Investigators:
Alanna Sincovich
Project description:
The Pacific Early Age Readiness and Learning (PEARL) Programme, implemented by the World Bank, aimed to support Pacific Island countries in building capacity to design, implement and monitor evidence-based policies and programs. One of the key goals of the PEARL Programme in Tuvalu was to understand the status of child health, development, and early skills. In 2014, the early Human Capability Index (eHCI) was adapted to local culture and context, resulting in the “Tu-EHCI”. In 2015, the Ministry of Education in partnership with World Bank implemented the Tu-EHCI across all 9 islands of the country. As not all children in the country attend a single form of early education or health service at any one point in time, the census required implementation of an innovative, mixed-method, and cross-sector approach to data collection. This pragmatic data collection included the support of community health, education staff and local community governance structures. For those children attending preschool, teachers completed the Tu-EHCI, and for those not attending, parents completed the instrument either themselves in community centres or by a household interview. The developmental census captured information on all children aged 3-5 including children’s health and development status, as well as their experience with preschool and their learning environments at home. The results were fed back to communities along with health and educational promotional information around the importance of early child health and development.
Results showed high rates of stunting and some concerns of poor child development. The government has since sought funds to implement playgroups in preschools with a strong parenting component. The playgroups will be delivered by preschool teachers with weekly support from community child health nurses. The Tu-EHCI is being implemented across the country again in 2021 with the new playgroup program being rolled out soon after. The Tu-EHCI results will be used to provide detailed information to help inform the playgroup program content. Repeated use of the Tu-EHCI will help communities and the government to monitor and evaluate what may or may not be supporting child health and development across the country.
Project output:
Brinkman, S., Sincovich, A., & Thanh Vu, B. (2017). How are Tuvalu’s Children Developing? Evidence-Based Policy Recommendations for Better Early Childhood Development. Report No: AUS0000128. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group.
Funders of the project:
Global Partnership for Education
External collaborators:
- Government of Tuvalu
- World Bank