Impact evaluation of an inclusive early childhood development and education intervention on educational and developmental outcomes of pre-school children

• To establish the prevalence of disability in children attending mainstream pre-primary classes in study schools in Homa Bay county and Kakuma sub-county in Kenya
• To assess the impact of an inclusive early childhood development and education (ECDE) intervention on child development and educational outcomes
• To strengthen knowledge and understanding around assessment of child development and early learning among children with disabilities
• To assess cost and affordability of an inclusive ECDE intervention

We conducted a school-based, cluster non-randomised controlled trial with 12 schools in Homa Bay (six intervention and six control) and six schools in Kakuma (three intervention and three control).

At baseline, all children who started PP1 at each of the 18 schools in two academic years (2021 and 2022) were eligible for enrolment. Only children who were enrolled at baseline were eligible to participate in endline assessments.

The disability status of children was assessed using the UNICEF/Washington Group Child Functioning Module (CFM). Child development and early learning (the primary outcome of the trial) was assessed using the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA) tool, developed by Save the Children.

A qualitative exploratory study was also conducted to explore the experience of assessors’ and children with disabilities’ use of the enhanced disability-inclusive IDELA. An analysis of costs expenditures and cost efficiency of the programme was also conducted.

Mixed methods including cluster non-randomised controlled trial, focus group discussions, and costing.

This study used the IDELA tool to measure development and learning outcomes among children in ECDE classes. This tool has been rigorously tested and validated for use in a range of socio-cultural contexts globally. Impact assessment data was triangulated with educational assessment data collected routinely from teachers records of learners’ progress, and a qualitative process evaluation to understand the intervention delivery process, and stakeholders’ perceptions and experiences of the project.

Throughout the course of the implementation project, project staff used the study findings to inform the development of the inclusive ECDE strategies, while ongoing feedback loops were used to troubleshoot recurring issues which arise during implementation. The project documented successes and lessons learned on inclusive ECDE (in partnership with relevant government authorities) to inform evidence and action plans for expansion.

Results of the study were communicated to the Kenya Ministry of Education, development partners, the schools and other stakeholders through meetings, reports, policy briefs and peer-reviewed publications.

The study took place as part of the Disability Inclusive Development (DID) programme, funded by UK aid.

The study generated several important pieces of evidence that need to be considered in future policies and programmes. First, we found that a considerable number of children with functional difficulties attend pre-schools in Kenya, around 10% of all enrolled children in the study schools in Kakuma and approximately 20% in Homa Bay.

We did not find any evidence that the developmental scores of children with functional difficulties were lower than those of children without functional difficulties, either at the start or end of pre-school. We also did not find evidence that the IDELA scores of children with functional difficulties changed on a different trajectory than those of children without functional difficulties. Our data therefore suggests that in our sample, both children with and without functional difficulties benefitted equally from participation in ECDE. This is crucial additional evidence in support of the importance of ensuring that children with functional difficulties have access to, and participate in, ECDE.

Another important finding of this study was the high proportion of children who left ECDE services during their pre-primary schooling. This was observed in both regions, for both children with and without functional difficulties, and in both control and intervention schools.

Finally, our study did not show any additional impact of the disability-inclusive ECDE interventions delivered by the project on child developmental scores. The changes in children’s developmental scores in intervention schools were similar to the changes in control schools across both regions, overall and for children with functional difficulties. Some of the factors that may have contributed to this included a relatively small component of teacher training and capacity building, difficulties in translating skills gained by teachers due to high teacher-student ratio, irregular attendance of some ECDE learners, teacher transfers and compressed school years to recover from COVID-19 effects.

Complementary qualitative research conducted by IDS reported some positive impacts of the intervention in areas outside of child development and early learning, such as enhanced community awareness of disability, changed attitudes to disability, and improved relationships and skills in relation to disability-inclusive early childhood education.

The qualitative component of our work confirmed the feasibility of implementing the IDELA with disability-inclusive adaptations in the two settings, and outlined areas where further adaptations can be made.

The costing study findings suggested that the activities piloted and implemented could be sustainable and scalable given their apparent affordability and efficiency, with the suggestion of a budget impact analysis from the government’s perspective to confirm this.

• Read the baseline summary – 2022 (pdf)
• Read the baseline report – 2022 (pdf)
• Read the report on disability-inclusive IDELA assessments – 2023 (pdf)
• Read the endline report – 2024 (pdf)
• Read the costing report – 2024 (pdf)

• Read the journal article