Early childhood education (ECE) is a branch of
education theory which relates to the teaching of young
children (formally and informally) up until the age of about eight. Infant/toddler education, a subset of early childhood education, denotes the
education of
children from birth to age two. In recent years, early childhood education has become a prevalent public policy issue, as municipal, state, and federal lawmakers consider funding for preschool and pre-k.