Early Education - Bright Beginnings of Early Childhood Centre in England - Case Study Example

Name Course Tutor Date Early Education Introduction Early education is the education that children obtain during their early years of their childhood. Early childhood is an important period for children to develop their cognitive functions and the cognitive development includes the development of language skills, motor skills, psychological cognitive and learning skills which are all influence by eternal factors that include the nature of education setting in which a child is exposed to during their first years of his/her life (Elliot 2006, Pg 5). According to Elliot (2006 Pg 6), early education contributes greatly in a child’s formal education. Several studies have shown that early childhood education greatly contributes in preparing children for primary school and there is evidence that school readiness is a vital predictor of early school accomplishment (Montgomery 2004, Pg 10). In addition, early benefits from school readiness from early education have vast positive financial and social effects that last even during adulthood, resulting from higher educational achievement and reduced probability of being involved in crimes, to good employment and good pays (Montgomery 2004 12). Gifford (2008, Pg 62) further argues that social skills along with motivations can be altered easily in toddlers and that these two attributes largely affects the school performance. According to Heckman, children with strong social skills and motivation have a higher likelihood of acquiring higher education and thus it is extremely important to invest in early education since learning is a dynamic process that is most efficient when it starts during early years (Elliott 2006, Pg 42). The human resource should hire staff with the required professional skills in children such as requiring all teachers and caregiver in early education institutions to have college degrees and the necessary child training (Gifford 2008, Pg 40). Early education centers should emphasize on plays because effective child’s learning can be accomplished through play (Piaget 1963 Pg 25). Piaget (1963) explains that play during the early years meets the physical, intellectual, language, emotional and social needs (PILES) of children. However, since the interest of a child influences the types of play a child engages in and thus influences the development of skills in various it is vital for early education teachers to promote the development of the children using different kinds of plays every other day. Piaget (1963) further argues that children learn more effectively and obtain more skills and knowledge using activities based on plays like dramas, art as well as social games. This argument comes from the fact that children are naturally curious and imaginative and this allows topic lessons to take place. Major issues of play entail a safe and healthy atmosphere, spacious environment, appropriate supervision, good quality of care, and the attitudes of the early education teachers, in addition to children’s cultural awareness (Brooks-Gunn 2003, Pg 4-6). Early education was founded on philosophical basis that early education curriculum and practice is supposed to be integrated to the growing requirements, capabilities as well as interests of the children. This is the principle that was used by Friedrich Froebel to develop the first early education program that was extensively taken up in Europe and overseas as well. The early education program was boosted by the industrial revolution but early childhood education was perceived as important in the education ladder after the Second World War (Almy 1975, 20-22). Early education institutions were first started within the 19th century which mostly drew from the models of Froebel, Pestalozzi, Montessori, as well as the activities of missionaries. The kindergartens and nurseries became popular within 1950s as families sought improved readiness for school and break form daily parenting as most of the parents started working. Child care centers began as charitable organisations within late 19th and early 20th with the aim of improving health and nutrition of children, especially from poor households (Ainley & Fleming 2003, Pg 35). Within the early 1980s, there was so much lobbying for women to get in labor-force and hence early education almost became a requirement especially in developed countries. By mid 1980s, early childhood sector was gaining recognition where even child care lobbyists encouraged the rights of working women to have child care within safe and enriching settings. Recently, there has been much lobbying worldwide regarding the significance of early childhood programs to children’s lives. Today, in many countries there is universal early childhood care and early education for children (Ainley & Fleming 2003, Pg 40-42) Bright Beginnings Early Childhood Centre in England Bright Beginnings is a non-profit institution in England that provides care and early education to children and was started more than 20 years ago. The institution has professional teachers and caregivers who plan early learning of the children according to each child’s interests (Bright Beginnings 2014). In regard to the curriculum at Bright Beginnings, planned and spontaneous experiences are offered to the children. Their curriculum normally focuses on observation and plays and thus they are able to plan activities that promote the development of children. Bright Beginnings uses Ontario Early Learning Framework that guides the institution in making sure that children practice life-ling skills such as social skills, problem solving skills and as well as communication skills. Each child learns according to his/her pace and teaching is normally done in small groups to make sure that every child is heard and feels connected to the teacher. Creative talents are fostered through provision of materials that enable children to utilize their imagination and hence develop skills like fine motor and problem solving skills. Families are also considered in children’s learning because families are the ones that know their children best (Bright Beginnings 2014). The programs offered include for infants (3-18 months), Toddlers (18-31 months), as well as preschoolers (2.5 years and older). Teachers develop specific child profile and every profile has a selection of child’s artwork, pictures of various