The Importance of Early Childhood Education

Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right. Good parenting and high quality early learning together provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.

Early Childhood Education illustrates the teaching and care of children in other environments outside of the home. Early childhood centers on the development of all children no matter their gender, race, abilities, or ethnic orientation and gives knowledge of early childhood learning process, which entails values, culture, desires of parents for their children, and especially a child’s need for knowledgeable functionality in society.

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.

“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.

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

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.

The Abbott Preschool Program is administered through New Jersey’s Department of Education and the Department of Human Services. It was designed to provide all of New Jersey’s children an opportunity to succeed. The Abbott Preschool Program Longitudinal Effect Study (APPLES), published in 2013, investigated the impact of the Abbott program on children’s learning through the end of kindergarten. The findings of this study demonstrated that children who attend the Abbott Preschool Program, whether in public schools, private settings or Head Start, improve in language, literacy, and math at least through the end of their kindergarten year.

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.

James J. Heckman, an expert in the economics of human development, states that, “quality early learning and development programs for disadvantaged children can foster valuable skills, strengthen our workforces, grow our economy and reduce social spending.” The benefits of quality early learning include: preventing the achievement gap, improving health outcomes,

A primary purpose of preschool intervention programs is generally to assist at-risk students before they experience academic challenges, through enhancing foundation skills necessary for subsequent academic success. Basic literacy skills, pro social behaviors, and socio emotional development are often emphasized in pre-school programs. By enhancing skills for academic success through preschool programs, retention maybe prevented (p.52)

The Perry Preschool Project study had characteristics of effective interventions such as low teacher to student ratio, math and literary instruction, environmental engagement, and teacher education. The Abecedarian Project did more than just provide early education, parental education was incorporated. Children of these studies achieved measurable benefits such as collage attendance, rewarding careers, and less reliance on social services in comparison. The characteristic that made these preschools successful are not always employed in the United States, often times preschools are not high in quality (California Newsreel,

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.

Not only does early education bring the benefit of interaction, it also lets the child feel loved and have trust in others. If a child is encountered with early programs then they are able to meet the needs of their child stage life. If these needs are not properly met, then they may become less successful in their performance in an educational environment.

Of the 27 programs evaluated, six showed strong indication of effectiveness and five had moderate evidence of effectiveness. The results for these programs were on language, literacy and/or phonological awareness. For some of the studies the significant effects were seen at the end of preschool (Direct Instruction, Interactive Book Reading), and for others at the end of kindergarten (Curiosity Corner, ELLM, Ready Set Leap!) (Johns Hopkins University, 35). It is programs that actually show results that improve academic and cognitive strength. That is why it is important to support and fund programs like these.

Child development is defined as the study of the biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the end of adolescence. It is the study of how we progress from dependency to independence. It is a continuous process that does have a predictable sequence, but may be influenced by genetic factors and events during prenatal life, genetics, so we do not progress at the same rate and each stage is affected by those developmental experiences. Developmental change may occur as a result of genetically controlled processes known we call maturation,[1] or as a result of environmental factors and learning, or the interaction between the two. It may also occur as a result of human nature and our ability to learn from our environment.