Supporting Children with Disabilities in Low- and Middle- Income Countries: Promoting Inclusive Practice within Community-Based Childcare Centres in Malawi through a Bioecological Systems Perspective

Abstract

Given the narrow scope and conceptualisation of inclusion for young children with disabilities in research within low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) contexts, we draw on a bioecological systems perspective to propose the parameters for a broader unit of analysis. This perspective situates human development within a specific cultural context in which family, peers and schooling are regarded as key in responding to young children with disabilities in a given setting. We outline a new bioecological model to illustrate the proximal and distal factors that can influence inclusive early development for children with disabilities within LMICs. To illustrate the relevance of this model to early child development research, we consider its application, as a conceptual framework, with reference to a research study in Malawi. The study was designed to promote greater inclusive practice for young children with disabilities in Community-Based Childcare Centres (CBCCs) with a particular focus on the role of the CBCC volunteer 'caregiver' in rural Malawi. It has significance for educators, service providers and researchers concerned with facilitating inclusive early development across national boundaries and contexts.Ré sumé L'étroitesse de la portée et de la conceptualisation de l'inclusion de jeunes enfants handicapés dans le corpus de recherche dans les pays à revenu faible et (PRFI) contextes intermédiaire, nous puisons dans une perspective de systèmes bioécolo-giques pour proposer des paramètres pour une unité d'analyse plus large. Notre perspective situe le développement humain dans un contexte culturel spécifique dans lequel la famille, les pairs et la scolarité sont considérés comme des éléments clés pour apporter une réponse à la question des jeunes enfants handicapés dans un contexte donné. Nous décrivons un nouveau modèle bioécologique pour illustrer les facteurs proximaux et distants qui peuvent influencer le développement des enfants 123International Journal of Early Childhood (2018) 50:159-174 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-018-0223-y( 0123456789().,-volV) (0123456789().,-volV)

Facilitating the Participation of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Development Centres in Malawi: Developing a Sustainable Staff Training Programme

“…The purpose of the trial was to measure the impact of the augmented training programme on child language, social development and school readiness and formed part of the broader research study. The aim of the project was to provide the Economic and Social Research Council, UK Aid and the Malawi Government with a more developed understanding of the dynamics that can influence quality early childhood development and education for CWD in the rural Thyolo district of Southern Malawi [5].…”

“…Given the narrow conceptualisation of the term inclusion for young children with disabilities in research studies within low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), the study drew on a bioecological systems theory of human development to provide the parameters for a broader unit of analysis [5]. The bioecological systems theory, as proposed by Bronfenbrenner [46], explicitly situates human development within a particular cultural context in which family, peers and learning settings are regarded as key in responding to young CWD.…”

“…The bioecological systems theory, as proposed by Bronfenbrenner [46], explicitly situates human development within a particular cultural context in which family, peers and learning settings are regarded as key in responding to young CWD. In relation to child development, the theory is commonly represented as a system of nested environments that are illustrated as a series of concentric circles situated around a developing individual to represent his or her ecology [5,46]. The individual at the centre of this complex ecology is viewed as being an active agent with the context in which such development takes place described by Bronfenbrenner with reference to the five interrelated systems (micro, meso, exo, macro; chrono).…”

Estimated prevalence of disability and developmental delay among preschool children in rural Malawi: Findings from “Tikule Limodzi,” a cross‐sectional survey

“…The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Sustainable Development Goals recognize the rights of children with disabilities to develop to their full potential (United Nations, , ). They confirm the need for inclusive and equitable quality education with easier access to schooling for children with disabilities (McLinden et al, ). Despite this, children with disabilities are often excluded from education and learning opportunities, and disability continues to be a neglected issue in the education sector (Mizunoya, Mitra, & Yamasaki, ; WHO, ).…”

“…Tikule Limodzi (“Let's grow together”) was a 3‐year (2015–2018) mixed‐method study that aimed to explore ways of developing the skills of caregivers to support children attending CBCCs through the use of inclusive strategies and resources (McLinden et al, ). This paper presents the findings from the pre‐intervention baseline survey of a cluster‐randomized trial that measured the impact of an inclusive caregiver training package on a variety of child outcomes, specifically the language and social development of children aged 2 years and over attending CBCCs (McLinden et al, ). The data presented here were collected between December 2016 and May 2017.…”