School readiness and its determinants among children 4 to 6 years in Zanzibar: a baseline population-based...

Early childhood development (ECD) is essential for lifelong learning and wellbeing. School readiness a key component of ECD is influenced by the dynamic interaction among children, their families, communities, and early learning environments. The evidence on these determinants is limited in many low and middle-income countries. A cross-sectional household survey was conducted to establish a baseline assessment of school readiness among children aged 4-6 years in Zanzibar. Social demographic data was collected using a structured questionnaire adapted from the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey. School readiness was measured using the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA) with household vulnerability being measured by FHI360 Household Vulnerability Assessment Tool (HVAT). A total of 362 child-caregiver pairs were enrolled, with children having a median age of 60 months (IQR: 54-65) and caregivers a mean age of 34.8 years (SD: 8.5. About 47% of children were living in households with lowest degree of vulnerability. Overall, 23% of children were classified as struggling in school readiness with the poorest performance observed in emergent literacy (40%) and social-emotional development (37%). Children residing in rural areas and in more vulnerable households were significantly more likely to be in the struggling category compared with their urban and less vulnerable counterparts (p < 0.01). Multinomial logistic regression showed that increasing child age was positively associated with school readiness, with each additional month increasing the relative risk of being in the emerging (RRR=1.17, 95% CI: 1.11-1.22) and mastering groups (RRR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.17-1.34) compared with struggling (p < 0.001). Children living in urban areas were substantially more likely to be in the emerging (RRR = 2.93, 95% CI: 1.56-5.50) and mastering groups (RRR = 4.56, 95% CI: 1.85-11.20) than rural children. Household vulnerability was associated with lower school readiness, with vulnerable children having a reduced likelihood of being in the emerging group relative to struggling (RRR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.28-0.91). A substantial proportion of preschool children in Zanzibar enter formal schooling without adequate readiness. Strengthening ECD strategies is required, with priority given to rural communities and vulnerable households to advance progress toward universal access to quality ECD and pre-primary education.