Articles & papers

Background paper for discussion at the 12th Session of the CEART (Paris, 20–24 April 2015). The increasing importance of early childhood development (ECD) and its ongoing evolution make even more essential the improvement in the one factor that most determines the quality of ECD services: their teachers, facilitators, caregivers, and other personnel who plan, manage and staff these services. Increasing their professionalism and status and making their working conditions more ‘decent’ therefore is an essential element of any comprehensive ECD policy and programme.

La investigación tiene como punto de partida la visión de los niños y las niñas como sujetos de derecho y la concreción de los derechos enunciados en la Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño (CDN) de la ONU, así como la promoción de un enfoque coordinado, integral y multisectorial de la primera infancia. Ratificando que la educación es un derecho humano fundamental desde el nacimiento, el estudio analiza los sentidos que se le otorgan a la atención y educación en la primera infancia (AEPI) en los marcos políticos y legislativos de América Latina y el Caribe.

This document is the executive summary of the study on the right to education and care in early childhood: perspectives from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Based on the analysis of 45 countries, which represent 85 per cent of global GDP and close to 60 per cent of the global population and workforce, this microeconomic simulation study provides an estimation of the employment generation in care sectors, including early childhood care and education, primary and secondary education, tertiary education, ill/patient care (short-term care) and long-term care for older persons and persons with disabilities.

This study presents some of the major drivers and challenges encountered in policy planning for early childhood care and education (ECCE), an analysis of the evolution of ECCE policy planning in all world regions from before 2000 to the present, and data regarding the current national and regional distribution of ECCE policies, strategic plans and laws. As of July 2014, at least 68 countries had adopted one or more of these ECCE policy instruments.

This paper presents a thematic analysis of documents produced during a recent ‘Regional Policy Forum on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)’, attended by over 200 participants including representatives from key international donor organisations and high-level officials from over 30 countries across the Asia Pacific region.

This study investigates the emergence and supply-demand dynamics of a market for low-fee private schools (LFPS) at the level of early childhood care and education (ECCE) in a slum of Lusaka, Zambia. Based on data collection over 1.5 years, the study reveals that, despite a government policy to support ECE, over 90 per cent of ECCE centres are private; that school operators tend to be former teachers, businessmen/women, and religious leaders; and that LFPSs charge, on average, 2.5 times as much as government ECCE centres for tuition, not including additional indirect costs.

This paper explores early childhood care and development (ECCD) as the main foundation for child survival and holistic human development. It frames ECCD interventions and programmes as essential investments by governments, over the short-term and long-term, giving rise to benefits for children’s education, for children’s development and for parents. 

This is a background paper prepared for the International Forum on inclusion and equity in education – every learner matters, held in Cali, Colombia in September 2019. Its objectives are to outline the rationale for working on inclusive early childhood care and education (ECCE) for the promotion of inclusion and equity, and to analyse the trends, achievements and challenges concerning inclusive ECCE.

This paper outlines the rationale for focusing new attention on the educational needs of young children living in fragile conditions is strong: there is a broad body of scientific evidence; the international legal framework of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child asserts that all children have the right to health, education, legal registration, and protection from violence and separation from parents, beginning at birth; and the Sustainable Development Goals for all will be not reached without a focus on the earliest years of life in crisis and conflict situations.