Systemic barriers and quality enhancement priorities in early childhood care and education (ECCE): Insights from South Punjab, Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71085/joclsi.04.02.83Keywords:
Early Childhood Care and Education, Systemic Barriers, Quality Improvement, Teacher and Caregiver Perceptions, South Punjab, PakistanAbstract
This paper examined systemic issues that influence the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) and investigated the views of practitioners on the quality improvement areas in South Punjab Pakistani public schools. The mixed-method design was used to collect data on 150 ECCE teachers and caregivers using a structured questionnaire with five open-ended questions. The quantitative data were examined by descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, and regression analysis, and the qualitative responses were analysed according to their themes. The results demonstrated significant problems in the areas of classroom management, curriculum and teaching resources, infrastructure and learning environment, and administrative and professional support. A big number of students in classes, lack of training in contemporary teaching aids, insufficient play materials, and poor administrative support became major obstacles. Nevertheless, the respondents gave a resounding support to the strategies of improvement like trained staffing, continuous professional development, parental involvement, and greater government funding. Qualitative information supported the supportive settings, practical training and workload reduction to support ECCE provision. Study finds out that the ECCE should be systemically reformed to achieve sustainable improvement and proposes specific investment in workforce capacity, infrastructure, and governance that can bring about quality improvement.
Downloads
References
Behera, C., & Acharya, A. K. (2024a). Early childhood care and education: A systematic literature review in Indian context.
Blum, S., & Dobrotić, S. (2023). Early childhood education and care in times of COVID-19. Handbook of Care Policies. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar.
Britto, P. R., Yoshikawa, H., & Boller, K. (2011). Quality of early childhood development programs and policies in global contexts: Rationale for investment, conceptual framework and implications for equity. Social Policy Report, 25(2), 1–23
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard university press.
Buckley, L., Martin, S., & Curtin, M. (2020). A multidisciplinary community-level approach to improving quality in early years settings. SAGE Publishing.
Carbonell, C., Adegbulugbe, A. A., Cheung, W. Y., & Ruff, P. (2024). Barriers and challenges to implementing a quality improvement program: Political and administrative challenges. JCO Global Oncology.
Egert, F., Fukkink, R., & Eckhardt, A. G. (2018). Impact of in-service professional development programs for early childhood teachers on quality ratings and child outcomes: A meta-analysis. Early Childhood Education Journal.
Ghosh, S. (2023). Does the early childhood education and care in India contribute to children’s skill development? Wiley.
Gibbs, L. (2021). Leading through complexity in early childhood education and care. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood.
Hatzigianni, M., Stephenson, T., Harrison, L., Waniganayake, M., Li, H., Barblett, L., Hadley, F., Andrews, R., Davis, B., & Irvine, S. (2023). The role of digital technologies in supporting quality improvement in Australian early childhood education and care settings. Springer Nature.
Herut, A. H., & Setlhako, M. A. (2024). A review of policy frameworks for advancing pedagogical competence of preschool teachers in Ethiopia. The Partnership.
Irvine, S., Lunn, J. O., Sumsion, J., Jansen, E., Sullivan, V., & Thorpe, K. (2023). Professionalization and professionalism: Quality improvement in early childhood education and care (ECEC). Early Childhood Education Journal.
Kaur, A. (2019). Quality early childhood care and education in India.
Khan, N., Bhatti, M. A., Hussain, K. S., & Bano, S. S. (2017). Early childhood education in Pakistan: A research study. Academy of Educational Planning and Management, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training.Mahadew, A. (2024). Challenges in early childhood care and education in impoverished rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Interdisciplinary Journal of Rural and Community Studies.
OECD (2021), Starting Strong VI: Supporting Meaningful Interactions in Early Childhood Education and Care, Starting Strong, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/f47a06ae-en.
Oke, A., Butler, J. E., & O’Neill, C. (2021). Who would bother getting a degree when you would be on the exact same pay and conditions...? Professionalism and the problem with qualifications in early childhood education and care: An Irish perspective. Early Childhood Education Journal.
Phillips, A. (2025). Supporting early childhood education and care workforce and service quality through governance practices. Education Sciences.
Pillar, L. J., & Haricharan, S. J. (2023). Early childhood care and education in Botswana: Implications for access and quality. University of Johannesburg.
Raikes, A. (2023). Using early childhood data and measurement to leverage change: Are we making progress? Journal of Research in Childhood Education.
Raikes, A., Rao, N., Yoshikawa, H., Cohrssen, C., Behrman, J. R., Cappa, C., Devercelli, A., Boo, F. L., McCoy, D., & Richter, L. (2023). Global tracking of access and quality in early childhood care and education. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy.
Rashid, M., Fatima, M., Azmat, M., & Mahmood, T. (2025). Early Childhood Education in Punjab, Pakistan: Navigating Challenges and Exploring Solutions–A Narrative Review. The Critical Review of Social Sciences Studies, 3(1), 2214-2228.
Samuel Hall (2023), Review of Early Childhood Education (ECE) Models in Pakistan. Commissioned by Samuel Hall.
Siddique, S., & Aurangzeb, W. (2024). Need and Provision of Early Childhood Education (ECCE) in the National Educational Policies of Pakistan. Journal of Early Childhood Care and Education, 8(2).
Singh, A., & Venugopal, K. (2025). Thematic approach in early childhood education: A critical examination of its theoretical foundations, pedagogical implementation, and future directions. RESEARCH REVIEW International Journal of Multidisciplinary.
Slot, P. (2018), “Structural characteristics and process quality in early childhood education and care: A literature review”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 176, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/edaf3793-en.
Stein, R., Garay, M., & Nguyen, A. V. (2022). It matters: Early childhood mental health, educator stress, and burnout. Early Childhood Education Journal.
Swati, S., Bibi, T., & Hussain, K. S. (2023). Critical analysis of early childhood education in Pakistan. Journal of Contemporary Trends and Issues in Education, 2(3), 96-115.
Thomson, E. (2025). Wicked problems in early childhood education: Navigating workforce, equity and trust. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood.
Tilbe, Y. T., & Gai, X. (2022). Teacher-child interactions in early childhood education and its effects on social and language development. Early Child Development and Care, 192(5), 761-774.
UNESCO. (2021). Right from the start: build inclusive societies through inclusive early childhood education. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000378078
UNICEF. (2019). A world ready to learn: Prioritizing early childhood education. United Nations Children’s Fund.
Downloads
Published
Data Availability Statement
The data will be available on a reasonable request for research purposes.
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Muhammad Rafiq-uz-Zaman (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The Creative Commons-Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 4.0 International applies to all works published by Journal of Childhood Literacy and Societal Issues. Authors will retain copyright of the work.
