Global perspectives on Early Child Development (ECD)

Sophie Naudeau, HDNCY

May 2008

Outline

1. ECD: A cost effective way to prevent risky behavior among youth

2. How to implement ECD activities? Examples from Indonesia and Cambodia

3. How to measure impact? Examples from Cambodia and Mozambique.

1. ECD: A cost effective way to prevent risky behavior among youth

Rates of Return to Human Development

― Investments Across All Ages

Pre-school Programs

School

Job Training

Return

Per $

Invested

R

2

4

6

0 6 18Age

Pre-

school School Post-school

Source: P. Carneiro & J. Heckman, Human Capital Policy, NBER, 2003.

8

How does ECD prevent risky behavior among youth?

In the short term:- ECD directly contributes to increased participation in

compulsory basic education, increased gender equity in primary enrollment, and lowered repetition and drop out rates. It is the first step for achieving Education for All.

- ECD helps improve children nutrition and health

In the medium to long term:- ECD helps children acquire and develop the cognitive and

social skills required to succeed later in life. Children who participate in ECD are likely to complete more years of education, to obtain and retain better jobs, and to engage in less risky behaviors.

Research Findings: Providing the Evidence Base

ECD particularly benefits the poorest families:

Poor children face a range of circumstances and challenges that put them at risk in all areas of their development (physical, cognitive, socio-emotional). ECD helps leveling the playing field early on in life for these children and their families.

Cost-analyses studies conducted in Brazil, Turkey, Colombia, and the U.S. show that ECD interventions accrue high economic benefits and are much less costly than remedial interventions, especially when targeted to the poorest children.

2. How to implement ECD activities?Two key elements to keep in mind:

- Holistic development of the child

- Covering all age groups from 0 (or – 9 m) to 6

Need to work cross sectors within the bank and with governments

He

alt

h a

nd

N

utr

itio

n

Ed

uca

tio

n

So

cia

l P

rote

cti

on

Early Child Development(Health/Nutrition, School Readiness, Parenting)

Youth Development(School-to-work, Second-chance programs,

Risky behaviors, participation, crime and violence)

2.a. The Indonesia Early Childhood Education and Development Project

Development Objective of the Project:

To improve poor children’s overall development and readiness to enter primary school, within a sustainable quality ECED system.

Project Beneficiaries:

The project is designed to reach approximately 738,000 children ages 0-6 in 3,000 poor villages across 50 targeted districts by 2013.

Additional beneficiaries include: Parents and caregivers 12,000 ECED personnel (i.e., 6,000 teachers for services to

children ages 3-6 and 6,000 child development workers for services to families of children ages 0 to 3)

The community and ECED Stakeholders

Project components:

The project will achieve its objective through 3 components:

1. Increasing integrated ECED service delivery in targeted poor communities;

2. Developing a sustainable system for ECED quality;

3. Establishing effective project management, monitoring, and evaluation

Subcomponent 1.3: Providing Block Grants to CommunitiesGrants will be provided to approximately 6,000 poor communities in 3,000 villages across the 50 districts targeted in this project.

Community members will first assess their existing ECD resources and services (e.g., Posyandu, etc.). They will then chose from a menu of ECD options what additional ECD services they may wish to implement.

ECD services for children ages 3 to 6 are expected to be center-based while services for families of children ages 0 to 3 will include a combination of group based services and individual services

2.b. Cambodia: ECD as part of FTI-CF

Clarity in the objective…:

Enhancing school readiness among poor Cambodian children

….And experimentation in the implementation modalities:

Over the next 3 years, Cambodia will open:

650 new “formal” Preschool Programs

450 Community Based Preschool Programs

450 Home Based Programs

3. Impact evaluations of ECD

Why measure the impact of ECD?- The evidence available is overwhelming but

still very US grounded. In some countries, local evidence is needed for policy dialogue

Mozambique

- Depending on the context and targeted populations, various types of ECD activities may be more or less cost effective

Cambodia

3.a. Measuring Impact: The case of Mozambique

The evaluation design in brief:

ECD program implemented by Save the Children

Randomized design: 30 “escolinas” vs. 30 control communities

Baseline collected in May-June 2008

Instruments used: Household Questionnaire

Anthropometrics

Ages and Stages Questionnaire (overall development)

TVIP (receptive language)

EDI (School readiness)

3.b. Measuring Impact: The case of Cambodia

The evaluation design in brief:

Three types of ECD activities implemented in the context of FTI-CF.

Impact evaluation + cost effectiveness analysis

2 randomized designs: (i) Community based preschools vs. home based programs vs. controls and (ii) formal preschools vs. controls.

Baseline collected in May-June 2008

Instruments used:

Household Questionnaire + mother/child questionnaire

Anthropometrics

Ages and Stages Questionnaire (overall development)

TVIP (receptive language)

WJIII “Memory for Names”

SummaryECD is the best investment a Government can make in its people

Flexible implementation modalities exist within certain constraints

Impact evaluation (along with monitoring) can play a critical role in implementation adjustments/choices and in overall policy dialogue