reproductions supplied by edrs are the best that …document resume ps 031 117 smale, jim, editor...

62
ED 474 502 AUTHOR TITLE INSTITUTION ISSN PUB DATE NOTE AVAILABLE FROM PUB TYPE JOURNAL CIT EDRS PRICE DESCRIPTORS IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands). ISSN-1387-9553 2002-12-00 61p.; For 2001 edition, see ED 458 971. Only one issue published in 2002. Bernard van Leer Foundation, P.O. Box 82334, 2508 EH, The Hague, The Netherlands. Tel: 31-(0)-70-351-2040; Fax: 31 -(0)- 70- 350 -2373; e-mail: registry @bvleerf.nl; Web site: http:// www.bernardvanleer.org. Collected Works Serials (022) Early Childhood Matters; n100 Dec 2002 EDRS Price MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. Developed Nations; Developing Nations; *Early-Childhood Education; *Followup Studies; Foreign Countries; *Outcomes of Education; Parents; *Program Effectiveness; Program Evaluation; *Young Children Botswana; Caribbean; Honduras; Ireland; Israel; Kenya; Spain; United States This document consists of the single 2002 issue of The Bernard van Leer Foundation's "Early Childhood Matters," a periodical addressed to practitioners in the field of early childhood education and including information on projects funded by the Foundation. Articles in this issue focus on early childhood development tracer studies of former participants in early childhood programs, addressing theory and practice, reflection and planning, methodology, findings, and policy and programming. The articles include: (1) "Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies" (Jim Smale); (2) "Tracer Studies: An Opportunity and a Challenge" (David P. Weikart); (3) "The Story Behind the Story: Tracing San Children in Botswana" (Willemien le Roux and Gaolatlhe Eirene Thupe); (4) "Tracer Studies and the Caribbean Support Initiative" (Susan Branker); (5) "Family Support Programmes" (Ann S. Epstein, Jeanne Montie, and David P. Weikart); (6) "Gender Differences in Personality Development" (Anne Njenga and Margaret Kabiru); and (7) "The Implications of Tracer Studies for Programme Development" (Henriette Heimgaertner). The issue includes information on Foundation publications and announcements related to Foundation activities. (HTH) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

Upload: others

Post on 04-Jul-2020

2 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

ED 474 502

AUTHOR

TITLEINSTITUTIONISSN

PUB DATENOTE

AVAILABLE FROM

PUB TYPEJOURNAL CITEDRS PRICEDESCRIPTORS

IDENTIFIERS

ABSTRACT

DOCUMENT RESUME

PS 031 117

Smale, Jim, Editor

Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies.

Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands).ISSN-1387-9553

2002-12-0061p.; For 2001 edition, see ED 458 971. Only one issuepublished in 2002.

Bernard van Leer Foundation, P.O. Box 82334, 2508 EH, TheHague, The Netherlands. Tel: 31-(0)-70-351-2040; Fax: 31 -(0)-70- 350 -2373; e-mail: registry @bvleerf.nl; Web site: http://www.bernardvanleer.org.Collected Works Serials (022)Early Childhood Matters; n100 Dec 2002EDRS Price MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.

Developed Nations; Developing Nations; *Early-ChildhoodEducation; *Followup Studies; Foreign Countries; *Outcomes ofEducation; Parents; *Program Effectiveness; ProgramEvaluation; *Young Children

Botswana; Caribbean; Honduras; Ireland; Israel; Kenya; Spain;United States

This document consists of the single 2002 issue of TheBernard van Leer Foundation's "Early Childhood Matters," a periodicaladdressed to practitioners in the field of early childhood education andincluding information on projects funded by the Foundation. Articles in thisissue focus on early childhood development tracer studies of formerparticipants in early childhood programs, addressing theory and practice,reflection and planning, methodology, findings, and policy and programming.The articles include: (1) "Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies" (JimSmale); (2) "Tracer Studies: An Opportunity and a Challenge" (David P.Weikart); (3) "The Story Behind the Story: Tracing San Children inBotswana" (Willemien le Roux and Gaolatlhe Eirene Thupe); (4) "Tracer Studiesand the Caribbean Support Initiative" (Susan Branker); (5) "Family SupportProgrammes" (Ann S. Epstein, Jeanne Montie, and David P. Weikart); (6)

"Gender Differences in Personality Development" (Anne Njenga and MargaretKabiru); and (7) "The Implications of Tracer Studies for ProgrammeDevelopment" (Henriette Heimgaertner). The issue includes information onFoundation publications and announcements related to Foundation activities.(HTH)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

Page 2: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

U.S

. DE

PA

RT

ME

NT

OF

ED

UC

AT

ION

Offi

ce o

f Edu

catio

nal R

esea

rch

and

Impr

ovem

ent

ED

UC

AT

ION

AL

RE

SO

UR

CE

S IN

FO

RM

AT

ION

CE

NT

ER

(E

RIC

)'T

his

docu

men

t has

bee

n re

prod

uced

as

rece

ived

from

the

pers

on o

r or

gani

zatio

nor

igin

atin

g it.

Min

or c

hang

es h

ave

been

mad

e to

impr

ove

repr

oduc

tion

qual

ity.

Poi

nts

of v

iew

or

opin

ions

sta

ted

in th

isdo

cum

ent d

o no

t nec

essa

rily

repr

esen

tof

ficia

l OE

RI p

ositi

on o

r po

licy.

PE

RM

ISS

ION

TO

RE

PR

OD

UC

E A

ND

DIS

SE

MIN

AT

E T

HIS

MA

TE

RIA

L H

AS

BE

EN

GR

AN

TE

D B

Y

Cet

te_1

1

TO

TH

E E

DU

CA

TIO

NA

L R

ES

OU

RC

ES

INF

OR

MA

TIO

N C

EN

TE

R (

ER

IC)

1

the

bulle

tin o

f the

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n

*_ft

-;-1

. f) /1

9111

41-

1f

h-7rr

iT0

.

yeti

r-D

-tFf

IrPr

;1"?

i it

1.1

II2

.)JJ

.'1U

U

i.

Page 3: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

is p

ublis

hed

thre

e tim

es a

yea

r, b

y th

e

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n

PO

Box

823

34, 2

508

EH

The

Hag

ue, T

he N

ethe

rland

s

Tel

: +31

(0)

70 3

31 2

200

Fax

: +31

(0)

70 3

50 2

373

emai

l: re

gist

ry(b

vlee

rf.n

1

ww

w.b

erna

rdva

nlee

r.or

g

Ser

ies

Edi

tor:

Jim

Sm

ale

Jim

.Sm

ale

@bv

leer

f.nl

Des

ign

& P

rodu

ctio

n: H

omem

ade

Coo

kies

by

Wor

k fe

atur

ed in

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

is n

ot

nece

ssar

ily fu

nded

by

the

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n.

The

vie

ws

expr

esse

d ar

e th

ose

of th

e in

divi

dual

auth

ors

and

not n

eces

saril

y th

ose

of th

e F

ound

atio

n.

Mat

eria

l fro

m E

arly

Chi

ldho

od M

atte

rs m

ay b

e re

prod

uced

or

tran

slat

ed w

ithou

t per

mis

sion

, pro

vide

d th

at it

is n

ot

dist

ribut

ed fo

r pr

ofit.

It m

ust b

e at

trib

uted

to th

e or

igin

al

.aut

hor(

s), E

arly

Chi

ldho

od M

atte

rs a

nd th

e B

erna

rd v

an L

eer

Fou

ndat

ion.

If yo

u ar

e in

tere

sted

in c

ontr

ibut

ing

to E

arly

Chi

ldho

od

Mat

ters

, ple

ase

cont

act t

he E

dito

r fo

r a

prel

imin

ary

disc

ussi

on a

nd to

obt

ain

a co

py o

f our

'Gui

de fo

r A

utho

rs'.

Con

trib

utio

ns m

ust b

e re

late

d to

ear

ly c

hild

hood

deve

lopm

ent a

nd s

houl

d dr

aw o

n di

rect

pra

ctic

al e

xper

ienc

e

with

you

ng c

hild

ren,

thei

r fa

mili

es a

nd c

omm

uniti

es.

Ple

ase

note

that

the

Fou

ndat

ion

does

not

pay

for

cont

ribut

ions

bec

ause

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

is g

ener

ally

dist

ribut

ed fr

ee o

f cha

rge.

Ple

ase

also

not

e th

at w

e al

low

free

copy

ing

for

non-

com

mer

cial

pur

pose

s.

ISS

N 1

387-

9553

Cov

er: K

enya

Sta

ndar

d 1

girls

in E

mbu

dis

tric

t cen

tre

for

EC

E

phot

o: M

wan

a M

wen

de p

roje

ct

Insi

de fr

ont c

over

: Trin

idad

& T

obag

o G

irl s

harin

g a

secr

et

phot

o: S

ervo

)

Bac

k co

ver:

Pos

ter

Com

petit

ion

2002

phot

o: M

Mut

hu

As

wel

l as

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

the

Fou

ndat

ion

prod

uces

a w

ide

rang

e of

pub

licat

ions

abo

ut e

arly

chi

ldho

od

deve

lopm

ent.

All

are

avai

labl

e -

free

of c

harg

e fo

r si

ngle

copi

es -

to o

rgan

isat

ions

or

indi

vidu

als

inte

rest

ed in

this

field

. A p

ublic

atio

ns li

st is

als

o av

aila

ble:

ple

ase

cont

act t

he

Fou

ndat

ion

at th

e ad

dres

ses

abov

e an

d on

the

back

cov

er.

Con

tent

sIn

trod

uctio

n:F

ollo

win

g F

oots

teps

: EC

D tr

acer

stu

Fol

low

ing

Foo

tste

ps: w

hy, h

ow a

ln

The

stu

dies

so

far

The

ory

and

prac

tice:

Tra

cer

stud

ies:

an

oppo

rtun

ity a

nd a

cha

lleng

e

Insi

de o

r ou

tsid

e re

sear

cher

s?

Jim

Sim

ile

e to

Rut

h N

Coh

en

To

com

pare

or

n

The

sto

ry b

ehin

Will

eini

en le

Ro

Ref

lect

ion

and

plT

race

r st

udie

s an

d

The

cha

lleng

e of

as

Dav

id P

Wei

kart

is c

om a

re?

Kat

hy S

ylva

for

sing

San

chi

ldre

n in

Bot

swan

a

le E

iren

e T

hupe

ri. c

an S

uppo

rt In

itiat

ive

Susa

n B

rank

er

men

tP3

elia

Arm

esto

Rod

rigu

ez

Sha

ring

expe

rienc

es M

na I

sabe

l Mej

ia

Why

we

did

a tr

acer

stu

4

How

thes

e tr

acer

stu

dies

The

indi

vidu

ality

-com

mun

ity a

xis

.71,

14a

Shaf

ran

Chi

ldre

n's

carn

ival

s as

a tr

acer

met

ibb

S

Find

ings

:F

amily

sup

port

pro

gram

mes

Ann

S E

pste

in, J

ean

antic

& D

avid

P W

eika

rt

Nur

turin

g ch

ildre

nJe

an D

Gri

ffith

Wha

t hap

pene

d to

the

child

ren?

Rol

i Deg

azon

-Joh

nson

Gen

der

diffe

renc

es in

per

sona

lity

deve

lopm

ent

Ann

e N

jeng

a &

Mar

gare

t Kab

iru

Com

mun

ity M

othe

rsB

rend

a M

ollo

y

Polic

y an

d pr

ogra

mm

ing:

Can

Fol

low

ing

Foo

tste

ps a

ffect

pol

icy?

Rut

h N

Coh

en

The

impl

icat

ions

of t

race

r st

udie

s fo

r pr

ogra

mm

e de

velo

pmen

tH

enri

ette

Hei

mga

ertn

er

Follo

win

g Fo

otst

eps

publ

icat

ions

Page 4: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Follo

win

g Fo

otst

eps:

EC

D tr

acer

stud

ies

Wha

t hap

pens

to p

eopl

e af

ter

they

hav

ebe

en in

an

earl

y ch

ildho

od p

rogr

amm

e?Is

a c

hild

dif

fere

nt a

t the

age

of

10be

caus

e sh

e w

as in

a p

rogr

amm

e w

hen

she

was

fou

r an

d fi

ve y

ears

old

? D

oes

a12

yea

r ol

d be

nefi

t bec

ause

his

mot

her

was

in a

par

entin

g pr

ogra

mm

e w

hen

she

was

an

adol

esce

nt?

Do

peop

le r

eally

chan

ge b

ecau

se th

ey p

artic

ipat

ed a

spa

rent

s, o

r w

ere

trai

ned

to w

ork

asca

regi

vers

, in

an E

CD

pro

gram

me?

.;>,,

To

help

ans

wer

thes

e ki

nds

of q

uest

ions

,th

e B

erna

rd v

an L

eer

Foun

datio

nla

unch

ed a

prp

gram

me

of tr

acer

stu

dies

in 1

998

to f

ollo

w th

e fo

otst

eps

of f

orm

erpa

rtic

ipan

ts in

ear

ly c

hild

hood

prog

ram

mes

, fiv

e or

mor

e ye

ars

on, a

ndfi

nd o

ut w

hat h

ad h

appe

ned

to th

em.

Thi

s ed

ition

of

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

is a

bout

thes

e tr

acer

stu

dies

, and

rev

iew

sth

eir

natu

re, w

hat t

hey

can

do, a

nd h

owth

eir

appr

oach

es, m

etho

dolo

gies

and

find

ings

fit

with

mor

e fo

rmal

inve

stig

atio

ns. I

t has

bee

n pu

t tog

ethe

rby

Rut

h N

Coh

en, S

enio

r Pr

ogra

mm

eSp

ecia

list a

t the

Fou

ndat

ion,

who

is th

eco

ordi

nato

r of

the

stud

ies.

The

trac

er s

tudi

es p

rese

nted

in th

ised

ition

incl

ude

thos

e of

pas

tpa

rtic

ipan

ts in

a r

ange

of

proj

ects

,m

any

of th

em s

uppo

rted

by

the

Foun

datio

na

com

plet

e lis

t of

thos

eco

mpl

eted

so

far

can

be f

ound

on

page

14.

Alth

ough

eac

h is

dis

tinct

fro

mth

e ot

hers

, mos

t sha

re a

num

ber

ofco

mm

on c

hara

cter

istic

s:th

ey f

ollo

w u

p th

e pr

ogre

ss o

f th

ech

ildre

n, th

eir

fam

ilies

, pro

gram

me

staf

f, th

e co

mm

uniti

es o

r th

eor

gani

satio

ns, f

ive

or m

ore

year

saf

ter

they

par

ticip

ated

, to

find

out

how

they

are

far

ing;

they

are

gen

eral

ly s

mal

l in

scal

e(t

ens

rath

er th

an h

undr

eds

ofre

spon

dent

s) a

nd s

hort

in d

urat

ion

(mon

ths

rath

er th

an y

ears

);th

ey a

re q

ualit

ativ

e ra

ther

than

quan

titat

ive

in n

atur

e;ea

ch is

des

igne

d lo

cally

and

ove

rall

cont

rol i

s in

the

hand

s of

the

prog

ram

mes

, eve

n w

hen

the

stud

y is

unde

rtak

en b

y in

depe

nden

t out

side

rese

arch

ers;

the

emph

asis

on

qual

itativ

e m

etho

dsan

d th

e us

e of

quo

tatio

ns m

eans

that

rep

orts

hel

p re

ader

s to

get

to

the

'sto

ry b

ehin

d th

e st

ory'

;th

e m

etho

ds u

sed

are

unde

rsta

ndab

le f

or v

irtu

ally

all

thos

ein

volv

ed in

the

stud

y; a

ndth

e st

udie

s ar

e m

anag

eabl

e in

a w

ide

vari

ety

of c

ircu

mst

ance

s.

Tra

cer

stud

ies

wer

e no

t inv

ente

d by

the

Foun

datio

n. I

nste

ad a

s R

uth

N C

ohen

show

s (p

age

8) w

e m

ade

conn

ectio

nsbe

twee

n th

e id

eas

and

met

hods

of

aha

ndfu

l of

stud

ies

that

wer

e kn

own

abou

t in

1998

, and

des

igne

d th

e st

udie

sar

ound

a s

et o

f fa

irly

ope

n pa

ram

eter

sth

at w

ere

used

to e

ncou

rage

ear

lych

ildho

od p

rogr

amm

es to

und

erta

kesi

mila

r st

udie

s. W

e sa

w th

is a

s a

pilo

tex

erci

se in

whi

ch m

etho

dolo

gies

cou

ldbe

exp

lore

d an

d de

velo

ped

and,

whi

lew

e w

ere

hope

ful,

we

real

ly h

ad li

ttle

idea

of

the

outc

omes

.

Why

trac

er s

tudi

es?

As

Rut

h N

Coh

en p

oint

s ou

t (pa

ge 9

)ac

adem

ic r

esea

rch

is v

alua

ble

but i

t is

also

exp

ensi

ve a

nd, b

y its

ver

y na

ture

,of

ten

long

term

and

infl

exib

le. W

e w

ere

look

ing

for

anot

her

form

of

rese

arch

,

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 3

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

one

that

wou

ld b

e m

ore

imm

edia

te,

achi

evab

le b

y sm

alle

r pr

ogra

mm

es th

atdi

d no

t hav

e ac

cess

to v

ast r

esou

rces

,an

d ad

apta

ble

to lo

cal n

eeds

and

capa

citie

s. T

he p

oint

was

to g

ain

usef

ulin

sigh

ts a

bout

act

ual i

mpa

ctor

the

lack

of

iton

chi

ldre

n, p

eopl

e, f

amili

esan

d co

mm

uniti

es, a

nd h

ow th

is lo

oked

whe

n co

nsid

ered

in r

elat

ion

to th

eas

pira

tions

of

the

proj

ect.

We

reco

gnis

ed e

arly

on

that

thes

ein

sigh

ts w

ould

oft

en b

e pe

rson

al a

ndsu

bjec

tive

rath

er th

an o

bjec

tive;

wou

ldbe

har

d to

sub

stan

tiate

by,

for

exa

mpl

e,st

atis

tical

mea

sure

s; a

nd w

ould

nee

dsy

mpa

thet

ic s

iftin

g an

d co

nsid

erat

ion.

In a

dditi

on, w

e so

on s

aw th

at s

ome

ofth

e em

ergi

ng d

ata

coul

d be

link

ed to

som

ethi

ng th

at is

oft

en u

nder

rate

d:in

tuiti

on a

bout

wha

t is

happ

enin

g. T

hat

does

n't m

ean

that

the

data

nec

essa

rily

conf

irm

ed in

tuiti

ons

or f

eelin

gs, r

athe

rth

at th

ey h

elpe

d us

to s

ee h

ow a

ccur

ate

thes

e w

ere.

In s

ome

way

s, th

e m

ost e

xciti

ngou

tcom

es f

rom

the

stud

ies

wer

e th

atth

ey g

ave

us in

sigh

ts in

to a

spec

ts o

f

Page 5: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

-,e

,

*

Hon

dura

s: E

arly

Stim

ulat

ion

Pro

gram

me

(Chr

istia

n C

hild

ren'

s F

und)

Enr

ique

, pla

ying

with

sof

tdrin

k ca

ns.

Pho

to: E

lain

e M

enot

ti, H

AR

T F

ello

w fr

om th

e C

entr

e fo

r D

ocum

enta

ry S

tudi

es, U

SA

prog

ram

mes

that

we

did

not e

ven

know

wer

e th

ere;

and

that

they

sho

wed

in v

ery

real

way

s th

e ki

nds

of c

hang

es th

at e

arly

child

hood

pro

gram

mes

can

mak

e to

peop

le th

emse

lves

.

Gen

eral

ly, a

s D

avid

P W

eika

rt p

uts

it:`T

he tr

acer

stu

dies

ask

dif

ficu

ltqu

estio

ns r

egar

ding

eff

ectiv

enes

s of

serv

ices

that

the

broa

der

fiel

d of

rese

arch

and

eva

luat

ion

ofte

n ov

erlo

oks'

(pag

e 16

). T

hey

repr

esen

t a p

ract

ical

rese

arch

tool

that

can

allo

w p

rogr

amm

esin

the

fiel

d to

look

dee

per

into

thei

r ow

nw

ork.

Thi

s is

esp

ecia

lly s

o be

caus

e th

eyar

e lo

cally

det

erm

ined

and

con

trol

led.

Idea

lly, t

hey

can

be s

uch

a na

tura

l par

tof

a p

rogr

amm

e's

oper

atio

ns th

at th

eir

proc

esse

s an

d fi

ndin

gs f

eed

back

toen

hanc

e qu

ality

, eff

ectiv

enes

s an

d ef

fect

sfo

r al

l con

cern

ed.

How

trac

er s

tudi

es fi

t with

mor

e fo

rmal

inve

stig

atio

ns

Tra

cer

stud

ies

shou

ld n

ot b

e se

en a

sal

tern

ativ

es to

mor

e fo

rmal

inve

stig

atio

ns: t

hey

shou

ld b

e se

en a

sco

mpl

emen

ting

them

by

addi

ng f

indi

ngs

abou

t asp

ects

of

prog

ram

me

effe

ctiv

enes

s th

at f

ixed

-foc

us,

quan

titat

ive

stud

ies

are

unlik

ely

tore

veal

. For

exa

mpl

e, q

uant

itativ

ere

sear

ch c

an r

evea

l the

num

ber

of th

ose

who

se b

ehav

iour

s w

ere

seem

ingl

ych

ange

d in

spe

cifi

ed w

ays

by th

eir

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 4

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

asso

ciat

ion

with

ear

ly c

hild

hood

deve

lopm

ent p

rogr

amm

es.

But

it is

less

suc

cess

ful i

n re

veal

ing

the

stor

y of

how

peo

ple

have

cha

nged

, the

impa

ct th

at th

is h

ad o

n th

eir

lives

, and

the

way

s in

whi

ch th

is h

as f

ed th

roug

hin

to th

eir

fam

ilies

, com

mun

ities

or

soci

etie

s. B

oth

sets

of

find

ings

are

nece

ssar

y an

d ha

ve to

be

cons

ider

edto

geth

er.

A s

imila

r ar

gum

ent c

an b

e m

ade

abou

tre

sear

ch th

at s

ets

out t

o te

st o

r va

lidat

ehy

poth

eses

or

theo

ry. M

ost o

f th

ose

rela

ted

to e

arly

chi

ldho

od d

evel

opm

ent

com

e fr

om r

ich

'Wes

tern

' cou

ntri

es a

nd,

in s

ome

setti

ngs,

asp

ects

of

them

may

sit

unea

sily

with

suc

h fa

ctor

s as

loca

lcu

ltura

l und

erst

andi

ngs,

pra

ctic

aliti

esan

d en

viro

nmen

tal r

ealit

ies.

Res

earc

hth

at s

ets

out t

o de

mon

stra

te th

ead

equa

cy o

f su

ch h

ypot

hese

s an

dth

eori

es m

ay b

e se

t up

to ta

ke a

ccou

ntof

thes

e bu

t muc

h of

it is

con

ceiv

edfr

om a

dis

tanc

e w

ith o

nly

seco

ndar

ylo

cal i

nvol

vem

ent.

Of

cour

se s

uch

rese

arch

is v

alua

ble

but a

gain

, its

usef

ulne

ss m

ay r

eadi

ly b

e co

mpl

emen

ted

with

the

outc

omes

of

trac

er s

tudi

esbe

caus

e th

ese

com

e fr

om a

n ap

proa

chth

at is

alm

ost a

t the

opp

osite

end

of

the

rese

arch

spe

ctru

m. T

race

r st

udie

s ar

eun

hind

ered

by

havi

ng to

rel

ate

to a

nyfo

rmal

theo

ry; o

rigi

nate

fro

m w

ithin

proj

ects

; and

set

out

to le

arn

from

wha

t

Page 6: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

is th

ere

espe

cial

ly f

rom

the

kind

s of

pers

onal

out

com

es th

at p

artic

ipan

tsre

veal

. In

addi

tion,

the

mas

s of

info

rmat

ion

that

res

ults

is o

ften

of

imm

edia

te u

se: k

now

ing

abou

t act

ual

impa

ct o

n pe

ople

can

be

dire

ctly

rel

ated

to th

e co

ncep

tual

isat

ion

and

oper

atio

nof

a p

rogr

amm

e, c

hang

ing

or r

efin

ing

how

eff

ectiv

enes

s is

per

ceiv

ed,

mod

ifyi

ng o

r ad

ding

to th

epr

ogra

mm

e's

obje

ctiv

es, a

nd p

erha

psfi

ne-t

unin

g pr

ogra

mm

e co

nten

t or

chan

ging

the

way

s in

whi

ch it

isst

ruct

ured

and

run

.

The

art

icle

s in

this

edi

tion

Mos

t of

the

artic

les

in th

is e

ditio

n ar

ear

rang

ed in

fou

r gr

oups

and

toge

ther

offe

r re

ader

s a

tour

of

diff

eren

t asp

ects

of th

e tr

acer

stu

dies

. We

star

t with

an

artic

le th

at s

erve

s as

an

intr

oduc

tion

toth

ese

trac

er s

tudi

es (

page

8).

Wri

tten

byR

uth

N C

ohen

, it o

utlin

es th

eFo

unda

tion'

s re

ason

s fo

r en

ablin

g th

est

udie

s, th

en f

ocus

es o

n ho

w th

e tr

acer

stud

ies

wer

e se

t up

and

impl

emen

ted,

and

on h

ow th

e re

sulti

ng d

ata

wer

ean

alys

ed. I

t con

clud

es w

ith a

rev

iew

of

som

e of

the

find

ings

; and

isco

mpl

emen

ted

by a

n ov

ervi

ew o

f th

est

udie

s so

far

(pa

ges

14 a

nd 1

5).

The

ory

and

prac

tice

A g

roup

abo

ut th

eory

and

pra

ctic

e st

arts

with

a c

ontr

ibut

ion

from

Dav

id

C)

P W

eika

rt (

page

16)

that

see

s tr

acer

stud

ies

as b

oth

an o

ppor

tuni

ty a

nd a

chal

leng

e fo

r th

e br

oade

r fi

eld

ofed

ucat

iona

l res

earc

h. F

or h

im, t

hest

udie

s pr

ovid

e an

opp

ortu

nity

not

just

beca

use

of th

eir

wid

e ge

ogra

phic

and

cultu

ral s

ettin

gs o

r be

caus

e ea

ch o

f th

epa

rtic

ipat

ing

proj

ects

is f

unda

men

tally

dem

ocra

tic, b

ut b

ecau

se th

ey lo

ok a

tpr

ojec

t par

ticip

ant o

utco

mes

ove

r tim

e.In

see

ing

the

stud

ies

as a

cha

lleng

e, h

em

eans

that

they

are

cha

lleng

ed b

y th

em

ains

trea

m f

ield

of

rese

arch

and

eval

uatio

n; th

at m

any

of th

e tr

acer

stud

ies

focu

s on

pro

gram

me

idea

sun

derg

oing

dev

elop

men

t; an

d th

atin

terv

iew

s w

ith p

artic

ipan

ts a

ndju

dgm

ents

are

hig

hly

susp

ect a

sou

tcom

e in

form

atio

n. N

one-

the-

less

, he

conc

lude

s th

at th

e tr

acer

stu

dies

gene

rate

man

y le

sson

s, a

nd th

at th

ebr

oade

r fi

eld

of e

duca

tiona

l res

earc

han

d ev

alua

tion

can

lear

n ex

tens

ivel

yfr

om th

em.

How

do

you

cond

uct t

he r

ight

kin

d of

inve

stig

atio

n in

to s

omet

hing

as

com

plex

as p

rogr

amm

e im

pact

on

peop

le in

the

med

ium

to lo

ng te

rm?

In th

e Fo

llow

ing

Foot

step

s tr

acer

stu

dies

wor

ksho

p in

Jam

aica

in 2

002,

par

ticip

ants

con

side

red

this

in s

ome

deta

il. O

ne q

uest

ion

they

expl

ored

toge

ther

was

whe

ther

rese

arch

ers

shou

ld c

ome

from

insi

de o

rou

tsid

e th

e pr

ojec

ts. T

he c

hart

on

page

19 s

ets

out t

heir

del

iber

atio

ns. T

heir

Hon

dura

s: E

arly

Stim

ulat

ion

Pro

gram

me

(Chr

istia

n C

hild

ren'

s F

und)

Ped

ro A

guila

r an

d M

adre

s G

uias

in s

essi

on.

Pho

to: E

lain

e M

enot

ti, H

AR

T F

ello

w fr

om th

e C

entr

e fo

r D

ocum

enta

ry S

tudi

es, U

SA

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 5

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Page 7: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Ken

ya: M

wan

a M

wen

de p

roje

ct

Pre

scho

ol c

hild

ren

clea

ring

up a

fter

play

.

idea

s ar

e co

mpl

emen

ted

by th

ose

ofPr

ofes

sor

Kat

hy S

ylva

(pa

ge 2

0). S

here

view

s th

e im

port

ance

of

com

pari

son

grou

ps a

nd th

e si

gnif

ican

ce o

f sa

mpl

esi

zes.

She

als

o po

ints

out

how

qual

itativ

e an

d qu

antit

ativ

e st

udie

s ca

nno

t jus

t coe

xist

, but

com

bine

to o

ffer

mor

e m

eani

ngfu

l fin

ding

s an

din

terp

reta

tions

.

To

com

plet

e th

e gr

oup

on th

eory

and

prac

tice,

the

artic

le b

y W

illem

ien

leR

oux

and

Gao

latlh

e E

iren

e T

hupe

(pag

e 22

) re

flec

ts o

n th

e is

sues

that

aros

e fo

r th

em a

s th

ey s

et u

p an

d

oper

ated

a tr

acer

stu

dy o

n pa

rtic

ipan

tsin

a p

resc

hool

pro

gram

me

for

San

child

ren

in w

este

rn B

otsw

ana.

It c

an b

ese

en a

s an

exa

mpl

e of

how

theo

ry a

ndpr

actic

e re

ally

look

whe

n yo

u ar

eac

tual

ly e

ngag

ed in

a s

tudy

. It a

lso

show

son

e ou

tcom

e: a

sna

psho

t of

the

situ

atio

n th

at tr

usts

the

read

er to

see

beyo

nd th

e lim

itatio

ns o

f w

hat a

nor

mal

`sci

entif

ic' s

tudy

wou

ld h

ave

been

. It

conc

lude

s th

at 'w

e fo

und

conf

irm

atio

nof

thin

gs w

e ha

d to

impr

ove

and

we

foun

d w

hat w

e al

so k

new

intu

itive

lyth

roug

h ex

peri

ence

.'

Ref

lect

ion

and

plan

ning

The

sec

ond

grou

p of

art

icle

s co

vers

refl

ectio

n an

d pl

anni

ng. T

he f

irst

feat

ure

by S

usan

Bra

nker

(pa

ge 2

6)co

nsis

ts o

f an

arg

umen

t for

fitt

ing

trac

erst

udie

s in

to a

sys

tem

of

mon

itori

ng a

ndev

alua

tion

that

is b

uilt

into

the

Car

ibbe

an S

uppo

rt I

nitia

tive.

Thi

s is

aFo

unda

tion-

supp

orte

d, f

ive-

year

regi

onal

pro

gram

me

on p

aren

ting

initi

ativ

es. T

he s

econ

d fe

atur

eby

Cel

iaA

rmes

to R

odri

guez

disc

usse

s th

eim

port

ance

of

anal

ysis

and

ref

lect

ion

asor

gani

c el

emen

ts o

f th

e Pr

eesc

olar

na

Cas

a pr

ojec

t (pa

ge 2

9). T

he p

roje

ct,

whi

ch o

pera

tes

a pa

rent

edu

catio

npr

ogra

mm

e in

rur

al a

reas

of

Gal

icia

,N

orth

Wes

tern

Spa

in, o

nce

reje

cted

trac

er s

tudi

es a

s ir

rele

vant

but

is n

owre

-eva

luat

ing

them

as

valu

able

tool

s th

atca

n he

lp to

fur

ther

enh

ance

pro

gram

me

effe

ctiv

enes

s.

In h

er tu

rn, M

yrna

Isa

bel M

ejia

desc

ribe

s ho

w th

e E

arly

Stim

ulat

ion

Prog

ram

me

for

child

ren

aged

zer

o to

six

year

s th

at is

run

by

the

Chr

istia

nC

hild

ren'

s Fu

nd (

Hon

dura

s), d

ecid

edth

at tr

acer

stu

dies

met

the

proj

ect's

nee

dfo

r a

qual

itativ

e st

udy

to a

sses

s th

eim

pact

of

the

prog

ram

me

on th

e qu

ality

of li

fe o

f th

e ch

ildre

n an

d th

eir

fam

ilies

(pag

e 32

). S

he g

oes

on to

sho

w h

ow th

est

udie

s ad

apte

d an

d ev

olve

d to

cop

ew

ith th

e re

aliti

es o

f th

e w

ork;

and

how

the

unfo

rese

en to

pics

that

aro

se th

roug

h

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 6

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

the

stud

y w

ere

inco

rpor

ated

into

its

find

ings

with

out d

isto

rtin

g its

ori

gina

lpu

rpos

e. T

he f

inal

fea

ture

in th

is g

roup

is a

noth

er p

rodu

ct o

f th

e Ja

mai

can

Wor

ksho

p m

entio

ned

earl

ier:

a c

hart

that

rec

ords

the

reas

ons

why

pro

ject

sun

dert

ook

trac

er s

tudi

es (

page

34)

.

How

thes

e tr

acer

stu

dies

wer

e co

nduc

ted

The

thir

d gr

oup

of a

rtic

les

look

ses

peci

ally

at h

ow tr

acer

stu

dies

wer

eca

rrie

d ou

t. M

iri L

evin

-Roz

alis

and

Naa

ma

Shaf

ran

disc

uss

a tr

acer

stu

dyth

at in

volv

ed a

ver

y pa

rtic

ular

gro

up o

fpe

ople

: Eth

iopi

an J

ews

who

arr

ived

inIs

rael

in la

rge

num

bers

and

who

had

toad

apt t

o a

very

dif

fere

nt w

ay o

f lif

e(p

age

36).

The

stu

dy lo

oked

into

the

impa

ct o

f th

e Pa

rent

Coo

pera

tive

Kin

derg

arte

n op

erat

ed b

y A

lmay

a fo

rch

ildre

n ag

ed 1

8 m

onth

s to

4 y

ears

,fo

cusi

ng e

spec

ially

on

how

wel

l for

mer

part

icip

ants

in th

e ki

nder

gart

enpr

ogra

mm

e ac

quir

ed to

ols

nece

ssar

y to

bette

r in

tegr

ate

into

Isr

aeli

soci

ety.

Usi

ng a

chi

ldre

n's

carn

ival

as

a m

etho

din

a tr

acer

stu

dy s

ound

s un

likel

y, b

utS

Ana

ndal

aksh

my

show

s w

hy it

was

appr

opri

ate

and

how

wel

l it f

unct

ione

d(p

age

38).

Thi

s no

vel a

ppro

ach

brou

ght

toge

ther

hug

e nu

mbe

rs o

f re

spon

dent

sw

ho h

ad b

een

invo

lved

in th

e ch

ildca

rece

ntre

s an

d cr

eche

s of

the

Self

Em

ploy

ed W

omen

's A

ssoc

iatio

n si

tuat

edin

the

Stat

e of

Guj

arat

in I

ndia

. Jus

t as

Page 8: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

impo

rtan

t, it

suck

ed in

rel

evan

tG

over

nmen

t off

icia

ls s

o th

eir

help

cou

ldbe

enl

iste

d to

gai

n m

ore

spac

e fo

r th

ecr

eche

s.

Find

ings

The

fou

rth

grou

p of

art

icle

s su

rvey

sfi

ndin

gs o

f tr

acer

stu

dies

. The

fir

st, b

yA

nn S

Eps

tein

, Jea

nne

Mon

tie a

ndD

avid

P W

eika

rt (

page

40)

is a

bout

ast

udy

of e

lem

ents

of

a pa

rent

-to-

pare

ntpr

ogra

mm

e th

at n

o lo

nger

exi

sts,

incu

rren

t pro

gram

mes

off

ered

to f

amili

esw

ith y

oung

chi

ldre

n at

the

sam

e si

tes.

The

stu

dy s

peci

fica

lly s

ough

t sim

ilari

ties

to th

e ph

iloso

phic

al p

rinc

iple

s an

dim

plem

enta

tion

guid

elin

es o

f th

eor

igin

al m

odel

.

In th

e ne

xt a

rtic

le in

this

gro

up, J

ean

DG

riff

ith (

page

42)

dis

cuss

es th

e ef

fect

s of

the

Ado

lesc

ent D

evel

opm

ent

Prog

ram

me

in T

rini

dad

on a

sam

ple

of40

you

ng m

en a

nd w

omen

som

e 10

year

s af

ter

thei

r pa

rtic

ipat

ion,

and

com

pare

s th

ese

with

ano

ther

gro

up w

ithsi

mila

r ch

arac

teri

stic

s. D

r R

oli D

egaz

on-

John

son

(pag

e 44

) th

en d

iscu

sses

the

find

ings

of

a tr

acer

stu

dy o

f th

e T

eena

geM

othe

rs P

roje

ct in

rur

al J

amai

ca. T

hest

udy

was

a f

ollo

w-u

p to

an

earl

ier

piec

eof

res

earc

h th

at tr

aced

the

impa

ct o

f th

epr

ojec

t on

mot

hers

and

chi

ldre

n w

how

ere

part

icip

ants

bet

wee

n 19

86an

d 19

89.

00

Ann

e N

jeng

a &

Mar

gare

t Kab

iru

from

Ken

ya (

page

46)

foc

us o

n ge

nder

diff

eren

ces

in r

epor

ting

the

find

ings

of

a tr

acer

stu

dy th

at lo

oked

at t

he e

ffec

tsof

trai

ning

for

pre

scho

ol te

ache

rs o

n th

ech

ildre

n th

ey h

ave

care

d fo

r, in

the

Em

bu d

istr

ict o

f K

enya

. Fro

m I

rela

nd,

Bre

nda

Mol

loy

conc

lude

s th

is g

roup

of

artic

les

by r

epor

ting

on a

sev

en-y

ear

follo

w-u

p st

udy

of m

othe

rs a

ndch

ildre

n w

ho p

artic

ipat

ed in

the

Com

mun

ity M

othe

rs P

rogr

amm

e in

Irel

and

(pag

e 48

). T

his

is a

hom

evi

sitin

g su

ppor

t pro

gram

me

that

supp

orts

the

deve

lopm

ent o

f pa

rent

ing

skill

s of

fir

st ti

me

(and

som

e se

cond

time)

par

ents

of

child

ren

aged

0 to

24

mon

ths

who

live

in m

ainl

ydi

sadv

anta

ged

area

s.

Polic

y an

d pr

ogra

mm

ing

Can

trac

er s

tudi

es a

ffec

t pol

icy?

Thi

s is

aqu

estio

n th

at R

uth

N C

ohen

put

to f

our

peop

le a

ssoc

iate

d w

ith a

wid

e va

riet

y of

diff

eren

t stu

dies

, in

a ra

nge

of s

ettin

gs(s

ee p

age

50).

Whi

le a

ckno

wle

dgin

g th

atno

stu

dy c

an c

oncl

usiv

ely

show

a c

ausa

llin

k, th

ree

of th

em s

aw th

at th

e re

sults

of th

e st

udie

s ha

ve c

ontr

ibut

ed to

chan

ges

in th

inki

ng a

nd, v

ery

poss

ibly

,to

shi

fts

in th

e al

loca

tion

of r

esou

rces

.

In th

e fi

nal a

rtic

le in

this

edi

tion,

Hen

riet

te H

eim

gaer

tner

, Fou

ndat

ion

Prog

ram

me

Spec

ialis

t with

resp

onsi

bilit

y fo

r de

velo

ping

EC

D

prog

ram

mes

in a

num

ber

of c

ount

ries

in C

entr

al a

nd W

este

rn E

urop

e, s

how

sho

w th

e Fo

unda

tion

itsel

f ca

n le

arn

from

the

trac

er s

tudi

es (

page

54)

.Sh

e ex

amin

es f

ive

proj

ects

and

, as

anex

ampl

e of

wha

t can

be

glea

ned,

iden

tifie

s tw

o 'p

rogr

amm

atic

land

mar

ks'

(tim

ings

or

oppo

rtun

ities

) th

at th

etr

acer

stu

dies

sho

w to

be

espe

cial

lysi

gnif

ican

t if

proj

ects

are

to b

e ef

fect

ive.

The

se a

re: t

he m

ost o

ppor

tune

tim

e to

offe

r su

ppor

t for

par

ents

; and

the

time

of tr

ansi

tion

from

pre

scho

ol to

prim

ary

scho

ol.

Wha

t nex

t?E

ssen

tially

, thi

s ed

ition

of

Ear

lyC

hild

hood

Mat

ters

is a

'sam

pler

' tha

t we

hope

will

enc

oura

ge y

ou to

look

in m

ore

deta

il at

the

trac

er s

tudi

es th

at h

ave

been

com

plet

ed. A

ful

l lis

t of

publ

icat

ions

abou

t the

se c

an b

e fo

und

on p

age

58.

For

the

futu

re, w

e ar

e al

so c

onsi

deri

ngco

mpi

ling

all o

f th

em o

nto

a C

D r

om.

Mor

e in

form

atio

n on

this

will

app

ear

onou

r w

ebsi

tew

ww

.ber

nard

vanl

eer.

org

in d

ue c

ours

e. M

eanw

hile

the

stud

ies

them

selv

es c

an b

e do

wnl

oade

d fr

om th

ew

ebsi

te a

nd h

ard

copi

es a

re a

vaila

ble

from

the

Foun

datio

n at

the

addr

esse

ssh

own

on th

e in

side

and

bac

k co

vers

.T

hese

are

fre

e of

cha

rge

for

sing

le c

opie

s.

We

are

also

con

side

ring

a f

urth

er s

erie

sof

trac

er s

tudi

es to

bot

h en

hanc

e ou

rkn

owle

dge

abou

t wha

t wor

ks in

EC

D

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 7

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

prog

ram

mes

, and

to d

evel

op tr

acer

stud

ies

as a

pra

ctic

al e

valu

atio

n to

ol f

orus

e by

pro

ject

s. I

n te

rms

of a

ddin

g to

our

own

know

ledg

e, w

e ar

e al

soin

tere

sted

in h

eari

ng a

bout

any

expe

rien

ces

you

may

hav

e.

We

expe

ct to

pub

lish

Intr

oduc

ing

trac

erst

udie

s by

Rut

h N

Coh

en d

urin

g 20

03.

Thi

s w

ill f

ocus

on

the

appr

oach

es a

ndm

etho

dolo

gies

of

trac

er s

tudi

es; a

nd w

illbe

a p

ract

ical

gui

de f

or th

ose

inte

rest

edin

impl

emen

ting

sim

ilar

stud

ies

in th

eir

own

setti

ngs.

