strong foundations early childhood care and education cairo 12 november 2006 ungei meeting
TRANSCRIPT
Strong foundations
Early childhood care and education
Cairo12 November 2006
UNGEI meeting
Education for All Dakar Goals and Millennium Development Goals
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality, and other health goals
5. Improve maternal health
1. Expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education
2. Universal primary education by 2015
3. Learning and life skills programmes for youth and adults
4. 50% increase in adult literacy rates by 2015
5. Gender parity by 2005 and gender equality by 2015
6. Improving quality of education
MDGsEFA Goals
No country in need should be denied international assistance
1
Far from EFA (EDI below 0.80)
Intermediate position(EDI between
0.80 and 0.94)
EFA achieved or close (EDI between 0.95 and 1.00)
5028
2
182
13
62
2
114819
47
15
617
3
4
11
EFA: Where do we stand?
Sub-Saharan Africa
Arab States
Central Asia
East Asia/Pacific
South and West Asia
N. America /West. Europe
Latin America/Caribbean
Central/Eastern Europe
Out of 125 countries, 47 have achieved the EFA goals.
Countries showing the greatest progress are in the lowest scoring group
Excludes many countries far from goals, e.g. those in conflict
Total
2
More and more children are starting school
1999 2004
80 100 120 140
Arab States
Central/East. Europe
N. America/West. Europe
East Asia/Pacific
Central Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Latin America/Caribbean
South/WestAsia
Gross intake rate in primary education (%)
Sharp increases in Grade 1 access in Sub-
Saharan Africa and South and West Asia
3
0.80 0.90 1.00 1.10
Arab States
Central/EasternEurope
Central Asia
East Asia/Pacific
LatinAmerica/Caribbean
North America/Western Europe
South/West Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Gender Parity Index in Gross Intake Rate in primary education
Global gender parity index up
from 0.92 in 1999 to 0.94 in 2004
Rapid progress in countries
with low enrolment ratios and
high gender disparities
Mauritania, Malawi, Qatar and
Uganda among countries that
achieved gender parity between
1999 and 2004
Trend benefiting girls
4
Gender parity in primary
About two-thirds of countries out of 181 with data have achieved gender parity in primary education
Gaps still concentrated in Arab States, South and West Asia and Sub Saharan Africa: roughly 90 girls for every 100 boys
Gender parity
Primary education
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
GP
I in
GER
Sub-SaharanAfrica
Arab States South/WestAsia
Latin AmericaCaribbean
Centr./East.Europe
N. America/West. Europe
Central Asia East Asia/Pacific
1999 2004
5
77 million children still not in school
6
0 5 10 15 20 25
Central Asia
Central/ Eastern Europe
Latin America/Caribbean
Arab States
East Asia/Pacific
South/ WestAsia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Out-of-school children, million
female
male
Drop of 20 million since 1999, mainly in South Asia
117 girls out of school for every 100 boys
Marked exclusion in Arab States and South and West Asia
But rural residence, household poverty and mother’s lack of education are more determining factors
Who is out-of-school?Rural, poor, uneducated mother
Enrolled but dropped out
(9% )
Expected to enter late
(31% ) Expected tonever enrol
(60% )
47
53
18
82
23
77
25
75
0 20 40 60 80 100
Male
Female
Urban
Rural
Richest 40%
Poorest 60%
Mother with some education
Mother with no education
Distribution of out-of-school children (percentage) 2001Out-of-school children by
schooling experience
7
Too few pupils completeprimary school
In addition to increasing access, improving retention is a key to reducing out-of-school children
0
20
40
60
80
100
Rw
and
aB
uru
ndi
Leso
tho
Madagasc
ar
Ghana
Sw
azi
land
Ben
inN
iger
Tog
oE
ritr
ea
Mali
Cape V
erd
eC
am
ero
on
Mauri
tius
Mauri
tan
iaM
oro
cco
Saudi
Alg
eri
aLe
banon
Om
an
Kuw
ait
Mong
olia
Aze
rbaija
nTajik
ista
nK
aza
khst
an
Lao P
. D
.M
yan
mar
Nepal
Bangla
desh
Nic
ara
gua
Ecu
ador
Guate
mala
Colo
mbia
Panam
aB
oliv
iaD
om
inic
aC
ost
a R
ica
Barb
ados
Bela
rus
Survival rates to last grade (%) Cohort completion rates (%)
8
Girls’ better completionAlmost everywhere except Sub-Saharan Africa, girls are more
likely to stay in primary school longer than boys
9
0
20
40
60
80
100
Mauri
tania
Pale
sti
nia
n
Moro
cco
Alg
eri
a
Lebanon
Kuw
ait
Om
an
Taji
kis
tan
Kazakhsta
n
Lao P
DR
Myanm
ar
Nic
ara
gua
Guate
mala
Colo
mbia
Ecu
ador
Boli
via
Panam
a
Costa
Ric
a
Dom
inic
a
Barb
ados
Nepal
Bangla
desh
Rw
anda
Buru
ndi
Nig
er
Ghana
Sw
azil
and
Benin
Togo
Mali
Cape V
erd
e
U.
