Strengthening the implementation of early childhood development policies to improve quality

Abstract

Early Childhood Development (ECD) is a priority in Tshwane North, South Africa. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how Early Childhood Development (ECD) officials implement ECD policies appropriately to strengthen and improve quality education for all. The stakeholders in the study refer to officials from the National, Provincial and District offices of the Department of Education; it also includes ECD managers and practitioners who are equally responsible for implementing the policy. It was the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (2000) that emphasised the importance of early childhood development. Post these conventions, South African Government, through the Departments of Education (DoE), Social Development (DSD) and Health (DoH) developed various policies, prioritising early childhood education. These policies included the National Integrated Early Childhood Development policy (NIECD) and the National Early Learning and Development Standards for Children (NELDS), to ensure that optimal and quality early childhood education is accessible to all young children. However, the implementation of these policies are lacking since most young children enter formal schooling without foundational knowledge. This is extremely observant in and among impoverished communities.

Access to early childhood development programmes is inequitable in South Africa. Evidence has shown that the poorest children are mostly affected due to their diverse socio-economic conditions, historical backgrounds and environments in which these children are raised (Atmore, van Niekerk & Ashley-Cooper, 2012). For this reason, cited above, the implementation of quality care and education remains an impending challenge in South Africa. Young children in disadvantaged communities have limited access to quality early learning programmes for their holistic development. Thus, this study focused on the exploring how the implementation of ECD policies can be strengthened to improve the quality of early childhood care and education. The study used a qualitative approach within an interpretivist paradigm as the underlying philosophy. The conceptual framework on quality care and education by Britto, Yoshikawa and Boller (2011) underpinned the study. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews, documents, field notes, observation, voice recording and photographs. The analysis of data was based on inductive categories and descriptions of themes. From the thematic data analysis, three themes emerged relating to participants’ experiences in implementing ECD policies to improve quality care and education of young children. The findings indicated that strengthening the implementation of ECD policies require collaboration and continuous interaction among ECD stakeholders to improve quality care and education. Another important finding was that the Department of Social Development’s (DSD) norms and standards registration requirements hindered rural ECD centres from obtaining funding to access quality ECD services. These services included infrastructure, water and sanitation facilities. The recommendations of the study highlighted the vital roles that the ECD stakeholders across all levels (national, provincial and district officials and ECD managers and practitioners) played in strengthening the implementation of ECD policies for quality care and education. For this reason, the study resulted in a conceptual framework on quality, based on the framework proposed by Britto et al. (2011) which explains that quality implementation of ECD policies contours across different levels and dimensions. The aforesaid authors further assert that, the quality of implementing care and education for young children is an important feature across all levels and dimensions to generate intended ECD policy outcomes. In this regard, ECD stakeholders should work collaboratively to strengthen the implementation ECD programmes. This study envisages strengthening the implementation of ECD policies to improve quality early childhood care and education, particularly in marginalised and disadvantaged communities.

KEYWORDS: Implementation: Early Childhood Care Education, Early Childhood Development policies, quality