A media-based approach to build preschoolers’ playful problem-solving skills in South Africa: An evaluation of Takalani Sesame

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A critical component of early childhood development, evidence links learning through play with a wide range of child outcomes, including creative problem solving. As such, a small but growing body of evidence has started to shine a light on the ways high-quality educational media, embedded with playful learning, can support young children’s problem-solving skills. The existing evidence, however, is exclusive to families in the United States, meaning that the evidence base for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is sparse, leaving a critical knowledge gap in our understanding of global approaches to building children’s problem-solving skills through play-based media. To address this gap, this paper will present findings from an evaluation of a play-based child-directed mass media program produced and distributed across South Africa, Takalani Sesame. Using a single group pre-test–post-test design with 62 children 4–6 years old in Free State, the findings demonstrate that viewing Takalani Sesame was associated with domains of problem-solving, including children’s improved monitoring progress/strategy use, and positive affect towards a challenging task, but not problem-solving outcomes overall. These findings provide suggestive evidence that engaging educational media, leveraging the power of playful learning, may support improvements in components of children’s problem-solving skills.