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This paper documents the impact of home libraries on academic achievement, economic success, and health. It summarizes research that shows how children without access to reading materials at home are more likely to suffer learning losses when out of school and how home libraries are one of schools' and communities' best tools to combat learning loss. In sum, the paper illustrates the importance of creating a literacy-rich home environment for all children and outlines the essential components of a student home library--a tangible, cost-effective way to afford every child access to a bright, successful future. [This report was prepared by Scholastic Research & Validation.]

By the time children in low- and middle-income countries start primary school, large socioeconomic disparities are evident in children's learning and development. Both pre-primary and home environments can play important roles in influencing school readiness and can contribute to disparities in early childhood development, but there is limited evidence on their relative roles in low- and middle-income countries. This paper examines how pre-primary quality, stimulation at home, and early childhood development vary by socioeconomic status for pre-primary students in the Arab Republic of Egypt. The results demonstrate substantial socioeconomic inequality in stimulation at home, more so than in pre-primary quality and inputs, although there is variation in the degree of inequality across different dimensions of pre-primary quality. "Double inequality" is observed, where students with less stimulating home environments experience slightly lower quality pre-primary inputs. There are particularly large pre-primary inequities in structural quality (physical environment) and less inequity in process quality (pedagogy). These results suggest that targeted investments in pre-primary education in Egypt are necessary to reduce inequality in school readiness but are likely insufficient to close the socioeconomic status gap in children's development. Investing in interventions to improve vulnerable children's home learning environments, as well as investing in quality pre-primary, is critical to address disparities in children's development. [This paper is a product of the World Bank's Education Global Practice. The study is the result of a collaboration between the World Bank and the Ministry of Education and Technical Education of Egypt (MOETE). It was funded by the UK Strategic Partnership for Egypt's Inclusive Growth Trust Fund and the World Bank.]

Only three out of five children are enrolled in preschool globally, and only one out of five in low-income countries, yet the expansion of preschool education came to a near standstill in 2020. To restart it, we propose a policy instrument called the Preschool Entitlement. It entails the right of every child to 600 hours of quality government-funded preschool education per year (3 hours per day, 5 days per week, 40 weeks per year). Existing preschool institutions and other organizations with legal status (public, private, faith- or community-based) can offer the child development program after a process of rigorous accreditation to ensure quality, inclusion, and safety. In other respects, they will have the freedom to shape the program according to local circumstances and local preferences. This makes it possible to supplement the daily 3 hours with additional hours of childcare that can be financed by families, local government, employers, national associations, faith-based organizations, ministries of social affairs, or others. In this manner, the Preschool Entitlement reconciles local autonomy with governmental responsibility for quality, access, and equity. In low- and middle-income countries, government costs would range from about 0.15 to 0.4 percent of GDP, and the benefits are likely to be significant.

The National Quality Framework (NQF) was established in 2012 to create a more efficient and cohesive approach to regulating early childhood education and care, and outside school hours care in Australia. The NQF provides a shared vision for governments and the children's education and care sector, and an agreed tool for measuring and monitoring service quality. It sets standards for safety and quality so that all children who attend services regulated under the NQF are supported to have the best start in life. This occasional paper discusses how and why the NQF came about, what has changed in the last 10 years, and future directions.

The context for child care and early education (CCEE) changed rapidly in March 2020 as the global pandemic caused the closure of child care programs and schools, widespread job loss, and negative impacts on the broader economy and family life. Black and Latino families and families with lower income experienced disproportionately negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of structural racism and a history of inequitable systems. Many of the negative impacts of the pandemic have directly impacted families' access to high-quality CCEE. As leaders in CCEE consider the implications of COVID-19 for children, families, policies, and programs, a research, evaluation, and data agenda that identifies key questions, research methods, and data needs will be a critical tool. This research, evaluation, and data agenda can (1) alert decision makers to racial and economic inequities in outcomes and promote tracking of key equity indicators, (2) encourage the development of new projects and data initiatives, (3) support the synthesis of information across projects, (4) identify key topics for consideration that may be otherwise overlooked, and (5) promote the application of knowledge to planning and development. The goal of this report is to get input on high priority questions that can inform the field's understanding of the pandemic's impact on the CCEE landscape, including children, families, CCEE programs, the CCEE workforce, and the broader system of agencies, local organizations, and institutes of higher education that support CCEE. The purpose of this work is to develop and revise a research, evaluation, and data agenda that can be used by a wide range of stakeholders (state administrators, policymakers, advocates, funders, etc.) to prioritize research questions that need to be addressed and identify potential data sources to answer these questions. [This report was produced through the Child Care and Early Education Policy Research and Analysis (CCEEPRA) project.]

