Fourteen Benefits of Preschool Education.

Fourteen Proven Benefits of sending children to Preschool.

Preschool education refers to education of toddlers from the ages of three to five years. A lot of research has been done around this issue. The benefits of quality preschool education are now clear. Many parents are convinced of the benefits of preschool education. This article is aimed at those who are still uncertain of the benefits of preschool education. World wide, the number of children attending preschool classes is increasing. In some countries, close to 100% of children attend preschool. One example of such a country is France. In the US about 80 % of children attend preschool.

Reason One: Children who attend preschool usually turn out to be successful students. Preschool education increases their chances of success at school, college and university level. It is the writer’s opinion that this is a major reason why we should send our children to preschool. These finding are based on long term gains – longitudinal studies. About five studies have demonstrated this trend convincingly.

Reason Two: This is another educational gain. Children who attended quality preschool did much better on standardized tests. The outcomes were consistent over numerous tests. Michigan fourth graders who had attended preschool passed their state’s literacy and math assessment tests at higher rates than their peers who did not attend preschool when they were three to five years old.

Reason Three: Many children do badly in school as they progress chronologically, by failing in grades which have to be repeated. Repeating a grade is bad for all concerned – the child, the family, the school and the economy. It labels the child as a failure. The child’s feelings are hurt, other children often refer to this child as, “the failure”. Parents often end up saying to the child that he failed. This reinforces the “fail” mentality. The long term result is that the period of useful employment is reduced by at least one year. If more grades have to be repeated the losses are much more. Yale University’s Child Study Centre has reported this benefit.

Reason four: Many children who are not able to perform satisfactorily in regular class get placed in special education classes. Special Education is both costly and demotivating, in the long run, both to the child and the parents. Quality preschool education has the effect of reducing the need for placing children in special education. This saves money for the state, family and the school district.