Chapter 1: Improving Classroom Quality and Children’s Learning in Early Childhood Education: Evidence From a Policy–Research Partnership in Ghana

This chapter critically reviews opportunities and challenges in designing and conducting actionable research on improving preprimary school quality and children’s learning and development, with a case study in Ghana. We describe the development of a research–practice partnership among university-based researchers, a local research organization, and Ghana’s Ministry of Education. The partnership developed and evaluated an in-service teacher training and a parental awareness program. Both programs pursued the same goals of increasing child-centered and play-based learning and improving children’s school readiness. We discuss the successes and challenges of scaling-up a successful teacher in-service training program. In addition, we describe unexpected findings of the parental awareness program that pose several new research questions. Implications for future research on measuring and improving preprimary educational quality through similar research–practice partnerships are discussed.