EVIDENCE March, 2012 from to POLICY a note series on learning what works, from the Human Development Network Is Preschool Good for Kids? 67807 How can we help kids reach their full potential? Experts education. We also recognize that getting kids to school is just know that the first years of life are crucial to healthy develop- a start—they need to be prepared physically, cognitively and ment. And that’s just the start. Children need regular mental socially for the challenges of learning. To test the effectiveness and physical stimulation—along with healthcare and proper of preschool programs on children’s enrollment in and readi- nutrition—to keep their development on track. Preschool ness for primary school, the World Bank supported a study of programs are a great way to give kids the educational build- an early childhood development preschool program in Mo- ing blocks to help them learn and prepare for primary school. zambique run by Save the Children. The evaluation showed But in low-income countries, parents don’t always have the that children enrolled in preschool were better prepared for opportunity: governments haven’t invested in preschools; pri- the demands of schooling than children who did not attend vate sector offerings may be too pricey or not close by; and preschool and that they were more likely to start primary parents may not understand the benefits. For policymakers school by age 6. This study, which we believe is the first ran- and education experts, the questions are clear: Does it make domized evaluation of a preschool program in a rural African sense to invest in preschool education and, if preschools are setting, shows that preschool education can be an inexpensive available, will parents use them and do children truly benefit and highly effective means for helping children overcome the from such programs? developmental blocks that come from poverty. Based on the At the World Bank, we are committed to working with results, Mozambique’s Ministry of Education has begun governments to help them meet the United Nations Millen- work to expand the community-based preschool model to nium Development Goals, including universal primary school 600 communities in the 2013–2015 period. Case Study Mozambique Save the Children set up a pilot preschool program in 12 com- of child development, standard socio- economic questions and munities in a rural part of Mozambique in 2006 and expanded the health questions. The endline survey was conducted in 2010 and program to 30 new communities in 2008. As part of the expan- had a 95 percent re-contact rate. sion, plans were made for World Bank researchers to simultane- ously carry out an evaluation of the impact of the program on children’s development and readiness for school. The 30 commu- nities were picked randomly from 76 eligible communities—the remainder became the control group—and researchers conducted a detailed baseline survey of 2000 households with preschool-aged children. They also surveyed community leaders and first grade students in all 76 communities. The survey included measures Did You Know… Only 4 percent of children in Mozambique are in preschool, but…. it costs less than $3/month to send a child to preschool in Mozambique. Background Mozambique’s primary school enrollment more than doubled and socio-emotional development. As a result, they may ar- between 1998 and 2010, reaching close to 95 percent. None- rive at school ill-prepared for learning in a group environment. theless, close to one-third of children are not enrolled in pri- While preschool programs are generally viewed as an effective mary school by age 6, and when they do enroll, they are not al- way to boost children’s development and better prepare them ways prepared for the demands of school. Children from poor, for school, only four percent of children in Mozambique go to rural communities in particular often show signs of develop- preschool, and these tend to be from wealthier families and in mental delays. This isn’t a surprise: an estimated 61 percent urban areas. Save the Children’s early childhood development of children in sub-Saharan Africa don’t reach developmental program was designed to help bridge this gap and give poor milestones because of poverty. Brought up in homes where par- children the right start in life so they have a better chance of ents themselves may be illiterate, children in such poor com- reaching their full potential. The cost of running the program munities don’t always have access to the toys, books and verbal was U.S. $2.47 per child per month, which included paying interactions that help stimulate physical, cognitive, linguistic, the teachers a $10/month stipend. The Findings Many parents want to send their children to preschool. Children who attended preschool were more likely to enroll in primary school and more likely to start at the In communities where Save the Children preschools were avail- right age. Once in school, they also spent more time on able, 55 percent of eligible children aged 3 to 5 years old were homework and other school-related activities. enrolled in the program, compared with 11.7 percent of chil- dren in control group communities. On average, children at- Primary school enrollment rates among children in the treatment tended school five days a week, for nearly four hours a day. group were 24 percent higher than those in the control group two Three-quarters of families in the treatment group said years after the evaluation was launched. Children who had been they had access to a preschool, compared with 22 percent enrolled in preschool also were 10.2 percentage points more likely of those in the control group. Among those in the treatment to start primary school at the right age—6 years old for first grade group who did not enroll their preschool-aged children, the —an increase of 21.7 percent over the control group. most commonly given reasons were that the child was too Once enrolled in primary school, they spent an average young (suggesting misinformation about the appropriate en- of 7.2 hours extra a week on homework and other school- rollment age), that the primary caregiver objected or that the related activities, including classroom time. This translates school was too far. into an increase of almost 50 percent over the control group, This policy note reviews research presented in “The Promise of Preschool in Africa: A