Exploring early childhood development programming in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands
Background: Promoting high-quality early childhood development (ECD) is vital for individuals’ physical and social well-being and yields significant societal returns. However, children in marginalised regions like Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) face significant barriers to accessing qualit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AOSIS
2025-06-01
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| Series: | South African Journal of Childhood Education |
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| Online Access: | https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1649 |
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| author | Phyllis Magoma Amina Abubakar Martha Kaniala Barack Aoko Moses Esala Joyce Marangu Susan Nyamanya Margaret Kabue Siad Guyo Abubakar Baasba John Ng'asike Anil Khamis Esther Jebor Chongwo |
| author_facet | Phyllis Magoma Amina Abubakar Martha Kaniala Barack Aoko Moses Esala Joyce Marangu Susan Nyamanya Margaret Kabue Siad Guyo Abubakar Baasba John Ng'asike Anil Khamis Esther Jebor Chongwo |
| author_sort | Phyllis Magoma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Promoting high-quality early childhood development (ECD) is vital for individuals’ physical and social well-being and yields significant societal returns. However, children in marginalised regions like Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) face significant barriers to accessing quality ECD services.
Aim: This study aimed to document existing ECD services in Kenya’s ASAL areas, including their availability, types and key characteristics; identify gaps in their provision and propose solutions to enhance access and quality.
Setting: This qualitative study was conducted in 10 ASAL counties in Kenya.
Methods: Using purposive and snowball sampling techniques, 103 key informants, including pre-primary teachers, parents, healthcare workers, religious leaders and county ECD coordinators, were interviewed. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically.
Results: The study found that while diverse ECD programmes exist in ASAL regions, their quality and effectiveness are hindered by challenges such as inadequate funding, insecurity, extreme weather events, food insecurity, poor infrastructure, inadequate healthcare access and limited early learning opportunities. Recommendations include increasing ECD funding, improving healthcare, enhancing early learning opportunities, promoting livelihood diversification and addressing security and food insecurity.
Conclusion: Despite investments in ECD programmes, significant challenges persist, underscoring the need to provide children with high-quality services that foster nurturing care and mitigate risks to their development. This study highlights the urgency of adopting a multi-sectoral approach to strengthen ECD programmes and services in Kenya’s ASAL.
Contribution: This article contributes to the scarce literature on ECD programming in Kenya’s ASALs by documenting existing ECD services, identifying critical gaps in their provision and offering actionable recommendations to address barriers to programme quality and effectiveness. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bc817e0b88c746c3ad7b6c2d2b343e9b |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2223-7674 2223-7682 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | AOSIS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Journal of Childhood Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-bc817e0b88c746c3ad7b6c2d2b343e9b2025-07-02T06:51:35ZengAOSISSouth African Journal of Childhood Education2223-76742223-76822025-06-01151e1e1210.4102/sajce.v15i1.1649629Exploring early childhood development programming in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid landsPhyllis Magoma0Amina Abubakar1Martha Kaniala2Barack Aoko3Moses Esala4Joyce Marangu5Susan Nyamanya6Margaret Kabue7Siad Guyo8Abubakar Baasba9John Ng'asike10Anil Khamis11Esther Jebor Chongwo12Institute for Human Development, Aga Khan University, NairobiInstitute for Human Development, Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya; and Centre for Geographic Medicine Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute/Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya; and Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, OxfordInstitute for Human Development, Aga Khan University, NairobiInstitute for Human Development, Aga Khan University, NairobiInstitute for Human Development, Aga Khan University, NairobiInstitute for Human Development, Aga Khan University, NairobiInstitute for Human Development, Aga Khan University, NairobiInstitute for Human Development, Aga Khan University, NairobiIsiolo County Government, IsioloDepartment of Health, Lamu County Government, LamuDepartment of Early Childhood Studies, Turkana University College, LodwarInstitute for Human Development, Aga Khan University, NairobiInstitute for Human Development, Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya; and Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, AmsterdamBackground: Promoting high-quality early childhood development (ECD) is vital for individuals’ physical and social well-being and yields significant societal returns. However, children in marginalised regions like Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) face significant barriers to accessing quality ECD services. Aim: This study aimed to document existing ECD services in Kenya’s ASAL areas, including their availability, types and key characteristics; identify gaps in their provision and propose solutions to enhance access and quality. Setting: This qualitative study was conducted in 10 ASAL counties in Kenya. Methods: Using purposive and snowball sampling techniques, 103 key informants, including pre-primary teachers, parents, healthcare workers, religious leaders and county ECD coordinators, were interviewed. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Results: The study found that while diverse ECD programmes exist in ASAL regions, their quality and effectiveness are hindered by challenges such as inadequate funding, insecurity, extreme weather events, food insecurity, poor infrastructure, inadequate healthcare access and limited early learning opportunities. Recommendations include increasing ECD funding, improving healthcare, enhancing early learning opportunities, promoting livelihood diversification and addressing security and food insecurity. Conclusion: Despite investments in ECD programmes, significant challenges persist, underscoring the need to provide children with high-quality services that foster nurturing care and mitigate risks to their development. This study highlights the urgency of adopting a multi-sectoral approach to strengthen ECD programmes and services in Kenya’s ASAL. Contribution: This article contributes to the scarce literature on ECD programming in Kenya’s ASALs by documenting existing ECD services, identifying critical gaps in their provision and offering actionable recommendations to address barriers to programme quality and effectiveness.https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1649early childhood development (ecd)ecd programmingarid and semi-arid lands (asal)nurturing carehigh-quality programmesmultisectoral approachkenya |
| spellingShingle | Phyllis Magoma Amina Abubakar Martha Kaniala Barack Aoko Moses Esala Joyce Marangu Susan Nyamanya Margaret Kabue Siad Guyo Abubakar Baasba John Ng'asike Anil Khamis Esther Jebor Chongwo Exploring early childhood development programming in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands South African Journal of Childhood Education early childhood development (ecd) ecd programming arid and semi-arid lands (asal) nurturing care high-quality programmes multisectoral approach kenya |
| title | Exploring early childhood development programming in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands |
| title_full | Exploring early childhood development programming in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands |
| title_fullStr | Exploring early childhood development programming in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring early childhood development programming in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands |
| title_short | Exploring early childhood development programming in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands |
| title_sort | exploring early childhood development programming in kenya s arid and semi arid lands |
| topic | early childhood development (ecd) ecd programming arid and semi-arid lands (asal) nurturing care high-quality programmes multisectoral approach kenya |
| url | https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1649 |
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