ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES Inter-American Council for Integral Development

(CIDI)

FIFTH MEETING OF MINISTERS OF EDUCATION OEA/Ser.K/V.8.1

November 14 – 16, 2007 CIDI/RME/INF. 1/07

Cartagena de Indias, Colombia 2 November 2007

Original: Spanish

PROJECT PROGRESS REPORT:

TRENDS IN TRANSITION POLICIES IN RURAL, INDIGENOUS

AND BORDER COMMUNITIES

(Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, and Chile)

(Presented by the Technical Secretariat with support

from the Bernard van Leer Foundation)

iii

CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 3

II. THE CONTRIBUTION OF PRESCHOOL EDUCATION TO HUMAN AND

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ........................................................................................... 5

2.1 Previous research into the importance of interventions for the timely, full, and

relevant development of children ............................................................................. 5

2.2 Research into the impact of timely, quality intervention programs on children’s

development and learning ....................................................................................... 10

2.3 Impact of programs for children on families and communities .............................. 16

2.4 Contributions of early development programs to national economies ................... 17

III.. THE QUALITY IMPERATIVE AS A RIGHT OF CHILDREN TO TIMELY AND

RELEVANT EDUCATION ................................................................................................ 18

3.1 The subject of quality has a range of theoretical approaches and, consequently,

of practical methods for its implementation and quantification ............................. 18

3.4 Quality in education: A children’s right ................................................................. 22

3.3. The right of the most vulnerable groups to timely, quality children’s education ... 23

IV. QUALITY IN PRESCHOOL EDUCATION: A COMPLEX YET ATTAINABLE

GOAL .................................................................................................................................. 24

V. CONTRIBUTIONS TO QUALITY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF TRANSITION

PROCESSES ....................................................................................................................... 33

VI. PROGRESS WITH THE TRANSITION POLICIES PROJECT ........................................ 39

VII. TOWARD A CONCLUSION ............................................................................................. 44

VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................ 46

PROJECT PROGRESS REPORT:

TRENDS IN TRANSITION POLICIES IN RURAL, INDIGENOUS

AND BORDER COMMUNITIES

(Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, and Chile)

(Presented by the Technical Secretariat with support

from the Bernard van Leer Foundation)

I. INTRODUCTION

Since the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990), several conferences, legal

instruments, and declarations at the global (for instance, the Jomtien Declaration1 of 1990), regional

(such as the Ibero-American Education Summits in Panama City in 2000 and in Santo Domingo in

2002), and national levels (constitutions, education laws), among others, have stated that education is

a right enjoyed by all children from the moment of birth.

This aspiration of the nations of the Americas has, over the past ten years, focused its

attention on the very first years of life. The recent UNESCO report “Education for All” (2007) notes

this emphasis, since the region is one of those that has made most progress in this area. Indeed, the

increase in the coverage of the three-to-six age group to a level of 62% reflects how this aspiration

has been made a reality, although the problem of catering for children younger than three still remains

a pending matter.

As a result, the resources involved, the actions undertaken, and the focusing of the majority of

these programs on the most vulnerable sectors show how the policy of equality has been becoming a

fact of life for many boys and girls in those age groups. However, the heterogeneity of the programs,

of the conditions in which they have been carried out, and of the technical and financial resources

deployed show that they do not always yield all of the expected results with the desired levels of

quality. In general they address basic forms of attention, but there is a wide diversity of results in

terms of significant development and learning achievements. The quality criterion, which is always

complex and multifaceted, is not always present in the programs because it is not attained per se; it

requires a set of conditions, technical criteria, and investments which, to date, and for a variety of

reasons, have received less support in existing sectoral policies. Among those reasons is the fact that

little was known about the factors that most impact the quality of children’s education; together with

this is the belief that major investments, focusing on infrastructure and costly teaching materials, are

necessary to attain it.

Current research indicates that the factors with the greatest impact are to be found in other

areas, and that they are attainable by most national education systems if they adopt policies,

programs, and resources aimed at bringing them about, using a synergetic, technical, and procedural

proposal addressing the factors involved.

1 World Declaration on Education For All. “Meeting Basic Learning Needs.” Jomtien, UNESCO,

Thailand, March 5-9, 1990.

- 2 -

In this context, the OAS launched the project “Policies and strategies for a successful

transition of children toward socialization and school,” approved by the Inter-American Committee

on Education and financed by the Education Subfund, Res. 831, which addresses several of the key

issues in ensuring that children receive quality attention. It involves the participation of the 34 OAS

countries in two phases: one focusing on children aged under three years, and the other targeting the

transition from initial/preschool education to primary school. It is planned to last for 30 months

starting in July 2006. Following the approval of this project, the joint initiative for work between the

OAS and Van Leer was agreed on in November 2006.

The project is intended to compliment the OAS member states’ efforts in designing,

improving, and assessing policies and strategies aimed at increasing enrolment, quality, and equality

levels in initial/preschool education and the two first years of primary education (approximately

children aged under 8). One major aspect of the project is finding answers to the process of transition

between the different stages on which socio-cultural and educational actions are played out, namely:

from the everyday family environment to the attention center or program; from those centers and

programs to preschool education, and from preschool to primary education.

The Bernard Van Leer Foundation, in a joint OAS/Van Leer project, is concentrating it

attention on the topic “Analysis of trends in transition policies,” with emphasis on children in

indigenous, rural, and borderland communities of Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela. At the

same time, the OAS is seeking out more countries to join the initiative, with Chile having joined up in

June, to represent the indigenous, rural, and borderland peoples who are its central focus. At the

behest of the two agencies, rigorous advocacy and assessment activities will be carried out throughout

the entire process, and the studies and analysis that are to be published will also be documented. This

Report describes the progress made as of October 2007 with the conceptual and research components

of this ongoing project.

The aim of this document is to provide decision-makers with this theoretical and practical

background information, in order to help attain the results, both qualitative and quantitative, sought

with children’s education programs, in accordance with the full development of their potential to

which the new generations of the Americas are entitled, particularly those from the most vulnerable

sectors.

II. THE CONTRIBUTION OF PRESCHOOL EDUCATION TO HUMAN AND NATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

Preschool education – taken as meaning educational interventions that take place on an

intentional and systematic basis in order to promote relevant and meaningful learning, be it through

formal, alternative, or non-school programs, and targeted at children aged up to their entry into

primary education – has existed in Western culture for more than 200 years. It is based on the

pedagogical paradigms of the “active or new education” movement, which proposes a form of

education that respects children and their nature, favoring their playing an active role in learning

activities and leading to integral development that can allow them to live fully and with confidence in

their current stage of development and, on that basis, to generate the affective, cognitive, and motor

structures for the stages that are to come.

- 3 -

This notion of the importance of initial education for both current and future stages of

children’s development arose from the incidental observation of the groups of infants involved in the

early initiatives. As research techniques and procedures evolved, its contribution to education was

ratified and consolidated and its importance extended into other areas, such as the economic field, on

account of the returns earned by investments in this stage.

The following paragraphs summarize some of this research and show the importance of

timely and relevant educational interventions in this stage of life, as well as for families and for

national development through the creation of human capital.

2.1 Previous research into the importance of interventions for the timely, full, and relevant

development of children

Studies by major world research institutes clearly show that in promoting a higher general

quality of life, early childhood intervention has a major impact in several areas.

Biological evidence indicates that caring for mothers and their children from the moment of

conception and, in particular, monitoring brain development in early childhood is essential for

subsequent optimal growth and development and has an impact on health, behavior, and

learning potential (J. Fraser Mustard, 2000).2 That certainty, coupled with what we now know

about what best assists a child’s growth and development in the prenatal, neonatal, and

postnatal phases, consequently demands greater focus and resolve on attention, protection,

and education efforts during that period.

The brain differs from the body’s other organs in its rapid growth during the prenatal period

and in the first years of life. The brain reaches half its final weight at the age of six months,

and has reached 90% of its adult weight at the age of eight years; another characteristic is that

its development endures.

The relationship between the influence of the social environment on the brain’s early

development and the impact this has in later stages of life can be explained by “biological

matching”: how the effects of the environment in the first years of life trigger genetic

mechanisms that lead to the differentiation and functional specialization of neurons in

different parts of the brain. (C. Power et al., 1999.)

Following various research projects into neuroscience, the Carnegie Corporation Foundation

stated in its “Report on meeting the needs of young children” (1994) that:

- The brain development that takes place during the prenatal period and in the first year

of life is more rapid and extensive than we previously realized. Brain cell formation

is virtually complete before birth, but brain maturation is far from over.

- Brain development is much more vulnerable to environmental influence than we ever

suspected. Inadequate nutrition before birth and in the first years of life can so

2. Founder and president of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Ontario, Canada. Summary of

the lecture, “What does science say about the effects of early intervention?” World Bank Week of the Child 2000, held on

April 10-14, 2000, in Washington, D.C., United States.

- 4 -

seriously interfere with brain development that it may lead to a host of neurological

and behavioral disorders, including learning disabilities and mental retardation.

- The influence of early environment on brain development is long lasting. Significant

evidence indicates that babies exposed to good nutrition, toys, and playmates have

measurably better brain functions at the age of twelve that those brought up in less

stimulating environments

- The environment affects not only the number of brain cells and number of

connections among them, but also the way these connections are “wired.” The

process of eliminating excess neurons and synapses from the very dense immature

brain, which continues well into adolescence, is most dramatic in the early years of

life, and it is largely guided by the child’s sensorial experience of the outside world.

