E ARLY C HILDHOOD E DUCATION AND L EARNING

The readiness of children for primary school can be improved through early childhood education programs such as preschools. Early childhood education programs include programs that have organized learning components; they do not include those characterized primarily as baby-sitting or day-care programs, which typically do not include organized learning activities. In the 2014 CDHS, women with a child born in the five years before the survey were asked questions regarding early childhood education and learning. In the case of women with more than one child under age 5, questions referred to the youngest child.

The data show that 15 percent of children age 36-59 months are attending an organized early childhood education program (Table 15.1). Children living in urban areas (36 percent) are much more likely to attend an early childhood education program than children living in rural areas (11 percent).

Participation in early childhood education varies substantially by province, from a high of 40 percent among children in Phnom Penh to a low of only 5 percent among children in Pursat. Considerable differences are observed by mother’s education and household wealth quintile. Only 7 percent of children whose mothers have no education attend an early childhood education program, as compared with 26 percent of children whose mothers have a secondary education or higher. Thirty-eight percent of children living in the richest households attend an early childhood education program, compared with only 7 percent of children in the poorest households.

It is recognized that a period of rapid brain development occurs in the first three to four years of life and that the quality of home care is the major determinant of a child’s development during this period.

In this context, the amount of “quality time” adults spend with children, the presence of children’s books in

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the home, opportunities for play to stimulate the imagination, and conditions of care are all important indicators of quality of home care. Children should be physically healthy, mentally alert, emotionally secure, socially competent, and ready to learn.

Information on a number of activities that support early learning was collected for children age 3-4 who were living with their mothers. The activities asked about focused on the involvement of adults with children in the following activities: reading books or looking at picture books; telling stories; singing songs; taking children outside the home, compound, or yard; playing with children; and spending time with children naming, counting, or drawing things.

Table 15.2 shows the percentage of children age 36-59 months who engaged with an adult household member in activities that promote learning and school readiness within the three days prior to the survey. Fifty-nine percent of children engaged with an adult household member (including parents) in four or more such activities.

The average number of activities in which adults engaged with children was 4.6. Nearly all (92 percent) children age 36-59 months live with their biological fathers; of these children, only 9 percent engaged with their father in four or more early educational activities. The average number of activities in which fathers involved themselves with children was 1.1. The involvement of mothers in early childhood learning activities was somewhat better than that of fathers. Seventeen percent of children engaged with their mothers in four or more such activities, with an average of 1.7 activities.

There was only a slight difference between boys and girls with respect to adults’ engagement in activities that promote learning and school readiness. A larger percentage of children in urban areas (72 percent) than rural areas (57 percent) engaged with adults in early education activities. Strong differentials are observed by educational level of the mother and father, as well as by socioeconomic status. The percentage of children who have an adult engage with them in four or more learning activities rises steadily with increasing parents’ education and increasing household wealth. For example, 73 percent

of children living in the richest households had an adult engage with them in four or more learning-related activities, as opposed to 48 percent of those living in the poorest households. Patterns by background characteristics in fathers’ and mothers’ involvement in such activities were similar.

Table 15.1 Early childhood education

Percentage of children age 36-59 months who are attending an organized early childhood education program, according to background characteristics, Cambodia 2014

Background

1 Not including baby-sitting or day care

Table 15.2 Support for learning

Percentage of children age 36-59 months living with their mothers with whom adult household members engaged in four or more activities that promote learning and school readiness during the last three days, the mean number of such activities, and engagement in such activities by biological fathers and mothers, according to background characteristics, Cambodia 2014

Background

1 Including parents or other adult members of the household

2 Including the following activities: reading books or looking at picture books; telling stories; singing songs; taking children outside the home, compound, or yard;

playing with children; and spending time with children naming, counting, or drawing things

Exposure to books in the early years not only provides children with a greater understanding of the nature of print but may also give them opportunities to see others reading (e.g., older siblings doing schoolwork). The presence of books is also important for later school performance. Mothers of children age under age 5 were asked about the number of children’s books or picture books they have. By stimulating the imagination, play also contributes to brain development. Mothers were asked what items

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children play with, including homemade toys, toys purchased from a shop, and other household objects or objects found around or outside the home.

In Cambodia, only 4 percent of children under age 5 have at least three children’s books (Table 15.3). One factor that contributes to the relatively low figure is that questions were asked about the woman’s youngest child under age 5. Consequently, Table 15.3 does not adequately reflect older children in this age group but, rather, is disproportionally based on younger children.

No differences are observed between boys and girls. A higher percentage of urban than rural children have access to three or more children’s books (11 percent and 3 percent, respectively).

Table 15.3 also shows that 34 percent of children under age 5 play with two or more types of playthings: homemade toys (including dolls and cars), toys purchased from a store, and household objects (such as pots and bowls) along with objects and materials found outside the home (such as sticks, rocks, animal shells, and leaves). Nearly 1 in 2 children (48 percent) play with toys that come from a store, while 23 percent play with homemade toys. The percentage of children who play with two or more types of playthings is higher in urban areas than in rural areas. This percentage increases with increasing mother’s education and household wealth.

Table 15.3 Learning materials

Percentage of the youngest children under age 5 with three or more children’s books and percentage who play with various types of playthings, according to background characteristics, Cambodia 2014

Percentage of children who have 3 or more children’s books

Percentage of children who play with:

Background Battambang/Pailin 3.6 8.9 52.6 43.3 33.1 449

Kampot/Kep 1.4 20.6 30.8 18.2 23.0 232