A background paper to the Global education monitoring report 2026: Access and equity: countdown to 2030. This systematic review synthesises global evidence from academic and grey literature published between 2015 and 2025, examining effective policies and interventions aimed at increasing early childhood care and education (ECCE) participation across diverse country contexts, with a focus on equity dimensions such as gender, disability, socio-economic status and geographic location. 

ECCE participation is a critical foundation for lifelong learning, development and social equity, linked to improved long-term educational, health and socio-economic outcomes.

The multifaceted nature of increasing ECCE participation is highlighted, exploring institutional, interventionist, preventative and compensatory policies, while emphasising equity, quality and contextual factors. These categories reflect the different levels and areas within which policies operate, noting that in practice, approaches to increase ECCE participation often are combined or overlap.