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Quality of Early Childhood Education in Private and Government Preschools of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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Title: Quality of Early Childhood Education in Private and Government Preschools of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Language: English
Authors: Admas, Fantahun (ORCID 0000-0003-3748-0434)
Source: International Journal of Early Childhood. Aug 2019 51(2):163-176.
Availability: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 14
Publication Date: 2019
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Preschool Education
Descriptors: Educational Quality, School Effectiveness, Preschools, Public Schools, Private Schools, Early Childhood Education, Foreign Countries, Preschool Teachers, Young Children, Child Caregivers, Educational Environment, School Community Relationship, Family School Relationship, Special Needs Students
Geographic Terms: Ethiopia
DOI: 10.1007/s13158-019-00248-1
ISSN: 0020-7187
Abstract: The present study assesses the quality of preschools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and examines differences in quality between government and private preschools. Thirty-seven preschools (16 government and 21 private) and 37 preschool teachers from Addis Ababa participated in this study. Data were collected using the Global Guidelines Assessment (GGA) Scale which contains 76 items across five areas of practice: Environment and Physical Space, Curriculum Content and Pedagogy, Early Childhood Education Educators and Caregivers, Partnership with Families and Communities, and Young Children with Special Needs. Items are rated on a 5-point scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Specific analyses also considered if preschools were meeting adequate quality standards. Both private and government preschools had less than 'adequate' quality. Private preschools had relatively better quality compared with government preschools. The GGA is an important measurement tool to measure quality in ECE services that can inform policy and advocacy efforts to deliver higher quality early childhood education in the Ethiopian context. Preschools in Ethiopia could use the GGA scale, as a self-evaluation tool, to identify how and where to focus their efforts in order to deliver quality early education to children and families.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2019
Accession Number: EJ1229940
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0138885082;iec01aug.19;2019Oct03.05:27;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0138885082-1">Quality of Early Childhood Education in Private and Government Preschools of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia </title> <p>The present study assesses the quality of preschools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and examines differences in quality between government and private preschools. Thirty-seven preschools (16 government and 21 private) and 37 preschool teachers from Addis Ababa participated in this study. Data were collected using the Global Guidelines Assessment (GGA) Scale which contains 76 items across five areas of practice: Environment and Physical Space, Curriculum Content and Pedagogy, Early Childhood Education Educators and Caregivers, Partnership with Families and Communities, and Young Children with Special Needs. Items are rated on a 5-point scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Specific analyses also considered if preschools were meeting adequate quality standards. Both private and government preschools had less than 'adequate' quality. Private preschools had relatively better quality compared with government preschools. The GGA is an important measurement tool to measure quality in ECE services that can inform policy and advocacy efforts to deliver higher quality early childhood education in the Ethiopian context. Preschools in Ethiopia could use the GGA scale, as a self-evaluation tool, to identify how and where to focus their efforts in order to deliver quality early education to children and families.</p> <p>Résumé: La présente étude évalue la qualité des maternelles en Éthiopie et examine les différences de qualité entre maternelles gouvernementales et privées. Trente-sept maternelles (16 gouvernementales et 21 privées) et 37 instituteurs du préscolaire à Addis-Abeba ont participé à cette étude. Des données ont été recueillies en faisant appel à l'échelle Global Guidelines Assessment (GGA) contenant 76 items répartis en cinq domaines de pratique : environnement et espace physique, contenu de programme et pédagogie, instituteurs et éducateurs de la petite enfance, partenariat avec les familles et les communautés, et jeunes enfants ayant des besoins spéciaux. Les items sont notés sur une échelle de 5 points. Les données ont été analysées au moyen de statistiques descriptives et inférentielles. Des analyses spécifiques ont également examiné si les maternelles répondent à des normes de qualité appropriée. Les maternelles tant gouvernementales que publiques présentent une qualité moins qu' « appropriée ». Les maternelles privées sont d'une qualité relativement meilleure par rapport aux maternelles gouvernementales. L'échelle GGA constitue un important outil de mesure de la qualité des services d'éducation de la petite enfance, pouvant guider les politiques et les efforts de plaidoyer en faveur de l'offre d'une éducation de la petite enfance de meilleure qualité en contexte éthiopien. Les maternelles en Éthiopie pourraient utiliser l'échelle GGA comme outil d'autoévaluation pour identifier comment et où concentrer leurs efforts pour fournir une éducation préscolaire de qualité aux enfants et leurs familles.</p> <p>Resumen: El presente estudio evalúa la calidad de la educación preescolar en Etiopía y examina las diferencias de calidad entre instituciones preescolares gubernamentales y privadas. En este estudio participaron 37 instituciones preescolares (16 gubernamentales y 21 privadas) y 37 educadores preescolares de Adís Abeba. Se recolectó información utilizando la Escala Global de Evaluación de Directrices (GGA, por su sigla en inglés) la cual contiene 76 elementos que abarcan cinco áreas de práctica educativa: Espacio Físico y Ambiental, Contenido Curricular y Pedagogía, Educadores Preescolares y Cuidadores, Trabajo conjunto con Familias y Comunidades, y Niños Pequeños con Necesidades Especiales. Dichos elementos se clasificaron en una escala de cinco puntos. La información fue analizada utilizando un método estadístico descriptivo e inferencial. Análisis específicos también tuvieron en cuenta si las instituciones de preescolar cumplían con estándares de calidad adecuados. Tanto las instituciones gubernamentales como las privadas mostraron un nivel de calidad menos que "adecuado". Las instituciones preescolares privadas mostraron calidad relativamente superior al compararse con las gubernamentales. La escala GGA es un instrumento importante de medición de calidad en servicios de Educación Infantil Temprana que sirve para influenciar las políticas y los esfuerzos de apoyo para así ofrecer una mejor educación preescolar en el contexto de Etiopía. Las instituciones preescolares de Etiopía podrían utilizar dicha escala como una herramienta de autoevaluación para identificar dónde y en qué forma se pueden enfocar los esfuerzos para ofrecer una educación temprana de buena calidad a niños y sus familias.