Early Child Development Policy and
Program:
The First Step to Sustainable Economic Growth and
Development
Fifth Meeting of the Ministers of Education
November 15-16, 2007
Cartagenas, Colombia
Mary E. Young
Human Development Network
World Bank
Consulta de San José
2007
The best ways to improve public spending in Latin America
prioritized by top-economists
“If Latin America were willing to spend, say, $10 billion over the next five years on
improving welfare, which projects would have the greatest benefits?”
Out of the 29 specific projects identified to tackle Latin America’s biggest
challenges, top priority given to:
• Early childhood development to meet the challenge of poverty and
inequality
Literacy vs. Income
100%
98%
Uruguay
Cuba
Argentina
96%
Chile
Literacy Rates
94%
Colombia
92%
Venuezuela
Ecuador
90%
Mexico
Paraguay
Peru
88%
86%
84%
Brazil
Bolivia
82%
80%
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
GDP per capita
8,000
9,000
10,000
11,000
12,000
13,000
Source: OECD, UNESCO (2003) Literacy skills for the world of tomorrow, Fig. 2.5, p.76
Fin
l an
d
Can
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New
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la n
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Aus
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ong
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J ap
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Aus
tria
Bel
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Ic e
land
Nor
way
Fra
nce
Uni
ted
Sta
te s
Den
m
a rk
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i tze
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ch R
in
epu
bli c
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rm a
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and
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Por
si an
tug
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Fed
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Lat
v ia
Is ra
Lux
el
em
bou
rg
Tha
il an
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Bul
gar
Rom ia
an i
a
Me
x ic o
Arg
ent
i na
Chi
le
FYR
Bra
z
Ma
i
c ed l
oni
a
Ind
on e
si a
Al b
ani
a
Per
u
Mean Reading Literacy of 15-year-olds
600
575
550
525
500
475
450
425
400
375
350
325
Education of the new generations in Latin America
Source:Juan Luis Londono (1996), Poverty, Inequality and Human Capital Development in LA, 1950-2025
Expected Abilities
Industrial
• Special skills
• Planning &
implementation
• Navigating the
bureaucracy
• Following the
heritage
Post-industrial
• Communications
• Teamwork
• Human relations
• Problem-solving
• Design & innovation
• Personal responsibility
• Self-management
• Ethics, values, principles
Source: Cheng, Kai-ming, Education versus Learning: the Post-Industrial Challenge, presentation at the World Bank Human Development Forum
October 31, 2006
WHAT DO
WE NOW KNOW?
Findings from Neuroscience: Early Experiences
Shape…
Brain architecture
Neurochemistry
Gene expression
Cognitive
+
Emotional
+
Social Behavior
Prerequisite
for a healthy,
competent,
tolerant population.
Experience and Brain Development
• Stimuli switch on genetic pathways that
differentiate the function of billions neurons and
connections (synapses) among the billions of
neurons
• Cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional
competencies are interdependent and are all
shaped by early experience.
• Neural pathways follow a bottom up, hierarchical
sequence. Later attainment build on foundations
that are laid down earlier.
Window of Opportunity - ECD
Language
Sensing
Pathways
(vision, hearing)
-6
-3
3
0
Months
6
9
Higher
Cognitive Function
1
4
8
12
Years
16
AGE
C. Nelson, in From Neurons to Neighborhoods, 2000
Literacy and Vocabulary Growth
– First 3 Years
Vocabulary
1200
High SES
Middle SES
600
Low SES
0
12
16
20
24
26
32
36
Age (Months)
Source: B.Hart & T. Risley. Meaningful Differences in Everyday Experiences of Young American Children, 1995.
Vocabulary Scores by SES quartiles in
36 to 72 month old children Ecuador
age in months
Source: C. Paxson, N. Schady: Cognitive development among young children in Ecuador : The roles of wealth, health
and parenting, The World Bank, Policy Research Working Paper, 3605, 2005
.
Cognitive Development Gap
Median Abilities of Entering Kindergarteners by Family Income
60.00
55.00
Reading
Lost Potential Growth
Math
50.00
General
Know ledge
45.00
40.00
Low est 20%
4th Quintile
Middle 20%
2nd Quintile
Highest 20%
Source; Barnett, W. S. (2007). Original analysis of data from the US Department of Education, National Center for
Educational Statistics, ECLS-K Base Year Data files and Electronic Codebook (2002).
Health and Income for Children and Adults
U.S. national health interview survey 1986-1995:
High Score is Bad
Source: Case, Lubotsky, and Paxson (2002)
Impacts of Quality Early Education
Increased Educational Success and Adult Productivity
• Achievement test scores
• Special education and grade repetition
• High school graduation
• Behavior problems, delinquency, and crime
• Employment, earnings, and welfare dependency
Decreased Costs to Government
• Schooling costs
• Social services costs
• Crime costs
• Health care costs (teen pregnancy and smoking)
Source: Barnett, W. S. (2002) Early childhood education. In A. Molnar (Ed.) School reform proposals: The research evidence
(pp.1-26). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing
High/Scope Perry Preschool:
Educational Effects
Program group
No-program group
15%
Special Education
(Cog.)
