Bitew, Wohabie Birhan
2 Publications in AERD
Author Publications
Export PDFExploring pretend play and creativity development among preschool children in Northern Ethiopia: a collective case study
By Bitew, Wohabie Birhan
The early childhood stage is a time of basic foundation in which children are engaged in pretend play and creative activities. The objective of this study was to explore the role of pretend play on the creativity development of preschool children. Data were collected from four purposefully selected preschool children (two male and two female) whose mean age is 6.25 years. These children were attending their preschool education in two private schools found in South Wollo Zone, Dessie Town, Northern Ethiopia. A qualitative case study approach was used to conduct the study. Semi-structured interviews and non-participant observations were employed to collect data while children were engaged in outdoor and indoor activities. Children’s drawings, storytelling and singing were recorded. Narrative and thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Children were creative in drawing pictures of a person using lines, dots and circles and storytelling. The pictures were representations of the children themselves or one of their family members. The creative stories have moral education themes. This implies that play and creativity are inseparable activities for children. Preschool teachers need to allow children to engage in pretend plays to promote creativity. © 2023 ASPE.
The status of early childhood care and education in northwest Ethiopia: an investigation from quality perspective
By Sewagegn, Abatihun Alehegn
The main objective of the study was to investigate the status of early childhood care and education (ECCE) from a quality perspective using concurrent mixed-method research. Participants of this study were 161 teachers and 35 principals (total 196) from government and private preschools and 4 supervisors. A questionnaire, observation, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions were used to collect the data. Data gathered through questionnaires were analysed quantitatively, while qualitative data analysis was used for data collected through observations, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The quantitative result showed that most preschool teachers have no training in ECCE. The qualitative data confirmed that poor infrastructure; less involvement of parents; unqualified teachers; absence of harmony in curricula between private and government preschools; problems related to hygiene; and poor quality assurance strategies were the major challenges. In conclusion, the status of early childhood care and education in the selected sites is poor. Therefore, capacity-building programmes targeting teachers' training and fulfilment of developmentally appropriate outdoor and indoor facilities are priority areas of intervention.
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