Some Issues Impacting Preschoolage Children

1
Some Issues Impacting Preschool-age Children

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of TV
  and video viewing by young children?
• What are the effects of computer and internet use
  on young children?
• When and how should children learn to read?

2
Recommendations to Parents Regarding TV Viewing

• Watch with your child
• Turn the program off
• Limit viewing
• Use TV guides or a VCR
• Encourage children to be critical of messages
  they encounter

3
Research findings on young children and computer
use

• Social interactions
• Computers serve as a catalyst for social
  interactions
• Children prefer to work with a friend than alone.
• Curriculum
• Computers offer opportunities for learning
  through exploration, creative problem solving,
  self guided instruction

4
What is needed to realize the potential
advantages?

• Teacher training
• Access to computers

5
How accessible are computers and internet use to
all children?

• Gender, racial and socioeconomic disparities
• Families with children are more likely than ever
  to own a computer and have internet access.
• Differences in the way computers are used
• Implications Need for training and parent
  involvement

6
Learning to Read and Write (Neuman, Copple
Bredekamp, 2000)

• Lack of consensus on
• When do we teach children to read?
• How do we teach children to read?
• Does it just emerge naturally or do we need to
  teach skills?

7
Relationship between early language and later
reading ability

• Kindergartner scores on receptive language,
  narrative production and emergent literacy are
  high predictive of their scores on reading
  comprehension and receptive vocabulary in 4th and
  7th grade (Snow Dickinson, 1991)

8
Recommended Policies (NAEYC and IRA, 2000)

• A comprehensive, consistent system of early
  childhood professional preparation and ongoing
  professional development
• Sufficient resources to ensure classrooms,
  schools, and public libraries that include a wide
  range of high quality childrens books, computer
  software, and multimedia resources at various
  levels of difficulty and reflecting various
  cultural and family backgrounds.

9
Recommended Policies (NAEYC and IRA, 2000)

• Policies that promote childrens continuous
  learning progress.
• Appropriate assessment strategies that promote
  childrens learning and development
• Access to regular, ongoing health care for every
  child.
• Increased public investment to ensure access to
  high quality preschool and child care programs
  for all children who need them.