ISSA Publishes Handbook of ECD Experiences, Innovations, and Lessons from CEE/CIS

ISSA Publishes Handbook of ECD Experiences, Innovations, and Lessons from CEE/CIS

08 Jan 2010

As one of the many events and activities intended to mark its 10th Anniversary, in October 2009, ISSA published a Handbook of ECD Experiences, Innovations, and Lessons from CEE/CIS that showcased successful early child development (ECD) investments and public/private partnerships of the countries participating in the ECD Policy Roundtable: Investing in Early Childhood: The Most Effective Use of a Nation’s Resources, hosted by the Romanian Ministry of Education, Research, and Innovation and ISSA on 14 October 2009 in Bucharest, Romania.

While early childhood is increasingly recognized as the most important period in the life of a child, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) face significant challenges in providing quality early years services. The collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s led to the disruption of funding flows, social structures, and political systems which formerly supported a robust early education system reaching even the most remote corners of the USSR and the countries within its sphere of influence. While these countries have adapted and adjusted to the challenges of transitioning to market economies and democracy, early childhood education has often suffered, particularly in rural areas and among at-risk populations. The remaining services are sometimes less than ideal and slow to adopt new innovations as they struggle to maintain their existence, leaving many young children and their families without access to appropriate services.

While funding flows have been disrupted or disappeared, the fierce dedication of families, early education professionals, and local and national governments to providing the highest quality education for young children has not diminished. Profound contributions have been made in the CEE/CIS region to the fields of child development and early childhood pedagogy, and it has recognizable strengths in terms of institutions and trained professionals in the fields of education, health, and social protection. Education is highly valued in the region, and a multitude of innovative responses to the challenge of providing quality early years services has sprung up across the region.

Over the past ten years, ISSA and its members in 28 countries of the region have been an integral part of this response, designing and implementing ECD reform projects which have created and raised the quality of existing ECD services for young children. Over the years, ISSA has had the honor of working with many partners and colleagues in the region towards the goal of equal education opportunities for all children. With this Handbook of ECD Innovations, ISSA has sought to collect examples of these innovative responses – successful investments and public/private partnerships – which have resulted in quality ECD programs in the countries from the region.

These examples are from both within and outside the ISSA network, and ISSA hopes that the Handbook will serve as a source of inspiration in considering new ways of improving and expanding integrated ECD services, both in the CEE/CIS region and beyond. High on agenda should be the importance of supporting and expanding emerging models of good practice. Some examples taken from the Handbook include alternative forms of community-based early childhood education and integrated parent-child centers, counseling families and caregivers during health care contacts, creating shift-based or “mobile” preschools in order to meet the needs of children who currently lack access due to a shortage of preschools or migration, and many, many others.

Early childhood provides excellent opportunities for reaching out to families and communities and garnering their support to ensure that every child reaches his or her full potential and develops the skills necessary for being a successful and active member of a democratic knowledge society. To make this vision a reality, we must all work together, sharing our knowledge and experience across borders. ISSA is excited to share this contribution to the network of knowledge which spans continents and crosses oceans, bringing us all closer to reaching our common goal.

To download or view the PDF version of the Handbook of ECD Experiences, Innovations, and Lessons from CEE/CIS, click here. To view a similar Handbook recently launched by ADEA for the Africa region, click here.