The authors note that since 1996 issues in early childhood education in the US that have gained importance include: shortage of good care for infants and toddlers, language and culture issues for the increasing immigrant numbers in the population, and the existence of many more children with special needs. In addition, there is a shortage of qualified teachers, especially in the poorly funded early childhood group and child care sectors, where many teachers and administrators are leaving the profession. Something must be done to address these shortfalls. Although demographic predictions forecast only a modest growth in the overall numbers of young children, there is a predicted significant increase in the numbers of those children needing care and education, more children living in conditions of poverty, and more children for whom English is not their first language. As a consequence, it is clear that changes need to be made to adapt to and deal with these demographic forecasts.
It is recognized that young African American and Hispanic children – especially those from low-income families – tend to lag behind their white American peers; for example in their vocabularies. The concern is that such disparities tend to increase rather than decrease over time. This lack of achievement is also a wider problem for American students as a whole; in tests they have compared unfavourably with students of other industrialized countries. So again, the need for change is evident. Carrying on as before is unacceptable.
But what can / should be done? The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) made schools responsible for eliminating achievement gaps, though some believe that may produce negative consequences due to (e.g.) narrowing the curriculum to help all reach the set goals. Also, at state level, Head Start now coordinates with public schools. However the authors of the position statement recognize that more needs to be done, especially with pupils of non-English origin; also that teachers should have more say in what is taught in the classrooms.
