Benefits of Early Childhood Education
Helping Educators Communicate this Answer to Parents
Every story has a beginning… Some beginnings are easy to define, such as the meeting of a future spouse or the starting of a new job. Early childhood education, however, begins in a deeper-rooted and longer-lasting way beyond what most parents even realize. Every parent longs for the day that their child says their first word, takes their first step, identifies their colors, writes their name, and makes a lasting friendship. The root of all of this begins in the foundational years of early childhood education, and the benefits of high-quality early childhood education propel children into K12 education and life academically, socially, and emotionally.
What are the benefits of high-quality early childhood education?
Infants and Toddlers – Infants come into the world with well-developed brains wired for learning. While much learning and change comes from maturation, infants learn immensely through what is called imitative learning. Imitative learning is exactly what it sounds like; infants learn by watching others and attempting to imitate the behavior (Meltzoff and Marshall, 2018). While infants observe and mimic adults, adults do not demonstrate the same behaviors that infants are working to master. Infants benefit from interacting and being in the presence of other infants. Toddlers are naturally social and seek increasing levels of independence. For toddlers in high-quality early learning programs, the environment is structured to allow the Toddler a safe, accessible environment in which to begin to master self-help skills, such as washing hands, accessing personal belongings, self-feeding, and basic clean-up routines. Toddler teachers consistently engage toddlers in conversation, label environmental items, narrate what is happening in the classroom, and encourage the toddlers to join them in music and movement activities. This strong focus on communication is amplified as toddlers transition from solitary play to parallel play with an increasing awareness of what other children are doing around them. This combination of increased communication skills with social awareness sets the foundation for future friendship development, social interaction skills, and increased language. This is critically important as repeated studies have shown the larger a child’s vocabulary by age 2 the stronger the connection to higher elementary-school reading achievement (see Morgan, et al., 2015).
Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten – With 90% of a child’s brain development occurring in the first five years of life, it is no surprise that high-quality early education during the preschool and Pre-Kindergarten years continue to yield lasting benefits. Children who attend high-quality early learning programs have been shown to consistently outperform their matched peers in vocabulary, early math skills, and early literacy skills entering Kindergarten and through middle elementary school, with some studies showing further sustained academic outperformance (Loeb & Bassock, 2015). While the research resoundingly shows that children who participate in high-quality early education enter formalized schooling more academically prepared than children who lack this opportunity, the benefits extend beyond this. Ages 3 to 5 are a period of great social and emotional development for young children, and attending preschool gives children important early experiences with other children and trusted teachers to strengthen and propel long-term mental health skills. It is through these early education experiences that young children learn to identify, label, and manage their emotions while also learning to identify and respond appropriately to the emotions of others (Kostelnik et al. 2015). Peers and teachers directly influence and strengthen preschool-aged children’s social-emotional skills, and strong social-emotional skills leading into Kindergarten is not only tied to academic success but has also been shown to be directly linked to educational attainment and career success at age 25, showing the long-lasting effects of early childhood education (Jones, Greenberg, & Crowley, 2015). The preschool and Pre-Kindergarten programs proven to be most effective are those in which teachers and children demonstrate rich interactions, are supported by a research-driven curriculum, provide safe and inviting child-centered environments, and provide teachers ongoing professional development (Phillips, Lipsey, et. al., 2017)
While committing to quality early childhood education is indeed an investment, the decision to pursue high-quality early learning education for your child today sets a lasting foundation and propels your child on a pathway towards a brighter tomorrow.