Foundations of Early

Childhood Education MAECE

(100)
Early Childhood Education/Preschool
Education: Nature, Definition, and
Benefits
 Objectives:
1. Discuss the nature, definition, and
benefits of early childhood
education/preschool education in different
aspects/terms.

2. Differentiate early childhood education

from preschool education.

3. Determine the importance of

understanding early childhood education.
Content

• Definition of early Childhood

Education/Preschool Education
According to Different Terms

• Benefits of Early Childhood

Education/Preschool Education
 Definition of Early Childhood
Education/Preschool Education According to
Different Terms

1.In Terms of Recent Meanings

Early childhood education refers to

group settings deliberately intended to effect
developmental changes from birth to age
entering grade one or first grade. Most recent
meaning included the primary years.
 Definition of Early Childhood
Education/Preschool Education According to
Different Terms

2. In Terms of Child’s Life

In terms of child’s life that is

roughly from birth to 8 years of age;
that child may enter informal to
formal schooling.
 Definition of Early Childhood
Education/Preschool Education According to
Different Terms

3.In School Terms

In school terms, it includes

group settings from infancy through
the primary years of elementary
school grades 1 through 3.
 Definition of Early Childhood
Education/Preschool Education According to
Different Terms

4.In Programmatic Terms

It is the education of young

children that includes formal and
informal group settings, regardless
of their initial purpose.
 Definition of Early Childhood
Education/Preschool Education According to
Different Terms

5.In Terms of Human Development

It is generally the sum of

toddlerhood and play age, the latter
which in psychological development
more specifically is age 3-6
 Definition of Early Childhood
Education/Preschool Education According to
Different Terms

6.In Terms of Emphasis

It emphasizes a holistic
approach focusing on the child’s
physical, emotional, social as well as
educational growth over a period of
his or her first 5 or 6 years of life.
 Definition of Early Childhood
Education/Preschool Education According to
Different Terms

7. In Terms of International
Perspective
It includes the early primary
years (age 6-8) because of the
importance of the transition for
children either from home or from
preschool program into the primary
school.
 Benefits of Early Childhood Education/Preschool Education
Earl childhood education is an investment in a country’s future
workplace and capacity to thrive economically and as a
society.

7. In Terms of International
Perspective
It includes the early primary
years (age 6-8) because of the
importance of the transition for
children either from home or from
preschool program into the primary
school.
 Benefits of Early Childhood Education/Preschool Education
Earl childhood education is an investment in a country’s future
workplace and capacity to thrive economically and as a
society.

Need of working parents for childcare

Modern society is composed of increasing number of
working mothers. Due to the declining influence of
extended families that in the past provided the necessary
childcare for the young children, these mothers are faced
with the problem of providing professional and responsible
childcare for their children. The support given by day-
care centers is therefore a much-welcomed relief for these
working parents. According to an article issued by the Baby
Center Philippines (2009), it is a huge responsibility for
someone (preschool teacher) to care for their children and
which parents will need to be 100% happy that they are
leaving them in the hands of a skilled and caring person.
For this reason, it is important that parents can have
someone they can truly entrust their children to.
 Benefits of Early Childhood Education/Preschool Education
Earl childhood education is an investment in a country’s future
workplace and capacity to thrive economically and as a
society.

Need of working parents for childcare

Modern society is composed of increasing number of
working mothers. Due to the declining influence of
extended families that in the past provided the necessary
childcare for the young children, these mothers are faced
with the problem of providing professional and responsible
childcare for their children. The support given by day-
care centers is therefore a much-welcomed relief for these
working parents. According to an article issued by the Baby
Center Philippines (2009), it is a huge responsibility for
someone (preschool teacher) to care for their children and
which parents will need to be 100% happy that they are
leaving them in the hands of a skilled and caring person.
For this reason, it is important that parents can have
someone they can truly entrust their children to.
 Benefits of Early Childhood Education/Preschool Education
Earl childhood education is an investment in a country’s future
workplace and capacity to thrive economically and as a
society.

2.Child Advocacy
Child Advocacy aims to develop
resource to support advocacy for
individual children and their parents;
address child mental health,
educational, legal, and medical
issues; and provide support from local
and national legislative actions for
children.
 Benefits of Early Childhood Education/Preschool Education
Earl childhood education is an investment in a country’s future
workplace and capacity to thrive economically and as a
society.

3.Children from poverty, handicaps, and

at risks
Day-care centers provide
professional childcare, mandatory early
developmentally appropriate program
with the effort of producing children
with positive self-concept. This positive
self-concept is the foundation for an
individual to have a personality with
positive and healthy emotional, social,
moral and intellectual well-being.
 Foundations of Early
Childhood Education MAECE
(100)
Scope of Early Childhood
Education
 Objectives:
1. Determine the various components
that comprise the scope of early
childhood/preschool education.

2. Familiarize oneself with the scope of

early childhood/preschool education.
 Scope of the Early Childhood
Education
A. The purpose of the Program
B. Program Setting
C. Group Ages of Children
D. Sources of the Support Programs
 The Purpose of the Program

Early Childhood programs can be

defined by their purpose. The main
purpose of many programs is child care,
other is enrichment, the rest is
compensation for some lack of the
children’s readiness.
 The Purpose of the Program
Child Care
It is designed to provide care for children when
parents work full time or part time. The focus is on care
for the child and for educational, social, emotional, and
physical growth. The three main types of child care
options for most working families include in-home care,
family care, and child care centers. Many working
families are two-job households, and this means that
childcare is often delegated to childminders or crèches
on a full-time basis. Regardless of the type of care
chosen, a quality care provider should provide children
with light, bright and clean areas to play as well as
separate sleeping and eating areas.
 The Purpose of the Program

Enrichment
The early childhood education
program usually includes specific
activities to enhance socialization,
cognitive skills, or overall
development of young children.
 The Purpose of the Program
Compensatory
It aims to make up for some lack in the
children’s backgrounds. The basic philosophy
of these programs is to provide experiences
that will help children enter the mainstream
of society more successfully.
The idea behind compensatory is to, in a
sense, “compensate “ for these
disadvantages by expanding and improving
the educational programs offered to children
living in poverty.