共查询到20条相似文献，搜索用时 31 毫秒
1.
Larry Prochner Ailie Cleghorn Nicole Green 《International Journal of Early Years Education》2008,16(3):189-201
This paper draws on the comparative and qualitative data from a triple case study carried out in three semi‐rural early childhood education centres in Canada, India, and South Africa. The primary objective of this four year study was to provide in‐depth understanding of the ways in which policy, practice, and culture intersect in semi‐rural contexts. This article focuses on the organisation and use of materials in the preschool space as a means to examine the interplay between indigenous cultural norms as these relate to working with children and trends towards uniformity or globalisation of early childhood practice. 相似文献
2.
Eric Atmore 《International Journal of Early Years Education》1998,6(3):291-298
A miracle has occurred in South Africa. A country bent on self‐destruction changed course over the past 5 years and achieved an extraordinary reconcilliation amongst its diverse people. The process of democratization and liberation has brought freedom to millions of South Africans previously governed by racial separation. The reconstruction and development of the nation is led by President Nelson Mandela.
Our youngest children have not been untouched by this. For the first time in our history there is a political commitment to serve young children and to provide resources for this.
Supported by intense research and investigation, and a sector deeply committed to improving conditions for young children, their families and communities, a comprehensive national policy and training framework for early childhood education and care has been developed.
This article begins by setting the context for early childhood education and care in South Africa. The article focuses on the principles which direct programme and service delivery, the development of a training framework, the role of lobbying and advocacy networks, strategies for improving the quality and increasing quantity of provision, and the role of non‐governmental organisations in service delivery. 相似文献
3.
Jim Hordern 《International Journal of Early Years Education》2019,27(2):118-131
This paper draws on Bernstein’s sociology of knowledge to examine the academic study of early childhood in England, involving scrutiny of how knowledge is recontextualised from contributory disciplines to take account of early childhood practice and professionalism, and of governmental influence on what counts as disciplinary and curriculum knowledge. The relatively fragmented disciplinary structure of Early Childhood Studies suggests vulnerability to attempts to control its purpose. However, this is mitigated by commitments within the academic community to traditions of early childhood practice, and a sense of advocacy and shared values. The analysis draws upon a recent investigative project undertaken at English higher education institutions. 相似文献
4.
Contemporary educational policy discourse in South Africa that seeks to serve the poor and address equity issues needs to engage with the roots of twentieth‐century social reform debates if it is meet its goals. One of the weaknesses of the templates for reform at the present time is that they often fail to engage with progressive traditions which have a long history. Present‐day reforms look to agency recommendations or comparative examples of “successful” emergent economies, but often fail to recognize the value and significance of previous initiatives which sought to address these issues. The long debate over the need for social welfare and educational reform in British colonial Africa has some significance in this regard. The period between 1930 and 1950 marked a key turning point in such policy in colonial Africa, and significant reform initiatives in South Africa from the early years of the Second World War provide the benchmarks for such investigations. The social welfare policies and the educational policy initiatives of the United Party government during the 1940s provide important signposts for such policies. This article attempts to investigate that legacy. 相似文献
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6.
Goduka I 《Early education and development》1997,8(3):307-321
This study documented the current status and determined the need for early childhood care and education in South Africa, including an assessment of the training needs of childminders and other individuals interested in working with young children in rural and urban areas of South Africa. The sample included 373 African men and women representing a range of occupations and different levels of education. The study employed primarily quantitative methodology, specifically a survey. The findings suggest that families and community members who have in the past responded to the needs of young children can no longer meet these needs due to social and economic dynamics. Respondents from both rural and urban settings perceived training, training centers, infrastructure, and the integration of African culture in early childhood education to be compelling needs. Programmatic and policy recommendations based on the interviews and observations are made. 相似文献
7.
《Early education and development》2013,24(3):307-321
This study documented the current status and determined the need for early childhood care and education in South Africa, including an assessment of the training needs of childminders and other individuals interested in working with young children in rural and urban areas of South Africa. The sample included 373 African men and women representing a range of occupations and different levels of education. The study employed primarily quantitative methodology, specifically a survey. The findings suggest that families and community members who have in the past responded to the needs of young children can no longer meet these needs due to social and economic dynamics. Respondents from both rural and urban settings perceived training, training centers, infrastructure, and the integration of African culture in early childhood education to be compelling needs. Programmatic and policy recommendations based on the interviews and observations are made. 相似文献
8.
