A chasm has opened up between early childhood learning and the first years of compulsory schooling. Kids go from playing to being tested in the blink of an eye, and their learning is poorer for it.
Some preschoolers are encouraged to bring in their favorite toy or stuffed animal, while others risk having it confiscated.
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When students are allowed to bring personal items for show and tell, it can build their senses of self-worth, belonging and control. But poor kids often don’t get that opportunity.
Pre-K students are more likely to be expelled than any K-12 grade.
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Early childhood education and care centres, which includes childcare and preschool, are part of our village. They form a support network established to ensure parents’ and children’s lifelong success.
Taking care of little ones is physically demanding work.
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The 2021-22 budget includes funding for 15 hours per week of free preschool education for all children in the year before school. This is great, but we need more detail.
High-quality preschools are both play-based and academic.
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Researchers mapped the variation in preschool policies, and how they impact on what families pay, across all states and territories. Some places charge much higher fees than others.
One in five early childhood educators said they planned to leave their job within a year. It is vital we design a system and policies to ensure there are enough to meet the demand.
A large study shows preschool benefits Aboriginal children’s development more than childcare or being taken care of at home. But the benefits of preschool are not as large as for non-Aboriginal kids.
Preschool is an opportunity to develop important social skills like taking turns, working in groups and making friends.
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The NSW and Victorian preschool funding announcements are likely to increase the growing focus on early childhood education, which is shaping up to be a major issue.
Supporting a stable, well-funded preschool system across the country — as we do with school — is an important social and economic investment. But funding remains temporary and unstable.
Parents can find it difficult to choose a childcare service, given the plethora of types on offer. Here are three of the most well-known alternative educational philosophies explained.
A study found no statistically significant difference between the literacy and numeracy scores of school children who had attended preschool or childcare and children who didn’t.
Logging into school on the couch can make homelife more topsy-turvy.
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Taryn Morrissey, American University School of Public Affairs
For US parents, the health, economic and social crisis the COVID-19 pandemic brought about is compounded by the difficult if not impossible task of working, caring for and educating kids.