Rethinking Epistemology and
						Methodology in Early Childhood Research in Africa

Okwany, Auma; Ebrahim, Hasina Banu

doi:10.4135/9781473920859.n26

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…In staying true to contextually sensitive research methodologies that are critical to countering the dominant framing in ECCE research, we draw on the contention by Okwany and Ebrahim (2015) who challenge us to rethink epistemology and research methods in early childhood research in Africa. This is because 90% of the world population's ECCE narratives do not inform the dominant narrative, which is the frame reference for many international childhood and childcare policies and programmes.…”

Section: Methodological Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interrogating the ‘artificial’ divide between health and education for children aged 0–3 years in urban poor locales in Kenya

Munene

Okwany²

2016

SAJCE

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Holistic integrated early childhood policies foster child well-being in the first 3 years of life. The normative framing of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) entrenches segmentation and creates artificial divides between education and health. This segmentation persists yet development processes for children are intertwined and mutually reinforcing. We trouble this artificial divide by drawing on findings from a study which examined the discursive care spaces in an urban poor locale in Kenya. Data were produced through in-depth interviews; participant observation and focus group discussions with caregivers and both state and non-state care providers. Using a socio-ecological lens to analyse intra- and inter-household interactions among caregivers, our analysis exposes the assumptions and silences in ECCE health and education and presents caregivers’ rich nuanced experiences and counter accounts. We conclude by calling for the imperative of bridging the divide between and within early childhood health and education to support integrated, adaptive and contextualised policy and practice.

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Section: Methodological Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interrogating the ‘artificial’ divide between health and education for children aged 0–3 years in urban poor locales in Kenya

Munene

Okwany²

2016

SAJCE

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“…In troubling the grand narrative of ECCE, I concur with Okwany and Ebrahim (2015) on the imperative of moving beyond the partiality of polarised narratives to the recognition of multi-centred in-between perspectives which converge or diverge beyond artificial global/local dichotomies. These local spaces are replete with practices, beliefs and interpretations of caregivers who are 'speaking subjects' and who articulate rich narratives about childhood and childcare.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

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

Okwany

2016

SAJCE

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Despite major steps towards providing early childhood care and education (ECCE) services in Kenya and Uganda, access to responsive services is still out of reach for many young children, and where available, they are often out of touch with local realities. In this paper, I trouble the universalising and totalising tendencies of the dominant narrative of ECCE as a template of thought and action and highlight the role of indigenous knowledge as a critical but often missing link in ECCE policy and practice. I draw on the situated experiences of caregivers and local communities, which counter the dominant narrative and argue that culturally responsive ECCE requires contextually sensitive policy and programmes. Such policies should affirm and support the important role of local knowledge in the care and socialisation of young children. Policies should also recognise the informal resilient social protection system without obscuring the role of the state in addressing structural vulnerability.

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“…Several researchers have pointed out that the theory of child development represents a ‘truth’ which has been developed in the minority world of the northern hemisphere (in particular, the USA) and is unfit to capture the realities of children in the majority world of the global South (e.g. see Boyden, 1997; Burman 1994; Okwany and Ebrahim, 2016; Penn, 2011b; Woodhead, 1999). For instance, many children in the global South take on responsibilities that they are unable to perform according to a developmental theory where age is understood as something definite and notions of age-appropriateness prevail – for example, children who are heads of households, living on the streets or working.…”

Section: The Limitations Of the Ecd Rationale In Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The expansion of early childhood development services and the need to reconceptualize evidence

Nilsen

2017

Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood

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The provision of early childhood development services is expanding in developing countries. The rationale behind this expansion is rooted in developmental psychology, socio-economic and human rights narratives. However, there are some limitations to this rationale, which are in particular related to the implicit universalism it assumes. This article outlines how early childhood development interventions imply a policing of families and childhood, which calls for a stronger consideration of context. As a consequence, the scope of what counts as evidence in early childhood development research needs to be questioned. The article is a theoretical contribution to the discourse of what early childhood development ‘does’. A critical approach, addressing the ideals and values that are communicated in early childhood development programmes and how they relate to dominant parenting ideals and practices in the society in question, should be an integral part of the expansion of early childhood development in the global South in the future.

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Rethinking Epistemology and Methodology in Early Childhood Research in Africa

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Interrogating the ‘artificial’ divide between health and education for children aged 0–3 years in urban poor locales in Kenya

Interrogating the ‘artificial’ divide between health and education for children aged 0–3 years in urban poor locales in Kenya

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

The expansion of early childhood development services and the need to reconceptualize evidence

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