Deck 5: Rationale Supporting Early Childhood Education

Question 1

Which philosophers are credited with helping to launch the Western tradition of care and education for young children?

A) Parmenides and Zeno
B) Kierkegaard and Nietzsche
C) Marx and Engels
D) Plato and Aristotle

Answer 1

Plato and Aristotle

Question 2

Which statement best characterizes the treatment of children during the Middle Ages?

A) They were viewed as weak and useless and were virtually ignored.
B) They were revered as holy embodiments of the divine spirit.
C) They were considered property and were put to work as soon as possible.
D) They were regarded as future leaders in need of moral and intellectual guidance and care.

Answer 2

They were considered property and were put to work as soon as possible.

Question 3

How was Islamic Spain different from most other regions in Europe during the Dark Ages?

A) It forbade child labor.
B) It recognized the importance of childhood education.
C) It imprisoned all literate children.
D) It forced all children to live in a communal setting.

Answer 3

It recognized the importance of childhood education.

Question 4

During the Industrial Revolution, most children were ______.

A) educated by private tutors.
B) exploited in factories.
C) sent away to boarding schools.
D) placed in child care facilities while their parents worked.

Question 5

In the United States during the twentieth century, progressive educators such as John Dewey viewed childhood education as a(n) ______.

A) training ground for democracy
B) lucrative business opportunity
C) unnecessary distraction
D) corrupting influence

Question 6

How did Sigmund Freud contribute to the growing importance of early childhood education in the twentieth century?

A) He donated land and money for the establishment of schools for children.
B) He demonstrated that illiterate children were more likely to commit crimes.
C) He argued that childhood experiences form the basis of personality.
D) He advocated for education as a method to eliminate poverty.

Question 7

The child study movement advocated for ______.

A) adults to observe and emulate the behaviors of children
B) the use of scientific methods to study young children
C) the establishment of public spaces for children to study and do homework
D) the incorporation of children's opinions into policy debates

Question 8

Which purpose was shared by reformers during the eighteenth century and the leaders of the Head Start movement in the 1960s?

A) rescuing the poor from poverty
B) halting the influence of communism
C) improving the physical health of children
D) reinforcing the importance of the nuclear family

Question 9

What was the driving force behind the emergence of child care programs in the middle of the twentieth century?

A) parents abandoning their children after the Great Depression
B) the baby boom of the 1950s
C) women entering the workforce during World War II
D) the need for political indoctrination during the Cold War

Question 10

How were most child care programs funded during the mid-twentieth century?

A) philanthropic grants
B) private tuition
C) work-study arrangements
D) public subsidies

Question 11

Compared to previous eras, today's view of children is ______.

A) much more benign
B) more utilitarian
C) harsher and less caring
D) more focused on religious ideas

Question 12

Which of the following views of children is more common today than it was prior to the twentieth century?

A) Children should be put to work as soon as they are able.
B) Children deserve special environments to help them flourish.
C) Children have evil impulses that need to be corrected with spiritual guidance.
D) Children's education should only be available to the rich and powerful.

Question 13

According to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, anything that is ______ is good.

A) natural or primitive
B) wealthy or powerful
C) weak or small
D) crafted or manufactured

Question 14

Which of the following environments would most likely be approved by Jean-Jacques Rousseau as an ideal site for an early childhood education program?

A) a storefront on a busy urban street
B) a secluded farmhouse in the countryside
C) the home of one of the students
D) a popular church or monastery

Question 15

What benefit did Jean-Jacques Rousseau envision would result directly from his ideal education program?

A) increased employment and economic production
B) fewer impoverished children crowding city streets
C) adults who are moral and interested in the common good
D) eternal salvation for sinful children

Question 16

A major difference between Johann Pestalozzi and Jean-Jacques Rousseau was that Pestalozzi ______.

A) was concerned with child care rather than education
B) emphasized the importance of mothers in shaping a child's development
C) had very little experience working with children
D) thought that children should receive on-the-job vocational training

Question 17

What did Johann Pestalozzi consider to be the basis of learning?

A) rote instruction
B) punishment and reward
C) children's self-activity
D) social interaction

Question 18

Johann Pestalozzi is considered the first person to ______.

A) formulate a complete educational program
B) earn a living as a teacher
C) teach boys and girls in the same classroom
D) teach children of preschool age

Question 19

Which of the following examples would Friedrich Froebel consider to be a natural mode of learning?

A) Carol plays with a scale to learn about weight.
B) Edwardo repeats the ABCs until he memorizes them.
C) Serena imitates her teacher's movements to learn how to tie her shoes.
D) Tyler is placed in time-out when he misbehaves.

