Describe both child-centered preschool or kindergarten programs and academic programs. Which type of programming does the research favor for early childhood?
What will be an ideal response?
Preschool and kindergarten programs range along a continuum from child-centered to teacher-directed. In child-centered programs, teachers provide a variety of activities from which children select, and much learning takes place through play. In contrast, in academic programs, teachers structure children's learning, teaching letters, numbers, colors, shapes, and other academic skills through formal lessons, often using repetition and drill.
Despite evidence that formal academic training in early childhood undermines motivation and emotional well-being, preschool and kindergarten teachers have felt increased pressure to take this approach. Young children who spend much time passively sitting and completing worksheets display more stress behaviors (such as wiggling and rocking), have less confidence in their abilities, prefer less challenging tasks, and are less advanced in motor, academic, language, and social skills at the end of the school year. Follow-ups reveal lasting effects through elementary school in poorer study habits and achievement. These outcomes are strongest for low-SES children.
You might also like to view...
Regarding infant sensory abilities, which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Infants develop the ability to detect their mother's odor after three months of age. b. Newborns can discriminate among different tastes and show a preference for sweetness. c. Newborns can recognize a scrambled picture of their mother's face just as well as a properly arrangedpicture
d. By about 4 to 6 months of age, infants show a preference for faces reflecting their own racial characteristics. e. By about 2 months of age, infants have developed basic color vision.
The first significant supporting evidence for a biological cause of a mental disorder was the 19th century discovery that the psychotic disorder called general paresis was caused by the same bacterial microorganism that causes a. malaria
b. Alzheimer's disease. c. syphilis. d. The common cold.
Studies of the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral treatment for bulimia nervosa have demonstrated a. significant short-term gains in the reduction of purging but little change in binge eating behavior. b. significant short-term gains in the reduction of binge eating but no long-term gains
c. a few short-term gains in the reduction of binge eating and purging but no long-term gains. d. significant short- and long-term gains in the reduction of binge eating and purging.
The preparedness theory of phobia suggests that:
A) there is a critical time period in which the body prepares for a phobic episode. B) we learn to fear objects because of classical conditioning. C) more women than men experience phobic disorders. D) we are instinctively predisposed towards certain fears.