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Evaluating the Impact of Play-Based Learning on Early Childhood Development in South Africa

Last registered on December 01, 2015

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Evaluating the Impact of Play-Based Learning on Early Childhood Development in South Africa
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000963
Initial registration date
December 01, 2015

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
December 01, 2015, 3:23 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Cape Town

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2015-02-10
End date
2016-06-30
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Over the past 15 years, the provision of preschool in South Africa has expanded massively, but in many cases, these programs do not adequately prepare students for primary school. In KwaZulu-Natal, researchers are measuring the impact of the Six Bricks program, which promotes structured play using manipulative bricks combined with a set of carefully designed pedagogical activities, on preschoolers’ executive function skills.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ardington, Cally. 2015. "Evaluating the Impact of Play-Based Learning on Early Childhood Development in South Africa." AEA RCT Registry. December 01. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.963-1.0
Former Citation
Ardington, Cally. 2015. "Evaluating the Impact of Play-Based Learning on Early Childhood Development in South Africa." AEA RCT Registry. December 01. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/963/history/6177
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Policy Issue:
Executive function skills—which are related to memory, reasoning, and problem solving—are important for school readiness, early school achievement and lifelong learning. However, growing up in poverty can hinder the development of executive function: children from low-income backgrounds often have lower levels of cognitive skills and social-emotional maturity. These early gaps jeopardize children’s capacity to learn in primary school, leading to weak academic performance throughout their schooling with consequences for their well-being in adulthood. There is ongoing debate on whether focusing on active and participatory learning might improve early childhood development (ECD) curriculums. Thus, there is a need for more evidence on what types of ECD programs support the development of executive function, especially for low-income children.

Context of the Evaluation:
Over the past 15 years, the provision of preschool for children ages 5-6 (called “Grade R”) has expanded massively in South Africa. While the government has not yet reached its target of universal provision, the vast majority (86 percent) of 5-year-olds were enrolled in some form of ECD education in 2014. However, these Grade R programs are typically taught by under-qualified teachers who often have a limited understanding of young children’s development and do not know how to facilitate learning through structured play.

Care for Education, a non-profit organization, has developed an ECD program in collaboration with the LEGO Foundation. The program is called Six Bricks and involves a range of hands-on, playful games and activities designed to promote concentration, memory, problem solving, and other aspects of executive function. The LEGO Foundation is now exploring whether delivering the program through a low cost and scalable teacher training model is effective in improving children’s executive function. This program is being implemented among Grade R students in under-privileged areas of KwaZulu-Natal.

Intervention Start Date
2015-03-09
Intervention End Date
2015-10-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Executive functioning outcomes.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Researchers are using a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of the Six Bricks program on the executive function for Grade R learners. The 124 ECD centers and public schools in the study were randomly assigned to two treatment groups or a comparison group:

• Training by Care for Education: 31 schools receive the Six Bricks program with training from Care for Education (CFE), a non-profit organization that specializes in implementing the Six Bricks program
• Training by TREE: 33 schools receive the Six Bricks program with training from Training and Resources in Early Education (TREE), an accredited ECD resource and training organization based in Durban. TREE trainers in turn receive training from CFE
• Comparison: 60 schools do not receive the program until after the evaluation is completed
Teacher trainings in both treatment groups are identical except for the organization that conducts the trainings. Teachers receive an initial day of training and an onsite support visit followed by a second day of training two months later and an additional onsite support visit.

To measure executive function of students, researchers randomly selected seven students to assess within each school, creating a total sample of 868 Grade R students. The evaluation takes place during the 2015 school year, with teachers in both training groups beginning training in early 2015.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Randomization was done at the school level.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
124 schools.
Sample size: planned number of observations
868 learners.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
- T1: Training by Care for Education: 31 schools

- T2: Training by TREE: 33 schools

- Control: 60 schools
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics in Research Committee, Faculty of Commerce, University of Cape Town
IRB Approval Date
2015-02-07
IRB Approval Number
na

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials