The World Bank is actively supporting early childhood development based on demand from governments and convincing evidence on the benefits of investing early for children, families, and society.
... Vea más + This portfolio review provides an overview of Bank investments in early childhood development (ECD) from 2001 to 2013 within the three global practices of education (ED), health, nutrition, and population (HNP), and social protection and labor (SP).1 In this report, we will consider the three global practices together as the Human Development (HD) portfolio of the World Bank. The report summarizes trends in operational and analytical investments in early childhood, including lending and trust-funded operations at the country, regional, and global levels. We present findings on the overall level of finance during this 13-year period, the number of ECD investments, and regional and sectoral trends. A series of case studies are presented to highlight lessons learned to inform future Bank support to ECD and to promote better planning across sectors and regions. We then present trends in analytical and advisory activities, including economic sector work, technical assistance, partnership activities, impact evaluations, programmatic approaches, and knowledge products. Finally, the paper discusses recent new approaches to support ECD within the World Bank and in client countries
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Increasing recognition that investments in early childhood development (ECD) are essential for children to reach their full potential has led development agencies, including the World Bank, to place a higher priority on young children in their partnership with countries.
... Vea más + A recent review of the World Banks experience in ECD suggests rapidly increasing commitments and provides selected lessons from operations and documents promising new initiatives (Sayre et al., 2014). The review considered ECD activities for the period June 2000 to July 2013 within the Education (ED), Health, Nutrition, and Population (HNP), and Social Protection and Labor (SP) Global Practices. This brief summarizes key findings and messages from the review.
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Investing in young children is one of the best investments that countries can make. A childs earliest years present a unique window of opportunity to address inequality, break the cycle of poverty, and improve a wide range of outcomes later in life.
... Vea más + A growing body of literature demonstrates that the returns on investments in young children are substantial, particularly when compared to investments made at later stages in life. Yet while there is an emerging consensus that investments in early childhood development (ECD) should be a priority and can have high returns, countries continue to fall short in their investments in ECD. This is due in part to budget constraints, but also to the fact that ECD is complex and multi-sectoral. There is still lack of awareness of how countries can design successful policies and scalable programs in this area. This note, which is based on Denboba et al. (2014), provides an accessible introduction to key interventions and broader principles that can help policy makers and practitioners think about how to effectively invest in ECD.
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Among the various investments in human capital that countries can make, those related to early childhood development (ECD) may have the largest returns later in life.
... Vea más + The rate of return on investments in ECD depends on a number of factors, including the focus, length, and quality of an ECD program. But these rates of return have been shown to be as high as 17:1 (Heckman, 2008). By one estimate, increasing preschool enrollment to 50 percent in low- and middle-income countries could result in additional lifetime earnings ranging from $15 billion to $34 billion (Engle et al., 2011). During a childs early years, there are four critical domains of development: physical, cognitive, linguistic, and socio-emotional. Neurological studies have shown that synapses develop rapidly during a childs first few years, forming the basis of cognitive and emotional functioning. Adequate nutrition and stimulation, especially during a childs first 1,000 days, play a critical role in brain development. Malnutrition in the early years not only leads to poor physical growth, but can also impede brain development; it is linked with delayed cognitive development and low academic achievement throughout a childs life. By contrast, early investments that reduce the risk of malnutrition can have long-term impacts on the individual, the community, and society as a whole. Similarly, early childhood education provides building blocks to ensure that children learn the skills necessary to succeed throughout life, from primary school through tertiary education and into the labor market.
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Resumen 93205 NOV 01, 2014
Denboba, A.; Devercelli, A.; Neuman, M.; Sayre, R.; Wodon, Q.
A child's earliest years present a window of opportunity to improve outcomes later in life. A growing body of literature demonstrates that lack of investments in children in early years can have dramatic negative consequences for their future ability to learn and lead healthy and productive lives.
... Vea más + The opposite also holds: Investing in young children can generate very high returns, particularly when compared to equivalent investments made at later stages in life. The course builds on face-to-face training workshops implemented over the last two years and consists of three interactive web-based modules with 15 topics and a total learning time of approximately four to five hours. The three modules are devoted to three simple questions: (1) why invest in ECD? (2) What matters for ECD? (3) How should ECD interventions be implemented? At the end of each module, participants are invited to take a quiz with questions related to the materials covered in the module, and upon completion of the three quizzes with at least 80 percent of correct answers, participants receive a certificate of completion for the course.
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Resumen 93787 NOV 01, 2014
Denboba, A.; McLin, M.; Neuman, M.; Sayre, R.; Wang, Y.; Wodon, Q.
Investing in young children is one of the best investments that countries can make. A childs earliest years present a unique window of opportunity to address inequality, break the cycle of poverty, and improve a wide range of outcomes later in life.
