Policymakers increasingly recognise the importance of the early years of education (both pre-school and primary) to development over the lifespan. Primary rationales include the greater plasticity of the brain at this stage (from psychology) and the greater returns stemming from earlier investment in education (from economics). This has led to advances in what constitute ideal pedagogical practices. But for the benefits of such practices to be realised, policy research must focus not only on supply but also demand.
Thus, this paper takes an alternative view of assessing teaching and learning, arguing that, for effective, sustainable transformations in early learning in developing contexts, we must understand how parents themselves assess good quality provision, especially those in the most disadvantaged households. We articulate these goals with the following questions:
- In rural India, what criteria do parents use to assess quality of ECE provider?
- Do criteria differ between more and less advantaged households?
- To what extent do these assessments reflect criteria among policy
To answer these questions, we will analyse data from a longitudinal survey of childhood in rural India. The survey followed 11,000 children in three states – Assam, Rajasthan, and Telangana – over a five-year period. The survey consists of 11 waves, including both questionnaire and interview data. The paper’s analysis will make use of this through complementary methods, using the 11 waves to provide dynamic quantitative analyses of how children move into and out of different providers, and interview data to understand the rationales that parents use in moving their children. By understanding both where parents send their children and why, this paper will inform both policy and practice on what is currently an underappreciated element of the push for greater early learning worldwide.
