Early Childhood Development

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A comparison of verbal skill and cognitive performance of children having high educated versus low educated parents in urban and rural context
(BRAC University, 4/21/2010) Sarkar, Ratan Kumar; Hassan, Dr. M Quamrul; Britto, Dr. Pia Rebello
A qualitative study on mental health and caregiving practices of parents of children with special needs
(BRAC University, 2024-05) Islam, Md. Taifur; Yesmin, Sakila
To explore the mental health issues and caregiving practices of parents of children with special needs, a qualitative study was conducted. 8 in-depth interviews (IDIs) and one focus group discussion (FGD) with both parents of 3-8 years children who were selected purposively in Dhaka city. The content analysis method was followed to analyze the data. The findings show that maintaining a secure attachment with children, prioritizing their interests, and spending quality time and following daily routine with them are the most common practices among the parents. Mothers were more involved in caregiving practices than fathers. Parents mentioned common mental health issues like frustration, anxiety, and stress. Some parents also experienced social anxiety, panic attacks, and obsessive compulsive disorder. The study also revealed that parents faced challenges in child rearing practices, such as lack of family and social support, managing children's behavior, lack of institutional care and knowledge about child rearing. Most parents coped by accepting the situation, practicing self-care, and seeking help from mental health professionals. The study suggested a holistic approach, including parental care, family support, social services, institutional care, and government, NGO, and other organizations, to meet these challenges and provide healthy living for both the child and caregiver.
A review of policy documents on Early Childhood Care and Education of Bangladesh and Nepal for comparative analysis of their policies and interventions strategies
(BRAC University, 3/10/2011) Hossain Miah, M.Tofazzel; Haq, Professor Nazmul
The history of comprehensive Early Childhood Development in Bangladesh and Nepal does not date back to a long time. Both the countries recognize the importance of 'Whole Child' development. It is relatively a new area combining health. nutrition. security, early childhood education, stimulation, social, emotional and physical development. The pre-natal care of the child is also related to mother and post-natal care including related comprehensive interventions. Good quality early childhood programs have positive impact on survival. growth. development and further learning in primary education and beyond. Governments have the primary responsibility to formulate early childhood policies and guidelines. Through these policy documents, the vision, goals, objectives, interventions and expected results of the government are expressed. The ECCE documents also contain the program contents, modalities of organization, operation, coordination. monitoring and institutional arrangements to implement policies.
A study of mothers’ knowledge and practices on children’s feeding and nutrition in the early years
(BRAC University, 2023-04) Fatema, Shuvra; Khan, Farasha
Nutrition plays a major role is a person’s life and it is the essential element for overall growth and development, beginning at conception and continuing throughout life. It has a significant impact on a child’s development. Lack of nutrients in any stage of a child’s life can hamper their proper physical and mental development. Like some other developing countries, in Bangladesh, child malnutrition is still a serious public health problem. It is one of the major risk factors for mortality among young children. Starting from birth onwards, children are extremely sensitive to what and how they are fed. Thus, this study aimed to explore the feeding knowledge and practices of children’s mothers who are the prime caregivers of children. Here, mothers from different educational backgrounds with similar socioeconomic status were studied and their knowledge and practices towards early childhood nutrition in the context of the urban area of Dhaka city were explored. The study is a descriptive quantitative study conducted on 45 mothers who were selected via a purposive sampling technique. Data for this study was collected through a web survey. The study followed two main research questions, which are, mothers’ feeding knowledge of nutrition for children aged 3 to 5 years and the feeding practices (nutritional support), that are provided by the mothers. The study found the differences in understanding, nutritional knowledge, behaviors & practices on child’s nutrition of 3 to 5 years aged children. The study also significantly highlighted that for working mothers, child feeding decisions and practices are influenced by their time and work pressures. The study also found a significant number of mothers, despite having an understanding of nutrition and how childhood malnutrition could be prevented in terms of their feeding practice, sadly do not practice their nutritional knowledge.
