Effectiveness of reception class teachers’ pedagogical approaches in delivering pre-primary curriculum – Evidence from practice

Building on the recommendations of the Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE) of 1994 (Republic of Botswana 1994), a much more robust and comprehensive early childhood development and education roadmap was developed into the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy of 2001 (Republic of Botswana 2001). The later policy harmonised all early childhood care and development activities and delineated ages 0–21⁄2 for day care, 21⁄2–4 for day-care/nursery and 4–6 for pre-primary development. According to the policy, there were minimum standards to be met for all aspects of delivery. A curriculum for pre-primary was developed by the Ministry of Background: This report is part of a study commissioned to provide evidence to inform quality improvements, and the rolling out of the public reception class programme (RCP) to all public primary schools in Botswana by 2020. The study adopted the Discrepancy Evaluation Model (DEM) as a theoretical framework.