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Teachers' Levels of Knowledge and Attitudes towards the Inclusion of Children with Special Educational Needs in Regular Classrooms
By Asare Kotor
Teachers' attitudes and levels of knowledge about inclusion and teaching children with special needs have become a sensitive issue over the past decades. The fact that a majority of teachers demonstrate limited knowledge and understanding of children with special educational needs (SEN), and thus have more negative attitudes towards teaching these children in mainstream classrooms, may significantly influence the quality of life and academic success of these children in schools. This cross-sectional study explored the levels of knowledge of and attitudes towards SEN among teachers in public basic schools in Ghana. Most participants had limited knowledge and understanding of teaching children with SEN and showed more negative attitudes towards children with SEN. There were significantly different levels of knowledge and understanding of children with SEN and attitudes towards children with SEN across baseline characteristics. The study results enrich the existing knowledge base on inclusion and contribute significantly to inclusive education policy development as well as indicating the potential for changes in practices.
Nonverbal cognitive assessment of children in Tanzania with and without HIV
By Magohe, Albert
Children living with HIV can experience cognitive difficulties. Most neuropsychological tests have been constructed in Western languages, meaning they may not be appropriate for use in non-Western settings. To address this, we used an entirely nonverbal measure of cognitive ability in a sub-Saharan African sample. For this cross-sectional analysis, 316 children (162 HIV+ and 154 HIV-, ages 3–9) completed the Leiter-3 as part of a larger study in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Statistical tests included analysis of covariance and multiple linear regression to account for environmental variables. HIV+ children performed worse than HIV–controls on two composite scores: Nonverbal IQ (p < .001) and Processing Speed (p < 0.001). Similar trends were observed on core subtests. Multiple linear regression models revealed that age, socioeconomic status, and school attendance predicted all Leiter-3 test composites. Critically, the addition of HIV status to the models improved prediction of Nonverbal IQ (∆R2 = 0.03, p = .001) and Processing Speed (∆R2 = 0.06, p < .001). Children living with HIV performed worse than HIV- controls on most Leiter-3 measures. While age, SES, and school attendance predicted Leiter-3 performance, HIV status improved prediction capabilities when added to the model. The Leiter-3 may offer a viable measure of cognitive ability in non-Western settings that can be used in its original form without translation. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Neurocognitive deficits and socioeconomic risk factors among children and adolescents living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review
By Mutahi, Joan;
IntroductionChildren and adolescents living with HIV (C/ALHIV) are at a risk for significant neurocognitive deficits. There is limited literature that addresses the role of socioeconomic factors in neurocognitive deficits among CALHIV in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), as it is very difficult to establish this causal relationship. Our systematic review was guided by the biodevelopmental framework that assumes that foundations of health and adversity affect later development and life outcomes. This systematic review aims to assess available evidence on the relationship between neurocognitive deficits and socioeconomic factors among HIV children and adolescents in SSA region.MethodUsing a pre-determined search strategy, we searched electronic databases including PubMed, web of Science and EBSCOhost (CINAHL and MEDLINE). Peer-reviewed publications that address neurocognitive deficits, psychosocial and socioeconomic risk factors among children and adolescents living with HIV in SSA were included in review.ResultsOut of 640 articles, 17 studies from SSA met the inclusion criteria. Four studies reported no significant differences in the neurocognitive measures comparing children and adolescents with HIV infection to those uninfected. However, 10 studies suggest that C/ALHIV scored significantly low in general intellectual functions as compared to their uninfected peers. C/ALHIV were found to have substantial deficits in specific cognitive domains such as sequential processing, simultaneous processing, and learning. In addition, deficits in visuo-spatial processing, visual memory and semantic fluency were mentioned. Socioeconomic factors such as lower socioeconomic status (income, education and occupation), child orphanhood status and under-nutrition were linked with neurocognitive deficits.ConclusionOur findings suggest that CALHIV presented with poorer neurocognitive outcomes when compared to other populations which were associated with specific socioeconomic factors.
Media and cultural contents for early childhood education in Nigeria
By Oyero, Olusola Samuel
The media have become major players in the socialization of children in modern African societies. Television, in particular, and its related products are at the center stage of early childhood education. Due to the attractive nature of television, children get fascinated as early as 3 months old. Thus, television begins to influence children's learning processes from the cradle. However, there emerges a conflict between media reception and social realities around children, creating a learning dissonance in them. This chapter explores the learning dissonance in children and the impact this has on early childhood education in Nigeria, in particular. It also attempts suggestions on how the situation could be redressed to the advantage of children in their early education. © 2023 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.