This occasional paper is the seventh in a series on the National Quality Framework (NQF). It explores the quality of children's education and care services based on the socio-economic status of the area in which they are situated. The Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD) is used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to classify services by the level of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage of their local area. This paper uses SEIFA as a proxy measure to identify services that are more or less likely to educate and care for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. This paper begins by highlighting contemporary research about the association between socio-economic status and developmental outcomes, and the impact of high quality education and care on children from more disadvantaged backgrounds. It then outlines the quality and availability of education and care in low socio-economic status areas, analysing service quality ratings and reassessment results. The paper also examines differences across service and provider management types, and remoteness classifications. The detailed analysis suggests that there are differences in the overall quality ratings of education and care services located in high and low socio-economic status areas. Services in relatively disadvantaged areas are slightly more likely to be rated Working Towards NQS and notably less likely to be rated Exceeding NQS than those in relatively advantaged areas.

This report asserts that every child--regardless of race, income, or opportunity--should have consistent access to high-quality learning experiences from birth and provides a roadmap toward change at scale, including the development of residency programs and improved compensation for the infant/toddler workforce.

This paper evaluates and compares two randomized interventions in Tonga, one targeting the home environment of children up to age 5 and one targeting the school environment for first and second grade students. The first intervention supports communities to set up and run playgroups that aim to improve caregiver-child interaction at home and ultimately improve children's readiness for school. Among children of mothers without high school education, being in a treatment community positively affects the school readiness literacy domains and overall score by 0.19 and 0.2 standard deviation, respectively, for girls and the literacy domains for boys by 0.17 standard deviation. The second intervention provides teachers with training, materials, and coaching to improve reading instruction practices and students' reading ability. It increased average early grade reading scores by approximately 0.18 standard deviation per year of exposure. Two cohorts of children were potentially exposed to both interventions, providing an opportunity to compare, for the same population of children, the effects of an early childhood intervention with a school-based intervention using a common measure of learning achievement. The school readiness intervention is found to have positive effects on early grade reading scores only among children in the reading intervention's control group; effect sizes of approximately 0.29 standard deviation were found at the end of second grade for children exposed to one year of the school readiness intervention and at the end of first grade for girls exposed to two years of the intervention. [This paper is a product of the Education Global Practice.]

Early childhood is a time of extensive development in the brain and many of the body's biological systems that are critical for health. Learning and development during these early years can have a critical impact on future educational attainment, which is an important determinant of health. There are also other important aspects of early childhood that can influence health, school readiness and future educational attainment, including experiences, relationships and the environment in which a child grows up. Poverty is often a considerable barrier to healthy development. Recent advances in the science of brain development offer us an unprecedented opportunity to solve some of society's most challenging problems, from widening disparities in school achievement and economic productivity to costly health problems across the lifespan. Understanding how the experiences children have starting at birth, even prenatally, affect lifelong outcomes -- combined with new knowledge about the core capabilities adults need to thrive as parents and in the workplace -- provides a strong foundation upon which policymakers and civic leaders can design a shared and more effective agenda. Despite research demonstrating that high-quality early childhood care and education can be beneficial to children, research has also demonstrated that the majority of children in the United States are placed in low-quality care, some of which may be detrimental to the longterm development of children. This paper will look at traditional preschools and discuss three of the emergent philosophical and value-laden approaches to early childhood care and education that allow districts, teachers, parents, and students greater flexibility in meeting the needs of their children. These are: Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and Waldorf.

In the past decade, American and Canadian pediatric societies have recommended that pediatric care clinicians follow a schedule of routine surveillance and screening for young children to detect conditions such as developmental delay, speech and language delays and disorders, and autism spectrum disorder. The goal of these recommendations is to ensure that children with these developmental issues receive appropriate referrals for evaluation and intervention. However, in 2015 and 2016, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care issued recommendations that did not support universal screening for these conditions. This occasional paper is designed to help make sense of the discrepancy between Task Force recommendations and those of the pediatric community in light of research and practice. To clarify the issues, in this paper I review the distinction between screening and surveillance; the benefits of screening and early identification; how the USPSTF makes its recommendations; and what the implications of not supporting screening are for research, clinical practice, and families.

Accurate understanding of environmental moderation of genetic influences is vital to advancing the science of cognitive development as well as for designing interventions. One widely-reported idea is increasing genetic influence on cognition for children raised in higher socioeconomic status families, including recent proposals that the pattern is a particularly US phenomenon. We use matched birth and school records from Florida siblings and twins born in 1994-2002 to provide the largest, most population-diverse consideration of this hypothesis to date. We find no evidence of SES moderation of genetic influence on test scores, suggesting that articulating gene-environment interactions for cognition is more complex and elusive than previously supposed.

This occasional paper is the fourth in a series on the National Quality Framework (NQF). This paper offers detailed insights into education and care service quality ratings for Quality Area 3 (physical environment) of the National Quality Standard (NQS). The focus is on ensuring the physical environment of a service is safe, suitable and provides a rich and diverse range of experiences that promote children's learning and development. This paper begins with an overview of the physical environment standards and what these aim to achieve, highlighting contemporary research and theory behind sustainable environments promoting children's learning. It then outlines the operational requirements of the National Law and National Regulations for the physical environment, with a particular focus on the requirements specific to different service types. The paper also describes how service approval requirements in the National Law apply to the physical environment, and how providers may seek waivers for certain legislated requirements. The paper is intended to be of interest to people who deliver education and care services, families, people who provide training and professional development services to the sector, and to officers in the state and territory regulatory authorities that regulate education and care services.

Although many studies have investigated links between maternal employment and children's wellbeing, less research has considered whether the stability of maternal employment is linked with child outcomes. Using unique employment calendar data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N=2,011), an urban birth cohort study of largely low-income families, this paper investigates whether the stability of maternal employment in early childhood (birth to age 5) is linked with child behavior and cognitive skills at ages 5 and 9. Employment stability (continuous employment over all 5 years, low levels of job churning, longer job tenure) was linked with less child externalizing behavior, but there was little evidence to suggest stability was particularly important for PPVT [Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test] and Woodcock-Johnson scores. Rather, for PPVT and Woodcock-Johnson scores, an increase in maternal employment in early childhood more generally was associated with higher scores.

Recent studies show that texting-based interventions can produce educational benefits in children across a range of ages. We study the effects of a text-based program for kindergarten parents, distinguishing a general program from one that adds differentiation and personalization based on the child's developmental level. Children in the differentiated and personalized program were 50 percent more likely to read at a higher level (p<0.01) compared to the general group; and their parents reported engaging more in literacy activities by 0.31 standard deviations (p<0.01) compared to the control group. Effects were driven by children further from average levels of baseline development.

ACECQA has published the second in its series of occasional papers, analysing one of the most challenging quality areas -- Children's Health and Safety. Quality Area 2 addresses one of the primary objectives of the National Quality Framework -- to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of children attending education and care services. The paper examines performance across service types, socio economic and remoteness classifications, jurisdictions and management types. It also breaks down Quality Area 2 and highlights that standard 2.3 (each child is protected) and element 2.3.3 (incident and emergency planning) are the most challenging aspects of the Quality Area. One of the findings from the analysis is that services in remote and very remote areas may benefit from more support to understand and comply with the requirements of Quality Area 2. The paper also summarises recent state, territory and Commonwealth initiatives around child safe organisations, as well as some examples of the types of compliance and enforcement action that state and territory regulatory authorities have taken relating to children's health and safety.

Many students begin their college experience enrolled in large introductory classes. These classes are likely to enroll students who are at risk of leaving college without a degree. As such, these classes have the potential to reach at-risk students including first-year, first-generation, undeclared, and underrepresented minority (URM) students. Unfortunately, large lecture classes can make it difficult for students to develop meaningful relationships with faculty members or peers, even though it is known that the presence of strong faculty-student relationships predicts student engagement (Jaasma & Koper, 1999). One route to engaging students is the intentional use of evidence-based pedagogical practices. There have been substantial efforts to improve large lecture classes through the strategic use of discussion sections, active learning, and varied forms of assessment. Additionally, efforts to increase students' engagement and persistence have taken place outside of the classroom. We believe that some evidence-based practices developed outside the classroom are ripe for use in large lectures. In the current paper we describe an integration of academic content with practices that support student engagement and success in a large general education course, "Child Development." We begin with a brief description of the class, as it was before modification and as it is now. We then summarize some of the literature that describes evidenced-based methods of supporting at-risk students and explain how we have used this literature to inform our alignment of pedagogical practices with pedagogical goals. We share means of authentic assessment used in this course that target academic mastery and student well-being during and after the course's completion. Throughout this discussion we report on early indications that our modifications have met our intended goals. We conclude by considering principles that might guide redesign of other large classes. [Foreword by Pat Hutchings.]

This study examines the community-wide effects of two statewide early childhood policy initiatives in North Carolina. One initiative provides funding to improve the quality of child care services at the county level for all children between the ages of 0 to 5, and the other provides funding for preschool slots for disadvantaged four-year-olds. Differences across counties in the timing of the rollout and in the magnitude of the state financial investments per child provide the variation in programs needed to estimate their effects on schooling outcomes in third grade. We find robust positive effects of each program on third-grade test scores in both reading and math. These effects can best be explained by a combination of direct benefits for participants and spillover benefits for others. Our preferred models suggest that the combined average effects on test scores of investments in both programs at 2009 funding levels are equivalent to two to four months of instruction in grade 3.

