Table 1 Studies on ECEC benefits and the quality of ECEC in refugee contexts in LMICs

Akar (2019)

Syrian refugee children in Jordan and Lebanon

Regional Holistic Education Programme (RHEP), designed and launched by Caritas Austria in 2015 in Lebanon and Jordan

4 formal (pre)schools in Jordan, 7 formal (pre)schools in Lebanon and 7 non-formal centres in Lebanon; education staff, principals/directors, school counsellors and psychologists, parents, children

Qualitative study (document analysis, analysis of interviews and observations)

ECEC quality: Focus on literacy and numeracy, and socio-emotional learning (positive behaviour, empathy, and staying clam); creative and physical activities seen as recreational. Lack of opportunities for exploration, active learning

Educator refugee background supports parent partnerships and relationships with children

Akar et al. (2017)

Syrian refugee children in Jordan and Lebanon

ECEC programmes provided by NGOs for Syrian refugee children and vulnerable children from host communities

3 (pre)schools and 3 NGO centres, representatives from 8 NGOs and the Jordan government, 2 academics in the field of ECD; programme directors, principals, teachers, social workers, when possible, children

Qualitative study (document analysis, analysis of observations and interviews)

ECEC benefits for literacy and numeracy skills, attitude towards school, social skills and communication, overcoming emotional and behavioural problems

ECEC quality: Stronger focus on preparation for school and instructional learning in formal provision, instability of ECEC offer in non-formal settings. Need for educator training on refugee contexts

Dalrymple (2019)

Burundian refugee children in refugee camps in Tanzania

Plan International Tanzania’s Child Friendly Schools (CFS) programme; delivered by educators trained by iACT in Little Ripples teacher training

70 children aged 5 participating in the programme, 36 teachers who had received training, 38 parents of children participating in programme

Quantitative and qualitative data and analysis (surveys, child and adult focus group discussions)

ECEC benefits for learning outcomes and behaviour, and in parent value for early learning

ECEC quality: Lack of resources, success of training and mindfulness to improve learning and behaviour

Erdemir. E. (2021a)

Vulnerable communities including Syrian refugee and local children, in Turkey, south-eastern Anatolia region

Summer Preschool Programme to promote developmental wellbeing and school readiness of children from refugee and poverty-backgrounds

711 children aged 5–6 participating in the summer preschool intervention programme

Pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design with intervention and comparison group, each including refugee and local children (child assessments)

ECEC benefits for early academic skills, Turkish language skills, and social–emotional outcomes. Intervention group: fewer problems in emotion regulation and behaviour problems than comparison group. Local children more progress in pre-literacy and -numeracy, refugee children more progress on language skills than comparison groups

Erdemir, E. (2021b)

Syrian refugee children in a resettlement community in Istanbul/Turkey

see above

36 children aged 5–6 who competed the summer preschool programme

Qualitative study (child interviews)

Community Cultural Wealth framework

ECEC benefits for children’s cultural wealth capital, seen in behaviour inside and outside ECEC, impacting positively on relationships and learning

Erdemir, E. (2021c)

Syrian refugee children and their mothers in a resettlement community in Istanbul/Turkey

see above

32 mothers whose 5–6-year-old children completed the programme

Qualitative grounded theory study (parent interviews)

Transactional theory of Child Development

ECEC benefits for cognitive, language, socio-emotional, and self-care development. New skills taken to home environment, changes in parent concept of child and parental practices

iAct (2015)

Refugee children from Darfur, Sudan in refugee camps in Eastern Chad

Little Ripples (LR) iACT’s comprehensive ECEC programme for 3–5-year-olds. In this study implemented in home-based settings (Little Ripples Ponds)

134 children aged 3–5 and their caregivers registered in the programme

Longitudinal study, assessing change from baseline assessment to follow-up one year later within one group of children with ECEC attendance (child assessments, parent reports)

ECEC benefits in areas of children’s cognitive and socio-emotional development, health and hygiene routines

Jesuit Refugee Service & iACT ()

See above

see above

117 children aged 3–5 attending six Little Ripples Ponds and their caregivers

see above

ECEC benefits in areas of children’s cognitive and socio-emotional development, health and hygiene routines; ECEC as a safe place

Mbidde & Oguniyoi (2019)

Refugees and host communities in settlements and communities in Northern Uganda

Support for ECD centres through a project implemented by Right to Play, with the aim of improving access and quality of ECEC for refugee and host community children

337 children at preschool age attending 6 ECD centres targeted by the project (60 children per centre randomly selected), 30 educators (5 per centre), 3 district education officials