... Vea más + Recent brain research suggests the need for holistic approaches to learning, growth, and development, recognizing that young childrens physical and intellectual well-being, as well as their socio-emotional and cognitive development, are interrelated. To fully benefit from future opportunities in life and become productive members of society, by the end of early childhood, young children must be: healthy and well-nourished; securely attached to caregivers; able to interact positively with families, teachers, and peers; able to communicate in their native language; and ready to learn throughout primary school. This document draws on these existing frameworks and broad evidence on the impacts of ECD interventions. It summarizes some of the existing literature on this topic with the aim to identify key interventions needed for children. The document is intended to provide an easily accessible introduction to interventions and integrated services that could help policymakers and practitioners think about how to effectively invest in ECD. In addition to identifying key interventions, the document outlines four principles that can help countries design and implement strong ECD policies and programs. Countries should: (i) prepare an ECD diagnostic and strategy; (ii) implement widely through coordination; (iii) create synergies and cost savings through integrated interventions; and (iv) monitor, evaluate, and scale up successful interventions. In terms of interventions, within the ECD period, 25 key interventions are identified as essential for a childs growth and development. For each intervention, illustrative costs and impacts are provided. These are based on existing evidence and are only intended to be indicative. The document suggests that these interventions can be delivered through five integrated packages at different stages in a childs life. The five packages of interventions include: (a) the family support package, which should be provided throughout the ECD period, (b) the pregnancy package, (c) the birth package (from birth to six months), (d) the child health and development package, and (e) the preschool package.
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Documento de trabajo 92988 OCT 01, 2014
Denboba, Amina D.; Sayre, Rebecca K.; Wodon, Quentin T.; Elder, Leslie K.; Rawlings, Laura B.; Lombardi, Joan Inglés,
Portugués,
Español
Investing in young children is one of the best investments that countries can make. A childs earliest years present a unique window of opportunity to address inequality, break the cycle of poverty, and improve a wide range of outcomes later in life.
... Vea más + Recent brain research suggests the need for holistic approaches to learning, growth, and development, recognizing that young childrens physical and intellectual well-being, as well as their socio-emotional and cognitive development, are interrelated. To fully benefit from future opportunities in life and become productive members of society, by the end of early childhood, young children must be: healthy and well-nourished; securely attached to caregivers; able to interact positively with families, teachers, and peers; able to communicate in their native language; and ready to learn throughout primary school. This document draws on these existing frameworks and broad evidence on the impacts of ECD interventions. It summarizes some of the existing literature on this topic with the aim to identify key interventions needed for children. The document is intended to provide an easily accessible introduction to interventions and integrated services that could help policymakers and practitioners think about how to effectively invest in ECD. In addition to identifying key interventions, the document outlines four principles that can help countries design and implement strong ECD policies and programs. Countries should: (i) prepare an ECD diagnostic and strategy; (ii) implement widely through coordination; (iii) create synergies and cost savings through integrated interventions; and (iv) monitor, evaluate, and scale up successful interventions. In terms of interventions, within the ECD period, 25 key interventions are identified as essential for a childs growth and development. For each intervention, illustrative costs and impacts are provided. These are based on existing evidence and are only intended to be indicative. The document suggests that these interventions can be delivered through five integrated packages at different stages in a childs life. The five packages of interventions include: (a) the family support package, which should be provided throughout the ECD period, (b) the pregnancy package, (c) the birth package (from birth to six months), (d) the child health and development package, and (e) the preschool package.
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Documento de trabajo 92988 OCT 01, 2014
Denboba, Amina D.; Sayre, Rebecca K.; Wodon, Quentin T.; Elder, Leslie K.; Rawlings, Laura B.; Lombardi, Joan Inglés,
Español
Investing in young children is one of the best investments that countries can make. A child’s earliest years present a unique window of opportunity to address inequality, break the cycle of poverty, and improve a wide range of outcomes later in life.
