Tuesday

Early childhood education in world

In most industrialized countries, access to early childhood education is a statutory right from age three.Finding affordable, quality early childhood education is growing increasingly difficult. More and more, both parents are forced to work—making early education a care-related issue as well.
In the industrialized world, free or partially-funded early childhood education programs are more often the rule and not the exception.
So let see where we are, Mongolian early childhood education? To be continued...




Defining Early Childhood Education
When Early Childhood Education starts and ends is a bit of a debate. Despite the variances, most nations recognize the importance of educational programs catering to children in preschool years. The first five years of a child's cognitive development shape his ability to think for the rest of his life, and several studies confirm this finding. Wayne State neurobiologist Harold Chugani points out that the school-age brain almost "glows" with energy consumption, burning at 225 percent of the adult levels of glucose. Children make as many as 12,000 connections per second, creating an environment ripe for learning.

Australia

In Australia, early childhood education covers the years from kindergarten (beginning at age four) to year three (approximately age seven). The first two years of schooling are not compulsory or state-funded. However, some fees are subsidized by a Child Care Benefit (CCB), which is available if a child attends a government-approved program. Low-income families can receive a higher percentage of CCB, which in some cases may completely cover costs.
There is no coherent Australian national policy on preschool education to ensure that all Australian children are able to exercise their right to a free, public, high quality preschool education. In general it would appear that about 90 percent of Australian children access a preschool education. There is no clear national data, since there are inconsistencies of structure and nomenclature, and inconsistent and incomplete figures at a national level. The reality is that if the definition of preschool education incorporates a requirement for qualified teachers and education workers, the proportion missing out is likely to be much higher than that.

Canada

Education is very important in Canada. In fact, Canada spends more per capita on its education system than most industrialized countries. However, until recently the country did not offer funding or subsidies for early childhood education programs and parents were struggling—as in the US and Australia—to find the funds to pay for early childhood education and care.
On March 13, 2003, the Federal, Provincial, Territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services decided to build on the Early Childhood Development Agreement (ECDA) by agreeing to supplement funding of ECDA programs. The Government of Canada is providing funds totaling $800 million (Canadian) over five years to support provincial and territorial government investments in regulated programs for children under six. This is the closest that governments in Canada have come to agreeing on a national early child education and care program.
As noted by Jane Stewart, Minister of Human Resources, this agreement is working to "improve access to affordable, quality, provincially, and territorially regulated child care and early learning right across the country."

China

The children of China attend kindergarten from the age of three to five. Government regulations from 1981 dictate three separate learning levels: juniors (three-year-olds), middle (four-year-olds), and seniors (five-year-olds). The country has also set rules and regulations outlining the qualifications of kindergarten teachers.
A variety of sources provide funding for Chinese kindergarten programs—some are government-funded or government-licensed private and neighborhood programs, and others are the responsibility of work units (government-operated communities where families both work and live together—such as in a college or factory setting).
These programs tend to center on a group of children, rather than one-on-one teacher-child interaction. "Both its socialist ideals and Confucian traditions may help explain the persistence of the whole group, teacher-directed emphasis, rather than the use of individual choices and creative self-expression," writes JoAn Vaughan, a professor at Stephens College.

France

Public education in France is free, and 80 percent of children attend public schools. The remaining 20 percent largely attend private Catholic schools. Preschool is available to children two to six years old. Because preschool programs are free, nearly 100 percent of all three-year-olds attend école maternelle or preschool. These early childhood schools have a mission to help each child grow, develop independence and gain the skills necessary for future learning. The maternelle schools take advantage of the capacity of the child to imitate and invent through the pleasure of play. They instill in children a desire to learn and provide diverse experiences to enrich comprehension. The blossoming of each child happens by developing his/her strengths and talents and teaching him/her to think creatively.
Maternelle schools are sensitive to learning styles and the stages of child development. Children are divided into three sections; petite section for children starting at age two, moyenne section for children ages three and four, and grande section for children ages five and six. Although this is a multi-age program wherein some activities are conducted with the entire group, most activities are separate.

Germany

In Germany early childhood education is affordable and universally accessible to families while not encumbered by the bureaucracy of being part of the state education system.
Hyde Flippo summed up the German early childhood landscape in his book, The German Way. "Kindergarten (literally "children's garden") is both a German word and a German invention." [Friedrich Froebel's kindergarten pre-school educational philosophy has been widely adopted around the world. It is "…somewhat ironic to discover that kindergarten in Germany is not usually part of the state-supported school system (except in former East Germany), even though about 85 percent of German youngsters between the ages of three and six attend voluntary community and church-supported kindergartens."

