Abstract
In the past decade, the trend of “low-fee private schools” (LFPSs) for the poor has increasingly gained attention, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where governmental funding is insufficient to provide education for all. Up to now, research has tended to address this phenomenon in the context of primary and, to some extent, secondary education. Where research is particularly lacking is at the level of early childhood care and education (ECCE). Thus, while the present research note seeks, generally, to contribute to literature on the operation of LFPSs, its more specific goal is to share insights into the complexities, difficulties and in-equities that intersect with – and stem from – the provision of ECCE through LFPSs, above all in the context of insufficient public funding, low governmental capacity, and export-oriented economic globalisation. The findings reported emerged from a study of ECCE as provided by LFPSs in Lusaka, Zambia.
Résumé
Des écoles privées à faibles coûts pour la protection et l’éducation de la petite enfance ? Considérations de la Zambie dans le contexte de la mondialisation économique – Au cours de la dernière décennie, la tendance des « écoles privées à faibles coûts » (EPFC) pour les pauvres a suscité une attention croissante, en particulier dans les pays à revenu faible ou intermédiaire dans lesquels le financement gouvernemental est insuffisant pour assurer l’éducation pour tous. Jusqu’à présent, la recherche a eu tendance à aborder ce phénomène dans le contexte de l’enseignement primaire et, dans une certaine mesure, secondaire. La recherche fait particulièrement défaut au niveau de l’éducation et de la protection de la petite enfance (EPPE). Ainsi, alors que la présente note de recherche vise, de manière générale, à enrichir la littérature sur le fonctionnement des EPFC, son objectif plus spécifique est de partager des idées sur les complexités, les difficultés et les inégalités qui se recoupent avec – et découlent de – la prestation d’EPPE par les EPFC, en particulier dans le contexte d’un financement public insuffisant, d’une faible capacité gouvernementale et d’une mondialisation économique orientée vers l’exportation. Les résultats rapportés sont issus d’une étude de l’EPPE soumise par les EPFC à Lusaka, en Zambie.
Notes
This percentage of the budget is equivalent to about USD 300,000 (MESVTEE 2015).
See Okitsu and Edwards (2017) for more on community schools in Zambia.
This preference applies only to primary education; secondary government schools are seen as being of good quality.
In Lusaka, Chinyanja is designated as the medium of instruction in early childhood education and lower primary schools (Grades 1–4), despite Lusaka being a cosmopolitan environment characterised by language diversity.
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Edwards Jr., D., Okitsu, T. & Mwanza, P. Low-fee private schools for early childhood care and education? Insights from Zambia in the context of economic globalisation. Int Rev Educ 68, 897–910 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-023-09985-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-023-09985-x