URDANETA CITY UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL AND ADVANCE STUDIES

San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

Course Code: ECEM 118

Course Title: Current Trends and Issues in Early Childhood Education
Submitted by: PHILIP ANTHONY M. CABATO
Professor : Dr. MARIO E. CAMPILLA

REACTION PAPER ON CHALLENGES AND ISSUES IN

FACING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Social, political, economic and environmental inequalities contribute to the many challenges that
the Early Childhood Development (ECD) sector faces in South Africa. Establishing and
operating an ECD facility, particularly in under resourced communities, is further challenged by
interpersonal differences, funding support, infrastructure requirements, skills and capacity of
crèche staff, community influences, and government regulations.

Interpersonal Differences

The operation of a crèche is heavily dependent on either those who own the crèche, or an
elected governing body. Although there are many organisations that offer management
assistance, lasting positive change is only possible with cooperation of the owner or governing
body, crèche staff, and parents of children enrolled. Interpersonal issues can be detrimental to
any organisation and cause it to fail from the inside out. Specifically, groups having “high levels
of ethnic heterogeneity and residential instability are believed to undermine social networks and
shared values, resulting in social disorganization” (Burchinal et al, 2008). Residential instability
as well as ethnic diversity is common to many informal settlements in South Africa and
contributes to differences in beliefs and willingness to support ECD efforts. Trust is a key factor
in community support. When common values are shared, trust cultivates in mutual
understanding and common goals. The community and crèche have to develop trust and mutual
respect for the benefit of the children. Parents in marginalized communities are less likely to
have the support of peers to help provide education or childcare assistance (Burchinal et al,
2008). It becomes a role of community leaders, crèche staff, and caregivers to maintain the
“social cohesion” of information about the crèche and to promote the importance of early
childhood development.
Funding Support

Parent fees provide the majority of funding for ECD centres. The Department of Social
Development (DSD) also provides subsidies for registered centres, which gives the centre a set
amount of funds per child per day. The DSD also provides funding for ECD through Non-Profit
Organisations. The amount of funding varies from province to province. Based on a budget
sheet from 2012/2013, it was estimated that the Western Cape spends around R384,764,000
per year on ECD. This falls in the middle of the range of the nine South Africa provinces
(Atmore et al., 2012).

Infrastructure requirements

Infrastructure is one of the leading challenges of ECD centres not becoming registered or
having substandard performance. Many centres function without the basic amenities of
electricity, running water, or means of sanitation. Eric Atmore, Director of the Centre for Early
Childhood Development, explained that a nation-wide ECD audit in 2000 showed that 8% of
ECD centres in South Africa do not meet the basic infrastructure requirements set by the
Department of Education (Atmore, 2013). Lack of infrastructure presents significant safety risks
and health code violations, and causes poor service quality. The Department of Social
Development does not provide a subsidy for physical building improvements or renovations, and
the informal settlements in need of ECD often do not have access to basic infrastructural
services. Therefore, communities have the burden of paying for costs associated with building
and or renovations (Atmore et al., 2012), and the provision of basic amenities.

Skills and Capacity of Crèche Staff

Having a skilled ECD practitioner in the workplace was not heavily regarded in the past, but it is
slowly becoming a necessity. A study done in the Western Cape by ECD service researchers
showed that only 47% of the practitioners responsible for older children (3-5 years) had any
form of ECD qualifications (Atmore, 2013). The Department of Social Development has set
minimum standards for ECD teachers and caretakers. Today, ECD practitioners are required to
obtain training as ECD educators (ECD Level 4, Further Education and Training Certificate)
(DSD, 2015). This training provides basic skills to improve the quality of ECD services offered
for the development of young children.

Community Influences

Integrating ECD in homes is another struggle faced specifically in informal settlements.

Reiterating and practicing what the children learn while at the crèche will enhance the
effectiveness of ECD. A Family Outreach program in the community of Gugulethu, implemented
by the CECD in 2011, successfully shows how the intervention can have a positive impact on
caregiver’s attitude and role towards child development. This programme reached out to a
group of families without access to ECD centre programming. During the follow-up assessment
in 2014, 67% of children attended a centre-based ECD programme. The role caregivers played
in their children’s development was also significantly different; approximately 30% more
caregivers read and told stories to their children twice or more in a week and over 40% more
caregivers fed their children more than four times a day. The percentage of caregivers worried
about the safety of children in the area stayed relatively the same, at around 83% (CECD,
2014). This shows that although big impacts can be made in caregivers providing their children
with development opportunities to thrive, there are still external factors in the community that
can play a role in the safety of the children.
Difficulties present within the community can be strongly influenced by the social challenges.
Poverty in South African informal settlements correlates to the scarcity of food and resources
that is less of an issue in communities with a higher average income. The complex state of
poverty can be observed as a range of characteristics including chronic hunger, inadequate
housing, low income, unemployment, and low living standards (Barbarin et al., 2013). The
effects of poverty can be devastating to child development. Negative living conditions attribute
to chronic malnutrition, illnesses, slow cognitive development, insufficient psychological
functioning, academic failures, and future unemployment. Recognizing the value of proper
nutrition in body and brain development during early childhood (Aber et al., 1997), crèches
serve as an important source of food for children in under-resourced communities in South
Africa.

On a larger scale, poverty can be linked to community violence, unstructured family life, and
substance abuse (Aber et al.,1997). Children of low-income and impoverished areas are more
susceptible to maltreatment due to these social difficulties. Resulting maltreatment includes a
range of physical and emotional abuse, neglect, and domestic violence. The presence of
violence can inhibit capabilities of success both in child development and the surrounding
community. Phyfer and Wakefield (2015), violence and crime prevention researchers working
with the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum and the Centre for Justice and Crime
Prevention, explore the path to integrate violence prevention into ECD programmes. This
includes promotion of positive disciplinary actions and creating a realm of respect for a child’s
right to education by working with caregivers to cultivate healthy relationships. These
researchers argue that violence prevention should give more attention to developing
relationships with caregivers in terms of support and education of their own. Caregivers are the
first line of people who can promote healthy development, and play an important role in limiting
effects of community violence on children. If caregivers are able to emotionally handle danger in
a healthy way, this will more likely be reciprocated by their children (Barbarin, 2013). Emotional
and educational support programmes available for coping with the effects of violence can
influence how violence impacts child development. Integrating violence prevention into ECD can
promote a healthier developmental lifestyle for children, and has the potential to decrease rates
of crime and violence in South Africa. ECD programmes will have the greatest impact if they are
adapting and working to meet each child’s personal needs; something that can be a struggle in
impoverished areas like Flamingo Heights due to lack of funding, crèche supplies, and teachers.

Government Regulations

Regulations surrounding ECD centres in South Africa pose many challenges for centres
throughout informal settlements. One of the biggest problems with the registration process is the
cost to register. Many of these centres trying to start up and operate in very low income areas
cannot afford these fees, and therefore fail to register, which in turn leads to them not meeting
government regulations. Other regulations are just not feasible in certain informal settlements,
such as available (safe and enclosed) outdoor play areas for the children. The requirements are
two square metres per child. Many of these settlements are so dense with structures that this is
just not an option. Again, that centre would fail to meet the regulations and therefore fail to
register as an early childhood development centre. For the sake of centres in informal
settlements getting registered, there needs to be some modification of the governmental
regulations to ensure these centres have the chance to become formal ECD facilities.