Responding to Learning Needs of Early Childhood Children through Teacher Training in Zambia

Development of ECE centres in Zambia

The government of the Republic of Zambia recognises the important role Early Childhood Education (ECE) plays as the foundation for learning (Education and Skill Sector Plan 2017-2021). Analysis of the education sector shows that government’s involvement in ECE has, in the past, been minimal and was limited to enabling individuals and organisations to establish and manage ECE centres.

The mandate for ECE was moved in 2011 from the Ministry of Local Government and Housing to the Ministry of General Education (MoGE). Before 2011, government allowed a system of inconsistency and lack of uniformity in the implementation of ECE curriculum in the country vis-à-vis employment of qualified teachers among others. 

In 2014, the MoGE annexed ECE centres in government primary schools (MoGE, 2016) and made it mandatory for all head teachers to establish these centres. The starting point had several challenges among them, namely access, participation, quality, relevance, equity and management of ECE provision in schools. In subsequent years, MoGE has increasingly established more ECE centres that have enrolled over 500,000 children up to present. However, the rate of access is still very low, at less than 30% of children eligible to enroll in ECE centres, meaning there are over 2 million children with no access to ECE between the ages of 3 to 6 years old.  

As of 2016, about 77,993 boys and 82,431 girls had access to ECE in the 3-6 year age category. Access is further hampered by two factors: (i) learners often have to travel long distances to attend ECE centres, especially in rural areas; and (ii) infrastructure is inadequate and inappropriate. The classrooms are annexed onto regular primary school classrooms and have not been adapted for their purpose, for example, the furniture is not appropriate for ECE learners and water points and sanitation facilities are not age appropriate. The play parks are bare or have very few resources in them. 

ECE teacher training in Zambia 

Early Childhood Care, Development and Education (ECCDE) is a foundation for the development of a child’s intelligence, personality, and social behavior. It also helps in developing lifelong learning skills which are key for adult life. The 1996 Ministry of Education policy document, ‘Educating Our Future’ in Zambia outlines areas of need for the education system to reorganise to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, Vision 2030 as well as the Sustainable Development Goals.  

ECCDE was identified as one such area that required serious thinking, developing and implementation. However, over the years, the delivery of ECCDE services in Zambia has faced many challenges. These include slow development, poor coordination, low accessibility (17.1%), poor quality of service (especially in most public schools), and poor learning environment. There are also issues of inappropriate curriculum and instruction material and limited awareness of the importance of early learning. 

The MoGE therefore realised the need to develop a standardised programme for ECCDE for teachers and other early childhood providers. As such, in the Education Sector Plan: National Implementation Framework III 2011-2015 III, page 74, Chalimbana University was mandated to design and implement a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education degree. This degree would train teachers in the provision of modern, high quality and up-to-standard ECE. It is for this reason that this programme was designed, developed and implemented. In addition, an ECE centre was constructed to act as a demonstration class for training teachers at the institution. 

The BECE programme was meant to enable providers to teach and manage pre-primary school children, aimed at preparing graduates for careers in schools, childcare centres, and coaching, humanitarian services, professional and corporate organisations. The programme is made up of early language and literacy, numeracy, children’s science, creativity, child development, family and social cohesion, curriculum development and instruction methods [learning through play and Early Learning Development Standards] that reflect the unique needs of children in pre-primary schools and early grades.

The focus of the programme was to equip early childhood providers with knowledge, values and skills that are necessary for managing children in ECE. The knowledge, skills and values are also vital for understanding how children develop socially, physically, mentally and emotionally by providing learners with a conducive learning environment. The programme emphasised play-based teaching and learning, and Early Learning Development Standards that are inseparable from each other at this critical stage of child development.  

The Bachelor of Early Childhood Education programme has been found to have been effective, relevant and sustainable in improving the competence of the graduate teachers responsible for lessons delivery and management of the early childhood classes as well as ability to teach the children effectively using appropriate methodologies.  

ESSA and the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre, University of Cambridge, are currently working in partnership on an Early Childhood Development (ECD) project with funding from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. The project focuses on understanding the ecosystem of ECD researchers and their needs in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda (with desk-based research for Mozambique). 

As part of this project, we sponsored ten ECD researchers to attend the Eastern Africa Regional Early Childhood Conference (EARECC) in Tanzania in March 2024 to give them the opportunity to share their work, network and explore research collaborations.  

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