FSG’s Article on ECD in Indian Preschools Highlights IDELA

The Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences’ May issue “Special Issue: Implementation Research and Practice for Early Childhood Development” features several articles that highlight work involving IDELA. One article specifically discusses FSG’s use of the IDELA tool in their “Program to Improve Private Early Education” (PIPE). The article also emphasizes FSG’s work to examine and influence the demand side of preschool services, an angle underrepresented in studies of early childhood development.

Vikram Jain, Ahmed Irfan and Gauri Kirtane Vanikar detail how FSG adapted the IDELA tool to evaluate hundreds of students attending Affordable Private Schools (APS) in India and to identify areas in which the APS’s could be improved. PIPE intends to increase market demand for high quality preschool programs, an ambitious and innovative approach that calls for a fundamental shift in the perspectives of APS owners, APS teachers, low-income parents and the companies that provide solutions to schools. Demonstrating the advantages of Activity Based Learning (ABL) over rote-based learning to low-income parents will lead APS owners to prioritize this teaching style to attract these parents, in turn creating a demand for better trained teachers and well-resourced classrooms. In support of this goal, FSG added items to IDELA to highlight the difference in outcomes of ABL and rote learning.

Additional insight into FSG’s adaptation process can be found in the organization’s IDELA data visualization, presentation and case study. For those looking for programmatic insight, FSG offers an overview of PIPE on their own website, as well as a more in-depth report on how and why they selected and adapted the IDELA tool. FSG is not unique in their adaptation of IDELA; a number of other partners have also chosen to adapt IDELA to fit their programs’ and locations’ specific needs. The Community of Practice includes a discussion dedicated to addressing adaptation and translation questions.