HOLISTIC EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS

SUPPORTING YOUNG CHILDREN THROUGH MEASUREMENT

UNESCO, ECCE

EDUCATION FOR ALL, GOAL 1

Education for All, Goal 1: “Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education,

especially for the most disadvantaged children.”

Children’s development reflects health status, nutrition, quality of parenting, social protection, and education – so all must be part of a system of early childhood care and education (ECCE).

HECDI ORIGINATION AND STRUCTURE

World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education, Moscow: 2010

UNESCO called upon to facilitate the development of an index to holistically monitor early childhood development, in collaboration with partner agencies and outside experts.

WHY THE HECDI?

Early childhood development has typically been measured using 1 or 2 indicators – often health-related or reflecting pre-primary enrollment.

But they are limited – and do not describe the many factors that influence young children.

A holistic set of indicators is needed to describe all of the influences on children’s development – policies at the

national level, available services, and family/child characteristics.

WHY THE HECDI?The HECDI is intended to help countries see ECCE as a holistic endeavor – children’s long-term success is dependent upon health, nutrition, parenting, poverty and social protection, as well as education. 

National governments, communities and families all have a role to play in ensuring that children’s development is supported. 

Therefore, we have identified a set of indicators that spans all 6 content areas, and all three actors – governments, communities, and families – to help countries identify strengths and areas for improvement.

HOW THE HECDI WAS DEVELOPED

The most critical indicators for children’s development across 6 areas:

Health

Education

Equity

Poverty

Parenting

Nutrition

And across national, community and family influences: policies & laws; programs & services; and family/child characteristics were developed by a group of experts.

Health

% children with frequent or

chronic illnesses

% mothers w/ access to birth

services

% access to comprehensive

health care

% access to clean water and

sanitation

Under 5 mortality rate

Low birth weight

Nutrition Equity Education Poverty Parenting

Average years of maternal education

% children with adequate neuro-

development

% access to parenting

support and education

Country provides legal guarantee

of rights

% children obese

Country monitors growth/nutrition

Paid parental leave

% children registered at

birth

% access to ECCE that

meets needs of families

% access to quality ECCE

% entering 1st grade with ECCE

experience

% meeting developmental

milestones

% children stunted

Child poverty rate

Policies to lift families out of

poverty

Rates of maternal

depression

% children exposed to domestic violence

% children with stimulating home

learning

% children with inadequate care

Child outcomes

Programs and services

Policies and laws

Holistic Early Childhood Development Indicators

HOLISTIC EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT INDEX: UNESCO PUBLICATIONS (1)

Review of care, education and child development indicators in early childhood This report, part of a series of desk reviews to prepare the development of the HECDI, will critically and analytically review existing early childhood indices and indicators in the areas of child development, developmental care and education from birth to the age of 8.

Review of Policy and Planning Indicators in Early Childhood: To contribute to the HECDI and also assist countries to consider their options regarding policy indicators for early childhood development (ECD), this study identified ECD indicators in 51 ECD policies and strategic plans found in 39 countries.

HOLISTIC EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT INDEX: UNESCO PUBLICATIONS (2)

Review of Social Protection Indicators in Early Childhood This report examines varying conceptions of social protection as it relates to children and existing international and regional efforts to monitor and assess the social protection of children.

Review of Legal Protection Indicators in Early Childhood : Review about legal protection indicators in the context of EFA-G1 and the use of child rights indicators as legal protection indicators. It is designed to provide groups of experts in the field with some preliminary perspectives and a basket of legal protection indicators in EFA-G1 policy and practice.

HOLISTIC EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT INDEX: UNESCO PUBLICATIONS (3)

Review of Health and Nutrition Indicators in Early ChildhoodEarly childhood health and nutrition is a true reflection of countries’ level of development. These health indicators are directly linked through existing policies, plans and programmes to countries’ investment in early childhood and respect for children’s rights.

New publications are coming. Check the www.unesco.org web-site and http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/monitoring-and-evaluation/holistic-ecdindex/

HOW WILL HECDI HELP COUNTRIES?

By having a set of indicators that describe a comprehensive system, the HECDI will …

• Help identify strengths and areas for improvement in supporting young children’s development, by creating data profiles and analyses.

• Encourage collaborative effort between different ministries and organizations, by focusing on the many domains that influence young children’s development .

HOW WILL HECDI HELP COUNTRIES?

Most countries will not have all data available – in fact, some of the most critical indicators, such as quality of ECCE, have not yet been fully defined.  

By joining with UNESCO in piloting, countries will have the opportunity to both identify all existing relevant data, and help shape the indicators that are not yet available but critically important to track by engaging in dialogue on how to further define and measure them.

WHAT’S NEXT?

HECDI piloting will begin in 2012. Estimated publication date of HECDI is 2013.

UNESCO will partner with countries interested in creating a holistic picture of young children’s development, using existing data and potentially collecting more data on young children.

Please let us know if your country would like more information.

Learning begins at birth(World Declaration on Education for All 1990, Article V)

HOLISTIC EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT INDEX

Contact:

Dr. Alisher UmarovUNESCO New Delhi Cluster Officefor Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka

E-mail: a.umarov@unesco.org