Presentation made during the last 11th Annual Meeting of the OECD LEED Forum on Partnerships and Local Development where local and national leaders, policy makers and practitioners discussed how inclusive growth can be built from the ground up.

1. Insights from the OECD’s work on
early childhood education and care
(ECEC)
Arno Engel
Early Childhood and Schools Division
Directorate for Education and Skills
OECD
Insights from the OECD’s work on
early childhood education and care
(ECEC)

2. • Why does early childhood education and care
matter?
• What can be done at the national and local level
to boost access, equity & quality?
• How can the international data gap be closed?
Today’s Focus

3. • Why does early childhood education and care
matter?
• What can be done at the national and local level
to boost access, equity & quality?
• How can the international data gap be closed?
Today’s Focus

4. Maternal employment is higher in
countries with higher enrolment in ECEC
Source: OECD Education at a Glance, 2014; OECD Family Data Base ,2014

5. The early years are pivotal for children’s
brain development
Source: Council for Early Childhood
Development, 2010

6. Children that attended pre-primary
education score higher in maths at age 15
PISA score-point difference in mathematics between students who
attended pre-primary school for more than one year and those who
had not attended
Source: OECD PISA 2012

7. • Why does early childhood education and care
matter?
• What can be done at the national and local level
to boost access, equity & quality?
• How can the international data gap be closed?
Today’s Focus

8. • National examples:
– Earmark grants to expand places in ECEC
– Establish legal entitlements to a place (targeted v.
universal)
– Allow ongoing admissions to ECEC settings
• Local examples:
– Adapt provision to local needs (e.g. flexible opening
hours, language support, transportation)
– Create information systems to estimate future demand
(e.g. parent surveys, birth statistics)
– Mobilise local funding to ensure supply
Ensuring access

9. Increased enrolment from age 3
Source: OECD Education at a Glance 2014

10. • National examples:
– Establish progressive fee structure and free access
(targeted v. universal)
– Align cash benefits and service provision to encourage
participation
– Earmark funding to support disadvantaged children and
ensure even levels of quality
• Local examples:
– Establish one-stop-shops (e.g. job counselling and
childcare)
– Increase outreach to families (e.g. calls, door-to-door
campaigning)
– Cooperate with health and child welfare sector
Ensuring equity

11. Preschool helps children of less skilled
parents to raise literacy skills
EPPE: The contribution of social class and pre-school to literacy attainment (age 7)
Source: Institute of Education 2007

12. • National examples:
– Establish minimum standards and raise staff
qualification levels
– Design curricula and support implementation
Ensuring quality

13. Country/
age
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Finland National curriculum guidelines on early childhood
education
Core
Curriculum
for Pre-
primary
education
France Orientations code de la
santé publique et projets
d'établissements
L'école maternelle : un
cycle unique, fondamental
pour la réussite de tous
Ireland Early Childhood Curriculum Framework: Aistear
Korea Standardised childcare
curriculum
Nuri Curriculum
Norway Framework Plan for the Content and Tasks of
Kindergartens
Portugal The Curriculum Guidelines
for Pre-School Education
UK-
England
Early Years Foundation Stage
Statutory Framework
UK-
Scotland
Pre-birth to three - staff
guidelines
Curriculum
for
Excellence
up to 18

14. • National examples:
– Establish minimum standards and raise staff
qualification levels
– Design curricula and support implementation
– Ensure objective external monitoring and support
research
• Local examples:
– Adapt national standards to local circumstances
– Ensure monitoring for quality improvement and
coaching
– Engage families and communities
Ensuring quality

15. • Why does early childhood education and care
matter?
• What can be done at the national and local level
to boost access & quality?
• How can the international data gap be closed?
Today’s Focus

16. Agreed policy questions/ policy needs
OECD ECEC data development strategy
What’s the RoI?
Increased public spending => Return on investment?
What works for young children? What works best?
•Learning and well-being environment, in particular, staff practices and
pedagogy and quality of staff-child interactions
•Children’s experiences and outcomes
•Leadership
2015/16 projects – Measuring Quality in ECEC

17. POLICY
Starting Strong I, II, III
Education at a Glance
(yearly)
Monitoring Quality
Survey
CHILD
DEVELOPMENT
& OUTCOMES
cognitive & non-
cognitive measures
ECEC
Environment
(Staff Survey)
Pilot 2015/16
Main Study 2017/18
Home-
learning
Environment
Parental Survey
Analytical alignment staff &
outcomes surveys

18. Analytical alignment staff &
outcomes surveys
ECEC
Environment
(Staff Survey)
Pilot 2015/16
Main Study 2017/18
Collects data on
•Staff beliefs/attitudes
•Pedagogical practices/
staff-child interactions
•Workforce development
•Conditions of
employment
•Staff characteristics
CHILD
DEVELOPMENT
& OUTCOMES
cognitive & non-
cognitive measures
Home-
learning
Environment
Parental Survey
Collects data on
•Quality of the child’s
home learning
environment
•Extent to which ECEC
can enhance parents’
support for their
children’s learning
•Family characteristics,
eg parents’ education,
socio-economic status
Collects data on
Social and emotional , cognitive and other
learning outcomes, as determined by
participating countries.

19. Contact:
Arno Engel (arno.engel@oecd.org)
OECD ECEC team (ECEC@oecd.org)
Thank you – questions & comments?