0

Jim

Sm

ale

Edi

tor

Our

apo

logi

es f

or th

e lo

ng d

elay

betw

een

this

edi

tion

of E

arly

Chi

ldho

od M

atte

rs a

nd th

e pr

evio

used

ition

. We

expe

ct to

res

ume

norm

al

publ

icat

ion

duri

ng 2

003.

Page 9: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

To

the

man

or

wom

an in

the

stre

et it

seem

s fa

irly

obv

ious

that

a s

mal

l chi

ldw

hose

hea

lth, n

utri

tion

and

mat

eria

lne

eds

have

bee

n at

tend

ed to

, who

has

been

stim

ulat

ed a

nd g

iven

lovi

ng c

are

and

atte

ntio

n, is

mor

e lik

ely

to d

obe

tter

in s

choo

l and

late

r lif

e th

an th

ech

ild w

ho h

as n

ot h

ad s

uch

bene

fits

.T

his

is th

e ba

sic

prem

ise

on w

hich

man

y ea

rly

child

hood

pro

gram

mes

are

base

d, b

ut v

ery

few

pro

gram

mes

hav

ete

sted

whe

ther

the

fact

s fi

t the

theo

ry.

And

whi

le in

tuiti

on is

oft

en v

ery

Follo

win

g Fo

otst

eps:

why

, how

and

whe

reto

Rut

h N

I C

ohen

The

aut

hor,

as

Seni

or P

rogr

amm

e Sp

ecia

list,

has

coor

dina

ted

a se

ries

of

trac

er s

tudi

esfo

r th

e B

erna

rd v

an L

eer

Foun

datio

n si

nce

1998

. The

se s

tudi

es h

ave

all s

et o

ut to

fol

low

the

foot

step

s of

for

mer

par

ticip

ants

in e

arly

chi

ldho

od d

evel

opm

ent (

EcD

) pr

ogra

mm

esto

fin

d ou

t wha

t has

hap

pene

d to

them

fiv

e or

mor

e ye

ars

afte

r pa

rtic

ipat

ion.

In

this

art

icle

,sh

e se

ts o

ut th

e Fo

unda

tion'

s re

ason

s fo

r la

unch

ing

the

seri

es. D

raw

ing

on e

xam

ples

fro

mth

e st

udie

s an

d on

dis

cuss

ions

dur

ing

the

five

-day

Fol

low

ing

Foot

step

s tr

acer

stu

dies

wor

ksho

p in

Apr

il 20

02 in

Kin

gsto

n, J

amai

ca, s

he th

en r

efle

cts

on h

ow th

ese

trac

er s

tudi

esw

ere

set u

p an

d im

plem

ente

d an

d on

how

the

resu

lting

dat

a w

ere

anal

ysed

. Fin

ally

, she

intr

oduc

es s

ome

of th

e fi

ndin

gs, s

how

ing

how

thes

e ca

n af

fect

bot

h pr

actic

e an

d po

licy.

unde

rrat

ed, t

he g

athe

ring

of

empi

rica

lda

ta c

an d

o m

uch

mor

e th

an h

elp

usdi

scov

er w

heth

er o

ur in

stin

cts

wer

eac

cura

te: i

t can

giv

e us

insi

ghts

into

aspe

cts

of o

ur p

rogr

amm

es th

at w

epo

ssib

ly d

id n

ot e

ven

know

wer

e th

ere.

Man

y qu

estio

ns a

rise

fro

m th

issu

ppos

ition

, par

ticul

arly

thos

e th

atco

ncer

n th

e ef

fect

s of

pro

gram

mes

on

indi

vidu

als

for

exam

ple:

in w

hat w

ays

are

child

ren

chan

ged

and

how

doe

s th

isim

pact

on

the

way

s in

whi

ch th

ey

expe

rien

ce a

nd m

anag

e th

eir

lives

? A

ndw

hat o

f th

e ad

ults

invo

lved

in th

epr

ogra

mm

esth

e pa

rent

s,pa

rapr

ofes

sion

als,

pai

d w

orke

rs,

com

mun

ity m

embe

rs?

Are

they

chan

ged

by th

eir

expe

rien

ces?

And

if s

o,ho

w a

nd w

ith w

hat k

inds

of

cons

eque

nces

? W

ere

the

chan

ges

plan

ned

for

and

antic

ipat

ed?

Or

acci

dent

al a

nd u

nfor

esee

n? W

ere

the

chan

ges

good

or

unde

sira

ble?

Wha

t did

the

prog

ram

me

do th

at s

eem

s to

hav

eca

used

cha

nge?

How

goo

d w

as it

at

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 8

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

brin

ging

abo

ut d

esir

able

cha

nge?

Wha

tca

n it

lear

n fr

om f

orm

er p

artic

ipan

tsth

at c

ould

enh

ance

its

effe

ctiv

enes

s in

the

futu

re?

Perh

aps

we

shou

ld a

lso

adm

it th

at o

nem

otiv

atio

n fo

r th

ese

stud

ies

was

prof

essi

onal

cur

iosi

tyw

here

did

all

the

child

ren

go?

Wha

t hap

pene

d to

them

som

e ye

ars

late

r? D

id th

e E

CD

prog

ram

me

mak

e an

y di

ffer

ence

toth

eir

lives

in th

e m

ediu

m te

rm?

To

find

out,

we

used

a s

trat

egy

in w

hich

eac

h

Page 10: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

part

icip

atin

g pr

ogra

mm

e se

t out

toge

nera

te a

mas

s of

qua

litat

ive,

oft

ensu

bjec

tive,

dat

a: th

e th

ough

ts a

ndre

flec

tions

of

the

peop

le c

once

rned

, as

they

res

pond

ed to

que

stio

ns. T

here

was

no w

ay o

f kn

owin

g be

fore

hand

wha

tan

y of

them

wou

ld r

epor

tes

peci

ally

sinc

e no

ne o

f th

e pr

ogra

mm

es th

atpa

rtic

ipat

ed h

ad o

rigi

nally

pla

nned

todo

a f

ollo

w-u

p st

udy.

To

cope

with

this

,th

ese

trac

er s

tudi

es a

sses

s an

d an

alys

eda

ta s

ympa

thet

ical

ly, h

oldi

ng o

n to

the

impo

rtan

ce o

f w

hat p

eopl

e sa

y ab

out

wha

t hap

pene

d to

them

and

how

itch

ange

d th

em, w

hile

tryi

ng to

synt

hesi

se m

eani

ngfu

l les

sons

that

can

feed

into

pra

ctic

e. T

his

may

see

mda

untin

g bu

t, as

the

artic

les

in th

ised

ition

of

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

show

, it i

s po

ssib

le, e

ven

whe

nou

tcom

es w

ere

nega

tive.

Bey

ond

eval

uatio

n

It w

as n

ot p

ure

coin

cide

nce

that

the

Foun

datio

n de

cide

d to

exp

lore

this

form

of

stud

y at

the

time

that

it d

id.

The

Fou

ndat

ion

firs

t sup

port

ed a

maj

orea

rly

child

hood

pro

gram

me

in 1

965

and

now

has

ove

r 30

yea

rs o

f ex

peri

ence

wor

king

in th

is f

ield

. Thr

ough

out t

his

time

we

have

str

esse

d th

e im

port

ance

of

eval

uatio

n bu

t usu

ally

onl

y du

ring

and

at th

e en

d of

a p

roje

ct o

r ph

ase

of a

proj

ect.

Dur

ing

the

mid

-199

0s w

e st

arte

d to

thin

k be

yond

eva

luat

ion,

to d

ig a

littl

ede

eper

, to

see

a lit

tle f

urth

er. W

e ca

rrie

dou

t an

inte

rnal

pro

ject

to s

umm

aris

eth

e ex

peri

ence

s of

mor

e th

an 1

20pr

ogra

mm

es th

at w

e ha

d su

ppor

ted

over

the

year

s (s

ee th

e H

isto

rica

l Pro

ject

Dat

abas

e at

ww

w.b

erna

rdva

nlee

r.or

g)an

d th

is e

xper

ienc

e ra

ised

man

yqu

estio

ns. O

ne o

utco

me

of o

urqu

estio

ning

was

the

Eff

ectiv

enes

sIn

itiat

ive,

an

in-d

epth

inve

stig

atio

n in

tow

hat m

akes

EC

Dpr

ogra

mm

es w

ork

for

the

peop

le w

ho ta

ke p

art i

n th

em (

see

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

93,

96

and

99);

and

anot

her

was

this

set

of

trac

erst

udie

s. T

here

is, i

n fa

ct, s

ome

over

lap

in th

at s

ever

al o

f th

e pr

ogra

mm

esin

volv

ed in

the

Eff

ectiv

enes

s In

itiat

ive

have

und

erta

ken

a tr

acer

stu

dy a

s pa

rtof

thei

r in

vest

igat

ions

.

Ano

ther

maj

or c

onsi

dera

tion

was

the

need

for

dat

a on

the

effe

cts,

and

effe

ctiv

enes

s, o

f ea

rly

child

hood

prog

ram

mes

out

side

of

the

rich

Wes

tern

cou

ntri

es. M

uch

of th

e pr

actic

ein

ear

ly c

hild

hood

has

bee

n ba

sed

onth

eori

es d

evel

oped

in th

e W

est,

and

rese

arch

fin

ding

s ha

ve c

ome

from

long

itudi

nal s

tudi

es c

arri

ed o

ut in

indu

stri

alis

ed c

ount

ries

. Suc

h st

udie

sar

e ex

pens

ive

and,

by

thei

r ve

ry n

atur

e,lo

ng te

rm. W

e w

ere

look

ing

for

anot

her

form

of

rese

arch

, one

that

wou

ld b

eac

hiev

able

by

smal

ler

prog

ram

mes

that

did

not h

ave

acce

ss to

vas

tre

sour

ces,

and

that

.cou

ld b

ead

apte

d an

d m

ould

ed to

fit

loca

l nee

ds a

nd c

apac

ities

.

The

nat

ure

of th

ese

trac

er

stud

ies

The

trac

er s

tudi

es r

epor

ted

onan

d di

scus

sed

here

are

sum

mar

ised

in th

e ta

ble

'The

stud

ies

so f

ar' o

n pa

ges

14-1

5.T

hey

are

dive

rse,

not

leas

tbe

caus

e of

the

dive

rsity

of

the

part

icip

atin

g pr

ogra

mm

es:

each

is u

niqu

e in

term

s of

its

setti

ng, t

he r

esou

rces

at i

tsdi

spos

al, t

he w

ays

in w

hich

itse

eks

to d

o its

wor

k, th

eco

mm

uniti

es w

ith w

hich

it is

enga

ged,

and

so

on. H

owev

er,

the

prog

ram

mes

als

o ha

veim

port

ant c

hara

cter

istic

s in

com

mon

for

exam

ple,

all

are

impl

emen

ted

by lo

cally

-ba

sed

part

ners

; and

thei

rob

ject

ives

all

cent

re o

n de

velo

ping

and

impr

ovin

g th

e liv

es o

f ch

ildre

n an

dth

eir

fam

ilies

and

com

mun

ities

in th

ehe

re a

nd n

ow, b

ased

on

the

belie

f th

atth

is w

ill la

y th

e fo

unda

tions

for

impr

oved

opp

ortu

nitie

s in

the

futu

re.

Thi

s m

ix o

f di

vers

ity a

nd c

omm

onal

ityis

act

ually

ref

lect

ed in

thes

e tr

acer

stud

ies:

eac

h is

uni

que

in it

s re

spon

se to

the

sam

e ki

nds

of f

acto

rs th

at m

akeK

enya

: Mw

ana

Mw

ende

pro

ject

Sib

lings

at t

he to

y m

akin

g w

orks

hop.

Pho

to: J

oann

a B

oum

a

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 9

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

each

of

the

part

icip

atin

g pr

ogra

mm

esun

ique

. But

com

mon

to a

ll is

impl

emen

tatio

n w

ith lo

cal p

artn

ers,

and

the

obje

ctiv

e of

dis

cove

ry f

or th

epu

rpos

e of

impr

ovem

ent.

The

pro

gram

mes

invo

lved

are

all

actio

npr

ojec

ts: t

hey

have

not

bee

n co

ncei

ved

or im

plem

ente

d as

res

earc

h st

udie

s in

whi

ch c

hild

ren/

fam

ilies

hav

e be

en

Page 11: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

/T

he N

ethe

rland

s: S

amen

spel

pro

ject

Fin

gerp

aint

ing

durin

g a

visi

t to

the

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n.

Pho

to: A

ngel

a E

rnst

rand

omly

ass

igne

d to

'tre

atm

ent'

or`c

ontr

ol' g

roup

s; a

nd p

artic

ipan

ts h

ave

not u

sual

ly b

een

subj

ecte

d to

test

s or

othe

r re

sear

ch in

stru

men

ts. B

ecau

seea

ch o

f th

e pr

ogra

mm

es s

tudi

ed is

diff

eren

t in

its ta

rget

gro

up, i

n its

cont

ext,

and

in it

s st

rate

gies

, the

met

hods

use

d to

trac

e fo

rmer

part

icip

ants

and

dis

cove

r th

eir

curr

ent

stat

us a

re a

lmos

t as

vari

ed a

s th

eor

igin

al p

rogr

amm

es.

Cou

pled

with

that

div

ersi

ty is

an

open

ness

to w

hate

ver

com

es o

ut f

rom

the

rese

arch

, to

the

unex

pect

ed a

nd to

the

surp

risi

ng. T

his

open

ness

isva

luab

le, g

over

ned

as it

is b

y th

e sp

ecif

icfo

ci th

at e

ach

trac

er s

tudy

has

, bec

ause

wha

teve

r th

e tr

acer

s di

scov

er c

an b

ese

en a

s an

opp

ortu

nity

to le

arn

and

toun

ders

tand

.

Cre

atin

g a

trac

er s

tudy

Wha

t sho

uld

be th

e m

ain

cons

ider

atio

ns w

hen

cont

empl

atin

g a

trac

er s

tudy

? W

hat a

re th

e ob

ject

ives

of

thos

e in

volv

ed in

suc

h a

stud

y? T

hese

ques

tions

hav

e m

any

poss

ible

ans

wer

s,as

is d

emon

stra

ted

espe

cial

ly in

the

tabl

e 'W

hy w

e di

d a

trac

er s

tudy

' on

page

s 34

-35.

In

addi

tion,

Will

emie

n le

Rou

x an

d G

aola

tlhe

Eir

ene

Thu

peex

plai

n th

e or

igin

s of

, and

obj

ectiv

esfo

r, th

e B

okam

oso

Pres

choo

lPr

ogra

mm

e tr

acer

stu

dy in

Bot

swan

aon

pag

e 22

. The

se in

clud

ed w

antin

g to

rein

forc

e an

d te

st th

e as

sum

ptio

ns o

fpr

actit

ione

rs. I

n pa

ssin

g w

e sh

ould

not

eth

at it

was

this

stu

dy, c

arri

ed o

ut 1

993-

1995

, tha

t ins

pire

d th

e Fo

unda

tion

tolo

ok s

erio

usly

at t

race

r st

udie

s. F

or it

spa

rt, P

rees

cola

r na

Cas

a in

Spa

inco

nsid

ered

and

then

rej

ecte

d th

e id

ea o

fsu

ch a

stu

dy m

ore

than

fiv

e ye

ars

ago.

But

late

r, a

s C

elia

Arm

esto

Rod

rigu

ezex

plai

ns, '

the

idea

of

goin

g be

yond

the

curr

ent r

ealit

y pe

rsis

ted'

and

she

det

ails

the

man

y is

sues

and

que

stio

ns th

at th

epr

ojec

t tea

m a

re e

xplo

ring

bec

ause

,af

ter

25 y

ears

of

oper

atio

n, 'a

sses

smen

tco

ntin

ues

to b

e a

chal

leng

e th

at c

an b

een

hanc

ed b

y in

itiat

ives

suc

h as

trac

erst

udie

s' (

page

29)

.

The

res

earc

h qu

estio

ns

Key

to th

e de

sign

of

any

stud

y is

to a

skth

e ri

ght q

uest

ions

. Thi

s co

uld

mea

nqu

estio

ning

ass

umpt

ions

that

may

not

have

bee

n pr

evio

usly

art

icul

ated

.D

evis

ing

thes

e qu

estio

ns is

som

ethi

ngth

at c

an u

sefu

lly b

e do

ne th

roug

h a

part

icip

ator

y ex

erci

se in

whi

ch a

ll

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 10

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

part

icip

ants

and

sta

keho

lder

s ca

n ha

vea

say.

And

it is

at t

his

earl

y st

age

that

othe

r qu

estio

ns n

eed

to b

e an

swer

ed a

sw

ell.

The

se w

ill in

clud

e so

me

that

dete

rmin

e th

e na

ture

of

the

stud

y, f

orex

ampl

e:w

hose

age

nda

is b

eing

fol

low

edth

at o

f th

e pr

ogra

mm

e, c

omm

unity

,pa

rent

s, f

unde

rs, p

olic

y m

aker

s, a

mix

ture

?Is

the

obje

ctiv

e to

und

erst

and,

toch

ange

, to

pers

uade

, etc

?W

here

and

by

who

m a

re th

e re

sear

chqu

estio

ns to

be

gene

rate

d?W

hat i

s th

e fo

cal u

nit

child

ren,

fam

ilies

, car

egiv

ers,

the

proc

ess

ofch

ange

, etc

?In

wha

t way

s is

the

cont

ext b

eing

take

n in

to a

ccou

nt?

Wha

t ass

umpt

ions

doe

s th

e st

udy

mak

e ab

out t

he p

rogr

amm

e?

The

n th

ere

are

ques

tions

abo

ut h

ow th

est

udy

is to

be

done

:w

hat w

ill b

e th

e ba

sic

desi

gn?

Is th

e st

udy

to b

e m

ainl

y qu

alita

tive,

mai

nly

quan

titat

ive,

a m

ixtu

re?

Who

are

the

info

rman

ts, t

he s

ampl

e?W

ill th

ere

be a

com

pari

son

sam

ple?

(see

art

icle

on

page

20)

Wha

t is

the

timel

ine

for

trac

ing

(how

man

y ye

ars

back

)?W

hat i

s th

e tim

elin

e fo

r ca

rryi

ng o

utth

e re

sear

ch?

Who

is o

n th

e re

sear

ch te

am a

ndw

hat w

ill b

e th

e na

ture

of

the

team

?

Page 12: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Wha

t are

the

rese

arch

inst

rum

ents

,th

e to

ols?

Are

the

find

ings

goi

ng to

be

inte

rpre

ted

as w

ell a

s re

port

ed?

Wha

t for

m w

ill th

e re

port

take

(w

hois

the

audi

ence

)?

The

que

stio

n of

who

sho

uld

unde

rtak

eth

e st

udy

insi

de o

r ou

tsid

e re

sear

cher

sle

d to

ani

mat

ed d

iscu

ssio

ns a

ndsh

arin

g of

exp

erie

nces

dur

ing

the

Jam

aica

Fol

low

ing

Foot

step

s w

orks

hop

in A

pril

2002

bec

ause

peo

ple

from

all

`sid

es' w

ere

pres

ent.

The

pos

itive

asp

ects

and

the

chal

leng

es a

re s

umm

aris

ed o

npa

ge 1

9, b

ut th

e co

nsen

sus

seem

ed to

be

that

a m

ixed

res

earc

h te

am o

f in

side

rsan

d ou

tsid

ers

is th

e be

st s

olut

ion.

How

ever

, as

Myr

na I

sabe

l Mej

ia p

uts

it,`i

t is

nece

ssar

y to

cle

arly

def

ine

the

role

of th

e in

side

per

sonn

el in

the

rese

arch

proc

ess

so th

at o

bjec

tive

resu

lts c

an b

eob

tain

ed' (

page

32)

.

Que

stio

ns th

at w

ere

not a

sked

dur

ing

thes

e tr

acer

stu

dies

con

cern

edhy

poth

eses

and

that

is b

ecau

se th

ese

trac

er s

tudi

es w

ere

not d

evel

oped

inre

spon

se to

spe

cifi

c hy

poth

eses

. All

the

earl

y ch

ildho

od p

rogr

amm

es w

e ar

ede

alin

g w

ith h

ere

have

the

basi

cas

sum

ptio

n th

at th

e pr

ogra

mm

es a

re`d

oing

goo

d' b

ut th

ey s

eldo

m d

esig

nth

eir

prog

ram

mes

aro

und

hypo

thes

es.

We

ther

efor

e be

lieve

that

trac

er s

tudi

essh

ould

be

as o

pen

as p

ossi

ble

and

shou

ld n

ot s

et o

ut to

pro

ve a

spe

cifi

chy

poth

esis

: tha

t the

pro

gram

me

is th

ebe

st e

ver,

or

that

a s

peci

fic

stra

tegy

isth

e be

st m

etho

d, o

r th

at th

e ch

ildre

nge

t hig

her

grad

es in

sch

ool.

A tr

acer

stud

y ne

eds

a sp

ecif

ic f

ocus

, but

with

inth

at it

nee

ds to

be

open

to w

hate

ver

com

es o

ut f

rom

the

rese

arch

, to

beop

en to

the

unex

pect

ed a

nd th

esu

rpri

sing

: whe

ther

it f

its a

ssum

ptio

nsor

not

, it i

s an

opp

ortu

nity

to le

arn

and

to u

nder

stan

d.

Met

hods

and

app

roac

hes

As

the

artic

les

in th

is e

ditio

n of

Ear

lyC

hild

hood

Mat

ters

sho

w, w

ith tr

acer

stud

ies

ther

e is

ple

nty

of c

hoic

e w

hen

it co

mes

to m

etho

ds a

nd a

ppro

ache

s.H

ere

the

advi

ce o

f Pr

ofes

sor

Kat

hySy

lva

duri

ng th

e w

orks

hop

is v

ery

rele

vant

: 'W

here

des

ign

is c

once

rned

,be

met

hodo

logi

cally

pro

mis

cuou

s,ad

vent

urou

s, e

clec

tic.'

And

a p

erfe

ctex

ampl

e of

this

com

es f

rom

Ind

iaw

here

the

Self

Em

ploy

ed W

omen

'sA

ssoc

iatio

n (s

Ew

A)

in G

ujar

atid

entif

ied

a no

vel a

nd h

ighl

y cu

lture

-sp

ecif

ic m

etho

d. S

Ana

ndal

aksh

my

desc

ribe

s ho

wS

EW

Aor

gani

sed

child

ren'

s ca

rniv

als

for

larg

e nu

mbe

rsof

for

mer

cre

che

and

pres

choo

l cen

tre

part

icip

ants

and

use

d th

e ev

ent t

oin

terv

iew

chi

ldre

n an

d m

othe

rs. T

hey

also

invi

ted

Gov

ernm

ent o

ffic

ials

, gav

eth

em v

isib

le r

oles

and

lobb

ied

them

to

Trin

idad

& T

obag

o: S

ervo

! pro

ject

For

res

Par

k Li

fe C

entr

e. F

athe

r w

ith tw

o pr

esch

ool c

hild

ren

help

ing

with

lear

ning

num

bers

.

give

the

prog

ram

me

supp

ort

(pag

e 38

).

The

bes

t lai

d pl

ans

can

go a

stra

y an

dth

is c

an h

appe

n w

ith r

esea

rch

as in

othe

r sp

here

s of

life

. In

this

kin

d of

stud

y it

mus

t be

rem

embe

red

that

rese

arch

is n

ot a

line

ar p

roce

ss, a

ndm

uch

of it

is li

ke tr

ying

to f

ind

your

way

thro

ugh

the

fore

st. I

t is

a m

atte

r of

cont

inua

lly k

eepi

ng th

e co

ntex

t in

min

dth

e pe

ople

, the

com

mun

ity,

trad

ition

s, b

elie

fs, r

esou

rces

, ser

vice

san

d of

bei

ng a

lert

and

ope

n to

the

unex

pect

ed.

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n11

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Ana

lysi

s of

dat

a an

d re

port

ing

The

qua

litat

ive

natu

re o

f th

e da

ta th

attr

acer

stu

dies

like

thes

e pr

oduc

e cr

eate

sa

maj

or c

halle

nge

for

anal

ysis

. Thi

sin

volv

es a

bal

ance

bet

wee

n th

e de

tail

and

part

icul

arity

of

wha

t has

bee

ndi

scov

ered

on

the

one

hand

and

, on

the

othe

r, f

indi

ng w

ays

to c

reat

e pa

ttern

sfr

om th

e da

ta th

at w

ill a

llow

use

ful

less

ons

to b

e dr

awn

for

futu

re p

ract

ice.

To

do th

is it

is n

eces

sary

to c

reat

eca

tego

ries

that

are

sug

gest

ed b

y th

ena

ture

of

the

data

and

to a

lloca

te th

eda

ta to

app

ropr

iate

cat

egor

ies.

But

the

sam

e da

ta w

ill o

ften

nee

d to

be

used

in

Page 13: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

diff

eren

t cat

egor

ies.

It i

s a

bit l

ike

cutti

ng th

e ca

ke in

dif

fere

nt d

irec

tions

hori

zont

ally

, ver

tical

ly, c

ross

wis

ese

vera

l tim

es o

ver.

Eac

h cu

t (ea

chgr

oupi

ng)

reve

als

a di

ffer

ent r

ealit

yab

out t

he c

ake;

and

the

data

are

in p

lay

thro

ugho

ut to

rem

ind

peop

le o

f w

hat

they

hav

e to

con

trib

ute.

Idea

lly, t

he e

stab

lishm

ent o

f th

eca

tego

ries

and

the

allo

catio

n of

dat

a to

the

cate

gori

es, s

houl

d be

a c

olle

ctiv

eef

fort

by

a te

am o

f pe

ople

with

dif

fere

ntpe

rspe

ctiv

es b

ecau

se, f

or e

xam

ple,

the

data

cou

ld s

ugge

st o

ne s

et o

f ca

tego

ries

to a

n ou

tsid

er, a

noth

er to

an

insi

der.

How

doe

s th

is w

ork

in p

ract

ice?

An

exam

ple

of h

ow d

ata

can

be a

naly

sed

atdi

ffer

ent l

evel

s ca

n be

fou

nd in

the

repo

rt o

f th

e tr

acer

stu

dy o

f A

lmay

a's

Pare

nts

Coo

pera

tive

Kin

derg

arte

n in

Isra

el. T

he c

hart

on

page

15

incl

udes

Alm

aya'

s fi

ndin

gs a

bout

a s

hift

for

form

er p

rogr

amm

e pa

rtic

ipan

ts in

the

axis

that

run

s be

twee

n in

divi

dual

ity a

ndco

mm

unity

find

ings

that

ari

se f

rom

cros

s-cu

tting

ana

lysi

s in

whi

ch th

epr

ecis

e in

form

atio

n in

the

orig

inal

dat

are

mai

ned

visi

ble.

The

way

s in

whi

ch f

indi

ngs

are

repo

rted

will

dep

end

very

larg

ely

on th

e in

tend

edau

dien

ce a

nd th

e ob

ject

ives

of

the

stud

y. I

n so

me

case

s it

mig

ht b

epo

ssib

le, o

r ad

visa

ble,

to h

ave

diff

eren

t

vers

ions

in d

iffe

rent

for

mat

s, n

ot w

ithth

e in

tent

ion

to m

isle

ad o

rm

isre

pres

ent,

but t

o en

sure

that

eac

hau

dien

ce g

ets

the

mat

eria

l it i

s m

ost

inte

rest

ed in

, and

in th

e w

ays

that

mak

eit

mos

t use

ful.

Wha

teve

r m

etho

d is

used

, the

voi

ces

and

the

wor

ds o

f th

ere

spon

dent

s m

ust c

ome

thro

ugh

a fe

w

quot

atio

ns c

an e

nliv

en th

e du

llest

of

repo

rts,

and

they

add

rea

lity.

Aft

er a

ll, a

sJe

an D

Gri

ffith

(w

ho r

esea

rche

d th

est

udy

in T

rini

dad)

told

par

ticip

ants

inth

e Fo

llow

ing

Foot

step

s w

orks

hop:

'We

are

oper

atin

g on

the

prin

cipl

e th

at a

shu

man

bei

ngs

we

cann

ot b

e re

duce

d to

any

form

ula.

No

mat

ter

how

wel

l or

how

sci

entif

ical

ly d

esig

ned,

the

rese

arch

cann

ot g

ive

us th

e re

ality

of

this

hum

anps

ycho

-phy

siol

ogy:

The

re a

re m

any

ques

tions

that

can

ari

sedu

ring

the

proc

esse

s of

ana

lysi

s an

dre

port

ing.

Som

e of

thes

e w

ill b

e re

late

dto

the

orig

inal

res

earc

h qu

estio

ns a

ndth

e de

sign

and

impl

emen

tatio

n of

the

stud

y. S

ome

of th

e ot

hers

cou

ld b

e:w

hy d

idn'

t we

find

wha

t we

expe

cted

to f

ind?

If th

e re

sults

are

not

str

ong,

is th

isth

e fa

ult o

f th

e re

sear

chm

etho

dolo

gy o

r th

e pr

ogra

mm

e?W

hat a

re th

e im

plic

atio

ns o

f th

e fa

ctth

at c

hild

ren

are

goin

g in

to a

natio

nally

det

erm

ined

edu

catio

nal

syst

em?

Wha

t can

/sho

uld

be d

one

with

thes

e

data

, the

se f

indi

ngs?

Can

they

infl

uenc

e pr

ogra

mm

ing?

Can

they

infl

uenc

e po

licy?

Who

sho

uld

we

com

mun

icat

e w

ith:

are

ther

e lin

ks to

oth

er a

reas

,pr

ogra

mm

es, o

r se

rvic

es s

uch

aspr

imar

y sc

hool

s?

Lea

rnin

g an

d w

ho b

enef

itsFr

om th

e di

scus

sion

s du

ring

the

Follo

win

g Fo

otst

eps

wor

ksho

p in

Jam

aica

it w

as o

bvio

us th

at p

roje

ct s

taff

and

lead

ers

felt

that

they

had

lear

ned

alo

t fro

m th

ese

stud

ies

and

thei

rpr

oces

ses

and

find

ings

. In

part

icul

ar,

they

had

gai

ned

a de

eper

und

erst

andi

ngof

the

capa

bilit

ies

and

aspi

ratio

ns o

f th

epe

ople

they

wer

e w

orki

ng w

ith; a

nd a

defi

nite

rec

ogni

tion

(or

rem

inde

r) o

fho

w e

ssen

tial i

t is

to b

e in

clus

ive

(not

only

chi

ldre

n, n

ot o

nly

mot

hers

, and

so

on).

It w

as a

lso

fasc

inat

ing

to s

ee h

owth

e ne

ed to

fra

me

rese

arch

que

stio

nsha

d st

imul

ated

dee

per

thin

king

abo

utth

e ob

ject

ives

of

thei

r w

ork

and

the

stra

tegi

es u

sed.

Wor

ksho

p pa

rtic

ipan

tsfe

lt th

at th

ey h

ad b

ecom

e ev

en m

ore

awar

e of

the

com

mun

ities

and

ser

vice

sar

ound

them

and

of

how

, in

som

e ca

ses,

thes

e w

ere

letti

ng d

own

the

form

erpa

rtic

ipan

ts (

for

exam

ple:

poo

r sc

hool

s,la

ck o

f em

ploy

men

t or

trai

ning

oppo

rtun

ities

).

We

are

all s

till a

t the

ear

ly s

tage

s of

lear

ning

and

the

mor

e de

eply

we

look

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 12

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

into

the

stud

ies

that

hav

e be

en c

arri

edou

t so

far,

the

mor

e po

ssib

ilitie

s th

ere

seem

to b

e. T

he s

tudi

es h

ave

an u

nusu

albl

end

of q

uant

itativ

e an

d qu

alita

tive

rese

arch

and

fin

ding

s, a

nd th

is h

as le

dto

ver

y w

ide

lear

ning

pos

sibi

litie

sap

plic

able

with

in a

nd a

cros

s di

ffer

ent

grou

ps o

f pa

rtic

ipan

ts.

At l

ocal

leve

l suc

h gr

oups

incl

ude

part

icip

ants

in a

pro

gram

me;

sta

ff in

the

fiel

d as

wel

l as

thos

e w

ho p

lan,

mon

itor

and

supe

rvis

e pr

ogra

mm

es;

and

mem

bers

of

loca

l com

mun

ities

. At

regi

onal

/nat

iona

l lev

el th

ey c

an in

clud

eth

ose

who

pla

n an

d/or

impl

emen

t oth

erE

CD

pro

gram

mes

, tho

se w

ho a

rein

volv

ed in

non

-EcD

pro

gram

mes

suc

has

hea

lth o

r ed

ucat

ion,

and

thos

e w

hopl

an/im

plem

ent p

olic

y an

d/or

allo

cate

reso

urce

s. I

n th

e C

arib

bean

ther

e is

'ade

arth

of

know

ledg

e ab

out t

he im

pact

of v

ario

us in

terv

entio

ns d

ue to

insu

ffic

ient

mea

sure

men

t and

inad

equa

te m

echa

nism

s to

do

so' a

ndSu

san

Bra

nker

, who

is th

e Pr

ojec

tM

anag

er f

or th

e C

arib

bean

Sup

port

Initi

ativ

e*, s

ees

man

y po

ssib

le b

enef

itsin

the

use

of tr

acer

stu

dies

at d

iffe

rent

leve

ls a

nd f

or v

aryi

ng p

urpo

ses

(pag

e 26

).

At t

he B

erna

rd v

an L

eer

Foun

datio

n w

eca

n al

l use

and

lear

n fr

om th

e m

etho

dsan

d th

e fi

ndin

gs to

hel

p w

ith p

lann

ing,

deve

lopi

ng a

nd m

onito

ring

pro

gram

mes

.

Page 14: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

We

can

also

info

rm o

urse

lves

as

we

shar

e ou

r le

arni

ng a

nd r

esou

rces

with

the

fiel

d of

EC

Din

gen

eral

and

with

our

part

ners

and

pee

r or

gani

satio

ns. I

n fa

ct,

the

trac

er s

tudy

tool

fits

wel

l with

our

aspi

ratio

ns to

impr

ove

our

lear

ning

. We

antic

ipat

e us

ing

thes

e to

ols

in th

e fu

ture

to c

ritic

ally

look

at t

he v

alid

ity o

fkn

owle

dge

and

skill

s a

proj

ect i

s tr

ying

to im

part

bec

ause

, as

Hen

riet

teH

eim

gaer

tner

exp

lain

s, 'T

he s

tudi

espr

ovid

e a

rich

sou

rce

of in

form

atio

nan

d so

me

chal

leng

ing

food

for

thou

ght

for

thos

e of

us

enga

ged

in d

efin

ing

para

met

ers

for

prog

ram

me

deve

lopm

ent.

In h

er a

rtic

le o

n pa

ge 5

4sh

e gi

ves

just

two

exam

ples

fro

m m

any

avai

labl

e: p

aren

t sup

port

pro

gram

mes

,an

d th

e co

ntin

uum

bet

wee

n pr

esch

ool

and

prim

ary

scho

ol.

But

ther

e ar

e ve

ry m

any

othe

r to

pics

that

ari

se in

the

stud

ies

so f

ar a

vaila

ble.

To

nam

e ju

st a

few

: gen

der

role

s; th

eim

pact

on

impl

emen

ting

staf

f; w

ays

tore

ach

teen

ager

s; in

flue

ncin

g pa

rent

ing

prac

tices

now

and

in th

e fu

ture

;in

flue

ncin

g th

e he

alth

and

nut

ritio

nof

chi

ldre

n an

d fa

mili

es; t

rans

ition

toth

e fo

rmal

sch

ool s

yste

m; l

angu

age/

cogn

itive

dev

elop

men

t; so

cial

/em

otio

nal d

evel

opm

ent;

pers

onal

pres

enta

tion;

and

thos

e so

met

imes

ill-d

efin

ed c

once

pts

like

empo

wer

men

t,se

lf-e

stee

m, s

elf-

conf

iden

ce, m

otiv

atio

n,re

cipr

ocity

/mut

ualit

y, e

thos

of

equa

lity,

g=r

attit

udes

, bel

iefs

, nor

ms,

phi

loso

phy,

valu

es, t

oler

ance

, und

erst

andi

ng,

soci

alis

ing

child

ren

into

soc

iety

'sno

rms,

pre

pari

ng c

hild

ren

for

the

futu

re, d

isci

plin

e an

d m

oral

gui

danc

e.

To

get a

ful

l pic

ture

it is

nec

essa

ry to

read

the

trac

er s

tudy

pub

licat

ions

(se

epa

ges

58 a

nd 5

9) b

ut to

giv

e so

me

indi

catio

ns o

f th

e br

eadt

h of

cov

erag

ean

d in

sigh

ts, s

ome

shor

t exc

erpt

s ar

ein

clud

ed in

this

edi

tion

of E

arly

Chi

ldho

od M

atte

rs: d

isci

plin

ing

San

child

ren

in B

otsw

ana

(pag

e 24

); w

hat i

sha

ppen

ing

with

fam

ily s

uppo

rtpr

ogra

mm

es in

the

US

A(p

age

40);

attit

udes

to p

aren

ting

and

nurt

urin

g th

ech

ildre

n of

for

mer

par

ticip

ants

of

the

Ado

lesc

ent D

evel

opm

ent P

rogr

amm

e in

Tri

nida

d (p

age

42);

wha

t hap

pene

d to

the

child

ren

of p

artic

ipan

ts in

the

Tee

nage

Mot

hers

Pro

gram

me

inJa

mai

ca (

page

44)

; gen

der

diff

eren

ces,

role

mod

els

and

soci

al c

hang

e in

Ken

ya(p

age

46);

and

mot

ivat

ions

for

volu

ntee

ring

to b

ecom

e a

Com

mun

ityM

othe

r in

Ire

land

(pa

ge 4

8).

Aff

ectin

g po

licy

From

the

tabl

e 'W

hy w

e di

d a

trac

erst

udy'

on

page

34

it is

obv

ious

that

the

eigh

t stu

dies

des

crib

ed h

ad v

aryi

ngob

ject

ives

, wer

e ai

med

at d

iffe

rent

audi

ence

s, a

nd w

ere

inte

nded

to b

eus

ed f

or d

iffe

rent

pur

pose

s. F

or th

ose

who

car

ried

out

the

stud

ies,

the

proc

ess

has

been

an

oppo

rtun

ity to

gain

a d

eepe

r un

ders

tand

ing

of e

ffec

ts a

nd im

pact

and

,w

here

the

prog

ram

me

still

exis

ts, t

o ad

just

and

dev

elop

it. T

his

can,

of

cour

se, h

ave

effe

cts

that

spr

ead

muc

hw

ider

than

the

orig

inal

prog

ram

me,

but

the

ques

tion

rem

ains

: can

Follo

win

g Fo

otst

eps

affe

ctpo

licy?

The

art

icle

on

page

50

brin

gs to

geth

er e

xper

ienc

esfr

om f

our

very

dif

fere

ntco

ntex

tsus

A, K

enya

,

Irel

and

and

Bot

swan

aan

dsh

ows

that

this

is p

ossi

ble

give

n a

num

ber

of s

peci

fic

ingr

edie

nts:

the

orig

inal

prog

ram

me

mus

t be

stro

ngan

d of

goo

d qu

ality

; the

rese

arch

pro

cess

nee

ds to

be

tran

spar

ent a

s w

ell a

sri

goro

us; a

nd th

e ri

ght

peop

le h

ave

to b

e ap

proa

ched

in th

eri

ght w

ays.

And

then

ther

e is

the

spec

ial

impo

rtan

ce o

f fi

gure

s. D

espi

te o

urem

phas

is o

n qu

alita

tive

appr

oach

es,

ther

e is

no

doub

t tha

t pol

icy-

mak

ers,

polit

icia

ns a

nd m

any

fund

ers

are

infl

uenc

ed b

y la

rge

num

bers

of

resp

onde

nts

and

by c

ost-

bene

fit s

tudi

es.

But

thos

e fi

gure

s ne

ed b

acki

ng u

p w

ithth

e w

ords

of

real

peo

ple,

with

the

7-)

",

f

Spa

in: P

rees

cola

r na

Cas

a pr

ojec

t

Pre

parin

g lu

nch

toge

ther

.

Pho

to: M

aria

Xos

e M

irand

a B

arro

s in

La

Cor

una

on o

ne o

f her

hom

e vi

sitin

g da

ys

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 13

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

stor

ies

that

sho

w u

s w

here

thei

rfo

otst

eps

led

them

.0

* T

he C

arib

bean

Sup

port

Ini

tiativ

e is

a

Foun

datio

n-su

ppor

ted,

fiv

e ye

ar r

egio

nal

prog

ram

me

with

a th

emat

ic f

ocus

on

pare

ntin

g in

itiat

ives

in e

arly

chi

ldho

od

deve

lopm

ent.

