LAO PDR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROJECT SNAPSHOT ONE: PROJECT BACKGROUND AND BASELINE DATA DEMOGRAPHICS This is the first of four snapshot reports presenting preliminary findings from the Early Childhood Education Study. The ECE Study was initiated to evaluate the Early Childhood Education Project in Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR). This snapshot describes demographic information of the 7,520 children in the baseline sample, including where and how they live. THE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROJECT Lao PDR has sustained robust economic growth and significant poverty reduction over the past decade. Despite these achievements, economic disparities persist across the country’s diverse ethnic groups and geographical areas. Education, including early childhood education (ECE), is a priority for the Government of Lao PDR, however, coverage of ECE remains insufficient, with services and resources varying considerably across geographic, socio-economic and ethnic dimensions. This translates into disparities in child development outcomes and long-term implications for the human development of the country. ECE is one of the most cost-effective and equitable interventions, and is demonstrated to improve school readiness which in turn leads to decreased dropout and repetition rates, increase educational attainment and improve learning outcomes. In the long term this leads to improved skills, increased labor force productivity and higher incomes. Based on such evidence, the World Bank Group has provided funding of USD 28 million through an International Development Association (IDA) Grant (USD 14 million) and IDA credit (USD 14 million) The project has three key components: 1) increase to the Government of Lao PDR for the Early Childhood the coverage of ECE through provision of grants and Education Project. The ECE Project seeks to support the training for the construction of up to 250 pre-primary expansion of quality ECE services, with the objective of classrooms, as well as the establishment of community improving the overall development and school readiness child development groups (CCDG) across 71 locations; of children aged 3-5 years in disadvantaged villages 2) improve the quality of ECE services through training across the country. LAO PDR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROJECT  SNAPSHOT ONE: PROJECT BACKGROUND AND BASELINE DATA DEMOGRAPHICS 1 for teachers, caregivers and community members, FIGURE 1. PROVINCES IN WHICH BASELINE DATA WERE COLLECTED the development of training and pedagogical materials, as well as the provision of support services such as disability screening and school lunches; and 3) project management, capacity development, and monitoring PHONGSALY and evaluation at all levels of ECE. OUDOMXAY Included within the scope of the funding to the HOUAPHANH Government of Lao PDR is an independent evaluation of the project’s impact on a range of child outcomes, XAYABOURY including both cognitive and non-cognitive development. As part of the evaluation, data has been collected across BORIKAMXAY the northern provinces of Lao PDR to provide information on the current status of ECE participation and child VIENTIANE CAPITAL outcomes prior to the project’s implementation. This is the first of four snapshots developed to present results from the baseline data collection. This first snapshot presents information on the social, demographic and economic situation of families with young children in Northern Lao PDR, the second snapshot presents information on the health and nutrition of children, the third provides information on the skills, knowledge and development of children, and the fourth provides information on availability, access and use of services that support early childhood health and education. 2 LAO PDR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROJECT  SNAPSHOT ONE: PROJECT BACKGROUND AND BASELINE DATA DEMOGRAPHICS BASELINE DATA COLLECTION TABLE 1. NUMBER OF VILLAGES AND CHILDREN FROM EACH DISTRICT AND PROVINCE Baseline data were collected from November 2015 to PROVINCE DISTRICT NUMBER OF NUMBER OF March 2016 from families in 7,355 households across VILLAGES CHILDREN five provinces, 14 districts and 376 villages in Northern Phongsaly Khoua 26 500 Oudomxay La 14 300 Lao PDR (see Table 1). There were 7,520 children Namor 40 780 who completed a direct assessment measuring their Beng 17 360 development, while their primary caretakers provided Houn 12 240 information on child health, nutrition, development, Parkbeng 6 120 Houaphanh Viengxay 36 720 education and parenting practices. Data were also Houa Meoung 42 840 collected from each village and household head, Xam Tai 36 720 including family demographic information and the Sobbao 39 780 availability of services and facilities in each village. Meoung at 41 820 Kouan 30 600 Together, these data provide a comprehensive picture Xaiyabouly Saysathan 20 400 of the environments in which children in Northern Lao Borlikhamxay Saychamphone 17 340 PDR are growing up, and how these environments impact children’s early development. Electricity: More than half of the villages accessed electricity from government electrical grids (55%), 32% VILLAGES of villages had a mini hydropower generator supporting Village access: Villages were relatively remote, and while their households, 