Alan R. Pence

Africa's future, Africa's challenge : early childhood care and development in Sub-Saharan Africa

This book seeks to achieve a balance, describing challenges that are being faced as well as developments that are underway. It seeks a balance in terms of the voices heard, including not just voices of the North commenting on the South, but voices from the South, and in concert with the North. It seeks to provide the voices of specialists and generalists, of those from international and local organizations, from academia and the field. It seeks a diversity of views and values. Such diversity and complexity are the reality of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) today. The major focus of this book is on SSA from the Sahel south. Approximately 130 million children between birth and age 6 live in SSA. Every year 27 million children are born, and every year 4.7 million children under age 5 die. Rates of birth and of child deaths are consistently higher in SSA than in any other part of the world; the under-5 mortality rate of 163 per 1,000 is twice that of the rest of the developing world and 30 times that of industrialized countries (UNICEF 2006). Of the children who are born, 65 percent will experience poverty, 14 million will be orphans affected by HIV/AIDS directly and within their families and one-third will experience exclusion because of their gender or ethnicity.

Silent partners: Parents of children in three types of day care

Abstract Parents are often the “silent partners” in studies of day care. Results from the Victoria Day Care Research Project (VDCRP), which focused on the research triad of parents-children-caregivers, indicate that there are significant differences among parents who use licensed center-based day care, licensed family day care homes, and unlicensed family day care homes. Similarities and differences among these three parent groups are presented and discussed.

The relationship of regulation, training, and motivation to quality of care in family day care

Despite the widespread use of family day care throughout North America, it remains one of the least studied and least understood forms of child care. This paper discusses findings from the Vancouver Family Day Care Research Project in the context of divergent policy recommendations from earlier studies of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Of particular interest are findings regarding the role of licensing, specific training, and personal motivation and professional identity as they relate to quality of care.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s International Early Learning Study: Opening for debate and contestation:

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is initiating the International Early Learning Study, a cross-national assessment of early learning outcomes involving the testing of 5-year-old children in participating countries. The authors use this colloquium to inform members of the early childhood community about this project and to raise concerns about its assumptions, practices and possible effects. The authors also invite readers’ comments, to start a process of democratic dialogue and contestation.

Children in Three Types of Day Care: Daily Experiences, Quality of Care and Developmental Outcomes.

The effects of three different types of high and low quality child care were examined in the Canadian Victoria Day Care research project: Licensed family day care, unlicensed family day care and licensed center care. Several confounding factors made interpretation of results difficult (such as quality of care and quality of family life. Children from low‐resource families (lower education, income and occupation levels) were enrolled in family day care homes with the lowest quality ratings, watched more television, and had fewer reading and informational activities. The variability of unlicensed family day care homes was the greatest. The mean language scores for children in high quality homes were higher than for children in low quality family day care homes. 1The research reported in this paper was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The authors thank Dr. Maxine Charlesworth and Ms. Lorraine Toleikis for their assistance in data collection and Warren W...

Early childhood development in Africa: interrogating constraints of prevailing knowledge bases

The past two decades have been characterized by renewed attention to the importance of early childhood development (ECD) policies and services in the worlds richest and most industrialized countries. During the same period, we have witnessed unprecedented efforts to place ECD policies on the national development planning agenda of the economically less advantaged countries of the Majority World. This paper is premised on the concern that the purposes that have led bilateral and multilateral international agencies to promote and support ECD services in Africa may also be paving the way for uncritical adoption of program and service delivery models grounded in value systems and knowledge bases that may not be appropriate for the continent. We present two critiques to highlight the dangers of ignoring the sociocultural contexts of the knowledge bases that inform ECD policies and practices. We describe one capacity-building effort, under the auspices of the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU), to promote culturally relevant knowledge and prepare leadership personnel for Africas emerging ECD movement. Finally, based on an exercise designed for an ECDVU cohort to engage and reflect on critiques of mainstream research and theorizing on child development, we share insights that are suggestive of the ways in which African perspectives can contribute to and enrich a global knowledge base on child development.