Page 15: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

The

stu

dies

so f

arco

untr

yB

otsw

ana

Irel

and

US

AK

enya

prog

ram

me

stud

ied

abou

t the

stu

dy

rese

arch

erls

)

sam

ple(

s)

findi

ngs

Bok

amos

o Pr

esch

ool

Prog

ram

me,

a tr

aini

ng a

ndm

onito

ring

pro

gram

me

for

San

child

ren

in is

olat

edse

ttlem

ents

a co

mpr

ehen

sive

stu

dy o

f th

epr

ogra

mm

e ca

rrie

d ou

t19

93-1

995

Bok

amos

o te

am m

embe

rs w

how

ere

initi

ally

gui

ded

by a

nou

tsid

e re

sear

cher

172

child

ren

who

had

bee

n in

pres

choo

ls a

nd w

ere

trac

ed in

Stan

dard

s 1-

4 in

7 p

rim

ary

scho

ols

child

ren

who

had

bee

n in

pres

choo

ls w

ere

mos

tly s

till i

nsc

hool

; man

y pa

rent

s w

ere

supp

ortiv

e; d

ropo

ut f

igur

esw

ere

low

er th

an a

ssum

ed;

mai

n pr

oble

ms

wer

e th

ela

ngua

ge g

ap, u

se o

f co

rpor

alpu

nish

men

t, la

ck o

f cu

ltura

lun

ders

tand

ing;

it w

as s

een

that

the

cont

rast

bet

wee

n pr

e an

dpr

imar

y sc

hool

s ca

n cr

eate

anim

osity

and

tens

ion

Com

mun

ity M

othe

rs P

rogr

amm

e,a

hom

e vi

sitin

g pr

ogra

mm

e in

Dub

lin a

imed

at f

irst

tim

e m

othe

rsdu

ring

the

firs

t 12

mon

ths

of th

ech

ild's

life

a fo

llow

-up

stud

y in

199

7-19

98 a

tag

e 8

year

s of

ear

lier

rese

arch

in19

90 a

t age

12

mon

ths

rese

arch

ers

from

the

Hea

lthA

utho

rity

and

Uni

vers

ity in

colla

bora

tion

with

pro

gram

me

staf

f

76 m

othe

r-ch

ild p

airs

rep

rese

ntin

gon

e-th

ird

of th

e or

igin

alra

ndom

ised

con

trol

led

sam

ple;

38 f

rom

the

inte

rven

tion

grou

p,38

fro

m th

e co

ntro

l gro

up

alm

ost a

ll th

e va

riab

les

mea

sure

dfa

vour

ed th

e in

terv

entio

n gr

oup:

imm

unis

atio

ns, n

utri

tion,

chi

ldre

n's

attit

udes

to s

choo

l, ho

mew

ork,

read

ing,

mot

hers

' atti

tude

s to

war

dsch

ildca

re a

nd d

isci

plin

e an

d th

eir

self

-est

eem

, as

wel

l as

effe

cts

onsu

bseq

uent

chi

ldre

n; th

e st

udy

conc

lude

s th

at th

e ch

ange

s in

child

rear

ing

prac

tices

fou

nd in

199

0w

ere

sust

aine

d se

ven

year

s la

ter

Pare

nt-t

o-Pa

rent

(PT

P) D

isse

min

atio

nPr

ogra

mm

e (1

978-

1984

) in

whi

ch a

com

mon

ope

n fr

amew

ork

was

impl

emen

ted

by 7

age

ncie

s ta

rget

ing

vary

ing

popu

latio

ns

a st

udy

in 1

997-

1998

to s

earc

h fo

rev

iden

ce a

nd in

flue

nce

of P

TP

prin

cipl

es a

nd s

trat

egie

s

rese

arch

er e

mpl

oyed

by

Hig

h/Sc

ope

Edu

catio

nal R

esea

rch

Foun

datio

nth

e or

igin

al im

plem

entin

g or

gani

satio

n

four

site

s se

lect

ed f

or d

iver

sity

in te

rms

of c

lient

pop

ulat

ion,

age

ncy

type

,pr

ogra

mm

e an

d co

mm

unity

siz

e;in

terv

iew

ees

wer

e or

igin

al p

artic

ipan

tsan

d st

aff

of c

urre

nt p

rogr

amm

es

alth

ough

non

e of

the

orig

inal

prog

ram

mes

are

stil

l in

exis

tenc

e, a

ndth

ere

wer

e m

any

othe

r in

terv

enin

gfa

ctor

s, s

ever

al a

spec

ts o

f th

eph

iloso

phy

and

prin

cipl

es a

re e

vide

ntin

cur

rent

pro

gram

mes

and

man

yfo

rmer

par

ticip

ants

rem

ain

activ

e; w

ithpr

esen

t wel

fare

res

tric

tions

ther

e is

ala

rge

unm

et n

eed

for

qual

ity c

hild

care

yet t

he n

eeds

of

child

ren

ofte

n ge

tov

erlo

oked

Em

bu D

istr

ict C

entr

e fo

r E

arly

Chi

ldho

od E

duca

tion

(Dic

EcE

),a

2 ye

ar p

resc

hool

teac

her

trai

ning

prog

ram

me

that

is p

art o

f a

natio

nal

prog

ram

me

a st

udy

in 1

998-

1999

look

ing

at th

eef

fect

s of

trai

ning

for

pre

scho

ol te

ache

rson

the

child

ren

they

had

car

ed f

or

rese

arch

ers

from

the

Mw

ana

Mw

ende

Chi

ld D

evel

opm

ent T

rust

, bot

h of

who

m h

ad p

revi

ousl

y w

orke

d in

the

natio

nal t

rain

ing

prog

ram

me

913

child

ren

from

3 c

ohor

ts (

1991

, 199

2,19

93)

wer

e tr

acke

d in

12

prim

ary

scho

ols,

of

whi

ch h

alf

had

had

trai

ned

pres

choo

l tea

cher

s, th

e ot

her

half

untr

aine

d

child

ren

who

had

bee

n w

ith tr

aine

dpr

esch

ool t

each

ers

mad

e th

e tr

ansi

tion

to p

rim

ary

scho

ol m

ore

easi

ly th

an th

eot

hers

, yet

chi

ldre

n's

over

all

perf

orm

ance

s w

ere

affe

cted

by

the

acad

emic

rat

ing

of th

e pr

imar

y sc

hool

s,hi

gh r

epet

ition

and

dro

pout

rat

es, a

sw

ell a

s al

coho

l, dr

ugs,

chi

ldem

ploy

men

t, po

or m

ale

role

mod

els,

and

chan

ging

life

styl

es, v

alue

sys

tem

san

d m

oral

cod

es

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r Fo

unda

tion

14 E

arly

Chi

ldho

od M

atte

rs

Page 16: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

coun

try

Jam

aica

Trin

idad

Col

ombi

aIs

rael

prog

ram

me

stud

ied

Tee

nage

Mot

hers

Pro

ject

Ado

lesc

ent D

evel

opm

ent

PRO

ME

SA, r

un b

y C

IND

E, a

imed

at

Pare

nts'

Coo

pera

tive

(TM

P), a

ful

l-tim

e 18

mon

thpr

ogra

mm

e ai

med

at t

eena

gem

othe

rs a

nd th

eir

infa

nts

in a

Prog

ram

me

(AD

P), r

un b

y Se

rvol

,ad

dres

sing

soc

ial,

emot

iona

l, an

dps

ycho

logi

cal n

eeds

of

16-1

8 ye

ar

child

ren

and

com

mun

ities

in a

rem

ote

coas

tal a

rea

to im

prov

e ph

ysic

al,

emot

iona

l and

inte

llect

ual

Kin

derg

arte

n ru

n by

Alm

aya

in 2

are

asof

Bee

r-Sh

eva

for

imm

igra

nt f

amili

esof

Eth

iopi

an o

rigi

n

rura

l are

aol

dsde

velo

pmen

t

abou

t the

stu

dyth

e st

udy,

in 1

999,

trac

ed th

eim

pact

of

the

TM

P on

mot

her-

the

stud

y, in

199

9, lo

oked

at t

heef

fect

s of

par

ticip

atio

n on

for

mer

the

stud

y w

as a

con

tinua

tion

of a

long

itudi

nal i

nves

tigat

ion

that

beg

an in

the

stud

y, c

arri

ed o

ut in

200

0-20

01,

aim

ed to

fin

d ou

t wha

t had

hap

pene

d

child

pai

rs s

ome

10 y

ears

aft

erA

DP

trai

nees

som

e 10

yea

rs a

fter

1978

; ori

gina

lly q

uant

itativ

e, th

is s

tudy

to c

hild

ren

who

had

par

ticip

ated

in th

e

part

icip

atio

nco

mpl

etio

nis

bas

ed o

n in

terv

iew

s ca

rrie

d ou

t in

prog

ram

me

1988

-199

019

99 a

nd 2

001

rese

arch

er(s

)an

out

side

res

earc

her

an o

utsi

de r

esea

rche

rst

aff

of C

IND

Ean

out

side

res

earc

her

who

has

unde

rtak

en e

valu

atio

ns a

nd o

ther

rese

arch

for

Alm

aya

sam

ple(

s)20

mot

her-

child

pai

rs, 1

0 of

21 m

en a

nd 1

9 w

omen

fro

m 4

80 m

othe

rs a

nd 3

9 pr

omot

oras

(w

hoth

e in

terv

entio

n gr

oup

com

pris

ed 3

7

who

m h

ad b

een

in th

e T

MP

and

diff

eren

t AD

P ce

ntre

s; o

utco

mes

had

impl

emen

ted

the

prog

ram

me)

youn

g pe

ople

age

d 12

-17;

a c

ompa

riso

n

10 w

ho h

ad n

otw

ere

com

pare

d w

ith 1

8 m

en a

nd 2

1w

ho h

ad b

een

in th

e pr

ogra

mm

egr

oup

com

pris

ed 3

4 m

atch

ed y

oung

l="

wom

en f

rom

the

sam

e ar

eas

who

1978

-80,

and

a s

elec

tion

of th

eir

peop

le; t

hese

wer

e al

l of

Eth

iopi

an o

rigi

n'n

on-E

thio

pian

'C

r)ha

d no

t bee

n in

the

AD

P(n

ow a

dult)

chi

ldre

nw

hile

a th

ird

grou

p of

25

youn

g pe

ople

was

als

o in

terv

iew

ed

findi

ngs

TM

P m

othe

rs w

ere

all e

mpl

oyed

the

AD

P ga

ve f

orm

er tr

aine

esin

200

1, c

hild

ren

of p

rom

otor

as h

ad a

nit

was

evi

dent

that

the

inte

rven

tion

and

mos

t had

pur

sued

fur

ther

educ

atio

n an

d tr

aini

ng; t

hey

grea

ter

conf

iden

ce, s

elf-

awar

enes

san

d se

lf-e

stee

m, e

nhan

ced

thei

rav

erag

e of

10

year

s sc

hool

ing,

com

pare

d w

ith a

198

9 av

erag

e fo

r th

ech

ildre

n w

ere

esse

ntia

lly d

iffe

rent

fro

mth

eir

Eth

iopi

an-o

rigi

n co

unte

rpar

ts a

nd

wer

e m

ore

self

ass

ured

with

apa

rent

ing

skill

s, in

crea

sed

thei

r le

vel

area

of

6.3

year

s, a

nd 3

.5 y

ears

for

thei

rcl

oser

to th

e Is

rael

i nor

m; t

his

coul

d be

grea

ter

sens

e of

con

trol

ove

rof

tole

ranc

e to

war

ds o

ther

s, a

ndow

n m

othe

rs; t

he p

rom

otor

asse

en in

tend

enci

es to

war

ds

thei

r liv

es th

an th

e co

mpa

riso

nim

prov

ed th

eir

com

mun

icat

ion

expr

esse

d co

mpe

tenc

e an

d se

lf-

indi

vidu

alis

m, a

bilit

ies

to e

xpre

ss

mot

hers

; the

latte

r ha

d gi

ven

skill

s an

d re

latio

nshi

ps w

ith th

eir

conf

iden

ce a

nd w

ere

lead

ers

in th

eem

otio

ns a

nd n

eeds

, res

pons

ible

birt

h to

mor

e th

an tw

ice

aspa

rent

s; m

embe

rs o

f th

eco

mm

unity

; the

re w

ere

man

ybe

havi

our

patte

rns,

and

acq

uisi

tion

of

man

y su

bseq

uent

chi

ldre

n; th

eco

mpa

riso

n gr

oup

wer

e al

soim

prov

emen

ts to

gen

eral

hea

lth a

ndth

e 'to

ols'

that

cou

ld e

nabl

e th

em to

TM

P ch

ildre

n w

ere

give

n hi

gher

gene

rally

per

form

ing

at s

imila

rth

e en

viro

nmen

t as

wel

l as

gene

ral

bette

r in

tegr

ate

into

Isr

aeli

soci

ety

ratin

gs b

y th

eir

teac

hers

than

com

pari

son

child

ren

leve

ls in

thei

r em

ploy

men

t and

life

in g

ener

al

econ

omic

impr

ovem

ents

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 15

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Page 17: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Tra

cer

stud

ies:

anop

port

unity

and

ach

alle

nge

Dav

id P

Wef

ikar

fc

If w

e w

ant t

o un

ders

tand

whe

re tr

acer

stud

ies

fit i

nto

the

broa

der

rese

arch

fiel

d, w

e ne

ed to

look

bac

k to

the

firs

tpa

rt o

f th

e tw

entie

th c

entu

ry. U

ntil

the

late

193

0s a

ny ty

pe o

f ed

ucat

iona

lre

sear

ch w

as a

sm

all,

occa

sion

al th

ing,

the

prov

ince

of

spec

ialis

ed a

cade

mic

s

with

obs

cure

inte

rest

s. T

hen

cam

e th

ese

cond

Wor

ld W

ar w

hen

effo

rts

toim

prov

e th

e tr

aini

ng a

nd th

eef

fect

iven

ess

of s

ervi

cem

en b

roug

ht to

the

fore

the

psyc

holo

gica

l and

educ

atio

nal a

sses

smen

ts a

vaila

ble

at th

etim

e. T

hey

wer

e fo

und

to b

e sa

dly

lack

ing.

In

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es o

fA

mer

ica,

maj

or f

eder

al in

vest

men

t was

requ

ired

to b

uild

a r

esea

rch

base

tofa

cilit

ate

assi

gnm

ent o

f m

en to

mili

tary

task

s. T

his

inte

rest

and

rec

ogni

sed

need

spill

ed o

ver

into

the

post

war

wor

k of

thes

e pr

ofes

sion

s, a

nd s

erio

us f

ocus

was

give

n to

dev

elop

ing

a bo

dy o

f

Dav

id P

Wei

kart

is th

e fo

unde

r an

d Pr

esid

ent E

mer

itus

of H

igh/

Scop

e E

duca

tiona

l Res

earc

h Fo

unda

tion,

Mic

higa

n,U

SA

soph

istic

ated

res

earc

h de

sign

s,as

sess

men

t met

hods

, and

pro

cedu

res

ofan

alys

is. W

ith in

crea

sed

unde

rsta

ndin

gof

thes

e el

emen

ts, t

his

tren

d ha

sco

ntin

ued,

gre

atly

fac

ilita

ted

by th

eav

aila

bilit

y of

sop

hist

icat

ed c

ompu

ter

prog

ram

mes

to s

impl

ify

com

puta

tions

.

Mos

t of

the

proj

ects

that

cou

ld b

e th

esu

bjec

t of

such

res

earc

h po

sitiv

ely

assi

stth

ose

who

par

ticip

ate:

the

mot

her

with

her

infa

nt; t

he te

enag

er w

ith e

duca

tion;

the

labo

urer

with

ski

lls. B

ut f

rom

apu

blic

or

educ

atio

nal p

olic

y pe

rspe

ctiv

e,pa

rtic

ipan

t sat

isfa

ctio

n is

not

the

poin

t.If

the

serv

ice

idea

is to

hav

e us

e be

yond

thos

e se

rved

in a

sin

gle

loca

le, i

t mus

tde

mon

stra

te th

at in

vest

men

t of

time

and

mon

ey c

an p

rodu

ce s

omet

hing

that

part

icip

ants

cou

ld n

ot o

btai

n w

ithou

tth

e pr

ojec

t. Fu

rthe

r, to

hav

e st

rong

polic

y im

plic

atio

n, th

e pr

ojec

t out

com

es

mus

t be

repl

icat

ed e

lsew

here

with

sim

ilar

indi

vidu

als.

In o

rder

to r

each

thes

e go

als,

one

of

the

mos

t im

port

ant r

esea

rch

elem

ents

reco

gnis

ed to

day

is th

e ab

solu

tere

quir

emen

t of

a pr

oper

ly d

esig

ned

sam

ple

of p

artic

ipan

ts f

or a

ny s

tudy

.A

ll as

pect

s of

a p

roje

ct, t

he d

aily

adm

inis

trat

ion,

the

trai

ning

of

staf

f, th

eeq

uipm

ent a

nd m

ater

ials

ava

ilabl

e, th

een

thus

iasm

of

the

part

icip

ants

, can

be

in p

lace

. How

ever

, if

thos

e as

sign

ed to

part

icip

ate

and

thos

e as

sign

ed n

ot to

part

icip

ate

(the

exp

erim

enta

l and

cont

rol g

roup

s) a

re n

ot s

ampl

ed a

ndas

sign

ed c

orre

ctly

, non

e of

the

proj

ect

info

rmat

ion

will

be

wor

th m

ore

than

pass

ing

inte

rest

. In

a ve

ry r

eal s

ense

, the

way

in w

hich

the

grou

ps a

re e

stab

lishe

dfo

rms

a ri

gid

gate

into

the

valu

e of

the

proj

ect.

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 16

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

It is

on

thes

e is

sues

that

the

trac

erst

udie

s pr

esen

t bot

h an

opp

ortu

nity

and

a ch

alle

nge

for

the

broa

der

fiel

d of

educ

atio

nal r

esea

rch.

Int

erna

tiona

lly,

the

need

to f

ind

effe

ctiv

e m

eans

tosu

ppor

t chi

ldre

n an

d fa

mili

es, e

spec

ially

thos

e liv

ing

in p

over

ty, i

s w

idel

yre

cogn

ised

. The

se s

tudi

es o

ffer

impo

rtan

t inf

orm

atio

n.

An

oppo

rtun

ity

Tra

cer

stud

ies

repr

esen

t an

oppo

rtun

ityfo

r m

any

of th

e ri

ght r

easo

ns. F

irst

, the

proj

ects

rep

rese

nt d

iver

se g

eogr

aphi

cal

loca

tions

and

cul

tura

l set

tings

ser

ving

aw

ide

rang

e of

indi

vidu

als

in v

ery

diff

eren

t cou

ntri

es. T

oo o

ften

our

idea

sab

out w

hat s

ervi

ces

shou

ld b

e pr

ovid

edar

e dr

iven

by

info

rmat

ion

gene

rate

d in

the

econ

omic

ally

aff

luen

t wor

ld,

espe

cial

ly th

e U

nite

d St

ates

of

Am

eric

a.

Page 18: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Thi

s fa

ct is

a n

atur

al r

esul

t of

vast

reso

urce

s an

d la

rge

num

bers

of

wel

l-tr

aine

d st

aff

avai

labl

e fo

r ed

ucat

iona

lpr

ojec

ts. H

owev

er, e

ven

for

the

indu

stri

alis

ed w

orld

, ver

ific

atio

n of

educ

atio

nal a

ppro

ache

s or

ser

vice

proc

esse

s is

req

uire

d. T

he tr

acer

stu

dies

step

into

the

com

plex

ity o

f se

tting

s th

atst

retc

h an

d te

st a

bro

ad r

ange

of

serv

ice

idea

s in

new

way

s.

Seco

nd, t

he p

roje

cts

are

fund

amen

tally

dem

ocra

tic, a

trai

t inc

reas

ingl

y se

en a

san

ess

entia

l ing

redi

ent o

f an

y m

oder

nso

ciet

y. T

he p

roje

cts

thes

e st

udie

sex

amin

e ar

e us

ually

foc

used

on

com

mun

ity m

embe

rs d

isco

veri

ng w

ays

to h

elp

othe

rs in

thei

r co

mm

unity

. Thi

sap

proa

ch is

one

of

empo

wer

men

t and

entit

lem

ent.

All

peop

le r

espo

nd b

ette

rw

hen

they

can

see

that

the

prod

uct o

fth

eir

effo

rt is

acc

epte

d an

d re

spec

ted.

Thi

s di

men

sion

of

the

trac

er s

tudi

eses

tabl

ishe

s th

eir

lead

ersh

ip f

or th

ebr

oade

r fi

eld

of r

esea

rch

and

educ

atio

nal e

valu

atio

n.

Thi

rd, t

he s

tudi

es lo

ok a

t pro

ject

part

icip

ant o

utco

mes

ove

r tim

e. T

ooof

ten,

the

deve

lopm

ent o

f in

form

atio

nst

ops

at th

e en

d of

the

serv

ice

com

pone

nt o

f th

e pr

ojec

t for

part

icip

ants

. Loo

king

at o

utco

mes

ove

rtim

e is

a v

ery

impo

rtan

t ste

p in

the

proc

ess

of s

epar

atin

g th

ose

appr

oach

esth

at a

ctua

lly c

hang

e ci

rcum

stan

ces

from

USA

:H

igh/

Sco

pe, F

athe

r an

d ch

ild.

thos

e th

at s

impl

y en

able

som

e ev

ent t

ooc

cur

earl

ier

in ti

me.

The

trac

er s

tudi

esas

k di

ffic

ult q

uest

ions

reg

ardi

ngef

fect

iven

ess

of s

ervi

ces

that

the

broa

der

fiel

d of

res

earc

h an

d ev

alua

tion

ofte

nov

erlo

oks.

A c

halle

nge

Tra

cer

stud

ies

are

chal

leng

ed b

y th

em

ains

trea

m f

ield

of

rese

arch

and

At,

eval

uatio

n. T

he f

ield

's a

ccep

ted

rese

arch

stan

dard

s te

ar a

t the

fab

ric

of th

e w

ork

to d

ate.

Fir

st, m

ost o

f th

e tr

acer

stu

dies

have

not

dev

elop

ed a

n ad

equa

te s

ampl

esi

ze, n

or h

ave

they

und

erta

ken

rand

omse

lect

ion

and

assi

gnm

ent.

With

out

mee

ting

thes

e ba

sic

crite

ria,

the

info

rmat

ion

gene

rate

d is

inte

rest

ing

for

deve

lopi

ng id

eas

and

sugg

estin

g lin

es o

fth

ough

t, bu

t off

ers

little

gui

danc

e to

shap

e pu

blic

soc

ial o

r ed

ucat

iona

l pol

icy.

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 17

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Seco

nd, m

any

of th

e tr

acer

stu

dies

focu

s on

pro

gram

me

idea

s un

derg

oing

deve

lopm

ent,

mak

ing

it un

clea

r ju

stw

hat t

he s

peci

fic

serv

ice

or a

ppro

ach

actu

ally

was

. Pol

icy

can

only

be

built

arou

nd in

form

atio

n fr

om s

tabl

epr

ogra

mm

es. N

ew p

rogr

amm

es th

at a

rein

con

stan

t cha

nge,

as

they

rig

htly

resp

ond

to th

e ex

peri

ence

of

deliv

erin

gse

rvic

es, a

re n

ot g

ood

cand

idat

es f

orpo

licy

info

rmat

ion

beca

use

it is

unc

lear

Page 19: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

wha

t asp

ect o

f th

e pr

ojec

t is

actu

ally

bein

g ev

alua

ted.

Thi

rd, w

hen

proj

ect i

deas

are

new

, it

usua

lly m

eans

that

inst

rum

enta

tion

toas

sess

the

proj

ect o

utco

mes

has

yet

tobe

dev

elop

ed. W

hile

inte

rvie

ws

with

part

icip

ants

and

judg

men

ts b

y pr

ojec

tst

aff

are

espe

cial

ly v

ital f

or th

ede

velo

pmen

t of

a ne

w s

ervi

ce, s

uch

data

are

high

ly s

uspe

ct a

s ou

tcom

ein

form

atio

n. M

uch

of th

e in

form

atio

npr

esen

ted

in th

e tr

acer

stu

dies

, fro

m th

ein

itial

pha

se o

f th

e pr

ojec

t as

wel

l as

the

follo

w-u

p ph

ase,

com

es f

rom

suc

hin

terv

iew

s an

d ju

dgem

ents

. Of

cour

se,

that

doe

s no

t mea

n th

at it

is a

lway

ssa

fer

to u

se tr

aditi

onal

out

com

eas

sess

men

t app

roac

hes:

are

they

stan

dard

ized

for

this

spe

cifi

cpo

pula

tion?

Is

tran

slat

ion

ofin

stru

men

ts o

r tr

aini

ng p

roce

dure

sin

volv

ed, a

nd w

ho c

heck

ed th

e ne

wfo

rms

for

accu

racy

? H

ow w

ere

the

tria

lfi

eld

test

s of

the

inst

rum

ents

cond

ucte

d? I

n sh

ort,

the

trac

er s

tudi

esha

ve ta

ckle

d a

very

dif

ficu

lt pr

oble

min

deed

, but

for

the

find

ings

to b

em

eani

ngfu

l, th

ere

mus

t be

answ

ers

toth

ese

ques

tions

.

The

con

trib

utio

n of

trac

er s

tudi

es to

educ

atio

nal r

esea

rch

and

eval

uatio

n

All

that

sai

d, h

owev

er, t

here

are

man

yle

sson

s ge

nera

ted

by th

e tr

acer

stu

dies

,

and

the

broa

der

fiel

d of

edu

catio

nal

rese

arch

and

eva

luat

ion

can

lear

nex

tens

ivel

y fr

om th

em. F

rom

my

poin

tof

vie

w o

ne o

f th

e m

ost i

mpo

rtan

tle

sson

s is

fro

m th

e ne

w c

omm

unity

or

educ

atio

nal s

ervi

ce p

atte

rns.

Wor

king

on li

mite

d bu

dget

s an

d of

ten

shor

tst

affe

d, th

ese

proj

ects

hav

e ex

plor

edne

w p

atte

rns

of e

nabl

ing

indi

vidu

als

tom

eet a

nd o

verc

ome

prob

lem

s. B

ig N

ewId

eas

in s

ervi

ce a

re h

ard

to c

ome

by.

Add

ing

pare

ntin

g is

sues

to h

ealth

serv

ices

was

one

suc

h id

ea. A

noth

er w

astr

aini

ng p

aren

ts to

ass

ist o

ther

par

ents

inst

ead

of u

sing

pro

fess

iona

l sta

ff. B

utth

ese

and

sim

ilar

idea

s ar

e fr

om th

epa

st; b

reak

thro

ughs

in th

e 19

60s

and

1970

s. W

hat c

an b

e gl

eane

d fr

om th

ese

trac

er s

tudi

es th

at w

ould

for

m th

e ba

sis

of a

bre

akth

roug

h in

ser

vice

idea

s fo

rth

is d

ecad

e? T

hey

may

be

hidd

en in

this

body

of

wor

k; th

e re

quir

emen

t is

todi

scov

er th

em.

Ano

ther

less

on o

f va

lue

from

the

stud

ies

stem

s fr

om th

eir

dive

rsity

:di

vers

ity in

met

hods

of

serv

ice;

div

ersi

tyin

cul

ture

and

lang

uage

of

part

icip

atin

ggr

oups

; div

ersi

ty in

eco

nom

icde

velo

pmen

t of

the

com

mun

ity; a

nddi

vers

ity in

eth

nic

com

posi

tion.

The

sest

udie

s ar

e no

t 'po

or c

ousi

ns' t

o th

ela

rge

scal

e, w

ell-

fina

nced

stu

dies

inaf

flue

nt c

ount

ries

, the

y ar

e st

oreh

ouse

sof

impr

ovis

atio

n an

d re

silie

nce

in th

ede

man

ding

dai

ly li

ves

of c

omm

uniti

es.

Thu

s w

hile

edu

catio

nal r

esea

rch

and

eval

uatio

n us

ually

dem

and

clar

ity o

fpr

ojec

t ope

ratio

n an

d pr

ojec

t out

com

es,

thes

e st

udie

s of

fer

com

plex

ity a

nd a

wea

lth o

f in

form

atio

n ab

out a

ctua

l day

to d

ay w

ork

with

peo

ple.

With

this

initi

al in

form

atio

n, f

utur

e pr

ojec

ts c

anbe

mor

e fu

lly im

plem

ente

d an

dev

alua

ted

with

mor

e tr

aditi

onal

stan

dard

s.

The

Nex

t Big

New

Idea

The

key

to v

alua

ble

info

rmat

ion

from

the

trac

er s

tudi

es is

to p

rese

nt th

epr

ojec

t inf

orm

atio

n ob

tain

ed, q

ualif

ied

by th

e st

anda

rd r

esea

rch

rese

rvat

ions

,su

ch th

at th

e re

stle

ss a

nd in

nova

tive

appr

oach

es a

re c

lear

. The

y ne

ed to

be

stud

ied

clos

ely

for

idea

s th

at m

ight

sugg

est m

ajor

cha

nges

in s

ervi

cem

etho

ds. I

f th

e N

ext B

ig N

ew I

dea

wer

eob

viou

s, w

e w

ould

be

doin

g it.

How

ever

, it i

s bu

ried

in o

ther

fie

lds,

othe

r ap

proa

ches

, oth

er w

ays

of lo

okin

gat

pro

blem

s.

For

exam

ple,

use

of

com

pute

rs a

ndot

her

elec

tron

ic te

chno

logi

es a

re o

ut o

fth

e qu

estio

n in

man

y pa

rts

of th

e w

orld

beca

use

of c

ost,

avai

labi

lity

of tr

aine

dpe

rson

nel,

and

lack

of

know

ledg

e as

toho

w to

eff

ectiv

ely

use

such

tech

nolo

gyev

en if

it w

ere

avai

labl

e. B

ut s

omeh

ow,

with

in te

chno

logy

is o

ne B

ig N

ew I

dea.

Not

just

to u

se c

ompu

ters

and

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 18

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

tech

nolo

gy, b

ut h

ow th

ey a

re u

sed.

Can

pare

nts

be li

nked

with

oth

er p

aren

tsan

d pr

ojec

t sta

ff in

way

s th

at g

ive

imm

edia

te s

uppo

rt f

or im

med

iate

prob

lem

s? C

an tr

aini

ng o

f ce

ntre

-bas

edst

aff

be im

prov

ed w

ith v

ideo

str

eam

ing

of d

emon

stra

tion

clas

sroo

ms

with

voi

ceov

er b

y a

know

ledg

eabl

e co

mm

enta

tor?

With

the

adve

nt o

f di

gita

lco

mm

unic

atio

n de

vice

s (i

nclu

ding

cel

lph

ones

) lin

ked

to s

atel

lites

, is

a ne

wtr

aini

ng v

ehic

le o

pene

d?

The

poi

nt is

that

to in

nova

te, d

eliv

er,

and

docu

men

t eff

ectiv

e pr

ogra

mm

es is

a di

ffic

ult t

ask.

The

trac

er s

tudi

esen

com

pass

a w

ide

rang

e of

div

erse

effo

rts

whi

ch c

an p

rovi

de in

telle

ctua

lbu

ildin

g bl

ocks

for

new

er u

nder

taki

ngs,

if w

e ca

n on

ly le

arn

to b

uild

on

the

old

whi

le a

ttem

ptin

g th

e ne

w. T

heav

aila

bilit

y of

suc

h st

udie

s to

the

broa

der

fiel

d of

res

earc

h an

ded

ucat

iona

l eva

luat

ion

mov

es f

orw

ard

the

pote

ntia

l of

know

ledg

e ab

out h

igh

qual

ity s

ervi

ce.

0

Page 20: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

The

ory

prac

tice

Insi

deor

outs

ide

rese

arch

ers?

Wha

t are

the

adva

ntag

es a

nd d

isad

vant

ages

of

havi

ng r

esea

rch

done

fro

m w

ithin

the

prog

ram

me

or o

rgan

isat

ion?

And

wha

t are

the

pros

and

con

s of

usi

ng o

utsi

de r

esea

rche

rs?

The

fol

low

ing

issu

es w

ere

men

tione

d at

the

Follo

win

g Fo

otst

eps

wor

ksho

p in

Jam

aica

.

Usi

ng in

side

rs -

pos

itive

Usi

ng in

side

rs -

cha

lleng

es

Bri

ng in

side

kno

wle

dge

and

unde

rsta

ndin

g of

the

proj

ect

Ena

ble

orga

nisa

tiona

l lea

rnin

gE

nabl

e pr

oces

ses

of a

naly

sing

and

unde

rsta

ndin

g w

ithin

the

proj

ect

Fam

iliar

ity w

ith a

nd s

ensi

tivity

tocu

lture

, nor

ms,

lang

uage

Fam

iliar

ity w

ith a

nd a

ccep

tabl

e to

resp

onde

nts

Hav

e in

tuiti

ve a

nd in

trin

sic

know

ledg

eR

esea

rch

will

be

trul

y 'o

wne

d'an

d ap

plie

dC

an in

flue

nce

the

prog

ram

me

A c

lear

imm

edia

te s

ound

ing

boar

dIn

terp

erso

nal r

elat

ions

hip

allo

ws

the

insi

der

to g

o de

eper

Fina

ncia

l ben

efit

to o

rgan

isat

ion

Aw

aren

ess

of p

oliti

cal e

nvir

onm

ent

Inve

stm

ent i

n th

e ou

tcom

es (

doub

le-

edge

d!)

1,D

% D

ange

r of

bia

s, f

or e

xam

ple,

in f

avou

rof

cer

tain

out

com

es'5

Fam

iliar

ity/k

now

ledg

e m

ight

hin

der

obje

ctiv

ity6'

Pos

sibl

e ov

er-i

dent

ific

atio

n w

ithpr

ojec

t5

Too

clo

se to

the

prob

lem

t- C

ould

be

too

pass

iona

te, u

nabl

e to

sepa

rate

issu

est1

' Res

pond

ents

mig

ht g

ive

the

answ

ers

they

thin

k th

e pr

ojec

t wan

ts to

hea

r5

Com

petin

g w

ork

load

s'6

Dif

ficu

lty in

shi

ftin

g ro

les

6 C

ould

hav

e bl

inke

red

appr

oach

to d

ata

5 In

vest

men

t in

the

outc

omes

(dou

ble-

edge

d!)

Usi

ng o

utsi

ders

- p

ositi

veU

sing

out

side

rs -

cha

lleng

es

Cha

lleng

e th

e th

inki

ng a

nd w

hat h

as'5

May

mis

s im

port

ant k

now

ledg

e or

und

er-

been

take

n fo

r gr

ante

dst

andi

ng th

roug

h la

ck o

f in

form

atio

n an

dB

ring

bro

ader

and

new

per

spec

tives

bein

g ne

w to

the

subj

ect

and

wid

er e

xper

ienc

e fr

om o

ther

`' M

ay n

ot b

e fa

mili

ar w

ith th

e cu

lture

, loc

alpr

ojec

tsla

ngua

ge, j

argo

nH

ave

expe

rtis

e in

res

earc

h5

Will

not

be

awar

e of

hid

den

agen

das

Are

obj

ectiv

e'5

The

ir q

uest

ions

may

not

be

rele

vant

Hav

e a

fres

h vi

ewne

w e

yes

'5 T

here

cou

ld b

e so

cial

dis

tanc

e be

caus

e of

Onl

y co

mm

itmen

t is

to r

esea

rch,

not

back

grou

nd a

nd e

xper

tise

to p

roje

ct im

plem

enta

tion

'5 S

peci

fic

rese

arch

ers

coul

d be

impo

sed

byC

an s

ee 'o

utsi

de th

e bo

x'ou

tsid

ers/

fund

ers

Bri

ng n

ew w

ays

of u

nder

stan

ding

5 M

oney

spe

nt o

n ou

tsid

ers

coul

d be

use

dL

ack

of b

ias

for

proj

ect d

evel

opm

ent

Opt

imal

foc

us5

Out

side

rs c

an b

e re

sent

ed b

ecau

se o

f bi

t-D

etac

hmen

tte

rnes

s ab

out h

ighe

r w

ages

, 'st

olen

' inf

or-

mat

ion

and

susp

icio

n fr

om r

espo

nden

ts5

Res

pond

ents

may

not

res

pond

to a

n ou

tsi-

der

5 A

dditi

onal

tim

e is

nee

ded

for

orie

ntat

ion

'5 M

ay n

ot b

e op

en a

bout

ow

n as

sum

ptio

ns5

Tim

e is

som

etim

es li

mite

d

Pos

sibl

e so

lutio

ns

One

sol

utio

n co

uld

be in

side

r re

sear

ch s

uppo

rted

by

outs

ide

reso

urce

per

sons

/mon

itors

.A

sin

gle

pers

pect

ive

can

be a

void

ed b

y in

volv

ing

as m

any

as p

ossi

ble

insi

ders

in th

e te

am a

nd h

avin

g a

prim

ary

outs

ide

rese

arch

er g

uidi

ng th

e re

sear

chpr

oces

s.

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 19

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Page 21: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

The

ory

prac

tice

To

com

pare

or

not t

oco

mpa

re?

Kat

hy S

yilv

a

The

aut

hor

is P

rofe

ssor

of

Edu

catio

nal P

sych

olog

y in

the

Dep

artm

ent o

f E

duca

tiona

l Stu

dies

, Uni

vers

ity o

f O

xfor

d,U

nite

d K

ingd

om. I

n th

is a

rtic

le s

he r

evie

ws

the

impo

rtan

ce o

f co

mpa

riso

n gr

oups

, con

side

ratio

ns th

at a

rise

in s

ampl

esi

ze, a

nd th

e pl

ace

of q

ualit

ativ

e an

d qu

antit

ativ

e da

ta in

long

itudi

nal s

tudi

es.

A s

tudy

that

is f

ollo

win

g up

par

ticip

ants

afte

r so

me

year

s is

a f

orm

of

long

itudi

nal s

tudy

. In

this

kin

d of

rese

arch

, the

re a

re tw

o qu

estio

ns th

atca

n be

ask

ed:

wha

t are

chi

ldre

n/fa

mili

es w

hopa

rtic

ipat

ed in

the

prog

ram

me

like

anu

mbe

r of

yea

rs la

ter?

Wha

t wou

ld c

hild

ren/

fam

ilies

be

like

if th

ey h

ad N

OT

par

ticip

ated

in th

epr

ogra

mm

e?

The

fir

st o

f th

ese

ques

tions

is e

ssen

tially

look

ing

for

desc

ript

ion,

it is

one

way

of

look

ing

at o

utco

mes

, but

you

can

nev

erbe

sur

e w

hat c

ause

d th

em. I

f th

is is

you

rre

sear

ch q

uest

ion,

you

do

not r

equi

re a

com

pari

son

grou

p.

The

sec

ond

ques

tion

cann

ot b

ean

swer

ed w

ithou

t a c

ompa

riso

n gr

oup.

Thi

s w

ill h

elp

to s

how

the

effe

cts

of a

prog

ram

me

by c

ompa

ring

sim

ilar

popu

latio

ns w

ho d

id a

nd w

ho d

id n

otpa

rtic

ipat

e in

the

prog

ram

me.

Alth

ough

the

use

of a

com

pari

son

grou

p do

es n

otm

ean

that

you

can

'pro

ve' t

hat i

t was

the

prog

ram

me

that

mad

e th

e di

ffer

ence

, it

stre

ngth

ens

the

case

that

it w

as.

Typ

es o

f co

mpa

riso

ns

The

re a

re b

asic

ally

thre

e di

ffer

ent t

ypes

of g

roup

s th

at c

an b

e us

ed f

orco

mpa

riso

n:

1. th

e co

ntro

l gro

up w

here

the

sam

eki

nds

of in

divi

dual

s/fa

mili

es f

rom

the

sam

e ki

nds

of n

eigh

bour

hood

sha

ve b

een

rand

omly

ass

igne

d to

be

in th

e pr

ogra

mm

e or

not

(th

epr

ogra

mm

e gr

oup

is s

omet

imes

calle

d an

'int

erve

ntio

n' o

r 'tr

eatm

ent'

grou

p);

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 20

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

2. th

e m

atch

ed g

roup

in w

hich

you

fir

stde

fine

impo

rtan

t cha

ract

eris

tics

ofth

e in

terv

entio

n gr

oup

and

then

mat

ch th

em w

ith in

divi

dual

s in

anot

her

grou

p th

at is

as

muc

h lik

eth

e fi

rst g

roup

as

poss

ible

; and

3. th

e co

mpa

riso

n gr

oup

whi

ch is

com

pose

d of

peo

ple

who

are

like

thos

e in

the

prog

ram

me

in m

any

way

s bu

t did

not

par

ticip

ate

for

wha

teve

r re

ason

. For

exa

mpl

e, th

eyco

uld

be f

rom

a d

iffe

rent

vill

age.

Page 22: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Of

thes

e, th

e co

ntro

l gro

up g

ives

you

the

best

pos

sibi

litie

s fo

r m

akin

g yo

urco

mpa

riso

ns s

ome

year

s la

ter

beca

use

the

assi

gnm

ent i

nto

prog

ram

me/

cont

rol

grou

p w

as r

ando

m r

ight

at t

hebe

ginn

ing.

The

re a

re, h

owev

er, s

ome

draw

back

s, p

artic

ular

ly th

e et

hica

l iss

ueof

den

ying

a p

rogr

amm

e to

thos

e w

how

ant i

t whe

n th

e re

sour

ces

are

avai

labl

e.If

ther

e ar

e no

t suf

fici

ent r

esou

rces

avai

labl

e fr

om th

e st

art,

it m

ight

be

poss

ible

to o

ffer

ser

vice

s at

a la

ter

stag

e,in

whi

ch c

ase

fam

ilies

mig

ht b

e w

illin

gto

be

rand

omly

ass

igne

d in

the

firs

tin

stan

ce, k

now

ing

that

eve

ryon

e w

illpa

rtic

ipat

e in

the

prog

ram

me

atso

me

time.

With

the

seco

nd tw

o gr

oups

on

the

list,

you

cann

ot k

now

for

sur

e th

at it

was

the

prog

ram

me

that

mad

e th

edi

ffer

ence

, sin

ce y

ou d

o no

t kno

ww

heth

er th

e pe

ople

in th

e pr

ogra

mm

ear

e di

ffer

ent f

rom

thos

e w

ho a

re n

ot.

The

mer

e fa

ct o

f be

ing

will

ing

topa

rtic

ipat

e al

read

y m

akes

them

diff

eren

t in

som

e w

ay.

An

impo

rtan

t dif

fere

nce

betw

een

am

atch

ed a

nd a

con

trol

gro

up is

that

the

cont

rol g

roup

was

ran

dom

ly a

lloca

ted.

The

mat

ched

gro

up is

a li

ttle

stro

nger

than

the

com

pari

son

grou

p be

caus

e yo

ukn

ow h

ow th

e tw

o gr

oups

are

alik

e an

dha

ve s

elec

ted

them

for

thei

r si

mila

rity

.

r\D

IN)

The

mor

e w

e ha

ve c

ontr

ol a

nd m

atch

edgr

oups

in o

ur s

tudi

es, t

he b

ette

r ab

le w

ear

e to

lim

it th

e in

flue

nce

of o

ther

fact

ors.

If

we

are

tryi

ng to

est

ablis

hef

fect

s w

e ne

ed to

'tri

angu

late

, whi

chm

eans

get

ting

our

data

fro

m tw

o or

mor

e so

urce

s an

d m

atch

ing

orco

mpa

ring

them

.

How

big

sho

uld

the

sam

ples

be?

The

mai

n co

nstr

aint

whe

n yo

u ar

etr

ying

to f

ind

out t

he e

ffec

ts o

f a

prog

ram

me

are

the

infl

uenc

es o

nch

ildre

n/fa

mili

es th

at a

re b

eyon

d th

esp

here

of

the

prog

ram

me.

Her

e is

whe

renu

mbe

rs b

ecom

e im

port

ant b

ecau

se if

the

num

bers

are

larg

e en

ough

then

unus

ual c

ircu

mst

ance

s fo

r on

e ch

ild d

ono

t inf

luen

ce th

e ov

eral

l out

com

es. I

fth

e nu

mbe

rs a

re s

mal

l, th

en a

n un

usua

lev

ent f

or o

ne in

divi

dual

impa

cts

the

sam

ple

in a

dis

prop

ortio

nate

way

. An

exam

ple

is a

res

earc

h st

udy

invo

lvin

gth

e us

e of

a s

peci

fic

met

hodo

logy

tote

ach

a sm

all n

umbe

r of

chi

ldre

n to

read

. In

the

cont

rol g

roup

ther

e is

ach

ild w

hose

aun

t is

a te

ache

r an

dsu

dden

ly m

oves

in to

her

hom

e an

dte

ache

s he

r to

rea

d. I

n th

is c

ase,

the

read

ing

scor

es o

f a

smal

l gro

up m

ight

be 'a

rtif

icia

lly in

crea

sed'

by

the

aunt

who

join

ed th

e fa

mily

.

