Regional trends in ECDE from 2010-2013
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Transcript Regional trends in ECDE from 2010-2013
REGIONAL TRENDS IN
ECDE FROM 2010-2013
Presented at the Southern Africa Regional Conference
On Early Childhood Development And Education (ECDE)
03 – 05 December 2013
Pretoria, South Africa
By: Lynette Okengo, PhD
ECD Consultant, Open Society Foundation
Situation in 2010
Advocacy at various levels
Policy development
Establishment of ECD programs mostly community
based (low access)
2-3 weeks capacity building programmes + ECDVU
Concern about lack of programmes for under 3’s
General lack of government involvement
Programming within the context of high levels of
poverty, low resources, limited capacity but growing
awareness of importance of early years
Context of Children in Southern Africa
Trend
GDP per capita average annual growth rate
Proportion of population living below the poverty line
Average annual rate of inflation
Gender inequity (Gender equity index)
Adult literacy rate: Females as a % of males
Food insecurity
% of under-fives suffering from underweight
% of under-fives suffering from stunting
Maternal mortality ratio
Access to early learning services
Is the situation of children really improving?
Improvements are minimal
Persistent low child outcomes
Negative effects of other factors:
Low maternal education
Maternal depression relatively common
(Africa- 15% - 28%)
High exposure to violence
(35% of women experience intimate partner or nonpartner violence- WHO 2013 )
Increasing environmental toxins
Trends in ECD Program Design
Increased discussion on integrated programming:
Growing consensus on components of an
integrated program
Not necessarily one stop shop
Growing realization of the importance of a
referral system
Implementation of pilot programs (sustainable?)
Still remains the need for consensus on the
implementation of an integrated ECD program
Trends in Access
Increasing ECD modes of service
provision
Relatively lower rate for:
Children from low income families
Children living in marginalized
communities
Children with special needs
Children of mothers with lower education
Need to enhance equitable access to
Trends in ECD Service Provision
Service provision continues to be sector
specific
Increasing attention to the pre-primary class
(R class)
Programming for under 3’s increasingly being
viewed as a responsibility of the health sector
Ongoing limited mainstreaming of ECD into
health initiatives
Increasing attention to strengthening social
Trends in Enhancing Quality
More countries developing ECD curricula and training
materials
More countries developing institutionalized training
programs
More countries developing ELDS, minimum standards
and guidelines
Some attention to proposing model
classrooms/programmes
Increased advocacy for governments to pay ECD
teachers/caregivers
More needs to be done to support:
Establishment of PE programmes
Professional development of teachers
Assessment
Multi-age teaching
Reflective teaching
Child centered pedagogy
Establish support systems for teachers incl. mentors,
supervisors
Availability of play and early learning materials
Continuous quality improvement
Capacity building of school administrators, management
teams, ECD program officers etc.
Trends in Governance of National Programs
Governments more responsive to supporting ECD
programmes
Focus shifting from policy development to implementation.
ECD legislation ??
Increased MOE involvement
Preprimary increasingly being included as part of basic
education, GPE, national plans and budgets
Governments focusing more on providing enabling
environment esp. for under 3’s rather than service
provision
Stakeholder accountabilities??
Evidence Generation and Dissemination
Increased awareness of importance of
building an evidence base
Growing realization of the need to integrate
learning in M&E models
Increased use of participatory research
methodology
Slow increase of impact evaluations
Need for strengthened capacity in designing
Trends in Financing of ECD
More governments promoting PPP
Private entrepreneurs continue to play a
critical role in service provision for under 3’s
Increasing role of development partners in
service provision
External funding continues to provide major support
to ECD programming
Trends in Strengthening Partnerships
Parents continue to be recognized as critical
partners
Emergence of national ECD networks
Ongoing discussions for the establishment of
regional ECD networks
Some evidence of development partner networks
Governments encouraging PPP
Need to explore more sustainable options of
financing ECD
Challenges of ECD Programming in the Region
Growing but insufficient government commitment and
political will
Low national prioritization (Inadequate integration of ECD
into National Planning Instruments
Inadequate resources (financial & human)
Mostly donor funded and often unsustainable
Largely sectoral with weak co-ordinating structures.
Limited access with large regional and national disparities
Inequitable access to existing services
Low quality of programs
Recommendations
Continue with advocacy at all levels but with few
clear messages targeted e.g. at inclusion of ECD
teachers/caregivers into national payroll,
institutionalization and accreditation of ECD
training as well as increased resource allocation.
Continue professional capacity development of
ECD practitioners and enhance teacher support
systems
Strengthen partnership with families and
communities
Some things never change…..
Children who start behind, stay behind….
Cumulative Vocabulary (Words)
1200
Higher income
600
Middle income
Lower income
200
16 mos.
24 mos.
36 mos.
Child’s Age (Months)
Source: Hart & Risley (1995)
Thank you for your attention