Are investments in early childhood development the foundation of a sustainable and prosperous society? | Experts’ Opinions

“Children will grow up and forget the first few years after their birth” – this is a widespread but mistaken assumption regarding infants. Early childhood development (ECD), typically defined as the period from birth to age 6-8, is an extremely important time in a child’s life when all the important skills will be created. However, more than 175 million children – nearly half of all pre-primary-age children globally – are not enrolled in pre-primary education, with most of these coming from the poor or underdeveloped countries. Can investments in ECD make a change and contribute to the wellbeing of a country? Let’s see what experts say in this regard.

DevelopmentAid: Why are investments in ECD important? Do they really have the power to improve the progress of developing countries? Argue your position.

“Plato indirectly answered this question by suggesting that knowledge is distinguished from belief by being true and involving some account (logos) or rational understanding. Plato’s account of what justice is, what a just person is, and what a just society is, is a telling indictment of the state of early childhood education across the globe. The figure of more than 175 million children – nearly half of all pre-primary-age children globally – who are not enrolled in pre-primary education around the world is an indictment of the political ruling elite. Boris Johnson was recently quoted as saying that “education is the great equalizer, it’s the liberator, it’s the transformer of society, and it’s the single most important way in which we can unite and level up across this whole country and deliver social justice”. The question that all political leaders in developing countries must answer is, if education is the great equalizer, liberator, and transformer, why are they talking instead of doing? The leaders of developing countries would be better served by heeding Plato’s belief that education is the most important task of the state because it helps to produce just individuals. Many important and great researchers have all studied and found a strong correlation between early childhood education and a boost in business, economic benefits, and more lifetime earnings. Even though the majority of the studies have been carried out in developed countries and whereas the sociocultural ecosystem, political architecture, and resource allocation between developed and developing countries are different, and there is a dearth of empirical data and evidence derived from longitudinal studies on the rate of direct economic returns on investments in early childhood education in developing countries, the economic and other tangible benefits identified with this can safely be transferred and applied to developing countries. Besides, early childhood education has never been truly treated as a separate entity from the larger all-embracing education curricula and practice.”

“Early childhood education (ECE) affects the social and emotional health of children. This is where children are taught the key aspects of social behaviours. They are well-trained about how to socialize, interact, and live with other community members. It is the first place where they will learn about living, sharing with others.

• ECE lays a good foundation for children’s future education careers. Achieving higher education will be easier for them because during the primary education cycle, they will gather knowledge.
• It is in ECD where the educator can identify the concerns and the needs of children at an early stage so that parents can manage the problem before it becomes a bigger one. With ECD in place for children, future life that could present problems to their education can be easily sorted out.
• ECD creates greater advantages and more opportunities for children coming from the most disadvantaged and poor households. This is because children from vulnerable families are delayed in joining primary schools compared to their peers from rich families so when these children from poor families join primary schools at a later age, if they have passed through ECD they are able to start at the same level as their peers and join a level they can sit with.
• Children’s brain/neurons rapidly grow at an early age and this is the best time for them to capture so many things more easily so once they are taken to the ECD they will be in a position to learn easily and capture all the important things in life.
• ECD means a safe environment for children. When children have the benefit of ECD they are in the safe hands of trained teachers and caregivers who can ensure their safety, provide a friendly environment and work in their best interests.
• ECD boosts the self-esteem and the confidence of children. When those children who pass through ECD are taken to other forms of education, they already have the confidence to face this new education and any challenges they come across because they are already familiar with the education system and how to overcome it.
• At an early age, the literacy and numeracy of a child is built. When children are taken to the ECD they interact with letters, words, and numbers so they will start developing their skills in literacy and numeracy at an early age.
• During ECD, children become acquainted with school discipline.
• ECD is the period when children can develop motor skills, both fine and the gross motor skills, and speech therapy so when they go to primary schools, they are ready to join the classes.”

See also: International Children’s Day. Challenges and Opportunities | Experts’ Opinions

Early childhood development involves an introduction into a wide range of basic skills that are essential for a child’s growth and development of communication skills, cognitive ability, gross and fine motor skills, social and emotional skills, etc. If you also want to offer a contribution to ECD, check out more than 240 job opportunities in the Education sector here, or become an individual professional member by registering here to make your profile visible to more than 3,000 international development organizations. DevelopmentAid members can access individual tenders and grants in education as well as many more sectors.