Early Childhood Education in Developing Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Estimates of Risk and Protection

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives of millions of children around the world. Researchers have speculated that the cognitive, psychological, and educational implications of these disruptions are likely to be severe and lasting, particularly for young children and those from disadvantaged backgrounds (Yoshikawa et al., 2020). This panel uses data collected both before and during the pandemic to provide novel empirical evidence regarding the risks associated with COVID-19-related early childhood education (ECE) closures, as well as the protective role that ECE and other services might play for young children during the pandemic. Complementing growing research from high-income contexts, we focus this panel on low- and middle-income countries, where substantially less is known regarding the effects of the pandemic on children. In particular, we estimate: the global developmental, learning, and economic consequences of COVID-19-related ECE closures (Paper 1); the developmental implications of ECE service disruptions and potential protective factors in Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Rwanda, and Ethiopia (Paper 2); and how an ECE quality improvement intervention might support Ghanaian children’s educational engagement, learning, and social-emotional outcomes during and after elementary school closures (Paper 3). These papers utilize multiple data sources and quantitative approaches to generate both global and local evidence on the role of ECE amidst this unprecedented global shock. Reflecting authors’ academic and non-academic backgrounds, each presentation will focus on implications for future research and educational practice. To end the session, the Chief of Early Childhood Development at a large intergovernmental organization will discuss policy recommendations and facilitate audience Q&A.

Sub Unit

• Solicited Content: COVID-19 Related

Chair

• Dana Charles McCoy, Harvard University

Discussant

• Chemba Raghavan, UNICEF

Individual Presentations

• Global Estimates of the Effects of COVID-19-related Preschool Closures on Children’s Development, Learning, and Economic Wellbeing - Presenting Author: Dana Charles McCoy, Harvard University; Non-Presenting Author: Jorge Cuartas, Harvard University; Non-Presenting Author: Jere Behrman, University of Pennsylvania; Non-Presenting Author: Claudia Cappa, UNICEF; Non-Presenting Author: Jody Heymann, University of California at Los Angeles; Non-Presenting Author: Florencia López Bóo, Inter-American Development Bank; Non-Presenting Author: Chunling Lu, Harvard Medical School; Non-Presenting Author: Abbie Raikes, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC); Non-Presenting Author: Linda Richter, University of Witwatersrand; Non-Presenting Author: Alan Stein, Oxford University; Non-Presenting Author: Günther Fink, Swiss Tropical Public Health Institute

• Estimating the Impact of COVID-19 on Young Children’s Development and Learning Using Multi-National Data from Low and Middle-income Countries - Presenting Author: Lela Chakhaia, Save the Children USA; Non-Presenting Author: Lauren Pisani, University College London (UCL); Non-Presenting Author: Dana Charles McCoy, Harvard University; Non-Presenting Author: Andres Moya, Universidad de los Andes School of Economics; Non-Presenting Author: Elizabeth Spier, American Institutes for Research

• Children’s Learning and Development in the Time of COVID-19 in Ghana: The Protective Role of Quality Early Childhood Education - Presenting Author: Sharon Wolf, University of Pennsylvania; Non-Presenting Author: Elisabetta Aurino, Imperial College London; Non-Presenting Author: Jere Behrman, University of Pennsylvania; Non-Presenting Author: J. Lawrence Aber, New York University; Non-Presenting Author: Esinam Avornyo; Non-Presenting Author: Noelle Suntheimer, University of Pennsylvania; Non-Presenting Author: Edward Tsinigo, Innovations for Poverty Action