The purpose of this paper is to offer practical guidelines to those interested in collecting accurate and useful information about early childhood services in a particular

country or region. The guidelines presented focus on two areas of particular concern for policy-makers: data collection and system monitoring. To accommodate the needs of both developing and developed nations, we offer a number of different approaches to data collection and monitoring. We discuss how programs develop out of policy

decisions and how to tailor monitoring practices to be consistent with stated policies.

We provide practical examples of data collection methods that can be used to examine coverage and quality, two areas that are especially important for policy- making

decisions. Finally, we discuss the unique demands of collecting data to be used in crossnational

research.

This paper begins with a brief introduction that includes examples of the major

types of early childhood services in both developed and developing countries. The next

section of the paper presents general information about early childhood policies,

indicators, and methods of data collection. This is followed by a presentation of two

specific examples of early childhood policies, with suggested indicators for these

policies and recommended methods of data collection. The next section of the paper

discusses the special requirements of national data collection if the findings are to be

reported cross-nationally.