The Benefits of Early Childhood Education
The Benefits of Early Childhood Education
The writer of Proverbs 22:6 wrote: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it”. Early Education has benefits that can follow well into adult hood. Early childhood education is the organized practice of educating those who are in early childhood. According to the NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children), early childhood spans the human life from birth to age eight (Early Childhood Education, para. 1).Before 1960, educating young children was primarily dealt with in the home. Today most children spend a large part of their day away from their parents. Most attend a center based program until kindergarten. Attendance at a center-based program is becoming the norm at ages three and four. In 1999, center-based program participation was 70% at age four and 45% at age three. This paper will focus on the importance of early education on children from infancy to age 4. Early education has been shown to increase benefits in academic achievement, delinquency, career success and economic growth.
Early education has been shown to positively effect academic achievement. Most studies have resulted in a lifetime lasting increase in IQ by 5 IQ points. Multiple meta- analyses have been conducted and found that preschool education can raise acheivment test scores from the 30th percentile to the 50th percentile. A recent study proved that early education has significant lasting benefits on school progress (ie. Grade repetition, placement in special education and high school graduation rate). The Abecedarian study evaluated the effects of full day year round educational programs on children around four months to kindergarten entry. The study followed 111 children from the time they started the program through age 21. The program had a great effect on grade repetition and placement in special education, decreasing both by 23%. Both high school graduation rates and
The writer of Proverbs 22:6 wrote: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it”. Early Education has benefits that can follow well into adult hood. Early childhood education is the organized practice of educating those who are in early childhood. According to the NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children), early childhood spans the human life from birth to age eight (Early Childhood Education, para. 1).Before 1960, educating young children was primarily dealt with in the home. Today most children spend a large part of their day away from their parents. Most attend a center based program until kindergarten. Attendance at a center-based program is becoming the norm at ages three and four. In 1999, center-based program participation was 70% at age four and 45% at age three. This paper will focus on the importance of early education on children from infancy to age 4. Early education has been shown to increase benefits in academic achievement, delinquency, career success and economic growth.
Early education has been shown to positively effect academic achievement. Most studies have resulted in a lifetime lasting increase in IQ by 5 IQ points. Multiple meta- analyses have been conducted and found that preschool education can raise acheivment test scores from the 30th percentile to the 50th percentile. A recent study proved that early education has significant lasting benefits on school progress (ie. Grade repetition, placement in special education and high school graduation rate). The Abecedarian study evaluated the effects of full day year round educational programs on children around four months to kindergarten entry. The study followed 111 children from the time they started the program through age 21. The program had a great effect on grade repetition and placement in special education, decreasing both by 23%. Both high school graduation rates and
References: (2008). Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_childhood_education#Benefits_of_Early_Childhood_Education SCHULMAN, K., & BARNETT, W. S. (n.d.). WHAT IMPACTS DOES PRESCHOOL EDUCATION HAVE ON PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND RELATED SOCIAL BEHAVIOR?. National Institute for Early Education Research. Masse, L. N., & Barnett, W. S. (2002). A benefit-cost analysis of the Abecedarian Early Childhood Intervention. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers University. Gorey, K. M. (2001). Early childhood education: A meta-analytic affirmation of the short- and long-term benefits of educational opportunity. School Psychology Quarterly, 16 (1), 9-30. AMA Commision on Youth at Risk. (N.D). American Bar Association. Retrieved from http://www.abanet.org/youthatrisk/factsheets/earlyeducation.shtml Schweinhart, L.J., Montie, J., Xiang, Z., Barnett, W.S., Belfield, C.R., & Nores, M. (2005) Lifetime Effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press. Calman, L. J., & Tarr-Whelan, L. (2005, April). Early Childhood Education for All A Wise Investment. The Economic Impacts of Child Care and Early Education: Financing Solutions for the Future, (), 11-13. (N.D). Part2-Chapter1-Schweinhart. Retrieved from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTECD/Resources/Part2-Chapter1-Schweinhart.pdf