Targetting Teenagers. INSTITUTION Bernard Van Leer Foundation, the Hague (Netherlands)

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TITLE Targetting Teenagers. INSTITUTION Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague (Netherlands). REPORT NO ISSN-0921-5840 PUB DATE Jan 95 NOTE 25p. PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) Reports Descriptive (141) JOURNAL CIT Bernard van Leer Foundation Newsletter; n77 Jan 1995

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Adolescents; Behavior Standards; Developed Nations; Developing Nations; *Early Parenthood; *Family Programs; Foreign Countries; *Parenthood Education; *Pregnancy; Pregnant Students; *Prevention; Program Descriptions; Public Policy; Sex Education; Social Attitudes; Social Values; Sociocultural Patterns IDENTIFIERS Chile; Ireland; Jamaica; Kenya; New York (New York); Trinidad and Tobago; United States

ABSTRACT This theme issue of the Bernard van Leer Foundation newsletter focuses on the problem of teenage pregnancy and teenage parenthood in developing and developed nations, and examines the problems that teenage mothers face in different societies. It explores societal norms and values related to teenage parenting; the effects of teenage parents on children; socioeconomic circumstances related to teenage pregnancy; teenage marriage; pregnancy prevention programs; sex education; educational attitudes;self-esteem; and public policy. Separate sections focus on:(1) societal attitudes towarr' teenage pregnancy and parenthood in Kenya;(2) the experiences of a teenage mother in Ireland and the work of the Togher Family Centre in Cork;(3) the activities of the Vicaria de la Pastoral Social program in Chile, which is designed to improve the overall development of young children; (4)the Teenage Mothers Project in May Pen, Jamaica, which seeks to improve the prospects of teenage mothers and their children through education and jobtraining; (5) the Adolescent Development Programme, a parenthood and sex education program in Trinidad; and (6) the TeenParent Resource Center in New York City, which works with schools and other institutions to present pregnancy prevention and parenthoodeducation programs. Contains 24 references. (MDM)

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Targetting teenagers: a survey of teenage parenting and behaviour with examples of programmes from Kenya(page6). Ireland(page7). Cni le(page61, Jamaica(page 101; Trinidad(page 11): USA (page 12)

Network News page14

Reports from the Field:

Okinawa Bunko page17

Israel. Intermediary Learning page 18 11" Australia: launching the Intelyape-Iyape itS Akaltye protect page20

When Irish eyes are smiling page 22 0181111111bil Why is teenage parenting so often perceived as a Where there is a concern with teenage parenting it Resources problem? Why do attitudes towards young mothers should focus on the fact that for many young page 23 vary so much between, and even within, countries? mothers, pregnancy is both unwanted and unwel- To what extent is our behaviour the result ofcome. There are two separate aspects involved About the changing norms and values? here: Foundation page 24 Posing the questions is easy enough: finding the pregnancy is culturally or developmen- a answers calls for a survey of attitudes. beliefs and tally inappropriate, and/or practices across the world. Although there are some Nate photograph above aspects of teenage parenting that are universal. the pregnancy is physically and/or psycho- and on page.% 3 dud many others are applicable in only specific coun- logically damaging to the young mother and 11111111.5, are taken from tries or cultures. All that we can attempt to do in this her offspring. publication% of the Newsletter article is to draw attention to some of the comm. I'mje(t, main issues. and draw together a little of the 'Culturally inappropriate' means that community °mama evidence. tradition and practice assess that a woman is too

2 ' BEST COPY AVAILABLE young to hear children. The expression 'develop-children per woman fell, the median age of mar- mentally inappropriate' means the mothers' andriage for women rose as did the age of bearing first infants' needs may be 'out of sync'. The term children.' The mutability of norms is amply illus- 'physically and psychologically damaging' implies trated by the changes that have occurred in the t'K. that. regardless of focal traditions and practices. At the beginning of this century. marriage and there is a minimum age below which pregnancy is childbearing was common among women under 20. not only socially or developmentally inappropriate,while until the 1930s, unmarried women who gave but is positively harmful to both the mother and herbirth were being locked away in institutions as infant. 'mentally deficient' and their babies given away for adoption. Now, many fewer women marry in their teens and unmarried motheri.00ti. although not Uni- over half the world's population is under 25 versally approved. is an accepted part of life.

one in three people are aged 10-24 Effects on children

in many countries, more than half of the teenagers have unprotected penetrative sex before the age of 16 The evidence concerning the consequences for children of having young mothers is mixed. It is emotional pressure and physical violence are often used to force young generally accepted that. biologically speaking. the people to have unwanted sex, especially girls late teens arc the ideal years for childbearing. However. the years just before then are far from as the adolescent girl's body is still devel- about one third of young women in Latin America and Asia, and over half ideal in many African countries, have given birth by the age of 20 oping and crowing. she is more likely to hear babies that are premature and/or underweight. Poised most deaths in 15-19 year old women are linked to pregnancy and between childhood and adulthood herself. the young mother gill not always have the emotional childbirth maturity needed to cope with a baby's demands and each year up to 5 million young women have abortions, usually illegally the realities of parenthood. and in life-threatening conditions It is sometimes suggested that children of !voting mothers are more likely to he abandoned. to become Source AIDS action the international newsletter on AIDS prevention and care, 25. JuneAugust 1994 AHR1AG London street children. or to he abused. The evidence is scanty. but a study in a hospital in South Africa found that 66 per cent of abused children had mothers under 19 years of age: 'It is not necessarily the mothers themselves who do the abusing. but Norms and values they are unable to cope and to protect their children: and they lack any support systems.' In every society, there are norms and values that lay down when and under what circumstances it is Other studies in Africa' have drawn attention to the acceptable for women to have children. In Africa.problems of street children and abandoned babies for example. some three quarters of all women are as having their roots in the 'disorganisation of the married by the age of 20.1 In many Moslem coun- family'. This has come about as a result of migrant tries, girls are married around the age of menarche. labour systems. rapid population growth. civil war. These young women may give birth to several chil- violenceandtile' easingurbanisationand dren before they are 20 indeed, the woman who Westernisation. reaches 21 without having had a child may' he considered barren and unworthy of respect. As Shashi Socio-economic circumstances Bali in Kenya relates: 'riot to have a child is the worst thing that can happen to a woman. But the children must be produced within marriage' Socio-economic circumstances are the background (page 6). to much of the anxiety that is expressed about teenage parenthood. Lower birth weights and prem- In many parts of the world. it is unmarried teenage ature deliveries are not just an outcome of a mother parenting that is perceived as a problem because it s ho is too young. they are outcomes of poor nutri- is culturally inappropriate and, despite the high tion. unsatisfactory housing and inadequate health value placed on pregnancy and childbirth, birth out-care which come from poor socio-economic sidemarriage is viewed with disapproval. The circumstances. experience in Chile. where unmarried teenage mothers are still socially stigmatised, is described There is evidence from a number of countries in the article on page 8. which suggests that teenage motherhood is pre- dominantly a feature of the poor. In the usA, for It is apparent that norms and values are riot only example. it is estimated that 83 per cent of teenagers based in societies, cultures and religions. but they giving birth are from poor families.' Although there can change over time. This applies to age of mar- is a tendency to view this as a 'black problem'. riage. desirability O. marriage, desire for children. births to white women under 20 are higher than in numbers of children, and attitudes to birth outside any other industrialised country. The proportion of marriage. these births that are to single women has increased from seven per cent in 1960 to 42 per cent in 1984." Such norms arc not, howeer. immutable. in In the UK. Ann Phoenix reports that 'The main Morocco between 1987 and 1992 the number offeature that teenage mothers share tends to he their material position. Early motherhood is predomi- responsible for the decreasing proportion of nantly a feature of the working classes." young mothers who marry their children's fathers.'" It is often suggested that young women in industrialised societies become pregnant in order to obtain Another tn, study found that 75 per cent of single housing or welfare benefits but the evidence doesteenage mothers registered their babies jointly with not bear this out. Studies in the USA have relatedthe babies' fathers and that the majority of these trends in single parenthood to changes in welfarecouples were cohabiting." provisions and have shown that, contrary to expectations. rates of single 'Preventive' programmes parenthoodincrease when benefits do not and that reproductiveProgrammes that set out to 'prevent' teenage preg- trends are not related to nancy are too frequently based on the premise that welfare provisions.' the provision of information is sufficient. Naturally. ignorance is an important factor: ignorance concerning the biological facts of reproduction and The 'need' for lack of information about contraceptive methods marriage (both traditional and modern). Also important are the lack of access to contraceptives and pressure Despite the apparent from male partners. But there are other, more com- desirability of marriage plex reasons. either culturally: eco- nomically or both the Studies of teenage girls that look at sexual assumption that mar-behaviour often find little difference in sexual riage to the child's father activity between teenage girls who give birth and is a positive outcomethose that do not. The latter will tend to take .ore needs to he treated withcare in the use of contraception and also he more caution: sometimes the willing to have abortions when contraception fails. lather is not a teenagerIn Hungary. the number of births to under 18s but a much older man, decreased between 1980 and 1990 but the number or even a close relative. of pregnancies actually rose slightly those Of 135 fathers inter-deciding to give birth, whether married or single, viewed in 1989 by thecame from the lower socio-economic groups and Women's Centrein had a lower level of education.12 Jamaica. one-third were aged 14-18. more than A 1991 South African study found that 85 per cent half were between 19 and 24. one in ten were 25-40of teenage girls were not using any form of contra- and one in 50 between 40 and 50.9 Whatever the age ception although 66 per cent 'had some prior infor- of the father. there is some evidence that marriage ismation on how to prevent pregnancy'. The authors a less desirable or necessary state than it once contend that these adolescents are 'handicapped by was. their youth. low level of education and a general lack of understanding of the relationship between Socio-economic changes at the macro level affect the onset of menarche. sexual activity, conception individual actions. The changes relate to the switch and contraception.''' from an agriculture-based economy to a manufac- turing-based one: to improved sanitation and health.\ is survey found that 70 per cent of teenagers care that lead to increased life expectancy andinterviewed were sexually active by the age of 18 better infant/child survival rates: and to improvedand that the average age of first sexual experience educational opportunities for all children, but was 14 1/2. Although eight out of 10 of those inter- especially girls. These factors combine to mean that viewed claimed to know about contraception, only there is less 'need' for early marriage and as many one in four had used it during their first sexual children as possible. On the contrary, they areexperience." pointers to later marriage and fewer children as witnessed in extreme form in China's 'one-childSex education policy'.

