Brain Research and Education: Neuroscience Research Has Impact for Education Policy
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In the past decade, education reform efforts have searched for the best ways to raise the academic performance of the
nation's children. Recent research about early brain development, however, conflicts with many common education
practices and beliefs, and opens possibilities for profoundly different approaches.
One example is the widely held assumption that infants are born with a fixed intellectual capacity. Society assumes the
capacity to learn is distributed according to a bell-shaped curve that is, most children are born with average learning
capacities, while a few are born with either enhanced or limited capacities to learn. New research, however, shows much
of the "wiring" of the brain's neurons comes after birth and depends on the experiences infants and children have.
These and other findings indicate the need to change widely held notions about how children learn and to revise education
policy and practices to best enhance children's intellectual capacity for learning.
WHAT NEUROSCIENCE SHOWS
Most neurologists believe some neurons in an infant brain are hard-wired by genes in the fertilized egg. That is, the brain
knows how to control such functions as heartbeat, breathing and/or regulating body temperature. Some areas of an infant
brain continue to develop rapidly after birth. Brain connections develop especially fast in the first three years of life in
response to stimuli, such as someone talking to, singing to, reading to or playing with the infant or toddler. Such
experiences significantly influence brain
development and enhance central nervous system connections that define the capacity to learn. This brain development
continues at a high rate until around age 8 or 10 and then slows, suggesting there is an optimal time for certain cognitive
functions to be acquired.
Although infants cannot speak, for example, their brain is developing in response to sounds in the child's environment,
creating a structure that allows them first to comprehend language and then to speak. At birth, infants are capable of
distinguishing between sounds used in various languages, yet they quickly lose that ability if they do not hear certain
sounds. As humans age, the ability to perceive differences between sounds not used in their native language diminishes,
and it becomes more difficult to learn foreign languages. For instance, adult native Japanese speakers have difficulty
discriminating American English "r" and "l" sounds. This occurs because their neural pathways, developed during the first
months after birth, cannot distinguish these sounds because they are not separated in Japanese.
A new term illustrates the effects of missing the critical window associated with language learning. "Non-nons" describes
children who lack verbal skills in both English and their native language. This happens when well-intentioned parents
whose native language is not English, for example, do not speak or read to the child in his or her native language because
they want the child to learn the language of the new country. By the time they start school, these children lack not only
verbal-language skills, but also comprehension and vocabulary. They are likely to have difficulties learning to read and
write and relating to others in a social context.
With early intense interaction, the negative effects of missing language skills can be reversed, but it must happen in the
earlier stages of life. Studies show that when intense language interaction starts as late as age 4, students lag more than two
years behind their age group in verbal skills, suggesting that children who start behind stay behind.
Conflicts Between Research and Current Education Practice
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Development of future capacity to learn is most crucial during first years of life. |
The first years of life receive the least attention from the education world. |
Interactive environments enhance development of brain and neuralconnections. |
Many children are in day-care centers with employees who are paid minimum salaries, lack training regard- ing early brain development andmay be responsible for too many children. |
With intense early intervention, some adverse effects can be reversed or even prevented for much less than it costs to provide special services later. |
The education system waits for students to fall behind and then places them in special- education programs at a high cost to states. |
Research also shows a critical time period in early childhood for connecting neurons in the development of sensory
abilities. Neurologists know that neurons for vision begin connecting rapidly from the ages of 2-4 months, peak at 8
months and have matured by age 2. Connections for sensory abilities are wired as a result of activity, just like cognitive
abilities.
The task before educators and neuroscientists then is to take what is known about brain development and apply it to the
policies and strategies we use to educate the nation's children. Until that occurs, education will continue to be out of step,
and some students will continue to miss out on certain opportunities to expand their learning capacity.
WHAT COULD HELP TURN THIS SITUATION AROUND?
Early Interaction With Children
Infants need a stimulating environment to maximize their capacity to learn. Parents should have access to information on
how to foster their children's brain development through play, talk, stories, toys and other activities. Service to parents
should begin prenatally or at least by birth. Parents as Teachers is an example of a program that provides parent education
and family support to assist families in giving their children the best possible start in life.
