Progress maps for the learning and development of children under the age of 6

Children begin to learn before entering educational institutions. From birth they gradually develop the social-emotional, communicative, cognitive and motor skills and competencies which allow them to interact with others: to understand and communicate affection, needs, desires, ideas, emotions and thoughts; as well as to overcome everyday situations.

The foundations for learning are laid in the first years of life and there are currently more than 200 million children under the age of 5 who cannot reach their developmental potential due to poverty, poor health, poor nutrition or lack of fundamental education during this important period.
Early Childhood Development (ECD) is a progressive, multidimensional, integral and timely process that translates into the construction of increasingly complex abilities in navigating social networks and the interaction with the environment in order for children to fully exercise their rights.

The meaningful interactions that children have with adults in quality environments play a central role in their development and learning. These caregivers are not only responsible for the feeding and resting of the child, but also provide an adequate environment for learning and development, and interpret their emotional state, helping them to regulate it; in this way, the development of trust, curiosity, purposefulness, and
self-control, and the ability to relate, communicate and cooperate with others is allowed.

Currently, worldwide efforts are being made to improve the quality of services for children under the age of 6, in order to provide comprehensive care and education that guarantees the right to an equitable education regardless of social, cultural or economic background. Current research agrees that a determining factor in the learning and development of the child is the adult who accompanies him and the understanding they have of the process of learning and development at this age.

With this in mind, the National System of Evaluation, Acreditation and Certification of Educational Quality (Sineace) was comissioned to elaborate learning standards as part of the curricular system. The elaboration of national standards for primary and secondary levels of Regular Basic Education began in 2009. In addition, a preliminary study was carried out around management and learning standards used at this level in other countries. Through these processes the initial decisions were made on the preparation of the national standards of learning and development for this age group.

The standards are defined as precise and clear goals regarding the learning and development obtained in basic conditions —through which all Peruvian children are expected to pass— and have the aim of informing and providing clear expectations of the learning and development of children under the age of 6. Their purpose is to offer the adult guidance to promote and monitor comprehensive care at home, care centers, nurseries, PRONOEI and educational institutions at initial level. The reference framework of national standards for children under age of 6 is a technical document which aims to give an overview of the process of elaboration of the standards for initial level education.