The Open Society Foundation’s Early Childhood Program (OSF ECP) contracted Results for Development (R4D), in partnership with Deep Dive and researchers from the University of Belgrade, to lead an evaluation of the “Program for Children and Families STRONG FROM THE START – DAM LEN PHAKA.”
The program’s goal was to improve parental competencies and capacity to provide quality care for early childhood development, education, and social inclusion of Roma children, aged zero to seven, a group that is often and systematically marginalized. The program is part of a broader initiative, The Roma ECDE Initiative in Serbia, developed by the CIP-Center for Interactive Pedagogy (CIP Center) and Educational Cultural Union of Roma “Romanipen.”
Following two 8-month phases of intervention in 15 Roma communities, children that participated in the program demonstrated statistically significantly higher levels of socio-emotional development and school readiness than children in comparison communities. Score gains remained significant when controlling for child age, mother’s education level and other commonly influential variables. Parents reported using more positive parenting practices and fewer harsh disciplinary ones.
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