Early Child Development: informing policy and making it a priority: impact case study
This Young Lives impact case study details the role of early child development in informing policy and making it a priority
Abstract
This Young Lives impact case study details the role of early child development (ECD) in informing policy and making it a priority.
In overview:
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Good quality early childhood development (ECD), including pre-school education is now widely recognised as a vital tool for transforming young lives.
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Despite differences in provision between countries, Young Lives research shows that attending pre-school has a significant and long-lasting positive effect on children’ self-esteem, pride and educational aspirations. Children who attend pre-school education perform better in numeracy tests in all countries at all ages.
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In Ethiopia, Young Lives has informed and advised on the roll-out of O-Class (zero grade) before the start of primary school, providing evidence regarding both supply and demand side constraints on quality ECD.
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In Peru, Young Lives research helped to strengthen the focus on early learning in government programmes for preschool children.
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Young Lives was commissioned by the World Bank to use data across all four countries to examine how pre-school experience affected children’ later development. The World Bank commissioned Young Lives in part because it now provides a uniquely long time window to understand the later consequences of early circumstances. This analysis will be published in a forthcoming World Bank report.
Young Lives is an international study of childhood poverty, following the lives of 12,000 children in 4 countries (Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam) over 15 years. Young Lives is funded by the UK Department for International Development
Citation
Young Lives (2018) Early Child Development: informing policy and making it a priority: impact case study
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