Early education is a vital time for a child’s development. But often times children are missing out on the proper education and development. In America there are about 12 million children under the age of five that attend an early learning program (Hamm, 2015). Which is great because early education is the time when children are developing their cognitive, physical, social, and emotional needs. But when children are not receiving the proper education, how are they missing out on their development?
Early education not only provides a safe and caring place for a child, while parents are at work, but it also has many short and long term benefits. One of the main aspects that early learning programs benefit is cognitive development, studies have shown that attending an early education program can increase IQ 7 or 8 points. This can be drastic on your child’s education, now and when they are entering college (Barnett, 2006). Long-term cognitive development is often higher grade point average, higher graduation rate, and a decrease drop-out rate (Skarda, 2014). But are there other effects on a child’s development other than cognitive improvement? Yes! There is an impact on a child’s social and emotional development. Children are more likely to higher self-esteem and better behavior (Karoly).
There are loads of benefits for the child, but what about the general public? Early learning programs are said to generate a return to society from $1.80 to $17.07 for each dollar spent (Karoly). This can be a huge benefit to the government and to society in general. If we are able to invest a small amount into these programs we are not only improving our children’s development but we are able to generate a return to society. Now that you understand some of benefits of an early learning program, how are we, as teachers, able to work to continue providing proper early education for children so we can ensure they are receiving these benefits?
References:
Barnett, S., & Belfield, C. (2006, Fall). The Future of Children, Princeton — Brookings: Providing research and analysis to promote effective policies and programs for children. Retrieved February 15, 2016, from http://futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=35
Hamm, K., & Martin, C. (2015, September 15). A New Vision for Child Care in the United States. Retrieved October 25, 2015, from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/early childhood/report/2015/09/02/119944/a-new-vision-for-child-care-in-the-united-states-3/
Karoly, L., Killburn, R., & Cannon, J. (n.d.). Site-wide navigation. Retrieved February 15, 2016, from http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9145.html
Skarda, E. (2014, July 2). Ask the Experts: How Can We Fix Early Childhood Education? Retrieved October 25, 2015, from http://nationswell.com/ask-experts-can-fix-early childhood-education/#
