Mission Statement

The Special Interest Group (SIG) on Early Childhood Development (ECD) was established in June 2007 as part of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) to:

• foster exchange & strengthen linkages between ECD research and practice
• help keep members abreast of new developments in the field
• build linkages among various ECD networks nationally and internationally
• prepare ECD thematic sessions at the next CIES conference

Although our emphasis will be placed on the "education" aspect of ECD, the SIG will approach ECD from a holistic perspective incorporating health, sanitation, nutrition, psychological, social and protective dimensions, all of which are indispensable for preparing children within their respective societies and in the world at large.

Early Childhood as defined by this SIG consists of children between ages 0-8 so as to allow for discussions of "transition" into the early years of primary school. The SIG intends to incorporate those who are working on adult education topics related to parenting, childcare, early education and development. It also intends to encourage the participation and draw on the experience of those who are currently developing, implementing and evaluating ECD programs in the field as well as those who are carrying out research in those areas.

The uniqueness of this group comes from the fact that no other group in the CIES deals directly with very young children and adults as parents.  The field is growing in importance within the CIES (as indicated by the number of panels devoted to the topic at the 2007 conference), and internationally by the increased policy attention given to ECD as manifested in the EFA goals and the Global Monitoring Report 2007, entitled Strong Foundations: Early Childhood Care and Education.