ERIC Number: EJ1215041
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Apr
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0020-7187
EISSN: N/A
The Impact of an Educational Media Intervention to Support Children's Early Learning in Rwanda
Borzekowski, Dina L. G.; Lando, Agnes Lucy; Olsen, Sara H.; Giffen, Lauren
International Journal of Early Childhood, v51 n1 p109-126 Apr 2019
Children in developing countries often lack sufficient support for early learning skills prior to beginning school. This research evaluates an educational media intervention using an animated cartoon program, "Akili and Me." The program was originally created in Tanzania to teach early learning skills. This program was adapted in content and language use in this study in Rwanda. The two-week intervention involved primary school students (mean age = 7.1 years) who were randomized into two groups (intervention and comparison group). The intervention group viewed one "Akili and Me" episode a day for five days. This viewing was repeated the following week. Similarly, the comparison watched the same amount of television but the content consisted of local popular programs. Baseline and follow-up assessments evaluated 10 areas of early learning, using an adaptation of the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA), and also children's media receptivity. At follow-up, children in the intervention program, "Akili and Me," had significantly higher scores for counting, number recognition, shape knowledge, letter identification, color identification, body part recognition, health knowledge, and vocabulary. The analyses provide promising evidence that locally produced educational media interventions can impact early learning skills, even among children living in resource-poor communities.
Descriptors: Educational Media, Intervention, Outcomes of Education, Early Childhood Education, Foreign Countries, Cartoons, Learning Readiness, Animation, Elementary School Students, Young Children, Television Viewing, Computation, Numbers, Geometric Concepts, Alphabets, Color, Human Body, Health, Vocabulary, Disadvantaged Youth
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Rwanda
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A