Early Childhood Education Reading Answers

Aug 4, 2022

Early Childhood Education Reading Answers 13 questions that have to be answered in 20 minutes. Early Childhood Education Reading Answers comprises question types, namely- choosing the correct option, and true/false/not given. For true/false/not given, candidates must read the passage and understand the statement provided. In choose the correct option, candidates are required to answer based on a given cue. They are required to choose from multiple options. Candidates must read the IELTS reading passage, identify keywords, and recognize synonyms to answer the question.

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Section 1

Read the below passage to answer the questions.

Early Childhood Education Reading Answers

New Zealand's National Party spokesman on education, Dr. Lockwood Smith, recently visited the US and Britain. Here he reports on the findings of his trip and what they could mean for New Zealand's education policy.

‘Education To Be More' was published last August. It was the report of the New Zealand Government's Early Childhood Care and Education Working Group. The report argued for enhanced equity of access and better funding for childcare and early childhood education institutions. Unquestionably, that's a real need; but since parents don't normally send children to pre-schools until the age of three, are we missing out on the most important years of all?
A 13-year study of early childhood development at Harvard University has shown that, by the age of three, most children have the potential to understand about 1000 words - most of the language they will use in the ordinary conversation for the rest of their lives. Furthermore, research has shown that while every child is born with a natural curiosity, if can be suppressed dramatically during the second and third years of life. Researchers claim that the human personality is formed during the first two years of life, and during the first three years children learn the basic skills they will use in all their later learning both at home and at school. Once over the age of three, children continue to expand on existing knowledge of the world.
It is generally acknowledged that young people from poorer socio-economic backgrounds tend to do less well in our education system. That's observed not just in New Zealand, but also in Australia, Britain and America. In an attempt to overcome that educational under-achievement, a nationwide program called 'Headstart' was launched in the United States in 1965. A lot of money was poured into it. It took children into pre-school institutions at the age of three and was supposed to help the children of poorer families succeed in school.

Despite substantial funding, results have been disappointing. It is thought that there are two explanations for this. First, the program began too late. Many children who entered it at the age of three were already behind their peers in language and measurable intelligence. Second, the parents were not involved. At the end of each day, '' children returned to the same disadvantaged home environment.

As a result of the growing research evidence of the importance of the first three years of a child's life and the disappointing results from 'Headstart', a pilot program was launched in Missouri in the US that focused on parents as the child's first teachers. The 'Missouri' program was predicated on research showing that working with the family, rather than bypassing the parents, is the most effective way of helping children get off to the best possible start in life. The four-year pilot study included 380 families who were about to have their first child and who represented a cross-section of socio-economic status, age, and family configurations. They included single-parent and two-parent families, families in which both parents worked, and families with either the mother or father at home.

The program involved trained parent-educators visiting the parents' home and working with tired parents, or parents, and the child. Information on child development, and guidance on things to look for and expect as the child grows were provided, plus guidance in fostering the child's intellectual, language, social and motor-skill development. Periodic check-ups of the child's educational and sensory development (hearing and vision) were made to detect possible handicaps that interfere with growth and development. Medical problems were referred to professionals.

Parent-educators made personal visits to homes and monthly group meetings were held with other new parents to share experiences and discuss topics of interest. Parent resource centers, located in school buildings, offered learning materials for families and facilitators for child core.

At the age of three, the children who had been involved in the 'Missouri' program were evaluated alongside a cross-section of children selected from the same range of socio-economic backgrounds and family situations, and also a random sample of children that age. The results were phenomenal. By the age of three, the children in the program were significantly more advanced in language development than their peers, had made greater strides in problem-solving and other intellectual skills, and were further along in social development, in fact, the average child on the program was performing at the level of the top 15 to 20 percent of their peers in such things as auditory comprehension, verbal ability, and language ability.

Most important of all, the traditional measures of 'risk', such as parents' age and education, or whether they were a single parent, bore little or no relationship to the measures of achievement and language development. Children in the program performed equally well regardless of socio-economic disadvantages. Child abuse was virtually eliminated. The one factor that was found to affect the child's development was family stress leading to poor quality of parent-child interaction. That interaction was not necessarily bad in poorer families.

These research findings are exciting. There is growing evidence in New Zealand that children from poorer socio-economic backgrounds are arriving at school less well developed and that our school system tends to perpetuate that disadvantage. The initiative outlined above could break that cycle of disadvantage. The concept of working with parents in their homes, or at their place of work, contrasts quite markedly with the report of the Early Childhood Care and Education Working Group. Their focus is on getting children and mothers access to childcare and institutionalized early childhood education. Education from the age of three to five is undoubtedly vital, but without a similar focus on parent education and on the vital importance of the first three years, some evidence indicates that it will not be enough to overcome educational inequity.

