CHILDHOOD AND PRISON ENVIRONMENTS: REFLECTIONS ON THE COGNITIVE IMPACT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION BASED ON NEUROSCIENCE

Abstract

This scientific essay is an exercise in reflection based on neuroscientific criteria, which focuses on the cognitive impact faced by children (boys and girls between zero and six years of age) when their parents, and particularly the single mother, are subject to a measure of deprivation of liberty imposed by judicial authorities. Using a qualitative methodology based on a review of neuroscientific and sociological literature, two possible associated scenarios are linked: detachment due to the absence of the person deprived of liberty and remaining in the prison where the mother is serving her sentence for the first three years of life. The most recent neuroscientific findings related to cognitive decline caused by traumatic emotions were presented, describing, based on these same scientific advances, the processes of brain development in early childhood and the circumstances that negatively impact it. A brief background was provided on the shortcomings of the Colombian prison system, and the regulatory provisions on custodial sentences involving mothers of children in early childhood were addressed. Regarding this, it was emphasized that the Penitentiary Law allows children up to three years old to remain with their mothers in these types of facilities. Based on a combined analysis of the above, it was concluded that children who face these types of realities in early childhood are at greater risk of damage to the prefrontal cortex, which could negatively impact their cognitive abilities. For this reason, we propose possible strategies that teachers should adopt to reduce the effects that these realities could have on learning capacity during the first years of basic education.