Early Childhood Education

What is Early Childhood Education?

The definition of early childhood education is a set of educational strategies specifically designed for students up to eight years old. There is also a subdivision of early childhood education that focuses on the development from birth until two years old. There is much debate within the field on whether or not this subdivision constitutes as care or education.

There are districts all over the country in the midst of battles to acquire funding for full-day preschool programs. If standardized testing is the way of the future, there is only a matter of time before there are kindergarten placement exams. The reason there is such a demand for preschool funding is that these years have become increasingly crucial for academic development.

The History of Early Childhood Education

The origins of the preschool concept can be traced back to Europe in the 1800’s. She  

believed young children should have an education outside the home, and this idea came 

over to America around the middle of the 19th century. The state of Wisconsin was the  

pioneer in legislation regarding preschool. In 1873, they became the first state in the 

union to start a school program for four-year-olds.

Several states followed Wisconsin’s lead over the next 50 years. In 1926, the National Association for the Education of Young Children was formed. This organization was created to ensure pre-kindergarten aged students a quality education to prepare them for kindergarten and beyond. This was the precursor to our modern early childhood education system. The Head Start program came along in 1965 and was the tipping point that revolutionized the system. It was originally started by the Department of Health and Human Services as a summer program for disadvantaged youth. Its function was to help students in low-income areas learn the skills necessary to succeed in the upcoming school year. Since then, the Head Start program has expanded into hundreds of cities and expanded their demographic to include children of all ages and income levels.

With the steady rise of standardized testing at younger and younger ages, the popularity of preschool has exploded. There are dozens of private preschools around the country that are using academically proven methods to help students learn academic and social skills in a way that does not also rob these children of their childhood.