UNICEF’s Vision for Elevating Parenting

Home / Three to six

Age focus: Three to six

UNICEF’s Vision for Elevating Parenting

UNICEF’s vision for integrated, multilevel programming moves beyond approaching parents as recipients of information or education, to a more collaborative partnership where there is a co-construction of support for the child as well as for/with the parents themselves.

Key features include:

1) moving towards strengths-based rather than “deficit-focused” approaches;

2) employing a life course lens;

3) meeting systems where they are and elevating parenting support in existing platforms;

4) explicit articulation of gender-responsive and disability-inclusive approaches;

5) focus on culturally responsive community engagement and empowerment, and promoting enabling environments to support parents and caregivers.

Evidence Brief – Parents, Play and Emotional Wellbeing

The UK Government has recognised the impact that parents playing, talking to and reading to their children has on early language development. This is fantastic. But the benefits of play are much wider: it contributes to cognitive, motor, emotional and social development. Play should be thought of as a vehicle to improve a wide range of outcomes for children, as well as an important part of a happy childhood.

This evidence brief describes what we know about how early play between children and their parents contributes to emotional development and mental health. It also explains why and how policy makers might use this information in their work.

Playful Parenting Activity Booklet

This booklet contains ideas for parents and caregivers to help support their young child’s physical, cognitive and social-emotional development. The booklet includes specific ideas for children from 0-9 and is broken into helpful sections based on a young child’s developmental milestones.

Education and professional realization of the Roma community

Education and professional realization of the Roma community / Образование и реализация на ромската общност

The study was conducted in 140 settlements in Bulgaria. To overcome the lack of up-to-date information, TSA worked together with a sociological agency, Global Metrics, to conduct a nationally representative study on the Roma communities in Bulgaria. The purpose of the study is to determine the level of higher education among the Roma population by comparing it with the already conducted study from 2011.

Roma Early Childhood Inclusion + Bulgaria Report (2020)

The Republic of Bulgaria has endeavoured, over the last three decades, to address the stark injustices evident in the socioeconomic situation of the majority of its Roma citizens and as evidenced in the country’s National Roma Integration Strategy 2012–2020. These efforts have accelerated since 2007, when Bulgaria became a full member of the European Union (EU). At present, Bulgaria is making important steps towards creating a national framework for early childhood development, a goal that remains high on the national agenda, and towards developing a more integrated approach to support parents and children in the early years. This RECI+ Report carries the explicit intention of providing Bulgarian authorities and civil society with a timely and informed account of the situation of Bulgarian Roma children during early childhood, and, in so doing, supporting government and other relevant actors to ensure equal and unhindered access to inclusive and integrated quality education, health, and social care for young Roma children and their families.

Read the policy brief in English here.

Roma Early Childhood Inclusion+ Czech Republic Report (2015)

This report on the early childhood education and care (ECEC) of young Roma children in the Czech Republic departs somewhat in its approach from previous Roma Early Childhood Inclusion (RECI+) Studies and Reports. The preparation of this report was led by the Open Society Foundations. The RECI initiative, which is ongoing, is a joint venture of three Sponsoring Agencies, namely: the Open Society Foundations Early Childhood Program, the Roma Education Fund, and UNICEF.

The principle reasons for a Special Report on Roma Inclusion in Early Childhood Education and Care at this stage of events, and not a full RECI+ Research Study and Report, include: the critical importance of ECEC for all children, particularly those
from marginalized and economically disadvantaged backgrounds;1 the pressing need for a timely contribution to the ongoing legislative actions and important national debates surrounding Roma education and inclusion in the Czech Republic; and to assist and support the government and public authorities, and educational decision makers and practitioners tasked with fulfilling their responsibilities in a context of critical international scrutiny.

Read the report in Czech here.

Providing Quality Early Childhood Education and Care: Results from the Starting Strong Survey 2018

For most children, early childhood education and care (ECEC) provides the first experience of life in a group away from their families. This experience plays a crucial role in children’s learning, development and well-being. The benefits of high-quality ECEC are not restricted to children’s first years of life. However, little is known about this first experience. What do children learn and do in ECEC settings? With which staff do children interact at their centres? Do all children face the same opportunities to enrol in high-quality settings? What are the main spending priorities to raise the quality of ECEC? These are key questions for parents, staff and policy makers.

The OECD Starting Strong Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS Starting Strong) is the first international survey that focuses on the ECEC workforce. It offers an opportunity to learn about the characteristics of the workforce, the practices they use with children, their beliefs about children’s development and their views on the profession and on the sector. This first volume of findings, Providing Quality Early Childhood Education and Care, examines multiple factors that can affect the quality of ECEC and thereby can influence children’s learning, development and well-being.

View Resource