Name

Institution

Date

Early Childhood Model

The history of the head start program goes back to a task that was issued to a panel of child development experts by the Federal Government whose aim was to develop a program that would help low-income families and communities that were marginalized in terms of resources with raising educated preschool children. The panel issued a report of what would become the blueprint for the early head start program. In the report, the pane suggested an eight-week summer program that was officially launched in 1965 by the Office of Economic Opportunity (Zigler & Styfco, 2010).

The head start program or the early head start program was started with the aim of increasing social competence in children from low-income families and those with disabilities and provide facilities that ensure they reach their full potential in school and eventually in their lives. These programs promote school readiness by improving the social and cognitive growth of children by providing them with health, education, nutritional and other basic social services (Love et al. 2013). The model also engages parents in their children’s learning and assists them in evaluating progress toward the education, literacy and employment goals of their children. The head start program identifies the parent as the first teacher that is why they can emphasis on their involvement is put in the administration of grassroots head start programs. These programs are found in all 50 states and all the U.S. territories including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia and serve migrant children as well as American Indian families.

Early head start promotes the development of children through home visits, engaging and supporting parents, offering high-quality childcare, ensuring the health and proper nutrition of these children as well as behavioral health services. These services are customized according to the needs of each locality and family. Since 1969, the head start model has evolved and responded to years of evidence and the adaptation of evidence-based practices. The model offers an ideal laboratory for the study of active child growth and learning. Extensive research supported by the Department of Health and Human reinvigorates practices bolsters practices and ensure the programs are ideal for meeting the needs of the children. These practices ensure the programs create a deeper understanding of how children learn and factors that support healthy development.

Head start is a federal law that reenacted in 2007 under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Administration for Children and Families department. This institution offer grants to private non-profit organizations and local public agencies in every State and government territory to implement the program in migrant camps and tribal communities and ensure they are aligned with performance standards. The grantees are offered the chance to create models they feel suitable for the communities they serve such as home-based or school-based programs or whether the program runs part-time or fulltime. These grants are given in five-year intervals that are followed by evaluation and auditing to ensure that the program in accordance with the performance standards. Programs are monitored and underperforming grantees are removed from the system and the grant put up for other organizations to compete for. In addition to these core services and supports, that include remunerating educators, some funds are directed towards training and technical support, for research, the demonstration of innovative program models, evaluation and monitoring expenses.

Head start is also a part of the broader early childhood sphere. For instance, the head start collaboration offices are found at the state level and ensure the partnership between agencies operating the head start program and other state entities that offer services to benefit children and families from low-income demographics. Child care partnerships are another example of how early childhood plans can work in collaboration with head start to provide the best services possible for more families and children.

Early head start has four major components; education, health, social services, parental involvement and one minor component in fatherhood initiative. Head start ensures children learn in a positive educational environment by ensuring various learning experiences. These include introducing children joining school to words and numbers, socialization with fellow children, as well as outdoor and indoor play. There is the option of home-based or center-based classes under head start. In home-based settings, teachers visit children in their homes and join parents in learning and development skills.

Early head start acknowledges health as n important building block for success and promotes its maintenance. The program provides comprehensive health care that includes mental health, dental, medical and nutritional services (Glatt, 2016). The program also provides children enrolled with healthy food and snacks. The program ensures health problems are addressed, support further education on the importance of health maintenance in educational success, and nutrition.

Social services entail community outreach, assessment of the needs of families, referrals, child recruitment and enrolment, emergency assistance and crisis response. Head start also collaborates with other community agencies and initiatives to ensure the needs of less privileged children are met.

Head start defines the role of a parent as crucial to its success and views this lot like the first educators of children. For this reason, parents are involved in each phase of the program including serving on policy councils, participating in workshops and parent education seminars and programs, and also serve as classroom volunteers.

The fatherhood initiative is not considered as important as the other four and not officially acknowledged but the importance of male involvement in the life of a child is considered crucial. The involvement of a male role model in the life of a child facilitates the development of certain values and influences their development. Head start provides the opportunity to bring together a child and their important role model. This program is new and is being gradually introduced into the program.

Positive relationships with children are crucial because they become more comfortable with separating with their parents and the support system (Howard, Martin, Berlin, & Brooks-Gunn, 2011). They become more secure and use their surroundings, which means they are more likely to interact with their peers, join playtimes and learning activities. Children being at ease helps them enjoy their childhood and become active in kindergarten. Children develop language faster when they interact with grownups.

Learning in children happens when they feel secure. Positive relationships provide a child with a feeling of safety, which is the most essential requirement for learning and developing. Just like adults, children want to be safe, secure, independent and feel loved. These social and emotional needs are essential for every human. Children learn about the world and their place in it through trusting relationships with adults. They understand that society is safe and responsive to their needs. Through adult relationships particularly with parents, their first teachers, they learn to create friendships, relationships with their peers and others such as teachers and they become able to communicate. In the same way, they learn to face challenges, experience and regulate emotions (Cline & Edwards, 2017).

Supporting the social and emotional healthy growth of children requires commitment from every primary caregiver in the life of the child. These primary caregivers are nuclear and extended family members. It is also essential for these primary caregivers to understand that children observe how adults interact and what they gather from these adults shapes their expectations of how other people outside should treat them or interact with others. It shapes their developing social skills and emotional competence.

It is obvious that the pace of technology has changed drastically over the years and educators are striving to equip learners with the skills required to match the fast pace of the 21st Century. Early childhood teachers use several strategies to prepare young children for the boundless future in advance. The first strategy is integrating technology since children today are born in the age of the internet. Most children are more technologically savvy than some adults and children are going through motions of integrating technology. The strategy has not been very successful because the teachers are not very well equipped with the knowledge of tools they use, as well as an understanding of how to interact with technology to enhance learning.

The other strategy is cooperative learning strategies that increase class engagement and encourage interaction among learners. Instead of using a student-centered approach the learners discuss the material with friends and groups and maximizing the level of participation. The other strategy is using differentiated instruction that responds to the needs of the students in the class. Goal setting allows teachers to help children to take responsibility for their learning. The other strategy is the use of cross-curriculum teaching where teachers, educate children beyond the traditional teaching of subjects in isolation. Teaching several subjects concurrently allows an in-depth understanding of concepts and skills.

The role of parents is being the best role model for their children. Children, imitate, react, and behave in the same way they see their parents do. Parents also are required to offer unconditional love and help a child to be positive, healthy and ready for learning. The major challenges of teachers are to offer students meaningful learning experiences and nurture the child’s learning. a child’s social skills are first learned at school and taught by a teacher. So a teacher that is open-minded, well planned and balanced has great power to shape the development of a child.

References

Cline, K. D., & Edwards, C. P. (2017). Parent–child book-reading styles, emotional quality, and changes in early head start children’s cognitive scores. Early Education and Development, 28(1), 41-58.

Glatt, K., Okunseri, C., Flanagan, D., Simpson, P., Cao, Y., & Willis, E. (2016). Evaluation of an oral health education session for early head start home visitors. Journal of public health dentistry, 76(3), 167-170.

Howard, K., Martin, A., Berlin, L. J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2011). Early mother–child separation, parenting, and child well-being in Early Head Start families. Attachment & human development, 13(1), 5-26.

Love, J. M., Chazan-Cohen, R., Raikes, H., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2013). What makes a difference: Early Head Start evaluation findings in a developmental context. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 78(1), vii-viii.

Zigler, E., & Styfco, S. J. (2010). The hidden history of Head Start. Oxford University Press.