Early childhood education
Introduction
Early childhood education plays a significant role in establishing a child's future success. Early education and intervention help the child gain brain development, social development, physical development, and emotional development. However, for practitioners in early childhood education to provide quality education, they must be aware of child development and best practices. The theories of early childhood education help the teacher predict behaviors, interpret behaviors, understand the typical and unique patterns of behavior, make informed decisions, and use the best practices. Researchers have come up with many theoretical frameworks that help the ministry of education create evidence-informed policy and practices. It is important to note that in researching the theories of early childhood education, researchers employ the social, economic, political, cultural, and development perspectives. Therefore, the ministry of education can connect the theories with early childhood education and establish policies and the best practices. The Federal and State government is also concerned with the field of education. The two levels of government ensure access and quality of education by establishing laws that regulate the practices. Thus, early childhood education does not only adhere to the practices of theories but they implement the State and Federal polices to provide the best practices. Theories, policies, practices of early childhood education, and federal and state laws are the basis under which educators understand a child's development and learning; consequently, teachers can use the best practices to promote a child's learning and development.
Knowledge and skills of child development are important in early childhood education. The knowledge and skills help the educator understand the varying abilities of children, show commitment and accountability, and provide high-quality education (Sheridan et al, 2009). However, teachers require early learning guidelines for them to employ the best practices and provide quality education. It is also important to note that professional development in early childhood education is not only based on credentials and experiences but the current era requires educators to apply theoretical and empirical knowledge in teaching (Sheridan et al, 2009). Note that the primary objectives of early childhood education are to educate children. In this objective, the educator uses facts and concepts that are gained from direct instruction, discovery, and other ways. The second objective is to gain personal professional growth and help the systems become more efficient. In this second objective, educators are required to engage in professional practices and activities (Sheridan et al, 2009). In other words, they are expected to deliver effective services, and employ ethics of responsibility. The main point is that traditionally, educators have gained professional development through specialized training, coaching, and communities of practice. However, the next section shows that educators can gain professional development by moving beyond the traditional forms and application of a theoretical framework. In general, educators cannot use the best practices and make the appropriate decisions without applying the following developmental theories.
Biological-maturational Theory
In understanding child development, educators need to know that a child must have a biological maturation, or in other words, a child's biological growth helps him or her understand the real world (Crone & Ridderinkhof, 2011). A child is biologically ready to interact with a physical object and develop a learning experience. This means that in early childhood education, the educator needs to understand the child's maturation level and connect him or her with the appropriate literacy activity. An important point about this theory is that a child has a set of human capacities and a unique perspective toward learning or activity (Crone & Ridderinkhof, 2011). In early childhood education, environmental factors play a minor role in the development progression. In other words, institutions and practice do not benefit the child. Rather, biological inheritance is the main factor that influences development in that a child has a certain level of maturation that enables him or her to accomplish tasks (Crone & Ridderinkhof, 2011). Thus, in designing a curriculum, educators should come up with activities that fit child’s development level.
Behaviorist Theory
From this perspective, educators should understand that behavior and learning are influenced by events occurring in the environment. This means that in early childhood education, teachers must adapt to the "Curriculum of Behavior" (Anindyarini et al. 2018). This is because the child's behavior is influenced by a positive stimulus. The latter increases pleasure and satisfaction and hence positive learning outcome. The theory suggests that there is something known as the law of readiness. This means that in early childhood education, teachers should prepare the children to learn by providing an attractive introduction, or telling them about the importance of learning (Anindyarini et al. 2018). Children will gain satisfaction and became ready to learn. Another proposition is the law of exercise. The theory states that teachers should motivate behaviors frequently. In other words, children should receive positive reinforcement regularly so that children can make learning a habit. The last proposition is the law of effect. This means that positive reinforcement is associated with positive results. For example, when children receive a reward, they develop positive feelings and satisfaction (Anindyarini et al. 2018). As a result, they will increase commitment in learning and increase performance, and ultimately achieve success. In general, teachers should focus on changing behaviors through motivation. As a result, children will develop self-confidence and participate actively in learning.
Cognitive-developmental Theory
In cognitive-development theory, a child's development is as a result of a change in thought processes. For example, children go through the sensorimotor stage, and during this stage, the child recognizes the environment and the surroundings (Ojose, 2008). The child interacts with the objects and interprets things through their perspective. Children also go through the preoperational stage where they develop logical thoughts. The child can talk, think, and solve problems by applying a different perspective. The third developmental stage is the concrete operational stage. In solving problems, a child finds a sensible solution to arrive into accurate conclusion (Ojose, 2008). The last developmental stage is the formal operations stage where a child moves beyond concrete objects to systematic ways of solving problems, the child can also apply hypothesis and conceptual reasoning. In early childhood education, educators should understand the cognitive level and then design their teaching (Ojose, 2008). Note that as the teacher understands the child's think, it will be easier to connect the child with meaningful learning.
