Introduction
Since the introduction of preschool in first and third-world countries, parents have been forced to adapt to this new learning mode. Children are now supposed to attend school at the age of three years. It is not necessarily formal learning but a foundation of a child’s education in school. The main problem is that the parents have not embraced this. This problem has been evaluated based on experience, understanding, meaning, and observation. In addition, statistics point out that a significant number of parents do not allow their children to attend preschool. The main assumption of the study is that parents fail to enroll their children in preschool education due to reasons known to them, not ignorance or awareness. Parents play a huge role in the development of their children’s physical and psychological health directly and indirectly through their participation in their children’s early education.
Reasons for Non-participation in Preschool Education
Poverty is the main reason parents delay taking their children to preschool. Many parents save for formal education due to the belief that preschool is not important to their children. Many parents are paranoid about letting their children go at the age of 3; they believe that the children do not get one-on-one attention in school from the educators. They are many in a class. Therefore, their young ones do not get direct and personal attention compared to when they are home (Ansari et al., 2019). The parents assume that a kid of that age will be overwhelmed by education since their mental capacity has not yet developed.
Family background characteristics and participation in preschool correlate. Children from disadvantaged families participate to a lesser extent in their early education due to a lack of resources such as school fees and food. The parents are not in a capacity to take their children to school early because of the unaffordable services and requirements in the schools (Annonciata & Nadege, 2020). The efforts to support children’s education depend on the state of the family background. Many regards early learning as a luxury that high-end families can afford. Therefore, in a few cases, it is not a choice for the parents to deny their children early education.
The parent’s involvement in their children’s preschool education depends on the level of education the parents attained. It corresponds to the child’s literacy interest. It is because they both reflect the parent’s interest in educating their children. Research says that the geographic location of the parents also affects their participation and interest in sending their children to preschool (Annonciata & Nadege, 2020). Rural areas do not emphasize preschool. Parents at the urban centers send their children to preschool because they lack time to stay home and teach them. Other parents judge the efficiency of preschool education according to their past experiences with preschool teachers. It could have been an observation of how they mishandled their children when they were young. This has made them not trust people with their 3-year-olds.
However, certain factors have influenced the parent’s perceptions of preschool. First, they assume that the teachers are inexperienced and unaware of the preschool curriculum (Zerpa, 2021). This puts their children at risk since inexperienced teachers teach them. The lack of teaching materials, such as crayons and toys, hinders the teachers from conducting their teaching efficiently. The parent’s involvement in preschool education for their children is based on a certain fee, which could be unaffordable to others (Zerpa, 2021). Others believe that what is taught in kindergarten is a repetition of what is taught in preschool, therefore see no need to send their children to preschool.
The communication element here comes between the children, parents, and their teachers in school. Parent-teacher collaboration is important in children’s academic life, especially the young ones (Heath & Thomas, 2020). The parent-teacher relationship is critical for developing children’s communication skills during early childhood education. Preschool is where children learn the most basic foundation of language and communication. Even though the main focus of preschool education is play, some situations stem from there that the children gain skills to handle (Heath & Thomas, 2020). They gain social skills to make friends and play with one another, the most basic language skills, drive, and decision-making skills. The children play, sing, and learn about numbers and letters, which lays a foundation for other learning in the future. Emotional development helps children to consider the feelings of others during play.
Effects of Non-participation in Preschool Education
Language is the most principal mode of communication. In preschool, the students are taught the main segments of language, which are letters and numbers (Ansari, 2018). Children learn how to express themselves progressively with time at preschool. They gain skills such as efficient communication, teamwork, and unity with other children by interacting with others. This prepares them for kindergarten and other stages of education. When a parent does not allow their children to attend preschool, they deny them the luxury of interacting with children of their age ad embracing education at earlier stages (Ansari, 2018). Therefore, when the children join kindergarten or after that, it is hard for them to catch up. This causes difficulties even when they are progressing to formal education.
Non-participation in preschool affects the child’s literacy at the later levels of primary school. An early start in education is crucial in shaping children’s literacy levels. In the Progress Reading Literacy Study, the performance of the children who did not attend preschool is relatively lower than those who attended the later levels of primary school (Heath & Thomas, 2020). This means that preschool education provides relevant learning skills for the children, which helps them at the later stages of their formal education. Lack of it leads to the child losing literal foundation, affecting their general performance.
