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UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION

EARLYCHILDHOOD

CAREEDUCATION

BASIC INDICATORS ON YOUNG CHILDREN

EDUCATION SECTOR 1995

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EARLYBefore you can build a house, it is necessary to lay foundation stones to support the

entire structure. Before a child enters primary school, a similar foundation must be laid.Embedded within their family, their communities, and their cultural values, very young children(from birth to six) need to be supported in the development of the physical, mental and socialabilities that will enable them to survive and thrive in later years. The successful education ofthe child during its years of schooling depends to a great degree upon the foundation stones laidduring the pre-school years ( C o n s u l t a t i v e G r o u p o n E a r l y C h i l d h o o d C a r e a n d D e v e l o p m e n t , 1 9 9 3 )

Early childhood care and education is anintegral part of basic education and representsthe first and essential step toward achievingthe goals of Education-for-All. It refers toprogrammes intended to provide care and/oreducation for children from their birth untilthe age of 6 or 7 (prior to their entry intoprimary education). These may be providedin a variety of institutions and organizationalsettings, such as pre-schools, kindergartens,nurseries, day care centres, play groups, etc.They may be organized by variousMinistries/agencies concerned with theeducation, development, care and welfareof children up to the age of 6 or 7 (e.g.,Ministry of Education, Health, Social Welfare,etc.), or other non-governmental institutions(e.g. NGOS, religious groups, nationalwomen’s associations, universities, etc.), aswell as by parent and community groups.

Improving children’s health and nutrition isa first concern, but increasingly, as fourteen outof fifteen of the world’s children survive untilthe age of one, governments and civil societyare turning their attention to the psycho-socialand cognitive development of children.The first 6 years of the child’s developmentare in many ways the most crucial. The health,nutrition, physiological, psychological, andeven ethical foundations for future Iearningability are largely determined by the time thechild reaches the age of formal schooling.

The number of children aged O to 6 isincreasing in most countries. At present, onlya minority have access to any form of earlychildhood education, a significant factor

in primary school retention and achievement.Therefore, many countries have started to raisetheir targets substantially for early childhoodeducation. Children’s needs do not haveto be met exclusively by formal pre-schools,professional staff, and programmes fundedby national governments. Many countries withlimited national budgets have set up successfulearly childhood programmes in both centre-based and home settings through formingeffective alliances between on the one hand,local communities or private enterprisesand on the other, local government or Ministriesof Education, Health and Social Welfare.

SchooI/centre-based programmes include theexpansion of government-funded kindergartensand pre-schools, the promotion of community-based pre-schools and the accreditation,regulation and support of private kindergartens,NGO-run day care centres and workplace-based centres. Home-based programmes,which in many countries address the majorityof children aged O to 6, include trainingprogrammes for mothers and use of the mediafor information on nutrition, child care anddevelopment.

A collective responsibilityAll nations are responsible for their children,and for the welfare of those who contribute,directly or indirectly, to the child’s develop-ment and environment. As learning beginsat birth and sets the stage for further learning,the care and education of children is a primarytask of all societies, and the role of parentsand families as primary caregivers andeducators is essential. A young child’s mentaland physical development are most rapid


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in the early years. It is at that time that a childlearns to move, coordinate, communicate,interpret and cope with its environment.Informal learning within the family is thus apowerful prerequisite for future success.

Early childhood programmes actively seekout and build on existing inherent strengthsin families and communities, as well asresponding to their diverse needs. Such pro-grammes can be used to strengthen theposition of mothers as primary caregivers.

The material conditions of parents, especiallyof mothers, their level of life skills, parentingabilities and education are among the majorinfluences on the child. Family responsibilitiesshould not be used, however, as an alibi forthe social or educational down-grading of women and girls.Gender discriminationand lack of adequateeducational access andsuccess for girls hasserious implications,not only for the girlsthemselves, but forfuture generationsof children whowill be motheredby uneducatedyoung women. Byignoring the needsof women, one alsoimpedes the rightsof children.

A young child’sdevelopment does not occur

in isolation. It is strongly affected by familyand community factors, which continueto influence the child’s later learningachievement in terms of enrolment, progressand performance in school. The care andeducation (including health, nutrition,attention and stimulation) a young childreceives from birth depends very much uponparents, family and community. Thisdepends not only on availability and onparents and caregivers abilities, but also onaccess to services that can help the childand support parents in their role and functionof parenting.As early childhood care and education isconcerned with learning and development

rather than schooling, it directsits interventions towards all

Health # Educationaspects of the child’s learning

Infrastructure development environment – parents, theSafe, clean water supplies 9 Community organization family, the community,

k Functional groups/youth/women’s groups, ,*.,.$A ~ ,.

