Closeness, Conflict, and Culturally Inclusive Pedagogy: Finnish Pre- and In-service Early Education Teachers’ Perceptions 25 March 2022

For those interested in a more in-depth study about ECD and diversity – this Finnish study explores the validity of a scale developed for assessing teachers’ selfefficacy beliefs in engaging with diversity in early childhood education settings.

It concludes that the qualified ECD teachers felt more confident and competent in engaging with diversity in mainstream classrooms than the first-year ECD student teachers. Put differently – qualified teachers reported higher confidence in handling diversity in early childhood classrooms than student teachers.

The implications of the study are discussed from the perspective of teacher training and professional development in the early childhood education context.

Further Reading: Frontiers in Psychology

Translation of policy for reducing undernutrition from national to sub-national levels in Rwanda8 25 March 2022

This study provides information on what countries facing similar challenges as Rwanda can do to achieve progress in reducing undernutrition and provides understanding of the role of mid-level actors in translating and implementing nutrition policies and the challenges they face.

Political commitment to nutrition and the establishment of platforms to promote cross-sector collaboration for the implementation of multisectoral nutrition strategies were important drivers and sustainers of changes in child nutrition in Rwanda.

These efforts were developed and promoted both at national and decentralized levels and focused on getting mid-level actors and frontline workers engaged in nutrition. Rwanda used its existing political and administrative structures to prioritize local response and involvement in nutrition.

Further Reading: Reducing Undernutrition

Build Leaders of Tomorrow One ECD at a Time by Collaborating with a Local NPO 28 March 2022

Currently, an estimated 1.24 million children between the ages of three and five are not attending an early learning programme in South Africa, and over 75% of these kids are underprivileged. So, those who are most in need are being neglected.
ENVIROSCAN 04/2022 Some links to National and International News Items Related to Early Childhood Development (ECD)

While Government is working to rectify this, there are exciting opportunities available for the private sector to bolster these efforts.

This article looks at some examples of how some organisations are practically going about doing this in the field. Point is that government by itself does not have all the resources and the know-how. We need a vibrant ECD PPP (Private-Public Partnership) sector.

Further Reading: ECD Collaboration

The Nurturing Care Framework for Early Childhood Development: A framework for helping children survive and thrive to transform health and human potential 2018

And speaking of ECD PPP’s – Early childhood development is key to human development, and human development is in the interests of everyone in society. Since it has such broad effects, it makes sense that no sector can be solely responsible for it.

Investing in early childhood development is good for everyone – governments, businesses, communities, parents, and caregivers, and most of all, babies, and young children. It is also the right thing to do, helping every child realize the right to survive and thrive

The Nurturing Care Framework draws on state-of-the-art evidence on how early
childhood development unfolds to set out the most effective policies and services that will help parents and caregivers provide nurturing care for babies.

It is designed to serve as a roadmap for action, helping mobilise a coalition of parents and caregivers, national governments, civil society groups, academics, the United Nations, the private sector, educational institutions, and service providers to ensure that every baby gets the best start in life.

Further Reading: Nurturing Care

Vodacom backs food gardens at 8 ECD centres 29 March 2022

And still in the vein of ECD PPP cooperation – Vodacom has announced that it will support 8 ECD centres to establish food gardens to support local communities.

The eight centres will benefit from a sixstep sustainability journey where viable food gardens are being planted. This supplements feeding schemes while promoting sustainable practices. The programme will also run educational workshops and training for parents and educators on sustainable farming practices.

Further Reading: ECD Food Gardens

Listening, playing, holding: Positive parenting in Tunisia 23 March 2022

Positive parenting aims to avoid things like violence between parents and children, reduce stress, to encourage play with kids, parents’ engagement in their children’s education, healthy communication, and more shared time between parents and children.

Quality time together is critical to the development of healthy and happy kids— and as these kids grow up, a productive and more cohesive society.

This is an attempt by parents and educators to challenge negative parenting habits in their communities and spread what they’ve learned while they are literally on the job.

Further Reading: Positive Parenting

5 Things Parents Look for in Your Daycare Centre 02 February 2022

For most parents, leaving their child’s side is one of the most difficult things they’ll ever have to do, especially if they’re young and heading out into the world for the first time. That is why choosing a daycare centre is one of the most important decisions they will make. A decision that’ll echo throughout their adulthood.

However, there are many, many child care centres out there, and a few key factors come into play when selecting one. Being parents and educators ourselves, we
thought it’s best to let you in on how parents think when approaching a daycare centre. Although they’re opinions at the end of the day, they’ve done wonders for many centres throughout the world.
These are the most common things parents look for when making up their mind on a good place to keep their child several hours a day, most days of the week.

