EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL’S COMMITMENT
TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
The fundamental right of each child to learn and develop to his or her full potential, through equal access to quality education, regardless of their age, gender, origin, ethnicity and or social background, provides the foundation for Education International’s (EI) commitment to early childhood education. It is rooted in the idea that:
In 1998, the 2nd EI World Congress in Washington D.C. passed a resolution on early childhood education. The Congress delegates from around the world agreed that children have a right, as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to receive education, and early childhood education must be considered part of this right. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states that everyone has the right to education, while Article 28 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires states to reco- gnize the right of the child to education on the basis of equal opportunity.
Year 2008 marked the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The fundamental and inalienable human rights (including education), enshrined in this document remain as relevant today as they were in 1948. That is the reason why EI insists that early childhood education is a basic human right. In addition, it should be noted that ECE is the first Education for All (EFA) goal. Unfortunately, this study confirms the findings of the 2008 Education for All Global Monitoring Report that ECE remains a largely neglected EFA goal. Therefore, it will not be possible to achieve the EFA goals by 2015 with- out achieving the ECE goal.
EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL
The Washington Congress delegates also agreed that quality ECE services should be a public service and an integral part of a country’s education system, be provided free of charge and be available to all children, including those with special needs. The Congress also resolved that the same status of pedagogical training should be provided for all teachers, including early childhood teachers, so as to promote continuity in the educational system, that appropriate measures should be taken to ensure that both men and women are recruited and trained as early childhood teachers and that teachers in early childhood education should have the same rights, status and entitle- ments as teachers in other sectors.
In Europe, Education International has developed a policy on early childhood education. In this policy, which was ratified by the EI/ETUCE Pan–European Conference in 2006, the region and its member organizations commit themselves to:
• be active participants in, and initiators of, the debate on high quality ECE as an inherent part of basic education and thus every child’s right
• advocate for ECE to be a priority on the policy agendas of local authorities, governments and intergovernmental bodies
• promote ECE that is publicly funded and universally accessible, although not compulsory
• monitor the rise of private sector initiatives in ECE in Europe and counteract the emergence of ECE as a commodity
• advocate the integration of ECE into education systems under the auspices of the Ministries of Education or their equivalents
• counteract the split between education and care that results in inequality, instability for children, and low quality provision
• seek high standards of teacher education in ECE, at the same academic level as teacher education for primary school and onwards
• work to achieve pay and working conditions for early childhood teachers, which are on a par with the best available of the other sectors of the education system
• seek improved opportunities for continuous professional development
• seek better career opportunities for early childhood teachers, particularly within the realm of educational research
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: A GLOBAL SCENARIO
• seek to attract more men to early childhood teacher education, and more qualified male teachers to ECE
• advocate higher resources nationally and cross-nationally for educational research with direct relevance for ECE
• urge governments to support ECE research on a national level, and encourage research and cross-national data collection on an international level, for the purpose of continued quality improvement
• undertake further research on ECE in order to have a strong knowledge- based position on its quality, on the status of the teachers delivering ECE, and on the programmes being established
• facilitate collaboration with other specialists
• encourage the strengthening of co-operation and communication with parents
• pay special attention to ECE developments for children under three, and ensure that they are always included in all the above recommendations
The 5th World Congress of Education International held in Berlin in 2007 decided that the EI Executive Board should establish a Task Force on Early Childhood Education. The aim of the Task Force, which was established in 2008, is to advise EI on various aspects of early childhood education, including strategies for the effective implementation of the Washington Resolution on ECE, on ECE policy, practice, programmes and activities.
Furthermore, the Task Force is mandated to create an opportunity for EI member organisations to learn from one another and from other stakeholders participating in the field of early education. Since its formation, the Task Force has supported or facilitated the organisation of two ECE seminars, a Pan-European seminar held in Malta in November 2008 and a Pan-African meeting held in Accra in September 2009. One of the key recommendations from the Accra seminar was to develop a Pan-African ECE policy. A working group to spearhead this important initiative was set up by the region. This particular study is also part of the work of the Task Force.
In view of the foregoing, Education International believes that early childhood education is a public good and that every child should have access to ECE services of good quality, free of charge. In that respect, EI’s member organizations are committed to engage with governments, UN agencies, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to promote quality early childhood education for all.
TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
The fundamental right of each child to learn and develop to his or her full potential, through equal access to quality education, regardless of their age, gender, origin, ethnicity and or social background, provides the foundation for Education International’s (EI) commitment to early childhood education. It is rooted in the idea that:
- Early childhood is the most critical period for cognitive and social development, the acquisition of languages and early literacy. Children are active learners from birth, and the first years are vital.