The incidence of poverty is also related to marital In many societies it is believed that education about status. but in the UK and the usA, it is ()ken ansexual matters actually encourages sexual activity inverse relationship. In both countries, high unem-and experimentation. One review of 19 studies ployment levels and the need for a more skilled found that in none of them ',.as sex education workforce have led to a significant drop in employ-found to lead to earlier or increased sexual ac- ment rates for young men who are poorly educated. tivity'.'' The Netherlands is often quoted as an In Ann Phoenix' study of young mothers in example in that it 'boasts a very low teenage preg- London, the few women who married were those nancy rate due to broader. more open social atti- whose partners were relatively high earnerscom- tudes. a generous approach to sex education in pared with other well who impregnate teenageschools and contraceptive services widely available women: to young people.' ''' The same theme was taken up in an editorial in the British Journal of Family High levels of unemplol went and poor Planning which refers to the 'positive approach' of wages for young men are probably partly the Netherlands which results in teenage abortion

3 rates that are one-third lo...tr than in the UK where ferences in sexual activ;ty between the two groups. consumer surveys have shown that: but 62 per cent of the mothers had dropped out of school before becoming pregnant and a further IS 44 per cent of teenagers could not get an per cent after. implying what the authors describe as appointment with a family planning clinic 'a lack of commitment to education'.' There are within one week, and that staff warded off similar findings from studies in theUSA.theUK.the 12 per cent by their disapproving attitudes Caribbean and elsewhere. ... Yet et.society bombards children with sexual images in advertising and the media This 'lack of commitment' to education is con- but frowns upon contraception advertising nected to what have been described as the most and sex education. This serves to perpetuate powerful contraceptives of alleducation. employ- the misinformation teenagers have about ment and self-esteem. And it is these factors which sex.' ' need to he tackled if societies wish to reduce the number of 'unwanted and unwelcome' teenage In the sA there is still an unresolved debate over pregnancies. Programmes in May Pen. Jamaica and whether the primary focus of programmes shouldNew York, USA (see pages 10 and 12) ensure that he the discouragement of teenage sexual activity orteenage mothers get every encouragement and a reduction in teenage pregnancies (page 12). Theassistance to complete their education. The objec- debate continues despite earlier sexual maturity, tive is for the young mothers to enhance their self- changes in marriage patterns. the constant bom-esteem. gain qualification and, ultimately, be able bardment of sexual imagery from the mass media. to support themselves and their children. The hope and the undisputed evidence of sexual activityis that they will delay further childbearing and that among young people. The consequence is that pro- their own children, both female and male, will not grammes that attempt to repeat the pattern of early parenthood. Mothers' educate children aboutattitude to education is particularly important in the light of findings that many parents feel alienated Teenage parents do not all fit neatly their bodies, reproduction and family life face from schools because of their own experiences and into one category. We need to strong opposition. because of differing cultural attitudes. This has distinguish between: effects on their interest and involvement in their In Mexico. however, 90own children's education.=" teenage mothers and single mothers per cent of parents inter- viewed in a nationwide The importance of motherhood older teens and younger teens poll said that sex education and family educa- acceptability and the norms of society tion should he taughtHaving a child can, in fact. change a young from the first grade. and mother's aspirations a us survey of teenage planned pregnancies and undlanned two new courses devel- mothers found that: 'having a baby has given many pregnancies oped inschools arcof these young women a new and much-needed meeting approval from focus in birth rates and pregnancy rates students, teachers and parents. Developed byWe should not, however. make the assumption that historical perspectives and the context of the Instinct() Mexican('all women aspire to higher education and/or paid parenting deIn ve.s tiizaci(inrlrcareers. The majority of the oung women in the Funtilicry Pohlaidn. Jamaican Teenage Mothers Project do not have aca- the courses are calleddemic potential and need help with literacy and 'Planning your life' and 'Adolescence and develop- practical skills (page It)). Similarly in the UK, a ment'. One of the main findings from an evaluation study that followed up voung mothers 21 months of the initial 'Planning your life' course was that: after birth reported that 'Ftw all the women. motherhood was at least as important a career as (and for of the 21 females and 144 males who many women more important thanemploy- acknowledged having had sex at the time the ment.'.while for others. 'the young women did not course began. a significantly larger propor- perceive motherhood as permanently limiting and tion were using contraception at follow up. it was a spur to get qualifications and employment.:' compared with sexually active students in the control group. The findings were similar There are some findings from long-term studies among those who had not had sex atthe that give grounds for optimism. It appears from baseline but who reported having done so by them that teenage parenthood does not inevitably follow-up. lead to poor outcomes. Women V. ho gave birth at 17 in Baltimore. t,sA were followed up 17 years later The findings led to a new General Education Law when, in general. their situation had improved 'sig- passed in 1993 that encourages 'the creation of con- nificantly'. Only one quarter w ere on welfare. most sciousness regarding the preservation of health.job holders were regularly employed and about a family planning and responsible parenthood'." quarter had 'moved from poverty to the middle class'. In all cases. the level of general education played a significant role." A lack of commitment to education Another American study Wowed all the people In litany respects, it seems to he education as such horn on a Hawaiian island in 1955. 13. 18 years of that makes a difference. not just education aboutage. 28 girls had become mothers and all reported a reproduction or family life. In Canada. a study of 39 lack of faith in the efficacy of their own efforts and teenage mothers and 35 non-mothers foundfew dif- lack of self-esteem. By the age of 31/32. 60 per cent

4 words, programmes that enhance their self-esteem and give them hope.

At another level is a basic ambiguity about thevery status of adolescence and the fact that it has changed fairly rapidly over the last decades. There are incongruencies between biological maturity. it social maturity, emotional maturity and economic viability although these are not always clearly defined. In too many instances, adolescentsare left to flounder on their own between conflicting mes- o sages of the adults around them and the society they Ne. are living in, most particularly, the messages that come consciously and subconsciously from the mass media.

And at yet another level are concerns about morals, values, religion. Thus, in most societies thereare had acquired more education. 90 per cent were ambiguities about sexual activity, contraception, gainfully employed, and 80 per cent were in skilled. abortion, marriage. In both the UK and theusa it is technical and managerial positions. The authorsnow more common for mothers under 20 to be note that: unmarried rather than married. They arc not, therefore, living in accordance with the dominant ideol- The development of the woman's personal ogy which demands that children should be born to resources, the support of kith and kin, and and reared by a mother and father who arc married the encouragement and support of the hus- to one another and live in the same home. bands all acted as protective buffers that contributed to positive changes in their life trajectories from high risk pregnancy to suc- Public rhetoric and private practice cessful adult adaptation.'' -' Teenage parenting has complex economic and Self-esteem and hope social roots. It cannot be seen simply as a form of deviant or pathological behaviour on the part of individuals, whether girls or boys. There is suffi- What arc, therefore, our concerns about teenage cient evidence to show that teenage mothers and parenting? On a very personal level, we are con- their children are not all doomed to unsatisfying cerned with outcomes for the children of theseand poverty-stricken lives, and there exist a variety young mothers and for the young mothers them- of programmes that support them in their efforts. selves. Much of this could be resolved by the pro- But there is no sense, and no justice. in 'blaming the vision of good educational programmes that victim' when our societies fail to discuss openly the encourage young people to believe that they have a moral and social ambiguities between public viable future and can achieve their goals. In other rhetoric and private practice. ll

References 8. Phoenix, Ann 11991) ibid. pp. 243-9 action' editorial in British Journal of Family Planning, 1714) 97.8 1 Cherlin, A & Riley. N E. (1986) Adolescent Fertility. 9. Annual Report. January-December. 1989. Women's an Emerging Issue in sub-Saharan Africa. Population, Centre programme for Adolescent Mothers Kingston. 18. 'Sex education gains strength in Mexican public Health and Nutrition Department. World Bank. New Jamaica schools' (1994) in International Family Planning York, USA Perspectives, Vol 20, No 2 10. Phoenix, Ann (1891) 'bid, p. 175 2. Althaus. F (1994) 'Moroccan Fertility Falls as Young 19 Oz. S. & Fine, M. (19881'A comparison of childhood Women delay marriage. childbearing' in International 11 Ineichen. Bernard & Hudson, Francis (1994) Teenage backgrounds of teenage mothers and their non-mothers Family Planning Perspectives. Vol 20, No. 2 Pregnancy. Highlight No. 126 National Children's peers a new formulation' in Journal of Adolescence. 11. Bureau and Barnardos: London, UK 251-261 3. Unpublished study conducted in 1988 relating to 176 children and quoted in Desmond. Cosmas (1994) 12. Pongracz. M & Molnar, E S. (1991) 'Adolescent 20 Lewis. Anne 11992) Helping Young Urban Parents Children and Violence. TREE(Association for Training pregnancies' in Demografia, 34 (1-21. 134-7 Educate Themselves and Their Children. ERIC/CUE and Resources in Early Education). Durban, South Africa Digest. No 85. ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education. 13 Boult. Brenda E. & Cunningham, Peter W.(1992) op New York, NY, USA 4 Boult. Brenda E & Cunningham. Peter W (1992) cif 'Black Teenage Pregnancy. An African Perspective' in 21. 'The baby trap' op cit International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, Vol 3. 14. 'The baby trap' in People Weekly, 24 October 1994. pp. 303-309 New York, USA 22. Phoenix, Ann (1991) rbtrl, pp. 244-6 & 214.6

5. Alan Guttmacher Institute 'Sex and America's 15. Barth. R P et al (1992) 'Preventing adolescent 23. Furstenburg, FBrooks-Gunn. J & Chase-Lansdale. Teenagers' quoted in People Weekly. 24 October 1994. pregnancy with social and cognitive skills' in Journal of L., (1989) 'Teenaged Pregnancy and Childbearing' in New York. USA Adolescent Research, 2. 208-32 Journal of the American Psychological Association. Special Issue, Vol 44. No.2. Arlington, VA, USA 6 Phoenix. Ann119911 Young Mothers? Polity Press 16 Ineichen. Bernard & Hudson. Francis (19941 op crt Cambridge, UK 24 Werner, Emmy E. & Smith, Ruth S (19921 17 Massey, D E. (19921 'Unplanned pregnancy a call to Overcoming the odds' high risk children from birth to 1 Phoenix, Ann 119911 ibrd, p. 15 adulthood Cornell University Press Ithaca, NY. USA

5 6 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Targetting teenagers Kenya: hostility and abandonment

Teenage parenthood is no unusual phenomenon in Kenya: in rural We followed up five single students who had had areas it is common for women to marry and bear children by the age babies and discovered after less than a year that three of the babies had died. The students do not of IS, What is new. however, is a growing number of unmarried have enough money; usually the father does not adolescent girls who are mostly to be found in urban and peel -urban want to know; the parents arc disgusted with their areas. In rural areas, there remains a degree of social control with daughters and. anyway. they are perhaps not capa- traditional taboo, and customs being observed. ble of helping. So the girl goes to live in a room in A new project in Kenya. run from KCIlyalla tilliVCrtinV. will be the slum area close to the University and she finds looking at two slum areas on the outskirts ()I' Nairobi. the capital. The the cheapest labour possible to look after her baby project will focus on the and potential parents in order to meet a child of six, seven or possibly 10. She leaves the their needs. In addition. the project will identify and learn from child baby and a bare minimum of food with the child for the whole day while she studies. The child maid rearing practices and improve living conditions of young children and does not have enough food herself, how can she be their earegik ens who are not reached by existing services. Although expected to give anything to the baby? both areas hale mixed population,. a significant proportion are adolescent mothers bringing up children on their ow n. Dr Shashi Bali. Culturally you cannot talk openly about sex with the protect leader. explains some of the background in this inter% iew. your parents. However. the extends.: family structure provided alternative adult guidance in these matters. Grandparents. uncles and aunts helped In Kenyan society, a woman is not viewed as aninculcate social mores. The whole socialisation adult until she has had a child, whatever her age.process culminated in intensive training at the onset Not to have a child is the worst thing that can hap-of menarche, followed by the initiation ceremony. pen to a womanbut the children must be producedThis was seen as acclamation of adult status and the within marriage. Kenyans value large families.right to marry at approximately the age of 16. Several factors account for this preference. One important social cultural factor among the Kikuyu and Wakamba is the naming practice: each relative. As soon as a girl becomes pregnant she is starting with the grandparents. expects to have a thrown out of school. she cannot remain child named after him or her. But the cash economy because she is considered to he a bad is beginning to have an influence. In traditional inUIucncc society, the only cost of a child was to provide food. much of which was grown by the family, whereas now parents are caught by the costs of health careBecause of improved health and nutrition, the av- and formal education. In fact, one of the biggest erage age of menarche is earlier now. In Kenya we obstacles to school attendance is inability to buy aare trying to eliminate the practice of genital muti- uniform. Now that parents arc having t6 find hardlation. but at the same time we are losing the other cash to bring up their children, more of them areteaching with it. which is a pity. There were tradi- questioning the traditional large family. tional forms of family planning/child spacing. Each group had its own way. For example. when a child could carry a bowl of porridge to the father and not Now that parents are having to find hard cash spill it. that was an invitation to the father to come to bring up their children. more (it them are and visit the mother. questioning the traditional large famil Youths are becoming sexually active at a very young age for numerous reasons. One of them Despite the social pressures to have children.being the 'sugar daddy' concept. This is when you unmarried mothers face hostility and, often, aban-want something but you don't have the money and donment by their families. This is particularly acute you believe that having a sexual relationship with when they are still in their teens. In effect, there arean older and rich man will help you get the thing two main groups of unmarried teenage mothers: the you desire. school dropouts and the prostitutes. Abortion is not legal. At great risk to their lives, the As soon as a girl becomes pregnant she is throwngirls seek the backstreet abortionists. And many a out of school, she cannot remain because she is con- victim of the operation breathes her last in our sidered to be a bad influence. About 10.000 girlsnational hospital. The girls who carry their babies to have to drop out of school each year because theyterm find at birthing mat they neither have the become pregnant. It is sometimes possible for a girl knowledge or the traditional support system to take to go to a different school after she has had the baby. care of the infants. Traditionally, the girls were but then she has to hide the fact that she is a mother. apprenticed to their mothers and helped look after Girls at the University do not fare any better. If one the younger siblings. Now children are sent to becomes pregnant she is allowed to continue herschool where they learn 'modern' theories but not .1` studies but no special allowances arc made for her.about everyday life.