Randomized Impact Evaluation of Early Childhood Devel- opment in Rural Mozambique,� by Sebastian Martinez, Sophie Naudeau and Victor Pereira. The evaluation was funded in part by the Spanish Impact Evaluation Fund. Preschool didn’t only help targeted children—other household members benefitted as well. Sending children to preschool freed up time for caregivers and seems to have given their older siblings more time to go to school themselves. In households where a younger child attended pre- school, older children aged 10 to 15 years old were 5 percent more likely to have gone to school – perhaps because they did not have to watch their younger siblings during the day. Caregivers, who were basically freed from 15 hours a week of childcare because of the preschool program (depending on the ages of their other children), were 26 percent more likely to have worked in the previous 30 days than those whose children stayed home. At the same time, caregiv- ers in the treatment group were less likely than those in the control who spent on average 15.5 hours per week on homework and group to see physical punishment as appropriate to use on a child. classroom time. They were also more likely to practice daily routines with the child, The increase in time spent in school and on homework came although there was no significant increase in playing games or read- in part from a reduction in time spent working on the family’s farm ing books with the child. and accompanying their caregivers to attend community meetings. The time children usually spent playing, sleeping or doing chores Communities did not shy away from involvement in was not affected. the project. Children who attended preschool showed gains Communities had to agree to provide space, labor and, where pos- on overall school readiness, as measured through sible, materials, to build preschool classrooms (up to three per com- tests of cognitive, socio-emotional, and fine motor munity, each with capacity for 35 children), and they had to form development. committees to manage and supervise the preschools. Save the Chil- dren also gave communities materials for playgrounds, child-sized Compared with the control group, children in the treatment latrines and a washing station with safe water for drinking and hand group showed a 5.3 percent increase in communications skills; washing. a 6.4 percent increase in problem solving skills and an increase Each class had two volunteer teachers – who had to meet certain of 6.3 percent in a test measuring fine motor development. minimum requirements and were each paid about $10 a month by Results were particularly strong in the area of cognitive Save the Children—picked by the community management com- development, as measured in a survey of first-grade primary mittee. At the outset, teachers received training from Save the Chil- school teachers. Children in the treatment group showed a dren on learning techniques to stimulate children’s learning, and 12.1 percentage point increase – or 87 percent -- over those in later had refresher courses; facilitators visited the schools monthly the control group. Areas in which children did better included to coach and mentor; and every month teachers in the same district memory, interest in mathematics, ability to sort and classify would meet to share tips and prepare for the next month. objects and being able to count to 20. Children in the treat- At the same time, Save the Children sponsored monthly parent- ment group also showed improved emotional maturity, includ- ing meetings with the involvement of community health activists ing self-regulation. and the preschool teachers. Discussions focused on nutrition, health and literacy. After two years of seed funding from Save the Children, com- About the preschools: munities had to agree on the monthly fee that each household 93 percent of teachers were female would contribute to maintain the preschools. The fee ended up be- Their average age was 33 ing between U.S. 0.50 cents and U.S. 0.80 cents per month, or Their average education was 6.2 years about a third of what families in the control group paid to send their More than half had a child enrolled in the preschool children to a preschool. Conclusion Making policy from evidence Policymakers and development experts know that educating chil- caregivers were more likely to work and older siblings were more dren is key to alleviating poverty and helping people build better likely to go to school. And at $2.47 per child per month—which lives. And that’s why helping countries achieve universal primary included the $10 monthly stipend to teachers—preschool pro- education is a United Nations Millennium Development Goal. grams can be affordable. But it’s also important to make sure children are ready for primary The importance of evidence for governments seeking to school when they start. As this evaluation showed, preschools are craft effective policies is clear: In this case, the Mozambique an effective way to help children prepare for school – and children Ministry of Education is now planning to extend community- who attend preschool are more likely to enroll in primary school based preschools to 600 communities. While there remain oth- and start at the right age. er areas to study, for example, constraints that held back families Having children in preschool can also be a boon for their care- from enrolling their kids in preschool, the value of early childhood givers—including older siblings. In this Mozambique evaluation, education is clear. The Human Development Network, part of the World Bank Group, supports and disseminates research evaluating the impact of development projects to help alleviate poverty. The goal is to collect and build empirical evidence that can help governments and development organizations design and implement the most appropriate and effective policies for better educational, health and job opportunities for people in developing countries. For more informa- tion about who we are and what we do, go to: http://www.worldbank.org/hdchiefeconomist This Evidence to Policy note series is produced with the generous support of the Spanish Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF) THE WORLD BANK, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK 1818 H STREET, NW WASHINGTON, DC 20433 Produced by Office of the Chief Economist, Human Development Network, Communications/Aliza Marcus