Early childhood education improves the student’s competency skills in education. Research shows that disadvantaged students did not enter preschool or were late to participate in the activities (Ginner Hau, 2022). Compared to their advantaged peers, they slowly learn since they skipped the most important educational stage. Therefore, early childhood education supports the child’s literacy acquisition. Human development mainly contributes to the levels and stages of education that one has passed. Preschool is the most basic stage of informal education, which prepares the children psychologically, and lays a firm foundation for what they learn in school (Heath & Thomas, 2020). Non-participation in preschool denies the child a chance to grow collectively and individually. The developmental characteristics of human beings are interdependent with the dynamics of the education systems. If a child skips one stage, their developmental processes are interrupted. The school system is a process in that if a child skips one stage in the process, it is likely to affect them in the future.
The children who did not participate in preschool spent their time at home, receiving less learning support than those who attended in three years. This affected their perception of school. Statistics say that many do not take academics seriously in their later years (Ginner Hau, 2022). This is because their parents did not send them to school early to get acquitted and prepare for academics. This, therefore, reflects parents’ interest and perception of the education system. It corresponds to how children view education. In other words, a parent who took their children to preschool is considered more serious with their education than a parent who did not. Therefore, by observation, the children can develop their view about school according to their parent’s response towards the different dynamics of education.
Communication is the most basic component of education in early childhood education. Children are taught communication elements, such as non-verbal communication (Sollars, 2020). They are taught to express themselves through visual arts, talking, dancing, and singing. These lessons lay a foundation for what is taught in kindergarten. For instance, by singing, the children are taught the letters of the alphabet, making it easy for them to progress in reading and writing. With this knowledge, they can form words and sentences later. Therefore, what they are taught in kindergarten is the components of language. The children who do not participate in preschool education find it hard as they cope with the bulk in kindergarten. Communication skills such as effective expression and social interaction are gained in early education in schools (Gershon & Pellitteri, 2018). Children can have social, physical, creative, and problem skills through play.
In preschool, children can make friends of the same age group. This improves their interactive skills with each other. They can solve conflicts and other issues which might arise in class. Others gain leadership skills and self-drive. These children can make their own decisions on basic issues, such as the kind of friends they want to associate with (Heath & Thomas, 2020). Preschool is a guide of what is to happen in the later years of their formal education, an experience that no parent would want to deny her child.
Solutions
Parents should be encouraged to take an active role in participating in their children’s education. Participation in children’s education includes taking their children through all stages of the school system, encouraging them, counseling them, and following up on the evaluation result (Sollars, 2020). It also involves paying school fees and other required payments and maintaining a proper parent-teacher relationship. The parents are encouraged to attend their children’s meetings without fail. Proper tracking of their children’s progress from preschool will educate them on its importance in their lives (Gershon & Pellitteri, 2018). This helps the parents to know the importance of the education system to the children, including informal learning. If the parents uphold the importance of education, they set an example for their children. Proper participation in education by parents and children enhances their performance in the latter days of formal education.
Parents should be educated on the importance of preschool education in their children’s life. The knowledge will help them make the right choice concerning their children’s early education (Gershon & Pellitteri, 2018). The awareness cancels the notion that children do not need preschool and other misconceptions, such as that learning in kindergarten is the repetition of what was learned in preschool. It will prove to the parents that preschool education is as important as any other class in primary school, if not more. The awareness will point out the particulars such as the mode and methods of learning, the safety of the children, and the ways to avert crisis (Brown et al., 2018). It improves the trust of the parents and teachers of the education system. This guarantees the safety of the children to the parents since many of them feel insecure about letting their three-year-old go to school.
The government and authorities should remove the charges in formal and informal education. It makes accessing early education easier for every child, especially children from disadvantaged backgrounds (Lauk, 2021). It motivates the parents to encourage their children to school since no price will be incurred. With every child in their peer groups accessing education, no child will feel left out or suffer deteriorating performance in the last days of their education life. All levels of education will be accessible to everyone, which is fair to every child.
Conclusion
Early childhood development is critical to a person’s later development. People’s actions, behaviors, and thoughts can be traced back to their childhood situations and environment. Parents are also very important in their child’s development. If they are involved and provide a nurturing and rich environment for their child, they positively contribute to their child’s development, which will benefit them later in life. The human brain is most impressionable in the first few years of life. This is why these years are crucial and can impact a person’s life well into adulthood. Lack of early education and negative social interactions, such as being isolated as a child, can lead to a child not learning. Preschool education helps nurture children and gives them a healthy environment for their growth and development. Overall, early childhood development is a critical issue that needs to be addressed. Every parent must understand and be aware of the importance of the first several years of their child’s life. They should not be afraid to conduct research or seek assistance on this subject if necessary.
References
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Lauk, R. A. (2021). The Opportunity and Solution for Sustainability. Higher Education’s Looming Collapse: Using New Ways of Doing Business and Social Justice to Avoid Bankruptcy, p. 157.
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