6 7 Targetting teenagers in Ireland

The Togher Family Centre in Ireland \orks with families living on a depressed housing estate in the city of Cork. Many of the people using the Family Centre work with. or are members of single parent families. These two personal accounts are the Family Centre's contribution to the theme of targeting_ teenagers.

"I really believed that it couldn't happen to me' I was an immature girl who, because ! got pregnant, was didn't want to be his wife, and just because I was having his meant to behave like a woman. Suddenly I came from being child didn't mean that I was in love with him. a schoolgirl to being a mother. I wasn't wild, I hadn't even lived - I had hardly been allowed out to discos. We lived together for two years after the baby was born. I felt very jealous and trapped - I needed to be mothered The worst part was being told that I could continue at school myself and to be loved. No-one asked me what I wanted. when I couldn't face the fingers being pointed. IfI had had Looking back now, I would have liked to have been enough confidence, maybe I could have attended school. You encouraged to do something to further my education. find out who your friends are when you are in trouble, I lost a lot of friends by being pregnant. I think that all children need a male person in their lives like an uncle, a grandfather. They also need a break from the I felt that my sex education was inadequate. I believed stupid mother just as much as the mother needs a break. My little things. I thought it happened to one in every family, and girl's dream is to have a father. because it happened to my sister, it couldn't happen to me. I said to my friends that it was an unwanted pregnancy, but I was made to feel by other people that I was an after the nine months I wanted the baby. You don't think that embarrassment - like people in authority that I had to deal it is actually going to be a baby when you are pregnant. I with. I was made to feel grateful for every penny as if it was really believed that it couldn't happen to me. coming out of their own pockets. The social workers never forced any decisions on me, but they all made me feel that I After two years we split up. It was hard but now I've was a nuisance - when I was applying for my entitlements developed as a person. I found support in the Family Centre. they didn't make me feel they were my rights. By being myself and attending the courses, I have managed to develop. Now I'm independent and working. It hasn't The family - particularly his - assumed that marriage was the been easy to get where I am today, it has been a very hard next step. They expected me to get married in church and struggle, both financially end mentally. I feel the stigma of have a reception. They seemed to be telling me: 'Clean up being on my own with a child is still there - but I'm proud of your act and paint a nice picture of happy families'. Icertainly what I've done.

'The days when girls just disappeared are gone'

Nora teaches Home Economics and Religion - the meaningfully conveyed. A lot can depend on the subjects in which 'family life education' have teacher and his or her attitudes to the subject: 'It traditionally been taught in Ireland. There are two fascinates me, the amount of wrong information that courses that schoolgirls can take. One option in the sexually active young women still have. Even when Junior Certificate course for the 12 to 15 age group teenagers are aware of the need to use has been in existence for four years. It deals with child contraceptives, and where they are available, they do care and is very practical in approach, covering areas not a',,:-Eis use them.' such as immunisations and nutritional needs of children. In the school where Nora works, there is no set policy concerning teenage mothers. Each case is treated The other course is in the Social and Scientific course individually with a plan being made with the student, at Leaving Certificate level which students take at age the class teacher, the guidance teacher, the school 17 or 18. This is an optional course and focuses on the principal and the parents as to how best the student biological facts of conception, various types of family can continue her education: 'The days when girls just structure, and the emotional impact of parenting. disappeared are gone'.

Nora finds that conveying the realities of parenting to Nora feels that both attitudes towards teenage students can be very hard: 'They love babies and can mothers and the attitudes of teenage mothers see no disadvantage in having a child.' themselves have changed in the last 10 years. There no longer seems to be a need for secrecy and there is Although, strictly speaking, no student should be able an almost universal assumption that they will keep the to pass through secondary education without being baby and continue to live at home teenage informed on sexuality and contraception. students can motherhood is seen as a way of life. slip through the net if the information is not

7 BEST COPY AVAILABLE a Targetting teenagers: Chile: the stigma of illegitimacy

Since 1992 the Vrcarra de Teenage parenthood is a social phenomenon thatThe impact on the children la Pastoral Social (the should be considered as an indicator of quality of Catholic Church's ministry life. Like all social phenomena. it is a trend thatThe number of children horn out of wedlock to of social care) in Santiago, teenage mothers in Chile has jumped in recent the capital of Chile, has raises questions and in this article, we attempt to been running a protect present and analyse some of these questions. Given decades, from 29 per cent of live births in 1960 to working with vulnerable the complexity of the issue, we are not pretending61 per cent in 1990. Illegitimacy in Chile carries teenage parents In this to answer them. heavy penalties. including legal and social discrim- article, the protect staff ination. One study revealed that 45 per cent of explain the background Birth to women under 20 represent nearly 14 perteenage mothers, at the time of birth, were living and activities of the cent of total births in Chile. But in the poorest areas. alone. protect. the percentage is higher. For example, in 1990 nearly 17 per cent of births in Renca, a poor district Children of teenage mothers have a higher chance of Santiago, were to women under 20. while the rate of death in the first year of life; they are often in the high-income district of Vitacura was less thanslightly smaller than other children, are more likely two per cent. The children of these mothers have a to have minor infections and accidents and to be lower chance of survival: in 1985, the infant mor-malnourished. In common with all children born to tality rate of children horn to teenage mothers, at 30 low-income parents. they are slow to develop lan- per 1,000 live births, was half as high again as theguage skills. national average of 20.5 per 1,000. The relationship between teenage mother and child A few years ago, concerns about teenage preg- is fraught with emotional difficulties. The adoles- nancies focused on the biomedical risks for thecent mother tends to find it difficult to build an child-mother and baby. Today it is the psychologi-affectionate bond with her child. She often feels cal and social risks and their effects on theambivalent towards her or him, and this factor mother's and child's health that cause the greatest raises the probability of delays in the childs physical worries. and emotional development.

We can see that early parenthood often curtails the The children tend to be very dependent on their development of the adolescent father and mother, as mothers, they are timid, quiet and reluctant to well as their child. For example. nearly 45 per cent explore the world alone. This dependency gives rise of adolescent mothers have only between seven andto contradictory feelings of love and rejection in the nine years of schooling, and most face motherhood mother. who feels helpless and lacks the necessary alone. Many are socially stigmatised and feel they emotional strength herself. As a result, mother and have no one to turn to for help or friendship. Most child find it difficult to express affection, and the of these women come from poor backgrounds andmother tends to copy her own parents model of their status as teenage mothers increases the risk of upbringing. poverty being transferred to the next generation.

Cristina's story say: 'there goes that pot-beliied tramp are school events the other children go again!" with their fathers'. 'Being a single mother is not easy,' says 19-year-old Cristina, who lives in La Cristina also feels that adults don't Besides being social outcasts, the Pintana, Santiago with her daughter understand how teenage mothers feel. mothers are often also misunderstood Natalia, who is nearly two years old. Referring to herself and other teenage by their families, as Cristina describes: mothers, she says: 'We wanted to have 'Mummy doesn't listen to me, she's not La Pintana is a community of 163,000 a child, either because we felt lonely or my friend, she reproaches me for having people on the southern boundary of the just wanted to have a family. Adults had a child. I live with my stepfather and Chilean capital where one-fifth of the don't understand our motives or our he is not nice to my daughter. It makes population lives in extreme poverty. situation, they say that they got married me feel bad, I don't know what to do, it Some 15 per cent of all births in 1991 to have children'. makes me want to leave, but where to? were to adolescent girls. There are I sometimes think things would be no 1,431 single mothers under 20, most The children, meanwhile, are given few better elsewhere'. with just one child but some with two oropportunities to build self-esteem: 'Our even three. children grow up with traumas because Another big problem is going out to at school they're called bastards'. work: 'Working means you have to leave One of the biggest difficulties Cristina Cristina feels that her daughter is very your children alone. You are not there to has encountered is rejection by the quiet. 'Our children are either more look after them and they end up on the community: 'They look badly upon you, aggressive or very timid. they're street. Since they feel lonely, its easy as they discriminate against you ... you reserved, they keep things to they get older to get involved with drugs walk down the street and the women themselves. When they're at school and drink', they feel different because when there

8 deve'opmentof the mother and child.

The project

The Vivaria de la Pastoral Social was set up inthe Diocese of Santiago in October 1992 as a church social pro-

9W gramme aimed at seeking responses to the challenges of today's society. 1.:00e, In this context, teenage parenthood requires pri- ority attention, and we set Go i out to develop a model of communal help in poor communities on the urban fringe. The aim is to involve the community in activities that benefit the overall development of the children and their parents.

Awe The programmes objectives are to strengthen the capacity and optimise the t resources of the child, the mother and the father (where applicable) and the community. The specific aim is to improve the overi,t1.:evelopment of Through the provanune. The missing father figure children aged 0 to '1 who are born to adolescent .voung mothers have mothers. through educational and recreational opportunities 10 share Among poor communities in particular. the father services. experiences and learn figure represents authority. The absence of such a front one another figure deprives the child of a role model while theThe programme hinges on community participa- mother's lack of a partner tends to mar her emo-tion. It works through members of the local com- tional development and stability which indirectlymunity who. after a period of training, strive to affects h,tr child. Against this background. it is promote improvements in the well-being of the target often the mother's family that establishes the social group. The specific activities of the programme arc: norms while the existence of the biological father is often ignored or played down. training nronitores (adult, experienced mothers) Within the mother's family. with no father figure to establish authority, the child is often confused about play groups for younger children what he can and cannot do. making him more sus- ceptible to rebuke and rejection. The maternal home visits grandmother usualiy represents stability for the child. If she is also the economic provider, she can play activities for children aged 3 to 7 years have a strong influence on the child to the extent designed to build up social skills and values that her image replaces paternal authority and com- petes with the emotional role of the mother. workshops for mothers that deal with child rearing and stimulation, personal develop- Teenagers who were already poor will find them- ment, sexuality and legal rights selves poorer as a result of motherhood, as it is more difficult for them to receive education and an information service to provide mothers find salaried employment. In addition, the self- with general background on their legal esteem of mother and child is frequently under- right:, and available social benefits mined by criticism from other community members. For this reason. it is important to work training local community members in the with the community to help mitigate the social stig- management of child care groups and com- matisation. as well as to nurture the collective munity activities. impulse to help others in need.

