Other
Effects of early childhood education on early childhood development in Bangladesh
Shimlin Jahan Khanam, Md Badsha Alam, Md Nuruzzaman Khan ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study used 2019 national survey data on 9,420 children aged 3 and 4 in Bangladesh. It compared children who attended early childhood education with those who did not, using a standard index of whether children are developmentally on track. Only about one in five children was enrolled in early childhood education. Children who did not attend were less likely to be on track, especially in literacy-numeracy and learning. The authors conclude that early childhood education programmes in Bangladesh should be strengthened.
Key points
- Only one in every five children in Bangladesh was enrolled in early childhood education.
- Non-participation was associated with a 44% lower likelihood of a positive Early Childhood Development Index (aOR 0.56, 95% CI 0.47-0.66).
- Non-attendance was associated with much lower odds in the literacy-numeracy domain (aOR 0.25, 95% CI 0.21-0.28).
- Non-attendance was also associated with lower odds in the learning domain (aOR 0.59, 95% CI 0.45-0.77).
- The authors call for strengthening early childhood education programmes in Bangladesh.
Limitations
The abstract describes an analysis of one national survey with adjustment for covariates, so it shows association rather than proof that early childhood education causes better development. It gives no detail on programme type or quality, or on why some children were not enrolled.
Abstract
Abstract Background Early childhood education is considered as vital for the early childhood development (ECD) instead of scarcity of the relevant literature. This study aims to investigate the relationship between early childhood education and the early childhood development index (ECDI) in Bangladesh. Methods We analyzed data from 9,420 children (aged 3 and 4) extracted from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey conducted in 2019. The outcome variable considered was the Early Childhood Development Index, a composite index generated based on the responses to 10 items and categorized as children either developmentally on track (coded as 1) or not (coded as 0). Four domains of ECDI—physical, learning, emotional, and social well-being— were also considered as outcome variable. Attendance of the early childhood education program was the major exposure variable. The association between explanatory and outcome variables was determined using a multilevel logistic regression model, adjusting for potential covariates. Results Only one in every five children in Bangladesh was found to be enrolled in early childhood education. Non-participation in early childhood education was associated with a 44% lower likelihood (aOR, 0.56, 95% CI, 0.47-0.66) of positive ECDI compared to participation in early childhood education. Additionally, non-attendance of early childhood education, compared to attendance, was associated with lower odds in literacy-numeracy (aOR, 0.25, 95% CI, 0.21-0.28) and learning (aOR, 0.59, 95% CI, 0.45-0.77) domains of ECDI. Conclusion The findings provide evidence of the importance of early childhood education programs in ensuring early childhood development. This indicates the necessity of strengthening early childhood education programs in Bangladesh to ensure the overall well-being of children.