</p> <p>Keywords: Quality; Government preschools; Private preschools; Early childhood education; Global Guidelines Assessment (GGA)</p> <hd id="AN0138885082-2">Introduction</hd> <p>Early childhood education (ECE) is important in the policy agenda around the world, including Ethiopia. An assessment of preschool quality in Ethiopia is timely because the number of children attending preschools is increasing in Addis Ababa every year, as well as in other areas of the country (Addis Ababa Administration Education Bureau [AACEB] [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref1">2</reflink>]; Ministry of Education [MOE] [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref2">23</reflink>]). It is recognized that quality preschools are important because empirical studies have indicated that quality programs will support better child outcomes (Melhuish et al. [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref3">21</reflink>]; Mashburn et al. [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref4">19</reflink>]). Quality programs predict important developmental outcomes including language development, cognitive functioning, social competence, and emotional adjustment (Perlman et al. [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref5">28</reflink>]; Sylva et al. [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref6">32</reflink>]). This research investigates the quality of private and government preschools in Addis Ababa, as measured by the Global Guidelines Assessment Scale and explores differences in the quality of private and government preschools.</p> <p>Research has challenged assumptions that there is a single universal model of quality in early childhood education. Quality in early childhood programs is a relative concept because quality can relate to differences in values, philosophies, beliefs, needs, and definitions (Dahlberg et al. [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref7">11</reflink>]), as well as cultural differences (Burchinal and Cryer [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref8">8</reflink>]; Pence and Nsamenang [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref9">27</reflink>]). Dahlberg et al. ([<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref10">11</reflink>]) also noted that evaluation of quality can fail to recognize a multilingual world. Therefore, quality is not a neutral concept devoid of values or assumptions. It is a multifaceted issue that is not easily defined or measured. As a result, components of quality can be operationalized in different ways.</p> <p>Studies that have attempted to define quality of ECE have listed such components as teacher–child interactions, group size, adult to child ratios, and educators' level of education as important quality indices (Rentzou and Sakellariou [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref11">30</reflink>]). Among these indices, the level of education of teachers/educators is found to be an important predictor of quality (Burchinal et al. [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref12">9</reflink>]). Notwithstanding these findings, a review of research in seven studies of early childhood education to determine the impact of teachers' educational attainment on preschool quality and children's academic outcomes indicated that teacher qualifications alone do not suffice to improve quality of classrooms or maximize better child outcomes from preschool education (Early et al. [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref13">13</reflink>]). Other core elements of quality recognized as being necessary for children's optimal and positive development include child safe environments, a focus on health care, stimulating learning opportunities that are developmentally appropriate, and peer relationships (Fontaine et al. [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref14">14</reflink>]).</p> <p>Dimensions of quality identified through consensus by a group of experienced professionals with diverse international backgrounds for the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) were reported by Jalongo et al. ([<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref15">17</reflink>]). These dimensions are assumed to be useful on a worldwide basis because they have taken account of differences across countries according to economic circumstances, culture, politics, work force availability, and technology access. The components of high-quality ECE identified by Jalongo and colleagues included: program philosophy and goals; high-quality physical environments; developmentally appropriate and effective pedagogy and curriculum; attention to basic and special needs; respect for families and communities; professionally prepared teachers and staff; rigorous program evaluation. Jalongo et al. ([<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref16">17</reflink>]) proposed that these are salient and useful indicators of program quality for early childhood education. From this focus, <emph>The Global Guidelines Assessment scale</emph> (GGA) was developed (Association for Childhood Education International [ACEI] [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref17">4</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref18">5</reflink>]).</p> <p>Given the relevance of the arguments put forward, the GGA is used in this study for the assessment of preschool quality in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, including examination of the differences in quality between private and government preschools. The following questions were formulated to guide the study:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> What is the quality of preschools across the five quality areas measured on the GGA?</item> <p></p> <item> Is there a difference in quality between private and government preschools?</item> <p></p> <item> Do preschools in meet standards for adequate quality?