Sophia Institute
  • Home
  • Info
    • About Rudolf Steiner
    • Blog
    • Enrollment
    • Faculty/Staff
    • FAQ
    • Feedback
    • History
    • Newsletter
    • Promotions
    • Support
    • Tuition Info
  • Courses
    • online Foundation Studies Program
    • online Waldorf Certificate Program
    • Local Facilitated Group Courses Program
    • Group Leader/Mentor Certification Program
    • online Biography Program
    • online Anthroposophy Courses
    • online Art Courses
    • Waldorf/Steiner Community Courses and Programs
    • Waldorf Teacher Training Individual Courses
    • Waldorf Teacher Training Art of Teaching Courses
  • Publications
    • Germans are Funny
    • A Maypole Dream
    • Holy Nights Journal
    • The Threefold Diary
    • Three Tales
    • Foundation Courses in Anthroposophy
    • Meditation and Initiation
    • The Ultimate Meeting Notebook
    • In The Garden
    • A Child's Seasonal Treasury
  • Contact

Early Academic Training Produces Long-Term Harm

8/25/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Many preschool and kindergarten teachers have told me that they are extremely upset—some to the point of being ready to resign—by the increased pressure on them to teach academic skills to little children and regularly test them on such skills.  They can see firsthand the unhappiness generated, and they suspect that the children would be learning much more useful lessons through playing, exploring, and socializing, as they did in traditional nursery schools and kindergartens.  Their suspicions are well validated by research studies.

A number of well-controlled studies have compared the effects of academically oriented early education classrooms with those of play-based classrooms (some of which are reviewed here (link is external), in an article by Nancy Carlsson-Paige, Geralyn McLaughlin,and Joan Almon).[1]  The results are quite consistent from study to study:  Early academic training somewhat increases children’s immediate scores on the specific tests that the training is aimed at (no surprise), but these initial gains wash out within 1 to 3 years and, at least in some studies, are eventually reversed.  Perhaps more tragic than the lack of long-term academic advantage of early academic instruction is evidence that such instruction can produce long-term harm, especially in the realms of social and emotional development.

More ...

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Sophia Institute offers a variety of programs, courses, publications and other resources to anyone interested in Anthroposophy and Waldorf/Steiner inspired education. Currently there are students from all over the world enrolled in the Sophia Institute online courses. Sophia Institute publications are available worldwide. The Sophia Institute newsletter and blog provide insights and information concerning the work of Anthroposophical initiatives, Waldorf/Steiner Schools, the Camphill Movement, and related endeavors. More ...
Copyright by Sophia Institute
Photos used under Creative Commons from Philms, rosmary