Early Childhood Education and Math Achievement Leslie A. Garcia EDCI-6348-01

Problem Early childhood education programs are said to be a foundational aspect of a child’s education. However, early literacy skills are heavily focused on, and mathematics is often left aside. How can early childhood education programs be deemed academically foundational if early literacy skills are emphasized?

Early Childhood Education Early Math Instruction Literature Review Early Childhood Education Preschool aids students social and emotional behaviors. Preschool students learn through play. Every aspect of early childhood education is extremely purposeful. The role of the early childhood teachers is to provide students with a wholesome, nurturing, and safe environment in which a child can learn. Early Math Instruction The subject of mathematics is one of the most commonly feared subjects. Math is the subject that causes the most anxiety within students. Some teachers have even expressed a fear of teaching math. It is age appropriate to challenge early childhood students in math, as this is the age in which children are the most curious and innate. Standardized Testing The school system has drastically evolved ever since the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act (2002). Standerdized testing has been the criteria for which school’s receive funds based on the school’s performance as a whole. This has caused for teachers to be forced to focus solely on testing subjects such as reading and math.

Research Question How does early childhood education programs affect later math achievement?

Methods Description of procedures: The study will take place at Jubilee leadership Academy in Brownsville, TX. The participants who participated were 4th grade students. Data Collection Procedures and Instruments: The instruments used to collect data, were surveys, and questionnaires. The first piece of data was collected from parents of participating students. This was a survey inquiring what type of early childhood education programs the students attended. The next piece of data was extracted from the participants themselves. This was a survey asking them how they felt about mathematics. It measured negative and positive feelings towards math. The last piece of information was collected from students personal records. Their STAAR scores from the year before.

Results/Findings Table 1 Table 2 Participants   Participants Early Childhood Education Math Survey: Math is confusing. Math Survey: I feel nervous about taking math tests. Standardized Exam Results Student 1 None No 1589; meets performance levels Student 2 Pre-k and Kinder 1621; meets performance levels Student 3 PreK and Kinder Yes 1467; approaches performance levels Student 4 1330; Did not meet performance levels Student 5 3 yr. Old, Pre-K, and Kinder 1675; Master performance level Table 1 Table 2

Analysis Table 1 In Table 1, we see the types of programs the participants attended. Overall, all except for one participant received early childhood education. The least type of program attended by participants was Head Start, no one attended 3 year old programs, and the most common program attended was Pre-Kinder and Kinder. Table 2 In table 2, both the math feelings survey and the score of their last math STAAR test were combined. They were placed side to side, to be able to see if there is any correlation between the feelings and the actual performance. We can see that there is no correlation between the two.

Discussion Conclusion: From my findings, I can conclude that, there is no effect between attending early childhood programs, and later math achievement. Significance: This is important to note, because it is contradicting to say that early childhood education is foundational academically, and actually have no later effect. Future Research: The next steps to take are to research later achievement id literacy, since this is what is heavily emphasized during early childhood. Perhaps, there will be significant results in that study.