Sunday, October 25, 2009
Are 5 year olds ready for formal education?
Research out this month sparked widespread debate over the correct time for children to start their formal education.
Children educated in countries where formal education begins at age seven or six are initially less numerate and less able to read and write than those in the UK who start at age five but this is not the whole story. The final report from the Cambridge Review suggests that despite the later start, children who begin formal education at age seven or six quickly overtake children in the UK and by age eleven are significantly further advanced. The review goes further, stating that there was some evidence that starting formal education too early may be damaging.
In January this year Schools Secretary for England, Ed Balls, highlighted the issue that those children who had August birthdays and so were allowed to start school later were disadvantaged throughout their school career by this late start, achieving final examination scores significantly lower at age sixteen (see reports). At first sight, this research appears to contradict the Cambridge Review findings but on closer inspection, it is the role of informal education between the ages of four and seven which appears to be making the difference.
Those countries that start formal education later have informal provision in place from an early age. This informal education is sometimes called play-based learning and concentrates on the ability of the child to interact with others and make uniquely personalised choices about their own learning. As any teacher involved in the 'Early years and foundation stage' in the UK would tell you, the learning environments that allow such learning to occur are very carefully constructed to ensure that a balance of challenging problems and support are encountered regardless of the choices made by the child.
It is perhaps significant that this month Ed Balls announced the government planned to address the issue of underperformance in those starting school late not by lowering the age of formal education but by increasing the provision of informal learning through nursery places for all from September 2011. Stating that this decision was not in response to the Cambridge Review findings but based on their own research as part of the review conducted by Sir Jim Rose, the government has gone further than expected and will allow parents greater choice in when their child begins formal education from 2011. After many years of league tables and competitive formal education there may be a fear that parental expectations may slow down further moves to increase the status of informal learning. Providing parents with choice may be a useful way of temporarily avoiding this issue.
There are also questions about the relevance of formal education for all ages. Perhaps it is the way in which we support, recognise and value informal education more generally in society that is in need of transformation.
The UK government has not accepted the findings of The Cambridge Review although greater choice for parents in when their children start school was announced in the recent Education White Paper.