- Stress in early childhood can have a permanent and negative impact brain

functioning, learning, and memory. New research has yielded a scientific basis for

the long-recognized fact that children who suffer from excessive stress during their

first years are at greater risk of developing cognitive, behavioral, and emotional

difficulties in later life.”3

These findings from the 1990s have been ratified, expanded, and further developed by other

institutions and researchers throughout the world. Science has already produced an adequate

body of evidence indicating that in the first years of life, the brain must develop to attain the

person’s full potential, and that that is largely assisted by a rich environment characterized by

quality and timely interventions for the child.

A stable and varied neural network or cabling, with specializations for different brain

functions, is essential for all forms of behavior and learning in life. In connection with this, C.

Nelson (2000) and other neuroscientists have identified the periods in which some of the

main brain functions develop: for example, that the sensorial circuit – essential for admitting

all kinds of information for processing – begins to emerge before birth and peaks during the

first year of life. Similarly, the first synaptic connections for language – essential not only to

verbal and written communication but to thought itself – emerge close to birth and reach their

maximum level between six months and one year of age; those for higher cognitive functions

also begin prior to birth and enjoy peak development during the first six years before later

gradually dropping off.

These discoveries are backed up by findings related to “critical or sensitive periods” (Rutter

& Rutter, 1993), understood as “bursts of neural connections and, consequently, of

opportunities,” when the brain is better equipped to absorb certain important lessons. These

include: emotional control (0 to 2 years), visual perception (0 to 2 years), social bonds (0 to 2

years), vocabulary (0 to 3 years), second language (0 to 10 years), mathematical logic (1 to 4

years), and musical development (3 to 10 years) (Begley, 1996). If these periods, which

3 Carnegie Corporation: “Starting Points: Meeting the Needs of our Youngest Children.” Cited by M. Young in:

“Justification for Early Intervention.” World Bank, web page.

- 5 -

correspond to sensitive moments for connections and development, are missed, it is more

difficult to fully attain the bases required for learning, and so having the relevant experiences

within those “windows of opportunity” is of vital importance.

The influence of affective bonds is also crucial for the development of the brain. Various

experiments – from the classical efforts of Spitz to more recent ones, such as those of H.

Chugani at Wayne State University in Detroit – have shown that newborns from poor

backgrounds that are neglected or abandoned at birth have, in PET scan images of their

brains,4 large black zones in the areas responsible for emotions and feelings, indicating low

levels of activation. That is diametrically opposed to the situation found among children who

are wanted, loved, and looked after from an early age.

Thus, brain development – which arises as a consequence of timely, quality experiences,

which can be increased over normal levels, and in which children are given the opportunity to

interact in affective contexts in which all their requirements are asserted (permanent

conversation, for example), in settings that are sensorially interesting and where they are

offered challenging situations of exploration and discovery – enables enhanced cognitive,

affective, and motor development.

Several decades ago, Bloom (1964) determined that half an individual’s potential for

intellectual development was set by the age of four, depending on the level of exposure to

“interesting experiences.” In several of his works, J. Piaget also stated that the

sensorial/motor period develops during the first two years of life, giving rise to “practical

intelligence” and establishing the permanence of objects, relationships of cause and effect,

the earliest spatial relationships, and the symbolic function between skills and abilities, all of

which are essential for subsequent intellectual development.

4. Positron emission tomography, which reveals brain activity.

0 1 4 8 12 16

Age (yrs)

Human Brain Development -Synaptic Formation

LanguageHigher Cognitive

Functions

3 6 9- 3- 6

Months Years

C. Nelson, in From Neurons to Neighborhoods , 2000.

Conception

01 - 003

Sensory

Circuit

- 6 -

While sensorial and cognitive development is important, this is also a key phase for

emotional and social development. Children who establish good relations with their mothers

from the moment of conception, and who can in particular partake of mothers’ milk5 in

pleasant, relaxed surroundings that uphold their individualities, develop basic self-

confidence, enabling them to open up to the social and cultural world with greater security in

themselves. The creation of autonomy, identity, feelings of belonging, and relations with

others are deeply rooted in the fist six years of life, and this also requires the existence of a

suitable network of neurons developed, in this areas as in others, by timely, good-quality

experiences.

Consequently, for children to have adequate levels of performance in their lives and better

standards of learning, they must have been brought up in healthy, friendly, and cognitively

interesting environments, where affection and good nutrition are essential for both the

development of the brain and for setting the basis of a child’s personality through the relations

she establishes with others and her surroundings.

2.2 Research into the impact of timely, quality intervention programs on children’s

development and learning

There is a long history of studies indicating the contributions made by formal or alternative or

non-school programs carried out during the first six years of life. Research of all kind

conducted throughout the world and in Latin America confirms that if certain basic quality

and duration conditions are met in the interventions offered to children and in their families’

involvement therein, a range of effects is produced: these can be either partial (in the

affective or language arenas) or more wide-reaching, with different impacts and endurance

over time.

Existing studies can therefore be grouped according to the effect of interventions, in the short,

medium, and long term.

Short-term studies – in other words, those that deal with the effects of interventions on

infants, of importance because of their timeliness, their impact on the immediate quality of

life, and the foundations they set for the future – are numerous, and their results depend on

the quality of the intervention, the duration thereof, and the child’s level of social

vulnerability.

The quality of the intervention – ensured in particular by a timely and systemic approach

involving affective and cognitive interventions encouraged by various factors such as a

positive human environment with high expectations of the child, interesting educational

spaces, clarity, resolve and appropriate teaching methods in the lessons expected, and

relevant monitoring and evaluation – is an essential element, since not all programs for

infants yield the educational effects sought. Good results can be obtained through both formal

and nonformal/alternative programs, provide that quality standards, such as those indicated,

5. Special mention must be made to the contribution of breast feeding to a child’s health and affective and

cognitive development. Recent research, confirmed in Chile by INTA, show the positive effect of mothers’ milk on

cognitive development – not only on account of the comprehensive stimulation for the baby that breast feeding implies, but

also because of the presence in that milk of an acid that can increase a child’s IQ for every month of breast feeding prior to

the age of six months.

- 7 -

are met and that the empowered involvement of families in their children’s programs is

allowed.

The duration and timeliness of the intervention are also key issues. The earlier that a quality

educational program takes place, the greater effects it will have because of the sensitivity and

moldability of the child’s development at this stage; at the same time, productive attendance

by the child for more than one year will have a greater impact than attending for one year or

less.

Similarly, interventions have the greatest impact among the most vulnerable sectors because

of the compensatory role they play in various neglected areas. This is not the case in other

social contexts where the family environment offers more resources (toys, books,

conversation, excursions, etc.), although among poorer sectors there are gains from greater

family and community participation and from the incorporation of local human and cultural

resources.

The research projects that back up these claims include:

- The study into “Improving Early Child Development” among poor populations

demonstrates the accumulative effects of “good parenting” and nutrition in low-

weight and undernourished children. After two years of interventions, those who only

received support in parenting or nutrition improved by 50% of the expected rate; in

contrast, those who received both forms of support had results equal to those of the

control group. (Grantham-Mc Gregor et al., 1994.)

- The different “North Carolina Abecederian” experiences in the United States6

indicate that at-risk small children are most positively affected by early, high-quality

intervention.

- The “Child Health and Development Program” in the United States, involving 985

low-birth-weight babies born to socially and economically disadvantaged mothers.

Beginning at the age of three months, the program of mass intervention in early

childhood served to prevent developmental delays. Mental retardation was reduced

by an average factor of 2.7. (Ramey et al., 1990.)

- In Latin America, the children who participated in early-childhood interventions –

“Home Visits” in Jamaica, the “Cali Project” in Colombia, and “PRONOEI” in Peru,

and many others – were more advanced in intellectual aptitude tests than children

who did not participate in such programs.

- In Chile, in 1994, the evaluation conducted by Mineduc, Junji, and Integra revealed

the effect of current programs on children’s affective development. (CELEP, 1996.)

Subsequently, the three agencies’ programs have yielded results at different times

and in different areas. The most recent of these include: Language, in the Mineduc’s

“Childhood Improvement Project” (C.I.D.E., 2003). Similarly, in an attempt to

promote greater synergy in intervention actions, the Arauco Foundation’s Sembrar

6 Campbell and Ramey, 1994.

- 8 -

Program, which empowered and integrated a range of activities in the health and

education fields at subsidized schools, Integra, and Junji over a period of two years,

brought about a major reduction in the emotional, cognitive, and social problems of

infants.

- Among children with special educational needs, timely, focused, and sustained

interventions can serve to reduce damage, because of the general malleability of the

brain and psychomotor skills at that stage of life.

Medium-term studies show the impact of early interventions in the school years, with the greatest

effects still being reported when they are timely, comprehensive, relevant, and permanent. Some such

research projects include:

- The “Head Start” preschool programs in the United States have repeatedly found

evidence of impact on IQ levels and better developed abilities upon entry to school,

together with higher levels of achievement upon concluding the first years of primary

education. (Schweinhart, 1992.)

- The study “The Children of the cost, quality and outcomes study go to school”7

conducted in the United States reveals that second-grade primary school children

who participated in high-quality preschool programs responded better to mathematics

and developed higher quality cognitive and social behaviors, as a result of which they

had better relations with their peers and schoolmates than nonparticipants. (Peisner-

Feinberg, et al., 2000.)

- The study of Hill et al. (2003) into increases in the children’s intelligence as

measured by the Weschler Test shows that the increase among low-birth-weight

children rises in proportion to the length of time spent in infant education centers. A

notable increase can be seen at the age of eight in correlation to the days spent at a

preschool center.

