Shaping the Future: Building Foundational Skills through Early Childhood Education and Inclusive Learning in Europe and Central Asia

Synopsis

​​​Across Europe and Central Asia, the World Bank Group has been increasingly investing in expanding high quality play-based early learning to build foundational skills. This is well-illustrated by projects in Uzbekistan (Improving Pre-primary and General Secondary Education Project and Promoting Early Childhood Development Project) and Serbia (Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care), where since 2015 and 2018 respectively, World Bank Group investments have supported transformational change in access to quality early learning services. These investments resulted in significant increases in preschool enrollment for young children and boosts in quality through expansive teacher training in both countries. Anecdotal evidence suggests that increased access to preschools has significantly expanded opportunities for mothers to participate in the labor market in both countries.​​

Challenge

​Investing in early learning through early childhood education (ECE) is one of the smartest things a country can do to eliminate extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity, and create the human capital needed for economies to diversify and grow. High-quality programs nurture brain development, helping children acquire essential cognitive and socioemotional skills. Moreover, these investments hold the promise of a double dividend, supporting increased labor force participation, particularly among women. However, many young children, especially children from vulnerable groups, lack access to quality programs, resulting in skill gaps that grow over time. At the time of World Bank Group project preparation, Serbia faced significant challenges, with ECE access below the European Union (EU) average. Roma children were particularly disadvantaged. In 2018, only one in two children in Serbia had access to preschool education, with less than 10% of children from the poorest families enrolled—compared to over 80% of children from well-off families. Uzbekistan struggled with a preschool system characterized by high expenditures, low enrollment at only 27%, and stark urban-rural disparities. These countries demonstrated the critical need for comprehensive, equitable ECE investments to support children's long-term development.

Approach

​​The World Bank is the world’s largest funder of ECE, and demand has grown significantly in recent years. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the World Bank Group has increased its investments sixfold, from $50 million to $314 million, and now covers 12 countries. The World Bank’s approach champions quality, not just access, recognizing that benefits for children can only be realized when ECE services provide safe, stimulating environments with play-based learning and responsive interactions with skilled educators. The World Bank approach also emphasizes equity, since evidence shows that the most vulnerable children stand to gain the most from access to quality care.

​To improve foundational skills, the World Bank and partners have supported the Ministry of Preschool and School Education in Uzbekistan for 11 years, spanning two projects, and have supported the Ministry of Education in Serbia for seven years. World Bank programs on ECE have contributed to this effort by increasing access, enhancing quality, and improving equity. 

​To increase access, Serbia built new ECE facilities and repurposed existing infrastructure in disadvantaged areas. Uzbekistan introduced an affordable half-day kindergarten model, doubling infrastructure utilization and stimulating community interest in early childhood development (ECD).

​To enhance quality, World Bank projects in both countries transformed ECE by equipping educators with innovative training, mentoring, and resources. Teachers shifted from seeing themselves as knowledge providers to learning partners, implementing play-based curricula through collaborative approaches. In Uzbekistan, World Bank Trust Funds which allow rapid deployment of World Bank resources for innovative approaches, enabled a flexible, technology-enhanced learning approach incorporating e-learning, coaching, and mentorship programs, with a focus on social-emotional development and numeracy.

​To improve equity, in Serbia, a municipal grants program supported tailored initiatives to engage parents and introduced flexible preschool options to increase demand for ECE among vulnerable groups. Uzbekistan's 2019 ECD Project addressed equity by expanding access for marginalized children, piloting a “one-stop” community model with free services. The approach prioritized school readiness, supported children with disabilities through home-based learning, and actively involved parents identified through the Mahalla (local community) system. An Aqlvoy bus—essentially a kindergarten on wheels —program also delivered ECE services to hard-to-reach, underserved communities.​

Results

​​The Promoting Early Childhood Development project in Uzbekistan and the Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Project in Serbia are achieving results, bolstering human capital investment to boost productivity and economic growth.  

• ​In Uzbekistan, the project contributed, through alternative models such as home-based care, to increasing the coverage of children receiving pre-school education from 27% to 75% from 2019 to 2025.

• ​In Serbia, with significant contributions from the Inclusive ECEC project, national preschool enrollment rates for children aged 3 to 5.5 years increased from 52% in 2018 to 74% in 2024.

​In Uzbekistan, innovative investments under the Promoting Early Childhood Development project have increased enrollment and learning and established the foundation for evidence-based early childhood policies. The government's first national assessment for ECD revealed impressive results, with children scoring an average of 94% in early numeracy and 83% in early reading. These gains are buttressed by institutional investments that embed learning and evidence-based policymaking in the system. In 2021, Uzbekistan participated for the first time in international assessments of student educational attainment.

​In Serbia, the Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care project has also catalyzed transformative reforms, significantly expanding access to quality education for vulnerable children, in line with SDG Goal 4.5. By 2024, the project had reached nearly 300,000 children with better access to quality learning opportunities, far surpassing its initial goals. In the poorest eligible municipalities where the project was implemented, enrollment rates since the start of the project have increased by 174 percentage points (from 19% in 2018 to 52% in 2024). As a result of the project’s work to construct and rehabilitate preschool facilities, more than 10,000 new places have been created for children in preschools. To implement the new preschool curriculum, over 21,000 preschool teachers (95% of all preschool teachers) and 3,000 primary school pedagogical staff have been trained in child-centered, play-based pedagogy. The project's success is further evidenced by 70% of preschools scoring at least 3 out of 4 in external quality evaluations in 2023, which is a substantial increase from 41% in 2021. The grant program has engaged over 6,000 parents via workshops, parenting fairs, and open-door events in preschool locations and helped launch more than 50 half-day and flexible preschool groups, encouraging parents of children from vulnerable groups with generally low participation in ECE to enroll their children in preschool. More than 90% of the preschool groups have continued to operate after the grant funding ended, supported by financing from local governments. ​

World Bank Contribution

​​The World Bank contributed to the Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care Project in Serbia with a contribution of $50 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). In Uzbekistan, the Promoting Early Childhood Development Project received International Development Association (IDA) funding of $59.5 million. Additional contributions came from the TEACH Coach Sunset Trust Fund (TF) of $356,000, ELP TF for Play-based Learning of $235,000, Global Partnership for Education of $500,000, and Global Partnership for Education of $9.5 million.​

Partnerships

​​In Serbia and Uzbekistan, the World Bank's ECE efforts prioritized strategic partnerships to drive systemic improvements. In Serbia, implementation of the Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care project involved collaboration with 34 local governments, educational institutes, and the Novak Djokovic Foundation, aligning reforms with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the European Union. In partnership with the Novak Djokovic Foundation, some 170 preschool classrooms have been repurposed, renovated, and furnished, adding places in classrooms for an additional 3,000 preschool students. The project in Serbia has also developed a close partnership with UNICEF, which had an instrumental role in supporting capacity building for teachers and other professionals to implement the new Preschool Curriculum Framework (PCF) “Years of Ascent.” This was crucial, as the Ministry of Education alone would not have been able to provide such comprehensive and continuous support without this collaboration.  

Looking Ahead

In Uzbekistan, World Bank projects have established a strong foundation for ECE by developing comprehensive quality assurance mechanisms, integrating national benchmarks, and supporting teacher professionalism through innovative training approaches and technology platforms.  

​​In Serbia, the Inclusive ECEC project ensures long-term sustainability through deeply embedded reforms. Established high-quality standards for preschool construction and refurbishment will serve as future benchmarks. The project transformed teacher professional development, with 16 universities revising teacher training curricula to incorporate new educational paradigms. The project has become a model for the Western Balkans region​