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Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 1-4 - Reading Passage has six sections, A-F.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-F in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.

details of the range of family types involved in an education program

Answer: D
Supporting sentence: The four-year pilot study included 380 families who were about to have their first child and who represented a cross-section of socio-economic status, age and family configurations. They included single-parent and two-parent families, families in which both parents worked, and families with either the mother or father at home.
Keywords: “Missouri’ programme research, working with the family, rather than bypassing the parents, effective way of helping children get off to the best possible start in life, The four-year pilot study, included 380 families, who were about to have their first child, who represented a cross-section of socio-economic status, age and family configurations.
Keyword Location: Paragraph D
Explanation: The keywords clearly pick out the family types as required by the question. In paragraph D, different types of families are mentioned like single-parent families, two-parent families, families with working parents, families with either parent working and the other one is at home. Therefore, the statement given in the question is like a brief description of this paragraph.

reasons why a child’s early years are so important

Answer: B
Supporting sentence: research has shown that while every child is born with a natural curiosity, if can be suppressed dramatically during the second and third years of life. Researchers claim that the human personality is formed during the first two years of life, and during the first three years children learn the basic skills they will use in all their later learning both at home and at school.
Keywords: A 13 year study of early childhood development, Harvard University, by the age of three, most children have the potential to understand about 1000 words, most of the language they will use in ordinary conversation, every child is born with a natural curiosity, if can be suppressed dramatically during the second and third years of life.
Keyword Location: Paragraph B
Explanation: According to research, it is seen that every child has a natural curiosity, but this can be suppressed dramatically later. Children understand around 1000 words in their early childhood making it a crucial time – this keyword is the perfect answer, therefore. The major content of paragraph B is about the reasons why a child’s early years are so important.

reasons why an education programme failed

Answer: C
Supporting sentence: Despite substantial funding, results have been disappointing.
Keywords: Despite substantial funding, results have been disappointing. two explanations, the programme began too late, Many children who entered it at the age of three were already behind their peers in language and measurable intelligence, the parents were not involved, children returned to the same disadvantaged home environment.
Keyword Location: Paragraph C
Explanation: Firstly, children aged three were behind the present ones and secondly they all returned to parents who were not involved. These two are the perfect explanations. All these are described in detail in the third paragraph of this reading passage. Results are disappointing means the programs did not result in success.

a description of the positive outcomes of an education programme

Answer: E
Supporting sentence: At the age of three, the children who had been involved in the 'Missouri' programme were evaluated alongside a cross-section of children selected from the same range of socio-economic backgrounds and family situations, and also a random sample of children that age. The results were phenomenal.
Keywords:The results were phenomenal, by the age of three, the children in the programme were significantly more advanced in language development than their peers, made greater strides in problem solving, further along in social development, the average child on the programme was performing at the level of the top 15 to 20 per cent of their peers in such things as auditory comprehension, verbal ability and language ability.
Keyword Location: Paragraph E
Explanation: Paragraph E begins with a description of the positive outcomes of an education programme. Therefore, it is a correct selection for this question. Phenomenal has a positive tone and this signified that the education program went successful. Therefore, this is the correct answer for the given statement.

Questions 5-10 - Classify the following features as characterising

the ' Headstart' programme
the 'Missouri' programme
both the 'Headstart' and the 'Missouri' programmes
neither the 'Headstart' nor the 'Missouri’programme

Write the correct letter A. B, C or D in boxes 5-10 on your answer sheet.

was administered to a variety of poor and wealthy families

Answer: B
Supporting sentence: At the age of three, the children who had been involved in the 'Missouri' programme were evaluated alongside a cross-section of children selected from the same range of socio-economic backgrounds and family situations
Keywords: They included single-parent and two-parent families, families in which both parents worked, and families with either the mother or father at home.
Keyword Location: Paragraph D
Explanation: The Missouri program targeted the families mentioned in the keywords. It was the 'Missouri' program that was administered to a variety of poor and wealthy families. A cross-section of socio-economic backgrounds indicates that there was a variety of poor and wealthy families. Therefore, the selected answer option is correct for this question.

continued with follow-up assistance in elementary schools

Answer: D
Supporting sentence: The 'Missouri' program was predicated on research showing that working with the family, rather than bypassing the parents, is the most effective way of helping children get off to the best possible start in life. The four-year pilot study included 380 families who were about to have their first child and who represented a cross-section of socio-economic status, age, and family configurations.
Keywords: a pilot programme was launched in Missouri in the US, focused on parents as the child’s first teachers, programme was predicated on research showing that working with the family, rather than bypassing the parents, is the most effective way of helping children get off to the best possible start in life.
Keyword Location: Paragraph D
Explanation: It is true that neither the 'Headstart' nor the 'Missouri’programme continued with follow-up assistance in elementary schools. The Missouri program continued with follow-up assistance from the elementary schools making it the correct keyword. There is no evidence that any of these two programs continued with follow-up assistance in elementary schools. Both the programs aimed at children’s early education.

