Little Stars: Piloting an online course
Donor: HCI
Duration: 2024-2025
Project model:
Wordworks piloted the use of the Little Stars online course with 15 independent practitioners in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng. Wordworks provided resources as well as technical and content support to these recruited ECD practitioners during their training. To ensure classroom implementation, Wordworks distributed programme resources to each practitioner who successfully completed the course.
Sustaining the intervention:
In order to sustain the gains of the intervention after the project period, trained ECD practitioners will become members of Wordworks online programme network,granting them access to resources, courses and programme support systems. The Little Stars online course will continue to be available on Wordworks online platform, granting access to more ECD practitioners to receive training and support, ensuring that more pre – school children benefit from this home language programme.
Research and results:
We do not have evaluation results from this particular project but you may find it useful to look at two recent evaluations of the Little Stars programme:
- A randomised control trial funded by the British Academy in 2022, which was aimed to investigate the impact of the Little Stars early literacy classroom programme when implemented in challenging socio-economic conditions, with a minimal training and support model. The study found that the Little Stars programme enhanced early literacy outcomes, boosted teacher confidence, and improved classroom practices. In subsequent projects we have been able to develop models of teacher training and support to improve effectiveness and impact.
- The 2020-2024 Yizane Sifunde project evaluation funded by the Liberty Community Trust. Yizani Sifunde was a collaborative early literacy initiative implemented in Eastern Cape ECD centres, involving Book Dash, Nal’ibali, Wordworks, and local NGOs. The evaluation validated the effectiveness of the Little Stars programme and the value of a multi-partner model supporting practitioners, providing high-quality resources, and engaging caregivers.
In the field:
