Child Care from a Global Perspective

Republic of KenyaMotto: “Harambee” (Swahili)

“Let us pull together.”

By: Annafel, Darlene, Elmen, Jeba, Kala

Objectives:

• Provide brief facts about Kenya• Evaluate Kenya’s child care system• Evaluate Kenya’s history and evolution

of child care service• Kenya’s child care philosophies• Availability of child care to families• Accessibility of child care services• Program structure• Role and Training of Early Childhood

Educator• Questions?

Duration: 20 minutes

Facts about Kenya

• Located in the region of East Africa, former British colony

• Capital - Nairobi• Language spoken:

English and Swahili• Population of 34.3 million• Home to more than 40

ethnic groups representing many cultures and has over 60 languages

• Famous for savanna and the animals that live there

• $1.00 CAN = 79.54 Kenyan Shilling (KES)

Evaluation of the Child Care System

Kenya is the only African nation with an established early

childhood education program.

• 1972 - Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) – 10 Year preschool project - development of curricula and curriculum support materials for all levels of education in Kenya

• 1984 - Ministry of Education established the National Center for Early Childhood Education (NCECE), a national endeavor aimed at harmonizing the growth, evaluation, and oversight of early childhood education, based at the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE)

• 1985 - District Centers for Early Childhood Education (DICECE) was formed. Objective is to have one center for each district.

History and Evolution of Child Care System

Before Preschools

• Children are expected to do adult-like tasks when they become “age of reason”

• At the age of five, children are given adult responsibilities

History and Evolution of Child Care System

VS.

Traditional Modernized

What to Teach the Children?

History and Evolution of Child Care System

• Preschools were first built in the 1940s

• In 1963, the year Kenya received Independence from Britain, preschools became much more developed

First Preschools

History and Evolution of Child Care System

• Local governmental authorities

• Church and welfare agencies

• Private entrepreneurs

• Self-help schools (e.g. Harambee)

• Voluntary organization (e.g. Red Cross)

Sponsors for Preschools

History and Evolution of Child Care System

1969• 200,000

children enrolled in 4,000 preschools with 5,000 untrained preschool teachers

1979• 400,000

children enrolled in 8,000 preschool centers with 10,000 trained preschool teachers

Surveys 1969 and 1979

History and Evolution of Child Care System

Rural• Use of folk stories

to teach children ethics and morals

• Physical abuse to teach children to fear adult authority

Urban• More freedom to

express aggression• Less physical

punishment• More value placed on

child’s personal achievements

Rural vs. Urban

Philosophy

• Holistic approach to children's needs• To provide education geared towards

development of the child’s mental and physical capabilities.

• To improve the status of the child’s health, care and nutritional needs, and link him/her with health services such as immunization, health check-ups and growth monitoring and promotion.

• To enrich the child’s experiences to enable him/her cope better with primary schools life.

Availability and Accessibility

Early Childhood Development policy framework targets all

children from conception to 8 years of age.

4 Categories:• conception to birth• birth to 3 years• 3 to 6 years• 6 to 8 years

Availability and Accessibility

Program Structure

• Every ECD centre has its own program structure.

• Must follow “Guidelines For Early Childhood Development Services”, prepared by Department of Social Development (same as our Day Nursery’s Act)

Role of the Teacher• ECE Teachers are called (ECDE) Early

Childhood Development and Education Teachers

• Promote meaningful learning by using multiple musical and physical strategies.

• Teachers are the primary health and nutrition provider next to the parents.

• Teachers provide the environment for the child’s growth and development.

• Teachers teach life principles.

• Teachers provide early stimulation for the future of child development.

Training of the Teacher

• 5 weeks short courses with 2 year in-service training programme introduced by World Bank

• After the 2 years, the qualified teacher is awarded a Preschool Teacher Certificate.

• (In service training is facilitated by the District Centers for Early Childhood (DICECEs) which are government-supported centers)

• Educational Level: Primary or Secondary education depending on the area.

The End.

Any questions?