Children whose parents are undereducated are at risk of continuing the cycle. Therefore, parents themselves need to be
literate in order to best assist their children. The National Center for Family Literacy approaches the family to increase the
literacy level for both parents and their children. The program combines early-childhood education, parent literacy training,
parent support and interaction between parents and their children. Parents gain essential education skills and are more
likely to obtain jobs which better support the family. Successful outcomes for the children are increased as well.
Quality Preschool/Day Care
High-quality, active-learning preschool and day-care programs also could provide the stimulation toddlers and young
children need. The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study divided 123 African-American toddlers ages 3 and 4, living in
poverty and at risk for school failure into two groups. Fifty-eight toddlers were placed in a quality preschool program,
while 65 children received no placement.
Children in the preschool program scored higher on performance tests at ages 4-7, 14, 19 and 27; spent less than half as
many years in special education; and were more likely to graduate than children in the group who did not attend
preschool. The study also found that participants were more able to compete in the economy as adults and contribute
back to society.
Because of the benefits, many parents want to take advantage of such early intervention programs. Research, however,
indicates a lack of appropriate training for employees in the early-childhood industry. Children often attend preschools or
day-care centers in which workers are paid minimum wages, know little about early brain development and the critical
windows at these stages, and may be responsible for too many children. Well-qualified, certified or licensed staff are
critically needed in the early-childhood industry, with ongoing professional development on how to instruct infants and
toddlers. Yet, higher wages for better-trained staff may increase costs of these programs and exceed what parents can
afford to pay.
In addition, federal welfare reform efforts threaten to place even more children in unsatisfactory day-care situations
because there is no guarantee that parents coming off welfare and entering the workforce will have child care available to
them.
Some states are taking steps to improve day care by setting higher training and/or certification requirements for
professional care-givers working in infant and toddler programs. The National Association for the Education of Young
Children (NAEYC) has set rigorous standards for teachers of children from birth through age 8. Some states already have
aligned their early-childhood licensing requirements closely to NAEYC standards, including Arkansas, Connecticut,
Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
Emphasis of the degree program is on knowledge of human development, child-centered activities that support growth
and learning, the importance of family, child observation and assessment, and special-needs children.
Although all agencies do not require this level of certification, hopefully the hiring trend will be a preference for these
teachers. Unfortunately, certified early-childhood education teachers will not be compensated with increased pay even
though there is an urgent need to improve training for early-childhood professionals. Most early-childhood centers are
independent of public school programs and, therefore, do not have the same requirements of their workers. Only 8% of
approximately 11 million children who attend preschools, child-care centers, and family child-care homes, attend public
systems and benefit from the expertise of licensed teachers in the states with stricter requirements.
Prevention
Too many infants are born with problems that hinder their start in life. Damage that occurs to the embryo during critical
growth times may lead to irreversible disabilities. It is common knowledge that prenatal malnutrition and exposure to
alcohol, tobacco and drugs can seriously damage infants' capacity to learn. In fact, approximately 12% of children are
born with decreased mental capacity whose mothers used unhealthy substances or were malnourished during pregnancy.
The list is long on likely outcomes ranging from severe to mild for children whose mothers engage in such risky behavior.
Examples of severe effects include mental retardation; cerebral palsy; organ, limb and facial malformation; dysfunction of
the central nervous system; schizophrenia; spina bifida; and smaller physical stature.
With less severe effects of risky prenatal behavior such as language difficulties, hyperactivity, difficulty concentrating or
paying attention, asthma, and lag in cognitive development and education achievement, there is hope of making gains in
development which are lacking for these children. Prevention of alcohol, tobacco, drug use and malnutrition during
pregnancy would eliminate many of the risk factors that inhibit early brain development.
Elimination of prenatal risk factors as well as intensive efforts during the first three years of life can improve the outcomes
for many children affected before birth. The University of California at Los Angeles conducted a project for
low-birthweight babies. Staff, parents and their infants/toddlers met weekly for four years to work on stimulating growth
and cognitive development. As a result, the low-birthweight babies caught up in mental function to typical-birthweight
infants. The study demonstrates how early experiences can outweigh adverse effects for some children at risk and how a
more stimulating environment helps children overcome learning deficits.
Prevention of premature births and low-birthweight infants, as well as these other risk factors could eliminate many deficits
in early brain development. Other factors such as child abuse and neglect, malnutrition and poverty also can result in
learning problems. Even parents with good intentions can inhibit the future learning potential of their children, as noted in
the discussion about language acquisition. Inadvertently, this sometimes leads to greater education costs down the road.
