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Profiles

Bella Baghdasaryan

Education Researcher (Early Childhood)

Bella joined the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti in March 2021. Prior to joining the Office of Research - Innocenti, she coordinated Multi-Sector Needs Assessment of displaced populations in Armenia at the Impact Initiatives/REACH. She also worked with the World Food Programme (WFP) on the information management and supported WFP’s vulnerability and food security assessments. With the UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO) in Geneva, Bella managed an administrative data database on situation of children in the ECA region and supported the development of child rights monitoring processes in the region. She has more than six years experience in research, evaluation, and reporting. Bella holds an MA in Political Science and International affairs from the American University of Armenia and a Master of Public Policy with the major in Development studies from the Central European University.

Publications

What Works in Pre-Primary Education Provision
Publication

What Works in Pre-Primary Education Provision

The ‘What Works in Pre-Primary Education Provision’ report is based on an evidence review of 56 studies from 29 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It synthesizes the available evidence on pre-primary education interventions or programmes that aimed to improve access, in addition to learning and development outcomes for children aged three up to the start of primary school in LMICs. Moderating factors affecting the successful implementation of these programmes are also identified. Key recommendations to improve programme design and implementation at scale are provided across five areas: planning and budgeting, curriculum, workforce development, family and community engagement, and quality assurance. By addressing these recommendations, education stakeholders can strengthen pre-primary education provision and maximize its benefits for all children.
Building Bright Futures: What is needed to expand early childhood education and care for Ukraine's refugee children
Publication

Building Bright Futures: What is needed to expand early childhood education and care for Ukraine's refugee children

Nine out of every 10 refugees arriving in host countries from Ukraine are women and children. Only 1 in 3 of Ukrainian refugee children are enrolled in early childhood education and care services. This emphasizes the need for expanding and strengthening early childhood education systems to ensure sufficient access for all children, and the integration of Ukranian refugee children in the host-community. These briefs offer recommendations for policymakers on ways to expand services, and how to facilitate the integration of refugee children and their families. Strategies include limiting the barriers that may hinder refugee children's access to ECEC settings, capitalizing existing physical and human resources to address gaps in service delivery, in addition to the inclusion of refugees in national and sub-national plans, data systems and financing, adapting policies and programmes to ensure considerations are made for refugee children.
Tackling Gender Inequality from the Early Years: Strategies for building a gender-transformative pre-primary education system
Publication

Tackling Gender Inequality from the Early Years: Strategies for building a gender-transformative pre-primary education system

Access to early childhood education has increased over the last two decades, with global enrolment rates showing gender parity in access among boys and girls. Despite this gender parity in access, the pre-primary education system does not always deliver on its potential to tackle gender inequities and address harmful gender stereotypes while they are being absorbed by the youngest learners. As such, this research explores the ways in which pre-primary education can become more gender-transformative at a system level and presents 11 key strategies to support this goal. The strategies are organized around five interconnected action areas: planning and budgeting; curriculum; workforce development; family and community engagement; and quality assurance. These strategies can help governments and policymakers to proactively incorporate gender-responsiveness into the design and implementation of their pre-primary education policy and programming, following a system-wide perspective.
Resources to Support Marginalized Caregivers of Children with Disabilities: Guidelines for Implementation
Publication

Resources to Support Marginalized Caregivers of Children with Disabilities: Guidelines for Implementation

Support from caregivers is critical for children’s learning both at home and at school. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and disruption of education systems globally created additional expectations for parents to support their children’s learning at home. This particularly affected the most marginalized children as the crises exacerbated already existing inequalities in education. This document introduces the approach and purpose of a set of resources to support the marginalized caregivers of children with disabilities with inclusive education. It presents lessons learned from proof-of-concept pilots in Armenia and Uzbekistan, followed by step-by-step guidelines on how to adopt and adapt the resources for education ministries and others who want to implement them in their education system.