Publications & Reports
Browse editions of our journal, Early Childhood Matters, and our Early Childhood in Focus series of briefing notes, along with other selected publications and reports. All are free to download or read online.
Violence, breaking the cycle - How one of the world’s most dangerous nations stops brutality from spreading
It was in the late 1980s that the Bernard van Leer Foundation began to explore working in El Salvador, primarily as part of our broader Latin American approach to build… Read more
Roots of change - How a Guatemalan grassroots women’s organisation creates holistic child-centred communities, one neighbourhood at a time
From 1990 to 2008, the Bernard van Leer Foundation funded FUNDAESPRO (Fundación Esfuerzo y Prosperidad, or Strength and Prosperity Foundation), a grassroots women’s organisation in Guatemala City. Our involvement started… Read more
Comparative Global Study of Urban Spaces to Support Parents
How can designated spaces for parents and children be established within existing municipal infrastructure such as community centres? What needs should these spaces focus on meeting? What services and programmes… Read more
Building on Islamic values - A fundamental shift in Moroccan early childhood education
The Bernard van Leer Foundation’s involvement in Morocco ran from 1981 to 2008. The story revolves around one key individual – a thought leader and influencer who was the linchpin… Read more
Emerging Early Childhood Inequality: On the Relationship Between Poverty, Sensory Stimulation, Child Development, and Achievement
Funded by the Bernard van Leer Foundation, this literature review illuminates how economic inequality affects educational achievement – in general and specifically in Israel, where economic and academic inequalities are… Read more
Early Childhood Matters 2018
The 2018 edition of Early Childhood Matters features keynote contributions from the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, on the ‘De Cero a Siempre’ policy; Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General… Read more
An Urban95 Starter Kit - ideas for action
This publication is a collection of promising ideas encountered so far in the Bernard van Leer Foundation's Urban95 initiative. Aimed primarily at city and local government leaders and managers, politicians,… Read more
Mix & Match - Tools to design urban play
This toolkit provides possible design interventions to create more inclusive play environments from the street to the neighbourhood. It is aimed at stakeholders including policy-makers, designers, planners, architects, NGOs and… Read more
Child-friendly urban design - Observations on public space from Eindhoven (NL) and Jerusalem (IL)
This report presents findings on urban design solutions for increasing child-friendliness at the neighbourhood level based on a project funded by the Bernard van Leer Foundation. It reviews the literature… Read more
Playing it safe? - A global white paper on risk, liability and children’s play in public space
Available data suggests that playgrounds are comparatively safe places – yet, in many countries, concerns about potential liability for injury have led to bureaucratic risk reduction initiatives that might not… Read more