- In India, it was determined that early intervention can increase eagerness to attend

school, boost levels of timely enrolment, reduce drop-out and grade repetition rates.

The child’s economic status was also found to be a factor: among higher sectors there

were no major changes, whereas the figures for working class children fell by 46%

and those for the middle classes by an impressively large 80%. (Chaturvedi et al.,

1987.)

- In Latin America, children who attended various early-childhood intervention

programs repeated fewer grades and made more progress at school than

nonparticipants. In Colombia’s Promesa study, attendance increased by 16% among

children aged 6 to 8, and enrolment rates for the 3rd Grade rose by 100%, with 60%

of the program’s children reaching 4th Grade, compared to 30% among the control

group.

7. Peisner-Feinberg, et al. “The Children of the cost, quality and outcomes study go to school; Technical

Report.” Chapell Hill, North Carolina, 2000.

- 9 -

- In Chile, studies into the effects of the number of years of preschool education on

SIMCE results as measured in the fourth and eighth years of primary education

showed the same relationship. In studies conducted in 1997, 1999, and 2002, higher

scores were reported in both language and mathematics in function of the number of

years the children attended preschool education: those who had attended two years of

preschool (upper and lower transition levels: pre-kindergarten and kindergarten)

scored better than those who had attended for only one year or none at all. (O. Mella

and O. Reveco, 2000.)8

Spanish Mathematics

Attended kindergarten 67.8 65.6

Did not attend kindergarten 64.4 62.1

Difference 3.4 3.5

Source: Reveco and Mella. Op. cit. 1997 results, from a sample of 215,494 eighth-grade

children.

- The “Latin American Laboratory for the Assessment of the Quality of Education,”

organized by UNESCO/OREALC in Latin America in 1997 and 2000, showed that

the country with the best results of the 13 evaluated for mathematics and language at

the 3rd and 4th grades of primary education was Cuba. The reasons offered for this

include the fact that Cuba is the only country where all children (100%) attend either

a formal or nonformal initial education program, which partly explains this level of

academic performance.9

- With regard to gender considerations, important contributions have been made by

various studies showing that girls given preschool education do better and frequently

remain in school longer (World Bank).

Studies on the long-term effects of early interventions

These kinds of studies, which follow a study group over a period of many years, entail great

difficulties and costs, and they also require the isolation or control of other variables. However, a

number of examples from different parts of the world have been very important because several of

them were conducted in conjunction with studies of cost-effectiveness. Taken together, they again

demonstrate the effects of early intervention in youth and adulthood. They include:

8 Reveco, O., and O. Mella. “El impacto de la educación parvularia en la Educación Básica.”

Junji, Santiago, 2000.

9 UNESCO/OREALC “Latin American Laboratory for the Assessment of the Quality of

Education.” Web page.

- 10 -

The “Perry School Project” of the High/Scope Foundation in the United States,

considered a classic in the field on account of its monitoring of a group of children

over a period of almost 40 years. It demonstrated, inter alia, that adults who

participated in a quality preschool education program had lower rates of academic

failure, reached higher levels of study, earned higher incomes, had lower rates of

arrests and social conflicts, and established more stable family relationships.10

The children who participated in the “Carolina Abecedarian Project” in the USA

reported long-term gains in IQ levels and in reading, mathematics, and social skills.

Similarly, at the age of 21, participants had lower rates of grade repetition, had

attended four-year colleges, and had had their children at a later age than

nonparticipants. (Ramey et al., 2000; Campbell, 2006.)

Some of the effects of attending quality preschool education programs

Longitudinal study.

Source: Perry Preschool Study 2003.

The “Chicago Child-Parent Centers” program in public schools yielded significantly

higher mathematics and reading scores, low grade repetition rates, higher rates of

high-school graduation, and lower levels of juvenile arrest than among children who

did not participate in the program.11

(Reynold et al., 2001.)

Studies in this area are scarce in Latin America. However, the Latin American Center

for Preschool Education in Cuba (CELEP) reports as-yet unpublished results of this

kind obtained from massive samples of children.

10. High Scope Early Childhood. The Perry Preschool Program Long-term Effects. High Scope

Early Childhood. Policy Papers. USA, 1994.

11. Reynold, A. et al. “Long term effects of an early childhood. intervention on educational

achievement and juvenile arrest.” Journal of the American Medical Association. Vol. 285, No. 18, pp. 2339-

2346, Chicago, 2001.

65%

76%

50%

76%

45%

50%

32%

62%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

High SchoolEducation

Savings

Employed at age 19

Employed at age 40

With preschool Without preschool

- 11 -

Consequently, the impact of high-quality formal or nonformal preschool education

programs on development and learning in the short, medium, and long terms has been

upheld in a string of research projects, provided that certain essential factors are involved,

which validates interventions of this kind.

2.3 Impact of programs for children on families and communities

Early-childhood programs, because of their implications for development vis-à-vis

the family and the community, offer another series of effects for society that transcend the

scope of child development alone. The impacts with relevance to the development of social

policy include the following:

- The access afforded by early-childhood programs to partial- or whole-day

establishments that take comprehensive care of children, enabling women to take up

productive employment outside the home without worries and thus to improve their

economic situations. Another important contribution is made by freeing elder sisters,

who are traditionally assigned the role of taking care of younger siblings, thereby

enabling them to attend school or to work outside the home.

- The participation of parents (and of mothers in particular) in early-childhood

programs enables them to learn and develop new skills, both for their parenting

activities and for their own personal and professional development. (“Know Your

Child” program, Mineduc, Chile, 2003.)

- Improved parenting, through the assistance they give parents in understanding and

better satisfying their children’s evolving needs; this is particularly true among

teenaged parents, first-time parents, and those who have special-needs children.

- The support given by early education programs to public health campaigns (drinking

water, inoculation programs, hygiene, nutrition, etc.) by overseeing their enforcement

and application at the schools as well as in homes and within the community.

2.4 Contributions of early development programs to national economies

Contributions of early-development programs to countries’ economies have been

studied from two angles. The first of these is their contribution to human development by

creating better parents and citizens. This is difficult to measure but is a form of added value,

along with the resultant increase in “productive potential” which contributes to the economy

and helps create a circle of positive effects for future generations.

Cost-effectiveness studies conducted of long-term research into the effects of quality

intervention programs during early childhood have shown high levels of return for society:

through the reduction of other “social burdens” that arise when minors or adults fail in their

studies or in their contributions to society, and by reducing drug problems, arrests, broken

homes, etc.

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The economic returns of these programs in the United States have been quantified as

follows:

Program Cost Benefit to society

Perry Preschool US$ 12,000 US$ 108,000

Abecedarian Project US$ 38,864 US$ 136,000

Chicago Parents Centers US$ 7,000 US$ 48,000

Because of these figures, institutions such as the World Bank have said that the average

return on early development programs is US$7 for every dollar invested and to describe such

programs as “a good economic investment” (J. Van der Gaag).

Breakdown of public costs/benefits by participant:

(The public receives $7.16 for each $1 invested)

$ 68.584

$ 15.240

$ 10.537

$ 7.488

$ 3.475,00

$ 14.716,00

$ 0 $ 10.000 $ 20.000 $ 30.000 $ 40.000 $ 50.000 $ 60.000 $ 70.000 $ 80.000

Crime victims

Justice system

Tax on earnings

Education

Public Assistance

Preschool program

Costs

Benefits

In Chile, during the administration of E. Frei (1994-2000), the program addressing increased

coverage for small children conducted a preliminary study into the return on investment in the

programs planned for the period. This study only considered some indicators, such as health gains,

and it detected a return equal to twice the amount invested. (JUNJI, 1996.)

As for increased “productive potential,” the specialized literature refers for the contribution

made by each additional year of primary education to future productivity; the published figures range

from 9.7% in Brazil to 35% in Ethiopia. (Psacharopoulos, 1994.) These contributions made by

preschool education programs, as revealed by the medium-term research projects cited above,

underscore the national impact of investment in this phase of education.

- 13 -

In spite of all those contributions, however, there is no global correlation between economic

investment in the first six years of life and the important processes of growth and development that

take place during that time. The Education Commission of the States, in its document “Starting Early,

Starting Now,”12

drawn up for decision-makers in order to expand resources for the sector, prepared

the following chart on brain development and public resources between the ages of 0 and 18 years in

the United States:

BRAIN GROWTH / PUBLIC INVESTMENT AMONG

CHILDREN AGED 0 TO 18 USA

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

5 years 18 years

public investment

brain growth

Source: Brain development, Fig. 2.4, in Purves: Body and Brain. Harvard Press, 1988.

However, while there is much evidence to support the importance and effects of early

intervention programs in the short, medium, and long terms, among the children and within families

and society as a whole, there are other studies that indicate that this is not a direct, permanent, and

invariably significant relationship: for the benefits to come about, a set of given factors are required.

Studies conducted into specific programs – such as those carried out in Morocco13

or in Guatemala14

– indicate that this is the case; the question that then arises is what makes some programs more

successful than others in attaining their set goals. This question implies an analysis of the quality of

preschool education programs; this first requires identifying what is meant by quality in education in

general, prior to studying the specific details of the preschool level.

III. THE QUALITY IMPERATIVE AS A RIGHT OF CHILDREN TO TIMELY AND

RELEVANT EDUCATION

3.1 The subject of quality has a range of theoretical approaches and, consequently, of

practical methods for its implementation and quantification

Among the education topics of the greatest current concern to authorities and societies,

the question of quality is one of those that arises most frequently in policies and speeches.