Italy

Italy is one of the top-ranking nations for early childhood education services. The scuola materne, a ten-month early childhood education program with eight-hour "school" days, is funded by the national government. The program serves children ages three to six and follows strict government-enforced guidelines.
Based on the philosophy of the Maternelle began in France, the Italian program strives to develop children's knowledge, reduce child poverty, promote attention to children in accordance with the UN Convention on children's rights, to increase the participation of children (and adolescents) in social life, to prevent the exploitation of children, and to promote the development of services for children.

Japan

"The system of early childhood education in Japan is quite extensive," writes Susan D. Halloway in the Early Childhood Research & Practice journal. "Over 90 percent of Japanese children attend at least two years of a youchien (licensed preschool) or hoikuen (child care center). Public preschools are funded by state and local governments (with some tuition contributed by parents), but approximately 80 percent of children attend private preschools, some of which are affiliated with a religious organization."
All preschools programs are evaluated by the national government, which dictates the size, facilities, and teacher qualifications. Many of these schools are deeply influenced by Japan's rich religious beliefs: Christianity, Buddhism, and Shinto. These philosophies play large roles in how individual preschools are run.

Sweden

Preschool education in Sweden is not federally funded, however it is regulated under the Social Services Act of 1980 (Parliament decides the aims and capacity of public child care; the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs dictates laws and proposals related to childcare nationwide). Pre-K programs are instead funded by local municipalities and by parents (only preschool for children aged six is free). The country published its first guidelines for preschool curriculum in 1988. Under these guidelines, preschools are part of community educational systems.
The Swedish plan states, "Knowledge is conquered through learning, a kind of learning that happens in different ways in different environments…. It is not only through the mind we learn, we are learning with the whole body. And everything we learn cannot be verbalized." The curriculum of early childhood education in Sweden is based on humanistic traditions and integrates ideas of Fröbel, Rousseau, Key, and Dewey—children participate in language, arts, and communication activities. The age at which a child begins preschool is discretionary and available as early as one year; however, national law requires that children attend preschool through age seven.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom offers several types of early childhood education provisions. Nursery schools and nursery classes are offered during the regular school term free of cost to three and four-year-olds (but only for a couple of hours a day). A program referred to as "The Early Years Unit" is available during the school term for children three to five years. This program is also available at state-funded primary schools and infant schools.
Rather than kindergarten, children in the United Kingdom can attend a Reception class (or Class R) at the age of four. This class is offered on a full-time schedule during the school term. Reception class is considered the first class students take in the primary system (Scotland does not have a Reception class). In addition to these Department of Education and Employment-funded programs, Opportunity Groups are also available to families who have children with special needs. In the OECD report published in 2000, about 98 percent of three and four-year-olds in the UK participated in these preschool programs.

United States of America

"The important starting point for trying to understand the US system of early childhood education and care is to realize that there is no system," states the 2000 OECD report on the United States. There is no instituted framework, and none of the states offer a coherent in-state structure for pre-compulsory school-aged children. Instead, three sub-programs vie for funding and attention: Head Start (for under-privileged children), private day care, and public school system spin-off programs for preschool and kindergarten.
Of these three programs, Head Start is the only government-funded organization. But for families to be eligible, they must earn below the poverty level (less than $15,020 for a one-child household with both parents present). And according to the 2000 OECD report, only 36 percent of these eligible children actually receive services.
Since 1994, the number of pre-kindergarten state-funded public school system programs has begun to grow. More programs are now available for children one-to two-years prior to kindergarten. But there is no standard, and states' goals, quality, and eligibility vary widely.
The poor state of affairs has inspired the call for public awareness and several private fundraising organizations have sprung up as a result. More recently, the "I Am Your Child Campaign", a national public awareness effort striving to make early childhood development a top priority in the United States, was created by the Reiner Foundation. The organization works with several child-centered agencies and organizations (including the American Academy of Pediatrics). Unfortunately, despite the efforts of various independent organizations, there is still no government-funded cohesive early childhood education initiative in the United States.
In most industrialized countries, access to early childhood education is a statutory right from age three. But the trend, according to the OECD, is leaning towards coverage beginning at an even earlier age; aiming to give students at least three years of funded preschool. Because of the wide variance between countries, and even here in the United States between individual states, parents must be aware that the emphasis of early childhood education falls on them.
A child's first teachers are his parents. And countries such as New Zealand, Japan, and Australia have launched government programs to help parents teach their children before they enter the primary school system. These programs emphasize the importance of reading to children, beginning as early as birth. In addition, teaching your child about the world around him, everyday problem-solving skills, and basic social mores are all important in shaping children in their early years. Sir Apirana Ngata aptly summarized in 1949, "Early childhood is a period of momentous significance for all people….By the time this period is over, children will have formed conceptions of themselves as social beings, as thinkers, and as language users, and they will have reached certain important decisions about their own abilities and their own worth."

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