The Importance Of Early Childhood Education

In current educational psychology, both the works of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky have become prominent in an understanding of developmental cognition in childhood (Duchesne, McMaugh, Bochner & Karuse, 2013, p. 56). Their theories are complimentary and provide a more rigorous comprehension of childhood development (Shayer, M., 2003, p. 465). Their varying principles are applicable to many situations concerning the development of children. The focuses of Piaget and Vygotsky on the ways of childhood development differ. Piaget was focused on the four developmental stages of cognitive growth in his Theory of Cognitive Development, whilst Vygotsky’s principles were based on development in a societal manner with his

Health promotion is very important to early childhood education to improve the well-being of children and parents’ health and behaviours. “It is important for early childhood educators to recognized their essential role as health promotors” (Pimento & Kernested 2015, P. 4). There are 12 social determinants in daily life for childhood programs, however I have identified that social support networks are most important determinants of health. Likewise, educators and families are both mutually directly and indirectly supporting children to improve their healthy development and education (Pimento & Kernested, 2015, P.34). In early childhood, educators have very important role in daycare which is communication. That means, that we need to communicate with family (parent, grandparent), children and coworkers to share the daily basic tasks and any other ideas or information for improving environments and supports. It is especially important that we support mothers who have very limited knowledge about their first-born baby, such as lack of information about breastfeeding, sleeping routine, formula ratios, nutrition, healthy eating habits, or any parental skills. Not only that, we can also help parents to get benefits and support from the government such as financial support, subsidized daycare, and community information resources on healthy nutrition food.

The preschool is concerned with the child at different developmental stages (Berger, 2009). Teacher must ask herself two questions about the child at those stages. Firstly, how does the child think about and view his world? Secondly, what learning tasks should the child be given at this point in his development? To answer the questions, the teacher must orient herself to Piagetian developmental theory and sharpen her observational skills.

“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.

Jean Piaget’s 4 stages of Cognitive Development and Erik Erikson’s 8 stages of Psychosocial Development

This research report presents an analysis of and conclusions drawn from the experiences and perspectives of two educators that work in the early childhood setting. The main objective is to identify key elements and issues in relation to the families, diversity and difference. In particular how an early childhood educator implements, different approaches to honour culture and diversity, and to advocate for social justice in an early childhood settings. As such, it allows an insight into the important role that families and their background plays in the everyday lives of the children and educators within early childhood settings. In today’s ever-changing growing society it is essential for educators to be flexible to the

Over the past century, the role of education has greatly increased in areas all over Canada. It has grown in not just in the number of students attending, but also in the ways it has been offered. Before the 1960’s, the education of children consisted solely of parenting done at home (Molnar, 2002, p. 2). Over time, due to the growing importance of education, schools have slowly begun to target younger and younger generations. As a result, non-parental education has become the norm of today’s society starting for children as early as ages three to four (Molnar, 2002, p. 2). Over the last century, a larger percentage of mothers are choosing to remain in the work force (Khanna &

Thesis Statement: Early childhood education has many benefits and there is the potential for many significant outcomes if universal preschools were put into place.

As a child I struggled significantly with literacy. Words, letters and sounds made no sense to me and I would marvel over pages filled with lines and squiggles wondering how everyone else saw something I couldn’t see. Words felt like Magic Eye Illusions; if I stared long enough maybe I could see something special there too. It wasn’t long before I was diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia. These diagnoses, and the immediate response from my new educational team, was the safety net that kept me from slipping through the cracks. It was this life event that propelled me towards a career in education.

In the past decade, the spotlight has been cast on the importance of children attending preschool. This topic has taken part in both political and social debates, where it is questioned if preschool really does benefit a child’s thought processes and ability to grasp on to intellectual concepts at a quicker rate. As a strong supporter of early childhood education, I have taken it upon myself to enforce this idea into the brains of millennials that are prone to believe that early childhood education is an unnecessary and an expensive luxury. Despite the sudden rise in people that belittle the importance of early childhood education in our society, I have committed my life to supporting and educating children being that they are our most valuable resource. Choosing to become both an early childhood educator and advocating that preschool become a requirement for all American children has allowed me to combine my love for children and education into a profession that will both benefit society and allow me to lead a life I am content with.

“I have some works here, with which I need some help. Would you like to help me?” My invitation to Max, Sophie, Christian and Kate accepted, I proceeded to share, challenge, interview, and observe. The tasks I presented illustrated the phenomena of cognitive development in early childhood, the stage Jean Piaget calls preoperational. While Piaget refers to his developmental theory in “stages” he does not feel that the stages happen at specific times but that they are sequential and one depends on the previous. The distinguishing characteristics of the preoperational stage stand as barriers to logic and the

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.

For this paper I will be exploring Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Swiss Psychologist Jean Piaget, theorized that children progress through four key stages of cognitive development that change their understanding of the world. By observing his own children, Piaget came up with four different stages of intellectual development that included: the sensorimotor stage, which starts from birth to age two; the preoperational stage, starts from age two to about age seven; the concrete operational stage, starts from age seven to eleven; and final stage, the formal operational stage, which begins in adolescence and continues into adulthood. In this paper I will only be focusing on the

Early childhood education is for children from the ages three to eight years old. In this field there are four learning goals that early programs have for a young child.

Recent research conducted by neurologists seemingly allude that early childhood education presents a vital role in developing a child’s brain. Children are majorly expected to attend this stage of education at the age of 6years where they receive quality care at a specified age before joining the next stage (AL-Othman, Gregory, Jessel & Khalil, 2015). In most countries, pre-kindergarten education which is also early childhood education is perceived as a necessary stage of learning for every child. Countries such as the US recognize early childhood education as both significant and mandatory education stages since the enactment of the California legislature in 2006. Seemingly, researchers connote that children who undergo early childhood development exhibit a higher IQ compared to those who fail to attend (AL-Othman, Gregory, Jessel & Khalil, 2015). Furthermore, other studies articulate that pre-kindergarten studies enhance their behaviors and further increases their level of understanding in other stages of learning compared to those who do fail in undertaking such programs. Notably, it’s true to attest to the fact that the benefits of introducing a child to pre-kindergarten stage affably outweighs the negative impacts perceived (“Importance of Early Childhood Education", 2017). Some other benefits involved in early childhood development are further expounded below