nvestment in Early Childhood Education (ECE) involves a type of program that serves children in their preschool years. Early childhood education—and pre-primary education in particular—includes all learning activities designed for children between 3-8 years old. This is a particularly critical period, as it is the time when growth and development of the human brain are at their peak.
ECE programs are essentially carried out through observations made by several studies conducted in Tanzania, which examine why pre-primary education is considered so important. Pre-primary education has a strong bearing on attendance and participation by young children once they enter primary school, helping children to become more self-determining and confident, thereby promoting their all-around development.
The Education and Training Policy published in 2014 provides the macro context for pre-primary education in Tanzania. The policy, among other things, emphasizes partnerships in the provision of services to young children and specifies that pre-primary classrooms shall be attached to primary schools. Consequently, pre-primary education in Tanzania is provided by public and private schools/centers. Children enrolled in pre-primary education in Tanzania are aged 3 to 5 years.
Effective teaching in pre-primary education requires well-trained teachers who can effectively use learning and materials to explore children's potential. However, Tanzania currently suffers a shortage of well-trained teachers, teaching/learning material, and appropriate spaces for teaching. This has contributed significantly to the deterioration of the learning environment in the country. To improve this condition, several initiatives have been adopted that include a classroom interactive approach.
The Effectiveness of the Interactive Learning Approach
Over the past five years, Tanzania has emphasized improving the quality of pre-primary education. One of the initiatives seeks to ensure that a conducive environment for teaching and learning is created and maintained in schools. In support of this initiative, Several organizations including UNICEF, USAID, and Children in Crossfire are supporting this initiative by helping to equip schools with the necessary resources to enrich learning environments for children. The support includes catalyst funds to transform pre-primary and standard 1 and 2 classrooms into stimulating learning environments in selected regions in Mbeya, Njombe, and Songwe. Teacher training on the production and use of teaching and learning materials, classroom transformation, and establishment of reading corners/libraries was initiated to ensure that all pre-primary teachers have the required teaching qualities for this level of education.
Moreover, the publication of different storybooks for children was made available to schools for each pupil to enhance learning through reading and writing. Each school was also provided with a set minimum of wooden teaching and learning materials (squares, cubes, triangles, abacus, dice, cards, number tree, number blocks, games, puzzles, etc.) to facilitate effective teaching and motivate children’s participation in the learning process.
Several indigenous programs were conducted to assess the effectiveness of community engagement in child play and learning in Tanzania. The program conducted in the two regions of Pwani and Kagera show that the practice of the interactive approach in early years promotes a child’s development in all domains. In this program parents and teachers participated by emphasizing plays, songs, proverbs, and storytelling to promote the development of children’s higher mental function. The program revealed that during child-rearing, play with songs and narration can involve parents and caregivers together to promote active learning. This involvement helps children enjoy learning freely and happily, learning skills such as listening, speaking, problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity.
Plays, songs, and stories can also be used as effective tools during child-rearing practices and learning to identify children with special needs as early as possible. A sensitive caregiver will note the deviation of a child in play, raising the possibility of special attention. Through plays one can observe improper hand-eye coordination, poor communication, poor body movement, immature or inconsistent memory, poor vision, and impaired hearing. This is a convincing argument to use interactive methodologies in child-rearing practices as well as in teaching and learning to promote the child’s higher mental function among children in Tanzania.
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Tanzania Promotes Pre-Primary Education Interactive Learning
A local primary school in a village near Kibosho, Tanzania. Photo by Kameron Kincade via Unsplash.
October 14, 2022
Tanzania currently suffers a shortage of well-trained teachers, teaching/learning material, and appropriate spaces for teaching, especially in early-childhood education. To improve this condition, several initiatives have been adopted, writes Hawa Selemani and Salvatory Alute.
I
nvestment in Early Childhood Education (ECE) involves a type of program that serves children in their preschool years. Early childhood education—and pre-primary education in particular—includes all learning activities designed for children between 3-8 years old. This is a particularly critical period, as it is the time when growth and development of the human brain are at their peak.
ECE programs are essentially carried out through observations made by several studies conducted in Tanzania, which examine why pre-primary education is considered so important. Pre-primary education has a strong bearing on attendance and participation by young children once they enter primary school, helping children to become more self-determining and confident, thereby promoting their all-around development.
The Education and Training Policy published in 2014 provides the macro context for pre-primary education in Tanzania. The policy, among other things, emphasizes partnerships in the provision of services to young children and specifies that pre-primary classrooms shall be attached to primary schools. Consequently, pre-primary education in Tanzania is provided by public and private schools/centers. Children enrolled in pre-primary education in Tanzania are aged 3 to 5 years.
Effective teaching in pre-primary education requires well-trained teachers who can effectively use learning and materials to explore children's potential. However, Tanzania currently suffers a shortage of well-trained teachers, teaching/learning material, and appropriate spaces for teaching. This has contributed significantly to the deterioration of the learning environment in the country. To improve this condition, several initiatives have been adopted that include a classroom interactive approach.
The Effectiveness of the Interactive Learning Approach
Over the past five years, Tanzania has emphasized improving the quality of pre-primary education. One of the initiatives seeks to ensure that a conducive environment for teaching and learning is created and maintained in schools. In support of this initiative, Several organizations including UNICEF, USAID, and Children in Crossfire are supporting this initiative by helping to equip schools with the necessary resources to enrich learning environments for children. The support includes catalyst funds to transform pre-primary and standard 1 and 2 classrooms into stimulating learning environments in selected regions in Mbeya, Njombe, and Songwe. Teacher training on the production and use of teaching and learning materials, classroom transformation, and establishment of reading corners/libraries was initiated to ensure that all pre-primary teachers have the required teaching qualities for this level of education.
Moreover, the publication of different storybooks for children was made available to schools for each pupil to enhance learning through reading and writing. Each school was also provided with a set minimum of wooden teaching and learning materials (squares, cubes, triangles, abacus, dice, cards, number tree, number blocks, games, puzzles, etc.) to facilitate effective teaching and motivate children’s participation in the learning process.
Several indigenous programs were conducted to assess the effectiveness of community engagement in child play and learning in Tanzania. The program conducted in the two regions of Pwani and Kagera show that the practice of the interactive approach in early years promotes a child’s development in all domains. In this program parents and teachers participated by emphasizing plays, songs, proverbs, and storytelling to promote the development of children’s higher mental function. The program revealed that during child-rearing, play with songs and narration can involve parents and caregivers together to promote active learning. This involvement helps children enjoy learning freely and happily, learning skills such as listening, speaking, problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity.
Plays, songs, and stories can also be used as effective tools during child-rearing practices and learning to identify children with special needs as early as possible. A sensitive caregiver will note the deviation of a child in play, raising the possibility of special attention. Through plays one can observe improper hand-eye coordination, poor communication, poor body movement, immature or inconsistent memory, poor vision, and impaired hearing. This is a convincing argument to use interactive methodologies in child-rearing practices as well as in teaching and learning to promote the child’s higher mental function among children in Tanzania.
