Only one in five children in the low-income country have access to pre-primary schooling. The greatest benefits would come from early childhood education programs for those who are least likely to participate in them (UNICEF, 2018). This study aimed to explore teachers', school principals, and early childhood education experts' perceptions of O-class programs for children's school readiness. A phenomenological research design under a qualitative approach was used. Participants included 16 O-class principals (6 male and 10), 10 teachers (2 male and 8 female), and 5 ECE experts (all male). The researchers measured teachers' perceptions towards culturally responsive and locally available resources in the O-class through interviews and school principals and ECE experts perceived the success and challenges of the O-class program for children's school readiness through focus group discussions. From the analysis, eight themes emerged. Our data demonstrate that the O-class program increases parental and child attendance, benefiting children's school readiness. This implies that children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are still less likely to have taken part in the O-class program, do not have the same opportunity to advance in the first few years of elementary school. Overall, children's school readiness is impacted by resource limitations, background differences, and learning difficulties. Finally, based on the main findings, conclusion, areas for additional study, and implications for policy and practice were suggested.

This study examined the associations between parent play beliefs, play as a teaching technique, teachers' pedagogical knowledge, and early numeracy and literacy skills in six-year-old children who attend preschool education. A correlation study design, under a quantitative approach, was used. Participants included 216 children (106 male and 110 female), 215 teachers (99 male and 116 female), and 210 parents (135 male and 75 female). The Parent Play Beliefs Scale, preschool teachers' pedagogical content knowledge scale, and literacy and numeracy test were used. Hierarchical linear modeling results showed that the parent play beliefs, play as a teaching technique, and teachers' pedagogical knowledge of ΔR 2 value of 0.020 revealed a 0.2% change in the variance of models 1, 2 and 3 with ΔF (1, 213) = 17.679, p < 0.001. Analyses revealed that the combined effects of the independent variables explained a 76.4% variance in children's early literacy and numeracy. These findings indicate that the variables significantly and positively predicted children's literacy and numeracy skills. Eventually, in conclusion, areas of further research and implications for policy and practice were forwarded based on the major findings.