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The effects of preschool participation on mathematics achievement of Grade 6 pupils in Uganda

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Abstract

The objective of this article is to investigate the effects of preschool participation on learning achievement and to estimate the optimal duration of preschool participation needed for pupils to perform their best in mathematics at the Grade 6 level in Uganda. The sample consisted of 2649 Grade 6 pupils, attending 82 schools across two rural districts of Iganga and Mayuge in Uganda. Understanding the relationship between duration of preschool participation and pupils’ future learning achievement is important to policies on preschool education in Uganda. Results from multilevel analyses show that preschool participation has positive impact on mathematics achievement of Grade 6 pupils. Results further showed that the positive impact of preschool on achievement seemed to level out after 2 years of preschool participation—meaning that 2 years was the optimal duration of preschool participation that was most helpful in boosting achievement. The implications of the finding to preschool education policy and practices are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the important contribution of African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) staff who participated at various stages of the development of this paper including data collection and processing, as well as giving valuable comments during the internal review process. We are also grateful to Professor Michael Lawson of Flinders University for his assistance in proof reading and editing of the manuscript. Funding for this study was provided by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Grant No. 2011-6393.

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  1. African Population and Health Research Center, P.O. Box 12987-20100, Nakuru, Kenya

    Njora Hungi

  2. African Population and Health Research Center, P.O. Box 10787-00100, Nairobi, Kenya

    Moses Ngware

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  1. Njora Hungi
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  2. Moses Ngware
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Correspondence to Njora Hungi.

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 2 and 3.

Table 2 Variables names, values and codes
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Table 3 Number of pupils involved in this study by variables of interest
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Hungi, N., Ngware, M. The effects of preschool participation on mathematics achievement of Grade 6 pupils in Uganda. Educ Res Policy Prac 17, 105–126 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10671-017-9218-y

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