When collecting children’s data in ECD centres, do you get individual parental consent or is teacher consent sufficient? If parental consent is required, what process did you go through to get it?
IDELA guidance requires caregiver and child consent before proceeding with the assessment.
Parental consent is gained in writing and IDELA offers a template consent form in the IDELA toolkit. Sometimes consent is given by caregivers in advance of data collection as local teachers will obtain consent for their students. Other times consent is given just before the assessment. In either case, caregivers are given a full explanation for what is being assessed and how the data will be used.
Child assent is gained before starting the assessment. The IDELA administration guide provides a script for explaining the assessment to the child. The child is free to give or not give their assent; no pressure should be used.
To see the full IDELA toolkit, including these consent resources, please sign up to become an IDELA partner my completing the IDELA MOU.