Utilization of Early Child Development Schools for Childcare and Its Usefulness for Women’s Livelihood in Kasoa

Abstract

Socially constructed traditional roles largely give women the responsibility to care for children, which places a bigger burden on them than on men. Evidence in developed countries shows that the availability of Early Childhood Development Centers (ECDCs) is intimately linked to parental labor market participation and income, especially for women. Little is known about the role of ECDCs in developing countries, including Ghana. This study examines how the utilization of ECDCs affects women’s livelihood outcomes. The objectives of the study were to examine the factors that motivate women to leave their children at ECDCs; women’s perception of and satisfaction with the services provided by ECDCs; how the utilization of ECDCs impacts women’s livelihood activities; and the challenges women face in utilizing ECDC as well as the coping mechanisms they adopt. A survey was conducted to administer a structured questionnaire to 120 mothers who send their children to four (4) ECDCs in Kasoa. To present the findings, descriptive statistics were used. The findings show that in Kasoa, mothers use ECDCs to enable their children to have early education, give them time to go to work, and engage in other livelihood activities. Mothers considered ECDCs important to them and were satisfied with their services. They rated the quality of service in Kasoa as medium to high. The utilization of ECDCs enables other mothers to work normal hours without interruption and this has helped them to earn more money to support household expenses. Mothers faced challenges with the closing time, expensive fees, and frequency of children falling sick, among others. . Mothers coped by asking for the support of relatives and friends, staying home to take care of the child, taking the child to work, or cutting down other expenses to meet expenditure on children. The study recommends the sensitization of mothers to the use of ECDCs, the need for the Education Directorate in Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly (ASEMA) to monitor ECDCs to ensure the required standards for operations are met, and for ECDCs to improve the services they render to children.