Exploring Public-Private Partnership in Preschool Education Provision: Potential for Socio-Economic Development

This paper explores the role of public-private partnerships in expanding access to preschool education. The first part of the paper summarizes global findings on the importance of quality early childhood education (ECE) for child development, participation of parents in the labor market and overall human capital development of a society. The second section provides a brief overview of the current ECE situation in Azerbaijan. The final section presents a community-based preschool model that was piloted in the Shamkir region by the Center for Innovations in Education (CIE), a Baku-based nonprofit organization as a model for expansion of ECE education in Azerbaijan. Developed as a partnership between a nonprofit, local municipality and a private business, the model offers an opportunity to increase access to ECE nationwide, particularly in rural areas where availability of ECE services is a major issue. Given the multi-faceted benefits of early childhood education (ECE) and quality childcare, this paper suggests that introducing alternative models of preschool education on national level can contribute to socio-economic development in Azerbaijan.