An Examination of Preschool Services in Selected Communities in Tema Municipality (Ghana‪)‬

This dissertation examines the nature of services provided in four contrasting preschools in the Tema municipality of Ghana. The purpose is to determine whether children in diverse communities within the municipality have access to a fair start in life, where their survival, nutrition, health and growth are considered as primary pre-requisites to their human development The study therefore included an examination of the context, and quality in terms of children's protection from abuse, professional training of the staff, delivery of child care services by preschool officials and availability of learning and recreational resources. It included an examination of the role of parents, public officials and service providers at the preschools. The study also examined whether the type of preschool a child attends is connected to the socio-economic status of the child's family. A qualitative multiple case study approach was used. The approach allowed the examination of each distinct preschool site as a unit of analysis that fostered comparison and brought to the fore the diversity among the communities and their link to the nature of services at the respective preschools. The key instruments used for the data collection after an initial document analysis included survey questions, interviews, focus group discussions and observations involving both adults and preschool children. Among the 31 adults who participated in the study were private sector preschool service providers, parents of the preschool children and public officials from the national, regional, municipal and community levels of the Ghana Education Service. The findings revealed the diversity of services and corroborated literature review which indicated that childcare services in general, inclusive of preschools are at the nexus of globalization, modernization and urbanization while simultaneously being challenged by cultural values of the society within which they are situated.