Early childhood experiences from birth to age 8 have an enormous impact on children's lifelong learning. This will also have a positive contribution to their health and development and is an advantage for a greater readiness and success in school. Highly quality staff interactions with children; an environment providing lots of books and written material and where children could select from a variety of learning activities; the child’s starting age and the total length of early childhood education; and the socio-economic mix of the children attending the centre. These programs enabled children to make a positive contribution to their own learning.
Early Head Start programs produced statistically, significant, positive impact on standardized measures of children’s cognitive and language development. Program children at age 3, scored 91.4 on the Bayley Mental Development Index, compared with 89.9 for children who did not attend Head Start. Early Head Start children were less likely versus none Head start children to score in the at risk range of developmental functioning in these areas. By preventing children from scoring in the lowest functioning group, Head Start may be reducing their risk of poor cognitive, language, and school outcomes later on in life (Overall Impact, 1999).
Author Unknown. Child Care Bureau. Administration for Child and Families <http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/progams.htm>
Christopher, you make some very good points about quality care and education. The quality indicators you suggested are right on. I am interested to see what difference lie between center and family child care. The settings are quite different in many ways, but the same quality indicators are true.
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