Disparities In Early Childhood Education

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

Children living in poverty or low-income neighborhoods are known to have lifelong struggles because of their education. The link between poverty and poor education is a known fact because children living in poverty will rather provide for their families than their own education. As a community, we need to come together to help low-income families and their children obtain a better future in their education. The effects of children living in poverty or low-income neighborhoods is a known issue worldwide and is only affecting our children’s future and ours.

Early childhood education is crucial for success in the formalized education system. Many children born into lower income communities do not obtain this advantage. According to Kozol, simply based off accident of birth a child will lead completely different educational lives (2005). For example, a white toddler in an upper middle class neighborhood might attend a prestigious educational preliminary kindergarten. These respected early education schools are often referred to as “baby ivies” (Kozol, 2005). The child participates in pre-numeracy skills along with pre-writing skills. Conversely, a child of minority descent living in an underprivileged neighborhood may not initiate school until they are five years old. In the three previous years a

30 percent of Early Childhood educators change or leave the field completely every year. Think of that percentage, 30 percent altogether. That is a pretty large number to factor in annually. “It is estimated that staff turnover can cost, at a MINIMUM $3,000 for each lost employee.” (Page 200) Not only is it hard on the company and director when employees turn over, but it also becomes hard on the children and families at the childcare center because they have created a personal relationship with the employee! As most people know, there has always been a major factor that plays into the childcare field and that is low wages and poor benefits. Whether you are a teacher or a director, you really have to have passion for the field of childcare

The correlation between low-income families and education has been overlooked by many including political leaders. They often believe that with better education, comes the less likelihood of poverty. The problem is that some children are already a part of a low-income family and have to work through all the conditions that it comes with. It’s highly more visible living in New Mexico than in our higher income counter states. As an educator and someone who is friends with other educators, it’s a problem we see all too often. A friend of mine works at an elementary that is predominantly low income and is constantly plagued with the difficulty it brings. Both behavioral issues and lower testing scores are apparent in

The achievement gap is a serious issue that schools everywhere face. Poor and impoverished students do not have access to the same educational amenities that more privileged students do, which puts them at a disadvantage in school. Since the achievement gap is created early on in a child’s life, Alberto Ochoa believes that preschool is the best way to stop the gap before it has the chance to form (1). It makes more sense to try stop the gap from happening, rather than doing damage control once the gap has already had time to form. Preventing the gap from forming means sending children to preschool so that they are both cognitively and emotionally prepared to succeed in kindergarten and throughout the rest of their educational careers. Unfortunately, not every parent is able to send their child to preschool. Taking inflation into account, the average cost to raise a child born in 2013 is estimated to be approximately $304,480 (Garth 1). This large figure only covers necessities: food, clothing, shelter. It is not surprising that many parents cannot spare the extra cost of sending their children to preschool. Universal preschool would allow children to attend preschool, even if their parents cannot afford it or they do not qualify for the government funded Head Start program (Greene 1). The numerous benefits of

As an early childhood educator, in an effort to support families who have a lack of extended family support, I will make sure to provide them with resources that support their family needs. Resources that are based in the school setting could be childcare, tutoring or expanded learning programs in the afternoons. These school based resources can help the development of their children and offer parents more support. Other resources are more community based, such as parenting classes, enrichment programs and many more. These community resources can provide families with the support of others that may help them deal with issues or concerns they are facing. Sometimes families just need to know they are supported and

and stresses individuality (Belinda & Nestlerode, 2009). The term Practice Appropriate has been suggested as the new term and this approach has a more integrated approach to curriculum. Providing an analysis of children's diverse cultural and linguistic contexts include cultural identity and communication and language.

Childhood poverty is interrelated with brain development and external variables more specifically brain volume and the caregiver and stressful life events. According to “The Effects of Poverty on Childhood Brain Development” a research article by Joan Luby, MD and several affiliates of Washington University, “poverty negatively impacts brain development” (Luby, 2013). A second popular press article in U.S. News & World Report, “Early Childhood Poverty Damages Brain Development, Study Finds” by Allie Bidwell, who is the education reporter at U.S. News, summarizes the research study by Joan Luby and her colleagues and incorporates census data, previous research studies, and the opinion of Charles Nelson of the Boston Children’s Hospital and

However, there are limits to the reach and timeliness of early childhood education. First, children in the poorest quintile are still three times as likely to be out of school than those in the richest quintile (Richmond, 2008). Research has shown that access itself is not a guarantee of literacy. Completion of five to six years is a critical threshold for mastery of basic competencies such as literacy. However, the poor are often unable to attend for this length of time for various reasons, leading to completion rates 10-60% below enrollment rates (The Global Challenge of Education for All, 2002). On top of this, by definition, early childhood education cannot reach the 800 million illiterate adults. As a result, the best case scenario of funding universal childhood education will not eliminate illiteracy for a couple of generations.

(Kozol, Jonathan. Savage inequalities: Children in America's schools. Broadway Books, 2012..)(Ladd, Helen F. "Education and poverty: Confronting the evidence." Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 31.2 (2012): 203-227.)(U.S. Census)(Alexander, Karl, Doris Entwisle, and Linda Olson. The long shadow: Family background, disadvantaged urban youth, and the transition to adulthood. Russell Sage Foundation, 2014.)(Rock, Donald A, and Judith M Pollack. "Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K): Psychometric Report for Kindergarten through First Grade. Working Paper Series."

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

Poverty experienced during the early childhood years can take a toll on cognitive development that can later affect children as they mature. Even if experienced as an infant, a child can suffer severe consequences cognitively that will affect their brain development during childhood. In a study focusing on infants and children between the ages of 5 months and 4 years old, subjects underwent between 1 and 7 MRI scans longitudinally to monitor their brain development. Children of both high SES (socioeconomic status) and low SES families were subjects. It was found that children from low SES families had lower volumes of gray matter in both the frontal and parietal lobes as well as reduced total gray matter growth trajectories when compared to

From doing some research on my chosen topic of poverty, I have learned many things that will help me with my work towards children in the future. Theorist such a Maslow and also The Foundation Phase have both more knowledge on children. From understanding both Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and The Foundation Phase I will be able to provide better opportunities for children in the future. Both of these theorist answered many of my questions which were raised. From doing some independent learning into how poverty affects children in both their education, their social development, their health and more, I came to understand that the Welsh government are doing many things to help provide for the children within their schools. Many services have been

“Literacy learning has a profound and lasting effect on the social and academic lives of children. Their future educational opportunities and career choices are directly related to literacy ability. Since early childhood is the period when language develops most rapidly, it is imperative that young children are provided with a variety of developmentally appropriate literacy experiences throughout each day, and that the classroom environment is rich with language, both spoken and printed. Early childhood teachers are responsible for both understanding the developmental continuum of language and literacy and for supporting each child’s literacy development.