Further Reading: What Parents Want

Panyaza Lesufi | A new era in early childhood development: Let’s invest in our collective future 28 March 2022

From April 1, 2022, the ECD sector will no longer be run by the Department of Social Development (DSD), but by the Department of Basic Education (DBE).
This will mean that the DBE will become responsible for everything that the DSD was responsible for in delivering, funding, registering, monitoring, and supporting the ECD sector.

From April 1, the DBE will lead the implementation of the National Curriculum Framework, National Early Learning and Development Standards, the National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy and The Policy on Minimum Requirements for Programmes Leading to Qualifications in Higher Education for Early Childhood Development Educators (parenthesis added).

The DBE has developed a 10-year sector plan to ensure that all ECD programmes providing early learning and development opportunities are registered and funded by the DBE by 2030.

The DBE will become responsible for ensuring universal availability, adequate quality, and equitable access to inclusive learning opportunities for children aged

birth until the year before they enter formal school.

Further Reading: The Move To DBE

UPDATE: Western Cape Government moves forward with ECD Migration 22 March 2002

And in line with the overall move of ECD to the DBE – the Western Cale Government has put the following in place since the provincial proclamation was signed and gazetted on August 25, 2021.

• Transferring of the contacts and Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) from DSD to the Western Cape DBE. • Close collaboration between DSD and WCED on all matters, to ensure the efficient transfer of resources, budget and assets. • DSD has provided all business architecture (Standard Operating Procedures etc), databases and required documentation to WCED. • Staff have been identified, consulted and received transfer letters. Affected staff who are transferring from DSD to DBE, have institutional knowledge and experience and are currently performing these functions, thus minimising programme implementation risk.
(We assume similar actions are also being undertaken in the other provinces).
Further Reading: WC ECD Migration

Comment

Please note that these Enviroscans are exactly that – a short scan of the latest ECD developments. No attempt is made at interpretation and the reader should click on the relevant link provided at the end of every article summary to access the full article

Contact: info@playlearnwin.co.za

References

Fernandez, S. 22 March 2022. UPDATE: Western Cape Government moves forward with ECD Migration. Western Cape Government. https://www.westerncape.gov.za/news/updatewestern-cape-government-moves-forward-ecd-migration

Iruhiruye, E. et al. 25 March 2022. Translation of policy for reducing undernutrition from national to sub-national levels in Rwanda. Springer Nature. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12571-022-01271-2

Ikram. 02 February 2022. 5 Things Parents Look for in Your Daycare Center. Parent. https://parent.cloud/blog/things-daycare-center-must-have/

Kimball, S. and Gonzalez, P. 23 March 2022. Listening, playing, holding: Positive parenting in Tunisia. UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/mena/stories/listening-playing-holding

Lesufi, P. 28 March 2022. Panyaza Lesufi | A new era in early childhood development: Let’s invest in our collective future. News24. https://www.news24.com/parent/learn/primaryschool/panyaza-lesufi-a-new-era-in-early-childhood-development-lets-invest-in-ourcollective-future-20220328

Price, I. 20 March 2022. Vodacom backs food gardens at 8 ECD centres. Foodformzansi.co.za. https://www.foodformzansi.co.za/farmer-101-use-these-tips-to-findfinance-investment/

SA Good News. 28 March 2022. Build Leaders of Tomorrow One ECD at a Time by Collaborating with a Local NPO. https://www.sagoodnews.co.za/build-leaders-oftomorrow-one-ecd-at-a-time-by-collaborating-with-a-local-npo/

Spiske, M. 2021. Unsplash Image. https://unsplash.com/photos/5sCMm4wi0Sg

Spiske, M. 2021. Unsplash Image. https://unsplash.com/photos/H20fwlGnKqU

Spiske, M. 2017. Unsplash Image. https://unsplash.com/photos/ipYwpFUwC-I

Yannis, H. 2018. Unsplash Image. https://unsplash.com/photos/uogQRVkd6Rs

Yang, W., Laakkonen, E., and Silven, M. 25 March 2022. Closeness, Conflict, and Culturally Inclusive Pedagogy: Finnish Pre- and In-service Early Education Teachers’ Perceptions. Frontiers in Psychology. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.834631/full

World Health Organization, et al. 2018. The Nurturing Care Framework for Early Childhood Development: A framework for helping children survive and thrive to transform health and human potential. https://nurturing-care.org/ncf-for-ecd