What is early childhood? Why early childhood care and education is so important?


Posted February 27, 2020 by margdarshak

Early childhood, defined as the period from birth to eight years old, is a time of remarkable growth with brain development at its peak. During this stage, children are highly influenced by the environment and the people that surround them.

 
Definition:

Early childhood, defined as the period from birth to eight years old, is a time of remarkable growth with brain development at its peak. During this stage, children are highly influenced by the environment and the people that surround them.
Early childhood care and education (ECCE) is more than preparation for primary school. It aims at the holistic development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs in order to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing.
Early childhood education consists of activities and/or experiences that are intended to effect developmental changes in children prior to their entry into elementary school.
Early childhood education (ECE) programs include any type of educational program that serves children in the preschool years and is designed to improve later school performance.

Importance of Early Childhood Care and Education:
Early childhood education can produce significant gains in children's learning and development. High-quality early childhood education assists many at-risk children in avoiding poor outcomes, such as dropping out of school. Although the benefits seem to cross all economic and social lines, the most significant gains are almost always noted among children from families with the lowest income levels and the least amount of formal education. However, whether these benefits are long-lasting is disputed. Some studies focused on the IQ score gains of disadvantaged children in Head Start programs, but these gains seemed to be short-term. However, studies also indicate that ECE produces persistent gains on achievement test scores, along with fewer occurrences of being held back a grade and being placed in special education programs. Other long-term benefits include decreased crime and delinquency rates and increased high school graduation. One extensive study found that people who participated in ECE were less likely to be on welfare as adults compared to those who had not received any early childhood education.
Early childhood education help children to increase their intelligence by learning and by acquiring new skills.
The traditional theory of intelligence has two fundamental assumptions:
1. that human cognition is unitary; and
2. that individuals can be adequately described as having a single, quantifiable intelligence.
The traditional theory of intelligence has helped create a mindset or paradigm as to what "smart" or "intelligent" is, who has the potential or ability to be smart, and how we can or cannot become smart. This has influenced current educational practices. It is still a common educational practice to use the score from standardized intelligence tests to qualify children for various special programs. It is assumed these tests measure intelligence accurately and meaningfully.
Current research indicates that the only limit to one's intelligence is what the individual believes is possible and how his or her behaviors either foster or limit his or her intelligence. Research also indicates that intelligence is not a static structure that can be measured and meaningfully quantified, but an open, dynamic system that can continue to develop throughout life. Through his work and studies, Reuven Feuerstein, an Israeli psychologist, and educator has developed a theory of the "Modifiability of Intelligence." He has linked the importance of how teachers, through facilitating learning experiences, impact the quality of learning and influence the potential intelligence of each student.
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Last Updated February 27, 2020