The Art of Early Childhood Education

To some extent, early childhood educators integrate the arts as standard practice. But music, dance, and visual arts are typically limited there. Lee Nardo and colleagues’ 2006 study of teachers in preschools accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children revealed that arts components such as music were typically used for a small amount of time each day and primarily to enrich the classroom environment. Full integration of the arts is rare, particularly in programs that serve children at risk for educational difficulties. Yet arts integrated learning may hold the potential to address key challenges facing our nation’s youngest learners, especially those with developmental delays and emotional challenges and those from diverse cultures and backgrounds.