Recent studies have revealed the benefits and long-term effects of early-childhood education. Between the social interaction, discipline, and the development from an academic setting, there are countless benefits to early childhood education. However, this is not accessible to everyone due to lack of educators, financial resources, or being uninformed of its importance. Preschool should be provided to all families because the preschool age is when majority of brain development occurs. The objective of this paper is to prove that preschool should be accessible to all families because of the developmental benefits, opportunity it provides to children in poverty, and long-term benefits to society. Early childhood education is a term that includes …show more content…
The Department of Health and Human Services initiated the "Head Start" program in 1965 to provide children from low socioeconomic backgrounds with free access to early childhood education programs. In the 2012-2013 school year, nearly 28% of America's four year olds were enrolled a state-funded preschool program (Bakken, L., Brown, N., & Downing, B., 2017). However, the expanse of public programs has made regulation of individual institutions more difficult. Between recruiting a quality staff, cultivating an enriching, appropriate environment, focusing on parental involvement, and providing a well-rounded curriculum, it is difficult to create the optimal preschool experience, especially on a budget. Furthermore, literacy and language outcomes tend to be more positive at private institutions because of the methodology of curriculum and more individualized …show more content…
For some, preschool is merely a place for a child to be looked after and nurtured, merely taking the form of childcare. For others, preschool is meant to be an educational program that places their children ahead of the class and prepared as the soon begin their academic careers. The developmental models of early childhood education have a direct correlation to the academic outcomes for the student. In a study of North Carolina's Early Childhood Programs and Policies, researchers measured the effect of different approaches to preschool. One approach, the Smart Style, is a program that focuses on preparing all children to enter Kindergarten healthy and ready to learn. Another program called the MAF Pre-K Program was designed for high-risk 4-year-old kids. In this program, there are stricter standards for staff credentials, class size, teacher-child ratios, and license requirement and there is additional emphasis placed on nurturing environments and English proficiency (Dodge, K. A., Bai, Y., Ladd, H. F., & Muschkin, C. G., 2017). Due to the often traumatic experiences that kids from high-risk families experience, it is necessary to emphasize on both their emotional and intellectual
I am a firm believer that the quality of the child care directly affects the child’s development in the classroom. By eliminating the need for competing preschools to continue to improve their curriculum and to remain relevant in the field of early childhood education, we risk falling into the same trap K-12 education has fallen into. In other words, individual classroom freedom will be lost when teachers are forced to follow the governments blanket and mandatory regulations. I choose this concept because I feel it is important to allow a wide variety of options to families in order for them the find the right fit for their
Barnett, W.S. & Hustedt, J.T. (2003). Head Start’s lasting benefits. Infants and Young Children, 18(1), 16-24.
This legislation “provided federal money to help communities meet the needs of disadvantaged preschool-aged children” (Wasniewski) by creating a positive learning space. Over time, “Head Start has served over 32 million children since 1965, growing from an eight-week demonstration project to include full day/year services and many program options” (“History of Head Start”). Mink stated, “We could establish a program for working mothers who do not fall into the poverty level. These mothers deserve the concern of the Nation as well” (Rose). Even though Mink helped those who weren’t as fortunate, she also thought about equal opportunities and rights of families who could benefit from Head Start. This is important to me because this provides my family with an opportunity to begin their education early and excel in school by the start of
meeting educational, health, social service, and parental needs. “Head Start also wants to help bring about a greater degree of social competence in these children (Mallory and Goldsmith, 2002).” The program has met a goal of impacting child development and day care services, and the increasing availability of services offered to low-income families and their children (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2002).
In the 1980s, child care was back on the national agenda due to the education reform movement (Tejada, 2010). Tejada further disclosed that several states even launched pre-kindergarten programs for disadvantaged children. Why the Need for Universal Preschool Two-thirds of 4-year-old children in the United States attend preschool, as well as 40% of 3-year-olds (Tejada, 2010). Half of those are enrolled in a public program, such as state prekindergarten (preK), Head Start, or special education, and the other half are in a private program (Adams, 2009). Despite such a large enrollment of children in these programs, there is still a handful of children who are missing out on obtaining a head start in obtaining a good quality education.... ...
The value of preschool is often overlooked as parents consider it for its utilitarian purposes. Although most preschools do function as a daycare, the merits gained from an early education follow children throughout their entire lives. Children at this ripe age are eager to learn, excited about the buzzing world aroun...
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how educators in the early childhood field can create an environment for children that is beneficial to development and enhance their thinking and learning skills. The author states that over the years, more and more observations of early childhood programs across the U.S. and some other countries to see what environments help to convey knowledge better for children. The authors states a caution that, “…we have seen: whether in Alaska, Florida or Massachusetts, all programs are starting to look like an early childhood catalog. Centers do not reflect the identity of the families and communities” (Curtis and Carter, 34). They then goes on to say that many programs apply
Seventeen to nineteen percent of the fifty percent of children who are in early education programs are in head start. Head start was created in 1965 and is the largest financed early education in the United States. Although many say that head start is a great tool to get students ready for school there are some mixed evidence on both of it. Head start has not shown any improvement on the math skills. There is only a limited research on the impact of making a teacher and student relationship. It has shown that it helped with the students who have special needs on their attention abilities. Children who went to head start did have a more positive school readiness then the one who did not go to Head
Another factor parents may not look into when finding a preschool is the curriculum that will be taught. “Despite decades of federal, state, and local programs intended to support young children’s preparation for schooling, children from low-income families continue to begin formal schooling at a disadvant...
Head Start does an adequate job at meeting the needs of children in the manner in which it was originally founded. The Head Start program is not bad and should not be done away with. But, from what I have learned through this study, amendments could be made to increase the longevity of the desired results. In this paper I will discuss the Head Start program. How Head Start has succeeded. The way it attempts to influence children’s behaviors. I will also discuss some of the shortcomings of the Head Start program and ways to make the program more effective.
The results of quality preschool programs can be seen early after they begin. Children learn many important life le...
Loeb, S., Bridges, M., Fuller, B., Rumberger, R., & Bassok, D. (2005). How much is too much? The Influence of Preschool Centers on Children's Social and Cognitive Development (No. 11812). National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
The Waldorf Approach Preschool is a highly debated area of a child’s educational journey. One of the primary goals of preschool is to prep the child for traditional elementary school. There are various contemporary models of early education that have been constructed to help children develop their educational career. A few examples of these models are the Bank Street Approach, The Reggio Emilia Approach, The Montessori Approach, and the Head Start Program just to name a few. The Waldorf approach is the program of discussion in this particular paper.
Unfortunately families that struggle with lower income have a tendency to struggle in other areas. The children of these lower income families are entering elementary level school lacking in reading, math, and general knowledge, compared to their peers that are from a family with higher levels of income. The struggles these children undergo do not stop at the academic standings they also affect the child’s social status. The suffering social status includes the child to potential fail in high school, increase unintended pregnancy, have higher criminal activity, and receive lower wages. Fortunately there has been an increase in number of publicly funded preschools, that benefit those children that are trailing behind their peers due to
Early childhood education plays a key role in a child’s academic development because he or she learns soft skills, job skills, and develop positive traits. Preschool is not like kindergarten, but instead a stepping-stone that prepares young students for the years of schooling they will have later in life. As more schools began to open families wanted to be able to verify that programs would benefit and protect their children. In response, the National Association for the Education of Young Children was made to help families find the best care for their children, by providing the early childhood educators with training and ensuring the quality of children’s daily experiences. (“NAEYC”5).