KIX LAC and the Education Endowment Foundation advance the use of evidence to strengthen foundational learning in early childhood
As part of the Knowledge Mobilization Cycle on the Use of Evidence for the Early Childhood Education and Care, the Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX) for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)—an initiative of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), regionally led by SUMMA and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)—held the workshop “From Evidence to Action: Pedagogical Innovations and Cost-Effective Practices for Early Childhood Education.” The session, centered on strengthening early childhood education through planning strategies, featured the Early Years Toolkit as its main resource and brought together ministry officials and key stakeholders from KIX LAC Hub member countries. The event took place on November 26, 2025.
The session was led by Education Endowment Foundation representatives Amy Faux, Senior International Manager, and Sandra Creixell, Early Years and Stronger Practice Hubs Project Manager, who jointly presented the Early Years Toolkit. They explained how this resource, designed to democratize access to educational research, synthesizes more than 450 impact studies to provide decision-makers with clear information based on three critical variables: implementation cost, security of the evidence, and potential impact on learning.
After the presentations, participants engaged in a workshop where they split into regional groups to analyze local challenges. In Central America, representatives identified a lack of specific methodologies and local data on which interventions work. They reflected critically on early rejection of mathematics and the urgent need to listen more to students and support teachers in the classroom.
In the Caribbean, evidence was valued as a powerful tool for policy advocacy and legislation in sectors seeking regulation. The group discussed the role of unions in teacher professionalization and expressed strong concern about the educational continuity of the most vulnerable children when they return to homes without resources to sustain learning.
The event concluded with a fundamental reflection on equity: implementing new practices must leave no one behind. In this sense, the workshop aimed to close the year by sharing useful tools to inform more effective and sustainable education policies, with the ultimate goal of closing gaps and opening pathways to educational justice for every child.
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