http://www.arnec.net/
ARNEC’s ENGAGEMENT ON ECED INFLUENCING THE POST 2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA
Junko Miyahara, &
Baela Raza Jamil
Executive Director ARNEC
Director Programs ITA /Friends of ARNEC
(junko.miyahara@arnec.net)
(itacec@gmail.com)
Right to Education & ECED:South Asian Perspectives Sept 16-17, Karachi
.
WHAT IS ARNEC?
ARNEC The Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early
Childhood (ARNEC) a professional network was established
in 2008 to build strong partnerships in the Asia-Pacific
region to advance the agenda on and investment in
early childhood
An extensive and fast growing ECD network covering 47
countries and includes East Asia, Southeast Asia, South
Asia and the pacific sub-regions, as well as Central Asia
For creating a stronger and more dynamic ECD community
by equipping ARNEC members with updated knowledge to
help them become effective advocates for holistic and
inclusive ECD.
ARNEC’s 5 Action Pillars
• Advocacy for Policy Change: Support national partners and
members in their assessment and review of national early childhood
policies, frameworks and implementation, and facilitate the exchange
of models and tools from other contexts.
• Knowledge Generation: Facilitate the continuous analysis and
synthesis of regional early childhood development (ECD) evidence
and research.
• Information Management and Dissemination: Provide a
platform for ECD professionals to share information and resources,
ensuring these are easily accessible to all.
• Capacity Building: Provide opportunities for professional
development and learning related to ECD through strategic ARNEC
events, external outlets, and strengthen national networks through
targeted technical support.
• Partnership Building: Build external partnerships and coalitions
to create a supportive environment to leverage resources for ECD and
ARNEC’s capacity to fulfill its mission
Compelling reasons for investing in 0-8 years
Global and Regional Trends
Gross Enrolment Ratios in pre-primary education
Engagement with the
Post 2015 Development Agenda
• Intensive process since 2012 at the
▫ Country- Regional- Global level
▫ Working with ARNEC members /supporters -multiplying voices
strategically
▫ Time sensitive process - windows of opportunity
• Formal Architecture of engaging with and influencing the Post
2015 Development Agenda
Process of Influencing
• Engaging with the time line as announced by the UN Secretary
Gen. 2012 – 2014
Speak about young children and ECD –
Highlighting good practices
Call for targets that cut across the framework
Post 2015 Global Agenda
Proposals
Education For All & Open Working Group on Sustainable
Development Goals
Influencing Texts in Goals/Targets –
seeking alignment between EFA and OWG
Progress: Asia-Pacific Region
• Steady increase in the number and quality of national ECCD policies/policy
frameworks, many with increased inter-sectoral coordination efforts and
mechanisms
• Some progress in increasing access to ECCD services for vulnerable and
disadvantaged children
• Greater understanding in some countries about the definition and need for
more holistic ECCD
• The development of comprehensive standards, regulations and guidelines,
and training and capacity building linked to ECCD programmes
• A greater concern for the “quality imperative” – defining quality more
precisely and analyzing caregiver-child ratios and interactions, parenting
and community involvement, curriculum and teaching/learning
approaches, assessment regimes, coordination among multiple actors,
monitoring and evaluations, etc.
Situational Analysis for Global ECCD Report (preliminary draft) by Consultative Group on ECCD, 2014
Challenges:
Asia-Pacific Region
• The need for common understanding of the fundamental principles of ECCD
• The lack of adequate training, certification and incentives for practitioners
• The lack of adequate attention to marginalised/disadvantaged groups (those in
remote areas, minorities and indigenous communities, children with disabilities and
living in extreme poverty, children in conflicts and disaster situations, etc)
• Weak coordination mechanisms between sectors (esp. for services for children aged
0-3 years)
• Lack of focus on holistic ECCD in support programmes for parents/other caregivers
• Negligible public funding for ECCD, financial constraints on families, and the sound
costing and financial planning measures for effective programmes in terms of specific
delivery models, proposed outcomes and targets, and the resource available and
needed to achieve these
• The lack of clear standardized outcome indicators and measures and relevant
assessment tools and mechanisms, especially beyond education to include issues
such as physical health and motor development, social and emotional development,
moral and spiritual development, creativity and problem solving skills, and language
development
Challenges …
• Inadequate monitoring and evaluation of ECCD policies and progammes
based on clear definitions and standards, indicators and measures needed for
‘quality’ programming
• Poor governance and the lack of stakeholder participation leading to
fragmented planning and implementation of programmes
• The open rapid expansion of private ECCD services with inadequate
regulation and supervision
• The lack of relevant and accurate data especially in regard to vulnerable
groups, or if available, the lack of harmony among data from different sectors
and agencies
• The lack of systemic linkage between ECCD/pre-primary education and the
primary school curriculum and teaching methods, especially child-friendly
environments in the early years, and integrated curriculum framework and
teacher training for pre-primart and early grades, and the use of mother
tongue for initial literacy
• The lack of preparedness for ECCD provision in situations of emergencies,
disasters and conflicts
Literacy &
communication
Culture & the
arts
Learning
approaches &
cognition
Social &
emotional
Numeracy &
mathematics
Physical
well-being
Science &
technology
Multiple Dimensions of Learning and Assessment
An Opportunity to Influence - Age focus = ECE 3-5 /8years
Learning Metrics Taskforce –LMTF Round 2
ARNEC: What is next?
Proposed areas for case studies
• Innovations in service delivery to reach the most
marginalised
▫ e.g. proactive engagement with other sectors to provide integrated
ECD services; multi-grade education; mother tongue instruction
▫ Special attention to in terms of marginalisation: disabilities, conflict
and emergencies, and gender (including issues of socialization,
fathers’ involvement, boys’ school dropout)
• Innovations in financing and partnerships
▫ Costing and financing
▫ Public-private partnership
ARNEC: What is next?
Proposed areas for case studies (cont’d)
• Innovative pedagogies
▫ e.g. collaborative learning, creativity, use of ICTs
▫ Special attention to adult-child interactions and enabling learning
contexts and environment
• Innovations in promoting holistic development and
learning outcomes
▫ Non-cognitive skills, global citizenship
▫ Holistic learning and development, outcome standards (e.g. early
learning and development standards, and EAP-ECD Scales)
ARNEC's annual
Conference theme 2014
'ECD ON THE GLOBAL AGENDA: BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS
FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND HARMONY'
To keep the momentum going and to put ECD at the heart of post-2015
Global Development Agenda, ARNEC will keep on advocating in 2014 to
ensure ECD is placed on the post-2015 global agenda.
Annual theme 2014 is therefore,
´ECD on the global agenda: Building Partnerships for
sustainability and harmony.´
December 3-5 2014 Manila – Phillipines