12 Education Commission of the States, June 2001. 13 Research into the acquisition of literacy, Morocco. Reported on DIT page, OAS. 14 INCAP. Study in rural areas. Guatemala. Reported on DIT page, OAS.

- 14 -

Paradoxically, however, it is one of the topics with the lowest levels of conceptual and

operational development, considering the current levels of analysis and theorizing on the matter.

As early as 1968, P. H. Coombs stated that “quality” was the “most slippery” term in education

and, at present, authors like P. Moss (1994), C. Jensen (1994), and J. Casassus (1999) say that

one of the chief problems is that the concept has come serve as an all-embracing “panacea”

within education, which means that it could lose its specific meaning and, consequently, its

ability to help form greater consensus and appropriate practices. In any event, the difficulty in

reaching better definitions appears to arise, inter alia, from the fact that “educational quality”

invariably implies a value judgment on the quality of educational contents, arrived at by means

of a certain theory and given paradigms which, since they are not explained by the proponents,

make it difficult to reach agreement on a range of basic points.

Another important fact is that nowadays, the concept and practice of educational quality

is not always constructed by educators; instead, other players are involved in its definition, such

as various groups of decision-makers and “users”: i.e., communities, families, and pupils.

Authors like J. Casassus (1999) identify, as one of the reasons for the difficulties in defining

quality, contemporary efforts to redistribute the power it involves: “in terms of the process,

particularly one of construction and transformation, its leitmotiv is the question of power and the

question of change.”15

This situation indicates how complex addressing this issue currently is; it is therefore

necessary to analyze and clarify those theoretical outlooks in order to make progress with

implementation and measurement.

Historically, it was not until the late 1970s that explicit efforts to address the quality

problem within the world’s education systems began. This was a consequence of the report of the

Carnegie Commission16

in 1968, and in particular with a major symposium held the following

year by UNESCO and the International Institute for Educational Planning (I.I.E.P.), under the

leadership of P. H. Coombs. It was attended by 23 specialists and focused on “Qualitative

aspects of educational planning, with particular reference to developing countries.”17

The central approach at the symposium was to analyze quality problems arising from the

ongoing global democratization of primary education, revealing shortcomings and problems with

costs, assessments, and inadequate results. From that level, the topic of quality began to be

extended into other sectoral study areas.

Since that time, the topic has evolved in both theory and practice; however, in spite of its

importance, it has not expanded beyond certain specialized circles, as can be seen in the

documentation drawn up by the region’s official technical groups. What is most commonly seen

is an extension of a modernistic and universalist position on quality, to the detriment of other,

more postmodernist takes on the topic, reflecting the diversity of contexts and situations, the

plurality of options and, in particular, the opinions of the different players involved.

15. Casassus, Juan. “Language, Power, and Quality in Education.” UNESCO Bulletin 50,

December 1999, p. 47.

16. Carnegie Commission on Higher Education. “Quality and equality: New levels of federal

responsibility for higher education.” Mc Graw Hill, New York, 1968.

17. Beeby, C. E. (Ed.) “Qualitative aspects of educational planning.” UNESCO, I.I.E.P., Belgium,

1969.

- 15 -

Thus, important authors such as J. Casassus (1999) and Peter Moss (1994) have said

that, “quality is a relative concept, not an objective reality,” adding that “definitions of quality

reflect values and beliefs, needs and agendas, influences and authorities from several decision-

making groups with a stake in those services.”18

This situation has led authors like W. Carr (1993) to say that: “those who are not

professional teachers – such as politicians, economists, and businessmen – will tend to interpret

and assess quality in teaching in terms of values unrelated to the educational process. In their

view, education is something that serves extrinsic purposes, such as the national interest,

society’s economic needs, or the demands of the labor market. In such cases, opinions on

education quality are not issued in accordance with the criteria used to assess teaching as an

educational process, but rather on the basis of criteria that underscore the effectiveness of

teaching as a means to ends other than the strictly educational.”19

To achieve progress in this regard, educational theorists state that the reductionist

approach to the topic that has prevailed to date must be developed further. In connection with

this, the comments of I. Aguerrondo (1993) are germane. She says that the limited view of

“education quality” held by some people is due to the restrictive definition of it that has been

made and that, in contrast, it is full of potential because of a set of reasons she explains in the

following terms:

a) It is “complex and totalizing,” explaining that this concept is “inclusive and

multidimensional” and so “can be applied to any of the elements involved in the field of

education.”20

She exemplifies this by saying that “you can talk about the quality of the

teacher, the quality of the learning, the quality of the infrastructure, the quality of the

processes,”21

“although attention must be paid to how it is defined in each case,”22

adding that, at the same time, “it also allows synthesis.”23

b) It is “socially and historically determined.” In other words, the quality of education “is

read in the light of historical and cultural patterns related to a specific reality, to a

specific social construct, in a specific country, and at a specific moment in time.24

c) “It is set up as the image and goal of educational transformation,”25

geared toward

decision-making. Consequently, “any reform process must specify, either implicitly or

explicitly, what is meant by education quality.”26

d) “It is set up as a control pattern for service efficiency.”27

She explains that beyond the

restrictive vision imposed by excess focus on “efficiency,” education must accept that it

18. P. Moss et al. Op. cit. p. 1.

19. Carr, Wilfred. “Calidad de la enseñanza.” Diada Editora, Seville, 1993, pp. 7-8.

20. Aguerrondo, Inés. Op. cit., p. 563

21. Loc. cit.

22. Loc. cit.

23. Loc. cit.

24. Loc. cit.

25. Loc. cit.

26. Loc. cit.

- 16 -

has low-quality and low-efficiency systems and that it has not been able to give a better

response than the one arising from the administrative arena. As a result of this, she

stresses the importance of analyzing efficiency with pedagogical criteria and that, in that

regard, “an efficient education system is not one with the lowest costs per student, but

one that by optimizing the means available to it, it capable of providing the entire

population with a quality education.”28

It is necessary to point out that the aim is not to address the topic in a polarized fashion,

but rather to recognize that although in certain ways a more efficiency-based approach is valid on

account of the investment involved and the need to contract services, elements of both positions

can be adopted in order to ensure a more comprehensive and participatory vision of education’s

focus on quality.

Martin Woodhead (1996) explicitly makes a proposal for integration by stating that

“quality is relative, but not arbitrary.”29

He bases his position in the field of children’s

education, stating that “like the rainbow, we can identify invariant ingredients in the quality

spectrum in early childhood; but the spectrum is not fixed, since a combination of particular

circumstances emerges, seen from different points of view.”30

That is because any educational

program is “a complex human system involving many individuals and groups with interests,”31

and so “there potentially exist many quality criteria, which are closely linked to beliefs about

goals and functions.”32

Another advocate of this line is J. Casassus (1999) who, recognizing the historical nature

and social construction of the quality concept, attempts to identify a number of dimensions that

could help implement it for measurements and assessments.

Consequently, in light of the complexity and plurality of the educational process and the

contexts in which it takes place, a conceptualization of quality can be assumed that progresses

from being a set of standards that set certain techniques (generally economic in nature) to focus

on more flexible, historically selected criteria, where the various players involved are also heard,

thereby assuming meanings that can be understood and assessed by all. In this way they serve as

parameters not only for controlling, but also for illuminating and making progress.

Under a more advanced view, educational quality would cover a set of distinctive

criteria, of relevance to education and important for attaining its goals, but which must also be

legitimated as satisfactory and appropriate by the agents involved in educational undertakings.

They therefore allow the pursuit of the set goals both in general and in specific terms, through

their implementation by means of certain shared indicators. Since they are constructed with the

participation of the different players involved, they acquire dimensions of greater individuality,

27. Loc. cit.

28. Ibid., pp. 564-565.

29. Woodhead, Martin. “In search of the rainbow.” Op. cit., p. 10.

30. Ibid,. p. 10.

31. Op. cit., p. 37

32. Ibid,. p. 37.

- 17 -

meaningfulness, and flexibility and, when compared with other experiences, reveal certain

aspects shared by other activities in the educational field and others.

3.4 Quality in education: A children’s right

Education quality has traditionally been seen as a requirement arising from external

agencies wishing, in particular, to assess the process rather from a demand made by the players

involved themselves. Among this latter group, there has been a gradual trend toward increased

participation by the adults involved in educational processes (teachers, family members), but there

has been little focus on it as a children’s right in the process whereby their citizenship is formed.33

Thus, given that they are seen as “subjects” of education, the “rights perspective” within the

subject of education quality must also be assumed, and since that in general terms involves

“recognizing the principles that govern social actions, from criteria of justice enshrining and

ensuring the possibility of development for all,”34

it is clearly applicable in this area.

Thus, as Arango (2001) states, when “the attention given to children comes from

a rights-based approach, in accordance with the doctrine of comprehensively

protecting children, and is delivered from the family and its interconnection with

the community and state institution, not only is social exclusion addressed but

also, at the same time, it helps create the social, political, cultural, and economic

conditions that enable countries to construct citizenship, strengthen participatory

democracy here and now and in the future, develop their resources, empower the

local level, and improve their competitiveness with a view toward more

successful incorporation in the processes of change demanded by the

contemporary world.”35

3.3 The right of the most vulnerable groups to timely, quality children’s education

The right of children to quality preschool and primary education, while it should be a

possibility for all, is clearly, given the inequalities found in the region and its policies in

pursuit of equality, of urgent nature in the most vulnerable sectors: the critically poor,

indigenous peoples, inhabitants of rural areas and borderlands, migrants, and Afro-

descendants.