There is still much room for research on the way in which a pregnant teenager is perceived, but we can assume that while the community cannot take the place of the family, it can greatly contribute to the BEST COPYAVAILABLE 10 9 Targetting teenagers Jamaica: breaking the cycle

Breaking the cycle of the daughters of teenage total entity'. Its Centre is for girls aged 17 years and mothers becoming teenage mothers themselves is below who are pregnant with their first child, are possibly the single overall objective of the Teenage from poor economic circumstances, and have an Mothers Project (TstP) in Jamaica. Its strategies identifiable support group, preferably within their address those factors that are understood to con- original families. tribute to teenage pregnancy and which such a programme I ; the possibility of affecting. Thus it Because of the stigma that still attaches to teenage works with teenage mothers and their children, with motherhood, pregnancy usually results in exclusion the grandmothers (and grandfathers if present), and from school, and the refusal by the school to allow with the fathers of the babies (it' possible). It also a girl back after giving birth. When they have the undertakes preventive work in schools and the academic potential. Tsii, has helped them back into community. does research, and advocates for morethe education system or has enabled them to gain public awareness and understanding. school certificates at evening classes. For the majority, mw has helped them to enter the world of Teenage pregnancy children bearing children work by upgrading their literacy and steering them has become an accepted part of the lives of a large towards practical skills. This has ensured that 93 number of Jamaican women. In 1989, the last year per cent of the 350 girls who have gone through TMP are either studying or working. A IMP student - extracts from a case study Developing positive feelings H is the youngest of 11 children, her father deserted the family when she was five. She lives with her mother and one brother in a two-room Counselling is the crucial underpinning of the IMP concrete structure on the edge of town. The family lives from her programme in the Centre and in the community. mother's low earnings in a market. This is undertaken on an individual level, within a group, or with the family. With the individual A good student at school, H had had no previous relationship with her teenage mother, the focus is on helping her to baby's father. She said that he had invited her to his room and began develop positive feelings about herself. A simple petting ... the experience felt good ... being pregnant did not even cross aid that is used is to encourage the young mother to her mind until she missed the second period... she decided riot to tell remind herself that: No matter what you say or do. anyone for she did not want anyone to know ... she did not want to leave I am a worthwhile person'. school .. she did her exams and was fourth in her class. In addition to direct support lbr young mothers and Her mother did not find out until the eight-month pregnancy was their children. my has inspired a progi'amme for confirmed by a doctor. She was shocked and ashamed and took H to visit men which originated in the programme's efforts to the father whose family agreed to help with the baby's upkeep. involve the fathers of the babies. Work with males helped project director Joyce Jarrett to analyse the H was taken to TMP by her mother and attended the Centre for three reasons for high rates of unmarried teenage preg- weeks before the birth a:-id returned six weeks after. She said the nancy and the tendency of men to believe that counselling and parenting education were very helpful and she was able sperm production is their only role. Reasons go to overcome the fear and shame she felt ... those in the advanced back generations to a slave culture where nothing programme were seen as examples of new hope ... the Centre's efforts encouraged men to settle or to enter into permanent to involve her mother in the programme has brought back the tight bond relationships.Currently,poor employment between them and much needed support. prospects, unstable family structures and sheer ignorance contribute to the problem. The men's The Centre supported H to enter evening school and she is working programme. now reaching more than SO young towards national examinations. She is looking forward to working towards men, has a separate committee and is expected to a University degree and intends to pursue a career in engineering. become independent of Tstp over the next few years.

The preventive aspect of IMP'S work involves the for which figures are available. there were 13,203 development of a counselling programme in children horn to girls aged 19 years and tinder. Of schools (see box above right). This is in the context these. 386 were horn to girls of 15 years or younger. of 'a national concern labout 1 deteriorating moral Births to girls aged 17 and under comprise some II standards and values' identified by it feasibility

This article is based on Teenage per cent of the national total. study conducted to assist -pop to assess its future Mothers ProjectBreaking the options. The study stresses the need to support the CycleI19941 Mona. Jamaica The Teenage Mothers Project began in 1986 and is programme 'as TMP reflects more than simply a TMP/UWI and Feasibility Study based in the town of May Pen in central Jamaica.local (May Pen) interest. but even more important, or the Teenage Mothers Protect covering rural parishes with a high incidence of a wisdom born of experience which should he used submitted by Eleanor Wint PhD teenage births. As a holistic programme. IMP is to impact on a national policy aimed at refocusing to the Bernard van leer unique in Jamaica in becoming 'the first setting young girls who represent a potential. viable human Foundation. March 1994 which effectively treats both mother and child as a resource.' 10 11 Working in schools

In 1987 the Teenage Mothers Project initiated a On contraception, 71 of the 82 students in the counselling programme for Grade 10 students in experimental group felt it had been 'taught five schools in the May Pen area. It had similarities adequately' compared to 20 out of 84 students in with an existing schools counselling programme the control group. Responses to questions about but tried to create a warm participatory attitudes before and after the counselling showed atmosphere and included human sexuality and that the TMP programme was more effective in contraceptiontopics often avoided by school teaching about healthy relationships and that both counsellors. The programme focused on eight programmes had some effect in teaching students areas: relationships, communication, physical how to avoid pregnancy. Analysis of all responses development, emotional development, led to the conclusion 'that the counselling given to contraception, career choices, decision making, the experimental group resulted in their being preparation for family life. better prepared for adulthood in that they demonstrated knowledge critical to the In 1990, two groups of Grade 11 students were development of more appropriate attitudes encouragement and asked to complete questionnaires. One had towards relationships'. 1uppent Jnr participated in the TMP counselling (the breastteeding is one al experimental group) and the other group in the Overall, more than 1,100 students have been the many facets of the regular school counselling programme (the control reached by the TMP counselling programme and, Teenage Mothers group). although there are obviously other intervening Project !n Jamaica variables, the initial results are highly encouragine. Responses by the experimental group were very Between 1987 and 1988 the number of positive, general comments included: pregnancies in schools with the preventive programme was reduced from 19 to just four, The programme teaches you: while in schools without such a programme, they increased from 17 to J. to better understand yourself and your body about family life and relating to others Source Evaluation of schools' counselling programme Teenage to value yourself Mothers Project. University of the West Indies. Mona Jamaica how to cope with peer pressure September 1990

Targetting. teenagers Trinidad: 'it's not easy being a teenager now'

When Servol (Service Volunteered for All) started hood,' said Marilyn Stollmeyer 'and we have to working with teenagers in Trinidad in 1970, it first handle it carefully so as not to make them feel thought that what was needed were vocationalguilty. but to help them understand what Is courses. Soon it realised that the teenagers'atti-involved. The talks and visual aids open them up tudes to the world of work needed attention andand their questions arc based on real life. We can't thus an Adolescent Development Programme (Aim take them otr. of their situation: we Just have to sup- evolved which precedes the skills training courses. port them. They are going home to abuse, sexual or By the mid- 1980s. a parenting programme was otherwise, to rape. incest. alcoholic parents. drugs. introduced into the Aoi, when Servol realised that many of the adolescents missed out on'normal' 'They go into the creche and work with the children family life. Basic hygiene and biology are taughtthere and we have competitions. We take a six from the start. and the adolescents are taught how month old and a two year old and the trainees amuse their bodies work. basic reproduction, and aspects themthe competition is to sec who can stimulate of child development. the children most. We want them to tuiderstand how much responsibility you have with a baby. We try to 'These kidsarcstreetwise.'saidMarilyndeter them from teenage births and hope they Stollmeyer who teaches the parenting programme.realise that when the time comes to have children 'hut they honestly and truly don't know what really there is so much to look forward to.' goes on inside their bodies.' Using amixture of visual aids. guest speakers, visits, lectures and dis-Bernadette John. an ADP coordinator. acknowl- cussions, the programme covers conception. birth. edged that 'it's not easy being a teenager now: it has breastfeeding, abortion. contraception, rape,got a lot harder. There is a lot of pressure being alcoholism, drugs and sexually transmitted diseases placed on them: they have too much responsibility as well as common myths. on their shoulders: to achieve, to help their families. looking after younger brothers and sisters, having The groups arc mixed, and one aim is to show boysto work at evenings and weekend!. They get trus- that they are responsible in sexual relationships: trated because their parents set goals for them that the kids can't accept. And yet we demand a lot from Source. Cohen. Ruth 119911 that the issues under discussion are not matters Shaping tomorrow. the Servo' which concern only women. them here: they have to be punctual. neat. tidy. programmes in Trinidad and attend regularly. We have to do that because later Tobago, Bernard van Leer Foun Some of the girls already have one or two babies: they will have to face the rat race outside.' ilation. The Netherlands the boys don't usually acknowledge their father- 1Z Targetting teenagers USA: advocacy in New York City

One in five of all babies horn in theL'SAare children of teenage Force islocated in the Office of the City mothers. In New York City each year, some 20,000 women under 20 Comptroller although it is an independent entity. give birth to their first child. an additional 3.000 give hirth to their Air ethnograpluc study conducted in 1991-92 by Dr second or third child. One of the more alarming facts is that, while the Nancy Barnes drew attention to the 'dense maze of rate of births to 18 -19 year olds is decreasing, the number of younger city bureaucracies and private agencies with their girls giving birth is rising: in 1989. the last year for which figures are endlessly overlapping yet always partial responsi- a\Hhle. about 1200 girls in New York tinder 15 gave birth. bilities for pregnant and parenting teens and their children'. Research for the Task Force has led to an estimate of over 100,000 days of school missed by This article is based on The major underlying cause of teenage child- teenagers while they are seeking access to services unpublished documents from and bearing is poverty. Many of the factors that arefor themselves and their children. A professional about the Teen Parenting Protect believed to lead to early sexual experience andworker in a public agency expressed it thus: and, except where otherwise pregnancy are characteristics associated with noted, the quotations are taken poverty: low quality or low levels of education, a Kids don't segregate their lives this way, from Ethnographic Observations negative perception of the future, limited employ- they really don't. We do it and we make it of the Teen Parent Resource ment opportunities. fatherless families and feelings very complicated for them because they're Centre, Nancy Barnes Ph of alienation. The young women who give birth in in and out of so many different programs, Lang College, New School for New York are much more likely than other trying to deal with just one problem or one Social Research. August 1992 teenagers to come from families that are economi- issue ... That's the way we organise services cally and socially disadvantaged: 83 per cent of and we simply don't take the time to work those giving birth are from such families. together. That's a real mistake.

