THE PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES OF PRESCHOOL PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND STAKEHOLDERS’ PARTICIPATION IN SNNPRS, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the practices and challenges of preschool program organization, management, and Stakeholders’ Participation in SNNPRS, Ethiopia. Accordingly, the study aimed in answering the following research questions; namely, stakeholders' participation, organization and management practices, and challenges of effective implementation of the program and employed a descriptive survey research design and methodology and gathered information from primary and secondary sources using qualitative and quantitative approaches. At an ultimate stage, 57 preschools were selected from sampled zones using multi-stage cluster sampling. Accordingly, 117 preschool teachers, 57 principals, and 487 preschool students were selected as elementary units of sampling. In addition, 8-10 parents, PTAs, and community members from selected schools were selected by using the availability sampling method, and concerned officials and experts from REB, ZEDs, and WEOs were included from targeted areas purposively. As instruments, the study used in-depth interviews, questionnaires, FGD, and field observation to collect data from respondents. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistical techniques of analysis using SPSS software. The result of the study strongly indicated that the organization and management of the program were not promising. In addition, the participation of parents and other stakeholders was also poor. Moreover, there was no separate structure, budget, and fully responsible personnel for the program. The study concluded that the problem of the above-mentioned factors contributed to the low success of program implementation. As recommended, the concerned stakeholders (REB, ZEDs, WEOs, CTEs, NGOs, private sectors, and communities) should work hard in collaboration and integration for the success of the program implementation.