‘Every mother dances her baby’: Contextually responsive narratives of early childhood care and education in Kenya and Uganda

Okwany, Auma

doi:10.4102/sajce.v6i2.464

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Sociocultural views of child development emphasise the importance of context. Therefore, this study considers African concepts of child development, which explains children's learning and development through participation and socialisation processes (Nsamenang, 2008;Okwany, 2016;Super & Harkness, 1986;Wadende et al, 2016). African concepts of child care emphasise children's learning and development within their families and cultural communities and the critical role of parents, siblings, and extended family members in child upbringing.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ Beliefs on Parental Involvement in Children’s Transition from Home to ECE Settings

Fenmachi

2024

Int J Ed Life Trans

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Children’s development is impacted by changes in the environments in which they interact. Normative transitions such as entry into an early childhood education (ECE) setting come with opportunities and challenges for children and their families. Supporting families and encouraging their involvement during the transition period enables children to understand their new environment and make new connections with teachers and classmates. This article analyses case studies from a doctoral research study based in Cameroon and identifies teachers’ beliefs on orientation processes and their contribution towards the transition process to ECE. Examples of transition practices in the study context are shared through data gained from semi-structured interviews, observations, and informal conversations, providing educators’ perspectives and the role of multiple caregivers in children’s daily activities. Findings reveal the need for building connections between teachers and families before families begin attending the educational context, as it allows the families’ individual needs to be better supported. The study provides evidence of the implications of orientation processes aimed at familiarising families and aiding their adaptation to a new educational context. The article considers teachers’ views on transition and suggests recommendations for effective orientation processes that address the specific needs of families.

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Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ Beliefs on Parental Involvement in Children’s Transition from Home to ECE Settings

Fenmachi

2024

Int J Ed Life Trans

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“…The dominant Euro-American narrative that parents are the principal or the primary caregivers in the socialization of children is being subjected to critical reflection (Scheidecker 2017). Child development research in traditional cultural pastoralist communities, for example, the Menamaty of Madagascar (Scheidecker 2017); African communities in Kenya including the Luo, Luhya, Bukusu, and Gusii (Okwany 2016); the Baganda community of Uganda; and the Nayaka of southern India (Lavi 2021), has opened a wide cross-cultural debate on the contribution of siblings and a network of kins as caregivers in the socialization of children. Among the Gusii community of Kenya, for example, infants are routinely cared for by both mothers and child caretakers.…”

Section: John Teria Ng'asikementioning

confidence: 99%

Parents, Caregivers, and Peers

Scheidecker¹

2023

Current Anthropology

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Research on childhood in anthropology and neighboring disciplines has continuously broadened the range of the social partners that are considered relevant for young children's development-from parents to other caregivers, siblings, and peers. Yet most studies as well as interventions in early childhood still focus exclusively on parents, who are presumed to be the most significant socializing agents. Objecting to such a hierarchical understanding of the social world of children, I propose a complementarity view. Rather than being linearly ranked in a hierarchy of significance, children's social partners may complement each other by providing different but equally significant experiences. My suggestions are based on an ethnographic study in a rural community in Madagascar. Focusing on children in the first 3 years of life, I explore the full range of their social partners and the respective experiences they provide. Caregivers focus on children's physical needs and aim to keep them in a calm emotional state, while other young related children are the most crucial partners when it comes to play, face-to-face interaction, and the exchange of intense emotions. These complementary roles, I argue, lead to the parallel formation of two distinct socioemotional modes: a hierarchical one and an egalitarian one.Parents are usually considered the most influential figures in young children's lives and development-in research as well as in early childhood policies and interventions. Global endeavors to improve early childhood development, for instance, which have become a booming sector of international development in the past three decades, are mostly directed at parents or caregivers. UNICEF's program Care for Child Development, to take one prominent example, claims on its website that "over 200 million children . . . do not reach their full human potential." As a solution, the program aims to train parents and caregivers "to focus on the most important activities for the development of young children-play and communication." 1 These claims are derived from a series of three articles in the Lancet that identify "inadequate cognitive stimulation" as a major risk for children under 5 years of age in so-called developing countries (Walker et al. 2007:153). As evidence, the authors state that only a minority of parents in these countries "provide cognitively stimulating materials to their child" or "actively involve their children in cognitively stimulating activities" (153). The corresponding interventions they refer to were all directed at mothers or parents and consisted mainly in training them how to play or talk with their children (151). 2 This is but an example of a widespread parent-centric approach to early childhood research and intervention. It is based 1. https://www.unicef.org/earlychildhood/index_83036.html (accessed March 31, 2020).2. For critical perspectives on early child development interventions

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“…We recognized that we needed to understand the indigenous knowledge of the area. Indigenous knowledge is the local knowledge within a culture and community that has been passed down through community practices, relationships, and rituals (Okwany, 2016). Our thinking needed to change from privileging our expert knowledge to discovering and leveraging local knowledge.…”

Section: Our Diverse Teammentioning

confidence: 99%

Decolonizing Beginning Literacy Instruction: Views From Ugandan Teachers

Beach¹,

Nyirumbe²,

Monk³

et al. 2020

The Reading Teacher

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The International Literacy Association is a global advocacy organization, and literacy is viewed as a human right worldwide. This department highlights research and research‐to‐practice at the international level to bring global best teaching practices to the forefront. Topics may include best practices for literacy instruction in Europe or other continents/countries, partnership and collaborative projects between international schools/teachers, and advocacy.

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‘Every mother dances her baby’: Contextually responsive narratives of early childhood care and education in Kenya and Uganda

Cited by 10 publications

References 15 publications

Teachers’ Beliefs on Parental Involvement in Children’s Transition from Home to ECE Settings

Teachers’ Beliefs on Parental Involvement in Children’s Transition from Home to ECE Settings

Parents, Caregivers, and Peers

Decolonizing Beginning Literacy Instruction: Views From Ugandan Teachers

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‘Every mother dances her baby’: Contextually responsive narratives of early childhood care and education in Kenya and Uganda

Cited by 10 publications

References 15 publications

Teachers&rsquo; Beliefs on Parental Involvement in Children&rsquo;s Transition from Home to ECE Settings

Teachers&rsquo; Beliefs on Parental Involvement in Children&rsquo;s Transition from Home to ECE Settings

Parents, Caregivers, and Peers

Decolonizing Beginning Literacy Instruction: Views From Ugandan Teachers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Teachers’ Beliefs on Parental Involvement in Children’s Transition from Home to ECE Settings

Teachers’ Beliefs on Parental Involvement in Children’s Transition from Home to ECE Settings