Emerging Trends in Early Childhood Education

“Children are like buds in a garden and should be carefully and lovingly nurtured, as they are the future of the nation and the citizens of tomorrow,” are the words by Jawaharlal Nehru.

Yes, his words are very true. Children are the strength of tomorrow. Therefore, it is essential to pay special attention to their character formation at a young age to mould them into future citizens. The first five years of a child’s life are the most important, this is the time when his/her brain growth is very fast. A child’s early years are very important to the language, cognitive, and socio-emotional developmental process. Therefore, it is essential for the child to have a structured preschool experience.

Today’s learning methods are very child friendly. A great focus on learning through movement and play is an effective method for young children. Technology has found its way to learning and education. Early literacy and numeracy give children a core foundation for future learning and communication.

Assessments are recommended as the child progresses toward entering primary school as preschool education helps as a medium of intervention to address concerns or identify special learning pathways for gifted students.  

The Trends in ECE

Technology in Learning: In this day and age, technology is a crucial part of any industry–including ECE.  Kids today are more adept at technology than the previous generations as they have grown up exposed to all kinds of digital technology, particularly smartphones and tablets. And in the classroom, technology has become an important tool in teaching.

Early Literacy: Early literacy programs aim to help children from 1 to 3 years

familiarise themselves with concepts such as phonetics, word sounds, vocabulary, and storytelling awareness even before they go to preschool. These learning concepts improve children’s literacy skills, particularly vocabulary and reading comprehension, increasing their preparedness for childhood education.

Increased focus on fitness: Due to the growing problem of childhood obesity, early childhood educators are helping their students to improve their physical fitness. Teachers are scheduling more time for active play both inside and outside of the classroom to accomplish this. This increased physical activity is a tremendous help for very young children since the more active they are in childhood, the less likely they are to become obese as they grow up.

Learning with Nature: Allowing young children to learn with nature helps them foster a better relationship with the environment and encourages their natural curiosity about the outdoors. Educational establishments are encouraging teachers to plan activities outdoors, whether it’s for outdoor play or simply letting children roam free in their immediate environment so they could harness these benefits for young learners.

Increased Assessments: For young learners, assessments are used to measure children’s skills, interests, and problem areas, which are then used to address issues that they may be having. Early childhood assessments also help parents and educators identify a child’s preferred learning style. Since not all kids learn in the same way, educators and parents can use assessments as a tool to help kids learn more effectively. This ensures that children aren’t falling behind because they learn differently than their peers or are at different stages in life. Rather, it gives them equal possibilities to advance at the same rate as their peers or beyond expectations.

Early childhood education is ever-changing, especially in this modern age, where there seems to be innovation or technology every day. Today’s learning and teaching methods are not like the old times. Nowadays, activity-oriented learning methods are given to children, especially in preschools. To improve the quality of early childhood education programs, there are many changes in the preschool curriculum and co-curricular activities, at the same time, there are many changes in the way teachers approach students.