I have been studying the website National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). I subscribed to their Online News and received volume 11, issue 15. In this volume they talk about new research on autism. This study is relevant to me because the majority of the children that I work with are on the autism spectrum. Did you know that autism can be spotted in children as young as age two with the use of electroencephalogram tests (EEGs)? Early intervention is best so early knowledge is always good resource.
What I found interesting is that United States ranks 24th on early childhood because preschool access and quality vary too much from one area of the country to another. The top three ranking countries are Finland, Sweden, and Norway. We should look at these countries and follow their example by making our preschools more accessible and have high-quality center throughout the country.
Neuroscientists had to set the record straight in New Hampshire when a “state representative remark that kindergarten results in criminal activity after his research found a link between crime rates and access to kindergarten in communities throughout the state” (NIEER, 2012, para. 5). “Correlation does not mean causation” (NIEER, 2012, para. 5). It goes to show that you need to learn how to analyze your research properly. NIEER Director W. Steven Barnett wrote a paper providing insights on how to do this. You can find his paper at http://nieer.org/resources/research/PreschoolEducation.pdf.
Jumpstart, a national organization dedicated to improving school readiness outcomes for low-income children, established National Early Education Council (NEEC). The NEEC is to advise Jumpstart strategies and bring together key players in the early childhood field. I thought that this was something with checking out. You can find the Jumpstart webpage at http://www.jstart.org/.
Resource
National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). (2012). NIEER Online News, 11(15). Retrieved from http://www.nieer.org/publications/online-newsletters.
Finland, Norway, and Sweden ROCK!!!!!!!!!!! They are true countries who understand and acknowledge the full return early childhood programs have on their children. I am defintaely going to read the article on Autisim as I have alot of children with either the diagnosis or the tendancies. Did you know the military dependent children are twice as liekly to have autisim than children who are not military affiliated? I loved the neroscientist blasting the New Hampshire rep. I wish I could of seen his or her face and said maybe now you will take us seriously. Great website and resources!
ReplyDeleteI did not know that an EEG could be used to diagnose Autism in children. That is very interesting. I wonder why it is not more widely used for diagnoses. Ranking 24th is nothing to be proud of that is for sure. I just hope from here we can improve. Looking at Finland, Norway, and Sweden and how their early childhood program is so successful would be a great start for the US.
ReplyDeleteI had a bio statistics teachers that absolutely drilled it into our brains the correlations does not mean causation. I laughed a little when I read that line. What a silly thing to say the pre-school access leads to higher rates of crime. Honestly, I don't know how any person could believe that. I am sure there are situations where it doesn't help prevent future delinquency if it is not a very good program, but to actually increase delinquency.. nahh I don't think so. I hope that person was put in his place and taught a thing or two.
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