MEd in Curriculum & Instruction: Early Childhood Education (ECE)

As more states begin to prioritize and provide early childhood education programs to meet the needs of millions of children, access to and awareness of these programs and their benefits are adversely impacted by location and socio-economic status.

• In 2015, some 38% of 3-year-olds, 67% of 4-year-olds, and 87% of 5-year-olds were enrolled in pre-primary programs.
  —Preschool and Kindergarten Enrollment National Center for Education Statistics (Last updated: April 2017)
• Among 3- to 5-year-olds who were enrolled in preschool programs in 2015, some 51% attended full-day programs.
  —Preschool and Kindergarten Enrollment National Center for Education Statistics (Last updated: April 2017)
• Among 3- to 5-year-olds attending kindergarten, the percentage attending full-day programs increased from 60% in 2000 to 81% in 2015.
  —Preschool and Kindergarten Enrollment National Center for Education Statistics (Last updated: April 2017)
• In 2015, a lower percentage of Hispanic 3- to 5-year-olds (30%) were enrolled in preschool programs than of 3- to 5-year olds who were White (40%) or Black (39%)
  —Preschool and Kindergarten Enrollment National Center for Education Statistics (Last updated: April 2017)
• Forty-two states and the District of Columbia had public pre-kindergarten programs, serving a total of 1.35 million children in the 2014-15 school year.
  – Steven W. Barnett, Alison H. Friedman-Krauss, Rebecca Gomez, Michelle Horowitz, G.G. Weisenfeld, Kristy Clarke Brown, and James H. Squires, The State of Preschool 2015: State Preschool Yearbook (New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research, 2016).

• In 2014, 55% of 3- and 4-year-olds in the United States were enrolled in school, compared to the average enrollment of 79% for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
  —Preschool and Kindergarten Enrollment National Center for Education Statistics (Last updated: April 2017)
• Each year, almost 4 million children enter kindergarten in the United States. 

  —U.S. Department of Education, A Matter of Equity, April 2015

Early Childhood Education is more important than ever for closing our nation’s achievement gap and preparing young learners to succeed in school and in life.

• “The early years of a child’s schooling provide a solid foundation for future learning and their lives as citizens. Researchers say that the human brain develops most of its neurons, and is most receptive to learning, between birth and three years old. The learning of new information helps form neural pathways.”
  —Institute of Medicine. 2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 
• “Early intervention into the minds, bodies, and emotions of children suggests long-term benefits.” Children who attended high-quality preschool were more successful in school “academically, socially, and emotionally”… and there were fewer placements in special education.
  —Linda Bakken, Nola Brown & Barry Downing (2017) Early Childhood Education: The Long-Term Benefits, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 31:2, 255-269, DOI
• A longitudinal study of the The Chicago Child-Parent Centers program reported a 29% increase in high school graduation rates by age 20 among its participants who attended preschool.  
  — Reynolds, A. J., Temple, J. A., Robertson, D. L., & Mann, E. A. (2001, May 9). Long-term effects of an early childhood intervention on educational achievement and juvenile arrest: A 15-year follow-up of low-income children in public schools. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 2339-2346.

• By age 24, the people served by the Chicago CPC were 20% less likely to have served time in a jail or prison.
  — Reynolds, A. (2007). Paths of influence from preschool intervention to adult well-being: Age 24 findings from the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Society for Research in Child Development, March 31, 2007, Boston, MA.

• A longitudinal study of Michigan’s Great Start Readiness program reported a 35% increase in high school graduation rates.
  — Michigan Great Start Readiness Program evaluation 2012: High school graduation and grade retention findings. Retrieved here. 
• The Perry Preschool Program saw a 44% increase in graduation rates by age 40. The study also found that adults who attended the preschool program achieved higher income, committed fewer crimes and were more likely to be employed than adults who did not attend preschool
  — Schweinhart, L.J., Montie, J., Xiang, Z., Barnett, W.S., Belfield, C.R., & Nores, M. (2005). Lifetime effects: The High/ Scope Perry Preschool study through age 40. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press
• Pennsylvania’s Preschool Counts Public Private Partnership program cut—from 22% to 4%—the portion of children at risk for problematic social and self-control behavior.
  — Bagnato, S., Salaway, J., & Suen, H. (2009). Preschool Counts in Pennsylvania for Youngsters’ Early School Success: Authentic Outcomes for an Innovative Prevention and Promotion Initiative. Retrieved here.
• Children’s vocabulary skills are linked to their economic backgrounds. By 3 years of age, there is a 30 million word gap between children from the wealthiest and poorest families. “In four years, an average child in a professional family would accumulate experience with almost 45 million words, an average child in a working-class family 26 million words, and an average child in a welfare family 13 million words.”
  — The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3 — By Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley
• When it comes to early childhood education programs, quality is critical. High-quality preschool gives children a strong start on the path that leads to college or a career. Research shows that all children benefit from high-quality preschool, with low-income children and English learners benefiting the most.
  —Hirokazu Yoshiwaka et al., Investing in Our Future: The Evidence Base on Preschool Education, Foundation for Child Development, 2013.

“Kindergarten teachers will tell you that the students who are ready to learn are those who come into school with good social and behavior-management skills,” Linda Smith, executive director of the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies says. Early childhood education prepares young learners for their years of schooling and begins building the mental and cognitive skills necessary for life. Skills include:

• School readiness
• Phonological awareness
• Letter knowledge
• Numeracy and counting skills
• Verbal expression
• Emotional skills and self-regulation
• Language skills
• Inquiry
• Persistence
• Social skills
• Executive functions
• Metacognition/self-reflection
• Concentration
• Pretend play
• Empathy
• Literacy
• Imagination

Leseman P. Preschool and Learning-Related Skills. In: Tremblay RE, Boivin M, Peters RDeV, eds. Melhuish E, topic ed. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development Published December 2012.

In our Early Childhood concentration, you’ll review pedagogical and practical methods and theory for use in the ECE classroom. You’ll learn:

• The history and future of Early Childhood Education
• Instructional strategies and classroom management for the ECE classroom
• How to facilitate child-centered learning and implementing authentic assessment practices
• The relationship between play and learning for young children
• The development of literacy skills in young children, ages 0-8
• Assessment and evaluation in the ECE classroom
• How to integrate character themes and character development into school curriculum
• Cognitive science, learning theory, and relevant teaching theories
• Current educational reforms and issues from the perspective of prevailing educational research