A study of present practices and challenges of fine arts and crafts education in primary schools of Dhaka city
(BRAC University, 2021-02) Shuva, Sudipta Das; Anwar, Nafisa
This study is about finding out the present practices and challenges of Fine Arts and Crafts education in the primary schools of Dhaka city. The main problem that it addresses is about some gaps in the system. Our education policy mentions about taking different steps to address fine arts and crafts subjects. However, there are some differences in implementing and practicing what it has been said in the policy. This is where the gap lies in and this study intends to know more about that. Hence, this study aims to find out present practices and the challenges associated with fine arts and crafts, so that it can come up with a holistic overview of the education system in terms of these subjects and pave the way for further research in this regard. For understanding the present practices and challenges, this study collected data through two different methodologies which are interview and observation. The research participants included the arts and crafts teachers and the primary school students especially from grade 3 to grade 4. The study found that the schools have different strategies to implement these subjects. Another finding of the study is that some schools try to follow the curriculum in case of teaching these subjects, while most of the schools do not use the curriculum. Besides, the study also found that there are several challenges including shortage of trained teachers and other relevant resources and so on. The recommendations that this study came up with includes, making the use of curriculum mandatory for arts and crafts subjects, should keeping a fixed budget for supporting the practices of these subjects from both the government and the school authority in case of private schools, and doing further intensive quantitative and qualitative researches on these subjects to find out more details about the practices of these subjects in a broader perspective.
A study on Bangladesh primary education curriculum to explore peace education and their components
(BRAC University, 2021-09) Amer, Asif; Saha, Somnath
The world is undergoing a massive crisis that can be described as a "peace crisis." This can be seen in the rise of violence and conflict in society, even among youth. To prevent violence and conflict and to instill the correct mentality necessary for social cohesion from an early age, "Peace Education '' is thought to be critical in early childhood education. This study was conducted to ascertain the steps, actions, contents, and practices of Bangladesh's progress in realizing peace education in the primary education curriculum and textbooks. To realise the study, as the primary research tool document analysis was used to perform detail analysis on the social science textbooks and curriculum of grades one to five in Bangladesh primary education. Five in-depth interviews with teachers were performed to ascertain their perspectives on peace education and its current state in primary education. Additionally, the areas for improvement for peace education material have been identified to develop a resilient new generation that is extraordinarily strong in the face of conflict and violence. The findings indicated that peace education is available in a minimal and disorganized manner in Bangladesh primary education. There has been minimum intervention from government to train instructors or give expertise, in the area of peace education, but there have been a few instances of NGOs providing training independently. However, to establish a standard of peace education, appropriate curricular inclusions are required. As a recommendation, it has been urged that peace education to be recognized as a formal teaching material that should be methodically and fully integrated into the curriculum. It is proposed that teachers should have enough pre- and post-service training on peace education and its teaching methods, as well as access to an appropriate guideline. This would aid in the development of togetherness, brotherhood, and empathy for nations' actions against conflicts through peace education.
A study to explore mother‟s perception about 2-6 years children‟s behavior influenced by prolonged screen time in Dhaka city
(BRAC University, 2019-11) Jany, Tahmina; Khan, Mohammad Safayet
Innovation in technology has made gadgets and devices an integral part of our everyday lives. Every household from different economic background has some sort of gadgets that they use for either entertainment or for communication. It is inevitable for children not to become part of this new era gadget culture. Children are exposed to different types of gadgets from the moment they are born. In U.S.A 29% of children use tech gadgets as toddlers and 70% master them completely by primary school age. In developed countries many researches were done and still being conducted about children‘s gadget usage and screen time to ensure children‘s proper healthy growth and to inform parents about right ways to let their children use gadgets. In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended no T.V at all for kids under 2 and only two hours a day for older kids. In Bangladesh, not very many researches were done on children‘s gadget or screen usage. There is no guidance from the government for Bangladeshi parents to exercise with their children about gadget use or screen