Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/229296 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2020/72
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
This paper investigates the short- and medium-term impact of a randomized groupbased early child development programme targeting parents of children aged six to 24 months in a poor, rural district of Rwanda. The programme engaged parents through sessions that included a radio show and facilitated discussions during 17 weekly village-level meetings. Twelve months after baseline, children's communication, problem-solving, and personal social skills improved in treated groups. After almost three years, the effects on child development outcomes in the full treatment group persisted (by 0.18 SD). The intervention also resulted in increases in maternal time investments in both the short and the medium term, as well as improvements in parents' perceptions about their self-efficacy and influence over their child's development. A linear mediation analysis shows that 20 per cent of the positive changes observed in child development can be attributed to the increase in time mothers spent engaging with their children.
Subjects: 
early child development
parenting programme
radio
randomized controlled trial
Rwanda
JEL: 
I15
I25
J13
O15
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-829-0
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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