Pamela Oberhuemer Hedi Colberg‐Schrader 《International Journal of Early Years Education》1999,7(3):249-257
This article focuses on the role profile of early childhood practitioners against a background of multiple shifts in the social context and socio‐political climate of early childhood education and care. Mechanisms of change include the unification of the two former German states, new legislation on child and youth services, the reform of steering systems at a local government level and an increasing marketisation and deregulation of services. Practitioners are potential key links in the process of repositioning early childhood centres in the current ‘quality debate’. The need for a newly defined role profile which effectively combines a more family‐centred approach towards young children's learning biographies and a more community‐centred focus on multicultural networking systems is discussed. Practitioners find themselves at the heart of simultaneous and contradictory change forces which may be perceived as a threat, or as a chance to raise the political status of early childhood education and care in the public domain and to reconstruct their own professional self‐image. 相似文献
9.
Michelle J. Neuman Corresponding author 《Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development》2005,25(2):129-141
Since the 1990s, many OECD countries have expanded their early childhood services and developed more coherent and coordinated policies. Through this process, countries have adopted very different approaches to governing their early childhood systems. Drawing from findings of a 12‐country comparative study, this article explores cross‐national approaches to the governance of early childhood systems, as well as some possible implications for future policy development. The article discusses the roles of the national government, the local authorities, the private sector and other stakeholders, such as teachers and parents, in making key decisions about how the system operates in different countries. The article calls for empirical research on the effects of governance on the nature of policies and programmes for young children and their families in different nations. 相似文献
10.
Helen Penn 《International Journal of Early Years Education》1996,4(3):5-17
This edition of the journal explores some of the ideas about policy‐making in early childhood services. In this introductory article I review ideas about policy‐making processes and policy agendas and what processes shape them, with particular reference to the relationship between research and policies on early childhood services. I write as a researcher working within a child development framework, and as someone who has been a participant in such policy making processes at a European and at a UK level. In this introduction I also set a context for the other articles which follow. 相似文献
11.
Helen Little 《International Journal of Early Years Education》2006,14(2):141-154
The safety of children as they learn and develop is of prime concern for parents, teachers and legislators alike. Legislation governing the provision of early childhood services provides guidelines and procedures for reducing the likelihood of children being exposed to injuries and unsafe environments. Such strategies, however, only take account of aspects of the physical environment that can be manipulated to ensure the safety of children and do not consider those aspects of the individual child’s behaviour that may contribute to unintentional injury. One such factor is children’s risk‐taking behaviour. The paper presents a critical review of current risk‐taking literature. Components of risk taking, including sensation seeking and optimism bias, and contributory factors such as gender, temperament, and parent socialization practices are examined in light of the current legislative and accountability documents relating to the provision of early childhood services in the Australian state of New South Wales. The aim is to explore the role that these factors play in reducing children’s exposure to risk and to identify directions for future research. 相似文献
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Jane M. Leatherman Judith A. Niemeyer 《Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education》2013,34(1):23-36
Effective collaboration between early childhood teachers and social workers is now considered critical to providing children with adequate psycho-social supports and services in early childhood settings. In order for this interdisciplinary collaboration to be more effective, opportunities for each discipline to learn about each other's knowledge, skills, roles, and responsibilities need to occur well before these professionals enter early childhood settings. This pilot study engaged 2nd-year, preservice, graduate early childhood education and social work students in an interprofessional training and collaborative activity as part of their graduate coursework. Following this training and activity, the early childhood education graduate students and the social work graduate students were invited to participate in uni-professional focus groups as a way to explore their experiences. Findings suggest that although there is general agreement among graduate students that interdisciplinary training and learning activities during coursework provide an important foundation for collaboration, there are several challenges. These challenges include a lack of clarity around professional roles and responsibilities, differences in understandings of children's behavior, and a perception that there will be little opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration in early childhood settings. Implications are discussed for strengthening relationships between professional preparation programs as a way to improve collaborative teaming and increase early childhood teacher retention. 相似文献
14.
Pamela Oberhuemer 《Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development》2004,24(1):9-21
Over the past decade, debates on the quality of early childhood services in Germany have focussed on four interrelated issues: access, programme quality, staff training, and evaluation procedures. Each of these four strands is presented and discussed in terms of the controversies and chances accompanying professional and public discourse. Currently, the aftermath of the first round of evidence from the OECD‐PISA study is acting as a catalyst in terms of re‐conceptualizing early childhood education. For the first time in any significant way since the 1970s, the educational potential of early childhood centres is being debated with a new vigour. The quality debate is thus undergoing a marked shift in emphasis. The paper ends with considerations of some of the challenges that this change of focus implies. 相似文献
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This paper gives background information on early childhood services in Ireland and presents the results of a survey of the preschool experiences of 1065 children. The results of the survey suggest that the majority of children experienced some form of early childhood service before starting school. The most common service was a playgroup although a significant proportion of the children had experienced home‐based care with a relative or family day care provider. The implications of the findings for the development of a policy on early childhood services are discussed. 相似文献
17.
