Yadete and Woodhead, M.(2012). Delivering quality early learning in low-resource settings ...

105 Pages·2012·2.93 MB·English

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Delivering Quality Early Learning In Low-Resource
Settings: Progress And Challenges In Ethiopia
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Orkin, Kate; Yadete, Workneh A. and Woodhead, Martin (2012). Delivering Quality Early Learning In Low-
Resource Settings: Progress And Challenges In Ethiopia. Bernard van Leer Foundation, The Hague/ Netherlands.
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59
WORKING PAPERS IN
Delivering quality
Early Childhood Development
early learning in
low-resource settings
Progress and challenges in Ethiopia
Kate Orkin, Workneh Abebe Yadete

STUDIES IN
and Martin Woodhead
Early Childhood
Transitions
Studies in Early Childhood Transitions
This working paper is part of a series on early transitions from Young Lives, a 15 year longitudinal study of child-
hood poverty in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam. Further information about Young Lives research is available
on the website: www.younglives.org.uk
Also in the Series
Vogler, P., Crivello, G., and Woodhead, M. (2008). ‘Early childhood transitions research: A review of concepts,
theory, and practice.’ Working Paper 48: Studies in Early Childhood Transitions. The Hague: Bernard van Leer
Foundation.
Woodhead, M., Ames, P., Vennam, U., Abebe, W., and Streuli, N. (2009). ‘Equity and quality? Challenges for early
childhood and primary education in Ethiopia, India, and Peru.’ Working Paper 55: Studies in Early Childhood
Transitions. The Hague: Bernard van Leer Foundation.
Ames, P., Rojas, V., and Portugal, T. ‘Continuity and respect for diversity: Strengthening early transitions in Peru.’
(2010). Working Paper 56: Studies in Early Childhood Transitions. The Hague: Bernard van Leer Foundation.
Streuli, N., Vennam, V., and Woodhead, M. (2011). ‘Increasing choice or inequality? Pathways through early
education in Andhra Pradesh, India.’ Working Paper 58: Studies in Early Childhood Transitions. The Hague:
Bernard van Leer Foundation.
Cover photo: A church run pre-school in Ethiopia © Jorgen Schytte/Specialist Stock.

Design: Valetti, vormgeving en communicatie, The Hague, The Netherlands (www.valetti.nl)
Editing and proofreading: Green Ink (www.greenink.co.uk)
59
WORKING PAPERS IN
Delivering quality
Early Childhood Development
early learning in
low-resource settings
Progress and challenges in Ethiopia
By Kate Orkin, Workneh Abebe Yadete
and Martin Woodhead

STUDIES IN
Early Childhood
Transitions
September 2012
Copyright © 2012 by the Bernard van Leer Foundation, The Netherlands. The Bernard van Leer Foundation encourages
fair use – except modifications – of this material. Proper citation is requested. This publication may not be resold for profit.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the Bernard van Leer
Foundation.
About the authors
Kate Orkin is a Research Associate at Young Lives in Oxford. She is a DPhil candidate in Development Studies at the Uni-
versity of Oxford. Her research in rural Ethiopia uses qualitative and econometric methods to analyse how factors, such as
the length of the school day, language of instruction and teacher quality affect children’s participation and achievement
at school. Orkin has consulted for the World Bank and has designed and supported the management of surveys in Ethio-
pia for the International Food Policy Research Institute and for Young Lives.
Workneh Abebe Yadete is an Education Researcher at Young Lives in Ethiopia. He led data collection for the first school
survey run by Young Lives in 2010. His research has focused on the educational experiences of pre-primary and primary
school-aged children. Prior to his work on the Young Lives school survey, Yadete worked as a researcher with Young
Lives on two rounds of qualitative research in 2007 and 2008 and for the Wellbeing in Developing Countries (WeD)
Poverty, Inequality, and Quality of Life research project. He worked for five years as a practitioner in child protection
and currently heads operations at SOS Enfants Ethiopie in Addis Ababa. Yadete holds a MA in History from Addis Ababa
University.
Martin Woodhead is Professor of Childhood Studies at the Open University and Associate Research Director of Young
Lives at the University of Oxford. He led the Young Lives/Bernard van Leer Foundation sub-study on early childhood tran-
sitions. His thirty year research career has included a focus on early childhood development, education, and care and has
involved policy studies, extensive international work and numerous publications.
Citation
Orkin, K., Abebe, W., Yadete and Woodhead, M. (2012). Delivering quality early learning in low-resource settings:
Progress and challenges in Ethiopia. Working Paper No. 59, Studies in Early Childhood Transitions. The Hague, The
Netherlands: Bernard van Leer Foundation
ISSN 1383-7907
ISBN 978-90-6195-126-1
Contents
Acronyms v
Acknowledgements vii
Executive summary ix