Amid growing recognition that strong academic skills alone are not enough for young people to become successful adults, this comprehensive report offers wide-ranging evidence to show what young people need to develop from preschool to young adulthood to succeed in college and career, have healthy relationships, be engaged citizens, and make wise choices. It concludes that rich experiences combining action and reflection help children develop a set of critical skills, attitudes, and behaviors. And it suggests that policies should aim to ensure that all children have consistent, supportive relationships and an abundance of these developmental experiences through activities inside and outside of school. The Wallace Foundation awarded a competitive grant to UChicago CCSR in 2013 to undertake the project, which included a review of relevant literature spanning decades as well as interviews with national experts in research, policy and practice, and young people and the adults who work with them in schools, programs and agencies throughout Chicago. The report offers evidence to show how, where, and when the "key factors" to success develop from early childhood through young adulthood, emphasizing the kinds of experiences and supportive relationships that guide the positive development of these factors. Recognizing that there are no silver bullets to promoting social-emotional learning, the report emphasizes a range of factors that build on one another over time. It also emphasizes factors that are particularly malleable, as well as the age at which each of the key factors comes into prominence, offering adults the most promising window for positive intervention. A key problem the report identifies is that disadvantaged youth often face extra challenges. For example, they often have fewer in-school and out-of-school opportunities for consistent, positive developmental experiences and relationships and face significant opportunity gaps to developing the essential skills to become productive adults. An appendix provides a list of experts who provided input and feedback throughout this project. [This report was written with David W. Johnson, Sarah Dickson, Ashley Cureton Turner, Ashley Mayo, and Kathleen Hayes.]

This study examined differences in kindergarten children's behavioral functioning across rural and non-rural communities, as well as explored the effect of risk in each setting (i.e., rural, nonrural) on these children's behavior. Data from 116 kindergarten students and their parents and teachers was analyzed. Multileveling modeling was used to explore the main and interaction effects of community setting and cumulative risk on parent and teacher reports of children's behavioral functioning. Findings suggested that community setting or cumulative risk did not predict kindergarten children's behavior; however, risk differentially predicted children's behavior based on rural or non-rural community status. Particularly, cumulative risk predicted poorer student outcomes upon entrance in kindergarten in rural communities than non-rural communities. Limitations of the study and implications for practice are discussed.

Children in poverty are at greater risk of academic failure due to impoverished living conditions and a lack of parental nurturance. Mothers' engagement in children's learning can be undermined by maternal depression, placing children at risk for cognitive and motor delays. With intervention, parents experiencing poverty and depression can establish enriching environments and warm, responsive parent-child relationships conducive for children's optimal development. Getting Ready is a relationally-based parent engagement intervention promoting school readiness for children birth to five living in poverty. Getting Ready is founded on triadic strategies and a collaborative (conjoint) consultation model that promote parental "competence" and "confidence" in parenting practices (i.e., warmth and sensitivity, encouragement of autonomy, and support for learning and literacy). Teachers reported Getting Ready promotes children's social and emotional competencies (i.e., increased attachment/initiative, and decreased anxiety/withdrawal; Sheridan et al., 2010) and language and literacy skills (Sheridan et al., in press) relative to a control group; direct observations of children's behavioral change have not been examined. The purpose of this study is to determine effects of Getting Ready on preschool children's school readiness assessed through direct observations of children's behavior. (Contains 4 tables.) [This paper was presented originally by the authors at the 2011 annual meeting of the National Association of School Psychologists.]

One in six newborns were born poor over the past 40 years, and nearly half remained poor half their childhoods. These persistently poor children are nearly 90 percent more likely than never-poor children to enter their 20s without completing high school and are four times more likely to give birth outside of marriage during their teenage years. Children whose parents did not complete high school are less likely to complete high school themselves. This paper examines the magnitude of child poverty, family characteristics related to childhood poverty persistence, and childhood poverty's lasting consequences. An appendix presents data and sample. (Contains 4 tables, 4 figures, and 26 notes.)

In this working paper, Wendy Russell and Stuart Lester of the UK's University of Gloucestershire discuss why play is fundamental to the health and well-being of children. They argue that both state signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 31 of which enshrines the right to play) and adults generally should take seriously the importance of providing suitable conditions for children to play. In the words of Gordon Burghardt, quoted in the working paper, "The problem of defining play and its role is one of the greatest challenges facing neuroscience, behavioural biology, psychology, education and the social sciences generally... only when we understand the nature of play will we be able to understand how to better shape the destinies of human societies in a mutually dependent world, the future of our species, and perhaps even the fate of the biosphere itself." (Contains 5 footnotes.)