Discourses on Quality Care: The Investigating ‘Quality’ Project and the Canadian Experience

This article describes the contexts within which reconceptualist approaches to research and practice in early childhood education are taking place in British Columbia, Canada. The authors situate their work on a project entitled Investigating ‘Quality’ in Early Childhood Education within national and international early childhood discourses.

Reconceptualizing ECCD in the Majority World: One Minority World Perspective.

RésuméCet article raconte les experiences de l’auteur en présentant une idée reconceptualizée de ‘early childhood care and development (ECCD)’ à deux instituts régionaux qui ont durées quelques semaines, dabords en Afrique et après en Asie du ud Est. Les présentations sont basés sur les expériences de travailler trans-culturellement avec les Autochtones du Canada et sur les experiences de la reconceptualization de ‘ECCD’ avec les collègues Européans. L’idée reconceptualizée a demandé une plus grande inclusion de la communauté et de la dialogue participatoire à propos la pratique locale de l’éducation infantine. L’argument présente est que si les professionels de ECCD veulent établir les programmes qui sont relevant et sustinables, ils doivent incluire le support des voix locales durant le processus de planification et pendant l’implementation. Les réactions de quatre audiences différants à cette conclusion sont décrites.ResumenEl articulo relata las experiencias del autor al presentar una nueva conceptualizacion de la capacitacion para cuidado y desarollo infantil (ECCD), en dos seminarios de varias semanas de duracion en africa y el Sureste asiatico. Las presentaciones estan basadas en expereincias trabajando a traves de culturas con las primeras naciones aborigenes en Canada. Al igual que trabajando con colegas europeos en crear un nuevo concepto del ECCD. Este nuevo punto de vista requiere un nivel mas alto de inclusion comunitaria y de un dialogo participatorio en relacion a practicas apropriadas a programas de cuidado y desarrollo unfantil. El argumneto se ha hecho que el papel de los profesionales de cuidado y desarrollo infantil es de incluir apoyo a ‘voces locales’ en planear e implementar pprogramas si es que esos programas van a ser relevantes y sostenibles. La reaccion de cuatro audiencias differentes esta descrita en este articulo.

Generative curriculum: A model of university and First Nations co-operative post-secondary education

Abstract The Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC) and the University of Victorias School of Child and Youth Care (SCYC) are working co-operatively to develop a culturally appropriate, post-secondary education training program for Cree and Dene child and youth care workers. The approach under development is termed the generative curriculum model. An initial step in the development of this innovative model involved joint MLTC, SCYC and advisor team meetings to identify foundation elements and principles that would guide the project over its 3 year funding period. Six of the seven elements are described briefly in the article, while the operationalization of the seventh element, the generative curriculum model, is discussed in greater detail. Utilizing the model, students are learning Meadow Lake First Nations (MLFN) Cree and Dene caregiving traditions, values and practices as well as those of the majority culture. The generative approach integrates text-based material with information from students, elders, and other community members resulting, over time, in courses tailored to the First Nations of Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. The project is in its mid-term development stage and the information provided is primarily descriptive of the model. As the project evolves, insights gathered through formative evaluation are leading to the further refinement and elaboration of the model.

Family Day Care in Two Countries: Parents, Caregivers, and Children in Canada and Israel

The results of two studies of family day care conducted in two different countries, Israel and Canada, are reported and compared. In both studies, the quality of family day care was found to range from poor to excellent. Childrens activities in the day care setting were found to be associated with specific aspects of day care environment. In Israel, the caregiving style was found to contribute to the nature of childrens activities and behaviors. In Canada, the quality of the learning and physical environments was correlated with the frequency of developmentally facilitative activities engaged in by the children. Both studies revealed strong linkages among caregiver education and background, the quality of the day care setting, and the childrens daily activities while in care.