Introduction 1

Chapter 1: Early childhood in sub-Saharan Africa: Opportunities and challenges 5
Chapter 2: Early childhood and primary education in Ethiopia 15
Chapter 3: Studying early childhood transitions in Ethiopia 33
Chapter 4: Unequal pathways into education: Case studies from an urban community 47
Chapter 5: Accessing ‘Education for All’: Multiple challenges in a rural community 61
Chapter 6: Discussion and conclusions 75
Appendix: The Young Lives communities 83
References 85

vii
Acronyms
c-IMCI Community-based Integrated Management of Childhood Illness
CREATE Consortium for Research on Educational Access
CSA Central Statistics Agency
DfID United Kingdom Department for International Development
DHS Demographic and Health Survey
DRC Democratic Republic of Congo
ECCE Early Childhood Care and Education
ECD Early Childhood Development
EFA Education For All
EPRDF Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front
ESDP Education Sector Development Plan
ETP Education Training Policy
FBO Faith-Based Organisation
FTI Fast-Track Initiative
GEQIP General Education Quality Improvement Programme
GER Gross Enrolment Rate
HDI Human Development Index
KG Kindergarten Group
LDC Least-Developed Country
LKG Lower Kindergarten
MDG Millennium Development Goals
NER Net Enrolment Rate
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
NLA National Learning Assessment
PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
PSNP Productive Safety Net Programme
SNNPR Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region
UKG Upper Kindergarten
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
USAID United States Agency for International Development
TTI Teacher Training Institute
YL Young Lives

ix
Acknowledgements
Young Lives is an innovative, longitudinal study provided by the Bernard van Leer Foundation
investigating the changing nature of childhood to the Open University as a Young Lives partner.
poverty. Young Lives is tracking 12,000 children
in Ethiopia, India (Andhra Pradesh), Peru and We thank Paul Dornan, Suadik Hassen, Lynette
Vietnam over 15 years through a quantitative Okengo and Alula Pankhurst for their com-
survey and participatory qualitative research, ments and suggestions. We acknowledge Natalia
linked to policy analysis. Young Lives seeks to: Streuli’s contributions to the development of
(cid:113)(cid:243) improve understanding of the causes and this paper, until her untimely death in Febru-
consequences of childhood poverty and ary 2012. We thank Gina Crivello and Laura
to examine how policies affect children’s Camfield for their role in coordinating Young
well-being; Lives early transitions qualitative research and
(cid:113)(cid:243) inform the development and implementa- the Ethiopian team members Yisak Tafere and
tion of future policies and practices that Asham Assezinew for their support in data col-
will reduce childhood poverty. lection. We thank the children and families who
participate in Young Lives research, as well as
Young Lives is receiving core funding from 2001 the teachers and head teachers who open their
to 2017 from the UK Department for Interna- schools and classrooms to us. Further informa-
tional Development (DfID) for the benefit of tion about Young Lives is available at:
developing countries and is co-funded by the www.younglives.org.uk.
Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs from
2010 to 2014. Sub-studies are funded by the The views expressed here are those of the
Inter-American Development Bank (in Peru), authors. They are not necessarily those of, or
the International Development Research Centre endorsed by Young Lives, the University of
(in Ethiopia), and the Oak Foundation. Support Oxford, DfID or other funders.
for focused research on early transitions was