Investing against Evidence : The Global State of Early Childhood Care and Education

Abstract

Brain development is most remarkable in early childhood. Providing supportive conditions for early learning and development is more effective and less costly than trying to remedy the consequences of early adversities later. With quality ECCE, children are healthy, happy and curious, and wellprepared for primary school. They achieve more and grow into successful lifelong learners. Through its compensatory effects, ECCE helps children from disadvantaged backgrounds to have an equally strong start in school and in life. The best results are gained when ECCE caters to the child’s holistic development – facilitated by multisectoral collaboration – and provides developmentally and contextually relevant educational experiences. Thus, ECCE is unambiguously a key concern for education stakeholders. It is a critical starting point in realizing equitable, quality education and lifelong learning – an aspiration framing the post-2015 global education agenda. This book features these and other lessons from research and experience from different continents. Its thematic orientation addressing investment rationales, equity and quality reflects that of the World Conference on ECCE.