an early childhood development programme in a rural
TRANSCRIPT
An early childhood development programme in a rural settlement community
By
SONJA VAN DER VYVER
A full dissertation
submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
MAGISTER EDUCATIONIS
in
Adult and Community Education
in the
Faculty of Education
at the
University of Johannesburg
Supervisor: Dr. N. F. Petersen
Co-supervisor: Prof. E. Henning
2012
i
SUMMARY
To address the need for early childhood education in a small rural settlement in
Gauteng, South Africa, a crèche was established by external development agents with
corporate donor funding. Three untrained mothers from the community volunteered as
lay practitioners at the crèche. An organic process of training of these teachers and of
developing a curriculum ensued. From the challenges presented by and the tensions
arising from this initial process the following research questions emerged: What is the
process of developing an (organic) ECD curriculum with practitioner training in a rural
community? and; What are the emerging tensions in such a process and how are they
managed in Participatory Action Research (PAR) mode?
A review of literature included aspects of early childhood education in South Africa and
elsewhere and explored issues of community development, ECD and teacher
development as well. Several examples of early childhood curriculum approaches from
abroad and from Africa were compared and investigated for their possible relevance to
the context of rural South Africa.
The study was designed as a case and, because the situation at the site involved
several stakeholders such as parents, development practitioners and the community
committee, involved in a rural community development project, it predisposed the
investigation to PAR as research design. Participation and collaboration between the
researcher and all stakeholders through recurring cycles of planning, action and
reflection distinguish the process of data collection of this inquiry. The perceptions and
voices of the members of the community and the teachers form an integral part of this
process. In-depth interviews with teachers, parents and the community leader;
participant observation by the co-researcher, and documents and artefact collection
were used as data collecting strategies. An inductive process of content analysis was
employed during which the different data sets were first coded separately where after
provisional categories were induced from the codes. The categories for the different
data sets were then integrated and refined to themes. From these themes a pattern was
identified from which the main findings of the inquiry were drawn.
During the actual data collection process the researcher collaborated with a co-
researcher who was also the teacher trainer. This collaboration served to address
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possible obstacles such as a language barrier and the challenges presented by the
researcher‟s position as development practitioner. The participatory nature of this inquiry
is further reiterated by the data sources that were selected. These include perceptions of
different role players in the intervention, such as the teachers, parents, teacher-trainer,
the development practitioners and community leader were elicited by means of some
existing and some purposefully designed data sources. Because it was one of the main
units of analysis for this study, the experiences of the teachers were explored in-depth
over time and by means of data from several different data sources. Data from different
sources were also integrated and the articulation of these different sources contributed
to the validity of the study.
The main finding of this inquiry is that despite the many challenges of implementing a
society-initiated early childhood development intervention in a rural community with
untrained teachers, it is indeed possible for the community to come to own the
intervention, for a context-true curriculum to develop organically and for the teachers to
progress towards their own professional development in the field of ECD. Furthermore
the study shows that tensions arising from the implementation of such an intervention, if
managed in PAR mode, could provide the necessary impetus for participants to actively
look for solutions to the practical problems they face and to facilitate a shift in their
paradigm, from one of scarcity, child minding and discord to one of expanded
awareness that combines their indigenous knowledge of traditional child care with more
systemic concepts of early childhood education and school preparation. This is of
particular relevance to other rural education development projects in South Africa where
pre-school interventions are often implemented without any significant level of
collaboration between development agents and the communities they are supposed to
serve.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Dr. Petersen and Prof. Henning, for study supervision and support.
Plantinah Mathikge, co-researcher, for sharing the journey and assisting with
coordinating and translation of data.
Sam Savage, for assisting with research and acting as peer debriefer and researcher
friend.
Seune Phiri, for liaising with participants and for logistic assistance at the settlement.
Rosina Kubu and the committee of the settlement, for supporting the research.
The staff at the Tswelopele crèche: Daphney Maakwe, Susan Sambo and Maria
Selebogo.
Ian van der Vyver, my hero, for always, always believing in me.
Willeminah Setlhodi, for her love and support and for all the help with my children during
the study.
Rathla, Francí and Savuti, for their patience, understanding and their great sense of
humour – you carried me through.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................. iv
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... xi
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ xii
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY .................................................................... 1
1.1. Introduction: Studying the founding of a pre-school and it teachers ................. 1
1.2. Background to the study: The bigger picture in SA early childhood
development and education ............................................................................. 2
1.3. The rural settlement where the study was conducted ...................................... 3
1.4. The phases of the study .................................................................................. 5
1.4.1. Phase 1: Indigenous knowledge will help grow an organic
curriculum ................................................................................................... 9
1.4.2. Phase 2: Education training will help grow an organic curriculum.
Sonja, the community development practitioner to the rescue ................... 12
1.4.3. Phase 3: Daily teacher training for six weeks will help grow an
organic curriculum ..................................................................................... 14
1.4.4. Phase 4: Bridging the gap between the pre-research phases and
the formal research phase ......................................................................... 14
1.4.5. Reflexivity (in the pre-design phases) and the forging of a study ............... 15
1.5. Theoretical framework of the inquiry: A systems view on activity ................... 18
1.6. Research Design: One phase in a Participatory Action Research (PAR)
cycle .............................................................................................................. 20
1.7. Overview of the chapters ............................................................................... 21
1.8. Conclusion: assumptions at the outset of the inquiry ..................................... 22
CHAPTER 2: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF EARLY CHILDHOOD
DEVELOPMENT AS A COMPONENT OF RURAL COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA ............................................................ 23
v
2.1. Introduction to the literature review ................................................................ 23
2.1.1. Development in a developing world ........................................................... 23
2.1.2. Problematizing the meanings of the concepts „poverty‟, „rural‟ and
„rural community‟ ....................................................................................... 29
2.1.2.1. Poverty ............................................................................................... 30
2.1.2.2 „Rural‟ ................................................................................................. 32
2.1.2.3. „Rural Community‟ .............................................................................. 33
2.2. Education and ECD delivery in the context of a „rural South African
informal settlement‟ ....................................................................................... 36
2.3. Aspects of ECD delivery ................................................................................ 40
2.3.1. Aspects of early childhood development and education for
disadvantaged children ............................................................................. 40
2.3.1.1. The effects of poverty on the health of young children ........................ 40
2.3.1.2. The effects of poverty on the cognitive development of young
children .............................................................................................. 42
2.3.1.3. The impact of poverty on the socio-emotional development of
young children .................................................................................... 42
2.3.1.4. Poverty as a determining factor in the school readiness of
young children .................................................................................... 43
2.3.2. Quality of early childhood education provision ........................................... 44
2.3.2.1. What constitutes good quality ECD? .................................................. 44
2.3.2.2. Factors impacting on the effectiveness of early childhood
education delivery to children from poverty backgrounds ................... 45
2.3.2.3. Possible early childhood education strategies to enhance the
well-being of preschool children from disadvantaged
backgrounds. ...................................................................................... 46
2.3.3. Teacher Development as an important contributor to the quality of
ECD provision. .......................................................................................... 48
2.3.3.1. Does the qualification level of early childhood educators make a
difference to the quality of the early childhood classroom? ................. 48
2.3.3.2. The link between teacher education and child outcomes .................... 50
vi
2.3.4. Curriculum in the context of developing an early childhood
programme in a rural settlement................................................................ 51
2.4. An exploration of existing models and approaches to early childhood
care and education ........................................................................................ 54
2.4.1. Three European models of early childhood education ............................... 55
2.4.2. Montessori preschools .............................................................................. 55
2.4.2.1. Background and ideology ....................................................................... 55
2.4.2.2. The curriculum ................................................................................... 56
2.4.2.3. The role of the Montessori teacher ..................................................... 56
2.4.2.4. Assessment........................................................................................ 57
2.4.2.5. Some findings from studies about Montessori .................................... 57
2.4.3. Waldorf pre-schools .................................................................................. 58
2.4.3.1. Background and ideology ................................................................... 58
2.4.3.2. The curriculum ................................................................................... 58
2.4.3.3. The role of the Waldorf teacher .......................................................... 59
2.4.3.4. Assessment........................................................................................ 59
2.4.4. Reggio Emilia ............................................................................................ 59
2.4.4.1. Background and ideology ................................................................... 59
2.4.4.2. The curriculum ................................................................................... 60
2.4.4.3. The role of the Reggio Emilio teacher ................................................ 60
2.4.4.4. Assessment........................................................................................ 61
2.4.5. Applying some aspects of Montessori, Waldorf and Reggio Emilio to
rural ECD sites in South Africa .................................................................. 61
2.4.5.1. Background and ideology ................................................................... 61
2.4.5.2. The teacher and school management ................................................ 62
2.4.5.3. The environment as pedagogical tool ................................................. 62
2.4.5.4. The school community ....................................................................... 63
2.4.5.5. Evaluation of the pre-school child ....................................................... 63
2.4.6. The Head Start Programme ...................................................................... 64
2.4.6.1. Background and ideology ................................................................... 64
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2.4.6.2 The curriculum and classroom methodology ..................................... 65
2.4.6.3. The role of the teacher ....................................................................... 65
2.4.6.4. Assessment........................................................................................ 65
2.4.6.5. Some findings from studies about Head Start ..................................... 66
2.4.7. TeWha¨riki ................................................................................................ 66
2.4.7.1. Background and ideology ....................................................................... 66
2.4.7.2. The curriculum and classroom methodology ...................................... 67
2.4.7.3. The role of the teacher ....................................................................... 68
2.4.7.4. Assessment........................................................................................ 68
2.4.8. Pre-school in Finland ................................................................................ 68
2.4.8.1. Background and ideology ................................................................... 68
2.4.8.2. Curriculum and classroom methodology ............................................. 69
2.4.8.3. The role of the teacher ....................................................................... 70
2.4.8.4. Assessment........................................................................................ 70
2.4.9. Early childhood development and education in Africa ............................... 70
2.4.9.1. An African perspective on early childhood development and
education ........................................................................................... 71
2.4.9.2. African Early Childhood Virtual University – ECD the African
way – a brief overview of an existing ECD training programme. ......... 73
2.4.10. Meeting the early childhood educator halfway – the Reception
Grade (Grade R). diploma programme at the University of
Johannesburg (UJ). ................................................................................... 75
2.4.11. Conclusion ................................................................................................ 75
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN: ONE PHASE IN A PAR CASE STUDY ................ 77
3.1. Introduction: The design logic of a phase in a PAR study .............................. 77
3.2. Designing the field study ................................................................................ 78
3.2.1. The design logic of the PAR phase case study ......................................... 79
3.2.2 The PAR case study as an activity system ................................................ 80
3.2.2.1. Tensions within the activity system ..................................................... 82
3.2.2.2. Principles of third generation activity theory ....................................... 83
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3.2.3. Principles of PAR and how they played out in the design of the
study ......................................................................................................... 84
3.2.3.1. PAR as paradigm shift ........................................................................ 86
3.2.3.2. PAR as a research strategy ................................................................ 86
3.2.3.3. PAR as a set of methods .................................................................... 88
3.2.4. Validity in PAR .......................................................................................... 89
3.2.5. Researcher Role: the move from community development
practitioner to educational researcher in participatory mode. ..................... 90
3.3. Research participants, data sources and methods ........................................ 91
3.3.1. Purposively determining the participants in this study ............................... 91
3.3.2. Data sources and data gathering .............................................................. 93
3.3.3. Managing the data .................................................................................... 99
3.3.4. Data analysis: content analysis per data source ...................................... 100
3.4. Ethical considerations .................................................................................. 100
3.5. Strategies to enhance reflexivity .................................................................. 101
3.6. Conclusion ................................................................................................... 102
CHAPTER 4: NARRATIVE OF THE INQUIRY ............................................................ 104
4.1. Introduction: From gathering to analysing data: processes, examples
and the PAR position. .................................................................................. 104
4.2. Data sources ............................................................................................... 104
4.2.1. Data set 1: Teachers‟ perceptions in the second pre-research phase ..... 107
4.2.2. Data set 2: Teachers‟ perceptions of tensions and community
expectations at the beginning of the third pre-research phase. ............... 108
4.2.3. Data set 3: Interview with teachers .......................................................... 110
4.2.4. Data set 4: Interview with parents ........................................................... 114
4.2.5. Data set 5: Interview with the community leader ..................................... 116
4.2.6. Data set 6: Minutes of meetings .............................................................. 118
4.2.7. Data set 7: Teacher trainer‟s diary .......................................................... 120
4.2.8. Data set 8: Development practitioner and researcher field notes and
observations............................................................................................ 121
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4.2.9. Data set 9: Development project and crèche administration .................... 122
4.2.10. Data set 10: Informal discussions with social worker as peer
debriefer .................................................................................................. 123
4.3. Data analysis: content codes, categories and themes ................................. 123
4.3.1. How I organized the data ........................................................................ 123
4.3.2. Coding of the data per source ................................................................. 124
4.3.3. Thematisation of first level categories ..................................................... 129
4.4. The consolidated themes emanating from the analysis ................................ 133
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: GESELLSCHAFT MEETS
GEMEINSCHAFT IN A „SOCIETAL‟ COMMUNITY ECD PROJECT ............ 136
5.1. Introduction: On finding the vortex of a community‟s ECD project ............... 136
5.2.1. Scarcity as a dominant discourse ............................................................ 138
5.2.2. Physical well-being of the children in the crèche ..................................... 139
5.2.3. The establishment and running of the crèche as cause of
community tension .................................................................................. 140
5.2.4. Community residents‟ voices ................................................................... 142
5.2.5. Working in ECD in a rural context is challenging ..................................... 143
5.2.6. Crèche teaching as vocation ................................................................... 144
5.2.7. Professional growth of teachers .................................................................. 146
5.2.8. Variants in the views of different stakeholders ......................................... 148
5.2.9. Organic curriculum development. ............................................................ 150
5.2.10. The crèche as a societal (gesellschaft) intervention ................................ 151
5.3. The pattern in the findings ........................................................................... 152
5.4. Reflections on the design of the study ......................................................... 155
5.5. How the study helped me to learn to do research. ....................................... 157
5.6. Limitations of the study ................................................................................ 157
5.7. Recommendations ....................................................................................... 158
5.8. Conclusion ................................................................................................... 160
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 162
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ADDENDUM A: Letter of permission from ethics committee to conduct
research ...................................................................................................... 183
ADDENDUM B: Request to participate in research ...................................................... 184
ADDENDUM C: Consent to participate in research ..................................................... 187
ADDENDUM D: Interview schedule - teachers ............................................................ 190
ADDENDUM E: Interview schedule A - parents ........................................................... 192
ADDENDUM F: Interview schedule B - parents ........................................................... 193
ADDENDUM G: Interview schedule - community leader .............................................. 194
ADDENDUM H: Completed interview schedule - teachers .......................................... 195
ADDENDUM I: Example of minutes of meeting ........................................................... 203
ADDENDUM J: Example from teacher trainers diary ................................................... 206
ADDENDUM K: Photos of aspects of the crèche ......................................................... 207
ADDENDUM L: Development practitioner field notes .................................................. 210
ADDENDUM M: Researcher field notes: observations in crèche ................................. 211
ADDENDUM N: Example of daily programme plans – scan ........................................ 212
ADDENDUM O: Receipts reflecting increase in stipends Nov, 2010 ............................ 213
ADDENDUM P: 42 Initial codes ................................................................................... 214
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1: The pre-design phases of the inquiry in PAR mode .................................... 8
Table 3.1: The design aims of interview schedules ................................................... 99
Table 4.1: Entering the formal research phase in PAR mode. ................................. 106
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Relationships between elements of Engeström‟s (1987) cultural
historical activity theory ........................................................................... 19
Figure 3.1: Part PAR case study design and a critical ontology ................................ 80
Figure 3.2: PAR as research strategy ....................................................................... 88
Figure 3.3: Data sources their origin and design ....................................................... 95
Figure 4.1: Coding the data and integrating the codes into first level categories ..... 126
Figure 4.2: Arranging categories for each data set ................................................. 130
Figure 4.3: Arranging categories into preliminary themes ....................................... 130
Figure 4.4: Inductive data analysis process as conceptualised by Henning
(2011) ................................................................................................... 133
Figure 5.1: Gesellschaft meets gemeinschaft in a societal ECD project .................. 153
Chapter 1 1
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
1.1. INTRODUCTION: STUDYING THE FOUNDING OF A PRE-SCHOOL AND ITS TEACHERS
This study emanated from social development work in a rural informal settlement in a
province in South Africa. The work comprised development in a village settlement and
included most aspects of daily living of the 700 inhabitants. Although informal
settlements are common around cities and towns, new rural settlements are rarer. The
changes in everyday village life are not unusual and in this instance, nothing
extraordinary took place, except that a pre-school1 was established, unexpectedly by the
donation of two shipment containers (see addendum K) that had been converted into
classrooms and to which I will refer throughout as „edutainers‟, that then required some
pre-school activity.
From this then, a whole new programme of lay teacher development was created and a
new curriculum was forged. As development agent working within a larger community
development project, I became involved in the founding of the pre-school and decided to
write the process up as an inquiry in educational development, working in PAR mode. I
had to find a specific focus that aligned well with the work and after much searching
came up with questions that would guide the investigation into every life in the founding
of a pre-school (crèche in colloquial discourse). Thus started a double-edged journey
during which I was, at the same time, partner to the development of a pre-school, and a
practitioner-researcher investigating the process as a cycle of participatory action
research (PAR). I started the research, knowing that the need for knowledge about early
childhood development (ECD) in South Africa is urgent at a time when there is a
national drive to improve learning and development of young children. This is witnessed
by a number of reports, a major one of which I discuss in the next section to sketch
some of the background of planning and policy.
1In colloquial discourse the term „crèche‟ refers to a facility where children are looked after and where pre-school activities take place. I therefore use the terms „crèche‟ and „pre-school‟ interchangeably in the study.
Chapter 1 2
1.2. BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY: THE BIGGER PICTURE IN SA EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION
To give an overview of the current situation with regard to early childhood development
(ECD) in South Africa I make use of research conducted by Biersteker and Dawes
(2008) in the ECD component of the Human Resources Development Review of 2008.
This report was issued by the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa
(HSRC). The research conducted for the review was produced by the Research
Programme on Education, Science and Skills Development (ESSD) of the Council. The
main purpose of this review was to provide a comprehensive analysis of how learners
progress through school, and through further- and higher education into the labour
market. This information would be utilized cross-sectorally for decision making and
policy purposes by the state and by Human Resource Development researchers
(HRDR, 2008).
The importance of investment in ECD is well documented (Camilli, Barnett, Ryan &
Vargas, 2010; Rivera, 2008; Van der Gaag, 2002). However, in South Africa a number
of interrelated factors challenge the linearity of an input-output view of early childhood
development and education. ECD was thus included in the Human Resources
Development Report for the first time in 2008. Biersteker and Dawes (2008) contend
that this indicates the extent to which the South African government has realized just
how essential ECD is for laying the foundation for success in the schooling system and
how important it is to introduce, especially those children who come from poverty
environments, to quality ECD provision.
Prior to the report by Biersteker and Dawes (ibid), there had been some policy
development. These authors state that the White Paper (1995) marked the beginning of
growing support for ECD as the actual start to the educational journey for the post-
apartheid education authorities. In The White Paper 5 (2001) on Early Childhood
Development the following goals were stated: for all children, by 2010, to have access to
a reception year programme and for 85% of children to attend Grade R at a public
school. The department of basic education (DBE) has since formulated a strategic plan
to improve, overarchingly, the quality of teaching and learning in South Africa, and
among other educational goals, to increase the participation of children in grade R
programmes to include all children by 2014. (DBE, 2011). Despite this and other
statements of commitment, ECD provision in South Africa remains problematic with low
Chapter 1 3
access, low programme quality and low levels of teacher qualification being just some of
the challenges faced in this field. ECD provision also still relies heavily on volunteers
and NGO/community-based organizations which raise questions about the efficiency
with which challenges in the field of early childhood development and education is being
met.
The shortage of data on almost all aspects in the field of ECD provision in South Africa
is cited by Biersteker and Dawes (2008) as one of the critical challenges that need to be
addressed. Although some data exist on enrolment and ECD provision by schools, data
on provision at stand-alone ECD sites are scarce. The authors report that accessing
data on ECD from the (then) department of education (DoE) and from the Nationwide
ECD Audit of 2000 was a challenging process. The current department of basic
education (DBE) has pledged to take steps to make the collection of household data on
Grade R and ECD participation more accurate and comprehensive (DBE, 2011) and
indeed a document on education statistics for the year 2009 (DBE, 2010) has been
published. However this document reflects only information on the situation for pre-
Grade 1 learners within the ordinary school sector. The South African Congress for
Early Childhood Development (2011) a representative national non-government
organisation that aims to organise, mobilise and unify the early childhood sector in the
country, included „research‟ and „policy development‟ as part of its aims. As argued by
Biersteker and Dawes, it is imperative to build knowledge directly from „the ground‟ to
add to our understanding of how communities, donor agencies, development
practitioners and the public service can collaborate to care for and prepare young
children for school. The study was thus, ultimately, motivated by a need to understand
the processes of establishing a preschool, training its teachers, all the while working
amidst and managing the tensions in the community.
1.3. THE RURAL SETTLEMENT WHERE THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED
In describing the empirical context of the study I begin with a few facts and then
continue in narration in a different style, sketching my role as development agent and
also as practitioner researcher.
Chapter 1 4
Mogwase2, the site of the study, is an informal rural settlement situated 15 kilometres
from a small town in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The land for the settlement
was secured, with the help of local government, by 55 members of the community in
2001. The community thus owns the land and the settlement is governed, at community
level, by a steering committee, and on a larger scale, by the local regional council. A
councillor for the region, appointed by the African National Congress (ANC), the
governing political party, serves as link between the steering committee and regional
government.
Prior to the introduction of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (1997), agricultural
workers in the area were extremely vulnerable and often displaced when the land they
had been working on changed ownership, or when the nature of the agricultural activity
they had been working in changed in such a way that they were no longer employed.
The nature of economic pursuits within the area had been changing from pure
agriculture to eco-tourism and recreation. Also, where agriculture remains, the
mechanization of farming activities rendered the employment of many unskilled
labourers redundant. Many of these displaced unskilled labourers settled at Mogwase in
2000.
From this point onwards, in this section of the chapter, the style of the writing changes to
that of a narrative with a reflective component from the perspective of the community
development practitioner, with the aim of capturing my experience as practitioner is such
a way that it can also reflect my participatory action research (PAR) stance.
In the narrative I insert my voice as practitioner-researcher (Whitehead & McNiff, 2006),
weaving the two voices and showing how they merged – something of which I try to
remain aware throughout the writing of the dissertation. As Whitehead and McNiff (ibid,
p.13) succinctly put it:
In action research the focus swings away from the spectator researcher.
Practitioners investigate their own practice, observe, describe and explain
what they are doing in company with another and produce their own
explanations for doing what they are doing and why they are doing it.
I draw on data sources related to the narrative and that I know in everyday life and
through reading. The first part of this background text is about examining the points at 2Names of people and places have been changed for ethics purposes
Chapter 1 5
which I veered from the community development principles I had always adhered to
during my work as practitioner. At the outset of this narrative I present a diagram of the
pre-research phases of the practitioner action researcher that, although only conceived
of later, gives an overview of the joint development of the development practice and the
specific place of the research.
1.4. THE PHASES OF THE STUDY
The Mogwase project was initiated at the end of January 2008 after I had spent some
time making contact, in the way suggested by Swanepoel (1997), by first getting to know
the key figures in the community and later on giving them information on the possibility
of soliciting corporate social investment support for a community development project.
Through participatory methods such as transect walks, informal discussions with
members of the community, group discussions and the exploration of case studies
described by the people of the settlement (Binns, Hill & Nel, 1997) the settlement‟s most
urgent expressed needs (Werner & Bower, 1983, p.3-3) were explored collaboratively.
Discussions with individuals and small groups all pointed to the lack of a constant
source of clean drinking water as their most pressing need. Because there was no
constant supply of fresh drinking water to the village (water was sporadically delivered
by municipal truck) the villagers often had to draw water from the nearby stream. This
caused numerous health-related problems such as diarrhoea and dysentery, especially
among young children. I collaborated with the community committee in prioritising the
needs of the community and took my cue from them to proceed to writing and submitting
a proposal, to a large corporation, for a windmill to be erected and for some adult
training interventions to be implemented at the village. Although the proposal was
accepted, a long process, involving months of waiting for paperwork to be finalised,
ensued.
Through my interactions with the community during the nine months before the windmill
was erected it was clear that the community was divided along political and leadership
lines. This strongly shows that rural communities, contrary to common belief, are not
necessarily harmonious heterogeneous entities (Liepins, 2000). There prevailed, among
community members, a strong distrust of each other and of outsiders. After a few
fruitless months of waiting for the windmill to actually manifest in the settlement, the
people of Mogwase started doubting my integrity. This was partly the legacy of several
failed projects that had previously been implemented and abandoned by government
(Van der Vyver, 2008), thus leaving the people of the settlement wary of outsiders
Chapter 1 6
promising them solutions (Hope & Timmel, 1995). Endless meetings were held with the
community and other NGO‟s and local government to help establish better cohesion
within the settlement. However, when the windmill was finally erected in November
2009, it served to instantly unify the people and to bring them to implicitly trust in me as
ally and development practitioner.
Up until that point I had followed a collaborative model of community development
together with the social worker who had by then joined me in working on the project.
We regularly reflected on whether our practice and interaction within the community was
still people-centred and „bottom-up.‟ We worked hard not to provide solutions, but
instead to help the people in the settlement find solutions to their own problems and
ways to address the challenges they faced. However, at the function to celebrate the
arrival of the windmill I was approached by a corporate social investment (SCI) manager
from an affiliate to our existing corporate donor funder. She enquired about the status of
ECD provisioning in the village and wanted to know whether I thought Mogwase needed
a crèche. She explained to me that she could assist us with the provisioning of some
edutainers3, which are shipment containers that had been converted to a class room by
fitting it with windows and doors; which came electrified and fitted with shelves and
cupboards and stocked with books, teaching aids and educational toys and which could
serve as the basis from which we could develop an ECD programme for Mogwase.
Knowing that no need for ECD had been expressed, up to that point, by the community,
but not wanting to pass up on the opportunity to secure the resources for ECD for the
community, I told the corporate representative that I would certainly be interested in
securing some edutainers for early childhood development in the settlement. The
edutainers had to be donated soon, thus after careful consideration, the social worker
who works with me at Mogwase agreed that although it would mean doing things „back
to front‟ in other words, not addressing a subject-centred need (Palacio, 1991), we
couldn‟t pass up on the offer. We decided on a campaign to create awareness about
ECD and a few weeks later, on 12 December 2009, we called a community meeting and
informed the community of the offer of the two edutainers, explained our view of the
importance of ECD for the development of young children and the possible opportunity
this would afford mothers to pursue other more productive activities than looking after
their children at home. We asked the community to think the offer over and then
3Edutainers are converted and placed by The Bright Kid foundation and were designed to address the problem of scarce, resource-poor ECD sites in South Africa (see www.brightkidfoundation.co.za)
Chapter 1 7
suggested that we meet again after a week to hear what they had decided. However,
after asking a few questions, everyone at the meeting agreed that the community of
Mogwase certainly needed a crèche in the settlement.
In retrospect I can see that at that point, after having successfully implemented the
provision of such a basic need as water for the community, I was seen as a bit of a „hero
figure‟ within the community - someone who had been able to procure not only the much
needed windmill, but also several training opportunities for the adults in the settlement.
As a result, the people of Mogwase had come to trust me and if I said a crèche was a
useful thing to for the community to have they were willing to take my word for it.
Because the community did not make the decision to implement ECD at the settlement I
had, in this one instance, become the committee‟s oracle, planning and acting on my
own „wisdom‟ without allowing them to take over the process (Swanepoel, 1997, p.136).
It was only much later, when in researcher mode, that I engaged in a process of critical
reflection (Cranton, 1996, p.76) on the process of implementation of the crèche
intervention in this community. The social worker, acting as critical friend (Kember,
1997), also served to remind me of the development principles my practices had always
been grounded in. This helped bring me to the realisation that one of the first points at
which I abandoned these principles was indeed this assumption that my qualifications in
the field of education gave me a better vantage point from which to see where the road
should take us all, than the people of the community.
In the next section I describe the events/circumstances of the early negotiations around
the establishment of the crèche and the implementation thereof as they occurred in
three successive cycles. In the process I use the PAR stages of the cycle namely:
planning, action and reflection to indicate my positioning as researcher in this process.
These cycles are reflected in Table 1.1 below.
Chapter 1 8
Table 1.1: The pre-design phases of the inquiry in PAR mode
PHASE 1 (July 2009 – Feb 2010)
Indigenous knowledge will grow an organic curriculum CRISIS: Decision about ECD intervention at Mogwase REFLECTION: Need to create ‘awareness’ within community re the importance of ECD PLAN: Edutainers + Teachers + Indigenous knowledge = an ‘organic’ curriculum. ACTION: Leave teachers to work out a curriculum for themself
PHASE 2 (Feb 2010 – May 2010)
Training by the development practitioner once a week will grow an organic curriculum
CRISIS: Violent attacks on teachers by parents. Crèche closed
REFLECTION: Indigenous knowledge is not enough. Need of intervention.
PLAN: Edutainers + Teachers + Teacher training = an ‘organic’ curriculum
ACTION: Train teachers once a week and send them for some on-the-job training at a local crèche
PHASE 3 (June - July 2010)
Training every day for six weeks by an external trainer will grow an organic curriculum CRISIS: Parents close crèche because of concerns re. safety REFLECTION: Once a week training is not enough. More intensive training by an external trainer is needed. PLAN: Edutainers + teachers + 6 weeks of intensive every day training by an external trainer = an ‘organic’ curriculum ACTION:6 weeks of intensive, every day training by an external, local crèche teacher
PHASE 4 (July – August 2010)
‘Bridging’ phase leading into formal design REFLECTION: The daily training by the external local crèche teacher impacted positively on the teachers’ development and the curriculum at the crèche. PLAN: The need for continued daily training by an external trainer is expressed by the teachers and the committee. ACTION: Paulina is recruited, interviewed and appointed on a permanent basis as teacher trainer at the crèche.
Chapter 1 9
1.4.1. Phase 1: Indigenous knowledge will help grow an organic curriculum
As development practitioner responsible for education and training matters on the
project, my aim with the crèche at Mogwase was to develop an organic curriculum –
home-grown by the people of Mogwase. It was for this reason that I recommended that
volunteer teachers from within the community be recruited. I argued that young mothers
from the village would ‟work out‟ an ECD programme that would be tailor-made for
Mogwase and that any skills learnt would therefore remain in the settlement. At this
point I was operating from my own interpretation of what client-centred development
work involves.
From a researcher perspective I can see that the aim was to allow people to volunteer,
giving them the opportunity to have skills training in a bottoms-up process in place of a
top-down process (Binns, Hill & Nell, 1997), using local knowledge instead of employing
an external „expert‟ (Berkes, 2004) to teach at the crèche. Although I managed to
convince even the social worker that this was good development practice, the
community actually indicated at that point that they did not quite agree with this plan,
saying that they didn‟t believe anyone in the settlement had the necessary skills to
manage the crèche. I was however adamant to „empower‟ some of the mothers from the
community and to let the crèche be an autonomous entity that could grow from the
community‟s involvement in their own development (Malinga, 2004) and so I convinced
the committee that this was the best way of doing it.
Although I strongly believed at the time that I was allowing the community the
opportunity to „grow into‟ their own development, I had actually unconsciously started to
take on a more controlling role, increasingly employing elements of “authoritarian
education” (Werner & Bower 1983, p.1-15) in my attempts to „teach‟ the village about
ECD. I had adopted the stance of: „I have the knowledge about educational matters‟ and
in typical Freireian (1970) “sage on the stage” mode; I treated the community as
recipients of the benefits of my involvement with them. In this „expert mode‟, I asked
mothers to volunteer as teachers at the crèche. Three young women put their names
down and were approved of by the committee together with Anna, a respected woman
in the community, who assured me that she was there to “keep an eye on the young
ones.” My intentions were for these four women, through trial and error, to „work out‟ a
suitable „organic‟ curriculum based on their indigenous knowledge of child care. This, I
thought, would be in accordance with the client-centred approach to development where
indigenous knowledge systems are treated as having equal value with scientific
Chapter 1 10
knowledge, (Summers, 1986). I have since encapsulated this line of reasoning in the
following „formula‟:
Edutainers +Volunteer minders + Equipment and Indigenous knowledge = an organic
ECD curriculum, tailor-made for Mogwase
What I had failed to consider was that a host of forces were exerting influence on the
dynamics of what I and the community referred to informally as The Crèche. One of the
most important of these was that I had usurped authority for decision making from the
community and the collaborative and the community allowed this, perhaps based on the
success of the windmill and the fact that they had no experience of formal ECD.
A second important aspect was the practical day-to-day organisation of the crèche. The
crèche was in operation for two hours per day with the volunteer child minders earning a
stipend of R 100-00 per month for the first two months and R 150-00 for 3 months after
that. Although not a large amount of money, this amount is considered a substantial
sum of money in a poor rural area where the employment rate was, at the time, only
about 15% (Van der Vyver, 2008).
Thirdly, when Anna, the crèche matron, had to leave the settlement for a few weeks, it
became apparent that the three younger volunteers were not able to perform the job
according to the community‟s expectations. For instance, parents complained that the
minders were not taking good care of their children and that they sat in the sun and
supervised the children‟s play. This did not comply with the ideas of what the parents
assumed a crèche would involve and several parents assured me that they could look
after their children just as well at home (Van der Vyver, 2009). Furthermore, parents
also complained that the fact that the crèche was only open for 2 hours a day did not
allow them enough time to go out and look for work or even to get much work done at
home.
Lastly, my own engagement in the process was limited because of my busy work
schedule within the larger development project. I therefore did not spend much time
finding out how it was really going with the new teachers. They actually told me later on
that they did not want to risk losing the little bit of money they were getting and that they
didn‟t want to disturb me because they could see I was very busy.
Chapter 1 11
I entered „expert‟ mode once again and made decisions based on what I thought I
knew. I deemed this the time right to extend the crèche hours to between 08h00 - 14h00
and to increase the practitioners‟ stipend to R 850-00 per month (see addendum O).
Tensions around the crèche had been mounting and the first crisis occurred in mid-
November 2009, when one of the parents assaulted one of the volunteer teachers in the
presence of the children.
In the subsequent reflection process, prompted by the intercession of the social worker,
I became consciously aware of my naivety to expect that untrained child minders would
draw on their indigenous knowledge of child-raising to construct an organic pre-school
curriculum all by themselves. I had failed to be critically attentive of the effect the
promotion in status and the subsequent increase in the monthly stipend of the teacher
volunteers would have on the internal power structures operant within the sphere of the
production of knowledge in the shifting context of implementing the crèche in Mogwase
(Giroux, 1994). I had also failed to consider how the absence of the „older matron‟ figure
would impact the cultural aspects of child raising prevalent in black rural African
communities. This probably stemmed from tensions between what I knew about the
community‟s beliefs versus my ingrained training that dictated that if someone is
qualified they can do the job.
Time and again at parent-crèche meetings I defended the practitioners, reminding
parents that attendance at the centre was free of charge and that they should be patient
while we all „grow‟ the crèche. Despite the fact that my arguments on behalf of the
practitioners always seemed to silence the parents at meetings, I sensed even then that
this was really just compliance and that underneath the surface there was a deeper
conflict brewing. This was confirmed when (now) in researcher mode I analysed the
minutes of meetings and the field notes I had written during that time. Evident also, is
how, as development facilitator and „agent‟ of the corporate funders, I stood in an
unequal power relationship to the parents and the teachers. This was raised in my
discussions with the social worker during that time, but because we were short-staffed I
continued despite these inequalities. Also, the edutainers and equipment were now in
the settlement, funding for the ECD project had been received and there was, for us as
development agents, at this point, so to speak, no turning back.
After a second assault on the minders at the crèche, this time by one of the community
leaders, the parents themselves closed the crèche down for two weeks citing concerns
about their children‟s safety as reason. Through individual reflection and discussions
Chapter 1 12
with the social worker, I came to realise that I had expected far too much of the
practitioners and that I had not given them enough guidance. The volunteer teachers
transferred their prior knowledge about child-minding to the crèche setting and, as
mother-educators, they were perhaps also finding it difficult to deal with multiple role
expectations (Knowles, Nieuwenhuis & Smit, 2009). But although I knew that I could no
longer ignore the host of factors influencing the situation and the pressure from each
constituency; funders, community leaders, teachers and parents, I still planned a new
intervention without any grass roots action and presented the community with a new
protocol that had to be followed (Swanepoel, 1997), suggesting that I train the
practitioners once a week and as before, the committee, the teachers and the parents
agreed.
1.4.2. Phase 2: Education training will help grow an organic curriculum. Sonja, the community development practitioner to the rescue
Although I certainly spent a lot of time reflecting on the situation with the social worker,
my reflections at this point were still not orientated towards collaborating with the
teachers to find a solution to our problems. Although I was certainly thinking about the
situation a lot, analysing what the crèche intervention was causing to happen within
Mogwase, I was not using dialogue to help the teachers articulate and make sense of
their learning about the crèche and its operation (Giroux & McLaren, 1996).
In this mode I determined that the practitioners needed some more information and
some guidance in order for them to become more aware of ECD and what being an
ECD practitioner was about. I subsequently started spending a morning every week with
the volunteer teachers focusing on child development, the needs of pre-school children
and the role of the ECD practitioner in the optimal development of children. I also
arranged for the teachers to take turns, once a week, to spend time at an established
crèche in the area for some „on-the-job-training‟.
By now my „formula‟ for the development of an organic ECD curriculum looked like this:
Edutainers and Equipment + Practitioners + Indigenous knowledge +„ECD
Awareness Training‟ = An organic curriculum, tailor-made for Mogwase
Despite the informal training the volunteer teachers were getting once a week, the
situation did not really improve at all. The teachers were coming to work late and leaving
Chapter 1 13
early, reporting on one another, and at times I witnessed them sitting in the sun merely
watching the children in the playground.
Looking at the field notes I had made as development practitioner during this period, I
can see that I had still been completely naive in thinking that three untrained women
who had never been exposed to an ECD environment would, with the little bit of training
they were getting, magically transform into effective ECD practitioners. I can see that I
had taken the term „organic curriculum‟ perhaps to mean that very little input was
needed for people to somehow „grow‟ early childhood education knowledge for
themselves.
A second crisis at the crèche presented itself in May 2010 when parents refused to send
their children to the crèche at all. They said that since the erection of the playground
equipment and the completion of the community centre, all the practitioners did was to
sit in the sun on the veranda all day long and watch the children play outside on the
jungle gym. Conflict among the practitioners themselves was mounting too. Reports
were received that some of the teachers were taking food, intended for the children,
home.
At a subsequent meeting with the practitioners it was clear that the situation at the
centre had deteriorated to a point where there seemed to be no cohesion among the
teachers and that they displayed quite a deep level of apathy towards their work. I
explained the complaints, which I had received from parents, to the teachers. Only one
of the teachers was willing to talk at this meeting but one of the other teachers
immediately became verbally abusive and accusations started flying hither and thither.
Upon leaving the centre, I witnessed an incidence of near-violence between an unhappy
young mother and one of the teachers which emphasised the crisis which was unfolding
around the crèche.
