Ei-iE

Early childhood education

Spotlight

All children have the right to education as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Early childhood education is an integral part of this right.

Early childhood education takes place before compulsory education, whether it is a part of the education system or independent from it. This includes childcare centres, nurseries, pre-school education, kindergartens and other similar institutions. It goes beyond what some refer to as pre-school education – it is education in its own right with the purpose of preparing children for school but also for life, in the same way that other parts of the education system contribute to this process.

We believe that early childhood education is an essential part of life-long learning. It is of great value to all children and should be available to everyone.

We promote early childhood education that is publicly funded and universally accessible. We advocate for the integration of early childhood education into education systems under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, seeking continuous professional development for teachers and other professionals.

Our work on early childhood education

  1. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 20 March 2024

    The ‘sum total’: Reimagining early childhood care and education through a gender perspective on the profession

    Mercedes Mayol Lassalle, Mathias Urban

    ‘Education’, suggested Austrian psychoanalyst Siegfried Bernfeld in 1925, ‘is the sum total of societal reaction to the fact of ontogenetic development’ (Bernfeld, 1973, 1925). His wide-ranging definition has profound implications as we endeavour to reimagine education for all in the 21st century: education begins at birth (‘ontogenetic development’), education is...

    Read more The ‘sum total’: Reimagining early childhood care and education through a gender perspective on the profession
  2. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4

    Review of the ILO Policy Guidelines on the Promotion of Decent Work for ECE Personnel

    Colette Byrne, Mercedes Mayol Lassalle, Carolina Semmoloni, Mathias Urban
    20 March 2024

    This report offers an analysis of the application of the ILO (2014) Policy Guidelines on the Promotion of Decent Work for ECE Personnel and provides recommendations for review. It addresses key themes, including the voluntary nature of a commitment level among state and non-state stakeholders, challenges in holding governments accountable...

    Review of the ILO Policy Guidelines on the Promotion of Decent Work for ECE Personnel
    1. Review of the ILO Policy Guidelines
    2. Executive Summary
  3. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 12 December 2023

    Decent work for early childhood personnel: 10 years since the adoption of the ILO Policy Guidelines and the way forward

    On November 30, Education International hosted an online event to assess the progress made in implementing the International Labour Organization Policy Guidelines on decent work for early childhood education personnel 10 years after their adoption and reflect on new developments in the sector. The discussion was informed by the special...

    Read more Decent work for early childhood personnel: 10 years since the adoption of the ILO Policy Guidelines and the way forward
  4. Standards and working conditions 30 November 2023

    Early childhood educators: New data on the challenges they face raises the alarm about an education sector at risk

    Isidora Vitorović

    Research by Education International reveals that early childhood education (ECE) personnel have been among the education workers whose employment conditions were most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Preliminary findings of an ongoing research also identify this chronically underfunded sector as one of the most threatened by the global teacher shortage.

    Read more Early childhood educators: New data on the challenges they face raises the alarm about an education sector at risk
  5. Equity and inclusion 29 November 2023

    Invest in the future: Fund early childhood education

    Ezurike Chidubem Precious

    Based on my experience as a teacher in the sector, I can testify to the transformative power of quality early childhood education (ECE) for children. ECE goes beyond learning letters of the alphabet or numbers. Playing games and enjoying nature outdoors are equally important for children, nurturing creativity and building...

    Read more Invest in the future: Fund early childhood education
more: Our work on early childhood education

Our policy on early childhood education