If b

oth

grou

ps c

onta

in la

rger

num

bers

,fo

r ex

ampl

e 60

+ c

hild

ren,

the

impa

ct o

f

one

child

is n

ot g

reat

. If,

how

ever

, the

stud

y in

clud

es a

sm

all n

umbe

r, f

orex

ampl

e le

ss th

an 1

6 ch

ildre

n, d

ram

atic

and

unus

ual c

ircu

mst

ance

s fo

r on

ech

ild m

ay g

reat

ly in

flue

nce

grou

pou

tcom

es.

Det

erm

inin

g th

e nu

mbe

r of

chi

ldre

n to

incl

ude

in th

e sa

mpl

e de

pend

s on

man

yfa

ctor

s, in

clud

ing

the

reso

urce

s av

aila

ble

(tim

e, m

oney

, exp

ertis

e an

d so

on)

.C

alcu

latin

g th

e op

timum

num

ber

need

sto

be

done

in r

elat

ion

to th

e nu

mbe

r in

the

tota

l pop

ulat

ion.

Thi

s is

aco

mpl

icat

ed p

roce

ss a

nd h

ard

to d

o.A

noth

er a

ppro

ach,

not

qui

te s

o go

od, i

sto

look

at p

revi

ous

stud

ies

of th

e sa

me

kind

and

aim

for

mor

e or

less

the

sam

esa

mpl

e si

zes.

If

the

grou

ps h

ave

been

rand

omly

ass

igne

d, th

en th

e sa

mpl

esi

zes

can

be s

mal

ler;

if th

e sa

mpl

e is

tobe

non

-ran

dom

, the

n a

larg

er s

ampl

e is

need

ed to

take

acc

ount

of

grea

ter

vari

atio

n be

twee

n th

e gr

oups

.

In a

ny c

ase,

the

sam

ple

need

s to

be

repr

esen

tativ

e of

the

kind

s of

chi

ldre

nyo

u ar

e se

rvin

g. F

or e

xam

ple,

if y

ouse

lect

for

trac

ing

only

chi

ldre

n w

hoar

e in

sch

ool s

ever

al y

ears

late

r, th

isdo

es n

ot r

epre

sent

the

who

le g

roup

as

ther

e m

ay w

ell h

ave

been

som

e th

atdr

oppe

d ou

t.

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 21

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Qua

litat

ive

or q

uant

itativ

e?W

heth

er to

do

a qu

alita

tive

rese

arch

stud

y or

a q

uant

itativ

e re

sear

ch s

tudy

depe

nds

on th

e re

sear

ch q

uest

ions

, the

obje

ctiv

es o

f th

e st

udy,

the

audi

ence

bein

g ai

med

at a

s w

ell a

s th

e re

sour

ces

and

skill

s av

aila

ble.

And

ther

e is

als

o th

em

atte

r of

sam

ple

size

.

If th

e st

udy

is q

ualit

ativ

e th

en it

isim

poss

ible

to d

o w

ith 2

,000

chi

ldre

n.If

the

stud

y is

qua

ntita

tive

then

sam

ples

of 6

0 an

d 60

can

be

suff

icie

nt. I

n th

eex

ampl

e th

e vi

sitin

g au

nt w

ho w

as a

teac

her,

her

impa

ct w

ill b

e le

ss w

ith a

sam

ple

of 6

0 in

eac

h gr

oup

than

one

whi

ch h

as a

sm

alle

r sa

mpl

e. Y

ou m

aykn

ow a

bout

her

and

it is

pos

sibl

e to

talk

abou

t her

in th

e st

udy,

but

she

doe

s no

t`s

wam

p' th

e ou

tcom

e.

Bot

h qu

antit

ativ

e an

d qu

alita

tive

met

hodo

logi

es s

trug

gle

to in

terp

ret t

heev

iden

ce a

nd a

ccou

nt f

or d

iffe

renc

esbe

twee

n re

spon

dent

s. A

nd in

man

yw

ays,

it is

a f

alse

dic

hoto

my.

It i

spo

ssib

le, f

or e

xam

ple,

to h

ave

a fa

irly

larg

e sc

ale

quan

titat

ive

stud

y an

d al

soto

dra

w a

sm

alle

r sa

mpl

e fr

om th

atst

udy

for

an in

-dep

th q

ualit

ativ

e st

udy.

Com

bini

ng th

e di

ffer

ent m

etho

dolo

gies

shou

ld le

ad to

mor

e m

eani

ngfu

lfi

ndin

gs a

nd in

terp

reta

tions

.0

Page 23: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

The

sto

ry b

ehin

d th

e st

ory:

trac

ing

San

child

ren

in B

otsw

ana

WiD

Dem

ien

De

Rou

x an

d G

aoD

atD

he E

iren

e T

hupe

Bot

swan

a: C

hild

ren

of th

e E

arth

pro

ject

San

pre

scho

ol c

hild

ren

of B

ere,

Gha

nzi d

istr

ict.

Pho

to: M

atth

ias

Hof

er

In th

is a

rtic

le, W

illem

ien

le R

oux,

fou

nder

of

the

Bok

amos

o Pr

esch

ool P

rogr

amm

e, a

nd G

aola

tlhe

Eir

ene

Thu

pe, i

ts c

urre

ntC

oord

inat

or, r

efle

ct o

n th

eir

expe

rien

ces

in c

arry

ing

out a

trac

er s

tudy

on

part

icip

ants

in th

e pr

ogra

mm

e. T

his

curr

ently

ope

rate

s in

13 S

an s

ettle

men

ts in

the

Gha

nzi D

istr

ict o

f w

este

rn B

otsw

ana

and

inco

rpor

ates

thre

e m

ain

hypo

thes

es: t

hat S

an c

hild

ren

who

hav

ego

ne th

roug

h pr

esch

ool w

ill b

e le

ss li

kely

to d

rop

out o

f fo

rmal

sch

ools

; tha

t par

ents

will

par

ticip

ate

mor

e po

sitiv

ely

in th

e fo

rmal

educ

atio

n pr

oces

s if

thei

r ch

ildre

n ar

e so

meh

ow 'l

ured

' int

o le

arni

ng th

roug

h pl

ay; a

nd th

at th

e in

trod

uctio

n of

lang

uage

s in

an

info

rmal

way

will

bre

ak th

roug

h ch

ildre

n's

resi

stan

ce to

oth

er la

ngua

ges

and

give

them

a h

ead

star

t in

prim

ary

scho

ol.

The

ref

lect

ions

of

the

auth

ors

are

com

plem

ente

d by

an

exam

ple

from

the

prog

ram

me

of th

e de

pth

and

rich

ness

of

info

rmat

ion

that

trac

er s

tudi

es c

an r

evea

l (se

e bo

x on

pag

e 24

).

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 22

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Page 24: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

We

wer

e su

rpri

sed

whe

n th

e B

erna

rdva

n L

eer

Foun

datio

n sa

id it

wan

ted

tore

prin

t our

stu

dy' o

f th

e B

okam

oso

Pres

choo

l Pro

gram

me

in B

otsw

ana.

We

did

not g

o in

to th

e ex

peri

ence

with

the

inte

ntio

n to

cha

nge

anyo

ne's

idea

s w

ithit,

we

are

prac

titio

ners

and

we

wen

t int

oth

e st

udy

for

ours

elve

sit

was

not

mea

nt to

impa

ct p

olic

y.

The

pro

cess

of

doin

g th

e st

udy

was

ver

yim

port

ant f

or u

s, w

e ho

ped

for

seve

ral

outc

omes

and

we

also

wan

ted

tore

info

rce

and

test

our

ow

n as

sum

ptio

ns.

We

saw

our

ow

n pr

ogra

mm

e as

acu

ltura

l bri

dge

for

the

San

child

ren;

we

wan

ted

to p

repa

re th

em to

take

the

stra

in o

f th

e tr

ansi

tion

to p

rim

ary

scho

ol. W

e fe

lt w

e w

ere

getti

ng s

tuck

.W

ere

we

reac

hing

our

goa

ls?

We

wan

ted

to s

ee w

hat w

e co

uld

chan

ge to

bro

aden

the

scop

e. W

e w

ere

cons

tant

ly r

unni

ngin

to c

ontr

adic

tions

, so

we

need

ed to

ols

to c

onvi

nce

othe

r pe

ople

that

the

proj

ect w

as w

orki

ng, t

hat w

hat w

e w

ere

doin

g w

as w

orth

whi

le.

The

re w

as o

ppos

ition

to o

ur w

ork,

som

e pe

ople

wer

e sc

eptic

al a

nd s

aid

itdi

d no

t mak

e se

nse,

that

we

wer

e go

ing

back

war

ds b

y te

achi

ng th

e ch

ildre

n in

the

pres

choo

ls in

thei

r m

othe

r to

ngue

.A

nd th

ere

wer

e pr

imar

y sc

hool

teac

hers

who

bla

med

the

pres

choo

ls f

or m

akin

gth

e ch

ildre

n fe

el m

ore

free

.

We

are

not r

esea

rche

rs a

nd a

t the

begi

nnin

g w

e ha

d an

adv

isor

who

was

linke

d to

the

fund

er. S

he is

a s

ocio

logi

stan

d pr

ovid

ed r

esea

rch

guid

ance

. She

plan

ned

the

stud

y w

ith u

s an

d w

ede

sign

ed th

e qu

estio

nnai

re to

geth

er.

But

she

took

ano

ther

job

in a

noth

erco

untr

y an

d w

e w

ere

left

on

our

own.

We

wer

e st

uck,

we

had

star

ted

the

proc

ess,

we

had

the

basi

cs, b

ut n

oten

ough

res

earc

h kn

owle

dge.

We

had

our

doub

ts f

rom

the

begi

nnin

gab

out u

sing

que

stio

nnai

res

as w

e kn

ewth

at, e

spec

ially

am

ong

the

mos

tlyill

itera

te S

an p

eopl

e w

e w

ork

with

, the

wri

tten

wor

d ar

ouse

s su

spic

ions

. Our

com

mun

ities

hav

e ha

d m

any

peop

leas

king

them

que

stio

ns a

nd th

ey f

eel

noth

ing

is e

ver

fed

back

to th

em. T

heSa

n su

spec

t tha

t peo

ple

such

as

rese

arch

ers,

jour

nalis

ts a

nd f

ilm m

aker

sha

ve b

een

mak

ing

mon

ey o

ut o

f w

hat

they

hav

e to

ld th

em. W

e fe

lt th

at th

epr

oces

s of

ask

ing

the

ques

tions

wou

ldal

iena

te p

eopl

e an

d w

ould

cre

ate

expe

ctat

ions

. So

we

deci

ded

not t

o us

eth

e qu

estio

nnai

re a

nd to

do

it in

our

own

way

, in

our

own

time,

usi

ng a

sty

leof

que

stio

ning

acc

ordi

ng to

wha

t we

knew

wou

ld w

ork

and

acco

rdin

g to

wha

t we

knew

was

ther

e. W

e ha

d to

do

it in

form

ally

, oth

erw

ise

they

ask

them

selv

es 'w

here

is th

is in

form

atio

ngo

ing?

' and

you

don

't ge

t the

rea

lan

swer

s.

The

met

hod

we

used

was

to g

o to

soc

ial

gath

erin

gs w

ith th

e co

mm

unity

mot

ivat

ors.

We

wou

ld s

it w

ith th

epe

ople

, gat

heri

ng in

form

atio

n th

roug

hch

attin

g an

d ta

lkin

g w

ith th

em. W

epi

cked

up

peop

le o

n th

e ro

ad, g

ave

them

lift

s, a

nd g

ot f

urth

er in

form

atio

nor

con

firm

atio

n du

ring

the

ride

.

For

exam

ple,

one

que

stio

n w

e ne

eded

to k

now

was

if th

ey h

ad a

ny in

com

e,an

d of

ten

it m

eant

tryi

ng to

fin

d ou

tho

w m

any

cow

s th

ey h

ave.

If

you

ask

this

dir

ectly

they

wou

ld a

nsw

er th

atth

ey h

ave

none

hopi

ng to

get

som

ethi

ng f

rom

the

inte

rvie

wer

sin

cem

any

aid

prog

ram

mes

in o

ur a

rea

are

aim

ed o

nly

at th

e so

-cal

led

dest

itute

s.So

we

wou

ld g

o an

d si

t with

peo

ple

inth

eir

hom

es a

nd w

ithin

the

gene

ral

conv

ersa

tion

wou

ld a

sk th

em a

bout

thei

r ro

utin

es: '

If, i

n th

e ev

enin

g, y

ou g

oto

the

kraa

l' to

see

if y

our

cow

s ca

me

hom

e, w

hat d

o yo

u do

if o

ne h

as n

otco

me?

' Thr

ough

talk

ing

with

them

abou

t car

ing

for

the

cattl

e w

e gr

adua

llyco

uld

lear

n ho

w m

any

they

had

. The

yne

ver

wou

ld h

ave

give

n us

the

answ

erha

d w

e as

ked

the

ques

tion

dire

ctly

.

The

n w

e w

ent a

way

and

trie

d to

put

the

info

rmat

ion

on p

aper

. We

sent

the

data

to th

e re

sear

cher

who

ana

lyse

d it

and

sent

it b

ack

but t

here

was

a lo

ng la

pse

betw

een

data

col

lect

ion

and

anal

ysis

.W

e w

ere

very

dis

appo

inte

d w

ith h

er

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 23

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

repo

rt b

ecau

se th

e nu

mbe

rs d

id n

otre

pres

ent w

hat w

e kn

ew s

o w

e ha

d a

seco

nd r

ound

of

data

gat

heri

ng.

We

wen

t to

the

scho

ols

agai

n an

dch

ecke

d re

cord

s of

chi

ldre

n w

ho h

adbe

en in

the

pres

choo

ls a

nd m

ight

hav

edr

oppe

d ou

t of

prim

ary

scho

ol, b

utth

ere

wer

e m

any

diff

icul

ties:

lack

of

reco

rds;

fal

se r

ecor

ds; t

rans

fers

of

child

ren

and

teac

hers

; inc

onsi

sten

tsp

ellin

g of

nam

es in

the

San'

s cl

ick

lang

uage

s; a

nd o

ther

inco

nsis

tenc

ies.

Scho

ols

are

give

n eq

uipm

ent a

ndsu

ppor

t on

the

basi

s of

num

bers

of

child

ren,

so

we

susp

ecte

d th

atso

met

imes

mor

e ch

ildre

n w

ere

regi

ster

ed th

an a

ctua

lly a

ttend

ed. T

here

was

no

way

to c

heck

the

valid

ity o

f th

eda

ta, a

nd p

eopl

e in

the

educ

atio

nde

part

men

t sha

red

thei

r ow

nfr

ustr

atio

ns w

ith u

s. N

ames

cha

nged

beca

use

scho

ols

coul

d no

t rec

ord

child

ren'

s na

mes

in th

eir

own

lang

uage

,so

nam

es w

ere

reco

rded

as

they

wer

e`h

eard

. We

deve

lope

d st

rate

gies

to tr

yan

d ve

rify

dat

a. W

e co

llect

ed a

ll th

ena

mes

of

the

drop

outs

and

then

wen

tto

trai

ning

ses

sion

s fo

r pr

imar

y sc

hool

teac

hers

, and

che

cked

with

gro

ups

ofte

ache

rs to

see

if th

ey c

ould

iden

tify

the

child

ren.

But

stil

l the

res

ults

wer

e 'in

sign

ific

ant'

stat

istic

ally

and

we

had

to f

ind

othe

rw

ays

to s

how

wha

t was

ther

e.

Page 25: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Dis

cipl

inin

g Sa

n ch

ildre

n in

Bot

swan

a

In S

an s

ocie

ty, c

hild

ren

are

brou

ght u

pas

equ

al to

adu

lts, h

ence

par

ents

rar

ely

reso

rt to

cor

pora

l pun

ishm

ent,

yet

phys

ical

form

s of

pun

ishm

ent w

ere

wid

espr

ead

in th

e B

otsw

ana

scho

olsy

stem

. Thi

s fe

d ba

ck in

to th

e

beha

viou

r of

par

ents

as

this

ext

ract

from

a g

roup

dis

cuss

ion

with

San

pare

nts

show

s.'

Que

stio

n: D

o S

an e

ver

use

corp

oral

puni

shm

ent?

Dad

a: I

beat

my

child

ren

whe

n th

ey

wer

e sm

all b

ecau

se I

knew

oth

ers

wer

ela

ter

goin

g to

bea

t the

m, a

nd it

hel

ped

them

to g

et u

sed

to th

at. B

ut I

hit t

hem

in th

e rig

ht w

ay, n

ever

with

the

fist.

Whe

n a

child

is s

mal

l, an

d he

/she

touc

hes

som

ethi

ng d

ange

rous

, we

wou

ld p

inch

the

child

on

the

back

of h

isha

nd o

r sl

ap h

im li

ghtly

on

the

hand

s,to

teac

h hi

m.

X'a

ega:

We

talk

to o

ur c

hild

ren.

We

talk

to th

em a

lot,

and

ever

ybod

y ta

lks.

If a

smal

l one

doe

s so

met

hing

wro

ng, w

ehi

t him

on

the

hand

sof

tly. W

hen

I was

smal

l, an

d I u

sed

to b

e na

ught

y, I

was

disc

iplin

ed b

y m

y ol

der

uncl

e. M

y

fath

er w

ould

not

dis

cipl

ine

me,

but

the

elde

rs w

ould

get

toge

ther

to d

iscu

ssab

out m

e, a

nd th

en m

y un

cle

wou

ld d

oth

e ta

lkin

g.

[Com

men

t: T

his

wou

ld o

nly

be fo

rth

ings

like

ste

alin

g, b

reak

ing

othe

rpe

ople

s' p

osse

ssio

ns, o

r an

tisoc

ial

beha

viou

r. T

his

was

che

cked

with

the

peop

le fr

om o

ther

set

tlem

ents

, and

they

agr

eed

to th

e sa

me

syst

em.]

X'a

ega:

I ha

ve s

ent m

y tw

o ch

ildre

n to

pres

choo

l, an

d I h

ave

had

to b

eat t

hem

on th

eir

behi

nd to

forc

e th

em to

go.

Iw

alk

with

them

all

the

way

to s

choo

l,be

atin

g th

em if

they

wan

t to

turn

bac

k.B

ut th

en, o

nce

they

hav

e ac

cept

ed th

atth

ey s

houl

d go

, I ta

lk to

them

eve

ry d

ayab

out w

hat t

hey

have

don

e at

sch

ool.

Tha

t way

they

kno

w th

at I

am

inte

rest

ed. B

ut th

ey a

lso

like

the

pres

choo

l. T

hey

are

not s

care

d.

Hab

e: If

you

bea

t a c

hild

too

muc

h, th

ey

beco

me

stub

born

, and

you

can

not w

inth

at c

hild

ove

r ag

ain.

Que

stio

n: Is

ther

e a

way

in w

hich

you

can

chan

ge th

e be

havi

our

of a

ver

y 24

naug

hty

child

to b

ecom

e di

scip

lined

?W

hat i

f the

chi

ld d

oes

not l

iste

n an

ym

ore?

Dad

a: It

is b

ette

r to

giv

e th

e ch

ild a

rew

ard

if sh

e/he

has

don

e so

met

hing

right

, tha

n to

bea

t him

/her

whe

n do

ing

som

ethi

ng w

rong

. You

can

alw

ays

brib

e a

child

to d

o so

met

hing

, if h

ekn

ows

he w

ill g

et s

omet

hing

afte

rwar

ds.

X'a

ega:

My

olde

st c

hild

left

scho

ol, a

ndre

fuse

d to

go

to th

e ho

stel

. She

has

no

mor

e cl

othe

s le

ft to

wea

r an

d I w

ill n

otfo

rce

her

to g

o. I

do n

ot h

ave

the

mon

ey to

pay

for

the

food

they

eat

at

scho

ol a

nyw

ay. I

f a c

hild

ref

uses

som

ethi

ng, l

et h

im g

o. N

ever

forc

ea

child

.

Dad

a: If

the

child

has

don

e so

met

hing

wro

ng to

you

, and

you

com

plai

n to

me,

I will

go

with

the

child

to y

our

hous

e,an

d ex

plai

n th

e w

rong

doin

g. I

will

then

give

the

child

a b

eatin

g th

ere,

or

I can

ask

you

to b

eat h

er fo

r m

e. M

y si

ster

s,or

my

mot

her,

are

als

o re

spon

sibl

e to

take

car

e of

thes

e th

ings

.

,i

Que

stio

n: /

have

see

n sm

all c

hild

ren

hitti

ng th

eir

pare

nts

in th

e fa

ce, e

ven

with

a s

tick,

and

peo

ple

just

laug

h. W

hy

Qho

mat

caa:

Peo

ple

know

that

chi

ldre

nst

ill d

o no

t kno

w e

very

thin

g, a

nd if

you

are

too

forc

eful

with

chi

ldre

n, y

ou c

anm

ake

that

chi

ld v

ery

wea

k. It

isim

port

ant t

o le

t the

chi

ld fe

el s

tron

g.

Xgu

ka: S

omet

imes

I ha

ve tr

ied

to b

eat

my

child

, the

n sh

e te

lls m

e no

t to

do it

.S

he a

lso

says

to m

e w

hen

I tel

l her

todo

som

ethi

ng: '

I will

onl

y co

oper

ate

ifyo

u do

not

bea

t me.

'

Dad

a: W

e te

ach

child

ren

to h

ave

resp

ect,

but i

t tak

es ti

me.

Res

pect

is

som

ethi

ng v

ery

impo

rtan

t. If

you

have

resp

ect,

you

do n

ot la

ugh

at p

eopl

ew

ith d

isab

ilitie

s, o

r at

wea

k pe

ople

.P

eopl

e sh

ould

not

laug

h at

oth

ers.

* le

Rou

x W

(20

02),

The

cha

lleng

es o

f

chan

ge: a

trac

er s

tudy

of S

an p

resc

hool

child

ren

in B

otsw

ana,

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Dev

elop

men

t: P

ract

ice

and

Ref

lect

ions

No.

15 (

see

page

58)

Page 26: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Bot

swan

a: C

hild

ren

of th

e E

arth

pro

ject

, San

chi

ldre

n st

andi

ng b

ehin

d a

wal

l. P

hoto

: C V

isse

r

In o

ur th

ird

roun

d of

dat

a ga

ther

ing

we

wen

t qua

litat

ive.

We

deve

lope

d se

vera

lst

rate

gies

:pa

rent

s w

ere

inte

rvie

wed

by

pare

nts

our

driv

er w

as a

lso

a pa

rent

and

got v

ery

invo

lved

.Pa

rent

s w

ere

inte

rvie

wed

by

trai

ners

.T

each

ers

wer

e in

terv

iew

ed in

gro

ups.

Tra

iner

s w

ere

inte

rvie

wed

.

CT

)

Tea

cher

s an

d pa

rent

s pr

ovid

edin

form

atio

n th

roug

h an

ecdo

tes

and

we

bega

n to

use

dir

ect q

uote

s an

dan

ecdo

tes

to te

ll th

e st

ory.

We

used

the

man

y bo

oks

on th

e Sa

nas

ref

eren

ce p

oint

s as

wel

lit

put

the

info

rmat

ion

that

we

wer

eco

llect

ing

in c

onte

xt.

The

n w

e pu

t all

this

toge

ther

in o

uror

igin

al s

tudy

rep

ort.

All

that

we

coul

ddo

was

to p

rovi

de a

sna

psho

t of

the

situ

atio

n, tr

ustin

g th

at th

e re

ader

wou

ldbe

abl

e to

see

bey

ond

the

limita

tions

of

wha

t a n

orm

al 's

cien

tific

' stu

dy w

ould

have

bee

nw

e kn

ow th

ere

is a

sto

rybe

hind

the

stor

y. W

e fo

und

conf

irm

atio

n of

thin

gs w

e ha

d to

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 25

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

The

ory

prac

tice

impr

ove

and

we

foun

d w

hat w

e al

sokn

ew in

tuiti

vely

thro

ugh

expe

rien

ce.

Thi

s w

as a

ver

y va

luab

le e

xper

ienc

e fo

rus

bec

ause

it r

einf

orce

d w

hat w

e kn

ew.

From

that

exp

erie

nce

we

have

lear

ned

to w

ork

mor

e w

ith th

e pa

rent

s, m

akin

git

mor

e of

a tw

o-w

ay f

low

; we

are

wor

king

with

the

prim

ary

scho

olte

ache

rs to

exp

lain

bet

ter

wha

t we

are

doin

g; it

is h

elpi

ng u

s to

cha

nge

attit

udes

suc

h as

by

lear

ning

mor

eab

out t

he b

ackg

roun

d an

d cu

lture

of

the

child

ren.

Ove

rall

we

have

use

d th

est

udy

to w

iden

and

dee

pen

the

prog

ram

me.

0

1 T

he c

halle

nges

of

chan

ge: a

sur

vey

on th

e

effe

cts

of p

resc

hool

on

Bas

arw

a pr

imar

y

scho

ol c

hild

ren

in th

e G

hanz

i Dis

tric

t of

Bot

swan

a w

as p

ublis

hed

in 1

995

by K

uru

Dev

elop

men

t Tru

st a

nd is

now

out

of

prin

t.

A r

evis

ed a

nd u

pdat

ed v

ersi

on w

as p

ublis

-

hed

in 2

002

by th

e B

erna

rd v

an L

eer

Foun

datio

n as

The

cha

lleng

es o

f ch

ange

:

a tr

acer

stu

dy o

f Sa

n pr

esch

ool c

hild

ren

in B

otsw

ana

(see

pag

e 58

).

2 A

n en

clos

ure

for

cattl

e

Page 27: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

R f

leet

ion

plan

ning

Tra

cer

stud

ies

and

the

Car

ibbe

an S

uppo

rt I

nitia

tive

Susa

nra

nker

The

aut

hor

is P

roje

ct D

irec

tor

of th

e Fo

unda

tion'

s C

arib

bean

Sup

port

Ini

tiativ

e (c

si).

Thi

s is

a f

ive

year

reg

iona

l pro

gram

me

with

a th

emat

ic f

ocus

on

pare

ntin

g in

itiat

ives

in e

arly

chi

ldho

od d

evel

opm

ent.

Its

mis

sion

is to

'be

an in

term

edia

ry r

esou

rce

proj

ect t

hat w

ill b

ring

peo

ple

and

reso

urce

s to

geth

erto

enh

ance

ear

ly c

hild

hood

dev

elop

men

t cap

acity

and

kno

wle

dge

in th

e su

b-re

gion

. The

csi

beg

an in

Dec

embe

r 20

01. I

n th

is a

rtic

le, S

usan

Bra

nker

refl

ects

on

how

trac

er s

tudi

es f

it in

to th

e cs

i as

part

of

its b

uilt-

in s

yste

m o

f m

onito

ring

and

eva

luat

ion.

The

fra

mew

ork

for

the

csi w

as s

ketc

hed

.4,2

1ag

ains

t the

bac

kgro

und

of in

suff

icie

ntkn

owle

dge

and

exch

ange

of

info

rmat

ion

on a

ppro

ache

s to

chi

ldre

arin

g an

dpa

rent

ing

prac

tices

in th

e C

arib

bean

regi

on. T

here

was

als

o a

dear

th o

fkn

owle

dge

abou

t the

impa

ct o

f va

riou

sin

terv

entio

ns d

ue to

insu

ffic

ient

mea

sure

men

t and

inad

equa

tem

echa

nism

s to

do

so.

Whi

le th

ere

is a

ple

thor

a of

prog

ram

mes

bot

h at

the

natio

nal a

ndco

mm

unity

leve

ls, v

ery

little

has

bee

ndo

ne to

mea

sure

the

impa

ct o

r tr

ace

the

outc

omes

of

thes

e pr

ogra

mm

es. I

n fa

ct,

very

oft

en, a

ssum

ptio

ns a

re m

ade

by

polic

y-m

aker

s an

d pr

ojec

t pla

nner

s th

atpr

ogra

mm

es a

re h

avin

g th

e re

quis

iteim

pact

on

thei

r ta

rget

aud

ienc

e w

ithou

tte

stin

g th

eir

vari

ous

hypo

thes

es. A

s a

cons

eque

nce,

bot

h qu

antit

ativ

e an

dqu

alita

tive

data

are

lack

ing,

res

ultin

g in

very

littl

e do

cum

enta

tion

ofex

peri

ence

s. N

ot o

nly

does

this

lim

it th

eop

port

uniti

es f

or c

ross

-fer

tilis

atio

n, b

utit

also

res

tric

ts th

e sh

arin

g of

less

ons

lear

nt.

Giv

en th

at o

ne o

f th

e m

ajor

obj

ectiv

esof

the

csi i

s 'to

intr

oduc

e an

d su

ppor

tth

e im

plem

enta

tion

of g

ood

pare

ntin

gpr

actic

e in

EC

D a

t the

com

mun

ity le

vel,

taki

ng a

dvan

tage

of

valid

ated

chi

ld

deve

lopm

ent p

rogr

amm

es, w

ere

cogn

ise

that

we

need

ade

quat

eev

alua

ting

tool

s an

d re

sear

chm

echa

nism

s to

ass

ess

the

effi

cacy

of

vari

ous

prog

ram

me

prin

cipl

es a

ndap

proa

ches

.

In it

s ro

le a

s a

faci

litat

or f

or th

ede

velo

pmen

t of

new

pro

ject

s an

dpr

ogra

mm

es a

nd th

e re

plic

atio

n of

exis

ting

ones

, the

csi

has

pla

ced

a gr

eat

deal

of

impo

rtan

ce o

n th

e ab

ility

tom

easu

re/e

valu

ate

outp

uts

and

impa

ct,

and

we

have

iden

tifie

d tr

acer

stu

dies

as

a us

eful

tool

and

an

impo

rtan

t pla

nkw

ithin

som

e of

its

vari

ous

stra

tegi

es.

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 26

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

The

re a

re a

num

ber

of p

ossi

ble

bene

fits

to th

e cs

i in

usin

g tr

acer

stu

dies

:

they

can

allo

w f

or b

ette

r pl

anni

ng o

fpr

ojec

ts;

they

cou

ld h

elp

to in

form

and

infl

uenc

e cs

i adv

ocac

y at

the

polic

yle

vel;

they

wou

ld p

rom

ote

impo

rtan

tre

sear

ch a

nd d

ocum

enta

tion;

they

wou

ld p

rovi

de im

port

ant

qual

itativ

e da

ta n

eede

d to

mea

sure

the

impa

ct o

f va

riou

s in

terv

entio

ns;

data

obt

aine

d fr

om th

e st

udie

s co

uld

serv

e as

a g

uide

in th

e re

plic

atio

nan

d di

ssem

inat

ion

of e

xper

ienc

es; a

nd

Page 28: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

they

cou

ld h

elp

to u

pgra

de c

urre

ntun

ders

tand

ing

of v

ario

us c

once

ptua

lis

sues

for

bot

h th

e cs

i and

its

stak

ehol

ders

.

The

csi

is n

ow in

the

firs

t yea

r of

its

wor

kpla

n an

d, a

s su

ch, i

s in

the

earl

yst

ages

of

the

proj

ect c

ycle

with

its

part

ners

. Thi

s m

eans

that

the

use

of

CO

trac

er s

tudi

es w

ould

pro

vide

the

csi

with

a u

niqu

e op

port

unity

to b

uild

inev

alua

tion

and

rese

arch

com

pone

nts

from

the

very

fir

st c

once

ptua

lisat

ion

and

iden

tific

atio

n ph

ases

. The

stu

dies

can

be in

corp

orat

ed in

to a

num

ber

ofcs

i cor

e st

rate

gies

: mon

itori

ng a

ndev

alua

tion;

rep

licat

ion

and

diss

emin

atio

n; r

esea

rch

and

Ste

p 5

Impl

emen

tatio

n

Ste

p 4

Pro

ject

dev

elop

men

t

Ste

p 1

Pro

ject

iden

tific

atio

n

Ong

oing

Mon

itorin

g an

d ev

alua

tion

syst

ems

Tra

cer

stud

y

8

Ste

p 3

Fac

ilita

tion,

Incu

batio

nC

oord

inat

ion,

Neg

otia

tion

Cat

alyz

ing

docu

men

tatio

n; a

nd le

arni

ng a

ndad

voca

cy.

Mon

itorin

g an

d ev

alua

tion

It is

gen

eral

ly a

gree

d th

at r

etro

spec

tive

stud

ies

are

mor

e di

ffic

ult a

nd le

ssre

liabl

e an

d, w

here

ver

poss

ible

, tra

cer

stud

ies

shou

ld b

e in

clud

ed in

bot

h pi

lot

Ste

p 2

Fea

sibi

lity

stud

ies

Exp

lora

tion

Pla

nnin

g

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 27

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Ref

lect

ion

proj

ects

and

long

-ter

m p

rogr

amm

esfr

om th

eir

ince

ptio

n.

Usi

ng o

ur m

onito

ring

and

eva

luat

ion

mod

el, v

ario

us c

ompo

nent

s of

a tr

acer

stud

y co

uld

be b

uilt

in a

t var

ious

poi

nts

as o

utlin

ed in

the

diag

ram

on

the

left

.

Step

1: O

nce

the

proj

ect h

as b

een

iden

tifie

d, th

e st

rate

gy f

or th

e tr

acer

stud

y co

uld

be d

evel

oped

(in

clud

ing

budg

etin

g).

Step

2: D

urin

g th

is p

lann

ing

phas

e, a

base

line

stud

y co

uld

be c

ondu

cted

todo

cum

ent w

hat e

xist

s.

Step

3: W

ith f

acili

tatin

g su

ppor

t fro

mth

e cs

i, pa

rtne

rs c

ould

iden

tify

the

type

of tr

acer

stu

dy n

eede

d an

d th

e ta

rget

audi

ence

(s).

Step

4: A

s th

e pr

ojec

t is

deve

lope

d, th

etr

acer

stu

dy s

houl

d be

em

bedd

ed in

the

proj

ect d

esig

n an

d m

onito

ring

/res

earc

hsy

stem

and

cle

ar im

pact

indi

cato

rsw

ould

be

iden

tifie

d.

Step

5: D

urin

g th

e im

plem

enta

tion

phas

e, th

e in

dica

tors

can

be

stud

ied,

asse

ssed

, ada

pted

as

nece

ssar

y.

Page 29: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

R f

lect

ion

plan

ning

Usi

ng th

is a

ppro

ach

we

wou

ld h

ope

toga

ther

the

requ

isite

kno

wle

dge

that

our

part

ners

nee

d in

thei

r at

tem

pts

tore

plic

ate

vari

ous

wor

king

pri

ncip

les

and

adap

t goo

d pr

actic

es. T

he a

ppro

ach

shou

ld a

lso

dem

onst

rate

the

valu

e of

inve

stin

g in

var

ious

type

s of

prog

ram

mes

.

Rep

licat

ion

and

diss

emin

atio

n

The

csi

is in

tere

sted

in a

ssis

ting

with

the

tran

sfer

of

know

ledg

e an

dex

peri

ence

s ac

ross

the

regi

on. B

ased

on

feas

ibili

ty s

tudy

fin

ding

s an

dre

com

men

datio

ns, t

he c

si w

ill f

acili

tate

the

deve

lopm

ent o

f a

num

ber

of p

ilot

proj

ects

to te

st th

e w

orki

ng p

rinc

iple

sof

sup

port

mod

els

from

iden

tifie

dco

untr

ies

with

'wel

l est

ablis

hed'

par

ent

supp

ort a

nd E

CD

pro

gram

mes

.

As

part

of

the

asse

ssm

ent o

f m

odel

sbe

ing

cons

ider

ed f

or p

ossi

ble

repl

icat

ion,

a tr

acer

stu

dy c

ould

be

desi

gned

to e

valu

ate

the

impa

ct o

f th

eas

sess

men

t and

als

o pr

ovid

e so

me

insi

ghts

into

how

'tra

nsfe

rabl

e' th

eex

peri

ence

s an

d le

sson

s ar

e. S

imila

rly,

in th

e de

sign

of

pilo

t pro

ject

s ba

sed

onth

e re

plic

atio

n an

d di

ssem

inat

ion

ofw

orki

ng p

rinc

iple

s, a

trac

er s

tudy

cou

ld

be b

uilt

in a

s a

mea

ns o

f ev

alua

ting

shor

t-te

rm im

pact

s. T

his

coul

d he

lpin

form

the

futu

re d

evel

opm

ent o

f th

epr

ojec

t and

infl

uenc

e th

e ty

pes

ofin

puts

nee

ded

by v

ario

us s

take

hold

ers.

Res

earc

h an

d do

cum

enta

tion

Res

earc

h an

d do

cum

enta

tion

are

key

inst

rum

ents

in th

e tr

ansf

er o

fkn

owle

dge

and

the

cros

s-fe

rtili

satio

nne

eded

to b

uild

cap

acity

at a

ll le

vels

inth

e re

gion

. Yet

res

earc

h, w

heth

er o

r no

tin

the

form

of

trac

er s

tudi

es, i

s of

ten

not c

ondu

cted

bec

ause

it is

vie

wed

as

too

cost

ly a

nd b

urde

nsom

e fo

r th

eag

enci

es c

once

rned

.

How

ever

, fro

m a

reg

iona

l pro

gram

min

gpe

rspe

ctiv

e, tr

acer

stu

dies

are

wor

th th

ein

vest

men

t bec

ause

they

cou

ld h

elp

usin

crea

se k

now

ledg

e an

d un

ders

tand

ing

abou

t var

ious

app

roac

hes

to E

CD

and

the

type

s of

impa

ct v

ario

usin

terv

entio

ns m

ay h

ave.

The

se in

clud

eap

proa

ches

to c

hild

rear

ing

and

soci

alis

atio

n in

the

regi

on a

nd w

heth

erth

e pr

ojec

ts a

nd p

rogr

amm

eses

tabl

ishe

d ar

e 'in

syn

c' w

ith th

ese

appr

oach

es. Q

uest

ions

incl

ude:

are

they

hav

ing

the

requ

isite

impa

ct?

Is th

ere

cons

iste

ncy

betw

een

loca

l/com

mun

ity r

ealit

ies

and

polic

yin

itiat

ives

?A

re p

rogr

amm

ing

initi

ativ

es o

nly

desi

gned

in r

espo

nse

to 'p

erce

ived

'ne

eds

rath

er th

an a

ctua

l fin

ding

s?

Lear

ning

and

adv

ocac

y

In it

s ro

le a

s an

inte

rmed

iary

, the

csi

will

see

k to

leve

rage

sup

port

fro

mre

gion

al a

nd in

tern

atio

nal d

evel

opm

ent

and

fina

ncin

g ag

enci

es to

allo

w f

orla

rge-

scal

e bu

y-in

and

ado

ptio

n of

are

gion

al f

ram

ewor

k fo

r th

e re

plic

atio

nan

d di

ssem

inat

ion

of k

now

ledg

e on

good

EC

D a

nd p

aren

ting

prac

tices

.

Dat

a ob

tain

ed f

rom

trac

er s

tudi

es c

anth

eref

ore

play

an

impo

rtan

t par

t in

the

csi's

lear

ning

env

iron

men

t. T

hesu

cces

ses

and

failu

res

of v

ario

usap

proa

ches

, met

hodo

logi

es a

nd m

odel

spr

ovid

e ke

y le

sson

s ne

eded

for

any

atte

mpt

to d

isse

min

ate

info

rmat

ion

orto

adv

ocat

e at

dif

fere

nt le

vels

for

gre

ater

buy-

in o

r in

vest

men

ts in

the

sect

or.

Wha

t the

abo

ve d

emon

stra

tes

is th

atth

ere

is e

norm

ous

scop

e fo

r th

e us

e of

trac

er s

tudi

es in

reg

iona

l pro

gram

min

gan

d pl

anni

ng. T

he c

si's

foc

us is

on

capa

city

bui

ldin

g, th

e sh

arin

g an

d

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 28

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

exch

ange

of

know

ledg

e, a

nd u

ltim

atel

yas

sist

ing

with

the

deve

lopm

ent o

f an

envi

ronm

ent w

hich

is m

ore

supp

ortiv

eof

EC

D a

nd p

aren

ting

initi

ativ

es. W

e se

etr

acer

stu

dies

as

an im

port

ant t

ool i

nm

eetin

g so

me

of th

ese

obje

ctiv

es.

0

Page 30: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

The

cha

lleng

e of

ass

essm

ent

CeD

iarm

esto

Rod

aigu

ez

The

aut

hor

is a

mem

ber

of th

e Pr

eesc

olar

na

Cas

a pr

ojec

t tea

m, c

oord

inat

ing

and

orga

nisi

ng th

e tr

aini

ngan

d ev

alua

tion

of p

rofe

ssio

nals

. The

pro

ject

ope

rate

s a

pare

nt e

duca

tion

prog

ram

me,

foc

used

on

child

deve

lopm

ent a

nd e

duca

tion

with

in th

e fa

mily

con

text

, for

fam

ilies

in r

ural

are

as o

f G

alic

ia, N

orth

Wes

tern

Spai

n. I

n th

is a

rtic

le, t

he a

utho

r sh

ows

how

ana

lysi

s an

d re

flec

tion

have

bee

n or

gani

c el

emen

ts o

f th

epr

ogra

mm

e th

roug

hout

its

long

life

, and

why

trac

er s

tudi

eson

ce r

ejec

ted

as ir

rele

vant

are

now

bei

ngre

-eva

luat

ed a

s va

luab

le to

ols

that

can

hel

p to

fur

ther

enh

ance

pro

gram

me

effe

ctiv

enes

s.

The

eve

nts

lead

ing

up to

the

repo

rt th

atfo

llow

s da

te b

ack

to 1

977

whe

nPr

eesc

olar

na

Cas

a (P

nc, P

resc

hool

Edu

catio

n in

the

Hom

e) w

as b

egun

, apa

rent

edu

catio

n pr

ogra

mm

e in

chi

lded

ucat

ion

that

has

now

bee

n in

oper

atio

n fo

r 25

yea

rs.

Tw

enty

-fiv

e ye

ars

is a

con

side

rabl

ele

ngth

of

time

in w

hich

to d

emon

stra

teth

at u

topi

a ca

n so

met

imes

be

achi

eved

.A

nd w

e sa

y ut

opia

bec

ause

in 1

977

itw

as n

ot e

asy

to im

agin

e th

at w

e w

ould

be w

here

we

are

toda

y in

the

fiel

d of

educ

atio

n. W

e ar

e he

re, h

owev

er, a

nd

this

may

pos

sibl

y be

due

to th

ede

term

inat

ion

of th

e pe

ople

who

prom

oted

the

prog

ram

me

peop

lew

ho a

long

the

way

trie

d to

inst

il in

prof

essi

onal

s th

e in

esca

pabl

e ne

ed f

ora

cont

inuo

us a

naly

sis

of th

e re

ality

inw

hich

they

wer

e in

terv

enin

g as

the

mos

t eff

icie

nt w

ay o

f ca

rryi

ng o

ut a

proj

ect s

ucce

ssfu

lly.

