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c lassroom interactions (Egert, Fukkink, and Eckhardt 2018; Perlman et al. 2016; von Suchodoletz et al. 2017; Wolf et al. 2019; Yoshikawa et al. 2013) in a language that children understand (box O.2). There is also growing evidence that the effectiveness of interventions that improve children’s learning hinges on the coherence of curricula, pedagogy, and teacher professional development (Pianta et al. 2017; Weiland et al. 2018). Interventions that enable rich classroom interactions through safe and stimulating learning spaces, as well as manageable child-to-teacher ratios and group sizes, also facilitate child learning (von Suchodoletz et al. 2017; Yoshikawa et al. 2013). While working toward long-term objectives, countries should ensure that short- to medium-term ECE policies and services are grounded in the knowledge of what and how young children learn (chapter 1) and achieve a minimum level of quality that benefits children enrolled today (figure O.4). Whereas some of the earlier evidence on the effectiveness of ECE comes from intensive pilot programs in high-income countries that were very expensive,15 growing evidence from LMIC settings points to considerably less expensive and less complex ECE interventions that improve key elements of classroom quality and promote learning gains, especially in settings where the quality of service provision is low and children’s exposure to stimulating learning opportunities is limited.
Figure O.4 P rioritizing Investment to Boost Child Learning while Building Quality ECE at Scale Prioritize improvements to capacity of existing stock of ECE workforce
While progressively professionalizing the workforce and establishing attractive ECE career pathways
Prioritize adoption of ageappropriate pedagogy
While devising an effective and holistic ECE curriculum
Prioritize ensuring existing learning spaces are safe and stimulating
While investing in infrastructure that ensures pedagogically intentional, child-friendly, and flexible spaces for learning
Laying the groundwork for a systems approach that supports holistic interventions across different sectors and environments
Source: Original figure for this publication. Note: ECE = early childhood education.