activities, developmental checklists, individual objectives, milestones, in addition to child’s observations. The developmental checklist is updates regularly and shared with families and families are involved in reviewing their children’s portfolios (Bright Beginnings 2014). The infant room normally has up to ten children and there are three teachers who work with the children and a program supervisor who is responsible of making sure that children’s timetables are followed and also spends time with the children. families complete a feeding chart prior to the beginning of care to make sure that children only gets foods that they are familiar with and then daily recordings containing eating, sleeping and diapering information are sent to the children’s families. Teachers spend most of the time with the children on the floor and bonding with them. Plays and communication are the most aspects that teachers concentrate on. Toddlers have two groups with approximately ten children in every group. Every group has 2 teachers where both play and learning are emphasized. The vocabulary of the children is developed through plays such as labeling actions, feelings as well as objects. Daily recordings containing eating, sleeping and diapering information are sent to the children’s families. For toddlers, verbal conversations are also recorded to show verbal development (Bright Beginnings 2014). Just like toddlers, there are two preschool groups where one group can have about sixteen children with two teachers. The interests, skills and development levels are used in planning children’s activities by observing their milestones. Preschool children are taught regarding cooperation, problem solving, taking turns, negotiation, following directions and how to get along with others. Teachers work on these skills together with cognitive skills to support pre-reading and pre-math skill for school readiness. Families are also involved in their children’s learning (Bright Beginnings 2014). Soong Ching Ling Kindergarten in China Soong Ching Ling Kindergarten is located in Shanghai China and was established in 1991 and admits children aged between 2 to 6 years. The kindergarten provides learning opportunities for children by offering excellent facilities and physical environment, curriculum as well as Mandarin Chinese lessons. The institution curriculum is based on the English National curriculum (Soong Ching Ling Kindergarten 2014). There are qualified educators with teachers with college degree in childhood education and professional in Chinese language. There are 22 classes and every class has a native English speaking teacher who must have a degree in early childhood education as well as qualified Chinese teachers. In addition, there are 22 Chinese teaching assistants which means, that every class has a teaching assistant (Soong Ching Ling Kindergarten 2014). The class size consists of maximum of 17 children in nursery classes while in kindergarten and Montessori a class contains a maximum of 22 children. The ratio of teachers to children in nursery is 1:6 while in kindergarten and Montessori is 1:7. The school hours are between 8.30 AM to 3 PM for all children. Children are also involved in plays for cognitive development and mostly after school activities include short tennis, ballet, drumming, pinyin, King Fu, Lego, as well as painting. In addition, the school facilities include playgrounds where children mostly conduct their plays, library, clay room where children learn various skills using clay, swimming pool as well as construction room for big block and play. The school facilities indicate that the institution supports plays for children which are very important in early development of children’s cognitive and social skills (Soong Ching Ling Kindergarten 2014). The fee structure Soong Ching Ling Kindergarten at is as follows: Nursery Nursery half-day 63,000 RMB per year Nursery half-day with lunch 70,000 RMB per year RMB; Nursery full-day 100,000 RMB per year Snack/Lunch Fees: half-day 3000 RMB per year Snack/Lunch Fees: full-day 7500 RMB per year Kindergarten, Reception, Year one, Montessori 120,000RMB per year. Snack/Lunch Fees: 7500 per year Miscellaneous Fees Kindergarten 1000 RMB Reception 5000 RMB Year one 6000 RMB Montessori 3year olds 3000 RMB Montessori 4 year olds 4000 RMB The curriculum at Soong Ching Ling Kindergarten is structured on four main aspects to make sure that children develop and grow as a whole: Social: To ensure social development of children, children communicate both verbally and nonverbally with other children in order for them to engage the world around them. The children are thus able to make new friends, are confident, gain self-esteem and also gain negotiating skills that are very important for a lifetime strong relationships. Emotional: Emotional development is ensured where children enjoy a safe nurturing when their parents are away. The children are taught how to build trusting relationships and value individuality as well (Soong Ching Ling Kindergarten 2014). Physical: The kindergarten focuses on physical health and welfare of the children by focusing on motor-skill development, coordination, mobility in addition to exercises which assist children to have a healthy body for a lifetime. Intellectual: The early education strategies in this kindergarten focuses on assisting the develop brain power through supporting the development of critical thinking, memory, judgment as well as language using various age-suitable cognitive activities. This is done using reading, writing and math, which are vital and children learn through experiencing the world around them (Soong Ching Ling Kindergarten 2014). Early Education in China Over the past few years, China has dedicated rising attention to developing a policy in early childhood education. Although currently China does not have an early education policy, the country has established guidelines and regulations that guide early education. For instance, there is a Medium- and Long-Term Education Development Plan Outline, which establishes the targets for attaining pre-school conscription for children aged between 0-4 years. Additionally, the Ministry of Education in china has set guidelines for children aged between 2-5years which sets the developmental stages and thus enumerates suitable education interventions for the children. Currently, there are numerous efforts being channeled in developing an