Measuring the Influence of Socio-Emotional Learning Curriculum on Children’s Development in Kindergartens
By Thompson, Mumuni;
The study contributes to the ongoing debate regarding the significance of the socio-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum and its significance concerning the development of children’s socio-emotional; competencies. To address this gap in the literature, a quantitative study into the influence of socio-emotional learning curriculum on children’s development in kindergarten classrooms was explored. The study was guided by four (4) hypotheses namely; Hypothesis one (1): There is no statistical difference in the pre-test social skills of the participants based on age, Hypothesis two (2): There is no statistical difference in the post-test social skills of the participants based on age, Hypothesis three (3): There is no statistically significant difference in the pre-test social skills of the participants based on gender, Hypothesis four (4): There is no statistical difference in the post-test social skills of the participants based on gender. The study’s findings revealed that the intervention was robust because it enhanced and promoted the socio-emotional competencies of the participants. It was recommended that future research works on this issue should explore another socio-cultural context to determine whether similar or divergent findings would be established. This electronic document is a “live” template. The various components of your paper [title, text, heads, etc.] are already defined on the style sheet, as illustrated by the portions given in this document.
Low Haemoglobin Levels are Associated with Reduced Psychomotor and Language Abilities in Young Ugandan Children
By Nampijja, Margaret;
Abstract Children living in Sub-Saharan Africa are vulnerable to developmental delay, particularly in the critical first five years due to various adverse exposures including disease and nutritional deficiencies. Anaemia and iron deficiency (ID) are highly prevalent in pregnant mothers and young children and are implicated in abnormal brain development. However, available evidence on the association between anaemia, ID and neurodevelopment in Sub-Saharan Africa is limited. Using data from the Entebbe Mother and Baby Study prospective birth cohort, we examined the effect of maternal and child haemoglobin (Hb) levels and child iron status on developmental scores in 933 and 530 pre-school Ugandan children respectively. Associations between Hb levels, iron status and developmental scores were assessed using regression analyses adjusting for potential confounders. Lower maternal and child Hb levels were associated with reduced psychomotor scores at 15 months, while only lower Hb levels in infancy were associated with reduced language scores. We found no evidence that anaemia or ID was associated with cognitive or motor scores at five years. This study emphasizes the importance of managing anaemia in pregnancy and infancy and highlights the need for further studies on the effects of anaemia and ID in children living in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Lively Minds: improving health and development through play-a randomised controlled trial evaluation of a comprehensive ECCE programme at scale in Ghana
By Nketiah-Amponsah, Edward
Introduction Many children in developing countries grow up in environments that lack stimulation, leading to deficiencies in early years of development. Several efficacy trials of early childhood care and education (ECCE) programmes have demonstrated potential to improve child development; evidence on whether these effects can be sustained once programmes are scaled is much more mixed. This study evaluates whether an ECCE programme shown to be effective in an efficacy trial maintains effectiveness when taken to scale by the Government of Ghana (GoG). The findings will provide critical evidence to the GoG on effectiveness of a programme it is investing in, as well as a blueprint for design and scale-up of ECCE programmes in other developing countries, which are expanding their investment in ECCE programmes. Methods and analysis This study is a cluster randomised controlled trial, in which the order that districts receive the programme is randomised. A minimum sample of 3240 children and 360 schools will be recruited across 72 district school cohort pairs. The primary outcomes are (1) child cognitive and socioemotional development measured using the International Development and Early Learning Assessment tool, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and tasks from the Harvard Laboratory for Development Studies; (2) child health (measured using height/weight for age, height-for-weight Z scores). Secondary outcomes include (1) maternal mental health, (using Kessler-10 and Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale) and knowledge of ECCE practices; (2) teacher knowledge, motivation and teaching quality (measured with classroom observation); (3) parental investment (using the Family Care Index and Home Observation Measurement of the Environment and the Child-Parent Relationship Scale); (4) water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices; (5) acute malnutrition (using mid-upper arm circumference). We will estimate unadjusted and adjusted intent-to-treat effects. Ethics and dissemination Study protocols have been approved by ethics boards at the University College London (21361/001), Yale University (2000031549) and Ghanaian Health Service Ethics Review Committee (028/09/21). Results will be made available to participating communities, funders, the wider public and other researchers through peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations, social and print media and various community/stakeholder engagement activities. Trial registration number ISRCTN15360698, AEARCTR-0008500. © 2022 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Language Development of a Child from Rwandan Context between 16 and 24 Months: Syntactic Aspect
By Sabiti, Jacques;
This study explored the language developed by Gavin, a child raised by Kinyarwanda speaking caregivers, focusing on syntactic aspect. Data collection tools employed in this study are direct observation, recording and diary to maintain the study subject utterances. The study revealed that Gavin’s syntactic structure was limited to one word use from 16 months until 24 months; two or three words between 19 and 24months, multi-words at the age of 24 months, using different parts of speech with emphasis on those belonging to open class like nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives. He was able to construct subject–verb structure but unable to produce subject-verb-object structure. The findings recommend further research in the area to see if other children can develop the same language as the study subject. Studies should be extended to children over two years until school age to ensure the proper mastery of the mother tongue before introducing other languages like French or English as medium of instruction in nursery and primary education.