... Vea más + Recent brain research suggests the need for holistic approaches to learning, growth, and development, recognizing that young children’s physical and intellectual well-being, as well as their socio-emotional and cognitive development, are interrelated. To fully benefit from future opportunities in life and become productive members of society, by the end of early childhood, young children must be: healthy and well-nourished; securely attached to caregivers; able to interact positively with families, teachers, and peers; able to communicate in their native language; and ready to learn throughout primary school. This document draws on these existing frameworks and broad evidence on the impacts of ECD interventions. It summarizes some of the existing literature on this topic with the aim to identify key interventions needed for children. The document is intended to provide an easily accessible introduction to interventions and integrated services that could help policymakers and practitioners think about how to effectively invest in ECD. In addition to identifying key interventions, the document outlines four principles that can help countries design and implement strong ECD policies and programs. Countries should: (i) prepare an ECD diagnostic and strategy; (ii) implement widely through coordination; (iii) create synergies and cost savings through integrated interventions; and (iv) monitor, evaluate, and scale up successful interventions. In terms of interventions, within the ECD period, 25 key interventions are identified as essential for a child’s growth and development. For each intervention, illustrative costs and impacts are provided. These are based on existing evidence and are only intended to be indicative. The document suggests that these interventions can be delivered through five integrated packages at different stages in a child’s life. The five packages of interventions include: (a) the family support package, which should be provided throughout the ECD period, (b) the pregnancy package, (c) the birth package (from birth to six months), (d) the child health and development package, and (e) the preschool package.
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Documento de trabajo 92988 OCT 01, 2014
Denboba, Amina D.; Sayre, Rebecca K.; Wodon, Quentin T.; Elder, Leslie K.; Rawlings, Laura B.; Lombardi, Joan Inglés,
Portugués,
Español
This policy note shows how accessible childcare services can increase young womenapos;s participation rates in training, their productivity (in terms of decreased absenteeism and retention), and there may also be benefits for childrenapos;s development outcomes.
... Vea más + Increasingly, the potential for packaging childcare into economic interventions for poor vulnerable women is being considered, for example into agricultural extension services. Youth employment projects in Latin America have traditionally included childcare in the program design. Similarly, some of the AGI pilots, mainly the Economic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women (EPAG) project in Liberia, integrated childcare into the package of services designed to increase young womenapos;s employment and earnings. Lessons learned from these pilots include how: 1) projects can do their demographic homework to make informed decisions about offering childcare; 2) to design a childcare delivery model that fits the local context; 3) to encourage the use of existing care and support systems; 4) to establish clear eligibility criteria for participants and qualifications for childcare providers; 5) to define quality assurance mechanisms and do routine monitoring; 6) childcare can be included in youth employment projects at a relatively low-cost; 7) childcare provides an opportunity to intervene and benefit children at early ages; and 8) youth employment projects working with young parents may be an entry-point for cultivating good parenting skills.
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The UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), WHO, and the World Bank co-hosted a global consultative meeting on Civil Registration And Vital Statistics (CRVS) in Addis Ababa on April 28-29, 2014 to discuss and obtain input on a draft investment plan.
... Vea más + Civil registration is the act of recording and documenting of vital events in a persons life (including birth, marriage, divorce, adoption, and death) and is a fundamental function of governments. The goal of the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) plan is to register births, deaths and other vital events, including reporting cause of death, and access to legal proof of registration for all individuals by 2030. This global plan has three key components concerning the following: 1) national CRVS strengthening that removes the barriers to birth registration, improving reporting of deaths and determining cause of death, strengthening CRVS institutions and ICT systems, strengthening national ID mechanisms, and improving the response to deaths and vital statistics; 2) international support for CRVS that will focus on strengthening international standards for CRVS, and preparing and sharing guidance based on country experience; and 3) sharing knowledge and building the evidence base that analyzes barriers and programs of implementation research, together with rigorous impact evaluation, that will share lessons on what works in different situations.
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This report presents a comprehensive diagnostic assessment of Bulgariaapos;s workforce development (WfD) policies and institutions. The results are based on a new World Bank tool designed for this purpose, SABER-WfD.
... Vea más + SABER-WfD is part of the World Bankapos;s initiative on Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) whose aim is to provide systematic assessment and documentation of the policy and institutional factors that influence the performance of key areas of national education and training systems. The SABER-WfD tool encompasses initial, continuing and targeted vocational education and training that are offered through multiple channels and focuses largely on programs at the secondary and post-secondary levels.
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The objectives of the Early Childhood Development Project for Jamaica are to: 1) improve the monitoring of children's development, the screening of household-level risks, and the risk mitigation and early intervention systems; 2) enhance the quality of early childhood schools and care facilities; and 3) strengthen early childhood organizations and institutions.
... Vea más + This paper pertains to the provision of an additional loan for the project, as well as a restructuring of the project. The additional loan is to help scale-up activities of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Project in line with the ECD National Strategic Plan (NSP). Changes to be incorporated in this restructuring include modifications to the project development objectives, results framework, an extension of the loan closing date to September 28, 2018, changes in disbursement estimates and reallocation between disbursement categories, alterations to components and cost, and modification of the implementation schedule.
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Yunnan is a medium-sized and relatively poor Chinese province on the southwestern border of China. In 2012, the Yunnan department of education formally requested Bank support in conducting a review of early childhood education policies and programs in order to gain an in-depth and evidence-based understanding of the challenges the province faces in expanding early childhood education-in particular to rural and mountainous regions.
