Early Childhood Development (ECD) is a challenge faced by many countries in Asia. Across the region, local priorities, challenges, and models can be very different, with varying outcomes.
ECD lays the foundation for a child’s physical, emotional, and intellectual well-being and is a strong predictor of long-term human development. However, despite the growing emphasis on ECD in policies and services, questions remain on the adequacy and timeliness of services children receive, as well as the availability of comprehensive programmes that optimise development.
The study identifies the current landscape of policy and service provision pertaining to ECD in China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore. These four countries were chosen as being of particular interest to the donors of this study.
Objectives
- Provide comprehensive information to donors, service providers, and government agencies on what ECD policies, programmes and services are currently provided;
- Identify gaps in the ECD system in each country with particular attention to the level of integration of policies, programmes, and services within the ECD landscape;
- Provide recommendations for areas that require additional funding, programming, service integration, or evaluation, in order to strengthen the ECD landscape in each country.
The results of this study will help stakeholders, including existing and potential donors, policymakers, and programme developers to identify where new or enhanced programmes, policy, or funding may be required to enhance ECD or attain the desired outcomes for children and families in China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore. Opportunities for sector development, collaborative initiatives between stakeholders, and areas for enhanced ECD research and evaluation activities are also outlined in the findings of this study.
Access the Report
Country Reports
Contact
For queries regarding the research, contact:
Jasmine Khin
Associate
For media enquiries, contact:
Theresa Ann Cua
Communications Manager
What Next?
We invite you to:
- Share this with your networks, especially with partners that work in early childhood development, education, health, and social services
- Discuss the findings with your own teams to see what gaps you might want to address;
- Consider organising your own cross-sectoral discussions to discuss areas of common interest for collaboration, and to coordinate action;
- Get in touch with APC if you have other ideas how to take this research forward!
This research is conducted by
This research is jointly supported by
