Collective impact approaches to promoting early childhood reading development for disadvantaged children around the globe

• In Event: The relationship between fidelity of implementation and learning: what the data tells us

Proposal

Abstract
In this session, presenters review critical factors related to what works to help prevent as well as effectively address children’s reading difficulties; describe and share findings from pre-school and early grade reading projects and initiatives currently underway in Morocco and in the USA; and explore how developmentally appropriate standards and best practices can be used to stimulate the design, implementation, and evaluation of high-quality early learning programs for economically and educationally disadvantaged children around the globe.
The panel concludes with a discussion of how barriers to facilitating educational access and success for educationally at-risk children can be sustainably addressed through meaningful partnerships using principles of Collective Impact. Insights emerging from the panel presentations and discussion will help stimulate cross-sector collaboration and identify actionable tasks and strategies for developing innovative ways of preparing all children to read prior to engaging in formal schooling.

Perspective(s) and Theoretical Frameworks
The awareness that preschool is important is growing globally. The role of early language and literacy development is often misunderstood and undervalued by parents, teachers, school leaders, and policy makers; but research shows it is one of the strongest markers of children’s success in school and in life.
Research and theorizing on long-term impacts of early childhood programs has shown that investing in high quality education in the first five years of a child’s life yields higher returns than any later investment. These benefits span academic success outcomes as well as risks in health and criminality (Heckman et al., 2006). Experts agree that the majority of reading problems faced by adolescents and adults could have been prevented or resolved in the early years of childhood (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).Research by Row (2000) and Fernald & Weisleder (2015) shows that malleable factors like parental engagement, beliefs, and knowledge of child development strongly predict children’s language and literacy development.
The work presented in this panel is informed by bioecological and sociocultural theories of human learning, which stress the interaction between developing individuals and the social cultures they associate with (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Vygotsky, 1978), and frameworks for investing in human capital, which stresses the role of stakeholder teamwork and collaboration (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012). It is further guided by international standards for the preparation of early childhood educators (e.g., NAEYC & NAECS/SDE, 2003), established developmentally appropriate practices (e.g., Copple, Bredekamp, 2009); and syntheses of research on the prevention of reading difficulties (e.g., Neuman & Dickinson, 2011; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).
This work is further informed by principles of “Collective Impact”which are rooted in the belief that significant large-scale change comes from better cross-sector coordination rather than from the isolated interventions of individuals or agencies acting alone (Kania & Kramer, 2011). Collective impact approaches are based on meaningful cross-sector collaboration teamwork and have been shown to be quite effective in solving challenges inherent to educational access and success for marginalized populations who are economically disadvantaged and underrepresented. The Collective Impact principles will inform the panel analysis of the sustainability of the early grade reading projects described in the paper presentations.

Methods, Techniques or Modes of Inquiry
Four complementary data sources inform discussion of issues and questions pertaining to the development, implementation, and evaluation of high-quality early language and literacy programs. Data sources include (a) a synthesis of research, policy, and best practices delineating what works in establishing high quality early learning programs (e.g., National Research Council, 1999; NAEYC, 2015); (b) a qualitative analysis of focus groups conducted with Moroccan stakeholders addressing needs and strategies for promoting and supporting parent-oriented early learning initiatives in Morocco; (c) a progress report highlighting progress of a new reform initiative aimed at enrolling 100% of Moroccan children in pre-primary education within ten years; and (d) a year-long pilot field study conducted in the United States aimed at building parent to support children’s early language and literacy skills starting at birth.

Results and Conclusions
Syntheses of research on early learning offer guidelines about what parents and caregivers can do to prepare children for reading instruction, what concepts about language and literacy should be included in beginning reading instruction, how reading difficulties can be prevented starting with infants and into the early grades, and what researchers, practitioners, and policy makers need to know to support effective and sustainable early learning for all children.
Over the last two decades, the country of Morocco has undertaken a number of forward-thinking initiatives as well as bold actions aimed at addressing timely, complex, and intertwined issues of sustainable development. One of these initiatives, dubbed “Our future won’t wait”, is an early childhood development initiative launched in partnership with UNICEF and the Fondation BMCE Bankin July 2018. The overall goal of this new initiative is to enroll 100% of eligible children in pre-primary education within a ten-year time frame and thereby address the significant enrollment gaps that exist between rural and urban areas. To achieve this goal, plans are in place to build 57,000 classrooms, as well as hire and train an additional 55,000 teachers. Data available indicate that currently, too many children (nearly 730,000) are not benefitting from an early childhood education in Morocco. Only half of children in Morocco are enrolled in pre-primary school, falling to just over a third of children in rural areas, according to the Ministry of Education. Challenges facing the reform initiative include developing a unified reference framework for early childhood education and putting in place better mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating progress toward achieving the goal of educating 100% of eligible children in pre-primary education within ten years.
The Moroccan Ministry of National Education is developing -- with the technical assistance of USAID-- a unique initiative aimed at building parent capacity to become more engaged in their children’s education. Focus group and structured interview data are used to tailor interventions to parents’ and children’s needs. Outcomes of this initiative are expected to result in developing a comprehensive program that includes TV series for parents and children, parent-child reading workshops, and programs to guide parents and children to engage in reading activities at breakfast and bedtime. This activity is part of a five-year phonics-based National Program for Reading launched in May 2017.
In two cross-sector early childhood reading projects in North East Texas, USA, we designed, implemented, and evaluated the impact of two initiatives (one focused on newborn to age three; the other focused on three through five years old children) aimed at preventing and addressing reading difficulties among young children of ethnically and linguistically diverse parents who are from low-income families in the East Texas region. Our goals in both projects were focused on (a) empowering and building parent and pre-school teacher capacity to help them support the development of children’s early language and literacy skills, (b) providing them with the necessary tools, resources, and training to help them support children’s early language and literacy skills, and (c) evaluating the extent to which the projects achieved their intended outcomes. Preliminary findings indicate that strengthening teacher capacity to reach and effectively teach resulted in significant improvements among participating three and five-year old children. As well, findings show that engaging parents in brief (15 minutes per day) daily “reading to and with” activities resulted in significant benefits for parents and child participants. Benefits include increased amount of time spent reading to and with children, increased parent awareness of their role in children’s education, improved attitudes toward reading among parents and children, and positive changes in home literacy environments.

Educational & Practical Significance
The findings reported via panel presentations are relevant to comparative international education and the global focus on sustainability. From a policy perspective, the panel highlights the implementation and sustainability provisions for scaling up early grade reading and literacy using lenses of technical feasibility, administrative operability, and political viability (Patton & Sawicki, 1993) in the contexts of the U.S and Morocco. In regard to research, the panel contributes to filling gaps in knowledge about what works or does not work in early grade education, especially in Morocco, a country where half of the children at the preschool level do not have access to such right. Finally, the panel has practical implications because it (1) shares with practitioners actual and proven solutions that have improved early children learning. and (2) engages the audience in discussion about how barriers to facilitating educational access and success for educationally at-risk children can be addressed through meaningful partnerships using principles of Collective Impact.

Authors

• Kouider Mokhtari, University of Texas at Tyler

• Mariam Britel-Swift, US Agency for International Development (USAID)

• Mariam Dahbi, Harvard University

• Mohammed Elmeski, American Research Institutes