A school closer to home: using mealtimes to foster language development, improve girls' nutrition and align home and school in rural Kenya and Zambia

  • R Research Project/Report/Study

A Active

Key Information

This research study aims to connect home and school learning by targeting Early Childhood Education and Development programmes (ECDE; age 4 - 6). Unlike primary and secondary schools, ECDE centres recruit teachers from the local community. The relationship between parents and teachers is closest in ECDE settings, providing a crucial opportunity to build bridges between home and school. It is also a critical opportunity for mitigating early disadvantages for girls and empowering females in leadership roles since ECDE teachers are predominantly female. We prioritise language and nutrition as fundamental to all later learning, and aim to (i) identify positive practices in the home that benefit early language development and nutrition and (ii) to work together with ECDE teachers as researchers to empower them to develop teacher and parent networks to share best practice in school and at home.


Location(s)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Kenya, Zambia

Government Affiliation

Non-governmental program

Years

2020 - 2024

Partner(s)

Not applicable or unknown

Ministry Affiliation

Unknown

Funder(s)

Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF)

COVID-19 Response

Not changed

Geographic Scope

Global / regional

Meets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES  

Unknown

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Other

  • Early childhood development

Quality

  • School quality
  • Teacher training

Skills

  • Literacy

Cross-cutting areas

  • Community sensitization
  • Gender equality
  • Other cultural practices
  • Social and gender norms and beliefs

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Fathers, Mothers, Other caregivers, Teachers - female

Age

Not applicable or unknown

School Enrolment Status

All in school

School Level

  • Pre-school

Other populations reached

  • Boys in school
  • Girls in school
  • Youth

Participants include

  • N/A

Program Approaches Back to Top

Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization

  • Parent Teacher Associations (PTA)

Social/gender norms change

  • Engaging parents/caregivers of students or school-age children/adolescents

Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

  • Improved critical thinking
  • Improved social and emotional learning/skills and mindsets

Cross-cutting goals

  • Changed social norms
  • Improved critical consciousness
  • Improved health - other
  • Improved nutrition