“Neuroscientific advances demonstrate that the age range from zero to five years old represents a critical window for both learning and teaching, which must involve the development of emotional competence and the growth of self-regulation as a foundation for long-term academic, personal, and social success, promoting mental health and well-being. Recent findings suggest that these capacities emerge from the co-regulation of empathic social and emotional interactions between a caregiver and young child.”
The importance of emotional competence and self-regulation from birth: a case for the evidence-based emotional cognitive social early learning approach published in The International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy and written by Housman Institute Founder and CEO, Dr. Donna Housman.
Believing it is far easier to prevent than repair Dr. Housman founded Housman Institute and her lab school based on emotional foundations of learning and cognition. She developed the evidence-based Emotional, Cognitive and Social Early learning approach begin to ECSEL. The core philosophy of this approach focuses on developing the building blocks of emotional intelligence by promoting self-regulation and emotional competence in children, from birth to 8 years.
This recent article highlights the imperative role that emotional competence and self-regulation play in children’s development, mental health, well-being, and success. The article also points to the growing international consensus on the importance of promoting these competencies in early childhood, when social and emotional relational experiences play a critical role in the growth of the brain’s architecture.
The need for quality early childhood care is on the rise globally, as is the awareness of the value that quality early childhood care brings, as documented by noted economist and Nobel Laureate James J. Heckman. The associated future research and policy implications are evident.
Housman Institute works to promote Emotional Intelligence through professional development and supporting those who teach and care for children from birth to eight in these competencies.