The next day at a parents-teacher crisis meeting (see addendum I), parents complained
about a lack of teacher-child interaction and said that teachers were not looking after
children‟s safety and used shaming as a means to control children‟s behaviour. Some of
the parents felt that I was unable to „control‟ the crèche teachers and suggested that an
external manager be appointed. Some parents suggested that a higher fence be put up
around the crèche for safety, as the river was not far away from the settlement and also
to keep community members out of the crèche area during the day, while some others
called for stronger control over the crèche by committee members.
Chapter 1 14
After this meeting I once again reflected on the situation and considered that perhaps an
external person was indeed needed to help „manage‟ the crèche on a daily basis. I
proposed this to the committee and the teachers at the next teachers‟ meeting.
Everyone agreed that it was a good idea, and so I approached a crèche teacher that the
Mogwase crèche teachers knew from the pre-school where they did their on-the-job
training. It was decided that this teacher would come and help out at the crèche for six
weeks during the June holidays4.
1.4.3. Phase 3: Daily teacher training for six weeks will help grow an organic curriculum
Molly worked at the crèche, training the teachers on a daily basis. She helped the
teachers to schedule activities into a more structured daily plan. During the six weeks
that Molly helped with the training, the teachers became progressively more open and
free in discussing their work. It looked as if, with the timely prompting of the community,
we had at last found a formula that seemed to work:
Edutainers + teachers + 6 weeks of intensive training by an external trainer = an
organic curriculum, tailor-made for Mogwase
During this training period the teachers reported that they had learned about aspects of
early childhood education like „following a daily programme‟ and „theme work‟.
1.4.4. Phase 4: Bridging the gap between the pre-research phases and the formal research phase
The committee members were very happy with the progress that had been made and
towards the end of the six weeks the teachers indicated that they were “not quite ready
to stand on their own feet”. This was a very important point in the pre-research phases
as this marks the point where the committee and the teachers truly began to participate
in the decision-making processes of the crèche. This „reflection‟ can therefore be seen
as the start of a „bridging‟ phase between the pre-research phases and the formal
research (see Table 1.1).
Committee members and teachers alike requested that the training continued and that I
look out for a suitable trainer to take over from Molly. I recruited Paulina, a crèche
teacher from the area, who came for an interview with the committee and teachers in 4The mid-year school holiday, which in South Africa, is usually 4 weeks long, were extended to six weeks because of the World Cup soccer event, which was hosted by South Africa that year.
Chapter 1 15
mid-August and was immediately appointed as trainer for the teachers. As will be seen
later on, the design phase of the research began shortly after Paulina‟s started her
employment as teacher-trainer in the settlement.
1.4.5. Reflexivity (in the pre-design phases) and the forging of a study
From Table 1.1.it is clear that the periods of reflection were, in each case, pre-ceded by
a crisis in the field. Firstly, the fact that I had to make a decision, right at the beginning,
about the establishment of an early childhood education intervention at the community
constituted a crisis which required of me to reflect on how best to proceed. Next, at the
point where the parents‟ dissatisfaction with the teaching practice at the crèche
culminated in violent attacks, I had to reflect on how the situation had influenced
perceptions of power and relationships within the community. Thereafter, when parents
closed down the crèche because of their dissatisfaction with how their children were
being taken care of, I had to think carefully about how to proceed with volunteer
practitioners who were clearly out of their depth. The end of the third phase, when the
practitioners had been receiving training from an external trainer for six weeks and had
afterwards requested more training, was the first time that I had the opportunity to reflect
on a situation which, through trial and error, had at last reached some equilibrium.
It was during this phase of reflection that I realised I had indeed strayed far from the
values of collaboration and participation that I had always followed in my practice of
community development. I had somehow forgotten that I believed that development
should happen in a self-reliant and participatory way, starting from and building up from
the community‟s existing knowledge and experience (Florin & Wandersman, 2006). I
had lost sight that development was supposed to be much “more than the provision of
social services and the introduction of new technologies” but that it “involves changes in
the awareness, motivation and behaviour of individuals” as well as changes in the ways
in which individuals relate to each other and in groups (Burkey, 1993, p.48). In the heat
of many moments and in crisis management mode I had lapsed into societal default
mechanisms.
I had lost sight of participation as an integral part of the development process and had
ignored the PAR principle that appropriate planning starts with the people for whom the
intervention is intended (Werner & Bower, 1983). I had neglected one of the most
important principles of performing a needs assessment; that it should essentially be a
“listening effort” (Vella, 1994, p.5) and had made decisions on behalf of the community,
Chapter 1 16
instead of negotiating and building effective channels of communication to establish
what their real needs and perceptions were (Florin & Wandersman, 2006). I had also
neglected to encourage the community to strengthen their self-organising processes and
to use and support their own initiatives (Korten, 1980). I could clearly see how events
had transpired to force me, as active role player, to come, with each cycle, closer to the
participatory development paradigm which as Bhasin (1980 in Burkey 1993, p.53)
warns, requires of development workers to
constantly ask themselves: am I increasing the confidence of the poor, their
faith in themselves, and their self-reliance, or am I making them
instruments of my own plans of action, imposing my own ideas on them?
In this moment of brief respite from the periodic stresses of trying to avert impending
disaster I realised that a new cycle had to be planned and embarked upon, although this
time I did not feel so pressurised to „get it right‟. Perhaps it was because finally I was
willing to step back from being the hero who had initiated and catalysed many of the
changes and programmes implemented thus far in the settlement and had been “willing
to return to the notion of collaborative enquiry as the doorway to change in any
community” (Cranton, 1996, p.152). I had finally come to the point where I realised that
for transformation to occur, other voices had to enter the arena – perhaps voices of
“barefoot practitioners” (Henning, 2000) whose semiotics I needed to decode. The
practitioners, the committee, the parents and the development agents were all groups
struggling with the same issue from different perspectives. I resolved that I would, in
future, encourage all role players to establish links and to build alliances between
themselves and other groups with the same aims and objectives (Korten, 1980).
Interestingly, it was the results of my own misguided choices and actions that had led
me back to where I had started from, but now I could approach this task in a more
informed manner, through the lens and frameworks of an educational researcher. I could
work “retroductively” (Henning, van Rensburg & Smit, 2004, p.16) and retrace my steps
through the terrain I had traversed. I could “reflect on my own philosophies and realise
the importance of my own positioning” (ibid, p.16) with regard to the theoretical
framework from which I worked and, from that reflection, plan how I would, in a
participatory manner, design a study which would optimally capture the development of
a rural ECD programme.
Chapter 1 17
This study thus germinated from the fertile ‟compost‟ that was the result of that first
entropic stage during which the situation had happened in a natural way, despite my
attempts at orchestrating the outcomes that I had thought would be best for the
community and the project. This spontaneity and “natural development” with no control
over “variables” clearly situates the study within the realm of interpretive qualitative
research (ibid, p.3). As I have already mentioned, the research questions were
conceived of as a result of the process which preceded and led to the study. I had, by
then, experienced first-hand the critical notion that “events are understood within the
social and economic contexts with emphasis in ideological critique and praxis” (ibid, p.
23). It was from the very practice of trying out different possibilities in order to find the
answer that my research questions emerged. The research questions were not only
questions that needed to be answered for the situation to progress but at the same time
they gave direction to what would happen in this PAR study.
Against this background the following research questions were posed:
1. What is the process of developing an (organic) ECD curriculum with practitioner
training in a rural community?
2. What are the emerging tensions in such a process and how are they managed in
PAR mode?
Along with these, the following sub-questions were formulated:
1. What are the tensions that arose in the implementation of the original ECD
curriculum in a rural community and how are they managed as the programme
proceeds?
2. How are untrained ECD practitioners assisted in a training programme that can
equip them as agents of development of young children?
3. How are the bottom-up (organic) ECD curriculum and practitioner training
programme (jointly) conceptualized and implemented in the settlement pre-
school?
4. What improvements would be suggested for the curriculum and the practitioner
training based on participants input?
Having struggled as practitioner, who had morphed into a researcher, I was acutely
aware of how some systemic view of the overall activity of ECD development was
required of me. I thus decided to gaze upon the project as an activity system, a heuristic
Chapter 1 18
device, which is described by Beatty and Feldman (2009) as having been developed by
Engeström (1987) and which was spawned in the earlier work by Vygotsky (1978,
1986/1934) and activity theorists that developed his initial theories, such as Leont‟ev
(1978).
1.5. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE INQUIRY: A SYSTEMS VIEW ON ACTIVITY
I will now explain how I made use of Engeström‟s (2001) version of cultural-historical
activity theory (CHAT), specifically his model of an activity system, as framework for the
study and as a lens through which to look at the tensions between the different role
players in the situation of the study (see figure 1.1). To this end I make use of Beatty
and Feldman‟s (2009) exposition of the how the notion of an activity system can serve
as thinking device when looking at role-players in a shared activity. In the instance of
this research the „activity‟ includes everything that could possibly influence the work of
the ECD development in the village. I make use of Beatty and Feldman‟s description
and application of this theory because of, on the one hand, the strong parallels between
their study and my own and on the other hand, because these authors effectively
capture the salient aspects of Engeström‟s take on Vygotskian theory and the other
theories that have been spawned in its wake.
This particular strain of Vygotskian theory is also known as third generation activity
theory. Leont‟ev invokes role players beyond Vygotsky‟s ideas about “subject,” “tool”
and “object” in activity. As Vygotsky‟s original work focused on cultural historical theory,
with its emphasis on the culture and the genetics or history of the semiotics of tools and
signs that mediate activity of individuals and groups, Engeström, building on the work of
Leont‟ev (1978), invokes the role of the community, the division of labour in activity, and
the rules and conventions that impact activity in an activity system.
Chapter 1 19
COMMUNITY
Figure 1.1: Relationships between elements of Engeström‟s (1987) cultural historical activity theory
Beatty applies CHAT in order to illuminate teacher change and professional
development within a research project which looks at how teachers change during in-
service learning. As already mentioned, the empirical context of Beatty and Feldman‟s
study is similar to that of my own research. Both studies explore difficulties experienced
and changes undergone by teachers while learning a new classroom practice or
instruction tool.
Vygotsky developed first-generation activity theory (although he did not refer to his
theory in this way) by proposing that all human action is mediated by signs and artefacts
(Vygotsky, 1987, 1986; Kozulin, 1990; Beatty & Feldman, 2009). These artefacts include
tools such as hammers, ovens or computers, cultural artefacts as signs, such as
language, and theoretical artefacts such as mathematics. Much of the cultural nuances
of the theory are lodged in the tools and signs, especially language and the use of
certain discourses. According to this theory, “mediation takes place between the subject
and object of an action, where the subject is typically a human being” (ibid, p.3). The unit
of analysis in Vygotsky‟s theory is the acting individual engaged in an activity through
the texts and other mediational means serving as tools. This posed a challenge to the
scope of researchers to “model collective activity and social influences upon a (single)
person” (ibid).
Tools and signs
Subject Object
Rules Division of labour
Chapter 1 20
Leont‟ev generated „second-generation activity theory‟ as a response to this limitation.
According to Leont‟ev‟s second-generation activity theory the actions of an individual
happen within an activity system, where the subject, the object of action and a
community are all part of the same collective activity. Leont‟ev also said that human
actions have meaning only when seen in the context of collective activity. Engeström,
following both Vygotsky and Leont‟ev, developed his version of cultural historical activity
theory out of the work done by Vygotskian authors working in first-generation activity
theory (Engeström, 2001, in Beatty & Feldman, 2009, p.4) and Leont‟ev‟s second-
generation activity theory (1981 in Beatty & Feldman, 2009, p.4) For the purposes of this
study the crèche development at Mogwase can be seen as the collective activity and the
various components in it. This will be further discussed in Chapter 3.
1.6. RESEARCH DESIGN: ONE PHASE IN A PAR CYCLE
This study is of specific design-type (Mouton, 2000 in Henning et al., 2004) or design-
genre (Henning et al., 2004). It is done in PAR mode, it is practitioner-based and it is in
an interpretive paradigm, using largely qualitative data from documents and artefacts,
interviews, and observations captured in a diary/journal. PAR is different from most
other research orientations, even from its mother genre of action research. The central
purpose of PAR research is to enable action, and to do so primarily with the full
participation of the people who are also the object of action. In other words, the
participants are both subject and object of action simultaneously. Furthermore, the
researcher(s) are practitioners that are also involved in this very same action in a dual
role. It is this confluence of roles (Rayland, 2006) that brings about problems such as
the ones I have mentioned in the narrative in Section 4 of the chapter.
Action in the PAR cycle happens as a result of a collaborative cycle of reflection (and
that thus requires many forms of reflexivity by different partners), during which
participants gather and analyse data, decide on a course of action and plan what action
would be best to take. The action that results is then, in turn, subjected to another cycle
of research and reflection. Change through participation, reflection and action is the
ultimate goal of this type of research (McGarvey, 2007).
PAR is used to bring about change and social transformation in a variety of contexts. In
adult education, for example, a focus of PAR is on the role of dialogic in developing a
sound relationship between teacher and learner in which adult learners will be motivated
to engage actively with the decision making processes that affect them (Vella, 1994).
Chapter 1 21
Health work is another example of how PAR can be applied to bring about positive
changes in the lives of disenfranchised populations. The use of PAR techniques such
as critical analysis encourages people in resource poor environments to re-assess their
beliefs and customs around health issues. This often helps poor and powerless people
to gain greater control over their health and their lives (Werner & Bower, 1983). Another
example of how PAR is used in professional contexts is with teachers, who through
critical reflection on their practice, work towards professional development,
transformation of their practice and their views of themselves, their learners and their
assumptions about education (Cranton, 1996).
Because the research questions in this study deal with change in a community
education intervention the inquiry was predisposed to PAR as a mode of research. This
is because PAR is first of all participatory and thus suitable for an inquiry that deals with
different people in a community trying to work out how best to deal with the dynamics
created by an intervention. Secondly, PAR is, as already mentioned, action research,
and therefore ideal to apply to a situation in which education practice is already taking
place, such as at Mogwase, where new and better ways of doing things can only be
discovered through reflection on previous action and planning how to do things more
effectively in future.
1.7. OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTERS
The inquiry comprises five chapters:
Chapter 1 serves as an orientation to the inquiry, sketching the research setting and
giving background to the research. Because this is a PAR study, the pre-research
phases are also outlined in this chapter.
Chapter 2 comprises a literature review which serves to give a comprehensive
conceptual framework for the study. It includes literature about the different aspects of
the inquiry. These include topics ranging from, for example, early childhood
development to community development and teacher education.
Chapter 3 consists of a discussion of the design of the study and its methodology, a
further discussion of the theoretical framework that was introduced in Chapter 1, and
how this framework was applied as thinking tool to gaze upon the object of study.
Chapter 1 22
Chapter 4 tells the story of the empirical work, from data sources and gathering to
analysis of the data. It ends in listing the final themes, showing how they were arrived at
through a systematic inductive process of analysis.
Chapter 5 summarises the final themes of the research and presents a discussion of the
themes and the main pattern of the findings, plus the conclusions that can be drawn
from these findings.
1.8. CONCLUSION: ASSUMPTIONS AT THE OUTSET OF THE INQUIRY
When the „official‟ study was commenced, I worked on one main assumption, namely
that in any community development intervention there will be tensions between the
gesellschaft/society and the gemeinschaft/community (Tönnies, 1887/1957). Upon
having earlier encountered the ideas of this late 19th century theorist, who was
concerned with the way society was changing after the industrial age, I have come to
see community values (emanating from the gemeinschaft) as a micro cosmic world view
that is often in opposition to the societal view (with its origins in the gesellschaft).And so,
my experience within the larger community development project had, in some limited
way, prepared me for the tensions I would encounter in the crèche development. An
assumption of any PAR study is that it is the very nature of studies of this design genre
to elicit the voices of the community.
Chapter 2 23
CHAPTER 2: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF EARLY
CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AS A COMPONENT OF RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN
SOUTH AFRICA
2.1. INTRODUCTION TO THE LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter consists of a review of some of the relevant literature with respect to early
childhood development as an aspect of rural community development in South Africa. It
will therefore commence with a review of literature pertaining to the history, theories and
approaches to community development. Key concepts are examined and, to a certain
extent also problematised so as to clarify their use in the study. The different aspects of
ECD delivery is examined through literature, after which possible quality criteria for
ECD provisioning is explored, with special attention paid to the contribution of teacher
development to the quality of delivery. Next, the concept of curriculum is explored
through a literature review of several models and approaches to ECD curriculum and
how these relate to the context of the rural settlement of this study. Furthermore, some
views on an African perspective on early childhood development and education are
presented with a description of how some of the challenges faced in the field are being
met in South Africa.
2.1.1. Development in a developing world
In the first part of this section of the literature review I will look at the prominent themes
of development and how these have evolved over time. I will begin by discussing macro
theories of development such as modernisation theory and dependency theory. I will
then discuss how the inability of imported Western development thinking to address
poverty, unemployment and starvation in Africa gave rise to alternative community-
focused development approaches. I will give an overview of the main trends in
community development over the past 60 years showing how top-down approaches
gradually gave way to more participatory and community-centred ones. Lastly, I will
investigate the argument against society initiated interventions - especially those
implemented as part of corporate social responsibility activities.
Chapter 2 24
Development as methodology and as field of study derived from Western economic
history and Western development thinking and was shaped by capitalism and the
increased trade brought about by the industrial revolution. As positivist theories of
development, modernization theory and dependency theory focused on macro-
economic change and defined development as growth as measured by the per capita
GDP of a country (Burkey, 1993, p.14). According to Gelderblom and McKay (2000),
modernisation theory, which was popular during the 1950‟s and 1960‟s, suggests that
developing countries could increase their GDP by emulating the trade and economy of
industrialized, developed countries. Dependency theory, on the other hand, proposes
that developing countries would never be able to truly participate in the global economy
as they were kept as suppliers of low-cost raw materials to developed countries which
would use their own advanced technology to turn the raw materials into high-cost
products which they would then sell back to developing countries. The only way out of
this downward economic spiral, theorists suggested, would be for developing countries
to break away from the world economic system and pursue their own socialist
alternatives or for the global economy to be transformed to reflect the concerns of
underdeveloped countries (Ferraro, 2008) As Campbell and Jovchelovitch (2000) point
out, both modernization theory and dependency theory rest on the underlying
assumption of development as an issue of 'catching up', and that ideally, eventually less
developed contexts would achieve the level of development of more developed ones.
The failure of these two structuralist development theories to help countries and
communities to become self-sustainable became starkly apparent in their inability to
reduce poverty and meet the basic needs of especially rural communities in developing
countries and created an impasse in the field of development (Binns & Nel, 1999).
Although the focus shifted towards more needs-orientated approaches in the 1970‟s, the
ideas of „basic-needs‟ and‟ redistribution with growth‟ were in fact also society-wide and
economy-orientated in scope (Ellis & Biggs, 2001). A minority discourse at the time,
inspired by Marxist and Neo-Marxist social science, namely „Political economy of
agrarian change‟ first introduced considerations of class, power and inequality into
development discourse. This movement gained momentum and during the 1980‟s
caused a paradigm shift from authoritarian, top-down approaches to more grassroots
approaches that viewed rural development as a participatory process that empowers
rural residents to actively take part in the decision-making processes that affect them
(ibid). Although the changes in development approaches described here are by no
means exhaustive, nor can they be seen as singular events, more participatory
approaches can now be viewed as mainstream and bearing a greater focus on the
Chapter 2 25
agency of community participants as stakeholders instead of overarching structures
and institutions such as the state and aid agencies (Pieterse, 1998).
Summers (1986) describes two development approaches, namely authoritative and
client-centred community development. Viewed over time, it can be said that the former
gradually gave way to the latter with earlier interventions reflecting a more authoritative
approach while more recent development ideas can be said to be more client-centred.
An authoritative intervention strategy means that an agent, usually external to the
community, decides that a target community needs assistance and, assuming that a
political climate, in which a provider-recipient relationship can be established, exists,
implements a project. This intervention is believed to be in the interest of the recipient
community to improve an aspect or aspects of life for that community. It is assumed that
the provider‟s knowledge is superior to that of the recipient and that the members of the
community will adopt the recommended solution. This approach to community
development has its origins in the belief that the problems which communities face are
mainly physical in nature and not cultural, social, political, economic or demographical.
Social sciences are employed in this approach only as a tool to speed the adoption and
diffusion of the solutions intended to improve the well-being of the people.
The tenets of client-centred community development approach rest, according to
Summers (ibid), on the basic assumption that most people want and should control their
own lives by means of political equality and popular sovereignty. The focus is on the
individual citizen as acting purposively and evaluating experiences to evolve workable
systems of beliefs, values and behaviours. The change agent must work in partnership
with the client in this process of experiential learning during which the client actively
participates in defining the problem, looking for solutions, assessing available resources
and deciding upon a course of action. This approach is derived from behavioural and
social sciences but technical and scientific knowledge are not excluded as resources
available to the client and the change agent. Indigenous knowledge is regarded as
having equal value with other forms of knowledge. Its criticism of the authoritative
approach centres largely on the way it usurps local control and community autonomy in
the development process.
Cleaver (1999, p.597) however, is sceptical of unquestioningly accepting participatory
methods as necessarily the best approach to community development and warns that
“participation has…become an act of faith in development". He questions the
effectiveness of participation in actually improving conditions for the poor, pointing to the
Chapter 2 26
lack of large-scale evidence and the incompatibility between „participation‟ and the cost-
and-time constrained nature of „projects‟, arguing that projects aim to meet practical
rather than strategic needs and favours instrumentality over empowerment. Cleaver
(ibid, p.604) criticises development practitioners for “perpetuating the myth that
communities are capable of anything”, that they only need to be „mobilized‟ to begin
acting in a way that will invariably lead to development. Instead, argues this author, the
recipients of project interventions are actually influenced by the limitations and dynamics
of aims and constraints within the project which can create numerous tensions in
community development projects.
Also of importance is the role of the „development agent‟ who certainly plays a major
role in the dynamics and outcomes of community development. Mathie and Cunningham
(2003) discuss how changes in the political, economic, and institutional context over the
preceding last two decades have reshaped the roles of various development actors in
community development. While the state was the main director of community
development activities in the 70‟s, NGO‟s became the primary intermediaries between
communities and public and private funders in the 80‟s. More recently there has been a
shift towards decentralization of national government involvement to a more local level
as well as direct involvement by corporations in community development as part of their
corporate social responsibility activities.
Kretzmann and McKnight (1993) criticizes the development efforts of non-community
agents, such as universities, donor agencies, governments, and the media as being
problem-centred and focused primarily on the needs, problems, and deficiencies of low
income communities. These authors argue that the results of such projects are usually
counter-development since it causes the people living in research-poor communities to
come to view themselves as incapable of initiating change or attracting resources and
that this, in turn, leads to those communities becoming progressively more reliant on
outside institutions to solve their problems. A situation which, they argue, serves the
institution‟s vested need to maintain this dependency.
In examining the phenomenon of donor-funded community development projects it is
useful to view it in terms of what Tönnies (1887, 1957) refers to as gemeinschaft and
gesellschaft. I will here make use of an interpretation by Nilsson and Hendrickse (2011)
of Tönnies‟ work. Gemeinschaft, which incompletely translates into „community‟,
indicates interaction between a group of humans who know and care for each other
while gesellschaft denotes interaction between people who do not know each other.
Chapter 2 27
According to an interpretation of Tönnies‟ work by Nilsson and Hendrickse (ibid), the
driving force within gemeinschaft is the Wesenwille or „essential will‟ of the members of
the group. This means that the force which drives the actions of the people belonging to
the gemeinschaft is “instinctive and organic” (ibid, p. 8). The gemeinschaft group is
homogenous and membership thereof is satisfying to those belonging to the group.
Gesellschaft on the other hand denotes interaction between people who are strangers to
each other and this interaction can be referred to as „market‟ behaviour. The driving
force within the gesellschaft, according to Tönnies, is called Kürwille, meaning
„conditional will‟ and implies “calculative behaviour” (ibid). It also means that the
individual who acts according to this „conditional will‟ separates goals from the means to
attain them and therefore calculates the best instrument or method to reach a goal.
Although gemeinschaft and gesellschaft are often organizationally related to each other,
thus affecting each other, the relationship between the two is often conflicting. The
degree of equilibrium attained in the interaction of these two determines the success of
the individual or the organization. The actors must therefore be aware of this balance
and take care to act accordingly. In terms of this study, the rural community of Mogwase
can be said to represent the gemeinschaft and the development actors, namely the
corporate donor-funder and the NGO and development practitioners, including myself
and the social worker, could be said to represent the gesellschaft. The development
project and the crèche intervention can therefore be viewed as being society or
gesellschaft initiated. In the next section I discuss current trends in corporate donor-
funded community development interventions.
Worldwide the demand has been increasing for multinational enterprises to engage in
community development projects with the communities where they operate (Eweje,
2006). This is partly because this form of social infrastructure is often not provided by
governments in developing countries. This often means that corporations become
development „surrogates‟ and to a certain extent, take over governments‟ responsibilities
towards disadvantaged communities (Ite, 2004). A strong debate at present is whether
or not the benefits of the engagement of external agents of development, such as a
multinational enterprise or corporate funder in community development (Lund-Tomsen,
2005) with disadvantaged communities, outweigh the potential damage they can inflict
on those same communities politically, socially and economically (Ite, 2004).
Part of the problem with corporate interventions in communities is that internal power
structures within such communities often determine who gets the most benefit from a
given intervention. One criticism of this kind of society-initiated intervention is that large
Chapter 2 28
corporations tend to focus on those willing to cooperate and to dismiss or ignore more
confrontational views. Furthermore, different groups within the community might
experience the presence and involvement of the corporation in different ways. For
instance, people who benefit from being employed by the corporation might feel different
from people who do not receive direct benefit. In some cases there is also a lack of
support for community rights from the state and sometimes the corporations are
protected at the expense of their responsibilities, (Garvey & Newell, 2005). This is
because the involvement of a corporation in a corporate social responsibility programme
is a commitment which demands quite a lot of effort from the corporation. It is also
demanding in that it requires that the corporation works collaboratively and cross-
sectorally with partners in the private sector, public sector and NGO sector, drawing and
balancing this dynamic to make optimum use of the strengths of each one of these
partners (Jamali & Mirshak, 2007).
A strong line of thinking behind the involvement of corporations in community
development is that investment by Multi National Enterprises (MNE‟S) in education
increases the skills and educational level of the host community on the one hand and on
the other, provides a potential better educated workforce to the MNE (Eweje, 2006).
However, central to the involvement of MNE‟s in community development, are the
expectations of the community, who want social development projects that will improve
their future situation (ibid) and the alignment of these expectations with the focus areas
of the particular corporation‟s social responsibility policy (Savage, 2011). Factors which
can inhibit the ability of a community to hold corporations accountable include a lack of
resources, political marginalization and dependence (for instance for jobs) upon the
industry. A lack of literacy and technical skills can further limit the ability of communities
to engage in dialogue with corporations on the impact of their activities (Garvey &
Newell, 2005). It is thus evident that defining development under such conditions is not
easy. Standing poised between the theories and ideologies on the one hand and the
reality of the dire lack of resources experiences by so many communities, on the other,
is challenging.
It begs the question: is it then impossible for community development to be initiated and
run by a societal agent and still be participatory in nature? Self-initiated community
action would certainly be the ideal. However, given the immobilising effects of living in
poverty environments on people‟s agency and self-esteem the role of external agents to
assist with the initiation of the development process seems needed. Qualitative
evidence suggests that the role of external agents, such as project facilitators, is key to
Chapter 2 29
the success of CBD (Community Based Development) and CDD (Community Driven
Development) within communities (Mansuri & Rao, 2003). In a sobering discussion on
some of the effects of globalization, Edwards, Hulme and Wallace (1999) argue that
through the identification and utilization of social and economic resources that exist even
in the poorest communities, and through the process of holding governments
accountable for more equitable distribution of resources such as land and public
services, capitalism can be „humanised‟ to equip the poor with tools such as negotiation
skills, to provide them with access to the means to advance their interests which will
ultimately lead to their improved self-belief and autonomy of agency. This requires
community-based strategies to be diverse, multi-pronged, and contingent upon the
particular, context-specific balance between political, economic, and social factors
(Garvey & Newell, 2005) and for careful attention to be paid to determine whether a
CSR strategy fits a specific situation before any intervention is implemented there
(Smith, 2003).
In this respect Cunningham and Mathie (2002) suggests an „arm‟s length role‟ in which
NGO‟s move away from their role of directing a development project, towards a
relationship which is sensitive to the situation and the real needs of the community and
in which the community is encouraged to engage with other actors who can help them to
fulfil their own needs and sustain their own development. As suggested by Giddens
(1984), perhaps development workers and scholars on the subject need to keep in mind
that disadvantaged people live natural lives, albeit in poverty environments, in which
they do want to have the last say when planning, practicing or theorizing about
development.
2.1.2. Problematizing the meanings of the concepts ‘poverty’, ‘rural’ and ‘rural community’
The background to this study is a rural informal settlement with a scarcity of resources,
which means that there would be ample reference to words such as „poverty‟, „rural‟ and
„rural community‟ in this text. Words have been called “slippery customers” and have
been said to often “shift their meaning” (Labov, 2004, p. 67-68 in Aarts et al., 2004) But
instead of complaining about the variable character of the meaning of words, Labov
(ibid) urges that we should recognise the creative ability of humans to apply words to the
world to have specific meaning. In my view the meanings of „poverty‟, „rural‟ and „rural
community‟ are not fixed concepts but constructs which is given meaning by certain
groups of people, most significantly development agents, scholars and people living in
disadvantaged rural communities at a certain time. I thus specifically include this section
Chapter 2 30
in which I very briefly unpack and problematise the meanings of the concepts „poverty‟
and „rural community‟. In particular I point out the juxtaposing meanings of the terms –
especially as they are used in the context of the developing world and by the members
of the community in this study. The juxtaposition is in the connotation in, for example,
development discourse, in which „rural‟ is almost synonymous with „poor‟ and „in need of
assistance/development/help‟.
Having said this, I caution that this explanation is by no means an exhaustive
examination of the meanings of these concepts. However, in keeping with my stance as
participatory researcher in a rural community of largely Setswana speakers I make
reference to some of the generic meanings as captured in two lexicons; one of them
English and one Setswana – English. I also reflect on what poor people say about
poverty and living in a rural community. For this I use examples from a study done by
Narayan, Chambers, Shah and Petesch (2000), and some research I conducted as part
of the baseline assessment for the Mogwase project (Van der Vyver, 2008) as well as
data gathered in Setswana as part of some informal research that had previously been
conducted with the aim of getting a better understanding of the perceptions of the
people in Mogwase about their situation (Van der Vyver & Mathikge, 2010). Finally I
examine how these concepts are used in popular development discourse as obtained
from a scholar Google search.
To determine the real needs and to be able to prioritise them to inform development
interventions at a given site it is imperative to listen carefully to the voices of the people
for whom development interventions are intended (Narayan et al., 2000, p.xv). Mansuri
and Rao (2003) agree that terms such as „participation‟ should be carefully
problematised and not simply accepted since it is for example quite possible for the
existing elite in more unequal communities to participate on behalf of the population and
so capture the majority of the benefits of a development project, leaving the situation for
less empowered members virtually unchanged.
2.1.2.1. Poverty
The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1990) defines poverty as: the state of being poor; want
of the necessities of life; scarcity or lack. The Macmillan Setswana – English Dictionary
(1993) translates the word „poverty‟ into the word „khumanego‟, which translates back
into „absolute want‟. In development discourse the concept of poverty is ascribed
variable meanings, the choice of which, Hagenaars and De Vos (1988) point out, bears
Chapter 2 31
consequences for the poor as they are selected and grouped by development
practitioners and social scientists.
Wagle (2002) examines three widely accepted definitions of poverty. Firstly, the
concept of poverty has traditionally been used to denote material deprivation. This
places economic well-being as the most commonly applied measurement for poverty
with income, consumption and well-fare the measures most commonly cited in economic
development literature. Absolute poverty, at this level, is described as “a lack of basic
means of survival” (ibid, p.156), a term which is hotly debated, specifically about what
exactly these „basic means‟ constitute. Economic well-being is however influenced by a
wide variety of factors and can therefore not be seen in isolation. Secondly, this author
argues, people‟s lack of capability in areas such as education, health and skills levels
impact on their ability to fulfil in their own physical needs. This concept of a lack of
capabilities as a more relevant measure of poverty has been strongly advocated by Sen
(1987, 1992, 1999 in Wagle, 2002). However, as Wagle points out, it is quite possible for
people to be able to fulfil their own economic needs through their various capabilities,
and still be defined as poor. This is, Wagle explains, because they might be socially
excluded from participating in economic markets, or political decision making processes
or civic and cultural activities.
Narayan et al. (2000, p.2) argue that the only true experts on the experience of poverty
are the poor. In a comprehensive participatory study conducted in 1999 involving over
20,000 poor women and men from 23 countries, the views of poor people on poverty
and well-being is presented verbatim in the words of the poor themselves. The authors
point out that the experience of deprivation by the poor can be described overarchingly
as one of powerlessness over a multifaceted, interlocking range of issues that span
different aspects of life such as the physical, social, environmental, behavioural,
economic, political, institutional etc. (ibid, p.2). Poverty is described by the respondents
in this study variously as “Living by scratching like a chicken”; “We are above the dead
and below the living”; “A life that cannot go beyond food” and “The poor is falling, the
rich is growing” (ibid: 33). These responses reflect how lack is perceived, not only at the
physical and economic levels, but at various other levels of existence as well.
The people of Mogwase define poverty as “komello” (drought); “Go tshela ka maano”- to
live by making plans” and “leshekere” - when everything, even plans, have dried up (Van
der Vyver& Mathikge, 2010). They see their situation as one of a lack of basic amenities
such as water, and food, and also access to education, employment, skills and social
Chapter 2 32
security (Van der Vyver, 2009). In a baseline assessment for the corporate funded
community development project of which the establishment of the crèche in this study
forms part, people described their circumstances as „very difficult‟ and life as being
„hard‟, a „struggle without income‟. They list a lack of sanitation, the poor condition of the
access road and the distance from health services as their biggest challenges.
2.1.2.2 „Rural‟
The word „rural‟, is defined as an adjective which means in, of, or suggesting the
country; pastoral or agricultural (Concise Oxford Dictionary, 1990). The term is strongly
linked with the concept of a certain space – one which, in most contemporary lexicons,
stands as the opposite of „urban‟. It is perhaps significant that there is no word for „rural‟
in the McMillan Setswana – English Dictionary. This dictionary was compiled in
Botswana, a country neighbouring South Africa, where traditionally and historically, not
so long ago, everyone were pastoralists living in rural villages. I want to argue that this
signifies how concepts are formed within certain contexts. This absence of a notion of
„rural‟ as opposed to „urban‟, at least in this dictionary, stands in sharp contrast to the
how the term „rural‟ has become, in development discourse at least, very closely linked
with the concept of „poverty‟. It has become very hard indeed for people from developed
countries to think of the people living in rural areas without asking questions such as
“what is being done to help them address poverty?” So pervasive is this assumption that
it is indeed very difficult, in a scholar Google search, to find any development literature
that does not deal with rural communities as apart from the challenges they face and
how these challenges can be addressed in any way. Certainly within the context of this
study, it is this very meaning of the term, i.e. as it pertains to development that will be
dealt with. On the one hand it is worth noting that the criticism exists that „development‟
is an invention and a strategy produced by the „First World‟ about the „under-
development‟ of the „Third World‟ (Escobar, 1992) and on the other to bear in mind that
communities come about and exist for complex reasons other than development.
(Giddens, 1984).
The criticism that this link between the concepts of „rural‟ and „poverty‟, itself a construct
employed only by those whom Burkey (1993, p.16) refers to as the “urban, educated
elite in Third World Countries” is, in my view, not entirely valid. Although the people of
Mogwase do describe the concept „rural‟ in some terms that signify their positive
experience of life in the country side; Bophelo bo bonolo - the easy, simple life; at the
same time they associate the concept with experiences of physical hardship and a lack
Chapter 2 33
of resources; Go phelwa ka thata - to live with hardship; thlokega ya sengwe le sengwe
jaaka metsi le dijo - shortage of lots of stuff like water and food; and a lack of
employment - tiro ga e ntsi. Despite viewing life in a rural setting in terms of social
stability on the one hand; Go nna le melao - to have rules; and at least some social
autonomy, go nna le magora mongwe le mongwe o nna le taolo ya gagwe- everyone
can make his own rules in his own yard, the residents of Mogwase also identify „rural‟
with the deprivation of some social rights; kega re nna mo tshotlelegong, ga gona
tlhabologo le boikgetelo - we live in suffering with no choices, no rights; Re nna ka fa
tlase - we stay at the bottom; go kgatelelo -we are under pressure, have little power
(Van der Vyver & Mathikge, 2010). How the residents of Mogwase describe the physical
aspects of what they mean by a „rural‟ environment also denotes this tension between
what Narayan et al (2000, p.4) describe as “well-being” and „ill-being”. Ditsela tsa mmu -
gravel (mud) roads, gagona dikliniki - there are no clinics, batho ba nnang
momekhukung - people live in sink shacks and ga gona motlhakase - there is no
electricity, re sokola ka metsi - we struggle with water; dikgwa go a limiwa - where we
plough in the bush (Van der Vyver & Mathikge, 2010).
These views of the physical rural environment as a perceived cause of difficulties and
lack in other aspects of life are reiterated by respondents in the study by Narayan et al
(2000) who describe their rural environments variously as follows; if we get the road we
would get everything else, community centre, employment, post office, water, telephone.
- A young woman, Little Bay, Jamaica (ibid, p. 75), Finding firewood for cooking is the
problem. Very soon we may have to go to the town to buy firewood. - A woman,
Viyalagoda, Sri Lanka (ibid, p.78) and: Where I live has two toilets in it, and they broke. I
have to eat and sleep on it [the sewage], and it is a mess. (ibid, p.80).Reflected here, as
in the perceptions of the people from Mogwase noted above, is an indication of a
Whorfian (1956) and a Vygotskian (1962) view of language and culture as primary role
players in conceptual analysis, development and understanding.
2.1.2.3. „Rural Community‟
The word „community‟ is explained in the Oxford dictionary as: people living in a specific
locality. In the McMillan Setswana – English dictionary this word is explained as batho
ba ba nang mmôgô, - people who live close together; motsana mo lefelong lengwe - a
small group of people living in the same place; dikgatlhêgô tse di tshwanang - Values
that are the same; botsalanô - mutual friendship; baagêlani - people who have built
together (Van der Vyver & Mathikge, 2010).
Chapter 2 34
According to Narayan et al. (2000), emergency situations, death and other stresses
trigger community action. As a discussion group of men and women from Malawi
explain,
Whenever there is a funeral, we work together… We work together on
community projects like moulding bricks for a school project.… Women also
work together when cleaning around the boreholes (p148).
Community decision making, especially in rural African communities is often centred on
meetings and communal discussions of issues by the members, usually the men, of a
community. A discussion group from Malawi interviewed in the study described by
Narayan et al. (2000) describes it as follows; We live together, and when there is
something we need to discuss together, we gather here as we have done now (ibid,
p.149). Interestingly, and in sharp contrast to the commonly held view of male
dominance in rural African settlements, it is the women in Mogwase who are the
prominent leaders and active members of the steering committees in the village
(Savage, 2009). This emphasizes the importance of avoiding stereotyping rural African
communities and the roles of men and women within them.
What then, in public discourse, does it mean to say that a certain community is a rural
community and what does it mean to say they are poor? Not only for the Batswana
people in Mogwase but in the public discourse? Indeed, searching on the internet, it is
very difficult to find any references which deal with rural communities outside of the
context of poverty and the need to address that poverty in some way. This is in itself
already an indicator of how ontologies are shaped about the construct. Interestingly,
Ellis and Biggs (2001) point out that, historically, it was the shift in development thinking
toward the basic-needs approach to development, during the 70‟s, that helped to identify
the concept of „rural‟ so closely with the one of „poverty‟ in development discourse.
