Guidance for How To Develop High-Quality Pre-Primary Programs
USAID Education How-To Note
Participation in high-quality pre-primary programming can improve children’s long term academic success; but just one in five children around the world has access to quality preschool. Nearly one-third of all children enter primary school without the cognitive, social-emotional, and language skills needed to succeed. USAID’s programming in pre-primary education supports the achievement of development objectives described in the U.S. Government (USG) Strategy on International Basic Education and in the 2018 USAID Education Policy.
This how-to note provides guidance on analyzing the pre-primary landscape, from policy and systems level considerations to on-the-ground realities, and key questions to help identify critical gaps and opportunities for investment in the sub-sector. The how-to-note also gives an overview of the critical components necessary to developing sustainable, high-quality programming in each of the following areas:
- Political Will, Investment and Leadership
- Regulating, Monitoring and Supporting Programs
- Access
- Program Quality
- Teacher Workforce
- Family and Community Engagement
Specific suggestions on how to integrate planning for pre-primary programming throughout the program cycle are also included. The accompanying workbook can be used to collect and analyze data based on responses to the suggested key questions.
Developing High-Quality Pre-Primary Programs Workbook – An Excel tool that includes all decision tree questions, as well as several additional landscape review questions. The purpose of the tool is to help readers further analyze their context and record their responses in one place.
More information about the current research on pre-primary programming can be found in Examining What Works in Pre-Primary: A Review of the Evidence. This summary of existing research highlights key findings on the factors associated with high-quality pre-primary programming and the outcomes of investments in early learning at both the societal and individual level.
Read the learning digest to understand the key components.
Learn more about why investing in pre-primary programs is important.