09 NovOECD: improving early equity
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released an evidence-based report that defines how a systemic approach to improving equity in the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector can greatly benefit disadvantaged children. The information and data in this report were collected from direct assessments of 7,000 children in England, Estonia and The United States of America.
The OECD states that most disadvantaged children experience a learning development gap of eight to twenty months. These gaps are unlikely to close during schooling. The learning gap between advantaged and disadvantaged five-year-old students had striking similarities to that of advantaged and disadvantaged 15-year-old students. This demonstrates that there must be systemic change to address why disadvantaged families are experiencing such disparity in their education.
This OECD report addressed how policy makers, educators, parents and governments need to work in unison to find solutions and address the equity issue within the ECEC and education space. Supporting parents to give their children the best start to life is crucial. Improved funding in the ECEC sector allows more parents to work (particularly mothers) more hours and enables children to develop their emotional, communication and other skills in a safe and positive environment. This also further underlines the importance of the ECEC workforce, the impact it has on children’s development, and the need to invest more in developing and retaining the workforce.
ELAA’s stated vision is ‘Equity and excellence in early childhood education and care’. We maintain this vision throughout our advocacy work; reports such as that produced by the OECD provide us with evidence to support that vision.
To access the full OECD report, please CLICK HERE