8% used solar cells, 1% used battery almost all could be accessed by car in the dry season (97%), generators, and less than 1% had a private electrical only just over half could be accessed by car in the wet generator. A small number of villages (4%) did not have season (53%). access to electricity. Water: The majority of villages used drinking water LAO PDR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROJECT  SNAPSHOT ONE: PROJECT BACKGROUND AND BASELINE DATA DEMOGRAPHICS 3 6% experienced flood, 2% experienced a storm and another 2% experienced aridity. Additionally, a few villages experienced robbery or damage to a bridge (each <1%). On the positive side, 15% had new schools established, 8% had new roads built and 2% had a new health center established. The establishment of a new pre-primary classroom, a new teacher house, a new factory/industry, electricity for the community, a canteen room for children at school, a new temple, a market or a new village office were experienced by 1% of villages. HOUSEHOLDS Composition: Households ranged in size from 2–21 members, with the majority of households comprising 2–5 members (41%) or 6–10 members (52%). A smaller number of households had 10–15 members (7%), and fewer than 1% of households had 16–21 members. Building Materials: Houses were made from a range of different materials. The majority of roofs were made from tiles (51%) and zinc alum (32%), while some were also made from grass (10%), wood (6%), leaves (2%) and concrete (<1%). Most house walls were made from wood (65%), while some were also made from bamboo (18%), bricks/cement (17%) and zinc alum or plywood (<1%). Floors were made from wood (35%), dirt (28%), cement (23%), bamboo/leaves (9%), tiles (5%) and ceramic (<1%). from trenches/drainage pipes (90%), while 91% also used this same water source for washing and cleaning. Socio-economic Status: Households were asked about Villages reported using river water for drinking (39%) and their assets in order to demonstrate socio-economic washing/cleaning (62%), as well as container water for status. The majority of households (72%) reported owning drinking (23%). Few villages reported using well water for agricultural land and at least one duck or chicken (80%), drinking (9%) and washing/cleaning (11%), underground a motorcycle (76%), pig (71%) and mobile or landline water for drinking (4%) and washing/cleaning (5%) and phone (75%). Many households also owned at least one rainwater for drinking (1%) and washing/cleaning (5%). cow or buffalo (50%), television (46%), a car, motor boat or tractor (26%). Few households owned at least one Sanitation: Villages were often using a combination goat (11%), bicycle (10%), radio/cassette player (9%) and of sanitation processes, with 93% of villages having some horse (1%). Just 2% of households had experienced a households using pit toilets with a water flush, 21% of food shortage for two consecutive days in the past 12 villages had some households using a dry pit, and 68% of months. Similarly, 4% of households had been unable to villages had some households that were not using toilets. purchase enough clothes for their children in the past 12 months, while another 4% had been unable to purchase Important Events: While 44% of village heads reported enough books, stationery and toys for their children in that no important events had occurred in the village in the past 12 months. the past three years, 32% of villages had experienced crop damage, 9% experienced an epidemic, 9% experienced landslides, 6% experienced fire and another 4 LAO PDR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROJECT  SNAPSHOT ONE: PROJECT BACKGROUND AND BASELINE DATA DEMOGRAPHICS CARETAKERS FIGURE 2. CARETAKER EDUCATION Completed a Relationship to the Child: The majority of caretakers Completed Vocational Training 3% 1% Bachelor Degree or similar surveyed identified themselves as the mothers of the Completed High School 2% children being assessed (85%). The remainder were the children’s fathers (11%), grandparents (3%), aunts, uncles Completed Secondary and siblings (<1%). School 8% 30% No school Age: Caretakers ranged in age from 14-78 years old, with the majority aged between 20-29 years (57%). 28% were aged between 30-39 years and 15% aged Completed Attended but did not =40 years or over. Primary School 29% 27% complete Primary School Education and Literacy: Overall, caretakers had low FIGURE 3. CARETAKER LITERACY education and literacy levels, with 30% of caretakers Can read well 38% 45% Cannot read at all never having been to school, 27% had attended but not completed primary school, 29% had completed primary school, 8% had completed secondary school, 2% had completed high school and less than 1% had completed a bachelor degree. When asked to read a short sentence in Lao, 45% of caretakers were not able to read at all, 17% could read a little, and 38% could read the sentence well. Can read a little 17% LAO PDR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROJECT  SNAPSHOT ONE: PROJECT BACKGROUND AND BASELINE DATA DEMOGRAPHICS 5 TABLE 2. AGE AND GENDER OF CHILDREN AGE NUMBER OF MALE FEMALE CHILDREN (%) CHILDREN (%) CHILDREN (%) 2 years old 1,540 (21%) 52% 48% 3 years old 2,005 (27%) 51% 49% 4 years old 2,148 (29%) 51% 49% 5 years old 1,827 (24%) 51% 49% FIGURE 4. ETHNICITY Akha 4% 5% Other Phong 4% Prai 5% 30% Lao-Tai CHILDREN