Global Status of Early Learning and Development Standards

This article presents the status of Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS), as part of the Going Global with Early Learning and Development Standards (or Going Global) initiative to improve and support integration in early childhood programs and policies. ELDS are national statements of expectations for what children should know and be able to do, rooted in social, cultural, and political values and the scientific literature to guide programming and policies using a child-centered approach. Going Global uses a multisectoral inclusive partnership model to develop ELDS and is currently operative in over 20 countries across five regions of the world and is being used in multiple ways to improve integrated early childhood development.