R.
Tanzania
Cam
ero
on
Mauri
tius
Eri
trea
Pri
mary
coh
ort
com
ple
tion
rate
(%
) Male Female
Arab States East AsiaPacific
Latin AmericaCaribbean
South West Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Central Asia
Needed: more trained teachers
Sub-Saharan Africa needs to recruit at least 1.6 million more teachers to reach UPE by 2015
Serious shortages in rural areas
Too few female teachers in countries with low enrolment of girls
Slight improvement in pupil-teacher ratios in most regions between 1999 and 2004
Only slight increase in % of trained teachers
10
40 60 80 100
Arab States
Central/EasternEurope
Central Asia
East AsiaPacific
Latin AmericaCaribbean
North America/Western Europe
South/WestAsia
Sub-SaharanAfrica
% Female teachers
pre-primary primary
In pre-primary nearly all
teachers are women
Lack of primary school female
teachers in regions where largest
gender disparities persist
Recruiting female teachers
11
Secondary parity
Only one-third of countries have achieved parity at the secondary level
Gender differences greater than in primary education
Low secondary enrolment ratios: disparities at expense of girls
High secondary enrolment ratios: disparities at the expense of boys
Gender parity
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
1999 2004
Secondary education
GP
I in
GER
AfricaSub-Saharan Arab States South/West
AsiaLatin America
Caribbean
Centr./East.Europe
N. America/West. Europe
Central Asia East Asia/Pacific
12
Continued barriers to schooling
Poverty
Direct and indirect costs of education: stipends,
scholarships to increase access
Distance to school
Language and ethnicity
School environment
Social exclusion
Cultural barriers: role in home and in society
13
Multiple sources of exclusion must be overcome
through educational and financial support
Towards gender equality
Public policy must promote equal rights
and treatment of girls
Reducing gender bias in curricula and textbooks
Gender sensitive teacher training and classroom pedagogy
Confronting sexual violence and harassment
14
Gender parity in education does not always mean gender equality
- 100 200 300
D.R.Congo
Afghanistan
Morocco
I ran, I sl.Rep.
Egypt
Brazil
I ndonesia
Ethiopia
Pakistan
Bangladesh
China
I ndia
All adult illiterates 2000-2004 (millions)
Women illiterates
Total illiterates
Literacy remains elusive
One in five adults – 781
million – lack basic literacy
skills – one in four women
The vast majority live in South
and West Asia, sub-Saharan
Africa and East Asia
15
The ECCE imperative:Young children under threat
Child born in developing world has 40% chance of living in extreme poverty
31% of children in developing countries moderately or severely stunted
10.5 million under-5 children die each year, most from preventable diseases
High under-5 mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa and South/West Asia
Each day 1,800 children infected with HIV
Children in emergency, conflict and post-conflict situations highly vulnerable
16
“Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and
disadvantaged children”
RightsUN Convention on the Rights of the Child
DevelopmentPoverty reduction and the MDG health and education goals
EducationFuture participation and achievement
EquityReducing social inequality
ECCE: strong foundations
17
Nutrition
Thinkingcomprehensively
Holistic programmes encompass:
Nutrition
Health and hygiene
Physical and emotional development
Social skills
Education18
Early childhood, nutrition and education
Iron, nutrition, deworming and psycho-social stimulation impact on learning
Combining nutrition and education has larger and longer-lasting impact
In some cases, impact higher for girls
Access to primary school on time, especially for girls
Retention in primary school
Lower repetition
Better language development
Higher achievement
Nutrition and EducationReinforce Each Other
Early Childhood Participation Improves Later Education
19
Acting early pays off
Most rigorous studies on benefits come from developed countries
U.S. High/Scope Perry study of low-income African-American children higher IQ at age 5 enhanced success at school higher earning at age 40
High returns to programmes in India, Egypt, Colombia, Bolivia
Returns greatest for poorest and most disadvantaged children
‘It is a rare public policy initiative that promotes fairness and social justice and
at the same time promotes productivity in the economy and in society at large.
Investing in disadvantaged young children is such a policy.’
James Heckman, Nobel economics prizewinner
20
A diverse field
21
Ages 3+ Pre-primary and non-formal education for 3+
Ages 0 to 2 Organized / non-formal care and education Support to parents / Parental leave
Governments Private Sector (high private provision in Africa and Arab States, relatively high in Latin America/Caribbean) International NGOs Community-based organizations
Providers
Ages 0 to 8
Informal provision by parents or extended family, at home, family or community settings
Countries with at least one formal programme for children under 3 in 2005 (%)
Programmes for the under-3sThe lack of programmes for the under-3s partly reflects assumptions
