Importance Of Early Childhood Education In The Philippines

Education holds a key position in Philippine political, economic, social and cultural life. It has been seen as a foundation of national progress and a main avenue for social and economic mobility. It is a lifelong learning for it is a learning progression from birth and ending only with death, which embraces both the conventional and alternative learning arrangements. In respect to this, the Philippines as one of the signatories of Education for All (EFA) 2015, reaffirms its sense of duty regarding the understanding that she will always pursue the eight time-bound and specific targets under the Millennium Declaration, which it signed on September 2000. Alongside with this, the country also accentuates the crucial role that early childhood education (ECE) plays in the child’s total intellectual development, listing ECE as Goal 1, that is, to develop and progress the all-inclusive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and underprivileged children. The implementation of the Kindergarten Act (RA 10157, and the Early Childhood Care and Development Act (RA 8980) widened the scope of education as it makes preschool for five-year-old Filipinos free, mandatory and compulsory resulting in the increase of the gross
Rather than assuming that all preschoolers know intuitively how things are alike, and what makes them different, early childhood educators need to provide varied activities to encourage learning (Pica, 2006). According to Tomlinson and McTighe (2006), learning involves the changes that happen within students, not something teachers do to students. Learners need the opportunity to add value to how they gain knowledge and experiences and be able to implement the new knowledge in their lives. Learning requires students’ active involvement and