Most of us believe in the age-old proverb "the early bird catches the worm," the idea that there is a gain to be had from being first. In education, there is a precious advantage from being taught well and educated early.
Early childhood education (ECE) embraces a child's development from 0-5 years, the age category that the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development sees key advantages in providing high quality early childhood education.
Effective early years' education and care has major economic and social benefits to the country. Nobel economist James Heckman compared the return on investment on ECE, schooling and adult training, and noted the incredible economic value of ECE. Private returns benefit the individual, with gains in income and career prospects. Social returns benefit society, with gains in having better citizens. Given that the brain develops faster early on, the gain in education is greater: Put another way, as we get older, we get slower at learning effectively (source: Heckman, 2016).
A child's attainment is boosted substantially by effective early childhood education. OECD research across thirty countries showed that 15 year olds who had had an extra year in early education did three times better in its Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA). The greatest gain is earned by disadvantaged children, as these children typically start school with poorer literacy and numeracy skills and immature social skills (source: OECD, 2010).
Effective early years education supports working parents and promotes workforce participation, particularly by mothers seeking to return to employment. This will only happen with an assurance of high quality provision at scale. It also promotes society's duty to educate children and look after their wellbeing. Since 2010, UNESCO has had a broad definition of early childhood care and education, embracing care and education, health and nutrition, and child protection (source: UNESCO, Moscow Framework for Action & Cooperation, 2010).
Where are we now?
Bangladesh has made significant gains in early childhood education. With increasing demand, the Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) in pre-primary rose from 25% in 2011 to 40% in 2017, whilst on the supply-side early years' provision increased consequently. There is scope for further gains in GER as Bangladesh compares less well than other SE Asian nations. Enrolment in ECE contexts is skewed by gender (more boys than girls), social class (more rich than poor) and location (more urban than rural). There is also an issue of over-age boys attending pre-school classes (source: World Bank).
The country has an early years' national curriculum which has scope for embracing the principles and practices of learning-through-play. Principles are a matter of pedagogical philosophy whereas practices are about resourcing and training. We need to develop a cultural commitment to play-based education and to resource it well; the comparative cost of resourcing early childhood education is low. We need to ensure that the child's experience is enjoyable and educationally worthwhile and avoid outmoded notions of child development. The corollary of curriculum standards is compliance, with a need for an agile and efficient means of monitoring and evaluating performance. Impact on children is key to bridge the current gap in child development outcomes; it is estimated that around of 35% of 3-4 year olds are not at the expected level for age, with only 20% of children on-track with their literacy and numeracy skills. Over the medium term, we need nationally available assessments, levelled by age, to show progress in child development outcomes (source: World Bank).
Teacher supply shortages and teacher quality are issues nationally and globally, but they are acute in early years; countries run the risk of using instructors with no contextual training, doing more damage than good. Expansion of programmes can only happen with supply-side investment in training, and supply-side intervention in deployment.
Developing demand and securing supply
Mass education of the benefits of early years education is the first step through multichannel approaches. Building benefit awareness will take time, but is best done though community stakeholders, health providers, and employers. Financial incentives targeted at the disadvantaged groups -- particularly the rural poor -- to increase demand and tax advantages and targeted grants to early years providers to increase supply in specific locations. A rich mix of public-private provision is vital.
Building better provision
First, we need to get and keep great teachers in early years' education. Getting involves incentives to be career teachers. Keeping involves training in child development and practice in teaching methods for different ages. Incentives need to drive recruitment into this key education sector. Salary structures and staffing ratios need to be disproportionately advantageous.
Second, we need high quality education leaders. People who have the capacity to plan, to implement, and to manage. People with foresight and a keen eye on professional improvement. Many early years' contexts are small, private concerns, requiring leaders with basic financial training in business management and budgetary control.
Third, we need a curriculum that evolves with time on a research-driven basis, drawing on the latest child development studies and built around child-centred activities. Amongst the many qualities of a strong curriculum, it must be built on child development research, evidence-based in terms of its practice, and impact proven on pupil progress and attainment.
Finally, education is a collaborative process involving school and home, with teachers and parents working together for common ends. We need to develop a shared understanding with families in Bangladesh to promote communication and family support. In doing so, we build trust and engagement, and effect coordinated action.
Next steps
Harvard's Centre for the Developing Child prompts three key steps for all countries, that give scope for international collaboration for national implementation:
* An ongoing investment in research into effective policy and practice for early childhood education; there is a global focus on what works best;
* A strategic model for educating its leaders across all sectors;
* Build leadership in early years' education.
In building better futures in Bangladesh, we do so together and from the bottom-up.
Simon O'Grady is the Founding Headmaster of Haileybury Bhaluka, the first premier boarding school in Bangladesh.
