Supporting parents and early childhood development practitioners through a mobile application: The case of CareUp

Background: CareUp is a multilingual mobile communication tool connecting practitioners at early childhood development (ECD) centres with parents or caregivers of 4- to 5-year-old children. Aim: The study aimed to measure the uptake and use of the CareUp mobile application among isiXhosa-speaking practitioners and parents, and to extract lessons to inform future m-learning parent-support programmes. Setting: Data were collected from 10 ECD centres in four low-income urban communities in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, where both practitioners and parents were primarily isiXhosa speaking. Methods: A mixed methods approach was adopted to capture uptake, usage and feedback data before, during and after a 15-week design trial. Quantitative application data were integrated with qualitative interview, focus group and survey data to answer the research questions. Results: Approximately, 94% (n = 16) of practitioners downloaded the application (app), compared with 34% (n = 353) of parents. Practitioners recorded an average of 7.8 interactions per week, while parents averaged 3.4. Uptake and usage patterns are interpreted by considering qualitative evidence from interviews, focus groups and survey comments. Both benefits and challenges, as perceived by the beneficiaries, are elucidated. Conclusion: Mobile applications offer promise for supporting communication between parents and practitioners in ECD centres. However, structural and contextual constraints need to be mitigated to ensure broader parental access and use. Contribution: This article provides evidence of how child development practices in low-income urban ECD centres can be enhanced by engaging parents in their home language through mobile technology.