HANOI UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION STUDIES DEPARTMENT -oOo - Early Childhood Education Teachers: Tran Thuy Hang Nguyen Viet Ha Students: Vu Thuy Duong Class: 4TC-15 Course: EAP Writing Date: Feb 15th, 2016 ABSTRACT Early Childhood Education (ECE) is booming as never before The education given in early childhood shapes foundation of the life and possibly supports mental and academic development of child in the future life Therefore, it is very essential to recognize the importance of early childhood education and how it affects to person's life This paper, based on secondary research, provides readers, especially educators, a thorough knowledge to this field of education In particular, the paper discusses three aspects, including the definition of Early Childhood Education, the important ideas underlying and encompassing in today’s early childhood education and methods to evaluate children who are in the period of development Finally, the paper draws the conclusion that parents should co-operate with the educators to set about developing environment specializing the actual need of preschool children TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction “If you are planning for a year, sow rice; If you are planning for a decade, plant trees; If you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.” (Chinese Proverb) This saying probably explains the thought of many people about making education a priority due to its decisive and essential role in future success Investment in the education of our young children is an investment in future generations (O’Toole, 1995) Indeed, shortly after Doman published his first book “How to teach your baby to read” in 1964, it became all-time best-selling parenting series in the United States and the world with the groundbreaking methods and techniques of setting the standards in early learning and teaching parents for nearly six decades According to his claim, “Learning is not synonymous with Education” since the process of education begins at the six years of age while the process of learning begins at birth or earlier Closely associated with the notion of children as property is the view that children represent future wealth or potential for parents and a nation (Morrison 1991, 1998) Therefore, whether stimulating the children to start learning from the age of ZERO is absolutely more advantageous or not has triggered spirited debate This paper, with regards to children development, will discuss the importance of early childhood education in children’s nurture and emphasize the importance of partnership between parents and educators to develop the ability of their future generation rightfully and knowledgeably Discussion of findings 2.1 What is the concept of Early Childhood Education (ECE)? While discussing the field of early child hood education, it is essential to have some common definitions and a command of terminology used by National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the world’s largest advocacy organization devoted to early childhood learning, and most early childhood professionals As commonly used and accepted by NAEYC, Early Childhood is defined as the first eight years of individual or frequently refers to the children who have not reached school age yet Early Childhood Education consists of activities related to reflection, planning, preparation and implementation for the upbringing and education of children below school-age (Fagerli, Lillemyr and Søbstad 2000) Research on brain development indicates that eighty-five percent of brain develops by age of five and brain of child in age of three has 2.5 times more active brain than adults "Children are learning every minute of every day and we're teaching them whether we know it or not” (Doman, 1984) Indeed, it is likely that the education given in early childhood shapes foundation of the life and substantially supports the mental and academic development of child This concept results in great demand for early childhood teachers and caregivers in many countries of the world to support children’s development Morrison (1991, 1998) claims that a good early childhood setting is about wholesome, productive activities and healthful literature that are designed to support children’s development 2.2 How does early childhood education influence? 2.2.1 Expected Benefits It is suggested that early childhood education benefit children’s academic success and as well as the future development of the entire country economically and socially Among many benefits of early childhood education, most important reason is that education provided in early years might be very influential to unlock the nature abilities and highly beneficial for academic and mental development of an individual Investing in early learning shows a great change for increasing children’s cognitive functioning and brain which correlates with future academic achievement and lasting effects on behavior throughout life (Knudsen et al 2006) Thanks to Jean Piaget (1896-1980) with the Cognitive Theory approach to learning, our knowledge about children’s developmental stages of intelligence is greatly enriched According to Piaget, children are constantly in quest of balancing the difference between new experience and old ideas, between the real world and the world in their view (cited in Morrison 1991) Study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road As documented by Executive Office of the President of the United States (2014), access to high-quality care for young children can help parents advance the career and earn more money For instance, parents who have child-care options are able to work overtime in which results in additional income for their families, ultimately improves children’s outcomes in the short-term and indirectly increase their labor force Additionally, programs with parent support components like home visiting, have numerous benefits for parents, including increased confidence and reduced stress, potentially improving the overall well-being of the family by extension (Heckman et al 2014) In addition to benefiting children and parents, the advantages of early education go far beyond academics attainment and extend to society as a whole As today’s economy depends on human capital, investing in early education also means investing in the future workers for your community Obama, the president of United State, has repeatedly used a phrase in numerous speeches since he first put forward the idea in his 2013 State of the Union He famously claimed that each dollar invested in quality early childhood education returned at least $7 to society This can be explained by increasing graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy and violent crime (cited in Given 2014) 2.2.2 The dark sides of early learning Since a contemporary humanistic view considers children as economic commodities, the rights of children have beginning to be defined There is growing concern that childhood is not only endangered but already gone since the children being viewed as “pseudo-adults” and being rushed into early academics Realizing the early years to learning and later development, many upwardly mobile parents believe that they are extremely goal-directed about their careers and their children (Morrison, 1991) Taking Vietnamese child prodigy Do Nhat Nam for example, he soon prompted his interested in politics, science, technology especially English as opposed to other children at the same age However, his saying turned his back on comics given by his mother has triggered debate among people about the dividing line between childhood and adulthood being eroded An article in Zing News (5 June 2013) associated with children being suffered from rising academic pressure in first grade tests demanded by the Doan Thi Diem Primary School to meet up parent’s expectation This leads to psychological disorder and other serious problems at the early age Stacia Tauscher once said “We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.” 