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Changes in Classroom Quality Predict Ghanaian Preschoolers' Gains in Academic and Social-Emotional Skills
Developmental Psychology
Short Title: Developmental Psychology
Format: Journal Article
Publication Date: 2018/08/01/
Pages: 1582 - 1599
Sources ID: 90536
Notes: Accession Number: EJ1187588; Acquisition Information: American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org; Language: English; Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Reference Count: 74; Journal Code: SEP2018; Level of Availability: Not available from ERIC; Publication Type: Academic Journal; Publication Type: Report; Entry Date: 2018
Visibility: Public (group default)
Abstract: (Show)
Rates of participation in early childhood education (ECE) programs are on the rise globally, including in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet little evidence exists on the quality of these programs and on the role of classroom quality in predicting learning for young children across diverse contexts. This study uses data from the Greater Accra Region of Ghana (N = 3,407; M[subscript age] = 5.8 years; 49.5% female) to examine how changes in four culturally validated dimensions of ECE classroom quality predict children's growth in early academic and social-emotional skills from the beginning to the end of one academic year. We find that improvements in domains of classroom instructional quality are related to small, positive gains in children's early academic and social-emotional outcomes over the school year, and that these improvements are generally larger for children and classrooms with higher baseline proficiency and quality levels. Associations between changes in social-emotional aspects of classroom quality and child outcomes were mixed. These results extend the knowledge base on ECE quality to a new and underrepresented context while also providing important information regarding the contexts and children for whom teacher training and other quality-focused improvement efforts may be most needed.