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Registration

Field Before After
Trial Status in_development completed
Last Published May 03, 2022 09:51 AM July 17, 2026 04:27 PM
Study Withdrawn No
Intervention Completion Date June 30, 2023
Data Collection Complete No
Primary Outcomes (End Points) Year 1 follow-up: School readiness (early literacy, early numeracy, motor, social-emotional, and executive function) measured as a composite (primary analysis) and each individual component (secondary analysis) Year 2 and 3 follow-up: Primary school enrollment and attendance, and grade progression Year 1 follow-up: School readiness (early literacy, early numeracy, motor, social-emotional, and executive function) measured as a composite (primary analysis) and each individual component (secondary analysis) Follow-up two and three (2025 and 2026): Primary school enrollment, cognitive development (literacy, numeracy, executive function)
Primary Outcomes (Explanation) At the first-year follow-up, we will collect data on girls’ skills and conduct longer surveys with parents. We will conduct direct assessments of early literacy, early numeracy, social-emotional, and executive function skills using the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA; Pisani et al., 2018), a direct measure of holistic child learning and development designed for use in low- and middle-income countries. At the second and third follow-ups, brief surveys with parents and school administrative records will be collected to examine impacts on school enrollment, attendance, and grade progression. At the first-year follow-up, we will collect data on girls’ skills and conduct longer surveys with parents. We will conduct direct assessments of early literacy, early numeracy, social-emotional, and executive function skills using the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA; Pisani et al., 2018), a direct measure of holistic child learning and development designed for use in low- and middle-income countries. As the second and third follow-ups, direct assessments with girls will be conducted as well as surveys with mothers and fathers.
Planned Number of Observations 540 girls (30 per community) 466 girls (~25 per community)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms 8 communities control, 8 communities Ci Gaba intervention 8 communities control, 8 communities Ci Gaba Preschool Safe Space intervention
Secondary Outcomes (End Points) Parental investments in girls education Girls: Social and emotional development Parents: Investments in girls' education (home-based cognitive stimulation, expectations and aspirations for daughter's education); school enrollment for siblings
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Irbs

Field Before After
IRB Name University of Pennsylvania
IRB Approval Date July 12, 2022
IRB Approval Number 851571
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Papers

Field Before After
Paper Abstract Quality early childhood education (ECE) can improve children's learning and development in low-­ and middle-­ income coun- tries, but little evidence exists of programs targeting marginalized girls in vulnerable rural communities. This study used a matched-­ pair mixed-­ methods community-­ randomized trial to evaluate a preschool program for marginalized girls (N=466, Mage=5-­ years; W1=2022; W2=2023) from 16 rural Hausa-­ ethnic communities in Nigeria. The program yielded considerably large impacts on every domain of school readiness assessed (dt=0.89–1.52). In qualitative interviews (N=30, data collected in 2023), parents discussed witnessing their daughters' learning and development as well as their future educational and life goals for their daughters. Results demonstrate that access to high-­ quality ECE in highly disadvantaged communities can dramatically improve girls' learning and potentially change parental perceptions about girl-­ child education.
Paper Citation Wolf, S., Bernard, J., Ezeugwu, C., Ahmad, L., & Bello Gurin, K. (2025). Impacts of the Preschool Safe Space program on marginalized girls in Northern Nigeria. Child Development, 96(3), 1128-1147.
Paper URL https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14225
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Sponsors

Field Before After
Sponsor Name Spencer Foundation
Sponsor Location Chicago, IL
Sponsor Website (URL) https://www.spencer.org
Public Yes
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Fields Removed

Other Primary Investigators

Field Value
Affiliation Florida State University
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