The focus of this desk study is to provide information on the assessment of early numeracy learning outcomes as an integral part of efforts aimed at increasing education quality in low income countries. In order to provide focus for the study, GIZ identified three assessment-related challenges, which are crosscutting for each of the sections of the study: Using assessment to support children in mastering foundational concepts and competencies, such as number sense and computation. 2. Relating or adapting assessment to the environments of children in low income countries. 3. Applying assessment to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the informal mathematics that children bring to school.

This is a recording of a webinar delivered through the Global Numeracy Community of Practice. The Tayari Program is charged with developing a tested, cost-effective and scalable model of early childhood education (ECE). It is currently being piloted in ECD centers in Kenya, targeting 4-6 year-old children. Tayari includes classroom materials for teachers and students, teacher training and ongoing in-classroom support, and a health component. In this webinar, we will focus on the mathematics classroom materials, and illustrate the collaborative process of developing teacher guides and student activity books that are aligned to the Kenyan ECD Syllabus. We will share our process of creating materials beginning with identifying core skills and aligning these skills to the Kenyan ECD Syllabus, defining our scope and sequence, creating developmentally appropriate activities for maths, and designing the teacher’s guide for ease of use by teachers.

In October 2016, experts from RTI International, USAID, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation participated in a panel discussion examining how stakeholders in early childhood education, health and nutrition can break down the silos represented by these fields and build an integrated approach to early childhood development. The panel took place following the release of a new Series on early childhood development published in The Lancet which found that more than two in five children in low- and middle-income countries (an estimated 43 percent, or 250 million) are at risk of not reaching their development potential due to extreme poverty and chronic undernutrition. Maureen Black, PhD, distinguished fellow at RTI International, is lead author of the first paper in the Series.

This report describes the baseline findings of an external evaluation of the Tayari pre-primary school programme. Tayari is an early childhood development and education intervention funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). The intervention is implemented by the RTI International, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST), and in collaboration with four counties.

Article published in the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities Volume 17, 2016 - Issue 4: Investing in Early Childhood Development. Published abstract: "Children’s early development serves as the foundation for later health, learning and well-being. The inclusion of early childhood development (ECD) in the Sustainable Development Goals implies that countries must report on the percentage of children under 5 years of age who are “developmentally on track.” This note briefly reflects on the history of global ECD goals and their measurement and outlines the challenge ahead: creating a workable strategy for ECD measurement that balances the need for national relevance with globally comparable data. The global variation in the timing and nature of early childhood skills acquisition presents an important opportunity as countries set their own standards for what it means to be developmentally on track. Country-driven measurement and standard setting, derived from measurement approaches that meet international expectations for quality, can have an important influence on policy and practice. Countries can measure the development of their youngest citizens in a way that is most relevant and useful to them, so that they may use those data to ensure that all children have the opportunity to fulfill their potential."

This article describes the launch of the Lancet series on early childhood education, and a study co-authored by Dr. Maureen Black, Distinguished Fellow at RTI International. See related resources for more information.

Article published in the journal The Lancet Early Childhood Development Series. Published Abstract: "Early childhood development programmes vary in coordination and quality, with inadequate and inequitable access, especially for children younger than 3 years. New estimates, based on proxy measures of stunting and poverty, indicate that 250 million children (43%) younger than 5 years in low-income and middle-income countries are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential. There is therefore an urgent need to increase multisectoral coverage of quality programming that incorporates health, nutrition, security and safety, responsive caregiving, and early learning. Equitable early childhood policies and programmes are crucial for meeting Sustainable Development Goals, and for children to develop the intellectual skills, creativity, and wellbeing required to become healthy and productive adults. In this paper, the first in a three part Series on early childhood development, we examine recent scientific progress and global commitments to early childhood development. Research, programmes, and policies have advanced substantially since 2000, with new neuroscientific evidence linking early adversity and nurturing care with brain development and function throughout the life course."

This article that appeared in The Economist (online and print editions) refers to work that RTI implements on behalf of USAID/Kenya for the Tayari project, as well as research that appeared in the Journal "The Lancet". See "related resources".

This report discusses two overarching themes for the behavior change communication (BCC) activity under Education Data for Decision Making (EdData II), Task Order 20. We begin by presenting a summary of pertinent health behavior theories and studies, which aim to inform the BCC activity and suggest possible techniques and strategies that can be applied to the education sector. We then move to describing a proposed applied research study, which will use the results of the health behavior studies to develop a possible model to be used for implementing a literacy intervention in a developing country.