Evaluation of outdoor environment and early childhood development promoting practices in kindergartens in Kawempe division

Abstract

Background: The outdoor environment is essential for physical, social, cognitive and emotional development of young children. However, the inadequate outdoor settings in Uganda kindergartens hamper progress towards the goals outlined in vision 2040, like having a healthy, skilled and productive population. Objective: This study evaluated the outdoor environment and early childhood development promoting practices in kindergartens within Kawempe Division. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, utilizing the Pre-primary Outdoor Environment Measurement Scale (POEMS) checklist to gather quantitative data on outdoor environment characteristics. In-depth interviews with six stakeholders provided qualitative insights into societal influences on outdoor quality. A sample of 46 kindergartens was selected using the Leslie Kish formula, with data analyzed using STATA version 16 for quantitative aspects and thematic analysis for qualitative data. Results: The majority of kindergartens (89%) were rated as sub-optimal, with only 11% meeting optimal standards. The evaluation revealed sub-optimal levels in key domains across a considerable proportion of kindergartens: physical environment (87%), program (97%), play and learning setting (96%) and teacher’s/caregiver’s role (52%). All kindergartens achieved optimal levels in the interaction domain. Factors negatively associated with outdoor quality included having fewer than 100 pupils (AOR 0.060; p=0.019) and teachers with 0-10 years of experience (AOR 0.042; p=0.020). Qualitative findings highlighted leadership commitment, staff competency, community involvement, resource constraints, inequality in access, urban pressures, and policy challenges as key societal influences. Conclusion and Recommendations: The study found that most kindergartens have sub-optimal outdoor environments, limiting children's holistic development. Recommendations include: improving outdoor quality through the development of a division-specific kindergarten curriculum and providing a policy framework specific with outdoor environment guidelines for pre-primary schools.