The implementation of guidelines for early childhood development (ECD) services : an evaluation of early childhood development centres in Mkhambathini local municipality.
Loading...
Date
2013
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
In South Africa many children are affected by poverty and neglect. These children are
underprivileged and experience poor performance in school and may even drop out
(Department of Education, 2001: 4). Even though legislative prescripts mandate government
to provide quality education, access is still a challenge. The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial
Government, civil society and the business sector are in agreement that the vision for the
KwaZulu-Natal province is a “prosperous province with [a] healthy, secure and skilled
population, acting as a gateway to Africa and the world” (KwaZulu-Natal Provincial
Planning Commission, 2011: 6). Economic growth, improvement of people’s lives, reducing
inequality, and promoting environmental sustainability is indeed a priority for the KwaZulu-
Natal government (KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Planning Commission, 2011: 10).
This study then aimed to evaluate the implementation of Guidelines for Early Childhood
Development (ECD) Services looking at early childhood development centres in the
Mkhambathini local municipality. The study seeks to contribute to current theories and
specifically to the existing knowledge of the fact that in Africa there are disparities between
policy statements and practice in early childhood development centres which have
implications for policy implementation and quality education as a broad objective in
developing countries.
In this research study in-depth open ended interviews, direct observation, and document
analyses were used. The researcher used a mixed method approach in sequential data
collection.
The findings of the study have been found to be consistent with previous studies conducted
on ECD services. The findings reveal that there are discrepancies between the number of
children that ECD centres are registered for and the number of children who attend the
centres. The coverage implementation of ECD guidelines is biased; subgroups, disabled
children, and children with special needs do not fully participate in or are not able to access
services in the Mkhambathini municipality. The study argues that at this stage the guidelines
for ECD services are not implemented as designed. The document lacks implementation
strategies which take into account the environmental issues of the province of KwaZulu-
Natal. The Guidelines for Early Childhood Development (ECD) Services set a high standard
for ECD centres; too high for rural areas to comply with.
Description
Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.
Keywords
Early childhood development., Early childhood education., Education, Primary., Poverty--South Africa., Education--KwaZulu-Natal., Theses--Policy and development studies.