A flexible preschool system for every child

About

Diversification is recognized as a transformative strategy to advance early learning due to its potential to rapidly expand access to quality preschool and meeting the needs of the most marginalized and vulnerable.3

The process of diversification has emerged in Europe and Central Asia as a response to policy challenges. Yet knowledge and evidence about this process have not been captured systematically.

Drawing on experiences within the ECA region, A flexible preschool system for every child: diversifying early learning in Europe and Central Asia and Case Studies begins to:

• explore how diversification of preschool is understood within the region and synthesize experiences into a working definition and set of guiding principles;
• document some examples of how diversification is already supporting the realization of universal, quality, inclusive preschool and lessons learned from implementation;
• reflect on the lessons learned so that governments can engage with diversification actively and systematically;
• propose recommendations for governments and partners to adopt a diversified approach and build system resilience.

Although the report focuses on preschool services, the findings and recommendations have implications for early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems more broadly, a topic which could be explored in future work.