lecture on June 21 at noon

"Implementation of the Measuring Early Learning Quality and Outcomes (MELQO) Framework to Early Childhood Setting in Colombia” By Carolina Maldonado Carreño, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Education. Universidad de Los Andes

Friday, June 21, 2019 *Noon – 1:30pm

Learning Research & Development Center (LRDC) 2nd Floor
3939 O'Hara Street. Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Achieving and tracking progress towards SDG 4 on learning and education requires the application of contextualized and comprehensive assessments of quality at scale. However, there are scant data to date on the quality of learning environments in low and middle-income countries. In Colombia, the Ministry of National Education developed a model based on the application of an adapted version of MELQO to monitor the human, material and social conditions necessary in early childhood education to promote the integral development of children between 0 and 6 years old.

This study describes the first application of this model and illustrates how some of the results are being used to inform policy and program options in the country. Data comes from a nationally representative sample of 312 public early childhood centers in Colombia located in 64 municipalities. Results showed that both structural and process quality are associated with children’s logical, language, motor, social skills and executive functions.