There exists, at least in the minds of some outsiders like development practitioners and
scholars of the subject, a unitary view of community – a tendency to romanticise village
life and see rural communities as basically harmonious in living together, struggling
against their oppression and working as a team for the greater good of all (Skogen &
Krange, 2003). The problem with basing decisions of development and interventions on
this unitary view of community, according to Cleaver (1999), is that it ignores the existing
social stratification, alliances and power structures within a community. It assumes a
generic „community‟ phenomenon, which would be hard to locate in empirical reality. In
Chapter 2 35
the world of lived experience though, rural communities consist of individuals and
groups of people with different and opposing interests (Burkey, 1993), whose
participation in their own development might actually have unexpected detrimental side-
effects such as that it could lead to a loss of income due to time commitments needed
for involvement in interventions, and even physical and psychological stress since
participation of the most disadvantaged might mean challenging the position and
interests of more powerful groups (Mansuri & Rao, 2003).
In most academic texts on development studies, the term rural community is defined
primarily in terms of the difficulties of living in a rural setting (May, 2000). These
challenges usually include poverty, reliance on subsistence livelihoods, and a lack of
infrastructure, low education and skills levels and shortage of employment opportunities.
Among the social characteristics ascribed to rural settlements in development discourse
are strictures of cultural power structures and the strict adherence to tradition that often
exclude certain groups from the political processes that impact on their lives (McKay &
Sarinsky, 1995). These descriptions of hardship, accurate as they might be, capture
very little of the strengths of human togetherness or the joys of community life which
there always are, despite the looming presence of the poverty and disease indices.
Thus, on the surface, at least, it would seem that the modern world needs are in some
opposition to the tribal world system.
Thus, it seems clear that the concept „community‟ means different things to different
people. In the same breath therefore, what the development practitioner means by
„community‟ or „project‟ might indeed be similar to, but could also be vastly different from
what the people at the site of development understand those terms to mean.
Furthermore, the very act of implementing a development intervention at a certain place
might serve, over time, to change the way people of that location might view them as an
entity called „community‟. An example of this is when a neighbour of Mogwase, a few
years after the initiation of the community development project, in conversation with the
community leader, referred to the settlement as a „squatter camp5‟ (it is actually an
informal settlement6 on land owned by the community as a body). The community leader
reportedly proudly corrected the neighbour, emphasising that Mogwase was not a
„squatter camp‟, but a „proper project‟ (Van der Vyver, 2010). What this discourse
indicates is that the notion of Mogwase as a social project had entered into the ontology
5Settlements consisting of informal houses built out of wood or scrap sheet metal on land that is occupied illegally. There is usually no running water, sewerage pips, gas or electricity. 6 Similar to „squatter camps‟ except that occupation of the land is legal.
Chapter 2 36
of the inhabitants to such an extent that, at least at some level, they identified with it.
This raises questions of community identity and clearly signifies the disparity in meaning
of concepts to different people. In a critique on the topic, Liepins (2000, p.26) shows
how the concept of community has changed along with changes in rural social studies.
He draws on Cohen (1985, p.98) and says that when looking to understand the term
„community‟ we should examine its “social relations as repositories of meaning for its
members”, instead of “a set of mechanical linkages”. In other words, analysts and
researchers should remember that their engagement in academic studies or
philanthropic pursuits with people in rural locations create for them a mere lens through
which they view people who live in rural settings. They should therefore remember that,
what to them might be a convenient term to signify a “social space or arena and a set of
cultural meanings and practices” Liepins (2000, p.23), might be, in meaning, far
removed from what it is that the „community‟ itself means by „community‟.
2.2. EDUCATION AND ECD DELIVERY IN THE CONTEXT OF A ‘RURAL SOUTH AFRICAN INFORMAL SETTLEMENT’
This part of the literature review will focus on the interconnectedness of early childhood
development and education and the context within which these take place. I will look at
the complexities of schooling within the South African framework and at the tensions
that exist between the ideological aims of education in the country and the realities of
underdeveloped rural settlements. Next I will examine the importance of home and
community support, the relationship between income and developmental outcomes and
how aspects such as paternal presence and maternal education impact on early
childhood development and education. Finally, I will describe the real situation at rural
South African pre-schools and how poor quality programmes and a lack of resources
and policy highlight the necessity of an integrated and context-sensitive approach to
early childhood development and education.
Although all people have the same basic needs, Sen (1990, p.54) cautions that careful
attention has to be paid to the contextual diversity of what people might perceive to be
their main concerns since a host of social and economic factors influence these
perceived concerns. In the light of the effects of globalisation and the contemporary view
of education as a commodity, (Marginson, 1997; Sen, 2003) policy makers,
practitioners, and researchers are encouraged to view the provision of education against
the backdrop of the local context within which it is being delivered. The „one size fits all‟
trend in SA educational provisioning and curriculum development, although intended as
Chapter 2 37
a means to ensure more equitable access to education for the poor, in many instances
effectively exclude the very children it was intended for (Harley & Wedekind, 2004). A
national curriculum and standards for assessment are noble ideals, however, together
with Cross, Mungani and Rouhani (2002), I would argue for a realistic and pragmatic
approach to early childhood education - one that would focus clearly on the specific
circumstances within which it is to be implemented.
In a study done in an informal settlement near Tlokwe in the North West province, South
Africa, Maarman (2009) investigates the complexities of schooling in the South African
framework, paying special attention to the manifestation of „capabilities poverty‟, as
theorised by Sen (1980). Looking at education as a function of democracy in South
Africa, principles of transformation such as participation, community engagement,
equity, consensus and freedom (Adams & Whaghid, 2005; and ANC (1995, p.4-5) in
Maarman (2009), have directed educational policy to redress educational inequality in
South Africa. Maarman (ibid) argues that, for these democratic principles in education to
truly effect change, they need to add up to the construction of actual changed realities
for learners in informal settlements, which are examples of the poorest people living
together. Using the notions of functionings -what people do or are able to do, and
capabilities - the various combinations of what people do and their notion of freedom
and what real opportunities they have; as proposed by Sen (1980), education should
enhance capability. This is because the mere access to goods and resources does not
automatically translate into an optimum schooling experience. Sen (ibid) encourages
stakeholders in education instead to acknowledge differences in the situations of people
when considering education in informal settlements.
The factors which effect educational delivery in informal settlements are well
documented - see for instance Aliber (2003) and Biersteker (2001). Most of these
circumstances manifest at the intersect between „underdeveloped rural settlement‟ and
„poverty‟. A lack of infrastructure, low education and skills levels, unemployment, gender
inequity and the effects of the HIV/Aids epidemic on the family lives of children are just a
few of the factors which impact on the daily lives of the poor living in underdeveloped
rural settlements. The interaction of this complex on the one hand and access to and
quality of education in rural sites on the other, is what comprise the contextual
differences that Sen (1980) refers to. It is precisely these that require attention in order
to fully understand the context of the early childhood development site that forms the
focus of this study.
Chapter 2 38
A learner‟s home is the primary education situation. Parents are regarded as primary,
and teachers as secondary educators (Oberholzer, 1979, p.49 in Ngobese, 2006).
Sergiovanni (1994) says that schools are about relationships and that effective teaching
and learning will come about more naturally if schools are viewed first and foremost as
communities. Ngobese (2006) suggests that it is impossible for a school to function
effectively without the support of parents. The ability of the community to understand,
support and assist in optimising the development and learning of its children depends on
the diverse and complex dynamics of the causes and effects of poverty operant within a
given rural informal setting. These factors impact intricately and powerfully on the early
development of children and the effectiveness with which early childhood education
interventions are implemented and conducted in rural settlements.
In addition, various factors impact on the development and learning ability of children.
Family income and poverty status have been shown to be powerful determinants of the
differences in cognitive development and behaviour of children (McCartney, Phillips &
Scarr, 1987). In a quantitative study done in the US, using data from the Infant Health
Development Program (IHDP), this was shown to be true for children from both high and
low income families, even after differences such as family structure and maternal
schooling had been accounted for (Duncan, Brooks-Gunn & Klebanov, 1994). This could
be because children from resource-poor environments are less likely to have access to
books and other stimulating resources and do not get much opportunity to visit learning
environments such as museums and libraries outside the home (Bradley et al., 2001 in
Dearing, Berry & Zaslow, 2006). In Mogwase, exposure to detrimental environmental
factors such as dirty water has been cited as reasons for children getting sick and being
absent from school (Van der Vyver 2009), while overcrowding, inadequate lighting and
poor municipal services also impact negatively on the health and learning ability of
children from poor environments (Evans, 2004 in Dearing, Berry & Zaslow, 2006).
The study described by Duncan et al. (1994), furthermore lists factors such as paternal
presence, maternal education and the learning environment of the home as powerful
mediating factors in the association between income and developmental outcomes such
as IQ and child behaviour, pointing to the importance of the child‟s home environment in
optimising the ability to learn. Still, the main finding of this research was that economic
disadvantage has an adverse effect on children‟s development and ability to learn, not
only through the available supply of educational resources, but also through the
negative psychological effects it has on parents.
Chapter 2 39
In a separate clinical study on the nature of brain development in young children it
emerged that young children who are deprived of verbal interaction and who have
limited opportunities to explore and experiment with their environment may fail to
develop the neural pathways and synapses that facilitate later learning (Hawley &
Gunner, 2000). These authors recommended that for children‟s optimal development,
parents receive training and support in making sure that young children be exposed to
written materials and other stimuli and that high-quality infant-toddler child care with low
child-to-teacher ratios, small group sizes and training opportunities and funding to
improve the teaching quality of practitioners should be promoted.
The real situation at rural South African pre-school centres, such as those assessed in a
study conducted in the Limpopo province (a province which is largely considered to be
rural), is that of a shortage of stimulating programmes and resources, overfull centres,
inadequately trained practitioners and high care-giver-child ratios (Grey, 2008). The
inability of the often illiterate and poor populations in rural communities to contribute the
very important part which parents and communities are meant to play in the
development and academic progress of their children also significantly contribute to the
problems of improving rural children‟s development and later school performance
(Ngobese, 2006). Add to this the lack of policy around ECD (Biersteker & Dawes, 2008;
Ngobese, 2006) and long accepted habits and perceptions around child-rearing
practices in Africa (Pence & Marfo, 2008) and the question of how to proceed towards a
workable and effective way of „doing‟ ECD so that children really benefit becomes a
conundrum which could possibly take so long to solve that the current generation of
young children will quite literally „miss the bus‟ to a better future. Perhaps in the words of
Pence and Marfo (2008, p.9) we should adopt:
An appreciation of diverse knowledge (which) allows not only new
understandings and possibilities to emerge, but also helps to address
critical Majority World issues such as reducing brain drain, building local
capacity, addressing program and service relevance, promoting local pride
and commitment, and achieving higher levels of sustainability. The way
forward, then, is not „more of the same‟ or to „try harder‟ - but to try
differently.
Chapter 2 40
2.3. ASPECTS OF ECD DELIVERY
Poverty has a pronounced effect on all development aspects for young children (Aber,
Bennet, Conley & Li, 1997). The early childhood care and education that children get
can help to give them a better chance of breaking free of the self-perpetuating cycle of
poverty (EFA Report, 2010). In this section I will explore literature reporting on the
different facets of child development such as health and cognitive- and social
development, after which I will briefly explore the detrimental effects a lack of resources
has on the school readiness of children from poverty backgrounds.
2.3.1. Aspects of early childhood development and education for disadvantaged children
According to Vegas and Santibáñez (2010) there is evidence that three prominent
interlinked ECD outcomes play a major role in determining lifelong later outcomes for a
child. These are cognitive development, socio-emotional development and health,
growth and physical well-being. In this section of the literature review I will look at these
outcomes and how they are impacted upon specifically by the issues that disadvantaged
families face. I will then look at school readiness and the inequities that exist for children
from poverty backgrounds. I will examine in the next section under 2.3.2., how early
childhood development and education interventions can potentially play a central role in
optimising the success of these outcomes, especially for poor children.
Childcare as an intervention for children from poor families is a distinctly separate area
of activity from that for the general population. This is because children from resource-
poor backgrounds are affected by a host of factors that often do not feature in the lives
of children who are from more affluent homes (Melhuish, 2004). Children from poor
households in rural areas are at a distinct disadvantage as far as their development is
concerned. By the time these children start school, inequality due to their social and
economic background is already usually starkly evident and manifest in low physical,
cognitive and socio emotional outcomes (Waldfogel, 2004).
2.3.1.1. The effects of poverty on the health of young children
Children from poor and rural backgrounds are more likely to suffer ill-health than their
better off peers (Aber et al., 1997). These children often start life at a disadvantage, with
low birth weight due to poor maternal nutrition and infections during pregnancy (Cesar,
Wagstaf, Schellenberg, Gwatkin, Cleason, Habicht, 2003). They are often exposed to
environmental health hazards such as polluted water, a lack of proper sanitation, indoor
Chapter 2 41
air pollution and poor housing conditions (ibid). Long term undernourishment means that
these children have low resistance to infectious disease. In addition, when they do get
sick, they are unlikely to receive timely medical attention. This is because, on the one
hand rural settlements are often remotely situated and thus far away from health care
facilities and on the other because care-seeking behaviour is worse in poorer than in
relatively richer families, even within a rural society that might easily be assumed to be
uniformly poor (Schellenberg, Victora, Mushi, De Savigny, Schellenberg & Mshinda,
2003). Interestingly a study conducted in Lesotho described by Daniels et al. (1990)
cited in Chopra (2002), it was found that even after controlling for socioeconomic
factors, children from households with adequate toilet facilities were less likely to be
underweight-for-age. The safe disposal of faeces, it was concluded, reduced the
incidence of diarrhoea in children by 36% (Chopra, 2002). In addition a father‟s absence
negatively affects child health (ibid), while the mother‟s education is an important
positive determinant of child health, probably because of improved efficiency when
combining health promoting inputs in the home (Attanazio, Gomez, Gomez & Vera-
Hernāndez, 2002). All the factors mentioned here are of consequence to the optimum
development of poor children and therefore contribute to their attaining lower
developmental scores in a range of tests at multiple ages (Aber et al., 2003).
According to Bonti-Ankomah (2001), the primary school nutrition programme (PSNP)
which was started in South Africa under the Reconstruction and Development Strategy
Framework established in April 1994, has helped to promote the idea of schools as
suitable settings for addressing the issue of health in children. The importance of
collaboration between the school and the child‟s home is emphasised and the role of
these schools are seen to act as enablers and models for the development of healthy
lifestyles and attitudes in their communities. In South Africa, most children from poverty
backgrounds are fed a maize-based diet which is low in energy and nutrient density.
This, according to Faber and Wenhold (2007), contributes to the high prevalence of, for
example, Vitamin A deficiency (which affects 33, 3 % of all pre-school children in South
Africa in 2006), and anaemia (which affects 21, 4% of all preschool children in South
Africa in 2006). School feeding systems, such as the Primary School Nutrition
Programme, combined with knowledge transfer about nutrition to caretakers of young
children, can assist in combating the prevalence of both short-term hunger and
malnutrition in South Africa (Stuijvenberg, 2005). This is evident in the studies by Engle,
Black, Behrman, Cabral de Mello, Gertler, Kapiriri et al. (2007) who cite one of the
longest follow-up duration studies on the topic of nutrition, in Guatemala, where
Chapter 2 42
supplementation before age 3 years showed beneficial effects on schooling, reading,
and intelligence tests during adulthood (25–42 years).
2.3.1.2. The effects of poverty on the cognitive development of young children
Universally, young children‟s attendance of preschool programs is generally associated
with cognitive gains and improved performance in school and does impact positively on
the lives of low income children (Hawley & Gunner, 2000 and Shonkoff and Phillips,
2000). According to Boocock (1995), what impacts positively on the academic lives of
disadvantaged children is not any particular curriculum or program model, but their
exposure to a pre-school experience. As long as the quality of the experience is
reasonable, this author argues, it seems that it makes little difference what pedagogic
approach or daily schedule is followed or in what type of setting it all takes place.
However, in a commentary on several studies on the topic, Barnett (2004) argues that
given certain quality assurance of the programmes, lower income children particularly
benefit from pre-school. A lack of proper stimulation and inadequate interactions can
disrupt basic neural circuitry while stimulation can enhance neuro-cognitive processing
and brain functioning, especially for infants who were born prematurely (Engle et al.,
2007).
2.3.1.3. The impact of poverty on the socio-emotional development of young
children
Persistent poverty has a detrimental effect on the cognitive and socio-emotional
development of children (McLoyd, 1998). This is because economic pressures often
compromises parent psychological wellbeing, which could inhibit positive parenting
behaviours such as stimulation, support and responsiveness and as a result, increase
negative parenting behaviours such as inconsistent and harsh parenting (McCartney &
Phillips, 2006). Children from developing countries are also more likely to be exposed to
the effects of maternal depression, community and domestic violence and stigma, and
parental loss due to HIV and AIDS (Engle et al., 2007). These factors could prevent the
child from actively participating in the “progressively more complex reciprocal
interactions” which leads to the “strong, mutual...attachment” between two human
beings which Bronfenbrenner and Evans (2000, p.117) propose is necessary for
children‟s intellectual, emotional, social and moral development.
Chapter 2 43
2.3.1.4. Poverty as a determining factor in the school readiness of young
children
Magnuson, Meyers, Ruhm and Waldvogel (2004) found that, even after controlling for
factors such as family background, attendance of a centre or school-based preschool
program in the year before going to school leads to better performance on assessments
of reading and mathematics skills upon beginning kindergarten. These effects have
been found to be most significant for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. For
instance, in a long-term follow-up study described by Ramey and Ramey (2004), it was
found that children not only retained their performance in reading and mathematics in
elementary and secondary school but were less likely to need special education
placement or grade retention. These benefits and results indicate that policies which
promote preschool enrolment of children from disadvantaged backgrounds might help to
prepare these children for school.
In many countries such as the USA standards against which to assess the outcomes of
early learning are set. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Bush
Administration‟s Good Start, Grow Smart (GSGS) initiatives are some examples of this
focus on improving children‟s academic achievement. However Brown (2009) argues
that the need to adjust their classroom practices to fit in with the requirements of these
policy initiatives can put a lot of pressure on teachers to shape their pedagogical
practices to be more academically orientated. These sentiments are echoed by critics of
the outcomes based English (UK) Early Childhood Curriculum, a curriculum which
embraces a stepped, sequential approach to learning. According to Soler and Miller
(2003) this curriculum is organised through learning areas that are imposed from outside
and are linked to the subject areas of the National Curriculum. This approach, according
to these authors, is “elitist, non-egalitarian and non-democratic” (ibid, p. 62) and serves
the need for school curricula that is based on commercial and economic values. In
South Africa similarly, ECD is a focus of both the human resource development (HRD)
strategy of the department of labour and the DoE, “aiming to provide a foundation for
social participation as well as marketable skills at the further and higher educational
levels” (HRDR 2008, p.188). It also forms part of the strategic objective “Improving the
foundations of Life and Work” (DoL & DoE 2001 in HRDR: 2008). However, the extent to
which the alignment between early education curricula and the larger social and
economic aims of the country is contextually relevant to the realities of ECD sites in rural
and developing environments remains a challenge.
Chapter 2 44
Compulsory mass education tends to stress the homogenising of the curriculum (Soler &
Miller, 2003). The need for ECD to be informed by the demands and requirements of
later schooling is therefore almost universal and a strong determinant in the curriculum
policy of early childhood education in many countries. However, Osborne (2008)
questions the extent to which „schooling‟ contributes to education, and cautions that the
latter is often obscured by other mandates such as the organisational and institutional
imperatives of school. Although I will not enter upon a detailed analysis of the
relationship between education and schooling, I think it is important to distinguish
between the two when looking at what is deemed „good‟ practice in preparing a child for
school. I contend that preschool educators often spend a lot of their time and resources
training a child for the school environment instead of properly preparing the child for the
beginning of his or her formal education.
2.3.2. Quality of early childhood education provision
Research from nations representing diverse economic, social, and political situations
suggests that large-scale national efforts to expand preschool systems at reasonable
levels of quality can reduce rates of early school failure particularly for children from
disadvantaged families. In this section I will first examine what, in education discourse,
is meant by „quality‟ early childhood education. Next I will extract from the available
literature on the topic those factors which can be said to impact on early childhood
education delivery. Finally I will outline some proposed strategies for providing better
quality early childhood education to children, especially those from low resource
backgrounds.
2.3.2.1. What constitutes good quality ECD?
It has been observed that children from low resource families often attend low quality
ECD programmes and that this, possibly, provides them with the “worst of both worlds”
(Boocock, 1995, p.98). By contrast, good quality non-maternal care has been found to
increase the potential achievement benefits, especially for low income children, through
promoting the reading and mathematics achievement for these children through middle
childhood (Dearing, McCartney & Taylor, 2009). There is however little consensus on
what exactly constitutes a quality early childhood learning programme. This might be
because, as Jacobs 1999 in Lemmer (1999, p.109) propounds, views on the curriculum
often depend on the values that are prevalent in a given society. This is succinctly
illustrated by Hoffman (2000) on the differences between early childhood pedagogies in
Japan and the USA. In every society, this author argues, cultural assumptions and views
Chapter 2 45
of the self, inform early childhood education. Education in Japan for example, can be
described as child-centred but not developmentalist, which means that the person is
viewed in terms of “culturally valued qualities of personhood” (ibid). This is contrasted
with the emphasis on developmentally appropriate practices in the US, which Hoffman
claims could actually contribute to diminishing the teacher-learner relationship. In my
view it is important to look, as objectively as possible, at the hegemony, in early
childhood education policy and practice, of educational research from the United States
of America. The individualist view of the young child which informs educational practice
in the USA might not be appropriate in African setting such as the one in this study,
where a strong sense of living-together prevails and communities derive from more
reciprocal and redistributive cultures (Pence & Schafer, 2006). For the purposes of this
study a review of the factors that impact on the effective delivery of early childhood
education will be used to compile a list of possible criteria for arguing for the quality of
early childhood education provision.
2.3.2.2. Factors impacting on the effectiveness of early childhood education
delivery to children from poverty backgrounds
Many factors affect the quality of early childhood education. Exploring this, Gordon and
Qiang (2000) cites Hallack (n.d.) of the International Institute for Educational Planning in
Paris, and lists the following criteria in determining the quality of education: relevance to
local needs; adaptability to local conditions (cultural and economic); a special
consideration for groups that are marginalised; flexibility in addressing cultural
obstacles; the integration of formal schooling into a larger and evolving environment;
and equipping learners to adapt to other environments. As discussed in the previous
section the reality of educational delivery in resource-poor rural settings of developing
countries consists of many varied factors that affect the possible quality of provisioning.
In a South African compilation titled The black child in crisis, published before early
childhood development was formalised as a focus of education in South Africa, Atmore
(1994, in Le Roux 1994, p.157) proposed that early childhood curricula should be
closely aligned with the culture and identity of the child‟s community while at the same
time preparing the child for participation and integration into a wider, more diverse
community. Fourteen years later, early childhood development was included in the
Human Resources Development Review (HRDR, 2008) for the first time (see 1.2. par 2).
In that document, Biersteker and Dawes (2008) list the quality indices constructed
during the analysis of the Nationwide ECD Audit (2000) as follows; material and
Chapter 2 46
infrastructure resources; degree of financial and educational support provided by
government, parents and educator training providers; measure of educational activities
and programmes at a site and educator experience, schooling or tertiary qualification
level. Further on in the same report the authors mention that child/practitioner ratios has
also been found to be a significant quality variable.
2.3.2.3. Possible early childhood education strategies to enhance the well-being
of preschool children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
According to Klein and Knitzer (2006), closing the achievement gap between children
from poor households and those from more affluent backgrounds requires integrated
strategic planning at all levels from action at the classroom level to local, state, and
federal policy and support. Engle et al. (2007) suggest that child development
interventions already be implemented, through families, in infancy and that group
learning experiences be added from 3 – 6 years. Engle et al. also argue for an
integrated approach which combines health and nutrition services with early learning.
Central to a child‟s early cognitive, physical and socio-emotional development is the
child‟s family environment. The parental environment and household income are
important determinants in school success, especially in early years (Vegas &
Santibáñez, 2010). Citing the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
[NICHD] Early Child Care Research Network (2000), McCartney, Phillips and Scarr
(1987) list the following aspects of ECD that are indicative of high quality care for
disadvantaged children; high levels of language stimulation, access to developmentally
appropriate learning materials, a positive emotional climate with sensitive and
responsive caregivers, and opportunities for children to explore their environments.
As suggested by Weiss, Lopez and Rosenberg (2010), effective collaboration between
families and schools can help turn around low performance in school. Through
thoughtful consideration, and transparent conversations with parents as stakeholders in
a child‟s school career, a relationship of trust can be forged between schools and parent
communities that can effectively change the trajectory of children who struggle at
school.
A descriptive study conducted in the US and documented by Hindman, Skibbe and
Morrison (2010) explores the relation between teachers‟ outreach to families of children
in pre-school, kindergarten and first grade, and children‟s early growth in mathematics,
Chapter 2 47
language and literacy. This study found that a workshop conducted by teachers during
which information about children‟s learning was transferred to families, helped to
significantly improved vocabulary learning for young children and proved more effective
than sending activities to be done at home. Inviting parent volunteers to spend time in
the classroom to assist and observe also had a positive effect on the mathematics skills
of children. The authors propose that parent volunteers learn about early childhood
development by spending time in the actual classroom environment where activities
such as puzzle building encourage the parents to engage children in similar activities at
home. These findings are in agreement with those of Haskins and Rouse (2005) that
one way of helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds to become school ready is
to help their parents learn the behaviours that are beneficial to early child development
and school readiness.
In an issue brief of the National Centre for Children in Poverty Klein and Knitzer (2006)
suggest a two pronged strategy for more effective ECD delivery to children from
resource poor backgrounds. The first tenet of this strategy is the delivery of ECD
according to an “intentional curriculum” (ibid, p.7) which refers to “planned, organized,
sequenced activities and lessons focusing on academic readiness delivered through
direct instruction that is age appropriate and fun for young children” (ibid). The other part
of their strategy to improve the achievement of low-income children involves the
professional development of teachers and refers to the education, training, and supports
that teachers need to be effective in early learning classrooms. An intentional
curriculum, according to these authors, needs to be research-based with an emphasis
on the active engagement of teachers with children. It needs to be responsive to the
needs of culturally diverse learners and focus on the development of social and
regulatory skills. This approach, these authors argue, is not teacher-proof and would
require new ways in which to measure classroom quality, learner progress and teacher
effectiveness.
It is my view that the implementation of an early childhood education programme which
targets disadvantaged rural children might require flexibility, patience and an in-depth
knowledge of different programmes that have been tried and tested in similar situations.
The success of such an intervention might furthermore depend, not on a one-size-fits-all
„recipe‟, but on a situation-specific blend of a range of different strategies and
approaches.
Chapter 2 48
2.3.3. Teacher Development as an important contributor to the quality of ECD provision.
In this section of the literature review I will explore the importance of teacher
development as contributor to the quality of ECD provisioning. I will examine whether or
not the qualification level of early childhood teachers actually impact on early childhood
classroom quality, especially against the backdrop of the dire need in developing
countries of, on the one hand, early childhood interventions to address the early
development needs of disadvantaged children and on the other, the shortage, due to a
lack of time and money resources, of early childhood educators in South Africa.
2.3.3.1. Does the qualification level of early childhood educators make a
difference to the quality of the early childhood classroom?
As the agents of education provisioning, teachers are pivotal to the success with which
education takes place at every level of education. The Education for All (EFA) Global
Monitoring Report (2010, p.20) suggests that “teachers are the single most important
education resource in any country”. The importance of ECD as an essential part of
children‟s well-being and further learning is well documented (see Ball, 1994; Biersteker,
2001; Van der Gaag, 2002). Despite this, ECD practitioners are often accorded a low
status worldwide. According to Katz (1993), one of the factors that contribute to this low
status is the belief that teaching young children „comes naturally‟ and that therefore a
person does not need much skill to teach young children. This view still prevails, also in
South Africa, and contributes significantly to ECD being notoriously under-paid and
attracting lower-skilled practitioners (Human Resources Development Review, 2008).
Given the strong relationship between the quality for ECD provision and the status of
practitioners in the field, as suggested by Katz (1993), and especially of foundation
phase teachers in particularly black schools in South Africa (Ebrahim, Killian & Rule,
2011), the question is, what can be done to improve their status. In a literature review on
the relationship between higher teacher qualifications and better quality early childhood
education provisioning, it is noted that several studies underscore the importance of
specialised training and higher education to help develop effective teacher-behaviours
for ECD practitioners (Whitebook, 2003). In stark contrast to this stands the Reggio
Emilia Schools in Northern Italy, where most of the teachers have little more than a high
school level of education, but where intensive and extensive in-service support and
training is given to ensure a high quality ECD programme (Edwards, Gandini &
Foreman, 1993 as cited in Katz, 1993).
Chapter 2 49
In the context of ECD provisioning in South Africa, where in 2008 only 12% of ECD
practitioners were recognised as qualified, i.e. in possession of a matriculation certificate
and at least a 3 year diploma (Human Resources Development Review, 2008), it is
perhaps advisable to adjust one‟s expectations of having a highly qualified ECD work
force in the country, at least in the near future. Urban/rural inequalities and poverty
further complicate the quality of their teaching practice for teachers. Because of the rural
location of Mogwase, these factors have an important bearing on the teachers at this
site. In a South African study (Ngobese, 2006) which explores the problems teachers
face in farm schools in rural areas, obstacles such as the bad condition of access roads,
dilapidated buildings and poor facilities, poverty, underdevelopment, a lack of parent
involvement and resistance against change by the community are just a few of the
problems listed, that rural teachers face every day. Better qualified teachers often leave
for better paid jobs in urban areas, which mean that schools in rural areas are left with
unqualified teachers who are ill-equipped to face the acute and specific needs of
teaching in rural areas.
As an answer to this urban migration of qualified teachers it is possible and perhaps
even advisable to recruit teachers from the communities in which they live and where it
is expected they will serve. The EFA Report (2010:29) claims that such a practice can
“promote positive identities” among recruits, help to prevent discrimination against
children by biased outsiders and ensure that children learn in their own mother tongue.
However, such teachers, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, need to be
developed. What then could be done to help these volunteer teachers in
underdeveloped communities to improve the quality of ECD provisioning to young
children at sites such as Mogwase? Honig (1996) suggests that teachers-in-training
need courses in the social and emotional development of children and how that impacts
on early learning; parenting courses and practical experiences with families to help them
understand the background of the children in their care and knowledge about the
relationship between the domains of language and cognition are vital. Closer to home,
Mashatini (2005), who conducted research on teachers in rural schools in the Limpopo
province of South Africa, suggests that training teachers in self-empowerment helps
teachers to engage as active participants in every aspect of programme development
and practice, and encourages them to make better decisions in adjusting their
knowledge and attitudes in order better to function and serve in schools. Given the poor
mathematics performance of children in South Africa (Howie, 2003; and
Venkatakrishnan & Graven, 2006), I would also suggest that teachers learn how children
Chapter 2 50
form concepts, such as mathematics concepts, perhaps through inclusion of a work
shop or module on the work done in this regard by proponents such as Carey (2004).
The quality of ECD delivery depends to a large extent on teacher quality (Biersteker &
Dawes, 2008). My view is that teacher quality does not necessarily directly depend on
the level of teacher qualification, as is evident in Reggio Emilio schools. However, most
ECD sites in South Africa are situated in communities that are far removed from the
abundance of physical and human resources characteristic of towns in which Reggio
Emilio schools are situated. Teachers-in-training, who often cannot access formal
training still need guidance in early childhood development and education practice. This
need is indicated by the results of studies that show that such teachers are in favour of
scripted guidance and curricula (Sofou & Tsafos, 2010). A study in which teachers‟ own
perceptions of teacher development was explored, indicated that workshops and other
training interventions were only found to be effective if they were meaningful and
relevant to the situations faced by teachers and if they address the needs as perceived
by the teachers themselves (Mestry, Hendricks & Bisschoff, 2009). Since they are the
ones experiencing the classroom environment first hand, teachers are integral to the
process of curriculum development (Rinaldo, 2005). Therefore, in the context of this
study, I suggest that if teachers actively engage in experimenting in a participatory way
with some different elements from a number of existing approaches to ECD, could help
grow a context-specific and quality pre-school programme at Mogwase while adding to
the body of research into the best practice for ECD provision in rural South Africa.
2.3.3.2. The link between teacher education and child outcomes
According to Klein and Knitzer (2006) the association between teacher education and
child outcomes is small on average and there is still no final determination about how
much education and training is needed and what is the best way to offer this training so
as to improve teachers‟ effectiveness in the classroom. The authors concede though,
that overall, children do achieve more when they have teachers with better levels of
training especially if this is closely tied to knowledge about early childhood and child
development. These authors also suggest on-going mentoring coupled with feedback
about their classroom practice to new and existing teachers who do not have advanced
degrees or training and who are working in classrooms with high concentrations of
children from poor backgrounds. Hindman, Skibbe and Morrison (2010) however, found
that children‟s mathematics skills were positively linked to instruction from more
experienced teachers and teachers who hold BA degrees. Golbeck (2002) cites
Chapter 2 51
Marcon‟s (1999) findings that young children fared better overall when teachers were
clear on and practiced according to a single coherent theory of young children‟s learning
and development based either on a didactic learning approach or a more traditional
developmental orientation than when teachers were inconsistent and eclectic in their
classroom practice. These findings all indicate that early childhood education teachers
need structured guidance as to early childhood development, early childhood learning,
and teaching practice for early childhood education. This has definite implications for the
implementation of an ECD programme in a rural setting like Mogwase.
2.3.4. Curriculum in the context of developing an early childhood programme in a rural settlement
This study focuses on the development and implementation of an ECD programme or
curriculum in an informal rural settlement in South Africa. With this section I therefore
aim to clarify the concept „curriculum‟ as it pertains to this specific study. In doing so I
will integrate literature on the topic with my own knowledge of the context of the study,
which is the community of Mogwase, where I have, as development practitioner, been
working for the past four years. I will also, to a certain extent, use as a peg, the book
Curriculum: Foundations, Principles and issues by Ornstein and Hunkins (2004). I do so
because of the comprehensive nature of their work which encompasses the history of
curriculum together with a wide variety of aspects pertaining to the topic.
The word curriculum is derived from the Latin verb „currere‟, which means “the running
of a race”. (Jacobs, 1999, in Lemmer, 1999, p.97). This author explains that, within the
context of education, this implies “an individual and his or her personal experiences
while running the race of life” (ibid). Although this metaphor might conjure up images of
competing and winning or losing, it should perhaps rather be viewed in light of „entering
into a certain course or road‟. The use of the word in the term „Curriculum Vitae‟ which
means ‟course of life‟ (Concise Oxford Dictionary, 1990), perhaps gives a better
explanation for the spectrum of activities, beliefs and realities which might be contained
by the concept.
But what is this „course of action‟ that the individual or learner is expected to take part in
and complete during a certain part of his or her academic career? Without entering into
the finer details of curriculum development and the philosophy of curriculum, which is
not relevant to the scope of this review, I shall represent here my own, simple
interpretation of how Ornstein and Hunkins (2004, p.194-215) present the diversity of
definitions of the concept curriculum. I will make use of the image of a spectrum, ranging
Chapter 2 52
from the technical-scientific views on curriculum development, at the one extreme, to the
nontechnical, post positivist-postmodern approaches on the other. At the one end of this
spectrum, and presented to exemplify a rational, linear, input-output view of curriculum, I
place the Technical-Scientific approaches which subscribe to the tenet that that
curriculum can be defined as a set plan for action or a written document that includes
strategies for achieving desired goals or ends. This perspective originated from the
approaches propounded by curricularists such as Bobbit and Carters, and includes
models such as the Tyler Model, Taba‟s model of Grassroots Rationale and Hunkin‟s
Decision-Making Model. These models and approaches are each organised into a
distinct order and proceed along an algorithmic set of actions towards a certain outcome
or purpose. At the opposite end of the spectrum and put forth as the broadest, most
liberal definition of the term, are the Post-positivist-Postmodern models of curriculum
development which hold forth that curriculum is an evolving, emergent dynamic within
unstable and ever-changing systems. Still within the Non-technical sphere, but distinctly
more moderate, I place the Deliberation model which propounds that decision making in
curriculum development happens through conversation and deliberation between all the
role players in the development of a curriculum. This mid-approach, it is said,
acknowledges the “circularity of reality” (ibid, p.208) and takes into consideration the
interrelatedness of decisions and actions.
Bearing in mind that the focus of this study is the development of an ECD programme in
the context of a rural informal settlement, I think, it is clear from the outset, that the
curriculum at this site will not be developed according to a predetermined plan or set of
strategies aimed at working towards a narrowly pre-defined goal. After all, if that was so,
this study, which aims to explore the process of developing an „organic‟ curriculum,
would hardly be necessary. Next, it might seem that the broader definition, that of
curriculum being a process of engaging in an ever-changing dynamic of „knowledge
making‟ in which meaning results from the role players‟ increasing awareness of the
interconnectedness among the various realms of knowledge, people and social reality,
would be the one that better applies to this situation. I would however suggest that this
view is somehow too broad and I want to argue that it assumes that the „role players‟
possess at least some academic knowledge of curriculum development or else they
would not know exactly where to draw the line in just „allowing things to emerge‟. In this
particular case study the teachers are as much learners as the pre-school children who
are in their care, they are learning about ECD even as the children in their care are
learning from them. Their development will therefore happen alongside and
simultaneous to that of the preschool curriculum. I predict that the professional
Chapter 2 53
development of the teachers and the development of the curriculum will be closely
woven together. It might also be helpful to look at the development of this particular
curriculum as occurring within a broader system than merely that of a preschool. This
ECD programme is an aspect of a small community and also a corporate funded
community development programme which is implemented by an NGO. It could thus be
said to form part of at least three and possible many more systems. Within such a
systems view, I would place the development of this curriculum within the midfield of the
spectrum of curriculum development views described above. This study will be
conducted as participatory action research, a methodology that presupposed continuous
deliberation and discourse between all the participants of curriculum development.
There remains the question as to whether a situation in which the teachers are
themselves learning from the situation is at all conducive to the optimum development of
the programme at this ECD facility and if the system is not being „overburdened‟. For
this one only has to refer to the huge deficit in ECD provision and the shortage of ECD
practitioners in South Africa (Biersteker, 2010) to see that in a developing country such
as South Africa different criteria for educational provision apply than for more developed
countries of the world. When educationists such as Katz (1993) say that the provision of
„poor quality‟ ECD means “a missed opportunity to make a substantial and lasting
difference to the quality of life and to the future of ... young children” (ibid, p.5) and that
“anything less than top quality” (ibid, p.5) implies a lost opportunity for children to get off
to a good start, they do so from a vantage point where resources such as qualified
teachers abound. In the early 90‟s educationists might have been struggling with issues
of what exactly constitutes „good quality ECD provisioning and whether research
actually makes any difference to education policy and practice. A decade later Torres
(2004) cautions the designers of education policies in developing countries not to
separate the different levels, modalities or categories of education into, for example,
categories such as Early Childhood Development, and Adult Learning. Instead, Torres
(ibid) advises that adult education is an important issue linked to child education
because adults are the ones making decisions about children, their well-being and
education (ibid). It is my view, from a development perspective, that in a globalising
world, there might not be enough time for a village like Mogwase to get their teachers
trained to provide „top quality‟ preschool education to children who, lest they are
prepared now to be able to make use of the future opportunity to participate in that
economy, could slip inexorably into the abyss of poverty.
