Despite a growing evidence base and global consensus on the importance of early childhood education, it remains under-resourced and comparatively neglected as a policy issue. This paper seeks to understand which factors facilitate or impede efforts to make early childhood education a political...

Despite a growing evidence base and global consensus on the importance of early childhood education, it remains under-resourced and comparatively neglected as a policy issue. This paper seeks to understand which factors facilitate or impede efforts to make early childhood education a political...

Despite strong evidence of its importance to the welfare of children and societies, early childhood education has been comparatively neglected as a policy priority both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper seeks to understand what factors have contributed to the lack of priority...

This study provides an overview of Bank investments in Early Childhood Development (ECD) from 2000-2013 within the Education, Health, Nutrition and Population, and Social Protection and Labor practices. The study summarizes trends in operational and analytical investments in early childhood,...

Around the world, inequalities in child development are stark. These inequalities often begin before birth and expand during a child's early years. A child's earliest years present a window of opportunity to address inequality and improve outcomes later in life. The potential benefits from...

This paper evaluates a government program in Malawi, which aimed to improve quality at community-based childcare centers and complemented these efforts with a group-based parenting support program. Children in the integrated intervention arm (teacher training and parenting) had significantly...

Investing in young children is the responsible thing to do. All children deserve a chance to grow into healthy, educated, and competent people, no matter where and when they were born. While parents bear most of the responsibility for raising their children, especially in the early years of...