A quasi-experiment examining the impact of educational cartoons on Tanzanian children (2017)

Media platforms, Akili and Me, Randomized Control Trial (RCT), Northern Nigeria, Educational impact, Early childhood development, Content delivery,
Learning outcomes

Location: Nigeria

Reference citation: Borzekowski et al. 2023;

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Objective: The study was designed to assess how young children in Kano, Nigeria, learn from and respond to educational content delivered via different media platforms: video, radio, and print. It aimed to determine if video-based content would lead to better learning outcomes than radio and print platforms.

Participants: The study involved pre-primary students from eight government-owned public schools in Tarauni Local Government Area, Kano State, Nigeria.

Methodology: 

• Randomized Control Trial (RCT): Students were randomly assigned to one of four groups: control, print, radio, and video. The content delivered was the same “Akili and Me” educational material, presented through different media. After a 15-minute media exposure, students’ performance was assessed on various educational constructs. The entire study session lasted 50 minutes.

Key Findings:

1. Literacy: Small gains were observed in letter identification from baseline to end-line, though no significant differences were found between media groups.
2. Numeracy: While most students could count small numbers, they struggled more with number identification. Slight improvements were seen from baseline to end-line.
3. Handwashing: Knowledge of the “Akili and Me” handwashing song increased, as did students’ ability to demonstrate proper handwashing techniques.
4. Occupation Knowledge: Children showed moderate understanding of occupations, with some jobs (e.g., scientists) being harder to identify.
5. Receptivity: Children recognized more characters from “Akili and Me” after the intervention, and most expressed a strong liking for the show, with Akili being their favorite character.

Conclusion: The study revealed that children exposed to all three media formats (video, radio, and print) demonstrated learning gains, but no single platform outperformed the others significantly. This suggests that educational content like “Akili and Me” can be effectively delivered through multiple media channels, which is especially valuable in areas with limited access to video or broadcast media.

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