The Benefits Of Early Childhood Education: Setting The Foundation For Success

The learning of the child starts from the very beginning of life even though it is not observable in the infant age and that’s why learning and development have been quoted as a  lifelong process. The education is initially informal but formal education is required after attaining a certain age.

Do you know at which period a child has maximum potential for maximum development of the personality? Well, up to 8, a child's growth capacity is quite high and they can grasp more comparably. So providing education during these years is the responsibility of the country.

In this post, a discussion will be made on early childhood education which is important for setting the foundation for success in life.

What is early childhood education?

Early childhood refers to the period from birth to 8 years old which is an important phase from the point of view of the development of the child, so specific educational programs and experiences are framed for this purpose which is known as early childhood education.

It is constructed on the basis of several theories and concepts related to child psychology and development and the main concept behind this is that during these years a rapid growth of the brain is observed in a child which can be capitalised with external efforts. So it should be made sure that the child receives proper nurturing and care at this time. 

The global condition of early childhood education

The global stats show that even though early childhood education is very crucial and has been made a right still it is not implemented as effectively as it should be. These stats are –

• The stats of UNESCO show that 1 out of 4 children aged 5 have never taken any form of pre-primary education which represents 35 million out of 137 million 5-year-old children worldwide.
• In 2021, only 22% of United Nations Member States have made pre-primary education compulsory, and only 45% provide at least one year of free pre-primary education. Thus only 46 countries have adopted free and compulsory pre-primary education in their laws.
• The number of tutors is already lower than the ideal requirement and with increasing populations, the ideal pupil-teacher ratio will be 20 to 1, for which the world will need 9.3 million new pre-primary teachers to meet the universal target for pre-primary education by 2030.

Benefits of early childhood education 

• Development of cognitive aspects – 

Cognitive aspects refer to the mental processes and abilities of children which influence the way in which they think, understand and learn things. Cognitive development is the maturation of skills and functions which are related to these aspects in children.

Education in early childhood boosts this development in children by creating an environment that has the necessary stimulating factors. With the help of activities such as puzzles, storytelling, dictation, etc. students are able to develop attention, problem-solving abilities, memory retention, language, communication, etc.

• Development of emotional aspects –

When children start growing they begin to develop various emotions such as anger, joy, sadness, fear, etc. at the initial stages. After reaching early childhood even more are inculcated like shyness, surprise, shame, guilt and many more. It is important to have control over them to make for the proper development of personality.

With the help of early education, an atmosphere can be built that fosters the ability to recognise and handle their emotions. They are given learning which improves their emotional intelligence so that they can express themselves according to the situations around them. 

• Development of sociocultural aspect –

This aspect refers to the social and cultural influences on a child which play an important role in determining the point of view a child has for society and different cultures as well as how he approaches them. The values, beliefs, behaviours, identity etc. all are constituents of sociocultural aspects.

Early childhood education ensures that children foster understanding and acceptance of the diversity in society by providing an environment which is inclusive, and culturally diverse and promotes equality. This also helps in making them aware of their as well as other’s beliefs, values, identity etc. 

• Development of educational aspects –

This aspect refers to the phase that includes learning from both formal and informal settings. To make good progress in higher education it is essential to have a strong foundation which can be laid by a good early education. So to develop skills, knowledge, abilities etc. is essential to begin studies at the right age.

Thus with early education other aspects such as cognitive, emotional, social, cultural etc. are developed which altogether help in the growth of educational aspects in later ages. 

• Development of economic aspect –

Though this aspect is not related to children directly but at a later age it will be  crucial for them and the betterment of future generations is hugely dependent on it. When children are able to have a good education in childhood their higher education will be good enough. This will help them to build a good career and attain economic stability which will make their future secure, eventually developing their economic aspect. 

Conclusion 

Early childhood education has been given due importance throughout the world because the future of a child is hugely influenced by it. The discussion of its developmental aspects which are cognitive, emotional, sociocultural, educational and economic we can conclude easily that a child’s personality, beliefs, intelligence, thinking, knowledge, etc. are shaped by early childhood education. Thus effective measures should be taken globally to make it available to every child so that a better world can be created. One thing you really need to understand is that the burden of homework or assignments impacts a child’s productivity in school. Taking online Assignment Help is a lifeguard in many ways, such as getting better grades, good working attitude and gaining knowledge as well.