As I eagerly anticipate ASCD's upcoming 61st Annual Conference, our theme, "Constructing the Future, Challenging the Past" looms large in my mind. In particular, the future of early childhood education warrants our attention. Children entering preschool and kindergarten programs will live and work in what author and New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman calls a "flat world" that will be very different from our own.
His new book, The World Is Flat, bears directly on the effectiveness of early childhood education. Friedman states that to survive in a globally competitive world, today's children will need creativity, problem-solving abilities, a passion for learning, a dedicated work ethic, and lifelong learning opportunities. He challenges parents to know what it will take for children to thrive in adulthood and boldly states that a time comes when parents need to tell their kids to put away the Game Boys, turn off the TV, unplug the iPod, and get to work.
Friedman concludes that "education, whether it comes from parents or schools, has to be about more than cognitive skills. It also has to include character building. The fact is, parents, schools, and cultures can and do shape people" (2005, p. 305).
Early-Learning Research
Policy interest in early childhood education is being fueled by research that links early learning experiences with later school achievement, adult productivity, and a sound future economy—research that says the earlier you start, the bigger payoff you have.
Notable support for the notion that character building is as important as cognitive skill development comes from the long-running Lifetime Effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40. This ongoing research—which since 1962 has examined the lives of 123 African Americans born in poverty and at high risk of failing in school—shines a light on early childhood education's effect on values and behavior. Study subjects who participated in a high-quality preschool program based on participatory learning averaged significantly fewer criminal arrests, better relationships, greater economic success, and higher rates of home ownership.
What We Know ...
All this caused me to think about what we already know about early childhood education and what we need to do in the future.
We know that high-quality, intensive early childhood programs can make a difference in the future lives of young children—often the difference between failing and passing, regular or special education, staying out of trouble or becoming involved with crime, and dropping out or graduating from high school.
We know that high-quality early childhood programs are characterized by
- Small class sizes and low child-to-staff ratios.
- Curricula and instruction that engage children as active learners.
- Well-trained teachers and ongoing staff supervision and training.
- A minimum threshold of program exposure (two-and-a-half hours per day, five days per week).
- Substantial outreach to parents through home visits, group meetings, and classroom participation.
- At least two years of intervention to produce effects.
We know that young people born in poverty experienced fewer emotional problems and felony arrests if they attended a preschool program based on child-initiated learning activities focused broadly on children's development rather than scripted direct academic instruction. Clearly, the goals of early childhood education should include helping children to make decisions, solve problems, and get along with others. Early education for the whole child cannot be reduced to teaching facts and skills.
We know more than ever about how the brain works and have a solid research foundation on which to base education decisions, create practical classroom applications, and develop brain-compatible teaching strategies.
We know that not all young children have access to high-quality early childhood education. In the November 2005 issue of Phi Delta Kappan, Michael H. Levine warns of the urgent need for greater investment in preschool education—an essential engine for expanding human potential and accelerating economic growth—in nations poised to become the next leaders of the flattened global economy. By 2015, the world's four most populous nations (China, India, Brazil, and Indonesia) will educate more than 10 times the number of children enrolled in United States schools. We also need greater investment in preschool education in the United States, where many young children either have no access to preschool education or access only to programs that do not measure up.
We know that raising the achievement of economically less-advantaged children demands public policies aimed at more than just school reform. Economist Richard Rothstein argues that narrowing the achievement gap requires early childhood education programs staffed with professional teachers and nurses, and curricula that emphasize not only literacy but also appropriate social and emotional growth.
Effective Advocacy, Effective Practice
We also know that, as educational leaders, our role is critical. We must commit to remain well informed, disseminate our knowledge, read and discuss cutting-edge research and publications, and become passionate voices advocating for young children.
Perhaps the most important thing I have learned during my tenure as ASCD's president is the importance of effective advocacy as well as effective practice. As effective advocates of quality early childhood programs, we can
- Develop, promulgate, and lobby for positions and sound policy and demand adequate funding based on access and equity.
- Raise awareness about the social and economic issues contributing to the achievement gap.
- Create appropriate standards and diagnostic assessments for early childhood programs and practices.
- Support the requirements for highly qualified teachers who are well paid.
As effective practitioners, we can
- Help families understand what it takes in the first five years to get their children ready for school and provide necessary varied and rich experiences to children who may not have them available in their homes.
- Utilize what we know from brain research to model teaching strategies that accommodate individual learning styles and meet the multidimensional needs of the whole child.
- Conduct action research in our classrooms and early childhood programs to add to the body of knowledge on successful practice.
- Become role models for our youngest learners, helping them develop a sense of self and well-being as they learn to function in a democratic society.
The future of early childhood education is in our hands. It is incumbent on us to use what we already know to successfully create that future. We must also become effective advocates and practitioners to ensure that all children have access to quality early childhood educational experiences so that they can assume their places in an exciting but challenging flattened world.