2.3 What can be done to develop early childhood education appropriately? It can be clarified by Morrison (1991) that early childhood education contributes to children’s development in life through five main aspects, including Physical, Motor, Intellectual, Language and Psychological Accordingly, developmental stages are important for early childhood professional to grasp and incorporate in the work with children Gonzalez-Mena (1998) brought the individual needs at given aged into question One of the core concepts in the field of early childhood education became increasingly relevant to any solid foundation for any program is “Developmentally appropriate practice”, including age appropriateness and individual appropriateness Some children are able to more than others at earlier ages while some respond better to certain kinds of learning situations than others (Morrison 1991) Indeed, we must always relate the topic “pushing” to individual and specific contexts Understanding these theories can help educators and parents know what to expect from children at different stages of development and prevent unrealistic expectations Therefore, the most crucial question is how early learning can be enhanced The answer for this needs special methods from both family and school “The family seems to be the most effective and economical system for fostering and sustaining the child’s development” This brief is dedicated to Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917–2005) whose pioneering research influenced the work of Harvard Family Research Project (cited in Harvard Family Research Project 2006) Contrary to popular belief, parents supporting early childhood shouldn’t force children to read, advanced math calculations, play music instruments or worse of all- are on a mission to turn their kids into Little Einsteins or a baby genius In fact, early learning is about giving our child the greatest gift parents could ever give their child: “The love for learning” Because children’s views themselves result partly from how society and adults view them, it is essential that society should be positive to help children reach their fullest potential Apart from family, preschool also plays an important role in teaching kids Froebel defined preschool as an institution which treats a kid due to its nature and strengthen its physical powers (cited in Morrison 1991) Various suggestions for an ideal preschool program can be seen in The Nebraska Development For instance, children can develop mathematical understanding through the use of familiar material like sand, rock, soil,… rather than finding X on the right answer or be encouraged “Divergent thinking” by learning that there is often more than one right answer etc (cited in Morrison 1991) Additionally, learning how to get along well with other friends and work as a group allows children to develop the sense of community (Goleman 2001) However, school should not be a place that all children are expected to reach the same level of performance The final suggestion is building a partnership between parents and school to cooperatively support child throughout the school experience without parents’ expectation and the school being in conflict Conclusion Research is ongoing to become fully understand the mechanisms through which early childhood investments benefit children Then, more and more emphasis needs to be placed on developmentally appropriate practice, including age appropriateness and individual appropriateness To accomplish the target, it requires the co-operation between family and educators for both practical aids Indeed, the immense benefits may come from the simplest attention to a child’s feelings A new approach that values the early childhood education would be the fundamental step to develop a qualified generation for the society Undoubtedly, this will take time, but it is worth pursuing by greatest efforts REFERENCES Currie, Janet, Duncan Thomas 2000 “School Quality and the Longer-Term Effects of Head Start.” Journal of Human Resources, 35(4): 755-774 Executive Office of the President of the United States 2014, The Economics of early childhood investments, viewed January 2015, https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/early_childhood_report _update_final_non-embargo.pdf Fagerli, O.; Lillemyr, O.F and Søbstad, F (2000) What is EarlyChildhood Care and Education? (in Norwegian, title translated) Kristiansand: Høgskoleforlaget Given, C 2014, ‘President Obama's $75 Billion Dollar Preschool Bluff’, Forbes, viewed February 2014, http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/02/07/president-obamas-75billion-dollar-preschool-bluff/#bc91a670a4b9, Goleman, D 2001, A view on emotional intelligence, viewed 31 May 2012, http://www.edutopia.org/daniel-goleman-emotional-intelligence Gonzalez - Mena, J 1998, Foundation Early Childhood Education in a Diverse Society, Mayfield Publishing Company Harvard Family Research Project 2006, Family involvement in early childhood education, Harvard Graduate School of Education Heckman, James J., David Olds, Rodrigo Pinto, and Maria Rosales 2014 ‘A Reanalysis of the Nurse Family Partnership Program: The Memphis Randomized Control Trial’, The University of Chicago Knudsen, Eric I., James J Heckman, Judy L Cameron, & Jack P Shonkoff 2006 ‘Economic, Neurobiological, and Behavior Perspectives on Building America’s Future Workforce’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 103(27): 10155-10162 Morrison, G.S 1991, early childhood education today, th edn, Macmillan Publishing Company Morrison, G.S 1998, early childhood education today, th edn, Macmillan Publishing Company President’s Council of Economic Advisers 2015, The economics of early childhood investment Thanh nien 2013, viewed April 2013, http://tinnong.thanhnien.vn/noimang/day-song-voi-truyen-tranh-la-con-sau-duc-pha-tam-hon-cua-be-donhat-nam-33417.html, Wortham, S.C 1995, Measurement and evaluation in Early Childhood Education, 2nd edn, Prentice-Hall,Inc A simon & Schuster Cimpany, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632 Zing News 2013, viewed June 2013 http://news.zing.vn/Tren-165-diem-moi-dolop-1-tieu-hoc-Doan-Thi-Diem-post325398.html 10