Delivering quality early learning in low-resource settings: progress and challenges in Ethiopia

Ethiopia offers a case study in the development of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in low-resource settings, which needs to be understood in the context of recent government priorities to universalise primary education, and low levels of ECCE offered mainly by private and faith-based providers. In 2010, the Ethiopian government designed a national framework for ECCE which offers a real opportunity to strengthen quality and extend access to more disadvantaged groups. This paper reviews these developments, and reports research into the diverse early years trajectories of urban and rural Ethiopian children.