Education at an early age is crucial. Students are like
sponges and eager to learn.
In an article that I read, the British government is stating how they are planning to change the age of starting formal education. Formal education usually starts at age four. There has been research that shows that formal education starting at the age of seven is more beneficial for students. Research shows that the extension of informal, play-based pre-school provision helps the students develop as learners. It gives them time to develop their own way of thinking based on what they are exposed to in their environment. A research study was done that compares students who started formal education at an early age versus students who started later and it showed that there were no differences between the groups. The students who started formal education at an earlier age tended to have negative feelings towards reading. Attitude towards reading is based on the student’s first experience with a book. Exposing a child to a book has to be meaningful.
In an article that I read, the British government is stating how they are planning to change the age of starting formal education. Formal education usually starts at age four. There has been research that shows that formal education starting at the age of seven is more beneficial for students. Research shows that the extension of informal, play-based pre-school provision helps the students develop as learners. It gives them time to develop their own way of thinking based on what they are exposed to in their environment. A research study was done that compares students who started formal education at an early age versus students who started later and it showed that there were no differences between the groups. The students who started formal education at an earlier age tended to have negative feelings towards reading. Attitude towards reading is based on the student’s first experience with a book. Exposing a child to a book has to be meaningful.
Is it better to
let students explore and play before starting to learn and develop their
understanding? At an early age, children are learning from what they are
seeing. They are engaged and excited to learn about things. If a student begins
to learn at a young age, they will be better off in their class next year. They
will struggle less and be more successful with the content. The value of play
is very important as Piaget and Vygotsky believe that play and activity is
essential for cognitive development. There needs to be a good amount of
informal and formal education between the ages of four and seven. Students have the capability of having
formal education while still being able to play. The teacher is the key factor
that has to make the class enjoyable for the students making it seem like they
are playing.
Here's the article that talks about this debate:
http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/discussion/school-starting-age-the-evidence
Here's the article that talks about this debate:
http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/discussion/school-starting-age-the-evidence
- Anna de la Garza
Whitebread, D. (2013, Sept 24). School starting age: the evidence. Retrieved from
http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/discussion/school-starting-age-the-evidence
I am interested by the question you pose, "Is it better to let students explore and play before starting to learn and develop their understanding?". It seems that you do see the benefits of play but that a child does not begin to learn until they have begun their formal education -- but doesn't learning occur through play? I believe, and from what I understood the research also agrees -- that through exploration and play children do learn, and has more positive effects than formal education in the long run. Students seem to have more positive attitudes towards their education if they begin at a later age and have play.
ReplyDeleteOn a broader scope, I also wonder what are your thoughts on the duration of play in a child's schooling. You mention that it is crucial to balance "informal and formal education between the ages of four and seven", but why stop there? If the research tells us that there are all of these benefits from play (powerful learners and problem solvers) then why are we putting a limit on play? Why can't we incorporate a play-base model throughout a child's entire academic career? Why are we still under an ineffective education system when we see the success of the Scandinavian model: where children only start school at 7, spend less time in class or doing homework and have countries such as Finland which has been on the top of the charts when it comes to academic achievement.