time. The research and findings found in western world has associated screen time with sleep disorder, developmental delay, attention issues, school readiness, problems with social connectedness, violence, less connectivity, sleep disorder, obesity, sedentary behavior and less family bonding. In Bangladesh screen time and gadget usage among children is relatively newer concept than western world. Therefore, advantages and disadvantages of using gadgets are coming into light recently. Considering the importance of this issue, this study was done in Dhaka City to understand mother‘s perception and practices at home with gadgets with their preschool age children. This study will give us insight into mother‘s perception and practices about gadget usage among preschoolers. The objective of this study is to explore mother‘s perception on whether their 2-6 years old children‘s behavior influenced by prolonged screen time and practices at home. This is a qualitative study. Data was collected through qualitative data collection methods. It used In-Depth Interview (IDI) and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) as data collection method with the mothers of Dhaka city. Open ended questionnaire for IDI and FGD was used. The study used purposive sampling for selecting four (4) mothers from different socio-economic background and two FGD groups consisting of 6 mothers in each group and these two group represents two different social economic class. Content analysis was used for data analysis. The findings of the study gave us a vivid understanding of mother‘s perception about gadget or screen usage among their children. From both the IDIs‘ and FGDs‘ it seemed like mothers are using gadgets as ―babysitters‖ to control their children while they are eating or acting out in a social gathering. They also claimed that screen is being used as a source of entertainment due to the lack of child friendly activities in the town and absence of secured play area. This situation has made it impossible for children not to use electronic devices to engage themselves during their leisure time. Many parents expressed that when children are using devices they tend to be focused into the device, quiet and sitting which gives the parents opportunity to do their own chores or work. Some mothers said it is easier to feed their children if the children are watching screen during meal time. The usage of screen has increased among children in recent years which has finally started to show side effects and now parents are confused if screen or excessive gadget usage are the reason for their children‘s sedentary behavior, less sleep, less attention, obesity, less social connectedness, speech delay etc. problems. Many mothers think being able to use gadgets is a smart thing for their children without realising that children will suffer from its side effects. However, research findings have shown that, screen time, in particular, television viewing, has been negatively associated with the development of physical and cognitive abilities, and positively associated with obesity, sleep problems, depression and anxiety. Numerous researches have linked excessive screen time with socializing, cognitive and behavior issues. In this research, mothers showed positive attitude towards their childrens‘ usage of devices. Not all mother is informed about the issues that will arise due to excessive usage of screen and we are creating a generation who will lack social connectedness and other life skills. However some of the mothers are aware and thinks gadget use or screen time should be controlled by parents and children should not use gadgets or screen excessively. Mothers were confused about how much time they are supposed to allow their children to use gadgets as it was really very tough to control gadget or screen time of their children. There is no government guidelines for parents of Bangladesh to follow about this topic. Mothers do think there should be more awareness raising workshops where parents can get more information in this subject matter.
A SWOT analysis of pre-primary program in slums of Dhaka city run by Surovi (NGO).
(BRAC University, 2011-02) Alam, Md. Farhad; Rahman, Prof. A S M Atiqur
Adaptation of Preschool Language Scale-4 (PLS-4) for screening language development of Bangla Speaking Children
(BRAC University, 2012-01) Alam, Md. Jahangir; Sarker, Prof. Profulla C.
An evaluation study on provision of motor development within preschool program in Grameen Shikkha (GS).
(BRAC University, 2011-07) Chowdhury, Md. Tariqul Islam; Akhtar, Farida
An exploratory study on parents’ perception of online learning for preschoolers
(BRAC University, 2021-12) Tasnim, Zarrin; Khan, Mohammad Safayet
During the COVID-19 pandemic online learning has been one of the key methods of education for children as they have spent most of their time at home. This study explored the perception of parents on online learning for the preschoolers where 203 parents from English medium schools in Dhaka city of Bangladesh participated in an online survey. The data collected was analyzed in SPSS (version 20) and descriptive statistics was used to describe the findings. For parents, online learning is a means of keeping their children active during the pandemic but it is not an effective tool for education. Parents did not believe online learning was beneficial to their children. They also seemed to be concerned about the harmful effects of increased screen time on children.
