The award is open to educators, researchers, and organisations from around the world to submit their pioneering initiatives in early childhood education.
KIAEL aims to recognise and celebrate outstanding contributions that have a profound impact on the early learning field.
It is open to any education or research aimed at children up to eight years old.
The inaugural award last year attracted 300 entries from 61 countries around the world.
KIAEL's overarching mission is to promote research and development while enriching the culture of excellence and innovation in early childhood education worldwide.
The 2023 winners were South Africa's Data Drive2030, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Morocco's Zakoura Foundation, and Professor Laura Justice from the USA, who were celebrated for their research papers, innovative programmes, and teaching methodologies.
Dr Steven Barnett, KIAEL Awarding Committee member, board of governors professor of education at Rutgers University and co-Director of the US National Institute for Early Education said, ‘Winners of the KIAEL 2023 set the bar high for this prestigious initiative.
‘Their groundbreaking work has not only been recognised, but has also inspired a global community of educators, researchers, and practitioners to strive for excellence in early learning. Their contributions are aligned with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal #4, which aims to ensure that, by 2030, all children have access to quality early childhood development, care, and pre-primary education, setting a solid foundation for their future.’
There are two categories open to individuals, teams or organisations: ‘Best Programmes, Curricula, Teaching Methodologies and Practices’ and ‘Best Research & Studies’, with two winners from each category chosen by a distinguished panel of academics, including Dr Barnett and Professor Iram Siraj, professor of child development and education, University of Oxford.
- The closing date is 12 January 2024. More information is available at