This paper explores the conceptual underpinnings of the routine disrespect shown to young children in everyday life in cultures around the world. General Comment 7 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child urges that the youngest children should be respected as persons in their own right, within an environment of reliable and affectionate relationships based on respect and understanding. This paper examines two case studies, from Germany and Israel, to show what such environments look like on the ground. A bibliography is included. (Contains 6 footnotes.)

As more states have become engaged in kindergarten assessment efforts, early childhood educators and assessment experts have recommended developing such efforts within a coordinated assessment system that provides data about children's progress over time, (pre-k through grade 12), and is designed to address both educational policy and practice questions. Based on the review of current efforts, the Early Childhood Education State Assessment Collaborative's (ECEA) position on assessment of children at the start of formal schooling, typically kindergarten, is the following: Early child assessments conducted prior to, at the start of, and during kindergarten can be useful for a number of purposes "if done well." Kindergarten readiness assessments should be used to directly support children's development and academic achievement to improve educational outcomes. To do so, kindergarten readiness assessment efforts should adhere to the following principles: (1) Use multiple tools for multiple purposes; (2) Address multiple developmental domains and diverse cultural contexts; (3) Align with early learning guidelines and common core standards; (4) Collect information from multiple sources; (5) Implement in a systems-based approach; and (6) Avoid inappropriate use of assessment information, specifically including high-stakes decisions, labeling children, restricting kindergarten entry, and predicting children's future academic and life success. The rest of this paper will discuss the rationale of ECEA's position and important cautions for parents, teachers, administrators, and policymakers to consider when planning kindergarten assessment initiatives. A glossary is included. (Contains 1 table and 37 notes.)

In developed countries, obesity tends to be associated with worse labor market outcomes. One possible reason is that obesity leads to less human capital formation early in life. This paper investigates the association between obesity and the developmental functioning of children at younger ages (2-4 years) than ever previously examined. Data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study are used to estimate models of developmental functioning in four critical areas (verbal skills, activities of daily living, motor skills, and social skills) as a function of various measures of weight (including BMI and obesity status) controlling for various child and family characteristics. The findings indicate that, among boys, obesity is a significant risk factor for lagged development in verbal skills, social skills, and activities of daily living. Among girls, weight generally does not have a statistically significant association with these developmental outcomes. Further investigations show that the correlations exist even for those preschool children who spend no time in day care, which implies that the correlation between obesity and developmental functioning cannot be due solely to discrimination by teachers, classmates, or day care providers. Full text (English translation) of the SOEP questions that were used to create the measures of developmental functioning used in this paper is appended. (Contains 4 tables and 1 footnote.)

This working paper is part of a series on early transitions from "Young Lives," a 15-year longitudinal study of childhood poverty in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. It explores the diverse experiences of 28 children from four contrasting communities in Peru as they start school. These detailed case studies highlight common problems: exclusion of certain parts of the population from pre-school services, lack of coordination between pre-schools and primary schools, issues with physical punishment and cultural diversity. It proposes four ways in which children's early educational transitions can be enhanced, looking at such factors as educational structures, curriculum planning and teacher training. (Contains 4 figures, 3 tables and 23 footnotes.)

This paper describes important issues in the promotion of the development of children 0 to 6 years of age in Brazil, particularly in education, health, children's rights and public policy. Brazil exhibits tremendous disparities and some of the worst welfare indicators in Latin America. Much of the population faces poverty, limited educational opportunities, and inequitable access to services and basic protections. The youngest children are disproportionately affected. Indicators of malnutrition remain high. Despite the efforts of dedicated teachers and officials, the public education system is not providing an adequate foundation so that children from low-income families may one day rise out of poverty. Education has been a key area of public policy under several government administrations, but early childhood development has not been underscored. Nonetheless, there are reasons for optimism. This paper includes numerous examples of good practice in early childhood education in Brazil, including children's participation, progressive pedagogies that build on local cultures and well-designed, publicly funded early childhood education strategies. (Contains 4 figures and 26 footnotes.)

