Multi Stakeholder Interventions in Enhancing Early Childhood Care and Education in Lira District, Uganda

The paper aspires to assess different strategies for enhancing ECCE programme in Lira District after realizing that the district has statistics which cast doubt on the future of ECCE but very limited effort has been made to improve the enrolment, retention and completion rate. The study aims to address specific objectives that included determining the significance of local community efforts, government interventions, and CSOs interventions in enhancing ECCE programme in Lira district. All the four nursery schools in Agweng sub-county, Lira district were sampled through census, and a sample size of 59 respondents was selected through probability sampling techniques. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS and the findings reveal that government interventions (r=0.625, p<0.01) is more significant in enhancing ECCE programme; and results of linear regression reveals that both government Interventions (p<0.01, β= 0.49); and local community efforts (p<0.01, β= 0.38) are significant in predicting ECCE programme enhancement in Lira district with an adjusted R2 of 0.437. The study concludes that both government interventions and local community efforts would be very significant in enhancing ECCE programme in Lira district. The study recommends that Government of Uganda should consider offering financial support to the existing ECCE centers; undertake the creation of budget line or wage bills for ECCE care-givers; and undertake the establishment of ECCE learning centers in all government-aided primary schools in order to enhance the programme, not only in Lira district but to the entire country.

Early-Childhood Education, Strategies

1. Bridgman, G., & von Fintel, D. (2022). Stunting, double orphanhood and unequal access to public services in democratic South Africa. Economics & Human Biology, 44, 101076. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Chawla, L., & Rivkin, M. (2014). Early childhood education for sustainability in the United States of America. In Research in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (pp. 248–265). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Ebrahim, H. B. (2023). Complexities of men’s engagement in early childhood care and development in Africa. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 1–14. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Ejuu, G. (2021). Parental involvement in early childhood education discourse in Uganda. In Parental Engagement and Early Childhood Education Around the World (pp. 269–279). Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Ejuu, G., Locoro, V., Nandera, M., Omoding, M., Mafabi, L. W., Kutosi, G. W., & Kharono, I. (2022). Community’s knowledge, attitude and practices towards inclusive home based early childhood education in Uganda: Lessons for scaling deep. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 12(1), 1117. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Gonzalez, A. E. (2025). Reviving, Reimagining, and Reclaiming Cuba’s Colonial Musical Past in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Chicago). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Gordon, A. M., & Browne, K. W. (2015). California Edition Beginning Essentials in Early Childhood Education. Cengage Learning. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Gupta, A. (2022). Global and local discourses in India’s policies for early childhood education: Policy borrowing and local realities. Comparative Education, 58(3), 364–382. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Irani, J., Rujumba, J., Mwaka, A. D., Arach, J., Lanyuru, D., Idro, R., ... & O’Neill, S. (2022). ‘There Were Moments We Wished She Could Just Die’: The highly gendered burden of nodding syndrome in Northern Uganda. Qualitative Health Research, 32(10), 1544–1556. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Kassa, S. T. (2025). Exploring Professional Identity and Systemic Barriers in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in Centre-Based Daycare Settings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Moorthy, A. (2021). The effect of rainfall shocks on early childhood development in Uganda. Economics Letters, 200, 109764. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Odit, E., Okumu, B., Lajul, W., Opio, G., & Omara, D. (2023). School internal factors and teacher effectiveness in secondary schools in Lira District, Uganda. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 40(1), 44–51. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Pence, A., & Oduolowu, E. (2023). Promoting capacity and cohesion through the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU). In Stories and Perspectives from Africa Are Crucial for the Future of Early Childhood Care and Education (p. 167). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Pillar, L. J. (2021). The Pre-Primary Early Childhood Care and Education (EECE) Programme in Botswana: Understanding Its Accessibility and Quality. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Rahiem, M. D. (2021). Storytelling in early childhood education: Time to go digital. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 15(1), 1–20. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Rivero, P., & Pelegrín, J. (2019). What history do future teachers of early childhood education think is relevant? Cadernos de Pesquisa, 49, 96–119. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Shaik, N. (2022). Transforming teaching and learning in early childhood care and education during COVID-19 in a poor community of the Cape Flats, South Africa. Early Childhood Education Journal, 1–10. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Sintonen, S. (2020). Bringing mythical forests to life in early childhood education. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 7(3), 62–70. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Tesfaye, A. (2014). The Contribution of Community Based Early Childhood Care and Education Centers in Creating Access and Delivering Quality Education for Orphan and Vulnerable Children: The Case of Selected ECCE (Doctoral dissertation, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics. (2022). Annual Report 2022. Government of Uganda, Statistics House, Kampala, Uganda. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Tigabu, N. W. (2024). Early Childhood Care and Education Policy Implementation Analysis: The Case of Debre Tabor City. Library of Progress–Library Science, Information Technology & Computer, 44(3). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study