Preschool Education

The Importance Of Preschool Education

Last Updated Aug 20, 2008 08:50 AM

Preschool students are less likely to repeat grades;
• greater social and emotional maturity.

Those who attend preschool received higher teacher ratings on measures of social and emotional maturity;
• significant gains for early intervention for children of lower socioeconomic groups within communities.
(CANADIAN EARLY YEARS STUDY, TREMBLAY 1999, US EARLY YEARS STUDY 1998, EPPE UK 2003) "A year of preschool is about two thirds of the cost of being retained in the early years of school or secondary school, and about one third the cost of special education placement.
(REYNOLDS 1995) "Economic conditions in early childhood may be far more important for children’s ability, behaviour and achievement than conditions later in childhood." (SHONKOFF 2001) Preschool helps establish the foundations of early literacy and numeracy for children in their early childhood years.
Professor Bridie Raban in her report Just the Beginning, DETYA Research Report 2001, stated the importance of literacy for young children within the preschool program: "Services for preschool children should be available for each and every child, not only those identified as ‘at risk’.
This is because of what we know about brain development during the first years of life and the ‘critical’ periods for the establishment of crucial human behaviours, both cognitive and social." (RABAN 2001) Empirical and anecdotal evidence suggests strongly that children who have not had the opportunity to attend a preschool program may be disadvantaged when they begin school.
Children without a preschool experience have greater levels of difficulty in making the transition to the first year of school, take longer to settle into the routines of a classroom and find it harder to respond appropriately to tasks and expectations.
Children with additional needs who have not attended preschool may also be disadvantaged.
Examples include hearing, sight, nutrition, and behavioural problems.
It was noted by a number of professionals and teachers across Australia that many children who do not attend a preschool program are less likely to have been screened for particular hearing, sight and health issues.
These children are at more risk of not receiving the necessary early intervention before entering school.

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