As a future early childhood education teacher, it is hard not to be concerned about children falling behind so young and then staying behind. Many of the children that are falling behind are from a disadvantaged family. More times than not the low-income children are attending a school that is very few resources to help them learn and explore. “Research finds that children’s early language development, understanding of math concepts, and social-emotional stability at age five not only predict how well they will do in school, but also largely determine their adult learning” (O’Leary, 2014). Children that come from disadvantaged or low-income families have much lower cognitive development (Krieg et al., 2015). This in turns is creating problems when reaching pre-school and kindergarten, because these children are way behind before even entering school. Children …show more content…
The children of high-income families received six encouragements for every discouragement, the working-class children received two encouragements to one discouragement, and children from families receiving welfare received two discouragements to every encouragement (Hart & Risley, 2003). This sets the stage of further development of children and the progress they will make. These at-risk children are learning at a young age that they are allowed to make these discouraging comments, not allowing them to open up their mind and explore.
The population of at risk children isn’t in a certain state it is all over America. “Nationally, 31 percent of low-income children five or under are at risk of serious learning delays due to lack of exposure to child care or early education programs” (Skinner, 2014). The lack of early childhood programs in America is affecting the future. Another contribution to the at-risk children is when attending childcare or preschool, some school systems are hiring unequipped teachers (Peske et al.,
Children in families with lower incomes at or below the poverty line have been connected with poor cognitive and social development in early childhood. The studies that I chose to use evaluate the cognitive and social development during early childhood using various surveys, evaluations, and observations completed by or with the children, parents, and teachers. Development of any kind is dependent on the interplay of nature and nurture, or genetics and environment. These studies draw from a child’s environment during the earliest years of development, specifically birth, pre-school, and early elementary school. The studies propose living in an impoverished environment as opposed to an environment above the poverty line imposes certain restrictions on cognitive and social development during early childhood.
Dr. Seuss wrote, “You’re off to great places. Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting. So get on your Way”. The role of the early childhood educator, while rewarding, can sometimes feel as is you are climbing a mountain. Educators have to consider how to implement curriculum, instruction, management, and technology in the classroom. Educators also have to provide an environment where all children feel safe and nurtured. When creating a course of action, educators have to consider their role as well as the role of the student, parent, and community.
In the 1980s, child care was back on the national agenda due to the education reform movement (Tejada, 2010). Tejada further disclosed that several states even launched pre-kindergarten programs for disadvantaged children. Why the Need for Universal Preschool Two-thirds of 4-year-old children in the United States attend preschool, as well as 40% of 3-year-olds (Tejada, 2010). Half of those are enrolled in a public program, such as state prekindergarten (preK), Head Start, or special education, and the other half are in a private program (Adams, 2009). Despite such a large enrollment of children in these programs, there is still a handful of children who are missing out on obtaining a head start in obtaining a good quality education.... ...
Students will develop at their own pace, some much slower than others; a teacher may see this as a developmental delay. This mislabeling of an infant or toddler can cause a significant amount of stress on a parent who in their eyes sees their child developing typically. Another problem with Early Intervention Programs is a lack of parent involvement and acceptance. Parents not wanting to accept that their infant or toddler has a developmental delay or disability and then deny services or not follow through with the Individualized Family Service Plan provided to them. This happens because of a lack of knowledge on the parents end. “In a large measure the success of early intervention and family involvement is dependent upon our ability to assist families in maintaining their handicapped young children within the home—with the provision that both the children and family members can lead reasonably happy, productive lives.” (Bricker & Casuso
Another factor parents may not look into when finding a preschool is the curriculum that will be taught. “Despite decades of federal, state, and local programs intended to support young children’s preparation for schooling, children from low-income families continue to begin formal schooling at a disadvant...
