Insights from the British Academy study on Little Stars
At a glance
This report and series of research briefs presents findings from a British Academy-funded study showing that the Little Stars programme enhanced early literacy outcomes, boosted teacher confidence, and improved classroom practices in Western Cape ECD centres, demonstrating the programme’s effectiveness in under-resourced settings.
Research team
Dr Shelley O’Carroll, Prof Daleen Klop, Monique Visser, Annelien Smith and Anike Swart from the Stellenbosch University, Prof Jane Oakhill from the University of Sussex and Prof Kate Cain from the University of Lancaster in the United Kingdom.
Dates of fieldwork
February/March 2022 – August/September 2022
Evaluation Approach
Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT)
Main findings
The study confirmed that children in the Little Stars programme made significant gains in their Early Learning Outcomes Measure (ELOM) scores, with more children “on track” and fewer falling behind, achieving approximately six months of additional progress. The study also found high teacher engagement, with most rating the training as excellent and valuable, leading to greater confidence in delivering literacy-rich activities and improved classroom practices. While emergent writing showed limited improvement, and some teachers faced resource constraints, the study affirmed that Little Stars remains a feasible and impactful programme for strengthening early literacy in under-resourced ECD settings.
Final Report: British Academy study on Little Stars
This report details the impact of the intervention and the extent to which child characteristics, teacher/classroom variables and the child’s home-learning environment predicted improvements in the main outcome variables.
Little Stars: A language and early literacy programme
This brief focuses on key elements of the Little Stars programme, and on the design of the British Academy study exploring the the impact of Little Stars on language and early literacy in 4- and 5-year-olds.
Teachers at the core: Was the programme useful, feasible and easy to implement?
This is the second in a series of five research briefs that explore the impact of Little Stars, a story-based teacher training programme on language and early literacy in 4- and 5-year-olds. This brief focuses on the effectiveness of the training and the teachers’ feedback on their learning and implementation.
Little Stars in the classroom: Did teaching practices change?
This is the third in a series of five research briefs that explore the impact of Little Stars, story-based teacher training programme on language and early literacy in 4- and 5-year-olds. This brief focuses on whether resource-based teacher training led to take-up of the programme as intended, and the extent to which teaching practices changed through implementing the programme.
A description of the children in the study sample
These briefs describe the isiXhosa and Afrikaans children in the study, their home learning environment and their early development across different developmental domains.
Impact of the intervention on children
This is the fifth in a series of five research briefs that explore the impact of a story-based teacher training programme on language and early literacy in 4- and 5-year-olds. This brief explores the impact of the intervention and the extent to which child characteristics, home learning environments, and teacher and classroom variables predict improvements in children’s language, literacy and overall development.
