Evaluation in the field of early childhood development: A scoping review

Abstract

Children’s early experiences and environments profoundly impact their development; therefore, ensuring the well-being of children through effective supports and services is critical. Evaluation is a tool that can be used to understand the effectiveness of early childhood development (ECD) practices, programs, and policies. A deeper understanding of the evaluation landscape in the ECD field is needed at this time. The purpose of this scoping review was to explore the state of evaluation in the ECD field across four constructs: community-driven evaluation, culturally responsive evaluation, evaluation capacity building, and evaluation use and influence. A comprehensive search of 7 electronic databases, including Canadian and international literature published in English from 2000 to 2020, was conducted. A total of 30 articles met the inclusion criteria. Findings demonstrate that some studies include aspects of a community-engaged approach to evaluation; however, comprehensive approaches to community-driven evaluation, culturally responsive evaluation, evaluation capacity building, and evaluation use in the field of ECD are not commonly achieved. This review will inform strategies for bridging evaluation gaps in the ECD sector, ultimately equipping organisations with the evaluative tools to improve practices, programs, and policies that impact the children, families, and communities they serve.