This brief is intended to support country-level early childhood stakeholders to communicate the purpose of BEQI, the importance of key evidence-based practices in early childhood care and education, and results from the BEQI pilot in The Gambia, Uganda, and Zambia

This brief provides an overview of country-led T4ECE research projects focused on addressing gaps in evidence and data-driven decision-making in Ethiopia, Liberia, Malawi, Rwanda, and South Africa.

This paper examines how pre-primary quality, stimulation at home, and early childhood development vary by socioeconomic status for pre-primary students in Egypt. The results demonstrate substantial socioeconomic inequality in stimulation at home, more so than in pre-primary quality and inputs, although there is variation in the degree of inequality across different dimensions of pre-primary quality.

This case study explores access to quality early childhood education (ECE) for children aged four to six years. We describe the economic and policy contexts of ECE in Brazil, with emphasis on the role of ECE in addressing regional, racial/ethnic, and economic disparities.

BEQI: Together in Practice is an easy-to-use system designed to help monitor and improve early childhood programs through evidence-based practices. At the core of the system is the Brief Early Childhood Quality Inventory (BEQI), an adaptable, proven tool that is already helping early childhood programs for children from birth to age five in 18 countries monitor environments and practices.

Use of evidence-based practices in out of home childcare settings can promote healthy development in young children. The goal of our study was to test the use of the BEQI: Together in Practice system in changing behaviors of childcare educators to adopt more evidence-based practices.

As countries make continued investments in early childhood care and education (ECCE) systems, data and measurement play a critical role in outlining strengths and areas for improvement. To promote data-driven decision making across all levels of early childhood systems, measurement must be valid, reliable, and feasible, especially when used at scale.

In 2021, ECD Measure and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) partnered together to review the status of ECCE QAS in Africa by surveying ministries of education. In 2022, a followup survey was conducted to gather additional information about QAS implementation issues.

Drawing on principles of mixed methods design, this study reports on a new approach to ECCE quality measurement: the Brief Early Childhood Quality Inventory. Using data from the USA, Liberia, and Colombia, results indicate variation in the items perceived as highly relevant to each setting and in the characteristics of classrooms including the degree of child autonomy, the types of activities, and in child/educator interactions and dialogue.

In 2021 and 2022, Together for Early Childhood Evidence provided four country grants in Ethiopia, Liberia, Rwanda and South Africa to support local research activities to inform programmatic and policy decisions facing early childhood education (ECE). These projects brought together policymakers, researchers and practitioners committed to testing and applying new approaches to data use. This brief summarizes the four country-led research activities addressing gaps in data-driven decision making in sub-Saharan Africa.

High-quality early childhood care and education can lead to long-term positive impacts on children’s learning and well-being. This report reviews the status of early childhood care and education (ECCE) quality assurance systems in Africa. Our recent survey of ministries of education in 14 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa ministries of education revealed the following…

Measurement of quality in early childhood education (ECE) helps shape policy and practice, yet few studies have examined the adaptation and resulting psychometric properties of ECE quality measures when used in low- and middle-income countries. This study reports on the adaptation of the Measure of Early Learning Environments scale (MELE-A), developed as part of the Measuring Early Learning Quality & Outcomes (MELQO) Initiative, in one sub-Saharan African country.

Guide developed through the Consortium on Pre-Primary Data and Measurement in Africa (CPDMA). Outlines a framework for developing and using high-impact data in ECE systems.

Results from early childhood study in Boa Vista, Brazil (in Portuguese).

Describes the process of creating the MELQO tools, summarizes results from psychometric evaluation, and provides examples of how the data have been used to reveal patterns of inequity and levels of learning and classroom quality.

A tool to guide data use to serve babies, toddlers, and the people who care for them.

In recent years, government and parental investments in pre-primary education have expanded dramatically in many parts of the world. Despite the overall increase in the number of children accessing pre-primary education, in many countries, pre-primary enrollment rates remain unequal, with more access to pre-primary education for children in higher-income countries and families. This publication is a white paper on early childhood service quality standards and quality assurance systems for pre-primary education.

Resource for researchers, evaluators, and program personnel to assess ECD in low- and middle-income countries—either for planning and evaluating interventions, monitoring development over time, or conducting a situation analysis.

Article about international Early Childhood Development (ECD) measurement.

The ultimate objective of evidence-based policymaking in the education sector is to fuel progress toward three outcomes: improved student learning, increased equity, and stronger accountability relationships among policymakers, school administrators, teachers, parents, and students. This publication summarizes information decision-makers use to measure results and manage change in the education sector.