CREC partners with NFER and IEA in major research major project

The IEA International Early Childhood Education Study (ECES) is a new comparative research program of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). The purpose of ECES is to explore, describe and critically analyse early childhood education (ECE) provision and its role in preparing children for the learning and social demands of school and wider society. In this context, ECE is defined as formal group education and care provision outside the home for young children from birth up to the age of primary education. In particular, the study will aim to provide meaningful information for countries, states, and jurisdictions across the world in relation to policies, provision, and access, quality, and outcomes of ECE.

In this ambitious study, the ECES research team has set out to examine how early education policies, practices, and outcomes relate in different countries across the world. Data will be collected from policymakers , early childhood education settings, and practitioners, parents, and children.

The research project led by The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) has been developed in partnership with the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC) and IEA Data Processing and Research Center.

The project will run until 2018, with the main phase of the data collection taking place in 2016. The results will be released in a series of reports in 2016–2018.

·         ECES aims to identify the role of ECE in enhancing children’s readiness for school and wider society . The study focuses on the availability, quality, and outcomes of ECE immediately before compulsory schooling, within the broader context of ECE provision from birth.