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The discourse of quality in pre-primary education (PPE) programmes has gained prominence across the world and resulted into search for what it means as well as constituted from the stakeholders‟ understanding. This study explored the stakeholders‟ construction of quality of the PPE in Tanzania with special attention to policy as a discourse. The study was conducted in 15 public pre-primary schools of the Dodoma Urban District involving 21(two male and 19 female) PPE teachers, 101 parents (71 female and 30 male) and five primary school supervisors (two male and three female). It further involved one curriculum developer from Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) and one educational policymaker from the ministry of education and vocational training (MOEVT). The study sampled parents through convenience sampling technique, and teachers and experts were purposively selected through maximum variation sampling technique. The study used descriptive cross-sectional study design through a qualitative approach. Study findings were generated through semi-structured interviews, FGDs and documentary analysis. The findings suggested that, the quality of public PPE in Tanzania is poor and Stakeholders viewed it in three perspectives: i) quality as expectations; ii) quality as process or practice; and iii) quality as programme structure. Overall, stakeholders viewed PPE as an important early childhood provision for the future school life and participation in all walks of life. Additionally, stakeholders identified important indicators constituting the quality of the PPE to include: safe learning environment; well- qualified and committed teachers; small class-size; nutritional services; and good relationship between teachers and parents and the head teacher. Based on the study findings, it was concluded that physical visits by primary school supervisors, formal employment of teachers, and capacity building (pre and in-service training) are crucial to the provision of high quality PPE services. Furthermore, some recommendations were made by the study for improved practice, policy development and future studies. |
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