Reimers, Fernando2023-05-182023-05-181992-08CERIS - 186(ECCE):01https://hdl.handle.net/2139/55579The paper reviews some of the studies, in the United States and Latin America which document the effects of preschool education. An analysis of the evidence of the influences on child development before children enter school, and of the realities of women’s participation in the region’s labour force, suggests the need to have policies conducive to improving the quality of care available to children. The paper does not propose to suggest which specific policies would work. It argues that there is need to have one policy giving childhood education the importance it requires as an arena to promote human and social development. The fact that only 15 percent of children 0-5 years old in the region are enrolled in formal programmes (of which about one quarter are in private institutions), suggests that early childhood has not received priority in public policy.enEarly childhood care and educationText