Showcasing the use of data and digital tools to improve quality and inclusive ECDE programs in emergency settings

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Following prolonged crisis including climate change-induced floods and conflicts, Ethiopia continues to grapple with persistent humanitarian crisis whereby young children are among the most affected. According to the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan, the cumulative effects of conflict, violence, and climate shocks have left 21.4 million people — 4.1 million women and 12 million children — in need of humanitarian assistance. The impact of this polycrisis on the education of Ethiopia's youngest children is severe. The emergencies have strained the government's capacity to uphold children's right to education while also undermining the resilience of communities and families. The Education Cluster reports that 8.31 million children are out of school nationwide. A significant driver of these out-of-school rates is the limited availability of functional school facilities. Approximately 19% of schools across Ethiopia are inaccessible, with over 5,430 schools closed, 9,178 schools damaged by climate shocks and conflict, and nearly 140 schools repurposed as emergency shelters.

Despite these challenges, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has continued to make strides in increasing access to early childhood education. The MOE's 2022/2023 academic year statistics report shows that the gross enrollment rate (GER) in pre-primary education has grown from 9% in 2010 to 50% in 2023. However, access to preprimary education will only be realized with emphasis on quality ECDE services. Other essential process elements such as play-based teaching methodologies, inclusive education, focus on children’s well-being and holistic development, and organizing print-rich environment classrooms need to be looked at to ensure the provision of quality ECDE services in emergency settings. In addition, integrated programs focusing on health, nutrition and social protection are also vital for the child's overall development.

Delivering high-quality ECDE services while ensuring reach to all children in emergency-affected contexts can be challenging due to operational constraints, limited resources and capacities, and lack of political will. Furthermore, in such contexts, capacity for efficient monitoring and evaluation is often restricted which further limits data-driven program adaptation and improvement.

This panel brings together a group of specialists working to build local capacities for quality ECDE in the context of a holistic intervention delivered through learning centers, community groups, and home visits in emergency settings in Ethiopia. The presentations showcase the experiences and lessons learned from working with local implementing partners to effectively reach children in conflict and drought-affected regions, including internally displaced children, boys and girls and children with disabilities. The authors will share the context, the challenges and the strategies to promote early learning and well-being of children through quality inclusive play-based approaches and will discuss the role of data and digital tools to guide program activities and enhance quality ECDE. The authors will also showcase the use of qualitative research to provide more nuanced data and information to improve program quality and inclusion in implementation.

The first presentation focuses on the experience of using hotline messages to enhance teacher’s capacity to deliver high-quality ECDE in the context of Accelerated School Readiness (ASR) instruction in emergency settings. Over 8 weeks, ASR teachers receive hotline messages through their mobile phones to help improve their early learning teaching skills. The messages, delivered in the local language, offer practical tips for demonstrating and enhancing play-based instructions. The authors will share results from a longitudinal study that followed a cohort of 630 children that attended the hotline-supported ASR program during summer of 2024. The first phase of the study adopted a pre-post study design to understand the early learning and development trajectories of children attending the ASR program. The second phase, to be completed by the end of 2024, will track these cohorts of children into Grade 1. Using a quasi-experimental approach, the study will compare the learning achievements in Grade 1 for those children who attended the ASR program with that of children of the same age who had no preprimary program exposure.

The second presentation explores the role and contribution of digital, data-driven evidence in enhancing ECDE programming in regions of Ethiopia affected by ongoing drought and conflict. The discussion will focus on how digital tools and data analysis have been utilized to identify needs, monitor progress, and adapt ECDE interventions in these challenging environments. Drawing on data collected through different tools and methodologies, the authors will showcase the process, challenges and usefulness of tracking key indicators that reflect the progress, fidelity and outcomes of ECDE programs. Framed by the Activity’s Theory of Change, the results allow understanding aspects of ECDE structural and process quality, such as teachers ability to apply play-based methodologies, including using daily routine, establishing learning areas, and applying various play materials to facilitate inclusive classroom learning. Finally, the authors build on these results to reflect on the role of data to guide Activity delivery and to build the capacity of teachers with different educational backgrounds and experiences.

The third presentation focuses on qualitative data recognizing gender differences in enrolment, which in turn has implications for implementing quality ECDE services in schools. The gender gap is coupled by deep-rooted socio-cultural and institutional practices shaping gender dynamics in the country. The Activity will identify the obstacles to a young girl’s enrollment and attendance in pre-primary education. It will also examine socioeconomic factors hindering male engagement in caregiving roles in the home and investigate factors that restrain women’s employment and advancement in Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) roles.

The panel concludes with a discussion of opportunities to promote the use of qualitative and quantitative data, and digital tools, to enhance the reach, quality and impact of ECDE in emergency contexts.

Sub Unit

• Early Childhood Development SIG

Organizer

• Shewaye Mengistu, Save the Children

Chair

• Shewaye Mengistu, Save the Children

Individual Presentations

• The Result of Providing Mobile Hotline Assisted Instruction to Promote Playful Learning for Children: ASR Program in Ethiopia - Jemal Abdulkadir; Filipa de Castro, Save the Children

• Addressing sociocultural and institutional practices shaping gender dynamics to promote equitable and inclusive pre-primary education - Shewaye Mengistu, Save the Children