Quality Early Childhood Program

Introduction

The chart developed for this paper represents ten components of a successful and efficient early childhood education program that would prioritize the needs of the young learners but also answer to the requirements of their parents.

Components

1. The first component presented in the chart is age-appropriate environments. In my opinion, the appropriate environment has to be prioritized for two reasons. First of all, the environment where the children spend a significant part of their day is responsible for many important aspects such as the children’s safety, healthy emotional and physical development, engagement, and wellbeing. Secondly, the environment is the first thing a parent notices when they come to see the place where their children will be educated. The age-appropriate environment for young learners is to be diverse and combine educational and recreational areas, versatile materials, and equipment to keep the learners entertained, involved, and active throughout the day.
2. Qualified staff is another crucial component of an early childhood program. In fact, professional educators are the very basis of it, without them, the program is unlikely to work at all. All the teachers, caregivers, and supervisors involved into work with young children are to have appropriate education and professional training; besides, they are to be knowledgeable and experienced at both theory and practice of early childhood education (Lino, 2014). The continuity of relationships between the teachers and their learners is very important since the children need to develop understanding and close relationships with the educators ensuring deep observation, accurate assessment since the educators’ objective is not only to deliver academic knowledge but also to provide personal care for the children (Sims, 2014).
3. Parental involvement was chosen as one of the top components of this list due to its great positive impact on the efficiency of early childhood education. The engagement of the learners’ families into the learning process will facilitate ongoing learning experiences and ensure the penetration of learning into the day-to-day life of the children. This way, this component increases the productivity of the learning program for young children providing active non-stop learning in the classroom and at home and educating the parents about the ways to maximize their children’s academic performance and address their needs in a balanced way.
4. The children’s security and wellbeing are determined by the level of safety of the educational facilities. This way, the educational affiliations are to be appropriately licensed and follow the required norms of hygiene, sanitation, and safety in order to avoid the spreading of infections or bad accidents leading to harm of the learners (10 Components of High-Quality Child Care for Infants and Toddlers, 2013). Security and safety of an educational facility are to be a part of the early childhood program in form of health and safety practices integrated into the curriculum and provided by the professionals responsible for the children’s wellbeing.
5. Creative collaboration as a part of an early childhood program for early childhood has several aspects. First of all, it entails the collaboration between educators and the learners’ families for the achievement of the best academic results. Secondly, it involved the cooperation between different kinds of educators and practitioners with the purpose to create diverse teaching teams. Finally, creative collaboration refers to the kind of activities the learners will be given in order to learn to work play, and work in a group for future successful integration into society. In addition, the collaboration may include the communities of the learners and the administration of the educational facilities to ensure the fullest development of the learners.
6. Assessment is based on the regular observation of the learners and information about their success shared by the educators and the families of the children. In early childhood education assessment is to involve the parents, and this is why it needs to be held in the form of parent-teacher conferences and discussions. Assessment is to be provided by means of a research-based tool designed to evaluate the progress of learners and containing a clear protocol (Quality early childhood education programs, n. d.).
7. Since young children naturally learn through play and creativity, art and visual literacy are necessary parts of the early childhood education program. This component does not only make the learning process more diverse and interesting but also helps the learners to develop critical thinking, creative decision-making skills, and imagination. Most importantly, doing art will stimulate children’s motor skills and make the learning process active and engaging.
8. Individual approach helps to determine and address the individual needs of the children and also ensures the most efficient learning based on the children’s individual differences in information processing (The 10 NAEYC Program Standards, n. d.). The curriculum is to include all the necessary disciplines such as language and literacy, science, art, social studies, physical education (Morrison, 2012). The program should be oriented at work with diverse learners. Basic skills such as problem-solving, communication, logical thinking should be developed. Continuous relationships between students and educators are a necessary component to secure individual approach because they provide an on-going observation of learners and allow the teachers to get to know them better.
9. Flexibility and access to an early childhood program are crucial for its success and popularity among the parents. Adults choose the programs not only based on the needs of their children, but also on their own needs. This way, a successful program is to be flexible and provide care for the children whose parents have busy careers, sliding schedules, or require seasonal adjustments. A flexible and accessible educational program will have multiple options for the parents to choose from in order to provide the children with the best learning experiences regardless of the schedule.
10. Comprehensive services are the component that improves the care given to the children within the educational facility. An appropriate program for young children is to include regular assessment of the learner’s wellbeing, provide healthy nutrition, conduct a physical examination of the children, and answers the children’s needs in health care.

Reference List

10 Components of High Quality Child Care for Infants and Toddlers. (2013). Child Development Council. Web.

Lino, D. (2014). Early childhood teacher education: How to Enhance Professional Development. Journal Plus Education/Educatia Plus, 11(2), 200-209.

Morrison, G. S. (2012). Early childhood education today (12^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Quality early childhood education programs. (n. d.). NYC. Web.

Sims, M. (2014). Is the care-education dichotomy behind us? Should it be? Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 39(4), 4-11.

The 10 NAEYC Program Standards. (n. d.). NAEYC. Web.