The website that I decided to explore was the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php) because I was able to find a lot of research papers on current topic and issues concerning early childhood development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Some of the research topics include integrated early childhood development, community resources, parental involvement, quality programing, and policy and programming. The website have research articles that were published in different parts of Africa ranging from places like Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, and Zambia to name a few.
One of the most surprising research articles I discovered was about the impact father have on the early childhood programs in Nigeria. "In an article titled “Community Mobilization for Sustainable Living", Hua and Johnson (1996) reported that very few fathers participate in most of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs being implemented in Nigeria" (Hua, 2004) (pg.1). In the article they discovered that there were several factors that contributed to reason why father participation rates were low in early childhood programs such as gender roles and cultural expectations. The research article revealed that father participation in early childhood programs is linked to early childhood development performance.
Another thing that captured my attention was the Generative Curriculum Approach which is an initiative adopted by the ECDVU which includes: focus-leaner approach, an ecological approach, a capacity building approach, co-constructive approach, multicultural approach, cohort approach, and a historical approach (http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/generative.php). I found that the concepts in the Generative Curriculum Approach have many similar qualities to issues and trends in the United States. Some of the tends include child-centered curriculum, parent partnership, corporate investment, collaboration, and government reform.
Check out the video to get an inside view of some of the challenges that the ECDVU has to address in the area of early childhood development.
Another thing that captured my attention was the Generative Curriculum Approach which is an initiative adopted by the ECDVU which includes: focus-leaner approach, an ecological approach, a capacity building approach, co-constructive approach, multicultural approach, cohort approach, and a historical approach (http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/generative.php). I found that the concepts in the Generative Curriculum Approach have many similar qualities to issues and trends in the United States. Some of the tends include child-centered curriculum, parent partnership, corporate investment, collaboration, and government reform.
Thanks for your post, Ly'chel. Reading your information about fathers and their lack of involvement in early childhood programs made me ponder about the same question in the US. How many fathers take an active role in early childhood programs in the US? I bet it is a fairly low number too. I think there are still a lot of gender roles and cultural expectations we experience in the US as well. But, we know that children benefit tremendously when both parents are involved with their development. I'm glad there are studies being done, even on the other side of the world, about the influence of fathers in the lives of their children. Great post!
ReplyDeleteStephanie
Lychel,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great website; I didn't know that such university exists to allow students to do research of such magnitude. I tried to read some of the research written but couldn’t. The one you choose is very interesting especially on the impact of fathers on early childhood education. It is sad that the gender roles and culture create such a dis-service to the family. As we know it is so important for fathers to be involved in the education of their children and this culture prevents it.