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In many ways, the kindergarten experience builds the foundation for a child’s future success in school and in life. Unfortunately, as we move beyond the pandemic, and our “pandemic babies” reach kindergarten age, we’re finding that the readiness for structured schooling of some of our youngest learners has been affected by limited social engagement in their earliest years of life. 

But kindergarten readiness comprises many different skills, and by working together, educators and caregivers can close gaps in children’s readiness. I had the chance to discuss this topic in-depth on the latest episode of Pearson’s podcast, “Building Bridges: Strengthening the Educator-Caregiver Relationship.”

As a speech-language pathologist (SLP), I work with children to overcome language and speech challenges, and I’ve been fortunate enough to watch many of them make important developmental advances. I know how crucial it is to work together with families and caregivers to understand those challenges and address them in a way that best benefits the child and their family. So, I was delighted to have the opportunity to share my experience on the latest episode of Pearson’s new podcast, “Building Bridges: Strengthening the Educator-Caregiver Relationship”.

We started the conversation by defining developmental expectations in language and speech. Language skills involve being able to listen to and understand others and to express oneself, while speech skills involve producing all sounds in words. There are many different manifestations of delays in both of these areas, and they can occur for various reasons, such as the child experiencing hearing loss or physical issues.

The wide variety of causes and different developmental paces that children experience makes it vital for SLPs and other diagnostic staff to conduct well-rounded assessments and work with caregivers to understand what they’re seeing and hearing at home.

We’ve heard a lot over the past few years about the ongoing mental health crises affecting students and young people. Educators and allied professionals are working tirelessly to address and improve this situation, yet these discussions typically involve older children, particularly in middle school and high school. What about our young kids still early in their educational journey? What can educators and caregivers do to ensure their mental health is considered and supported?

I recently joined an episode of Pearson’s new podcast, “Building Bridges: Strengthening the Educator-Caregiver Relationship”, to talk about how social-emotional learning (SEL) can be incorporated into early education classrooms and curricula, and why this is important for young children’s mental health. We covered a lot of important details about the benefits of SEL in education and the ways educators can engage caregivers to participate in this learning process.

We are proud to announce the new Call for Research published by Pearson Clinical Assessment. Our goal is to ensure that Pearson assessments comply with the highest standards of quality and support research that investigates the validity or efficacy of our products. We are inviting United States-based faculty members, graduate students, and qualified researchers to submit their proposals no later than August 16, 2024.

The education community has largely embraced the need for inclusive and supportive learning environments to help all children reach their potential. As diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) initiatives expand, we’ve seen schools broaden their definition of diversity to consider different races, cultures, gender identities, religions, abilities and much more.

Another cohort that is increasingly being recognized under this DEIB umbrella is neurodiverse kids, whose brains function differently from those of neurotypical kids. Among this group are kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which includes about 1 in 36 children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Autistic kids often need extra support in understanding and navigating social interactions.

That’s where SEL can help. One of the most promising developments for today’s students is the implementation of social-emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom. A vast amount of research shows that an SEL-based curriculum brings positive outcomes for all students. SEL can be especially helpful when working with autistic students to strengthen their interpersonal skills and build independence.

April brings National Autism Acceptance Month, making now an opportune time to think about how educators can use SEL to help all students — including autistic children — cultivate crucial life skills

Every educator knows that most children thrive on routine, particularly in early childhood.  

Working in early education is often a joy-filled experience because we get to watch children blossom over the course of the school year and gain confidence with each new skill and interest they acquire. 

Early childhood educators and allied professionals realize the benefits of fostering an environment that embraces every child’s distinctive self-expression. We also realize that children reach milestones at different times and in different ways.

However, part of our professional role is determining when some of our child’s individual “quirks” or reticence may indicate a need for further support. Assessments can help distinguish individuality or preferences from potential issues that might require intervention. While we never want to extinguish a child’s spark, early identification of developmental delays allows us to nurture areas where they might need an extra boost during prime learning windows and help set them on a positive path for their learning future.