Chapter 2 54
The literal meaning of the word context is “that which is braided together” (Kincheloe &
Steinberg, 1993). The interrelatedness between participants in this intervention and the
aspects of life which constitutes the „context‟ of places like Mogwase reinforces for me,
in this study, the meaning of „curriculum‟ as truly a part of the „road of life‟. Thus, for the
purposes of this study „curriculum‟ will mean „that which emerged as reality, that which
was tried and worked, and that which was tried and found wanting and which was
changed according to what was required of the context or the situation‟. The emerging
ECD programme at Mogwase will truly be an “organic curriculum” (Henning, 2010,
personal communication), a process during which, what germinates in the virgin soil of
this emerging programme will be nurtured, what grows will be tended with care, what
doesn‟t work will be pruned off and discarded and in the end, hopefully, some useful
seeds of knowledge could be harvested for future use in similar settings.
In conclusion of this section on the meaning of curriculum it might be useful to look at
curriculum, as Ornstein and Hunkins (ibid) suggest, neither as a model or a non-model
nor as a narrow technical system in which challenge and perturbation are viewed as
disruptive and signifying inefficiency of implementation but instead as an open system in
which challenges and changes are viewed as necessary components of a dynamic part
of growth and life.
2.4. AN EXPLORATION OF EXISTING MODELS AND APPROACHES TO EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION
The establishment of any pre-school raises the important question as to what approach
or programme is to be followed in the classroom and in the running of the facility.
Several models of early childhood development approaches have emerged during the
past two centuries and are still followed across the world. What follows is a review of
some of the more prominent models of ECD and their possible relevance to situations in
rural South Africa, such as the pre-school in this study. I will, first of all, look at three
European models. Then I will look at a comparison of the three and specifically what
bearing this has on ECD in a rural setting. Next I will look at a few other approaches to
ECD elsewhere; the Head Start programme in the US, TeWha¨riki in Nieu Zeeland and,
because of the success of the Finnish education system, I will also look at the Finnish
approach to early childhood development. Finally, closer to home, I will examine some
literature on the African approach to ECD and explore one specific programme which
aims to integrate the best of existing knowledge about early childhood development from
Chapter 2 55
the West, with the realities of early childhood care and development on the African
continent.
2.4.1. Three European models of early childhood education
I will here look at the three most prominent European early childhood models of
preschool namely; Montessori, Reggio Emilio and Waldorf. These models and
approaches have since become well-known the world over. I will refer extensively to a
succinct comparison of the histories, methodologies and curricula of these models that
originated in Europe in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, done by Edwards
(2002). For ease of reference the reviews of each of these models will be organised in a
similar way. In each case I will look at the background history, classroom methodology
and the role of the educator. Where possible I will also discuss some findings from
studies about the particular model or approach. At the end of this I will look at a
comparison of the three and discuss some of the more salient aspects of each, in
particular how they might pertain to the ECD site in this study.
2.4.2. Montessori preschools
2.4.2.1. Background and ideology
In 1907 Maria Montessori, Italy‟s first female physician, started her „Casa dei Bambini‟
(house of children) for children between the ages of 4 – 7 in a housing project in the
slums of Rome. Sadly, the work of this innovative woman, who had laboured to find
ways of working with disabled children were denounced by the Fascist regime, which
caused her to leave her home country. Between 1910 - 1920 in the United States of
America the Montessori method of Early Childhood Education enjoyed a short period of
intense interest (Torrence & Chattin-McNichols, 2000 in Edwards, 2002), and was well
received and flourished in Europe and India. It was however only much later, in the
1950‟s that the US educator, Nancy Rambush was instrumental in the spread of
Montessori as an independent school movement (Loeffler, 1992 in Edwards, 2002).
A constructivist, Montessori believed in children‟s natural drive towards learning and
gaining knowledge through “reality, play and work” (Edwards, 2002: Child Development
Theory and Curriculum, par.3) enhancing the rational, empirical and spiritual aspects of
the child‟s innate intelligence. According to Montessori, the child is unconsciously
absorbing information from birth to age three. From age three to six the child
consciously absorbs information. The Montessori classroom contains children in multi-
Chapter 2 56
age groups which span three years. Citing Greenwald (1999), Edwards (ibid) describes
the child‟s needs as the search for “sensory input, regulation of movement, order and
freedom to choose activities” which the child is allowed to pursue without interruption.
2.4.2.2. The curriculum
The Montessori curriculum, which is typically followed in the morning followed by free
play in the afternoon, focuses on the individual, but with scope and sequence and clear
cut domains. New topics for learning are introduced by demonstration lessons, and only
after readiness is noted for an individual or small group to advance in areas of “practical
life, sensorial, mathematics, language, science and geography, art and music”
(Humphreys, 1989 in Edwards, ibid). Because of the focus on the individual it is not
uncommon for children to master reading and writing before age six using the
Montessori „writing to read‟ method. Materials, such as books are chosen for their
accurate representation of the real world with fantasy only introduced at age five or six.
Classes are organised to provide a rich and aesthetically pleasing environment
providing children with the resources and stimuli they need. Teachers, of which there
are usually two per classroom, carefully observe activities and emergent needs of
groups and individuals and design and provide appropriate materials accordingly.
2.4.2.3. The role of the Montessori teacher
The role of the Montessori teacher is that of „unobtrusive director‟ of the child‟s self-
directed activities in an atmosphere of “productive calm” (Edwards, 2002, Roles of the
Teacher, par.3) Depth of engagement is paramount and interruption of the child‟s
activities is avoided to nurture long periods of intense concentration “interspersed by
brief moments of recovery/reorganisation” (Oppenheimer, in Edwards, ibid). It is
believed that to interfere with children‟s focused activity would disrupt their “momentum,
interest and inner working of thought” (Greenwald, 1999 in Edwards, 2002, ibid). The
aim of the Montessori teacher is to help the child develop confidence and self-discipline
so that there will be progressively less need for intervention as the child grows. Through
sensory exploration and practical activity the child is immersed in reality in a safe and
ordered environment which allows the interest of the individual to unfold according to his
or her own pace and abilities. Parents and teachers work together to help children bring
body, mind and spirit into unity towards living harmoniously with other human beings
and the environment.
Chapter 2 57
2.4.2.4. Assessment
On the issue of assessment, Edwards cite the American Montessori Association, in a
paper on “Learning and Assessment” , available at http://www.amshq.org, recommends
that projects, portfolios and representations by children are a more authentic way of
gauging children‟s progress than what is represented by conventional testing and
grading.
2.4.2.5. Some findings from studies about Montessori
Golbeck (2002) reports comprehensively on a number of studies in which the long and
short-term impact of different pre-school models was measured. I will here outline some
of the findings. A study by Miller, Bizel and Rondeall (1983a, 1983b in Golbeck, 2002)
found that boys who had attended Montessori pre-schools outperformed other children
at the 7thand 8th grade. These boys also showed the highest level of school success
although not necessarily the highest performance on cognitive development tests. The
components of the Montessori approach which are deemed by Golbeck (ibid) to be
important program elements in determining the long-term reticence of benefits from
attending pre-school are the encouragement of children in the Montessori classroom to
engage in independent and persistent work. Studies conducted by Burts et al., (1990)
and Hyson and Molinaro, (2001) reported in Golbeck, (2001) have found that classroom
techniques that emphasise drill and worksheets and activities that minimise children‟s
choice and decision making lead to higher levels of child stress with these effects
appearing to be most pronounced among boys.
Golbeck also mentions studies by Karnes et al (1983) who studied five model
approaches including Montessori and traditional and direct instruction approaches.
Children form the most highly structured pre-academic programmes was found to be
most successful at the end of the first year of school. However, in a later follow-up the
Montessori group performed the best with the children from the traditional approaches
close behind. This is confirmed by studies done by Scweinhart and Weikart (1997) in
Golbeck (2002) which found that although more teacher-centred and direct instruction
provided children with a slight advantage in the short term this advantage had generally
eroded by middle school leaving boys floundering. Data from longitudinal studies
showing that the long-term social adjustment of children in more child-centred traditional
programmes were higher (Golbeck, 2002). In a longitudinal study in which the long term
effects of 5 model approaches to ECD, including Montessori and direct instruction
Chapter 2 58
models were compared the Montessori group had the highest number of high school
graduates (Karnes et al., 1983).
In a study by Miller and Bizzel (1983a; 1983b in Golbeck, 2002) , in which four
approaches to ECD instruction, including direct instruction and Montessori were
investigated, it was found that by second grade, boys from Montessori pre-schools
appeared to outperform other groups in reading by grade 2. These boys also showed a
less severe decline in IQ over time. It is noteworthy though that the studies mentioned
here was conducted in a developed Western country and that factors such as cultural
obstacles and the challenges faced by marginalised groups might impact on the effects
of a program which is not tailored and sensitive to the specific conditions at the site.
2.4.3. Waldorf pre-schools
2.4.3.1. Background and ideology
In the wake of World War I, an Austrian scientist and philosophical thinker, Rudolf
Steiner, was invited to establish a school for employees of the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette
factory in Stuttgart, Germany. The objective of this new kind of school, which defied
many conventions of the time, was to create a just and peaceful human society through
education. Although the first Waldorf school started at grade 1 and so, did not include a
pre-school, the Waldorf approach was soon expanded to include early childhood
education.
Rudolf Steiner believed in a holistic approach to ECD in which components of body spirit
and soul are integrated in a way which encouraged and facilitated “thinking, willing and
feeling” (Steiner, 1995 in Edwards, 2000: Child Development Theory and Curriculum,
par. 2). His theory of child development is based on the belief that a child goes through
three seven year tiers of development and that in each of these „stages‟ the child has
unique learning needs.
2.4.3.2. The curriculum
Citing Schwartz (1996) and Finser (1995), Edwards describes imaginary play, according
to the Waldorf model, as the child‟s most important „work‟ and as one of the main tenets
on which this approach rests. Focusing on exploration, pre-school children are
encouraged to discover the world through their senses through uninterrupted creative
play and oral (never written) exploration of language through story and song. Children in
Chapter 2 59
Waldorf pre-schools are not grouped in age cohorts and in most cases children will stay
with the same teacher for the duration of their pre-school career.
2.4.3.3. The role of the Waldorf teacher
The Waldorf teacher serves to guide and model whole-group activities which are
permeated with the ethos of harmony and caring for other human beings and the natural
world. The classroom environment is organised to catalyse and support the child‟s
discovery of the world around him through exploration of colour and simple classroom
props which are designed to have very little detail – stimulating the child‟s own creative
faculties and imagination. The teacher subtly guides, but never directs what the child
should be doing, all the while remaining very aware of what goes on in the classroom
(Schwartz, 1996 in Edwards, 2002).
2.4.3.4. Assessment
As with the Reggio Emilia and Montessori approaches, children in Waldorf pre-schools
are assessed in ways other than by means of traditional tests and grades. Through
portfolios and detailed descriptive accounts of their children‟s daily activities and
behaviour, parents are kept informed as to progress and individual needs. Research is
not based on child outcomes either, but the testimonials of parents and graduates is
used as indicators of effectiveness and impact instead.
2.4.4. Reggio Emilia
2.4.4.1. Background and ideology
Similarly to the Waldorf schools, which were conceived of as a response to a need for
peace and stability after World War I, the establishment of the Reggio Emilio Schools,
was a co-operative attempt by parents, teachers and children to reconstruct society after
the devastation of World War II and to build “an exemplary system of municipal pre-
schools and infant-toddler centres” in the city of Reggio Emilio in Northern Italy (New,
1993 in Edwards, 2000: History, par. 4). Founding director, Loris Malaguzzi, helped the
Reggio Emilio schools to grow into a leading family-centred model of pre-schools which
are well known throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, North America and several other
countries in the world (New, 2000 in Edwards). Although the Reggio Emilio approach
was intended for children under the age of 6, it has been adapted for primary education
by progressive educators in the United States.
Chapter 2 60
Malaguzzi, a social constructivist and founding director of this system of schools viewed
children as “social from birth” and education as “based on relationships” (Malaguzzi,
1993 in Edwards, 2000: Child Development Theory and Curriculum, par.4) in which the
child is supported in becoming “a producer of culture, values and rights” (Rinaldi,
2001a:51 in Edwards) through an emergent and negotiated process between adult and
child which is the focus of the teacher-child-knowledge interface.
This system of schools does not operate according to a structured „model‟ of methods
nor does it require much in the line of teacher qualifications. Instead, teachers at Reggio
Emilio schools are encouraged to view themselves as catalysts of dialogue, evolving
through their own experience and serving as a “provocation and reference point”
(Edwards, 2000, Roles of the Teacher par. 4). to children who are viewed as powerful
agents of change within their own lives. Children are supported to explore and
investigate the world and to become competent in expressing themselves through any of
their „hundreds of languages‟ (expressive, communicative, and cognitive). Instead of
receiving structured tuition in reading and writing children are allowed to systematically
experiment with different combinations of expressive activities such as music, drama,
shadow play and sculpture. Children‟s emergent literacy is fostered during these
activities as they are given the opportunity to manipulate their newly created realities
and communicate their ideas with others.
2.4.4.2. The curriculum
The curriculum progresses purposefully, but does not adhere to any predetermined
scope or sequence. The same teachers stay with children for a number of years which
fosters a close adult-child relationships and is supportive of the long-term, open-ended,
collaborative projects.
The classroom environment is designed to stimulate exploration of the world in small
groups which gives children ample opportunity to learn problem solving working together
which includes practicing social skills such as cooperation and conflict handling.
2.4.4.3. The role of the Reggio Emilio teacher
As is the case with the Montessori and Waldorf approaches, teachers are positioned to
act as resources and to guide and balance the child‟s experiences of attention and
engagement through careful listening, observation and documentation (Edwards, 1998;
Rinaldi, 2001b). Teachers work two to a classroom and a culture of support and
Chapter 2 61
mentoring among personnel is promoted. Specially trained visual arts facilitators work
with teachers and children to enhance expression by making use of different media and
different systems of symbols. To make learning visible and to help children record their
learning, teachers also act as recorders or documenters of children‟s words and actions,
helping them to manifest concepts tangibly in the real world (Project Zero & Reggio
children, Italy 2001 in Edwards). The Reggio Emilio teacher scaffolds the child‟s
learning, demonstrating tool use and finding the needed materials and tools when the
child‟s learning process indicates their possible relevance.
2.4.4.4. Assessment
Reggio Emilio educators make use of dialogue and in situ, formative research to assess
the learning environments and progress made and to inform their decisions regarding
what practices are most effective. However, researchers from outside the Reggio Emilio
context are asking for external objective measurements of child-outcomes and
programme quality. Reggio Emilio educators dispute the utility of such research,
insisting that what is important for the improvement of education is finding out which
classroom strategies are effective (Dahlberg, Moss & Pence, 1999).
2.4.5. Applying some aspects of Montessori, Waldorf and Reggio Emilio to rural ECD sites in South Africa
To assess the applicability of these three approaches to rural pre-schools in South
Africa, such as the one in this study, it might be useful to consider what characteristics
they share and how these common aspects could be applied to the conditions of
education in rural settings in South Africa. Below, some of the premises from Edwards
(2002) are discussed and juxtaposed with relevant literature and findings from several
South African studies of aspects of rural education.
2.4.5.1. Background and ideology
The Montessori, Waldorf and Reggio Emilio programmes are all described as
progressive approaches which strive towards peace and reconstruction and away from
violence and war. The education system in South Africa has a long history of having
been used as a tool for creating political oppression and segregation. In fact the very
origin of the informal settlement in the study has its roots in the displacement of farm
workers in the mid 1990‟s (van der Vyver, 2008). Today many of the adults from the
village still work as farm labourers for lower than the minimum wage under less than
ideal conditions. This means that the people of this rural settlement could possibly be
Chapter 2 62
more disempowered than what might be imagined after two decades of democracy.
Introducing young children to their education through programmes which are “built on
coherent visions of how to improve human society by helping children realize their full
potential as intelligent, creative, whole persons” (Edwards, 2002) could go a long way to
changing the future of South African society. This is also aligned with the principles of
children‟s rights of the South African Constitution (Republic of South Africa, 1996).
2.4.5.2. The teacher and school management
It is important to note that the agents of education delivery in this instance are young
women - often mothers of young children themselves - who had been brought up by
parents who had borne the brunt of the apartheid era and had therefore never had the
opportunity to experience pre-schools as a positive influence on children‟s development
(Savage, 2010). They are also part of a community in which disempowerment and
hopelessness were still fairly recently noted as predominant states of mind by the
development agents working in the community (Van der Vyver, 2008). Historically all
aspects of the management of farm schools attended by black children were in the
hands of the farmer on whose land the school was built. Such management included
admission and expulsion of learners, appointment and dismissal of teachers and meant
that the future of the school was in the hands of the individual farmer (Mehl, 1994 in
Ngobese, 2006). It could therefore prove challenging for these teachers to view the
children in their care “as active constructors of their own development who are guided
by “natural, dynamic, self-righting forces within themselves, opening the way toward
growth and learning” (Edwards, 2002). It is important to remember that the perceptions
of these trainee-educators are shaped by a background of not having attended pre-
school themselves and having been taught at school in teacher-centred ways. This
might make it difficult for them to teach in the democratic way promoted by these
progressive models. As noted by Stipek et al. (1995, 1998), cited in Golbeck (2002), the
simple dichotomy between teacher-directed and child-centred approaches does not
adequately portray the complexities of instructional practices in early childhood.
2.4.5.3. The environment as pedagogical tool
In the implementation of all three these programmes, teachers use carefully composed
and visually pleasing environments as a pedagogical tool to reflect a certain orientation
to the curriculum (Edwards, 2002). Considering that in most rural educational sites in
South Africa a dire shortage of resources prevail (Biersteker, 2008; Grey, 2008;
Ngobese, 2006) the reality is often that basic safety standards are not met and
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sanitation is poor. In the Limpopo province, which is one of the poorest provinces in
South Africa, it has been found that compared with the widely accepted „ideal‟
environment for child care, most aspects of quality care are in such need of attention
that their state could actually increase the risk for very young children of a negative
outcome (Grey, 2008).
2.4.5.4. The school community
Parent involvement is highly valued in all three approaches. Once again, the realities of
rural South Africa might pose challenges to the assumptions that parents are equipped
to add value to their children‟s educational experience. Guardians of children in rural
areas are often illiterate and spend long hours working long to support their families or
performing household and subsistence farming chores. These factors make them poorly
equipped to engage with their children‟s‟ scholastic experience (Gaonwe, 2005). Under
these circumstances it might thus be necessary to actively cultivate parent involvement
and to make it a part of the programme.
2.4.5.5. Evaluation of the pre-school child
Another common characteristic shared by all three the approaches from Europe are that
children are evaluated by means other than traditional tests and grades. In longitudinal
studies comparing more academic orientated programmes with more child-centred ones
such as Montessori it emerged that although children in the more teacher-directed
programmes performed better in the short term, children from child-centred sites
retained the positive impact of their early childhood education such as self-directed
action better in the long term (Golbeck, 2002). Linked to this is that for all three the
models child outcome research is not intrinsic to the way educators work in any of these
three approaches. This raises the question of outcomes and whether these should even
be on the table when talking about early childhood education. Perhaps the goals of early
childhood should not be to have very small children be able to perform specific,
measurable academic tasks. As Hatch (2010) proposes, academic performance does
not necessarily indicate learning and test-driven standards-based models are being
imposed on early childhood settings. Hatch suggests a break-away from what he calls
“accountability shove-down” (ibid, p.266) approach to assessment and an outdated
adherence to Piagetian views of early childhood. Assessment, he continues to say,
should be informal and formative and done according to Vygotskian principles of
assessment. As an example of this he cites the “dynamic assessment” (ibid, p. 265) as
described by Berk and Winsler (1995). This form of assessment aims to not only find out
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what a child can do alone but what the child can do with assistance and what assistance
works best. This indeed is the form of assessment used in the three approaches
described here, and as Edwards suggests in the concluding remarks of her article
research involving a diversity of qualitative and quantitative methods could be applied to
provide information about the effectiveness of these approaches in any given setting.
There exists in South Africa a huge gap in research on ECD (Biersteker, 2008).
Longitudinal and ethnographic studies of the impact of these approaches could yield
valuable knowledge about better ways to proceed with ECD in this country.
2.4.6. The Head Start Programme
2.4.6.1. Background and ideology
It is one of the main objectives of early childhood education in developing countries to
help close the performance gaps between children from different social and economic
backgrounds (Melhuish, 2004). One of the programs which were specifically developed
to help with this is the Head Start programme which was established in the US in 1965
and which aims to improve school readiness and social competence in children from low
income families. This programme had by 1994 served over 13 million pre-school
children. One of its main focuses is on supporting parents through social services
interventions such as parenting courses and health services. Parent participation is
encouraged through recruitment of parents to volunteer or become part of paid staff at
Head Start preschools. To be eligible for entry into the Head Start programme the family
of a young child must be living below the poverty line and exhibit with at least one other
risk factor. These factors include issues such as teenage and single parent families, low
parent education level, limited English proficiency, disabilities and working parents in
need of day-care (Blasik & Knight, 1994).
Head Start is a federally funded ECD program administered by community based NPO‟s
and is designed to provide children from low income families with comprehensive
programmes and services. These include social services such as programmes that
assist with parent employment, health and parent engagement in school issues.
Partnerships are formed with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the needs of families
are assessed and responded to. Long term academic gains and behaviour changes are
increased by sufficient duration of the supporting programmes mentioned above (ibid).
In a setting with low literacy and education skills, such as Mogwase, it is important that
ECD provisioning include services such as those mentioned here, to increase the impact
Chapter 2 65
of education provisioning so that it includes the family and the larger support system
around the child.
2.4.6.2 The curriculum and classroom methodology
The Head Start curriculum focuses on getting children ready for school and
concentrates on language development and social competence (ibid). In applying these
principles in SA the strong influence of the social environment on young children in rural
South Africa, where communities live relatively remote and fairly insular lives, would
necessitate that teachers become familiar with what it is that the society around the pre-
school considers as „social competence‟. The Head Start curriculum also relies heavily
on active child-initiated learning experiences. Once a child has expressed an intention, it
is encouraged to plan and execute the intention in play experiences and to reflect on
accomplishments afterwards. (ibid). This echoes the practises of the three progressive
models of ECD mentioned earlier, Montessori, Waldorf and Reggio Emilio in which
children are encouraged to become self-directed and explore their autonomy and place
in the world (Golbeck, 2002).
2.4.6.3. The role of the teacher
Teachers at the Head Start preschools are required to be in possession of a college
degree or to be certified with academic concentration in ECD. In considering the
suitability of a programme such as Head Start for ECD sites such as the one in this
study, this might be one of the requirements that would be difficult to meet in a country
like South Africa where few ECD practitioners have formal educational training
(Biersteker, 2008).
2.4.6.4. Assessment
Initially the Head Start Program as a means of increasing intelligence of at-risk children
from low income families was measured by testing gains made on IQ tests. When it was
found that these gains were short-lived (McKay et al., 1985; Peters, 1980; Travers &
Light, 1982 in Blasik & Knight, 1994), policy makers and researchers shifted the focus to
school performance later on in the academic career of the child as indicator for the
impact of the program (Blasik & Knight, 1994).
The issue of the assessment of classroom quality is one which deserves some closer
scrutiny. Zell, Resin, Kim, McKay, Clark, Pai-Samant, et al. (2001) report on this aspect
of the programme use standardised scales such as the Early Childhood Environment
Chapter 2 66
Rating Scale (ECERS) as criteria for measuring classroom quality. This includes teacher
qualification levels and teacher-child ratios. The question is whether the criteria used in
these standardised scales are relevant to the situation in rural ECD sites in South Africa
where a shortage of qualified teachers mean that a lot of ECD sites are staffed by
under-qualified practitioners (Biersteker, 2008), and whether any standardised criteria
for measuring classroom quality is available in South Africa. As Biersteker suggests in
the concluding section of the chapter on Early Childhood Development of the Human
Resources Development Review (2008, p. 202), “there is an urgent need to develop
validated measures of ECD service quality alongside validated measures of child
development outcomes”.
2.4.6.5. Some findings from studies about Head Start
Extensive research and data on the Head Start Programme in America is available. The
FACES study, reported on by Zill et al. (2001), comprised a nationally stratified random
sample of 3200 children and families involved in 40 Head Start programmes. Findings
indicate that children completing Head Start show significant gains in vocabulary and
writing skills relative to national (US) norms for children of all income levels. However,
even though children who scored very low (in the bottom quartile) in vocabulary,
mathematics and writing skills, showed the biggest gains, they still scored substantially
below national norms at the end of the program. Head Start has a positive influence on
the social skills of children and language-minority children showed improved school
readiness and knowledge of English by the end of their Head Start year (ibid).
2.4.7. TeWha¨riki
2.4.7.1. Background and ideology
Soler and Miller (2003) compare the New Zealand TeWha¨riki curriculum, which was
developed by the Ministry of Education in 1996 according to the approach followed by
Reggio Emilio pre-schools. The TeWha¨riki curriculum was linked to the National
Curriculum in primary schools in New Zealand. This programme deliberately focuses on
an anti-racist, bicultural approach that aims to foster reciprocal relationships with the
Ma¨ori community in New Zealand (Smith, 1999, p. 6 in Soler & Miller, 2003). From the
outset TeWha¨riki “took into account the foundational principles assessed from Ma¨ori
epistemology...to create a bicultural document” (Carr, 2001 in Soler & Miller, 2003, p.
62) and the underpinning vision drew upon a Vygotskian socio-cultural view of
curriculum and childhood. The word Wha¨riki refers to a woven mat, a metaphor which
Chapter 2 67
contrasts sharply with the English view of education as a set of algorithmic steps which
need to be completed (Eisener, 1985 in Soler & Miller 2003).
This curriculum model might be relevant to the development of pre-school programmes
at rural sites in South Africa because it was developed in acknowledgement of a diverse
heritage of a people, in this case, the people of Niue Zealand (Carr & May, 2000 in Soler
& Miller). It was born out of a vision of education for young children by New Zealand
educators and is responsive to the links between culture, language and learning
(McNaughton, 1996; Carr & May, 2000 in Solar and Miller, 2003). Furthermore, this
national pre-school system draws upon the “conscious modification of an initial
government-driven, instrumental vision of child development to a curriculum policy which
stresses greater diversity…” (Soler & Miller, 2003:63). For example, the views of pre-
school teachers that often did not fit with the views of the New Zealand government on
early childhood education were an important component of the development of this
curriculum.
2.4.7.2. The curriculum and classroom methodology
“TeWha¨riki as an approach views the curriculum as a complex and rich experiential
process arising out of the child‟s interactions with the physical and social environment
and takes into account diverse points of view instead of a universal view of child
development (Soler & Miller, 2003). This is a curriculum with “many possible patterns”,
one that follows no „recipe‟ but instead provides “threads” that can be used by
individuals and centres to use talk, reflection, planning, assessment and evaluation to
develop their own curriculum (Carr, May & Podmore, 1998, p. 9). This curriculum does
not view the child‟s progress as a step-by-step process but as the weaving of a rich
tapestry with the emphasis on developing knowledge and understanding young children.
It defines three stages namely, infant, toddler and young child but these are not seen as
self-contained stages. Instead learning and growing is viewed as a continuum (ibid) and
is set within an ecological framework as theorised by (Bronfenbrenner, 1979 in Carr,
May & Podmore, 1998). Empowering children to learn and grow is a central theme of
this model and has in fact become a foundation principle. Further guiding principles are
to “enable children to learn through responsive and reciprocal relationships with people,
places and things” (Carr, May & Podmore, 1998, p. 10), reflect the way children grow
holistically and to include the larger world of community and family.
Chapter 2 68
2.4.7.3. The role of the teacher
The role of the TeWha¨riki educator is to mediate activities through which the child
makes meaning (McNaughton, 1996, p. 191 in Soler & Miller, 2003). Implementing such
a national curriculum by nature implies inherent tensions. Despite this the TeWha¨riki
curriculum is described as holistic, open-ended and successful (ibid).
2.4.7.4. Assessment
Assessment in the TeWha¨riki classroom is an everyday, formative process that involves
recognising and responding to children‟s learning with the aim of positively influencing
that learning. This form of assessment requires practitioners who are knowledgeable
about children‟s learning and includes the active involvement of children and their
parents. TeWhatu Pōkeka is a practical resource that focuses on the assessment of
Māori children in Māori early childhood settings which provides practical examples that
can be used by educators to design their own assessment styles (Nieu Zealand Ministry
of Education website, 2012).
2.4.8. Pre-school in Finland
2.4.8.1. Background and ideology
For information on early childhood education and care in Finland I have made use of the
Early Childhood Education and Care in Finland background report for the OECD
Thematic Review of Early Childhood Education and Care Policy (2000). Finnish pre-
schools have grown from the Kindergarten activities developed by Friedrich Fröbel in
Germany. Early education in Finland fit in with the larger education objectives of the
Government Programme which aim to raise the level of knowledge, expertise and
innovation of the population so that Finland can be developed into an equitable and
sustainable information society. Children should be provided with the necessary skills
and knowledge to grow into “ethically responsible members of society” (ibid, p. 5). With
regards to family policy the Government aims to promote conditions that support
responsible parenthood, advance secure learning environments and optimises the
growth of young children into balanced maturity. Pre-school education should provide
children with learning conditions that will help to give them equal opportunities to
participate in education. This will be achieved through strategies that will enhance
flexibility and provide parents with the physical and psychological resources needed to
address the real needs of young children and their parents. A consideration for cultural
Chapter 2 69
heritage and social and religious background of children is important when designing
activities for young children.
Pre-school education was introduced free of charge for six-year-olds in Finland in 2000-
2001. It is significant that as in South Africa, Finland has a system of child benefit which
aims to level out the expenses between families with and those without children. This
grant is paid from state funds for the maintenance of all children under the age of 17
who are resident in Finland. It is exempt from tax and is not dependent on a family‟s
financial status. As in South Africa, the amount of the child benefit depends on the
number of children in the family.
2.4.8.2. Curriculum and classroom methodology
There is a marked distinction between day care and pre-school education in Finland.
Children under the age of six attend day care and children of six years old receive pre-
school education. The purpose of day care is to support and be aligned with the child‟s
upbringing at home and parents are seen as prime educators of their child who should
be kept informed of the nature of the education their child receives at day care. Day care
should happen within a safe environment and, through warm relationships; children
should be encouraged to engage in versatile activities supporting their development. In
Finland the awareness of the kind of future for which the child is being prepared is a
central issue in the provision of early childhood education and care in the country.
Growing and learning are therefore viewed as a life-long process in which early
childhood care and education plays a major role.
Children‟s self-motivated play is seen as a natural way for children to learn and the child
is viewed as an active learner guided by curiosity and the will to explore. Interestingly
communality, instead of individuality is a focus element in early childhood education and
care delivery in Finland. The child is encouraged to learn through interaction with the
environment instead of already processed information being offered by the teacher.
Because Finnish children often need full-time care while parents work, basic care,
alongside education and instruction remains an element even in the early childhood
education classroom. As children‟s independence increases the instructional element
becomes stronger, but even so, the importance of play has a central part in all activities.
Pre-school education aims to bridge the gap between day care and formal schooling
and involves a more systematic, pedagogically orientated and content-based, part of
early childhood education and care. Activities are designed from a pedagogical
Chapter 2 70
awareness of child development and knowledge on the subject and focus on the
continuous nature of learning and balances activities offered by adults with play and
interaction with the peer group. Significantly, for this study, an understanding of
childhood development and learning is more important in the Finnish pre-school than
managing specific teaching methods. Teachers explore the world together with children
in a thematic and project-type manner during which topics are studied in an integrated
way across various fields and which articulate with the topics that are covered in the
initial education at school.
2.4.8.3. The role of the teacher
Finnish day care centres use the diverse occupational and educational backgrounds of
its personnel to design multi-disciplinary activities that help children learn in an
integrated way. Most staff had received training that focuses on children‟s development
and how the day care environment and activities can enhance these. At least every third
person working at care and education at a day care centre must have a post-secondary
qualification.
2.4.8.4. Assessment
In terms of the evaluation of activities there is a focus on planning to ensure that the
evaluation succeeds in measuring the extent to which activities meet the objectives set
for it.
2.4.9. Early childhood development and education in Africa
Paying attention to the educational aspect of early childhood development is, apart from
the immediate value it adds to a young child‟s life, such as social and cognitive
development, also a pathway to the optimisation of human development through
improved health, increased social capital and greater equality (van der Haag, 2002). The
role which ECD could play in ameliorating the effects of poverty and on improving the
potential for success later on in life for children in developing countries has led to an
increased focus on ECD as a human development intervention (Biersteker & Dawes,
2008). In this section I will first look at the situation regarding ECD delivery in Africa, the
factors that influence it and how the context of African communities preclude programme
developers of early childhood education from designing early childhood education
programmes according to Western thinking on early childhood development. Thereafter
I examine one existing programme of early childhood education teacher training in
Africa, how it developed and how it aims to address the diverse needs for early
Chapter 2 71
childhood education on the continent. Lastly I will look at how one university in South
Africa is working to address this conundrum by providing practicing early childhood
educators with the opportunity to work, on a service-based and part-time basis, towards
a formal qualification in early childhood education.
2.4.9.1. An African perspective on early childhood development and education
The current day dynamics of most sub-Saharan African countries still bear the results of
decades of colonial activities – mostly from Euro-Western sources (Pence & Marfo,
2008). The effect of these activities is that the practice of ECD in Africa is derived, to a
large extent, from systems of early childhood care and education which were developed
between the 16th and 19th century in Europe and which has variable relevance to the
African context (Nsamenang, 2007).
Over 90% of children in the world live outside of the Euro-Western world (Pence &
Marfo, 2008). Yet the vast majority of the body of literature on ECD and development
comes from the minority world, especially the USA (ibid). In their review of the
persistence of Eurocentric thought in ECD delivery and policy making in Africa these
authors point to the adoption of ECD programmes and models which are based on
knowledge systems which, they maintain, might not be appropriate for the African
continent. Citing LeVine (1989), they draw attention to the general assumptions made by
Western child development specialists that the conditions of children of educated
middle-class Anglo-Americans are the optimal environments for human development
and that any deviation from this norm is deemed less than ideal. That any other
paradigm could be viewed as an alternative to normal child development is often never
considered at all as many African customs of child rearing contradict accepted Western
childrearing values. The implementation of a more culturally sensitive and appropriate
way of ECD delivery, they say, would have to come about through what they term a “co-
constructed generative curriculum approach” (ibid:6) in which those aspects which are of
contextual value in imported models are retained and integrated into existing indigenous
knowledge systems.
Although Nsamenang (2007) agrees that ECD in Africa is not about the complete
replacement of proven and relevant applications of Western practices with indigenous
knowledge systems, he does take the critique of the hegemony of Western paradigms of
ECD a step further by examining the premises of the EFA Global Monitoring Report
(2006, 2007) for feasibility in, and relevance to, early childhood development in Africa.
Chapter 2 72
This author looks at “programme access” and describes the case studies in the report as
“expensive ventures in privileged circumstances with limited evidence” (ibid, p. 6) of
ECD delivery as being shown to have become more efficient. This point could be
pursued further by asking the question of what constitutes quality ECD considering the
scarcity of resources many developing countries face (Katz, 1993). Reports such as the
EFA Global Monitoring Report (2006; 2007), Nsamenang (2007) maintains, do not
contain practical guidelines for handling contextual difficulties and certainly do not fully
grasp the realities of resource-poor countries that have to rely on international agencies
who train according to Euro-American norms and with no regard for ethnical and cultural
realities.
Determining which criteria would be appropriate to measure the quality of ECD
provisioning in the African context could add further complexity to this issue, especially
in light of the different values underlying the African and Western view of child rearing
and early education. These values are succinctly juxtaposed by Nsamenang (ibid) as
the pre-occupation with personal ambition and competition promoted in schools
moulded on the Western worldview as it stands in contrast to the values of cooperation,
family unity and sharing which forms the bases of the African orientation in education.
Citing Van der Broek (1999), Nsamenang (ibid) cautions that the unquestioning adoption
by Africans of the individualism that is so implicitly valued in Western orientations to
child rearing and education could cause African children to become destabilised and
ashamed of identities that do not reflect the Eurocentric norm. There is a pronounced
discrepancy between the interventions applied to African situations of child rearing and
education by interveners from outside and the actual conditions of children‟s lives and
local role players.
On the sustainability of donor aid, Nsamenang (ibid) draws attention to how
development in Africa, including ECD is being done almost entirely with the help of
foreign aid, while the continent‟s development partners forge ahead blindly implementing
programmes clinging to the prevalent assumption that progress in Africa can only be
attained with the help of Western knowledge systems and without paying any heed to
the agenda set by the African Union (2006). Moving from the local to a more global
perspective on why Africa is not able to fund its early childhood care and education
component, Nsamenang points out how Africa‟s natural resources is often utilised to
develop Western industries in order to sustain Western capitalism. This causes the
attrition of Africa‟s own knowledge systems, including knowledge on child care and
development.
Chapter 2 73
ECD delivery in Africa is clearly a very intricate, multi-faceted complex of interrelated
historical, economic and social issues.
The interventionist skin grafts onto Africa‟s festering sores have failed to
take or are shrivelling off rapidly, due to a refusal to attend to the
incompatibility between ECCE programs and indigenous African ECCE
services (Nsamenang, 2005, p.2-16 in Nsamenang, 2007)
It is therefore clear that early childhood care and education needs to be
reconceptualised (Pence & Marfo, 2008). The best chance of finding a workable way
forward before an irrevocable loss of essential indigenous knowledge would be to
search for a way which would allow for the best of Western ECD knowledge and
practice to be integrated with the rich body of knowledge which has ensured the survival
and thriving of African children in the context of local communities, customs and cultural
systems for generations.
2.4.9.2. African Early Childhood Virtual University – ECD the African way – a
brief overview of an existing ECD training programme.
As progressively more African states achieved independence in the latter half of the 20th
century, ECD was seldom identified as a priority as countries struggled with the complex
dynamics of their colonial legacy, political instability, lack of resources, the participation
of NGO‟s and private agents and the influence of donor funders on development of ECD
provisioning (Pence, 2004). In the UNESCO document titled “ECD Policy Development
and Implementation in Africa” (2004), Pence offers a synopsis of the landmarks of ECD
development in Africa which culminates in the establishment of the African Early
Childhood Education Virtual University (ECDVU). This is an ECD training programme
which aims to integrate Euro-Western and indigenous knowledge to create site-specific
ECD curricula which would utilise the most recent research on early childhood
development while retaining essential local knowledge about child rearing and
education. What follows here is a brief overview of the basic principles of the ECDVU
programme and a short profile of two of its courses.
In 1994 UNICEF headquarters requested a series of seminars to promote ECD in the
developing majority world (Pence, 2004). The ECDVU programme was developed out of
these seminars by, among others, Pence and Marfo and aimed to advance local
knowledge and relevance to inform local early childhood practice and theory in Africa
Chapter 2 74
and other parts of the world (Pence & Marfo, 2008, p.2). Marfo‟s course Child
development in eco-cultural contexts provided students with information on the
theoretical frameworks and research from the Euro-Western body of knowledge on ECD
while at the same time “emphasizing the contributions of African and non-African
developmental scholars within Africa” (ibid, p.6). The aim of the course is to encourage
students to not only view development as something which happens in context, but to
critically engage with the historical and philosophical aspects of people in certain
cultures and to be able to assess the relevance of Western principles to local ECD
situations while remaining aware of both its possible limitations and the value it could
add to specific local early learning environments and practices.