Sociocultural Theory
Educators need to understand that learning is influenced by cultural tools and artifacts. In other words, history plays a significant role in shaping knowledge and child's development. Children do not only need to focus on their personal experience but they should also consider factors such as family and community (Shabani, 2016). This means that as children interact with the social structures in learning, they will gain beliefs and attitudes and use symbolic tools in solving problems. Since teachers are aware that a child's learning is influenced by cultural factors, they should design a curriculum that values beliefs. Note that in the 21st century, classrooms are full of diversity of children (Shabani, 2016). This means that teachers need to use sociocultural perceptive. The latter will influence thinking or in other words, children will construct knowledge by reflecting on historical context.
Federal and state laws on education in the classroom
State and Federal governments have enacted laws to increase access to education and ensure the provision of high-quality education. The following are the key state and federal laws;
Individual with Disability Education Improvement Act
The U.S constitution states that disabled younger children should receive free education. The Federal government provides funds to the State government so that children with disabilities such as developmental delay, behavioral disability, and more receive a quality education (Jacob, 2011). There should be nondiscriminatory testing and the law also states that there should be an individualized education program to meet the needs of every child.
No Child Left Behind Act
The law recognizes that children who come from disadvantaged backgrounds do not access education. Therefore, the law provides financial assistance to ensure all children especially homeless, minority, delinquent children, children who lack English proficiency, and others with such issues should receive free education (Jacob, 2011). Under the 'No Child Left behind Act', young children receive provision such as Early Reading First; this refers to the creation of education settings where children from poor backgrounds learn readings kills, and language (Jacob, 2011). The other provision is Even Start; this is a program that provides children and their parents with literacy training.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy
The law states that students and their parents have the right to access educational information, financial records, and other forms of information (Jacob, 2011). The school should not disclose the information to educational institutions through electronic transmission.
Protection of Pupil Rights Act
The law states the school should obtain parental consent to conduct surveys or evaluations aimed at gaining student's personal information.
Compare and/or contrast the federal and state laws with the principles and practices of the theories
First, it is important to note that early childhood development is a topic that is addressed by multiple disciplines. For example, scholars in psychology field are interested in cognitive abilities, psychological skills, parental-child relationships, and other subjects (Huntington, 2016). On the other hand, legal scholars are insensitive to early childhood development. Legal scholars do not engage in interdisciplinary research on child development and this means that the legal system does not consider age and behavior as a factor in addressing the child's need.
One notable difference is that the Federal and State laws deal with the children and their families. Rather than focusing on the development of milestones, it addressed the special needs and the importance of early intervention (Huntington, 2016). For example, it is concerned with disabled children and provides them with educational opportunities. The law is concerned with the school improvement and the federal government provides financial resources to ensure that the society as a whole gets access to education (Huntington, 2016). Even though the law recognizes early childhood education, it has not grappled with the development milestones.
In general, federal laws do not focus on the child's growth and development. On the other hand, theorists are concerned with the developmental milestones and stresses that there is a dynamic interaction between learning and child development (Huntington, 2016). They pay attention to developmental stages and uses the developmental milestones to create a healthy development. While the laws address the need of children through providing resources, theorists explore childhood development to use the best practice including the academic instructions.
Conclusion
The research has found that early childhood education requires educators to use the best practices. It is important to note that the field of education has grown in that there are discoveries that provide educators with new knowledge and evidence-based practices. Theorists have proposed different theories that educators should apply to improve a child's learning. Rather than relying on the traditional forms of professional development such as training, educators need to learn more about the growth and behaviors of children. This knowledge allows educators to understand the physical, social, and cognitive aspects and by understanding the aspects of development, it becomes easier to meet the need of every child. However, federal and state policy does not put into consideration early childhood development. Rather, the law is concerned with student access to education and achievement. The law requires educators to use quality instruction and provide knowledge and skills to students from all backgrounds. However, the legal scholars and the theories of early childhood should address the topic of early childhood education together. As a result, they will gain an insight concerning early childhood and the state's regulatory attention. The federal laws will also foster childhood development by creating laws that guide parents. By understanding childhood development, federal law will come up with effective policies that protect the child’s well-being.
References
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Sheridan, S. M., Edwards, C. P., Marvin, C. A., & Knoche, L. L. (2009). Professional
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