Expanding access to pre-primary education across sub-Saharan Africa is a growing priority for governments, but new research argues that getting children into classrooms is only part of the challenge.
A review of six early education programmes in five African countries suggests that how those programmes are designed and delivered may matter just as much as how many children they reach.
The argument, put forward by a team of economists in a recent research article, is that the first five years of life are a critical window for shaping a child’s future schooling, health and earnings.
They note that more than 77% of children in sub-Saharan Africa currently lack access to early childhood care and education, leaving many at risk of not reaching their developmental potential.
Studies of child development
The researchers set out to answer three questions: what types of pre-primary programmes are on offer, what effects they have on children, and which specific components drive those effects.
To do so, they reviewed evidence from programmes run by local governments in The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique, with most operating in poor, rural and remote areas.
Their findings, published in a peer-reviewed study, show that most of the programmes reviewed focused on play-based learning and, on average, produced positive effects on children’s development.
But the research also points to a key distinction: programmes that actively engaged parents appeared to generate the largest impacts on child outcomes.
The study examined effects on two categories of development. Cognitive development covers thinking processes such as numeracy, literacy, spatial ability, language, communication and executive function skills like attention and working memory.
Socioemotional development encompasses social and emotional competence, temperament and behaviour regulation, including a child’s awareness of others’ feelings and how they behave towards people.
All six programmes included teacher training. Some also supplied teachers with resources such as basic play and learning materials or teacher guides.
Two programmes offered a monthly stipend to teachers who completed training, which the authors note was significant because teachers in these settings did not typically earn a salary.
Most programmes also engaged with parents, either about school-related activities or by educating them on positive caregiving practices such as reading and playing with children, reducing harsh discipline, and understanding their influence on child development.
Success of programmes
The authors argue that the positive results matter because improvements in early-life skills are associated with better educational, employment and economic outcomes later on.
They cite the Perry Preschool Program in the United States as an example of the potential scale of these long-term benefits, estimating that every dollar invested in that programme generated roughly US$7 to US$12 in benefits to society.
Looking at why some programmes succeeded more than others, the researchers highlight three factors. First, successful programmes generally improved teacher practices and classroom quality.
Teacher training was found to decrease burnout, increase the use of appropriate instructional materials, and improve the quality of teacher-child interactions.
In Ghana, for instance, training encouraged teachers to consider children’s ideas during lessons and create opportunities for them to reason and solve problems.
Second, programmes that engaged parents appeared to be even more effective. A programme in Malawi that integrated group-based parenting education sessions into pre-schools with trained teachers brought about greater gains in children’s language skills and prosocial behaviours.
That programme focused on teaching parents tools for stimulating development and promoting health, such as reading and playing with children and washing hands.
Third, the quality of implementation mattered.
The authors note that where positive outcomes were not found, it may have been due to inexperienced staff, as in The Gambia, or difficulties personnel in Ghana experienced in communicating with parents about new approaches to early childhood education.
Implications for policy and practice
The findings lead the researchers to conclude that positive caregiving practices should be delivered by qualified personnel who can effectively communicate and engage with caregivers who may have low levels of education or limited access to resources.
This points, they say, to the need for programme planners to recruit high-quality teachers and personnel who can work effectively with both children and parents.
The research carries implications for Sustainable Development Goal 4.2, which aims to provide all children with access to quality pre-primary education by 2030 so they are ready to enter primary school.
Source: The Conversation