</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0138885082-3">Method</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0138885082-4">Research Design</hd> <p>A list of preschools available from the Addis Ababa City Administration Education Bureau (AACEB) was used to identify preschools to be included in this study. Private preschools outnumber government preschools. In Addis Ababa, the dynamics in the private sector are different from the government sector because a number of private preschools open and close every year. Therefore, specific criteria for the selection of private preschools were identified. These criteria included that private preschools which provided services to preschool-aged children need to have been in operation for at least 5 years and have operated at the same location. Preschools that met these criteria were identified for possible inclusion in the sample for this study. Because many private preschools open every year, a 5-year span was considered to be a reasonable duration to be well established and fulfill quality requirements (e.g., materials, equipment, and human capital in order to properly function and educate young children). As a result, among the 750 private preschools listed by the Addis Ababa City Administration Education Bureau, there were only 214 that satisfied the criteria. The number of government preschools listed was 153, and all of these preschools met the same criteria, as identified for private preschools.</p> <p>A stratified random sampling method was applied to select the sample of preschools to be included in this study, from the 214 private preschools and 153 government preschools identified from the initial listing, which satisfied the inclusion criteria. The stratification was based on ownership in Addis Ababa: government and private. Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia which had at the time of data collection a population of approximately four million people. A sample of preschools, from each of the 10 sub-cities, was drawn, proportionate to the population of each stratum so that preschools across the city were represented. Approximately 10% of the preschools from each stratum were sampled to arrive at a final sample of 21 private preschools and 16 government preschools. Random selection was implemented by a lottery method after each preschool name was recorded on paper and tumbled. From these sample preschools, 37 preschool teachers were subsequently identified (one from each preschool) to conduct the GGA survey within their own preschool.</p> <hd id="AN0138885082-5">The Global Guidelines Assessment</hd> <p>The Global Guidelines Assessment (GGA) was originally developed by 80 early childhood education professionals from 27 countries who were invited to contribute by the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) (ACEI [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref19">4</reflink>]). From the outset, the objective for developing this scale was to identify preschool environments that valued children, provided safe and secure environments, and afforded respect to cultural diversity across the world. The aim was to have a single standardized scale that could be used internationally to assess preschool quality. The GGA (ACEI [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref20">5</reflink>]) provides a systematic method for observing quality indicators within ECE programs. It also allows stakeholders, such as preschool teachers themselves, to make the ratings including providing evidence for the ratings, instead of requiring external evaluators (Bergen and Hardin [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref21">6</reflink>]).</p> <p>For this research, the GGA was translated by English and Amharic language experts to ensure comparability in the meaning of the content of each item from the English language version to the Amharic language version. Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia spoken by the majority of the populations residing in the major cities and towns of Ethiopia. Differences in initial interpretations of content between translators were resolved through discussion to reach agreement.</p> <p>The revised GGA (ACEI [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref22">5</reflink>]) contains 76 items across five areas: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref23">1</reflink>) <emph>Environment and Physical Space</emph> (17 items), for example, "the environment promotes good health practices (e.g., personal hygiene, including washing of hands)"; (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref24">2</reflink>) <emph>Curriculum Content and Pedagogy</emph> (15 items), for example, "educators/caregivers have a supportive teaching and caring relationship with children"; (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref25">3</reflink>) <emph>Early Childhood Educators and Caregivers</emph> (11 items), for example, "educators/caregivers demonstrate knowledge of child growth, development, and learning and are able to apply this knowledge to practice"; (<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref26">4</reflink>) <emph>Partnerships with Families and Communiti</emph>es (19 items), for example, "guidelines are established for parent participation and involvement in the program"; (<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref27">5</reflink>) <emph>Young Children with Special Needs</emph> (14 items), for example, "children have access and equal opportunity irrespective of their religious, ethnic, language, or cultural affiliation."</p> <p>Items on the GGA are rated on a 5-point scale for quality: 1 = Inadequate/Never observed = 1; 2 = Minimum/Occasionally observed; 3 = Adequate/Sometimes observed; 4 = Good/Mostly observed; 5 = Excellent/Always observed. The GGA minimum score is 76, and the maximum possible score is 380 for the full scale of 76 items.</p> <p>Reliabilities for internal consistency of the total scale and the scales of the GGA were computed for this study using Cronbach alpha. The reliability of the subscales ranged from 0.68 to 0.93. For this study, Environment and Physical Space had a Cronbach alpha reliability of 0.93, Curriculum Content and Pedagogy was 0.75, Early Childhood Educators and Caregivers was 0.76, Partnerships with Families and Communities was 0.82, and Young Children with Special Needs was 0.68. The reliability for the overall scale was 0.93.</p> <hd id="AN0138885082-6">Data Collection</hd> <p>After randomly selecting the preschools, principals were invited to participate in the research through a letter written from the Addis Ababa University. After permission was secured, selection of preschool teachers to be the GGA observer and recorder within each preschool was made. Senior preschool teachers who had been employed in the preschool for more than 5 years were identified to rate their preschool. All 37 preschool teachers gave their oral consent to participate in the study. Each item was explained by the researcher to the teachers who subsequently rated their preschool accordingly. When rating each item, the teachers were also asked to record examples of practice to justify the rating indicated.</p> <hd id="AN0138885082-7">Approach to Data Analyses</hd> <p>Data analyses applied quantitative methods. Both descriptive and inferential statistics are reported. Independent and one-sample <emph>t</emph> tests were used in the analyses to assess statistical differences between groups, as identified by the research questions.