Early Childhood Development Knowledge Building Seminar 4 to 5 December 2014
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Early Childhood Development Knowledge Building Seminar 4 to 5 December 2014 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A special word of thanks to: All the speakers who made their knowledge and time available for the benefit of all working in early childhood development. A complete list of speakers are available at the back of this report. Zanele Twala, Marie-Louise Samuels, Linda Biersteker, Hasina Ebrahim and Andries Viviers who acted aptly as session chairpersons throughout the ECD Knowledge Building Seminar. Lucky Howard from UNICEF for assistance in the logistical arrangements for the ECD Knowledge Building Seminar. Report compiled under contract by: Ms Pam Picken. This report provides an overview of the presentations and the discussions that took place in the subsequent dialogues. Where references occur in the text it is linked to a particular presenter’s presentation and a full list of references is not provided. All speakers were provided with the opportunity to review the text of their presentations in this publications. © UNICEF All care has been taken to ensure that the information is correct. The opinions expressed herein and any statements represented as fact do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of UNICEF, Department of Basic Education, Department of Social Development and the National Planning Commission nor should they be assumed to do so. With proper identification of the source, the document may be freely quoted, reviewed, abstracted, reproduced and translated, in part or in whole, but not for sale nor for use in conjunction with commercial purposes. Original sources should be acknowledged where indicated in the publication. Suggested citation: UNICEF. 2014. Early Childhood Development Knowledge Building Seminar 2014: ECD@20. UNICEF: Pretoria Final edit and layout: Andries Viviers (UNICEF) Electronic copies can be downloaded from the following website: www.unicef.org/southafrica Please note that this report is not available in print. Cover picture: Andries Viviers (Drawn in 1974) 2 Giving children a healthy start in life, no matter where they are born or the circumstances of their birth, is the moral obligation of every one of us. Nelson Mandela, April 2002 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ............................................................................................................................................................................ 7 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 8 OPENING REMARKS .......................................................................................................................................................... 8 A TWENTY YEAR HISTORY OF ECD .................................................................................................................................... 9 THE NEW SCIENCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR SOUTH AFRICAN POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES ................................................................................................................................................................ 11 THERE IS NO NOT CHOOSING: THE BRAINS YOU REGULATE FOR ARE THE BRAINS YOU GET ........................................ 15 DIALOGUE 1: QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AND STATEMENTS ........................................................................................... 18 INSURMOUNTABLE LEARNING DEFICITS IN EDUCATION – THE CASE FOR EARLY INTERVENTION ................................ 19 CAREGIVER WELL-BEING ACROSS THE CONTINUUM OF CARE: A FRAMEWORK FOR SUPPORT .................................... 21 CHALLENGES OF BREAKING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY THROUGH EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT (BIRTH TO 5) .... 23 THE INFLUENCE OF RESEARCH ON 20 YEARS OF ECD POLICY DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA ................................. 26 DIALOGUE 2: QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AND STATEMENTS ........................................................................................... 29 ECD AND DISABILITY: SOUTH AFRICAN EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE IN PROVIDING INCLUSIVE EARLY CHILDHOOD SERVICES ......................................................................................................................................................................... 30 SPECIAL CONCERNS ABOUT ECD OF ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN ............................................................... 31 QUALITY IN ECD PRACTICE: A SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE ........................................................................................ 33 THE TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE LITERATE BODY/MIND ............................................................ 34 FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE OF PRACTITIONERS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTRES IN DISADVANTAGED CONTEXTS .......... 36 DIALOGUE 3 & 4: QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AND STATEMENTS .................................................................................... 37 BUILDING THE ECD CURRICULUM IN SOUTH AFRICA, MYANMAR (BURMA) AND SEYCHELLES ..................................... 38 BACK TO BASICS WITH 6 BRICKS ..................................................................................................................................... 42 DIALOGUE 5: QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AND STATEMENTS ........................................................................................... 44 THE STATUS OF YOUNG CHILDREN IN SOUTH AFRICA: TWENTY YEARS ON – HAVE WE MADE PROGRESS IN SERVICE DELIVERY? A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE DATA ................................................................................................................ 45 EXPLORING LOCAL AND INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN SUPPORT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT: LEARNINGS AND IMPLICATIONS .......................................................................................................... 48 DIALOGUE 6: QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AND STATEMENTS ........................................................................................... 50 QUALITY IS PRESENTED BY KNOWING A CHILD AS A WHOLE ….. I MUST KNOW HOW CAN HE DEVELOP BECAUSE THEY DON’T DEVELOP THE SAME.’ PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON QUALITY IN ECD ......................................... 51 THREE GOALS, NINE STEPS: A GAUTENG PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT’S EXPERIENCE TO INTEGRATE HOLISTIC ECD SERVICES ......................................................................................................................................................................... 54 FUNDING IN THE ECD SECTOR: LESSONS LEARNED IN 20 YEARS ................................................................................... 56 ECD AUDIT 2013/2014 – WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE THE 2001 AUDIT? ...................................................................... 58 MUNICIPALITIES AND ECD: THE LAST FRONTIER ............................................................................................................ 61 DIALOGUE 7: QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AND STATEMENTS ........................................................................................... 64 CLOSING SESSION ............................................................................................................................................................ 65 PRACTICAL CLINICS.......................................................................................................................................................... 65 Speaker List ..................................................................................................................................................................... 66 4 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS: The following abbreviations and acronyms appear in the report: ANA Annual National Assessment – Department of Basic Education ANC African National Congress B-BBEE Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment CLASS Classroom Assessment Scoring System CEPD Centre for Education policy CHW Community Health Worker CODERSIA Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa COGTA Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs CSG Child Support Grant CSI Corporate Social Investment DSD Department of Social Development DBE Department of Basic Education EB Exclusive Breastfeeding EC Eastern Cape ECD Early Childhood Development ECE Early Childhood Education ELDA Early Learning and Development Areas ELRU Early Learning Resource Unit EPWP Expanded Public Works Programme ETDP SETA Education, Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority FoK Funds of Knowledge GDP Gross Domestic Product GECDI Gauteng ECD Institute GPG Gauteng Provincial Government GPS Global Positioning System HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HSRC Human Sciences Research Council IDP Integrated Development Plan KZN KwaZulu-Natal LETCEE Little Elephant Training Centre for Early Education LHS Life History Strategy LTSM Learning and Teaching Support Materials MDG Millennium Development Goals NCF National Curriculum Framework NDP National Development Plan NECDA National ECD Alliance NELDS National Early learning Development Standards NEPI National Education Policy Investigation NGO Non-government Organisation NIAAA National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIP for ECD National Integrated Plan for ECD NPO Non-profit Organisation NQF National Qualifications Framework NSES National School Effectiveness Study OVC Orphans and Vulnerable Children PIRLS Progress in International Reading Literacy Study PQA Programme Quality Assessment (HighScope) RDP Reconstruction and Development Programme RtHB Road to Health Booklet RtHC Road