Focus On Early Childhood Education

     Early childhood education is the formal teaching and care of young children by people other than their family or in settings outside of the home. 'Early childhood' is usually defined as before the age of normal schooling - five years in most nations, though the U.S. National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) instead defines 'early childhood' as before the age of eight.
   A child's needs during early childhood are different from those of older schoolchildren, because early childhood sees the greatest growth and development, when the brain develops most rapidly, almost at its fullest. It is a period when walking, talking, self-esteem, vision of the world and moral foundations are established.early years of life are critical to the development of intelligence, personality and social behaviour.
     Research on brain development attests to the importance of key mental, physical and social capabilities. If these fundamental capabilities are not well established from the start, and especially if neurological damage occurs, a child's learning potential could be adversely affected.[citation needed] As such, education in early childhood must have its own specific practices and issues.
     For programming purposes, it has been decided to extend the concept of early childhood to about 8 years of age. This age range provides the opportunity to reinforce the view of the development as a continuum. It will facilitate the interaction between the pre and initial school years. The concept of basic education calls for the inclusion of early childhood and the key "survival" grades, that is, the first two or three grades of primary education.Early childhood education often focuses on children learning through play.