the learning areas that receive most focus in official curricula particularly in countries where child assessments are used shortly after entry into primary school are literacy and numeracy countries in the social pedagogy tradition do not exclude emergent literacy and numeracy but seek to maintain an open and holistic curriculum until children enter school and sometimes well into the early classes of primary school on the other hand countries in which early education has been part of or closely associated with primary school tend to privilege readiness for school and a more academic approach to curriculum and methodology it can ensure more even quality levels across provisions and age groups contributing to a more equitable system