early childhood education law (Naidoo 2004, Pg 8-10). Statistics indicates that early education has grown considerably in China. There are 2 key forms of early education programs for children aged below 4 years, namely: a standard 3 year program known as kindergarten and a 1 year program that is normally linked to primary schools. In 2004, the gross enrollment in early education institutions increased from 49% to 63% in 2012 (Hendricks 2013, Pg 6). Similarly, early education enrollment in private schools has risen in the last few years. Nonetheless, early education in China still gets comparatively modest support from the government. For instance, early education enrollment accounts for 13% of the entire education enrollment in the country yet the government only allocates 2% of the total national education budget. Therefore, early education mostly depends on private schools that contribute to about 59% of the entire early education funds (Hendricks 2013, Pg 8). Basically, the significance of early education has not been fully recognized in Chinese society. The lack of knowledge regarding the impact of early education on the school readiness has led to several parents in China not prioritizing early education for their children. The state of early education in China is much worse in rural areas. This is because there is big difference in early education between urban and rural areas where in urban China about 95 percent of children attend early education institutions while in rural areas early education enrollment is only at 50 percent (Sohu News, 2009). In pooper rural areas, the enrollment rate is much lower probably at 24 percent. A 2012 REAP study indicated that only about 20% or lower of children in Northwest and Central provinces were enrolled in early education institutions (Hendrick 2013, Pg 42). Institutional Setting in China One reason why there is a very big gap in early education in China is due to disparities in institutional setting. Most of early education institutions in China are private because the Chinese government offers only small support for early childhood education. There are no government compensation curriculums such as Head Start in USA that assist families and their children to obtain early education. Accordingly, in urban areas where the income level is much better when compared to rural setting, most families pay for their children’s early education in private institutions. Additionally, there are few early education institutions in rural areas where even in an event parents decided to save enough money to send their children in early education institutions in rural areas, the available pre-school institutions are very far and in most cases, the early education institutions might be unavailable altogether (Naidoo 2004, Pg 25-26). Problems with Early Education in China According to Zigler (2013, Pg 8), a successful early education program is supposed to integrate adequate care and involve family and pre-school caregivers with educational motivation. Interpersonal relationships between the children, teachers and parents are very important in establishing the children’s social and intellectual skills. However, even though in most urban early educational institutions in China it is very costly, these institutions provide comparatively low quality early childhood education. The main objective in early education institutions in China is to offer children with physical safety and care when their parents are away (Zigler 2013, Pg 12). Therefore, the important educational elements necessary for early childhood development are not given the required consideration. Although China does not have a national syllabus, several early education institutions in the country have a common curriculum that does not give much consideration to playtime and studying. As Zigler (2013, Pg 8) puts it, the common teaching method in early education institutions in China is through recitation jointly while in classes even though research indicates that children during their early education are supposed to learn using plays and other hands-on experience (Zigler 2013, Pg 12). Traditionally, learning in early education institutions in China emphasizes regimentation and obedience training. The concept of supervising and controlling children is what most Chinese preschool teachers use with the aim of maintaining order and disciplining children in their classes. Such a concept has less efficient in preparing children for school and can also impact negatively on early development of the children. Whereas there might be improvements in early education syllabus in private early educational institutions in urban areas in China, there is less evidence indicating that much has transformed within early educational institutions in China’s rural areas (Melhuish 2008, Pg 40-42). Another problem with early education in China is that teachers and caregiver within early educational institutions do not the required expertise. Whereas the early educational institutions in urban areas have teachers whose skills varies from secondary training or less up to college education, it is much worse in rural area. Most early education teachers in rural setting only have training from vocational middle/high schools. Teachers with college education mostly attend non-child education majors. Still, in most cases teachers do not have any training allied to child development and new openings are very limited (Miyahara, 2013). Possibility of Building Early Education Centre in China It is possible to build an early education centre in China. This is because in China especially in urban areas parents have realized the worth of early education and also in rural Chinese areas there is an unavailability of early educational institutions such that even if parents decided to enroll their children the available early education institutions are maybe very far or are totally unavailable therefore necessitating the need for establishing early education centers in China (MacNaughton 2012, Pg 30). China has 300 million school aged children and thus education takes as much as 200 billion yuan which makes education China’s most profitable enterprise. As shown by the income statements of the analyzed kindergarten and the fees charged, setting an early education centre in China can be very profitable. For instance, in Beijing a kindergarten can charge as high as 70, 000 yuan because the government does not