Early learning
Early learningThis report presents an analysis of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs and policies that affect young children in Colombia and recommendations to move forward. This report is part of a series of reports prepared by the World Bank using the SABER- ECD framework and includes analysis of early learning, health, nutrition and social and… Read more
Every child has the right to survival and development. Experience and research have shown that a minimum set of conditions is necessary to ensure a fair start in life, if these rights are to be fulfilled. These conditions include effective and responsive caring by the child’s family and the community; access to and use of… Read more
Investing in young children is one of the best investments that countries can make. A childs earliest years present a unique window of opportunity to address inequality, break the cycle of poverty, and improve a wide range of outcomes later in life. Recent brain research suggests the need for holistic approaches to learning, growth, and… Read more
This study evaluated the relative effectiveness of home-based, community-based, and state-run early childhood programs across Cambodia. A total of 880 five-year-olds (55% girls) from 6 rural provinces in Cambodia attending State Preschools, Community Preschools, Home-Based Programs, or no programs were assessed twice using the Cambodian Developmental Assessment Test. Controlling for baseline differences, children who participated… Read more
This study investigated the effect of preschool experience (two types of preschool: Madrasa and non‐Madrasa) on the cognitive development of children in East Africa. In the three countries studied (Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania/Zanzibar) preschool education is burgeoning and government standards are being set. This quasi experimental evaluation used four subscales (block building, verbal comprehension, early… Read more
The effects of heavy burdens of diarrhea in the first 2 years of life on specific executive control function like verbal fluency are not well understood. In previous studies, we have shown associations of early childhood diarrhea (ECD) with nonverbal intelligence and school functioning. Therefore, we postulated that ECD might affect early neuropsychological development leading… Read more
An important goal of education in developing countries is to implement and improve early childhood education. A pre–post intervention–control design was used to compare a piloted-revised versus a regular preschool program offered by an organization in rural Bangladesh. After 7 months in operation, the quality of the piloted-revised program was higher than the regular program,… Read more
Cash transfer programs have become extremely popular in the developing world. A large literature analyzes their effects on schooling, health and nutrition, but relatively little is known about possible impacts on child development. This paper analyzes the impact of a cash transfer program on early childhood cognitive development. Children in households randomly assigned to receive… Read more
Background Mexico’s conditional cash transfer programme, Oportunidades, was started to improve the lives of poor families through interventions in health, nutrition, and education. We investigated the effect of Oportunidades on children almost 10 years after the programme began. Methods From April, 1998, to October, 1999, low-income communities were randomly assigned to be enrolled in Oportunidades… Read more
The two studies reported in this paper comprise the Turkish Early Enrichment Project (TEEP) spanning a period of 10 years. Both studies were conducted with mothers and children in low-income, low-education areas of Istanbul. Study 1 involved an examination over 4 years of the effects of two different types of early enrichment (intervention), child-focused (center-based)… Read more
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to test the efficacy and appropriateness of the World Health Organization’s Care for Development (CFD) counseling materials, which form part of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy. The CFD materials are based on the Mother’s Card, which contained age-specific messages on how caregivers can better play… Read more