Early Childhood Today: At A Crossroads

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Early Childhood TodayAt A Crossroads

• Joan Lombardi
• November, 2003

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Points to discuss.

• Where have we been?
• Where are we now?
• Growing interest in early education
• Limited public investment
• Poverty threatens early development
• Hot topics in the field
• What do we need to do?

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Where have we been

• 1930s-1945 ECE as a response to national
  emergencies
• 1950s interest in nursery education
• 1960s Head Start emerges
• 1970s veto of child care legislation, but
  continued growth in working mothers
• l980s growth in state preschool
• 1990s interest in brain development and early
  years, launching Early Head Start, increases in
  child care, Head Start, prek

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What is driving the interest?

• Education reform- No Child Left Behind, Good
  Start/ Grow Smart
• Welfare reform- work support
• Health reform

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Economic development

• In California the licensed child care industry
  contributes almost as much as vegetables and
  livestock to the economy
• In Vermont child care employs as many people as
  public utilities and communications
• In Florida, child care generates 3.8 billion in
  total revenue
• In Maine licensed child care employs almost as
  many people as the fishing industry.

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Percentage of children in care
SOURCE National Center for Education Statistics,
(2001). National Household Education Survey of
1999 Data Files.
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Percentage of public dollars/brain development
Cumulative percent of public dollars spent on
children Percent of total brain growth
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Percentage of income paid for care
Higher Income is over 200 of poverty, very low
income is under 100 of poverty.
SOURCE Giannarelli and Barsimantov, Child Care
Expenses of Americas Families, Urban Institute,
2000.
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Low wages continue
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Poverty still threatens early development

• 12 million infants and toddlers in the US
• Nearly 40 of children under the age three lived
  in poor or low income families in 2000
• 18 of all children under age three lived in
  poverty in 2000.
• Recent data indicates poverty is now increasing.
• Source National Center for Children in Poverty

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Risk Factors for Young Children Living in Poverty
-Low birth weight -Lack of health and medical
care and poor nutrition -Limited access to higher
education for parents -Low wage jobs for
parents/unemployment -Lack of quality care
-Environmental hazards
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Hot topics

• 1. Integration of care and education
• parents / children
• fee / free
• targeted / universal
• 2. Changing demographics
• Increasing diversity
• The aging population

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3. The nature of early education

• What and how we teach
• The importance of a developmental
• perspective
• Various types of standards
• licensing
• program standards
• Early learning standards/ outcomes
• Who teaches

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4. Expansion of prek (schools, child care, Head
Start)
Source W. Steven Barnett, National Institute for
Early Education Research (www.nieer.org)
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Total State Spending and Participation in
State-funded Prekindergarten Programs (1991-92
and 1998-99)
Source Seeds of Success, State Prekindergarten
Initatives 1998-1999, Karen Schulman, Helen
Blank, Danielle Ewen.
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5. Concern about infants and toddlers- We need
to prevent the achievement gap

• Too many children enter preschool already behind
• More and more very young children in child care
• Early Head Start and other programs can make a
  difference, particularly when they start early
  and are well implemented

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Abecedarian Outcomes at 21
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What is needed for children under three?

• Families Need.
• Parent information and support
• Quality infant care
• Time
• Improved care-Better Baby Care campaign
• -healthy care
• -family centered care
• -developmentally appropriate care

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6. System development (0-5)

• Programs
• Community Support Network for parents, kith and
  kin and family child care
• Professional Development System
• Tuition Assistance

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How to achieve our vision

• Creative financing strategies
• Public Awareness
• Stepped up advocacy

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Hot topics continued

• 7. K-3 reform
• Smaller classes
• Better trained teachers
• Full day K
• 8. Global issues facing children-
• Education for all
• Rise of young children orphaned by
• HIV/AIDS

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What do we need to do?

• Stand up for good early education practice
• Developmental perspective
• Families as part of the picture
• Appropriate use of assessment
• Attention to special needs
• Commitment to diversity

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Get involved in policy

• Be able to talk about research
• Join with others to speak out
• Become involved in current legislative issues
• - Head Start Reauthorization
• - Child Care and Development Fund
• - IDEA
• - Higher Education

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Support new champions

• Business
• Law enforcement
• Health
• Faith community
• Education
• Elderly
• Parents

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Develop new leaders

• Young leaders
• Diverse leaders
• Leaders across program types
• Leaders that understand practice, policy,
  research, communication

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Keep up the momentum

• Support each others work
• Balance work and family
• Take care of your health
• Continue to love children!

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We live in a world where we need to share
responsibility. Its easy to say-its not my
child, not my community, not my world, not my
problem. Then there are those who see the need
and respond. I consider those people my heroes.
Fred Rogers