Early Childhood Care and EducationInternational Contexts

Think-Pair-Share

• What were your reactions to the Tanzanian and New Zealand syllabi ? • What looked familiar?• What was different?• Which equity issues were raised (if any)?

• Discuss responses to the reading guide…something that stands out?

The Tanzanian Context

• Tanzania• Children age 0-14

account for 43% of Tanzania’s population

• School life expectancy (primary to tertiary) is 5 years

• Structure of educational system

Source: CIA World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tz.html

Prioritizing education (and ECE) in developing nations

• 1989 - UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)• Education is a basic human right (becomes the justification for providing basic

education in many nations)

• 1990 – World Conference on Education for All (EFA) (Jomtien, Thailand)• Goal to universalize primary education and reduce illiteracy by the year 2000• “learning begins at birth”

• 2000 – World Education Forum (Dakar, Senegal)• Nations reaffirmed their commitment to achieving EFA by the year 2015 and

gave UNESCO responsibility for leading the charge• Goal of expanding ECCE for vulnerable and disadvantaged children

• United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)• Reduce child mortality• Complete a full course of primary school (ECE prepares kids for this)

What are the implications of this?

• Lots of development work focusing on improving education around the world• For example:• Child Friendly Schools• Photo essay – Child Friendly Schools

• Educating Josna• Green Playgrounds in Mozambique• Preschools in Mozambique

Key considerations in developing contexts• HIV/AIDS

• In 1990 there were more than half a million children orphaned due to AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa• Projected to rise to 18.4 million by 2010• This doesn’t account for children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS

• About 16% of these children orphaned by AIDS pandemic are under age of 6• This group is already vulnerable (high rates of infant and child mortality) – HIV/AIDS adds a

complicating layer to this vulnerability

• Sub-Saharan Africa is disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS pandemic – 2 of every 3 people who die of HIV/AIDS lives in Sub-Saharan Africa• Burden of care (for extended families of children orphaned)• Stigma and discrimination (exacerbated by poverty, often results in low enrollment rates in

school)• Lack of adequate care for child whose parent is suffering• Trauma to child – witnessing protracted illness• Potential that second parent will also be affected and die• Children who are fostered may not be treated the same as those relatives’ biological children• Threat of mother-child transmissionSource: Fonseca, O’Gara, Sussman, and Williamson (2008)

• HIV/AIDS and Education• Diminished teaching staff• Students in affected families – higher risk of dropout, low

achievement • ECE as a site of intervention for children affected by HIV/AIDS• Brain development• Physical growth• Orphanhood is a stronger shock for children affected at younger

ages (ECE/D programs can help to mitigate this)• “Studies show that higher levels of physical, cognitive, and

emotional well-being and increased lifetime learning and earning are associated with good early childhood care” (Lusk and O’Gara, 2002, cited in Fonseca, O’Gara, Sussman, and Williamson, 2008, p. 103)

Key considerations in developing contexts

Source: Fonseca, O’Gara, Sussman, and Williamson (2008)

• HIV/AIDS and young children – Program examples• Tumaini Letu

• Indigenous knowledge• What is indigenous knowledge?• What did the articles have to say about incorporating

indigenous knowledge into the curriculum? (or using it to inform ECE)

• What equity considerations does the incorporation of indigenous knowledge address? Does a focus on indigenous knowledge raise any new equity concerns?

• Te Whariki Early Childhood Curriculum

Key considerations in developing contexts