A growing number of state leaders believe that it is essential to expand high-quality early learning and development opportunities for all young children before they reach kindergarten. A key component of this strategy is providing access to voluntary, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs, especially for low-income children. Over the last few years, a number of governors have announced their intention to expand pre-kindergarten. Yet for states to improve the chances of children who might otherwise start school at a disadvantage, pre-kindergarten programs must be designed with their families in mind. It is critical that pre-kindergarten policies promote healthy child development "and" be supportive of the needs of low-income working families. The opportunity to make state pre-kindergarten programs work for working families is often lost. The vast majority of state pre-kindergarten programs offer part-day services limited to the school year. States can help working families who rely on child care access state pre-kindergarten programs by including community-based child care settings in the delivery of pre-kindergarten. This model has the potential to break the traditional barrier between pre-kindergarten and child care policies and to address the needs of children in working families in a coordinated way, as well as to improve the various early care and education settings where children of working families already spend significant time. Although the vast majority of states now allow pre-kindergarten to be delivered in community-based early care and education settings, simply allowing this option does not in itself guarantee that low-income working families' needs will be met. A handful of states are working to realize these opportunities, but more could be done. This paper is based on a review of the first in-depth national research on the 29 states that, as of 2004, allowed mixed delivery in their pre-kindergarten programs. The review focused on promising practices and ideas for improvement. This paper: (1) provides evidence that policymakers need to review their pre-kindergarten initiatives to ensure maximum access for children in working families, especially low-income children; (2) describes some models states and localities are using to be responsive to low-income working families' needs by delivering pre-kindergarten in community-based settings; and (3) highlights key strategies to address the needs of low-income working families and examines the extent to which state pre-kindergarten policies currently do so. (Contains 3 figures and 65 endnotes.)

This working paper considers ways to tackle the critical issue of early drop-out and under-achievement of children at school. It draws on evidence of the benefits of early childhood programmes to children's learning and success in school. It particularly examines how well-designed early childhood programmes can effectively address poverty and exclusion. The paper also looks at how to aid the transition to school from either home or an early childhood programme. The connection between the first goal of UNESCO's Education for All initiative (early childhood care and education) and the attainment of other goals has not received adequate attention at any level. This paper seeks to redress that. The paper's concern goes beyond what happens to children before they enter school. It also asks why, despite the internationally accepted definition of early years as ages 0-8, do early childhood professionals and policy-makers almost always ignore 6-8-year-olds and consider early childhood development as pertaining only to the pre-school years? And what basics are needed in large-scale school improvement programmes to ensure a welcoming and nurturing environment and to sustain good practices and learning during those vital early years of formal school? Finally, it explores how we can conceptualise and implement work differently to better integrate early childhood development and early primary education. (Contains 1 table.) [This paper is based on a background paper prepared by the authors for UNESCO's "Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2007. Strong Foundations: Early Childhood Care and Education." ISBN-978-92-3-104041-2.]

Rates of food insecurity in households with children have significantly increased over the past decade. The majority of children, including those at risk for food insecurity, participate in some form of non-parental child care during the preschool years. To evaluate the relationship between the two phenomenon, this study investigates the effects of child care arrangements on food insecurity in households with children. To address the selection bias problem that arises from the fact that enrollment in different types of child care is not a random process, this study uses propensity scores techniques. The authors compare outcomes across five child care arrangement patterns: no non-parental care (i.e., exclusive parent care), relative care, non-relative care, center care, and Head Start. Our results demonstrate that for low income preschoolers, compared to no non-parental care, attending a child care center reduces the probability of both food insecurity and very low food security, relative care reduces the probability of food insecurity, and non-relative care increases the probability of very low food security.

This paper provides an overview on ways of thinking about young children's respect for diversity. It maps sources of knowledge about four different sorts of diversity in young children's lives: cultural and racial diversity, developmental diversity (including "special needs'), gender diversity and socio-economic diversity. It sketches this knowledge base in terms of the extensively researched terrain (what we know with relative certainty), the inadequately explored terrain (promising directions), the theoretical terrain (conceptualising and informing practice), the methodological terrain (developing and validating the knowledge), researchers and research centres in the terrain, and regional nuances in the terrain. The literature review conducted for this paper has identified five broad schools of thought on issues of respect for diversity in the education of young children: the laissez-faire school, the special provisions school, the cultural understandings school, the equal opportunities school and the anti-discrimination school. The paper maps each school of thought in terms of its characteristic perspectives on the best methods for understanding and engaging with diversity in young children's lives. Appended are: (1) Emerging lines of inquiry; and (2) Centres of expertise: a beginning guide. (Contains 18 tables and 102 notes.)

Issues connected with children's welfare and child development are appearing on national and international agendas with greater prominence and frequency. However, the international image of children is becoming increasingly homogeneous and Western-derived, with an associated erosion of the diversity of child contexts. This essay explores the reasons behind such a reduction in diversity, factors that are often considered to be a necessary part of progress. The authors conduct an overview of relevant critiques in the literature of early childhood development (ECD). The paper focuses on international ECD since the UN adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 and presents a review of key ECD developments in Africa since the early 1970s. Culture, context, and diversity are central concerns that have led to the development of several different critical streams of work within early childhood care and education during the 1990s. The authors describe some of these "reconceptualising" efforts and identify various areas of promise for future cooperative work. The second part of the essay represents an effort to move beyond the singular image of the "global child." The authors address the need to support and promote local perspectives, questions and issues, and trace the "triple heritage" of ECD in Africa. It is hoped that this section, and the essay in its totality, will contribute to a much-needed expansion of thoughts and ideas about early childhood, both in Africa and the rest of the world, and to an appreciation that diversity is a strength to work with, rather than an obstacle to overcome. The authors conclude that their role is to introduce a "stutter" into a powerful international narrative, thereby creating a space for other ideas and perspectives, in this case from Africa, to be heard and considered. They reiterate the need for the Minority World to help the Majority World in its quest for child well-being, by supporting Africa's efforts to hear its own voices and seek its own way forward. (Contains 3 footnotes.)

