Kenya Preschool Study

A Randomized Evaluation of the Effects of a Preschool Intervention on Child Learning and Female Economic Empowerment in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

This research project aims to design and evaluate an innovative model for childcare provision in rural Kenya that emphasizes child development and economic participation for women in a cost-effective manner. Using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design, the project will examine the impact of allowing children in Tharaka Nithi County (TNC) in Kenya to attend pre-school from the age of 3 versus the current early childhood development programming in Kenya which is for children aged 4 and above. The potential to offer early childhood development care for 3-year-olds is a key investment to be considered with high potential for expansion across Kenya and beyond. The intervention will introduce an enhanced curriculum for pre-primary 1 (PP1) and will be adapted for the Kenyan context and include coaching of teachers and caregivers. Using a rigorous research design, and by collecting data from both children and parents, the project will capture data on child development, employment, income, intra-household dynamics and broader women empowerment indicators. The project seeks to impact policies aimed at advancing both child development as well as women's economic empowerment in Kenya.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Early Childhood Development; Early Education
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: PP1

Detailed Description

The PP1 intervention consists of six main components: A. Expanding admission to 3-year-olds in the current preschools (they currently start at 4), B. Adapting the government curriculum to accommodate the 3-year-old children (as the curriculum currently starts at 4 years) C. Developing teacher activity guides to support curriculum implementation for both 3- and 4-year-olds, D. Providing developmentally appropriate teaching and learning materials (e.g. picture books, puzzles, games), E. Adding an extra teacher in the preschool class (PP1), and F. Training the teachers how to use the activity guides and learning materials and how to use evidence-based and developmentally-appropriate instructional strategies through teacher-training workshops and in-class coaching.

The experimental design involves a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) to assess the impact of the Tharaka Nithi County Preschool Program on child development and women's labor supply. The intervention targets 3-4-year-olds, utilizing the existing infrastructure of PP1 (pre-primary 1) in selected public schools.

Participants were recruited in 2 cohorts:

Cohort 1: Randomization will take place by computer following a census of eligible households (those with children 2y8mo-3y6mo at baseline who have expressed willingness to participate) within a radius of 3km from the 118 schools. Within the 3km catchment area of the schools 15 children will be selected and their families consented for the intervention and data collection. Following this, within the catchment group of the 60 treatment schools 5 children are randomly admitted to the treatment schools and another 5 are randomly selected as controls within the same communities. Within the catchment area of the control schools 5 children and their families are randomly selected for observation. Data is collected from the families (mother and father - when present), and the children (assessments) at baseline, midline, and at the end of the intervention. In addition, within each school (treatment and control) 5 4-year olds are recruited. They are also subject to the intervention, since they are in the same classrooms as the 3-year-olds. However, the non-treated 4-year-olds are still attending PP1 class but in a non-treated school.

Cohort 2: The same treatment and control schools are involved. Only 3 year olds are recruited (2y8mo-3y6mo at baseline). Investigators will identify the 5 closest consenting families with 3-year-olds to each of the treatment schools. If it is a treatment school, the 5 children are admitted to the PP1 in that school. The five children and their families in the radius of the control school are kept for observation. Consenting takes place before treatment status is revealed. Data is collected from the families (mother and father - when present), and the children (assessments) at baseline and at the end of the intervention.

Preschool teacher interviews and classroom observations will be conducted after 1 year of intervention and again at the end of the second year of intervention in all study schools.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 2017
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Kenya
  • Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya
    • School system

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

School level:

• schools must offer PP1 classes
• schools must have sufficient available capacity and some level of infrastructure provision to support an additional 5-8 children (3-year-olds), and
• should not have more than five 3-year-olds already in attendance of the PP1 class in the year prior to the intervention, nor a playgroup offered by the school

Household/child level:

• have children who will turn approximately 3 years old by the start of the academic year
• have demonstrated a willingness to send their children to the local school for the relevant fee.
• households within a 3 km radius of all eligible schools.

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Pre-Primary 1 (PP1) - 3 year old; Children in Tharaka Nithi County in Kenya will attend preschool from the age of 3 years old. The intervention will introduce an enhanced curriculum that was adapted for the Kenyan context and included coaching of preschool teachers as child caretakers.	Behavioral: PP1; The intervention targets 3-4-year-olds and is using the existing infrastructure of PP1. PP1 is the first part of the pre-primary program, which currently admits only 4-year-old children for one year. Under the proposed intervention, children will attend PP1 starting when they are 3 years old. This curriculum will be enhanced and extended for the broader age range.
No Intervention: Control; Current early childhood development programming in Kenya which is for children aged 4 years old and above.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mean Score International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA)	IDELA is commonly used for program evaluation. Total score range from 0-100% with higher scores indicating better performance.	1 year and 2 years
Mean Score Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI)- Full Scale IQ (FSIQ)	WPPSI assesses cognitive development using engaging, game-like tasks to measure Verbal Comprehension, Visual Spatial, Fluid Reasoning, Working Memory, and Processing Speed. Total score range 40 to 160. Higher scores indicate higher IQ.	1 year and 2 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mean Score WPPSI-IV Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI)	Measures a child's ability to understand and use language, with scores ranging from 40 to 160. Higher scores indicate better comprehension.	1 year and 2 years
Mean Score Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment (PSRA)	A tool using direct tasks and an observer-rated scale to evaluate children aged 3-5 on attention, impulse control, and emotional regulation. Score range 0-36 with higher scores indicating better self-regulation.	Baseline, 1 year and 2 years
Mean Score Quality of the Classroom Environment using an adapted version of the Measuring Early Learning Environments (MELE)	Includes three subscales: implementation of learning activities, classroom interactions and use of learning materials. Focus: Understanding the effectiveness of the intervention in promoting a high quality teaching and learning environment. Scores range from 1-5 with higher scores indicating better environment.	1 year and 2 years
Mean Scores International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA) Subscales	IDELA is commonly used for program evaluation. The five subscales: Emergent Literacy, Emergent Numeracy, Socio-Emotional Development, Motor Development and Executive Function. Scores range for each subscale is 0-100% with higher scores indicating better performance.	1 year and 2 years
Teacher Satisfaction	Teachers' satisfaction with their workload, work environment, appreciation from parents and social status in the community assessed by self-report. Scores range from 8-40 with higher scores indicating higher satisfaction.	1 year and 2 years
Teacher Burnout	Teacher burnout including subscales on emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment assessed by self-report. Scores range from 0-54 on emotional exhaustion with higher scores indicating higher exhaustion. Scores range from 0-30 on personal accomplishment with higher scores indicating higher accomplishment.	2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Yale University
• Collaborators: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Jameel (Abdul Latif) Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL); Gates (Bill and Melinda) Foundation
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Konstantinos (Costas) Meghir, PhD, Yale University; Principal Investigator: Helen Baker-Henningham, PhD, Bangor University and University of West Indies; Principal Investigator: Simon Onywere, PhD, Kenyatta University; Principal Investigator: Dorothy Naivasha, PhD, Tharaka Nithi County

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 4, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 21, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): December 21, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 26, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 26, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): April 1, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 1, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 26, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Education; Preschool Intervention; Women's Empowerment; Preschool access
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2000036561

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No