So m

uch

so th

at a

sses

smen

t, w

ithin

aco

ntex

t of

refl

ectio

n-ba

sed

actio

n, is

inhe

rent

in th

e dy

nam

ics

of th

epr

ogra

mm

e, in

pla

nnin

g, p

roce

ss a

ndou

tcom

e al

ike.

It i

s a

basi

cally

qua

litat

ive

appr

oach

, whi

ch ta

kes

note

, am

ong

othe

r el

emen

ts, o

f th

e ex

pres

sion

s of

satis

fact

ion

of th

e im

med

iate

part

icip

ants

(ch

ildre

n an

d pa

rent

s), t

hepr

ofes

sion

als

who

run

the

prog

ram

me

and

the

rest

of

the

com

mun

ity.

Subs

eque

ntly

, thi

s qu

alita

tive

asse

ssm

ent w

as e

nhan

ced

by a

mor

efo

rmal

pla

n, a

n as

sess

men

t pla

n th

atat

tem

pted

to a

naly

se th

e pr

ogra

mm

e as

a w

hole

. Bet

wee

n 19

94 a

nd 1

997,

a s

etof

tool

s w

as c

once

ived

that

wou

lden

able

qua

ntif

ied

data

to b

e ob

tain

ed.

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 29

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Ref

lect

ion

At t

he ti

me

whe

n w

e w

ere

defi

ning

the

asse

ssm

ent p

lan,

we

wer

e al

read

yth

inki

ng a

bout

ana

lysi

ng w

hat

happ

ened

to th

e ch

ildre

n w

ho h

adta

ken

part

in th

e pr

ogra

mm

e an

d w

hoha

d m

oved

on

to p

rim

ary

scho

ol.

Alth

ough

we

thou

ght t

he in

form

atio

nw

ould

be

inte

rest

ing,

we

reje

cted

this

line

of r

esea

rch

beca

use

we

felt

it w

ould

be d

iffi

cult

to is

olat

e th

e ef

fect

s th

epr

ogra

mm

e m

ight

hav

e ha

d on

the

child

ren

and

thei

r fa

mili

es f

rom

oth

erin

flue

nces

that

we

are

all s

ubje

ct to

. In

real

ity, w

e al

so d

id n

ot s

uppo

rt th

isfo

rm o

f re

sear

ch b

ecau

se w

e di

d no

t

Page 31: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

plan

ning

'2"

.401

-;S

ole.

,V45

..a

4,7

.,

ItZ't1

40 5

44'S

''e

tr"/

--S

pain

: Pre

esco

lar

na C

asa

proj

ect

Lear

ning

thro

ugh

doin

g.

belie

ve in

this

kin

d of

ana

lysi

s, a

nd w

eha

d do

ubts

abo

ut th

e in

form

atio

n w

em

ight

obt

ain.

We

reje

cted

the

idea

and

carr

ied

on a

s pl

anne

d, a

naly

sing

wha

tw

e ha

d at

the

time.

How

ever

, thi

s se

emed

an

inco

mpl

ete

resp

onse

. The

idea

of

goin

g be

yond

the

curr

ent r

ealit

y pe

rsis

ted

and

we

hear

dab

out s

ome

stud

ies

alon

g th

ese

lines

supp

orte

d by

the

Ber

nard

van

Lee

rFo

unda

tion

trac

er s

tudi

esan

d th

edi

lem

ma

emer

ged

agai

n. D

o w

e re

ally

know

wha

t im

pact

the

prog

ram

me

has?

Do

we

know

the

scop

e of

our

inte

rven

tion

in th

e di

ffer

ent a

reas

? A

ndw

hat i

s m

ore

impo

rtan

t: ar

e w

ein

tere

sted

? D

o w

e w

ant t

o kn

ow?

Tra

cer

stud

ies

We

beca

me

inte

rest

ed a

nd th

eFo

unda

tion

prov

ided

us

with

rel

evan

tin

form

atio

n (p

revi

ousl

y pu

blis

hed

stud

ies)

and

invi

ted

us to

take

par

t in

aw

orks

hop

that

wou

ld d

eal w

ith tr

acer

stud

ies

in d

epth

.

Aft

er a

naly

sing

the

info

rmat

ion,

we

wer

e fa

ced

with

sev

eral

que

stio

ns, t

hem

ost i

mpo

rtan

t bei

ng: w

hat i

s to

be

Ber

nard

an

Leer

Fou

ndat

ion

30 E

arly

Chi

ldho

od M

atte

rs

gain

ed f

rom

car

ryin

g ou

t stu

dies

of

this

kin

d?

Oth

er m

ore

spec

ific

que

stio

ns f

rom

eac

hst

age

of th

e st

udy

are

deta

iled

belo

w.

1. I

t is

obvi

ous

that

the

fam

ily a

nd e

arly

child

hood

sup

port

pro

gram

mes

are

bene

fici

al to

the

part

icip

ants

. Wha

tar

e st

udie

s of

this

kin

d in

tend

ed to

show

? D

o th

e fi

ndin

gs e

nabl

e us

toob

tain

suf

fici

ently

str

ikin

g an

dco

nclu

sive

dat

a to

dem

onst

rate

toso

ciet

y ho

w n

eces

sary

eac

hpr

ogra

mm

e is

, or

do th

ey s

impl

yve

rify

wha

t is

alre

ady

take

n fo

rgr

ante

d? I

s it

wor

thw

hile

mak

ing

the

effo

rt to

dem

onst

rate

som

ethi

ng th

atis

obv

ious

fro

m th

e st

art?

2. W

hat g

loba

l ass

essm

ent/c

oncl

usio

nsca

n be

rea

ched

fro

m th

e tr

acer

stud

ies

as a

who

le?

3. W

hat i

s de

rive

d fr

om th

e co

nclu

sion

san

d ve

rifi

ed d

ata?

Wha

t ste

ps a

reta

ken

as a

res

ult o

f th

e an

alys

is?

4. W

hat h

appe

ns w

hen

the

outc

ome

isno

t wha

t was

exp

ecte

d, n

ot w

hat w

ew

ere

look

ing

for?

Page 32: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Wha

t oth

er k

ind

of in

form

atio

n is

obta

ined

that

was

not

sou

ght

initi

ally

?

Are

thes

e da

ta u

sed?

Do

they

hel

p to

redi

rect

the

prog

ram

me

inte

rven

tion?

Do

they

mod

ify

the

orig

inal

res

earc

h pl

an?

5. W

ho is

res

pons

ible

for

the

rese

arch

met

hod?

Who

dec

ides

wha

t is

goin

gto

be

inve

stig

ated

? W

hat d

eter

min

esw

hich

asp

ects

are

to b

e ta

ken

into

acco

unt?

It s

eem

s lo

gica

l to

thin

k th

at th

eob

ject

ives

of

each

indi

vidu

alpr

ogra

mm

e w

ould

be

wha

t ind

icat

ean

d de

fine

the

step

s to

be

take

n, b

utis

any

asp

ect o

f tr

acer

stu

dies

intr

oduc

edpe

rhap

s a

stan

dard

feat

ure?

6. T

he ty

pe o

f as

sess

men

t var

ies

from

one

prog

ram

me

to a

noth

er.

Who

dec

ides

whi

ch ty

pe is

to b

eim

plem

ente

d?W

hat a

dvan

tage

s or

dis

adva

ntag

esar

e de

rive

d fr

om it

s be

ing

exte

rnal

/inte

rnal

to th

e pr

ogra

mm

eor

a c

ombi

natio

n of

bot

h?W

ould

res

ults

var

y ac

cord

ing

to th

ety

pe o

f as

sess

men

t?

Wou

ld th

e in

form

atio

n th

at c

ould

be

soug

ht d

epen

d on

the

mod

elch

osen

?

7. W

ho d

ecid

es w

hich

tool

s to

use

for

the

anal

ysis

?Is

the

cont

inuo

us a

sses

smen

t tha

t is

carr

ied

out i

n ea

ch p

rogr

amm

ede

sign

ed s

o th

at d

ata

can

bega

ther

ed th

at w

ill a

llow

ana

lysi

s of

the

prog

ram

me'

s im

pact

?Is

pro

gres

s ch

ecke

d fr

om o

ne y

ear

toan

othe

r?A

re th

e w

ays

in w

hich

the

prog

ram

mes

infl

uenc

e th

e ta

rget

popu

latio

n an

d th

e co

mm

unity

inth

e sh

orte

r te

rm a

naly

sed?

8. W

hen

anal

ysin

g th

e re

sults

, are

diff

eren

ces

obse

rved

in th

e le

ngth

of

time

of th

e in

terv

entio

n/du

ratio

n of

the

prog

ram

mes

? In

oth

er w

ords

, is

ther

e a

rela

tion

betw

een

dura

tion

and

achi

evin

g th

e de

sire

d im

pact

?

As

a re

sult

of ta

king

par

t in

the

Follo

win

g Fo

otst

eps

trac

er s

tudi

esw

orks

hop

in J

amai

ca, m

any

of th

ese

ques

tions

wer

e an

swer

ed. T

he m

ost

diff

icul

t tas

k no

w r

emai

ns: t

ryin

g to

resp

ond

to th

ese

idea

s as

a te

am,

beca

use

our

resp

onse

will

def

ine

the

rese

arch

met

hod.

Pree

scol

ar n

a C

asa

is c

lear

that

it w

ants

to a

sses

s an

d be

ass

esse

d in

ord

er to

know

the

impa

ct o

f its

pro

gram

me

beyo

nd th

e ac

tual

tim

e of

inte

rven

tion.

It is

cle

ar th

at th

e fi

rst s

tep

is to

be

will

ing

to a

ccep

t the

info

rmat

ion

obta

ined

, eve

n if

it is

not

wha

t was

expe

cted

. It i

s al

so c

lear

that

the

anal

ysis

mus

t em

brac

e th

e w

hole

pro

gram

me,

not j

ust i

ts o

utco

mes

. Thi

s is

nec

essa

ryso

as

not t

o lo

se s

ight

of

the

esse

nce

ofth

e im

pact

for

pro

gram

min

g pu

rpos

es:

whi

ch e

lem

ents

in th

e pr

ogra

mm

ede

term

ine

wha

t im

pact

the

prog

ram

me

has.

Equ

ally

, the

res

earc

h sh

ould

be

qual

itativ

e an

d no

t jus

t qua

ntita

tive:

man

y as

pect

s th

at m

ust b

e an

alys

ed a

reno

t qua

ntif

iabl

e, y

et th

ey o

ccas

iona

llypr

ovid

e m

uch

mor

e in

form

atio

n. I

nad

ditio

n, th

e st

udy

mus

t add

ress

ever

yone

invo

lved

in th

e ed

ucat

ion

proc

ess:

fam

ilies

, pro

fess

iona

ls,

com

mun

ity, p

oliti

cian

s, p

ossi

ble

fina

ncia

l bac

kers

... i

n sh

ort,

soci

ety

inge

nera

l.

Tw

enty

-fiv

e ye

ars

on, P

nc d

efen

dsas

sess

men

t as

esse

ntia

l to

prog

ram

me

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 31

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Ref

leci

bion

deve

lopm

ent.

Tw

enty

-fiv

e ye

ars

on,

asse

ssm

ent c

ontin

ues

to b

e a

chal

leng

eth

at c

an b

e en

hanc

ed b

y in

itiat

ives

suc

has

that

of

the

trac

er s

tudi

es.

0

Page 33: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Shar

ing

expe

rien

ces

Myr

na D

sabe

0 M

aya

The

aut

hor

is th

e G

ener

al C

oord

inat

or o

f Pro

ject

s at

AIN

CA

DE

H, a

n in

depe

nden

t res

earc

h co

nsul

tanc

y. In

this

ext

ract

, she

intr

oduc

es a

trac

er s

tudy

* of

mot

hers

and

child

ren

who

had

par

ticip

ated

in th

e E

arly

Stim

ulat

ion

Pro

gram

me

in H

ondu

ras

for

child

ren

aged

0 to

6 y

ears

, tha

t has

bee

n ru

n by

the

Chr

istia

nC

hild

ren'

s F

und

(ccF

)si

nce

1995

. The

pro

gram

me

is im

plem

ente

d by

Mad

res

Gui

cis

(Mot

her

Gui

des)

for

child

ren

0 to

4 y

ears

in th

eir

hom

es, a

nd b

y K

inde

rgar

ten

Aid

es fo

rch

ildre

n up

to 6

yea

rsin

non

form

al p

resc

hool

cen

tres

. Hav

ing

oper

ated

for

appr

oxim

atel

y si

x ye

ars,

the

need

aro

se fo

r a

qual

itativ

e st

udy

to a

sses

s th

e im

pact

of t

he p

rogr

amm

eon

the

qual

ity o

flif

e of

the

child

ren

invo

lved

and

thei

r fa

mili

es.

The

stu

dy w

as b

ased

on

the

com

pari

son

of tw

o gr

oups

of

child

ren:

one

that

had

been

in th

e pr

ogra

mm

e an

d an

othe

rth

at h

ad n

ot r

ecei

ved

any

kind

of

inte

rven

tion

from

inst

itutio

ns in

volv

edin

pro

ject

s of

this

kin

d.

Met

hodo

logi

cally

, the

stu

dy c

onsi

sted

of

thre

e m

ajor

sta

ges

or p

hase

s: d

esig

ning

the

rese

arch

; col

lect

ing

info

rmat

ion;

and

anal

ysin

g th

e in

form

atio

n. D

urin

gea

ch o

f th

ese

stag

es, a

num

ber

of is

sues

bega

n to

em

erge

that

had

not

bee

nfo

rese

en, b

ut w

hich

res

ulte

d fr

om th

edy

nam

ics

of th

e st

udy.

Des

igni

ng th

e re

sear

ch

Whe

n it

cam

e to

dra

win

g up

the

desi

gn,

dete

rmin

ing

the

sam

ple

and

defi

ning

the

mos

t app

ropr

iate

inst

rum

ents

and

tech

niqu

es, s

ever

al q

uest

ions

aro

se.

Wou

ld c

ompa

riso

ns b

etw

een

the

grou

ps p

rodu

ce th

e re

sults

exp

ecte

dof

the

stud

y?W

ould

the

resu

lts b

e ob

viou

s?C

ould

the

resu

lts o

f th

e re

sear

chaf

fect

the

norm

al d

evel

opm

ent o

f th

epr

ogra

mm

e?W

as C

CF

prep

ared

for

the

resu

lts?

How

wou

ld C

CF

pers

onne

l rea

ct to

them

?Sh

ould

oth

er e

lem

ents

in th

epr

ogra

mm

e be

incl

uded

bes

ides

mot

hers

and

chi

ldre

n?W

ere

the

plan

ned

met

hods

(inc

ludi

ng o

bser

vatio

ns, d

raw

ing,

and

mee

tings

with

the

two

grou

ps)

suita

ble

for

obta

inin

g in

form

atio

n?W

ould

it b

e po

ssib

le to

com

pare

the

two

sets

of

info

rmat

ion

that

wou

ldbe

obt

aine

d?H

ow c

ould

we

use

othe

r to

ols

and

expe

rien

tial t

echn

ique

s to

ena

ble

mot

hers

and

chi

ldre

n in

the

sam

ple

to h

ave

a cl

oser

com

mun

alre

latio

nshi

p w

ith th

e re

sear

ch te

am?

Oth

er is

sues

als

o ar

ose.

Tha

t the

par

amet

ers

of th

e re

sear

char

e re

late

d to

the

follo

win

g fa

ctor

s:-

anal

ysis

of

the

diff

eren

ten

viro

nmen

ts o

f th

e ch

ildre

n;da

ta o

r se

cond

ary

info

rmat

ion

that

cou

ld b

e co

mpa

red

with

the

empi

rica

l dat

a;tr

iang

ulat

ion

of th

e in

form

atio

n,th

at is

, cor

robo

ratin

g in

form

atio

nob

tain

ed f

rom

eac

h so

urce

fro

mdi

ffer

ent p

ersp

ectiv

es, a

nd b

eing

able

to c

ross

chec

k in

form

atio

nw

ith th

e va

riab

les

and

the

units

of a

naly

sis.

Tha

t ind

icat

ors

mus

t be

esta

blis

hed

so th

e pr

ogre

ss o

f ch

ildre

n in

eac

hgr

oup

can

be c

ompa

red.

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 32

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Fie

ldw

ork

and

colle

ctin

g in

form

atio

n

Dur

ing

the

fiel

dwor

k, s

ituat

ions

aro

seth

at h

ad n

ot b

een

envi

sage

d du

ring

plan

ning

and

whi

ch p

rom

pted

cha

nges

to th

e or

igin

al id

ea. T

he f

ollo

win

g ar

eex

ampl

es o

f th

is.

At t

he s

tart

of

the

fiel

d re

sear

ch, t

hepa

rtic

ipan

ts in

the

prog

ram

me

coul

dno

t und

erst

and

why

onl

y a

smal

lnu

mbe

r of

fam

ilies

(th

e sa

mpl

e)co

uld

part

icip

ate

in p

rovi

ding

info

rmat

ion

on th

e pr

ogra

mm

e.T

hey

belie

ved

the

info

rmat

ion

shou

ld b

e pr

ovid

ed b

y ev

eryo

nein

volv

ed. T

hey

also

thou

ght t

hat t

hest

udy

was

mot

ivat

ed b

y C

CF'

Sin

tent

ion

to le

ave

the

com

mun

ity,

and

the

fear

of

the

rese

arch

ers

was

that

mem

bers

of

the

sam

ple

grou

pm

ight

con

ceal

the

bene

fits

of

the

prog

ram

me;

and

Page 34: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

The

CC

Ffi

eld

pers

onne

l at t

here

sear

ch s

ite w

ere

also

une

asy

abou

tth

e ta

sk in

han

d be

caus

e th

ey f

elt

that

the

rese

arch

als

o im

plie

d th

atth

eir

wor

k w

as b

eing

ass

esse

d.

At t

he o

utse

t the

se d

iffi

culti

es m

ade

rela

tions

bet

wee

n th

e fi

eld

rese

arch

ers

and

thos

e be

ing

rese

arch

ed d

iffi

cult.

It

was

nec

essa

ry to

org

anis

e se

min

ars

for

the

bene

fici

ary

grou

p an

d fo

r th

eC

CF

wor

kers

to e

xpla

in th

e ta

sk in

han

d an

dre

mov

e th

e do

ubts

.

Initi

al p

lans

for

the

rese

arch

foc

used

mor

e on

mot

hers

and

chi

ldre

n.H

owev

er, d

urin

g fi

eldw

ork

it w

asco

nsid

ered

nec

essa

ry to

take

the

opin

ions

of

fath

ers

into

acc

ount

. Thi

sw

as to

gai

n a

mor

e co

mpl

ete

visi

on o

fth

e ch

ildre

n's

rela

tions

hip

with

all

the

mem

bers

of

thei

r fa

mili

es, a

nd to

defi

ne a

mor

e ac

cura

te p

rofi

le o

f th

efa

ther

fig

ure.

Ana

lysi

ng th

e in

form

atio

n

The

pro

cess

of

data

ord

erin

g an

dan

alys

is w

as in

itial

ly c

arri

ed o

utac

cord

ing

to th

e fo

cal t

opic

s of

the

rese

arch

that

had

bee

n en

visa

ged

inth

e pl

an:

1. a

ttitu

des

of m

othe

rs in

rel

atio

n to

the

wel

l-be

ing

of th

eir

child

ren;

2. a

war

enes

s of

the

earl

y st

imul

atio

npr

ogra

mm

e;3.

em

otio

nal a

nd s

ocia

l dev

elop

men

tof

the

child

ren;

4. b

ehav

iour

of

the

child

ren

in th

een

viro

nmen

t of

othe

r fa

mili

es;

5. p

erfo

rman

ce o

f th

e ch

ildre

n at

scho

ol;

6. c

hang

es in

fam

ily h

ealth

and

bas

icsa

nita

tion;

and

7. c

hang

es in

soc

ial a

nd e

mot

iona

lde

velo

pmen

t.

As

we

gath

ered

res

pons

es f

rom

the

diff

eren

t res

pond

ents

and

saw

that

they

wer

e si

mila

r, w

e ha

d to

dec

ide

how

toan

alys

e th

e in

form

atio

n w

ithou

t los

ing

sigh

t of

the

purp

ose

of th

e re

sear

ch.

Shou

ld w

e, f

or e

xam

ple,

str

uctu

re th

ein

form

atio

n in

line

with

the

orig

inal

foca

l top

ics,

or

shou

ld th

e to

pics

that

aros

e fr

om th

e in

form

atio

n be

allo

wed

to e

ffec

tivel

y re

stru

ctur

e th

e re

sear

ch?

Thi

s di

lem

ma

prov

oked

ser

ious

disc

ussi

ons

amon

g th

e re

sear

ch te

am.

Tak

ing

the

firs

t lin

e w

ould

ris

k us

mis

inte

rpre

ting

the

info

rmat

ion,

whi

leta

king

the

seco

nd li

ne w

ould

ris

k us

losi

ng th

e to

tal a

nd in

tegr

al m

eani

ng o

f

Ref

lect

ion

plan

ning

Hon

dura

s: E

arly

Stim

ulat

ion

Pro

gram

me

(Chr

istia

n C

hild

ren'

s F

und)

Mad

res

Gui

as te

achi

ng o

ther

mot

hers

abo

ut il

lnes

ses.

the

stud

y, o

f st

rayi

ng f

rom

the

prim

eob

ject

ive.

Fina

lly a

com

prom

ise

was

rea

ched

: it

was

dec

ided

to r

elat

e th

e in

form

atio

n to

the

orig

inal

foc

al p

oint

s of

the

rese

arch

;an

d al

so p

rodu

ce a

sum

mar

y of

the

mos

t sig

nifi

cant

fin

ding

s as

a w

hole

. In

this

sum

mar

y, th

e fi

ndin

gs f

rom

the

anal

yses

wer

e re

late

d to

the

orig

inal

foc

iof

the

rese

arch

.

To

conc

lude

this

intr

oduc

tion

to th

eE

arly

Stim

ulat

ion

Prog

ram

me

trac

erst

udy

in H

ondu

ras,

I w

ant t

o st

ress

that

,

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 33

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

in s

tudi

es o

f th

is k

ind,

it is

adv

isab

le f

orth

e re

sear

ch te

am to

be

mad

e up

of

pers

onne

l fro

m b

oth

outs

ide

and

insi

deth

e in

stitu

tion.

And

it is

nec

essa

ry to

clea

rly

defi

ne th

e ro

le o

f th

e in

side

pers

onne

l in

the

rese

arch

pro

cess

so

that

obj

ectiv

e re

sults

can

be

obta

ined

,w

ithou

t int

erfe

renc

e fr

om th

ein

stitu

tion.

0

*The

trac

er s

tudy

on

the

part

icip

ants

in th

e E

arly

Stim

ulat

ion

Prog

ram

me

in H

ondu

ras

will

be

publ

ishe

d in

Eng

lish

and

in S

pani

sh b

y th

e Fo

unda

tion

in 2

003.

Page 35: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Rel

leob

ion

plan

ning

CA

)

CJV

Why

we

did

a tr

acer

stud

y*B

otsw

ana

Irel

and

US

AK

enya

Why

we

did

a tr

acer

stu

dyw

e w

ante

d to

kno

w if

the

wor

kw

as u

sefu

l, w

ere

we

affe

ctin

g

the

drop

-out

rat

es?

coul

d w

e

coun

ter

the

scep

ticis

m w

e m

et?

we

wan

ted

to d

emon

stra

te th

e

effe

ctiv

enes

s of

our

app

roac

h, to

see

if th

e w

ork

cont

inue

s to

hav

e an

effe

ct a

fter

som

e ye

ars

to fi

nd o

ut if

ther

e co

uld

be a

ny tr

aces

left

of p

rogr

amm

es n

early

20

year

saf

ter

the

even

t

it is

a tr

aini

ng p

rogr

amm

e an

d pe

ople

alw

ays

talk

abo

ut th

e te

ache

rs; a

fter

30

year

s' w

ork

we

wan

ted

to s

ee w

hat w

as

happ

enin

g to

chi

ldre

n

Who

se a

gend

a

was

it?

ours

ours

, we

wer

e tr

ying

to c

onvi

nce

the

Hea

lth B

oard

to ta

ke a

new

appr

oach

ours

and

BV

LF'

Sou

rs

Wha

t aud

ienc

es

wer

e be

ing

aim

ed a

t?

ours

elve

s, th

e co

mm

uniti

es,

the

teac

hers

; we

didn

't th

ink

abou

t dis

sem

inat

ion

whe

n w

est

arte

d

pare

nts

and

the

Hea

lth B

oard

. It i

s

good

to s

hare

it w

ith a

wid

erau

dien

ce n

ow

prim

arily

Hig

h/S

cope

and

BV

LF,

poss

ibly

pol

icy-

mak

ers,

teac

her

trai

ners

gove

rnm

ent,

polic

y-m

aker

s, fu

nder

s,co

mm

uniti

es

How

did

the

stud

yfit

oth

er r

esea

rch/

eval

uatio

n ac

tiviti

es?

none

of u

s w

ere

rese

arch

ers,

we

had

an o

pen

agen

da,

allo

wed

our

selv

es to

be

info

rmed

by

the

proc

ess

the

prog

ram

me

has

been

eva

luat

ed

from

the

star

t but

this

was

inde

pend

ent o

f oth

er s

tudi

es

very

wel

l: w

e ha

ve b

een

able

to

com

bine

the

findi

ngs

with

ear

lier

wor

kin

a n

ew p

ublic

atio

n

ther

e ha

s be

en m

uch

rese

arch

and

eval

uatio

n bu

t mos

tly o

n pr

oces

ses

Wha

t are

the

uses

of

this

app

roac

h?w

e us

ed th

e re

sults

to im

prov

e

the

prog

ram

me,

to w

ork

with

prim

ary

scho

ols

the

resu

lts h

ave

cont

ribut

ed to

polic

y ch

ange

s

we

wer

e qu

ite s

urpr

ised

to fi

nd a

s

man

y tr

aces

as

we

did,

sug

gest

ing

dura

bilit

y of

inte

nse

trai

ning

man

y of

our

find

ings

wer

e un

expe

cted

Wha

t are

the

limits

of th

is a

ppro

ach?

the

offic

ial r

ecor

ds w

ere

unre

liabl

e, th

is s

tudy

cou

ldn'

tgi

ve o

verw

helm

ing

proo

f

ther

e ha

ve b

een

man

y ch

ange

s in

the

cont

ext o

ver

the

year

s, e

spec

ially

mot

hers

into

the

labo

ur fo

rce

the

long

inte

rval

bet

wee

n th

e ch

ildre

nle

avin

g th

e pr

ogra

mm

e an

d th

e st

udy

so m

any

othe

r va

riabl

es h

ave

inte

rven

ed

* F

rom

the

Fol

low

ing

Foo

tste

ps w

orks

hop,

Jam

aica

200

2

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 34

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Page 36: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Ref

lect

ion

plan

ning

Jam

aica

Trin

idad

Col

ombi

aIs

rael

Why

we

did

a tr

acer

stu

dyw

e w

ante

d to

kno

w w

hat h

adha

ppen

ed to

the

mot

hers

and

the

child

ren

we

wan

ted

to k

now

how

the

prog

ram

me

had

impa

cted

life

choi

ces

it fo

llow

s on

fro

m 3

0 ye

ars

of c

olle

ctin

gda

ta, w

e w

ante

d to

dem

onst

rate

cha

nge

and

impa

ct

to f

ind

out h

ow th

e ch

ildre

n fr

om th

isve

ry d

istin

ctiv

e gr

oup

have

far

ed

Who

se a

gend

a

was

it?

the

impe

tus

cam

e fr

om B

VL

F,th

e st

udy

was

des

igne

d lo

cally

the

impe

tus

cam

e fr

om B

VL

F, th

est

udy

was

des

igne

d lo

cally

ours

the

impe

tus

cam

e fr

om B

VL

F, th

e st

udy

was

des

igne

d lo

cally

Wha

t aud

ienc

esw

ere

bein

g

aim

ed a

t?

dono

rs, t

he p

aris

h, th

e m

edia

ours

elve

s, d

onor

s, g

over

nmen

t,co

mm

unity

othe

r pr

ojec

ts in

oth

er p

arts

of

the

wor

ld, f

unde

rsth

e im

plem

entin

g or

gani

satio

n

How

did

the

stud

yfit

oth

er r

esea

rch/

eval

uatio

n ac

tiviti

es?

it w

as a

goo

d fo

llow

-up

to o

urea

rlie

r re

sear

chou

r ot

her

eval

uatio

ns h

ave

been

desc

ript

ive

it fi

ts o

ur w

hole

pac

kage

of

eval

uatio

nsan

d ou

r w

ork

in th

e E

ffec

tiven

ess

Initi

ativ

e

the

prog

ram

me

has

been

eva

luat

ed f

rom

the

star

t but

this

pop

ulat

ion

has

been

over

-res

earc

hed

Wha

t are

the

uses

of

this

app

roac

h?w

e w

ere

able

to f

ind

new

kin

dsof

info

rmat

ion

beca

use

of th

equ

alita

tive

appr

oach

we

coul

d se

e th

e ef

fect

iven

ess

of th

epr

ogra

mm

eth

e re

sear

ch b

egan

as

quan

titat

ive,

it to

ok a

long

tim

e to

see

cha

nge

inin

dica

tors

; thi

s la

st p

art h

as b

een

qual

itativ

e

we

foun

d th

at th

e pr

ogra

mm

e ha

d m

ade

a ta

ngib

le d

iffe

renc

e to

chi

ldre

n's

lives

Wha

t are

the

limits

of th

is a

ppro

ach?

subj

ectiv

ity, l

ack

of a

'pur

e'co

mpa

riso

n gr

oup

attr

ibut

ing

chan

ge w

hen

so m

any

othe

r th

ings

hap

pen

so m

uch

data

are

gat

here

dho

w c

anth

is b

e ha

ndle

d?

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 35

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Page 37: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

stud

ies

'OR

Mco

nduc

ted The

indi

vidu

ality

-com

mun

ity a

xis

Levi

n-R

ozaD

isN

aarn

a S

hem

in

Thi

s ex

trac

t is

from

a tr

acer

stu

dy' o

f A

lmay

a's

Pare

nts

Coo

pera

tive

Kin

derg

arte

n, th

at w

as e

stab

lishe

d fo

r E

thio

pian

Jew

s in

Isr

ael.

Som

e70

,000

Jew

s ha

ve r

each

ed I

srae

l fro

m E

thio

pia

sinc

e 19

77. T

heir

way

of

life

ther

e w

as s

o di

ffer

ent t

hat t

he a

djus

tmen

t pro

cess

has

bee

nfr

augh

t with

dif

ficu

lties

on

all s

ides

. The

ass

ocia

tion

now

kno

wn

as A

lmay

a w

as s

et u

p in

the

earl

y 19

80s

and

has

impl

emen

ted

prog

ram

mes

to r

each

all

sect

ors

of th

e co

mm

unity

, inc

ludi

ng y

oung

chi

ldre

n an

d th

eir

mot

hers

. One

of

thes

e w

as a

Par

ents

Coo

pera

tive

Kin

derg

arte

n fo

r ch

ildre

n ag

ed 1

8 m

onth

s to

4 y

ears

that

ope

rate

d in

two

neig

hbou

rhoo

ds o

f B

eer-

Shev

a. T

he k

inde

rgar

tens

ope

rate

d fo

rfi

ve h

ours

eac

h da

y an

d w

ere

staf

fed

by tw

o pa

rapr

ofes

sion

als

from

the

Eth

iopi

an c

omm

unity

with

vol

unte

er p

aren

ts o

n a

rost

er b

asis

.T

he tr

acer

stu

dy lo

oked

at h

ow w

ell f

orm

er p

artic

ipan

ts in

the

Pare

nts

Coo

pera

tive

Kin

derg

arte

n pr

ogra

mm

e ac

quir

ed m

any

of th

e to

ols

that

are

nec

essa

ry to

bet

ter

inte

grat

e in

to I

srae

li so

ciet

y.

The

Eth

iopi

an a

nd I

srae

li cu

lture

s ha

veve

ry d

iffe

rent

per

cept

ions

of

hum

anbe

ings

and

thei

r fu

nctio

n in

soc

iety

. In

Eth

iopi

an s

ocie

ty, t

he h

uman

bei

ng is

am

embe

r of

a g

roup

and

a c

omm

unity

,w

hich

are

bou

nd b

y a

com

mun

al-

trad

ition

al c

ultu

re th

at r

einf

orce

s`t

oget

hern

ess'

and

doe

s no

t enc

oura

gein

divi

dual

ity.

Des

pite

the

chan

ges

that

hav

e ta

ken

plac

e in

the

Eth

iopi

ans'

soc

iety

sin

ce th

eco

mm

unity

mig

rate

d to

Isr

ael (

prim

arily

the

brea

k-up

of

the

com

mun

ityst

ruct

ure

and

the

exte

nded

fam

ily)

the

unde

rlyi

ng f

orce

s th

at {

trad

ition

ally

}pr

eser

ve th

e co

hesi

vene

ss a

nd s

truc

ture

of th

e co

mm

unity

are

stil

l ver

y st

rong

.

Alth

ough

Isr

aeli

soci

ety

is e

xtre

mel

yva

ried

and

is m

ade

up o

f di

ffer

ent

com

mun

ities

, the

dom

inan

t the

me

ison

e of

indi

vidu

alis

m, a

per

cept

ion

that

supp

orts

the

deve

lopm

ent o

f th

ein

divi

dual

in th

e di

rect

ion

of m

axim

umse

lf-a

ctua

lisat

ion.

Unl

ike

othe

r ch

ildre

n of

Eth

iopi

anor

igin

of

thei

r ag

e, th

e Pa

rent

sK

inde

rgar

ten

child

ren

we

stud

ied

disp

laye

d a

dist

inct

sen

se o

f se

lf a

nd a

clea

r te

nden

cy to

war

d in

divi

dual

ism

.T

he c

hild

ren

perc

eive

d th

emse

lves

as

inde

pend

ent e

ntiti

es, a

nd th

ispe

rcep

tion

was

evi

dent

in a

hig

her

awar

enes

s of

them

selv

es, t

heir

abi

lity

toex

pres

s em

otio

ns o

r a

need

for

hel

p,

and

thei

r ab

ility

to d

evel

op h

obbi

es a

ndta

lent

s th

at w

ere

thei

rs a

lone

. The

peop

le a

roun

d th

em r

eact

edac

cord

ingl

y. T

he te

ache

rs o

f th

e Pa

rent

sK

inde

rgar

ten

child

ren

view

ed th

ese

child

ren

mor

e cl

earl

y an

d le

sssu

perf

icia

lly th

an th

ey d

id th

eir

peer

s.T

he P

aren

ts K

inde

rgar

ten

child

ren

wer

epe

rcei

ved

as m

ore

dom

inan

tch

ildre

nw

hose

nee

ds w

ere

clea

ran

d th

ere

was

a gr

eate

r te

nden

cy to

rec

omm

end

and

inte

grat

e th

em in

toth

e su

ppor

tpr

ogra

mm

es th

ey n

eede

d.

Nor

mal

ly, E

thio

pian

par

ents

tend

tore

fer

to th

eir

child

ren

as o

ne e

ntity

them

with

out r

elat

ing

to e

ach

child

indi

vidu

ally

. A n

otab

le f

indi

ng w

as th

at,

Ber

nard

von

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 36

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

in a

dditi

on to

the

Pare

nts

Kin

derg

arte

nch

ildre

n sh

owin

g a

dist

inct

sen

se o

fin

divi

dual

ity, t

heir

par

ents

, too

, saw

them

as

indi

vidu

als,

iden

tifyi

ng u

niqu

eel

emen

ts in

them

, suc

h as

hob

bies

or

ambi

tions

for

the

futu

re. T

hese

par

ents

also

see

med

to p

erce

ive

thei

r ch

ildre

n as

bein

g m

ore

resp

onsi

ble

and

dele

gate

dre

spon

sibi

lity

to th

em f

or p

erfo

rmin

gta

sks

at h

ome.

The

se d

iffe

renc

es s

houl

d no

t be

seen

as

a di

chot

omou

s di

visi

on b

etw

een

the

indi

vidu

al a

nd th

e co

mm

unity

, but

rath

er a

s a

shif

t in

this

axi

s. T

he P

aren

tsK

inde

rgar

ten

child

ren

wer

e st

ill le

ssin

divi

dual

istic

than

Isr

aeli

child

ren

ofth

e sa

me

age

who

are

not

of

Eth

iopi

an

Page 38: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

orig

in (

and

not c

augh

t bet

wee

n tw

ocu

lture

s), o

r im

mig

rant

chi

ldre

n fr

omth

e fo

rmer

Sov

iet U

nion

who

cam

efr

om a

soc

iety

that

is m

ore

sim

ilar

toth

e ho

st I

srae

li so

ciet

y fr

om th

est

andp

oint

of

self

-per

cept

ion

and

indi

vidu

alis

m.

At t

he s

ame

time,

the

Pare

nts

Kin

derg

arte

n ch

ildre

n se

emed

to f

eel

that

they

bel

onge

d to

the

Eth

iopi

anco

mm

unity

. The

y ne

ither

den

ied

nor

`for

got t

o m

entio

n' th

eir

conn

ectio

nw

ith th

e co

mm

unity

, app

aren

tly s

eein

gth

emse

lves

as

part

of

a la

rge,

sup

port

ive

body

, whi

ch f

or th

em c

onst

itute

d a

kind

of f

amily

. Thi

s co

uld

also

mea

n th

at th

eco

nten

t of

thei

r E

thio

pian

trad

ition

and

heri

tage

was

far

mor

e ac

cess

ible

to th

em.

Wha

t was

it in

the

Pare

nts

Kin

derg

arte

nth

at c

ause

d th

ese

diff

eren

ces

in th

ech

ildre

n's

self

-per

cept

ion?

A lo

ok a

t the

aim

s of

Par

ents

Kin

derg

arte

n ac

tiviti

essh

ows

that

in o

rder

to d

evel

op th

ech

ild's

dis

cret

e se

nse

of s

elf,

the

prog

ram

me'

s cr

eato

rs s

eek

to g

ive

the

child

ren

the

abili

ty to

exp

ress

em

otio

nsan

d ne

eds,

and

to d

evel

op a

sen

se o

fin

depe

nden

ce a

nd f

reed

om o

f ch

oice

.In

terv

iew

s w

ith th

e fo

unde

rs o

f th

e

00

Pare

nts

Kin

derg

arte

n an

d th

ose

who

are

invo

lved

in it

s w

ork

reve

al a

con

cret

epi

ctur

e of

the

appl

icat

ion

of th

ese

aim

sin

the

kind

erga

rten

.

Em

otio

nal e

xpre

ssio

nIn

inte

rvie

ws

with

the

prog

ram

me'

sco

ordi

nato

rs a

nd te

ache

rs, t

hey

said

that

as p

art o

f th

eir

wor

k in

the

kind

erga

rten

, the

y ad

dres

s em

otio

ns a

ndpr

ovid

e w

arm

th, b

ut a

bove

all,

they

wor

k w

ith th

e ch

ildre

n on

iden

tifyi

ngan

d co

ping

with

thei

r em

otio

ns. T

his

isdo

ne, f

or e

xam

ple,

by

tran

spar

ently

sayi

ng to

the

child

, 'Y

ou're

ang

ry b

ecau

seD

anny

took

the

toy.

or

'You

're s

adbe

caus

e yo

ur m

omm

y ha

sn't

com

e ye

t.

Free

dom

of

choi

ce

One

of

the

inte

rvie

wee

s re

port

ed th

at,

in e

very

act

ivity

in th

e ki

nder

gart

en, t

hech

ild h

as a

cho

ice.

The

act

iviti

es a

rest

ruct

ured

and

org

anis

ed, b

ut a

t the

sam

e tim

e, th

e ch

ildre

n ar

e gi

ven

free

dom

of

choi

ce. A

t the

mea

l, th

ech

ildre

n ha

ve a

cho

ice

of w

hat t

hey

wan

t to

eat (

rice

or

pota

toes

). T

hete

ache

rs h

ave

to b

uild

org

anis

edac

tiviti

es w

ith a

beg

inni

ng, a

mid

dle

and

an e

nd, b

ut th

e ch

ildre

n ar

e ne

ver

oblig

ed to

take

par

t in

the

activ

ity. T

hey

can

choo

se w

heth

er th

ey w

ant t

o ta

ke

part

in a

cre

ativ

e ac

tivity

or

play

, for

exam

ple,

in th

e do

lls' c

orne

r. I

t is

impo

rtan

t to

note

that

the

prog

ram

me

supe

rvis

ors

desc

ribe

inte

nsiv

e w

ork

with

the

coun

sello

rs (

wom

en o

fE

thio

pian

ori

gin

trai

ned

for

wor

k in

the

kind

erga

rten

) on

this

issu

e: n

ot to

for

ceth

e ch

ildre

n to

do

som

ethi

ng s

impl

ybe

caus

e th

e gr

oup

has

a pl

anne

dac

tivity

. Thi

s un

ders

core

s th

e w

ide

gap

in th

e pe

rcep

tion

of a

gro

up a

ctin

gto

geth

er, e

ven

in k

inde

rgar

ten,

whe

reth

e in

divi

dual

doe

s no

t hav

e th

e ab

ility

to c

hoos

e, in

con

tras

t to

the

Isra

eli

real

ity f

or w

hich

the

child

ren

are

bein

gpr

epar

ed.

In th

e pr

esch

ool i

tsel

f, th

e co

unse

llors

talk

to th

e m

othe

rs a

bout

thei

r ch

ild's

expe

rien

ce in

kin

derg

arte

n ac

tiviti

es,

emph

asis

ing

each

chi

ld's

uni

que

char

acte

r. T

he c

hild

ren

are

give

n m

ore

atte

ntio

n an

d th

e pa

rent

s se

e th

e re

sults

of th

is la

ter

at h

ome.

Int

ervi

ews

with

Pare

nts

Kin

derg

arte

n te

ache

rs a

ndco

ordi

nato

rs s

how

ed th

at th

e pa

rent

sre

cogn

ise

the

uniq

uene

ss o

f ch

ildre

nw

ho h

ave

part

icip

ated

in th

e Pa

rent

sK

inde

rgar

ten.

The

par

ents

say

that

the

kind

erga

rten

chi

ld is

mor

e de

velo

ped

than

thei

r ot

her

child

ren,

bri

ngs

hom

epa

intin

gs a

nd d

raw

ings

, and

sin

gs s

ongs

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 37

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

trac

erst

udie

s0e

9Gin

cond

ucte

d

Isra

el: A

lmay

a

lear

nt in

sch

ool.