Employing a constructivist perspective of ECD, the second course, titled; the past,
present and future of ECD, examines how children are understood differently across
time and space through exploring cross-cultural and historical perspectives while
presenting literature on Sociology instead of Psychology as a contextualizing framework.
These courses are intended not only to help ECD practitioners in Africa to better frame
their work for the situations within which they teach, but also to begin to build a local
knowledge base, reflecting the real needs and conditions of the continent‟s children and
so contribute valuable research to the field of ECD in Africa.
A positive spin-off of the ECDVU programme was through a cooperative project which
entailed the establishment of country committees in several African countries such as
Tanzania and Kenya during 2000 - 2004. These committees worked to identify common
goals for ECD in that country over a 5 – 8 year period and to the identification and
establishment of an ECD team which would be committed to addressing the country‟s
ECD agenda. Each country‟s team was tasked with drawing up a report on the status,
resources and needs around ECD in the country. Twenty seven participants from Sub-
Saharan countries completed the three-year programme and made considerable
contributions to especially the data base of policy in the field of ECD.
It is my view that programmes such as the ones presented by the ECDVU, could go a
long way towards assisting countries and development agents to help communities such
as Mogwase to face the challenges of their own specific combination of physical, social
and political issues which constitute the matrix of their everyday lives. It is also essential
that we learn to distinguish between conditions-as-they-are and problems-to-be-solved
and not mistake the former for the latter simply because how people have been bringing
up their children for generations does not fit into our existing paradigms of child-rearing
Chapter 2 75
and early development. Moreover, it is possible that there is no ready-made two-minute-
noodle solution to improving early childhood care and education, but that we would have
to learn to cook up an eclectic and site-specific „motswako‟ (stew), using a diverse
mixture of different appropriate-for-now approaches in order for us to prepare our
children to one day be ready and able to keep up with an ever-changing world.
2.4.10. Meeting the early childhood educator halfway – the Reception Grade (Grade R) diploma programme at the University of Johannesburg (UJ)7
According to Biersteker and Dawes (2008), only about 12% of South African preschool
teachers are recognized by the department of education as qualified (DoE, 2001), where
„qualified‟ means a matriculation certificate plus a three year diploma. Therefore, these
authors state, the new teacher education qualifications framework makes provision for a
diploma in Grade R-teaching to address this need. To this end, the Gauteng Department
of Education (GDE) has approached the UJ Faculty of Education to offer a 3 year part-
time diploma course to already-practicing, but unqualified Grade R teachers in Gauteng.
This programme, which is currently being developed by the University of Johannesburg
will commence in 2012 with credit bearing short learning courses offered via block
release during school holidays and Saturday meetings. Each practitioner-student will be
assigned a trained mentor who will support the learning and study experience of the
student and assist with the communication between the University and the practitioner-
students. Pedagogic content knowledge will be an overarching focus of this programme
and the diploma will articulate with the B.Ed Foundation Phase offered by the University.
This will enable students, if they so wish, to later move onto the B.Ed programme
(Gravett, 2011). In my opinion programmes such as this one are the answer to the
dilemma of early childhood education in developing countries such as South Africa,
where on the one hand there is a dire shortage of qualified early childhood educators
and on the other, where those willing to work at ECD sites often do not have the time
and money resources to embark on a full-time course of training.
2.4.11. Conclusion
The key points that were dealt with in this chapter were the provisioning of ECD in a
rural context. Several aspects of rural community development, existing approaches to
early childhood education and other facets of ECD provisioning were explored through a
7This programme has since been put on hold due to the inability of the GDE to sufficiently commit to its implementation (see 5.8.)
Chapter 2 76
selection of literature. Chapter 3 will focus on the research methodology and will also
describe the application of a heuristic, namely CHAT to the situation in the study.
Chapter 3 77
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN: ONE PHASE IN A PAR CASE
STUDY
3.1. INTRODUCTION: THE DESIGN LOGIC OF A PHASE IN A PAR STUDY
The aim of this study was to investigate the process of ECD teacher development
concurrently with the development of an ECD curriculum in a rural community. This
study also aimed to capture and discuss the management (in PAR mode) of the
emerging tensions in this process. I thus chose to use a PAR case study as research
design because the nature of the setting, a rural community crèche, with no existing
curriculum or trained practitioners, and where the parents are not necessarily orientated
towards ECD as an important aspect of their children‟s development, was predisposed
to the use of PAR as means of investigating progressively better-for-that-context ways of
implementing ECD delivery at this site.
The inquiry is a case study because I planned to investigate a phenomenon that has
identifiable boundaries (Merriam, 1998): the „bounded system‟ (Stake, 1998, 2005) of
this case, which comprised the (organic) curriculum development and concomitant
practitioner training in the pre-school at Mogwase. The boundaries of the system were
the curriculum and the practitioners in the rural pre-school. What makes this a case that
was worthwhile studying was the unique interaction between the context of the
community setting and the action that constituted the object of study (Henning, van
Rensburg & Smit 2004, p.41). As researcher, I was interested in the process (how,
where, when and why things happen in the case) and the outcome of the study, both of
which play themselves out in the context of this rural community (Henning et al., 2004,
p.40). The design logic of the inquiry was thus two-fold; on the one hand it constituted a
phase in a PAR inquiry, and on the other hand it was a case of ECD teacher
development coupled with curriculum development. Ultimately the case as a research
construct was stretched to its outer boundaries by the way that the community inserted
itself into the „case‟, Yet, I would argue, the design logic held firm and the construct was
studied within its boundaries and in the mode of a phase of PAR. This phase was
preceded by other phases, which can arguably be viewed as pre-phases in terms of the
research reported on in this study/dissertation. I will, for the sake of clarity, revisit these
Chapter 3 78
pre-research phases to show that PAR is not a methodology that starts existing as such
at any particular point in time, but that it emerges from real-life events that might
precede the formal design phase of a study such as this one.
3.2. DESIGNING THE FIELD STUDY
The first three pre-research phases had a prominent influence on how I designed this
study. As has been shown in chapter 1, when the crèche first started, I moved from a
client centred development practice, one that aims to preserve people‟s right to
experiment and integrate learned experiences into their orientation (Summers, 1986),
into prominently advocating what I thought would be the best course of action to take,
leading the teachers and the committee to see me as the de facto leader (Swanepoel,
1997). Prompted by a number of „crises‟ sparked by the tensions between the different
role players, I came to reflect on my position of relative power in the situation and
gradually started listening to the community‟s expression of their intentions with regard
to the further development of the crèche. Progressively I came to see that, as Freire,
(1970) said, it is in how we participate in the world that we effect change in social reality
and that my approach to the situation therefore needed to change. It is from this
realization of my own participation, sometimes to the exclusion of others‟, that the study
can be said to have been conceived of.
This study can therefore not be seen as a stand-alone unit of „knowledge-making‟, but
should be viewed against the backdrop of the events from which it had emerged and as
a precursor to further events which will come about as a result of it in subsequent
phases of action (McNiff, 2002). It was clear that the study was not going to be
„conducted‟ as much as it was going to be allowed to „happen‟. Furthermore, in the
words of Henning (2004, p. 24), I could see that the “complex practical problems” which
were part of the situation of the study clearly “demanded solutions which could only be
developed inside the context from which the problem had arisen in the first place and in
which the practice is a crucial and determining element”.
In planning this study I aimed to find a valid way to address the research questions. I
therefore planned the study with its main constructs constantly in mind, looking for
elements of the construct and examining their currency in the literature (Morse, Barrett,
Mayan, Olson & Spiers, (2002). In thinking about construct validity one deliberates about
tools to find and analyse data that are, presumably, going to address the research
question as directly as possible. Put simply, if the research process as a whole does not
Chapter 3 79
lead to findings that address the research question it can be said the construct may not
have been valid (ibid).
The construct of this study has two sides and these find expression in the research
questions, namely:
3. What is the process of developing an (organic) ECD curriculum with practitioner
training in a rural community?
4. What are the emerging tensions in such a process and how are they managed in
PAR mode?
In order to realize the aim of the study I also set the following objectives:
1. To analyse and describe the tensions that arose in the implementation of the
original ECD curriculum.
2. To describe how these tensions are managed in the process of developing a
new ECD curriculum in PAR mode.
3. To document the development of appropriate skills for ECD practitioners so that
they are equipped to work towards the development of young children in this
programme.
4. To describe the development of an ECD curriculum with a concomitant training
programme for the practitioners.
Each of the objectives have an element of the two-sided construct and each of these
elements are operationalisable, which means that they could be observed and
documented, using certain research tools and methods. These tools and methods will
be explicated in this chapter. In chapter 4 their empirical deployment will be described.
3.2.1. The design logic of the PAR phase case study
As practitioner researcher, especially in action research of some sort, the researcher as
instrument features boldly. Needless to say her ontological position plays a primary role
in the work. Without dwelling on it, I briefly say that as part of the logic of this design
stands my own critical stance. I do not place the study firmly in critical theory as
proposed in education by theorists such as Aronowitz and Giroux (1991), and McLaren
and Kincheloe (2007), but I do not wish to neglect to state my position as development
practitioner with a critical worldview. Although the possibility of critically inquiry as the
best way to proceed in the development of this ECD site required me to step into my
Chapter 3 80
role as researcher, this does not mean that at any specific point in time I consciously
picked a theoretical framework from a smorgasbord (Alvesson & Skoldberg, 2000) of
possible philosophies that might suit the requirements of my study. Instead it is that my
own world view asserted it‟s truth-for-me through the situation within which my study
was to be conducted. As Henning et al (2004, 24) propose, the key words of the critical
paradigm are “participation, involvement, collaboration and engagement.” Despite the
realization that development work cannot be pragmatic in excess, the study needed, in
its planning, a good dose of realism. I needed to capture the case as an example of
what is observable everyday reality and thus the „type‟ of critical position that I take is
one based in harsh reality as experienced by people in real time (Pyett, 2003). This two-
fold approach is graphically represented below in figure 3.1.
Figure 3.1: Part PAR case study design and a critical ontology (Henning 2012)
3.2.2 The PAR case study as an activity system
I will now proceed to apply the model of Engeström‟s interpretation of Leont‟ev‟s
second-generation activity theory, which I outlined in chapter 1, to my study. Once
again, I will do so at the hand of Beatty and Feldman‟s (2009) explanation, after which I
will expand my application to include the principles of Engeström‟s third-generation
activity theory model. I will also show what role the tensions that operated between the
different role players and aspects of this intervention played when looking heuristically at
the interaction between the different nodes of the activity system.
PAR Case study
Chapter 3 81
The subject in the activity system is described as the viewpoint of analysis or as the
person or sub-group whose actions we seek to understand. It is clear from the research
questions and aims of this study that the group of volunteer ECD teachers, engaged in
the activity of establishing and running the crèche is the unit of analysis within this
activity system. They can be seen as the “point of view” of the study or the “person or
group whose actions we seek to understand” (ibid, p. 4)
The object - that which „motivates‟ the actions of the subject and „upon‟ which the action
is lodged, is the development of the volunteer teachers. The outcome of the subject‟s
acting on the object, thus of the volunteer teachers undergoing a process of professional
development, is the generation of an organic curriculum (within the context of teacher
development)with the aim of teaching and caring of the children at Mogwase in an
organised way that will assist in their development Thus the outcome includes the
dimension of children who are cared for and who may be ready to enter formal
education after they have „graduated‟ from the crèche.
The subject in an activity system makes use of artefact/tools to act upon the object in
order to bring about the desired outcomes. The tools are thus the meditational means,
and they are inherently semiotic, carrying the norms and signs of the culture, especially
as it is embodied in language. These tools can be physical, such as the edutainers and
outside play equipment as it constitutes the space in which the teachers work. They can
also be cognitive as in the case of new teaching methods learned and new professional
habits formed. Symbolic tools used by the teachers include language and how it is used
in the classroom, discourse, pictures and curriculum - one of the main tools of
educational settings such as this ECD setting.
The notion of “community” refers to the participants who are engaged in collective
activity with the subject, together with other stakeholders in the object of the activity. The
committee, parents, leaders, donor funders, development practitioners, trainers and
members of local government all have an interest in the development of ECD within this
settlement and therefore can be said to make up the community within this system.
The concept of a division of labour within activity systems has a horizontal and vertical
component to it. The horizontal division of labour refers to how and by whom certain
tasks are carried out in the community while the vertical division of labour refers to how
relationships of power and status is perceived by the members of the community
(Centre for Activity Theory and Development work Research, 2003, in Beatty &Feldman,
Chapter 3 82
2009). This refers to the management and the hierarchical relations within the
community. In this case the relative low status of young mothers as perceived by the
community could be said to be an example of both the horizontal and the vertical
division of labour in the settlement. The role of young mothers in this settlement is to
take care of their children and to assist their own mothers with household chores. When
young mothers suddenly become „teachers‟, and moreover „well paid‟ teachers, their
status is disproportionally elevated, in the view of the community. This causes
disequilibrium in the „system‟ of which the teachers are part and challenges the existing
relationships of power and status.
The rules in an activity system can be „implicit‟ or unexpressed, such as traditional
customs and beliefs or „explicit‟ and stated in detail such as policies, laws and
regulations. Either way rules shape the behaviour of community members. (Beatty &
Feldman, 2009). Examples of explicit rules within the activity system at Mogwase
include rules made by the committee to regulate behaviour within the settlement, the
rules of the donor funders regarding expenditure and government policy around the
regulation of ECD sites in Gauteng. Implicit rules include beliefs around gender equity,
capabilities of young women to look after children and what constitutes acceptable ECD
practice in Mogwase.
3.2.2.1. Tensions within the activity system
As can be seen from the description of the components of what constitutes, heuristically,
the activity system of the crèche at Mogwase, a lot of tension exists and is generated by
the so-called activity between the different „nodes‟ within the system. Taking the training
volunteer teachers as the subject, they are clearly, at one level, the focus point for all the
activities that take place within the system. Whether or not, and to what extent the object
or outcome of the system is met depends on the teachers and how they choose to
employ the tools at their disposal. It is up to them to, for example, choose which
language of instruction they will employ in their teaching practice. Therefore, implicit in
their choice and use of the tools exist some tension. The teachers have, on the one
hand, the power to make or break the process of achievement, if at all, of the organic
curriculum, and on the other they are subject to the influences of all other aspects of the
system. For example, although the community in this instance is challenged by the
teachers‟ new role, to revise their existing view of the rules that hold sway and the
accepted division of labour within the community, the tensions that result from this
interaction between community, rules and the division of labour is projected by the
Chapter 3 83
community onto the teachers, thus influencing, and putting under strain, their actions
towards the object.
3.2.2.2. Principles of third generation activity theory
Engeström (2001, p.135 in Beatty & Feldman, 2009, p.4) criticized second-generation
activity theory for its limitations with regard to “understand(ing) dialogue, multiple
perspectives and net workings of individual activity systems.” Engeström (2009) and
Daniels (2009) have worked towards extending second-generation activity theory to
include interaction with other activity systems, thus giving the theory a stronger systems
character, looking outward as well as inward. Engeström, because he can be seen as
the initiator of third generation theory (1987), addressed the limitations of inwardness by
developing his cultural historical activity theory or CHAT (Beatty & Feldman, 2009),
thereby subsuming socio-cultural theory and extending „the triangle‟ that Vygotsky used
to present his ideas.
Engeström (2001, p.136-137) identified specific principles of this version of the theory.
To give a more comprehensive view of how the heuristic tool of CHAT applies to the
case in the study, I here present a synopsis of these five principles. The first principle is
that “a collective artefact-mediated and objects-orientated activity system, seen in its
network relations to other activity systems, is taken as the prime unit of analysis”. “Goal
directed individual and group actions” (Engeström: 2001 in Beatty & Feldman: 2009, p.
4), the actions towards the implementation of the ECD facility and practitioner training in
Mogwase, “are relatively independent, but subordinate units of analysis are eventually
understandable only when interpreted against the background of an entire activity
system” (ibid). In Mogwase for example, the training experiences of the volunteer
practitioners as individuals and as a group cannot be viewed apart from the expectations
and evaluation of the parents, the community committee, the donor funders, the
development practitioners, the trainers or local government authorities.
The second principle deals with “the multi-voicedness” of activity systems. An activity
system always comprises a community of multiple points of view, traditions and
interests‟ (ibid, p.5) From the events of the pre-design stage of this study, it is apparent
that there are indeed vastly different points of view with regard to what constitutes
quality ECD practice from the multiplicity of stakeholders in this study. Traditional beliefs
and customs around early childhood education and care are standpoints which play an
important role within the activity of this system.
Chapter 3 84
The third principle is historicity. Activity systems evolve over “lengthy periods of time.
Their problems and potentials can only be understood against their own history” (ibid) I
list here a few of the historical aspects which affect the activity system in this study. As
we have seen in chapter 1, the establishment of the village where the pre-school is
situated came about due to the settlement there of 55 farm workers and their families as
a result of their displacement by farmers in the area from agricultural land in response to
The Extension of Security of Tenure Act (1997). The land on which the village is situated
was then purchased by government on behalf of the residents. Conflict about leadership
and other political issues have often flared up leading to poor internal cohesion in this
community.
The fourth principle is “the central role of contradictions as sources of change and
development”. According to Engeström (ibid), contradictions cannot be equated with
“problems or conflicts”. He suggests that they are “structural tensions within and
between activity systems” which “accumulate historically” and which not only “generate
disturbances and conflicts”, but also include “innovative attempts to change the activity”.
An example of this, taken from the pre-design phase of the study, would be the
contradiction between the traditional beliefs around early childhood care and education
and notions of what ECD in a contemporary „crèche‟ set-up should involve. These and
other contradictions are some of the major dynamics which I suspect might play a role in
this study.
The fifth principle states that the possibility exists for “expansive transformation in
activity systems” (ibid) and proposes that “activity systems move through relatively long
cycles of qualitative transformations” through which the contradictions of the system
intensify. This intensification to “aggravation” causes some individual role players to
“begin to question and deviate” from the “established norms” of the activity system.
According to Engeström “an expansive transformation is accomplished” when the object
and motive of the activity are “reconceptualised” so that a vastly larger array of
possibilities is accepted than what was the case in “previous mode of the activity.” It is
this possible transformation that is the focus of this research.
3.2.3. Principles of PAR and how they played out in the design of the study
The purpose of my study was to find „practical solutions‟ to a practical problem in the
real world. This further grounds my study in critical theory. Theory cannot stand alone
from practice; transformation occurs through praxis which is theory in practice (Higgs &
Chapter 3 85
Smith, 2006, p.71). Critical theory is relevant to the situation in this study because it
focuses on an awareness of the subjective nature of the production of knowledge and
on how this is shaped by the power relations within society. This inquiry is about
development practice and the development of a context-specific curriculum through the
empowerment of lay teachers and semi-literate parents to eventually be capable of
taking ownership of the pre-school in their community. This process meant that I had re-
examine my position of relative power and step back in my role as development
practitioner so that the community could direct the course of their own development. It
was the very tension between the need for a better outcome and finding better ways to
bring about transformation that helped formulate the research questions for this study.
The study is therefore purpose-driven. As Henning et al. (2004, p.16) suggest, looking at
the verbs in a research question is a good indication of the theoretical framework it
might be situated in. Looking at the phrases in my research questions and sub-
questions it is clear that this study is situated in the critical framework:
1. What is the process of developing an (organic) ECD curriculum with practitioner
training in a rural community?
2. What are the emerging tensions in such a process and how are they managed in
PAR mode?
This study takes place within the ECD component of a larger community development
programme. As described in the first part of this chapter the community development
practitioners followed a collaborative approach to development. Through dialogue which
fosters a continuous learning orientation, the community becomes aware of its own
needs, and makes decisions about those needs in order to be better able to adapt to
changing situations (Foster-Fisman, Berkowitz, Lounsbury, Jacobson & Allen, 2001).
These collaborative processes include planning, community action and change,
adaptation to new circumstances, thinking in new ways and “institutionalisation”
(Roussos & Fawcett, 2000). Through cycles of planning, implementing and reflecting,
the lessons learnt during the pre-design phase clearly lead the participants and me as
researcher towards participatory action research. It can be argued that the events that
preceded the formal research predispose PAR as research methodology for this study.
To explain this mode of research, I will now look at PAR under headings as used by
Beukema and Petersen (2007).
Chapter 3 86
3.2.3.1. PAR as paradigm shift
PAR is first of all reflexive research. The difference between empirical and action
research, according to McNiff (2002) is that while the empirical researcher enquires into
other people‟s lives, the action researcher, who is often also practitioner, thinks about
and explores their own lives, asking questions about how they act and why they act in a
certain way. The action researcher‟s report shows a systematic investigation into the
practitioner-researcher‟s own behaviour and actions and moreover shows the
motivations behind that behaviour and those actions.
PAR is secondly a way to create new knowledge collaboratively, and in doing so it aims
to help researched people to become researchers themselves and to look for and find
answers to the challenges they face (Fals-Borda, 2001). PAR is a way to „liberate‟
knowledge and to help oppressed people to gain enough transformational and creative
leverage to be able to develop new socio-political thought processes (Fals-Borda &
Rahman, 1991) and knowledge and action that has direct utility value for the community
(Kelly, 2005).
Thirdly, PAR is not only a way to create a new kind of knowledge, but, to be applied
successfully, it also requires a new kind of knowledge (Beukema & Petersen, 2007) or,
at least, a new way of using knowledge. The researched party, according to these
authors, need to employ their common sense or contextual knowledge, unconscious
knowledge, practical knowledge, for example as observed in the daily routines followed
in the settlement and discursive or reflexive knowledge. The researcher needs a sound
knowledge of theories, of research methods and of other contexts while the researcher-
co-researcher partnership ideally would be able to equally employ common sense and
scientific knowledge. Another important knowledge aspect of this collaboration is that
the researcher and co-researcher need to exhibit “reciprocal adequacy” (ibid) and thus
agree on solutions and the interpretation of a certain situation.
3.2.3.2. PAR as a research strategy
PAR is a research strategy that brings together theory and practice and that links
knowledge and action in ways that aim to bring social actors and recipients of their
actions together (Fals-Borda, 2001).
According to Sandars and Waterman (2005), the first step in an action research project
is to “define a „working‟ action research question which can be refined as the project
progresses”. However, as can be seen from the narrative in chapter 1, the formal part of
Chapter 3 87
the research for this study was created, not in a void, but after four cycles of PAR, which
I have referred to as the pre-formal stages (and one bridging stage) of the research in
this dissertation (see table 1.1.), had already been completed. The first formal planning
cycle of this PAR study therefore needs to be seen, not only as the starting point of the
research where the research question was conceived of, where indeed it was, but also
as a subsequent cycle „flowing from‟ the previous cycles of planning, action and
reflection. The formulation of the research question is therefore, in this case, at the
same time the start of the formal part of the research and also already a redefining of
the intervention – a step which Sanders (ibid) places within the second cycle of PAR
research.
I make use of Sandars‟ and Waterman‟s (ibid) explanation of the different cycles and
steps within those cycles, because it illustrates the various components of these in
greater detail than what is presented in most literature on the subject. According to this
author, action research is a deliberate attempt to intervene in a social system to bring
improvement. This intention is usually reflected in the formulation of the research
questions. The research questions in this study reflect this orientation towards action
and development. The research question in a PAR study is always subject to change
during the research process. Another important consideration at this point is to decide
on an ethical framework for the study and the people involved in it.
The second step in the first cycle of action research is to collect data. The choice of
research methods here, Sandars and Waterman (ibid) say, depends on how appropriate
it is for addressing the research question. In the case of this study, the events of the
three pre-formal stages and the „bridging‟ stage of the research constituted data-in-
progress that was utilized for deciding upon the first formal „action‟ cycle, of the study,
which was the intensive and extensive training of the volunteer teachers by the teacher-
trainer. This second step in the first cycle, as described by these authors, is really the
point in the cycle that could be said to denote the real start of the formal stage of this
inquiry, leading to the structured planning of the methodology for the study and the
implementation of the formal research plan. The second data collection part of the first
cycle (Fig. 3.2. step 4) can thus be said to constitute the data collection process for the
formal inquiry
Chapter 3 88
Step 1. Define a ‘working’ action research question
Cycle 2
Cycle 1
Cycle 3
Figure 3.2: PAR as research strategy
3.2.3.3. PAR as a set of methods
PAR is essentially action research with the participation of the researched party
(Beukema & Petersen 2007). The following methods, listed by Binns, Hill & Nell (1997),
can be utilised when using this research approach. First of all, the researcher can make
detailed direct observations at the site and enter into discussion with key informants to
get a grasp of history and those issues that are currently important to the community.
This is how the larger community project at Mogwase first started out. Information from
these discussions and focus group meetings was used in compiling the base line
assessment for the project (Van der Vyver, 2008). These discussions can be expanded
to include group discussions with either casual of focused groups to give members of
the community the chance to talk about what they perceive as their problems and
aspirations. To get a better idea of the physical environment through the eyes of the
community, participatory strategies such as mapping or modelling can be employed.
Individuals or groups can use readily available materials from the environment, such as
seeds, sticks, stones to indicate the environment of their settlement and the available
Step 3. Plan and introduce new intervention
Step 4. Second data collection
Step 2. First data collection
Step 7. Third data collection
Step 5. Redefine intervention
Step 6. Introduce refined intervention
Step 9. Redefine intervention etc.
Chapter 3 89
resources such as water and firewood. Community mapping was done, also as part of
the larger community development project, by a group of community researchers to
compare physical aspects of the settlement from 2008 when the project started with
those observed in 2011 (Van der Vyver, 2011). Transect walks, which are systematic
walks undertaken through a key area with members of the community during which
certain zones can be mapped, questions can be asked and solutions sought after which
observations, main problems and possible solutions can be mapped collaboratively.
Transect walks were especially effective in bringing together the community and
representatives of the corporate donor funder when they visited the community. The
history of aspects of community life, e.g. health, weather patterns or crop yields can be
drawn by members of a settlement as a time line to show approximate dates of
recollected events. Asking participants to describe a typical year or to make a seasonal
calendar is another way how insights can be gained about the realities faced by a
community. This method was employed during the implementation of the agricultural
component of the larger development project during 2011. The same can be done to
gain insight into how days are typically spent. This method is called a daily time use
analysis and can reveal which activities are undertaken daily. Creating awareness
among parents, especially mothers, about their daily activities helped to orientate
mothers to the value of the crèche in possibly freeing up some time for them to pursue
income-generating activities. Paying attention to who does what could yield rich data
about the division of labour in a community. Young women, such as the volunteer
teachers, usually take care of their children while performing household chores for their
mothers. This division of labour was challenged by the implementation of the crèche in
the settlement. Matrix scoring and ranking, a method by which aspects such as
productivity and methods of soil and water conservation is ranked and compared, was
utilised during the food-growing phase of the project and was also used to explain the
importance of certain food types in the diet of young children.
3.2.4. Validity in PAR
In PAR the term „validity‟ can be replaced by „credibility‟. To explain this I make use of
literature by Beukema and Petersen (2007) who refer to both internal and external
credibility. According to these authors, internal credibility means that the new knowledge
that is created is credible for the group that generates it. The collaborative nature of the
research process makes it more acceptable to insiders because of the connection to the
local situation. External credibility refers to the ability to convince someone who is not
part of the study that the results are believable. According to Greenwood and Levin
(1998) the credibility-validity of AR knowledge is determined by the extent to which the
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actions that arise from it solve problems, in other words, how workable the solutions are,
and to what extent they increase participants‟ control over their own situation. Some
measures taken to ensure credibility (reliability) in a PAR study include declaring
assumptions at the beginning of the study, triangulation and indicating how inferences
drawn in the study are consistent with the data that had been collected. For example,
the three data sources collected from the volunteer teachers in this study showed
correlation with regard to teacher perceptions about aspects of classroom practice such
as language of instruction, but also served to show their changed perceptions about
their own participation in classroom activities. This audit trial could consist of an
explanation of how data were analyzed and showing excerpts of raw data. Internal
validity is achieved through „member checks‟ – constant checking with participants to
see if what is reported is what they meant. For example, Paulina, the co-researcher, and
I, would constantly check our interpretation of data gained from the interviews to make
sure that we agreed on the meaning of what was said during interviews. Peer
examination is another aspect of such an audit trial and entails asking colleagues/others
for critical comments on findings. In the case of this inquiry the social worker acted as
„critical friend‟. Long term emersion at the site, in this case the three years that I had
already spent working with the community, also helps to increase the credibility of the
research process. Finally triangulation of different data sources, such as those collected
from parents, teachers and the community leader improves the reliability of the methods
used.
3.2.5. Researcher Role: the move from community development practitioner to educational researcher in participatory mode
The lessons I had learnt in the pre-design phase as development practitioner helped me
to address bias because I tried to be as honest as I could with myself about the
mistakes I had made during that phase. I also had the „researcher friend‟ – the social
worker who works with me on the project, who I utilized as sounding board to see if I
was on the right track. Later on, my co-researcher, Paulina, was invaluable in helping
me maintain the right perspective, that of researcher, towards my study. And as the
committee and teachers became more empowered and as we all moved into a more
participatory mode, it became possible for me to check with them for possible bias as
researcher.
My perceptions of and reflections on my changing role as community development
practitioner - from “instructor” to “change agent” (Burkey 1993, p.77) - had played an
integral part in how events had transpired. Now however it was time for me to let that
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role move to the background and to look at the events which preceded my study through
the eyes of a researcher. This is not to say that in a study such as this one a person
could ever simply step out of one role and into another. As critical theory proposes, I
believe that researchers and “scientists do their work in society, they are part of society”
(Higgs & Smith, 2006, p.69) and that “theories don‟t get formulated in a social vacuum,
but are bound by social reality” (ibid, p.71). The social reality within which I found myself
was one in which my presence in and connection to this community developed out of my
changing role as development practitioner.
Having mentioned this stepping out of the development practitioner role and into the
researcher role I want to make it clear that I agree with critical theorists that it is
impossible to adopt a position of neutrality and objectivity by attempting to reflect on life
because the reflective process, and the thoughts that make up that process, have been
given to the philosopher – or the scientist - by society” (ibid, p.70). I think this is a very
important tenet of critical theory that it would behove social researchers to keep in mind.
The fact that I was a white middle-class educated women involved in research in a rural
black settlement in South Africa already meant that I would approach my study
differently than had I been a member of that same community. Also, the fact that I had,
by the time my study commenced, already been working with that community for three
years, makes me a participatory researcher and influences how I viewed the community
and the dynamics at work there in a different way than if I had simply entered the scene
purely to do research and had then left.
3.3. RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS, DATA SOURCES AND METHODS
Research design provides cohesion between the different components - the samples,
groups, interventions and methods work together to address the research question
(Web centre for social research, 2010). To this end I made use of multiple data
collecting strategies from different sources and different participants in the study.
3.3.1. Purposively determining the participants in this study
The unit of analysis in this study is the ECD practitioner-in-training in the context of
concomitant ECD curriculum development. I operationalised the construct of „teacher
development‟ into real, observable phenomenon such as „teachers who talk about their
work at the crèche; teachers who worry about aspects of their work; teachers who
perceive their world in a certain way‟ etc. I examined the construct of „curriculum
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development‟ through recording and observing how the role players in the curriculum;
the teachers, trainers, parents, leaders and other stakeholders experienced it, talked
about it and how they perceived their own role in the development of the curriculum.
Sampling was going to be by way of purposeful selection of the intact group that
constitutes the case. Included in this are the key participants in the community: the ECD
trainers, the ECD teachers-in-training, the community development practitioners, the
community leader and community steering committee members. These groups were
direct samples and I chose each because they would provide data that would help to
address the research questions. Using multiple data sources in a case study research
design is in alignment with the principle that a situation be experienced and described
from multiple perspectives. Comparing data from more than one source or type often
reflects areas of similarities and can help to confirm findings (Knafl & Breitmayer, 1989;
in Baxter and Jack, 2008). I also briefly explain my motivation for the inclusion of each
set of participants in this study.
First of all I selected the teachers, because their development as ECD practitioners
formed the primary unity of analysis for the study. The teachers would be able to yield
rich data about the process of their own development and how they viewed their own
role and other aspects that constitute the development of the „organic‟ curriculum. The
development of the teachers as ECD practitioners is so intricately connected with how
the curriculum came about that they can be considered key informants.
Secondly I selected the teacher-trainer (Paulina) as informant because she could give
more objective information on the day to day running of the crèche, the teachers‟
development and events that happened at the crèche than the teachers, than I could. At
the same time she would be able to give rich, subjective data because, as teacher-
trainer she would also act as co-researcher and in that role she would be at the same
time be an active participant in the development of the curriculum and a researcher
looking for answers. She would be a practitioner researcher (Jarvis, 1999), and,
because she worked at the crèche, she would be closer to the setting than me. To be a
practitioner researcher means that the researcher becomes an accepted part of the
context or culture that is being observed which often requires a prolonged period of
intensive work at the site (Web centre for social research, 2010). In the case of Paulina,
perhaps because she was part of an intervention that came about in a truly participatory
way, her presence at the crèche was accepted as part of the natural day-to-day running
of the crèche very soon after her arrival there. Her involvement as co-researcher would,
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true to the participatory methodology of the study, also involve her professional
development through her gaining knowledge of research and research methodology
(Rossouw, 2009). To this end I trained Paulina in basic research methods (see 4.2.3
par.3), specifically on how to conduct an interview, and later on, how data is coded.
These skills could contribute to her professional development and help to improve her
classroom practice and decision making skills as an educator (ibid).
I chose to interview some of the parents of the children at the crèche as data sources
because they were, in a way, indirect „recipients‟ of the benefits of the intervention and
therefore close witnesses to how effectively the „organic‟ curriculum was assisting with
the development of the pre-school children in the settlement – one of the desired
outcomes of the intervention.
The community leader was chosen as informant because she could provide a more
objective perspective on the value of the crèche to the community as a whole. I was also
hoping that the data that she yielded would support and triangulate those gathered from
other sources and that her inclusion as a data source would therefore promote the
credibility of the study (Knafl & Breitmayer, 1989 in Baxter and Jack, 2008).
3.3.2. Data sources and data gathering
Because I work from an essentially critical-realist paradigm I think it is important to pay
close attention to the meaning of the language that is used when presenting and
analysing the information gained through research studies. All data sources of this
inquiry are textual data. The language used in texts about data is part of a discourse and
in PAR this discourse reflects the researcher‟s view of data as a participant researcher,
who in some way shares the voice of the other participants. Drawing on Polkinghorne
(2005), I have veered away from some of the more conventional ways of speaking about
data. I will deal with this differentiation first before moving to the topic as it pertains to
my own study.
One of the main purposes of qualitative research is “to describe and clarify experience
as it is lived and constituted in awareness”. (ibid, p.138). The data needed to study
these experiences emerge from what Polkinghorne refers to as an “intensive
exploration” by a researcher with a participant which results in “language data” (ibid).
This exploration between researcher and participant, Polkinghorne says, is how datum
is made. Quoting McLeod, (2001) he further suggests that data is not so much “collected
(like picking apples off a tree), but rather “constructed (like a story)” (ibid, p.141) by the
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various participants, including the researcher participant. Therefore, even though I will
use the term „data collection‟ when citing sources which refer to it as such, as
researcher I better resonate with the Vygotskian (1978) view of how knowledge is
constructed between people in interaction.
Further to that, the phases of qualitative data collection and analysis are not clearly
distinguishable and often occur in overlapping cycles (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006,
p.322). This is very much the case with this study. Because I used PAR as a
methodology, the participants (including myself initially as development practitioner) in
the pre-formal design phase, had already gone through several cycles of planning,
implementation and reflection before the study was crystallised as such see Figure 1.1).
We had thus been „making‟ and assembling data as part of everyday practice. It is
therefore difficult to show how the stages of qualitative research, as proposed by
McMillan and Schumacher (2006, p.322), were followed in the case of this study. Much
of the „data‟ were already „collected‟ and assembled before the formal research project
itself was formally constituted. As I have already described in chapter one in par.1.4.2.
how the decision to explore ways in which to make the ECD site at Mogwase work
better was suggested by the participants, specifically the volunteer practitioners and
committee. Because of my work involvement with this community I didn‟t have to gain
permission to use the site, nor did I have to spend time orientating and familiarizing
myself as suggested by (Krefting, 1991 in Baxter & Jack, 2008) with the situation at the
site. I was already an integral part of the site as a practitioner in the community.
The process of tentative data analysis was also already well under way by the time this
study commenced as I had already been reflecting on the work to date. Also, I had
already assembled data for the purposes of practice and this helped me to make
decisions about other sources and methods of collection. As already discussed, I
planned a variety of methods of data collection to optimize their contribution to the
overall reliability of the various data constructs. I used my research questions to
determine what data I would need to best address them. I decided to use some of the
data which already existed as well as some instruments which I planned to design
especially for the purposes of the study. I include Figure 3.3.which is an outline of the
data sets I used and to which I will refer in this discussion.
Chapter 3 95
Pre-design phases Formal Design phase End of study Documents
1. Teacher’s Awareness Reports Feb ‘10
2. Teacher’s Awareness Reports June ‘10
6. Minutes of meetings
EXISTING 9. Development Project Documents
DOCUMENTS 9B Social worker’s Report
8. A. Development Practitioner’s
field notes Interviews
10. Informal discussions with EMERGED
‘researcher friend’
3. Interviews with Teachers
4. Interviews with Parents
5. Interview with community leader DESIGNED
Observations
8B. Researcher observations and field notes
7. Teacher-trainer’s diary
Figure 3.3: Data sources their origin and design
Chapter 3 96
In order to examine the construct of „teacher development‟ and the concurrent
„curriculum development‟ I would use some of the existing data. I planned to use the
teachers‟ awareness reports of February 2010 and June 2010 both as sources of data
and to guide me in the design of the interview schedule for the interview with teachers
(Addendum D), which became one of the major data sources of this study. Designing
this instrument allowed me to operationalise this construct as it provided ample
opportunity for the teachers to express their views on the different aspects of their work
at the crèche and talk about their training and the changes they have experienced in
terms of practice and professional development. The teacher-trainer‟s diary (see
addendum J) was another instrument which was designed specifically to render
information on teacher training from the perspective of the trainer. The remaining five
data sets were to be used as ancillary to the four data sets mentioned here as they
would give other role players perspectives on the teachers professional development.
Because the curriculum couldn‟t speak for itself I had to find ways for the role players in
this curriculum to speak on its behalf. I planned to use the data from the two awareness
reports, the three interview schedules, the minutes of meetings, the teacher trainer‟s
diary and the development practitioner‟s field notes to provide data from a broad
spectrum of voices. The project documentation would be used as a supportive source
to all the other data sources.
The three main categories of qualitative data gathering methods, according to Henning
et al. (2004, p.6) are documents and artefacts, observations and interviewing. Utilising
diverse methods will, according to Golofshani (2003), help to enhance validity and
reliability. I now will deal with each of these methods separately.
Documents and artefacts
When I did the formal design of the study I took stock of the data I already had at my
disposal. Documents can be rich data sources especially when they are not only used
for their content value, but also in discursive analysis (Henning et al., 2004, p.98). An
example of this are the two teacher awareness reports from the pre-design phase which
yielded valuable data on the teachers‟ attitudes and motivation at a point prior to the
design of the formal research study (in the pre-research cycles). The minutes of
meetings between the parents, teachers, the development practitioners and the
community steering committee and existing project documentation such as proposals,
budgets, annual reports and financial statements were also existing documents which
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could be important sources of data about the history of a situation (ibid). Because I had
kept a field log of my work as development practitioner, this log was included, albeit only
as supporting data. This log also morphed into the researcher‟s field log which was
designed to gather data specifically for the inquiry and which is dealt with under
„observations‟. Artefacts can be very useful sources of information, provided the
researcher can see a link between them and the research question (ibid). Examples of
artefacts that were used in the study are the posters on the walls of the crèche (see
Addendum K and the „daily programme‟ (see Addendum N).
