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Level "zero" – weighty matter of state

Analysis Materials 15 July 2009 12:09 (UTC +04:00)

In order to continue the movement, which have been taking place over the last few years, the government needs to verify each step in the distribution of the profits. The countries with transition economy, even in the context of global economic crisis, have no right to waste or mistakes in the distribution of funds.

According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), step zero is the preschool education. The problem of preschool education, seeming at first sight, is not so important and urgent in our day due to economic and social problems, in fact, is directly connected with them. Firstly all have children and, thus, this issue affects the whole society. Secondly, without depreciating the crucial role of parents in upbringing and educating the child, it is worth noting that the professional approach is essential as the parental care and love.

Preschool education is crucial for several reasons. In his famous "Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations", Adam Smith speaks of the two main factors influencing directly on the welfare of people: firstly, the ability and natural quickness with which his/her work is applied, and secondly, the ratio between those who are busy with useful work, and those who were not busy. Whatever the soil, climate and size of the territory of a people, the abundance or scarcity of its annual supply will always depend on these two conditions, said outstanding scholar. The main factor why governments in many countries focus on preschool education is to increase women's participation in the labor market because the higher the number of employed service work in the total number of people, the society becomes more prosperous.

Another aspect is the most undeniable: specialists are well aware that the first years of life is a unique period for personal development. Future progress and achievements will directly depend on how well it is managed in the early years of a child's life to encourage his/her development and give him/her the necessary skills. According to the Azerbaijani educators-practitioners working at secondary schools, the children passing pre-school education usually faster and better learn school materials, are more motivated and more communicative than those who are not involved in preschool education. Many researches in this regard testify that the preschool education is a matter of state importance.

Perry preschool study - perhaps the most well-known of all HighScope research efforts - examines the lives of 123 African Americans born in poverty and at high risk of failing in school. 

From 1962-1967, at ages 3 and 4, the subjects were randomly divided into a program group that received a high-quality preschool program based on HighScope's participatory learning approach and a comparison group who received no preschool program. In the study's most recent phase, 97% of the study participants still living were interviewed at age 40. Additional data were gathered from the subjects' school, social services, and arrest records. 

A landmark, long-term study of the effects of high-quality early care and education on low-income three- and four-year-olds shows that adults at age 40 who participated in a preschool program in their early years have higher earnings, are more likely to hold a job, have committed fewer crimes, and are more likely to have graduated from high school. Overall, the study documented a return to society of more than $16 for every tax dollar invested in the early care and education program.

This problem has a moral side. In Azerbaijan, many children who are suitable for primary school are unprepared, without appropriate basic skills and knowledge. The State bears the responsibility for its citizens, especially the youngest. Therefore, it should ensure the equality of starting opportunities for all children before entering school. This, in turn, is the training of children from poor families and those whose parents are mobilized. Unfortunately, most children from such families have many chances to repeat the path of their parents, if not to provide support for them. It could come in the experience of countries which have developed special programs for children from poor families, for example, "Head start" in the United States, or "Sure start" in England.

In Azerbaijan, the situation with preschool education still leaves to desire the best. According to officials, from the total number of children under school age, only 15 percent attends kindergarten, while European rate is 90 percent. 15 percent is not enough, as well as a stable tendency of decrease is observed. The reason is poor quality care, education, food supply and medical control, and the accompanying risks. At the same time, there are kindergartens, which are public on the status, but, in fact, private.

Many countries give full attention to preschool education, and for some countries, this is a national priority. Azerbaijan has invested large investments in the development, production and transportation of its own hydrocarbons. The result is clear. If to put the same investment in education, particularly early childhood, it is possible, in the long term, to receive not less than impressive results.

According to William Butler Yeats, the Irish poet, education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire

The recently adopted Law on Education, preschool education from five years will become obligatory in Azerbaijan.

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