Som

etim

es th

e m

othe

rco

mes

hom

e fr

om th

e ki

nder

gart

enw

ith h

er o

wn

impr

essi

ons

and

shar

edex

peri

ence

s w

ith h

er c

hild

, and

this

als

ose

ts th

e ch

ild a

part

in h

er v

iew

. The

child

ren'

s ab

ility

to d

evel

op a

dis

tinct

perc

eptio

n of

sel

f is

the

resu

lt of

aco

mbi

natio

n of

two

fact

ors:

the

child

'sow

n ex

peri

ence

in th

e ki

nder

gart

en(d

esig

ned

to d

evel

op s

elf-

perc

eptio

n)an

d th

e pa

rent

s le

arni

ng to

see

the

child

's u

niqu

enes

s, w

hich

enh

ance

s th

epr

oces

s.0

* L

evin

-Roz

alis

M &

Sha

fran

N: A

sen

se o

f

belo

ngin

g: a

trac

er s

tudy

of

Alm

aya'

s Pa

rent

s

Coo

pera

tive

Kin

derg

arte

n, I

srae

l (to

be

publ

is-

hed

2003

as

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Dev

elop

men

t:

Prac

tice

and

Ref

lect

ions

No.

19)

.

Page 39: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

trac

erst

udie

sco

nduc

ted

Chi

ldre

n's

carn

ival

sas

a tr

acer

met

hod

S. A

nan

dalla

kshm

y

The

aut

hor

is a

con

sulta

nt in

Chi

ld D

evel

opm

ent a

nd E

duca

tion

and

has

been

wor

king

for

som

e ye

ars

with

the

Self

Em

ploy

ed W

omen

's A

ssoc

iatio

n (s

Ew

A) s

ituat

ed in

the

Stat

e of

Guj

arat

in I

ndia

. The

mem

bers

of

SEW

A m

ostly

live

in th

e ru

ral a

reas

; tho

se in

the

urba

n ar

eas

tend

to b

e m

igra

nts

with

rura

l con

nect

ions

.In

any

cas

e, th

e po

vert

y th

ey s

hare

ove

rrid

es a

ny s

igni

fica

nt r

ural

-urb

an d

iffe

renc

es. A

mon

g its

man

y ac

tiviti

es,

SEW

A tr

ains

loca

l wom

en to

wor

k in

its

child

care

cent

res/

crec

hes.

Thi

s ar

ticle

incl

udes

a d

iscu

ssio

n of

a n

ovel

way

of

trac

ing

very

larg

e nu

mbe

rs o

f fo

rmer

pro

gram

me

part

icip

ants

.

In b

oth

rura

l and

urb

an a

reas

a c

arni

val

is c

alle

d 'M

e la

' and

the

fam

ilies

go

to it

in la

rge

num

bers

, enj

oyin

g th

e ch

ance

tobe

dre

ssed

in th

eir

best

clo

thes

and

tobu

y tr

inke

ts o

r ot

her

thin

gs f

or th

eho

useh

old.

Kno

win

g th

e pl

ace

that

aM

e la

has

in th

e liv

es o

f th

e pe

ople

, SE

WA

deci

ded

to g

et th

e 'a

lum

ni' o

f th

e C

hild

Car

e pr

ogra

mm

e to

com

e to

a c

hild

ren'

sca

rniv

al, o

r `B

al M

e la

' as

it is

cal

led.

Thi

sw

as to

be

the

begi

nnin

g of

a d

iffe

rent

kind

of

trac

er s

tudy

.

The

pla

n or

igin

ated

in a

n in

form

alm

eetin

g of

the

SEW

A o

rgan

iser

s,su

perv

isor

s an

d cr

eche

wor

kers

. Onc

eth

e pl

an w

as m

ade,

put

ting

it in

toop

erat

ion

prov

ided

no

obst

acle

s. T

obe

gin

with

, the

chi

ldre

n w

ere

from

the

neig

hbou

rhoo

d, a

s w

ere

the

teac

hers

.

The

teac

hers

and

sup

ervi

sors

fir

st m

ade

a lis

t fro

m th

eir

past

rec

ords

and

wen

tar

ound

thei

r ar

eas

to lo

cate

the

child

ren.

Seve

ral o

f th

e ol

der

child

ren

wou

ld g

reet

thei

r fo

rmer

teac

hers

whe

n th

ey c

ross

edea

ch o

ther

on

the

stre

ets.

So

the

stud

ybe

gan

with

the

child

ren

that

the

teac

hers

met

fre

quen

tly. E

ach

of th

ese

child

ren

was

ask

ed to

rem

embe

r th

e na

mes

of

child

ren

who

wer

e in

the

child

care

cent

re o

r cr

eche

in th

eir

time.

Tw

o or

thre

e na

mes

wou

ld b

e re

calle

d; a

nd th

ese

child

ren,

in tu

rn, w

ould

giv

e m

ore

nam

es. A

lmos

t org

anic

ally

, the

net

wor

kgr

ew. T

he te

ache

rs th

en c

ondu

cted

an

info

rmal

cen

sus,

by

visi

ting

each

chi

ld's

hous

e pe

rson

ally

. The

y no

ted

duri

ngth

eir

visi

ts w

heth

er th

e ch

ildre

n w

ere

atte

ndin

g sc

hool

or

not.

The

y as

ked

the

child

ren

abou

t the

ir in

tere

sts

and

plan

sfo

r th

e fu

ture

and

mad

e br

ief

note

s.N

eedl

ess

to s

ay, w

ord

spre

ad a

nd e

ntir

eco

mm

uniti

es h

eard

abo

ut th

e B

al M

ela.

The

re w

as m

uch

exci

tem

ent.

Of

the

tota

l of

2,90

6 ch

ildre

n tr

aced

,2,

798

wer

e at

tend

ing

scho

ol a

nd 1

08w

ere

not.

Thi

s sh

ows

that

ove

r 95

perc

ent o

f al

l the

chi

ldre

n w

ho h

ad

atte

nded

the

SEW

A p

rogr

amm

e w

ere

insc

hool

. If

one

cons

ider

s th

e so

cio-

econ

omic

cat

egor

y in

whi

ch th

e fa

mili

esfa

ll, it

bec

omes

cle

ar th

at S

EW

A'S

rol

e ha

sbe

en s

igni

fica

nt.

At A

nand

, Khe

da D

istr

ict,

whi

ch w

as th

efi

rst l

ocat

ion

of S

EW

A c

rech

es f

or th

ech

ildre

n of

the

wom

en w

orke

rs in

toba

cco

fiel

ds a

nd f

acto

ries

, the

list

of

child

ren

wen

t to

1,12

5. S

o th

e or

gani

sers

deci

ded

to in

vite

the

num

ber

of c

hild

ren

that

cou

ld b

e ac

com

mod

ated

in o

nese

ssio

n at

one

pla

ce: 7

50 c

hild

ren

wer

ein

vite

d fo

r th

e fi

rst B

al M

ela

whi

leth

e re

st w

ould

be

invi

ted

for

a se

cond

carn

ival

.

I w

as p

rese

nt a

t the

mee

ting

at w

hich

the

idea

of

havi

ng a

Bal

Mel

a w

asm

oote

d. A

bout

two

mon

ths

late

r, I

was

in th

e SE

WA

off

ice

in th

e sa

me

dist

rict

.B

y th

is ti

me,

the

entir

e lis

t of

all t

hech

ildre

n w

ho h

ad p

asse

d th

roug

h th

eSE

WA

cre

ches

in K

heda

was

ava

ilabl

e.

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 38

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

I to

ld th

em to

take

a p

hoto

copy

of

the

docu

men

t and

to k

eep

the

orig

inal

`cen

sus'

in a

ban

k va

ult!

Thi

s w

as m

ainl

yto

impr

ess

upon

them

the

valu

e of

the

info

rmat

ion

that

they

had

col

lect

ed a

ndth

e co

ntin

uing

nee

d fo

r do

cum

entin

gth

eir

own

activ

ities

.

At A

hmed

abad

, a s

imila

r ex

erci

se w

asun

dert

aken

. The

chi

ldca

re w

orke

rs(t

each

ers)

beg

an to

iden

tify

the

child

ren

in th

eir

area

s, w

ho h

ad b

een

with

them

in th

e pr

esch

ool y

ears

. Sev

eral

urb

anha

bita

tions

wer

e co

mbe

d fo

r th

e SE

WA

.A

nd w

hat a

har

vest

! M

ore

than

950

child

ren

turn

ed u

p at

the

carn

ival

.

For

the

child

ren,

the

fest

iviti

es h

ad a

llth

e el

emen

ts o

f a

Bal

Mel

a: g

ames

topl

ay, s

kits

to s

ee, a

nd m

usic

and

oth

erac

tiviti

es to

join

in. I

n ad

ditio

n to

afo

rmal

lam

p lig

htin

g ce

rem

ony,

ther

ew

ere

talk

s by

vis

iting

dig

nita

ries

and

by

SEW

A o

rgan

iser

s. T

he c

hild

ren

wer

e

met

icul

ousl

y gr

oom

ed a

nd d

ress

ed;

Page 40: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

som

e w

ore

thei

r br

ight

est a

nd s

hini

est

clot

hes,

oth

ers

cam

e dr

esse

d up

as

wel

l-kn

own

hist

oric

al o

r fi

ctio

nal c

hara

cter

s.N

iche

s w

ere

set u

p fo

r va

riou

s ch

ildre

n's

activ

ities

and

gam

es: c

rayo

n dr

awin

g,ve

geta

ble

prin

ting,

mak

ing

caps

, pup

pet

show

s, m

usic

and

dan

ce a

nd s

o on

.So

me

grou

ps o

f ch

ildre

n ha

d co

me

prep

ared

to s

tage

ski

ts o

r do

mim

icry

.So

me

had

been

lear

ning

, lab

orio

usly

, to

intr

oduc

e th

emse

lves

in E

nglis

h! M

ore

than

any

thin

g, th

ey w

ere

happ

y to

mee

tth

eir

frie

nds

and

run

arou

nd th

e pl

ace,

savo

urin

g th

e ex

cite

men

t of

a ca

rniv

al.

For

all o

f th

em, a

hot

lunc

h se

rved

by

thei

r te

ache

rs, w

as m

ost w

elco

me.

The

lunc

h br

ough

t bac

k to

thei

r m

inds

the

won

derf

ul s

nack

s th

ey h

ad e

aten

as

child

ren

in th

eS

EW

Apr

ogra

mm

e. T

hey

wer

e al

so g

iven

a s

ouve

nir

to ta

ke b

ack

hom

e (s

omet

hing

like

a s

mal

l bow

l,fi

lled

with

can

dy).

The

re w

ere

min

orva

riat

ions

in th

e th

ree

Bal

Mel

as: t

wo

inK

heda

Dis

tric

t and

one

in A

hmed

abad

city

. One

had

mor

e ou

tdoo

r eq

uipm

ent

like

swin

gs a

nd r

ound

abou

ts, a

noth

erha

d a

disp

lay

of th

e ch

ildre

n's

art w

ork,

the

thir

d ha

d m

ore

emph

asis

on

race

san

d sp

orts

for

chi

ldre

n an

d so

on.

SE

WA

,as

an

orga

nisa

tion,

is k

now

n fo

rits

abi

lity

to w

ork

with

the

Gov

ernm

ent

and

to a

cces

s th

e re

sour

ces

that

Gov

ernm

ent s

chem

es a

lloca

te f

orch

ildre

n's

prog

ram

mes

. In

each

of

the

Bal

Mel

as, r

elev

ant G

over

nmen

t off

icia

ls

had

been

invi

ted

and

give

n vi

sibl

e ro

les

in th

e fo

rmal

par

t of

the

inau

gura

lfu

nctio

n. T

heir

hel

p in

get

ting

mor

esp

ace

for

the

cent

res

and

crec

hes

was

soug

ht, a

s sp

ace

cont

inue

s to

be

ape

renn

ial p

robl

em.

Wha

t chi

ldre

n an

d m

othe

rs s

aid

Dur

ing

the

carn

ival

s a

smal

l tea

m o

fre

sear

cher

s w

ent a

roun

d ta

lkin

g to

child

ren

and

mot

hers

. Sel

ecte

d ex

trac

tsar

e gi

ven

belo

w.

I am

now

stu

dyin

g in

the

9th

Stan

dard

.M

y m

othe

r to

ld m

e th

at I

was

onl

yth

ree

mon

ths

old

whe

n I

was

sen

t to

the

crec

he. I

cri

ed a

lot i

n th

e be

ginn

ing,

she

says

. Wha

t I k

now

is th

at I

bec

ame

fond

of

the

teac

hers

and

enj

oyed

the

activ

ities

in th

e cr

eche

. My

mot

her

and

my

fath

er w

ork

in th

e to

bacc

o fi

elds

.

The

y ar

e w

orki

ng h

ard

so th

at th

ey c

aned

ucat

e us

. My

sist

er is

in th

e se

cond

year

of

her

Col

lege

. I w

ish

to s

tudy

and

beco

me

a la

wye

r, s

o th

at I

can

hel

pot

hers

to g

et ju

stic

e. (

Mer

iel a

ged

13,

from

Kun

jrav

Vill

age)

I st

udy

in th

e 6t

h St

anda

rd. M

y fa

ther

and

mot

her

are

toba

cco

wor

kers

. Ial

way

s lo

ved

goin

g to

the

cent

re. M

y

teac

hers

ther

e w

ere

very

goo

d. M

y

favo

urite

sub

ject

is E

nglis

h. W

hen

I w

ason

the

stag

e, I

was

not

afr

aid

ofin

trod

ucin

g m

ysel

f in

Eng

lish.

I h

ave

not d

ecid

ed w

hat I

wou

ld li

ke to

be

in

the

futu

re, b

ut m

y pa

rent

s sa

y th

at I

can

stud

y as

muc

h as

I w

ant t

o. A

t the

Mel

a, I

love

d th

e M

agic

Sho

w a

nd I

was

hap

py to

pla

y cr

icke

t with

my

frie

nds.

(M

artin

age

d 15

, fro

mC

hiko

dra

Vill

age)

She

was

thre

e ye

ars

whe

n I

put h

er in

toth

e ce

ntre

. She

was

one

of

the

firs

t bat

ch

in th

e ce

ntre

. Tod

ay, s

he is

in th

e 7t

hSt

anda

rd. S

he lo

ves

to s

tudy

and

goe

s to

scho

ol w

ithou

t hes

itatio

n. M

y ol

der

daug

hter

had

not

bee

n to

suc

h a

cent

re,

so w

hen

I pu

t her

in s

choo

l, sh

e w

as n

otea

ger

to s

tudy

and

dro

pped

out

. But

Mon

a is

ver

y sm

art.

She

stan

ds u

pbo

ldly

in h

er c

lass

and

ans

wer

squ

estio

ns. H

er te

ache

rs a

t the

pri

mar

ysc

hool

are

als

o pr

aisi

ng h

er. (

Man

gube

n,m

othe

r of

Mon

a, a

ged

12)

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 39

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

I se

ll A

garb

atti

(inc

ense

stic

ks)

and

othe

r sm

all i

tem

s. A

t fir

st, I

did

not

belie

ve th

at a

nyon

e w

ould

take

car

e of

my

child

whe

n I

was

aw

ay. W

hen

I se

nthi

m to

the

crec

he, h

e w

as n

ot s

peak

ing.

He

wou

ld ju

st ta

ke o

ff h

is c

loth

es a

nd

wan

der

abou

t. T

he te

ache

rs w

ere

very

patie

nt a

nd tr

aine

d hi

m to

hav

e pr

oper

habi

ts a

nd n

ot to

take

off

his

clo

thes

.

Aft

er jo

inin

g th

e cr

eche

, he

brus

hes

his

teet

h an

d sa

ys h

is p

raye

rs. H

e re

ads

book

s an

d re

spec

ts o

ther

s. T

hese

are

beha

viou

rs th

at a

re a

ppre

ciat

ed in

our

soci

ety.

The

refo

re, I

am

sat

isfi

ed.

(Gee

tabe

n, m

othe

r of

Mon

tu, a

ged

8)

The

inte

rvie

ws

all t

ell t

he s

ame

stor

y. I

tis

cer

tain

that

the

inte

rven

tion

in e

arly

child

hood

has

a p

ositi

ve im

pact

on

the

deve

lopm

ent o

f co

gniti

ve a

nd s

ocia

lsk

ills

in la

ter

year

s.0

Indi

a: #

1 te

ache

r in

San

jayn

agar

cen

tre

(Bap

unag

ar)

acts

out

song

s w

ith th

e ch

ildre

n

so th

ey b

ecom

e

enth

usia

stic

abo

ut

lear

ning

.

Pho

to: S

ara

Gom

ez,

HA

RT

Fel

low

from

the

Cen

ter

for

Doc

umen

tary

Stu

dies

, US

A

Page 41: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Fam

ily s

uppo

rtpr

ogra

mm

esin

S E

pste

in, J

eann

e M

ontle

and

Dav

id P

We

kart

Thi

s ex

trac

t is

from

a tr

acer

stu

dy' t

hat f

ollo

wed

up

four

of

the

site

s of

a P

aren

t-to

-Par

ent p

rogr

amm

e in

the

USA

to

find

org

anis

atio

nal t

race

s of

the

prog

ram

me'

s pr

inci

ples

and

str

ateg

ies.

The

Par

ent-

to-P

aren

t pro

gram

me

evol

ved

from

an

Infa

nt E

duca

tion

Proj

ect (

1968

-197

1) in

whi

ch p

rofe

ssio

nal s

taff

vis

ited

low

-inc

ome

fam

ilies

with

infa

nts,

thro

ugh

a H

ome

Vis

it Pr

ojec

t in

whi

ch th

e ho

me

visi

tors

wer

e pe

ers

(mot

hers

fro

m th

e sa

me

com

mun

ities

), to

the

Pare

nt-t

o-Pa

rent

pro

gram

me

(197

8-19

84).

Thi

s pr

ogra

mm

e w

orke

d to

a m

odel

that

was

fle

xibl

e en

ough

to a

dapt

to lo

cal f

amily

nee

ds a

nd c

onte

xt. I

ts p

rinc

iple

s w

ere:

the

prim

ary

focu

s of

the

prog

ram

me

is e

nhan

cing

chi

ldde

velo

pmen

t and

par

entin

g sk

ills;

the

prog

ram

me

emph

asis

es b

uild

ing

on f

amily

str

engt

hs; a

nd th

e pr

ogra

mm

ede

sign

is u

nder

loca

l con

trol

. Str

ateg

ies

wer

e: p

eers

or

para

prof

essi

onal

s us

ed a

s fa

mily

ser

vice

wor

kers

; lea

rnin

g at

all a

ge le

vels

bas

ed o

n de

velo

pmen

tally

app

ropr

iate

pra

ctic

es; a

nd a

n ed

ucat

iona

l app

roac

h th

at in

corp

orat

esac

tive

lear

ning

for

par

ents

, chi

ldre

n an

d st

aff

Whe

n it

was

fir

st d

isse

min

ated

in th

eea

rly

1980

s, th

e Pa

rent

-to-

Pare

nt (

PTP)

mod

el w

as a

uni

que

appr

oach

tose

rvin

g fa

mili

es. A

lthou

gh n

one

of th

eor

igin

al p

rogr

amm

es is

stil

l in

oper

atio

n at

the

site

s w

e in

vest

igat

ed,

we

look

ed f

or e

lem

ents

of

the

PTP

mod

el in

cur

rent

pro

gram

mes

off

ered

to f

amili

es w

ith y

oung

chi

ldre

n in

thos

eco

mm

uniti

es. S

peci

fica

lly, w

e lo

oked

for

sim

ilari

ties

to th

e ph

iloso

phic

alpr

inci

ples

and

impl

emen

tatio

ngu

idel

ines

of

the

PTP

mod

el.

Cer

tain

ly, t

he p

rese

nce

of o

ne o

r m

ore

of th

ese

feat

ures

in a

cur

rent

prog

ram

me

is n

ot n

eces

sari

ly a

nin

dica

tion

of d

irec

t inf

luen

ce f

rom

the

PTP

mod

el.

As

fam

ily s

uppo

rt p

rogr

amm

es h

ave

prol

ifer

ated

ove

r th

e pa

st 2

0 ye

ars,

itw

ould

be

impo

ssib

le to

sep

arat

e ou

t the

effe

cts

of o

ne p

artic

ular

mod

el.

How

ever

, an

exam

inat

ion

of th

epr

esen

ce o

r ab

senc

e of

thes

e fe

atur

espr

ovid

es a

n in

dica

tion

of th

e lo

ng-t

erm

effe

ctiv

enes

s or

sta

ying

pow

er o

f ke

yel

emen

ts o

f th

e PT

P ph

iloso

phy

and

high

light

s ap

proa

ches

that

hav

e pr

oven

succ

essf

ul o

ver

time.

Prim

ary

focu

s on

enh

anci

ng c

hild

deve

lopm

ent a

nd p

aren

ting

skill

sO

f th

e cu

rren

t pro

gram

mes

rev

iew

edfo

r th

e pr

esen

t stu

dy, f

ew h

ad a

s th

eir

prim

ary

goal

enh

anci

ng c

hild

deve

lopm

ent a

nd p

aren

ting

skill

s.It

wou

ld s

eem

that

as

fam

ily s

uppo

rtpr

ogra

mm

es e

ndea

vour

to a

ddre

ss th

em

ultip

le n

eeds

of

fam

ilies

with

you

ngch

ildre

n, th

e ch

ildre

n th

emse

lves

actu

ally

rec

eive

less

and

less

atte

ntio

n.

Focu

s on

fam

ily s

tren

gths

Ove

r an

d ov

er a

gain

, the

phr

ase

used

to d

escr

ibe

curr

ent p

rogr

amm

es w

as

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 40

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

fam

ily b

ased

. Alm

ost a

ll cu

rren

tpr

ogra

mm

e st

aff

desc

ribe

d th

eir

prog

ram

mes

as

bein

g ba

sed

on f

amily

stre

ngth

s. T

his

emph

asis

is c

erta

inly

cong

ruen

t with

the

PTP

philo

soph

yan

d de

mon

stra

tes

that

fam

ily s

uppo

rtpr

ogra

mm

e ph

iloso

phy

has

inde

edsh

ifte

d fr

om a

def

icit

mod

el to

ast

reng

th-b

ased

mod

el.

Loc

al c

ontr

ol o

f pr

ogra

mm

e de

sign

Mos

t of

the

curr

ent p

rogr

amm

es w

ein

vest

igat

ed w

ere

loca

lly d

esig

ned

and

adm

inis

tere

d; o

nly

one

was

des

igne

d an

ddi

ssem

inat

ed b

y a

natio

nal o

rgan

isat

ion.

Page 42: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Peer

-to-

peer

ser

vice

del

iver

y

Man

y fa

mily

sup

port

pro

gram

mes

toda

y co

ntin

ue to

use

par

apro

fess

iona

lsto

pro

vide

dir

ect s

ervi

ces

to f

amili

es.

How

ever

, few

pro

gram

mes

con

tinue

tore

ly o

n vo

lunt

eers

, as

was

the

case

in th

eP

TP

proj

ect.

Cur

rent

adm

inis

trat

ors

and

prog

ram

me

supe

rvis

ors

cite

dif

ficu

lties

in r

ecru

iting

vol

unte

ers

toda

y, a

ndse

vera

l of

thos

e in

terv

iew

ed s

tate

d th

atth

ey d

o no

t fee

l com

fort

able

with

not

reim

burs

ing

fam

ily s

ervi

ce w

orke

rs f

orth

eir

time

and

expe

rtis

e.

Staf

f tr

aini

ngPr

eser

vice

and

inse

rvic

e tr

aini

ngpr

ogra

mm

es f

or p

arap

rofe

ssio

nals

var

yw

idel

y fr

om p

rogr

amm

e to

pro

gram

me.

Man

y of

thos

e in

terv

iew

ed,

prof

essi

onal

s an

d pa

rapr

ofes

sion

als

alik

e, e

xpre

ssed

a d

esir

e fo

r m

ore

trai

ning

, but

mos

t pro

gram

mes

lack

the

fund

s or

tim

e to

pro

vide

it.

Dev

elop

men

tally

app

ropr

iate

, act

ive

lear

ning

app

roac

h to

edu

catio

nA

dev

elop

men

tal a

ppro

ach

to le

arni

ngw

as a

hal

lmar

k of

the

PT

Pm

odel

. The

appr

oach

, whi

ch w

as c

arri

ed o

utth

roug

h st

aff

trai

ning

and

the

child

deve

lopm

ent c

urri

culu

m, a

ffec

ted

part

icip

ants

and

sta

ff a

t all

leve

ls.

Dev

elop

men

tally

app

ropr

iate

mat

eria

lsfo

r ch

ildre

n ar

e w

idel

y av

aila

ble

toda

y,an

d it

may

be

that

inte

rvie

wee

s di

d no

tth

ink

it im

port

ant t

o m

entio

n th

at th

eyus

ed th

em. I

t is

also

pos

sibl

e th

at, a

s th

e

focu

s of

fam

ily s

uppo

rt in

terv

entio

n ha

ssh

ifte

d m

ore

tow

ards

par

ents

' nee

ds a

ndaw

ay f

rom

thei

r ch

ildre

n, th

ede

velo

pmen

tal a

ppro

ach

to le

arni

ng h

asbe

en lo

st. A

ctiv

e le

arni

ng, a

key

fea

ture

of th

eP

TP

mod

el, w

as n

oted

as

a fe

atur

eas

soci

ated

with

the

curr

ent p

rogr

amm

esth

at o

ffer

par

ent-

child

act

iviti

es.

Pro

gram

me

para

met

ers

esse

ntia

l to

addr

ess

curr

ent f

amily

nee

ds

The

soc

ial i

ssue

s af

fect

ing

fam

ilies

with

youn

g ch

ildre

n at

the

four

site

s to

day

are

a re

flec

tion

of is

sues

see

n ac

ross

the

coun

try:

an

incr

ease

in s

ingl

e pa

rent

fam

ilies

; pre

gnan

t and

par

entin

gad

oles

cent

s; d

omes

tic v

iole

nce;

and

subs

tanc

e ab

use.

Man

y of

thos

ein

terv

iew

ed m

entio

ned

the

heig

hten

edse

nse

of d

espa

ir a

nd h

opel

essn

ess

they

see

in f

amili

es to

day,

com

pare

d to

15

or 2

0 ye

ars

ago.

Thi

s w

as o

ften

bla

med

on th

e ef

fect

s of

sub

stan

ce a

buse

and

pove

rty.

The

new

wel

fare

ref

orm

legi

slat

ion

inth

e U

nite

d St

ates

of

Am

eric

a ha

saf

fect

ed a

ll th

ose

who

wor

k w

ith p

oor

fam

ilies

of

youn

g ch

ildre

n. A

s m

othe

rsha

ve b

egun

to le

ave

wel

fare

and

ret

urn

to w

ork,

the

need

for

aff

orda

ble

child

care

at e

ach

of th

e si

tes

has

beco

me

criti

cal.

Add

ition

al n

eeds

cre

ated

by

the

effe

cts

of w

elfa

re r

efor

m le

gisl

atio

n ar

e en

try-

Find

ings

US

A, H

igh/

Sco

pe

leve

l job

s th

at p

ay a

live

able

wag

e an

djo

b tr

aini

ng p

rogr

amm

es. M

any

ofth

ose

inte

rvie

wed

talk

ed a

bout

the

gene

ral d

eclin

e in

edu

catio

nal s

tand

ards

and

the

fact

that

man

y m

othe

rsre

turn

ing

to w

ork

lack

mar

keta

ble

skill

san

d a

basi

c ac

adem

ic b

ackg

roun

d. I

tw

as a

lso

note

d by

som

e th

at, i

n th

eef

fort

to m

ove

mot

hers

of

youn

gch

ildre

n of

f w

elfa

re, t

he n

eeds

of

thei

rch

ildre

n of

ten

get o

verl

ooke

d. B

usy

pare

nts

have

littl

e tim

e an

d en

ergy

tode

vote

to p

aren

t-ch

ild a

ctiv

ities

at

hom

e an

d on

ly a

sm

all p

erce

ntag

e of

pare

nts

volu

ntee

r at

thei

r ch

ildre

n's

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 41

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

child

care

cen

tres

. In

the

stru

ggle

tom

eet d

ay to

day

dem

ands

, the

re is

sca

ntat

tent

ion

focu

sed

on im

prov

ing

pare

ntin

g sk

ills.

* E

pste

in A

S, M

ontie

J &

Wei

kart

DP

(200

2), S

uppo

rtin

g fa

mili

es w

ith y

oung

child

ren,

the

Hig

h/Sc

ope

Pare

nt-t

o-Pa

rent

diss

emin

atio

n pr

ojec

t, M

onog

raph

s of

the

Hig

h/Sc

ope

Edu

catio

nal R

esea

rch

Foun

datio

n N

o. 1

3; Y

psila

nti,

Mic

higa

n,

usw

: Hig

h/Sc

ope

Edu

catio

nal R

esea

rch

Foun

datio

n (s

ee p

age

59).

0

Page 43: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Find

ings

The

AD

P gr

ew o

ut o

f th

e ea

rly

expe

rien

ces

of S

ervo

l (Se

rvic

eV

olun

teer

ed f

or A

ll) in

the

1970

s w

hen

it ra

n co

urse

s to

impa

rt s

kills

toad

oles

cent

s an

d pr

epar

e th

em f

or th

ew

orld

of

wor

k. A

lthou

gh s

kills

wer

eac

quir

ed, t

he y

oung

peo

ple

had

diff

icul

ty in

hol

ding

dow

n jo

bs b

ecau

seof

thei

r ow

n at

titud

es to

life

and

wor

kw

hich

wer

e a

cons

eque

nce

of th

eir

earl

ylif

e ex

peri

ence

s.

Sinc

e th

e ea

rly

1980

s, y

oung

peo

ple

appl

ying

to S

ervo

l are

req

uire

d to

part

icip

ate

in th

e A

DP

befo

reun

dert

akin

g a

skill

s tr

aini

ng c

ours

e.D

urin

g th

e th

ree-

mon

th c

ours

e th

e 16

to 1

9 ye

ar o

lds

are

help

ed to

bet

ter

unde

rsta

nd th

emse

lves

; to

bette

r ha

ndle

thei

r em

otio

ns a

nd e

very

day

prob

lem

s;to

bec

ome

mor

e en

light

ened

, bet

ter

equi

pped

and

mor

e re

spon

sibl

e pa

rent

s;an

d to

bec

ome

mot

ivat

ed to

equ

ip

Nur

turi

ng c

hild

ren

Jean

D G

riff

ith

Thi

s ex

trac

t is

from

a tr

acer

stu

dy o

f th

e A

dole

scen

t Dev

elop

men

t Pro

gram

me

(AD

P) in

Tri

nida

d. T

he s

tudy

look

ed a

t the

live

s of

79

Tri

nida

dian

s in

thei

r 20

sar

ound

10

year

s af

ter

half

of

them

had

par

ticpa

ted

in th

e A

DP,

and

look

edpa

rtic

ular

ly a

t the

eff

ects

of

the

prog

ram

me

on p

aren

ting,

nur

turi

ng a

ndch

ildre

arin

g in

gen

eral

.

them

selv

es a

cade

mic

ally

and

/or

with

mar

keta

ble

skill

s. T

he A

DP

is a

vaila

ble

in s

ome

20 c

entr

es th

roug

hout

the

coun

try

and

mod

ifie

d ve

rsio

ns h

ave

been

intr

oduc

ed to

som

e se

cond

ary

scho

ols

and

othe

r in

stitu

tions

.

Am

ong

the

stud

y re

spon

dent

s, a

prin

cipa

l are

a of

con

cern

was

the

nurt

urin

g of

thei

r ch

ildre

n. I

n ge

nera

l,re

spon

dent

s w

ere

in c

onta

ct w

ith th

eir

child

ren

and

mad

e ef

fort

s to

pro

vide

the

kind

of

supp

ort t

hat w

ould

enh

ance

thei

r ch

ildre

n's

wel

l-be

ing.

Thi

s w

as e

vide

nt a

mon

g al

lre

spon

dent

s, w

heth

er th

ey w

ere

form

erSe

rvol

trai

nees

or

in th

e co

mpa

riso

ngr

oup.

Thi

s w

as a

lso

obse

rved

irre

spec

tive

of g

ende

r an

d th

eco

mm

unity

set

ting.

In

mos

t cas

es,

resp

onde

nts

said

that

they

live

d w

ithth

eir

child

ren.

In

the

few

exc

eptio

nal

case

s w

here

they

did

not

sha

re th

e sa

me

resi

denc

e, th

ere

still

app

eare

d to

be

genu

ine

conc

ern

for

the

wel

fare

of

the

child

ren

and

atte

mpt

s w

ere

mad

e to

mai

ntai

n co

ntac

t and

pro

vide

sup

port

.

Whe

ther

fro

m th

e gr

oup

of f

orm

ertr

aine

es o

r th

e co

mpa

riso

n gr

oup,

resp

onde

nts

reve

aled

that

they

had

devo

ted

a co

nsid

erab

le a

mou

nt o

f tim

eto

thei

r ch

ildre

n, p

artic

ular

ly d

urin

gin

fanc

y. T

his

was

esp

ecia

lly th

e ca

se f

orth

e fe

mal

e re

spon

dent

s. M

oreo

ver,

bot

hgr

oups

of

resp

onde

nts

reco

gnis

ed th

atth

ey h

ad to

mak

e sa

crif

ices

, par

ticul

arly

with

res

pect

to th

eir

leis

ure

time

activ

ities

out

side

of

the

hom

e. B

oth

grou

ps r

epor

ted

that

they

had

had

prob

lem

s w

ith th

e he

alth

of

thei

rin

fant

s. R

espo

nden

ts a

lso

talk

ed o

fth

e fi

nanc

ial c

halle

nges

that

wer

em

ore

likel

y to

occ

ur a

s th

eir

child

ren

grew

old

er.

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 42

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

In o

rder

to o

verc

ome

chal

leng

es,

fina

ncia

l one

s in

par

ticul

ar, r

efer

ence

was

mad

e to

a n

umbe

r of

str

ateg

ies

that

incl

uded

look

ing

for

wor

k, r

elyi

ng u

pon

divi

ne h

elp,

and

bec

omin

g se

lf-

suff

icie

nt a

nd r

esou

rcef

ul. T

he la

tter

was

the

stra

tegy

ado

pted

by

som

e m

ale

resp

onde

nts

who

wer

e fo

rmer

Ser

vol

trai

nees

and

who

sou

ght t

o be

com

een

trep

rene

urs

in o

rder

to o

verc

ome

fina

ncia

l dif

ficu

lties

that

thre

aten

edth

eir

livel

ihoo

d an

d th

at o

f th

eir

offs

prin

g.

Ove

rall,

ther

e w

as a

cle

ar r

ecog

nitio

nth

at p

aren

ting

was

an

ardu

ous

task

that

requ

ired

par

ents

to d

emon

stra

te a

gre

atde

al o

f re

spon

sibi

lity

in n

urtu

ring

thei

rch

ildre

n. N

onet

hele

ss, t

here

was

gen

eral

agre

emen

t tha

t par

entin

g w

as a

ple

asan

tex

peri

ence

that

had

to b

e em

brac

ed a

ndpu

rsue

d di

ligen

tly. M

entio

n w

as m

ade

of c

lose

inte

ract

ions

bet

wee

n

Page 44: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

App

rent

ices

and

chi

ldre

n in

the

carp

entr

y w

orks

hop,

Pho

to: S

ervo

!

resp

onde

nts

and

thei

r ch

ildre

n, a

ndre

cipr

ocal

pro

cess

es o

f in

tera

ctio

nsth

roug

h su

ch a

ctiv

ities

as

sing

ing,

play

ing,

touc

hing

and

cud

dlin

g.

Am

ong

the

resp

onde

nts,

ther

e w

asge

nera

l con

sens

us th

at th

e A

DP

had

at

leas

t rei

nfor

ced

the

virt

ues

asso

ciat

edw

ith th

e ta

sk o

f pa

rent

ing.

In

seve

ral

case

s, th

ey f

elt t

hat t

he A

DP

enha

nced

thei

r pa

rent

ing

skill

s. F

or in

stan

ce, t

hey

did

thin

gs s

uch

as g

ettin

g th

eir

child

ren

mor

e in

volv

ed in

rec

reat

iona

l act

iviti

es.

The

y al

so f

ound

that

the

expo

sure

to

the

AD

P en

able

d th

em to

be

mor

epa

tient

and

atte

ntiv

e to

the

child

ren

and,

as

a co

nseq

uenc

e, e

nhan

ced

thei

rpa

rent

-chi

ld r

elat

ions

hips

. One

resp

onde

nt n

oted

that

the

AD

P

...m

ade

me

mor

e aw

are

of p

artic

ular

area

s of

my

life.

It r

einf

orce

d fo

r m

e

that

a p

erso

n ha

s th

e po

wer

to in

stil

know

ledg

e in

ano

ther

indi

vidu

al's

life

.I

cons

ider

par

entin

g to

be

a pr

ivile

gean

d an

hon

our.

The

pro

gram

me

diss

emin

ated

info

rmat

ion

that

was

rel

evan

t and

was

of a

ssis

tanc

e in

taki

ng c

are

of c

hild

ren.

In g

ener

al, t

he A

DP

mad

e a

diff

eren

ce in

pare

ntin

g sk

ills

and

prov

ided

a b

asis

for

ensu

ring

that

trai

nees

wer

e w

ell

prep

ared

for

thei

r re

spon

sibi

litie

s as

pare

nts.

One

mal

e re

spon

dent

ack

now

ledg

edth

at th

e pa

rent

ing

cour

se h

ad a

sign

ific

ant i

mpa

ct o

n hi

m:

If th

e A

D?

was

not

ther

e, I

do

not

know

how

I w

ould

be

look

ing

at li

feto

day.

AD

P ta

ught

me

self

-aw

aren

ess.

Wha

t you

are

for

, wha

t you

are

not

.I

teac

h w

hat I

lear

n fr

om A

DP.

Eve

ryyo

uth

in J

unio

r Se

cond

ary

Scho

olsh

ould

be

expo

sed

to th

is p

rogr

amm

e.M

ost p

eopl

e w

ho p

ass

thro

ugh

AD

P ar

e

diff

eren

t up

to to

day.

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n4.

3 E

arly

Chi

ldho

od M

atte

rs

Fin

ding

s

Ano

ther

sai

d,

The

par

entin

g co

urse

mad

e m

e ha

vere

spec

t for

my

pare

nts

and

real

ise

that

it is

not

eas

y to

bri

ng u

p ch

ildre

n. E

ven

whe

n I

have

arg

umen

ts w

ith m

y

pare

nts,

I r

emem

ber

that

they

mad

e m

ean

d th

at I

mus

t hav

e re

spec

t for

them

.

One

fem

ale

resp

onde

nt s

aid

that

beca

use

she

had

her

son

whe

n sh

eat

tend

ed th

e A

DP,

'the

par

entin

g co

urse

was

rel

evan

t and

hel

ped

me

to b

ette

run

ders

tand

him

: It s

houl

d be

not

edth

at s

ome

form

er tr

aine

es in

dica

ted

that

they

did

not

app

reci

ate

the

full

impa

ct o

f th

e pa

rent

ing

cour

se w

hen

itw

as b

eing

taug

ht. T

his

was

bec

ause

som

e of

them

wer

e no

t sex

ually

act

ive

or w

ere

not t

hink

ing

abou

t for

min

gre

latio

nshi

ps. A

mal

e re

spon

dent

expr

esse

d th

e w

ish

to b

e ab

le to

part

icip

ate

in th

e co

urse

at t

his

stag

e in

his

life

sinc

e he

wou

ld a

ppre

ciat

e it

mor

e fu

lly n

ow.

* G

riff

ith J

D (

2002

), T

o ha

ndle

life

's c

halle

n-

ges:

a tr

acer

stu

dy o

f Se

rvol

's A

dole

scen

t

Dev

elop

men

t Pro

gram

me

in T

rini

dad,

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Dev

elop

men

t: Pr

actic

e an

d

Ref

lect

ions

No.

16

(see

pag

e 59

).

Page 45: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

'hid

ings

Wha

t hap

pene

d to

the

child

ren?

Ro

Di D

egaz

on-J

ohns

on

Jam

aica

: Tee

nage

Mot

hers

pro

gram

me

Sto

rytim

e fo

r to

ddle

rs; t

he b

read

frui

t tre

e pr

ovid

ing

shad

e.

Thi

s ar

ticle

has

bee

n ad

apte

d fr

om a

trac

er s

tudy

* of

the

Tee

nage

Mot

hers

Pro

ject

that

was

bas

ed in

May

Pen

in th

e ru

ral J

amai

can

pari

shof

Cla

rend

on w

here

ther

e w

as a

high

rat

e of

teen

age

preg

nanc

y. T

he p

roje

ct o

pera

ted

from

198

6 to

199

6 an

d ha

d th

ree

over

all o

bjec

tives

: to

decr

ease

the

num

ber

and

freq

uenc

y of

teen

age

preg

nanc

ies

in

and

arou

nd C

lare

ndon

; to

addr

ess

the

deve

lopm

ent a

nd tr

aini

ng o

f th

e te

enag

e m

othe

rs; a

nd to

less

en th

e lik

elih

ood

of r

epea

t pre

gnan

cies

, the

reby

impr

ovin

g th

e lif

ech

ance

s of

the

youn

g ch

ild. T

he s

tudy

was

a f

ollo

w-u

p to

an

earl

ier

piec

e of

res

earc

h th

at tr

aced

the

impa

ct o

f th

e pr

ojec

t on

asa

mpl

e of

10

mot

hers

and

chi

ldre

n w

ho w

ere

part

icip

ants

bet

wee

n 19

86 a

nd 1

989,

and

com

pare

d th

ese

with

ten

othe

r m

othe

r an

d ch

ild p

airs

who

had

not

bee

n in

the

proj

ect.

The

Tee

nage

Mot

hers

Pro

ject

(T

MP)

trac

er s

tudy

fol

low

ed u

p on

an

earl

ier

stud

y th

at c

oncl

uded

that

the

child

ren

unde

rT

MP

care

not

onl

y di

d m

uch

bette

r th

an th

e co

ntro

l chi

ldre

n, b

utw

ere

perf

orm

ing

wel

l by

any

stan

dard

.

An

impo

rtan

t obj

ectiv

e of

the

trac

erst

udy

has

been

to d

eter

min

e th

e ex

tent

to w

hich

the

earl

y de

velo

pmen

tal

diff

eren

ce n

oted

in th

at f

irst

stu

dy m

ayha

ve b

een

sust

aine

d, g

iven

the

natu

ral

impa

ct o

f en

viro

nmen

t, sc

hool

ing

and

the

fact

that

the

TM

Pch

ildre

n w

ould

have

left

the

TM

Pen

viro

nmen

t whe

nth

ey w

ere

aged

thre

e or

fou

r ye

ars,

desp

ite o

ccas

iona

l hom

e vi

sits

that

cont

inue

d af

terw

ards

.

