers from the early age seem to be more mature than who are not, as these preschoolers can cope with the situation without familiars nearby. Putting kids in dynamic class settings also help them to adjust themselves to studying environment, which would be an incentive advantage over other kids in primary school. Moreover, in childcare centers, teachers will help children to cultivate

Furthermore, early childhood care as well, help children learn to socialize, become independent, self assured and responsible, which aid them in become productive

Early childhood is a time full of curiosity, exploration, creativity, excitement, and rapid development. During these formative years, children develop attitudes about education that remain with them for the rest of their lives (Kostelnik, Soderman, & Whiren, 2011). High quality early childhood education programs and highly effective, passionate teachers or care providers will not only promote young children’s development and academic achievement but will also foster a lifelong passion for learning. ECE programs and educators utilize learning centers to contribute to young children’s acquisition of literacy, numeracy, creative thinking, problem solving, and motor skills as well as a number of other skills and knowledge (Jarrett, 2010).

Early childhood education has not always been the top priority in the education world. Although, research has proved that it should be the top priority as the benefits of Early Childhood Education are innumerous. Extensive neuroscience research has discovered that the brain is build over time and it is built from the bottom up. Early childhood experiences directly affect the quality brain development. Establishing a sturdy foundation through a high quality early childhood education experience, will dramatically develop child's brain. As a result, they will have a brighter future. In this essay, I will propose a plan for the children of 2020 and how to ensure the best early childhood education experience. I personally believe that racially, culturally, linguistically and developmentally responsive practices parental involvement are critical to the sturdy foundation that is essential to the positive early childhood experience.

There are many types of learning opportunities that can encourage a child to learn and help to enhance their abilities. Child care centers are a great way to encourage a child to learn, and to be ready for the school atmosphere. “The Big Top Child Care Center” in Laurel, Maryland have an excellent program for children between two to nine years of age. They have an environment where teachers are well trained and are first aid and CPR certified. They enhance a child’s learning by providing them with nutrition, educational field trips, and special events. Elementary schools are the opening door for early childhood education. Children can begin their learning experience in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten which are the first grades of elementary education. “ Ring Factory Elementary” located at Harford county in Maryland is a school that has three kindergarten classes that teach five to six year olds the beginning of their educational life. Not only are there child care centers and schools a great

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.