FYI

FYI from Tamalin from South Africa

These are some things she thought I should know about South Africa:

Economic environment

Working in communities that live in circumstances of extreme poverty is a constant challenge. The families we work with have serious and persistent concerns about food, clothes, shelter and other expenses related to daily life. Quite often, the last worry on their minds is whether they should send their children to an ECD centre, how many books they should be reading with their child and which education activities are more stimulating.  These are also the families that are unlikely to be able to afford to send their children to an ECD centre or purchase educational equipment such as books, puzzles and blocks.

We always aim to plan our programmes and workshops with these families (and their needs, concerns and struggles) in mind. We use incentives, such as food parcels, to attract participants to workshops; budget for stipends, so that we can offer a financial incentive to parents travelling to our programme events and turn learning into a fun activity, so that families make the time to learn together, and enjoy it.

Poverty: Literacy, numeracy and lifeskills

Some young children grow up in environments and circumstances where parents are able to devote considerable time to their early education needs. In these homes books, magazines and newspapers are readily available and are read to children. Counting games and pre-numeracy activities take place which encourage the development of numeracy. But, for families affected by poverty, the situation is very different. With little time and few (if any) resources these parents are not able to provide the optimal environment for the development of literacy, numeracy and life skills.

Additional information (consequences of poverty and economic return on investing in ECD)

Young children in South Africa grow up in circumstances of extreme poverty. This is the case both in urban settlements and rural areas. This poverty has many consequences; the most immediate being illness, stunted growth, lagging cognitive development, poor nutrition and general lethargy. These children enter grade 1 poorly prepared for schooling and as a result they fail and drop out of the education system never to return. The effect is seen at matric level where only 35% of all children starting grade 1 make it through twelve years of schooling.

One way of overcoming these effects of poverty is to provide good quality early childhood development (ECD) programmes for young children with support to their families.

International research, corroborated by research in South Africa, shows that a good quality preschool experience has many positive effects on young children. Children who attend a quality preschool programme:

·                Do better at formal school

·                Are less likely to get involved in crime

·                Are more likely to be employed

·                Are less likely to need costly remedial education

·                and for girls, are less likely to become pregnant whilst a teenager.

Quality early childhood development programmes are a means of eradicating poverty. By providing a range of services at early childhood development centres and by providing ECD stakeholders with information on early childhood development we can significantly improve the quality and quantity of early childhood development and education for young children in South Africa.

Many children are extraordinarily disadvantaged in South Africa. Research in South Africa and internationally indicates that the early years are critical for development. The research shows that quality early childhood development learning and care leads to higher levels of physical, cognitive and emotional wellbeing and better rates of lifetime learning and productivity. The early years have been recognised as the ideal phase for the passing of values that are important for the building of a peaceful, prosperous and democratic society. Early and appropriate provisioning and interventions for children at risk can often reverse the effects of deprivation and make it possible for children to grow and develop to their full potential, thus reducing the need for remedial services to address the developmental lag and social problems later in life.

As a country, South Africa needs a much greater investment in education at the level that produces the greatest social and economic return - the early years – and reaps the benefits all the way through the education system.