Mozambique is at a critical moment for early childhood education (ECE). Following the large-scale pilot of a community-based ECE program (known by its Portuguese acronym DICIPE- Desenvolvimento Integral da Criança em Idade Pré-Escolar), the country is now planning for the future scale-up of ECE interventions. A series of three separate evaluations of the pilot—a Process Evaluation, an Impact Evaluation, and a Costing Exercise—are in progress to help improve program quality and inform the scaling up of services.

In recent years, more and more children worldwide have access to pre-primary education. As access expands, it’s important to keep our attention focused on quality – the elements of the learning environment that determine children’s experiences in early childhood education. Quality can be viewed from a child’s viewpoint – what she gets to do during the day; how she feels about her teachers and friends; and whether she has opportunities to stretch and grow while receiving help when she needs it.

Stay informed with our latest monthly newsletter featuring October 2020 updates, insights, and news in early childhood care and education. Explore valuable resources, articles, and announcements to empower your work and stay connected with ECD Measure and our global community.

ECD Measure has recently developed the Brief Early Quality Inventory (BEQI) tool, which is designed to capture key components of play-based learning and interactions between teachers and children. Building off of research from other ECE quality tools, including our team’s extensive experience with the Measuring Early Learning Environment (MELE) tool of the MELQO project, we recognized the need for simpler ways to gather context-specific evidence on quality environments.

The ECD Measure team, in partnership with in-country consultants, recently completed a project to explore how early childhood stakeholders in Lesotho and Tanzania define quality pre-primary programs.

Measurement of quality in early childhood education (ECE) helps shape policy and practice, yet few studies have examined the adaptation and resulting psychometric properties of ECE quality measures when used in low- and middle-income countries. This study reports on the adaptation of the Measure of Early Learning Environments scale (MELE-A), developed as part of the Measuring Early Learning Quality & Outcomes (MELQO) Initiative, in one sub-Saharan African country.

Four CPDMA taskforce countries (Liberia, Rwanda, South Africa and Ethiopia) have been working together since early 2019 to map out their ECE data systems and develop plans to use data to improve outcomes for children.

This project aims to identify and code, analyze and describe existing social emotional learning (SEL) and psychosocial support (PSS) measurement/assessment tools and guidance documents being used in the international Education in Emergencies (EiE) sector.

Guide developed through the Consortium on Pre-Primary Data and Measurement in Africa (CPDMA). Outlines a framework for developing and using high-impact data in ECE systems.

CPDMA and ECD Measure convened ECE Data Utilization to Impact Change Conference in Kigali, Rwanda. In the spirit of “what gets measured gets done,” the ECD Measure team provided context for the meeting around its “Data for Impact Framework,” which outlines the process for defining how early childhood data can be used for impact in early childhood education systems.

Description: Meeting report for Consortium on Pre-primary Data and Measurement in Africa (CPDMA) meeting convened in Kigali, Rwanda in November 2019.

Results from early childhood study in Boa Vista, Brazil (in Portuguese).

Presentation on MELQO addressing the following questions: Describing Environments: What’s it like to be in pre-primary in various countries? Universal vs. Local: How do children’s developmental trajectories vary or look the same in various parts of the world?

The study assesses pre-primary children to gather preliminary evidence on learning and development and explore whether Fursa kwa Watoto (FkW) leads to improved student outcomes among pre-primary students.

We all need feedback to know how we’re doing. As more and more countries recognize the importance of early childhood education, data are essential for charting an effective path forward. we were pleased to showcase progress in data and measurement at the ADEA Inter-Country Quality Node’s Early Childhood Development Leadership Capacity Building Workshop. ECD Measure recently joined ADEA, AfECN, AU, and CPDMA Taskforce to attend ECD Leadership Capacity Building Workshop in Mauritius

CPDMA Member Spotlight on Liberia. Liberia is at a critical moment for early childhood education. According to the 2019 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report, 88 percent of Liberian children are enrolled in an ECE program at least one year before primary school entry. However, it is common for overage children to enter ECE programs; nearly 50 percent of pre-primary learners are 6 years of age or older.

Describes the process of creating the MELQO tools, summarizes results from psychometric evaluation, and provides examples of how the data have been used to reveal patterns of inequity and levels of learning and classroom quality.

Presentation on MELQO results.

A tool to guide data use to serve babies, toddlers, and the people who care for them.

In recent years, government and parental investments in pre-primary education have expanded dramatically in many parts of the world. Despite the overall increase in the number of children accessing pre-primary education, in many countries, pre-primary enrollment rates remain unequal, with more access to pre-primary education for children in higher-income countries and families. This publication is a white paper on early childhood service quality standards and quality assurance systems for pre-primary education.