Low- income children 's school districts often lack the money to provide these children with resources, and therefore the children will not get these resources any other way. Devarics (2011) stated, "Only 22 percent of local districts reported offering pre-kindergarten or other early learning programs for low-income children" (para.8). Denying this resource affects the many children who reside where that 78 percent of local districts do not offer pre-kindergarten, because many go to kindergarten not knowing minimal skills required. As a consequence, this postpones their education even further. Moreover, Davarics (2011) also stated, "Many schools aren 't educationally where they need to be, which ultimately means many students won 't graduate ready to succeed in a career or in higher education," (para.11). Many low-income schools do not offer activities such as, art, music or sports, because of the lack of money, facilities, or staff. They are not supplied with the right tools and have poor access to computers and Internet. They also do not offer rigorous courses at many of these schools, and have less qualified, trained, and less experienced staff that cannot proficiently teach such courses. Going to school with these disadvantages, can make these children unmotivated to continue an education where there will be little educational progress.
Early childhood education, although constantly evolving, was actually established and practiced as early on as the times of Ancient Greece and Rome. The foundation that early childhood education is based upon is to instill in children the skills needed to succeed later on in life, while making sure young children enjoy their time in schooling. Throughout chapter 3 in the textbook Who Am I in the Lives of Children, the reader is capable of evaluating just how greatly the methods for teaching today’s youth have evolved and changed for the better.
Children are our future and they should be given every possible opportunity to succeed in life even if they are born into disadvantaged situations. Sometimes the families of certain children can’t provide as much as other children’s families and this can create a gap in the achievement and development of these children. Those disadvantaged children need special programing that accommodates for the lack of cognitive and social development that if not properly addressed could lead to poor school performance and delinquency.
One important lesson of the past decade, however, is just how difficult it is to close longstanding achievement gaps experienced by students from low-income families, students with disabilities, English Learners, and racial and ethnic minorities. We know from research that these gaps often start during the first years of life, even before children enter our education system, with children from low-income families starting kindergarten, on average, 12 to 14 months behind their peers in language development and pre-reading skills.
Curriculum is the organized framework that explains the content that children are to learn, the processes through which children achieve the identified curricular goals, what teachers do to help children achieve these goals and the context in which teaching and learning occur. The best curriculum for early childhood teacher is developmentally appropriate curriculum that allows teachers to set-up an effective learning environment for children.
This research report presents an analysis of and conclusions drawn from the experiences and perspectives of two educators that work in the early childhood setting. The main objective is to identify key elements and issues in relation to the families, diversity and difference. In particular how an early childhood educator implements, different approaches to honour culture and diversity, and to advocate for social justice in an early childhood settings. As such, it allows an insight into the important role that families and their background plays in the everyday lives of the children and educators within early childhood settings. In today’s ever-changing growing society it is essential for educators to be flexible to the diversity and differences with families of today. Gaining an insight into way that educators view and approach these important elements will enable the readers to understand that diversity and social justice is not only interwoven into today’s education system but also the educators themselves.
In this assessment I will be talking about the principles and philosophy of Frobel and Montessori, what they have in common and differences, there contributions to Siolta and my own thoughts in relation to early childhood education and their impact on the learning environment
Children living in poverty have significant effects on their development. Poverty begins to affect children’s cogitative development early on in the child’s life, reasons why it is noticeable at an early age is because they do not have the learning experiences they need before start attending school, causing them to fall behind, plus leaving them to be unsuccessful for the rest of their life. School readiness is the biggest factor in determining whether a child can escape from poverty or whether they will continue to struggle with learning throughout their life. Interventions during the early childhood could prevent some of these effects from occurring or influences their achievement. Interventions have been used by child care centers to improve
Early childhood education directly affects the overall development of infants and young children, in addition to it affects the adults they become. Providing excellent early education is an effective way to not only benefit the economy as a whole but also families and communities more importantly. Investing in early education universally has potential to improve economic and equitable growth while decreasing social issues. Early education allows for disadvantaged, most at-risk children to have a better chance at achieving success (Lynch,
Living in poverty exposes children to disadvantages that influence many aspects in their life that are linked to their ability to do well in school. In the United States of America there are an estimated 16.4 million children under the age of 18 living in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). “The longer a child lives in poverty, the lower the educational attainment” (Kerbo, 2012). Children who are raised in low-income households are at risk of failing out before graduating high school (Black & Engle, 2008). U.S. children living in poverty face obstacles that interfere with their educational achievement. Recognizing the problems of living in poverty can help people reduce the consequences that prevent children from reaching their educational potential.