The Future of Preschool Education

Candra BoydPost University

Apple Tree Children’s Center

Apple Tree Children’s Center is a child care facility that is located in Hamden CT. Apple Tree Children’s Center services children from six weeks to five years of age.

There are five location operating in the state of Connecticut. Hamden, Middletown, Avon, Grandby and East Grandby

Apple Tree Children's Centers in Connecticut are a part of the Bradford Child Care Services a non-profit organization that has been providing child care and early childhood education since 1982.

Apple Tree Children’s Center programs are designed to meet the needs of a broad range of children, from infants all the way up to school-aged.

Through observations and interactions, Apple Tree Children’s Center teachers determine how each child in their care grows and learn, and adapt their lessons appropriately.

There is limited use of technology . The children learn through play and hands on activities.

Tablets & Gaming Systems

Tablets and gaming systems are two modern day technologies that have been intergraded into the leaning process. Tablets are a touch screen mobile computer that allows a individual to search for information via the internet. Gaming systems can be played in conjunction with a tablet. These two technologies are great learning tool in the educational setting. When used intentionally and appropriately with the guidance of an early childhood professional children will gain academic skills as well as technology skills in a educational setting.

Tablets provides teachers and students up to date information and the use of multimedia in the classroom. Young children are able to access educational websites to help build new skills in a new and exciting way.

Abcmouse.com Pbskids.org Education.com

Gaming is a interactive media source that gives children visuals to promote their mathematical and verbal skills. “Gaming is allowing young learners the opportunity to practice new and old skills and provide instant feedback” (Meyer,2013).

Scenarios

Scenario is a futuring technique that allows an organization to plan realistic futures. “A scenario is normally developed by studying the facts of a situation, selecting something that might happen, and imagining the various ways for that development to occur and the sequence of events that might follow” (World Future Society, n.d.).

According to Advantages and disadvantages of scenario approaches for strategic foresight (Mietzner, 2005).

Strengths WeaknessScenarios do not describe just one future, but several desirable futures placed side by side.

The practice of scenario is very time consuming. Scenario building can take half a day.

Recognizes weak signals, discontinuities or disruptive events and includes into long-range planning.

More qualitative approach has to put a strong emphasis on the selection of suitable participant/experts.

The large number of different scenario techniques point out that the ways of building a scenario are very flexible and can be adjusted.

Data and information from different sources have to be collected and interpreted which makes scenario building more time consuming.

Scanning Scanning is another technique used in futuring. This

technique involves observational and research based data.

Scanning is an ongoing effort to identify significant changes in the world beyond the organization or group doing the scanning (World Future Society, n.d.).

Scanning focuses mainly on trends. It also focuses on the, changes that occur through time rather than events, and changes that occur very quickly and generally are less significant for understanding the future (World Future Society, n.d.).

The challenges with scanning are: Overabundance of information. Scanning is time consuming.

The strengths associated with scanning are: Focuses on trends. Focuses on the changes that occur through time rather

than events. Scanning collects usable data/ information that can be

used in conjunction with scenarios to plan for the future.

Educational Technology Trends

The use of tablets is starting to gain more momentum in the preschool world. According to Education Commission (2012) “Fifty-two percent of young children (zero to eight) have access to a smartphone, video iPod, or tablet such as an iPad or Android device” (p. 2).

The use of gaming will also be an important aspect of learning in a preschool classroom. The children will be learning new concepts through interactive child appropriate games via the internet website or an App loaded on to a tablet or game console. “The use of gaming on an iPad can help to motivate and engage children in an activity, some children seem to take better to the visuals nature of these devices and games” (An, 2014, p. 65).

Economic /Budgetary Trends

Preschool and child care programs all face the same problem. How to secure federal, state and local funding to support their programs. According to Education Commission (2013) “The cost of k-12 education is shared among federal, state, and local governments in all fifty states” (p. 2).

President Obama has proposed an initiative to provide funding for children from age birth to five from middle and low income families to have access to high quality preschool programs. There is also a Preschool Development Grant that has provided many states with funding. “There have been eighteen states that have received new federal funding to help provide high-quality preschool programs in over 200 high-need communities. The winning states will enroll over 33,000 additional children in high-quality preschool” (Early Learning, n.d.).

Demographic Trends

Children between the ages birth to five from all races and nationalities attend preschool/child care programs across the united states.

“Fifty percent of four-year olds who come from low income families are enrolled in preschool, while seventy six percent of children enrolled in preschool come from affluent families (Kearney, 2014).

Vision Plan

Provide high quality preschools in all fifty states for all children.

Integration of new technologies within the classroom.

Provide each classroom with tablets that are preloaded with educational apps and games.

Plan for Change

Provide more child friendly technology

Develop curriculum that promotes the use of technology with young children

Develop a budget for more technology

Provide more training for teachers and staff in diversity and technology

Call For Action

For preschool programs to ensure that they are providing high quality education administrators need to: Train and hire more high quality educators in early

childhood education. Programs need to also provide more training classes

that are geared towards two to four year old children.

Administrators and educators need to be prepared for the variety of students and families that they are providing their service to know and understand their educational needs.

Educators also need to be trained in the proper use of the technologies they will be using in their classrooms.

Reference

An, H., Morgenlander, M., & Seplocha, H. (2014). Children's Gadgets: Smartphones and Tablets. Exchange

(19460406), (219), 65-68.

Education Commission. (August 2012).

Technology in early education: Building platforms for connections and content that strengthen families and pro

mote success in school

. The Progress of Education Reform, 13(4), 1-7.

Early Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/early-childhood

Kearney, M., & Harris, B. (Eds.). (June 2014). Policies to Address Poverty in America. Retrieved from

http://www.brookings.edu/~/

media/Research/Files/Papers/2014/06/19_hamilton_policies_addressing_poverty/policies_address_poverty_in_a

merica_full_book.pdf#page=21

Meyer, B (2013) Game-Basd Language Learning for Pre-School Children: A Design Perspective. Electronic Journal of

e-Learning 11(1) 39-48

 

Reference

Mietzner, D., & Reger, G.(2005). Advantages and disadvantages of scenario approaches for strategic

foresight. Int. J. Technology Intelligence and Planning, 1(2), 220–239

World Future Society (n.d.) Dictionary of Foresight. http://www.wfs.org/dictionary

World Future Society (n.d.) Methods. Retrieved from http://www.wfs.org/methods