The scant number of programs for these sectors, and the even lower number of

monitoring and evaluation efforts for those programs, indicate that this is an area where

attention is essential. The social and cultural relevance of these programs thus emerges as one

of the essential factors in quality that, in conjunction with others, must be brought into play in

any proposal targeting those areas.

The entire transitions field thus occupies a central place, in that it is related to

children’s real possibilities of establishing associations between their socio-cultural

33. Colombia and Costa Rica have had important experiences regarding this topic.

34. Alvarado, S. and M. T. Carreño. “La formación ciudadana: una estrategia para la construcción

de justicia.” Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Niñez y Juventud. No. 5, Colombia, 2007.

www.umanizalesedu.co/revistacinde. 35. Arango, Marta. Boletín No. 1. Cinde. Web page version. 2001.

- 18 -

surroundings and the programs, thereby assisting their successful transition and graduation or

promotion.

Consequently, the OAS/Van Leer project’s specific goals are the following:

Gathering and consolidating the information that exists about trends in education and

care during the earliest years of childhood, with particular emphasis on rural,

indigenous, and borderland contexts.

Identifying and organizing a multi-intersectoral analysis of regional policies and

trends in education/transitions during the first years of a child’s life.

Building institutional capacity for policy designers and local and national supervisory

agencies responsible for initial/preschool and primary education in rural, indigenous,

and borderland communities.

Designing and executing a communications and advocacy strategy to increase

awareness within this process.

IV. QUALITY IN PRESCHOOL EDUCATION: A COMPLEX YET ATTAINABLE GOAL

An examination of the literature about quality in preschool education reveals that, over time,

various sets of criteria have been formulated: some relatively similar, and others differentiated to adapt

to particular situations. Among those authors, Darder (1990), Pascal (1994), Penn (1995), Zabalza

(1995), Fujimoto (2001), Didonet (2002), and, finally, those indicated by the OECD identify some of

these criteria, ranging from aspects of the cultural context and family participation to others associated

with educational and curricular experiences and related to processes or products. In Latin America, for

example, those put forward by Peralta (1985, 1991, 2001) as criteria of activity, integrality,

participation, cultural belonging, and learning relevance36

reflect some basic principles of preschool

education (the first three) in an updated version. In contrast, the remaining two, cover more inherently

Latin American aspects in response to the more particular educational problems they face; they

correspond to curricular process criteria. In any event, this proposal made as a function of quality in

preschool education was drawn up in terms of “criteria” and “considerations” that have enabled it to be

contextualized and relativized in light of the different and varied situations that can arise in that field,

rather than indicating standards or specific indicators; this was so it could approach a more postmodern

outlook on the topic, allowing a richer perspective.

Thus, the trend in dealing with this problem over the past twenty years, which has, in line with

the supposed objectivity of modernity, attempted to compartmentalize quality in “rational and

universal standards, defined by experts on the basis of unquestionable knowledge and measured in ways

the reduce the complexity of preschool education facilities to stable and rational criteria,”37

with

“methods that have emphasized and prioritized the “why” over the “what” at the cost of philosophy,”38

have been giving way to greater openness and complexity regarding this topic, as can be seen in the

most recent literature. On this point, K. Sylva (1999) says that “understanding the effectiveness of initial

education requires research based on a variety of paradigms, because none alone can provide answers

36. Peralta, Victoria. “Criterios de calidad curricular para una educación inicial latinoamericana.”

Mimeo, JUNJI, Santiago, 1992.

37. Dahlberg, G. et al. Op. cit., p. 99

38. Loc. cit.

- 19 -

to all our questions about policies and practices.”39

Thus, the main problem is how to reconceptualize educational quality in consideration of

diversity, subjectivity, the multiple perspectives of stakeholders and spatial and temporal contexts,

without straying from the important factors that guarantee the essential purposes. In connection with

this, some authors offer “signals.” Dahleberg et. al. (1999) state that the solution is to “look for the

meanings.” That means first addressing the reasons or understandings sought by each preschool

education institution, along with their projects, with their respective meanings. On that basis,

“judgments” may be offered on the various phases of their work, before finally seeking agreements with

others regarding those judgments. Ultimately, the central idea is to “jointly construct” with others the

meanings of and judgments about the values of an educational experience in order to determine its

quality.

In this regard, the OECD’s “Starting Strong I” report states that: “A participatory approach to

quality improvement and assurance: Defining, ensuring, and monitoring quality should be a

participatory and democratic process that engages staff, parents, and children. There is a need for

regulatory standards for all forms of provision supported by coordinated investment.”40

Consequently, to carry out a process of this kind, the studies concur that it is essential to build,

in conjunction with the entire educational community and by means of a critical and reflective process,

the search for the basic meanings of the desired educational proposal. In applying these ideas, one

essential factor is problematization on the basis of good pedagogical documentation, where

commonalities and dialogue are fundamental. Also of assistance is the participation of facilitators who

support the base-group in their identification, analysis, and construction of their quality criteria based on

the historical-spatial context of each experience.

The most recent research into the topic reveals that by safeguarding these characteristics of joint

construction and quality analysis, certain shared broad parameters can be identified as reference points,

which must invariably be contextualized. For example, the classical criterion of the adult-child ratio,

which is traditionally considered a key factor for quality, must be “interpreted with the meanings of

each country on the pedagogical tools that are appropriate for children, in conjunction with the financial

and organizational counterpart.”41

It is well known, and reflected in transcultural preschool education

research, that in some Asian countries a conscious effort is made to use large groups of children in order

to assist their adaptation to high-population societies, where wide-open individual spaces are the

exception.

It is consequently possible to embrace certain quality parameters or criteria that, by respecting

the meanings of each project, their levels of dynamism, and the diversity of stakeholders and opinions,

reflect important key issues about the topic.

A review of the global research indicates that these issues are addressed by the studies in one

way or another, although they do interrelate curricular quality criteria with others from the fields of

administration and management; this latter group must be borne in mind since they can facilitate or

hinder the former.

39. Sylva, K. “Research Explaining the past and shaping the future,” in: Abott and Moylett (Ed.):

“Early Education Transformed.” Falmer Press, London, 1999, p. 178

40. OECD. “Starting Strong.” Executive Summary. Web page version, 2001.

41. OECD. Op. cit. p. 65.

- 20 -

The criteria with the greatest impact on children’s education and those most frequently referred

to in different studies and research projects include the following:

CRITERIA / STUDIES 42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

Total

references

Involvement

of parents in educational

projects

X X X X X X X X 8

Appropriate adult-child

interactions

X X X X X X X X 8

Adequate program (clear,

relevant, appropriate

intentions)

X X X X X X 6

Evidence that children

assume an active role in their

learning through play

X 1

Suitable and well organized

physical spaces

X X X X X 5

Stable routines X 1

Monitoring and evaluation X X X X 4

Permanent staff training X X 2

An analysis of the criteria cited by the researchers indicates that the most relevant factors in the

quality of children’s education are, in order, the following:

- The involvement of parents in program design and implementation, on account of what

it means in affective terms for the child and for the convergence of shared educational

elements at home and at school, which has an impact on improving the domestic

educational microclimate.

42. Schweinhart, L. J. “What makes a quality Preschool. Keys to Early Childhood Education, Vol.

2, No. 4, April 1981.

43. U.S. Department of Education. Excellence in Early Education. Defining characteristics and

strategies for the next decade.” Office of Educational Research and Improvement. USA, 1990.

44. Pugh, Gillian: “A policy for early childhood. services,” in: “Contemporary Issues in the Early

Years.” National Children’s Bureau, London, 1996, pp. 23 and 24.

45. Salazar, Miguel. “Calidad en la Educación Infantil.” Narcea, Madrid, 1996, p. 35.

46. National Childhood Accreditation Council. “Core principles,” Australia, 1994.

47. Myers, Robert. “In search of early childhood indicators,” in: “Notebooks.” No. 25, 2001, p. 22

48. OECD. “Starting Strong I.” Paris, 2001.

49. Tietze, Wolgang. Interview: “La calidad pedagógica es el desafío social que permitirá el

salto.” EducarChile. Escritorio del Investigador, 27 June 2007. Web page: www.educarchile.cl

- 21 -

- The quality of the interactions established among all the participants, in particular

between adults and the children, with respect to both affective and cognitive aspects. In

that, the number or ratio of children per adult has an impact, in that it implies more

assertive and personalized relationships.

- An explicit, clear, and relevant educational program, appropriate in its main thrusts to

all those participating in the program.

- Systems for monitoring and evaluating the program and the children’s learning, with

the results taken into consideration in replanning educational practices.

- Appropriate physical spaces, educationally organized and with access to materials that

let children explore, discover, and transform. This criterion addresses the importance of

having a variety of materials (natural, cultural, fallen into disuse,50

etc.) in conjunction

with creativity on the part of teachers and communities in preparing them, instead of

confusing them with sophistical commercial materials as is generally the case.

Another way of organizing child education quality is offered by Martin Woodhead (1996), who

explains that indicators of quality can be categorized into three broad groups:

Input indicators. These reflect the more permanent aspects of programs and are the

easiest to define and measure; they also set the basis for regulations on basic quality

standards. They include:

- the building and its surroundings (space per child, heating, lighting, lavatories,

washing facilities, etc.

