Early Childhood Education and Development in Poor Villages of Indonesia: Strong Foundations, Later Success (Directions in Development)

Early Childhood Education and Development in Poor Villages of Indonesia: Strong Foundations, Later Success offers a comprehensive assessment of early childhood health and development for a sample of rural Indonesian children. It does so using longitudinal data collected with internationally validated measures. The data sample comprises two age cohorts (aged 1 and 4 years old when data on their development were first collected in 2009) and contains information on more than 6,000 rural Indonesian children living in 310 poor villages. The study collected information from households on a variety of topics including parenting, child-rearing, and feeding practices. Data on the availability of early childhood education and development (ECED) services were collected as well.

As Indonesia develops beyond its middle-income status, it is trying to change the trajectory of ECED, especially for poor children. From the start, the project that led to this book aimed to support not only service provision but also the development of national standards. It also helped build national and district capacity and encouraged the establishment of an ECED quality assurance system-efforts that are still in progress. Many countries have similar aims, but several aspects of what is reported in this book are especially valuable and in some cases unique.

The analyses reported in this book draw on data collected to conduct a randomized impact evaluation of the project. These design features allow a high level of confidence in the results that are reported. Consequently, the lessons from this book can help to inform not only this project's further implementation but also ECED initiatives in Indonesia and beyond. Researchers, policy makers, and practitioners as well as advocates for quality ECED services worldwide will find the results presented in this book highly significant.