Low-fee private schools for early childhood care and education? Insights from Zambia in the context of economic globalisation

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. © 2023, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning and Springer Nature B.V.