Age and Gender: Children ranged in age from 2–5 Hmong 27% 25% Khmun years; 51% were male and 49% female. As demonstrated in Table 2 there was a roughly equivalent number of children in each age group, as well as a roughly even Prai (5%), Phong (4%) and Akha (4%) ethnicities, while 1% number of males and females in each age group. or less of children were each Lao, Leu, Yang, Cingmoon, Kmer, Toum, Singsili, Hor or Ilmain ethnicities. Table 3 Ethnicity: The majority of children were Lao-Tai (30%), below presents children’s ethnicities across the five Khmun (25%) and Hmong (27%). Other children were of provinces. TABLE 3. NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN OF EACH ETHNICITY ACROSS PROVINCES ETHNICITY PHONGSALY (%) OUDOMXAY (%) HOUAPHANH (%) XAYABOURY (%) BORLIKHAMXAY (%) Lao-Tai 89 (18%) 204 (11%) 1806 (40%) 5 (1%) 123 (36%) Khmun 215 (43%) 1079 (60%) 530 (12%) 2 (<1%) 69 (20%) Hmong 4 (1%) 227 (13%) 1738 (39%) 1 (<1%) 73 (22%) Prai - - 1 (<1%) 368 (92%) - Phong - - 249 (6%) - 11 (3%) Akha 163 (33%) 167 (9%) - - - Lao - 17 (1%) - - - Leu 3 (1%) 53 (3%) - - 1 (<1%) Yang 16 (3%) - - - - Cingmoon 1 (<1%) - 79 (2%) 24 (6%) - Kmer - 27 (2%) - - 21 (6%) Toum - - - - 42 (12%) Singsili 9 (2%) 21 (1%) - - - Hor - 1 (<1%) - - - Ilmain - 3 (<1%) 77 (2%) - - TOTAL 500 (100%) 1800 (100%) 4480 (100%) 400 (100%) 340 (100%) 6 LAO PDR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROJECT  SNAPSHOT ONE: PROJECT BACKGROUND AND BASELINE DATA DEMOGRAPHICS NEXT STEPS FOR THE ECE STUDY: 1 Community Child Development Groups, which includes the delivery of community-based playgroups by training The results presented in this series of snapshot reports locally recruited “teachers” and building a CCDG hut represent the starting point (or “base line”) for the evaluation of the ECE Project. In 2018, the evaluation 2 Multi Age Teaching (MAT), which includes training team will conduct an “end line” survey to re-assess how local pre-school teachers to deliver the ECE curriculum well children in the studied villages have developed. to children aged 3–5 years in one class, as well as the Information will also be collected on enrolment, actual implementation of this approach attendance and performance of the children at school. It is expected that after the project has been implemented 3 Community Awareness Campaign (CAC), which for a couple of years in the studied villages, the children includes an early childhood health and development will have improved their health and development training course provided to the local Village Education status, skills and knowledge. The success (or failure) of Development Committees, who will then undertake the project to improve early childhood developmental community awareness training with parents in their outcomes will be evaluated by comparing key outcomes village of the children living in the villages where the project has been implemented with outcomes of children living Each of the different components of the ECE Project in other similar villages where the project has not been should have a positive impact on the health, development implemented. and skills of the children living in the villages. The results of the evaluation will inform the Government of Lao PDR As explained earlier, there are three different components about the project’s effectiveness (what works and what of the ECE Project and each of these elements will be does not work to support child health and development), evaluated separately. The three different components are: and help determine how to strengthen the quality of health and education projects in Lao PDR. LAO PDR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROJECT  SNAPSHOT ONE: PROJECT BACKGROUND AND BASELINE DATA DEMOGRAPHICS 7 FUNDING FOR THIS INITIATIVE: Funding for the ECE Project is provided by the World Bank Group through an International Development Association (IDA) Grant and Credit under the Early Childhood Education Project (P145544). Further funding to support the production of this series of snapshot reports has been provided through a partnership between the World Bank, Plan International and Save the Children International as part of the Lao Educational Access, Research and Networking (LEARN) Project, with funding from Dubai Cares under Externally Financed Output (EFO) Agreement EFO 990. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this brief do not necessarily represent the views of the Government of Lao PDR or the World Bank Group. Prepared by: Dr Sally Brinkman, Ms Alanna Sincovich, Mr Pedro Cerdan-Infantes, Mr Plamen Nikolov Danchev For more information about the ECE Project, visit: http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P145544/lao-prd-early-childhood-development- project?lang=en For more information about the study results, please contact Sally Brinkman: sally.brinkman@telethonkids.org.au For more information about the ECE Project, please contact Plamen Nikolov Danchev: pdanchev@worldbank.org The World Bank Country Office Education Global Practice Patouxay Nehru Road The World Bank P.O. Box: 345 1818 H Street, NW Vientiane, Lao PDR Washington D.C. 20433, USA Tel: (856-21) 266 200 Tel: (202) 4731000 Fax: (856-21) 266 299 Fax: (202) 4776391 www.worldbank.org/lao www.worldbank.org 8 LAO PDR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROJECT  SNAPSHOT ONE: PROJECT BACKGROUND AND BASELINE DATA DEMOGRAPHICS