Early education

Early childhood education (ECE) is becoming a global policy priority, especially in the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) where there is commitment to invest in the youngest learners. Building on system-level mappings in 2015 and 2017, this report delves into the status of ECE systems in the Pacific region as of 2022. Based on a…

Recent data show that two-thirds of young Ukrainian refugee children are currently not enrolled in the host country's early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. By publishing policy briefs on the expansion of early childhood education and care and the role of ECEC in the integration of Ukrainian young children and their families, UNICEF…

Access to early childhood education has increased over the last two decades, with global enrolment rates showing gender parity in access among boys and girls. Despite this gender parity in access, the pre-primary education system does not always deliver on its potential to tackle gender inequities and address harmful gender stereotypes while they…

Why global disparities in reading skills matter and what we can do about it.

As we walked through classrooms in Bangladesh,  we were struck by the hope and aspirations of the children. Already, children in grades three or four, said they wanted to be teachers, scientists, and prime ministers. They knew they must get an education in order achieve these dreams, but like so many children around the world, without evidence-…

Early childhood is a period of unprecedented growth and development.  During this time,  a child acquires the social, emotional, cognitive and language skills that lay the foundations for their future health, development, wellbeing, positive relationships, and productivity into adulthood.  Early childhood is also a critical period in which…,   An unmatched opportunity for achieving gender equality  , Globally, enrolment in ECE has increased in the past two decades, with  current figures  reflecting gender parity in most instances. However, behind the overall gender parity figures lie differences in how girls and boys access quality provision and what their experiences in the classroom are.  Studies   have found  that pre-primary educators…,   Building frameworks for gender equality through a gender transformative systems approach, Early childhood education systems need to move beyond simply improving access to education for girls and reaching gender parity. In taking a gender transformative approach, ECE systems should consider how we can use policy, curriculum, pedagogy, play and learning materials, teacher training and parental engagement programmes to support children…,   Getting it right from the start, A gender transformative approach to early childhood education provides an unmatched opportunity to build gender equitable futures for children, their communities, and countries. Governments, with the support of education partners, must play an important role in taking this work forward to incorporate gender-transformative approaches into their pre…