Early Child Care Education - Essay Example

Early Child Care Education Education of young children is extensively renowned as a critical factor in realizing their future success in schools since most of them are at risk of failure in schools if not properly guided on what to do. Emotional, physical and social development has an overall development of the child and the adult they are to become and equally plays a vital role in the success of the youths of the country (Decker & Decker, 2007). Several programs are put forward for children between the age of three and the entry age into kindergarten that clearly show that early childhood education is a meaningful venture. Early childhood education has both short term and long term effects which may include fewer pregnancies, less arrest and higher employments, and with good programmes and better planning, the child is better placed to succeed in life. These early childcare educational programs have many advantages of the child brain development which then improves their cognitive, social, physical and emotional development. The child begins to learn about their environments and the world around them from a very early age. Therefore, optimizing the early years of child’s life is the best investment to ensure a better future for these children (Freeman et al, 2014). The programs includes Child care centers or the long day care. It is meant for children below the school going age. They are put together in places specifically build and adapted for child care, and most are run by private operators, community organizations, local councils and non-governmental organizations. The program provides both part time, and all day care for the working families and at the same time they provide development programs within their programs. Meals are normally provided for these children (Freeman et al, 2014). Family day care is another program that is a network of experienced educators and careers who provide both care and development activities to their children alone in their homes. This program is generally meant for children who have not started school. The program also provides care for school children up to the age of 12 years, and care being flexible enough can be tailored to fit every family’s needs, either overnight or normal working hours if need be (Decker & Decker, 2007). There are specific guidelines for family health care homes if they serve a number of families over a definite threshold and if they operate beyond specific number of hours every month. Pre-school and kindergarten are planned educational programs for children before they join the school that may include ages between 3 and 5 years. The program takes place takes place in a range of settings, for example, in schools; purpose built buildings, in community settings or mobile or visit services. They follow a specific curriculum designed to provide children with early education experience preparing them for schools . Early Head Start is a program that was established under the 1994 Head Start Reauthorization Act with the aim of serving low-income pregnant women and families with toddlers and infants. The program is community based and family centred. Its curriculum is designed to facilitate the development of the child socially, physically, intellectually and emotionally (Freeman et al, 2014). The program gives support to parents in fulfilling their roles as parents and to aid them surge forward towards economic independence. The programs offers services like child care, nutrition, high quality early education in and out of homes, family support services, home visits and parent education, and also comprehensive health and mental health services, including services for pregnant and post-partum women. Head Start program provides comprehensive services to development for the preschool children between the age of 3 and 5 years but from low-income families. The program curriculum is designed to gives services in four distinct areas which include social services, education, health and parent involvement services (Decker & Decker, 2007). Even Start is a program that was initiated by the U.S. Department of Educations Even Start Family Literacy Program to give parents instructions in varied of literacy skills and help them in improving their children educational development. The program is designated to provide participating parents with an integrated program of adult basic education, parenting education and early childhood education. Corporate child care program is a kind of child care managed by the employer, and the program may be part of the cooperate social responsibility of the company’s policy. The program gives the parents opportunity to balance their work with the child care and life (Freeman et al, 2014). The main aim of this program is to create more time for the parents and their children at the same time increasing the employees loyalty, improves job concentration and decrease maternity leaves. Faith-based child care centres are of three types; faith-affiliated child care programs that report affiliation with a particular church, mosque, temple, synagogue or other faith-based groups; faith housed child care program which are located in the buildings belonging to faith-based organisations for examples the churches, mosques and temples. The program may be affiliated to or not to the faith-based organisation that houses them, and faith infused child care centers which provide religious instructions including worship services and prayers. These programs are put forward to facilitate the spiritual development of the children as they prepare to join schools and also to improve their relationship with their environment. Childcare Laboratory schools programs are designed to promote the general development of the child wholly and to concentrate on children as unique individuals and to allow them to develop at their own pace. Play to the children is considered as a direct way to learning, creativity and problem-solving opportunities. Also, partnership with parents is an essential component in realizing a collaborating team for the aim of cultural awareness and raising parents to become responsible and productive individuals. The curriculum is definitely based on health, sense of security and success, trust in adult and peers and also in their social and emotional development. Private for-profit child care program centre are private businesses that involve people who offer child care services in their homes. The child is trained on the physical, emotional and cognitive developments, and it’s done either in partnership or cooperation. The program allows the owner or the operator to make key decisions and keep excess revenue as profit. All the programs stresses on the sociological aspect of life and as stated by Vygotskys theoretical framework in his sociological theory, the social interaction plays a vibrant role in the development of cognition as it states that every function in the cultural development of a child appears twice i.e. on the social and on the individual level (interpsychological and intrapsychological). It helps information of concepts, development of logical memory, and voluntary concept of the child. The theory also explains consciousness as the final product of socialization (Decker & Decker, 2007). Reference Decker, C. A., & Decker, J. R. (2007). Planning and administering early childhood programs. Columbus: C.E. Merrill Pub. Co. Freeman, N. K., Decker, C. A., & Decker, J. R. (2014). Planning and administering early childhood programs. Gestwicki, C., Bertrand, J., & Gestwicki, C. (2012). Essentials of early childhood education. Toronto: Nelson Education Ha, Y. (2008). The role of child care subsidies in the economic well-being of low-income families Persky, B., Golubchick, L. H., Doctorate Association of New York Educators, & American Federation of Teachers. (2006). Early childhood education. Lanham: University Press of America. (Gestwicki et al, 2012) Read More