Question 20

Which of the following classroom materials was invented by Friedrich Froebel?

A) finger paints
B) building blocks
C) puppets
D) modeling clay

Question 21

The name "kindergarten" reflects Friedrich Froebel's view that children's education should ______.

A) take place in a "garden for children"
B) be kind to students of all abilities
C) "guard" children from the evils of society
D) be taught by "kin," or close family members

Question 22

Shelley is a preschool teacher who strongly agrees with Maria Montessori's ideas of the absorbent mind and sensitive periods. Which of the following statements is Shelley most likely to make?

A) Children should be shielded from exposure to the corrupting influence of the outside world.
B) Parents have the ultimate responsibility to shape the minds of children.
C) Children learn best when presented with the right materials at the right times.
D) Children's minds are flooded with sensory impressions and are incapable of learning.

Question 23

Which of the following activities is related to Maria Montessori's idea of sensory discrimination?

A) walking down a hallway with closed eyes
B) setting a table according to instructions
C) learning to spell by manipulating a movable alphabet
D) sorting blocks by size and color

Question 24

Which method did Maria Montessori use to teach children advanced skills in reading, writing, and math?

A) hands-on manipulation
B) repetition and memorization
C) example and imitation
D) hypnotic suggestion

Question 25

Which of the following behaviors would develop trust in Erik Erikson's first stage of trust vs. mistrust?

A) Nikita shelters her infant from any frightening or startling occurrences.
B) Lucia limits the number of individuals that her infant sees on a daily basis.
C) Alexis predictably and consistently meets her infant's needs.
D) Cheyenne allows her infant unsupervised time to explore its surroundings.

Question 26

Mario is two years old and is beginning to potty train. When he has an accident at day care, the care provider places him on time-out rather than offering comfort. According to Erik Erikson, the most likely result of this action is that Mario will ______.

A) improve his self-control
B) develop a sense of self-doubt
C) feel mistrustful of adults
D) become more independent

Question 27

According to Erik Erikson, what is a major difference between the cognitive development of elementary school children and that of preschoolers?

A) Elementary school children like to plan, carry out, and complete projects.
B) Elementary school children explore their surroundings and test boundaries.
C) Elementary school children imitate adults to learn social roles.
D) Elementary school children like to be comforted by their parents.

Question 28

According to Jean Piaget, adaptation is the process by which ______.

A) a child learns the rules and boundaries of the social world
B) new information or experiences are incorporated into the mental structure
C) an infant becomes bonded to his or her mother
D) an educator shapes the behavior of his or her students

Question 29

Tariq is a two-year-old toddler. According to Jean Piaget's model, which cognitive ability should Tariq possess?

A) abstract thinking
B) logical thinking
C) mental representation of objects
D) practicing conservation

Question 30

Even though Maria is in first grade, she understands that the amount of water she has in front of her does not change when she pours it from a small glass into a bucket. Which of Piaget's periods of cognitive development has Maria entered?

A) sensorimotor
B) preoperational
C) concrete operations
D) formal operations

Question 31

A child who has grasped object permanence will be able to ______.

A) form a mental image of an object that is not there
B) understand that an object does not disappear when it cannot be seen
C) recognize that the amount of a substance does not change when the substance changes shape
D) recognize the relationship between ideas or concepts

Question 32

B. F. Skinner believed that development is shaped by ______.

A) predetermined cognitive processes
B) a natural biological progression
C) the child's force of will
D) external forces in the environment

Question 33

Vera is a preschool teacher. In order to encourage her students to follow the classroom rules, she has established a system in which children put a sticker on a chart when they exhibit good behavior. Once the chart is filled with stickers, Vera rewards the class with a party. Which theorist is Vera's system most influenced by?

A) Erik Erikson
B) Jean Piaget
C) B. F. Skinner
D) Lev Vygotsky

Question 34

Which of the following factors of child behavior is considered observable by behavioralists?

A) thoughts
B) feelings
C) words
D) motivations

Question 35

Ellie is four years old and is learning to tie her shoes. Although she is incapable of tying them on her own, Ellie is able to complete the task when her older brother sits next to her and provides some guidance. According to Lev Vygotsky, Ellie is in the ______.

A) zone of proximal development
B) sensorimotor period
C) behavioral stage
D) concrete operations stage

Question 36

Based on Lev Vygotsky's theories, educators recognize the importance of ______.

A) direct instruction
B) individualization
C) punishment
D) logical thinking

Question 37

In Montessori programs, materials are designed to be self-correcting, meaning that they ______.

