Political Prioritization of Early Childhood Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic : A ComparativePolicy Analysis of Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Despite strong evidence of its importance to the welfare of children and societies, earlychildhood education has been comparatively neglected as a policy priority both before and during the COVID-19pandemic. This paper seeks to understand what factors have contributed to the lack of priority for early childhoodeducation in distance learning and school reopening plans, by applying a political prioritization framework to thepandemic context in four low- and middle-income countries: Ethiopia, Jamaica, Liberia, and Pakistan. Some aspects ofthe pre-COVID-19 status quo, which disfavored early childhood education, have continued, including a lack ofcohesive support from civil society and a greater focus by international partners on norm promotion and technicalassistance than financing. In other respects, the pandemic put early childhood education at an even greaterdisadvantage. These include perceptions that early childhood education is less suited to distance delivery than otherlevels of education, concerns about young children’s ability to comply with health protocols, and competition withhigh-stakes examinations for education ministries’ attention. Previous country experience with pandemics (inLiberia) and a strong coordinating entity (in Jamaica) were mitigating factors. These results point to an urgent need toelevate priority for early childhood education in normal times and improve the resilience of early childhoodeducation in future crises.