Early childhood development practitioners’ perspectives on an adapted developmental resource (3y0m - 5y11m) for language development in low resourced settings in South Africa

Abstract

Background Globally, there are 250 million children at risk of not reaching their developmental potential later in life. In South Africa, where poverty levels are high and various risk factors are prevalent, children face an increased risk of developmental delays. ECD practitioners often play the role of a primary caregiver to many children due to the amount of time children spend in ECD centres. As a result, ECD practitioners are ideally positioned to provide developmental stimulation to children, to ameliorate many of these risks. To achieve successful developmental outcomes, access to appropriate resources, such as existing milestone guides, is crucial. However, these resources are often lacking in low-income settings, making it difficult to reach these goals. Purpose The purpose of this study was to describe Early Childhood Development practitioners’ perspectives on the language activities included in a contextually and linguistically adapted milestone guide for preschool children aged 3 years 0 months to 5 years 11 months from low-resourced settings. Method The study used a short-longitudinal design with a paper-based pre-survey and semi-structured post-implementation interview. These incorporated both quantitative and qualitative questions. A three-week implementation period of the language domain of the adapted milestone guide occurred between the survey and interview. Throughout the implementation phase, field notes were made by the participants and phone calls were made weekly by the research team to gain feedback. Non-probability purposive sampling targeted ECD practitioners from low- and middle-income countries. feedback. Non-probability purposive sampling targeted ECD practitioners from low- and middle-income countries. Results and discussion Participants reported that it was easy to implement the activities into daily routines and that they were unchallenging to understand. The adapted milestone guide was deemed both age and developmentally appropriate and proved to be suitable for the group setting in a low-resourced community. Participants also reported positive children’s experiences with the activities. Finally, recommendations were provided, to improve the suggested resources and increase parental involvement as well as the importance of practitioners’ roles to promote early childhood development. Conclusion The adapted milestone guide proved to be user-friendly and suitable for integration into the daily routines of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre, with materials readily accessible. The children indicated enjoyment of the activities, supporting continued successful implementation of the milestone guide in other ECD centres.