Are Kenyan children ready for the leap from pre-primary to primary school?

• In Event: Access and quality in early childhood settings

Proposal

The first five years of life are a critical period to supporting optimal growth and development as the child’s brain develops rapidly during this time. At the same time, outside influences can have the greatest impact on development as children are particularly sensitive to early experiences (1-3). Research has demonstrated that participating in early childhood programmes leads to higher levels of academic achievement and better adjustment during later schooling years (4). On the other hand, children who lag in development are less likely to be ready for school, to progress through the schooling system and in their adult years, to get good employment opportunities (5). Early childhood is therefore considered the most important developmental phase across the lifespan as it lays the foundation for future outcomes.

In Kenya, as more women join the workforce (6), the demand for early childhood education services has increased. However, many children who attend these early childhood education (ECDE) centers do not receive quality services. Apart from having few professionally trained teachers, the early childhood education sector receives limited financial support from the government. Furthermore, many ECDE centres are characterized by inadequate play and learning materials, and lack of health and nutrition services (7). For children from poor households, the lack of quality early childhood education services has negative implications as children enter primary school inadequately prepared to participate in individual learning and classroom activities (8).

In an endeavor to improve the quality of early childhood education services, the Tayari pre-primary school programme was designed to deal with the aforementioned challenges. The Tayari programme aims to develop a tested, cost-effective, affordable and scalable model to ensure that pre-primary schoolchildren are cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally prepared to join primary school. Implemented as a pilot project in selected public and private ECDE centers in four counties in Kenya, Tayari, which means “ready” in Kiswahili, will strengthen the existing ECDE model in Kenya through developing: a) interactive teacher training combined with continued instructional coaching and support; b) child-centered instructional materials; and, c) a child health intervention that integrates psychosocial with health and nutritional components. The current proposal will deal with the following research question: Does the effect of the treatment vary by background factors (type of centre, learner characteristics, teacher characteristics, length of exposure, and uptake levels)?

The Tayari intervention components are delivered through three treatment packages. Using a stepped wedge design, the intervention will be rolled out sequentially over two years. In the evaluation study which is designed as a randomized control trial, each treatment arm (T1, T2 and T3) will be compared to the control arm (T0). A baseline study involving a cross-sectional sample of learners from 151 public and 147 private (also known as Alternative Provision of Basic Education and Training [APBET]) centres was completed in early 2016. Three quantitative survey instruments were used to collect data: a head teacher questionnaire, an ECDE teacher questionnaire and a lesson observation schedule. A direct assessment was administered to the learners. Data were captured using tablets.

The outcome measure that will be used to assess the effectiveness of the programme is improvements in the Tayari School Readiness Index (TSRI) scores. The TSRI is a composite score that measures performance across 10 tasks that cover executive functioning, literacy and numeracy skills.

The mean TSRI scores were 50% or below for learners in both public and private ECDE centres. These scores suggested that children’s school readiness was generally at low levels. However, the scores for boys were not significantly different from those of girls. Learners’ school readiness scores increased with teachers’ level of professional training. As has been suggested in earlier reports, more highly trained teachers are likely to be more sensitive to the needs of young learners, and to be more adequately prepared to promote learning in children (9).
These initial results are significant because they highlight the need to improve the quality of services provided in the early childhood education sector. Firstly there is need to invest more funds in ECDE centers to improve facilities. Efforts should also be directed towards transforming the teaching approach in ECDE centres in order to improve the quality of learning at this level. Further, this sector should be made more attractive to professionally trained teachers who should be well remunerated to encourage their retention. Doing so will help the country to attain inclusive quality education for young learners.

References
1. Shonkoff JP, Phillips DA. Fron Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2000.
2. Grantham-McGregor SM, Cheung YB, Cueto S, Glewwe P, Richter L, Strupp B, et al. Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries. The Lancet. 2007;369(9555):60-70.
3. Walker SP, Wachs TD, Grantham-McGregor S, Black MM, Nelson CA, Huffman SL, et al. Inequality in early childhood: risk and protective factors for early child development. The Lancet. 2011;378(9799):1325-38.
4. Barnett WS. Long-term effects of early childhood programs on cognitive and school outcomes. Future of Children. 1995;5(3):25-50.
5. Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth. School Readiness. West Perth: ARACY, 2007.
6. Atieno R, editor Government Policy and Female Labour Market Participation in Kenya: Implications for Poverty Reduction. Annual IAFFE Conference; 2009 26-28 June, 2009; Boston, USA.
7. KENPRO. Challenges facing Early Childhood Development and Education in Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya: Kenya Projects Organization, 2014.
8. UNICEF. School Readiness and Transitions. New York, NY: UNICEF, 2011.
9. Pianta RC, Barnett WS, Justice LM, editors. Handbook of Early Childhood Education. New York, NY: Guilford Press; 2012.

Authors

• Patricia Kitsao-Wekulo, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)

• Njora Hungi, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)

• Moses Ngware, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)

• Maurice Mutisya, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)

• Nelson Gichuhi Muhia, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)