Abstract
In Madagascar, formal systems of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) are in the early stages of development, mostly as a result of international declarations and efforts of non-governmental organizations, drawing mostly from research findings of studies in developed countries. Reviewing research that investigates the impact of ECCE on cognitive development and school readiness among children in Madagascar provides a critical source of information for national policy makers, international actors and donors interested in fostering optimal child development. In the first part, we provide a brief overview of the global reviews on early childhood development (ECD) research because they provide the context for understanding the universal valuing of formal pre-primary education. Because studies from African countries are lacking in international literature, we have considered relevant a research on sub-Saharan African countries. These countries share some cultural, colonization and poverty aspects with Madagascar. We have presented this research in the second part of our paper. In the third part, we review research findings on ECCE and ECD, specifically in Madagascar. In the fourth and final section, based on the literature reviewed, we draw conclusions and offer suggestions for future research on pre-primary education in Madagascar.
Key words: academic potential, cognitive development, Early Childhood Care and Education, review research