Quantitative cross-sectional evaluation, plus qualitative data (child assessments, observations, and adult interviews)

ECEC quality: ECEC as a safe place, with educators focusing on creating a safe and supportive learning environment; some understanding of play-based learning but educators not fully supported in their implementation by training or curriculum plans

Shah (2016, 2020)

Refugee children from South Sudan (Dinka ethnic group) in refugee camps in Uganda

Plan international's Community-Led Action for Children (CLAC) model for early learning or preschool education

126 children aged 3–6 participating in the ECEC programme, and 74 children in the comparison group; 30 educators, 30 parents, 3 key informants, 2 NGO staff members, 2 community leaders

Quantitative cross-sectional quasi-experimental design (parent reports), plus qualitative data (to answer other research questions, not included here)

Vygotsky’s social-cultural theory and the human capital approach

ECEC benefits in communication, gross motor and fine motor skills, cognitive skills and personal-social skills (all in favour of the intervention group)

Smith (2015)

Refugees (mainly) from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a refugee settlement in Western Uganda

Comprehensive preschools linked to Child Friendly Centres (CFC) and supported by UNICEF and the Ministry of Education

Cross-section of 22 private and community based ECEC centres, 3 government officers, parents and members of the ECD Centre Management Committees, government officials, focal persons, and partners (n = 145)

Qualitative case study (observations, interviews, and focus group discussions)

ECEC benefits in early cognitive development, literacy and numeracy skills, language and communication, and social skills. Recovery from trauma through art and play

Educator knowledge that is transferred back to the households and community, and changes in child behaviour, leads to changes in parenting practices and increase in value of early learning. Programme led to communities coming together, strengthening of group bonds

Tanaka (2013)

Karen refugee children from Myanmar in refugee camps on the border to Myanmar, Tak province of Thailand

Community-led preschools, with the support of an international NGO. Providing a safe and sanitary space, meals, and a child-centred curriculum

331 children aged 2–5 randomly selected from 35 classrooms (n = 331)

Cross sectional, quasi-experimental design, comparing differences in child outcomes between children with more than 1 year attendance, versus those with less attendance (educator reports/checklists)

ECEC benefits: Higher scores on the psychosocial development scale (total score) (in favour of the group that had attended ECEC for longer)

Tobin, et al. (2015)

Migrants and refugee children with Karen, Burmese, and Shan language backgrounds in a refugee community at the Thai–Myanmar border

Montessori classroom focusing on child-directed learning and the use of specifically designed Montessori materials, versus ECEC classrooms following the Thai ECEC curriculum

66 children aged 3–6 attending two types of ECEC (convenience sampling)

Longitudinal study to test for differences from baseline to follow-up (educator reports)

ECEC benefits: At follow-up, children at the Montessori school lessened or closed the gap across five domains, but differences in improvement from baseline to follow-up were significant only for personal-social development

UNICEF (2018)

Refugee children from South Sudan in a refugee settlement in northern Uganda

Early childhood programmes in ECEC centres and child friendly spaces, participating in training on the use of EDC Kits. Foundational or enhanced (engaging parents in toymaking) ECD Kit training

7975 children aged 3–6 attending 20 ECEC classrooms across 6 ECEC providers, representative sub-samples of educators (n = 104), parents (n = 252) and management committee members (n = 42)

Formative and longitudinal evaluation (including field observations, focus groups, interviews and a survey), with data collection at 3 time points

ECEC benefits in children’s language/literacy and numeracy skills, socio-emotional development, and hygiene practices. During later interviews, prents focused to a lesser extent on recovery from trauma or stress

Recognition of how play supports children’s learning

VSO Bangladesh (2019)

&

Laxton, et al. (2020)

Rohingya refugee children in a refugee camp in Cox Bazar, Bangladesh

ECEC programme (MESH; Mapping Educational Specialist Knowhow), developed by the VSO Bangladesh team with the support of national and international volunteers to improve the quality of provision

Subsamples of providers and parents of children aged 3–5 participating in the programme (350 parents for a survey, 10 parents and 6 children for a focus group, 10 providers for observations, 13 educators and 6 community leaders, implementers, and staff members for interviews)

Explorative case study, qualitative and quantitative data (interviews, focus groups, observations, document analysis, survey)

ECEC benefits for early academic skills, language, socio-emotional-, physical- and motor development, and improvement in behaviour

ECEC quality: Children engaged in activities. Educators highly engaged in verbal interactions, preparing materials to support their teaching and making use of strategies to introduce topics. Parents satisfied with the teaching strategies, content, and materials, and the relationship skills of educators

Educator training supports pedagogy and lesson preparation