Early Childhood Development: Article Analysis

The classroom should provide special areas of space for each child. Circle time is also a good time to incorporate in the classroom. Circle time allows children to socialize together in different group sizes.

Corresponding concerning this article should be addressed to Kirby Magbie, Department of Early Childhood Education, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401. Contact: knmagbie@crimson.ua.edu

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

When researching early childhood programs, it’s important to look for characteristics of a high quality program. Components and characteristics of a high-quality program include, but are not limited to: a curriculum that is developmentally appropriate; teachers with adequate training; a safe environment; small group size and low adult to child ratios; and communication between parents and teachers (Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, 2012). Developmentally appropriate curriculum means using knowledge about child development to create a program that is suitable for the age and stage of development of the group of children you are teaching. At the same time, your program considers the needs of each individual child” (“Developmentally

An increasing body of evidence shows that children’s earliest experiences in early care and education programs play a major role on their later success as healthy individuals. However, low-income children may not experience school readiness gains

Study after study demonstrates that early childhood education is essential to a child’s development. In most studies, it’s easy to ascertain that a child’s first few years on earth shapes who they become in the future. During these years they are exposed to the fundamentals of life, including language development, social skills, and behavioral skills, all of which prepare them for school and the life they’ll lead as

The second research article was selected from The Early Childhood Education Journal and is titled “A Quantitative Study of Head Start Children’s Strengths, Families’ Perspectives, and Teachers’ Ratings in the Transition to Kindergarten” (Robinson & Diamond, 2013). This study explored the connection between preschool children’s social-interpersonal skills and their transition to kindergarten in mid-western America. One hundred and thirty-three preschool children participated in this study over a two year period using three measures of testing. In the year leading up to commencing kindergarten the children’s social-interpersonal skills were evaluated by their teachers. In the following year, parents/guardians and teachers were then required to report on the children’s adjustment to kindergarten. The results of this study found that there was no connection between parents/guardians and teachers reports of

The article talks about certain challenges Early Childhood professionals face on a day to day basis. They differentiate between the decision to get parents involved or not involved. Jill Niehoff a former family advocate for the Cincinnati YMCA Early Childhood programs believes that parents who understand and provide input often complain less and offer more support to staff and teachers . She believes that this strengthens the staff's morale and stress management ultimately causes less staff turnover. But there are also reasons why not to involve parents in what you do. After all, it’s extremely time consuming at least at first. Most early childhood practitioners are prepared to work with children rather than adults. And parents, who want the

Roughly 50% of 3 and 4 year olds living in the United States do not attend any school prior to kindergarten, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics (page 1). Preprimary programs are not accessible or required in all states. This means that about half of our young children will not have any preschool experience before being placed into the ever-advancing school system. “Many countries including Japan, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and France enroll nearly 100% of their 4-year-olds in preschool” (Atlantic. Para. 6). Preschool is the stepping-stone into a structured system. Great Schools Authors believe “…it’s their first experience in a structured setting with teachers and groups of children” (Para 1). Quality programs are the start to a great educational foundation. The benefits for young kids having some experience in preschool are far to great to not have it be available to all kids. The structure of our school systems has changed so much that years ago a child could have entered kindergarten and been at the same level as their peers; today they are expected to know so much more causing a gap in

Christina J. Groark, Stephanie K. McCarthy, Afton R. Kirk. (2014). Early Child Development: From Theory to Practice. Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

The present paper aims to examine the effectiveness of early intervention programs that serve students from predominately low-socioeconomic backgrounds. Specifically, the effectiveness of these programs will be examined in terms of student’s school readiness. School readiness has been defined as having both academic and social abilities that allow students to successfully engage in learning experiences upon kindergarten entry (Jeon et al., 2011). School readiness is especially important for low-income populations based upon the high rates of grade failure and school dropout levels later in schooling. Studies show that students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to enter kindergarten without the basic foundation skills necessary for success (Landry, Swank, Anthony & Assel, 2010). The present paper highlights the importance for increasing school readiness for students

The developmental years before children reach the age of kindergarten are very critical in affecting lasting cognitive and social-emotional growth. The occurrences the children have during this time period help structure their futures and have lasting effects on the contributions they make to society later in life. Many children during this time period do not experience quality cognitive and social- emotional occurrences due to poverty or other conditions detrimental to healthy development. Since high quality early child development programs have shown that they can and do make a difference in how children learn and are able to prepare for and proceed in school, it is essential that children in high-risk groups for failure participate in these programs. In this paper, I will discuss the characteristics that make up a high quality early educational program, the benefits of early childhood and a federally funded program called Head Start.

The article (“Raising Children: A Character-based Approach To Residential Child Care",2014) disguises how the understanding of ethical behaviour is difficult to teach to a young child. We don't have the same perspective on life as the child and we don’t know what they go through in their everyday lives, so it's difficult to show them the importance of ethical behaviour. In order to grow well we must develop some of the following virtues wisdom,justice,courage, temperance (Barnes and Thomson,2002). He broke down virtues into two parts, virtues intellectual and virtues morals. Intellectual which can learnt by an educational background and morals which is learnt by some sort of experience, such as by a role model. Right reasoning, emotion,

This article relates to developmental psychology in a few different ways. The first way is that it is associated with neurology. When it talks about how we focus more on the negatives. What if we were raised(developed) as children to have a different mind set. Think about what the world would be like if the whole world focused more on positives than negatives.

The years before kindergarten are among the most crucial time in a young child’s life to learn. School readiness, a multidimensional concept, has the ability to convey advantages in academic success in school. Children who enter school with early skills in math and reading tend to have more academic success, attain higher levels of education, and have a higher chance of securing employment (1). Their ability to recognize letters, read words in a book, write their own name, and count numbers are all factors that display early literacy and cognitive development, and in the past years, the number of young children with these qualities has increased over time. During the beginning years of a child's life, whether it’s from socioeconomics, ethnicity, daycare, or all of them combined, multiple factors influence a child’s readiness for school.