Despite such findings. services for teenage parentsConflicts about whether children and adolescents and their children living in New York arc scatteredshould receive sex education and information about among numerous agen- contraception, let alone cies, are uncoordinated condoms, are rife in the and difficult to access, USA.This was illustrated and do not necessarily The major underlying cause of teenage in May 1992, when the meet the needs. This has childbearing is poverty New York Board of led Community Studies Education put so many Inc, a group of educa- restrictions on an tional innovators. to initiate a Teen Parentinginstruction manual accompanying condoms dis- Project that is focusing on advocacy and on thetributed in high schools that all educational materi- needs of the youngest teenage parents and theirals onAIDSused in the city's schools were under children. threat. Restrictions included the injunction that 'no written or oral instruction shall ever portray absti- Community Studies Inc has worked in high schoolsnence and "protected sex" as equally "okay. A since 1985 to ensure good quality child care for theformer Board member was quoted as saying that children of teenage parents that also allows the'Abstinence is the only surefire Way to save our teenagers to complete their education. At the samechildren's lives'.* time. it has developed an inquiry Curriculum' that provides a model of teacher-student interaction.Adolescents, however, see it somewhat differently recognising the adult status of teenage parents andwith comments such as: 'they're putting their equipping them with critical thinking skills. morals before the facts' and 'it's silly to tell teenagers not to have sex; instead we need to know how to protect ourselves'. Barnes sees such con- Teen Parent Resource Centre flicts informing and influencing efforts being made on behalf of pregnant and parenting adolescents, From these experiences. the Teen Parent Resourceand intensifying the sense of threat and urgency that Centre(TPRC)opened in 1990. It trains staff of pub- is felt those who work with and for them. lic schools, family centres and other people working with teenage parents and their children. ItFor too many girls aged between 12 and 15. the also conducts workshops. advice sessions. con-morality argument has come too late. The numbers venes a Teen Parent Council, and publishes a regu- in this age group giving birth led to the opening in lar newsletter. 1993 of a school specifically for these very young mothers. It is seen that their educational, child care, A major achievement of theTPRC hasbeen to con-health and emotional needs are different to those of vene a city-wide Task Force on Pregnant andolder teenage mothers and that they need to be Parenting Teens which brings together representa-parented themselves, in ways far beyond the 'On Deaf Ears' in New York tives of the major public and private agenciescapacity of any school to provide. Newsday. 28 May 1992 working with this group. Since mid-1994. the Task

12 The Teen Parenting Project is conducting ethno- A member of TPRC'S Advisory Board believes that graphic studies of these young parents and their for such programmes: children and is also developing a Mentoring Programme. The idea is to pair older teenage The most tar- reaching goal is that even with mothers with younger ones so that the older ones the pregnancy. with the baby. the young can act as 'big sisters'. Training for the mentors will woman is able to realize her own position in incorporate their own ideas and views, and the hope life, have her objectives and feel that she is is that this will result in a flexible curriculum that is able to achieve them. Everything else built on experience and altered through practice. daycare. good academics, family supports everything has to There are a number of contribute to that. objectives for the Mentoring Programme. 'it's silly to tell teenagers not to have sex: The ethnographic study For the younger moth- instead we need to know how to protect found that among the ers, these are to encour- ourselves' many differing organi- age them to continue sational. personal and with their education, to political perspectives of support them in their the people working with parenting. and to delay future pregnancies. But it is adolescents, they shared a number of convictions. expected that the major impact may well be on the three of which go to the heart of their work. 'big sisters'. Project planners believe that one of the single most powerful ways to foster thoughtful First, that teen parents simply must be behaviour by older teen parents is to provide a con- helped to take good care of their children text in which they can reflect on, and critically con- which has implications for the institutions front. many of their own assumptions about that must provide the needed services. childrearing Similarly. many of the planned activi- below: the invitation for tiestrips, discussions. workshopswill be of ben- Second. that adolescents, especially girls, the /994 Young Parent efit to both younger and older mothers. deserve to feel self-respect, to receive Conference 'Hold my encouragement and a sense of high expect- hand as we look toward ations from adults who care about them: the future' Adolescents as their own advocates 'The sense of future goals and possibilities. so important in itself, also appears to be The Resource Centre has, since 1991. co-sponsored among the most effective means of delaying YOUNG 1 an annual Young Parent Conference (see box parenthood or postponing a young person's PARENT below). These conferences, together with regular having a second baby'. meetings of the Teen Parent Council. the newsletter CONFERENCE and other activities aimed directly at the adoles- Third. high quality education is essential: JUNE 3,1994 cents. are seen as an essential part of the work to over half of the teenager who become preg- sronsolmo I'. /1st'. rnfoax, and counter public prejudice about teenage parenting. nant in New York each year have dropped Puts..., Unice* They also help the adolescents in learning to speak out of high school before they become preg- n. 7. /von ilesarc out and function as advocates for themselves and nant, in some areas, the proportion is as high their children. as three out of every four. J HOLD MY HAND AS WE WOK TOWARD THE FUTURE

m, COULOW ow ift TO. ROAM ACWIANIC CLIME& MTH .111.1 MO c.v.,. AVENUT 1.1e Mkt. N.Y. Young Parent Conference - May 1992

This is a full day of presentations and entirely by peer educators, who use environment that will be good for workshops on topics from 'Starting role play and other theatre techniques children to grow up in. Your Own Business', to 'Games to Play to get everyone in the room actively with Toddlers on Rainy Days'. involved. For example, one session Similarly, the role play about whether or called 'He said, she said' begins with a not a young couple will use a condom A number of the workshops are quite focus on arguing in relationships, leads into an incredibly wide-ranging highly orchestrated. For instance, in one especially when you are responsible for discussion on methods of safer sex, that describes a programme in which a child. On one level, the point of the HIV transmissions, and contraception. older teen parents work with ninth session is to teach communication The ease with which sensitive topics graders to encourage them to delay skills. Before it is entirely apparent what are considered, the detailed information pregnancy until they graduate, the is happening, the role play shifts to a available, and the extent to which the presenters (teen parents) are asked to guy chosen from the audience who is adolescent leaders manage to convey respond to: 'What would you say about criticising his partner because he that all of this is also about pleasure, for whether having a baby is good for your doesn't want her to go out on the females as well as males, is astonishing relationship?' The teens in the audience street dressed as she (really) is, in skin- to the ethnographer. get very involved and excited about tight orange jean shorts. The leaders how they can share the knowledge pick up on the young man's Source: Ethnographic Observations of the Teen Parent they have as parents with younger kids possessiveness and jealousy to make Resource Centre. Nancy Barnes Ph D.. Lang College, in their schools and communities. connections between the capacity to New School for Social Research. August 1992 communicate feelings, the avoidance of (unpublished) Another cluster of workshops is violence, and the creation of an interesting because they are conducted

14 13 Network news

Australia/New Zealand networking Cyprus: partnership for better parenthood

Representatives of Foundation-supported projects Arab Resource Collective (ARC) organised a from Australia and New Zealand met in Aliceregional workshop for participants from projects SpringsinApriltoand agencies from the Maghreb countries in Cyprus decideon ways of in December 1994. It was called 'Partnership for increasing communi- Better Parenthood' and was a follow-up to a 1992 cations. Two novel out-event which identified four challenges and initia- comes are telephone tives: policy; resources: community awareness and conferences betweenparticipation; and human resource development. projects six times a year: The new workshop considered ways of developing F and the circulation of acommunity awareness and partnership while newsletter in the formkeeping in mind holistic early childhood develop- of a computer diskette. ment. Additional objectives included extending the regional network to include more practitioners and policy makers: and encouraging partnership Belgium: empowering between those involved in the field of Eco. parents France: family bonds and imprisonment In October, the Flemish Training and Resource Centre. supported by A two-day conference in Paris in November was Kind can Gezin.the attended by 400 participants from several European Commission, European countries. Organised byRelais Enlimts The University of Ghent Parents(REP) and funded by the European Union Hunter Caravan Project. and the Foundation, organised the fifth annual and the Foundation, it was aimed at members of Australia: ever popular ENSAC (Europe Network tbr School Age Children)the judiciary, lawyers. prison social workers and parachute play Conference. The subject was 'Empowering the representatives of interested organisations. The Parents' and there were 150 participants. includingconference, titledLiens Familioux etDetention many from projects supported by the Foundation in (Family bonds and imprisonment), presented Europe. The tone was set by a presentation experiences from France, Belgium. England, The by Professor Koen Raes entitled 'Parenthood Netherlands. Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. and responsible citizenship' which placed earlyA subsequent meeting the next day followed up childhood developments in the broad perspective ofprevious workshops in Brussels, Marseille and democracy and responsibility. Workshops included Rheims. and established a steering committee 'Expectations of parents': 'Out of school care as awhich will work towards the building °fa Europe- bridge between home and school': 'Co-manage-wide network on issues concerning the children of ment by parents': and 'Parents and children with imprisoned parents. special needs'. Guatemala: inter-regional workshop Colombia: award for FESCO Sociedad puma el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia In September.Fundacion para la Estimulacion Guatemalteca (SODIFAG- Society for the integrated Adecuada del Nino con Proteccion Comunitariadevelopment of the Guatemalan family) organised (FEsco Foundation for child development witha regional workshop on the subject of 'Childcare community support) received a prize of US$1,000and Education Programmes' in conjunction with for its rural work in Colombia from InCaja dethe Foundation. Held in September, it was attended CompensacionFamiliar (the Compensatory Fundby 25 participants from Foundation-supported for Families). The award, which partly celebrates.projects in Mexico. Guatemala, El Salvador, the International Year of the Family, was for FEsco's Nicaragua, Colombia and Venezuela. Topics Proyecto Rural Familia y (Rural Family and covered included: the situation of the child in Childhood Project). It recognised FESCO's highly Guatemala: alternative methodologies in pre- effective. innovatory and appropriate work withschool and childcare programmes: involving rural families: as well as the carefully devised andparents and the wider community: influencing high quality methodology and strucu re which national policy; and securing and sustaining struc- allows development into other rural areas. Thetural funding. One outcome is the formation of a judges were al :,o impressed by the integratedcommittee to look at ways of influencing policy. It approach to developing and supporting community will collect infomiation for an overview of experi- resources; andinteresting for all those involved in ence which will also serve, as the agenda for a communicationsby the simplicity and sincerity follow-up conference to be held next year. The with which FESCO told them about its experiences. workshop was followed by two days of field visits.

14 A 15 organised a programme drawnfromthe Italy: project achievements with Po Delta Mozambican delegation's needs. The programme children had three elements: visits to different examples of ICE's work; reflections about realities in Portugal The Municipality of Comacchio, which partici- and Mozambique; and a systematic exploration of pated in the Foundation-supported Progetto the practical realities and problems of working Infanzia per it Delta del Po (Po Delta Childhood with children, communities, teachers and Project) operated by the University of Bologna. managers. hosted a seminar in December to examine the project's achievements. Evaluations and presenta- The Netherlands: new playleaders' manual tions were made by project staff. by relional representatives and by researchers from two other universities. Local organisations that had partici-The Foundation-supported Samenspel project pated in the project used the occasion for further launched a new practical manual in December. In advocacy of ECD work; while a publication about Dutch and with an accompanying video, it is the project was also presented and launched. called Preikttikhoek Sontenspel (Samenspers Activity Book), and is designed to help playleaders enhance the role of mothers in play with Malaysia: training indigenous trainers their children. To do this, it covers a wide range of activities, starting from basics such as developing Partners of Community Organisations (PAcos) an the necessary self confidence in mothers; and con- organisation that works with disadvantaged andtinuing through to enabling them to work out their marginalised indigenous communities - held aown activities at home with their children. To week long workshop in September to train trainers make it practical. it is divided into sections and is from organisations that serve rural indigenous loose bound so that sections can be taken out for squatter and plantation communities in Sarawak. easier use. It is extensively illustrated and also Sabah and Peninsula Malaysia. A total of 16 includes many ideas for play. More information is trainers from 10 organisations participated in order available from Stichting De Meeuw, PO Box to develop their own knowledge bases and skills as 57689. 3008 BR Rotterdam. the Netherlands. trainers. The workshop followed on from a training of trainers event in June 1994: and the trainers who Portugal:R 11HAr. shows what can he done benefitted from that acted as a resource for this one. In the same way. the trainers from Sarawak. Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia will in turn train otherAn exhibition of work carried out under the trainers on their return to their communities. European Union's Leader programme was held in Santerem. Portugal. in October. The Leader programme supports rural initiatives to counter Mozambique: study tour to Portugal population drift towards the cities. The Foundation- supported RADIAL_ project, as a beneficiary of the The Foundation sponsored. together with the Leader programme, exhibited one of its three highly Frederick Ebert Foundation, a three week studydecorated minibuses. This bus normally operates visit to Portugal in November by six Mozambican around the rural Mertola area of southern Portugal, specialists from the State Secretariat of Social carrying educational books and toys for pre-school Action. The visit was coordinated by the Institute and primary school children. A second one covers do Comunidades Educativas (ICE - Institute ofthe Alcoutim district while a third will start work in Educational Communities) in Portugal which January 1995 in the Almodovar district.

