Table of ContentsNutritionFinanceTeacher QualityQuality of ECI Parenting Practices“Early Childhood Education is the Key to the Improvement of Society” - Maria Montessori . Under the Early Years Act (2005), an Early Years Institution (ECI) is defined as any place that cares for four or more children, aged under 6 years, for up to 6 hours per day. This essay will examine five issues affecting early childhood education in Jamaica and transformational strategies implemented by other countries that could combat these issues. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayThe four notable people and organizations who can be considered the “vanguards” of early childhood education in Jamaica are Rev. Madge Saunders, Rev. Henry. Ward, Mr. Dudley Ransfor Grant (the grandfather of basic schools) and the Van Leer Foundation. Recently, the Early Childhood Commission (ECC), which is an agency of the Ministry of Education, established the Early Childhood Commission Act (2003) . This was done to align with the Jamaican Government's strategic objective of improving the quality of education and early childhood development within the sector. To guide compliance with the law and regulations, the ECC has developed a detailed document entitled “Standards for the Operation, Management and Administration of Early Childhood Establishments”. However, to date, several problems remain in the early childhood education sector. This essay will focus on the following five issues: Nutrition Funding Teacher quality School quality Parenting practices.Nutrition In Jamaica, a large number of school-age children face major nutrition and health problems that limit their ability to take advantage of available educational opportunities. for them. Access to food remains crucial, with 19 percent of the population living below the poverty line and in rural communities with limited infrastructure and poor water supplies, contributing to poor nutritional status. Many children have a history of malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies exacerbated by parasitic infection, which is very common among school-age children. It has been shown that when children receive a meal at school, they are better able to reap the benefits of classroom education. Providing breakfast to mildly malnourished students at school improves verbal fluency, speed and memory on cognitive tests. School feeding seems simple but is a complex intervention requiring compromises when designing the feeding program's objectives, targets and modalities, as well as costs. Jamaica could learn from countries that have successfully implemented school feeding programs involving the use of local agriculture while providing employment to local communities by employing community members to work in school canteens. For reference, Botswana has successfully implemented its National School Feeding Program. continuously for 45 years. Data collected from stakeholders indicates that the country has experienced growth in school enrollment and attendance rates which is strongly associated with the availability of school food. The government maintains a primarily centralized school feeding program model, with purchases managed at the national level. Over the years, the government has attempted to include purchases at the level ofdistricts and communities, illustrating Botswana's efforts to source as locally as possible. The majority of food products are produced domestically, such as beef, sorghum, sunflowers and some beans and corn, and therefore benefit local/national agriculture. The National School Feeding Program was used to help create jobs at the community level by paying cooks and hand stampers. Finance The benefits of investing in early childhood education are greatest for the most disadvantaged, who are often the least prepared when starting primary school and are therefore most likely to be left behind (UNESCO, 2015). One study estimates that the return on investment of a dollar in early childhood care and education (ECCE) for the most disadvantaged children can be as much as $17. Investment in the early years is also crucial to achieving the SDGs beyond SDG 4. These include improving labor productivity, thereby helping to improve economic growth and improve health outcomes. Without investment in quality ECCE programs, existing social and economic disparities will continue to widen, meaning that many of the SDG targets may not be achieved. Early childhood education saw its maximum allocation of a paltry five percent of the national budget. The budget, as a major policy and planning tool, is the place reserved for giving substance to political priorities and orientations. A review of national government and local government budgets would reveal that early childhood education is not a real priority despite political declarations to the contrary. However, Norway has allocated more than 5% of its GDP on average to education and has reaped abundant rewards. In Norway, spending on educational institutions at all levels was 7.6% of GDP in 2010. Preschool and school education is financed by county and municipal budgets, made up of local tax revenues and transfers. of the central state. Funding for early childhood education and care as well as primary and lower secondary education is channeled through a block grant paid to municipalities. The block grant is based on population size and other factors such as socio-economic background. This grant covers a range of services, including health and social services, and municipalities are free to determine the proportion spent on education. Teacher quality Only 32 percent of teachers working in Jamaica's basic schools, nurseries, preschools and other ECIs meet the minimum requirements. Graduation from a teacher training institution is required. According to data prepared by the Early Childhood Commission (ECC), just over 3,400 of the 10,000 teachers in local ECIs are trained at the professional level, while another 3,375 are trained at the secondary level or below. The shortage of qualified teachers continues to harm local early childhood institutions (ECIs). One method of ensuring that teachers already in the system receive the training they need to upgrade is through the use of information and communications technology (ICT). to provide access to content, professional development and professional learning communities. Technology, if part of an overall system focused on educational improvement, can help reduce costs,.