9 Adult education‘~ Skills & Awareness

I Livelihood improvementK Welfare services

as

9 Health @ Nutrition% Education

as well as theprofessionals and

paraprofessionalswho intervenein the child’s life.To illustrate thisinterdependence,eleven indicatorshave been selectedfor the main tablein this chart and

presented forselected countries

or areas under theheadings Young Child,

Family, Communityand Pre-Primary Education.

.


The importance of EARLY

Importance of early childhood education for children

The period from birth to six years is the most important period for the development of thehuman being: proportionnally that period is the richest in terms of learning outcomes as wellas physical and mental development. At six, the young child has developed the main physicaland mental capacities on which he will then base his further development.Early childhood education helps the child to better understand his human and physicalenvironment, and to learn the most from it.Early childhood education equips young children with the prerequisite cognitive and socialskills to enter primary education successfully,Research shows that of all educational investments, early childhood care and educationachieves the highest rates of social return both in developing and industrialized countries.

Not only does early childhood education raise the efficiency of primary school by preparingthe young child for entry, it has also been shown that children who have been exposed toan adapted early childhood education are more successful in their schooling than those whohave not.Early childhood education can be a very efficient preventive measure against high drop-outand repetition rates. By raising the achievement rate of primary education, an efficient earlychildhood education can reduce costs of the entire education system, e.g. reducing the numberof repeaters, the cost of compensatory systems and the number of drop-outs.Early childhood education is an efficient way to fight inequalities in the education systemwhich because of disadvantaged milieus are already apparent in the first years of primaryschooling. Early childhood education can reduce social and cultural differences and allowyoung children from poor backgrounds to enter the school system on more equal termswith others.

Importance of early childhood education for parentsD Home-based childhood care and education offers a means to parents to grow personnaly and

assume their responsibility as primary educators of their children. When organized intelligentlyand properly supervised, it can also be a precious means of educating parents.

P Early childhood education, when situated in a kindergarten or a preschool, answersthe working parents’ need for child care, while providing a valuable sound and educationalexperience for young children.

D Well supported programmes which enhance the child’s learning and increase their chancesof success in their schooling, will rapidly be perceived by parents as a precious support to themin bringing up their children.


Organization of efficient early childhood educationmobilize all parents and those in contact with children under six, especially in disadvantaged areas.strengthen whatever available resources exist for children – especially in the home – to play,discover, communicate and grow in self-esteem.apply basic principles of educational interaction with children*: assist the child’s concentrationand sense of discovery by focusing on what is of interest to the child; give meaning to thechild’s environment through pointing, talking, naming things...; communicate with the childthrough stories and play which explain the world and relate events and perceptions; help thechild build self-esteem and achieve autonomy.organize the necessary advisory and follow-up services to encourage local initiatives.design a training system adapted to the different categories of persons who maybe in charge of children under six and therefore responsible for preschool education,e.g. parents, paraprofessionals, daycare workers, preschool teachers, etc.

The holistic nature of child development. In promotingother basic needs of the child, such as nutrition, healthbe ensured.

social and cognitive development,care and emotional security, must also

The special learning needs of the young child. Early chiIdhood programmes are adapted tothe child’s needs and learning patterns, and not impose inappropriate content or methods.Special attention is given to meaningful interaction, modeling of basic life skills, play, languagedevelopment, mediated learning experiences and leading the child into shared human andcultural values.The essential role of the primary caregivers in early childhood care and education. The materialconditions of parents, especially of mothers, their level of life skills, parenting abilities andeducation are among the major influences on the child. Parents, therefore, must be involvedin programmes including centre-based systems, and parenting education promoted.The need to safeguard equality of opportunity and promote the responsibility of both parents.The care and education of children is a primary task of all societies. Family responsibilitiesshould not be used as an alibi for the social or educational downgrading of women and girls.Adequate support systems for mothers need to be created and greater investment by fathersin their children encouraged.The need to highlight the convergence of interests and create appropriate linkages betweenpublic and private care for children; between early childhood care and education and school;between families and centre-based care and education; between learning achievement andsocio-cultural values - in brief, the need for a concertation of efforts to benefit young children.

* Klein & Hundeide, Training Manual for the MISC Program, Bergen, 1989.


Definition of Terms

THEYOUNG CHILD

THEFAMILY

The status of young children is reportedin terms of the under-five mortalityrate and the percentage who are mal-nourished. Under-five mortality notonly indicates the probability of a childsurviving to the age of five, but alsomore generally reflects the risk ofsurvivors falling ill. The percentageof malnourished children reflectsthe level of malnutrition, which bothslows physical growth and retardsthe psycho-social development of thechild. It also reflects the health andnutritional situations of all membersof the population.

Children under 5:

Total number of children, both boysand girls, who have not reached theirfifth birthday.(Source: UNICEF)

Under-5 mortality rate:

Number of deaths of children underfive years of age per 1000 live births.(Source: UNICEF)

Malnourished children under 5:

Percentage of children, under the ageof five, below minus two standarddeviations from median weight for ageof the reference population.(Source: UNDP/World Bank)

The family’s impact on a young childis illustrated in terms of total fertility,and male and female literacy rates.High fertility generally reflects closelyspaced births, which in the contextof low income, leads to the exhaustionof mothers and the division of theirlimited time and resources among manychildren. Female literacy has a majorbearing not only on psychosocialdevelopment, but also on the provisionof appropriate health and nutritionsupport to the young child. Theeducational level of mothers has beenlinked significantly with falling fertilityrates, decreasing infant and maternalmortality, enhanced levels of infantand child development, and improvedsocial outcomes for children.Obviously, the impact of the familyon the child is not in any way confinedto these variables.

Literacy rate:

Percentage of the male and femalepopulation aged 15 and over whocan read and write.(Source: UNESCO)

Total fertility rate:

Number of children who would beborn per woman, if she were to liveto the end of her child-bearingyears, conforming to the existingfertility pattern of the country.(Source: UNICEF)


THECOMMUNITY

Access to health care services andsafe water, and Gross National Product(GNP) generally indicate the commu-nity support available. Health servicesprovide direct support for the youngchild, such as vaccinations andmedicine, as well as support and advicefor the family. Safe, clean water suppliesfor drinking, cooking and bathing helpprevent the spread of diseases.GNP is a broad measure of the econo-mic situation of a country and reflectsthe likely existence of communityinfrastructures including schools androads, and its capacity to finance earlychildhood programmes.

GNP per capita $US 1992:

The gross national product estimatedat current market prices in US dollars.(Source: World Bank)

Access to health care services:

Percentage of the population thatcan reach appropriate local health carewithin one hour’s walk or travel.(Source: UNICEF)

Access to safe water:

Percentage of the population withreasonable access to safe water supply.(Source: UNICEF)

PRE-PRIMARYEDUCATION

With regard to schooling, the WorldConference on Education for Allstrongly advocated that all countriesset targets for the 1990s in terms of thelearning achievements of children.Measures of enrolment in pre-primaryeducation are used as interim indicatorsof learning achievement and prepared-ness for primary schooling. Pre-primaryeducation programmes are intendedto introduce young children to a school-Iike environment. They are concernedwith the social, mental and physicaldevelopment of young children,and often include activities designedto prepare children for the learningof reading, writing and mathematics.Research has shown that childrenawho have experienced pre-primaryprogrammes are more likely than otherchildren to remain in primary schooland achieve good results.

Pre-primary age-group:

Population age-group that accordingto the national regulations can beenrolled in pre-primary education.(Source: UNESCO)

Pre-primary gross enrolment ratio:

Total enrolment in pre-primaryeducation, regardless of age, expressedas a percentage of the populationage-group corresponding to the nationalregulations for this level.(Source: UNESCO)


UNESCO and

“Learning beginsat birth”

Early childhood care and education

is an integral part of basic education

and represents the first and essential

step toward achieving the goals

of Education-for-Al/. The learning

capacity and value orientations

of children are largely determined

by the time the child reaches the ageof formal schooling. For this reason,

any sustained effort in Education

for All must set targets and program-

mes for early childhood development

and attempt to raise the life-skills

level of families, who are the primary

educators of children. Well conceivedquality early childhood programmes

help meet the diverse needs of young

children during the crucial early

years of life, enhance their readiness

for schooling, have a positive

and permanent influence on later

schooling achievement and are amajor entry point for family education

programmes.

EARLY CHILDHOODCARE

EDUCATIONUNESCO intervenes at inter-agency and intergovernmentallevels and assists governments in:

preparing children for schools and schools for childrenby encouraging and promoting respect for the youngchild’s natural, learning process;

forging links at national level between the primaryeducation system and early child developmentprogramming.

undertaking sub-sectoral studies of the situation ofyoung children and families, and formulating nationaland regional programmes in early childhood care andeducation.

encouraging research leading to practical action andpolicy making in favour of young children and families;

identifying and supporting first-class universities andinstitutes which will research national child and familyneeds and train high-level personnel to pIan andanimate national or regional policies.

supporting pilot early childhood and familydevelopment projects that stress women’s education.

promoting legislation on behalf of children and families,in particular the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In addition, UNESCO in keeping with its educational,scientific and cultural mandate:

acts as a networking and clearing centre for informationand briefings on early childhood;

collaborates in artistic, intellectual and cultural eventspromoting reflection on childhood and family issues.

For further information, contact :

UNESCO’s Young Child and the Family Environment Unit

ED/BAS/YCF, UNESCO7 Place de Fontenoy, 75352 Par is 07 SP F r a n c e

T e l . ( 3 3 - 1 ) 4 5 6 8 0 8 1 5 / 0 6 8 6 . F a x ( 3 3 - 1 ) 4 0 6 5 9 4 0 5


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