Supporting professional development among youth in rural Pakistan through a youth-led early childhood education program

• In Event: 2-183 - Youth-Led Early Childhood Care and Education Programs: Characteristics and Potential Impact Across Multiple Global Contexts

Integrative Statement

Introduction: Globally there is vast unmet need for services promoting education and development for youth. Around 500 million youth are unemployed, inactive, underemployed, or working in insecure jobs (Solutions for Youth Employment, 2015). Youth-led early childhood care and education (ECCE) programs offer a promising model to provide education and training for youth and young children. LEAPS (Youth Leaders for Early Childhood Assuring Children are Prepared for School) is a youth-led ECCE program which trains female Community Youth Leaders (CYLs), ages 18-24, to deliver preschool curriculum in high-quality preprimary schools in rural Sindh, Pakistan. CYLs undergo a one-month center-based training, followed by six months of additional on-the-job training supported by a LEAPS Mentor. This paper focuses on benefits of LEAPS participation for ten CYLs.
Hypotheses: The aim of this mixed-methods analysis is to explore the gains in ECCE skills and professional skills that ten CYLs attained through participation in LEAPS over the 7-month training period. We hypothesized that participation in LEAPS would lead to sustained improvements in skill mastery and professional development for CYLs.
Study Population: Ten CYLs were chosen for the LEAPS program following a rigorous selection process. All candidates were required to be 18 - 24 years old, have at least 10 years of basic education, and reside near the communities in which preschools were located. At the time of enrollment, the mean age of CYLs was 20.8 years (SD=2.57). Three CYLs were married at baseline, and one had a child under the age of six years. Mean years of education was 11.6 (SD = 1.26).
Methods: CYL skill acquisition was assessed using a 35-item Mentoring Checklist, completed monthly by the LEAPS Mentor. This was a study-specific tool to assess CYL mastery of targeted skills. Checklist constructs reflect general areas of professional development, including interpersonal and organizational skills such as planning and time management, as well as ECCE-specific skills. Adjusted mean change in CYL scores over the 7 months was examined using quadratic random intercept generalized linear latent and mixed models (GLLAMM). Quantitative analyses were triangulated and enriched with results from a qualitative analysis of two CYL exit interview focus group discussions.
Results: Significant improvements over time were observed in ECCE skills and professional skills. Checklist scores were not associated with CYL age at enrollment or years of education. The linear term for time was significant (p < 0.01) and positively associated with all checklist domain scores in the adjusted models, indicating that on average CYL scores improved each month. The quadratic term for time was significant (p < .01) and negatively associated with all checklist domain scores, indicating that the adjusted mean rate of change in scores slowed over time. Qualitative analyses confirmed the upwards trends in skill acquisition. Three internal assets of CYLs and three LEAPS program supports were identified as potential explanatory factors driving improvements in skill mastery.
Conclusion: Findings suggest that youth-led ECCE is a feasible model for providing much-needed professional development opportunities for youth in low and middle-income countries.

Authors

• Emily Franchett, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
  Presenting Author

• Aisha Yousafzai, Harvard University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Muneera Rasheed, Aga Khan University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Saima Siyal, Aga Khan University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Chin R. Reyes, Yale Child Study Center
  Non-Presenting Author

• Liliana Angelica Ponguta, The Yale Child Study Center
  Non-Presenting Author