What is Early Childhood Education stages and importance

Ahmad JavedSeptember 12, 2023

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Early Childhood Education

Early childhood education is the first stage of basic education . It serves children from zero to five years of age, who are having their first contact with the school, and for this very reason integrates teaching and care, functioning as a complement to family education. But what is the purpose of early childhood education?

Its main objective is to promote in young students the development of physical, motor, cognitive, social and emotional aspects, in addition to encouraging exploration, discoveries and experimentation. It is also at this stage that children begin to interact with people outside their family and community circle, mainly through games and activities that involve playfulness .

Early Childhood Education is the child’s first contact with the school experience and encompasses the important phase of life between 2 and 5 years of age. In this way, it provides the integral development of the individual in its physical, psychological, intellectual and social aspects. Faced with this, it is essential to understand the importance of this school period in the child’s growth and how the school can contribute to the student’s cognitive advancement.

What are the stages of early childhood education?

As mentioned, Early Childhood Education is aimed at the age group from zero to five years old. However, it is only mandatory in Brazil for children aged four and over. Before that, teaching is optional, being done in kindergartens or preschools.

Briefly, we can divide the stages of early childhood education into five groups, separated by age. Are they:

Nursery: babies up to 11 months,
Group 1: children aged 1 to 2 years,
Group 2: children aged 2 years,
Group 3: children aged 3 years,
Group 4: children aged 4 years,
Group 5: children aged 5 years,

The activities for each group include reading, painting, educational games, using puppets, playing with play dough, dancing and much more. The objective in this age group up to five years is to expand the universe of experiences, knowledge and skills of children. For the work of early childhood education to have results, it is essential to have a dynamic, creative, motivating pedagogical work for the little ones.

What is the importance of Early Childhood Education?

The school’s role is to promote the learning process in the child’s life, regardless of the stage. Thus, Early Childhood Education is also a stage that needs to fulfill this objective.

In addition, Early Childhood Education can impact even the final years of education and the professional life of future adults. Therefore, it is essential to understand the real importance of Early Childhood Education in the following topics.

The impact of early childhood education on adult life

During this phase, numerous skills and competencies are developed. For example, writing, reading, logical comprehension and interpretation of concepts. In elementary school, basic learning comes into play, such as mathematics , history, Portuguese, and so on.

With these two solid initial stages, the student is able to arrive more prepared for High School and, in this way, dedicate himself to the ENEM and the entrance exam more safely. After all, many of the questions applied in this exam are based on skills such as reading, interpreting and reasoning logically.

Construction of Citizenship and Social Conviviality

In this phase, between 0 and 5 years old, the child begins to develop a sense of citizenship. That is, she begins to absorb information and question the actions that happen around her.

Therefore, it is important that the school, as well as the parents, teach the child from an early age about their obligations and rights as citizens. In this context, social interaction serves to develop a sense of the collective.

The child learns to know himself and the other, having contacts with other opinions and ways of dealing with situations, encouraging respect and empathy.