Where are the four year olds? Evidence from three Indian states Suman Bhattacharjea ASER Centre, New Delhi August 28, 2012

Study objectives Longitudinal study of four year olds in 3 states that aims to:  Estimate participation in ECCE over the course of one year  Analyze curriculum, delivery of ECCE programs  Assess children’s school readiness and early grade learning  Identify elements of ECCE that have the desired impact.

Study design Strand A Large scale rapid assessment, longitudinal survey methods, key indicators District level estimates of participation, school readiness Strand B Smaller scale, more detail Survey + observations of facility content, processes Identification of elements that demonstrate significant impact Strand C Case studies Qualitative methods In depth analysis of selected programs/facilities 360 villages 1,600 centres 14,000 children 60 villages 300 centres 3,000 children 8 case studies across the country

Sample – Strand A StateDistrict SAMPLE DESCRIPTION No. of Villages No. of ECE Centres in sample villages No. of children sampled Andhra Pradesh Medak612282,121 Warangal613011,746 Total ,867 Assam Dibrugarh611781,747 Kamrup593082,763 Total ,510 Rajasthan Ajmer612682,680 Alwar593332,811 Total ,491 TOTAL ,868 Baseline field visit in Oct-Dec  2 districts in each of 3 states  60 villages per district with pop > 2,000 hab.  50 randomly selected four year olds per village  All ECCE centres in sampled villages – avg 3-5 per village

 School Readiness test of all sampled children Basic concepts and vocabulary Basic cognitive skills Basic language skills Pre literacy  Detailed household information for each sampled child Detailed household roster Socioeconomic indicators Learning support at home  Rapid Facilities Survey for each ECCE centre in the village Infrastructure People – adults and children Play and learning materials Activities observed  Tracking visits to better estimate ‘dosage’ Enrolment ≠ attendance. Therefore, children’s observed attendance tracked every quarter. 2 nd tracking visit currently in progress. Methodology – Strand A

ECCE Participation School Readiness ECCE Provisioning Key Strand A findings so far…

Availability of ECCE facilities % sampled villages with at least one Govt ECCE facility % sampled villages with at least one private/other ECCE facility % sampled villages with at least as many ECCE facilities as hamlets Andhra PradeshAssamRajasthan

Infrastructure in ECCE facilities % Centres with physical infrastructure, by management type % Centres with visual and learning materials, by management type Govt Pvt/ Other

ECCE Participation School Readiness ECCE Provisioning Key Strand A findings so far…

Who is enrolled where? Enrollment information provided by families

Enrollment patterns by gender Enrollment information provided by families % Tested children by ECCE Enrollment Category Centre type APRJ MaleFemaleTotalMaleFemaleTotal Govt Pvt/outside village Primary School Not enrolled NA Total100

Dimensions of ‘participation’ How often does your child go to the centre? How many hours does she usually spend there?

Children’s observed attendance % Children observed present across 2 visits* % sampled children observed present on: * Children were not tracked to centres which were located outside the village.

ECCE Participation School Readiness ECCE Provisioning Key Strand A findings so far…

Mastery of competencies SRI inventory: language and cognitive abilities

SRI scores by age group Children born in:

School readiness and HH factors HH Asset indexMother’s schoolingLearning support at home Below Median Above Median Below Median Above Median Did not attend Attended Did not attend Attended Did not attend Attended No learning support Learning support No learning support Learning support No learning support Learning support Mean SR baseline scores by: Below Median Above Median Below Median Above Median Did not attend Attended Did not attend Attended No learning support Learning support No learning support Learning support APRJ

School readiness and ECCE participation: Rajasthan Below Median Above Median Below Median Above Median Did not attend Attended Did not attend Attended Did not attend Attended No learning support Learning support No learning support Learning support No learning support Learning support Below Median Above Median Did not attend Attended No learning support Learning support Children in RJ who are:

Coming soon… Endline school readiness test: Oct-Dec 2012 Major questions to be addressed subsequently:  Controlling for household characteristics, how much and in what competencies does children’s school readiness improve over the course of a year?  What factors lead to better ECCE participation?  Does better ECCE participation lead to improved school readiness?  Are specific ECCE facility characteristics associated with improved school readiness?  Does ‘school readiness’ as measured in this study affect participation and learning in early grades of primary school?

For more information: Suman Bhattacharjea ASER Centre B 4/54 Safdarjung Enclave New Delhi