Implementing aeioTU: Quality improvement alongside an efficacy study. Learning while growing

Milagros Nores, PhD, NIEERAlexandra Figueras-Daniel, PhD, NIEERMaria Adelaida Lopez, MA, aeioTURaquel Bernal, PhD, Los Andes

Source: Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar, statistics department

Institutional supply: Center-based childcare (childcare centers with more than 120 children) and

other institutional supply (HCB multiple y empresarial)

DCAS: Estrategia Nacional de Atencion Integral a la Primera Infancia De Cero a Siempre

Context: NationalEarlyChildhoodStrategy

0

300

600

900

1,200

1,500

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Early education places available by type of service

Community-based child care Institutional

Fun

de

dp

lace

s (t

ho

usa

nd

s)

DCAS launched COLOMBIA

• Low ECE coverage: 40%• Developmental gaps about

1SD at age 5• 4.3M children ages 0-5• 65% socioeconomically

disadvantaged• 1.2M served under DCAS

(from 125k in 2011 to 370k in centers by 2014)

1. aeioTU is the largest private foundation and service provider focusing exclusively on early

childhood in Colombia (and in Latin America).

2. Provides center-based childcare that includes early education, nutrition and care. Currently

also Home-Visiting 0-2.

3. Targets Colombia’s most vulnerable children: 97% of beneficiaries are children from families

in the lowest socioeconomic categories (SISBEN 1 and 2).

4. Founded in 2008, operates 28 centers nationally and serves over 13,300 children aged 0-5,

with 776 teachers and 426 support staff.

5. Services jointly funded with the public sector (82% public - 18% own resources generated in

2010-2012). Total cost=USD 1,800 child/year.

1) Strong curriculum inspired on Reggio Emilia, formally developed

2) Children rotate between fully outfitted classrooms and experiential spaces (sciences, music,..)

3) Educational requirements for teachers (vocational or professional degree) higher than national guidelines

4) Pre-service (120 hours) and in-service training (130 hours/year)

5) On-site individualized feedback and in-classroom observations

6) Professional development opportunities

7) Child monitoring and information data system (every school, real-time)

8) Strong support staff and services

9) Family/community participation

The program: Quality aspects

1) Each center: up to 320 children aged 0-5

2) Class sizes:

15 (ages 0-1 & 1-2),

30 (ages 2-3, 3-4 & 4-5)

plus one teaching aid p/50 children.

(started with smaller class sizes)

3) Provides 70% of daily nutritional needs + nutritional monitoring

4) Full Day (9 hrs per day)

5) Year round (~213 days)

The program

Measures & Methods

• ECERS-R (Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale -Revised). (2011, 2014)

• Teacher Survey: Education, Experience, stress, job satisfaction and beliefs about teaching young children. (2012)

• PHQ-9 depression screener. (2012)

• TSEEQ (Teacher Survey of Early Education Quality) (2013): self-report survey for early childhood teachers about classroom practices. Teachers reflect on classroom practices around literacy, math, science, physical education and art curriculum, curriculum in general, instruction, assessment, physical environment, interaction and emotional climate, leadership and supervision, and family involvement.

ECERS-R 2011 & 2014

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2011 2014

Mean=2.89

Mean=2.30

2011 n=17, 2014 n=33

26%

Comparison to other programs

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

ECERS, n=30 ITERS, n=100 Iters, n=602 ECERS/ITERS,

n=156

FDCRS, n=54

aeioTU 2014 Bolivia, CBPVB Peru, Cuna Más Colombia, JS /

CDI

Colombia,

Hogares

Source: Authors with own data and information summarized in Araujo & Schady, 2015.

Language & Reasoning

About Emergent Curriculum% Disagree, Strongly Disagree

61%

32%

75%

2%

91%

95%

77%

64%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

It is very interesting but difficult to implement.

It requires a lot of work because we must documentindividually and daily.

It requires lots of follow up and there is not enough timefor that.

It is so interesting and valuable that it is worth the effortand time required.

I don’t completely understand how to elaborate a work plan within an emergent curriculum.

I don’t feel sufficiently prepared or trained to work under

this methodology.

I feel it would be better to have a structured curriculumwith pre-established goals and activities.

I feel my work would be easier with specific directives orcontent about how to work with children.

TSEEQ (2013)

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

Assessment Physical

Str.

Family

Part.

Teaching Planning Interactions Leadership

Mean Min Max

Triggered Program Improvements

Teacher Training

A refresher early in the school year to the pedagogy

11 workshops: positive discipline, interactions, play as a learning strategy, assessment, etc.

Redefined pre-service trainings

Internal pedagogical committees established in ea. center

Internal monitoring and observation processes

Structural & Evaluation

Revision and improvement of learning materials & furniture

Quality control processes for all centers

Curriculum tools & strategies revised & standardized

Software to monitor child development (ConecTU)

Internal observation and evaluation tools (Faro Operación Sana, Faro Pedagógico)

A toolbox (Cartografía Curricular) withcurriculum and support materials to scaffoldteachers

Summary• Quality as measured by the Early Rating Scale, was quite low in the

first year of observations.

• Actions implemented were meaningful enough to increase quality significantly over a period of three years.

• Indicator level analyses showed higher level indicators were present in a significant percentage of classrooms by 2014.

• Teacher surveys revealed that they had a strong commitment to the Reggio inspired emergent curriculum.

• The survey on self-reported EC quality practices (the TSEEQ) showed teachers’ perception of their practices & their access to materials, resources & supports was high by 2013.

• Improving quality was done while scaling up.

• Scaffolding their own model allowed them to sustain quality & extend supports beyond their program (600 teachers in COL & MX).

• Data-based and evaluation based responsive decision-making.