|Above copied from |
My World: The United Nations Global Survey for a Better World
The route to a high quality education is not that obvious. Evidence from peer reviewed research is important. Take, for example, preschool education. There is almost no argument against teaching children while they are young. Preschool education is considered good by everyone, yet not all preschool programs are good or even effective. Equally important, not every goal can be realistically assigned to a preschool. There is a limit to what preschools can do.
There is a recent research from the Harvard Graduate School of Education that examines what works in preschool education and in what areas such programs really have a significant effect. The paper published in the journal Child Development has the following abstract:
The study shows that a combination of evidence-based curriculum and trained (BA or masters' level) teachers can lead to significant improvements in academic skills (language, literacy, numeracy and mathematics). The curriculum covered by the study includes "Opening the World" for literacy and "Building Blocks" for mathematics. A successful program apparently also requires coaching through which experts provide model instruction, observe teachers, and offer constructive feedback. A successful program almost breathes like a living system, responding to the specific needs of a school or community. The study, of course, still has limitations, but one thing should be clear, preschool education is not like anything goes. Quality education in preschool does not happen with just volunteer teachers and any curriculum. In preschool, there are good and there are bad programs. That is why it is important to keep in mind that a million people across the globe did not just say "education", but "good education".