Children face many important changes in the first eight years of life, including different learning centres, social groups, roles and expectations. Their ability to adapt to such a dynamic and evolving environment directly affects their sense of identity and status within their community over the short and long term. In particular, the key turning points in children's lives--such as "graduating" from kindergarten to primary school or going through a culturally specific rite of passage--provide challenges and opportunities for learning and growth on multiple levels. This paper provides a review of the major perspectives in research on early childhood transitions and reveals the predominant areas of focus in both academic and professional studies, as well as important neglected viewpoints and study populations. Beginning with a broad and inclusive definition of the topic, the authors provide an overview of early childhood transitions research, highlighting the underlying assumptions that informed the studies. They assess concepts in the developmental theory that preceded transitions research as well as in the logic that determines how transitions are structured. More recent approaches are examined, including systems theories and the role of children as active participants in transitions. Several examples in this review show how multidisciplinary collaboration and culturally sensitive interventions can result in better participation of both parents and children in crucial early childhood transitions. Citing the need to harmonise early childhood education and care programmes with local education practices, the authors stress the value of greater transparency in the creation of policy and programming for children, in order to identify potentially limiting assumptions. Broadening and diversifying perspectives on transitions can lead to more integrated and culturally relevant rights-based early childhood programmes worldwide. A glossary and a bibliography are included. (Contains 7 footnotes.)

This report looks at the development and socialisation of children under 5 years of age in two Caribbean countries, Trinidad and Tobago and Dominica. It involved fieldwork in four very different communities as well as extensive discussion with academics and professionals. Too little is known about child socialisation in the Caribbean, and this research, the authors believe, breaks new ground. It shows that although most children are loved and cared for, the lives of many are scarred by poverty. The two countries the authors worked in are by no means the poorest in the developing world. But they both have substantial poor populations. Poor families are offered only the most basic help by the state. Child-rearing in the communities they studied remains highly traditional. Corporal punishment is common and children are often ignored, shouted at or belittled. Both countries have signed up to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and their laws and policies pay attention to it. But the day-to-day lives of children have changed little. This applies particularly to children living in poverty, with a disability or with some other form of disadvantage. But the picture is not one of unrelieved gloom. Child-rearing in the region does seem to be getting less regimented and more caring, and there is a growing realisation that the first few years of a child's life are vital to his or her social as well as intellectual and physical development. However, many of the people they met said that Caribbean communities are less supportive than in the past. This means that children are cared for increasingly by their mothers. Despite stereotypes of extended Caribbean families, many mothers are not involved in a wide network of female support. The feeling is that families are drawing in on themselves because of cultural change, including more television watching, and the fear of crime, especially from gangs of drug-fuelled young men. A bibliography is included. (Contains 1 footnote.) [This paper was written with Martin Ince.

This paper explores some of the psychological and other issues associated with HIV infection in children. Although the majority of studies are in the West, a growing core of information is emerging from other centres. This paper attempts to summarise the complexity of who the children are, examine emerging orphan and vulnerability issues, explore HIV/AIDS treatment interventions and how they affect the emerging scenario in terms of child and parent infection, and then focus on the widespread psychological effects of HIV/AIDS on the young child. (Contains 4 tables.)

Care and education for young children is often understood primarily as a commodity to be provided in the marketplace, or as a kind of factory to produce human capital. But institutions for children and young people can also serve a very different role. They can be understood as forums for democratic political practice. This is a choice that we, as citizens, can make. This paper applies the idea of democracy to a wide range of institutions providing education and care for young children. Observing that democracy is in a sickly state in neo-liberal societies , the author discusses the importance of democratic participation as a right of citizenship, a bulwark against oppression and injustice, and a means for fostering diversity in society. He then looks at what it means to have democracy in early childhood settings, distinguishing between a democratic ethos that values the sharing of opinions and perspectives, and democracy in the form of management structures that involve elected representatives of parents and educators. He looks at what we can learn from practices around Europe, especially in the Nordic countries, and at what conditions are necessary to foster the establishment of democratic participation in early childhood settings. (Contains 6 footnotes.)

