Starting at the bottom: Towards the development of an indigenous school‐readiness program for South African children being reared at home

Abstract

The effectiveness of a home‐based enrichment program was assessed using 30 matched pairs of experimental and control group children aged around 5 years. The enrichment provided very poor families with educational materials thought suitable for the promotion of school‐readiness skills in a broad family context. Results suggest small to moderate effect sizes, though without statistically significant differences between experimental and control groups. Further enhancements to the enrichment program are recommended, though the initial model does suggest possibilities for effective low‐cost intervention.