Observations
I decided that I would keep notes of my observations and the process of the study in a
field log while Paulina, the co-researcher and teacher-trainer, would keep a diary (for an
example, see Addendum J) in which she would write her observations and reflections of
the day-to-day running of the crèche. I would make observations as participant-
researcher who “participates in the actions of the people in the research setting”
(Henning et al., 2004, p.82) and, from time to time, make direct observations at the
crèche (for an example see addendum M). In this sense I acted both as participant-
researcher, who is known and accepted by the people in the situation of the study as a
part of the context and as a direct observer who doesn‟t become a full participant, yet
aims to remain as unobtrusive as she can so as to guard against bias (Web centre for
social research, 2010). As Henning et al. (2004, p.83) cautions, it is not possible for a
researcher to go into a research situation as an „empty slate‟ (ibid, p.85), insert herself
into a group and hope to gain a view of the world through the eyes of the members of
the group unless this happens through a prolonged field visit and unless the researcher
knows the language (ibid, p.83). Although I had spent a significant amount of time in the
settlement and although I can speak Setswana (the local vernacular) fluently, I would
still argue, with Henning et al. (ibid, p.83), that the purpose of observations should be to
“capture what is available to your observation” and that this would depend on what you
already know and understand about the people.
With regard to the purpose of the co-researcher‟s diary we decided that she would not
intentionally „filter‟ any data but that she would record, from her own perspective, the
day-to-day running of the crèche. By contrast, my researcher‟s field notes would aim to
focus on particular aspects of the crèche and its population that would yield data that
bore specific relevance to the research questions. In other words, I would make
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observations specifically about events and aspects of the crèche that had to do with the
teacher‟s development and with signs of the emerging curriculum.
Interviews
The main purpose of interview data is to give information about people‟s thoughts,
feelings and actions from the way they talk about their lives (Henning et al., 2004). This
information is gained by the researcher by means of a structured discussion which the
researcher manages and later analyses and puts into a research report (ibid). Interviews
are always directed at „making meaning‟ and are never mere tools to structure and
“scaffold” thinking (ibid). Paulina and I decided that she would conduct interviews with
the volunteer practitioners, some parents and the community leader because we were
hoping to elicit responses about the meaning that the various role players in the
intervention made out of the situation. This „meaning‟ would in turn help us to address
the research questions. The researcher does not stand outside of the interview process,
but actually takes part in the construction of the meaning of the instrument through
“dialogical communicative action” which includes encouraging, sometimes non-linguistic
utterances such as „Hmmmm‟ and directing the conversation in the direction of a specific
topic (ibid, p.57). The interview schedules that were used to gather data in the study
were purposively designed as instruments. They were designed to gain data about the
perceptions about the crèche and its effects within the community from various role
players; teachers, parents and the community leader. I hoped to capture an indication of
possible progress made in terms of the curriculum, teacher training and learner
outcomes as viewed by the different participants in the study. This is explained in detail
in Chapter 4.
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Table 3.1: The design aims of interview schedules
Interview Schedule
Aim: To get information on
the process of developing an organic
curriculum
Aim: To get information on teacher training and teacher development
Aim: To get information on
community perceptions and
possible tensions around the crèche
Interview with teachers (Nov, 2010) – Data set 3, Addendum D
Questions: 1, 2, 5, 8, 11a-k, 12a-c, 15, 18, 20
Questions: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11a-k, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 19a, 20
Questions: 1, 5, 6, 7, 10, 14, 14a, 15, 16, 17, 20
Interview with Parent schedule A – Data set 4A, Addendum E
Questions: 4, 6, 7, 8a-b, 11, 13, 15, 17
Questions: 16a-b, 17
Questions: 1, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17
Interview with Parent schedule B – Data set 4B, Addendum F
Questions: 1, 8, 10
Questions: 11a-b
Questions: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Interview with community leader – Data set 5, Addendum G
Questions: 1, 2, 6, 7, 8a-b, 9, 10a-b, 11
Questions: 1, 10a-b, 11
Questions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11
A data source that was not designed but that emerged during the course of the study
was the informal discussions with the social worker who also served as peer debriefer
(see 4.2.10.) Some of these discussions were recorded and transcribed. I also discuss
this data source further under 3.5.1: Strategies to enhance reflexivity.
3.3.3. Managing the data
I planned to organise the data in a way that would make the data more manageable.
Photocopies of each piece of data would be made and the original documents would be
filed separately. These photocopies would then be used for analysis purposes while the
original documents would remain intact and ready to be utilised if any mistake occurred
or if a document was lost during the analysis process. Photocopies of each data set
would be filed separately and the file components would be named by set, name and
number.
The interview questions were designed, by me, in English. These interview schedules
were then translated into Setswana by the co-researcher. After they had been translated
we would first get together to make sure that each question retained the meaning that
had been intended for it. The interviews would then be conducted in Setswana, by the
Chapter 3 100
co-researcher, using a voice recorder. After each interview the voice clips would be
transcribed. The co-researcher and I would then get together to translate the interviews
from Setswana into English. This translation process would be done collaboratively and
we would constantly check that we understood the meaning of what the interviewee was
saying and, if necessary, we would replay a voice clip until we were both sure that we
had captured the intended meaning of each response. Because the interviews were
essentially captured in two languages, English and Setswana, by two different people, I
and Paulina, it was important that we captured participant‟s meaning as closely as
possible.
3.3.4. Data analysis: content analysis per data source
The data analysis was done through qualitative content analysis by the coding and
categorizing processes that originated from grounded theory practice (Strauss and
Corbin, 1999), although it is not exclusively seated in grounded theory practice. The
validity of the process of inquiry would be subject to member-checking and the
establishment of reliability by way of various data sources as well as according to the
quality criteria for the evaluation of Grounded Theory orientated studies as proposed by
Titscher, Meyer, Wodak and Wetter (2002).
I decided to make use of content analysis because of the congruence between sets of
data. I didn‟t plan on systematically conducting discourse analysis on the various texts,
but it was inevitable in the process of looking at the tensions and analysing the data
associated with it that certain discourse markers would be highlighted. Content analysis
also helped me to stay true to the participants‟ actual words, actions and lived
experiences. My codes were derived closely from the actual words the people used.
Also, the coding of the interviews was done first separately and then collaboratively with
the co-researcher, a strategy which supports the consistency of the data (Krefting, 1991
in Baxter & Jack, 2008). This process is highlighted in detail in chapter 4 with ample
examples to illustrate how I worked with the data to arrive at the findings which are
discussed in chapter 5.
3.4. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Action research is usually conducted within real-life situations, therefore researchers
must take care to take ethics into consideration during their work (Morton, 1999). One of
the most important ethical considerations in this study was around the balancing of my
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role as community development practitioner, which placed me in a position of relative
power as the gateway to funding, and my role as researcher. I had to keep in mind my
simultaneous role as development practitioner seen by the parents of children at the
crèche as semi-literate community members dependent on me for further development
funding and interventions. I didn‟t want them to be coerced into being part of the study
because of this relationship. I informed the parents that they could withdraw from the
study at any point – this was also contained in the ethics letters provided to the
participants. In trying to ensure that the participants fully understood what they were
agreeing to I deliberately chose to construct the ethical letters in plain English so that it
would be easily understandable to people whose use of the language is limited (see for
instance the request to participate in research - addendum B). This was accompanied
by a verbal explanation of what the letters constituted and what participants were in fact
agreeing to. Paulina helped to explain the content of the letters in Setswana. Also, in an
attempt to keep myself on the background, I decided that I would not the one conducting
the interviews, but that Paulina would conduct them alone.
Although observations of the children per se were not a part of the focus of the inquiry,
in making observations about the teachers and their practice, and possible curriculum
outcomes, I would by default be making observations of the children. I explained this to
the parents, as guardians of vulnerable children, and made sure that they understood
the conditions of my observations and that the children were never the specific object of
study, but a part of the teacher training.
3.5. STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE REFLEXIVITY
According to Hall (1996), one of the core components of action research is reflexivity.
Personal reflexivity involves self-scrutiny on the part of the researcher - the asking of
difficult questions that precludes the researcher from being detached or neutral or
objective. This is why reflexivity is such an important procedure for establishing
credibility (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006, p.327). Personal reflexivity is when the
researcher examines her own values, identity, beliefs, experiences etc. and reflects on
how these have shaped and affected the research and how, in turn, the research has
affected her, and perhaps even lead to a change in perception (Willig, 2001). Although I
will not discuss it in depth here, epistemological reflexivity is worth mentioning. This kind
of reflexivity involves considering the assumptions that have been made during the
research, how the design of the study lead to the gathering of certain data and how
specific methods gave rise to certain findings. Moreover, one could think about how, if
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investigated differently, the study could have created a different understanding of the
situation under investigation (ibid).
Some of the strategies suggested by McMillan and Schumacher (2006, p.329) which
were employed to enhance reflexivity in the inquiry were that I made entries into my field
log which could serve as a reflex journal in which I recorded decisions made during the
emergent design. This allows for justification of certain modifications made to the
research strategy, based on the information available at the time. An example of this
was the decision for me not to be present at the interview with the community leader and
for Paulina to conduct it on her own after some conflict about the use of certain funds
which put a strain on my and her relationship at that time. Paulina made extensive field
notes of this interview afterwards. My second strategy was to document my
observations and field work in a field log which provides a chronological record by date
and time spent in the field and which reflects for each entry the people involved (ibid,
p.329). An example of this is an observation I made in a normal day at the crèche during
which Paulina was informally assessing the children (See Addendum M).
Thirdly I engaged in discussion about my preliminary analysis and next strategies with a
peer debriefer (Morrow, 2005). The role of the peer debriefer is to “help the researcher
understand his or her own posture and the role in the enquiry” (McMillan & Schumacher,
p.328). As peer debriefer I had the company of the social worker on the project. An
example of how this strategy worked to enhance reflexivity was when she reminded me
in the pre-design phase that I had strayed in my dealings with the participants in the
ECD component of the project from the collaborative development model which we
adhere to in our practice as community development practitioners (see 1.4.1. and 1.4.2).
In the actual research cycle the peer debriefer gave perspective to some of the tensions
that were at play with regard to crèche attendance (see 4.2.10). I also discussed each
interview with Paulina, the co-researcher afterwards to get congruency of what we both
observed and noted down.
3.6. CONCLUSION
Chapter 3 discussed the research design of the inquiry. The use of Engeström‟s CHAT
as a heuristic tool in the planning was explained. It also showed how PAR as research
strategy was utilised within a case study. Different methods, sampling procedures, data
collection strategies and analysis strategies were discussed. Chapter four will now give
Chapter 3 103
a description of the process from sourcing the „raw‟ data and illustrate by examples how
the analysis and collation of the data was done.
Chapter 4 104
CHAPTER 4: NARRATIVE OF THE INQUIRY
4.1. INTRODUCTION: FROM GATHERING TO ANALYSING DATA: PROCESSES, EXAMPLES AND THE PAR POSITION
This chapter deals with the processes of the field inquiry and shows how the design was
implemented in PAR mode. The different processes are illustrated with examples of
„raw‟ data and data-in-analysis. This narrative of the field research aims to show how the
data were collected, organised and interpreted. The chapter progresses from describing
the identification and selection processes of the different data sources through the
inductive analysis process towards the themes that were identified from the analysed
data. The design logic of the PAR inquiry, as set out in chapter 3 of the study, is
mirrored in this fully empirical narrative of the process.
4.2. DATA SOURCES
I made use of ten different data sources (see figure 3.3). First of all, I will distinguish
between the different types of data that were utilised for the study. Some of the data,
such as the minutes of meetings (data source 6), the development practitioner‟s notes
(data source 8), and project documentation (data source 9) already existed within the
community development project. Upon analysing these and converting them to formal
„sets,‟ they became part of the PAR inquiry as documents and were thus analysed in
document analysis mode. „Sets‟ - the term I use for the morphing of the information
from field knowledge sources in everyday discourse, to systematic social science
knowledge – is used in the chapter to describe this newer state of the information. For
ease of reference the numbers of the data sets are the same than the data sources from
which they derived.
The two collections of teachers‟ awareness reports (data sets 1 and 2), were designed
at different points during the pre-research phase. These two data sets informed the
design of the purposefully designed interview schedule (which was used to collect data
for set 3). To a certain extent the minutes of the meetings (data set 6) informed the
design of the interview with the parents and the community leader (data sets 4 and 5
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respectively) as I wanted to see how perceptions about the pre-school had changed
within the community. It is important to note that I decided to use my field notes made as
development practitioner (data set 8A) sparingly and only to confirm other analysis
outcomes, as I was wary of letting my voice as development practitioner dominate those
of the more important role players, such as the teachers and the members of the
community. The project documentation (data set 9) and the informal discussions with
the „researcher friend‟ (data set 10) also only get used to confirm analysis outcomes of
the other data sets.
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Table 4.1: Entering the formal research phase in PAR mode
PHASE 1 (July 2009 – Feb 2010)
Indigenous knowledge will grow an organic curriculum CRISIS: Decision about ECD intervention at Mogwase REFLECTION: Need to create ‘awareness’ within community re the importance of ECD PLAN: Edutainers + Teachers + Indigenous knowledge = an ‘organic’ curriculum. ACTION: Leave teachers to work out a curriculum for themself
PHASE 2 (Feb 2010 – May 2010)
Training by the development practitioner once a week will grow an organic curriculum CRISIS: Violent attacks on teachers by parents. Crèche closed REFLECTION: Indigenous knowledge is not enough. Need of intervention. PLAN: Edutainers + Teachers + Teacher training = an ‘organic’ curriculum ACTION:Train teachers once a week and send them for some on-the-job training at a local crèche
PHASE 3 (June - July 2010)
Training every day for six weeks by an external trainer will grow an organic curriculum CRISIS: Parents close crèche because of concerns re. safety REFLECTION: Training once a week is not enough. More intensive training by an external trainer is needed. PLAN: Edutainers + teachers + 6 weeks of intensive every day training by an external trainer = an ‘organic’ curriculum ACTION:6 weeks of intensive, every day training by an external, local crèche teacher
PHASE 4 (JULY – Aug 2010)
‘Bridging’ phase leading into formal design REFLECTION: The daily training by the external local crèche teacher impacted positively on the teachers’ development and the curriculum at the crèche. PLAN: The need for continued daily training by an external trainer is expressed by the teachers and the committee. ACTION: Paulina is recruited, interviewed and appointed on a permanent basis as teacher trainer at the crèche.
PHASE 5 (Aug 2010 – Nov 2011)
Formal Research Design Phase REFLECTION: Formulation of research questions: 1. What is the process of developing an (organic) ECD programme with practitioner training in a rural community? 2. What are the emerging tensions in such a process and how are they managed in PAR mode? PLAN: How to collect, organize and interpret the data so as to answer the research questions. Choosing data sources, methods of data gathering. Collaborating with the co-researcher, teachers and committee. ACTION: Data gathering, organizing of data, coding, categorization and analysis of data towards central themes.
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4.2.1. Data set 1: Teachers’ perceptions in the second pre-research phase
At the beginning of the second pre-research phase, (see 1.4.2. and Table 4.1.), 10
months after the arrival of the edutainers, during February 2010, when the development
practitioner started training the teachers on a weekly basis, the teachers were asked to
report on how they perceived various aspects of the crèche. Because this was one of
the times at which the tensions between parents and teachers were quite pronounced
and teacher motivation therefore quite low, I wanted to get more information about how
the teachers were experiencing their work at the crèche. The purpose of this exercise at
the time was to establish what the teachers‟ perceptions about the crèche were at that
point and to use the data as a baseline from which to start the teacher training
intervention. This data source was instrumental in deciding some of the questions I
included in the interview schedule for the interview with teachers (data set 3), which was
designed later on. For example, the analysis of data from this awareness report
revealed that the teachers deemed instruction in the first language to be important.
Because language of instruction plays a role in the development of any curriculum it was
important to find out if this perception had changed after the year of working at the
crèche. These findings then guided the purposeful design of the interview. For instance,
to capture any changes in perception about language of instruction, question 6 from the
Teachers‟ awareness report, February, 2010 was used as guideline. To design
questions to help elicit responses that would reflect possible difficulties experienced and
challenges faced in their development as teachers, questions 4 and 5 from that same
report was used as a starting point. A secondary use of data from this report was that
the responses to these questions also provided some perspective on the initial
motivations of the teachers for volunteering at the crèche as well as corroboration of
analysis of the data from other sets. This will be discussed in section 5.2.6. For the
report the volunteer teachers were asked to write a short paragraph in English on each
of the following topics:
1. When I first heard about the crèche...
2. Why I thought I want to be part of the crèche...
3. When I started at the crèche...
4. What we need at the crèche is…
5. Problems at this crèche are...
6. My views on the language used in the crèche are that…
7. Other important issues are…
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Here follows some responses to these prompts:
When I first heard about the crèche...
“I was surprised and so proud and I asked myself the question: “Who is going to be
part of that crèche and what is going to happen now?” - (Dimakatso8)
Why I thought I want to be part of the crèche...
“First of all I wasn‟t sure that I am going to help, because first it was without payment
– it was just a little bit.” - (Dimakatso)
“I love working with kids...” - (Sarah)
“I am proud to be part of the crèche.” - (Lesego)
When I started at the crèche...
“First I wasn‟t sure...I thought it was going to be a heavy job, but I carried on with my
training and we cope.”- Dimakatso
“I started to volunteer at the crèche...we only get a stipend that was not enough for us
but we do it because it was the most beautiful job I chose for myself and I like what I
am doing.” - (Lesego).
This also provided data regarding perceptions about aspects of practice such as
language of instruction and teachers‟ perceived needs, motivation and challenges at the
time. For example, as reflected in the response by Dimakatso, the teachers volunteered
at the crèche knowing that they would not get any significant remuneration for it. This
proved to be a signpost for one of the findings of the inquiry, namely that the teachers
view their work at the crèche as a calling (see 5.2.6).
4.2.2. Data set 2: Teachers’ perceptions of tensions and community expectations at the beginning of the third pre-research phase
As part of the training intervention of phase 3 of the pre-research stage, during June
2010, (see 1.4.3. and Table 4.1.) the teachers participated in several focus group 8All names have been changed for ethical reasons.
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sessions in which the aim was to develop a better sense of coherence and teamwork
among them.
At one of these sessions teachers were asked to write down in English what they
perceived the expectations of various stakeholders in the crèche e.g. parents, children
and managers were of them as teachers. At this point, just after the „crisis meeting‟ the
teachers were very de-motivated (see 1.4.2). With the input of the play therapy
practitioner I designed an „awareness report‟ with the aim to get to know more about
how the teachers viewed the different stakeholders in the crèche and what they
perceived these stakeholders expected of them as teachers. As with the previous data
set, these reports informed the design of the interview guide for the study. For example,
awareness report June 2010: Question 1, which deals with what teachers perceive as
their responsibilities lead me to formulate Question 2 and 8 of the Nov 2010 interview
schedule, which deals with duties and responsibilities in a broader sense while question
2 of this awareness report prompted me to ask teachers how they thought community
perceptions of them as teachers had changed (Teachers interview schedule Nov 2010:
Question 6 and 7).
The teachers were asked to complete the following open ended phrases
1. My responsibilities as a teacher are…
2. Parents expect of me to…
3. The children expect of me…
4. My manager (the development practitioner) expects of me to…
5. Every day when I leave my place of teaching I feel…
Some responses to these questions were:
My responsibilities as a teacher are…
“My responsibility to the children is to make sure that they are safe and to make them
(a) little stimulated and develop something in their mind.” – (Dimakatso)
The parents expect of me to…
“Love, care, responsibility, hard work, and to keep their children happy.” – (Sarah)
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The children expect of me…
“They expect love, food, education, and care.” – (Sarah)
My manager expects of me…
“My manager expects me as a hard worker and as a lovely teacher...” – (Dimakatso)
Each day when I leave my place of teaching…
“When I leave my place of teaching I feel so blessed of being part of this (as) crèche
teacher.” – (Dimakatso)
Although this data source was designed before the formal research phase of this study it
provides valuable information on how teachers perceived their work and the other
stakeholders‟ expectations of them at the beginning of the third pre-research phase (see
Table 4.1.) and also how this information informed the planning phase of the formal
research phase (phase 5, see Table 4.1.). This data set contains responses from only
two of the teachers, Dimakatso and Sarah.
4.2.3. Data set 3: Interview with teachers
This data set consists of information collected from an interview schedule that was
designed especially for the purposes of this study and its place in the PAR cycle. This
interview schedule (see addendum D) was administered to the training teachers during
November 2010. The aim of the questionnaire was to get information about the
teachers‟ perceptions on a number of specific aspects of their work such as the
developing curriculum, their own professional development and the remaining tensions
within the community as a result of the crèche intervention. I designed this instrument
collaboratively with the teacher trainer, who was also the co-researcher, drawing on her
first-hand experience of the day-to-day running of the crèche over the preceding three
months. In designing this data set I was guided by the elements of the first research
question related to the design of the curriculum. The most important aspects of the
research question were extracted and used to guide the investigation. The elements of
the research question which I wanted to examine through the administration of this
interview were a) whether or not a curriculum had grown organically from the
intervention of the crèche at Mogwase; b) whether tensions still existed with regard to
the crèche within the community and c) how these tensions are perceived to have
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changed, if at all, by the teachers working at the crèche and finally d) teachers‟
perceptions on their training and professional development.
One of the aims of the interview schedule was to capture evidence of whether a
curriculum could be said to have developed and if so, what sort of a curriculum it was
that had developed (organically). It further aimed to find out what aspects of curriculum
had emerged from the intervention. This instrument aimed to capture aspects of teacher
and curriculum development through questions that helped to explore not only the
teacher‟s day-to-day work at the crèche (questions 1 and 2) but also how their teaching
practice and the learning environment had changed (questions 8, 11 a – k and 12 and
12 a-b) and whether they experienced the crèche as catalytic in their own personal
(question 9) and professional development (questions 8, 11a – k, 18 and 18a). Because
the tensions between the different role players had played such an integral role in the
implementation of the intervention a significant number of questions which aimed to
reveal the teachers‟ perceptions on these tensions were also included (questions 5, 6, 7
and 10).
The questionnaire was designed in English and then translated into Setswana. It was
decided collaboratively that it would be most effective if Paulina conducted the
interviews on her own so as to eliminate the possibility of my presence influencing the
teachers to answer questions in a certain way. Paulina would ask the questions in
Setswana, and write the responses in Setswana. Because I speak fluent Setswana her
and I would afterwards discuss all the responses and translate them into English
together in order to retain meaning. Because Paulina had never before conducted
interviews for the purposes of a research study we decided on a role play session in
which I would act as respondent and during which Paulina would get the opportunity to
practice asking the questions and using the voice recorder. The aim of this role play
session was also to provide us the opportunity to adjust possible vague or ambiguous
questions.
Because Sarah, one of the teachers, was very far pregnant with expected date of birth
of her baby only two weeks away, we decided to interview her first. Paulina reported
afterwards that, despite the fact that the use of the voice recorder was explained to the
respondent, Sarah was nervous and that she kept on fidgeting so that Paulina had to
interrupt the interview several times, which only served to exacerbate the respondent‟s
nervousness. The sound quality of this interview was indeed so poor that we couldn‟t
make out anything that was said. Paulina also admitted that she herself had been rather
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nervous and asked me please if I could be present when she conducted the next
interview. We decided to not use the voice recorder at all and that I would sit in on each
interview, without interrupting. I would also take some notes in English or Setswana
which Paulina and I would compare afterwards. We also decided to interview Sarah at
her home where she might be more comfortable. This interview was conducted sitting
under a tree and although I did interrupt once, when Paulina was leading the respondent
in a question, Sarah seemed relaxed and responsive during this interview.
After each interview Paulina and I would get together and discuss the responses to
confirm that we agreed on the essence of the participant‟s response. Because I had
written my notes in a mixture of Setswana and English it was only necessary for us to
corroborate the responses and their meanings. For this reason we did not synthesise
responses into one set, but instead kept both set of notes for analysis purposes. This
interview guide was one of the main data gathering instruments. I note responses to
some of the questions from the raw data here.
I will now proceed to illustrate some of the responses that were gained from the
questionnaire and how these responses met the objectives of the design of this
instrument.
With regard to the collaboration between Paulina and myself to retain the maximum
meaning of the responses I will use Sarah‟s response to question 5 as an example of
how we worked through the questions in both English and Setswana to retain meaning
as closely as possible as intended by the interviewee.
Question 5: What is difficult about being a crèche teacher at Mogwase?
In my own notes of this interview, which in this instance I had made in English, I had
written the response to this question in English as follows: “To work with people‟s
children –To be responsible for them. If a child gets hurt it is your problem”. Paulina‟s
notes, when translated from Setswana, read “To work with people‟s children. The lives
of people‟s children could be in danger. If a child gets hurt it is your fault.” Although it is
clear that this response has to do with the responsibility of teachers to keep children
safe, the seriousness of this teacher‟s perception of her responsibilities with regard to
the children in her care - that children‟s lives could be in possible danger –is illustrated
much more clearly in the translation of the Setswana response.
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With regard to establishing which changes had been made with regard to classroom
practice some of the following responses were given to question 11a: What changes
have you seen at the crèche in terms of how we used to keep the children busy and how
we keep them busy now?
In the beginning we taught them only for a little while, now they learn throughout the
day. – (Sarah)
When the crèche started the kids just played, the kids sat and were given books to
look at then the kids played again. The kids now write, recite, read, pray, and train
(do exercise). – (Mathapelo)
The following were responses to question 6, which aimed at capturing tensions within
the community with regard to the implementation of the crèche:
Question 6: What do the people of Mogwase think and feel about the crèche at
Mogwase?
Some of the people of Mogwase see the crèche as a place where their children are
looked after. They only bring the children when they want to. Other people
understand that we are with their children every day. – (Dimakatso)
The people of Mogwase are grateful for the crèche because first there was no
crèche. Sonja brought a change to Mogwase. Everybody is grateful – (Sarah)
In response to one of the questions that was designed to establish teachers‟ views on
teacher training the following responses were received:
Question 18: Do you think teachers need to have training or is it not necessary?
Question 18 a: Why do you say that?
Yes it is important (because) they will learn many things like how to look after children
and how to teach small children and how to teach older children. – (Sarah)
Yes it is important (because) the training we got, it is fine to teach us to prepare
children for school.–(Dimakatso)
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4.2.4. Data set 4: Interview with parents
This data collection tool was designed as a questionnaire which could be administered
to parents of children in the community. The questionnaire (see addenda E and F) was
designed to elicit responses that would reflect how parents perceived the crèche, the
possible tensions it created and the value they felt it added to their own and their
children‟s lives. After discussing it with Paulina it was decided that it would be useful to
interview a parent who had been sending their child to crèche consistently since the
beginning and one who had never sent their child at all. The latter proved impossible as
none of the parents who had not been sending their children would agree to be
interviewed.
Paulina investigated the reason for this in informal discussions with the parents. One of
the reasons for their refusal to be interviewed was that the mothers did not want to seem
negative about the crèche out of fear that the crèche would then be taken away from the
community and the children who were going would then lose this benefit. Another
reason given was that mothers were scared that admitting that they do not ever take
their children to crèche could result in their losing their government child support grant9.
In an attempt by the development practitioners and the community committee to
increase attendance at the crèche mothers had been reminded that failure to bring a
child to a crèche this close to home could result in a social worker intervening and
causing the mother to lose her government social grant. In view of this Paulina and I
decided instead to interview a mother whose child only came to crèche occasionally. As
it turned out we managed to interview a mother whose child had attended crèche
regularly at first and who then stopped coming altogether.
In the discussion below I will refer to the interview schedule designed for the mother
whose child had been attending crèche all along as Parent interview schedule A (see
addendum E) and to the interview schedule that was designed for the mother who had
removed her child from the crèche as „Parent interview schedule B‟ (see addendum F).
Both these interview schedules were designed with the aim of getting information on
community perceptions on the value of the crèche. We started both the schedules off
with the same open-ended question as the ones administered to the teachers (data set
3, question 1) and the community leader (data set 5, question 1). We did this to get the
9 Primary caregivers of needy children in South Africa who are citizens or permanent residents and earn below a certain amount per year are eligible to receive a child support grant of R 280-00 per child per month from government for children younger than sixteen years in their care (Social Assistance Act, 2004).
Chapter 4 115
respondents to talk about how they experienced the crèche and from this response to
gain information about what the community thought were the important points in the
development of the crèche.
To gauge why community members valued or did not value the crèche we asked these
parents to give reasons for why they had decided to send their child to the crèche in the
first place (Parent interview schedules A and B, question 4). We then asked of the
mother who had removed her child from the crèche to give reasons why she had
decided to take the child out of the crèche (Parent interview schedule B, question 5). In
order to gauge perceptions on the challenges the crèche has faced we included the
same question in both schedules. The numbering in this case is different for the two
interview schedules: (Parent interview schedule A, question 5 and Parent interview
schedule B, question 6).
Parent interview schedule A consisted of more questions than Parent interview schedule
B because the parent whose child was still at crèche could provide information on her
current experience which the parent whose child no longer attended couldn‟t provide.
These questions dealt with the positive and negative experiences of having a child
attend the crèche (Parent interview schedule A, questions 6 and 7), the perceived
changes at the crèche the parent had witnessed since the time her child had started
attending the crèche (Parent interview schedule A, question 8 and 8a), and the effect
the child‟s attendance of the crèche had had on the parent‟s personal life (Parent
interview schedule A, question 9). In addition Parent interview schedule A included
questions on the perceived benefits and outcomes of the ECD curriculum (Schedule A,
question 10 and 11).
Both respondents were asked questions aimed at exploring community perceptions on
the importance of pre-school in general (Parent interview schedule A, question 12 and
14; Parent interview schedule B, question 7, 7a and 9), and the outcomes of the
curriculum which was followed at the Mogwase crèche in particular (Parent interview
schedule A, questions 13 and 15; Parent interview schedule B, question 8 and 10).
Finally a question was included which aimed to establish views on teacher training
(Parent interview schedule A, question 16 and 16a; Parent interview schedule B,
question 11 and 11a).
I include here one of the questions that was aimed at eliciting responses about the
tensions that had been experienced by community members as a result of the crèche
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intervention. The same question is used to show how responses from the two different
respondents were elicited. The mother who had removed her child from crèche was
asked to describe the difficult times the crèche had had since it started.
She responded thus: “The teachers and parents...like when Lesego (teacher) was taken
out of the crèche by the parents. The parents don‟t think that the teachers, like
Dimakatso, are good teachers...they don‟t take good physical care of the children.”
Of the mother of the child who had remained at crèche to was required to explain why
she had decided to keep her child in the crèche. I think I this question could have been
posed with more effect had I the mother in Schedule B been asked to describe what
she perceived as the difficult times before being asked why she had decided to keep her
child in the crèche. This is an example of one of the instances in which the instrument
could have been designed more effectively.
Schedule A, question 5: The crèche has had some difficult times since when it
started. Why have you kept your child in the crèche?
Schedule B, question 6: The crèche has had some difficult times since when it
started. Can you tell me about them please?
Below I include the response of the mother in Schedule A to a question which was
designed to explore perceptions on the difficulties and tensions which arise from having
ones child attend the crèche at Mogwase.
Schedule A, question 7: What difficult things have you had to deal with because of
your child attending the crèche at Mogwase?
„Parents complain about the teachers and then there is a parents meeting. But at the
crèche Tshepang never had a problem‟. – Parent whose child had been attending
crèche since the beginning.
4.2.5. Data set 5: Interview with the community leader
As with the previous two methods of data sourcing the data that were captured in this
set of data, during November 2010 were elicited by way of an interview schedule that
was designed purposefully to gauge the perceptions of the community leader on the
founding and the progress of the crèche implementation at Mogwase, particularly from
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her vantage point as leader of the people of the village (see addendum G). We decided,
as in the case of the teachers‟ and parents‟ interview schedules, to include an open-
ended, “tell the story of the crèche at Mogwase from beginning until now” (questions 1
and 10). This was done to get information about the leader‟s perceptions and feelings
about the crèche (question 2) and probe the challenges, which she felt she as leader
was faced with, because of the existence of the ECD facility within the community
(question 6).
Furthermore, we thought the community leader, as political observer of her people,
would be able to give us valuable information on the perceptions of the community. I
was particularly interested to see if the data gathered from questions 3, 4 and 5 would
corroborate with the answers to a similar questions asked in the teachers‟ interview
schedule (question 6 and 7 of Teachers‟ interview schedule Nov ‟10) and with the
questions about their perceptions of the crèche asked in the parent‟s interview schedule.
I included question 6a, 7, 7a and 8 in order to capture the leader‟s perception of the
curriculum and its outcomes while question 9 and 9a were designed to gauge the
perceived value of teacher training.
This interview was the last one to be conducted. Just prior to this there had been a lot of
tension between the community committee, who consisted of young fathers and
grandmothers (but no young mothers) and the development practitioners regarding the
expenditure of the larger project funds. Paulina and I were concerned that the conflict
within the larger project, and my role within that conflict, would influence the community
leader to answer to questions in a way that might not reflect the way she really felt if she
had to answer them in front of me. For this reason Paulina and I decided that I would
not, as with all the other interviews, be present when she interviewed the community
leader. By this time Paulina had had some valuable experience in interviewing the
various respondents and she was quite confident that she would be able to conduct the
interview on her own. After the interview Paulina reported that the community leader had
been tense at first but that she had relaxed after a while. Paulina also thought that it had
indeed been better for me not to be present during the interview. She conducted the
interview in Setswana and she translated the responses into English subsequently. She
and I then discussed the responses to extract as much relevant meaning as possible
from them. Following is one example of how we re-interpreted Paulina‟s translation for
meaning:
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Question 2: As community leader, what do you think and feel about the crèche at
Mogwase?
I think it is good way of having crèche in Mogwase. There will be civilization in our
small children. – Community leader
Paulina and I re-examined the Setswana word for „civilisation‟ that was used. The
word „ditlhabologo‟ can mean „civilisation‟ or „development‟. We decided together that
in this context, „development‟ would better portray what was meant by the community
leader.
The following question was designed to elicit a response that would provide information
on how the community leader saw the effects of the crèche intervention on the larger
community:
Question 5: What has changed in Mogwase because of the crèche?
The crèche in Mogwase created jobs for young people because they are able to
teach at the crèche. Even parents understand the importance of the crèche. –
Community leader
4.2.6. Data set 6: Minutes of meetings
Although the documents from which the information in this data set arose were not
designed for the purposes of this study, the documents serve as information that is
analysed in the mode of document analysis as is the convention in qualitative studies
(for an example, see addendum I). It is an important data set as it is the only data set
that provides fairly objective data on the interactions between the different role players in
this intervention, namely the teachers, the parents, the development practitioners, and
the community leadership structures and the tensions that were operant between them
as a result of the intervention. It is from the information gleaned from meetings, too,
where the participatory nature of this study has come to the fore as it provided a forum
at which the different groups could present their ideas and concerns about the crèche
intervention. Meetings provided the forum at which any role player could put a problem
to the table for discussion, and where possible solutions were co-operatively conceived
of and plans of action charted. The minutes of meetings, especially those meetings that
aimed to deal with the crèche and its issues, also provided guidelines for the
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development of the research instruments. This data set also helped to corroborate data
gained from the other data sets.
Below I give an excerpt from the minutes of a crèche meeting. Note that at this meeting I
took the minutes myself. Because this was before the commencement of this study I did
not, at that point in time, deem it important to have someone else take the minutes.
Minutes of Crèche Meeting 22 February 2010
The issue of the incidents of violence that have been taking place at the edutainers
over the past three months is raised. Last November, Lesego, a crèche teacher was
assaulted by one of the parents (Eunice) and recently, during an evening Life Skills
class, another crèche teacher, Dimakatso, was assaulted by the community leader
who accused the teacher of sleeping with her husband.
Parents say they are concerned about the violence and the safety of their children.
One of the parents suggests that the crèche area gets fenced off and a gate with a
lock and key be installed.
Sarah, a crèche teacher, suggests that only teachers should have access to the
crèche area during the day. Children are to be dropped off at the gate and if parents
want to come to the crèche in the day, the gate would need to be unlocked for them
and a register signed. This point is agreed upon as a possible solution by all.
Sonja wants to know why the portable toilet that had been installed for the use of the
crèche is not being used and why the children are allowed to do their toilet outside in
the veldt.
Parents say the teachers are too lazy to take the children to the toilet.
Teachers say the children are not used to going to a toilet they just pee and poo
outside where ever they are without informing teachers that they need to go to the
toilet.
Parents declare the crèche closed until a solution to the safety issue is found.
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Sonja suggests the crèche to be closed for 2 weeks so that everyone can go and
think about the situation. A date is set for one week hence – the 8th of March – when
a meeting will be held at which possible solutions can be suggested for the current
conflict and problems.
All parties agreed that this is a good idea.
The meeting stood adjourned.
4.2.7. Data set 7: Teacher trainer’s diary
This document was a purposeful instrument designed especially for the purposes of this
study and yielded rich data reflecting a more objective perspective of the emerging
curriculum and the concurrent teacher training (see addendum J). As already indicated,
this study commenced at the end point of pre-design phase 3, when the teachers,
parents and leadership structure expressed the need for daily training of the crèche
teachers. Shortly after Paulina‟s application to assist in the implementation of this
training had been accepted by the community, and within the first week of her training
the teachers, I told her of my proposed research study and asked her if she would be
willing to become my co-researcher. Together we decided that Paulina would keep a
diary in which she would note events and incidents as well as her own reflections on the
teachers, their training, the crèche and all its stakeholders. We also decided to meet
every two weeks to discuss the progress at the crèche. I include the minutes of those
meetings between Paulina and me in this data set because they contain a lot of
Paulina‟s description of the day-to-day running of the crèche and therefore the data from
them „fit‟ together with the data from her diary.
This became very valuable data set because Paulina was an insider researcher. The
teachers trusted her and she was part of the day-to-day running of the crèche. It also
provided a different perspective of the teachers‟ progress and the development of the
curriculum over time.
Paulina started her diary on 17 August 2010, a week after she had started training the
teachers. The 15 entries that she had made between that time and 15 December were
used for purposes of this study. Although some of these entries describe actual
happenings at the crèche some of them are also reflections by Paulina on those events.
Below are two verbatim excerpts from two diary entries:
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31 August 2010
On my new days it was not easy. Teachers were not used to me yet. It was like I was
coming to boss them or rule them or take their job. Other mornings you find them
angry. But I was very gentle with them till they at least trying to be good with me.
Every morning I find them eating in front of kids, if I ask did the kids pray or maybe
sing not yet, but they are eating and busy with cell phones
30 September 2010
We are used to one another as teachers. Teachers started to have a good
communication with kids and to one another. They used to scream, shout at the kids
but since we are holding staff meetings every Monday they start to learn more about
working together with kids.
4.2.8. Data set 8: Development practitioner and researcher field notes and observations
I distinguish here between two sets of field notes that I kept – one as development
practitioner (data set 8B, see addendum L) and one as researcher (data set 8B, see
addendum M). One set consists of those notes I had made during casual and random
observations as community development practitioner and those that I made deliberately
knowing that I was conducting research in PAR mode. I make this distinction because I
wanted to address the research question that deals with the tensions that arose as a
result of the implementation of the crèche intervention. I also wanted to note any
changes that had taken place with regard to the curriculum at the crèche. The
difference between the two modes within which I made observations can be observed
partly in the discourse style in each of the modes respectively. In the notes that I made
as community development practitioner I use a more directive discourse of control or a
lack of control over the situation. In the second part of the notes, as researcher, I use a
more participatory and co-operative discourse in which I refer to „teamwork‟ and group
decisions.
