Strong foundations for gender equality in early childhood care and education: advocacy brief

The term Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) refers to services for children from birth to eight years of age. These include educating parents in how to care for their children and help them learn, as well as providing community-run and formal preschool programmes for pre-primary school-aged boys and girls. Given the varying needs of children from birth to eight years, educators have found it best to have different policies and strategies for children below and above three years of age. This brief focuses on the gender issues in the services provided for children who are three years of age or older in the Asia-Pacific region. Its scope is informed by UNESCO's commitment to holistic pre-primary services for this age group. The goal is to provide early childhood education that helps girls and boys succeed in primary school and in learning throughout their lives. The brief starts by looking into the growth of ECCE in the Asia-Pacific region and what is driving this growth. It explores why gender responsiveness is important in early childhood education, gives practical examples of what this looks like, and discusses the challenges of providing ECCE that equally values and benefits each girl and each boy. Flowing from this, the brief concludes with recommendations on how to make ECCE more gender responsive