"Policy Matters" is an initiative of the Center for the Study of Social Policy. The "Policy Matters" project is designed to develop and make available coherent, comprehensive information regarding the strength and adequacy of state policies affecting children, families, and communities. The project seeks to establish consensus among policy experts and state leaders regarding the mix of policies believed to offer the best opportunity for improving child and family well-being. A series of policy briefs, policy papers, guides for self-assessment, and 50-state comparative reports is envisioned. The project focuses on six core results: school readiness, educational success, family economic success, healthy families, youth development, and strong family relationships. Together, these six core results and the policies designed to achieve them make up a state-level family-strengthening policy agenda. This paper puts forth an approach to setting benchmarks for a state policy agenda to encourage stronger family relationships. Given current policy concerns for the well-being of families and the hardships some families are experiencing, an examination of state policy efforts and trends to strengthen families is timely. The current paper offers a beginning statement on the importance of solid, evidence-informed recommendations to help states encourage the development of stronger family bonds and resilience in the face of economic and social pressures. Section I of the paper provides a brief introduction to some current family policy issues and questions in the U.S. Section II reviews data and research on the impact of family structure, economic conditions, and the quality of familial relationships on the well-being of family members. This section also includes a brief look at the growing diversity of American families sometimes overlooked in U.S. family policy debates. Section III suggests a state-level policy framework focusing on the formation, maintenance, stability and safety of families. Section IV recommends a series of policies with potential for improving child and family relationships. This section details the policy options and preliminary benchmarks that research and practice evidence suggest can promote successful family formation and maintenance outcomes. While other policy remedies are possible, and are discussed in other "Policy Matters" volumes, this paper attempts to limit its focus to those policies that promote the relational success of families and to those policies with greater research and practice evidence in support of their effectiveness. Over time, the recommendations and benchmarks will be improved as more research and practice evidence is available. Thus, this paper presents a preliminary set of benchmarks. This paper is an invitation for further deliberation and action regarding policies leading to stronger family relationships. Moving forward, the project aims to expand this initial statement to a national bi-partisan consensus on policy directions for those interested in promoting positive family outcomes. Policy Matters Project Overview is appended. (Contains 9 tables, 4 figures and 156 endnotes.) [For companion brief, "Encouraging Strong Family Relationships. State Policies That Work. Brief Number 6," see ED536813.]

This paper examines the extent to which family wealth affects the race-child achievement association for young children based on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We found little evidence that wealth mediates the black-white test scores gap. However, liquid assets, particularly holding in stocks and mutual funds, are positively associated with school-aged children's test scores. We speculate that this may partly reflect unmeasured personality traits of the parents such as a stronger future orientation or the financial savvy. We also found that the association was mediated through both material deprivation and family processes pathways. We made an attempt to strengthen the causal inference between wealth and children's test scores with the instrumental variable approach, the results were nevertheless inconclusive. (Contains 11 tables.)

In "Beyond Fishing," the Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF) documents its experiences as a local capacity building and grantmaking organisation and describes how it supports community based projects in developing their organisational capacity. In recent decades, development organisations have been supporting capacity building mainly through training. In this they have often been influenced by the paradigm, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for today, but teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." KCDF takes this paradigm a step further, moving "beyond fishing," and emphasising the importance of "helping the fisherman to gain access and increased control over all the resources to which he has a right." The first section of the Working Paper concentrates on the value of capacity building and grantmaking as a strategy for development in general. However, KCDF's work is also making a particularly meaningful contribution to meeting the goals of Early Childhood Development. In Section Two of the paper, KCDF explains its view on the value of a holistic development approach to improving the well-being of children. This is illustrated with a description of the work of KCDF with the Nyuat and El-barta projects, two of the Bernard van Leer Foundation's partner organisations in the Samburu district of Kenya. This description of KCDF's approach to development can be informative for readers working as programme staff, policy makers or academics, whose interests lie in finding ways to achieve local autonomy and participation. Funders and other development agencies will find that KCDF gives a useful description of the role that local grantmaking and endowment building can play in furthering community development; and of how a local community foundation can make a difference in this respect. Finally, the publication will appeal to a wide readership interested in concrete examples of integrated projects in support of the development of the young child. A glossary is included. (Contains 22 footnotes.)

The research reviewed and the current responses identified in this paper show that at local, national and international levels there are gaps in programming and policy to engage ideas and mobilise resources to address the needs and experiences of very young children infected/affected by HIV and AIDS. Chapter one identifies some key areas where the lives of very young children are affected by the pandemic. Chapter two reveals that HIV and AIDS and early childhood development (ECD) programming has shown a limited response so far. Finally, in Chapter three, conclusions are drawn that indicate that services are required urgently to support very young children both directly and through the families and communities in which they live. (Lists 9 resources and 11 online resources.)