Ms Michela Profeta Masters Development Studies (Italy)

1. ARNEC, National Coalition for ECCD and the World Bank International ECCD Conference‘Supporting Children’s Holistic Learning and Development: Homes, Communities and Schools’ Promoting holistic learning and development in early years:an analysis of Quality in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) from the Asia-Pacific Region Ms Michela Profeta Masters Development Studies (Italy) PhD Candidate, Centre for International Education (CIE), University of Sussex (UK)

2. What: desk review 54 documents on the Asia Pacific region (policies, research, frameworks, practices) international literature Why: increase understanding stimulate discussions provide insights for conceptual framework(s) at regional level

3. Dimensions of the quality of ECCE at the child and programme level Findings:

4. Holistic development goals Learning outcomes and assessment systems Curriculum Teacher/caregiver training and status Teaching and learning approaches Physical environment,teaching/learning material, and other resources Programme management Programme philosophy 1. Dimensions of the quality of ECCE at the child and programme level:

5. 2. Factors related to the quality of ECCE at the systems level: Findings:

6. Rigorous and systematic monitoring and evaluation (M&E) Standards and quality assurance mechanisms Context-sensitiveness (culture, language) and the ‘relevance criterion’ Parental and community involvement, and support for parents Cost-effectiveness and sustainability Governance of ECCE: coordination, integration and continuity Equitable access to quality ECCE and inclusive practices Quality ECCE/ECD in emergency contexts Focus on 0-3 years old children 2. Factors related to the quality of ECCE at the systems level:

7. Discussion points and recommendations: ‘ ‘Holistic approach: The different domains (motor/physical, cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional and self-awareness) of child development are interconnected and complement each other. The neglect of one domain will adversely affect all others.’ (MoWCA Bangladesh, 2010) 1. Holistic child development: • Widely acknowledged • Prevalence of cognitive develop. and health Recommendations • Integration and coordination of concerned agencies and M&E, and consistency of policy, practice and res. • To address all the dimensions equally

8. 2. Assessment of children’slearning: • Formative and continuous • Meeting children’s development needs • Aiming to improve the quality of education Recommendation • Whole learning experience, not only achievements, and uniqueness of pre-primary ‘A narrow definition (of learning) fails to account for the importance of non-cognitive skills like problem solving, critical reasoning, communication, and teamwork.’ (Burnett and Felsman, 2012)

9. 3.Teacher/caregiver training: • Multiple providers (state, NGOs, private) • Training approaches consistent with classroom teaching • Continuity between pre-service and in-service training • Disparities between and within countries Recommendations • State’s role to ensure quality and equitable access • More attention to the process and quality of pedagogy, and to emphasize holistic development • Training for other staff (such as centre leadership) • To address the disparities

10. 4. Families and communities • Involvement of parents and community Recommendation • To increase effective partnership with families and communities, to fosterownership and mobilisation for quality ECCE Parental involvement can be regarded as a key quality dimension to be measured (Rao et al., 2003, Rao and Sun, 2010a), that can promote local ownership (Raver et al., 2010) and local support (ARNEC, 2011b).

11. 5. Inclusive policies • Policies and practices focus predominantly on children with disabilities Recommendation • Inclusion of all excluded groups (not only PWDs*, gender, minority groups) and respect for diversity • To derive viable solutions (consider context and resources available) * Persons with disabilities

12. 6. Budget for ECCE • Recently increased along with enrolment rate (pre-school) Recommendation • To provide adequate budget to sustain the level of quality achieved and to scale-up, and to reach the un-reached children

13. 7. Assessment of the costs of ECCE • Simulation tools of the costs of the expansion of ECCE (Van Ravens, 2009, 2012) Recommendation • To increase assessment, monitoring and evaluation of the costs of scaling-up quality of ECCE programmes, along with impact evaluation

14. 8.Equitable access to quality ECCE • Unequal access to quality ECCE for disadvantaged children Recommendation • To increase the capacity to serve children from disadvantaged backgrounds (e.g. to put in place policies and practices that prioritise and target disadvantaged children) • To undertake bottleneck analysis and to develop tools such as the MBB (Marginal Budgeting for Bottlenecks – UNICEF) for ECCE too • To include ‘equitability’ as a criterion of quality of ECCE

15. Thanks for your kind attention Terima kasih