ECD in ActionQuality Education & Care for Young Children

Technical ECCD Workshop Cape Town, July 26, 2010

Ruth Kagia Country Director

“Education…is theseed and flower

of development.”Harbison and Myers

We cannot always build the future for our youth but we can build the youth for our future.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd US president 1882 - 1945)

ECD provides the Roots

It’s the foundation of human-capital formation

utero-6 yrs critical brain pathways & processes developed when progressive transformations occur (Heckman 2006)

external influences in early childhood have long life effects

The environment affects the number of brain cells and connections among them and the way these connections are "wired”

And the wings

Alters the developmental trajectory of a child

Has the highest rate of development return (see High/Scope Perry preschool program in notes below)

is the most cost-effective way to reduce poverty and to foster economic growth because of cognitive, psychosocial, health and productivity benefits

Scientific evidence to support ECD investmentsFour concepts have emerged from decades of mutually independent research in

economics, neuroscience, and developmental psychology: 1. The architecture of the brain and the process of skill formation are both

influenced by an inextricable interaction between genetics and individual experience.

2. Both the mastery of skills essential for success and the development of their underlying neural pathways follow hierarchical rules in a bottom-up sequence such that later attainments build on foundations that are laid down earlier.

3. Cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional competencies are interdependent, all are shaped powerfully by the experiences of the developing child, and all contribute to success in the workplace.

4. Although adaptation continues throughout life, human abilities are formed in a predictable sequence of sensitive periods, during which the development of specific neural circuits and the behaviors they mediate are most plastic, and therefore optimally receptive to environmental influences

Nobel laureate in economics James Heckman Heckman 2006).

Global snapshot of stunting in the young – Africa and India are locus

Source: Disease control prevention project, www.dcp2.org Nov 2008

Global snapshot of stunting in the young – Africa and India are locus

Map source: Disease control prevention project, www.dcp2.org Nov 2008, Data from Copenhagen Consensus Challenge Paper

• South Asia is home to 50% of the world’s stunted children < 5 yrs of age

• 74 million out of 178 million• Africa has 57 million of 178 million

• Maternal and child under-nutrition is underlying cause of 3.5 million deaths, 35% of the disease burden in children younger than 5 years, and 11% of total global DALY’s”(Disability-Adjusted Life Years).

Reversing the cycle of povertyBy 2040 Africa will be home to one in five of the world’s young people and will have the world’s

largest working age population. Will these people be an asset or a liability?

World Bank 1993

Exponential & sustained economic growth

Getting & maintaining fundamentals right

Sustained accumulation of human capital:– Education & economic policies juxtaposed and alignedEducation & economic policies juxtaposed and aligned– Education system, integrated, diverse and comprehensiveEducation system, integrated, diverse and comprehensive– Focus on equity and qualityFocus on equity and quality– Education & values endogenous, economic linkages Education & values endogenous, economic linkages

exogenousexogenous

Eight Ingredients of Good Education Systems (McKinsey 2007)

Reversing cycle of poverty: Relentless focus on QualityPISA 2006 Results

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High Income Countries

Developing Countries

Averages High Income Countries

Averages Developing Countries

Percentage of students at each proficiency level on the science scale

What would it take to harness ECD potential?

• Policies: national vision and strategy, established standards and measurable indicators

• Integrated programs: combining nutrition, health care, active interaction, linked to endogenous models and to primary schools.

• Focus on disadvantaged and vulnerable• Partnership with stakeholders: private sector,

parents, communities

What are the key ECD opportunities/challenges in your country?