About the Network

Our Mis­sion

The Net­work for Joint Demo­cracy-Buil­ding in Early Child­hood Edu­ca­tion (GeDAB) is com­mit­ted to iden­ti­fy­ing bar­riers to access to high-qua­lity edu­ca­tion for young child­ren and working to eli­mi­nate them. The net­work advo­ca­tes for early child­hood edu­ca­tion that focu­ses on demo­cracy and par­ti­ci­pa­tion, con­sis­t­ently alig­ning its struc­tures, resour­ces, and action plans with the UN Con­ven­tion on the Rights of the Child, while taking into account the diverse living con­di­ti­ons of child­ren and the vary­ing ways in which they are affec­ted by dis­ad­van­tage and dis­cri­mi­na­tion. Inclu­sive, anti-dis­cri­mi­na­tory, and demo­cracy-streng­thening approa­ches are essen­tial, because edu­ca­tion can only suc­ceed if dis­cri­mi­na­tory struc­tures are reco­gni­zed and dismantled. 

Our Approach

We con­nect stake­hol­ders, deve­lop evi­dence-based recom­men­da­ti­ons for action, and work to struc­tu­rally embed edu­ca­tio­nal equity. In doing so, we inte­grate rese­arch, prac­tice, and policy, cri­ti­cally ana­lyze power dyna­mics and ine­qua­li­ties, and pro­mote demo­cracy edu­ca­tion as a cen­tral com­po­nent of early child­hood edu­ca­tion that is sen­si­tive to discrimination.

Our Impact

The net­work pro­mo­tes inter­di­sci­pli­nary exch­ange and rai­ses public awa­re­ness of the issue, inclu­ding through the use of social media. GeDAB high­lights struc­tu­ral dis­cri­mi­na­tion in early child­hood edu­ca­tion, trans­la­tes sci­en­ti­fic fin­dings into prac­ti­cal gui­dance, and empowers stake­hol­ders to act in ways that are sen­si­tive to dis­cri­mi­na­tion and streng­then demo­cracy.
Through net­wor­king and policy ana­ly­sis, we help shift the terms of the debate and initiate struc­tu­ral chan­ges to pro­mote grea­ter equity of oppor­tu­nity in early child­hood education.