EBTD Blogs – Early Years
Link: EBTD Blogs – Early Years
This section brings together all of our early years–specific content from the EBTD blog. Here you’ll find evidence-based articles on how young children learn, alongside practical strategies for teachers working in the early stages of education.
Our early years blogs cover topics such as:
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How play, stories, and routines can boost language and social development.
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Practical approaches to early maths and literacy that work in real classrooms.
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Strategies for building memory, attention, and self-regulation from the start.
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Tools for engaging families and supporting inclusive practice.
Whether you’re an early years teacher, school leader, or simply passionate about giving children the strongest foundations for learning, these blogs are designed to connect global research with the realities of classrooms in Bangladesh.
EEF Early Years
Link: Early Years | Education Endowment Foundation
What it offers:
Evidence-based tools, including the Early Years Toolkit (impact vs cost analysis of approaches), practice videos, and guidance reports covering early literacy, maths, self-regulation, social-emotional learning, and high-quality interactions.
Useful aspects (for Bangladesh):
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Clear, accessible summaries of “what works” to help teachers and leaders prioritise.
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Cost-effectiveness ratings support decision-making in low-resource settings.
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Free guidance reports and videos provide practical, teacher-friendly examples.
Cautions:
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Based on UK research — local adaptation needed for culture, language, and class sizes.
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Many strategies assume smaller ratios and well-resourced settings.
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Translation into Bangla and contextualisation is essential for widespread use.
ECE Resource Hub (UVA-CASTL)
Link: Early Childhood Education Resource Hub
What it offers:
Run by the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning at the University of Virginia, this hub organises resources around five Core Skills for young children: Relate, Regulate, Think, Communicate, Move. It provides guides, classroom videos, age-specific strategies, and family engagement resources, with an emphasis on equity and inclusion.
Useful aspects (for Bangladesh):
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The clear focus on “core skills” gives teachers a framework even when resources are scarce.
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Classroom videos and examples can inspire practice.
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Strong family engagement focus aligns well with Bangladesh’s community-centred culture.
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Many strategies are freely available, which supports low-budget contexts.
Cautions:
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Examples and classroom contexts are US-based; teachers will need to adapt for Bangladesh.
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Assumes smaller class sizes and higher teacher qualifications than are typical locally.
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Some recommended resources (books, equipment) may not be readily available.
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Content is in English; translation or adaptation into Bangla is essential.
The Education Hub (New Zealand)
Link: The Education Hub – ECE Resources
What it offers:
This site shares a wide range of research-informed resources, free webinars, practice videos, and leadership training for early years educators. Topics include curriculum design, early maths, literacy, social-emotional learning, inclusion, assessment, and leadership.
Useful aspects (for Bangladesh):
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Covers diverse topics beyond literacy, such as social-emotional competence and neurodiversity.
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Leadership resources can help centre managers drive systemic improvement.
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Online webinars and videos allow access to global best practice models.
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Free and accessible materials make it easier for teachers and leaders to explore.
Cautions:
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Requires good internet access, which may be challenging in rural Bangladesh.
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Practices are rooted in New Zealand’s ECE curriculum; teachers must align with Bangladesh’s policies.
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Assumes smaller classes and higher levels of PD support than many Bangladeshi teachers currently have.
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Mostly English-language resources, requiring localisation.
The Froebel Trust (UK)
Link: Froebel Trust – Training and Resources
What it offers:
The Froebel Trust provides free pamphlets, guides, and research summaries focused on play, creativity, and observation as foundations for learning. It also offers training opportunities and easy-to-read digests of research for practitioners.
Useful aspects (for Bangladesh):
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Low-cost, flexible resources can be adapted to local classrooms.
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Emphasis on outdoor play and nature resonates with Bangladesh contexts where informal outdoor spaces are common.
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Research summaries translate academic work into practical insights for teachers.
Cautions:
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Outdoor play is harder during monsoon, flooding, or in urban settings with limited safe space.
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Some materials or equipment suggested may not be available locally.
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Teachers may need training and support to embrace play-based pedagogy, which can conflict with parent expectations of rote learning.
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Larger class sizes make observation and unstructured play more challenging.
Thrive Child Evidence (Bangladesh)
Link: Thrive – Systems Research on Early Childhood Development
What it offers:
Thrive is an international research initiative working in Bangladesh and other LMICs. It focuses on how Early Childhood Development (ECD) services can be delivered at scale through government systems. Its reports analyse policy commitments, financing, governance, and data gaps, highlighting where Bangladesh is progressing and where challenges remain.
Useful aspects (for Bangladesh):
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Provides a big-picture view of the ECE system: policy, funding, and implementation.
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Highlights gaps between policy and practice, useful for advocacy and planning.
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Helps schools and NGOs understand how their classroom efforts fit into the national system.
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Emphasises the importance of scaling with quality — a real issue in Bangladesh.
Cautions:
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Reports are policy- and system-focused, not classroom manuals. Teachers will need to translate findings into practice.
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Data may be patchy or high-level; not always actionable for specific districts or schools.
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Some recommendations depend on strong government capacity, which varies across regions.
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Teachers may find the language academic; summaries or training may be needed for accessibility.
World Bank – The Landscape of Early Childhood Education in Bangladesh
Link: World Bank Report: The Landscape of Early Childhood Education in Bangladesh (2020)
What it offers:
This comprehensive study examines access, equity, quality, governance, and financing of pre-primary and early childhood education in Bangladesh. It maps out who has access, what quality looks like, and what systems support or hinder progress.
Useful aspects (for Bangladesh):
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Gives robust, nationally representative data for policymakers, NGOs, and researchers.
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Identifies equity gaps (by wealth, location, gender), useful for targeting interventions.
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Clarifies weaknesses in quality (teacher preparation, curriculum, supervision).
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Provides evidence that can support advocacy for resources and professional development.
Cautions:
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Data is from 2020 — some findings may be outdated, especially post-COVID.
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Aggregated data hides local variation; rural or urban slum settings may differ greatly.
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Focuses more on system-level diagnosis than practical classroom guidance.
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Many recommendations need significant funding or systemic reform, beyond teacher-level influence.
BRAC – Play Labs
Link: BRAC Play Labs – Research Brief (Bangladesh)
What it offers:
BRAC’s Play Labs provide play-based, culturally adapted early learning spaces for 3–5 year olds in Bangladesh. The curriculum includes stories, rhymes, dancing, and local games, designed to support language, motor, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Rigorous evaluation has shown Play Labs improve child outcomes, reduce learning gaps, and increase parent involvement.
Useful aspects (for Bangladesh):
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Directly relevant and locally tested — designed for Bangladeshi children.
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Proven to narrow developmental gaps between poorer and better-off children.
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Strong community engagement and parent involvement elements.
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Emphasis on play-based pedagogy provides an alternative to rote learning.
Cautions:
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Requires trained facilitators (“Play Leaders”) and ongoing supervision — scaling this is challenging.
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Even though low-cost, some materials and safe spaces may still be difficult in under-resourced settings.
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Play-based learning may clash with parental expectations for early academic drilling.
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Works best in smaller groups; may be harder to implement in very large classes.
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Sustainability can be an issue once donor or NGO support ends.
