Discover the Importance of Early Childhood Education

Teaching children from birth to age eight is known as early childhood education (ECE) and is considered an important period in child development.

ECE emerged as a field of study during the Enlightenment and has become a prevalent public policy issue in recent years.

ECE is a professional designation earned through a post-secondary education program and is regulated by governing entities.

Theories of child development include the Developmental Interaction Approach, Froebel's play theory, Maria Montessori's theory, Vygotsky's socio-cultural learning theory, Piaget's constructivist theory, and Kolb's experiential learning theory.

ECE has practical implications, including preparing children for grade school, diminishing their risk of mental health problems, and increasing their self-sufficiency later in life.

Participation in ECE has been proven to increase high school graduation rates, improve performance on standardized tests, and reduce both grade repetition and the number of children placed in special education.

The Perry Preschool Project, which enrolled African-American children with cognitive disadvantage from low-income families, heavily influenced policy in the United States and across the globe.

Investing in high-quality early childhood programs can lead to a return of $7.3 over the long-term.

The World Bank's 2019 World Development Report identifies early childhood development programs as one of the most effective ways governments can equip children with the skills they will need to succeed in future labor markets.Early Childhood Education: Importance, Benefits, and Challenges

• Early childhood education aims to develop a child's cognitive, social, emotional, physical, creative, and linguistic abilities through a range of activities and experiences.
• The Perry Preschool Project is a pioneering early childhood intervention program that has generated a substantial body of evidence showing the long-term economic benefits of early childhood education.
• The Perry program has been shown to improve non-cognitive skills, executive functioning, childhood home environment, parental attachment, educational attainment, earnings, and late-midlife health.
• The Perry program has also demonstrated spillover effects on the children and siblings of the original participants, including fewer school suspensions, higher levels of education and employment, and lower levels of crime.
• The first World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education took place in Moscow in 2010, jointly organized by UNESCO and the city of Moscow.
• Under Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals, countries committed to ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education, including early childhood.
• The quality of a program is greatly influenced by the quality of its curriculum, which should provide the momentum that makes the program live.
• Children's learning potential and outcomes are negatively affected by exposure to violence, abuse, and child labor, which are part of broad educational concerns.
• Children of the poor and the disadvantaged remain the least served in both developed and developing countries, despite the added value of early childhood education services being higher for them than for their more affluent counterparts.
• Orphans are at higher risk of missing out on schooling, living in households with less food security, and suffering from anxiety and depression.
• The Free Basic Education Policy has worked to provide education for orphan children in Sub-Saharan Africa, but the quality and inclusiveness of this policy have brought criticism.
• Notable early childhood educators include Maria Montessori, Friedrich Fröbel, and Jean Piaget.