</p> <p>A feature of the analyses was also to assess whether, or not, government and private preschools were meeting a standard of 'adequate quality' for each GGA area. A standard to judge adequate quality was set as the mid-point of the 5-point observer rating scale which was the rating of 3 (Adequate/Sometimes observed). The use of this rating as a standard of adequate quality for each item enabled an 'adequate standard' score to be calculated for each GGA area by multiplying number of items in each GGA area by 3. The GGA area scores for meeting an adequate quality standard were Environment and Physical Space (17 items) = 51; Curriculum Content and Pedagogy (15 items) = 45; Early Childhood Educators and Caregivers (11 items) = 33; Partnerships with Families and Communities (19 items) = 57; Young Children with Special Needs (14 items) = 42. The overall score for an adequate standard across the 5 GGA was 228 (for 76 items).</p> <hd id="AN0138885082-8">Results</hd> <p>In this section, quality scores for the total sample of 37 preschools are first reported for the five GGA areas and overall score. One-sample <emph>t</emph> tests were used to examine if this score was above or below the standard for adequate quality. These analyses were repeated separately for government and private preschools. Finally, quality differences between private and government preschools on the mean ratings for each GGA area were investigated using independent <emph>t</emph> tests.</p> <p>The overall quality of the full sample of preschools (government and private) is reported in Table 1, as well as the results of the one-sample <emph>t</emph> test results comparing mean scores for GGA areas against a value for adequate quality (mid-point of response scale). The overall quality of preschools was within a range of minimum to adequate quality (<emph>M </emph>= 185.92, <emph>SD </emph>= 32.30), but this mean was significantly below the standard for adequate quality, <emph>t</emph> (<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref28">36</reflink>) = − 7.92, <emph>p</emph> <.01. Four of the GGA subscales were assessed as below adequate quality, reflected by the negative values of the t-statistics, except for <emph>Early Childhood Educator and Caregivers</emph> which was slightly above the standard score of adequate quality, <emph>t</emph> (<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref29">36</reflink>) = 3.51, <emph>p</emph> <.01.</p> <p>Quality of preschools for the total sample and comparison with adequate quality standard for overall scale and subscales (N = 37)</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>GGA areas</p></th><th align="left"><p>Mean (SD)</p></th><th align="left"><p>Adequate quality—possible value<sup>a</sup></p></th><th align="left"><p><italic>t</italic> test value for difference</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>Environment and physical space (17 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>38.76 (10.57)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>51</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 7.04**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Curriculum content and pedagogy (15 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>37.27 (7.44)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>45</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 6.31**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Early childhood educators and caregivers (11 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>36.89 (6.73)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>33</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>3.51**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Partnership with families and communities (19 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>40.27 (12.24)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>57</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 8.31**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Young children with special needs (14 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>31.30 (4.23)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>42</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 15.32**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Overall quality (76 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>185.92 (32.30)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>228</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 7.92**</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p> <sups>a</sups>Possible total rating score if every item on a GGA scale was rated as being of adequate quality (3 = adequate/sometimes observed, on 5-point rating scale) **<emph>p</emph> <.01; <emph>df </emph> = 36</p> <p>Preschool quality of government and private preschools was then examined separately to assess whether if adequate quality was evident. These findings are presented in Table 2 for government preschools and Table 3 for private preschools.</p> <p>Quality of government preschools and comparisons with adequate quality standard for overall scale and subscales (n = 16)</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>GGA areas</p></th><th align="left"><p>Mean (SD)</p></th><th align="left"><p>Adequate quality—possible value<sup>a</sup></p></th><th align="left"><p><italic>t</italic> test value for difference</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>Environment and physical space (17 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>34.88 (8.99)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>51</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 7.17**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Curriculum content and pedagogy (15 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>31.75 (6.58)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>45</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 8.05**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Early childhood educators and caregivers (11 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>34.06 (6.31)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>33</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.67</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Partnership with families and communities (19 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>32.81 (8.81)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>57</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 10.98**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Young children with special needs (14 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>30.37 (3.88)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>42</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 11.98**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Overall quality (76 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>167.19 (25.20)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>228</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 9.53**</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p> <sups>a</sups>Possible total rating score if every item on a GGA scale was rated as being of adequate quality (3 = adequate/sometimes observed, on 5-point rating scale) *<emph>p</emph> <.05; **<emph>p</emph> <.01, <emph>df </emph> = 15</p> <p>Quality of private preschools and comparisons with adequate quality standard for the overall scale and subscales (n = 21)</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>GGA areas</p></th><th align="left"><p>Mean (SD)</p></th><th align="left"><p>Adequate quality—possible value<sup>a</sup></p></th><th align="left"><p><italic>t</italic> test value for difference</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>Environment and physical space (17 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>41.71 (10.93)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>51</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 3.89**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Curriculum content and pedagogy (15 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>41.48 (4.93)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>45</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 3.27**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Early childhood educators and caregivers (11 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>39.05 (6.36)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>33</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>4.35**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Partnership with families and communities (19 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>45.95 (11.53)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>57</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 4.39**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Young children with special needs (14 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>32.00 (4.47)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>42</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 10.24**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Overall quality (76 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>200.19 (29.91)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>228</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>− 4.26**</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p> <sups>a</sups>Possible total rating score if every item on a GGA scale was rated as being of adequate quality (3 = adequate/sometimes observed, on 5-point rating scale) Significance values: *<emph>p</emph> <.05; **<emph>p</emph> <.01, <emph>df </emph> = 20</p> <p>The overall mean quality score for government preschools was 167.19 (SD = 25.20) which was within a range of minimum to adequate quality but closer to the "minimum" quality because 228 is the score for adequate quality. The <emph>t</emph> test also revealed that the average mean quality of government preschools was significantly lower than adequate quality, <emph>t</emph> (<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref30">15</reflink>) = − 9.53, <emph>p</emph> <.01. Except for the area of <emph>Early Childhood Educators and Caregivers</emph>, the quality of government preschools was significantly lower compared to the standard for adequate quality, as evident by the <emph>t</emph> tests presented in Table 2.</p> <p>Private preschools had an average overall mean quality score of 200.19 (SD = 29.91). However, this score was significantly lower than the adequate quality standard of 228 for the full scale. The <emph>t</emph> test confirmed that this was a statistically significant difference between the mean score for private preschools and the adequate quality standard, <emph>t</emph> (<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref31">20</reflink>) = − 4.26, <emph>p</emph> <.01. Private preschools showed high-quality performance on the scale items measuring Early Childhood Educators and Caregivers quality, compared to the adequate quality benchmark <emph>t</emph> (<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref32">20</reflink>) = 4.35, <emph>p</emph> <.01. Other subscales were found to have significantly lower mean scores for quality than the adequate quality standard.</p> <p>Finally, comparisons were made between private and government preschools to examine whether there was significant quality difference in ECE provisions. Independent sample <emph>t</emph> test was used for this purpose, and the results are indicated in Table 4. Private and government preschools significantly differed in four out of five areas of quality of early childhood education. On average, private preschools had higher mean scores for quality than government preschools, which were 200.19 and 167.19, respectively, indicating ratings in a "minimum" to "adequate" range. Private preschools had statistically better quality provisions than did government preschools, <emph>t</emph> (<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref33">35</reflink>) = 3.5, <emph>p</emph> <.01. In relation to each subscale, private preschools had significantly better quality than government preschools, across four out of five subscales.</p> <p>Quality differences between private and government preschools on full scale and subscales of the GGA (N = 37)</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>GGA area</p></th><th align="left"><p>Private preschools</p><p>Mean (SD)</p></th><th align="left"><p>Government preschools</p><p>Mean (SD)</p></th><th align="left"><p><italic>t</italic> test value for mean difference</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>Environment and physical space (17 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>41.71 (10.93)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>34.88 (8.98)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>2.03*</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Curriculum content and pedagogy (15 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>41.48 (4.93)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>31.75 (6.57)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>5.14**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Early childhood educators and caregivers (11 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>39.05 (6.36)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>34.06 (6.30)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>2.37*</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Partnership with families and communities (19 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>45.95 (11.53)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>32.81 (8.81)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>3.78**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Young children with special needs (14 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>32.00 (4.47)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>30.38 (3.87)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>1.15</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Overall quality (76 items)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>200.19 (29.91)</p></td><td char="(" align="char"><p>167.19 (25.52)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>3.53**</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>*<emph>p</emph> <.05; **<emph>p</emph> <.01, <emph>df </emph>= 35</p> <hd id="AN0138885082-9">Discussion</hd> <p>The quality of ECE provisions in government and private preschools in Addis Ababa was assessed in this study. The GGA areas assess the quality of the overall program environment and physical space; curriculum content and pedagogy; professional aspects of the work of early childhood education teachers and caregivers; collaborations and partnership with families and communities; the service provisions for young children with special needs. The analyses also reported if preschools were meeting standards of adequate quality, using the mid-point of the GGA rating scale which rated whether features of quality were adequate or might be sometimes observed in the preschool program.</p> <p>On average, preschools had lower quality scores for the quality areas relating to the overall program environment and physical space; curriculum content and pedagogy; collaborations and partnership with families and communities; service provisions for young children with special needs. The preschools had better quality for professional aspects of the work of the early childhood education teachers and caregivers. The overall comparisons between private and government preschools revealed that there were statistically significant quality differences in favor of private preschools, although neither government nor private preschools were meeting the benchmarks for adequate quality.</p> <p>Similar findings to this study have been found in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. The findings of the present study with regard to quality are also consistent with previous studies conducted on preschool education in Ethiopia. Hoot et al. ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref34">15</reflink>]) and Tirussew et al. ([<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref35">33</reflink>]) reported that Ethiopian preschools did not have high-quality provisions. The current results tell us that quality has not improved over time. The present study is in line with findings for studies conducted in Nigeria (Ige [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref36">16</reflink>]), Chile (Villalon et al. [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref37">35</reflink>]), and Greece (Rentzou [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref38">29</reflink>]). Preschools in Addis Ababa are therefore no so different from preschools in many other countries.</p> <p>Plausible explanations as to why nations fail to provide quality ECE for young children include that high-quality preschool education is expensive (e.g., Melhuish and Petrogiannis [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref39">20</reflink>]) and poor nations cannot afford to invest in preschools. In resource-poor communities, preschool quality is likely to be lower (Aboud [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref40">1</reflink>]). Preschool education may also be left to the private sector that is driven by the commercial market (e.g., Chan and Chan [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref41">10</reflink>]). Governments also may not properly regulate, monitor, and evaluate preschool education (e.g., White and Friendly [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref42">36</reflink>]).</p> <p>Ethiopia is a developing country, and preschool education is an expensive investment. Parents who are sending their children to preschools are poor, in most cases. This argument is also supported by the findings of Torquati et al. ([<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref43">34</reflink>]) and Dearing et al. ([<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref44">12</reflink>]) that low-income families only have access to low-quality preschools. However, over 75% of preschools in Addis Ababa are in the private sector which are driven by market forces to maximize profit and this could also compromise quality.</p> <hd id="AN0138885082-10">Environment and Physical Space</hd> <p>The low quality in environment and physical space in preschools was corroborated by teachers' comments on their rating of preschools. Teachers' comments related to low quality in this area noted that instruction was often teacher-directed instruction with lack of opportunities for children to explore and discover for themselves. Children's opportunities for free play were limited, and children were engaged in academic activities for much of the school day. Play received little attention as an outdoor activity, and there was no indoor play in most preschools because of lack of space.</p> <p>In government preschools, low quality in relation to the physical environment may be because government preschools share the same compounds or are attached to primary schools that results in limited spaces. Many government preschools lack physical space conducive for informal learning activities and play for preschool children because they are located in impoverished compounds with limited resources.</p> <hd id="AN0138885082-11">Curriculum Content and Pedagogy</hd> <p>The low quality for curriculum content and pedagogy could be attributed to the emphasis on academic subjects, such as mathematics, English, and science, while giving little attention to learning through play. In some preschools, curricula are imported from other countries and are not related to children's cultural background. Bertrand ([<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref45">7</reflink>]) suggested that curriculum decisions should be driven by the interests of children within the context of their families and immediate communities. Preschool teachers reported in their comments that the curriculum content gave limited opportunities for children to master information and practice skills that would help them function in their community and society. Real-world experiences were limited if preschools focused on foreign languages and academic activities.