- materials and equipment (furniture, toys and games, teaching/learning materials,

audio-visual equipment, etc.)

- equipment (heating, basic experience, wages and conditions, child-adult ratio,

etc.)

Process indicators, which reflect what happens on a day-to-day basis. Woodhead

explains that these are the most difficult to identify and standardize, and that they may

include:

- standard of attention (availability of adults for children, responsiveness,

consistency, etc.)

- experiences of the children (variety, form of organization, allowing choices,

patterns of activity, feeding, rest periods, playtimes, etc.)

- how teaching and learning are addressed (control, support for children’s

activities, assignments requested, sensitivity to individual differences, etc.)

50. Israel reports interesting experiences with abandoned materials, located both in interior work

areas and in “patios” (such as artifacts, broken appliances).

- 22 -

- how control and discipline are handled (setting limits, rules, group handling,

discipline strategies, etc.)

- relations between adults (daily communication, cooperation, etc.)

- relations between parents, care-givers, and others (greetings, opportunities for

communication about children, mutual respect, cooperation, awareness of

differences, etc.)

Exit indicators. These describe the impact of the experience. This is domain of

effectiveness and cost-benefit ratios. They can include:

- children’s health (monitoring growth, listing illnesses, etc.)

- children’s skills (motor coordination, language, cognitive skills, social relations,

introductory mathematics, reading, and writing)

- children’s adaptation to school (transition problems, progress through grades,

scholastic achievements, etc.)

- family attitudes (support for their children’s learning, parenting skills, etc.)

The University of Western Sydney, Australia, offers another presentation of these criteria,

categorizing them as factors “that contribute to” and “that determine” quality preschool education

programs.

- 23 -

What is interesting about all these proposals is that they again underscore the importance of the

curriculum or program implemented and in particular, the impact of the quality of the interactions

between adults and children.

Regarding this latter criterion, of particular interest is a report in a recent presentation made in

the United States by the Abecedarian Project,51

describing “typical” interactions between teachers and

pupils in various schools around the country and explaining the disappointing results obtained from the

levels of investment made.

As can be seen on the chart, most of the time (73%) there is no interaction with the children;

18% of the time there is “minimal” interaction; routine dealings account for 1%; and only 8% involve

elaborated situations. consequently, the simple presence of children in a school with excellent

infrastructure does not guarantee what happens in the classroom; what matters is what is worked on

with them and how the work takes place.

Interacción típica entre el

maestro y el niñoTypical teacher-child interaction

FPG CDI, 2005, FPG CDI, 2005, Early DevelopmentsEarly Developments

This analysis of the kind of practices and interactions that take place between adults and

children and of their relationship to educational quality, has been examined in Europe by means of a

major study in several countries.52

It determined that there were four kinds of educational styles and that

there was a correlation with certain countries and cultured, and this was consequently correlated with

the results of applying an instrument dealing with quality.

51. “The Abecedarian Project: Implications for Programs in the first three years of life.”

Presentation given at the OAS Inter-American Symposium on Comprehensive Attention for the Under-Threes.

May 14-18, 2007, Washington, DC, USA.

52. Tietze, W. et al. “Cross national analysis of the quality and effects of different types of early

childhood programs on children’s development.” European Union DGXII: Science, Research and Development,

Brussels, 1997.

- 24 -

Breakdown of Education Styles in Four European Countries:

Countries /

Educational

Styles

Directed Directed /

Collective

Free and Planned Free

Spain 81% 15% 0 1%

Portugal 0 50% 33% 16%

Austria 0 25% 48% 23%

Germany 0 8% 6% 86%

Source: Study by Tietze et al., cited by M. J. Lera en: Calidad de la Educación Infantil: instrumentos de

evaluación.(2007)

In addition, it states that applying the ECERS scale (Early Childhood Environment Rating

Scale) reveals that the “best scores on the scale are due to the kind of activities carried out, more

directed toward free play, the development of autonomy, choice of activities, work in small groups, etc.

This also correlates to a lower number of children per teacher.” This means that Austria and Germany

enjoy better results than the Spanish-speaking world.

The analysis is not so direct, however, since rather than cultural issues what is at play are

certain organizational characteristics of kindergartens in Spain, where the average adult-child ratio is 1

to 25. Because of this, according the analysis of Lera (2007), in “directed environments methodologies

designed by textbooks are used”;53

in contrast, those that work in “less traditional” was are more

stimulating in the classroom, follow educational practices that favor language, and have more resources

for that.

Lera (2007) explains that developing less directed practices also requires “proper teacher

training” with “knowledge about the psychology of education and child development” (Arnett, 1987).

Consequently, in light of all this information, we confirm the importance of interactions between

adults and children based on their developmental characteristics, where more openly planned

working styles allow greater levels of participation, autonomy, language development, etc.

What implications for developing countries arise from all these contributions? Is quality preschool

education possible?

If the research indicates that neither infrastructure nor costly materials are what makes a quality

preschool education, as was shown by the first studies in the area during the 1970s, but rather that what

matters are the processes that take place therein, and most particularly the interactions, in which the

directed style is not the most helpful, it may be concluded that with good training and reduced child-

adult ratios, it is attainable.

To this picture, taken from the European context, we must add the particular situation of

developing countries, which is related to the importance of family participation, the adoption of a good

program, plus the incorporation of local human, natural, and cultural resources.

53. Op. cit., p. 14, Web version.

- 25 -

Believing that quality in preschool education comes from vast material resources has been

confined to the past by research; thus, the public supply centered on those aspects can help devise a

better proposal than the private spheres, as shown by the results of a research project conducted in

Chile,54

regarding the application of the ECERS scale in different types of programs:

Quality assessment of educational environment inschoolrooms of Transtional Level of Chilean preschool

Assessment of ECERS scale points1: inadequate 3: minimum 5: good 7: excellent

4.85

5.91

5.135.53

6.19

5.56

4.39

3.75 3.654.13

3.56

2.25

3.34

2.66 2.84 2.72

1.91

3.33

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

City Council

Primary

schools

State Pre-

school

Programme

(JUNJI)

INTEGRA

Foundation

Subsidised

Primary school

Private Centres N.G.O.

Max

Mean

Min

Source: Villalón, M. et al. 2002.

Among the results, obtained from 120 schools belonging to three agencies funded exclusively

with public resources (municipal schools, Junji, and Integra), JUNJI reported better figures than the

private sector, comprising subsidized private schools, strictly private schools, and centers run by various

NGOs. An analysis reveals that of the public sector institutions, JUNJI is the most focused on education

suited to this stage in child development, with professional teachers, a clear program, and family

participation. Although all the results range from minimum to good, it is clear that one of the

constraining factors all the institutions in the ratio between the numbers of children per adult, which

ranges from 45 to one (schools) to between 25 and 32 in kindergartens. Consequently, it can be

concluded that if all those quality factors were put into play, synergetically, better results could be

attained.

54. Villalón, M. et al. “Analysis of the quality of Chilean preschool education: Application of the

ECERS scale in different educational contexts.” International Journal of Early Years Education. Vol. 10 No. 1,

2002.

- 26 -

All the countries of Latin America have experiences of this kind, in which the use of one or

more of these criteria can be seen; inadequate systematization and research, however, means that

practices of this kind do not receive proper dissemination or assessment. Along with that, much practice

is directed, authoritarian, and excessively disciplinary, driven by a lack of appropriate training, large

numbers of children per adult, and a total lack of resources for changing the situation.

Consequently, as a way to integrate all the contributions analyzed, if the goal is to improve the

quality of preschool education in the region, giving consideration to the research carried out in both

developed and developing countries, what is needed a coherent and synergetic proposal involving at

least the following criteria, within a contextualized approach and involving participation by all the

stakeholders (community, families, teachers, and children).

V. CONTRIBUTIONS TO QUALITY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF TRANSITION

PROCESSES

Given the fact that the various contributions to both theory and practice on education quality

that have been made remain constricted to certain very specialized circles, and also because of the

excessive abuse of the topic as a panacea, there can be no doubt that the different agents involved in

promoting this policy suffer from exhaustion and disappointment. Together with the lack of adequate

support, and the fact that the complexity of the issue exceeds simple solutions, these contributions

consequently have not been broadly adopted by public policy.

SIGNIFICANT

FACTORS IN THE

QUALITY OF

CHILDREN’S

EDUCATION

Signigicant

involvement of

family members in

the educational

project

Explicit program,

relevant,

with stakeholder

ownership

Affective and

educational interactions

of quality through

pertinent teaching

practices

- 27 -

In that context, the joint project between the OAS and the Van Leer Foundation seeks to

tackle the problem of quality from a new angle, which could serve to reduce some of the resistance

created by explaining the lack of quality in preschool education programs by placing the child at the

center as the protagonist of all improvement attempts. At the same time, it offers new elements for

theoretical discussion and its application to the educational practices of formal and nonformal

programs in such highly vulnerable sectors as indigenous and Afro-descendant communities and rural

and borderland areas.

If the problem is analyzed in terms of the processes experienced by children, it can be seen

that their development and learning entails different transitions that take place throughout their lives

and that are internal instances of gradual change, requiring external interconnection processes in order

to be able to link each new desired phase.

Different kinds of transitions take place during a person’s life. On account of the years

addressed by the OAS-Van Leer project (from birth to the age of eight), however, attention has first

been given to the kinds of transitions that cover a broader population of children and that have an

impact on the appropriate experience of every stage in life and also on success at school; others, such

as when a child abandons school or enters the general population, have not been ignored and could be

incorporated later,.