The

pri

ncip

al in

stru

men

t use

d to

ass

ess

whe

ther

the

diff

eren

ce h

as b

een

sust

aine

d w

as th

e Sc

hool

Per

form

ance

Rep

ort,

whi

ch c

ompr

ised

the

fina

l pag

eof

the

child

ren'

s qu

estio

nnai

re a

ndw

hich

was

com

plet

ed in

the

inte

rvie

ww

ith e

ach

child

's te

ache

r. E

ight

een

ofth

ese

repo

rts

wer

e co

mpl

eted

. The

two

that

wer

e no

t com

plet

ed w

ere

for

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 44

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Papr

ika,

the

infa

nt, a

nd V

anill

a, w

hose

scho

ol in

Flo

rida

had

not

ret

urne

d he

rfo

rm. T

o so

me

exte

nt, t

he r

epor

tsca

nnot

be

said

to h

ave

the

stan

dard

ised

base

of

a re

sear

ch in

stru

men

t bec

ause

diff

eren

t tea

cher

s co

uld

have

giv

endi

ffer

ent v

alue

s to

the

ques

tions

and

asse

ssm

ents

. How

ever

, tea

cher

res

pons

esar

e co

nsid

ered

a v

alua

ble

com

pone

nt o

f

Page 46: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

the

earl

ier

rese

arch

and

as

a re

sult,

thei

rus

e in

this

stu

dy h

as v

alid

ity.

The

teac

hers

wer

e al

l ask

ed to

sco

reth

eir

stud

ent's

aca

dem

ic a

chie

vem

ent

on th

e ba

sis

of a

sca

le f

rom

fiv

e to

one

,w

here

fiv

e is

'exc

elle

nt' a

nd o

ne is

'wea

k'an

d th

e re

sults

con

firm

the

find

ings

of

the

earl

ier

test

ing.

In

fact

, the

y sa

ym

ore:

not

onl

y di

d th

e ea

rly

stim

ulat

ion

prog

ram

me

com

pone

nt o

f th

eT

MP

dayc

are

put t

he b

abie

s ah

ead

of th

eir

peer

s de

velo

pmen

tally

, but

this

sup

erio

rpe

rfor

man

ce h

as b

een

sust

aine

d to

the

uppe

r le

vels

of

Prim

ary

and

All

Age

sch

oolin

g.

Spec

ial n

ote

mus

t be

take

n of

the

fact

that

at t

his

stag

e in

sch

oolin

g in

Jam

aica

, you

ng a

dole

scen

t mal

es a

rekn

own

to 'f

all o

ff' i

n th

eir

perf

orm

ance

whe

n co

mpa

red

to g

irls

. How

ever

, the

reis

no

diff

eren

ce in

the

perf

orm

ance

of

the

four

TM

Pbo

ys in

the

sam

ple

whe

nco

mpa

red

to th

e gi

rls,

whi

ch is

rem

arka

ble!

Tea

cher

inte

rvie

ws

for

seve

ral o

f th

ech

ildre

n re

veal

ed e

mer

ging

lead

ersh

ipsk

ills

as w

ell a

s ou

tsta

ndin

g la

ngua

geab

ilitie

s (e

ven

if th

is s

omet

imes

pres

ents

a p

robl

em f

or a

teac

her

in a

C)

clas

s of

50+

who

say

s th

e st

uden

t cha

tsto

o m

uch)

:

She

is v

ery

artic

ulat

e, s

peak

s w

ell.

She

disp

lays

lead

ersh

ip s

kills

, but

tend

sto

cha

t.

She

has

lead

ersh

ip s

kills

. She

can

be

depe

nded

on

to o

rgan

ise

the

clas

s.

The

re w

ere

also

chi

ldre

n in

the

com

pari

son

grou

p w

ith s

atis

fact

ory

perf

orm

ance

s. H

owev

er, i

n tw

o ca

ses,

teac

hers

cou

ld id

entif

y no

thin

gou

tsta

ndin

g ab

out t

he s

tude

nt. I

nad

ditio

n, th

e te

ache

rs o

f ot

her

stud

ents

said

: She

is in

clin

ed to

pro

voke

oth

er

child

ren.

She

doe

s no

t set

tle to

her

wor

k.

He

keep

s on

hitt

ing

and

figh

ting

the

othe

r ch

ildre

n.

He

hard

ly m

ade

one

know

he

was

in c

lass

.

The

rep

ort o

f th

e or

igin

al r

esea

rch

refe

rs to

the

rigi

d co

ntex

t of

the

trad

ition

al c

lass

room

as

havi

ng a

nega

tive

impa

ct o

nT

MP

child

ren

(and

,

no d

oubt

, all

child

ren)

. Thi

s ne

gativ

eim

pact

can

onl

y ha

ve b

een

dim

inis

hed

by th

e st

rong

dev

elop

men

tal b

ase

the

child

ren

rece

ived

in th

e ea

rly

stim

ulat

ion

prog

ram

me

and

by th

eco

ntin

uing

infl

uenc

e of

one

oth

erva

riab

leth

e m

othe

r. T

he s

ingl

eva

riab

le th

at w

ould

hav

e co

ntin

ued

toin

flue

nce

the

TM

Pch

ild a

nd e

nabl

ego

od to

exc

elle

nt a

cade

mic

ach

ieve

men

tin

all

case

s bu

t one

, wou

ld h

ave

been

the

TM

Pm

othe

r, d

oubt

less

enc

oura

ging

,in

sist

ing

and

mot

ivat

ing

her

child

tope

rfor

m w

ell i

n sc

hool

, to

read

, to

atte

nd s

choo

l reg

ular

ly. A

part

fro

m th

eea

rly

stim

ulat

ion

prog

ram

me

inte

rven

tion,

no

vari

able

can

hav

ecr

eate

d su

ch a

mar

ked

impa

ct a

ndco

ntra

st to

the

com

pari

son

grou

p's

acad

emic

per

form

ance

as

that

of

the

TM

Pm

othe

r he

rsel

f.0

* D

egaz

on-J

ohns

on R

(20

01),

A n

ew d

oor

open

ed: a

trac

er s

tudy

of

the

Tee

nage

Mot

hers

Proj

ect,

Jam

aica

, Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Dev

elop

men

t: Pr

actic

e an

d R

efle

ctio

ns

No.

13

(see

pag

e 58

).

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 45

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Find

ings

Jam

aica

: Rov

ing

Car

egiv

ers

prog

ram

me

Car

egiv

er o

n ho

mev

isit.

Pho

to: ©

Kar

in A

lsbi

rk/u

Nic

EF

Page 47: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Find

ings

Gen

der

diff

eren

ces

in p

erso

nalit

y de

velo

pmen

tA

nne

Men

geM

arga

vet !

Cab

ins

Thi

s ar

ticle

has

bee

n ex

trac

ted

from

a tr

acer

stu

dy' t

hat l

ooks

at t

he e

ffec

ts o

f tr

aini

ng f

or p

resc

hool

teac

hers

on th

e ch

ildre

n th

ey h

ave

care

d fo

r in

the

Em

bu d

istr

ict o

f K

enya

. Pre

scho

ol te

ache

r tr

aini

ng in

Em

bu D

istr

ict

is c

arri

ed o

ut b

y th

e D

istr

ict C

entr

e fo

r E

arly

Chi

ldho

od E

duca

tion(DicEcE)

Em

bu, p

art o

f a

natio

nal

netw

ork

(the

Nat

iona

l Cen

tre

for

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Edu

catio

nNACECE).

Em

bu D

istr

ict w

as s

elec

ted

for

this

stud

y be

caus

e it

has

a fa

irly

hom

ogen

ous

rura

l com

mun

ity w

ith a

var

ied

clim

ate

and

envi

ronm

ent.

The

two

year

DICECE

prog

ram

me

prov

ides

in-s

ervi

ce a

nd o

n th

e jo

b tr

aini

ng c

over

ing

child

dev

elop

men

t, he

alth

and

nutr

ition

,ECD

curr

icul

um, a

nd s

o on

.

Mos

t res

pond

ents

wer

e of

the

opin

ion

that

gir

ls h

ave

bette

r de

velo

ped

pers

onal

ities

than

boy

s. T

hey

said

that

the

girl

s ar

e m

ore

disc

iplin

ed,

resp

ecta

ble,

rel

iabl

e, h

ones

t, de

pend

able

and

trus

twor

thy.

One

of

the

focu

sgr

oups

of

teac

hers

had

this

to s

ay:

Gir

ls a

re m

ore

trus

ted

and

relia

ble

than

the

boys

. In

this

sch

ool,

we

norm

ally

dep

end

mor

e on

gir

l pre

fect

sbe

caus

e th

ey a

re m

ore

relia

ble.

Muc

h of

the

cred

it fo

r be

tter

pers

onal

ity d

evel

opm

ent a

mon

g th

egi

rls

was

giv

en to

the

mot

hers

. The

resp

onde

nts

argu

ed th

at g

irls

are

at

hom

e w

ith th

eir

mot

hers

mos

t of

the

time

and

the

mot

hers

spe

nd a

lot o

ftim

e co

unse

lling

them

. In

addi

tion,

mos

t of

the

mot

hers

are

goo

d ro

lem

odel

s fo

r th

eir

girl

s. T

he g

irls

wer

esa

id to

atte

nd c

hurc

h m

ore

regu

larl

yth

an th

e bo

ys, a

nd in

chu

rch

they

are

taug

ht h

ow to

lead

goo

d m

oral

live

s.

The

boy

s, o

n th

e ot

her

hand

, lac

k go

odro

le m

odel

s. T

he m

ajor

ity o

f th

e fa

ther

sar

e no

t oft

en a

vaila

ble

to m

ould

the

char

acte

r of

thei

r so

ns. A

goo

d nu

mbe

rdr

ink

heav

ily a

nd s

mok

e in

the

pres

ence

of th

eir

sons

. The

ir s

ons

tend

to c

opy

thei

r fa

ther

s, h

ence

eng

agin

g in

trua

ncy

from

a v

ery

earl

y ag

e.

The

hea

d te

ache

rs a

lso

com

plai

ned

that

man

y pa

rent

s al

low

thei

r so

ns to

roa

mab

out a

nd d

o no

t ins

ist o

n th

emen

gagi

ng in

pro

duct

ive

wor

k w

hile

at

hom

e. T

his

free

dom

mak

es th

e bo

ysm

ore

vuln

erab

le to

bad

pee

r in

flue

nce,

henc

e th

eir

poor

per

sona

lity

deve

lopm

ent.

Gir

ls, o

n th

e ot

her

hand

,ar

e ex

pect

ed to

be

at h

ome

mos

t of

the

time

and

to e

ngag

e in

pro

duct

ive

wor

k.T

his

leav

es th

em w

ith v

ery

little

tim

e to

enga

ge in

und

esir

able

beh

avio

urs.

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 46

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

The

rol

e of

the

scho

ol

The

maj

ority

of

the

grou

ps a

ttrib

uted

the

good

per

sona

lity

deve

lopm

ent o

fpu

pils

to w

ell-

beha

ved

teac

hers

and

head

teac

hers

who

m th

e pu

pils

em

ulat

e.T

he p

artic

ipan

ts a

lso

emph

asis

ed th

atth

e te

ache

rs p

rovi

de g

uida

nce

and

coun

selli

ng f

or th

e pu

pils

. Thi

s he

lps

the

pupi

ls to

acq

uire

goo

d m

oral

s an

dch

arac

ter.

The

se r

espo

nses

are

sign

ific

ant i

n th

at th

e te

ache

rs a

revi

ewed

by

all a

s th

e ci

tade

l of

mor

altr

aini

ng a

nd c

hara

cter

dev

elop

men

t,pr

ovid

ing

impo

rtan

t rol

e m

odel

s fo

rpu

pils

. Eve

n th

e pa

rent

s ap

pear

to

Page 48: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Ken

ya: M

wan

a M

wen

de p

roje

ct

Act

ive

lear

ning

in a

pre

scho

ol.

i-1=

6

00 dele

gate

this

mos

t im

port

ant

resp

onsi

bilit

y to

the

teac

hers

. If

it is

true

that

the

teac

her

rem

ains

the

mos

tim

port

ant f

acto

r fo

r in

flue

ncin

g th

eov

eral

l gro

wth

and

dev

elop

men

t of

pupi

ls, i

t is

no w

onde

r th

e pa

rent

s w

ere

extr

emel

y cr

itica

l of

teac

hers

who

are

not c

omm

itted

to th

eir

wor

k an

d w

hodr

ink

and

smok

e in

the

pres

ence

of

thei

r pu

pils

.

Poo

r di

scip

line

at h

ome

Poor

dis

cipl

ine

at h

ome

was

yet

ano

ther

impo

rtan

t fac

tor

cite

d fo

r po

orpe

rson

ality

dev

elop

men

t. T

he m

ajor

ityof

the

part

icip

ants

sai

d th

at in

som

eho

mes

, the

par

ents

pro

vide

littl

e m

oral

guid

ance

to th

eir

child

ren

and

do n

otbo

ther

to in

stil

firm

dis

cipl

ine

in th

em.

The

y le

ave

the

child

ren

to d

o w

hat t

hey

wan

t, in

clud

ing

roam

ing

abou

t in

the

mar

kets

and

sho

ps. T

his

mak

es th

e ch

ildre

nvu

lner

able

to b

ad p

eer

infl

uenc

e an

d ba

d ha

bits

.

The

par

ticip

ants

unde

rsco

red

the

role

of

fath

ers

in th

e m

oral

deve

lopm

ent o

f th

eir

child

ren.

The

ir f

ailu

re to

prov

ide

good

rol

e m

odel

s,gu

idan

ce a

nd c

ouns

ellin

gw

as s

aid

to h

ave

an a

dver

seef

fect

on

the

pers

onal

ityde

velo

pmen

t of

thei

rch

ildre

n, p

artic

ular

ly th

ebo

ys. T

he p

artic

ipan

ts w

ere

very

con

cern

ed a

bout

the

decl

inin

g ro

le o

f fa

ther

s in

prov

idin

g m

oral

gui

danc

efo

r th

eir

child

ren.

The

issu

e of

dis

cipl

inin

g ch

ildre

n ha

sbe

com

e a

seri

ous

prob

lem

for

mos

tpa

rent

s to

day

beca

use

of th

e so

cial

chan

ges

that

hav

e ta

ken

plac

e in

Ken

ya.

Mos

t of

the

pare

nts

have

bee

n ca

ught

up in

the

web

of

cultu

ral t

rans

ition

whe

re th

ere

are

no lo

nger

cle

arly

defi

ned

valu

es a

nd m

oral

cod

es o

fbe

havi

our

that

sho

uld

be in

still

ed in

child

ren

and

youn

g pe

ople

. Lif

esty

les

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 47

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Fin

divg

s

have

cha

nged

trem

endo

usly

and

som

eof

the

valu

e sy

stem

s th

at g

over

ned

fam

ilies

in th

e tr

aditi

onal

soc

iety

are

no lo

nger

app

licab

le. P

aren

ts a

re to

day

incr

easi

ngly

bei

ng le

ft to

def

ine

thei

row

n va

lue

syst

ems

and

the

mor

al c

odes

of b

ehav

iour

that

they

thin

k ar

e go

odfo

r th

eir

child

ren.

Thi

s is

a d

iffi

cult

task

. In

addi

tion,

dif

fere

nt f

amili

es e

ndup

em

phas

isin

g di

ffer

ent v

alue

s an

dm

oral

cod

es o

f be

havi

our,

a p

ract

ice

that

tend

s to

cau

se c

onfu

sion

for

thei

rch

ildre

n w

hen

they

soc

ialis

e w

ith th

eir

peer

s.0

* N

jeng

a A

& K

abir

u M

(20

01),

In

the

web

of

cultu

ral t

rans

ition

: a tr

acer

stu

dy o

f ch

ildre

n

in E

mbu

Dis

tric

t, K

enya

, Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Dev

elop

men

t: Pr

actic

e an

d R

efle

ctio

ns

No.

14

(see

pag

e 58

).

Page 49: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Ove

r ha

lf th

e C

omm

unity

Mot

hers

gav

eal

trui

stic

rea

sons

as

thei

r m

otiv

e fo

rjo

inin

g th

e Pr

ogra

mm

e, w

ith o

nly

asm

all m

inor

ity g

ivin

g pe

rson

al g

ain

asth

eir

mai

n re

ason

for

join

ing.

Thi

s ne

edto

hel

p ot

hers

app

ears

to b

e ro

oted

incu

lture

, tra

ditio

n an

d in

wor

king

cla

ssex

peri

ence

and

invo

lves

car

ing

base

d on

empa

thy

rath

er th

an o

n do

ing

good

.

The

maj

ority

of

the

Com

mun

ityM

othe

rs w

ere

supp

orte

d in

thei

rvo

lunt

eeri

ng b

y hu

sban

ds, c

hild

ren,

rela

tives

and

fri

ends

who

cou

ld s

ee th

eva

lue

of h

elpi

ng o

ther

s an

d w

ho a

lso

Com

mun

ity M

othe

rsre

tro&

MoH

oy

Thi

s ex

trac

t is

from

a r

epor

t of

a se

ven

year

fol

low

-up

stud

y of

mot

hers

and

child

ren

who

par

ticip

ated

in th

e C

omm

unity

Mot

hers

Pro

gram

me

(cM

P) in

Irel

and.

* T

he C

MP

is a

hom

e vi

sitin

g su

ppor

t pro

gram

me

for

firs

t tim

e (a

nd s

ome

seco

nd ti

me)

par

ents

of

child

ren

aged

0 to

24

mon

ths

who

live

in m

ainl

ydi

sadv

anta

ged

area

s. T

he p

rogr

amm

e ai

ms

to s

uppo

rt a

nd a

id th

e de

velo

pmen

t of

pare

ntin

g sk

ills,

ther

eby

enha

ncin

g pa

rent

s' c

onfi

denc

e an

d se

lf-e

stee

m. I

t is

deliv

ered

by

non-

prof

essi

onal

vol

unte

er m

othe

rs k

now

n as

Com

mun

ity M

othe

rs,

who

are

trai

ned

and

supp

orte

d by

Fam

ily D

evel

opth

ent N

urse

s.

felt

that

the

Com

mun

ity M

othe

r m

ight

have

a n

eed

for

deve

lopi

ng a

n id

entit

you

tsid

e of

the

hom

e. T

he P

rogr

amm

eap

pear

ed to

be

mob

ilisi

ng n

ot o

nly

the

`nat

ural

hel

pers

' but

als

o ne

w h

elpe

rsw

ho, t

hrou

gh th

eir

invo

lvem

ent i

n th

ePr

ogra

mm

e, f

elt c

onfi

dent

abo

utge

tting

invo

lved

in o

ther

com

mun

ityen

deav

ours

.

A n

umbe

r of

Com

mun

ity M

othe

rsm

entio

ned

how

they

fel

t whe

n th

eyw

ere

firs

t tim

e pa

rent

s; th

eyre

mem

bere

d th

e di

ffic

ultie

s th

eyex

peri

ence

d in

bri

ngin

g up

thei

r ow

n

child

ren

and

the

lone

lines

s an

dis

olat

ion

they

had

fel

t at t

his

time.

For

thos

e C

omm

unity

Mot

hers

who

talk

edab

out t

he n

eed

to m

eet p

eopl

e, o

r w

hosa

id th

ey h

ad ti

me

to s

pare

, or

who

iden

tifie

d w

ith th

e ai

ms

of th

ePr

ogra

mm

e, th

ere

was

als

o an

exp

ress

edde

sire

for

inde

pend

ence

that

com

esth

roug

h pa

rtic

ipat

ion

in th

ePr

ogra

mm

e. T

hey

wer

e of

ten

look

ing

for

a se

nse

of p

erso

nal i

dent

ity o

utsi

deof

thei

r ho

me

and

fam

ily, s

o th

atpa

rtic

ipat

ion

coul

d fu

nctio

n as

adi

vers

ion

or a

ther

apy.

As

a pe

rson

with

such

a n

eed

said

,

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 48

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

I w

as b

usy

at h

ome

but I

was

n't

mee

ting

anyb

ody.

My

life

was

n't g

oing

anyw

here

and

I h

ad lo

st m

y se

lf-

conf

iden

ce. I

wan

ted

to m

eet p

eopl

e.

A n

umbe

r of

par

ents

who

had

them

selv

es b

een

visi

ted

late

r be

cam

eC

omm

unity

Mot

hers

bec

ause

they

wer

em

otiv

ated

by

a de

sire

to h

elp

othe

rs in

the

sam

e w

ay th

at th

ey f

elt h

elpe

d. A

son

e su

ch w

oman

com

men

ted:

I ha

d th

e Pr

ogra

mm

e m

ysel

f an

d I

liked

get

ting

prai

se f

or th

e th

ings

I d

idev

en w

hen

nobo

dy e

lse

prai

sed

me.

Page 50: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

I de

cide

d th

at o

ther

peo

ple

shou

ld g

etth

e sa

me,

so

the

reas

on I

am

invo

lved

is to

giv

e ba

ck w

hat I

got

out

of

it.

The

Com

mun

ity M

othe

rs s

awth

emse

lves

rel

atin

g to

par

ents

as

`ord

inar

y' w

omen

and

not

as

'min

ipr

ofes

sion

als'

. Bei

ng a

ble

to s

hare

thei

row

n di

ffic

ultie

s in

rea

ring

thei

r ow

nch

ildre

n w

ith th

e Pr

ogra

mm

e pa

rent

sm

ay b

e an

othe

r fa

ctor

in th

ede

velo

pmen

t of

a po

sitiv

e re

latio

nshi

pbe

caus

e C

omm

unity

Mot

hers

, unl

ike

prof

essi

onal

s, d

o no

t hav

e to

rem

ain

obje

ctiv

e w

ith f

amili

es. A

s on

eC

omm

unity

Mot

her

com

men

ted:

You

can

und

erst

and

whe

n th

e m

othe

r

says

, 'I

feel

like

str

angl

ing

her.

' You

can

say,

'Yes

I k

now

. I h

ave

felt

like

that

©m

ysel

f'

Invo

lvem

ent i

n th

e pr

ogra

mm

e af

fect

edth

e C

omm

unity

Mot

hers

in s

ever

alw

ays.

The

y ha

d de

velo

ped

frie

ndsh

ips

with

thei

r co

lleag

ues,

the

soci

al m

ilieu

of th

e pr

ojec

t bei

ng a

sou

rce

of b

enef

it.Fo

r a

min

ority

, the

ir r

elat

ions

hip

with

thei

r hu

sban

d ha

d im

prov

ed, w

ith th

ere

latio

nshi

p no

w b

eing

fel

t to

be m

ore

resp

ectf

ul w

ith m

ore

open

com

mun

icat

ion.

Thr

ee-q

uart

ers

of th

e

Com

mun

ity M

othe

rs s

tate

d th

at th

eir

rela

tions

hip

with

thei

r ch

ildre

n ha

dim

prov

ed b

ecau

se th

ey w

ere

now

mor

eaw

are

of th

eir

child

ren'

s ne

eds,

list

ened

to th

em m

ore,

und

erst

ood

them

bet

ter

and

had

mor

e pa

tienc

e w

ith th

em.

The

maj

ority

of

Com

mun

ity M

othe

rsal

so n

otic

ed d

iffe

renc

es in

them

selv

es,

part

icul

arly

incr

ease

d se

lf-c

onfi

denc

ean

d gr

eate

r se

lf-w

orth

. Thi

s ap

pear

edto

be

rela

ted

to th

e ac

quis

ition

of

new

know

ledg

e an

d th

e de

velo

pmen

t of

soci

ally

use

ful s

kills

. It a

lso

appe

ared

tobe

rel

ated

to th

e ro

le o

f w

omen

inso

ciet

y w

ith h

ouse

wiv

es s

eein

gth

emse

lves

as

havi

ng lo

w s

tatu

s. O

ver

half

sta

ted

that

they

now

fel

t mor

e in

cont

rol o

f th

eir

lives

, tha

t the

y co

uld

now

dea

l with

thos

e in

aut

hori

ty b

ette

rbe

caus

e of

incr

ease

d se

lf-c

onfi

denc

ean

d kn

owle

dge,

and

that

they

fel

t the

yno

w h

ad m

ore

pow

er in

rel

atio

n to

thei

r co

mm

unity

and

they

cou

ldin

flue

nce

the

com

mun

ity in

thei

r ro

leas

a C

omm

unity

Mot

her.

Onl

y a

min

ority

fel

t the

nee

d to

get

invo

lved

inpr

essu

re g

roup

s an

d/or

pol

itica

lor

gani

satio

ns.

The

vol

unte

ers

in th

e Pr

ogra

mm

e ar

eal

l mot

hers

. One

sch

ool o

f th

ough

t see

s

this

as

nega

tive.

The

y w

ould

see

wom

enas

bei

ng a

sked

to s

houl

der

the

mai

nbu

rden

of

care

with

in th

e co

mm

unity

both

as

kin

and

as v

olun

teer

s. O

ther

sw

ould

arg

ue th

at c

omm

unity

act

ion

isan

are

a pa

rtic

ular

ly c

entr

al in

the

stru

ggle

for

wom

en's

em

anci

patio

n an

dw

ould

str

ess

not o

nly

the

poss

ibili

ty o

fac

hiev

ing

spec

ific

targ

ets

but a

lso

the

impo

rtan

ce o

f pr

oces

s. I

n be

com

ing

invo

lved

with

com

mun

ity a

ctio

n,w

omen

beg

in to

cha

lleng

e no

t onl

y th

eso

cial

def

initi

ons

of th

eir

role

but

als

oin

tern

alis

ed p

erce

ptio

ns th

at m

ay s

erve

to li

mit

thei

r se

lf-e

xpec

tatio

ns. S

o it

coul

d be

arg

ued

that

wom

en's

vol

unta

ryac

tion

is m

otiv

ated

by

a fe

min

ist

awar

enes

s an

d is

the

crea

tor

of a

wid

eraw

aren

ess.

0

* M

ollo

y B

(20

02),

Stil

l goi

ng s

tron

g: a

trac

er

stud

y of

the

Com

mun

ity M

othe

rs P

rogr

amm

e,

Dub

lin, I

rela

nd, E

arly

Chi

ldho

od

Dev

elop

men

t: Pr

actic

e an

d R

efle

ctio

ns

No.

17

(see

pag

e 59

).

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 49

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Find

ings

A y

oung

mot

her

lear

ning

in h

er o

wn

hom

e.

Page 51: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Polic

y C.1

1

prog

ram

min

g

Can

Fol

low

ing

Foot

step

saf

fect

pol

icy?

Rut

h N

I C

ohen

Is it

pos

sibl

e th

at a

stu

dy th

at f

ollo

ws

up f

orm

er p

artic

ipan

ts o

f an

ear

lych

ildho

od p

rogr

amm

e ca

n ha

ve a

nim

pact

on

polic

yw

ithin

its

own

envi

ronm

ent o

r ev

en f

urth

er a

fiel

d?H

ere

we

look

at f

our

exam

ples

that

can

help

us

to u

nder

stan

d th

e re

latio

nshi

psbe

twee

n th

e or

igin

al p

rogr

amm

e, th

ech

oice

s th

at w

ere

mad

e ab

out h

ow to

cond

uct a

stu

dy, d

ecis

ions

abo

ut w

hat

elem

ents

to in

clud

e in

it, a

nd th

eim

pact

that

cou

ld b

e m

ade

on p

olic

y.

Thi

s ar

ticle

was

com

pile

d fr

om in

terv

iew

s an

d co

nver

satio

ns c

ondu

cted

duri

ng th

e Fo

llow

ing

Foot

step

s tr

acer

stu

dies

wor

ksho

p, J

amai

ca, A

pril

2002

.

The

exa

mpl

es a

re f

rom

ver

y di

ffer

ent

setti

ngs,

fro

m v

ery

diff

eren

tpr

ogra

mm

es, a

nd c

once

rn f

our

stud

ies

that

are

ver

y di

ffer

ent f

rom

one

anot

her.

The

re is

the

'gra

nd-d

addy

' of

all E

CD

fol

low

-up

stud

ies,

the

Hig

h/Sc

ope

Perr

y Pr

esch

ool S

tudy

inth

e U

SA th

at is

a lo

ngst

andi

ngra

ndom

ised

con

trol

led

rese

arch

prog

ram

me.

In

Irel

and,

the

follo

w-u

pin

the

Com

mun

ity M

othe

rsPr

ogra

mm

e is

als

o ba

sed

on a

rand

omis

ed c

ontr

ol g

roup

. The

trac

er

stud

y in

Ken

ya w

as la

rge-

scal

e,in

clud

ed a

lmos

t one

thou

sand

chi

ldre

n,an

d us

ed a

com

pari

son

grou

p; w

hile

inB

otsw

ana

the

trac

er s

tudy

sim

ply

follo

wed

up

all t

he c

hild

ren

it co

uld

find

and

, mos

tly b

ecau

se o

f in

adeq

uate

reco

rd k

eepi

ng, w

as m

ore

qual

itativ

eth

an q

uant

itativ

e an

d in

clud

ed n

oco

mpa

riso

n gr

oup.

One

cav

eat o

r w

ord

of w

arni

ng: i

t is

alm

ost i

mpo

ssib

le to

attr

ibut

e ch

ange

sin

loca

l or

natio

nal p

olic

y to

any

one

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 50

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

sing

le c

ause

ther

e ar

e al

way

s ot

her

inte

rven

ing

fact

ors

and

vari

able

s. B

utth

ere

can

be li

ttle

doub

t tha

t in

thre

e of

the

case

s di

scus

sed

here

, the

res

ults

of

the

stud

ies

have

con

trib

uted

to c

hang

esin

thin

king

and

, ver

y po

ssib

ly, t

o sh

ifts

in th

e al

loca

tion

of r

esou

rces

.

USA

:H

igh/

Sco

pe P

erry

Pre

scho

ol S

tudy

Thi

s lo

ngitu

dina

l res

earc

h st

udy

was

,ac

cord

ing

to D

avid

P W

eika

rt:

Page 52: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

1. B

reas

t-m

ilk c

omes

free

of c

harg

e.R

emem

ber,

how

ever

, tha

t a b

reas

t-fe

edin

gm

othe

r ne

eds

to k

eep

to a

hea

lthy

diet

.

The

onl

y ex

pens

e I

have

is k

eepi

ng u

pm

y he

alth

y di

et.

Irel

and:

Com

mun

ity M

othe

rs P

rogr

amm

e

Tea

chin

g m

ater

ials

for

prom

otin

g br

east

-fee

ding

.

CPT kite

acc

iden

tal.

We

wer

e se

tting

up

apr

esch

ool p

rogr

amm

e in

196

2 to

fin

dou

t if

it w

ould

mak

e a

diff

eren

ce in

the

lives

of

the

child

ren,

but

ther

e w

ere

loca

l exp

erts

who

fel

t it w

ould

har

mth

e ch

ildre

n an

d th

at w

as th

ech

alle

nge.

Tha

t cha

nged

it f

rom

bei

ngon

ly a

ser

vice

to a

res

earc

hpr

ogra

mm

e. T

here

was

a p

opul

atio

n of

500

fam

ilies

and

we

sele

cted

fro

mth

em d

isad

vant

aged

fam

ilies

who

wer

esu

itabl

e fo

r th

e pr

ogra

mm

e, b

ut th

ere

wer

e to

o m

any

and

we

mad

e a

2. B

reas

t-fe

d ba

bies

tend

to b

e fit

ter

and

heal

thie

r.B

reas

t-m

ilk g

ives

bab

ies

mor

e im

mun

ityfr

om d

isea

se.

rand

om s

elec

tion.

So

we

had

a gr

oup

of p

artic

ipan

ts a

nd a

con

trol

gro

up.

Five

coh

orts

of

child

ren

wer

e fo

llow

edup

fro

m a

ge s

even

and

at i

nter

vals

sin

ceth

e cu

rren

t fol

low

-up

is a

ge 4

0. T

hefi

rst s

tudy

was

on

prog

ram

me

effe

cts

atth

ird

grad

e. W

hen

the

rese

arch

ers

saw

how

man

y di

ffer

ence

s th

ere

wer

ebe

twee

n th

e gr

oups

of

child

ren

(pro

gram

me

and

cont

rol)

, the

obj

ectiv

eof

the

late

r st

udie

s ha

s be

en to

infl

uenc

epo

licy.

3. M

any

mot

hers

find

that

bre

ast-

feed

ing

help

s to

dev

elop

em

otio

nal c

lose

ness

with

thei

r ba

bies

from

an

early

age

.

The

initi

al ta

rget

was

loca

l dec

isio

nm

aker

s an

d H

igh/

Scop

e w

ent d

irec

tly to

loca

l bus

ines

s pe

ople

and

loca

l lea

ders

on th

e pr

emis

e th

at if

they

wer

e in

supp

ort o

f it

that

wou

ld in

flue

nce

polic

y. T

he w

ork

has

had

infl

uenc

e on

loca

l sch

ools

, at s

tate

leve

l, at

nat

iona

lle

vel a

nd b

eyon

d. I

t has

bee

n us

edex

tens

ivel

y to

sup

port

pre

scho

olpr

ogra

mm

es a

t sta

te le

vel,

to ju

stif

yun

iver

sal k

inde

rgar

ten.

In

fact

, it h

asbe

en u

sed

for

man

y pu

rpos

es th

at w

ere

not p

art o

f th

e st

udy,

but

whi

ch a

re

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 51

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Polic

y

4. B

reas

t-fe

edin

g he

lps

a m

othe

r to

get

back

her

figu

re fo

llow

ing

her

preg

nanc

y.

inte

nded

to im

prov

e op

port

uniti

es f

orch

ildre

n.

Irel

and:

Com

mun

ity M

othe

rsP

rogr

amm

e (c

mP

The

CM

Pis

par

t of

a st

atut

ory

loca

lhe

alth

sys

tem

. At t

he e

nd o

f th

e in

itial

phas

e (1

988

to 1

990)

the

prog

ram

me

com

mis

sion

ed a

n in

depe

nden

t gro

up to

carr

y ou

t a r

ando

mis

ed c

ontr

olle

dst

udy

whe

n th

e ch

ildre

n w

ere

one

year

old.

Res

ults

wer

e en

cour

agin

g:

Page 53: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Polic

ypr

ogra

mm

ing

prog

ram

me

fam

ilies

had

a b

ette

r up

take

of im

mun

isat

ion;

chi

ldre

n an

d fa

mily

had

bette

r di

ets;

mot

hers

' sel

f-es

teem

was

hig

her.

The

obj

ectiv

e ha

d be

en to

find

res

ults

, to

sust

ain

the

prog

ram

me,

not s

o m

uch

to im

pact

pol

icy.

Bre

nda

Mol

loy,

Dir

ecto

r of

the

CM

P,ex

plai

ns:

We

felt

that

the

stud

y w

as im

port

ant

in it

s ow

n ri

ght,

and

we

mad

e an

info

rmed

cho

ice

to p

ublis

h

inte

rnat

iona

lly in

rec

ogni

sed

peer

revi

ewed

jour

nals

. We

did

a fo

llow

-up

whe

n th

e ch

ildre

n w

ere

seve

n ye

ars

old

beca

use

we

wer

e co

nvin

ced

that

rigo

rous

eva

luat

ion

was

impo

rtan

t,an

d w

e w

ante

d to

str

engt

hen

the

orig

inal

fin

ding

s.

By

the

time

the

stud

y' w

as p

ublis

hed

in19

93, p

aren

t sup

port

was

bec

omin

gim

port

ant a

nd f

rom

abo

ut 1

994

the

CM

P st

arte

d to

be

men

tione

d in

pol

icy

docu

men

ts in

Ire

land

. As

Bre

nda

says

:

It w

as a

s if

peo

ple

wer

e be

ginn

ing

toun

ders

tand

the

impo

rtan

ce o

f pe

er-l

edin

terv

entio

n pr

ogra

mm

es. G

radu

ally

we

bega

n to

iden

tify

key

peop

le in

our

syst

em w

ho s

houl

d be

targ

eted

, tho

se

with

res

ourc

es a

nd/o

r in

flue

nce.

I be

gan

to m

eet t

hem

, to

conv

erse

with

them

reg

ular

ly. I

als

o be

cam

e m

ore

stra

tegi

c in

pre

sent

ing

thin

gs to

peo

ple,

not j

ust s

endi

ng th

em r

epor

ts o

npa

per.

The

pro

gram

me

was

als

o be

ing

men

tione

d in

tern

atio

nally

thro

ugh

wri

te-u

ps in

the

med

ia, a

nd w

asin

flue

ncin

g po

licy

furt

her

afie

ld. B

rend

are

calls

a v

isit

from

a lo

cal o

ffic

ial w

hoha

d go

ne to

Aus

tral

ia to

fin

d ou

t abo

utea

rly

child

hood

pro

gram

mes

and

car

ean

d su

ppor

t and

had

bee

n to

ld, '

I th

ink

you

need

to g

o ho

me:

As

she

says

'It w

ason

ly b

y go

ing

outs

ide

that

he

real

ised

he

had

som

ethi

ng o

n hi

s ow

n do

orst

ep.

Ken

ya: E

mbu

Dis

tric

t Cen

tre

for

Ear

lyC

hild

hood

Edu

catio

n

The

stu

dy in

Em

bu D

istr

ict p

ropo

sed

tofi

nd o

ut w

heth

er th

ere

wer

e di

ffer

ence

sbe

twee

n ch

ildre

n w

ho h

ad b

een

care

dfo

r in

pre

scho

ols

with

trai

ned

teac

hers

and

child

ren

who

had

bee

n w

ithun

trai

ned

teac

hers

. Thr

ee c

ohor

ts w

ere

trac

ed s

even

, eig

ht a

nd n

ine

year

s af

ter

leav

ing

pres

choo

l, in

18

scho

ols.

Som

edi

ffer

ence

s w

ere

foun

d bu

t, as

Ann

eN

jeng

a, th

e le

ad r

esea

rche

r sa

ys:

We

have

lear

ned

we

mus

t im

prov

e ou

rpr

imar

y sc

hool

s, w

e m

ust i

mpr

ove

tran

sitio

n fr

om p

resc

hool

to p

rim

ary

scho

ol, a

nd it

is ti

me

that

we

addr

ess

this

issu

e of

wha

t mak

es a

qua

lity

prim

ary

scho

ol. T

he p

robl

em is

that

mos

t of

the

pare

nts

reco

gnis

e th

epr

oble

ms

but c

an't

do a

nyth

ing

abou

t it.

The

teac

hers

kno

w v

ery

little

abo

utth

e ch

ildre

n, m

aybe

the

head

teac

her

thin

ks h

e kn

ows

a lo

t, bu

t whe

n w

eca

me

up w

ith f

igur

es o

f re

petit

ion

and

drop

-out

rat

es, m

ost o

f th

em w

ere

shoc

ked,

they

nev

er k

new

, the

y sa

wch

ildre

n as

fig

ures

, as

num

bers

, no-

one

ever

ask

ed h

ow m

any

of th

ech

ildre

n in

cla

ss 1

in 1

990

are

incl

ass

8 ei

ght y

ears

late

rno

-one

knew

that

.

Onl

y w

hen

we

cam

e up

with

our

repo

rt th

ey s

aid,

'I th

ink

we

have

tost

art t

alki

ng w

ith o

ne a

noth

er, t

o tr

yto

eva

luat

e.' S

o st

udie

s lik

e th

is c

an b

eve

ry u

sefu

l.

Ann

e kn

ows

why

the

teac

hers

,ed

ucat

ion

offi

cers

and

com

mun

ities

are

taki

ng n

otic

e of

the

resu

lts. I

t is

beca

use

the

rese

arch

ers

ensu

red

that

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 52

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

com

mun

ities

wer

e aw

are

of th

e st

udy

and

why

it w

as b

eing

don

e, a

s w

ere

the

dist

rict

adm

inis

trat

ors

so th

at w

hen

the

rese

arch

ers

wen

t bac

k:

The

y kn

ow a

bout

it. W

e ha

ve b

een

able

to d

isse

min

ate

the

resu

lts a

nd it

has

been

acc

epte

d be

caus

e th

ey k

new

abou

t it f

rom

the

begi

nnin

g. T

hat i

sa

very

impo

rtan

t asp

ect o

f po

licy

chan

ge.

Bot

swan

a: B

okam

oso

Pre

scho

olP

rogr

amm

e

The

ori

gina

l tra

cer

stud

y2 w

as c

arri

edou

t 199

3-19

95 a

nd f

ollo

wed

up

all t

heSa

n ch

ildre

n w

ho h

ad b

een

to th

eB

okam

oso

pres

choo

ls w

ho c

ould

be

foun

d. T

he o

bjec

tive

had

been

to a

sses

san

d im

prov

e th

e pr

ogra

mm

e, n

ot to

impa

ct p

olic

y, b

ut th

e re

sults

sho

wed

that

ther

e w

ere

seve

ral a

spec

ts o

f th

epr

imar

y sc

hool

sys

tem

that

nee

ded

atte

ntio

n. H

owev

er, a

ccor

ding

toW

illem

ien

le R

oux

and

Gao

latlh

eE

iren

e T

hupe

, the

rep

ort h

as n

ever

mad

e an

impa

ct in

term

s of

pol

icy,

even

thou

gh it

was

sen

t to

all t

hepe

ople

they

kne

w w

ho w

ere

invo

lved

in e

duca

tion.

Page 54: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

The

re s

eem

to b

e a

num

ber

of r

easo

nsfo

r th

is. F

or o

ne th

ing,

aft

er s

endi

ng th

ere

port

to o

ffic

ials

, the

y ne

ver

follo

wed

that

up

with

per

sona

l com

mun

icat

ions

or v

isits

. For

ano

ther

, the

stu

dy h

adne

ver

been

off

icia

lly s

anct

ione

d. I

t was

Will

emie

n w

ho f

ound

out

the

mai

nre

ason

:

It w

as a

t a d

ance

and

I w

as d

anci

ngw

ith a

hig

h-ra

nkin

g go

vern

men

tof

fici

al w

ho to

ld m

e th

e go

vern

men

tw

ould

nev

er ta

ke th

e st

udy

seri

ousl

y'b

ecau

se y

ou d

id n

ot f

ollo

w th

eco

mm

unic

atio

ns c

hann

els

for

com

mun

ities

set

up

by th

ego

vern

men

t. So

the

repo

rt w

as r

ejec

ted

beca

use

of th

e w

ay w

e un

dert

ook

the

rese

arch

. Yet

we

knew

that

if th

e

peop

le h

ad b

een

aske

d in

the

offi

cial

way

, we

wou

ld n

ever

hav

e be

en a

ble

toC

rliv

get t

he d

ata

we

requ

ired

. The

less

on

we

have

lear

ned

from

this

is th

at, i

f w

ew

ante

d to

do

anot

her

stud

y, w

e w

ould

need

to d

o it

in p

aral

lel w

ith o

ffic

ial

proc

edur

es.

The

'mag

ic' i

ngre

dien

t

Perh

aps

the

mos

t im

port

ant l

esso

n to

be le

arne

d he

re is

that

, if

we

wis

h to

infl

uenc

e po

licy,

the

orig

inal

prog

ram

me

mus

t be

stro

ng a

nd o

f go

odqu

ality

, and

the

rese

arch

pro

cess

nee

dsto

be

tran

spar

ent a

s w

ell a

s ri

goro

usw

hich

is n

ot n

eces

sari

ly th

e sa

me

asac

adem

ical

ly r

espe

ctab

le.

