Early Childhood Education China vs Us Essay Example
Early Childhood Education in China vs. the United States
As a person born and raised in the United States and whom is currently working as a toddler teacher in the early childhood education system of the United States, it is interesting to compare similarities and differences as well as the strengths and weaknesses between the early childcare in the U.S. and China. When familiarizing myself with the early education in China, I was prepared to find vast differences in the way that the schools and programs were run, the environments the children were placed in, the methods of teaching and expectations of the young children. I was surprised to see that there is actually a balance between similarities within the two countries and their strengths and weaknesses. In China, children under three years old, they attend nurseries. Nurseries are a small group of children with many caregivers on hand. The caregivers are trained as nurses rather than teachers because the main goals are providing physical care and nurturing (Vaughan, 1993).
The ages from three years old to six years old are the most important when defining the early education period. Schooling at this age is called kindergarten (Scott). Kindergarten is a full-day program which provides child care and educational preparation. Public kindergarten programs are provided from the government, government-licensed private individuals and neighborhood committees, and work units. The government has full ownership of the school. There are three types of public kindergartens: department of education related, state organization or corporation related and local town or county related (Hu and Szente). In 1981 government regulations recommended children are separated by age into three groupings: juniors, middle and seniors for kindergarten. In these three groupings, education becomes more important than physical care and class sizes increase, ranging from 20 to 40 children, as age increases (Scott). Not only to the
As a person born and raised in the United States and whom is currently working as a toddler teacher in the early childhood education system of the United States, it is interesting to compare similarities and differences as well as the strengths and weaknesses between the early childcare in the U.S. and China. When familiarizing myself with the early education in China, I was prepared to find vast differences in the way that the schools and programs were run, the environments the children were placed in, the methods of teaching and expectations of the young children. I was surprised to see that there is actually a balance between similarities within the two countries and their strengths and weaknesses. In China, children under three years old, they attend nurseries. Nurseries are a small group of children with many caregivers on hand. The caregivers are trained as nurses rather than teachers because the main goals are providing physical care and nurturing (Vaughan, 1993).
The ages from three years old to six years old are the most important when defining the early education period. Schooling at this age is called kindergarten (Scott). Kindergarten is a full-day program which provides child care and educational preparation. Public kindergarten programs are provided from the government, government-licensed private individuals and neighborhood committees, and work units. The government has full ownership of the school. There are three types of public kindergartens: department of education related, state organization or corporation related and local town or county related (Hu and Szente). In 1981 government regulations recommended children are separated by age into three groupings: juniors, middle and seniors for kindergarten. In these three groupings, education becomes more important than physical care and class sizes increase, ranging from 20 to 40 children, as age increases (Scott). Not only to the