Those addressed by the project are those identified as belonging to the “second transition”: in

other words, those from the family-social environment to some external agency of care, which can be

very different in nature. At present the institutions they can attend range from community nurseries55

to large schools offering other levels of education, by way of other possible kinds of intermediate

institution, such as nonconventional programs or formal kindergartens or nurseries. Each of these

alternatives that children can attend implies transitions, which can be easier or more difficult

depending on the quality of the attention they offer.

The point in time when children enter external institutions can vary notably. It is basically

determined by:

The family and/or work situation of the mother.

The family’s economic situation.

Upbringing practices.

Beliefs about the age when a child should begin attending an external institution.

Current legislation governing post-natal conditions, entitlements to nurseries, etc.

Awareness and appreciation of the contribution made by preschool education.

The physical and economic availability of preschool education alternatives.

The quality of the preschool education available.

Social demands regarding “preparation” for entry to elementary or primary

education.

This last factor, together with the fact that access to preschool has become widespread in the

region for the 5-to-6 age group, means that in most cases, many children – particularly those from

urban areas – are increasingly experiencing this instance of transition at that time of their lives.

55. By this, we mean locally run community organizations where a resident takes in neighborhood children

in exchange for payment.

- 28 -

The degree of continuity or differentiation between the family and the external institution

may vary greatly, depending largely on the level of “sensitivity” that the latter has with respect to the

former.

Such transitions, in rural, indigenous, and borderland communities, pose even greater

difficulties, in that the educational curricula “imposed” on those children are generally dissimilar to

the culture to which they belong; this leads to high levels of nonadaptation which, in many cases,

cause serious problems of self-esteem, insecurity, and limited learning. In the worst case, this lack of

an adequate transition can lead to the withdrawal of children from preschool education; this would be

an interesting point to analyze, since there are no in-depth studies of the phenomenon.

In turn, according to the number of years that children attend a preschool program, the

continuity or discontinuity of pedagogical practices between separate teachers or practitioners within

a given establishment, or between one establishment and another, other intra-institutional transitions

take place (from one care-giver to another; from the nursery, crèche, or kindergarten to intermediate

or preschool levels; from a nonformal program to a formal one, etc.). These generally are less studied

and developed in the specialized literature, even though they can have a major impact on children,

leading to their withdrawal from the program or lower levels of achievement.

The “third transition” of importance, the one that has been most developed by the specialized

literature, is the one that leads from the final grade or level of preschool education to primary

education. This transition also entails many variables, and depends in general on the quality of the

education provided at both levels, on the cultural and educational traditions that exist, and on the

clarity with which such transitional situations are identified.

A review of the transition processes experienced by children indicates that, in some form,

many of them “transit” because the parents wish for their children to enroll in primary education; in

most cases, however, and most particularly among vulnerable sectors, they are characterized by

tension, difficult situations, and mediocre results in the current stage, and can even culminate in

scholastic failure or dropping out of school.

In other cases, the transitions are interesting, rewarding, and classified as “successful,” with

positive results for the children in terms of their comprehensive development and of the learning they

are expected to acquire.

What factors influence an optimal transition between these levels is an interesting question to

address, in both practical and theoretical terms, and in particular among the sectors addressed by the

project – an area that has been little explored and that has social and cultural characteristics that add a

new dimension to the topic.

To what extent are these transitions addressed by national policies and, consequently, by

relevant programs and actions is another interesting question for analysis and research, along with the

existence of indicators that reflect progress in this regard, and those are elements that this project

seeks to provide.

- 29 -

As for how the topic of quality relates to the transitions that children experience, it should be

noted that all the above comments regarding the relevance to quality of interactions in educational

practices are related to the interconnection processes set up by various institutions that provide for

children in transitions of this kind. For a first statement of theory, for example, it could be said that an

adequate transition is affected by many factors, such as those indicated in the following chart:56

An analysis of the factors that could potentially affect transitions reveals that they are based on

a series of criteria that coincide with several of those already identified as of importance in preschool

education quality. Thus, the more work that takes place in those areas and the more that is learned about

their weight and impact, particularly among the selected communities, efforts can be made to improve

the quality of preschool education programs for those sectors.

56. Peralta, Victoria. “Transiciones en educación infantil: un marco para abordar el tema de la calidad.”

Theoretical framework document of the Transitions Project, OAS/Van Leer. 2007

GENERAL FACTORS

THAT IMPACT

TRANSITIONS

Socio-cultural context

INTERNAL

Affective development:

- Basic confidence

- Security

- Self-esteem

- Resilience

- Repertory of adaptive

strategies

- Attitudes to change

Cognitive development:

- Awareness of aspects of

new environments

- Ability to interpret other

codes (affective,

cognitive, linguistic)

EXTERNAL (articulatory)

- Affective support

- Ability to empower

children's strengths

- Family attitudes to change

- Development of activities to

prepare for new situations

- Assistance in tackling new

situations

- Definition of situations of

continuity, progression, and

differentiation

- Identification of new,

attainable states

- Ensuring accessibility

conditions

- 30 -

As stated by the OECD in its “Starting Strong” report:

“A strong and equal partnership with the education system supports a lifelong learning approach

from birth, encourages smooth transitions for children, and recognises ECEC as an important part of

the education process. Strong partnerships with the education system provide the opportunity to bring

together the diverse perspectives and methods of both ECEC and schools, focusing on the strengths of

both approaches.”57

To what extent do current policies and systems support these transitions, particularly among

the most vulnerable sectors, such as those chosen for the OAS/Van Leer project? Acknowledging that

little information is available, the preliminary details do indicate that the poorest school results are

reported in those sectors, as is the case with children from rural areas; along with them, the group

about whom the least is known vis-à-vis these transitions are the inhabitants of borderland

communities, since most of them are relatively new. As for indigenous communities, while there are

some qualitative studies of the child-raising and ethno-education practices, there has been little work

about their incorporation into the preschool education systems that have recently become available to

those sectors or about their incorporation into primary education.

Some information – gathered in 1992, at the OAS seminar held in Ecuador about the

preschool attention given to indigenous sectors, and in the multiregional project carried out over the

following years as a result of the seminar – indicates that in general, the emphasis was on increasing

coverage in those sectors, but that there were few programs with curriculums that included the topic

of cultural belonging, which could facilitate an easier transition from the home environment.

Programs receiving children from indigenous sectors in general followed curriculums designed for

urban areas (and of inadequate educational quality even for those environments), in which matters of

such importance as mother-tongues were ignored, leading to a breakdown in communications

between the children and their teachers.

In this new century, when the coverage of preschool education has been extended into all

those sectors, the policies and programs targeting those vulnerable populations are worthy of closer

examination. To what extent are current policies reaching those sectors? How are they arriving, and

how are they being developed? What results are being obtained? How can these processes be

improved? – Those are some the questions that this project wants to explore further, in pursuit of

equality and quality in attention given to those segments of the infant population that most require

focused attention: those selected for this project.

VI. PROGRESS WITH THE OAS/VAN LEER PROJECT

The project “Trends in Transition Policies in Rural, Indigenous, and Border Communities in

Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and Chile” focuses on analyzing trends in transition policies in

those five countries58

at the outset, with the hope of bringing others on board at a later date.

57. OECD. “Starting Strong.” Executive Summary. Web page version, 2001. 58. In June 2007 the government of Chile joined, represented by the National Kindergarten Board (JUNJI),

to give a total of five participating countries.

- 31 -

The basic questions it seeks to address are the following:

- What is the current trend in policies designed for children facing the selected

transitions in the target groups?

- What conditions (phenomena, factors, facilitating environments, etc.) of those

transitions could have an impact on the empowerment of quality education in the

target groups?

It involves a set of quantitative and qualitative studies that will further develop the various

aspects of the transitions and will also carry out specific communications and dissemination actions

through an Observatory, together with other resources to assist in publicizing the information

produced by the studies. Future phases could include activities in the field, modeling successful

transitions.

Technical advice for the OAS/Van Leer project is provided by the OAS Department of

Education and Culture in conjunction with the International Child Education Institute of the Central

University of Chile. These actions are carried out in conjunction with institutions specializing in

human development, education, and communications from the five countries. The participants

include: the doctorate program at CINDE / University of Manizales; Brazil’s CECIP; and other

academic and specialized institutes from Peru and Venezuela. Work in Chile is being carried out by

an interinstitutional team comprising the organizations that work with infants in Chile, lead by JUNJI.

In June 2007 the first training session for national coordinators from the five countries was

held in Santiago, Chile. The event analyzed progress with the diagnostic studies of the countries, the

way in which work with those studies was to continue, the organization of the Observatory, and the

proposed Work Plan for 2007-2008. In addition to the delegates from the five countries,

representatives of the Van Leer Foundation, UNICEF/TACRO, and DEC/OAS attended the meeting.

The event provided a first overview of the general situation facing children (0 to 8 years) in

the study’s initial four countries, along with a general outlook on the likely context for transition

policies.

The initial information collected about the general situation of the target child populations

and the attention they are provided was relatively heterogeneous, with some countries having more

data available than others. The most common indicators were population, coverage of preschool

education (focusing on the 3-to-6 age group) and of regular schools, and poverty levels. Regarding

the target populations, it was determined that there was more information available about rural

dwellers and, in some cases, about certain indigenous peoples; information about migrant populations

was the most difficult to secure. Information about the target child population appears difficult to

obtain: it might be necessary to cross-reference various sets of data and, in some cases, to conduct

some specific studies.