contribute much towards early education. Miscellaneous fee which includes support fee, uniform fee, physical education fee and such is also included. In addition, parents are readily willing to support reforms in early education and hence soliciting support from parents and other is easy (Zigler 2013, Pg 8). Even in urban areas is common for parents to miss vacancies for their children in the best kindergartens because most of the time the best early education centers are full without spaces. Sometimes classes are full and parents are forced to pay application fees for their children to ensure their children’s place but they still have to wait for a few months for a vacancy in the kindergartens that offer the recommended early education. This is replicated in rural areas where even though the early educational centers do not offer high quality early education, the opportunities are almost totally unavailable (Zigler 2013, Pg 9-10). The demand for high quality early education continues to increase dramatically in China and this is in spite that such early education centers are very expensive. For instance, most kindergartens charge application fee of about 5,000 yuan and 5,500 yuan monthly fee in internationally run early education centers while locally run public early educational centers charge about 500 yuan to 1,700 monthly, and this is not including miscellaneous fees. After a child is accepted in most kindergartens, the application fee is used to buy fees for the children (MacNaughton 2012, Pg 30-32). To build a good early education center in China, one needs about 800 square meter space which can hold a two floor building, playground, about 200 children in about 10 classes. Each class of between 10 to 20 children can be taught and managed by 3 teachers who hold college degrees and also competent in English. In most cases, each class should have an assistant teacher. The teaching strategy in the early education center can be based on Montessori approach and thus follow the teaching strategy founded on research done by early 20th century educationist Maria Montessori. In China, more than 300 early education centers use Montessori approach (MacNaughton 2012, Pg 45). The increasing wealth and rising personal incomes among Chinese citizens is one factor contributing to increased demand for high quality education in China and this includes high quality early education. There is growing demand for early education in major towns in China and therefore the potential for this market is extremely profitable and attractive for domestic investors as well as foreign investors. In addition, qualified teachers who teach in these institutions earn high pays in China necessitating the need to have well educated teachers in reading to early childhood education. For instance, the head teacher in early education centers in China can get a salary of more than 400,000 yuan annually (Grey 2010, Pg 2). The middle and upper class parents in China want their children to be very independent, creative and elegant where they can even speak fluent English and thus most early education centers encourage life skills and team spirits as well as preparing children effectively in readiness for school. In addition, there is increasing need for parents in China to want to establish a solid foundation for their children and offer the children a foundation where they can study anywhere in the world without any language barriers and the difficulties associated with living outside the country and thus most Chinese parents trust high quality early education centers, especially the ones offering English language. Therefore, it is paramount to use English often in order to develop language skills in children. Plays and extracurricular activities as well as communication skills should really be encouraged within early education institutions (MacNaughton 2012, Pg 52). To start an early education center in China, the Chinese Ministry of Education requires one to have adequate finances, qualified teachers, school facilities and housing as well. Most of the middle class and upper class parents in China are busy working during the day and hence they opt to send their children to early education centers rather than employing nannies at home, which increase the market for early education. The shortage of available places in early education centers in urban China as well as total unavailability of education centers in rural areas, coupled with a limited number of early education centers in China presents a potential market to start an early education center in China. What’s more, with most of the households having both parents working outside the home, early education has turned out to a vehicle for extensive profiteering (Grey 2010, Pg 3-5). Conclusion As the paper indicates, the early education center in England is non-profit while the one in China focuses on making profit and charges high fees to children. The early education centers that offer high quality education are very costly while the affordable ones in most cases do not offer the required early education. This is because in China there are inadequate early education institutions in urban areas and also in rural areas it is extremely difficult to get a good early education center. Still, there is increasing demand for early education in China by parents for their children especially in urban areas among middle and upper class parents. Therefore, the market for early education is very high in China not only in urban areas but also in rural areas where good early education centers are unavailable which makes it possible to start an early education center in China. This would mean recruiting qualified teachers with child training and establishing facilities that foster development of children such as play facilities. Cited Works Ainley, J., & Fleming, M. Five years on. Literacy advances in the primary years. Melbourne: Catholic Education Commission, 2003. Almy, M. The early childhood educator at work. New York: McGraw Hill, 1975. Bright Beginnings, Early Childhood Center, 2014, < http://brightbeginningscentre.ca/>. Brooks-Gunn, J. Do you believe in magic? What we can expect from early childhood intervention programs. Social Policy Report: Giving Child and Youth Development Knowledge Away, 17, 3–14, 2003. Elliott, A. Early childhood teacher education students’ career destinations and aspirations. 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