A) can be used in a number of different ways depending on the skill level of the child
B) provide positive or negative feedback depending on how well the child completes the task
C) can be manipulated into different shapes but always return to their original form
D) learn from and adapt to the behaviors and usage patterns of students

Question 38

Learning Horizons is a Montessori School in upstate New York. Which of the following materials is most likely to be found in one of Learning Horizons' classrooms?

A) a television
B) a sandbox for tracing letters
C) a puppet theater
D) full-sized tools

Question 39

Which early childhood education model seeks to integrate thought and action by encouraging students to learn through voluntary interaction with the classroom and community environments?

A) Montessori programs
B) the Bank Street approach
C) the cognitively oriented curriculum
D) the Reggio Emilia approach

Question 40

Glenn is a teacher at an early childhood program that follows the Bank Street approach. Which of the following is most likely to be Glenn's method for establishing relationships with his students?

A) He constantly demonstrates his authority through strict rules and expectations.
B) He spends time learning about each student's previous experiences with adults and builds on them.
C) He treats every child the same regardless of their background.
D) He visits the students' parents in their homes for casual discussion every month.

Question 41

The plan-do-review cycle is a key component of the curriculum of which early childhood education model?

A) Montessori schools
B) the Bank Street approach
C) the Reggio Emilia approach
D) the cognitively oriented curriculum

Question 42

Three-year-old Troy is participating in an activity in which he deconstructs and reconstructs a model car. In which key experience of the cognitively oriented curriculum is Troy engaged?

A) spatial relationships
B) classification
C) seriation
D) number concepts

Question 43

Along with learning, the Reggio Emilia approach emphasizes ______.

A) imaginative play
B) spiritual development
C) human relationships
D) interaction with nature

Question 44

The relationship between teachers and students in the Reggio Emilia approach is different from other models in that students ______.

A) have the same teachers for three years
B) have a different teacher every day
C) refer to their teachers on a first-name basis
D) are required to teach the teachers

Question 45

What aspect of the Waldorf school model is reflected by the phrase "head, hands, and heart"?

A) a requirement that family members contribute to the functioning of the school
B) the idea that the entire faculty works together like the various parts of the body
C) a special emphasis on teaching biology and physical anatomy
D) a focus on all areas of development, including spiritual and moral

Question 46

Waldorf schools attempt to create conscientious adults who are a positive influence in their communities by ______.

A) prohibiting imaginative play in favor of concrete experience
B) instilling students with a love of learning
C) inviting prominent local figures to serve as guest teachers
D) making civics and political science central to the curriculum

Question 47

What was thought to be a cause of the eventual decline in test scores for students who had participated in the Bereiter-Engelmann direct instruction approach?

A) a lack of interpersonal relationships and support
B) the removal of external motivators for learning
C) an unfamiliarity with the test concepts
D) fear of punishment for failure

Question 48

Studies suggest that students who participate in a program where self-selection is a major teaching method have lower rates of juvenile delinquency than those who participate in a direct instruction program because ______.

A) students in programs that emphasize self-selection come from more privileged backgrounds
B) self-selection helps to develop a greater sense of responsibility and initiative in children
C) children with existing behavioral issues are more likely to be placed in direct instruction programs
D) teachers in direct instruction programs are less skilled than those that encourage self-selection

Question 49

Marni is a researcher who has been studying the effectiveness of the Waldorf approach to early childhood education for the last 15 years. To do so, she regularly collects data on the educational and professional success of individuals with similar backgrounds who were enrolled in Waldorf programs as children as well as those who did not attend early childhood programs. What type of research is Marni conducting?

A) cross-sectional
B) meta-analysis
C) double-blind
D) longitudinal

Question 50

Research shows that compensatory programs result in children from low-income families experiencing ______.

A) isolation from peers who did not participate in similar programs
B) improved test scores and a better sense of self
C) higher rates of juvenile delinquency and arrest
D) a lower likelihood of completing high school

Question 51

Terry and Myron are nineteen and grew up in low income households. Terry attended a compensatory program from ages three to four, while Myron did not. According to the Perry Preschool Project, which of the following statements is most likely to be true?

A) Terry failed to graduate high school, whereas Myron is enrolled in college.
B) Terry relies on welfare to make ends meet, whereas Myron is self-sufficient.
C) Terry is employed and enjoys his job, whereas Myron is unemployed.
D) Terry has been arrested twice, whereas Myron has never been in trouble with the law.

