Scaling Early Childhood Development – what to read this month (March 2024)

In this monthly blog-also available as a newsletter, we highlight recent advances in research, materials, tools and practices related to how to design, implement, monitor and evaluate scalable early childhood development (ECD) programmes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) worldwide. The inspiration for our series came from Ugo Gentilini’s excellent Weekly Social Protection Links.

Scaling Early Childhood Development – what to read this month is curated by Bet Caeyers (Lead Editor, Chr. Michelsen Institute), Erika Williams (Editor, Oxford Policy Management) and Meghan Taylor (Editor, Oxford Policy Management).

First up this month is a comprehensive meta-analysis focusing on issues surrounding the implementation of parenting interventions aimed at boosting ECD. The findings highlight the critical role of comprehensively engaging caregivers, addressing all nurturing aspects including security, nutrition and early learning, with a special emphasis on the importance of father involvement. These interventions shine a light on the multifaceted approaches necessary to support caregivers in resource-limited environments, underscoring the need for follow-ups and education to empower caregivers towards positive developmental outcomes for children.

Interested in the long-term effects of parenting programmes? This working paper by Andrew et al. provides a rare glimpse into the sustainability of the impact of parenting programmes. Initially focusing on enhancing cognitive and language skills among toddlers, the intervention in India showed persistence in literacy and numeracy benefits years later, particularly for the most disadvantaged children. These findings demonstrate the profound influence of early interventions on child development and educational achievements – using locally available human resources without any specific formal qualifications and minimal other resources – offering valuable insights for designing scalable and effective programmes.

Moving from parenting to centre-based programmes, a much-needed systematic review explores the effects of centre-based childcare interventions (day-care, preschool and kindergarten) on children’s developmental outcomes in LMICs. What is the verdict? Analysing 71 studies from 33 countries, the review finds a predominantly positive impact, with 93% of studies and 81% of estimates showing beneficial effects on child development, with specific gains in cognitive functions and social skills. Interestingly, girls often benefit more than boys, while economic status does not appear to be a consistent determinant. Younger (aged 0–3) and older (aged 3–6) children are likely to benefit equally. Importantly, the study also gives examples of adverse impacts and flags a variation in outcomes. Overall, however, these findings advocate for the significant potential of quality centre-based childcare, recognising its pivotal role in nurturing the next generation’s potential.

Let’s now turn to the importance of systems in nurturing the early years. A new article by Hoang et al. in Sustainable Development delves into the crucial connections between families, schools, and communities in the development of multidimensional skills for the next generation of children. The authors call for action beyond one-sided solutions, which ‘tend to perceive children and their caregivers merely as beneficiaries rather than catalysts for change’. The authors examine the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of a multisectoral, multisystem approach. Inspired by systems, complexity and implementation science, they propose a new conceptual framework – Our Place, Our Future. See Figure 1 for a visual illustration of how the framework synergistically brings together different systems (families, schools, communities), collectively addressing the multifaceted needs of children.

In a similar system spirit, a new VoxDev blog post supports the now widespread belief that leveraging existing infrastructure is a pivotal strategy to scale ECD interventions. Bos et al. discuss how the integration of ECD programmes into Bangladesh’s National Nutrition Services not only achieved positive impacts on child development but also demonstrated the potential for economies of scale, supply and demand complementarities, and significant reductions in per-child programme costs. Despite concerns over possible dilution of programme impacts or reallocation of service providers’ time, the integration of these ECD programmes led to improved outcomes across cognitive, language and socio-emotional skills without adverse effects on child nutrition. This intervention serves as a compelling example for LMICs seeking sustainable, impactful ECD strategies.

On the topic of mental wellbeing, a new qualitative study by Vostanis et al., assesses how child and youth mental health initiatives can be systematically integrated into existing psychosocial support programmes in South Africa. Key finding? With a few caveats (see section 4, pages 7–9), existing psychosocial interventions can be adapted and extended to address mental health needs through collaboration between local agencies and communities in co-production and delivery (see page 8 for a proposed theory of change). For more new content taking into account cultural perspectives on children’s mental health, have a look at the WAIMH Handbook of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH). Chapter 29 examines the effectiveness of IECMH interventions aimed at improving ECD in LMICs.

More books! In a new handbook edited by Christopher Barrett, The Future of India’s Social Safety Nets, Rahman and Pingali provide a critical review of recent social protection programmes in India, spanning child nutrition to health insurance schemes. This review is ‘an invaluable springboard for further research and action in this field’ (Jean Drèze) and ‘a must-read for those that want to understand the past, present, and future of social protection’ (Ugo Gentilini). Turn to Chapter 6 to learn more about India’s performance on early life interventions. For a deep dive into India’s integrated child development services – designed to target undernutrition among children and pregnant and lactating mothers – also have a look at Singh, Gudakesh and Vishwakarma’s new article.

The third and last handbook in the spotlight this month is one on inclusive and accessible education. Maguvhe, Mpya and Sadiki share practical tips on how to fortify disability inclusion and dismantle barriers to learning at scale. Designed to be a comprehensive guide for academics and practitioners, it addresses controversies, successes, prospects and solutions related to disability inclusion in education. Speaking of inclusion, in a short Societal Impacts piece, Coutinho et al. describe the Enabling Inclusion® (EI®) App – a health innovation designed to screen for developmental delays among children and young adolescents (find out more about the EI app here). Features including automation of tools, data syncing and rapid sharing of information with multiple stakeholders allow large numbers of people to be assessed in a cost and time-effective manner.

Even more on inclusion: Schuster et al.’s new paper advocates for policy and programme change to respond to the unique challenges faced by displaced women and locally derived solutions that promote resilience. Turn to pages 7–8 for an illustrative example of how Rohingya women in Bangladesh – who continue to be denied access to formal education – use mobile phones to access short instructional and educational videos (created by predominantly expatriate Rohingya) on gender-specific topics important to them (such as pregnancy and sexual and reproductive health) to mitigate social and health inequalities. Conclusion: we need more gender-informed research on health, climate change and resilience in the context of humanitarian disasters and displacement to create innovative effective short- and long-term interventions.

Talking about gender, we conclude with a new inspirational The World Bank working paper – Breadwinners and Caregivers – unravelling the interplay between gender norms (toward the stereotypical gender roles of the ‘male breadwinner’ and the ‘female caregiver’) and economic behaviours. Using Facebook metadata on 150,000 individuals across 111 countries, the paper demonstrates how both personal and societal gender norms intricately influence economic arrangements, advocating for bold policy shifts towards gender equality. Earlier work by Banerjee, Ferrara and Orozco demonstrates that edutainment projects in Nigeria were effective in altering gender norms, underscoring the potential of creative interventions in crafting an equitable economic future.