Early Childhood Care and Education: Worldwide Challenges and Progresses

UNESCO's Division of Basic education, promotes an integrated approach to early childhood care and education policy development and review.

Gambia - Proposal on how indigenous knowledge should be included in early childhood programs. The Clos d'enfants (Children's Group). 

     - The education system is based on the British school system with a lower basic, upper basic, secondary and tertiary. 

        - The Education policy calls for the government to set guidelines for preschool educator training, work with NGOs and multiple sectors for an integrated approach and encourage community participation in early childhood development. 

         - The language of instructions is to be the mother tongue.

         - 265 preschool structures serving a little over 1200 students.

       

Mali - Demonstrates similar ideas through an international partnership with a local initiative partnership program developed in Bamako using mothers, local materials and toys made by the participants.

     - The education system is based on the French system with primary, secondary, and tertiary level.

         - Language of instructions is French with local languages used in pre-primary and early primary classes as a transition to French. 

          - 412 preschool structure with over 51,000 children enrolled.

Senegal - combining local traditions and European pedagogical philosophies the Case de Tout-petits (Children's Huts) came from president. 

      - Similar education systems from preschools to the university level with French as language of instruction, though the national languages are used in the pre-primary and early primary years.

            - The ECCE sector currently includes 971 structures and over 78,000 students, though this only 6% preschool age population.

             Current Issues in Comparative Education.  Volume 11. (2009). Columbia University.