I chose to use this data because it gives insight into the reflections of the development
practitioner, who is one of the role players in the crèche intervention. Because I wanted
to avoid researcher bias I did, however, decide to use this data set only in supporting
other data and not as primary information. The field notes consist of diary type entries I
had made from time to time as development practitioner. Below is an excerpt from one
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of these entries which was made during the crisis when the parents had decided to
close the crèche down for the second time during May 2010. The next excerpt is from
some notes I had made as researcher and reflects the more structured and focused way
in which the observations were conducted by me in researcher mode.
28thMay 2010
I have been thinking about the crèche a lot. It feels like such a failure at the moment!
The way that I let things slip and the speed with which things deteriorated to a point
of seemingly no return. Also, the way in which the teachers just seem not to care
what happens anymore and the way in which we just couldn‟t seem to have moved
forward at that previous meeting. I am half relieved that the crèche is closed down
and that there is nothing at least that can go wrong there now. But I am also very
aware at another level that at some or another point I will have to face it and do
something about it. – Development practitioner
28th October 2010
14 children at the crèche today. The children greeted me. Two teachers were making the food.
The younger group was singing with Paulina and Ouma Rachel. The older group was building with building blocks while Dimakatso sat watching them.
Toilet routine: first the girls then the boys go out in a row.
The classroom is colourful, there is certainly more structure (to what happens) than in the beginni8ng.
Wall charts are in English, but I heard the date, day of the week and season done in Setswana and English.
Shelves are well organized with (children‟s work) in colourful portfolios.
Children sang the (national) Anthem spontaneously and recited the months of the year in English. - Researcher
4.2.9. Data set 9: Development project and crèche administration
This data set consists of project administration document information coming from
annual reports and financial statements, as well as other documents that were
generated at the crèche. I decided to use this data set only to offset data from the other
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sets. For example, I make use of some of the artefacts, such as the daily programme
(see addendum N), and lesson plans and posters that were designed and made, by
teachers, for the inside of the crèche (see addendum K). These artefacts were
generated cooperatively by the teachers and the trainer and serve as tangible evidence
for the development of the curriculum. I also use data from the official project
documentation to correlate events. For instance, the incremental increase in the
stipends of the crèche teachers, reflected in the receipts of May 2010 – November 2010
(see addendum O) correlates with the incidences of violence (Mid November 2009 –
February 2010) and with parents‟ vehement complaints about the unqualified teachers
receiving stipends (see 4.2.7. Development Practitioners field notes, May 2010).
4.2.10. Data set 10: Informal discussions with social worker as peer debriefer
As discussed in chapter 3 this data source was not purposefully designed, but emerged
during the research process. Data from this source was used to enhance reflexivity (see
3.5.1.) and also yielded data about some of the tensions that were at play during the
actual research phase. For example, during one of the informal discussions she
commented that the attendance at the crèche was low because young mothers had up
to then identified with being full-time child minders and having time free to pursue
income generating activities had caused a crisis in how they perceived themselves (see
Addendum S).
4.3. DATA ANALYSIS: CONTENT CODES, CATEGORIES AND THEMES
The process of analysis was inductive, working from the information in the ten sets of
data and systematically abstracting content in three processes, as described in the
design (see paragraph 3.3.4.). The process of analysis commenced with the search for
an organising principle for working with the data. It was evident that the best way to
proceed would be to work from the sources of the information, such as the documents of
a specific type, or interviews with specific people. The source of the data would thus be
the principle according to which the data would be organised.
4.3.1. How I organized the data
After all the data had been gathered, photo copies of each piece of data were made and
the original copies filed. All the photocopies were put into a separate file and the file
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components named by data set, name and a number. The preceding section was
presented according to these labels, although in the writing of the dissertation (section
4.2) I shortened them.
4.3.2. Coding of the data per source
I read through each data set separately to reacquaint myself with the content. To
illustrate how I proceeded with data analysis from there I will use data set 3, Interviews
with teachers, November 2010, as an example.
I read through each interview separately and looked for units of meaning related to the
research questions. I also kept in mind the purpose for which I had included each
question. I used different colour „sticker dots‟ to code the data in the data set.
I noted these different bits of meaning down on a pad. I clustered those that seem to
deal with same issues together. For instance, I clustered all the bits of data that had
something to do with the physical safekeeping of the children together. E.g. from
Sarah‟s interview I took responses that had to do with physical safekeeping from several
questions, and clustered them together. Examples of these responses from this
interview are:
Question 1: Describe the crèche at Mogwase?
It is important. It keeps the kids off the streets and out of the vlei (wetland) area. –
(Sarah)
Question 4: What is good about being a crèche teacher?
To learn about children – like when a child is sick – how to recognize it. – (Sarah)
Question 5: What is difficult about being a crèche teacher at Mogwase?
If a child gets hurt it is your problem.–(Sarah)
If a child gets hurt, them (the parents) say it is your fault–(Sarah)
Question 14: What do you thing children learn at the crèche that they do not learn at
home?
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I think that at home the kids go to the wetland area where they can maybe be
stabbed by a bottle. At crèche we teach them to be careful – (Sarah)
Question 15: What things do a child need to know by the time he or she goes to Gr.
1?
To write their name, safety, respect for the teacher and to sing. – (Sarah)
A note regarding the type of codes: At first the codes I created were purely conceptual
and generic and did not pertain to the empirical specificity of the data. I awarded codes
that were, in effect, merely groupings of related ideas that did not have specific,
contextual meaning. I was alerted by one of my supervisors that these provisional
codes, for example „safety‟, „cognitive outcomes‟, and so forth would not yield rich, in-
depth findings.
I even proceeded to put these „codes‟ into categories, which were really only
classifications of broad concepts and thus far too general. For example: I clustered the
three different outcomes which I had made codes out of under the provisional label of
„child outcomes‟ as illustrated below. The supervisor asked me, “what about child
outcomes?” This showed me that I was „moving ideas around on paper‟ instead of
interpreting the empirical information with specificity.
Child outcomes:
Physical
Cognitive
Social
I was guided by this supervisor to award codes that were empirical and to wait with
abstractions until further along in the data analysis process. I made another copy from
the original set of interviews in this data set and proceeded to work through them afresh.
Although this took time to do, the process helped me to get to know my data as a
reflection of things that really happened and were said by real people instead of a mere
abstraction of a whole lot of concepts.
Once I had about six of these „bits of meaning‟ together I labelled/coded them
provisionally. An example is: „Practitioners are food providers for young children‟ or
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„Practitioners are child minders and safe keepers of young children.‟ As I coded more
units of meaning I refined the labels to better reflect the units of meaning it contains. It
was sometimes necessary for me to refine these codes. For example I refined one of the
initial codes „The crèche as sewing project‟ into „The crèche is more than a crèche – it is
also includes a sewing project‟
I continued to do this until there was a total 41 codes for this data set. These are the
codes that I created from the „bits‟ of information that I had clustered together in the data
set (see addendum P).
I went through each one of the interviews in this way. Some of the units of meaning
fitted into the provisional labels/codes and where they did not I created new ones. In this
way I built up groups of codes. Some of the codes fitted together. For example I grouped
the provisional labels; „Practitioners as child minders and safe keepers of young
children‟ and „Practitioners are food providers for young kids‟ together under the
provisional category „Practitioners view their role at the crèche as child minding,
safekeeping and providing food for the children‟.
Figure 4.1: Coding the data and integrating the codes into first level categories
Chapter 4 127
I initially grouped the 30 codes into 9 provisional categories.
First draft of Categories of Interviews with teachers Nov 2010
1. Practitioners view their role at the crèche as providing food, child minding and
safekeeping.
2. Practitioners view the crèche as a place of child minding and safe keeping for out of
school Grade R and primary school children.
3. Practitioners view the crèche as part of a development project which includes adult
education and in which the development practitioners have the power to make
decisions about the crèche which affect the practitioners.
4. The crèche has changed my personal life and my behaviour
5. The teacher trainer has influenced our practice to change from child minding to
planning, administrating and active demonstration of class room activities.
6. The tensions between parents and the crèche are around safety attendance and the
power of parents to make decisions about practitioners‟ work at the crèche.
7. Our practice includes mother tongue instruction, outside play, hygiene training and
separating the age groups.
8. Children should go to pre-school to learn to write their names, cut and paste and
learn to behave properly in a class room and with other children.
9. It is important for teachers to be trained to learn about early childhood development
and how to take proper care of children.
However, after going through these categories a few times and discussing them with my
supervisor I realized that I was not entirely satisfied that they reflected the codes
accurately. For example I felt that the category Practitioners view their role at the crèche
as child minding, safekeeping and providing food for the children‟ was really too
comprehensive as the issue of „safety‟ was something which the teachers hardly ever
mentioned as just another aspect of the children‟s physical well-being. Instead it was an
issue which was part of a particular discourse - that of children‟s physical safety that was
highlighted as a prominent discourse of a community where medical attention was not
easily accessed and where infant and child mortality was quite high. I reworked this
provisional category or code so that it became two separate ones namely „Practitioners
view their role as to keep the children safe‟ and „Practitioners view their roles at the
crèche in terms of taking care of the physical needs of the children such as feeding them
and tending them when they are sick‟. Likewise I thought the category „The teacher
trainer has influenced our practice to change from child minding to planning,
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administration and active demonstration (to the children) of class room activities‟ was
too broad and I reworked it into a few separate categories such as „Practitioners feel
their practice has improved due to their experience over time and the training provided
by the teacher trainers‟; „Practitioners feel that the teacher trainers have helped them to
gain knowledge about how to work with children‟; „Practitioners feel more secure and
confident in their own abilities as teachers with the daily support of the trainer‟ and
„Practitioners feel it directly benefits the children to have the trainer at the crèche on a
daily basis‟.
I reworked most of the codes in this way and ended up with the following list of 26
categories:
Categories of Interviews with teachers Nov 2010
1. Practitioners view their role as to keep the children safe.
2. Tensions between teachers and parents can lead to violence; it is a stress factor
and can cause the crèche to close down, causing teachers to lose their jobs.
3. Working at the crèche is a real job. It keeps us occupied and provides us with an
income
4. The crèche is a hub of development for the whole community.
5. Practitioners feel their practice has improved due to experience over time and the
training provided by the teacher trainers.
6. Practitioners feel that the teacher trainers have helped them to gain knowledge
about how to work with children in practice.
7. Practitioners describe the benefits the crèche bring to the children in terms of social
skills gained.
8. Practitioners deem pre-school important in preparing a child for school and to learn
important skills.
9. Practitioners believe mother tongue instruction is important at ECD level for
optimum understanding.
10. Practitioners think teacher training is important for ECD practitioners.
11. Practitioners describe the changes and improvements in their practice in terms of
administration and the influence it has had on the crèche and their practice.
12. Practitioners feel more secure and confident in their own abilities as teachers with
the daily support of the trainer.
13. Practitioners feel it directly benefits the pre-school children to have the trainer at the
crèche on a daily basis.
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14. Practitioners describe the positive impact which physical changes in the crèche
environment, such as the installation of the jungle gym, the perimeter fence and the
community centre (with flush toilets) have had on the effectiveness of the crèche
programme.
15. Practitioners view their role at the crèche in terms of taking care of the children‟s
physical needs such as food and recognizing when a child is sick.
16. Practitioners are motivated in their work by their love for children.
17. Practitioners describe the programme at the crèche in terms of common, generally
accepted concepts of ECD such as „programme‟, „routine‟ and „lesson planning‟
18. Practitioners describe their own personal growth as a result of their work at the
crèche.
19. I think I enjoy a better status in the community as a result of my work as a crèche
teacher.
20. Crèche attendance depends on parents‟ attitude.
21. The community didn‟t believe we could be teachers without qualifications.
22. The community wanted an older woman to guide us.
23. Learning new things is one of the positive things about working at the crèche.
24. Teacher training benefits kids.
25. To be a crèche teacher is a calling. You must love working with children.
26. The boundary between „parents‟ and „community‟ is vague to practitioners. The
whole community has a say in the running of the crèche.
Once I was satisfied with the categories for this data set, I proceeded to work through
the other data sets in the same way. I reworked the categories for each data set until I
was satisfied that they showed an optimal interpretation and condensation of the
empirical reality that I had witnessed.
4.3.3. Thematisation of first level categories
I then proceeded to write the labels for the categories for each data set separately on
coloured stick-a-tags, with a different colour allocated to each data set. Then I took a
large white blank poster board and drew vertical lines on it to divide it into nine columns
for the nine set. I wrote the names of the each data set at the top of the columns. I stuck
all the stick-a-tags under their respective data set headings where I thought there was
the best semantic match (see Figures 4.2. and 4.3.).
Chapter 4 130
Figure 4.2: Arranging categories for each data set
I then took the stick-a-tags one by one and decided tentatively which of them belonged
together and grouped them together in preliminary groups on a separate large white
poster board no longer keeping the colours together but rather grouping the categories
together semantically.
Figure 4.3: Arranging categories into preliminary themes
Chapter 4 131
For example, after having gone through a few of the categories I started placing some of
them together in a group which I tentatively labelled, „Parent tensions‟. I went through
each data set in turn and placed all the categories that I felt dealt with the tensions
around the implementation and running of the crèche together. I will now show how I
proceeded through this organizing process.
From data set 3 - Interviews with teachers, November, 2010, I took the following
categories and grouped them with the label, „Parent tensions‟:
Tension between teachers and parents is a stress factor to teachers. These
tensions can lead to violence and parents closing the crèche down and teachers
to lose their jobs.
Crèche attendance depends on parents‟ attitudes.
From data set 4 - Interviews with parents November 2010, I took the following
categories;
Parents view personal issues between parents and teachers as a source of
problems at the crèche.
Parents view a lack of money to pay volunteer parents for their services to the
crèche as a challenge.
Parents view the social worker as intimidating.
From data set 5 - Interview with community leader November 2010I took the following
categories:
Parents distrust of the teachers is a challenge
The community leader sometimes goes from house to house to encourage
parents to bring their children to crèche.
From data set 6–Minutes of meetings I took the following categories:
Parents view the teachers as ill-disciplined and as having a poor attitude towards
their work.
Parents feel teachers use unnecessary power on kids.
Teachers say parents listen to what kids say happens at the crèche and accuse
and act against teachers without asking teachers what had really happened first.
Parents complain about teachers getting money for their work at the crèche
when they are not yet qualified.
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Teachers refuse to perform certain duties such as changing nappies and
washing clothes
Parents complain that teachers treat some children badly because they have
personal issues with some of the parents.
From data set 7 - Teacher trainer‟s diary, I took the following categories
Parents are reluctant to volunteer or participate at the crèche
Parents‟ attitude towards the crèche determine attendance
Free hand-outs motivate parents to send kids to crèche for a day.
Tensions between parents and teachers cause teachers stress.
From data set 8 – Development practitioner‟s field notes I took the following categories;
Parents complain that teachers don‟t do their job properly and sit in the sun most
of the time.
Parents complain that teachers treat some children badly because they have
personal issues with some of the parents.
Teachers refuse to perform certain duties such as changing nappies and
washing clothes
Parents think they have the power to hire and fire the crèche teachers.
Some of the categories were clustered to a theme more than once, thus strengthening
the theme. For example, the category „Parents‟ attitude towards the crèche determines
attendance‟ from data set 7 was also used under the heading ‘Scarcity discourse‟.
Below, in Figure 4.4. is a schematic representation by Ragpot (2011) of the process, as
conceptualised by Henning (2011).
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Figure 4.4: Inductive data analysis process as conceptualised by Henning (2011)
4.4. THE CONSOLIDATED THEMES EMANATING FROM THE ANALYSIS
The inductive analytic process I have described in the chapter (see figure 4.4) ultimately
led to a number of themes that are the outcome of the research. I here list the themes
and will proceed to discuss the pattern that I have identified across them. In chapter 5
they will be discussed as the findings of the inquiry.
The themes are:
1. The people of Mogwase‟s view of scarcity and how it influences the
crèche
2. Physical well-being of the children is important in this settlement. The role
of the crèche and the teachers is seen as to take care of the physical well-
being of the children.
3. Tensions exist within the internal structure of the community
(gemeinschaft) brought about by the crèche intervention.
4. The different voices of the people of the community need to be heard.
DATA GATHERING
RAW DATA - TRANSCRIPTIONS OR DOCUMENTS AND ARTEFACTS
SUB-CATEGORIES FROM RAW
DATA
MAIN CATEGORIES IN
EACH DATA SOURCE
INTEGRATED CATEGORIES
FFROM DIFFERENT DATA
SOURCES
REFINE CATEGORIES
MAIN THEMES FROM
CATEGORIES
REFINE THEMES
PATTERNS WITHIN THEMES
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5. Teachers face inhibiting and disabling aspects of working in ECD within a
rural community.
6. Teachers see their work at the crèche as a calling
7. Teachers have experienced individual and professional growth because of
the crèche intervention.
8. Learner outcomes as viewed by different stakeholders in the crèche.
9. The curriculum develops organically over time
10. All stakeholders see the crèche as fitting into and being a part of the larger
societal intervention.
Across these themes there is a pattern; it shows the underlying dynamics of
development of a rural settlement community. There is growth and there is
development, but there are also on-going tensions that precipitate development. The
founding of the pre-school was but one component of the overall development project of
the community which lives at the margins of society.
The theme that forms the foundation of the finally integrated data is that, although the
project was, to begin with, a societal project (coming from the gesellschaft i.e. the
funding agent and the development practitioner who, uninvited, offered the intervention),
it gradually became a gemeinschaft project. The members of Mogwase appropriated not
only the whole-community venture, but also, more specifically, the pre-school.
However, in all the final themes it is evident that there remains a tension between the
groups of actors. In the evolving of the school‟s curriculum, note was taken of the norms
and standards of existing models, such as those of Ntataise (2007) and the TREE
project in South Africa (Picken, 2010) Yet as this curriculum was developed more
organically; it had the earmark of Mogwase.
Coupled with the development of the teachers, the perspective of the parents and other
members of the community developed alongside and slowly the discourse of the
teachers changed from that of child minders to that of professionals. What brought them
together was a realization of the void in their young pre-schoolers lives and the need to
prepare them and socialize them for school. There was, ultimately, also a realization that
the school had, indeed succeeded in doing this. Moreover, there is sufficient evidence
that growth happened over time and that the curriculum developed over time as the pre-
school became more established and the community became more settled about the
role of the crèche intervention in their own development. This all happened, despite the
Chapter 4 135
teachers‟ on-going struggle with many inhibiting factors. The fact that they took care of
the children, that this became surrogate family for a few hours per day, did shift the
perceptions about the pre-school of the community of Mogwase. They did, ultimately,
begin to realise that development and education go hand in hand, that they are Janus
faced.
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CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION:
GESELLSCHAFT MEETS GEMEINSCHAFTIN A ‘SOCIETAL’ COMMUNITY ECD PROJECT
5.1. INTRODUCTION: ON FINDING THE VORTEX OF A COMMUNITY’S ECD PROJECT
Towards the concluding section of this dissertation I reflect briefly on the research
questions that guided the study. I set out to address the following two questions: What is
the process of developing an (organic) ECD curriculum with practitioner training in a
rural community? What are the emerging tensions in such a process and how are they
managed in PAR mode?
The two main questions were refined to the following sub-questions, which captured
specific objectives for the study:
1. What are the tensions that arose in the implementation of the original ECD
curriculum in a rural community and how are they managed as the
programme proceeds?
2. How are untrained ECD practitioners assisted in a training programme
that is aimed at equipping them as agents of development of young
children?
3. How are the bottom-up (organic) ECD curriculum and practitioner training
programme (jointly) conceptualized and implemented in the settlement
pre-school?
4. What improvements would be suggested for the curriculum and the
practitioner training based on participants‟ input?
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In this chapter I will discuss the main themes that I have identified in the findings, after
which I will explore the pattern that I saw in these themes and briefly reflect on the
extent to which the research questions had been addressed. From the view of
Engeströmian (1987) activity theory the tensions in the development can be seen as the
catalysts for the process to unfold. From this view one can argue that the two main
research questions have been addressed in the processed data, which captured these
tensions.
I begin with the observation that the crèche and its teachers have been a unifying factor
in this community. Although the crèche intervention and the larger community project, of
which it forms part, was initiated by an organ of society, in the persons of the community
development practitioners, and not by the community, and in spite of the various
tensions operant and remaining between the groups of actors in this intervention, the
people of Mogwase were brought together by a realization of the common need to
prepare their young children for school. The teachers, despite having faced many
challenges in their growth towards becoming professional ECD practitioners, through
training and perseverance, helped to shift the commonly held perceptions of scarcity of
knowledge and resources. This helped the people of this community ultimately to take
ownership of the pre-school and its emergent curriculum.
I will now proceed to briefly discuss each of the themes of the findings individually. I will
also look at the research methods I used and also reflect on some issues of validity and
reliability of the inquiry. Furthermore I will describe the hurdles and barriers of
trustworthiness which were encountered and how I tried to compensate for them. It is
important to remember, though, that this is a case study and therefore a “bounded
system” (Stake, 2005), both empirically and conceptually, with specific research
questions constituting the components of the construct of the study. In the discussion of
the findings I will remain within this conceptual system, trying to invoke some of the
literature that was discussed in Chapter 2. I will show how the findings cohere and how
they can be „gazed‟ upon (Wardekkker, 2008) through the lens of the theoretical
framework of cultural historical and activity theory, specifically the component known as
an activity system. I will pay special attention to how the findings resonate in the
research questions. As guide to see coherence of the various themes I show how the
core theme is, in fact, the foundation of the other themes conceptually.
I begin with those findings relating to the community and its relationships to the crèche.
Next I will move onto the findings relating to the teachers and their training, after which I
Chapter 5 138
will explore the variations in the views of all the role-players, and also the development
of the curriculum. Lastly I will discuss the core finding of the study. I begin with the
notable, consistent discourse of „scarcity‟ across all spheres of life in Mogwase.
5.2.1. Scarcity as a dominant discourse
Because the settlement in this study exists against the backdrop of a real and a
perceived scarcity of resources, both material and otherwise, the discourse of the
people of this village reflects their view of scarcity and how it influences their experience
of the crèche. Interestingly, aspects of this discourse reflect an awareness of the core
concept of each one of the three widely accepted definitions of poverty as discussed by
Wagle (2002) namely; “material deprivation”, “capabilities poverty” and “social and
political exclusion”. In a study by Narayan, Chambers, Shah and Petesch (2000, p.2) a
similar trend can be noted. Poor people described their situation in terms of scarcity of
physical, social, environmental, political, educational and psychological resources.
Exploring views of lack and scarcity helps a researcher to understand how these
perceptions shape the ability of the teachers and the people of the settlement to address
the challenges they face in initiating and sustaining action towards effective ECD
provision for the young children in the village. Although many development educationists
are critical of the ability of an external societal agent to initiate and successfully
implement social interventions in situations like the one in the study, I would argue that it
is indeed possible and in some cases even necessary. People from resource-poor rural
areas are often so entrenched in their experience of both physical and conceptual
poverty that it permeates every aspect of their lives, even their discourse and the ability
to form a concept of what their lives could be like if they were to escape poverty. So all-
pervading is this experience of lack, that they are often unable to plot their way out of it
(Aliber, 2003). This study show that it might be possible for this type of societal or
Gesellschaft intervention, if implemented and managed participatively between both
parties to eventually be owned and successfully taken charge of by the community, or
gemeinschaft.
Perceptions of lack and scarcity did cause tension between the different role players in
this intervention. They often caused intense discomfort and even led to acts of physical
violence (see par. 1.4.1.) between individuals. This is because the experience by the
poor of deprivation is, according to Narayan et al. (2000, p.2), mainly one of
powerlessness over the various aspects of life. A view of a scarcity of money led to
members of the community lashing out against the teachers who had suddenly become
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top earners in the village. The socially constructed discourse of what counts as fiscal
resources had entered the education of young children. It is not an unusual
phenomenon (Casper, 2011) especially if it is complemented by a discourse of scarcity
with regard to knowledge and trust. This discourse permeates the early complaints of
parents on teachers‟ practice. “They (the teachers) know nothing about looking after
children” and “we cannot trust them with our children” (data set 4 see par
4.2.4.)Teachers themselves indicate their perceived lack of knowledge about ECD in the
discourse they use to describe their work. It is indicative of progress made in the
development of this ECD curriculum that towards the end of the study the teachers (see
par 4.2.3), parents (see par 4.2.4) and community leader (see par 4.2.5) talk about the
crèche and the teachers in terms of gaining or having gained knowledge. For example,
the crèche is described by one committee member as a “place of light” (see par 4.2.6),
parents say that the children “learn new things” (see par 4.2.4) and towards the end of
the study the teachers indicate that “before we knew nothing” but (with the intervention
of the trainer) they had learnt “to work with children” (see par 4.2.3). Despite the
pervasive discourse of scarcity of resources, both human and material, there was a
noted shift in the views on the children‟s well-being, which started off as only their
physical care but which later included their need for social skills and preparation for
school.
5.2.2. Physical well-being of the children in the crèche
Physical well-being of the children is important in this settlement. The role of the crèche
and the teachers is seen by the community mainly, and especially in the beginning, as to
take care of the physical well-being of the children. While the larger gesellschaft views
the purpose of interventions such as the one in this study mainly in terms of education
and the benefits it can bring the community it is intended for, the reality of living in a
resource-poor rural environment, far from medical help, means that the gemeinschaft in
this case sees the physical safety and well-being of young children as one of the main
functions of a pre-school. Of course, physical safety is an important aspect at any pre-
school regardless of its location and background. The situation with regard to physical
safety at this settlement shows just how interrelated aspects of life at a rural site can be
and how a lack of infrastructure and access to services, combined with low skills levels,
can impact considerably on education provision in rural settlements (Aliber, 2003). At
Mogwase, as at many other underdeveloped rural settlements, the physical safety of
young children was, at least when the crèche first started, of the utmost importance and
certainly a higher priority than for example, learning for school readiness. Teachers
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viewed their responsibility mainly in terms of keeping the children safe (see par 4.2.2)
while community leaders, parents and other care givers were very sceptical of the
teachers‟ ability to execute this very important job function effectively (see par 4.2.6).
These tensions around the crèche as a place of safe-keeping for young children were
acute at the beginning of the intervention and certainly comprised an initial focus of the
participatory research. However, as knowledge about ECD was gained by parents and
teachers and as the teachers became more adept at their work, trust in the teachers to
take proper care of children increased and the tensions decreased. Thus in the
development of an organic ECD curriculum, the element of safety of young children
would be a key focus.
5.2.3. The establishment and running of the crèche as cause of community tension
Tensions arose within the internal structure of the community as a result of the changes
brought about by the crèche intervention. The pressure on all stakeholders, both from
the community and the development agents, to develop a curriculum and train the
teachers in order to have a functional crèche, presented great challenges to all role
players in this intervention. It was indeed perceived, as Garvey (2005) argues about
parity of benefit, that some members of the community, particularly the teachers,
benefited more from the intervention than others. Crises, such as the incidents of
physical violence and the closing down of the crèche by parents (see par. 1.4.1.) bear
testimony to these tensions. The initial educational expectations of almost all parties
involved were left largely unmet in the veritable tidal wave of change that was caused by
the actions and reactions of the various role players in the intervention. As I have noted
in chapter 1, this intervention did not come about as a result of an expressed need of the
community for an early childhood education intervention, but it was rather an externally
initiated project by the development agents acting on behalf of a large corporation. So,
instead of paying careful attention to whether the corporate social responsibility strategy
of the corporation was really aligned with the needs of the community, as Smith (2003)
suggests, the crèche project was implemented because the development practitioners
thought it was necessary and because it was aligned, at the time, to the corporate CSR
areas of focus (see chapter 1.4.). The danger herein is that often the real expectations
communities have of social development projects revolve around the improvement of
their future situation (Eweje, 2006). In a community such as Mogwase, where the
relationship between the benefits of early childhood development and improving the
community‟s future situation is unclear, the implementation of a crèche might not at first
have seemed like a very useful way of spending funding resources. However, in
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reflecting on this in PAR mode, I am of the view that, although the ideal is to implement
interventions that aim to address the expressed needs of a community, it is indeed
possible, through collaboration, to successfully implement a society-initiated
intervention.
Looking at cultural historical activity theory as a thinking tool to examine the crèche in
the community, I see the crèche and its community as an activity system. (see Figure
1.2.)as proposed by Engeström (1987; 1991 in Beatty & Feldman, 2009). From this view
it could be argued that the intervention greatly challenged the status quo of the system
in all of its components. Rules, such as traditional views on the status of young women,
were circumvented. Positions of power within the division of labour in the community
were challenged as the volunteer practitioners gradually took on the roles of
professional pre-school teachers. Looking at the larger community to include the larger
development project and its rules, both the organisation of the community management
structure and that of the larger development project had to be re-orientated to allow
space for the crèche to expand as a mini-institution within the larger arena of the village
and the development project. This caused considerable disequilibrium which in turn
caused individuals within the community and its structures discomfort as their existing
views of reality and their previous roles were challenged. For example, because child-
minding young mothers had their children attending the crèche it thus freed up time for
them to pursue employment and income generating activities. Thus previously
unemployed, child-minding young mothers found themselves under pressure from family
members to find work and had to suddenly contend with the challenges of being pushed
into the job-market (see 4.2.9). As a reaction to their feelings of instability and
uncertainty about the new roles they were expected to take on, they expressed
dissatisfaction with the teachers and the way the crèche was being run.
So, by „gazing‟ upon the crèche as activity system in this way it appears evident that all
the heuristic components of an activity system a la Engeström; namely history of the
acting subjects and of the community, tools and signs, rules, the community and the
division of labour within it as well as the subject of the activity and its movement towards
the object thereof, can be factored into the „activity‟ of establishing this crèche. This
activity includes the training of the teachers and designing and developing the emergent
curriculum. Indeed, the activity of establishing a crèche has to do with much more than a
crèche. As a poor, marginalised community, the community of this „activity system‟ with
the history of all participants, it is clear that the concept of „crèche‟ in rural Africa is
already a loaded concept. One only has to contemplate the staggering statistics of the
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more than 90% of children in the world living outside of the Euro-Western world being
subject to receiving early childhood education as conceptualised by education
specialists from the Western minority world (Pence & Marfo, p.2008), to understand why
ECD delivery is such a challenge in developing countries. While the founding of the
crèche indeed caused tension within this community, I want to argue that it also
galvanized the different role players into action; they entered the arena of ECD in the
settlement and started speaking out on what they believed appropriate early childhood
education should entail. It was in this interaction and dialogue that a more “co-
constructed generative curriculum approach” (ibid) was followed, which managed to
blend what is relevant from both Western early childhood development thinking and the
existing knowledge systems of the settlement in order to find the most relevant way of
going about the development of ECD, both in terms of the practitioner development and
the development of the curriculum for this specific community. In a sense the tensions
enabled the development of a truly organic ECD curriculum most suited to the specific
needs of the Mogwase community while still fulfilling the more generalised childhood
development goals of ECD such as cognitive and socio-emotional development,
nutrition, health care and school readiness.
5.2.4. Community residents’ voices
The unitary view of community, a notion which is often employed by outsiders such as
development agents (Skogen & Krange, 2003), ignores the existing social stratifications,
alliances and power structures within a community (Cleaver 1999) and assumes a
generic „community‟ phenomenon that is nearly impossible to find in the real world of the
21stcentury. The disparity in views on „development‟ by development agents and
communities often causes tension between role players in a development intervention.
In order for a society-initiated development project to be successful it is important that
the different voices of the people of the target community, no matter how disparate, be
heard, so that tension, as a catalyst for change, can be elicited. For example, although
the views of the different role players in the ECD intervention in this study were often
extremely conflicting, it seems to have been the only way in which all stakeholders got to
voice their opinion about the pre-school; they demanded it through their outbursts and
often violent actions. In a sense it created the conditions and „space‟ for dialogue to
take place; in this shared space all the interrelated parts of the school community could
participate in the implementation of the pre-school and the development of the
curriculum, however haphazard some of the processes proved to be. PAR, by its very
nature is not necessarily a smooth process, but one that is often fraught with tension
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which causes it to progress, not in linear fashion but in a cyclical way (Reed, 2004). As
Sergiovanni (1994) proposes, schools are about relationships and effective teaching and
learning will come about more naturally if schools are viewed first and foremost as
communities of different people. The complex dynamics of the causes and effects of
poverty on the ability of the community to understand support and assist children‟s
learning intricately, and powerfully, impact development work. In a project such as the
one on which this study reports, the voice of Nogobese (2006) rings true: the early
development of children and the effectiveness with which early childhood education
interventions are implemented and conducted in rural settlements depends on a
community‟s understanding and support.
It seems, in the case of this study, that the platform from which the views of all
stakeholders could be aired served not only as an outlet of often strong and conflicting
views, but also provided an opportunity to have an opinion put to the table for discussion
and for recording, formally or informally, as something that has been said about an
issue. Simply put; people want to be heard when their communities are „developed‟
(Bailur, 2007).
But, it is also true that opinions change over time and in the case of this study this
change indicates progress made towards the aims and objectives of the intervention.
Initially young mothers vehemently voiced their doubts that any other young women
could take better care of their children (see 4.2.6). This could be because the young
volunteers-becoming-teachers challenged the position and interests of other groups in
the community (Mansuri & Rao, 2003). Ngobese (2006) states a truism when he says,
„no school can function without the support of its parent community‟. This proved true for
this community as through their participation in the process of establishing the pre-
school and through active orientation sessions by the development practitioners to
inform parents about the crèche (see 4.2.9) these same mothers, towards the end of the
study, described the changes brought about by the crèche intervention in their own lives
in terms of greater freedom to move about in the day and pursue leisure or income
generating activities (see 4.2.4). This is contrary to their early anxiety at being pressured
to seek employment.
5.2.5. Working in ECD in a rural context is challenging
In most academic texts on development studies, the term rural community is defined
primarily in terms of the difficulties of living in a rural setting (May, 2000). These
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challenges usually include poverty, reliance on subsistence livelihoods, a lack of
infrastructure, low education and skills levels and a shortage of employment
opportunities (Ngobese, 2006). Teaching in rural communities also means contending
with challenges such as a shortage of stimulating programmes and resources, overfull
centres, inadequately training for practitioners and high care-giver-child ratios (Grey,
2008).
The development of this pre-school took place in PAR mode, which meant that the
teachers could participate, albeit at first from a position of relatively little power,
increasingly in the process of implementation of the pre-school and its curriculum. As
they negotiated their position with regard to the other role players and as they became
more assertive in their roles, they gained a greater sense of agency in their own
professional lives. As parents‟ knowledge of ECD and of the role the ECD teacher plays
in the development of young children increased through the parent orientation
programme, the pressure on the teachers also eased off a bit. So while at the beginning,
for instance, a parent expressed her disappointment that her four year-old had been at
the crèche for six months and still couldn‟t read and write, the content and tone of the
comments from parents change later on. I believe that positive responses from parents
about the pre-school towards the end of the study reflect their changed attitudes and
increased knowledge about the advantages of pre-school (see 4.2.4) in their children‟s‟
lives. This is reflected in some of the responses from parents in the interviews that were
conducted with them. When asked during the interview why she thought the crèche was
good for her child one mother replied; “If he (a child) doesn‟t go to crèche he will
struggle at school” and “my child has learnt to communicate with kids and teachers”.
5.2.6. Crèche teaching as vocation
Another area of growth that has been evident through the research is that teachers have
experienced personal growth as a result of their work at the crèche and gradually started
seeing themselves in a professional role. One of the main motivators for them was that
they began to view their work at the crèche as a calling „ke pitso‟ (see 4.2.1). I want to
argue that perception by the teachers of themselves being „called upon‟ to help bring
education to the young children in this settlement resonates closely with their sense of
increasing self-empowerment. This might have helped to keep them on track, despite
the tensions they had to manage and process during their training. Actively participating
in curriculum development has been found by Mashathini (2005) to contribute to the
development of teachers‟ sense of self-empowerment. When teachers feel that they are
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contributing to the curriculum they are expected to carry out, they experience their work
as positive and personally fulfilling, which in turn helps them to better face challenges in
the work place. This resonates with the organic nature of curriculum development in
PAR mode. The teachers in this study are from the community and therefore naturally
reflect the community‟s values and themes in the curriculum content which they decide
upon. Applying the analytical device of the activity system, one could say that their
internal motivation serves as an impetus to carry the teachers, as the subject within the
system, towards the object or goal of the system - the development of the curriculum
and the development of the teachers as part thereof (see figure 1.2).
Teachers in this community operate from a strong sense of communality and this has
made them aware of their work as a calling in a landscape where so much help is
needed. They feel that their work at the crèche is a calling because the children come
from the same resource-poor background as they do and they “want the future to be
better for the children of Mogwase.” (Interview with teachers Nov 2010). Their emergent
identities as teachers are thus closely linked to who they are in the same place. The
teachers began to see themselves as agents of development of young children. This is
illustrated by a response from a teacher to the question whether there is any difference
in how the kids used to spend their time and how they spend their time now; “It is better
now. We keep the children busy, we teach them things, they don‟t just sit around or do
bad things” (Dimakatso, interview with teachers, Nov, 2010).The individualist view of the
young child, which informs Western educational practice (Pence and Schafer, 2006)
also informs teaching practice and the way in which teachers are viewed as part of ECD.
This way of looking at the main role-players in education might indeed not be
appropriate for African settings such as Mogwase where a strong sense of community
prevails. That is perhaps why ECD is so highly politicised in SA (Biersteker, 2010). The
pre-school teachers therefore had to work very hard to earn respect and proper regard
for the new role they played as professionals within the community. Paradoxically, this
struggle to gain the respect of their community is a mirror of a larger issue; ECD
practitioners in South Africa, as elsewhere in the world, have historically enjoyed a very
low status (ibid). In South Africa this low status contributes to ECD practitioners being
notoriously under-paid and thus under-valued by society (Human Resources
Development Review, 2008). In Mogwase, though, the small stipend of R850-00 per
month, which the teachers earned, turned them into top earners (see 4.2.9) in the
settlement. This is reflected in a response from a teacher to question 8: How has your
work changed since you started working at the crèche? “First I didn‟t earn (money), now
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I get something. I have gained a lot of things because of that” – (Sarah, interview with
teachers Nov, 2010).
5.2.7. Professional growth of teachers
There can be little doubt that the teachers in this study have experienced incremental
individual and professional growth as a result of their involvement in the crèche. These
teachers started working at the crèche as untrained, unemployed volunteers who initially
viewed their duties in terms of traditional perceptions of child-minding and safe keeping
of young children. “First the teachers just sat and watched the children on the
playground. Now we are teaching the children well. They learn to do exercise and to
write.” Through their participatory involvement in the establishment of the crèche, the
development of the curriculum, and in having a say in the journey of their own training,
they came to view and talk about themselves in terms of a professional ECD discourse.
For instance, 16 months after starting as untrained volunteer practitioners, their
discourse shifted from that of untrained ECD practitioner who spoke mainly about child
minding to that of ECD teachers who used some of the professional language and of
trained practitioners. For example, by the end of the training they refer to themselves as
„employed teachers‟ who follow a „programme‟, who „plan their lessons‟ and who have
views on educational aspects such as language of instruction and teacher development
(see 4.2.3). For instance, in an interview one teacher reported; “First we didn‟t know
much, now we do, like to split the age groups because the smaller children disturb the
older ones”. The development of the teachers, however, cannot be seen as separate
from the development of the curriculum itself. The teachers, in the course of their
development, prepared materials and acted more and more like professional teachers.
