15 - Early Childhood Education

Summary

The concept of synaptic pruning had an impact on mainstream thinking about early education soon after its discovery. The fact that millions of synapses are eliminated between early childhood and adulthood was mind boggling. But conceptually, it made sense that the brain circuitry starts with more connections than are needed, and subsequently can be sculpted based on input. Although it may seem inefficient, the early overabundance of connections enables a process for selective elimination and refinement that occurs over years, as children learn. But how does synaptic pruning relate to childhood learning? Education scholars and advocates had for centuries been alert to the positive impacts of education on child development. In 1979, education initiatives such as the Head Start program in the United States. were already in place. The discovery of synaptic pruning then supplied a new and specific biological basis supporting the benefits of early childhood education.