Peru, Chile, Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina: expanding communications

A number of recent initiatives are benefitting Several workshops and conferences have also been Foundation-supported projects in the more organised or hosted by Foundation-supported southern parts of the Americas through projects. These include: AMMEPE'S five-day workshop dissemination and exchanges of experiences, on ECD policies in Minas Gerais state (Brazil); information and ideas. Pastoral da Crianca's four day regional conference on ECD in the Northeast of Brazil; and a five day These include discussions about cost-benefit workshop on planning and managing held by the analysis with three projects: MINIDUC (Ministry of Non-formal Education Project (Peru). Education, Peru), Teenage Parenting (Vicaria de la Pastoral Social, Chile) and Early Stimulation and Meanwhile, the Non-formal Education in Disadvantaged Communities (Pastoral Education Project is also expanding I da Crianca, Brazil). The results are helping the its own communications activity by producing a new publication - planning of the evaluation of both the Yachay and 4 REDUC (Chile) projects. In Brazil two situation Creciando hasta 6 (Growing to six analyses, one on black girls, the other on public ECD years)even,/ two months; and a services are under way; while in Argentina, the series of Working Papers. It has also Yachay project is designing its overall evaluation set up an electronic mail facility (.e with the support of two independent consultants mail') and this has the identification from Peru and Bolivia. [email protected].

16 15 with parents that make them feel inadequate. Congratulations to Oscar van Leer on the Workshops included: 'How creches can serve fam- occasion or his eigntieth birthday ily agendas': 'Whose room is it ?': 'Positive learning outcomes for parents and children': and Oscar van Leer. tie son or Bernard van Leer. 'Parental support: a holistic approach'. was tne first Chairman of the Foundation s Board. In this position. ne was instrumental in shaping the Foundation as it is today and, in USA: meeting the needs of young children particular, in deciding that its main focus should be on young children. The Directors of Foundation-supported projects in the USA held a three-day workshop on the Carnegie In honour or nis birthday. on 15 November, Foundation's report Starting points: meeting the the Foundation nas instituted an Oscar van needs of young children at the end of September. Leer Award wnich will he given annually to a Kathryn Young from the Carnegie Foundation protect for excellence to enabling parents and acted as a resource person for the workshop. The communities to help young children realise report is the fruit of three years' work by the Ineir :nnate botentiai Carnegie Task Force on Meeting the Needs of Young Children and sets out to provide a frame- An article about toe recipients of the first work of scientific knowledge and offer an action award will appear in toe next Newsletter agenda to ensure the healthy development of children from before birth to three years. It was published in April 1994, and starts by stating that UK: not imposing inadequacy on parents (in the USA) 'the crucially formative years of early childhood have become a time of peril and loss for Young Families Now organised a one-day parentmillions of children and their families' before mov- support seminar in October in Aberdeen. Scotland ing on to indicate how much of this damage can for organisations from the Grampian region. The now he prevented. The report is available from day was intended to raise awareness of the differingCarnegie Corporation of New York, PO Box 753. methods of empowering parents by demonstrating Waldorf, MD 20604. USA. local examples of goe.d practice. However, a central aim was to consider how to avoid models of work

Servol receives 1994 Right Livelihood award

ky Servol (Service Volunteered for All) from Trinidad, has e, received the 1994 Right Livelihood Award, in conjunction with Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Nigeria); and Dr H Sudarshan and Vivekananda Girijana Karyarta Kendra (India). The US$250,000 award is shared by the three organisations. ',IT Ili. In making the Award, the Right Livelihood Foundation jury selected Servol 'for showing the crucial importance e". of spiritual values, cooperation and family responsibility, e in addition to practical skills and achievements, in Father Gerard Panun. Chairman. and building a civilised society'. Sister Ruth Montrichaid, Etecutive Director. with the award in the Swedish The Right Livelihood Awards were introduced in Parliament building. Stockhohn 1980 to honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing the world today. Often referred to as alternative Nobel single copies. UNESCO has just published On the right track, by Prizes, they were endowed by the Swedish-German Cynthia Guttman, in their 'Making It Work' series, which is philatelist Jakob von Uexkull who believed that Nobel available from 7 Place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SR Prizes ignore much work and knowledge that is vital for France. the survival of humanity. Two other titles of special interest are: A mole cricket called Servol and its many innovations and initiatives have often Servo!, and Tire Servo! Village both by Gerard PantinServol's been featured in the Newsletter over the 24 years that the founder, former director and now its Chairman. These hooks Foundation has supported its work; and it has also been the are available only from: Community Education Development subject of a number of books. These include Shaping Centre, Lyng Hall, Blackberry Lane, Coventry CV2 3JS, Tomorrow by Ruth N Cohen, published by the Foundation in England; price £2.50p plus £0.50p per £5 value of order p&p, 1991, and available from the Foundation free of charge for plus £1.00 per order overseas.

16 17 Report front the field Okinawa Bunko: children in the Other Japan Merry White

Dr White is Professor of Bunkoare small 'home libraries' using books toAppropriate diversity Sociology at Harvard stimulate young children's interest in learning and University; and Associate the world around them. Parents of pre-school and in Research at the Edwin elementary school children are an important part ofIn Okinawa. theBunkohave developed differently 0 Reischauer Institute of theBunkoequation and encouraged to bring their from those of the mainland where this movement Japanese Studies. She is a children and to learn together the joy of reading.was started. Although they retlect the movement's former Director of the Foundation's Project on music, art and playthe whole child is engaged, as usual aims, they also encourage and reflect the Human Potential, a cross- are the parents in the creative and communal special interests, ct'tture and needs of the region. cultural study of learning, exercise. The books come from several sources. based at Harvard including a support organisation of parents and The needs of local communities and the interests. University voluntary groups called the Okinawa Association. resources and tastes ofBunkomanagers have an publishers, municipal or regional funds and UNESCO. influence. This means that, although allBunko The Foundation currently provide a place where children can meet to relax, supports theBunko Okinawa only reverted from American control in browse through books, be read to. and socialise movement on the remote 1976: and its culture is relatively diverse for Japan, with other children, diversity is built in. There are at island of Okinawa. Japan. least three types ofBunko:those housed in commu- It is a grassroots with influences from Malaya. the Philippines. other organisation which Southeast Asia cultures and the South Pacificnity centres: those located in private homes: and provides a variety of Islands. However, mainland Japanese culture. those in their own quarters. strategies and activities politics and bureaucracies govern most aspects of centred around making people's lives especially in the urban areas in SomeBunkospecialise in books about local culture books accessible to what might be seen as a colonial relationship. or legends. some in nature' and one in large picture children and their families. hooks by well known artists. But. whatever the Okinawareflectsdisadvantage and distance. specialisation. when children hear that new hooks Economic conditions are especially poor and there have arrived. they rush to check them out and hear are high rates of unemployment, divorce. lone new stories. parent families and infant mortality. Birth weights are low and there is also a low rate of high school Operations, activities and benefits completionsomething which affects accreditation and therefore future employment prospects. Many of the staff are mother;dedicated volun- These conditions contrast starkly with mainlandteers who are well prepared to encourage and Japan. On the other hand, Okinawa possesses a support children.Bunkotrain them, building on the good infrastructure. communication and distribu- skills they already have as household managers and tion system ard. in other areas, appears advanced. mothers, and moving them closer to being The cost of living, however. is high. professional leaders and teachers. However, they are likely to have full time jobs outside the home as The economic base iswell and this limits the time they can spend in sugarcane, pineapplesBunkomanagement. It seems likely that their and tourism.. However, efforts will soon be supplemented by those of in recent recessionaryretired older community members whose numbers years tourists have cho- are increasing. sen to go to Southeast Asia or Taiwan where As a bonus, women of all ages find thatBunkowork holidays are cheaper. In provides them with spaces in which they can meet short, being part of the with an informal support group not unlike the tradi- Japanese economy hastional villageidohata kaigior 'well-side gossip not been of uniformgroup'a community of women who support each benefit to Okinawa. other and exchange helpful information.

Similarly. accessto Further support to women is more direct. Given the Japanese schooling forhigh incidence of working single mothers. some Okinawan children has OkinawanBunkohave added after-school hours. been a mixed blessing: This both provides a service, and counteracts the Ministry of Edu- children's isolation. cation ensures equal distribution of resources Bunkooffer a range of play activities, and some plenty of enthusiasm from to all schools, and of well trained teachers. Butexercises in reading readiness for the younger these eager Bunko users parents have to provide such support systems as children too. although cognitive development is not after school cramming classes or home tutors tostressed. All offerkami Albert(a small paper theatre ensure opportunity and security for their children. with slide cards showing scenes in a narrated However, they often cannot afford these, and soplaylet). and other participatory activities: while their children's access to the ladder of successsome also provide artistic materials and display through academic credentials is limited. children's artwork. Other activities include regular

17 BEST COPY AVAILABLE expeditions. field trips and picnics: and work with adults are seen as nurturers rather than trainers. This local community leaders to participate in festivalsgives rise to a feeling that mainland ideas put too of folk dances or songs. In oneBunkoI visited.much pressure on parents, and especially mothers. children were preparing niochi (rice paste sweetsSo far. Okinawan parents have remained relatively steamed in banana leaves) and were creating arelaxed about their children's progress. However. comic play to perform at the local summer festival.this may be changing.

Necessity, variety and change Particular yet universally valuable?

Bunkoare particularly useful in bringing childrenThe importance of the OkinawanBunkolies in their of different ages together. The birthrate in Japan is resistance to the cognitive emphasis which is trick- declining sharply and now stands at 1.46 childrenling down into early childhood programmes. In per family. While it is a little higher in Okinawa.contrast.Bunkooffer a 'whole child' focus which parents say that their children lack the emotionalis appealing to parents who regret the inroads support and opportunities for developing socialthat have been made into childhood freedom and skills that occur naturally in a family with several exploration. children.Bunkohelp to fill this gap, while older children get a chance to take responsibility for Bunkoalso support families, encouraging them to younger ones. In oneBunko,a child of about fiveuse the library facilities together, and so help to was watching a toddler and noticed that he dropped create a wider family unit for those in smaller and a marker into a box of musical instruments. Without less cohesive families. In addition, the bonus of adult intervention, he helped the toddler retrieve thesupport to the elderly and to the local community is marker and replace it in its correct spot. considerable: while theBunkoalso boost local culture. encouraging children to take pride in their tra- There are also children of different socio-economicditions as a counter to the 'mctropolitanising effect backgrounds and some children of mixed racialof the national education system'. heritage. SomeBunko uselocal Okinawan dialect in songs and traditional folk tales. But, sinceIn general. the common goals and methods of the schools rarelyencouragethis. it is probably not OkinawanBunkoprogrammes may have applica- maintained except as a relic of ethnic tradition. bility beyond the Ryukyu Island area. even beyond Japan itself. With suitable development. Okinawan Okinawans say that children are not made by Bunkoprovide a model to export. making Okinawa parents. or by environmental influences, but aremore than just a passive receptor of mainland sazukari'nonogifts of the gods. In this tradition.programmes.

