Benefits of Schooling Children Before Age Three

Many families disagree with the idea of schooling children from a young age. However, specialists and studies have found that it can be beneficial, because lessons from the first stage of their life are the most enduring.

Specialists have found that before age three, children’s performance improves in areas like math, sciences, and language, yet  not many public schools offer options for this age of childhood education.

Private education is almost the same, but with a little more to offer.

Studies have shown that the rates of schooled children at three years or younger are very low.

Although there is no obligation for three-year-old children to start school, most families have followed this custom. 

What is this study based on?

According to the National Institute of Educational Evaluation in Spain, there are various factors that influence the effect that schooling has on students from the moment they enter school.

The study is based on the differences in children’s cognitive maturity.

While children older than three should have a superior level of maturity, it is also known that younger children have developed and internalized very complex lessons.

By this age, children should have mastered at least one linguistic structure and be able to understand elements of space, time, and numerical value.

At three, a child is capable of talking, understanding and making themselves understood. They can eat and are probably potty trained. Depending on their home environment and routine, they may also be able to identify shapes, colors, and textures.

In this sense, there’s no significant difference between children at this development level that are in school or not yet in school.

To obtain academic performance results, experts analyzed students from fourth grade in elementary school that had been schooled before three years of age. The study revealed that they can have a superior advantage of up to 40 points.

The study evaluated 28,000 Spanish children in fourth grade, and focused on four main areas like math, language, social interaction and citizenship, and knowledge of the nature.

The analysis concluded that the differences favored children schooled before three years of age.

Is it beneficial to school children before age three?

According to the studies, it is beneficial to enroll children in school before three years of age. In this case, the children who began attending classes after three saw disadvantages. Those who had started early childhood education had significant advantages.

This study also represents a lack of public educational facilities for children this young. Children less socio-economically favored are also starting off at a disadvantage.

Similarly, the study discovered that younger children don’t attain the required competencies as quickly. This means they struggle with more complex challenges and lack of experience.

The benefits of early enrollment in schools center around mathematical and linguistic competencies. This improves their communication skills and their development in all other areas.

Therefore it is beneficial for all students that the institutional level of education raises their standards.

Specialists advise increasing the number of available spaces for early childhood education and that there be more advanced programs incorporated.

Primary school education should be modified to offer a basic level of math and reading instruction.

Other factors including the curriculum structure of the institution, teachers’ education and methodology, and the school’s quality of education can affect the child’s early learning experience as well.