Universal preschool is an international movement to make access to preschool education available to all families, similar to the availability of kindergarten. Child advocates and other members of this movement differ in terms of how they define who should be included and how it should be funded. There has been a proposal to change the name to "preschool for all", as they have named the program in the U.S. state of Illinois. Like kindergarten, the concept is to have a voluntary program, unlike compulsory elementary, that is mandated by law with exceptions to allow for homeschooling and alternative education. Advocates have argued over:
- the age of children eligible for the service of preschool (with some taking the more traditional view that priority should be provided to children four years of age and others believing that brain development dictates that learning begins at birth and declines significantly by age eight),
- the requirement for full-day rather than part-day preschool (based on the needs of different family structures such as two parent family, single parent family, foster care, guardianship, or kinship care),
- the suitability of the American Head Start program as a model (in terms of parent involvement and education, social services and a family focus),
- whether universal preschool should be provided privately or by the state (via public schools) or the existing diverse delivery system (preschools currently may be provided by public, nonprofit, church related, private for-profit, or in home settings such as family day care).
Read more about Universal Preschool: Support of Universal Preschool, Opposition To Universal Preschool, Movement
Famous quotes containing the words universal and/or preschool:
“That we can come here today and in the presence of thousands and tens of thousands of the survivors of the gallant army of Northern Virginia and their descendants, establish such an enduring monument by their hospitable welcome and acclaim, is conclusive proof of the uniting of the sections, and a universal confession that all that was done was well done, that the battle had to be fought, that the sections had to be tried, but that in the end, the result has inured to the common benefit of all.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“The wisest thing a parent can do is to let preschool children figure out themselves how to draw the human figure, or solve a whole range of problems, from overcoming Saturday-morning boredom to dealing with a neighborhood bully. But even while standing on the sidelines, parents can frequently offer support in helping children discover what they want to accomplish.”
—John F. Clabby (20th century)