Strengthening Early Childhood Care and Education

Good quality early childhood care and education (ECCE) is pivotal for improving equitable education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. ECCE refers, in this document, to organized group care outside the family for children ages 3 to 6 years to develop some skills needed for academic readiness. Over the past two decades, many actors—including the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), education ministries, civil society, nongovernmental organizations and global development partners—have contributed to supporting access to quality ECCE services, including pre-primary education, in low- and middle-income countries. ECCE programs and systems have been strengthened through institutional leadership, design and implementation of curriculum, improvements to teaching qualifications and training, and advancements in data collection and research. Numerous examples of successful global public goods initiatives in each of these areas will be reviewed in this paper.