This document discusses the scope of early childhood education. It covers the growth of ECE programs due to changes in family life like more women working and single parent families. ECE programs have the purposes of caring for children while families work, enrichment, and compensation. Programs are either home-based or center-based and serve infants, toddlers, preschoolers and primary children. Quality is influenced by child-adult ratios, group size, and staff qualifications. ECE programs receive support from for-profit, not-for-profit, employers and universities.
This document discusses the scope of early childhood education. It covers the growth of ECE programs due to changes in family life like more women working and single parent families. ECE programs have the purposes of caring for children while families work, enrichment, and compensation. Programs are either home-based or center-based and serve infants, toddlers, preschoolers and primary children. Quality is influenced by child-adult ratios, group size, and staff qualifications. ECE programs receive support from for-profit, not-for-profit, employers and universities.
This document discusses the scope of early childhood education. It covers the growth of ECE programs due to changes in family life like more women working and single parent families. ECE programs have the purposes of caring for children while families work, enrichment, and compensation. Programs are either home-based or center-based and serve infants, toddlers, preschoolers and primary children. Quality is influenced by child-adult ratios, group size, and staff qualifications. ECE programs receive support from for-profit, not-for-profit, employers and universities.
This document discusses the scope of early childhood education. It covers the growth of ECE programs due to changes in family life like more women working and single parent families. ECE programs have the purposes of caring for children while families work, enrichment, and compensation. Programs are either home-based or center-based and serve infants, toddlers, preschoolers and primary children. Quality is influenced by child-adult ratios, group size, and staff qualifications. ECE programs receive support from for-profit, not-for-profit, employers and universities.
• Although the importance and value of education in the early years of life have been acknowledged for more than 2000 years (Lascarides & Hinitz, 2000), relatively recent factors have brought early childhood education to the forefront of public awareness • Fundamental changes in the economy, family life, public awareness and public support have had a profound effect on early childhood education • Newspaper headlines and national magazine covers have directed a spotlight on child care; much of their focus has been on changes in family life that have brought about the need for child care outside the home
• The needs of working families are not the only reason early childhood has been in the public focus • There has also been increased attention to the needs of special populations of young children (children who are disabled, abused or culturally different)
• Demographic information indicates that increasing numbers of women are entering
the workforce; no longer do most mothers stay at home to rear their children • Economic necessity forces many families to rely on both working parents because one simply does not provide for all of their financial needs
• In other families, both parents work because of the desire for personal and professional development rather than from economic need
• Another family change that has affected the demand for child care is the increase in the number of single parents
• Today, more teenage mothers opt to keep their babies and these children need child care while their mothers are at school or work
• Another change in family life is the increasing mobility of many today’s families • Work demands cause some families to move away from relatives who might otherwise provide support
• Extended family – network of relatives such as grandparents, uncles and aunts or adult brothers and sisters beyond the immediate family • (NACCRRA, 2008) A recent report indicates that about 20% of young children are in the care of their grandparents on a regular basis for some time each week
• “Child care is now as essential to family life as the automobile or the refrigerator…The majority of families including those with infants, require child care to support parental employment” (Scarr, Phillips & McCartney, 1990)
Home-based programs: infants and toddlers in particular are cared for
in such homes because families with very young children seem to prefer a more intimate, homelike setting; There is a clear relationship between program quality and children’s development
Center-based programs : located in early childhood centers and usually
include larger groups of children than do home-based programs; the greatest increase in the types of programs offered
The most dramatic increases in recent years has been in infant and toddler programs; Center-based program represents the fastest growing type of program.
2) Preschoolers The largest segment of children in early childhood programs are preschool age; Majority of pre-schoolers are in all-day programs that provide care while their families work.
3) Primary Children Many definitions of early childhood include children up to age eight. Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) for this age group involves an integrated approach; Integrated curriculum acknowledges the importance of all aspects of human development (social, emotional, physical, cognitive, language and creative) rather than focusing primarily on the cognitive.
1) Child adult • The ratio significantly affects children’s behavior and child-adult interaction. ratio • Teachers in classrooms with lower ratios were more sensitive and responsive to children. • NAEYC suggests a ratio of : (3 to 1 for infants) (6 to 1 for toddlers) (8 to 1 for three-year-olds) (10 to 1 for four and five-year-olds) (15-18 to 1 for children in the primary).
2) Group size • Smaller group, adults and children interacted more, children were more cooperative, innovative, verbal and better scores on cognitive and language tests. • Moderate number of children in a group seem to demonstrate greater social competence • For young children - not more than 12 children per group with two teachers • A maximum group size of 20 children is recommended for four and five-year-olds 3) Staff • The importance of a staff with specific training in early childhood education and development; qualifications teachers will be more engaged in interactions with children and children showed greater social and cognitive abilities. • Teachers with training were rated as more positive and less punitive, employing a less authoritarian style of interaction with the children. 4) Staff • A serious concern is staff turnover rate in early childhood programs (41% per year) consistency • One important task of the early years is forming a secure attachment relationship to adults; stable, secure relationship between young children and their caregivers
5) • Program are able to plan environments, develop activities and set expectations that are Developmentally congruent with children’s needs and characteristics. appropriateness of • For an early childhood program to meet quality criteria, it must respect the emerging the program abilities of young children without imposing inappropriate expectations. 6) Child adult • The most important factor on which quality depends is the interaction between the adults interaction and the children. • In a good program, adults are involved with children (nurturing and responsive, ample verbal exchange and interactions aim to teach). 7)Respect and • A concern for the well-being of the staff is also important. Concern for Staff • Working with young children is a demanding and challenging job. • The best interests is the staff members receive appropriate pay and benefits and work in a satisfying environment. 8) Physical • Children demonstrate higher cognitive skills levels and greater social competence in Environment schools that are safe and orderly, contain a wide variety of stimulating equipment and materials and are organized into learning centers. • A good environment conveys to children that this is a good place to be, that people here care about them, that these people are able to satisfy their desire to learn and their innate curiosity and that this is a place in which it is safe to try without fear of failure.
WHAT IS DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE (DAP)?
• DAP : teaching young children by matching practice with what we know about their development. • DAP was developed collaboratively with input from many professionals by the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the largest professional organization of early childhood educators in the country. • Decisions about what is good for children are based on:
