Cultures in Early Childhood Care and Education - Consultative ...
Cultures in Early Childhood Care and Education - Consultative ...
Cultures in Early Childhood Care and Education - Consultative ...
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to enrich ECCE visions <strong>and</strong> methods. Rather, compulsive devotion to Anglo-<br />
American realities <strong>and</strong> values <strong>in</strong>stead disrupts <strong>and</strong> traumatizes Majority World<br />
children, there<strong>in</strong> deny<strong>in</strong>g them a right to their identity <strong>and</strong> knowledge systems.<br />
What right do we have to ‘move’ children <strong>and</strong> families forward by <strong>in</strong>terven<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to<br />
<strong>in</strong>formality or nostalgic ext<strong>in</strong>ction their daily rout<strong>in</strong>es? Can the development<br />
community give healthier <strong>and</strong> respectful attention to the ECCEs of Majority World<br />
children by improv<strong>in</strong>g their differentness <strong>in</strong>stead of <strong>in</strong>vest<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> replac<strong>in</strong>g or<br />
homogeniz<strong>in</strong>g them, as if diversity were wrong?<br />
The Eurocentrism of EFA first goal evokes ECCE services that <strong>in</strong>itiate Majority<br />
World children <strong>in</strong>to an educationalization process through which, at vary<strong>in</strong>g stages<br />
of development, they systematically ga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> unfamiliar knowledge <strong>and</strong> skills, which<br />
<strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly alienate them from their cultural roots <strong>and</strong> livelihoods. It stealthily<br />
transforms them <strong>in</strong>to ‘ignorant experts’ who are <strong>in</strong>ept about their own undesirable<br />
circumstances. As such, it <strong>in</strong>stead stifles Majority World achievement of EFA<br />
goals.<br />
The unequivocal evidence that <strong>in</strong>vestment to replace the timeless communitybased<br />
ECCE systems that have successfully served Majority World children has<br />
failed, compels a paradigm shift to <strong>in</strong>troduce culturally sensitive <strong>in</strong>clusive methods<br />
that exp<strong>and</strong> visions <strong>and</strong> creative service delivery structures. A perceptible but<br />
unvoiced moral hub drapes ECCE work. It is about whose <strong>in</strong>terest truly is <strong>in</strong> focus<br />
<strong>in</strong> policy development <strong>and</strong> program design – that of donors <strong>and</strong> experts or children<br />
<strong>and</strong> their communities! It is mutely compell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong> dire need of concerned<br />
scrut<strong>in</strong>y. The field needs it to move forward the ECCE agenda <strong>in</strong> contexts for its is<br />
designed <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong> which it is delivered.<br />
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