Reflection On Early Childhood Education

This comes early on in life and staying with them all throughout their years in school, and has consequences for them. With this happening, a goal for all teachers should reduce the gaps for early childhood educators. If children have not had the chance for a proper education early on, the programs may need to offer extensive learning experiences outside of the program. Other things such as parent engagement, health services, and mental health also help. All areas of the child's development and learning are affected such as the social factors affecting cognitive development and academic abilities.

Infants and toddlers develop attachments to the people in their lives and make a relationship with them, depending on how parents and early childhood educators treat them. Young infants seek out security, and mobile infants are excited to explore. Also, toddlers are working on their identity, and they want to know who they are.

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

An increased awareness of the implications of quality experiences in the early years has resulted in a growing interest in early childhood education. Subsequently, this has generated an interest in differing examples of early childhood curriculums. The following essay will critique the international approach, Te Whãriki and compare the New Zealand educational system to the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum of the United Kingdom. The essay will include reflection upon the similarities and differences of these approaches upon my settings practice.

Before deciding to pursue my Associates Degree in Business Administration I too was trying to receive my degree in Early Childhood Education and Development. I have a 2 year old daughter so I realized my passion for being a mother and I had decided I wanted to teach preschool. My reason for deciding to change my associate degree was for more opportunities for advancement and income. I find it incredible that you are a nanny, it probably takes tons of patience and also extremely fun.

My philosophy of Early childhood education is based on research that indicates that a child’s growth is developmental. Every child is unique in terms of life experiences, developmental readiness, and cultural heritage. A high quality early childhood program that provides a safe and nurturing environment, which promotes physical, social, emotional, language and cognitive development will ensure a positive continuation of the child’s education process

The topic is important to the teaching profession since more and more of our students are experiencing poverty. In 2011, over 15.9 million children under the age of eighteen were in poverty (NCES). In Texas, there was a forty-seven percent increase in the rate of children living in poverty between 2000 and 2011 (MacLaggan, 2013). In 2012, 1,777,000 Texas children lived in poverty and 749,000 lived in extreme poverty (Kids Count). Poverty and its stressors are linked to impairment of cognitive development and have implications for development of brain structure and function (Berliner, 2009). Children in poverty are twice as likely to be retained in school, are more likely to be placed in special education classes, perform less well on standardized tests, have lower grades, and are more likely to not complete their high school education (Berliner, 2009; Woolfolk, 2013,

As a graduate of the Child, Youth and Family degree program from the University of Guelph, I have my certification as an Early Childhood Educator. As a result, I have been thoroughly taught a deep understanding of developing curricula for children that considers government regulations, developmental appropriateness, and learning environments that fosters growth in multiple areas of child development. Additionally,

(Rokosa)” Many reasons for children repeating grades is because they are at a large disadvantage. One disadvantage is “In fact, 10 states still have no publicly funded preschool programs of any kind (Rokosa).” If a parent cannot afford to send a child to preschool how would the parent be able to afford books, and materials to educate the child? “Various studies determine that on average, society sees a return of $7 for every $1 invested in early childhood education programs Rokosa).” Therefore, America is getting a six-dollar profit, so no money given to early childhood programs is a waste: All programs are benefits not just for the children but for America. “There was a study done in Ypsilanti, Michigan, the students in the study were preschoolers and children at risk (Rokosa).” “This study showed, more successful in academics than the control group by age 19, and they also developed stronger social skills and looked forward to greater economic prospects (Rokosa).” The experts took the study even further and learned “By age 27, participants boasted lower arrest rates, higher income levels, and greater rates of high school completion. (Rokosa)” “The benefits only grew as the participants aged, the researchers estimated that over the course of the participants’ lifetimes every $1 invested in early childhood education programs yielded more than $17 in returns to society

I am so thankful for the opportunity that Presbyterian College provided me with by hosting Tammy Pawloski’s conference “Why Poverty Matters: What Schools Can Do Every Day”. I believe that the subject of “Why Poverty Matters” was important for me, a future early childhood educator, to hear so that I know what to identify in my future students and how to best implement strategies to enrich the learning, knowledge, and confidence of my future students. Although the entire conference was rich in information and insight, I believe that one of the things that stuck out to me the most was how prevalent poverty is within a child’s early years. Many children grow up in poverty; with limited resources, weak background knowledge, and low self – efficacy.

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.

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

Throughout my course work I have learned how essential Early Childhood Education is to the proper growth and development of young children. Without quality care young children can be limited socially, emotionally, and cognitively. Personally, my reasons for choosing ECE as my field of study has matured into responding to the need to provide quality professionals that produce quality care to every child regardless of ethnicity, ability, culture, or gender. However, looking back on my prior experiences I have worked with children in all capacities within my community. I have coached soccer of various ages, taught Sunday School, ran preteen Bible studies, and taught character building classes for young girls. Even though these experiences motivated me to enter this field, I now see child development from a totally different perspective.

“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.

Early childhood education lays the foundation for future success. Therefore, primary education is a basic right that every child should be entitled to. However, in sub-Saharan Africa, one in five children received a primary education in the past and the proportions have considerably increased now to 59%. But even with this considerable increase to children who receive a primary education, literacy rates haven’t improved due to the inadequate quality of education. Therefore, lack of an adequate primary education is a problem in sub-Saharan Africa because it causes low literacy rates that harm the overall welfare of those countries and it could be best solved with a better internal education system and some external monetary aid.