... Vea más + The Bankapos;s China education team embarked on raising funds, designing and implementing a rather elaborate research agenda around early childhood education. The goal was to investigate key challenges, and to propose policy interventions for expanding the Early Child Development (ECD) coverage in rural Yunnan. This report presents the findings from the background studies, and draws potential policy implications for improving the access to and quality of preschool education in Yunnan province. China has now almost achieved universal 9-year basic education. Over the last decade, the country has devoted increasing attention to policy development in early childhood education. Even though China does not yet have a specific early childhood education law, it has established a rather elaborate set of guidelines and regulations pertaining to early childhood education. Early childhood education has expanded significantly within the last few years. There are two main types of preschool programs for 3-6 year olds including: a regular 3-year program which is called kindergarten, and a one-year program attached usually to primary schools. The rapid growth of preschool teacher supply has contributed to the drop in pupil-teacher ratios across the nation. In Yunnan in particular, the ratio has decreased from approximately 30 to 20 in recent years. However, urban areas still enjoy a more favorable pupil-teacher ratio, as well as a higher proportion of qualified teachers compared to rural areas. Rural areas account for 50 percent of total preschool enrollment, but only 22 percent of all trained teachers serve in rural areas.
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This bulletin showcases a World Bank supported study in Cambodia, where researchers set out to study the effects of scholarships on encouraging primary school students to continue their studies in lower secondary school, and whether bigger grants worked better than smaller ones.
... Vea más + The results of the study underscore the importance impact evaluation can have for policymakers, even as researchers plan a second round of data collection to answer some important questions raised by the results. Building on the lessons learned from this evaluation, the government of Cambodia is planning a revised approach in its 2014-2018 strategic education plan to strengthen the quality of preschools and ensure demand for these services. This Evidence to Policy note was jointly produced by the World Bank Group, the Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF), and the British governmentapos;s Department for International Development.
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This brief summarizes the giving children a better start: preschool attendance and school-age profiles in Uruguay for the period 1995. The author study the effect of pre-primary education on childrenapos;s subsequent school outcomes by exploiting a unique feature of the Uruguayan household survey (ECH) that collects retrospective information on preschool attendance in the context of a rapid expansion in the supply of pre-primary places.
... Vea más + Using a within household estimator, we find small gains from preschool attendance at early ages that get magnified as children grow up. By age 15, treated children have accumulated 0.8 extra years of education and are 27 percentage points more likely to be in school compared to their untreated siblings. Instrumental variables estimates that attempt to control for non-random selection of siblings into preschool lead to similar results. Pre-primary education appears as a successful and cost-effective policy to prevent early grade failure and its long lasting consequences in low income countries.
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Resumen 81335 AUG 14, 2013
Berlinski, Samuel; Galiani, Sebastian; Manacorda, Marco
This brief summarizes the results of a gender impact evaluation study, entitled Early childhood development through an integrated program : evidence from the Philippines, conducted in 1999 in Philippines.
... Vea más + The study observed the impact of early childhood development (ECD) to control a variety of observed characteristics measured at the municipality, barangay, household, and child level and unobserved fixed characteristics, with differential impacts by age of children and duration of exposure to the program on the child level. For children exposed to the program there is a statistically significant positive impact on outcomes related to child cognitive, social, motor skills, language development, and short term nutritional status. The program impacts tend to increase with duration. Younger children experienced greater impacts. Funding for the study derived from the National Institutes of Health or Fogarty International Center, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research, the Global Development Network, the Department of Social Welfare and Development of the Government of the Philippines, the World Bank Research Support Budget, and NICHD postdoctoral training fellowship at the University of Michigan.
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This brief summarizes the results of a gender impact evaluation study, entitled Labor market returns to early childhood stimulation : a 20-year follow-up to the Jamaica study, conducted during the time period between 1986-1987 in Jamaica.
... Vea más + The study observed that large effects on earnings of a randomized intervention that gave stimulation to stunted toddlers living in poverty. The intervention was a one-hour weekly visit from a community health worker over a 2-year period that taught and encouraged mothers to interact and play with their children in ways that would develop their childrenapos;s cognitive and socio-emotional skills. The stimulation at an early age led to an increase in earnings of 50 percent for all workers and 63 percent for workers in full time permanent jobs. The treatment group caught up with a matched non-stunted comparison group. Overall there is no clear difference in outcomes between the genders. However, cognitive skills were significantly improved for men, but not women and internalizing and externalizing behaviors significantly improved for only females. Funding for the study derived from Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund, the American Bar Foundation, The Pritzker Childrenapos;s Initiative, NICHD, the Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group, Institute for New Economic Thinking, European Research Council.
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