Optimizing Early Childhood Potential for All: Pursuing Holism in Measurement, Policy, and Practice

This chapter advocates the use of holistic measurement to both track and enhance progress towards SDG 4.2. Early childhood requires a more multi-faceted lens than other sectors, necessitating multi-dimensional assessment, policies and solutions. Because the pre-primary education field is comprised of a variety of public and private actors in many countries, rigorous evidence offers a route to facilitating dialogue about quality and efficacy. Emerging key points are (i) Holism in measurement helps ensure supports for academic and non-academic skills to inform practice and policy that promotes optimization of children’s development; (ii) Rigorous holistic assessment alongside home environment information can test solutions to ensuring access and quality early childhood opportunities for all children; and (iii) Development of context-specific rigorous, holistic evidence drives local collaboration, policy and practice.