The

impo

rtan

ce o

f kn

owin

g th

e ri

ght

peop

le to

app

roac

h, a

nd th

e ri

ght w

ays

of a

ppro

achi

ng th

em c

anno

t be

unde

rest

imat

ed.

And

then

ther

e is

the

mat

ter

of f

igur

es.

Ann

e N

jeng

a be

lieve

s th

at:

As

you

do r

esea

rch

you

have

to b

e ve

ryfl

exib

le, t

here

are

issu

es th

at y

ou h

ave

to c

aptu

re if

you

are

goi

ng to

con

vinc

epe

ople

. You

hav

e to

hav

e fi

gure

s. W

e

trac

ed th

e ch

ildre

n fo

r ni

ne y

ears

so

they

cou

ld s

ee h

ow a

ttend

ance

and

resu

lts w

ent d

own

and

dow

n. I

f yo

udi

d it

for

just

one

yea

r I

don'

t thi

nkyo

u co

uld

conv

ince

them

.

For

Dav

id W

eika

rt a

nd B

rend

a M

ollo

y,th

e fi

gure

s ar

e D

olla

rs a

nd E

uros

. In

fact

, Dav

id s

ays

that

:

If th

ere

can

be s

aid

to b

e on

e 'm

agic

'in

gred

ient

that

has

infl

uenc

ed p

olic

y,it

has

been

the

cost

-ben

efit

stud

y of

the

Hig

h/Sc

ope

Perr

y Pr

esch

ool S

tudy

.

(3,

Irel

and:

Com

mun

ity M

othe

rs P

rogr

amm

e

-fa

,-E

ttf:

Eve

ryon

e ha

s w

arm

fee

lings

abo

utch

ildre

n, b

ut b

ecau

se w

e tr

acke

d th

emov

er th

e ye

ars,

we

coul

d ca

lcul

ate

the

cost

s of

wha

t had

hap

pene

d to

them

scho

ol, w

elfa

re, p

riso

n sy

stem

, ext

ra

serv

ices

and

show

the

diff

eren

ces

betw

een

the

two

grou

ps in

the

stud

y.

As

in th

eU

SA

,in

Ire

land

peo

ple

wan

t to

see

valu

e fo

r m

oney

. Bre

nda

has

give

npr

esen

tatio

ns o

n th

e co

sts

of th

epr

ogra

mm

e w

hich

hav

e he

lped

peo

ple

to u

nder

stan

d th

at 'I

t doe

s no

t tak

e a

huge

am

ount

of

mon

ey to

pro

vide

this

supp

ort:

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 53

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

I

Bot

h of

them

agr

ee th

at y

ou c

anno

tca

lcul

ate

all t

he h

idde

n co

sts,

suc

h as

the

cost

s of

vol

unte

ers.

But

Dav

id's

advi

ce is

that

if y

ou w

ant t

o do

a c

osts

anal

ysis

then

use

an

econ

omis

t: so

me

ofth

is w

ork

is 'M

ore

com

plex

than

ahu

man

min

d ca

n ca

lcul

ate.

0no

tes

1. J

ohns

on Z

, How

ell F

& M

ollo

y B

(19

93),

'Com

mun

ity M

othe

rs P

rogr

amm

e: r

ando

-

mis

ed c

ontr

olle

d tr

ial o

f no

n-pr

ofes

sion

al

inte

rven

tion

in p

aren

ting'

in B

ritis

h M

edic

al

Jour

nal,

Vol

. 306

, pp

1449

-52.

2. S

ee p

age

22, '

The

sto

ry b

ehin

d th

e st

ory:

trac

ing

San

child

ren

in B

otsw

ana'

.

Page 55: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Polic

ypr

ogra

mm

ing

CA

The

impl

icat

ions

of t

race

r st

udie

s fo

rpr

ogra

mm

ede

velo

pmen

tlie

nTie

tte H

eim

gaer

tner

The

aut

hor

is a

Pro

gram

me

Spec

ialis

t at t

he B

erna

rd v

an L

eer

Foun

datio

n, w

ith r

espo

nsib

ility

for

dev

elop

ing

prog

ram

mes

of

supp

ort f

or e

arly

child

hood

pro

ject

s in

a n

umbe

r of

cou

ntri

es in

bot

h C

entr

al a

nd W

este

rn E

urop

e. I

n th

is a

rtic

le, s

he g

ives

two

exam

ples

of

how

trac

er s

tudi

es a

llow

us to

und

erst

and

mor

e ab

out h

ow p

roje

cts

impa

ct o

ver

time

on c

hild

ren

and

othe

r pa

rtic

ipan

ts, a

nd th

ereb

y he

lp u

s to

impr

ove

proj

ect d

esig

n by

linki

ng it

to lo

nger

term

out

com

es.

Dev

elop

ing

a pr

ogra

mm

e of

ear

lych

ildho

od p

roje

cts

that

aim

to e

nhan

ceyo

ung

child

ren'

s ch

ance

s to

suc

ceed

inlif

e is

a c

ompl

ex, n

on-l

inea

r an

ddy

nam

ic p

roce

ss th

at in

volv

es a

var

iety

of f

acto

rs. T

hese

incl

ude:

the

expl

orat

ion

of li

fe c

ircu

mst

ance

sof

chi

ldre

n an

d fa

mili

es;

need

s an

alys

es;

the

avai

labi

lity

and

qual

ity o

f E

CD

and

fam

ily s

uppo

rt s

ervi

ces;

the

soci

al c

limat

e fo

r ch

ildre

n an

dfa

mili

es;

the

avai

labi

lity

of r

esea

rch

find

ings

on in

nova

tive

and

effe

ctiv

e co

ncep

tsan

d pr

actic

es;

the

orga

nisa

tiona

l and

out

reac

hca

paci

ties

of lo

cal p

artn

eror

gani

satio

ns; a

ndth

e op

port

uniti

es to

infl

uenc

e po

licy.

Dur

ing

the

proc

ess

of p

rogr

amm

ede

velo

pmen

t, w

e ob

viou

sly

have

tom

ake

man

y de

cisi

ons

and

stra

tegi

cch

oice

s an

d to

do

so w

e ne

edin

form

atio

n. H

ere,

the

find

ings

of

trac

er s

tudi

es h

ave

a sp

ecia

l im

port

ance

beca

use

they

add

new

fac

tors

to d

o w

ithim

pact

ove

r tim

e, a

nd b

ecau

se th

ey h

elp

to s

how

how

pro

gram

min

g ca

n ta

keth

ese

new

fac

tors

into

acc

ount

. Thi

sar

ticle

ana

lyse

s th

e fi

ndin

gs o

f fi

ve o

fth

e tr

acer

stu

dies

usi

ng th

e le

ns o

fpr

ogra

mm

e de

velo

pmen

t. It

isor

gani

sed

arou

nd tw

o 'p

rogr

amm

atic

land

mar

ks' t

hat t

he tr

acer

stu

dies

high

light

. Pro

gram

mat

ic la

ndm

arks

are

esse

ntia

lly ti

min

gs o

r op

port

uniti

es th

atth

e tr

acer

stu

dies

sho

w to

be

espe

cial

lysi

gnif

ican

t if

proj

ects

are

to b

e ef

fect

ive.

The

two

exam

ples

dis

cuss

ed h

ere

are:

the

mos

t opp

ortu

ne ti

me

to o

ffer

supp

ort f

or p

aren

ts; a

nd th

e tim

e of

tran

sitio

n fr

om p

resc

hool

to p

rim

ary

scho

ol.

Pro

gram

mat

ic la

ndm

ark

1:th

e ke

y tim

e fo

r pa

rent

sup

port

Pare

nt s

uppo

rt a

nd p

aren

ting

prog

ram

mes

are

com

mon

fea

ture

s in

proj

ects

that

the

Foun

datio

n su

ppor

ts.

Rev

iew

ing

the

proj

ects

that

we

supp

ort

show

s th

at s

ome

focu

s on

par

entin

g at

the

time

that

par

ents

are

pre

pari

ng f

orth

e bi

rth

of th

eir

firs

t chi

ld; s

ome

onte

enag

ers

who

will

be

pare

nts

in th

efu

ture

, and

may

be

prep

arin

g fo

rm

arri

age;

and

som

e on

par

ents

at t

hetim

e w

hen

thei

r ch

ildre

n en

ter

dayc

are

or p

resc

hool

.

Ber

nard

Yon

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 54

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Thr

ee tr

acer

stu

dies

look

ed a

t the

impa

ct o

f pr

ojec

ts th

at f

ocus

ed o

npa

rent

ing,

one

eac

h fr

om J

amai

ca,

Irel

and

and

Tri

nida

d. T

he p

roje

cts

cent

red

resp

ectiv

ely

on te

enag

em

othe

rs, f

irst

tim

e m

othe

rs a

ndte

enag

ers

who

wer

e ye

t to

beco

me

pare

nts.

All

thre

e pr

ogra

mm

esem

bark

ed o

n a

com

preh

ensi

ve tr

aini

ngpr

ogra

mm

e fo

r m

othe

rs a

nd f

utur

epa

rent

s; a

nd th

is e

ncom

pass

ed n

ot o

nly

info

rmat

ion

on c

hild

rear

ing

and

child

deve

lopm

ent i

ssue

s, b

ut a

lso

life

and

pers

onal

ski

lls. I

n ad

ditio

n, th

e pr

ojec

tsin

Jam

aica

and

Tri

nida

d in

clud

edvo

catio

nal t

rain

ing;

whi

le in

the

case

of

Irel

and,

man

y m

othe

rs w

ent o

n to

furt

her

prof

essi

onal

trai

ning

as

a re

sult

of th

eir

invo

lvem

ent i

n th

e pr

ogra

mm

e.A

ll th

ree

prog

ram

mes

use

d no

n-

Page 56: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

dire

ctiv

e, e

mpo

wer

ing

way

s of

prog

ram

me

deliv

ery;

and

all

thre

epr

ovid

ed a

ran

ge o

f op

tions

for

prog

ram

me

part

icip

ants

rat

her

than

inst

ruct

ing

them

on

wha

t to

do a

ndho

w to

beh

ave.

In

addi

tion,

the

prog

ram

mes

rei

nfor

ced

the

exis

ting

stre

ngth

s of

par

ticip

ants

and

this

led

to s

usta

ined

life

man

agem

ent s

kills

and

posi

tive

pare

ntin

g be

havi

our.

Goo

d se

lf-e

stee

m, p

ositi

ve a

ttitu

des

and

purp

ose

in li

fe, g

ood

com

mun

icat

ion

skill

s an

d en

gage

men

tw

ith a

nd f

or th

e co

mm

unity

: the

sese

em to

be

esse

ntia

l qua

litie

s fo

rsu

cces

sful

ly r

aisi

ng c

hild

ren.

The

Jam

aica

n st

udy

is th

e m

ost o

utsp

oken

on th

ese

notio

ns, d

raw

ing

as it

doe

s on

the

mot

her-

child

rel

atio

nshi

p, h

owch

ildre

n en

gage

d w

ith th

eir

peer

s, a

ndth

eir

attit

udes

to s

choo

ling

and

scho

olac

hiev

emen

t. In

tere

stin

gly,

pro

gram

me

outc

omes

wer

e no

t lim

ited

to th

ech

ildre

n di

rect

ly in

volv

ed in

the

prog

ram

me

but e

xten

ded

to a

llsu

bseq

uent

chi

ldre

n of

mot

hers

enro

lled

in th

e pr

ogra

mm

e. I

nad

ditio

n, th

e pr

ogra

mm

e le

d to

few

ersi

blin

gs in

the

case

of

Jam

aica

and

poss

ibly

als

o in

the

case

of

Tri

nida

d,al

thou

gh th

e di

ffer

ence

s be

twee

n th

e

01 ,7)

prog

ram

me

and

the

com

pari

son

grou

pw

ere

not a

s m

arke

d he

re a

s in

Jam

aica

.

Ove

rall,

the

find

ings

indi

cate

that

inve

stm

ent i

n yo

ung

or f

utur

e pa

rent

spa

ys o

ff a

nd, e

ven

mor

e im

port

ant,

that

bene

fits

are

sus

tain

ed w

ell i

nto

the

seco

ndar

y sc

hool

yea

rs o

f th

e ch

ildre

n.In

per

sona

l ter

ms,

enr

olm

ent i

n ea

ch o

fth

e pr

ogra

mm

es w

as a

cru

cial

turn

ing

poin

t in

the

lives

of

man

y of

the

youn

gpa

rent

s:

It w

as th

e be

st th

ing

that

hap

pene

d to

me

... li

fe w

as n

ot a

t an

end

(a te

enag

e m

othe

r fr

om J

amai

ca)

If th

e pr

ogra

mm

e w

as n

ot th

ere,

I d

ono

t kno

w h

ow I

wou

ld b

e lo

okin

g at

life

toda

y

(a p

artic

ipan

t fro

m T

rini

dad)

I lik

ed g

ettin

g pr

aise

for

the

thin

gs I

did

even

whe

n no

body

els

e pr

aise

d m

e(a

pro

gram

me

mot

her

turn

edC

omm

unity

Mot

her

from

Ire

land

)

Giv

en s

uch

clea

r, p

ositi

ve a

nd la

stin

gou

tcom

es, i

t is

impo

rtan

t for

us

in th

eFo

unda

tion

to ta

ke a

clo

ser

look

at

com

pone

nts

such

as

the

stru

ctur

e,co

nten

t, im

plem

enta

tion

and

timel

ines

of th

e pr

ojec

ts. I

n Ir

elan

d, o

utco

mes

wer

e ac

hiev

ed o

n th

e b4

sis

of a

max

imum

of

12 o

ne h

our

visi

ts in

the

year

aft

er th

e ba

by's

bir

th. M

oreo

ver,

the

prog

ram

me

used

vol

unte

er w

omen

from

the

com

mun

ity f

or p

rogr

amm

ede

liver

y w

ho w

ere

supp

orte

d by

a s

mal

lte

am o

f co

mm

unity

nur

ses.

In

Jam

aica

,te

enag

e m

othe

rs w

ere

enro

lled

in th

epr

ogra

mm

e fo

r ap

prox

imat

ely

18m

onth

s, w

hich

incl

uded

thei

rpr

egna

ncy

and

a tw

o-m

onth

bre

ak a

fter

the

birt

h. W

hile

the

mot

hers

wer

efo

llow

ing

thei

r co

urse

wor

k, th

e ba

bies

wer

e in

a d

ayca

re p

rovi

sion

sta

ffed

with

care

give

rs tr

aine

d by

the

prog

ram

me.

In

Tri

nida

d, th

e ad

oles

cent

trai

ning

prog

ram

me

last

ed f

or 1

4 w

eeks

, usu

ally

follo

wed

by

a vo

catio

nal s

kills

trai

ning

prog

ram

me.

Wha

t see

ms

to h

ave

been

sign

ific

ant w

as n

ot s

o m

uch

the

dura

tion

of th

e in

terv

entio

n, b

utch

oosi

ng th

e ri

ght t

ime.

Thi

s ap

pear

s to

be w

hen

new

par

ents

are

hav

ing,

or

are

abou

t to

have

thei

r fi

rst c

hild

.

Pro

gram

mat

ic la

ndm

ark

2:

the

cont

inuu

m b

etw

een

pres

choo

l and

prim

ary

scho

ol

The

cre

atio

n of

, and

sup

port

to, q

ualit

ypr

esch

ool s

ervi

ces

has

been

one

of

the

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 55

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

mai

nsta

ys o

f th

e Fo

unda

tion'

spr

ogra

mm

ing

over

the

year

s, f

requ

ently

conc

entr

atin

g on

hel

ping

cou

ntri

es,

regi

ons

and

com

mun

ities

to b

uild

up

pres

choo

l ser

vice

s fr

om s

crat

ch. O

ne k

eyco

ncep

t her

e is

chi

ld-c

entr

ed le

arni

ngth

at e

ncom

pass

es s

ocia

l and

em

otio

nal

deve

lopm

ent a

long

with

the

deve

lopm

ent o

f co

gniti

ve tr

aini

ng. I

nad

ditio

n, p

rinc

iple

s of

edu

catio

n fo

rdi

vers

ity in

form

pro

ject

s th

at s

erve

popu

latio

ns w

hich

incl

ude

mig

rant

child

ren;

whi

le p

roje

cts

also

pro

vide

cultu

rally

sen

sitiv

e fa

cilit

ies

for

child

ren

who

are

mem

bers

of

min

ority

gro

ups.

In m

any

way

s, tw

o pr

ojec

tson

e fr

omB

otsw

ana

and

one

from

Ken

yaar

e

repr

esen

tativ

e of

the

kind

s of

pre

scho

olpr

ogra

mm

ing

that

fit

the

Foun

datio

n's

appr

oach

es a

nd a

spir

atio

ns. T

race

rst

udie

s in

thes

e pr

ojec

ts lo

oked

into

the

impa

ct o

f pr

esch

ool e

duca

tion

by tr

acin

gch

ildre

n du

ring

thei

r pr

imar

y sc

hool

year

s, r

evie

win

g no

t jus

t pri

mar

y sc

hool

perf

orm

ance

, but

als

o th

e w

ays

in w

hich

child

ren

wer

e de

velo

ping

as

peop

le. I

n

both

cas

es w

e ca

n se

e th

at c

hild

ren

foun

d th

e tr

ansi

tion

from

pre

scho

ol to

prim

ary

scho

ol d

iffi

cult,

and

that

this

resu

lted

in a

bsen

teei

sm a

nd s

omet

imes

high

dro

pout

and

rep

etiti

on r

ates

.

Page 57: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

prog

ram

min

g

cJ

Trin

idad

& T

obag

o: C

hild

Wel

fare

Lea

gue

The

Pre

side

nt o

f the

Chi

ld W

elfa

re L

eagu

e ho

ldin

g a

baby

at t

he P

ort o

f Spa

in c

entr

e.

Why

was

this

so?

Wha

t was

hap

peni

ng?

It's

ver

y cl

ear

that

lear

ning

met

hods

inpr

esch

ools

took

the

deve

lopm

ent o

fch

ildre

n in

to a

ccou

nt; t

hat t

he p

hysi

cal

envi

ronm

ents

allo

wed

for

mov

emen

t,pl

ay a

nd q

uiet

act

iviti

es; a

nd th

atpr

esch

ool t

each

ers

wer

e tr

aine

d to

prov

ide

a ca

ring

, saf

e an

d st

imul

atin

gen

viro

nmen

t for

chi

ldre

n. A

lso,

ther

ew

as s

pace

for

par

ents

to b

e in

volv

ed a

ndpa

rent

s su

ppor

ted

the

pres

choo

ls in

man

y pr

actic

al w

ays,

not

just

by

payi

ngfe

es. C

hild

ren

com

ing

from

this

sor

t of

back

grou

nd f

ound

it h

ard

to c

ope

with

form

al, s

tiff

lear

ning

env

iron

men

ts a

ndth

e ha

rsh

disc

iplin

e th

at w

as a

t tim

esex

erci

sed

by p

rim

ary

scho

ol te

ache

rs.

Thi

s w

as e

xace

rbat

ed b

y a

lack

of

lear

ning

mat

eria

ls, e

spec

ially

thos

e in

the

mot

her

tong

ue o

f th

e ch

ildre

n.Pr

esch

ools

oft

en h

ad o

ther

adv

anta

ges

over

pri

mar

y sc

hool

s as

wel

lfo

rex

ampl

e, th

at p

resc

hool

teac

hers

wer

ere

crui

ted

from

the

child

ren'

s ow

nco

mm

uniti

es a

nd th

at th

e ho

me

lang

uage

of

the

child

ren

was

usu

ally

spok

en. I

ncon

tras

t, pr

imar

y sc

hool

sus

ed th

e la

ngua

ge o

f th

e m

ajor

itypo

pula

tion.

The

con

sequ

ence

was

that

child

ren

tran

sfer

ring

to p

rim

ary

scho

olex

peri

ence

d fa

ilure

in th

e fi

rst o

rse

cond

gra

de in

Bot

swan

a, a

nd in

the

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 56

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

four

th g

rade

in K

enya

the

time

whe

nE

nglis

h be

com

es th

e la

ngua

ge o

fin

stru

ctio

n.

Inte

rest

ingl

y, a

par

ticip

ant a

t the

Follo

win

g Fo

otst

eps

trac

er s

tudi

esw

orks

hop

in J

amai

ca p

ortr

ayed

asi

mila

r si

tuat

ion

in I

ndia

:

In th

e cr

eche

s an

d pr

esch

ools

, the

child

ren

real

ly f

eel t

hat t

hey

are

love

d,th

at th

eir

teac

hers

car

e, th

ey a

re f

rom

the

sam

e co

mm

unity

. In

the

prim

ary

scho

ol th

e te

ache

rs a

re n

ot f

rom

thei

rco

mm

unity

, som

e ch

ildre

n su

rviv

e th

epr

imar

y sy

stem

, the

one

s w

ho g

et s

ome

rein

forc

emen

t.

Mor

eove

r, p

artic

ular

ly in

the

case

of

min

ority

chi

ldre

n, th

e di

ffer

ent c

ultu

ral

back

grou

nd o

f th

e pr

imar

y sc

hool

teac

hers

was

the

sour

ce o

f m

any

mis

unde

rsta

ndin

gs a

nd f

rust

ratio

ns f

orch

ildre

n an

d pa

rent

s al

ike.

Thi

s is

mos

tev

iden

t in

the

case

of

the

San

child

ren.

The

Min

istr

y of

Edu

catio

n of

Bot

swan

ade

ploy

ed p

rim

ary

scho

ol te

ache

rs to

wor

k in

San

set

tlem

ents

. The

y re

ceiv

edno

pri

or tr

aini

ng in

min

ority

lang

uage

s, c

ultu

ral k

now

ledg

e, th

elif

esty

le o

f ch

ildre

n or

chi

ldre

arin

gpr

actic

es a

nd th

is h

ad s

erio

us

Page 58: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

repe

rcus

sion

s on

the

rete

ntio

n ra

tes

ofSa

n ch

ildre

n in

sch

ool.

One

exa

mpl

ece

ntre

s on

the

stat

us o

f th

e ch

ild in

the

San

cultu

re: S

an c

hild

ren

are

brou

ght

up a

s eq

ual t

o ad

ults

, hen

ce p

aren

tsra

rely

res

ort t

o co

rpor

al p

unis

hmen

t,ye

t phy

sica

l for

ms

of p

unis

hmen

t wer

ew

ides

prea

d in

the

Bot

swan

a sc

hool

syst

em. A

sec

ond

exam

ple

cent

res

onth

e fa

ct th

at p

rim

ary

scho

ol te

ache

rsdi

d no

t spe

ak th

e m

othe

r to

ngue

of

the

child

ren.

Thi

s m

ade

child

ren

(and

thei

rpa

rent

s) f

eel t

hat t

he S

an c

ultu

re w

asno

t val

ued

by th

e te

ache

rs a

nd a

lso

resu

lted

in te

ache

rs u

sing

phy

sica

lpu

nish

men

t as

a w

ay to

dis

cipl

ine

child

ren.

The

atti

tude

s of

som

ete

ache

rs m

ay a

lso

have

exa

cerb

ated

the

prob

lem

: wor

king

in m

inor

ity s

ettin

gsw

ith c

hild

ren

they

reg

arde

d as

infe

rior

was

oft

en s

een

as d

emot

ion

by te

ache

rs.

Thi

s le

d to

dis

crim

inat

ion

and

a lo

ss o

fm

otiv

atio

n, e

xpre

ssed

as

a w

ish

to b

epo

sted

els

ewhe

re a

s so

on a

s th

eop

port

unity

aro

se.

The

pro

blem

of

easy

and

eff

ectiv

etr

ansi

tion

mig

ht s

eem

to b

e ea

sed

inth

ose

coun

trie

s w

here

pre

scho

ols

and

prim

ary

scho

ols

are

hous

ed in

the

sam

eco

mpo

und,

but

this

app

aren

tly d

oes

not

nece

ssar

ily f

oste

r co

oper

atio

n be

twee

n

C.1

11

00

pres

choo

l and

pri

mar

y sc

hool

teac

hers

.T

here

oft

en s

eem

s to

be

an in

abili

ty o

nth

e pa

rt o

f te

ache

rs a

nd s

choo

lad

min

istr

ator

s to

bui

ld b

ridg

es b

etw

een

pre

and

prim

ary

scho

ols,

to ta

ke th

ebe

st o

f bo

th a

nd d

evis

e tr

ansi

tions

that

ensu

re th

at th

e ga

ins

youn

g ch

ildre

nm

ake

in p

resc

hool

are

bui

lt on

inpr

imar

y sc

hool

. On

the

posi

tive

side

,ex

ampl

es f

rom

pro

gram

mes

els

ewhe

resu

gges

t tha

t par

ents

who

hav

e be

enin

volv

ed in

the

pres

choo

l yea

rs o

f th

eir

child

ren

have

suc

cess

fully

insi

sted

that

the

best

pra

ctic

es in

pre

scho

ols

are

inco

rpor

ated

into

the

prim

ary

scho

ol s

yste

m.

But

, as

thes

e tw

o tr

acer

stu

dies

sho

w,

man

y of

the

inve

stm

ents

in th

e qu

ality

of p

resc

hool

edu

catio

n an

d in

the

trai

ning

of

pres

choo

l tea

cher

s ca

n co

unt

for

little

as

child

ren

mov

e in

to p

rim

ary

scho

ol. B

oth

stud

ies

foun

d a

posi

tive

corr

elat

ion

betw

een

the

trai

ning

of

pres

choo

l tea

cher

s an

d th

e qu

ality

of

pres

choo

l edu

catio

n, b

ut in

vest

men

t in

pres

choo

l tra

inin

g do

es n

ot g

uara

ntee

sust

aine

d sc

hool

ach

ieve

men

t for

child

ren.

A k

ey f

acto

r he

re is

the

over

all

qual

ity o

f th

e pr

imar

y sc

hool

envi

ronm

ent:

the

com

mitm

ent a

nd s

kill

of th

e di

rect

or o

f th

e pr

imar

y sc

hool

appe

ared

to p

lay

an im

port

ant r

ole

inde

fini

ng th

e ac

adem

ic s

tand

ing

of th

esc

hool

and

in th

e pr

ovis

ion

of a

nen

ablin

g le

arni

ng e

nvir

onm

ent f

orch

ildre

n. A

sec

ond

key

fact

or is

appr

opri

ate

trai

ning

for

pri

mar

y sc

hool

teac

hers

so

that

they

rec

ogni

se th

eco

ntin

uing

impo

rtan

ce o

f ch

ild-c

entr

edap

proa

ches

and

met

hods

. Wha

t is

clea

ris

that

, to

sust

ain

the

effe

cts

ofpr

esch

ool e

duca

tion

thro

ugho

ut th

epr

imar

y sc

hool

yea

rs a

nd o

n in

tofu

rthe

r sc

hool

ing,

nee

ds b

oth

a w

ell-

run

scho

ol a

nd w

ell-

trai

ned

teac

hers

.

The

less

ons

we

can

draw

for

prog

ram

me

deve

lopm

ent a

re th

at1.

the

pres

choo

l and

pri

mar

y sc

hool

year

s ha

ve to

be

expe

rien

ced

as a

cont

inuu

m b

y ch

ildre

n;2.

trai

ning

for

ear

ly y

ears

teac

hing

mus

tal

so in

clud

e pr

imar

y sc

hool

teac

hers

,w

hile

spe

cial

man

ager

ial a

ndpe

dago

gic

trai

ning

nee

ds to

be

prov

ided

for

hea

d te

ache

rs/s

choo

ldi

rect

ors;

3. a

n in

trod

uctio

n to

the

lang

uage

of

the

prim

ary

scho

ol m

ust s

tart

dur

ing

the

pres

choo

l yea

rs s

o th

at c

hild

ren

have

a g

ood

gras

p of

the

maj

ority

lang

uage

whe

n th

ey e

nter

the

new

scho

ol s

yste

m;

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 57

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Polic

ypr

ogra

mm

ing

4. li

kew

ise,

the

prim

ary

scho

ol m

ust

ensu

re li

tera

cy in

bot

h th

e ch

ildre

n's

mot

her

tong

ue a

nd th

e la

ngua

ge o

fth

e m

ajor

ity p

opul

atio

n; a

nd5.

the

cultu

ral v

alue

s an

d pr

actic

es o

fm

inor

ity g

roup

s m

ust b

e in

trod

uced

into

the

curr

icul

um o

f th

e pr

imar

ysc

hool

sys

tem

.

Con

clus

ions

Ove

rall,

thes

e tr

acer

stu

dies

allo

w u

s to

revi

ew p

rogr

amm

e im

pact

ove

r tim

e.T

hey

also

giv

e us

insi

ghts

into

the

impa

ct o

f m

onito

ring

and

eva

luat

ion

on p

rogr

amm

e ev

olut

ion

and

deve

lopm

ent.

For

the

San

child

ren

this

has

resu

lted

in th

e tr

aini

ng o

f pr

imar

ysc

hool

teac

hers

abo

ut w

hat i

s im

port

ant

in e

arly

chi

ldho

od d

evel

opm

ent,

and

intr

aini

ng f

or te

ache

rs o

n cu

ltura

ldi

vers

ity. M

ore

rece

ntly

, pro

gram

me

plan

ning

in K

enya

now

incl

udes

appr

opri

ate

trai

ning

of

prim

ary

scho

ol te

ache

rs a

nd s

hift

ing

thei

r fo

cus

to in

clud

e bo

th p

resc

hool

s an

dpr

imar

y sc

hool

s.

Page 59: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Follo

win

g Fo

otst

eps

publ

icat

ions

Pub

lishe

d by

the

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n in

its

serie

s E

arly

Chi

ldho

od D

evel

opm

ent:

Pra

ctic

e an

d R

efle

ctio

ns.

Deg

azon

-Joh

nson

R (

2001

), A

new

doo

r op

ened

: a tr

acer

stu

dy o

f th

e T

eena

ge M

othe

rs P

roje

ct, J

amai

ca, E

arly

Chi

ldho

odD

evel

opm

ent:

Prac

tice

and

Ref

lect

ions

No.

13

The

stu

dy tr

aced

the

impa

ct o

f th

e T

eena

ge M

othe

rs P

roje

ct o

n a

sam

ple

of 1

0 m

othe

rs a

nd c

hild

ren

who

wer

e pa

rtic

ipan

tsbe

twee

n 19

86 a

nd 1

989,

and

com

pare

d th

ese

with

ten

othe

r m

othe

r an

d ch

ild p

airs

who

had

not

bee

n in

the

proj

ect.

Sign

ific

ant d

iffe

renc

es w

ere

foun

d be

twee

n th

e tw

o gr

oups

of

mot

hers

and

the

two

grou

ps o

f ch

ildre

n.

Nje

nga

A &

Kab

iru

M (

2001

), I

n th

e w

eb o

f cu

ltura

ltr

ansi

tion:

a tr

acer

stu

dy o

f ch

ildre

n in

Em

bu D

istr

ict,

Ken

ya, E

arly

Chi

ldho

od D

evel

opm

ent:

Prac

tice

and

Ref

lect

ions

No.

14

Thi

s st

udy

look

s at

the

effe

cts

of tr

aini

ng f

or p

resc

hool

teac

hers

on

the

child

ren

they

hav

e ca

red

for.

Thr

ee c

ohor

tsof

chi

ldre

n w

ho e

nter

ed p

rim

ary

scho

ol in

199

1, 1

992

and

1993

wer

e tr

acke

d th

roug

h pr

imar

y sc

hool

to th

e cl

asse

sth

ey w

ere

in in

199

9ab

out h

alf

of th

ese

child

ren

had

been

car

ed f

or b

y tr

aine

d pr

esch

ool t

each

ers,

the

othe

rsha

d be

en w

ith u

ntra

ined

pre

scho

ol te

ache

rs. S

ever

albe

nefi

ts o

f tr

aine

d pr

esch

ool t

each

ers

wer

e fo

und,

and

chi

ldre

n w

ho h

adbe

en c

ared

for

by

them

mad

e th

e tr

ansi

tion

to p

rim

ary

scho

ol m

ore

succ

essf

ully

. Chi

ldre

n's

over

all p

erfo

rman

ces

wer

e fo

und

to b

eco

nsid

erab

ly a

ffec

ted

by s

ever

al f

acto

rs: t

he a

cade

mic

rat

ing

of th

epr

imar

y sc

hool

s; h

igh

was

tage

in th

e fo

rm o

f ab

sent

eeis

m, r

epet

ition

and

drop

out r

ates

; and

non

-sch

ool r

elat

ed f

acto

rs s

uch

as a

lcoh

ol, d

rugs

, chi

ldem

ploy

men

t, an

d ch

angi

ng li

fest

yles

.

le R

oux

W (

2002

), T

he c

halle

nges

of

chan

ge: a

trac

er s

tudy

of

San

pres

choo

l chi

ldre

n in

Bot

swan

a, E

arly

Chi

ldho

od D

evel

opm

ent:

Prac

tice

and

Ref

lect

ions

No.

15

The

mai

n bo

dy o

f th

is r

epor

t is

base

d on

ast

udy

carr

ied

out d

urin

g 19

93-1

995

that

trac

ed S

an c

hild

ren

of p

rim

ary

scho

ol a

gew

ho h

ad p

artic

ipat

ed in

the

Bok

amos

oPr

esch

ool P

rogr

amm

e. I

t als

o in

clud

es a

nup

date

to 2

001

cont

aini

ng a

dditi

onal

back

grou

nd in

form

atio

n an

d ne

w f

indi

ngs.

The

se h

unte

r-ga

ther

er p

eopl

e no

long

er h

ave

acce

ss to

thei

r ol

d te

rrito

ries

or th

e sk

ills

to e

arn

a liv

elih

ood.

The

y fa

ce th

is s

ituat

ion

with

a s

ense

of

hope

less

ness

and

des

pair

, une

mpl

oym

ent i

s hi

gh a

nd a

lcoh

olis

m is

a s

erio

uspr

oble

m. I

n th

e fo

rmal

edu

catio

n sy

stem

, the

San

chi

ldre

n m

eet a

dif

fere

ntcu

lture

and

hav

e to

cop

e w

ith c

onfl

ictin

g ex

pect

atio

ns a

nd n

orm

s, a

s w

ell a

sun

fam

iliar

lang

uage

s. D

espi

te a

ll th

is, t

he s

tudy

fou

nd th

at th

e ch

ildre

n w

hoha

d at

tend

ed p

resc

hool

s w

ere

mos

tly s

till i

n sc

hool

, man

y pa

rent

s w

ere

supp

ortiv

e of

for

mal

edu

catio

n, s

ome

head

teac

hers

wer

e tr

ying

to a

dapt

the

scho

ol to

the

real

ities

of

the

com

mun

ity, a

nd m

any

of th

e ch

ildre

n be

lieve

d to

have

dro

pped

out

wer

e, in

fac

t, st

ill in

sch

ool.

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 58

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Page 60: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

Gri

ffith

JD

(20

02),

To

hand

le li

fe's

cha

lleng

es: a

trac

er

stud

y of

Ser

vol's

Ado

lesc

ent D

evel

opm

ent P

rogr

amm

ein

Tri

nida

d, E

arly

Chi

ldho

od D

evel

opm

ent:

Prac

tice

and

Ref

lect

ions

No.

16

Thi

s st

udy

look

s at

the

effe

cts

of th

e A

dole

scen

tD

evel

opm

ent P

rogr

amm

e (A

ims)

on

a sa

mpl

e of

40 y

oung

men

and

wom

en s

ome

10 y

ears

aft

er th

eir

part

icip

atio

n, a

nd c

ompa

res

thes

e w

ith a

noth

er g

roup

of 3

9 in

divi

dual

s w

ith s

imila

r ch

arac

teri

stic

s. T

hean

alys

is w

as b

ased

on

the

crite

ria

that

are

cen

tral

toth

e A

DP.

The

res

ults

sho

wed

that

for

mer

trai

nees

had

bene

fite

d fr

om th

e pr

ogra

mm

e at

a n

umbe

r of

diff

eren

t lev

els.

The

re w

ere

som

e si

mila

ritie

s in

fin

ding

s be

twee

nth

e A

DP

grou

p an

d th

e co

mpa

riso

n gr

oup

and

diff

eren

ces

with

res

pect

to le

vels

of

self

-est

eem

and

chi

ldbe

arin

g.

Mol

loy

B (

2002

), S

till g

oing

str

ong:

a tr

acer

stu

dy o

fth

e C

omm

unity

Mot

hers

Pro

gram

me,

Dub

lin,

Irel

and,

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Dev

elop

men

t: Pr

actic

ean

d R

efle

ctio

ns N

o. 1

7T

his

is a

rep

ort o

f a

seve

n ye

ar f

ollo

w-u

p st

udy

ofm

othe

rs a

nd c

hild

ren

who

par

ticip

ated

in a

hom

evi

sitin

g pr

ogra

mm

e du

ring

the

firs

t 12

mon

ths

ofth

e ch

ildre

n's

lives

. It f

ollo

ws

an e

arlie

r st

udy,

whe

n th

e ch

ildre

n w

ere

one

year

old

, tha

t fou

ndsi

gnif

ican

t ben

efic

ial e

ffec

ts f

or b

oth

mot

hers

and

child

ren

whe

n co

mpa

red

to a

con

trol

grou

p. T

he r

epor

t des

crib

es th

e or

igin

s,de

velo

pmen

t and

impl

emen

tatio

n of

the

prog

ram

me,

mot

ivat

ion

of a

nd e

ffec

ts o

n th

ew

omen

who

impl

emen

t it,

and

thre

e ea

rlie

r pi

eces

of

rese

arch

.Fi

ndin

gs in

the

follo

w-u

p st

udy

wer

e ve

ry p

ositi

ve f

or th

em

othe

rs, t

he c

hild

ren

and

for

subs

eque

nt c

hild

ren.

Pub

lishe

d by

the

Hig

h/S

cope

Edu

catio

nal R

esea

rch

Fou

ndat

ion,

600

Nor

th R

iver

Str

eet,

Yps

ilant

i, M

I 481

98-2

898,

Lis

a

Eps

tein

AS,

Mon

tie J

& W

eika

rt D

P (2

002)

, Sup

port

ing

fam

ilies

with

you

ng c

hild

ren,

the

Hig

h/Sc

ope

Pare

nt-t

o-Pa

rent

dis

sem

inat

ion

proj

ect,

Mon

ogra

phs

of th

eH

igh/

Scop

e E

duca

tiona

l Res

earc

h Fo

unda

tion

No.

13,

Yps

ilant

i, M

ichi

gan:

Hig

h/Sc

ope

Edu

catio

nal R

esea

rch

Foun

datio

nT

his

publ

icat

ion

desc

ribe

s th

e ge

nesi

s an

d de

velo

pmen

t fro

m th

e 19

60s

of th

e w

ork

that

bec

ame

the

Pare

nt-t

o-Pa

rent

dis

sem

inat

ion

proj

ect

a m

ulti-

site

, com

mun

ity-

base

d pa

rent

sup

port

initi

ativ

e fr

om 1

978

to 1

984.

In

1998

a s

tudy

fol

low

ed u

p fo

ur o

fth

e or

igin

al s

ites

to f

ind

orga

nisa

tiona

l tra

ces

of th

e pr

inci

ples

and

str

ateg

ies.

Alth

ough

none

of

the

orig

inal

pro

gram

mes

are

stil

l in

exis

tenc

e, m

any

form

er p

artic

ipan

tsre

mai

n ac

tive

in th

e sa

me

or s

imila

r fi

elds

. The

rep

ort i

nclu

des

conc

lusi

ons

conc

erni

ngth

e ef

fect

iven

ess

and

pote

ntia

ls o

f fa

mily

sup

port

ser

vice

s.

For

thco

min

g fr

om th

e B

erna

rd v

an L

eer

Fou

ndat

ion:

Lev

in-R

ozal

is M

& S

hafr

an N

, A s

ense

of

belo

ngin

g: a

trac

er s

tudy

of

Alm

aya'

sPa

rent

s' C

oope

rativ

e K

inde

rgar

ten,

Isr

ael (

to b

e pu

blis

hed

earl

y 20

03 a

s E

arly

Chi

ldho

od D

evel

opm

ent:

Prac

tice

and

Ref

lect

ions

No.

19)

The

stu

dy h

as lo

oked

at f

orm

er p

artic

ipan

ts in

a P

aren

ts' C

oope

rativ

e K

inde

rgar

ten

prog

ram

me

that

was

ope

rate

d by

Alm

aya,

an

asso

ciat

ion

that

wor

ks w

ith f

amili

es w

hoca

me

to I

srae

l fro

m E

thio

pia.

The

pro

gram

me

oper

ated

in tw

o ne

ighb

ourh

oods

of

Bee

r-Sh

eva

and

the

stud

y ha

s co

mpa

red

resp

onse

s fr

om f

orm

er c

hild

par

ticip

ants

(no

win

thei

r ea

rly

teen

s) w

ith c

hild

ren

of E

thio

pian

ori

gin

from

the

sam

e ne

ighb

ourh

oods

who

wer

e no

t in

the

prog

ram

me,

as

wel

l as

with

chi

ldre

n of

non

-Eth

iopi

an o

rigi

n in

adi

ffer

ent t

own.

It c

oncl

udes

that

the

child

ren

from

the

inte

rven

tion

grou

p ha

veac

quir

ed m

any

of th

e to

ols

that

are

nec

essa

ry to

bet

ter

inte

grat

e in

to I

srae

li so

ciet

y.

A r

epor

t of

a tr

acer

stu

dy o

f ch

ildre

n an

d fa

mili

es f

rom

the

Chr

istia

n C

hild

ren'

s Fu

ndpr

ogra

mm

e in

Hon

dura

s.

A r

epor

t of

a 20

-yea

r fo

llow

-up

of c

hild

ren

and

fam

ilies

fro

m th

e Pr

omes

apr

ogra

mm

e, C

olom

bia.

Coh

en R

N, I

ntro

duci

ng tr

acer

stu

dies

: a g

uide

to im

plem

entin

g tr

acer

stu

dies

in e

arly

child

hood

dev

elop

men

t pro

gram

mes

.

Ber

nard

van

Lee

r F

ound

atio

n 59

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Mat

ters

Page 61: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)
Page 62: Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that …DOCUMENT RESUME PS 031 117 Smale, Jim, Editor Following Footsteps: ECD Tracer Studies. Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands)

U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)

National Library of Education (NLE)Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

NOTICE

Reproduction Basis

ERICEnueolione I Resources Inloonation Center

This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release (Blanket)"form (on file within the ERIC system), encompassing all or classes ofdocuments from its source organization and, therefore, does not require a"Specific Document" Release form.

This document is Federally-funded, or carries its own permission toreproduce, or is otherwise in the public domain and, therefore, may bereproduced by ERIC without a signed Reproduction Release form (either"Specific Document" or "Blanket").

EFF-089 (1/2003)