Health & Nutrition

The Early Childhood Workforce Initiative's Landscape Analysis Series takes a deeper look at key questions left unanswered concerning the global early childhood development workforce:

• What do early childhood professionals and paraprofessionals need to know and do in order to perform effectively?
• How do requisite knowledge and skills vary across contexts?
• What types of training and support do staff receive?
• How is the early childhood workforce recruited, monitored, and evaluated?

The second of these analyses, Supporting the Early Childhood Workforce: Training and Professional Development, takes a closer look at training and professional development opportunities for the early childhood workforce.

Taking into account the diverse backgrounds and experiences of individuals delivering ECD services, training and professional development programs offer an opportunity to impart a core set of knowledge and skills to members of the early childhood workforce, which is particularly important as programs look to scale and reach a greater number of young children and families. In addition, there is evidence to suggest that supporting individuals with such opportunities can influence child development outcomes.

This analysis, published in January of 2018, synthesizes evidence on the approaches to and challenges associated with training and professional development across the early childhood workforce. An extensive review of published and grey literature, and key informant interviews with ECD experts yielded 10 findings.

You can find the full Landscape Analysis in English below. You may also download the Executive Summary in English, French and Spanish.

The Early Childhood Workforce Initiative's Landscape Analysis Series takes a deeper look at key questions left unanswered concerning the global early childhood development workforce:

• What do early childhood professionals and paraprofessionals need to know and do in order to perform effectively?
• How do requisite knowledge and skills vary across contexts?
• What types of training and support do staff receive?
• How is the early childhood workforce recruited, monitored, and evaluated?

The first of these analyses, Strengthening and Supporting the Early Childhood Workforce: Competences and Standards, deep dives into competences and standards. Competences and standards were of particular importance to our research because of their ability to:

1. increase the relevance of training and professional development,
2. enhance the quality of monitoring and mentoring opportunities,
3. support professionalization of the workforce, and
4. support workforce planning efforts.

This research, published in January of 2018, used an extensive review of published and grey literature to yield six key findings related to the ways in which countries have used competences and standards to support early childhood systems globally.

You can find the full Landscape Analysis in English below. You may also download the Executive Summary in English, French and Spanish.

The Early Childhood Workforce Initiative's Landscape Analysis Series takes a deeper look at key questions left unanswered concerning the global early childhood development workforce:

• What do early childhood professionals and paraprofessionals need to know and do in order to perform effectively?
• How do requisite knowledge and skills vary across contexts?
• What types of training and support do staff receive?
• How is the early childhood workforce recruited, monitored, and evaluated?

The first of these analyses, Strengthening and Supporting the Early Childhood Workforce: Competences and Standards, deep dives into competences and standards. Competences and standards were of particular importance to our research because of their ability to:

1. increase the relevance of training and professional development,
2. enhance the quality of monitoring and mentoring opportunities,
3. support professionalization of the workforce, and
4. support workforce planning efforts.

This research, published in January of 2018, used an extensive review of published and grey literature to yield six key findings related to the ways in which countries have used competences and standards to support early childhood systems globally.

You can find the full Landscape Analysis in English below. You may also download the Executive Summary in English, French and Spanish.

The Early Childhood Workforce Initiative's Landscape Analysis Series takes a deeper look at key questions left unanswered concerning the global early childhood development workforce:

• What do early childhood professionals and paraprofessionals need to know and do in order to perform effectively?
• How do requisite knowledge and skills vary across contexts?
• What types of training and support do staff receive?
• How is the early childhood workforce recruited, monitored, and evaluated?

The second of these analyses, Supporting the Early Childhood Workforce: Training and Professional Development, takes a closer look at training and professional development opportunities for the early childhood workforce.

Taking into account the diverse backgrounds and experiences of individuals delivering ECD services, training and professional development programs offer an opportunity to impart a core set of knowledge and skills to members of the early childhood workforce, which is particularly important as programs look to scale and reach a greater number of young children and families. In addition, there is evidence to suggest that supporting individuals with such opportunities can influence child development outcomes.

This analysis, published in January of 2018, synthesizes evidence on the approaches to and challenges associated with training and professional development across the early childhood workforce. An extensive review of published and grey literature, and key informant interviews with ECD experts yielded 10 findings.

You can find the full Landscape Analysis in English below. You may also download the Executive Summary in English, French and Spanish.

2017 Home Visiting Yearbook is one of the first publications from the National Home Visiting Resource Center. It was developed with the recognition that, as many communities have implemented home visiting models aimed at improving outcomes for children and families, there has not been a comprehensive overview of how home visiting is across the country. This resource aims to inform readers as they make decisions in policy and practice. The following critical questions are addressed: 

Where do home visiting programs operate? 
How many families and children are being served by home visiting, and how many more could benefit? 
Who develops and administers home visiting? 
Who funds home visiting?

This first edition presents the most complete data available on home visiting in the United States.

Standards for ECD Parenting Programmes takes a deeper looking into the interventions or services which aim to support parenting interactions, behaviors, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and practices. The document guides practitioners through a set of standards for parenting programs. Nine standards are presented including:  

• Supporting nurturing care because it contributes to holistic child development;
• Build on a theory of change that leads to the desired results;
• Tailor content to the child's developmental stage;
• Serve vulnerable children and their families;
• Involve all parents and key caregivers engaged in the function of parenting;
• Adapt to context and culture and build upon positive parenting practices;
• Engage trained workforce and service providers;
• Reflect continuous improvements through systematic monitoring and evaluation.

This resource is particularly targeted to low and middle income count ires.

Towards the Right Care for Children: Orientations for reforming alternative care systems - Africa, Asia, Latin America, commissioned by the European Commission Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development commissioned SOS Children’s Villages International to conduct a study on the possible issue of institutionalization in six South and Central American, Asian and African countries, in order to strengthen the knowledge of the European Commission on the nature, the extent and scope of institutionalization and feasibility of the de-institutionalization.
 
The objectives of this research was to:

• map and summarize the existing knowledge on (de-) institutionalization in the three continents concerned;
• increase the knowledge base on (de-) institutionalization in the six countries; and
• provide guidelines for future EU strategies on (de-)institutionalization in developing countries.

This synthesis report brings together desk reviews and country studies through which a large collection of documents from various sources have been consulted.

Home visiting programs for HIV-affected families: a comparison of service quality between volunteer-driven and paraprofessional models investigated whether or not additional investment in paraprofessional staff translated into higher quality service delivery. The study, conducted in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa was conducted over a two-year span. The results suggested that compensation and extensive training programs for home visitors are better able to serve and retain beneficiaries than volunteer home visiting programs.

The early childhood development sector plays an important role in fostering the education, health and care of young children. Early childhood education and care services are currently the subject of significant reforms nationally. These reforms have substantial implications for the associated workforce. This report, the second of three on education and training workforces, focuses on the early childhood development workforce. It follows the Vocational Education and Training workforce report released in May 2011. The third report, on the Schools workforce, is underway and will be completed in April next year.

The Commission’s recommendations and findings seek to support the future development of the early childhood workforce required to underpin the nationally agreed reforms. In particular, guidance is provided on the provision of quality early childhood education and care services to children with additional needs, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and children in rural and remote locations.