Peer-reviewed article
Social Policy and Early Childhood Development: A Field Study in Baghdad City
Lara Salem Lafta, Maysam Yaseen Obaid ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines how social policies in Baghdad affect early childhood development through a survey of 200 residents. Researchers found that maternal health care, early childhood care policies, and educational programs are important components of supporting child health and development. The study identifies gaps in policy implementation, particularly the lack of activation of national strategies for early childhood, and recommends establishing a higher council for childhood to oversee policy development and monitoring.
Key points
- 60.4% of respondents identified maternal health care before and after birth as important for child health
- 63.2% reported that early childhood care policies contributed to reducing child mortality rates
- 58.4% confirmed that educational programs for early childhood include cognitive and developmental stimulation
- 55.2% noted government efforts to encourage school enrollment as part of early childhood development programs
- 36% identified absence of activation of the national strategy as a major difficulty in implementing early childhood policies
Limitations
This is a descriptive survey without a control group or comparison population, so it cannot establish causality or determine whether observed outcomes are actually due to policies. The study provides percentages of respondent perceptions rather than objective measures of child health or development outcomes.
Abstract
Social policy includes many aspects, some of which are related to welfare, as well as many social responsibilities and rights that are considered the basis of the early childhood stage, as social policy aims to secure a kind of stimulating, safe and equal environment for children, especially in the first years of their lives, as these early stages greatly affect their growth, development and future capabilities. It aims to study the current facts related to a phenomenon, situation or group of individuals. This study relied on the social survey method by sample and used the questionnaire tool to identify the extent of the impact of social legislation to protect early childhood. A field study in the city of Baghdad, where the study sample amounted to (200) individuals, males and females. The results of the study showed that the highest percentage of the research community are females at 54.4%. The results of the study showed that providing health care to mothers before and after birth is the health system for child health by 60.4%. The results of the study indicate that the early childhood care policy contributed to reducing child mortality rates by 63.2%. The results of the study indicate that one of the most important ways is the contribution of the social care policy to correcting some wrong practices by holding educational courses for workers in health centers by 43.6%. The results of the study concluded that there are educational programs provided for early childhood with cognitive and cognitive stimulation by 58.4%. And the contribution of government efforts to provide development programs for the early childhood stage by encouraging enrollment in education by 55.2%. One of the most important difficulties facing the implementation of policies and strategies for sustainable development for early childhood is the absence of activation of the national strategy by 36%. Therefore, we recommend the establishment of a higher council for childhood that takes on the responsibility of drawing up policies related to children and following up on strategies and programs related to them.