Influence of Home Culture on Child Development in Church: The Case of Atonsu District Assemblies of God,Ghana in the Kumasi Metropolis.
By Tabi, Georgina;
This paper sought to explore how the Assemblies of God Church in the Atonsu District is employing the home culture and its value system in its child development programmes. The study adopted a qualitative research approach and descriptive survey design. Data was collected from 50 purposively selected respondents using interviews. The data gathered was analysed using thematic content analysis. The study found that for the holistic development of the child, the church largely needs resources from the home culture and its value system. The study concludes that the home culture and its value system employed in child upbringing are not in conflict with Christian virtues of child education described in the Bible and as practiced by the Assemblies of God Church. This indicates that the indigenous system of child upbringing is in harmony with Christian child development programmes of the Assemblies of God Church. The study recommends that for any effective child development, the church must take into consideration the home culture and its value systems as this can help strengthen the collaborative influence of the church on the home value systems in total child development. Keywords: Home culture, Assemblies of God Church, Collaboration and Child Development
Improving Early Childhood Development on a Global Scale
By Tsinigo, Edward
More than 250 million children younger than 5 years are at risk of not meeting their developmental potential, the vast majority of whom live in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs).1 In response to this global crisis, as well as political demand generated by recent initiatives like the Sustainable Development Goals and the multilateral Nurturing Care Framework, a growing body of pediatric research has focused on implementing and evaluating interventions to support the early childhood development (ECD) of LMIC-based children.2 Although these interventions have been found on average to improve children’s physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development, their effect sizes (typically d < .50) remain insufficient for maximizing all children’s developmental potential and their take-up by local communities is varied.
Impact of Shigella infections and inflammation early in life on child growth and school-aged cognitive outcomes: Findings from three birth cohorts over eight years
By Bayo, Eliwaza
Background Shigella infections cause inflammation, which has been hypothesized to mediate the associations between Shigella and child development outcomes among children in low-resource settings. We aimed to assess whether early life inflammation and Shigella infections affect school-aged growth and cognitive outcomes from 6–8 years of age. Methodology/principal findings We conducted follow-up assessments of anthropometry, reasoning skills, and verbal fluency in 451 children at 6–8 years of age in the Brazil, Tanzania, and South Africa sites of MAL-ED, a longitudinal birth cohort study. We estimated the associations between Shigella burden and inflammation with linear growth at 2, 5, and 6–8 years of age, and with the cognitive test scores using linear regression and adjusting for potential confounding variables. We also assessed whether inflammation mediated the associations between Shigella and school-aged outcomes using a regression-based approach to mediation analysis. A high prevalence of Shigella was associated with a 0.32 (95% CI: 0.08, 0.56) z-score lower height-for-age z-score (HAZ) at 6–8 years compared to a low prevalence of Shigella. Intestinal inflammation had a smaller association with HAZ at 6–8 years. Shigella burden had small and consistently negative associations with cognitive outcomes in Brazil and Tanzania, but not South Africa, and the estimates were not statistically significant. Systemic inflammation was strongly associated with lower verbal fluency scores in Brazil (semantic fluency z-score difference:-0.57, 95% CI:-1.05,-0.10; phonemic fluency z-score difference:-0.48, 95% CI:-0.93,-0.03). There was no evidence that intestinal inflammation mediated the association between Shigella and HAZ or cognitive outcomes. Conclusions/significance While Shigella infections were consistently associated with long-term deficits in linear growth, the estimates of the negative associations between Shigella and cognitive outcomes were imprecise and only observed in the Brazil and Tanzania sites. Systemic inflammation was strongly associated with lower semantic and phonemic fluency scores in Brazil only, highlighting the site-specificity of effects. © 2022 Rogawski McQuade et al.
Impact of energy poverty on education inequality and infant mortality in some selected African countries
By Sule, Ibrahim Kekere;
Energy poverty has far-reaching socioeconomic consequences on household wellbeing. Fuel cost, low incomes and energy inefficient dwellings, which are key constituents of energy poverty have implication on under 5 mortality rate and inequality in education. This study examined the link between energy poverty, under 5 mortality and inequality in education using data for 33 African countries. Empirical evidence from this study is based on panel cointegration, causality and fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS). The result suggests the existence of cointegration between energy poverty and under 5 mortality as well as between energy poverty and inequality in education. The result also suggests a unidirectional causality running energy poverty to under 5 mortality and from energy poverty to education inequality. The FMOLS result show that energy poverty is negatively and significantly related to under 5 mortality and inequality in education. The insights from this study are informative to policy makers among these African countries to support decision making around energy poverty in order to optimize the health and wellbeing of families. An increase in household access to energy through state intervention may reduce its impact on under 5 mortality, as well as reduce the gap in educational opportunities between the rural-poor and urban centers.
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