In Cambodia, any preschool found better than none

A new longitudinal study carried out in Cambodia has found that some types of preschool are better than others, but any type is better than none at all.

The study was done by researchers at the University of Hong Kong, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Beijing Normal University, Cornell University, and California Polytechnic State University. It is published in the journal Child Development.

“Given current interest in developing preschool programs globally, evaluation research that considers the costs and benefits of such programs in developing countries is timely,” according to Nirmala Rao, professor in the faculty of education at the University of Hong Kong, who led the study. The research is one of the first to compare types of preschools in a low-income Asian country.

Researchers measured outcomes associated with three major preschool programs in Cambodia—state preschools, community preschools, and home-based programs. In so doing, they looked at a randomized sample of 880 5-year-olds from six mainly rural provinces of the country; the children attended one of the three programs or no program, and the study assessed their developmental gains at the start and end of a school year.

The study found that the effects of the preschool experience on children's development at age 6 depended on the type of preschool they attended. But children who went to any of the three types of programs did significantly better than children who didn't go to any preschool. Children attending state preschools improved more than those attending the other two types of programs. This may be because state preschools tend to have more qualified teachers than community preschools and more resources (including learning materials) than both community preschools and home-based programs.

The study was funded by UNICEF Cambodia.

Media Contact

Sarah Hutcheon EurekAlert!

More Information:

http://www.srcd.org

All latest news from the category: Science Education

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

EEG ad tDCS chould serve as the basis of therapeutic strategies to combat newrological disorders. Image Credit: Institute of Science Tokyo

Using Electroencephalography to Improve Language Disorder Treatments

Researchers work towards an inexpensive and portable solution for treating aphasia  Electroencephalography (EEG) may offer a more accessible alternative to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for guiding transcranial direct current…

The BioSCape team is poctured with NASA and South African aircraft. Image Credit: Jeremey Shelton/Fishwater Films

Measuring Life on Earth from Space: A Global Research Project

Measurements and data collected from space can be used to better understand life on Earth. An ambitious, multinational research project funded by NASA and co-led by UC Merced civil and…

NEJM study finds patients with blockages in medium-sized vessels in the brain who had endovascular treatment did not do any better and did not see any improvement compared to patients who had the standard of care. Dr. Michael Hill, MD, Dr. Mayank Goyal, MD, PhD (right). Image Credit: Riley Brandt, University of Calgary

Best Approach for Stroke in Medium-Sized Blood Vessels Identified

Calgary’s Stroke Program advancing science to improve care, treatment and outcomes for patients  University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute researchers with the Calgary Stroke Program at Foothills Medical Centre revolutionized…