Over the past two decades, Ghana has achieved near-universal enrolment of children in two years of preschool. However, significant quality challenges persist, with fewer than half of preschool-aged children developmentally on track in literacy and numeracy. These issues are particularly marked in rural and high-poverty areas.
The NGO Lively Minds (LM), founded in 2008, has developed a parent-powered Play Scheme that aims to improve young children’s learning and development in rural communities. A Ghana Education Service-Lively Minds parenting course, delivered by teachers through existing government systems, trained mothers in rural communities to provide quality early childhood development both at home and at preschool.
A research team carried out a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of the LM programme in rural preschools in Ghana between 2017-2019, to study the impact on children and participating mothers. They found that parenting knowledge and practices improved among the participating mothers; the cognitive development of pre-school students increased; problem behaviours (particularly among boys and among children of participating mothers) were reduced; and participating mothers did not report any adverse effects on their wellbeing.
After the initial RCT evidence, Ghana Education Service is delivering the programme in 64 districts in Northern Ghana, and nationwide scaling has now begun
In this Thrive in Conversation webinar, representatives from GES, Lively Minds and the research team discuss the RCT findings and implications with Thrive host Marlies Morsink. The scaling journey of this parent-powered Play Scheme, and the role of evidence in the process, will be explored along with the potential next steps.
Session recording
Speakers
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lively Minds
Alison founded Lively Minds in 2008 following a trip to Ghana where she saw the complex challenges facing rural communities and huge opportunities for change. She spent several years living in Ghana and Uganda, working with mothers and children in rural communities to design, test and optimise the programme, and then later to work out how to scale it.
Alison previously worked as a lawyer in central government, working in the Treasury Solicitor’s Department, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Defence.
Deputy Research Director, Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)
Professor in the Department of Economics, University of Manchester
Sonya Krutikova’s research interests are in the areas of economics of education, as well as labour and development economics. She works on understanding the drivers of intergenerational persistence of disadvantage with a focus on the role that human capital plays. Sonya’s research spans lower- and middle-income settings, as well as high-income contexts, with a key cross-cutting theme of how to translate knowledge into context-appropriate policy designs. As part of her research, Sonya conducts large-scale randomised control trials of government programmes and longitudinal observational studies, as well as utilising existing survey and administrative data sets.
Director for Early Childhood Education,
Ghana Education Service
Adisa Tassa is the National Director for Early Childhood Education at the Ghana Education Service, where she leads efforts to strengthen foundational learning for young children. She holds an MPhil in Business Administration, a Master of Education in Mentorship, a Master of Arts in Guidance and Counselling, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She previously served as Municipal Director of Education for Ayawaso East and Ga Central, demonstrating strong leadership and sound judgment. Known for her resilience, empathy, and results driven approach, she is committed to supporting teachers, improving learning environments, and advancing inclusive, high quality early childhood education across Ghana.
Host
Thrive Deputy Programme Director,
Oxford Policy Management
Marlies Morsink has a background in programme management and impact evaluation in low- and middle-income countries, and is co-author of Attributing Development Impact: The Qualitative Impact Protocol (2019). She holds a Masters in Social Policy Research from the University of Bath and is a Fellow at the university’s Centre for Development Studies. She holds an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and previously worked in investment finance.
About the series
We know that investing in early childhood is transformative for both children and societies in low- and middle-income countries, but there are gaps in our knowledge about how to move from pilot to scale and how to ensure long-term quality.
The exchange of insights and ideas between researchers and policymakers is a vital part of bridging these gaps – ensuring that new research addresses the questions most relevant to national decision makers, and that early childhood development policies are grounded in evidence about what works at scale.
This discussion series from Thrive brings together policymakers, practitioners and researchers to explore the latest evidence related to scaling early childhood development programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Conversations will explore the key takeaways from research highlighted in the Thrive What to Read newsletter and delve into how new evidence can help to inform diverse policy and research agendas associated with scaling.
Attendees can take part in live Q&As with leading experts and be part of a growing community of knowledge shaping the future of early childhood development programming.
For the latest research related to designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating scalable early childhood development programmes in low- and middle-income countries subscribe to the monthly Thrive What to Read newsletter.
The Thrive 2025 scientific conference on scaling early childhood development programmes and policies in low- and middle-income countries, brought together early childhood development researchers, practitioners, funders and policymakers to exchange ideas. Revisit keynote presentations and other sessions from across the conference here.