This Article is From Nov 29, 2017

Pre-School Teaching Impacts Academic Success, Social Skills Among Young Children

Instructional practices followed by pre-school teachers during early childhood education hugely impacts the academic career and social skills of young children, revealed a review of research conducted in this regard.

Pre-School Teaching Impacts Academic Success, Social Skills Among Young Children

Pre-School Teaching Impacts Academic Success Among Young Children

New Delhi: Instructional practices followed by pre-school teachers during early childhood education hugely impacts the academic career and social skills of young children, revealed a review of research conducted in this regard. According to Margaret Burchinal, the quality of pre-schooling can be the most effective way of making sure children succeed at school. However, she insisted, there is a need to reinvent what quality means. Margaret Burchinal is senior research scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Margaret Burchinal said that the review of the present researches shows that there should be a continuous assessment of the quality of relationships between pre-school teachers and children with a focus on the sensitivity and warmth of teachers. 

The review was published in the journal Child Development Perspectives and helps understand a variety of factors which affect young children. 

"The largest effects on child outcomes involve curricula. Some of the biggest impacts on literacy, math and other skills involved curricula focused on those specific skills with accompanying coaching or training for teachers," Ms. Burchinal explained.

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She also pointed to FPG's Abecedarian Project which is an example of a program that combines intentional teaching with warmth and sensitivity. 

The project used an intensive, language-driven approach. It involved integration of activity-based learning to help build children's knowledge base and language skills.

It was proven over the decades that centre-based, birth-to-5 program for children from low-income homes contributed to better cognitive, socio-emotional and physical health outcomes which persisted over the years.

"As we think about the components of high-quality early childhood education, our policies and practices can reflect what this research tells us," Ms. Burchinal said.

Ms. Burchinal noted that ideally the new models of quality should incorporate evidence-based curricula and intentional teaching within content areas. The new models should also encourage professional development which focuses on adopting teaching practices that promote skills required by young children to succeed in school.

(With Inputs from IANS)

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