about women’s domestic role, out of step with current realities
0% 50% 100%
World
Arab States
Central/ East. Europe
Sub-Saharan Africa
East Asia/ Pacific
South/ West Asia
L. America/ Carib.
Central Asia
N. America/ W. Europe
22
Regional trends in pre-primary
Developed/transition countries
Latin America/Caribbean
East Asia/Pacific
South and West Asia
Arab States
Sub-Saharan Africa
A three-fold increase in pre-primary enrolments over 30 years
More than 1 in 3 children now enrolled but huge regional differences
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1999 2004
Gro
ss e
nro
lmen
ts r
ati
os
in p
re-p
rim
ary
(%
)
23
Drivers for ECCE Historical forces
Industrialization and demand for women workers From private charity to public responsibility
More women at work outside agriculture
Strongly associated with participation in pre-school programmes Migration and urbanization
Changing household structures
Fewer extended familiesMore one-parent households
Research on child development
24
20%
26%
31%
41%
41%
47%
47%
Arab States
South/West Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Latin America/Caribbean
East Asia/Pacific
Central Asia
Central/Eastern Europe
Share of women employed in non-agricultural sector
Women in labour force drives ECCE provision
High female employment generates demand for ECCE
25
Poverty limits access
0 20 40 60 80
Niger
D. R. Congo
U. R. Tanzania
Lao PDR
Tajikistan
Uganda
Rwanda
Senegal
Egypt
Bolivia
Myanmar
Azerbaijan
Madagascar
Sierra Leone
Philippines
Cameroon
Kenya
Nicaragua
Mongolia
Haiti
Lesotho
India
Venezuela
Viet Nam
Colombia
Trinidad/Tobago
Attendance rates (%)
Poorer households
Richer households
Higher attendance
for children from
richer households
Lower attendance
among poor who
would benefit most
26
0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1
Arab States
Central/East. Europe
Central Asia
East Asia/Pacific
South/WestAsia
N. America/West. Europe
Sub-SaharanAfrica
Latin America/Caribbean
GPI in GER in pre-primary education
Gender parity line
The gender factor
The gender gap in early
childhood programme enrolments
is small in most countries
Notable improvement in Arab
States but disparities higher than
at other education levels
Afghanistan, Morocco, Pakistan
and Yemen have lowest GPIs in
pre-primary
27
Why the policy neglect?
Slow response to social and economic trends
Role of the family vs role of the state: unclear boundaries
Diversity of sector makes coordination difficult
Child development research results not well known
Lack of rigorous studies in developing countries
Governments prioritize primary education
International aid focuses on other education levels
Early childhood is still not a priority in many developing countries
28
Strong policies for young children:What is needed?
Top-level political endorsement
A national early childhood policy grouping multiple players
A lead agency to coordinate early childhood policies
Integration in national development plans and PRSPs
Staffing, training and standards for all providers
Explicit provision for disadvantaged and vulnerable
Partnerships: NGOs, private sector and international agencies
Financing: higher spending, targeting and more aid
Policy Environment Policy Elements
30
Challenging gender stereotypes
Do pre-school programmes
promote gender specific
expectations?
Teaching materials and
games often promote gender
stereotypes – building blocks
vs housekeeping corner!
Different treatment by
teachers
Changing curriculum and teacher attitudes
Changes in staffing policy: encouraging more men to work in EC programmes
More women in administrative and leadership conditions
Delegations to investigate gender equality in pre-schools (Sweden)
Incentives for schools promoting gender equality
ISSUES POLICIES
31
Promoting school readiness
Mother tongue instruction
Good communications between schools and parents, involving parents as resource people
Integration of ECCE with primary curriculum (Jamaica, France, Guyana)
Connections between teaching and learning styles (Pakistan programme)
Continuity between home and school (home visits, readiness programmes)
Special support for disadvantaged children who have not followed pre-school
(Guatemala)
ECCE can ease the transition to primary schooling, especially for girls
32
Financing ECCE:Finding the balance
Funding is public and private
Less than 10% of public educationspending goes to pre-primary
Even in OECD countries, parents’share can run up to 60%
Universal coverage + extra supportto disadvantaged children (OECD)
Income targeting
Geographical targeting
(remote areas,urban slums)
Targeting specific groups: disabled,
those in emergency situations
How to allocate limited resources to children most in need?
A universal policy with targeted spending on most disadvantaged?
33
ECCE: A low priority for donors
Aid to ECCE as % of aid to primary education
0 5 10 15
J apan
EC
United Kingdom
Germany
France
Netherlands
Denmark
UNDP
Italy
Canada
Ireland
Belgium
Luxembourg
Portugal
Norway
New Zealand
UNICEF
Australia
Finland
Spain
Almost all donors allocate to pre-primary
less than 10% of what they give to primary
Bilateral donors give priority to centre-
based programmes for children from age 3
34
Action Now!
1. Act on all goals: early childhood, literacy and primary school with
gender integrated in all policies
2. Act with urgency: 2005 gender parity target missed
3. Emphasize equity and inclusion, with consistent focus on gender
4. Increase public spending, and focus it better
5. Increase aid to basic education, and allocate where most needed
6. Move ECCE up national and international agendas
7. Increase public financing for ECCE, and target it
8. Upgrade the ECCE workforce: better training and pay, more
women in leadership positions
Clear progress but more effort is needed
35
Contact Information
EFA Global Monitoring Report Teamc/o UNESCO
7, place de Fontenoy75352 Paris 07
France