Early Childhood Education

Excerpt from a recent press release by
the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families

For a pdf file of the complete report with charts and graphs go to
http://www.wccf.org/pdf/making_the_grade.pdf


The last quarter century of research on brain development
suggests that the nurturing and learning
experiences available in the first few years play a
strong role in shaping a child's development. Babies are
born with a remarkable intrinsic ability to learn. The foundation
for a child's intellect, personality and skills is established
in the first five years. Today, a vast majority of
Wisconsin's children under the age of six have all parents
in the workforce, and early care and education have become
a routine part of many children's young lives.
A growing body of scientific evidence indicates that investing
in the education of our youngest learners may be
one of the most promising ways to prepare children for
school and strengthen the future economic position of
states and the nation.

A series of longitudinal studies have
established that high quality early education is a cost-effective
investment, yielding the highest returns when children
from disadvantaged backgrounds are targeted. The
largest expense in any early care and education program,
and the one that research has shown has the most significant
impact, is human resources: the adults who guide and
teach young children.

Why do we think teacher qualifications are the key to
quality? Researchers have found that education and training
of the adults who guide children's development in out of-
home settings changes the way they relate to children.
They are more responsive to children, provide active learning
experiences, interact more, focus on each child's
progress, and intentionally design their programs to enhance
healthy development and learning.
It makes sense to expect that better educated teachers have
more knowledge and skills to individualize lesson plans and
analyze and solve problems. Better-educated teachers are
likely to expose children to a richer vocabulary and to provide more
stimulating learning activities and environments.
Most studies have found that teachers with two- or
four-year degrees, combined with specialized training in
early childhood development, provide significantly higher
levels of quality for children in their care, as measured by
positive interactions with children and stimulating learning
environments.