Early Childhood Development through an Integrated Program: Evidence from the Philippines

Abstract

The Impact Evaluation Series has been established in recognition of the importance of impact evaluation studies for World Bank operations and for development in general. The series serves as a vehicle for the dissemination of findings of those studies. Papers in this series are part of the Bank's Policy Research Working Paper Series. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

Strategies to avoid the loss of developmental potential in more than 200 million children in the developing world

“…The evaluation showed that programme communities had more feeding programmes, parent education, and home-based child care programmes than control communities, adjusting for child age and programme duration. 74,75 Children who had been exposed for more than 18 months showed a benefit in cognitive development, with effect sizes up to 1·8 SD in language development for 2-3 year-old children (figure 3). There was no effect on haemo globin, despite an iron sup plementation pro gramme, nor on stunting, but par ticipating children older than 4 years were heavier than non-participants.…”

“…13,[44][45][46][47][48]54,55,56,77 Younger children (2-3 years) benefi t more than older children (5-6 years), even after adjusting for duration. 14,57,74 Longer exposure results in more consistent and larger effect on child development. 3,75 For example, disadvantaged preschoolers in Cali, Colombia, with 4 years of intervention achieved test scores that were similar to a middle-class sample, whereas children with less intervention lagged behind (fi gure 4).…”

“…In the late 1990s, the Philippines increased training and supplies to existing services for children aged 0-5 years using an integrated, multi-sectoral approach for delivering a combination of services, 74,75 and added community child development workers responsible for parenting education on health, nutrition, and child development. The evaluation showed that programme communities had more feeding programmes, parent education, and home-based child care programmes than control communities, adjusting for child age and programme duration.…”

“…73 Communities within Adapted from data available in Armecin. 74 25 districts were divided into intervention and control. Intervention communities received radio and newspaper messages on child stimulation, positive parenting, health, hygiene, and nutrition.…”

The Impact of Social Protection on Children

“…In Chile Crece Contigo has a proven positive impact on language, and the cognitive development of children older than 2 years living in rural areas (Ministerio de Educación, 2007), though these differences are likely to disappear at the secondary level (Ministerio de Educación, 1998). ECD programmes in the Philippines have also positively contributed to participating children's cognitive, language and socio-emotional skills in addition to the other beneficiary impacts (Armecin et al, 2006).…”