34%
49%
Age 14 achievement
at 10th %ile +
15%
66%
Graduated from high
school on time
0%
45%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Source; Berrueta-Clement, J.R., Schweinhart, L.J., Barnett, W.S., Epstein, A.S., & Weikart, D.P. (1984). Changed lives:
The effects of the Perry Preschool Program on youths through age 19. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press
High/Scope Perry Preschool:
Economic Effects at 40
Program group
No-program group
60%
Earned > $20K
40%
76%
Employed
62%
76%
Had Savings
Account
0%
50%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Source; Schweinhart, L. J., Montie, J., Xiang, Z., Barnett, W. S., Belfield, C. R., & Nores, M. (2005). Lifetime effects:
The High/Scope Perry Preschool study through age 40 (Monographs of the High/Scope Educational Research
Foundation, 14). Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation
Brain Growth and Rates of Return
Preschool Programs
Brain Growth
Schooling
Job Training
Rates of Return to Investment
in Human Capital
Preschool
0
Post School
School
Age
Source: Heckman & Carneiro Human Social Policy, 2003, RAND, Benefits and Costs of Early-Childhood Interventions, A
Documented Briefing, Lynn A. Karoly, Susan S. Everingham, Jill Hoube, Rebecca Kilburn, C. Peter Rydell, Matthew
Sanders, Peter W. Greenwood, April, 1997
Messages for Policymakers
• Child Development – early experience
shapes brain architecture, determines all future
learning, behavior and health outcomes later in life
• Effective • Cost Efficiency - save money in the long run
because they prevent problems before they start and
reduce later needs for special education and other
remedial measures.
• Economics -the need for different skill sets in the
21st century.
Implement an Overall ECD Strategy
 Intervene early, often and effectively
 Allocate sufficient resources
 Ensure relevant training
New generation competent in the understanding
of human development
 Build systems, not just projects.
Emphasize equity, sustainability, and population health.
 Monitor and evaluate.
Measure child development outcomes
Monitoring Child Development Outcomes
 Building
monitoring
systems
 Collecting
populationbased child
outcome data
How Are Other Nations
Improving Their Children’s
Outcomes?
Child Development Program in
Singapore
Inter-Ministerial Committee
Health, Education, Community Development, Youth and Sports
Overall policy directions & funding, Service guidelines & Coordination,
and Professional standards
Director, Child Development Program
Ministry of Health
Child Development Unit
National Healthcare Group
Child Development Unit
Singapore Health Services
Cuba ECD Programs: Initial Link
Strong National Institutions
Formal Sector
Pregnancy
Parent Programs
(0 years)
Childcare Centers
(0 to 5 years)
Local Capacity
Non Formal Sector
Preschool Programs
(5 – 6 years)
French ECD System
1. Emphasis on very young children
2. Voluntary, free preschool
3. More for those with less
(Educational Priority Areas (ZEP)
4. Integration of all children
5. Quality standards and accountability
6. Highly trained and well-paid
teachers
7. Secure funding and infrastructure
Public and Private Partnerships
New Zealand
• Centers must comply with minimum
licensing standards.
• Bulk funding: per-child funding based on
a sliding scale.
• Demand-side financing: seed fund to
develop services through grants, offer
loans to ECD teachers, and supplement
incomes to pay for ECD fees.
South Australia – Coordinated Early
Childhood Policies
• Legislative reform to integrate Education
Act and Children’s Services Acts
• Creating a Birth through Age 17,
Education and Childhood Development
System
• Government collect child development
outcome (EDI) data across state every 3
years
Sweden - Continuum of Services
Children Birth to 7
Birth
Paternal
Leave
1
2
3
4
5
6 yrs
Preschool
Pre-school programs
After school childcare
Class
Brain Growth and Rates of Return
Sweden’s Public Expenditure for
Children 0-17 age old
Ultimate Goal!!
Preschool Programs
Brain
Growth
Schooling
Job Training
Rates of Return to
Investment in Human
Capital
Preschool
0
School
Post School
Age
Source: Heckman & Carneiro Human Social Policy, 2003,
RAND, Benefits and Costs of Early-Childhood
Interventions, A Documented Briefing, Lynn A. Karoly,
Susan S. Everingham, Jill Hoube, Rebecca Kilburn, C.
Peter Rydell, Matthew Sanders, Peter W. Greenwood,
April, 1997
Source: S. Bremberg (2006), National Institute of
Public Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm,
Sweden
02-056
Policies to Foster Quality
Human Capital
"We cannot afford to postpone investing in
children until they become adults nor can we
wait until they reach school - a time when it
may be too late to intervene."
Heckman, J., 2001
(Nobel Prize Economics, 2000)