- Early childhood education (ECE) should be recognized as a first step of basic education, as a fully integrated sector within national education systems.
- Provision should be universally accessible and free for all children.
- High quality ECE provides the foundation for life-long learning and stimulates children’s social, emotional, physical, cognitive and linguistic development” (Education International 2006).
In 1998, the 2nd EI World Congress in Washington D.C. passed a resolution on early childhood education. The Congress delegates from around the world agreed that children have a right, as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to receive education, and early childhood education must be considered part of this right. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states that everyone has the right to education, while Article 28 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires states to reco- gnize the right of the child to education on the basis of equal opportunity.
Year 2008 marked the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The fundamental and inalienable human rights (including education), enshrined in this document remain as relevant today as they were in 1948. That is the reason why EI insists that early childhood education is a basic human right. In addition, it should be noted that ECE is the first Education for All (EFA) goal. Unfortunately, this study confirms the findings of the 2008 Education for All Global Monitoring Report that ECE remains a largely neglected EFA goal. Therefore, it will not be possible to achieve the EFA goals by 2015 with- out achieving the ECE goal.
EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL
The Washington Congress delegates also agreed that quality ECE services should be a public service and an integral part of a country’s education system, be provided free of charge and be available to all children, including those with special needs. The Congress also resolved that the same status of pedagogical training should be provided for all teachers, including early childhood teachers, so as to promote continuity in the educational system, that appropriate measures should be taken to ensure that both men and women are recruited and trained as early childhood teachers and that teachers in early childhood education should have the same rights, status and entitle- ments as teachers in other sectors.
In Europe, Education International has developed a policy on early childhood education. In this policy, which was ratified by the EI/ETUCE Pan–European Conference in 2006, the region and its member organizations commit themselves to:
• be active participants in, and initiators of, the debate on high quality ECE as an inherent part of basic education and thus every child’s right
• advocate for ECE to be a priority on the policy agendas of local authorities, governments and intergovernmental bodies
• promote ECE that is publicly funded and universally accessible, although not compulsory
• monitor the rise of private sector initiatives in ECE in Europe and counteract the emergence of ECE as a commodity
• advocate the integration of ECE into education systems under the auspices of the Ministries of Education or their equivalents
• counteract the split between education and care that results in inequality, instability for children, and low quality provision
• seek high standards of teacher education in ECE, at the same academic level as teacher education for primary school and onwards
• work to achieve pay and working conditions for early childhood teachers, which are on a par with the best available of the other sectors of the education system
• seek improved opportunities for continuous professional development
• seek better career opportunities for early childhood teachers, particularly within the realm of educational research
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: A GLOBAL SCENARIO
• seek to attract more men to early childhood teacher education, and more qualified male teachers to ECE
• advocate higher resources nationally and cross-nationally for educational research with direct relevance for ECE
• urge governments to support ECE research on a national level, and encourage research and cross-national data collection on an international level, for the purpose of continued quality improvement
• undertake further research on ECE in order to have a strong knowledge- based position on its quality, on the status of the teachers delivering ECE, and on the programmes being established
• facilitate collaboration with other specialists
• encourage the strengthening of co-operation and communication with parents
• pay special attention to ECE developments for children under three, and ensure that they are always included in all the above recommendations
The 5th World Congress of Education International held in Berlin in 2007 decided that the EI Executive Board should establish a Task Force on Early Childhood Education. The aim of the Task Force, which was established in 2008, is to advise EI on various aspects of early childhood education, including strategies for the effective implementation of the Washington Resolution on ECE, on ECE policy, practice, programmes and activities.
Furthermore, the Task Force is mandated to create an opportunity for EI member organisations to learn from one another and from other stakeholders participating in the field of early education. Since its formation, the Task Force has supported or facilitated the organisation of two ECE seminars, a Pan-European seminar held in Malta in November 2008 and a Pan-African meeting held in Accra in September 2009. One of the key recommendations from the Accra seminar was to develop a Pan-African ECE policy. A working group to spearhead this important initiative was set up by the region. This particular study is also part of the work of the Task Force.
In view of the foregoing, Education International believes that early childhood education is a public good and that every child should have access to ECE services of good quality, free of charge. In that respect, EI’s member organizations are committed to engage with governments, UN agencies, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to promote quality early childhood education for all.