Item 8: Revised project plan:
Encouraging Quality in ECEC
Miho Taguma
Education and Training Policy Division
Directorate for Education, OECD
7-8 December 2009
6th Meeting of the OECD Network on Early Childhood Education and
Care
Refining the project
• Scoping of the project
• Output types
• Participation and costs
Scoping of the project
Agreed target levels:
• Cover Age 0-6 in order to further uncover the complex arrangements and
add value to international comparison.
Agreed point of departure: Starting Strong I & II
• Drawing on SSI&II and going beyond (i.e. policy orientations/
recommendations through policy reviews)
• Focusing on “implementation”
Agreed overarching policy question:
How can countries put in place policies that would raise quality in ECEC?
Framework:
• Policies
• Quality indicators and quality in child outcomes
• Implementation factors
Descriptive/Analytical questions:
• How can ‘quality’ be defined in ECEC? (Mapping of quality indicators in Annex 3)
• What factors (of the quality indicators) can enhance well-being and learning
outcomes?
• Where can policies make a difference in child outcomes, affecting these factors?
What are the relationships between the core quality indicators and child
outcomes, over time and by varied ECEC types?
• What are the strategies, practical tools, checklists, etc that can help countries to
implement these policies?
• Under what conditions can such strategies and tools be used effectively? What
are the success factors and obstacles for effective implementation of these
policies?
Question:
• Do you find these questions most relevant to answer the overarching question of
the project?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
1.
2.
Governance, co-ordination and management
Take a systemic and integrated approach to policy development and
implementation.
Provide autonomy, funding and support to early childhood services.
Funding
Provide substantial public investment in services and the infrastructure.
Research, evaluation, monitoring and data collection
Place systematic attention to monitoring and data collection.
Workforce
Improve the working conditions and professional education of ECEC staff.
Organisation, curriculum and pedagogy
Develop broad guidelines and curricular standards with the stakeholders for
all ECEC services. Question:
Encourage family and community involvement in early childhood services.
Policies
Tools
Implementation
&
Success factors/
obstacles
Strategies
e.g. Stakeholder
buy-in, political
commitment at
national and local
level, sufficient
time, adequate
• How do you assess the policy developments onfunding,
the 7
identification of
policy orientations in your country?
parental needs
Protection, care and safety (e.g. space requirements, facility safety, etc.)
• Which
one(s) are currently on your policy agenda
Quality
indicators
first,as
etc.a
Health and nutrition (e.g. presence of medical care, toileting procedures, etc.)
priority
linked
raising quality
ECEC?
Staffing, training and working
conditions
(e.g.to
qualifications,
staff/childinratio,
salaries, etc.)
Legislations, regulations, funding (standards of operations, government
spending, access, etc.)
Curriculum and pedagogy (e.g. national Relationships with children)
Parental and community engagement (e.g. family participation in activities,
etc.)
Evaluation and monitoring (e.g. parental satisfaction, education outcomes,
early identification)
Child well-being (DELSA)
Cognitive and non-cognitive (socio-emotional) outcomes (e.g. school
readiness results, etc.)
Outcomes
Politics, public
opinions, long
traditions,
conflicts interest
groups, etc…
Output types
1.
2.
3.
4.
Policy tool box
Country-specific policy profile
Policy forum(s)
Roundtable discussion on implementation
Output type 1: Policy Tool Box
• Aim: to present “practical solutions” on implementation
• Rationale: “Evidence is most helpful when it is fed back to
Question:
institutions along with information and tools about how they
• Will
output
type be(CEO
useful
for your
country?
can this
use the
information.”
meeting
on PER
in 2008)
• • Are
thereWill
other
suggestions
for what to include, which
Output:
include
“what” & “how”:
will
be more useful
for countries?
– Definitions
& indicators
for quality in use
– Factors that may affect child well-being and learning
outcomes
– The 7 selected policy orientations (to confirm)
– Tools, strategies, checklists, materials, etc that will help
countries to put in place these policies
Output type 2: Country-specific policy profile
•
Aim: to provide the most relevant data from the OECD, highlighting a country in
comparison with other OECD countries
Question:
• Rationale: Need for policymakers “to build consensus on the aims of education
reform and actively engage stakeholders…in formulating and implementing the
• Will
this be useful for your country?
policy responses.” (CEO meeting on PER in 2008)
To obtain
stakeholder
a strong casefor
should
be made
with relevant
• • Are
there
otherbuy-in,
suggestions
what
to out
include,
which
information, especially compelling evidence.
will
be more useful for your country?
• The OECD work has multidisciplinary data/ information on ECEC within EDU and in
other directorates like DELSA. The secretariat can “repackage” data/information to
be most useful for the country concerned
• Output: will be presented on the selected policy:
– Factsheets with relevant statistics, highlighting the country in the international
landscape (drawing on existing data/ network’s work/ DELSA - e.g. Annex 5)
– If requested, reference countries
– List of key factors that are most likely to affect the child outcomes in the
country concerned
– Selected tools, strategies, etc for the country concerned – most feasible,
applicable, financially viable for the country concerned
Output type 3: Policy forum(s)
We are developing this working method, in collaboration with you.
•Question:
Aim: 1) to help countries to effectively implement the selected policy by
facilitating stakeholder buy-in; 2) to analyse the implementation process in
• If you were to be involved, would you expect of the forum(s)?
the national contexts
• What would be the most useful role for the OECD to play in the specific
• Rationale: Countries are at different stages of policy implementation.
contexts of the ECEC development in your country?
• To be most useful, the specific objectives should vary from country to
country: e.g.
– Informing policy and general public of international evidence and
practices and justify research
– Facilitating dialogue among different stakeholders and building
concensus
– Etc….
Output type 4: Round table
• Aim: 1) to promote exchanges of national experiences on implementation
of selected policies and 2) draw out general lessons about success factors
and obstacles in implementing policy to raise quality in ECEC
Question:
• Your input is most welcome at this stage concerning what
questions to be set out in the questionnaire.
• We will cautiously:
• Design the questionnaire. We will run a pilot with some
volunteer countries before actually sending the
questionnaire.
• Streamline the process of questionnaire responses. We will
send you a set of two questionnaires at the same time: 1)
new project; 2) updating country profiles. They are intended
to be complementary.
• Ensure to avoid duplications/overlaps in data collection,
information gathering. We will closely work with DELSA
colleagues.
Participation and Costs
Output types
Expected tasks
Voluntary
contributions
1. Policy Tool Box
Response to a
questionnaire
NA
2. Country-specific
policy profile
EUR 10 000
3. Policy forum(s)
Agreement on the
specifics, Preparation of
the visits, etc.
EUR 50 000+
(including countryspecific policy
profile; excluding
travel costs
4. Roundtable
discussion
Participation in the
discussion
NA