Question 52

According to the Perry Preschool Project, participants in compensatory programs were more likely to ______ than those from a similar background who did not attend compensatory programs.

A) leave high school by age 16
B) own a home by age 27
C) have children by 40
D) die by age 60

Question 53

Research on the Perry Preschool Project shows that early childhood intervention has which economic effects over the long run?

A) The programs represent a significant cost to society.
B) The programs represent a minor cost to society.
C) The programs are cost-neutral over the long run.
D) The programs save society money.

Question 54

Amara participated in the Abecedarian Project of North Carolina as a child. As a young adult, she is most likely to ______.

A) attend college
B) drop out of high school
C) work in a corporate setting
D) own a home

Question 55

Which demographic showed the most significant improvements in self-esteem and self-control after participating in the Syracuse University Family Development Research Program during their infant and preschool years?

A) non-English speakers
B) children from single-parent homes
C) boys
D) girls

Question 56

Which of the following is most likely to determine the extent to which an early childhood program positively affects a child's development?

A) parental involvement
B) the child's socioeconomic status
C) program quality
D) age of enrollment

Question 57

Why are many researchers troubled by the results of studies on what determines the success of early childhood program enrollees later in life?

A) The most important factors, parental involvement and socioeconomic status, are outside of teachers' control.
B) The most common early childhood teaching methods tend to be associated with lower levels of success later in life.
C) Most children are not enrolled in high-quality programs that are likely to significantly improve their chances of success later in life.
D) There is no evidence that early childhood programs positively affect the lives of enrollees after the complete elementary school.

Question 58

Maria is a preschool teacher who is concerned that her interactions with her students have not been effective. Which of the following is a technique she could use that has been proven to lead to high-quality child-adult interactions?

A) taking a more authoritarian tone with the class
B) eliminating imaginative play in favor of concrete experiences
C) being more sensitive to students' individual needs
D) communicating in writing rather than in person

Question 59

Researchers emphasize the importance of a strong education from pre-kindergarten through third grade because ______.

A) students who lack strong reading skills tend to lose interest in school during the fourth grade
B) the most important standardized testing occurs in third grade
C) there is no evidence that the quality of education after third grade affects students' success later in life
D) children tend to remember their earlier educational experiences better than later experiences

Question 60

Why do researchers believe many early elementary classrooms are developmentally inappropriate and of poor quality?

A) Early childhood theories have failed to keep up with changes in child development.
B) Elementary teachers lack an understanding of child development theories.
C) Parental involvement in elementary classrooms is low.
D) Federal building codes forbid the types of arrangements that are most beneficial to students.

Question 61

The Greek tradition of being sensitive to the needs of children was eliminated in the Roman Empire.

Question 62

Concern for childhood education largely disappeared in Europe during the Middle Ages.

Question 63

During the Industrial Revolution, children were only allowed to work a maximum of four hours per day.

Question 64

Today's view of children is largely based on scientific theory and research.

Question 65

Jean-Jacques Rousseau opened a world-famous kindergarten.

Question 66

Johann Pestalozzi established a method of teaching that heavily relied upon repetition and rote.

Question 67

Friedrich Froebel recognized that children have different developmental stages at different ages.

Question 68

In Maria Montessori's view, individual differences in development are the result of different environmental experiences.

Question 69

In Erik Erikson's view, once a child completes a developmental stage, the conflict at the center of that stage is no longer relevant to the child.

Question 70

According to Jean Piaget, mental concepts, or schemata, are static-once they are formed, they can never be altered.

Question 71

The main method of controlling or altering behavior recommended by B. F. Skinner is punishment.

Question 72

When a father holds the hand of his toddler to help her steady herself as she learns to walk, he is working within the zone of proximal development.

Question 73

Most early childhood programs strictly follow the approach recommended by a specific theorist.

Question 74

The Montessori method places strict restrictions on the ways in which materials can be used.

Question 75

A major difference between Reggio Emilia programs and other early childhood education models is the focus on short- and long-term projects in Reggio Emilia programs.

Question 76

Fairy tales are an important component of language development in Waldorf schools.

Question 77

Research shows that Head Start has succeeded in its original goal of eliminating the class differences that disadvantage children who come from impoverished backgrounds.

Question 78

Teenagers who were enrolled in the Syracuse University Family Development Research Program experienced significantly higher rates of involvement with the juvenile justice system than those who had not participated in the program.

Question 79

The majority of American children are in mediocre or low-quality early childhood settings.

Question 80

A child how attends a high-quality preschool program will maintain the positive effects of that experience for life even if he or she attends a low-quality elementary school.