Artefact creation like lesson plans, posters and other learning materials is indicative not
only of the professional development of the practitioners, but also of the more formalised
ECD curriculum-in-development; thus the teachers‟ knowledge frameworks developed
in tandem with their growth as professionals. In addition, what they produced and
contributed towards the curriculum also became more complex.
When looking at the teachers as the subjects within the activity system of the crèche
development, it is apparent that their progress towards the object of the activity of the
system (trained teachers operating within an effective curriculum), are acted and
impacted upon by all of the other components of the system. When viewing the activity
of „crèche-ing‟ in a system, interactions between different components of a system can
be seen to cause tension; and it is in these tensions that change is lodged. In fact,
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Engeström (1987) argues for “expanded learning” through these tensions. Therefore the
teachers, as the subjects of the system, could be said to stand central to the tensions in
their process of becoming trained practitioners. For example, the teachers, as members
of the community, with its own history, are subject to rules such as cultural norms and
taboos that function in the community. To make progress in their careers requires of
these teachers that they continually work to balance their previous positions within the
community as young and inexperienced women with their new status as directors of
education in the settlement. Beatty and Feldman (2009) explored these sometimes
polar opposites in an activity system‟s components in a teacher development
programme and found the acting subjects, although driven volitionally, are constrained
by the system itself. Overcoming the constraints meant engaging with the whole system,
and not just the tools and the object, as is commonly the case in teacher development
programmes. This balancing act involves challenging the status quo and some of the
rules and accepted roles with regard to the division of labour within the activity system of
the crèche, of which the settlement members forms the community.
In this study it was also evident that teachers and their training are integral to curriculum
development (Rinaldo, 2005). The role of the Mogwase teachers in the development of
the curriculum and indeed in the process of taking ownership of the intervention by the
community cannot be under-estimated. As with the original Reggio Emilio schools in
Italy, where most of the teachers do not hold any formal teaching qualification, but
where they receive intensive and extensive in-service support and training (Edwards,
Gandini & Foreman, 1993 as cited in Katz, 1993), the teachers in this study showed
considerable professional growth despite their lack of formal training. It is no good
imposing training interventions and formal courses on unqualified teachers simply in a
bid to get them qualified. The teacher in the study showed that paper qualifications are
secondary to the work they do. Together with Maestri, Hendricks and Bisschoff (2009), I
want to argue that it is imperative to make sure that teachers themselves feel that they
are gaining by any training intervention they might be subjected to and that they
experience that training as meaningful and relevant to the situations they face at work. I
believe that the quality of ECD delivery depends on teacher quality (Biersteker & Dawes,
2008) and that teacher quality can be enhanced by means other than those requiring a
teacher to embark upon a full-time university degree course. The benefits they had
gained from the training interventions, are apparent in how the teachers talk about their
training; “The parents complained that we were not teaching the children...Paulina came
and taught us a lot of things about children that we didn‟t know. Now, according to what I
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know, we all know how children are supposed to be taught and treated at a crèche”
(Sarah, interview with teachers, Nov, 2011).
5.2.8. Variants in the views of different stakeholders
The different role players have different views with regard to learner outcomes of the
pre-school children. Views regarding this aspect of the crèche changed over time.
Expectations of the function of the crèche changed, for the parents and the teachers
from child minding to the achievement of educational outcomes. I would say that this
indicates success with regard to curriculum development and parent education at this
site. It is noteworthy that the views of the different stakeholders regarding aspects of
ECD and pre-school education converged towards the end of the study. This indicates
common ground between the various participants and greater unity in their views and
values with regard to learner outcomes. It is encouraging that all stakeholders referred
to improvement in the three prominent interlinked ECD outcomes that Vegas and
Santibáñez (2009) list as playing a major role in determining lifelong later outcomes for a
child, namely cognitive development, socio-emotional development; and health, growth
and physical well-being.
Teachers’ views
Teachers initially viewed the crèche in terms of safe keeping, but also in terms of
stimulation and learning. Towards the end of the study/intervention period the teachers
articulated learner outcomes in terms of social skills, class room discipline and
preparation for attending school. “The children first did not enjoy the crèche, they got
bored quickly... because we didn‟t know how to teach them...They (the children) were
getting tired of the teachers changing all the time, but now we don‟t change anymore,
we are with Paulina all the time...Now the children have a time for everything – learning
inside and playing outside – they learn better now” - Dimakatso, interview with teachers,
Nov, 2010.
Parents’ views
At the beginning of the study parents used to see the crèche as a place of safekeeping
where the children would be looked after and fed. Later on in the study parents saw the
crèche as instrumental in preparing a child for school. “Even though it was difficult... I
could see that from when (my child) went to crèche that she had something she knew.
(She has learnt) to hold a pen, to write her name, to communicate with children and
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teachers...” and “The crèche has made her ready for school. It was easier for her to go
to school that for the other children (who did not go to crèche) because she had learnt
some stuff.”
The development practitioners’ views
Although the development agents focused mainly on the development of the trainee
practitioners, they expressed their views of the learner outcomes in terms of mastery of
skills to prepare children for school, programme development, lesson plans, artefact
creation and the children‟s cognitive stimulation and increased social skills (see
Researcher field observation notes under 4.2.8).
The community leader’s view
Although the community leader takes a broader view and sees the crèche as benefiting
more than just the children she also describes the ways in which the intervention
enhances children‟s social skills, looks after their physical safety and prepares them for
school (see 4.2.5). “Now, the teachers can teach the children... and the people have
seen that the children are safe at the crèche...the mothers see that the crèche is
important. (The children have learnt) to read and to write their names and sing songs...
When they go to school they already know lots of things.”
Using the heuristic tool of gazing upon the situation in the study through the lens of an
activity system, learner outcomes could be seen as a part of the object(ive) of the
activity within the system. I would certainly argue that measuring learner outcomes was
not strictly speaking a part of the objective of the study although they are implied in the
second and third of the sub-research questions. However the clear emphasis on the
mastery of skills to prepare children for school is indicative of a more structured
approach to ECD teaching on the part of the teacher with more emphasis on cognitive
skills and classroom discipline as reflected in learners‟ outcomes. That would mean that
the intensive, (every day), yet informal teacher training that included training on general
aspects of ECD teaching such as lesson planning and theme work, has been successful
in helping the teachers use the tools of language, symbols and their own training to see
their job as not only child minding and safe keeping but also of encouraging learning in
young children. I want to propose that it is because of the organic nature of the
development of this curriculum, because of the inclusion of all voices as having
something meaningful to contribute, and because, as Hoffman (2000) suggests, that
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early childhood education in every society is informed by its own cultural assumptions
and views of self, that this intervention was successful in growing an organic, emergent
curriculum.
5.2.9. Organic curriculum development
The Mogwase ECD curriculum developed organically over time. Evidence that
development indeed did take place can be found in varying degrees across all the
findings, for example in learner outcomes, (see 5.2.7.), the professional development of
the teachers, (see 5.2.6.),and in the way in which the community came to take
ownership of the intervention (see 5.2.10).Although the process of curriculum
development created several nodes of tension over time, it was these very tensions,
managed in PAR mode that helped to shape and prepare the environment in which the
curriculum could grow.
In terms of an activity system‟s gaze on the work, the teachers, as subjects of the
activity, in interaction with the community and societal role players effectively acted
towards the object of the activity, which is to be trained teachers and to have developed
an effective curriculum. This movement towards the object was effected and affected
through the use of tools such as PAR, teacher training and dialogue which was also
employed to help address, rebalance and re-integrate the more challenging aspects of
the system such as rules and division of labour. The teachers seem, at the end of the
study, better equipped to manage the pre-school as an educational institution within the
institution of the community council and the larger societal project, all of which in turn
forms part of the system of the country, its society and the world.
It would also appear, in the case of this study, that an organic approach, which included
contributions from all stakeholders, has been the approach which eventually led to the
successful implementation of this still-evolving curriculum. This organic approach
included and appreciated, sometimes by default, diverse knowledge and allowed new
ways of understanding the context. It also helped to create the curriculum through
building local capacity, promoting local pride and allowing local commitment to emerge
(Pence & Marfa, 2008) all the while paying attention to the values that are prevalent in
that specific society (Jacobs 1999 in Lamer 1999, p.109) instead of following the South
African trend of implementing a „one size fits all‟ curriculum (Harley & Dedekind, 2004)
which often excludes the very children it was intended for. Signs of a curriculum that had
developed at this site are evident in some of the artefacts that were created such as the
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daily programme (see addendum N), the changes in the organisation of the inside of the
crèche (see addendum K) and the reports of teacher development contained in the
teacher-trainer‟s diary. For example on 31 August 2010, a few weeks after she had
started training the teachers, she reports: “Teachers help them (the children) everyday
with reading writing, colouring, drawing and moulding. (They also) are doing the weather
chart daily. They (the children) wash their hands with each one‟s water, not (the) same
water.”
5.2.10. The crèche as a societal (gesellschaft) intervention
All stakeholders see the crèche as fitting into and being a part of the larger societal
community intervention, sponsored by the corporate world. Although the crèche forms
part of the larger society-initiated community development project, the process over time
of establishing it, training the teachers, and developing the curriculum has led the
community to come to view the crèche as a hub of development and a „place of hope‟
for the people of the settlement and not as the object of a corporation‟s social
responsibility initiative. Although subtle, this form of ownership may be regarded as part
of the effectiveness of the intervention. Moreover, different sources from the community,
most significantly the community leader as major human resource, claimed towards the
end of the study that the intervention had been initiated because of an expressed need
for ECD by the community (see 4.2.5). The ownership of the intervention was such that
it created the belief that the people of Mogwase had, in fact, campaigned for a crèche,
which it did not. The community leader also describes the crèche intervention as follows:
“it helped to bring progress to the community and created jobs and opportunities for the
young people in the community”.
In a country which has seen the implementation of no less than three different curricular
models in eight years I would argue that this ownership of an educational intervention by
a poor and marginalised rural community in South Africa can be seen as a pinprick of
hope that it is indeed possible in South Africa for society and community to unite in
working together towards a common aim particularly in education.
This finding stands in contrast to the criticism of development authors such as
Kretzmann and McKnight (1993) that the result of development efforts by non-
community agents are often counter-development and lead to greater dependency of
the community on the development agent. This study suggests that it is possible that
such an externally initiated development project can indeed be successful in getting the
Chapter 5 152
community for which it was intended to come to own the intervention. Perhaps if the
„Wesenwille‟ or „essential will (Nillson & Hendrickse, 2011) of the gemeinschaft in such
an intervention is encouraged to become a driving force which directs the actions of the
community and if this force is then allowed to act upon and balance the „conditional will‟
of the gesellschaft which calculates the best instruments and methods to reach the goal
of development. I would like to propose with Edwards, Hulme & Wallace (1999) that it is
in the collaborative nature of the project and through equipping the poor with negotiation
skills that in this project capitalism seems indeed to have been „humanised‟ sufficiently
to create an environment where, through participation and dialogue new ways were
conceived of for society and communities to work towards a common goal.
5.3. THE PATTERN IN THE FINDINGS
To explain the pattern that I have identified in the findings of the study, I show the 10
main findings (see figure 5.3.1) using the analogy of a bridge between two pillars. These
pillars, A and B represent two different views on the significance of the crèche at
Mogwase at roughly two points in time. Pillar A represents the point at which the crèche
was first implemented in the settlement as a societal intervention, while pillar B
represents the point in time towards the end of the study, when the community had
come to view the crèche as something which they themselves had established. The
movement from the one point in time to the other, i.e. from the point when people of the
settlement seeing the crèche as something which is placed there from outside of the
community, to the point when the crèche was viewed by community role players as
something which is a part of their environment, is depicted between the two pillars as
nine nodes, arranged in three horizontal rows. These nodes represent nine of the ten
main findings of the study with the central finding being „organic curriculum
development‟. The tenth finding is represented by the double-headed arrows radiating
towards and from the central theme.
Chapter 5 153
Figure 5.1: Gesellschaft meets gemeinschaft in a societal ECD project
Chapter 5 154
It is important to note that although I here place the themes in succession on a „time
line‟, the themes should not be viewed as events that started or ended at a certain point
in real time. Some residue of the „earlier‟ themes, depicting aspects of the overall activity
might still be evident towards the end of the study, while some of the „later‟ themes were
already present at the beginning of the study. For example, „children being aware of
their own physical safety‟ can be said to have been a learner outcome in the earlier
phases of the study while physical safety is certainly still part of the aims of the crèche at
this informal settlement.
The main role players in the intervention are represented by three nodes or themes
each in horizontal progress towards the second pillar (B). The teachers are shown to
progress from their initial motivation for volunteering at the crèche, that of seeing ECD
as a vocation (finding 6, node 1) to facing various challenges of working in ECD in a
rural setting (finding 5, node 2) and finally towards professional growth (finding 7, node
3).
The curriculum progresses from a focus on the physical safe keeping of the children
(finding 2, node 4) towards the aim of organic curriculum development (finding 9, node
5) which results in learner outcomes (finding 8, node 6) as viewed by the different
stakeholders in the intervention.
The community is presented in the third horizontal line as moving from a predominant
discourse of scarcity (finding 1, node 7) towards finding their various voices (finding 2,
node 8) and voicing their often dissonant views. From there the community is shown to
integrate, at least as far as this study is concerned, the idea of the crèche intervention
as a community-owned, gesellschaft project (finding 10, node 9).
Because it is so central to the process of the study, the tenth finding, the crèche as
catalyst of community tensions (finding 3), is represented by the double-headed arrows
radiating from and towards the theme of curriculum development. Although tensions
were strongly present between all the role players and on many more levels than what I
show here, I decided on this simplified depiction of this theme, showing only how it
relates to the theme of development of the curriculum. The way in which the arrows
connect all the other themes to the central one of curriculum development is meant to
convey to the reader the idea of tensions in this study, not as a negative, but as a
manifestation of a pro-growth dynamic between all the main themes of this case and an
essential element in the development of the curriculum.
Chapter 5 155
Scaffolding the various processes central to the answering of the research questions in
this study, namely that of teacher training, curriculum development and the managing of
the resultant tensions is the notion of PAR, depicted here as the supporting structure of
the bridge. Only through the participation of all role players in this case study in the
various repeated cycles of planning, implementation and reflecting could the people of
the village come to see the crèche as something that did not just happen to them but an
aspect of their community life that had evolved from their own efforts.
5.4. REFLECTIONS ON THE DESIGN OF THE STUDY
Some aspects of the original design presented challenges. For instance, the co-
researcher and I had planned to use voice recorders, but instead of testing to see what
the response would be to the voice recorder it was used in the first real interview, which
meant that when it disrupted the interview and unnerved the interviewee, we had to do
the same interview twice. This was not ideal. Another aspect of the data gathering
process which I had neglected to pay better attention to was in the piloting of the
interview schedule. Although the co-researcher and I had „role-played‟ the interviews, in
retrospect I can now see that it would have been better if we had piloted it properly. To
reflect on the overall trustworthiness of the study I utilised the quality criteria for the
evaluation of grounded theory orientated studies as proposed by Titscher, Meyer,
Wodak and Vetter (2002). I will now list those criteria and how I used them to assess
validity in this way.
Criterion1: How was the original sample selected? On what grounds were the sample selected?
Because this was an intact sample of a case, the sample wasn‟t strictly speaking
selected but were intact members of the case, although there were many community
members who could have been included.
Criterion 2: What major categories emerged?
What Titcher et al. (2002) refer to as categories are the themes that I found in my study.
Through a process of inductive analysis, which I have already discussed, the nine
themes, listed in chapter 4 were recognisable.
Chapter 5 156
Criterion 3: What were some of the events, incidents, action, and so on which indicated some of these major categories?
I have discussed these events, incidents and actions in Chapter 4. One of the most
salient points which indicated one of the major categories or themes is some of the data
gathered in interviews and during meetings (4.2.6) and the community leader (4.2.5). A
member of the community committee for example said that the crèche has become a
place of hope for the young people of the village while the community leader in her
interview claimed that the crèche came about as a result of a verbalised need by the
community and that she goes door to door to orientate parents towards bringing their
children to the crèche. This is some of the data that indicated that the community had
taken ownership of the crèche and thus that a gesellschaft initiated project can indeed
be come to be owned by the gemeinschaft (see par. 5.2.10).
Criterion 4: On the basis of what categories did theoretical sampling proceed? That is, how did theoretical formulations guide some of the data collection? After the theoretical sample was carried out, how representative did these categories prove to be?
There was no theoretical sampling done in this study.
Criterion 5: What were some of the hypotheses pertaining to relations among categories? On what grounds were they formulated and tested?
As I have shown in the discussion part of this chapter, all the themes in this study relate
to one another and to the central theme. There is therefore conceptual coherence and
cross articulation among the themes.
Criterion 6: Were there instances when hypotheses did not hold up against what was actually seen? How were the discrepancies accounted for? Did they affect the hypotheses?
One of the hypotheses that were not realised was that the process of implementing a
gesellschaft initiated community development project precluded it from being owned by
the gemeinschaft which it is intended for.
Criterion 7: How and why was the core category selected?
This was the theme that was pervasive and to which all other themes related to.
Chapter 5 157
Was the selection sudden or gradual, difficult or easy?
The selection of the core category or theme was a simple gradual inductive analytical
process.
On what grounds were the final analytical decisions made?
The final analytical decision was made inductively on the grounds of information from
different data sources which clearly indicated the main core category.
How did ‘extensive explanatory power’ in relation to the phenomena under study and ‘relevance’ figure in the decisions?
The inductive method of analysis which I chose to employ in this study, thus the way in
which I worked with the data and the literature was aligned with the social phenomena
that I studied.
5.5. HOW THE STUDY HELPED ME TO LEARN TO DO RESEARCH
This study helped me to learn to do research because firstly I learnt how to use a
theoretical framework to look through at the study. Cultural historical activity theory
enabled me to look at the different activities within my study as a system in flux. This
helped me to see the events, incidents and action of my study as a living process. That
in turn helped to give me a holistic view of the diverse interactions within the system and
how various parts of the system-in-flux continuously influenced and impacted upon each
other. Secondly in my study of the literature pertaining to my research question and the
situation of my study I came to see that events and situations from the empirical world
were explained and clarified. It helped me to refine and broaden my knowledge on the
topic of my study and enabled me to place my study within a certain historical and
contextual framework. Finally the recording and management of my data showed me
how the process of inductive analysis which I employed in this study, if done effectively,
inexorably brings one to the core theme or finding of the study.
5.6. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
In a study which investigates an aspect of community development, such as the
establishment of the ECD site at Mogwase, time is an important factor. Interventions
such as training and curriculum development take more time and probably need more
Chapter 5 158
time than what can be afforded in a study of this scope. Furthermore, PAR implies the
building of trusting relationships and that too takes time. Changes too, take place over
time. For example, the situation at any school is always in constant flux with regard to
staff changes. At Mogwase two of the original teachers left the pre-school and another
joined in their place. This could have affected the data that was collected from the
teachers at the three points in time at which data was gathered namely in February,
2010, June 2010 and November 2010.
Conducting an inquiry within an ECD situation that is funded by external agents implies
that there are certain restrictions within which actions and events take place. The fact
that this intervention was funded by a corporate donor-funder meant that, despite the
fact that the development of the curriculum and the training of the teachers took place in
PAR mode, the staff and other role players at this pre-school had to adhere to certain
strictures. Schedules, budgets and donor-policy restrictions all play a role and could add
to the potential tension between role players. The situation at this site depended on a lot
of variables that cannot simply be taken for granted.
This inquiry focused on a single small ECD site at a rural community in Gauteng. This
study, although it yielded useful and perhaps even unexpected insights into the
development of an early childhood curriculum at a rural site, and although it indicated
the potential for societal-initiated interventions to be implemented successfully, still
cannot be seen as a quick-fix recipe that can be applied to any rural ECD facility in the
country. The duration of the research was not long enough, nor is a single case study
wide enough to simply be able to generalise the findings of such an inquiry. An inquiry
such as this one could perhaps be seen as footwork for research that could measure the
larger impact, capacity development and sustainability of an ECD intervention such as
this one, longitudinally to include the outcomes for the teachers, the children and the
community over a longer period of time.
5.7 RECOMMENDATIONS
Despite the limitations of this study, and the delimitations of the case it investigated,
some recommendations can be made for research, practice and policy purposes. First
of all, in answer to the fourth sub-question of the research questions, namely what
improvements, based on participant input can be suggested for the curriculum and the
practitioner training based on participants‟ input, I can report that just after the
completion of the formal research phase, one of the teachers, Dimakatso, applied to the
Chapter 5 159
community committee for permission to attend the ECD component of the National Rural
Youth Service Corps Programme (2010), a government incentive to enhance skills
training for youth in rural areas. Dimakatso indicated that she could help train the other
teachers and the committee agreed that having a „qualified‟ ECD teacher in the
settlement could help the crèche to get formally registered and thus also supported by
government. Although these events fall outside of the range of this study, it is interesting
to note the on-going cycles of PAR and encouraging to see how the teachers and the
community at this site are creating a new „working‟ paradigm that affords someone like
this young teacher the freedom to approach the power structure in her settlement and
for them to collaboratively work out a plan of action that will benefit not only her, but also
the larger community.
The policy implications of this inquiry as academic research need to be noted.
Historically, in South Africa, ECD implementation and training has been the domain of
NGO‟s. This means that the investigation of such an intervention usually requires, by the
funding agent, the evaluation of tangible evidence of deliverables and the careful
measuring of cost expenditure against outcomes. In my opinion, the outcomes or
possible gains brought about by an intervention that has as its aim the early cognitive,
socio-emotional and physical development of human beings cannot be measured
according to the criteria of a production line. Furthermore, the unintended (by the funder)
benefits of such an intervention in terms of human and community development would
require a much broader view of evaluation that what can be achieved through the project
evaluation approach. Indeed, I would argue that it would require an extensive and
intensive longitudinal study to truly measure the impact of an early childhood education
intervention in a resource-poor rural situation. Furthermore, if academic research were
to become the norm as part of the planning of community ECD interventions, it seems
unlikely that corporate donor-funders would so readily expend resources on projects
that, experience has shown, often fail because of a lack of rigorous in-depth research
before implementation.
Viewing research from a broader perspective and considering the challenges posed by
the need for development in a globalising world, more systemic research at
underdeveloped, resource-poor communities is needed. This inquiry indicates, by its
very limitations, the possibilities of more in-depth, longitudinal research to be conducted
at rural ECD sites in South Africa. Other areas for further research emanating from this
study are how PAR could be useful in investigating specific aspects such as the
management of corporate-funded research projects in community or ECD settings.
Chapter 5 160
As far as teaching practice is concerned, the context-specific findings of this study
indicate that teacher education programmes at higher education institutions could
perhaps do more to integrate the different realities within which ECD delivery often takes
place into their teacher educator programmes. Teacher education students should also
be given the opportunity to visit a diversity of ECD delivery sites, such as those facilities
operating from township shacks or rural villages such as the one in this study in order to
broaden their view of education delivery. It could add to the value of teacher education,
if information about early childhood and about the different contexts in which children
grow up in South Africa, is integrated into foundation phase teacher education
programmes. This could do a lot to dispense of some of the „one size fits all‟ education
practice myths that often persist in training programmes that are developed from
Western early childhood knowledge systems. To effect changes in education it is
necessary that systemic changes take place within the larger institutions that govern and
steer the direction of education in South Africa. It is worth noting that the proposed
Grade R teacher education programme which is described in par. 2.4.10 of the literature
review, has been put on hold indefinitely because of the inability of one department
official to commit to the part which the Gauteng department of education was to play in
the establishment of the programme (Loock, personal communication, March, 13, 2012),
showing how such systemic foibles often thwart much needed larger-scale educational
interventions. A closer look at the different realities within which education, and
especially early childhood education takes place could go a long way to saving time and
resources in a country where, in the context of education, human resources are very
scarce and time is, for every child, and every teacher, at every school, of the essence.
5.8. CONCLUSION
This inquiry aimed to investigate the process of the establishment of a crèche,
specifically looking at the teachers and the emergent curriculum in the context of a
community development project. Bearing in mind the limitations of this type of study, and
also that the inquiry focused on only one phase of a potentially more extensive PAR
study, the process of the study and the findings have a message: participatory work can
happen in interventions (both research and development) that has been initiated from
outside, with the proviso that members‟ voices are recognised and considered. I
conclude the study with an understanding of the interplay between different structures of
society and community in development work, specifically as it pertains to the teachers
and the beginnings of a curriculum for the crèche and how the lay teachers fit into the
emergent education structure in the settlement.
Chapter 5 161
What has also become evident is that, unlikely as it may have appeared at the outset,
the implementation of this society-initiated ECD intervention was successful and,
furthermore, through a reflective process of participation and collaboration, the
intervention was ultimately owned by the community for which it was intended. During
the process of ownership-taking, various tensions within the activity system were
activated, all of which, though stressful, contributed to change and development. These
tensions, as uncomfortable as they might feel to participants in the processes of
curriculum- and professional development of teachers, were the catalysts for the
changes that have taken place.
The implementation of a process of curriculum development and teacher training at a
rural site, such as is investigated in this inquiry, is challenging. Its research is also
challenging, especially in PAR mode, where the boundaries of researcher and
participant are often blurred. In a country where ECD implementation and delivery is at
the same time vitally important and a huge challenge, the results of this study could
provide a pinprick of hope that, through PAR, the resources of large corporate donor
funders can indeed be effectively applied to address the acute early education
challenges we face.
Finally, towards the completion of a study such as this, one realises that there is a fine
line to read between claiming a successful inquiry and the limitations of both the
empirical world and the world of scholarship to meet in a way that will contribute to both.
I would argue that the study has made a worthy contribution to our understanding of the
empirical reality of rural settlement development in ECD. It has shown the tensions and
how these contribute to change. For the world of scholarship the study has shown that
ECD research in this sector needs in-depth studies, and specifically PAR studies, to
counter some of the public discourse and the powerful role of NGO research for
evaluation and maintenance of projects. It seems clear that all aspects of early
education delivery; curriculum, teachers, school, community and setting are interrelated
and intricately connected, so that, whatever impacts on one of these aspect impacts on
the whole and moreover, impacts on children whose educational journey could be either
set on a stable course or derailed by interventions that are implemented carelessly and
without careful research involving all stakeholders at any particular site.
References 162
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Addendum A 183
ADDENDUM A: LETTER OF PERMISSION FROM ETHICS COMMITTEE TO CONDUCT RESEARCH
Addendum B 184
ADDENDUM B: REQUEST TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
Addendum B 185
Addendum B 186
Addendum C 187
ADDENDUM C: CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
Addendum C 188
Addendum C 189
Addendum D 190
ADDENDUM D: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE - TEACHERS
INTERVIEW Guide: ECD Practitioners at Mogwase
Interviews to be conducted in Setswana.
Make sure the voice recorder is switched on.
Explain the reason for the interview.
Name_____________________________________________________
Date______________________________________________________
1. Describe the crèche at Mogwase
2. Describe a typical day working as a Crèche Teacher at Mogwase. (From the morning when you get there)
3. How long have you been working at the crèche at Mogwase?
4. What is good about being a crèche teacher? (Guide interviewee to talk about at least 2 – 3 things, after one thing say “and what else is good about it)”
5. What is difficult about being a crèche teacher at Mogwase? (Guide the interviewee by asking things like “What would you like to change, and What makes you angry and What upsets you)
6. What do the people of Mogwase think/feel about the crèche at Mogwase? (Ask “and others”?
7. Do you think that the way people think and feel about the crèche has changed from when the crèche started until now
8. How has your work-life changed since you started working at the crèche? (Guide the interviewee to think of how the teachers share out different tasks such as cooking etc.).
9. Has your work at the crèche changed your personal life? If yes, How?
10. How do you think the people of Mogwase see you differently now that you have been a teacher all this time?
11. What changes have you seen at the crèche – (Guide the interviewee to think of things like):
a) How we used to keep the children busy and how we keep them busy now.
Addendum D 191
b) Is there any difference between how the kids spent their time then and now? c) What is the difference? d) Do you think the way the kids are being kept busy now is better than at first? e) Why do you say it is better? f) What do you think the children have learnt at the crèche? g) How has the inside of the crèche changed over the last 18 months? h) Do you do things differently from when you started at the crèche? i) What things are you doing differently at the crèche? j) Why are you doing these things differently? k) Paperwork – how has that changed? Guide interviewee to think of thinks like
staff and children’s attendance registers, menus, Themes and Lesson plans if any.
12. What Language(s) do you speak to the children? Let interviewee describe how language is used during song and dance, story time, theme work, free play, book-work etc.
a) Do you think it is important that pre-school children learn in their mother tongue (Setswana) or in another Language?
b) Why do you say that?
13. Do you think it is important for children to go to pre-school?
a) Why do you say that?
14. What do you think children learn at the Mogwase crèche that they do not learn at home with their mothers?
15. What things does a child need to know by the time he or she goes to gr 1?
16. Do you think the pre-school at Mogwase prepares a child for gr 1?
17. What are the things that children do at the Mogwase crèche that prepares them for gr 1 and school?
18. Do you think Crèche teachers need to have training or is it not necessary?
a) Why do you say that?
19. Tell one story about the Mogwase Crèche that you would like people to hear.
Addendum E 192
ADDENDUM E: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE A - PARENTS
INTERVIEW Guide A: ECD Parent with child in crèche from start
Interviews to be conducted in Setswana.
Make sure the voice recorder is switched on.
Explain the reason for the interview.
Name_____________________________________________________
Date______________________________________________________
1. Describe the crèche at Mogwase and the way you experienced it from beginning until now?
2. How long has your child been going to the crèche? 3. How old was your child when he/she started going to the crèche at Mogwase? 4. Why did you decide to put your child in the crèche at Mogwase?
5. The crèche has had some difficult times since when it started. Why have you kept your
child in the crèche? 6. What is good about having your child in the crèche at Mogwase? Guide the respondent to
name at least 3 things.
7. What difficult things have you had to deal with because of your child attending the crèche at Mogwase?
8. (a) Have some things changed at the crèche from when it started until now?
(b) What are some of the things that have changed?
9. How has your own life changed since your child started attending the crèche? 10. Why do you think the crèche is good for your child? 11. What things do you think your child has learnt at the crèche?
12. Do you think it is important for children to go to pre-school?
a) Why do you say that? 13. What do you think children learn at the Mogwase crèche that they do not learn at home
with their mothers? 14. What things do you think a child need to know by the time he or she goes to gr 1? 15. How do you think the pre-school at Mogwase prepares a child for gr 1?
16. Do you think Crèche teachers need to have training or is it not necessary?
a) Why do you say that?
17. Tell one story about your and your child’s experience at the Mogwase Crèche that you would like people to hear.
Addendum F 193
ADDENDUM F: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE B - PARENTS
INTERVIEW Guide B: Parent who took child out of crèche
Interviews to be conducted in Setswana.
Make sure the voice recorder is switched on.
Explain the reason for the interview.
Name_____________________________________________________
Date______________________________________________________
1. Describe the crèche at Mogwase and the way you experienced it from beginning until now
2. Did your child ever go to crèche at Mogwase? 3. How old was your child when he/she started going to the crèche at Mogwase? 4. Why did you decide to put your child in the crèche at Mogwase? 5. What made you decide to take your child out of crèche? 6. The crèche has had some difficult times since when it started. Can you tell me about
them please? 7. Do you think it is important for children to go to pre-school?
a) Why do you say that?
8. What do you think children learn at the Mogwase crèche that they do not learn at home with their mothers?
9. What things do you think a child need to know by the time he or she goes to gr 1? 10. How do you think the pre-school at Mogwase prepares a child for gr 1? 11. Do you think Crèche teachers need to have training or is it not necessary?
a) Why do you say that?
Addendum G 194
ADDENDUM G: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE COMMUNITY LEADER
INTERVIEW Guide: Community leader Mogwase
Interviews to be conducted in Setswana.
Explain the reason for the interview.
Name_____________________________________________________
Date______________________________________________________
1. Tell the story of the crèche at Mogwase from the beginning until now. 2. As the community leader What do you think and feel about the crèche at Mogwase. 3. Do you think that the way people think and feel about the crèche has changed from when
the crèche started until now? 4. How has this changed? 5. What has changed in Mogwase because of the crèche? 6. What difficult things have the crèche caused that you as leader had to deal with since the
crèche started? a) What do you think the children have learnt at the crèche?
7. Do you think it is important for children to go to pre-school? a) Why do you say that?
8. What do you think children learn at the Mogwase crèche that they do not learn at home with their mothers?
9. Do you think crèche teachers need to have training or is it not necessary? a) Why do you say that?
10. Tell one story about the Mogwase crèche that you would like people to hear.
Addendum H 195
ADDENDUM H: COMPLETED INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
Addendum H 196
Addendum H 197
Addendum H 198
Addendum H 199
Addendum H 200
Addendum H 201
Addendum H 202
Addendum I 203
ADDENDUM I: EXAMPLE OF MINUTES OF MEETING
19 May 2010
Crèche crisis meeting – parent teacher meeting relating to the crèche problems.
Attending: 20 parents, all the teachers, Rosina and committee, Sonja, volunteers.
Minutes taken by Kestrel Raik – volunteer
Anna Yende, committee member opens the meeting and explains that everyone is there to
discuss the issues at the crèche. Encourages everyone to talk openly. Asks everyone to help so
that a list of issues that need to be discussed can be made.
Issues that need to be discussed:
1. Beauty has two kids, her complaint is that the teachers just sit in the sun and
don’t attend to the children or their needs.
2. Children aren’t watched properly by the teachers
3. Teachers are accused of taking food home and eating it
4. Some parents and committee members feel that Sonja cannot control the
teachers and that perhaps an external manager for the crèche is needed.
5. Some people feel that perhaps the teachers are too young to look after children,
that maybe someone who doesn’t have children of their own should not look
after other people’s children. Tshepiso, a mother suggests that an older woman
should be at the crèche to help look after the children properly.
6. There have been many complaints that the teachers (Lena) have been saying
that the children are dirty. Then mothers do not want to send their children to
crèche because the teachers say the kids are dirty
7. Some of the children refuse to come to the crèche, like e.g. Thumiso (3) says he
is scared
8. Teachers want Sonja to ask someone for a donation of nappies for the crèche.
9. Sonja reminds the teachers that even a 2-year old is a ‘customer’ at the crèche
and that they should be treated that way. The teachers are providing a service to
the community.
10. Parents complain that teachers ‘erase’ the names of children from the list when
children don’t come to the crèche regularly.
11. Parents say the playground is not safe for children to play on unattended for
hours.
Addendum I 204
Discussion
Sonja reminds everybody that the real customers at the crèche are the children. “We have to
start looking after them better and start giving them a better service than what we have been
doing. Even if you do not pay the crèche for this service, you as parents should speak about your
worries and the things you are unhappy with if you feel your child is not getting the care he/she
needs. In the beginning, at one point we were looking after and feeding 55 children. I want to
hear from each and every parent what problems you have with the system at the crèche.
Beauty (parent): “ I bring my kids here to be looked after and instead I find out that the teachers
are not caring for them and are just sitting in the sun the whole day. I found Bonolo once crying
at the back of the hall. And again, the teachers have been taking the children’s crèche food
home and eating it there. Sonja, there has to be an eye on the place when you are not here, so
it means we need a manager. You can’t take three friends and make them teachers as they do
not participate”.
Nkele (parent): “I’ve got three children and the one morning the ran away from me to the
crèche before I could bathe them, not long after, they came back crying saying that the teachers
shouted at them and said that they were dirty so they shouldn’t attend the crèche!”
Monye (parent): My child didn’t want to go to the crèche so the one teacher told me she will
rub off his name off the list.
Sonja: “It looks like the children, our customers don’t want to come to the crèche because it is
not nice”.
Parent: “I wake up late, that is why I don’t bring my child to the crèche because when I bring her
late the teachers say it is too late and she cannot come anymore.”
Tshepiso (parent): I don’t bring my kid to the crèche because I would prefer to have an older
person looking after the children, someone who has a heart for kids.’
Sonja: “We are spending a lot of money on food and that is becoming a problem”
Maria (teacher/parent): All of the teachers have been taking the kids’ food, and again I have to
then take the kids and teach them because the crèche didn’t operate for three weeks. I’m then
also the one responsible to look after the small kids and change their nappies. These teachers
don’t look after or teach the kids, they just sit in the sun the whole day.
Parent: “My kids eat a lot and when they ask for more food the teachers shouldn’t take that as a
bad thing”.
Parent: “The crèche needs a higher fence around it. The molapo is very near and the children
can just get out and go down to the river and drown”. Also the committee must control the
teachers and the crèche better.
Parent: “Maybe Sonja can bring a manager for the crèche who can be there and control the
teachers when she is not here”
Addendum I 205
Anna (committee member): “We as the committee members have decided that after putting up
a fence we will then only open up the gates and class for the teachers at 8am. Also, we will
avoid getting too much food for the crèche as it gets lost.
Susan (teacher): If we can start working together and respect one another, that will be the
solution.
Daphney (teacher): “It doesn’t help if you parents hear what your kids are saying about any
teacher and just believe them and get angry without knowing the truth”.
Some actions to be taken
1. Sonja to ask about donations of nappies for the crèche
2. Parents first to make sure that what their children say about the crèche is true –
more open talking between parents and teachers.
3. Crèche food to be bought in smaller quantities more often to prevent wasting of
food.
4. The fence around the crèche to be improved to be higher.
5. A register to be signed by everyone coming to the crèche in the day
6. People to treat each other with respect
7. Children to be treated with respect. Children should not be shamed for whatever
reason.
8. Teachers to sort out who is willing to deal with soiled nappies
9. Dirty clothes to washed at the crèche (that is what the washing powder is for),
not sent home in a packet.
10. Children never to play on the playground without supervision
11. Sonja, the teachers and the committee to have a meeting to see if they can find
a better way to manage the crèche.
Addendum J 206
ADDENDUM J: EXAMPLE FROM TEACHER TRAINER’S DIARY
Addendum K 207
ADDENDUM K: PHOTOS OF ASPECTS OF THE CRÈCHE
1. Photograph of edutainer being delivered
2. Photograph of the inside of the crèche - November 2009
3. A shelf inside the crèche – November 2010. Shows the neat organization of stationary and other equipment
4. Posters made by the crèche teachers for the inside of the crèche – November 2010
5. A wall inside the crèche showing how children‟s drawings are displayed November 2010
1. The delivery of an edutainer
Addendum K 208
2. The inside of the crèche – November 2009, six months after the delivery of the edutainers. The teachers are being shown how to make play dough by a volunteer.
3. A shelf inside the crèche – November 2010. Shows the neat
organization of stationary and other equipment
Addendum K 209
4. Posters made by the crèche teachers for the inside of the crèche –
November 2010
5. A wall inside the crèche showing how children’s drawings are
displayed November 2010.
Addendum L 210
ADDENDUM L: DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONER’S FIELD NOTES
Addendum M 211
ADDENDUM M: RESEARCHER FIELD NOTES: OBSERVATIONS IN CRÈCHE
Addendum N 212
ADDENDUM N: EXAMPLE OF DAILY PROGRAMME PLAN – SCAN
Addendum O 213
ADDENDUM O: RECEIPTS REFLECTING INCREASE IN STIPENDS
NOV, 2010
Addendum P 214
ADDENDUM P: 42 INITIAL CODES
Addendum P 215
Addendum P 216