[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-600543-105":3,"doc-detail-600543-en":81,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":99},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","early-childhood-care-and-education-in-zambia-an-integral-part-of-educational-provision","Early Childhood Care and Education in Zambia - An Integral Part of Educational Provision?","","The article examines the policy push for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in Zambia and questions whether its rapid expansion is premature and harmful to an already fragile primary education system. It uses qualitative interviews with 48 primary school teachers and headmasters to evaluate the current conditions in Zambia’s primary schools. The study situates ECCE advocacy within international education reform, highlighting concerns that funds may divert from urgent needs, while stressing that contextual factors must guide reforms.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/early-childhood-care-and-education-in-zambia-an-integral-part-of-educational-provision/600543/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/early-childhood-care-and-education-in-zambia-an-integral-part-of-educational-provision/600543.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"OmBimo","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-05","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",5,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What is the article’s central question about ECCE in Zambia?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"It investigates the call to expand ECCE in Zambia and whether creating and developing ECCE programs may be premature and potentially damaging to the primary education system.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the study gather evidence?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The authors draw on qualitative interviews with 48 primary school teachers and headmasters across rural and urban areas.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Why does the article caution against unrestrained promotion of ECCE?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It argues that ECCE expansion could siphon funds from glaring existing needs within Zambia’s education system, even though ECCE can benefit children’s educational experiences.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},600543,1792191617,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",{"doc_id":79,"user_id":84,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":85,"doc_module":4,"category_id":86,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":87,"file_id":88,"file_url":89,"file_type":90,"file_size":91,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":92,"language":93,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":94,"faqs":95,"seo_title":96,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":97,"read_time":98},962090893581,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c",8,"Early Childhood Care and Education in Zambia: An Integral Part of Educational Provision?  \nCarolyn M. Thomas  \nMillersville University  \nMatthew A. M. Thomas  \nEducational Development Center  \nThe field of international development has recently been consumed by a shift in contemporary educational discourse, one that moves Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) closer to the forefront of what is considered progressive policy formation. In Zambia, the current educational environment seems to indicate that the creation and continued development of ECCE programming may be premature and potentially damaging to an already tenuous primary school education system. This article aims to interrogate the call for ECCE programs in Zambia, using evidence from the existing situation in primary schools in the country as the basis, drawing on qualitative interviews conducted with 48 primary school teachers and headmasters. The authors, considering the implications of the current educational situation, question the unrestrained promotion of ECCE in Zambia, which has the potential to siphon funds from glaring needs already in existence within the educational system.  \nThe field of international development has recently been consumed by a shift in contemporary  \neducational discourse, one that moves Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) closer to the forefront of what is considered progressive policy formation. International aid agencies, such as the World Bank, WHO, UNESCO, UNICEF, DfID and others (Freeman & Dooho, 2003), have promoted the creation and expansion of ECCE programs in developing nations, often relying on research from Northern nations as a means to form an “objective” theoretical foundation (Penn, 2004) in support of its advancement. Many developing nations, including Zambia, have been caught in this storm of educational policy reform and have, consequently, demonstrated a new commitment to educational provision for pre-primary students. While ECCE is ultimately a beneficial component of a child’s educational experience (Aidoo, 2006), a myriad of educational and contextual factors must be considered before governments leap into sweeping national educational reform. In the case of Zambia, the current educational environment seems to indicate that the creation and continued development of ECCE programming may be premature and potentially damaging to an already tenuous education system.  \nThis article aims to interrogate the call for ECCE programs in Zambia, using evidence from the existing situation in primary schools across the country as the basis. The first section contains pertinent background information regarding Zambia’s educational history and policies. The second section draws on qualitative interviews conducted with 48 primary (grades 1-7) and basic (grades 1-9) school teachers and headmasters from both rural and urban areas. Publicly-funded ECCE is a relatively new concept in Zambia and it is, therefore, necessary to understand the primary schooling situation, as primary schooling has been free in Zambia since 2002 (Global Campaign for Education, 2004; Sampa, 2005) and is much more established than ECCE in general. The last section considers the implications of the current educational situation, as well as questions the unrestrained promotion of ECCE in Zambia.  \n© 2009 Current Issues in Comparative Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Current Issues in Comparative Education, Vol. 11: 6-14.  \nEarly Childhood Care and Education in Zambia  \nECCE Background and Policies  \nZambia is a democratic republic located in Sub-Saharan Africa, having gained its independence in 1964 from Great Britain following forty years of direct rule by the British (Küster, 1999) . Immediately after independence, the state government acquired almost total control of the educational system and quickly expanded it; the University of Zambia was opened in 1966 and during the next ten years, five new primary teache","cbCaiatCa5kUjCI2","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiatCa5kUjCI2","pdf",175452,9,"English","# Introduction\n# ECCE Background and Policies\n# Purpose and Research Approach\n# Findings and Implications","[{\"question\":\"What is the article’s central question about ECCE in Zambia?\",\"answer\":\"It investigates the call to expand ECCE in Zambia and whether creating and developing ECCE programs may be premature and potentially damaging to the primary education system.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the study gather evidence?\",\"answer\":\"The authors draw on qualitative interviews with 48 primary school teachers and headmasters across rural and urban areas.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the article caution against unrestrained promotion of ECCE?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that ECCE expansion could siphon funds from glaring existing needs within Zambia’s education system, even though ECCE can benefit children’s educational experiences.\"}]","Early Childhood Care and Education in Zambia - An Integral Part of Educational Provision? | PDF",1792090901,23,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":100},[101,105,109,113,117,122,127,130,134,137,141],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":114,"show_sort_weight":115,"slug":116},"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":119,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":86,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":128,"slug":129},30,"research-report",{"id":92,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":131,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":133},"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":135,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":136},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":138,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":139,"show_sort_weight":138,"slug":140},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":142,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":143,"show_sort_weight":55,"slug":144},19,"General","general"]