Preschool education is the provision of education for children before the commencement of statutory education, usually between the ages of two and five, dependent on the jurisdiction. Preschool is also known as nursery school, day care or kindergarten (other than in the USA, where kindergarten is part of the statutory education system, preceding first grade).

Developmental areas

The areas of development which preschool education covers varies from country to country. However the following main 'themes' are represented in the majority of systems.

• Personal, social and emotional development
• Communication, including talking and listening
• Knowledge and understanding of the world
• Creative and aesthetic development
• Physical development
• Mathematical awareness and development

Ages for and importance of preschool education

Preschool is generally considered appropriate for children between three and five years of age, between the toddler and school stages. During this stage of development, children learn and assimilate information rapidly, and express interest and fascination in each new discovery. These qualities make them prime candidates for education, although most are not ready for structured primary or elementary education.

Universal preschool is an international movement that has made access to preschool available to families in a similar way to compulsory elementary education. Various jurisdictions and advocates have differing priorities for access, availability and funding sources.

Methods of preschool education

Some preschools have adopted specialized methods of teaching, such as Montessori, Waldorf, High Scope, The Creative Curriculum Reggio Emilia approach, Bank Street and various other pedagogies which contribute to the foundation of education.

In the United States most preschool advocates support the National Association for the Education of Young Children's Developmentally Appropriate Practices.

Day care

References

See also

• Child development
• Early childhood education
• Nursery school
• Universal preschool
• Comenius Foundation for Child Development

A nursery school is a school for children between the ages of three and five, staffed by qualified teachers and other professionals who encourage and supervise educational play rather than simply providing childcare. It is generally considered part of early childhood education. In some jurisdictions the provision of nursery school services is on a user pays or limited basis while some governments fund nursery school services.

Names

Advantages

The reasons given include the importance of early years in cognitive development, the trouble many families have in providing adequate early-childhood nurturing, and the advantage such programs give students starting the next step in their education. The study considered a number of early childhood educational pilot programs for at risk children, similar to Head Start, but more intense, such as the Perry Project in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Over 40 years of the children's lives, participants showed greater literacy, higher grades, greater likelihood to graduate high school, higher post-high school employment rates, higher earnings, less need for welfare, committed less crime, and had lower rates of teen pregnancy. The rate of returns to the children was estimated to be 16 percent (about 3/4 of this is calculated from the decreased social cost due to lower crime and less prison spending).

The authors also propose that the return on investment declines with age. This study is significant because it advocates spending as an economic investment in a societies future, rather than in the interest of justice.

United Kingdom

England

Each child in England at the first school term after their third birthday, is entitled to five two and a half hour sessions per week - in some counties this has gone up to 15 hours. This entitlement is funded by the government through the local county council. Pre-schools in England follow the Early Learning Goals for education produced by the Department for Children, Schools and Families which carries on into their first year of school at the age of four. This year of school is usually called Reception. The Early Learning Goals cover the main areas of education without being subject driven. These areas include

• Personal, social and emotional development
• Language, literacy and communication
• Mathematical development
• Knowledge and understanding of the world
• Physical development
• Creative development

Until the mid 1980s, nursery schools only admitted pupils in the final year (three terms) leading up to their admission to primary school, but pupils now attend nursery school for four or five terms.

Wales

Early years education in Wales is provided half-time for children aged 3-4 (Nursery) and full-time for those between the ages of 4 and 5 (Reception). Since 2005 it has been a statutory duty for all Local Education Authorities to secure sufficient nursery education in their area for children from the term following their third birthday.

Currently, the Early Years curriculum in Wales, produced by the Welsh Assembly Government Department for Children, Education, Life-long Learning and Skills,is set out in a booklet 'Desirable Outcomes for Children’s Learning Before Compulsory School Age’ . However, a new 'Foundation Phase' covering 3-7 year olds is being rolled out across Wales from 2008, with a focus on 'learning through play', which covers seven areas of learning:

• Personal and Social Development and Well Being
• Language, Literacy and Communication Skills
• Mathematical Development
• Bilingualism and Multi-cultural Understanding
• Knowledge and Understanding of the World
• Physical Development
• Creative Development

Scotland

In Scotland children are entitled to a place in a nursery class when they reach their third birthday. This gives parents the option of two years of funded pre-school education before beginning primary one, the first year of compulsory education. Nursery children who are three years old are referred to as ante-pre-school whilst children who are four years old are termed pre-school. Pre-school education in Scotland is planned around the document "A curriculum framework for children 3 to 5, which identifies learning intentions around the following five areas of development:

• Emotional, Personal and Social Development,
• Communication and Language,
• Knowledge and Understanding of the World,
• Expressive and Aesthetic Development,
• Physical Development and Movement

Responsibility for the review of care standards in Scottish nurseries rests with the Care Commission.

United States

Pre-school is defined as: "center-based programs for four-year olds that are fully or partially funded by state education agencies and that are operated in schools or under the direction of state and local education agencies".

Pre-schools, both private and school sponsored, are available for children aged from three to five. Many of these programs follow similar curriculum as pre-kindergarten.

Head Start program

The office of Economic Opportunity launched Project Head Start as an eight-week summer program in 1965. It was then transferred to the Office of Child Development in the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1969. Today it is a program within the Administration on Children, Youth and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services. Programs are administered locally by school systems and non-profit organizations.

• Services provided by Head Start
• Disabilities - All programs fully include children with disabilities
• Education - The goal of Head Start is to ensure that those children enrolled in the program are ready to begin school. Activities are geared towards skill and knowledge domains.
• Family and Community Partnerships - both groups are involved in the operation, governance and evaluation of the program.
• Health - Health is seen as an important factor in a child's ability to thrive and develop. The program provides screenings to evaluate a child's overall health, regular health check-ups, and good practices in oral health, hygiene, nutrition, personal care, and safety.
• Program Management and Operations - "focus on delivering high-quality child development services to children from low-income families."

See also

• Childcare
• Steve Biddulph, author of Raising Babies: Should Under 3s Go to Nursery? ISBN 0-00-722192-4
• Preschool education

References