ERIC Number: EJ1469340
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-May
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: EISSN-1467-8624
Available Date: 2025-02-14
Impacts of the Preschool Safe Program on Marginalized Girls in Northern Nigeria
Sharon Wolf1; Johanna Bernard1; Chika R. Ezeugwu2; Lubabatu Ahmad3; Khadijah Bello Gurin3
Child Development, v96 n3 p1128-1147 2025
Quality early childhood education (ECE) can improve children's learning and development in low- and middle-income countries, 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, M[subscript age] = 5-years; W[subscript 1] = 2022; W[subscript 2] = 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.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Disadvantaged, Females, Educational Quality, Child Development, Rural Areas, Ethnic Groups, Parent Attitudes, School Readiness, Daughters, Preschool Education, Access to Education, Parent Aspiration, Academic Aspiration
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Nigeria
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305B200035
Department of Education Funded: Yes
Author Affiliations: 1Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; 2Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; 3Centre for Girls Education, Zaria, Nigeria