Quality Early Learning : Nurturing Children's Potential

In this volume, leading researchers and implementation experts from an array of disciplines provide evidence-based, cost-effective, and actionable strategies for delivering quality early childhood education (ECE) at scale in low- and middle-income countries (LMICS).

Over the past decade, neuroscientists, developmental and cognitive psychologists, economists, and education researchers have amassed evidence to inform ECE program design. Yet much of this evidence has not been readily accessible to policymakers and practitioners, and potential synergies from cross-disciplinary considerations have not been realized.

Quality Early Learning: Nurturing Children’s Potential synthesizes the evidence across disciplines and charts a forward course for quality ECE. The authors provide the latest evidence on how young children learn most effectively and how ECE programs can foster children’s natural ability and motivation to learn. It offers guidance for policy makers on policy design and implementation including what elements of ECE to prioritize in resource- and capacity-constrained settings in LMICs.

Link to the volume Quality Early Learning: Nurturing Children’s Potential

Briefs summarizing the key messages for each chapter can be found below:

Overview Brief: From Evidence to Effective Policies: How to Invest in Early Childhood Education to Nurture Children’s Potential, by Magdalena Bendini, Amanda E. Devercelli, Elaine Ding, Melissa Kelly, and Adelle Pushparatnam.

Chapter 1 Brief: Learning in the Early Years, by Elizabeth Spelke and Kristin Shutts

Chapter 2 Brief: Pedagogy and Curricula Content: Building Foundational Skills and Knowledge, by David Whitebread and Yasmin Sitabkhan

Chapter 3 Brief: Building an Effective Early Childhood Education Workforce, by Nirmala Rao, Emma Pearson, Benjamin Piper, and Carrie Lau

Chapter 4 Brief: Creating Early Childhood Education Environments That Promote Early Learning, by Cynthia Adlerstein and Alejandra Cortázar

Chapter 5 Brief: The Role of Management, Leadership, and Monitoring in Producing Quality Learning Outcomes in Early Childhood Education, by Iram Siraj, Violeta Arancibia, and Juan Barón

Chapter 6 Brief: Toward Quality Early Learning: Systems for Success, by Sharon Lynn Kagan and Caitlin M. Dermody