In 1993-94, more than 5 million students with special needs were served at a cost of more than $32 billion a cost of two
times that for other students. As a result of repeated course failures, about 38% of students with disabilities are not
graduating from high school, less than 40% of those who graduate go on to enroll in postsecondary schools, and even
fewer obtain a degree. Forty-three percent of high school graduates with special needs were earning an average hourly
rate of $5.72 three to five years later.
State leaders have witnessed many benefits in response to Part H, a 1986 amendment of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA). The amendment provided early intervention services for young children with special needs from
birth to age 5 and their families. Reported benefits include:
Cost benefit ratios and future savings for every dollar spent in early intervention:
- Massachusetts saved $2,705 per child in one year after deducting the cost of early intervention services.
- Montana saved $2 for every $1 spent on early intervention by the time the child was age 7.
- Florida projects a savings of $20,887 per child after 20 years.
Fewer placements in special education:
- Texas 20% of children receiving Part H services did not require special-education services later on.
- Montana 36% of children receiving Part H services did not require special-education services through at least 2nd
grade. Thirty-three percent required only limited services.
Neuroscience research about brain development and learning supports directing state money toward such early
intervention programs. Allocating additional funds to programs for children ages birth to 3 is likely to reap more benefits
for children and be more cost effective than waiting until learning problems show up later.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS/SUGGESTIONS
Education policymakers should examine the neuroscience research and look at the successes of other states in providing
the most appropriate services for children and their families. Here are some suggestions for areas to focus on:
Prevention Address the causes of impediments to early brain development by creating programs to encourage healthy
pregnancies, reduce teen pregnancies and minimize environmental risks. Policymakers as well as parents are responsible
for eliminating factors that harm children.
Public engagement Keep the general public informed, especially parents, educators and policymakers, about research
findings on what facilitates and/or hinders brain development.
Parental involvement Equip parents to play a bigger role in their children's development. Encourage them to stimulate their
infant's behaviors, which come naturally to many parents but not to all, and explain why the stimulation is imperative to the
child's cognitive abilities. Create flexible family centers that address both family and child needs.
Early-childhood education Intervene with children before they fail, enhancing their learning capacity so they will be ready
to begin their formal education. Lower compulsory school-age requirements, provide kindergarten programs to more
students, and provide low-cost/free preschool programs to larger numbers of children are options to consider.
Child care Examine the standards and professional development of workers in the early-childhood industry from birth to
age 6 to see how they can be improved while maintaining affordable services. Reallocate resources to this area, as well as
early-childhood education, to maximize children's opportunities to enhance their learning capacity during the time when it is
most critical.
Teacher preparation Create incentives for colleges and universities to require some neuroscience training for students in
teacher-preparation programs. Provide incentives for collaboration across professions that deal with children, such as
education, public health, nursing and social work.
Special education Reallocate money to the earlier years of children's development and consider funding research on how
infants and toddlers with disabilities learn. Studies are needed, for example, on how cognition and learning activity in
children with special needs compare to that in typical children. This information could help pinpoint barriers to learning.
Further research could focus on how to overcome learning disabilities.
Neuroscience research At the federal level, resources could be invested in further neuroscience research to determine
implications for educational practices and disseminate results. The more discoveries in neuroscience, the more education
can benefit by making changes to practice to prevent causes, reverse effects and increase learning.
SUMMARY
Recent research in neuroscience and early brain development supports the critical importance of the early-childhood years
and their lifelong effects. This information, however, often conflicts with education practice.
Research suggests the first few years of life are the most important in developing children's capacity to learn. Yet, those
years get the least attention.
*The education system devotes the least amount of money to the education of young children. (Investment in education
increases as the student progresses, so that graduate schools currently have the greatest per-student cost.)
*Many young children spend their time in day-care centers, watched over by low-paid staff with little or no training in
early-childhood development.
*The nation spends billions on an expensive, growing system to deal with learning problems, many of which could be
prevented by early education.
Although neuroscientists caution that some of their findings are preliminary and are not universally agreed upon, what is
already known about how the brain works can have a huge impact on current education practices. Neuroscience findings
must affect education policy in the coming years as more is discovered about how people learn and if we are to make the
most of our country's most important resource our children.
* Prepared by Janelle Miller, ECS research associate
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