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Bangladesh’s Early Childhood Education Settings’ School Preparation Depends on Parental Socioeconomic Status: An Empirical Study

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Abstract

Parental involvement with children is crucial for children’s school readiness. The inequality in Early Childhood Education (ECE) results in an intellectual divide among children aged 3–5 in Bangladesh. Additionally, cognitive and non-cognitive development significantly contributes to school readiness. This case study research gathered information from 68 parents, 25 supply-side stakeholders, and classroom and school observations to comprehend the current state of school readiness of children in Bangladesh. This research finds that private tutoring has become a popular approach to preparing children for school because parents are less involved with their children. The insufficient preparation for ECE instructors and the infrequent contact between parents and teachers increase parental ignorance of their child’s school readiness. The research highlights some significant elements of the settings of ECE which needs to be advanced and recreated that are favorable to the development of young children, such as learning materials, the surroundings, the curriculum, and peer interactions.

Résumé

L'implication des parents auprès des enfants est cruciale pour la préparation des enfants à l'école. L'inégalité dans l'éducation de la petite enfance (EPE) entraîne une fracture intellectuelle chez les enfants âgés de 3 à 5 ans au Bangladesh.AQ1 De plus, le développement cognitif et non cognitif contribue de manière significative à la préparation à l'école. Cette étude de cas a recueilli des informations auprès de 68 parents, 25 parties prenantes du côté de l'offre éducative et des observations de classes et d'écoles pour comprendre l'état actuel de la préparation à l'école des enfants au Bangladesh. Cette recherche révèle que les cours particuliers sont devenus une approche populaire pour préparer les enfants à l'école parce que les parents s’impliquent moins en ce qui concerne leurs enfants. La préparation insuffisante des moniteurs d'EPE et les contacts peu fréquents entre parents et enseignants augmentent l'ignorance parentale de la préparation scolaire de leur enfant. La recherche met en évidence certains éléments significatifs des cadres d'EPE qui doivent être avancés et recréés et qui sont favorables au développement des jeunes enfants, tels que le matériel d'apprentissage, l'environnement, le programme et les interactions avec les pairs.

Resumen

La participación de los padres con los niños es crucial para la preparación escolar de los infantes. La desigualdad en la Educación de la Primera Infancia (ECE) resulta en una brecha intelectual entre niños de 3 a 5 años en Bangladesh. Además, el desarrollo cognitivo y no-cognitivo contribuye significativamente a la preparación escolar. Esta investigación de estudio de caso recopiló información de 68 padres, 25 partes interesadas del lado de la oferta y observaciones escolares para comprender el estado actual de la preparación escolar de los niños en Bangladesh. Esta investigación encuentra que la tutoría privada se ha convertido en un enfoque popular para preparar a los niños para la escuela porque los padres están menos involucrados con sus niños. La insuficiente preparación de los instructores de ECE y la escasa frecuencia del contacto entre padres y maestros aumenta el desconocimiento de los padres acerca de la preparación de sus hijos para la escuela. La investigación destaca algunos elementos significativos de los escenarios de ECE que necesitan avanzar y ser reformulados para que sean favorables para el desarrollo de los niños pequeños, como los materiales de aprendizaje, el entorno, el plan de estudios y las interacciones entre pares.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during the analyzed of the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks Ryoso-Kai, Kobe University, Japan [grant number 15i1502i], for supporting this field study. The author is especially indebted to Professor Dr Keiichi Ogawa for his valuable feedback and helpful comments during the article’s drafting process.

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  1. Department of Japanese Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Md Jahangir Alam

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Alam, M.J. Bangladesh’s Early Childhood Education Settings’ School Preparation Depends on Parental Socioeconomic Status: An Empirical Study. IJEC (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-023-00352-3

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