Early child development is a fundamental stage in the moulding of a child’s character and adulthood. The education system in the United States has recognized this fact and has invested hugely in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) by facilitating a supportive curriculum, competent tutors, conducive environments and a fundamental training on enhancing proper family relationship that foster adequate encouragement and support to children. Over the years, changes have been enacted in the education sector to bring the necessarily changes needed. Policies such as the Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) of 1997 and the 2001 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) are good examples of the transitions that have been experienced (Haskins, 2016). However, it is important to analyse the effects of such policies and understand their impacts. Therefore, is NCLB a enhancing policy to the children with disabilities in the early childhood education program or not.
Features of a High Quality ECE Policy
NCLB is an example of a current ECE program policy that is in practice. The policy was created to facilitate proper inclusiveness of the children with various disparities such as capabilities, race, ethnicity, color and physical abilities. The policy has been highly effective in ensuring the disaggregation of the various techniques that are used to measure the success or failure of a child. For example, children with disabilities are not graded the same with the ones that are normal and that has resulted to fairness and efficiency in the education system. Therefore, some of the high quality features that a policy should encompass include inclusivity, efficiency and fairness and it impact should be measurable. NCLB is a good policy because it meets all this attributes (Haskins, 2016). Its positive impact is felt countrywide, evidenced by the progressive increment of the number of children enrolled in schools over the years due to the encouragement attained from the efficacy of the ECE programs.
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Characteristics of a High Quality Childhood Program
A proper ECE program should have the following features;
An effective curriculum that is facilitates open-minded decision process of the children. This factor ensures that the children are free to express their imagination and pursue their interests. This element is one of the features that should be highly fostered by any design of a program to ensure that the strengths of a children are well identified and supported.
Competent teachers. The tutors must well trained to ensure they are professional and efficient in their roles as trainers. Each student should have adequate attention from the teachers to ensure their characters are well moulded ((Baber, 2016). Moreover, team work should be well managed at this stage to ensure none of the student is lost in between the majority.
A supportive environment. A good ECE program demands a supportive environment that fosters productivity and comfort for both the teachers and students. This factor is aimed at boosting efficacy.
Healthy Family Relationships. An ECE educates parents on how to help their children develop in accordance to their abilities and the best way possible. This balance of good relationship both in schools and at home fosters success in the development of the children.
Various benefits of the ECD programs exist in the society today. Some of the fundamental benefits include the ((Baber, 2016) ;
Improved behaviour. This element has been achieved through the creation of uniform laws for all students despite their disparity. The equality in the treatment of each child has enabled them to be more responsible and sensible of their actions.
Increased Educational attendance and attainment. The programs have enticed more children to join schools and especially those with disabilities. This factor has improved the status of the societies and communities because more people are now educated than before.
Improved quality of general education status. Students have learnt on how to co-exist and support each other with respect despite their disparities in demographical or other differences. This unity is a foundation for a better united and peaceful world in the future.
According to the social learning theory, children can learn a lot from peers, parents, or one another through modelling and observation (Ogunnaike, 2015). Hence, it is important for an ECE program to ensure that the curriculum used facilitates a good environment for the kids to observe or be model to be the best. Moreover, the theory extends aptly stating that inclusivity of all children in the various activities concerning their growth and development is an enhancer to their capability. As a result, NCLB is a great policy in the development process of the children with disabilities. The policy is implemented through adoption of its rules and requirements in all the education centres in the country. The policy targets the assimilation of the less unfortunate children that are disabled, which is a huge population in the US today (Ogunnaike, 2015). This policy has ensured that equality and fairness in the access of education is practiced among both disabled and not disabled children in the country.
The ECE programs’ inclusivity with the NCLB policy has brought positive effects on the physical, social, and cognitive aspects of child development of the disabled populace. For example, physically the children are more confident in their condition and easily interact with their peers because they are no longer looked down upon by them (Haskins, 2016). On the other hand, that ensures that despite their disability they can express their needs and relate with the normal children appropriately without feeling inferior. Socially, these children improve their social circles and no longer do they limit themselves to the disabled group of people only. They play and interact more with their peers (Baber, 2016). Additionally, the NCLB policy has ensured that this particular group of people, the disabled, have a chance to acquire education just like other children and that has improved their cognitive abilities as they develop and grow.
In conclusion, early child development is a sensitive program in the education curriculum and it has highly been enhanced by the policy of NCLB. This policy has been a great tool in facilitating equality, inclusivity, and enhancement of children with various differences such as race, disability as discussed above and other features such as ethnicity or religion. The policy has been effective and has brought in various positive impacts both to the target population and the education system of the ECE in the USA as discussed above.
References
Baber, M. A. (2016). Appropriate school starting age: A focus on the cognitive and social
development of a child. Journal of Education and Educational Development, 3(2), 277–287.
Haskins, R. (2016). American policy on early childhood education & development: Many
programs, great hopes, modest impacts. Behavioral Science & Policy, 2(1), 1–8. Ogunnaike, Y. A. (2015). Early childhood education and human factor: Connecting theories and
perspectives. Review of Human Factor Studies, 21(1), 9–26. Policy Resources