Report from the field Israel: applying Intermediary Learning Tikva Evron

Tikva Evron is Project Today, there is a great emphasis on the influence ofWe have now developed a model which is used for Director of the Foundation-, young children's environments on their develop-planning and operating activities for children. It supported Kiryat Gat ECD ment and, as key elements in those environments,consists of the following five components. programme, which on the people who largely establish them. These operates from the Early The areas of developmenteg: emotional. Childhood Centre in the peoplewho are most often their parents. members town of Kiryat Gat in of their families or the adults who look after them social, cognitive, language, motor, and Israel. Here she describes can enable children to encounter developmentally developmental sequences. how the programme bases important experiences and can help them make the The temperament of the children -- eg: activ- its work around the best use of them. ity level, persistence, approach/withdrawal, concept of a holistic how easily distracted, moods, reactions, approach to child Because of this. one of the most important activities biological rhythms, adaptability, and development, and around of the Early Childhood Centre is to provide training sensitivity. the theory of 'intermediary for such adults. The programme was planned with, The ways of learning eg: imitation, learning' in which children experimentation and making mistakes, and learn how to learn through and is now supported by. the Ministry of Education. direct experiences which mediation. are guided and developed The training is based on developing social and Children's environments cg: parents, by adults. educational programmes for young children and educational framework, society. their parents: and on improving the skills of profes- The educational sequenceeg: using appro- She illustrates the theory sional and para-professional staff who work with priate stimuli, children's previous responses by taking a typical topic very young children. to stimuli, and the level of complexity of the and demonstrating how stimulation. learning possibilities are The basic assumption that underlies our work is that developed from it the more 'educators' know about children and theirNew activities for the educators to use with children individual development characteristics, the betterare worked out every two weeks and relate to such they will be equipped to answer children's varyingthings as the seasons, festivals, and the deVelop- needsfor example. by developing new and exist-ment level of children of different ages. They aim to ing skills in children. nurture curiosity, inquisitiveness and love of

I8 Characteristics of balls Concepts

Moves and stops, bounces, can colour; toire; be thrown and caught, comes spatial concepts (up, down, closer and goes away, rolls, can inside, outside, close, Earl. be balanced. can be controlled, quantity (more, less): calls for control of the body speed (fast. slow): Different sorts of balls. football, power (strong, weak): basket ball, table tennis ball. size (big, small); weight (light. heavy)

Children's development and activities with the ball Contribution to development of:

Babies learn about the ball with `',oss and fine motor skills. their senses through checking and intellectual ability, labelling. emotional and social skills. researching what can be done with Learning with balls: it. Later (about age three) they are a sample topic for able to loin in with social ball I work with children games. This example shows how a sample topic Materials needed is analysed for use Balls of various with children, and types, textures. Sample activities how that analysis Controlled etc. teaching concepts leads into planning behaviour a solo game/encouragement to loin a social game activities. Teaching children Balls in different body control and controlling the ball I sizes and colours. to direct and A control their Matching games movements. \-$ Ii by colour and by I size. Sample reciprocity Samples of significance Finding time for each individual child. Picture of an Naming: teaching relevant activity with ball concepts; naming and so enriching I for teaching spatial the vocabulary. Sample purposes concepts. 1 Encouragii7g/enabling expressing To transfer to the Emotional Capabilities Intermediaries 441 enthusiasm for the game, pointing child a feeling that out the movements of the ball; a social game is Choosing the right activity for children, not admiration of the child controlling pleasure and fun; too difficult, activity with a challenge within the ball. using the social and not too simple. game for teaching Explaining: colours, sizes, power. Organising so that children will succeed. a group. will know it and will know why quantity, height. Comparing: the bail with other objects, eg: wheels, cubes.

investigation in children, and so stimulate learning framework of 'cognitive modifiability'. This can he and thus development. described as the ability of an organism to change itself to utilise learned principles, abilities and The educators are trained by professionals and behavioural patterns in order to adapt to new situa- concentrate on the character of the activities. ontions. Individuals are therefore seen as open opera- methods and ideas for using them with children.tors whose functioning depends upon specific and on their contribution to child development. In experiences during their developmental period. addition. the educators are offered materials, guidance in preparing aids. and access to a wide range For educators, this leads to an emphasis on making of early childhood books and periodicals. use of previous experiences; and a focus on the ability of the individual to learn how to learn. It means concentrating on children's interactions with Intermediary Learning their environments: and ensuring that adults at as mediators between the children and the stimuli that To enable them to carry out their work with are in their environments. The point is to teach children, the centre trains adults in the techniques ofchildren to become better learners by helping them in 'Intermediary Learning'. such areas as reacting to stimuli cle'arly and accurately: establishing sequences: connecting Intermediary learning is defined by Professor incidents: retaining experiences: and anticipating Reuven Feucrstein as being within the theoretical and planning.

19 Ili 20 r

Report from the field Launching the Intelyape -lyape Akaltve project Deborah Hartman

Clarifying aims, operations and outcomes 'We. the Arrernte people of Central Australia, want to develop our own curriculum for our school... Aboriginalpeople want to keep their culture alive and their language strong. To do this we want our However, in putting together our application for the children to have their own teachers in our own communities.' funding needed to complete the project. we were able to draw on the work we had already done. This gave a clarity to our aims and outcomes: we knew This article was prepared These words, by Imelda Palmer. an Aboriginalwhat we wanted to achieve and we knew how we by the Coordinator of the teacher from Ltyenlye Apurte community, address-could achieve it. So our third lesson was that clarity Foundation-supported ing a conference in 1991. capture the sentimentsin these areas is essential for both the project and Intelyape-Ivape AkaliVe that started the long journey of the Intelyape-Iyapepotential funders. Project together with the Akaltye Project to develop appropriate curricula other staff members. The and materials for Arrernte students. project operates under the Setting up controls auspices of the Yipinnya School. an independent But why Inteivape-lyape? The name was sug- Aboriginal organisation. In gested by Agnes Palmer, an Arrernte teacher, toAboriginal people in Australia have often been the cooperation with Arrernte reflect the intentions of the people in this area.recipients of programmes developed for them by communities it is Intelyape-Nape means butterfly and akaltyeoutsiders, and set up with outsiders' ideas about developing culturally means learning. 'Butterfly' is importantbecausewhat is needed and how it should work. People have appropriate curricula and butterflies are very common in all three of thenot been in control of their educational needs often materials for work with 'caterpillar dreamings' (beings or places ofenough. We strongly believed that this project must Arernte children in Central spiritual significance) in the area where the cur-be different and so, from the beginning, we set up a ALstralia riculum will he used. Thus Intelvape-Iyape is a management and operational structure that reflected strong metaphor for cooperation between com- real Arrernte control of the project and included Thu article offers insights all the participants in into some of the many ' munitiesandtheir complexities of devising, schools. It also sym- the project. As a result, stating up and operating a bolises the changes When we approached the Foundation for Imelyape-Iyape is man- project; and concentrates that the children will funding, we believed that the work we aged by a committee of on issues, processes. go through in learning proposed fell within their criteria for funding. It four Arrernte people problems and solutions Arrernte ways: they may seem obvious but there is no point in drawn from the schools that typically have to be will grow and develop making applications to organisations that don't and institutions involved dealt with. However. it is fund what you want to do; it is also pointless in the work. Long dis- not intended as a 'how to toreachtheirfull potential through the to change what you want to do solely to suit tances mean that we do it' guide for those who have had to work hard at are setting up a project: curricula. funders' criteria. rather, it is a source of maintaining this struc- information and support Our application generated a dialogue between ture, ensuring that meet- Project origins ourselves and the Foundation, a dialogue ings are held, people are which explored many points and so helped us consulted and all impor- In 1990. the Institute for to clarify our thinking about the operation of tant decisions are made AboriginalDevelop- the project. From this developed a working bythemanagement ment received Federal relationship which is a resource for us and a committee. There were Government grants for learning experience for the Foundation. The times when the project one year for the devel- lesson here is to maintain good would have collapsed or opment of language and communications with funders. lostthesupportof culture school curricula Aboriginal people if this for two different lan- structure were not in guage groups in Central Australia.It also had toplace and working. The lesson is obvious: make sure develop a graded set of reading materials: and allthe right people make the decisions. the work was to be done with schools in the Arrernte communities whose students have Arrernte as theirUsing experts first language. The first lesson we learned was that the workWe have an advisory committee of recognised couldn't be done in one year. if it was to be doneexperts in the field of Aboriginal languages or cur- properlythat is, if the teachers and communitiesriculum development but they do not oversee our were to be involved in the processof curriculumoperations or undermine the main decision-making and materials development. We continued the workbody of Arrernte people. They help us in practical for a second year by funding it ourselves but we had ways in our development workshops. Forexample, to look for alternative funding tocomplete it. So our if we are having a workshop to develop the lan- second lesson was that it is not ideal to try to keepguage strand of the curriculum we invitethe lin- complex work like this running while simul- guists and language educators to help us run it. It's taneously looking for funds. a mutually beneficial relationship: they learn too. 20 2j Right: Aboriginal Choosing the staff languages in education, I edited by Deborah I 1 Hartman and John From the beginning we felt that an Arrernte project Henderson, ortngs should have a majority of Arrernte staff: that the together a wide variety day to day life of the project should reflect Arrernte of programme descriptions and articles priorities and time frames. This was not achieved about central themes in until recently. Now we have five staff - of whom this key area three are Arrernte - and the change in the project has been dramatic: our relationships with Arrernte Its purpose is to teachers has deepened and our contact with ' promote discussion and Arrernte communities is increasing. idea sharing between existing programmes; Just as significant. the cross-cultural and power and to provide advice to issues which exist between Arrernte people and those considering starting new anglo-Australians (white Australians descended 14 programmes from immigrants) are now constantly on our agenda in real and practical ways. From this we know that. 411111.74 One of its strengths is if this project is to he successful, we must develop that the editors have good ways of working together that empower allowed the people who Arrernte people and ensure that all our personalities. actually do the work to skills and abilities are recognised and valued. With Present their ideas and the support of the management committee, we are experiences themselves working on this and are documenting our thinking. This gives the book enormous authority while offering countless Appropriate processes insights into the realities of their working and reflecting environments We have developed a cycle of curriculum develop- project. It also brings responsibilities to share our ment that is based on an action research and com-work with others and keep in contact with the net- These are neatly munity development model. The model ensureswork and the Foundation. complemented by a brief that the curriculum is being developed from the presentation of the main ground up by elders, parents and Arrernte teachers.Accountability issues which have so is truly based in the cultural knowledge that the emerged community wants the children to learn. It also Our first line of accountability is to the Arrernte Aboriginal languages in comes from the knowledge and daily experience of education; Hartman D the Arrernte teachers and we trust that they knowpeople and their children. However, we are also and Henderson J. 1994, how to teach their c :tildren. We are documentingaccountable to the Foundation as funder. One heart- ISBN 0-949659-73-8, their pedagogy as part of our development model. ening aspect of the Foundation is that it is very IAD Press, PO Box 2531, interested in reports that reflect the realities of the Alice Springs,NT 0871, work, good and bad: and in helping us to overcome Australia, Evaluation any r roblems. Report writing therefore becomes AUS$39 05 something positive rather than an onerous task. In our recent self evaluation of our work we realised that we have neglected some steps and that this has ft also expects the finances to be in order. because it weakened our project operations and outcomes. knows that financial problems can quickly destroy However, it has also confirmed to us that the modela project and its work. To help us in this, we are is a good one and that we need to be more rigorousattached to Yipirinya School. an incorporated in implementing it as we planned to do. Aboriginal organisation that can give us regular financial services, including audited accounts. Regular feedbackfor example. from workshops - is also invaluable to us as it helps us to plan and Conclusion allocate time and resources to areas of current need in the schools. We also have built in yearly evaluation workshops where we concentrate on bothIn summary, our experience has shown that a successes and areas that need inure work. Next we project can run fairly smoothly if attention is paid to hope to set up a team of evaluators as 'criticalthe following factors from the beginning: the aims friends' who are sympathetic to our aims and willand outcomes: the management structure: the help us to achieve our outcomes. staffing: the processes of project operation: evaluation: and accountability.