did not succeed in its aim

Answer: A
Supporting sentence: Despite substantial funding, results have been disappointing.
Keywords: Despite substantial funding, results have been disappointing.
Keyword Location: Paragraph C
Explanation: The ‘headstart’ program didn’t succeed. It is mentioned in Paragraph C that the 'Headstart' program was disappointing and it indicates that it did not result as per the expectations of the makers. Therefore, it is true that the ' Headstart' program did not succeed in its aim. From the information in paragraph C, it is clear that the program failed.

supplied many forms of support and training to parents

Answer: B
Supporting sentence: a pilot programme was launched in Missouri in the US that focused on parents as the child's first teachers. The 'Missouri' programme was predicated on research showing that working with the family, rather than bypassing the parents, is the most effective way of helping children get off to the best possible start in life. The four-year pilot study included 380 families who were about to have their first child and who represented a cross-section of socio-economic status, age and family configurations. They included single-parent and two-parent families, families in which both parents worked, and families with either the mother or father at home. The programme involved trained parent- educators visiting the parents' home and working with tire parent, or parents, and the child. Information on child development, and guidance on things to look for and expect as the child grows were provided, plus guidance in fostering the child's intellectual, language, social and motor-skill development.
Keywords:The programme involved, trained parent-educators visiting the parents’ home and working with the parent, or parents, and the child.
Keyword Location: Paragraph D
Explanation: The Missouri program aimed at involving the parents along with the children for training them. One thing is very much clear from the passage that many forms of support and training to parents like the guidance in fostering, the child's intellectual, language, social and motor-skill development were supplied through the Missouri program.

received insufficient funding

Answer: D
Supporting sentence: Despite substantial funding, results have been disappointing.
Keywords: A lot of money was poured into it. & A pilot programme was launched in Missouri in the US, that focused on parents as the child’s first teachers, ‘Missouri’ programme was predicated on research
Keyword Location: Paragraph C and D
Explanation: Both the programs are being talked about here. It is true that neither the 'Headstart' nor the 'Missouri’programme received insufficient funding. It deserves to be mentioned that both the programs received more than enough funding and help, yet the programs did not result as per the expectations.

was designed to improve pre-schoolers’ educational development

Answer: C
Supporting sentence: The four-year pilot study included 380 families who were about to have their first child. It took children into pre-school institutions at the age of three and was supposed to help the children of poorer families succeed in school.
Keywords: took children into pre-school institutions at the age of three, supposed to help the children of poorer families succeed in school. & As a result of the growing research evidence of the importance of the first three years of a child’s life and the disappointing results from ‘Headstart’, a pilot programme was launched in Missouri in the US.
Keyword Location: Paragraph C and D
Explanation: The program was designed to help preschoolers learn. The keyword clearly explains how improvement has happened. After going through the passage, it is clear that both the 'Headstart' and the 'Missouri' programs were designed to improve pre-schoolers’ educational development. The Missouri program trained the parents and offered medical check-ups for the children and the Headstart program was for taking the children to school at the age of 3.

Questions 11-13:
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

Most ‘Missouri’ programme three-year-olds scored highly in areas such as listening, speaking, reasoning and interacting with others.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting sentence: The results were phenomenal. By the age of three, the children in the programme were significantly more advanced in language development than their peers, had made greater strides in problem-solving and other intellectual skills, and were further along in social development, in fact, the average child on the programme was performing at the level of the top 15 to 20 per cent of their peers in such things as auditory comprehension, verbal ability and language ability.
Keywords: the average child on the programme, was performing at the level of the top 15 to 20 per cent of their peers, in such things as auditory comprehension, verbal ability and language ability.
Keyword Location: Paragraph E
Explanation: The keyword has clearly explained how the results in the Missouri program were. Auditory comprehension means listening, verbal skills means speaking. Problem-solving indicates the reasoning part, and social development means the interaction which helps to build social relationships. Therefore, the answer is true.

‘Missouri’ programme children of young, uneducated, single parents scored less highly on the tests.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting sentence: Most important of all, the traditional measures of 'risk', such as parents' age and education, or whether they were a single parent, bore little or no relationship to the measures of achievement and language development. Children in the programme performed equally well regardless of socio-economic disadvantages.
Keywords: Children in the programme performed equally well regardless of socio-economic disadvantages
Keyword Location: Paragraph E
Explanation: The keyword is self-explanatory as it says how the children despite their socio-economic backgrounds excelled in studies. It is not that ‘Missouri’ program children of young, uneducated, single parents scored less highly on the tests. Rather, it scored equal, or specifically, not at all less highly on the tests. Therefore, this statement negates the information in the passage and it is false.