South Africa: Measuring Up—The Sobambisana Evaluation

Biersteker, Linda; Dawes, Andrew

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-91319-3_5

Cited by 4 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The reliance on this false notion of accountability sidesteps the fact that the rights to health and education are cross-cutting obligations for states, in particular where families cannot provide for their children, to which the pervasive poverty and inequality gaps in both Kenya and SA attest. The Diagnostic ECD Review (Richter et al 2012 ) found that important gaps existed in the area of:…”

Section: Do States Only Have a ‘Regulatory’ Duty In Relation To Early...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing early childhood education for children with disabilities in South Africa and Kenya

Clark,

Holness,

Nyamadzawo

et al. 2024

African Journal of Disability

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Background: The immediate implementation of early childhood education (ECE) for children with disabilities in South Africa and Kenya has been impeded by obstacles. Major gaps in implementation remain. We investigate, firstly, the widely held, but in our view fallacious, belief that the implementation of inclusive ECE can be progressively realised only when there are available resources. Secondly, we examine the other fallacious belief that children with severe and profound intellectual disabilities are ineducable, and thirdly, the belief that the provision of inclusive ECE is merely a regulatory governmental function, implying that accessibility and reasonable accommodation requirements for children with disabilities do not rest primarily on the state.Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the gaps in both countries between the policies and legislation and effective implementation, to show that these gaps are exacerbated by the perpetuation of these fallacious beliefs and by information vacuums at governmental level.Method: A critical analysis of inclusive ECE was undertaken on relevant law and policy processes in both countries to expose both governments’ reasons for their lack of effective implementation of inclusive ECE.Results: The factors contributing to the lack of immediate and significant implementation of inclusive ECE for children with disabilities in both countries have been investigated.Conclusion: Accountability and transparency need to be implemented at the governance level to ensure that both governments fully implement and prioritise inclusive ECE.Contribution: This article establishes that mistaken premises and information vacuums may be used by governments in an attempt to renege on their international and constitutional obligations to implement inclusive ECE.

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Section: Do States Only Have a ‘Regulatory’ Duty In Relation To Early...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing early childhood education for children with disabilities in South Africa and Kenya

Clark,

Holness,

Nyamadzawo

et al. 2024

African Journal of Disability

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“…Prior to South African Democracy in 1994, access to early education opportunities was segregated by ethnicity and was generally limited—especially for black children, the majority of whom lived in under-resourced rural areas [ 5 ]. In 1992, 7% of black children aged 0–6 years were estimated to be enrolled in ECE centres compared to 33% of white children [ 6 ].…”

Section: Overview Of South Africa’s Ece Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A Diagnostic Review of ECD [ 10 ] which mapped existing services for health, welfare, and education, and identified service gaps, was undertaken as a first step to policy development for 0–4-year-olds. In 2015, the National Integrated ECD Policy [ 11 ] was accepted by Cabinet.…”

Section: Overview Of South Africa’s Ece Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The 2015 National Integrated ECD Policy mandates the collection of child, service, and impact data, and the development of a national research agenda to measure the impact of ECE programmes on child outcomes and national development goals. However, access to reliable and current data to inform evidence-based planning and service improvement has been identified as a challenge since 2001, when efforts to scale up ECE programmes and quality began in earnest [ 10 , 22 , 23 ]. This includes data on service supply and quality, enrolment data, and data on service impact (child outcomes).…”

Section: Overview Of South Africa’s Ece Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using Data Tools and Systems to Drive Change in Early Childhood Education for Disadvantaged Children in South Africa

Giese,

Dawes,

Biersteker

et al. 2023

Children

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In line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.2, South Africa’s National Development Plan commits to providing high-quality early childhood education to all children by 2030 to drive improved child outcomes. Prior to 2016, South Africa lacked reliable, locally standardised, valid, and cross-culturally fair assessment tools for measuring preschool quality and child outcomes, suitable for use at scale within a resource-constrained context. In this paper we detail the development and evolution of a suite of early learning measurement (ELOM) tools designed to address this measurement gap. The development process included reviews of literature and other relevant assessment tools; a review of local curriculum standards and expected child outcomes; extensive consultation with government officials, child development experts, and early learning practitioners, iterative user testing; and assessment of linguistic, cultural, functional, and metric equivalence across all 11 official South African languages. To support use of the ELOM tools at scale, and by users with varying levels of research expertise, administration is digitised and embedded within an end-to-end data value chain. ELOM data collected since 2016 quantify the striking socio-economic gradient in early childhood development in South Africa, demonstrate the relationship between physical stunting, socio-emotional functioning and learning outcomes, and provide evidence of the positive impact of high-quality early learning programmes on preschool child outcomes. To promote secondary analyses, data from multiple studies are regularly collated into a shared dataset, which is made open access via an online data portal. We describe the services and support that make up the ELOM data value chain, noting several key challenges and enablers of data-driven change within this context. These include deep technical expertise within a multidisciplinary and collaborative team, patient and flexible capital from mission-aligned investors, a fit-for-purpose institutional home, the appropriate use of technology, a user-centred approach to development and testing, sensitivity to children’s diverse linguistic and socio-economic circumstances, careful consideration of requirements for scale, appropriate training and support for a non-professional assessor base, and a commitment to ongoing learning and continuous enhancement. Practical examples are provided of ways in which the ELOM tools and data are used for programme monitoring and enhancement purposes, to evaluate the relative effectiveness of early learning interventions, to motivate for greater budget and inform more effective resource allocation, to support the development of enabling Government systems, and to track progress towards the attainment of national and global development goals. We share lessons learnt during the development of the tools and discuss the factors that have driven their uptake in South Africa.

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“…A genuinely integrated approach that accommodates multiple visions of childhood and society would generate complexity that is perhaps more difficult to manage with systematic data practices. In the face of this complexity, Biersteker and Dawes (2019) do not take into consideration community-based ECD services. This type of service does 'not readily lend itself to requirements of formal evaluation' as these services frequently respond to community priorities and a complex range of interacting factors (Biersteker & Dawes 2019:94).…”

Section: Reproducing Coloniality Through Systematic Data Practices To Measure Learning Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Data practices and inequality in South African early childhood development policy: Technocratic management versus social transformation

Rudolph

Millei

Alasuutari

2019

South African Journal of Childhood Education

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South Africa: Measuring Up—The Sobambisana Evaluation

Cited by 4 publications

References 21 publications

Implementing early childhood education for children with disabilities in South Africa and Kenya

Implementing early childhood education for children with disabilities in South Africa and Kenya

Using Data Tools and Systems to Drive Change in Early Childhood Education for Disadvantaged Children in South Africa

Data practices and inequality in South African early childhood development policy: Technocratic management versus social transformation

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