《Africa Education Review》2013,10(2):187-207
Abstract The academic workplace is experiencing numerous changes in South Africa and around the world, including increasing managerialism, declining governmental funding and massification of university systems. Global trends have impacted South Africa, and additional local contextual factors combine to create a situation in which the pool of prospective academics is limited, particularly with regard to individuals from diverse backgrounds, at the same time as vacancies for academic staff are expected to increase. In order to address the question of who will become the next generation of academics in South Africa, the author investigates potential barriers to developing academics through qualitative research conducted with postgraduate students, academic staff and administrators at two higher education institutions. Two central thematic categories are explored—induction into postgraduate studies and induction into the academic profession. The author posits that systematic socialization, both into postgraduate studies and into the academic profession, is a vital link toward cultivating emerging academics to fill academic positions for an equitable workplace in South African higher education institutions. 相似文献
18.
Thokozani Mathebula 《Africa Education Review》2018,15(2):1-15
In the history of South African education there have been three contrasting attempts to incorporate learners into the authority structures of schools, namely: “boy-government” (prefect system), “student-government” (Student Representative Councils (SRCs)) and “learner-government” (Representative Councils of Learners (RCLs)). This article traces the historical development of these traditions in governance in South African schools. Against this background, it proffers a historical analysis of these traditions to show that the phrase “learner representative council” is at a crossroads, that is, it is being stretched and pulled in different directions in post-apartheid South Africa. It points out that “student-government” was born out of the rejection of the unpopular “boy-government”. It also provides a critical analysis of the attempt of the national Guides for Representative Councils of Learners (Guides for RCLs) (DoE 1999) to blend the “prefect” and “SRC” traditions in order to strengthen democracy at school level. In doing so, it argues that the Guides for RCLs undermine democratic SRCs developed in the anti-apartheid education struggle. In the end, the article defends the “student-government” tradition because of its potential to educate for democratic citizenship in post-apartheid South African schools. 相似文献
19.
Debra Harwood Audrey Klopper Ajike Osanyin Mary-Louise Vanderlee 《Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development》2013,33(1):4-17
This article reports on the findings from a small-scale study of early childhood educators’ perceptions of their roles, responsibilities and ideas related to professionalism. Twenty-five early childhood educators from Canada (Ontario), Nigeria and South Africa participated in qualitative interviews to address the following questions: (1) In what ways do early childhood educators perceive of themselves as professionals? (2) How is the concept of professionalism impacted by values, beliefs and experiences? And (3) Do contextual variations exist in conceptualizations of ECE professionalism? Valuable insights were gained into the commonality of educators’ experiences and ideas across contexts, as well as the prominence of an ‘ethic of care’ as an inherent aspect of teacher professionalism. The study’s findings provide support for the literature advocating for care (and passion) as a social principle within education and socially constructed ideals of professionalism. 相似文献
20.
Arianna Lazzari Mariacristina Picchio Lucia Balduzzi 《International Journal of Early Years Education》2015,23(3):274-287
In recent times, a growing consensus has emerged, among researchers and policy-makers, that a well-educated, competent and adequately supported workforce is crucial for the quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC). Despite governmental initiatives aimed to enhance the professional preparation and continuing development of early years practitioners being high on the political agenda of many EU member states, very few studies are analysing professionalisation policy developments and their implications within the national contexts of ECEC. Against this background, the article describes the key features of ECEC policies in Italy and their current trends by focussing specifically on the professionalisation of early childhood practitioners working across 0–3 and 3–6 services. Drawing on the data collected from documentary sources and interviews with key informants, this paper will critically review policy discourses as well as recurring themes and tensions arising from the academic and political debate. The findings from our analysis highlight that the increasing discontinuity characterising professionalisation initiatives across the 0–3 and 3–6 sector might lead to widening the gap among professionals working in such services. The risks that are associated with this trend are, on the one side, to devalue the educational role of 0–3 services and, on the other, to produce the schoolification of educational practices in 3–6 services. In addition, our analysis identified inconsistencies between initial and continuing professional development policies, which are progressively creating a dichotomy between initial and in-service training. The consequences of this process might produce, on the long term, the fragmentation of the ECEC system across public and private not-for-profit provision with the subsequent risk of impoverishing the local culture of childhood on which the Italian ECEC system has traditionally built its strength. 相似文献