Assessment of safe child friendly environment of day care centres in government and non government organizations of Dhaka city
(BRAC University, 7/30/2011) Afreen, Fahmida; Khanam, Dr. Wahida
Child rearing is defined as `purposive activities aimed at ensuring the survival and development of children. Urban working mothers, mostly from low-income groups, face great difficulty in terms of accessing child day care services. Most of them are forced to leave their children unattended in their slum dwellings exposing the children to great risk and inadequate nutrition. The solution is only a good day care centre for the children of all working mother. A good day care centre means the centre which can ensure proper child care and having a child friendly environment. As in Bangladesh, the concept of day care is still new, but the good thing is that it is being started. This study was aimed to assess the environment of the day care centres of Dhaka city in both Government and Non Government setting. And at the same time, to evaluate the knowledge of the caregivers about child development in early childhood. Total 10 day care centres were taken as sample and from these centres, 20 caregivers were interviewed. The study showed that only 20% centres were with the facility of a good out door play ground for the children; which is necessary for the urban children for their physical development. 40% centres had appropriate room size for the children and only 20% centres had good child related display or decoration. They had safe drinking water in their centres, but the water management was not really hygienic. Of all, 80% centres were not using separate water glasses for the children. Among the all centres 80% were following their daily routine but only 20% of them were strictly following the routines. Food support is an important item for a day care centre and among 10 day care centres, 40% centres were with good quality food support. As in these 40% centre, they had cooking facility for the children and they also consider children's need and test to prepare food. In the rest 60% centre, mothers were providing food for their children. Among caregivers, 50% had formal training on ECD and they have idea on early childhood development. Assessing their knowledge regarding child development, child rearing and caring, and the caregivers had good knowledge on physical (75% to 80%) and social emotional (60% to 70%) development but they did not have much idea regarding language development (55% to 75%) and cognitive development (only 50% to 55%). The study showed that among the ten studied centers 90% were of average category ( score 96-116) and rest 10% centres were of inadequate category( score 71-95). But as an initiative; the day care viii facilities were relatively good. It is better for the children to stay in day care cantre rather than keeping alone at home. However, still there is scope for further improvement of child friendly environment of the day care centres in our country.
Assessment of teacher readiness for the children with disability in the context of mainstreaming primary schools
(BRAC University, 4/21/2010) Khanam, Mst Mstakima; Haq, Prof. Nazmul
Association of mother-child attachment with maternal mental health in early years
(BRAC University, 2020-12) Ruma, Umme Ruman; Yesmin, Sakila
A mentally distressed mother fails or sometimes takes more time to establish a strong mother-child attachment. The purpose of this quantitative research was to explore the relationship between maternal mental health and mother-child attachment of the urban mothers in the early years. Mothers who had children of 0-2 years of age completed three self-reported questionnaires such as SES Questionnaire, GHQ, MAI using a digital platform. Findings show that 49.41% mothers are found distressed and COVID-19 pandemic is the underline cause of this highest percentage. Some other factors including lack of time for self-care, domestic violence, low income, mother’s physical illness, lack of mothers financial freedom are associated with maternal mental distress It is also revealed a negative relationship between maternal distress GHQ) and mother-child attachment (MAI), but not statistically significant (p=0.094). This finding emphasizes the importance of understanding maternal mental health state difficulties to ensure a holistic development for their children.
Bullying in early years at school: case study
(BRAC University, 4/30/2014) Nazmi, Sheikh Nishat; Dutta, Mitul
Bullying is an old, widespread and worldwide problem. According to Pinheiro (2006); Bullying is recognized as a form of violence in schools as well as in educational institutions. Several negative long term consequences both for students who bully and for their victims were reported in different literatures for years. School, teachers, and the rights of a student to learn in a safe environment without fear may get affected by bullying. People in different countries have different perceptions on bullying concepts and bullying may occur in different forms; verbal or physical aggression. The effects of being bullied and bullying others in elementary school on education, health and risky behaviors were also investigated in several researches (Vlachou, Andreou, Botsoglou, & Didasakalou, 2011; Synder, Brooker, patrick & Synder, 2003; Kirves & Sajaniemi,2012).It has also been found that being bullied and bullying reduces GPA by around 20o/o of its standard deviation (Eriksen, Nielsen & Simonsen, 2012). The objective of this research was to gain insight about the effect of being bullied based on student's individual experience. This study was a qualitative research where three cases have been developed based on real experience ofthree students from early grades' Their parents were also interviewed in reference to their experience. Themes have been discussed to gain deeper understanding on bulling incident in the context of Bangladesh. While exploring nature of bullying in early childhood, most of the bullying was found in the form of physical bullying and verbal bultying and place of bulling incident is inside the school. The aggressive behavior of bully and playing pattern was found mostly as reason behind bullying or being bullied. Hence, a gender difference in bullying also found that boys are more likely to be involved in bullying and being bullied. Effects of bullying on students as individual was studied rigorously based on three student's experience. It has been found that, bullying effected children not only physically but also they get depressed and in some cases suppressed. As bullying is a social phenomenon, it was found that children tended to avoid bully or socially withdraw. Moreover. different findings came about teachers' perception and their management of bullying incidents. Parents'understanding on bullying incident was also come into light. Based on findings a set of recommendations were developed for school level, for teachers and also idea for a larger scale study was suggested to develop anti-bullying programme.