Networking This does not mean that nothing will go wrong and that there will he no need for change. Our experi- Being funded by the Foundation brings manyence shows that many things can happen in the life benefits. For example. being part of a world wideof a project. So far we have had new babies, deaths network is very useful and supportive because wein the families, changes in staff and many changes receive regular newsletters. Issue papers and infor-in our plans. But we are still working to meet our mation about other projects. We also have hadoriginal aims. visits from several other projects and will visit some ourselves in the near future. This helps breakKele inwarre Urreke arritreitenghe!(OK: that's it: down the isolation of being in vol eel in a small seeyou later!)

21 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2Z Report from the field When Irish eyes are smiling Ruth Hopkins

It was not all serious. purposeful learning however: I've never been that far a\\ av from home Irish hospitality was marvellous throughout the before and I was a hit unsure of \i hat the people trip; and the food and an establishment called 'The would he like.,.' Pink Elephant' still loom large in conversation! Irish dancing. communal singing and a trip to the Blarney Stone* were all highlights; and the shared enjoyment and relaxation cemented the friendship In this article Ruth In June 1994.15 representatives from the formed between individuals and the two projects. Hopkins, Project Leader of Foundation-supported Cynon Valley Project. the Cynon Valley Project Wales, sailed from.Wales to visit the Togher Pre- Wales. draws out the school and Family Centre in Ireland which is also Similarities to areas in \Vales. but some realities and the many important details of a visit supported by the Foundation. The idea was to get things arc medieval. eg: Social Servicesit by members of the project new ideas, share experiences. benefit from the doesn't seem to exist...They only ha\ e S to The Togher Pre-school lessons learned by the Togher Project in its longer Social Workers for I-I.7,000 people and Family Centre across history, and to experience a different culture. The the sea in Ireland. visit arose from a workshop organised by the Foundation in Galway in June 1993 when staff from the two projects met and committed them- Many tales are now part of the Cynon Valley selves to such an exchange. Project's folkloresome of which cannot he shared with those left behind! It was a special experience and our friends from Togher made it so. IL' biggest impression on 111t2 the relation that (Ile (.entre has w ith the Police. somethine e eould inaylle aim for I came aw ay feeling so posit! e about \\ here I\\ ant to to with the project at home. so enthusiastic to really take this somewhere, When the promise at last became a reality. a lottery to share it with our mothers in our was held to select participants. The visiting group community. I also felt very proud w ith what comprised 12 representatives from the two estates we had already achieved in our deprived area where the project works: with two Save the of Mid-Wales...' Children staff and a local Health Visitor. Several planning meetings were held as a complete group. and a list of agreed ground rules were drawn up for the trip: these were mostly observed by everyone. Since the trip, individuals have acknowledged it as a valuable learning experience and it's clear that the During these meetings it became apparent that there benefits of such visits are lasting ones. This one. for were various levels of anxiety about breaking away example. has made an impact on individuals and from home and visiting a 'strange' country.spurred them on in their efforts back home. One However, they found support from within the decided that she must do something with her life group: the only male participant knew Ireland and and is now in full time employment; others have did his best to reassure everyone about the warm redoubled their efforts to improve the facilities and welcome ahead of' them. services on their estates; and. for all, there has been a change in perspective. They saw 'home' from a long way away. and saw clearly what they already '...Before the (rip. l worried a lot.ondering if I could had and what they wanted in the future. Their cope w ith being away front WV children...' commitment was strengthened.

The programme for the visit provided opportunities it has made me appreciate the things we for all to learn something about the social and cul- have... and hopefully by seeing w hat they tural differences of the country. and allowed the did in their family centre and.how they all group to gain knowledge of the locality in which pulled together \\ e can pull together and the Family Centre is based. They also had an insight into the running of the centre and were able to make make our family centre w ork well ...' comparisons with what there is back home.

'...i learned that w hen we make rules and plans we * An ancient Irish stone which gives anyone who don't as a committee follow things through and NA e flaunt eer around rule \\ e ha\e.' kisses it the gift of persuasion. Project leaders don't t need to kiss it led). 23 Resources

When the bough breaks: the cost of neglecting ourThe hook is drawn from the United Kingdom and children its review of the support services is L'K specific. However, there are parallels with those in other The focus of this hook iscountries too: while its detailed Agenda for Action l'Arnitu South Peas tnllo hard. pumal mit and demands children in poverty and depri- eke avow I envy Inttintint cmun--Yfashingan P{.14°01014 is much more universal in its application. Here . . vation in the United States. there is a focus on communities developing coordi- Ms Hewlett poses the ques- nated approaches to support for parents which tion: 'Is it fair to spend 22.9 involve a wide range of agencies and concentrate WHET per cent of the federal budget on prevention rather than cure. on those over 65 (with a poverty rate of 4 to 12 perConfident Parents, Confident Children: policy cent) but only 4.8 per cent on and practice in parent education and support, BOUGH those under18(with a Gillian Pugh. Erica De'ath and Celia Smith: 1994. poverty rate of 17 to 20 perISBN 1-874579-37-7; National Children's Bureau. cent 1'?' UK BREAKS Child victims of divorce. children living in crime. infested inner city neighbour- CONFIDENT PARENTS, The Cost of hoods. the State's failure to invest adequate public CONFIDENT CHILDREN NeglectingOur Policy and practice In Parent loomilett and uppert resources in children. and Children diminishing parental time are some of the aspects explored ti at length.In questioning policies. legislation and pro- ,- grammes the author raises several issues that arc rele- SYLVIA ANN HEWLETT vant across cultures. For example, the double-edged nature of the widely-held view that the state must not enter the precincts of the home or interfere in the family.

The author manages to blend facts and figures about children with the human tragedy of their lives. She makes the case for the state's responsibility to provide an adequate legal framework for the protection of children and for services to Gillian Pugh, Erica tio'dth and Cella Smith support children and parents especially women who have w balance careers with child rearing. She also makes clear her own partiality for traditional family values.

When the bough breaks: the cost of neglectingGetting ready for school ourchildren, Sylvia Ann Hewlett;1992, ISBN 0-06-097479-6; New York. Harper Perennial CHETNA has been involved in training teachers and workers in the field of RD and women's empower- ment for over a decade and this book reflects that Confident Parents, Confident Children: policy depth of experience. It is a manual for caregivers of and practice in parent education and support young children (up to school age) that is drawn from practice. and thus is of direct use in the field. The aim This book starts from the view that being a parent is was to create something that would serve to guide the most important task that most of its perform and rather than dictate activities; and to complement that yet it is the one for which we are least prepared. It with a number of selected examples. It especially then explores the roles that preparation. education stresses the need to review and adapt activities and support play in improving the confidence and according to local circumstances, and to modify skills of parents. relating these to challenges and them, improvise upon them and develop new ones. changes in society and in family patterns: before going on to consider the skills that are involved in Getting ready for school,1994:CIIETNA. parenting and what can be done to make parenting Lilavatiben Lalbhai's Bungalow. Civil Camp Road. more enjoyable and more satisfying. Shahibaug, Ahmedabad-380 004. Gujarat. India

(continued on page 2-11 BST COPYAVAILABLE 2 23 - loct sr,www111, AMEMINIMil Text Irons theNewslettermay be reproduced or adapted without the publisher's permission, provided it is not distributed for profit and with attribution to the Bernard van Leer Foundation. Unless otherwise stated, all Bernard van Leer photographs arc by courtesy of the project concerned. Foundation Newsletter ISSN 0921-5840 Bernard van Leer Foundation Number 77 January 1995 PO Box 82334 2508 EH The Hague The Netherlands Tel: (070) 351 2040 Telefax: 1070) 350 2373 About the Foundation

The Bernard van Leer Foundation is an interna- Grants are not made to individuals nor for general tional, philanthropic and professional institutionsupport to organisations. The Foundation does not based in The Netherlands. The Foundation's provide study. research or travel grants. No grants income is derived from the Van Leer Group of are made in response to general appeals. In accor- Companiesestablished by Bernard van Leer in dance with its statutes. the Foundation gives prefer- 1919 a worldwide iodustrial enterprise of which ence to countries in which the Van Leer Group of the Foundation is the principal beneficiary. Created Companies is established. in 1949 for broad humanitarian purposes. the Foundation concer.rates on the development of Board of Trustees low-cost, community -based initiatives in early childhood care and education for socially and culturally disathamaged children Iron birth to Chairman: J. Kremers (Netherlands): eight years of age. Mrs M.C. Benton t rsA):W.H.Brouwer (Netherlands): W.W. Cross (tisA): The Foundation provides financial support and pro- H.B. van Liemt (Netherlands): fessional guidance to governmental, academic and P.1.1. Rich (France): 1. Stimren (Sweden, voluntary bodies setting up projects to enable disadvantaged children to benefit fully from edc-rational and social development opportunities. The Foundation currently supports approximatelyAdministration 100 major projects in some 40 developing and industrialised countries. The dissemination, adaptation and replication of successful project outcomes M.C.E. van Gendt. Executive Director are crucial to the Foundation's work.

Education rights and minorities Education rights and minorities by Benyani. WINOS= MRS 111101S7 TIITZKIIATTONAL Graham-Brown, Gundara, Jones, Thornberry and This is the most recent report from Warner: 1994. ISBN 1-897693-40: available from EDUCATION RIGHTS the international NG Minority Rights MRG. 378 Brixton Road. London SW9 7DE. UK: AND MINORITIES _,....Group International (MRG). MRGprice f4.95/USS8.95 + postage works to secure justice for ethnic. religious and linguistic minorities Dear Reader, ,E1 suffering discrimination, prejudice and violent persecution: and to pro- Newsletter 79 will be published in 101v mote successful cooperation and 1995 and its theme will be Participatory development of majority and minority communities. Learning

The report shows that. although the The kinds of points to he considered will importance of the transmission of include its nature; its application; and its values and world views of minorities problems. is widely recognised, a large number of complex issues still have to be We particularly welcome examples of resolved by policy makers. Usefully. participatory learning in practice. Please OW .111. 111111111111 .1.111 *NW it identifies a number of areas for send contributions to the action. These include: equality of Communications Section of the resources for education. the positive advantagesof bilingualism and multi-lingualism, and attitude Foundation at the above address, bv mid changes in teachers and classroom practice. N1av 1995.

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