Early Childhood Education is a term that refers to educational programs and strategies

geared toward children from birth to the age of eight. This time period is widely considered
the most vulnerable and crucial stage of a person's life.
Early childhood education often focuses on guiding children to learn through play. The term
often refers to preschool or infant/child care programs.

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webpage: early childhood education

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) defines early childhood as
occurring before the age of eight, and it is during this period that a child goes through the most rapid
phase of growth and development. Their brains develop faster than at any other point in their lives, so
these years are critical. The foundations for their social skills, self-esteem, perception of the world and
moral outlook are established during these years, as well as the development of cognitive skills.
Early childhood education is encouraged for the healthy development and nurturing of all these important
foundations, and trends show that parents are increasingly recognizing this. In fact, according to the
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), enrollment in prekindergarten-level education has risen
from 96,000 to over 1 million in the last 30 years.
Early childhood education is not mandated by the United States Department of Education. Elementary
and secondary education is all that is legally required for students, though early childhood education is
doubtlessly an important and fundamental stage of learning.

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Early Education for All
Updated on May 1, 2014

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Webpage title: what is early childhood education
Education and care for young children three-, four- and five-year-olds goes by many names:
child care, day care, nursery school, preschool, pre-kindergarten, and early education. It is
delivered in many settings: center-based, home-based or at the local public school, in urban,
suburban and rural communities. Some programs are part-time, part-year, while others offer fullday, full-year services. They can be privately run, either non-profit or for profit, or they can be
operated by the local school system or by a federally funded program such as Head Start.
Over the years, there has been much debate over which type of program qualifies as care and
which as education. Increasingly, child development research shows that -- regardless of the
setting -- quality early childhood education must include both warm, nurturing care and enriched
learning experiences designed to stimulate a childs development in all key developmental
areas: cognitive, physical, and social-emotional.1 Recent research provides clear evidence that
strong social-emotional development underlies all later growth and learning.2 A well-educated
and caring staff, high program standards, and a curriculum based on a childs developmental
needs are among the most important components of a high-quality early learning environment.

What Distinguishes High-Quality Early Childhood

Education?
The quality of the early childhood education a child receives has a direct impact on
positive child development in language and math skills, as well as social and
behavioral skills.3 While this quality can be delivered in a variety of settings from
family child care homes to public school programs to private preschools there are
certain characteristics that distinguish high-quality early learning settings:

Well-educated and caring teachers: Early childhood research draws a direct line
between program quality, the amount of specialized early childhood training a teacher
has received, and adequate compensation (which reduces turnover). Some college
training in child development is considered ideal, whether a Bachelors Degree,
Associates Degree, or a Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential.4 Current
teacher licensing standards in Massachusetts require only a high school diploma and
one course in Child Development, plus child care experience.

Program quality standards: Massachusetts licensing standards, set and

monitored by the Office of Child Care Services (OCCS), are among the strongest in the
country. They address program quality, as well as child health and safety. In addition to
licensing, however, programs and providers can seek national accreditation from the
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) for center- and
school-based programs, and from the National Association for Family Child Care

(NAFCC) for family providers. Accreditation means that providers have been
independently evaluated as meeting voluntary, more rigorous program standards.
Massachusetts currently has the highest percentage (31%) of NAEYC accredited
programs in the country.5 The NAFCC accreditation, along with the CDA Credential, is
increasingly popular with family child care providers.

Curriculum and activities: Many different curricula or teaching approaches can

create an enriched learning environment for children. Some core quality characteristics
include:

Well-planned: Whether a pre-designed model or homegrown, a curriculum

should reflect current research on child development and it should include specific
learning goals for children. Well-planned learning activities can also be embodied in a
particular philosophy or approach to early childhood education such as Montessori,
Reggio Emilia, or Waldorf Schools.

Based on a childs developmental needs: Activities, materials and

schedules should be appropriate to a childs ages and support all three key
developmental domains cognitive (language development and problem-solving skills),
physical (gross/fine motor development) and socialemotional (interactions with others in
a group)6 to childrens overall development.

Balanced: A good curriculum provides a balance of play and structured

activities, teacher-initiated and child-initiated exploration.
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-educationsystems/early-childhood/
unesco 2015
http://www.unesco.org/webpage: education

Early childhood is defined as the period from birth to eight years old. A time of
remarkable brain growth, these years lay the foundation for subsequent learning and
development.
UNESCO advocates for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programmes
that attend to health, nutrition, security and learning and which provide for childrens
holistic development. It organized the first World Conference on ECCE in September
2010, which culminated in the adoption of a global action agenda for ECCE
called Moscow Framework for Action and Cooperation: Harnessing the Wealth of
Nations. As a follow-up to the World Conference, UNESCO works in partnership with
Member States,partners and other stakeholders to encourage timely and effective
implementation of the Moscow Framework so that all young children develop their
potential to the fullest.