Early Childhood Development : A Review of the Global Evidence

Early Childhood Development (ECD) is a holistic concept that refers to the physical, cognitive, socio-emotional, and linguistic development of young children until the time they transition to primary school. This policy brief highlights that developmental gaps in the early years of a child’s life do...

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Main Authors:	Nadeau, Sophie, Hasan, Rifat
Format:	Brief
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2016
Subjects:	ADOLESCENT DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND EARLY MARRIAGE FERTILITY GIRLS EDUCATION SCHOOL SKILLS TEENAGE PREGNANCY
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24575

id	okr-10986-24575
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-245752021-05-25T09:52:19Z Early Childhood Development : A Review of the Global Evidence Nadeau, Sophie Hasan, Rifat ADOLESCENT DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND EARLY MARRIAGE FERTILITY GIRLS EDUCATION SCHOOL SKILLS TEENAGE PREGNANCY Early Childhood Development (ECD) is a holistic concept that refers to the physical, cognitive, socio-emotional, and linguistic development of young children until the time they transition to primary school. This policy brief highlights that developmental gaps in the early years of a child’s life do not narrow by themselves over time, are likely to be particularly severe for children born to teenage mothers, and lead to costly consequences for individuals, families, and societies. In turn, this policy brief also documents that strong evidence exist on the significant benefits that quality ECD interventions yield in both the short and longer terms. Different types of ECD interventions are most relevant and are complementary at different times of a child’s development. For example, interventions to promote infant and child health and to reduce malnutrition are most effective in the 1,000-day window from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday, and programs that enhance both early stimulation and nutrition are more likely to generate long-lasting impacts than nutrition alone. Strong evidence also exists on the positive impacts of high quality center-based programs for young children (i.e. daycares and preschools), including in low and middle-income countries, and these types of programs can also generate positive impacts for other family members, including caregivers and siblings. Finally, providing cash transfers to families can be an effective way to enhance the ECD outcomes of the poorest children, especially when combined with specific health, nutrition, and early stimulation interventions. In sum, this policy brief provides an overview of why early childhood is a critical period of human development and of the several types of ECD interventions that have been proven effective to improve children’s development and life-long prospects. 2016-06-21T19:15:14Z 2016-06-21T19:15:14Z 2016-05 Brief http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24575 English en_US Policy Brief: Malawi; CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Brief Africa Malawi
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English en_US
topic	ADOLESCENT DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND EARLY MARRIAGE FERTILITY GIRLS EDUCATION SCHOOL SKILLS TEENAGE PREGNANCY
spellingShingle	ADOLESCENT DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND EARLY MARRIAGE FERTILITY GIRLS EDUCATION SCHOOL SKILLS TEENAGE PREGNANCY Nadeau, Sophie Hasan, Rifat Early Childhood Development : A Review of the Global Evidence
geographic_facet	Africa Malawi
relation	Policy Brief: Malawi;
description	Early Childhood Development (ECD) is a holistic concept that refers to the physical, cognitive, socio-emotional, and linguistic development of young children until the time they transition to primary school. This policy brief highlights that developmental gaps in the early years of a child’s life do not narrow by themselves over time, are likely to be particularly severe for children born to teenage mothers, and lead to costly consequences for individuals, families, and societies. In turn, this policy brief also documents that strong evidence exist on the significant benefits that quality ECD interventions yield in both the short and longer terms. Different types of ECD interventions are most relevant and are complementary at different times of a child’s development. For example, interventions to promote infant and child health and to reduce malnutrition are most effective in the 1,000-day window from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday, and programs that enhance both early stimulation and nutrition are more likely to generate long-lasting impacts than nutrition alone. Strong evidence also exists on the positive impacts of high quality center-based programs for young children (i.e. daycares and preschools), including in low and middle-income countries, and these types of programs can also generate positive impacts for other family members, including caregivers and siblings. Finally, providing cash transfers to families can be an effective way to enhance the ECD outcomes of the poorest children, especially when combined with specific health, nutrition, and early stimulation interventions. In sum, this policy brief provides an overview of why early childhood is a critical period of human development and of the several types of ECD interventions that have been proven effective to improve children’s development and life-long prospects.
format	Brief
author	Nadeau, Sophie Hasan, Rifat
author_facet	Nadeau, Sophie Hasan, Rifat
author_sort	Nadeau, Sophie
title	Early Childhood Development : A Review of the Global Evidence
title_short	Early Childhood Development : A Review of the Global Evidence
title_full	Early Childhood Development : A Review of the Global Evidence
title_fullStr	Early Childhood Development : A Review of the Global Evidence
title_full_unstemmed	Early Childhood Development : A Review of the Global Evidence
title_sort	early childhood development : a review of the global evidence
publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate	2016
url	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24575
_version_	1764457087078760448

Early Childhood Development : A Review of the Global Evidence

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