</p> <p>An explanation for low quality in teaching methods could be that teachers had received little training to teach preschool children or were not trained to be preschool teachers, as noted by Tirussew et al. ([<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref46">33</reflink>]). Although learning materials were scarce in most preschools, some preschools had prepared local materials as resources for teaching and learning. Comparatively speaking, local learning materials were more readily available in government preschools than private preschool ones. Most preschools did not have the capacity to provide all children with materials that supported creative learning experience. As a result, most activities were paper-and-pencil based. Sheridan ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref47">31</reflink>]) found out that pedagogical quality has four dimensions: the society, the child, the teacher, and the learning context. Tirussew et al. ([<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref48">33</reflink>]) observed that in preschools, too much attention was placed on academics, and the time allotted for play was inadequate. A standard proposed for preschools by the Ministry of Education (MoE [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref49">22</reflink>]) required preschools to have 8 periods out of 25 periods a week for play. However, in practice, preschools are dominated by academic activities and play is not given the attention it merits.</p> <hd id="AN0138885082-12">Early Childhood Educators and Caregivers</hd> <p>Preschools demonstrated adequate quality in this area. Unlike the other subscales of the GGA in which preschools received significantly lower scores, on average, preschools received better scores in this area, a little above an adequate level of quality. The GGA items in this area focused on knowledge and performance, personal and professional characteristics, and moral/ethical dimensions. Although educating and caring for preschool children is a demanding responsibility, preschool teachers were reported to enjoy their work with young children. Teachers reported that working with children over the years had helped them to gain knowledge about child growth, development, and learning. Teachers confirmed that they worked in collaboration with other teachers and exchanged professional knowledge among themselves. This finding was not consistent with Tirussew et al. ([<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref50">33</reflink>]) who found that many preschool teachers were trained for primary school and not for preschools.</p> <p>Another plausible explanation for the better quality in this GGA area could be related to teachers' perceptions about their own performance. In discussions from raters, it was evident that teachers were confident that they possessed the necessary knowledge, skill, and attitude to teach young children. Compared to government preschools, private preschools showed better performance in the area. This difference might be because better qualified teachers prefer to work in private preschools for better pay in relative terms.</p> <hd id="AN0138885082-13">Partnership with Families and Communities</hd> <p>The major issues considered in this quality area were program policies, moral/ethical responsibilities and behaviors, training and resources, transition of children from home to preschool, and opportunity for families and communities to participate. Preschools showed less than adequate quality in this area. This result is consistent with a project conducted in Eritrea examining school-community partnership (Marfo et al. [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref51">18</reflink>]), which found that preschool-community collaboration is low because parents have limited capacity and time to participate. This explanation might explain the situation in Addis Ababa, because Eritrea and Ethiopia have many similarities.</p> <p>Preschools rarely made information available to families about child development, health care, nutrition, child rearing, and other related issues. In some preschools, mostly private preschools, parents and preschools were communicating with each other about children through 'communication books.' Through communication books, teachers communicated to parents about children's school day and parents replied back to teachers about the children's time at home.</p> <p>The explanation for low quality of preschools in this sub-area could be that preschool owners' and teachers' believe that the teaching–learning process is largely the responsibility of the preschools and not parents. Parents might also assume that once they send their children to preschools, it is the teacher's responsibility to support children's learning. In general, partnership with families and communities was not effectively utilized to support children's leaning at home and at school.</p> <hd id="AN0138885082-14">Young Children with Special Needs</hd> <p>This area focused on access and equity of services. Preschools registered higher scores for equal access and opportunity for male and female children and opportunities for children irrespective of their religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. However, some private preschools in this study were exclusively meant for affluent families.</p> <p>The integration of children with, and without, disabilities is relatively new to early childhood education in many countries (Allen and Cowdery [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref52">3</reflink>]). Children with disabilities and other special needs were not admitted in almost all preschools, in both private and government preschools of Addis Ababa. This result is not consistent with studies conducted on the inclusion of children with special needs in the USA. Reviews made by Odom ([<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref53">24</reflink>]), Odom et al. ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref54">26</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref55">25</reflink>]) revealed that children with special needs are commonly included in early childhood programs. The lack of inclusion of children with special needs in preschools of Addis Ababa may be related to the lack of capacity of preschools to afford the costs of services for inclusion, unlike the experience of the USA, which is an affluent country.</p> <hd id="AN0138885082-15">Conclusions</hd> <p>The quality of preschools measured by the GGA (ACEI [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref56">5</reflink>]) in this study indicated that the overall quality of preschools was, on average, low. Low-quality ratings were found across four areas (environment and physical space, curriculum content and pedagogy, partnership with families and communities, and services for young children with special needs). The GGA areas focused on professional competence of early childhood educators and caregivers received, in general, was rated as better than adequate in quality. Private preschools also had better overall quality. These findings call for more concerted efforts by the government, preschool owners, parents, and communities to improve the quality of preschools through adequate funding and advocacy efforts. Furthermore, given that the quality of government preschools was found to be of lower quality than private preschools, the government should invest more strongly in this sector to support the early development and learning for all children.