Core Values

We are committed to ensuring that the design, delivery and evaluation of early childhood programs are: children's rights based; outcomes focused; and evidence informed.

Children’s rights based

This represents a commitment in all that we do to understand, respect and honor the rights of young children. In practice this will include:

• focusing on the experiences and perspectives of the children themselves;
• encouraging their active participation in all aspects of the design, delivery and evaluation of early childhood programs; and
• ensuring that all programs are fully compliant with recognized children’s rights standards.

Outcomes focused

This represents a commitment to the development of early childhood programs that can lead to demonstrable improvements in the lives of young children and their parents and communities. In practice this will include:

• being explicit about what it is that early childhood programs aim to achieve;
• facilitating local organizations to set their own clearly defined program outcomes in consultation with children and their parents and communities that are measurable or in some other way verifiable;
• approaching the development of early childhood programs clearly and logically with the aim of devising the most effective ways of achieving the outcomes specified; and
• being committed to evaluating the effectiveness of the programs developed specifically in terms of whether they have achieved the outcomes specified for them.

Evidence informed

This represents a commitment to ensuring that the design and delivery of early childhood programs are informed by the best available evidence. In practice this will include:

• promoting in-depth qualitative research that can increase our understanding of the complex ways in which ethnic divisions and conflict impact upon the lives, experiences and perspectives of young children and their families and communities;
• promoting larger-scale survey research to help understand the extent to which ethnic divisions and conflict tend to impact upon the lives of young children and how that varies between differing groups of children; and
• undertaking evaluations of early childhood programs using randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental designs alongside qualitative case studies to assess whether particular programs have actually been effective in improving outcomes for young children and why.