At this stage in the study, it appears that there are few easily obtainable indicators dealing

with transition processes; the ones most commonly found and that can be tied in with inadequate

transitions deal with drop-out and grade repetition rates. Because of this dispersion of the

information, it was agreed that certain background details would be researched by all the participants.

- 32 -

Given that the relevance of the gathered information was already apparent, the group of

countries agreed to draw up a preliminary report on their progress with the project and its correlation

with to quality policies, for submission at the 5th Meeting of Ministers of Education.

A preliminary study has been conducted of the current situation in the first four countries as

regards the general situation of the attention given to children, prior to beginning to focus on the

selected target groups.

The progress made with those studies is as follows:59

Overview of children in the countries

The four countries have statistical data that allow them to measure their child

populations at the national level and to obtain internationally agreed-upon basic

indicators to characterize the situation in the areas of health, nutrition, schooling, etc.

The weakness of this information, particularly vis-à-vis rural, indigenous, and

borderland populations, is related to the registration of births. Among rural and

isolated segments of the population, lower proportions of children are registered at

the time of birth. This phenomenon could be causing other indicators – such as

neonatal and infant death rates, schooling levels, etc. – to be undervalued.

Although the four countries have policies and programs for ensuring that all children

are registered at the earliest possible age and some progress has been made, total

coverage has not yet been attained; For example, in Peru it was estimated in 2006

that 86.6% of the population had been registered; in Colombia, in 2005, it was

estimated that 92.5% of under-fives were registered. In coastal areas, however, the

unregistered percentage rose by between 10 and 14%.

Institutions that keep quantitative and qualitative records of the sector and that produce

specific information about rural, indigenous, and borderland populations

The four countries have national statistics agencies that produce general nationwide

information. Censuses and household surveys are conducted.

In the four countries, specialized offices of the education ministries collect

information about education.

Both kinds of agencies work with internationally agreed-on indicators. However,

newer indicators that include studies of borderlands and migrants, for example, are

only recently been incorporated or are undergoing adjustments.

59. Report prepared by IIDEI specialist Ofelia Reveco.

- 33 -

Strengths and weaknesses of existing statistics

Although there are census-generated statistics that cover 100% of the population, the

conceptualizations on which those indicators are based are not homogeneous among

the four countries and, in addition, there have been changes within the countries,

which complicates the task of making comparisons.

National data collection systems sometimes lack continuity. In Peru, for example, the

National Household Survey comprises four modules: health, education, employment,

and poverty. Although it was planned to collect data every year, two of the modules

(education and health) were canceled and, to date, figures are only available for the

remaining two.

In Colombia, the 2005 Census provides information about ethnic groups, including

gypsies.

For certain age groups, such as children aged three and under, the information

appears to be less complete or reliable, particularly in its approach to education. The

3-to-6 group is more closely monitored and has greater consistency.

Existing view of rural, indigenous, and borderland populations

Three criteria are used to define the concept of belonging to an indigenous population

group: (a) self identification, (b) mother tongue, and (c) place of birth. The three

criteria have individual strengths and weaknesses for assessing the population, but

their existence allows information to be triangulated between them in order to reach

closer approximations. However, in Peru, for example, the census does not use the

first criterion, only the latter two.

For rural populations, two criteria are commonly used: (a) size of the population, and

(b) existing physical infrastructure. Combining the two allows for greater data

precision.

However, in Peru, for example, only the former is used (less than 100 dwellings in

the household survey, which was increased to 400 as of 2007).

The borderland concept is something new; it is not explicitly addressed by official

sources of statistics, although figures could be generated on the basis of geographical

location.

Description of under-eights in rural, indigenous, and borderland communities

In the opinion of the study coordinators, this information is obtainable in a broken-

down form; however, work is still under way on this.

Colombia’s 2005 national census recorded 1,378,884 indigenous people, 3.4% of the

country’s population. They are distributed among more than 80 ethnic groups, the

most numerous being the Wayuu, Nasa, Zenu, and Embera. Indigenous people are

- 34 -

found in all the nation’s departments; however, those with the largest native

populations are, in order, La Guajira, Cauca, Nariño, Córdoba, Sucre, and Tolima;

and those with the highest proportions of indigenous inhabitants are Vaupés (66%),

Guainía (65%), Guajira (45%), Vichada (44%), Amazonas (43%), Cauca (22%), and

Putumayo (18%). The census also recorded 4,261,996 Afro-Colombians, with the

highest numbers found in the departments of Valle del Cauca, Antioquia, Bolívar,

Chocó, Nariño, Cauca, and Atlántico, and the highest percentages in Chocó (83%),

San Andrés y Providencia (57%), Bolívar (28%), Valle del Cauca, and Cauca (22%).

The census also reported 4,832 Roma (gypsies), mainly in Atlántico, Bolívar, Valle,

Bogotá, Santander, and Norte de Santander. Colombia’s borderland population is

distributed among 12 departments, 54 municipalities, and 11 districts; the exact

territory of the borderland population is not defined, and there are no census reports

on account of the high level of mobility in border regions. These populations are

largely indigenous and Afro-Colombian.

Conceptualization of transitions

This concept is used in the four countries in either or both of the following two ways:

(a) to identify a level or grade within the education system, or (b) to identify the

process of moving on from preschool to primary education.

Although the education ministries in the four countries have actions for facilitating

this passage process, because it is a new concept they are based on theory and related

actions are being tested.

There are no conceptualizations, policies, or explicit actions for the concept of the

transition from the family to preschool education,

Transition statistics: Strengths and weaknesses for analyzing trends in transition policies

Using the statistics from the education ministries, information can be produced

regarding the transition from preschool to primary education; attention can then be

focused on indigenous, rural, and borderland populations to obtain standard

educational indicators: coverage, drop-out rates, grade repetitions, etc.

Information about the transition from the family to preschool education cannot be

obtained.

Some general conclusions taken from the reports

The supply of preschool education is not enough to cover potential demand. In

Colombia, for example, in 2003 only 35% of under-fives attended some form of

educational institution.

Coverage rises among older age groups. In Peru, for example, 4.3% of children aged

0 to 2 years are covered; 41.5% of three-year-olds; 66% of those aged four; and 61%

of those aged five. In Venezuela, the figures are 94% of those aged seven and eight,

85% of children, and only 21% of those aged three and under.

- 35 -

Coverage in rural areas is lower than in towns and cities: in Peru, for example, the

comparative figures are 66% vs. 45%.

Coverage among poor sectors is lower than in higher-income groups.

Indigenous populations report higher levels of poverty than mestizos or whites, along

with lower levels of schooling and greater shortcomings in educational levels in

terms of the standards set by the corresponding education ministries. In Venezuela,

for example, the country’s poorest state, with 51% of its households in poverty, is

rural, is located in the borderlands, and also has a high percentage of indigenous

people.

The four countries have specific equity policies that address rural and indigenous

populations.

Together with these studies, work is beginning on the Observatory, intended to house these

early works, other research projects, and technical documents dealing with this topic.

VII. TOWARD A CONCLUSION

In this report we summarized the most salient information available regarding the importance of

preschool education, the complex issue of quality in preschool education, and its relationship with

transition processes, and we submitted a report on the progress to date with the project in general.

Along with describing some of the research indicating the educational importance of the first

six years of life, it was said that the quality component was not inherent in any educational program for

that stage in life. It is a criterion that needs political, social, and technical work, in the understanding that

nowadays, thanks to the existing theories and research, the former belief that quality essentially

depended on costly material conditions has been confined to the past.

The review shows that greater progress can be made in this area if synergetic consideration is

given to certain criteria that have already been ratified by various studies, assuming along with that a

theoretical perspective of greater contextualization and participation by the stakeholders involved in

order to discover their opinions and aspirations.

In this context, quality is strengthened when it is tied in with the contributions made by the

study of transitions, since they share common aspects related to the processes that take place and the

educational practices that are followed. In this way, a contribution can be made to reducing the tensions

and expectations that the treatment given to quality in education has fueled in various circles, reasserting

possession of the topic from the child’s perspective.

Transition processes are important in the life of a child; those affecting the selected population

groups, which represent sectors that receive less attention and are consequently more vulnerable,

underscore the relevance of the project.

- 36 -

Preschool education has been assuming an increasing role in countries’ social and educational

policies; it has been gradually incorporating more children, particularly those aged three to six, through

different formal and non formal programs, thereby providing them with more and better opportunities;

However, the difficult processes of social and economic transformation being experienced by the

countries create situations that are problematic to address, including migratory flows and the isolation of

important sectors of the population: those targeted by this project, as well as other sectors, such as Afro-

descendants.

The possibilities of development for children from rural sectors, borderland regions, and

indigenous communities often depend on their access to other cultures and environments. However, the

failure to implement quality criteria through appropriate transition processes – ones that, by giving

cultures their due place, give consideration to identity, belonging, and local resources – means that

instead of offering a possibility of development, those actions serve to encourage premature failure. In

this way, the inequality gap widens, to the detriment of populations that are ultimately even more

marginalized from the possibility of progress.

Given the information provided and the work it plans to carry out, the multinational OAS/Van

Leer project can make a major contribution to significant progress vis-à-vis quality and equality in the

attention given to the region’s most vulnerable children. It is in a position to generate new policies,

better programs, and increased theoretical knowledge abut the topic, all of which will lead to enhanced

children’s development and their better incorporation, permanence, and successful completion within

the school system – a key goal to which all the region’s countries aspire.

MVPE/mvpe

Santiago, November 2007

- 37 -

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