</p> <p>The ACEI GGA is an important measurement tool to measure quality in ECE services to focus efforts to improve aspects of ECE in the Ethiopian context. The GGA measures important components of preschool quality, including learning and developmental environments for children, physical space, curriculum content and pedagogy, early childhood professional competence, capacities for partnerships with families and communities, and equity for access for all children. Such areas require further attention and support for the benefit of young children. Early childhood education is expanding in each passing year in Addis Ababa. Preschools in Ethiopia can use the GGA scale when new preschools are established to understand and focus efforts on the quality requirements of preschool education identified in the GGA. The Addis Ababa Education Bureau could also use the GGA to evaluate preschool education and to help to inform decisions about the licensing and opening of new preschools.</p> <hd id="AN0138885082-16">Publisher's Note</hd> <p>Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.</p> <ref id="AN0138885082-17"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref23" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Aboud FE. Evaluation of an early childhood preschool program in rural Bangladesh. Early Childhood Education Quarterly. 2006; 21: 46-60. 10.1016/j.ecresq.2006.01.008</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref1" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> . 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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Quality of Early Childhood Education in Private and Government Preschools of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Admas%2C+Fantahun%22">Admas, Fantahun</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3748-0434">0000-0003-3748-0434</externalLink>)
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  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22International+Journal+of+Early+Childhood%22"><i>International Journal of Early Childhood</i></searchLink>. Aug 2019 51(2):163-176.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 14
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2019
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education%22">Early Childhood Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Preschool+Education%22">Preschool Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Quality%22">Educational Quality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+Effectiveness%22">School Effectiveness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preschools%22">Preschools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+Schools%22">Public Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Private+Schools%22">Private Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education%22">Early Childhood Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preschool+Teachers%22">Preschool Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Young+Children%22">Young Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+Caregivers%22">Child Caregivers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Environment%22">Educational Environment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+Community+Relationship%22">School Community Relationship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Family+School+Relationship%22">Family School Relationship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Special+Needs+Students%22">Special Needs Students</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ethiopia%22">Ethiopia</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1007/s13158-019-00248-1
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0020-7187
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The present study assesses the quality of preschools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and examines differences in quality between government and private preschools. Thirty-seven preschools (16 government and 21 private) and 37 preschool teachers from Addis Ababa participated in this study. Data were collected using the Global Guidelines Assessment (GGA) Scale which contains 76 items across five areas of practice: Environment and Physical Space, Curriculum Content and Pedagogy, Early Childhood Education Educators and Caregivers, Partnership with Families and Communities, and Young Children with Special Needs. Items are rated on a 5-point scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Specific analyses also considered if preschools were meeting adequate quality standards. Both private and government preschools had less than 'adequate' quality. Private preschools had relatively better quality compared with government preschools. The GGA is an important measurement tool to measure quality in ECE services that can inform policy and advocacy efforts to deliver higher quality early childhood education in the Ethiopian context. Preschools in Ethiopia could use the GGA scale, as a self-evaluation tool, to identify how and where to focus their efforts in order to deliver quality early education to children and families.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2019
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1229940
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1229940
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s13158-019-00248-1
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 163
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Educational Quality
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School Effectiveness
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Preschools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Public Schools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Private Schools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Early Childhood Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Preschool Teachers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Young Children
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Child Caregivers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Environment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School Community Relationship
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Family School Relationship
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Special Needs Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ethiopia
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Quality of Early Childhood Education in Private and Government Preschools of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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            NameFull: Admas, Fantahun
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              Type: published
              Y: 2019
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            – TitleFull: International Journal of Early Childhood
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