Caregivers’ perception on children learning self-regulation in daycare
(BRAC University, 2024-05) Sultana, Kawsar; Tasnim, Zarrin
This study looks into carers' perceptions of 3-5-year-old children learning self-regulation in the daycare and their parents' involvement. This study also looks into the challenges that carers face in daycare settings while practicing self-regulation with the children. Numerous studies highlight the significance of self-regulation for children's cognitive and behavioral development, allowing them to act freely, manage themselves, and interact according to social standards without adult supervision. In this case, carers play an important role in assisting students to develop self-control through activities. The study included 13 participants who took part in seven in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion at four nursery facilities. This study revealed that carers have a general understanding of self-regulation and its importance in early childhood. The study additionally found that one daycare center offers learning opportunities for all types of children, with different activities tailored to their cognitive and developmental stages. Carers' positive understanding of giving children words of importance and offering alternative options fosters a supportive environment. The study suggests incorporating self-regulation skills into daycare curricula and providing teachers with additional training in child development facts. The findings also suggested that more research into parents' perspectives and direct assessments of children's abilities is needed to gain a better understanding of this study.
Caring for the career: understanding the emotional and self care experience of parents raising children with special needs
(BRAC University, 2025-12) Tuly, Shahanara; Imran, Mostak Ahamed
Parents raising special needs children often face complex emotional, psychological, and physical challenges that can deeply affect their well-being. This study explores the emotional experiences and self-care practices of these parents, emphasizing how care giving responsibilities intersect with personal identity and resilience. Using qualitative methods approach, the research highlights patterns of emotional fatigue, guilt, and social isolation, alongside emerging strengths such as adaptability, empathy, and advocacy. Findings suggest that while many parents struggle to prioritize self-care due to overwhelming demands, supportive networks and targeted interventions can significantly improve emotional health and quality of life. The study calls for healthcare professionals, educators, and policymakers to adopt a holistic framework that recognizes caregivers’ needs as integral to family-centered care. Understanding the emotional landscape and self-care strategies of parents raising children with special needs not only informs best practices in support programs but also promotes sustainable care giving and family well-being.
Checklists for the components of a Model Day Care Center
(BRAC University, 1/12/2012) Siddique, Jennifer; Sarker, Dr. Profulla Chandra
Child Rearing practices of children with disabilities
(BRAC University, 7/10/2011) Rahman, Md. Mahbubur; Khanam, Dr. Wahida
Childhood obesity in early years: parental perceptions in Dhaka city
(BRAC University, 2020-12) Sultana, Sadia; Mehnaz, Ashfi
Children who are obese are at a higher risk of developing serious health problems and may suffer from psychological effects. Parents play a key role to control weight-related disease and health effects of children. The study is a descriptive qualitative study conducted on 6 parents (3 mothers and 3 fathers) who were selected by purposive sampling. The purpose of the study is to explore parent’s perception (knowledge, attitude and practice regarding food habit, life style, physical activities etc) about childhood obesity in yearly years through research questions. Data was collected through in-depth interviews through phone calls. The data was organized and managed through transcription and analyzed through content analysis- categorization, coding, and organized according to themes and sub-themes. The study found that educated mothers and fathers had an understanding of childhood obesity and they are aware of the key causes of childhood obesity, such as food habit, lack of physical exercise, lack of opportunities for play, TV/mobile phone addiction. The findings showed mothers and fathers were fairly mindful of the effects of obesity. The study found that, sedentary lifestyle due to parent’s work life imbalance and urbanization children’s more inclination to unhealthy food habits and don’t get opportunities to play. The study showed that parents have knowledge on how childhood obesity could be avoided but their practices does not fully reflect the knowledge they have in this regard. There is a need for behaviors modification program both in terms of food habits and doing physical exercises and also strong need for policy and initiative for lifestyle reform. Government should take necessary measures to establish play spaces for our possible future citizens and more study in this area is needed.