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EFA Goal One: Expanding Early Childhood Care and Education 172EFA Goal One:Expanding Early Childhood Care and Education2.1 Addressing Issues of ECCE in the Regional ContextPresenter: Sheldon Shaeffer, Director, UNESCO Asia and the Pacific Regional Bureaufor Education“Expanding and improving early childhood care and education, especially for the mostvulnerable and disadvantaged” has been set as the first of six goals in the DakarFramework for Action on Education for All.It is well established, scientifically, that the early years are critical in the formation ofintelligence, personality, and social behaviour, and that effects of early neglect can becumulative. The child’s development during the first years provide the foundation for alllater learning, and the impact interventions during the early years have on theindividual, the family and the society in general are substantial.Fundamental Principles of ECCE:●●●●●●Early childhood is the foundation on which children build their lives. But it is notjust a preparation for adolescence and adulthood; it has importance in itself.Children develop at different rates and in different ways emotionally,intellectually, morally, socially, physically and spiritually. All are important: eachis interwoven with others.All children have abilities which can (and should) be identified and promoted.What children can do (rather than what they cannot do) is the starting point intheir learning.Young children learn from everything that happens to them and around them;they do not separate their learning into different subjects or disciplines.Play and conversation are the main ways by which young children learn aboutthemselves, other people, and the world around them.Children who are encouraged to think for themselves are more likely to actindependently.Education for All: Reaching the Unreached