The President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Jeffrey Lacker, recently made these observations in a Washington Post editorial:
"...Recently, a consensus has developed that human capital is more than just the number of years spent in school or on the job. Research suggests that noncognitive skills — such as following instructions, patience and work ethic — lay the foundation for mastering more complex cognitive skills and may be just as important a determinant of future labor market success. These basic emotional and social skills are learned very early in life, and it can be difficult for children who fall behind to catch up: Gaps in skills that are important for adult outcomes are observable by age 5 and tend to persist into adulthood.
"What does the economics of human capital imply for workforce development programs? Several insights are especially relevant. First, it makes economic sense to concentrate intensive human capital investment in the form of formal schooling on the young: The earlier workers invest, the longer they have to profit from their investments. In addition, because earnings typically increase with age, young people attending school tend to sacrifice less by way of forgone earnings than older workers. Another key takeaway is that investments in early childhood can affect later decisions about formal schooling. If the foundations for learning are laid very early, then even mild delays in acquiring noncognitive skills might make skill acquisition more challenging later in life; after all, why try as hard to get good grades, stay in high school or enroll in college when those efforts might not pay off?"
Mind in the Making |
Comments (6)
Displaying All 6 CommentsBrentwood, NY, United States
we agree that formal "schooling" for the young is not desirable, as we currently know "schooling" to be. This points out the need to differentiate between "schooling" and "learning" not only for the preschool years but for the early primary grades (and beyond for that matter). It's wonderful that people outside the early childhood community of professionals are finally recognizing the need to invest in early learning but that investment will be wasted if we use it to fund programs that are not consistent with what the research tells us about how children learn.
Kids World
Bellingham , Washington, United States
Formal schooling for the very young.? Not what children need
Kids World
Bellingham , Washington, United States
Formal schooling for the young?
We need to do more to stay out of a young child's way and less of formal schooling.
" formal schooling of the very young.
Wow, this is not support or understanding of a child or the development of a olive fir learning.
PDS Council for Professional Development
Olmpia, WA, United States
I am happy that the importance of early childhood is now being recognized but find the
push for academics in Kindergarten and preschool to be inappropriate and scary.
Nat's Day Care
Philadelphia, PA, United States
The pictures are awesome and so relevant to today's moms. I wonder what the children are doing now.
House of Neuville Jewels
Dallas, TX, United States
The High/Scope curriculum is the only research-validated early childhood curriculum existing today. I taught that program in public school/preschool for 14 yrs & and I saw the children blossom in all areas of learning. Go to highscope.org and look up the Perry Preschool Project to find out more about the research.
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