Early Childhood Education Pedagogical Transformation in Tanzania: Innovations, Challenges and Prospects for Marginalised Children

Abstract

Tanzania recognises that investing in early childhood education and care has the potential to offer immense opportunity for all children, regardless of social-economic background, to develop the cognitive, social and emotional skills needed for their development, well-being and success in later life. These capabilities are shaped by high-quality range of developmentally appropriate and contextually relevant pedagogical practices. This chapter tracks pedagogical transformations that have taken place over time, emerging innovative pedagogical approaches and their prospects in marginalised pre-primary education settings in Tanzania. The chapter aims to contribute to the on-going debate about what pedagogical practice works in various early childhood education settings. It is anticipated that the discussion might broaden our understanding of pedagogical practices from marginalised communities. The chapter is organised into six sections. The first section introduces the chapter. The second section presents an overview of the education structure and early childhood education in Tanzania. The third section tracks pedagogical transformations over a historical period. The fourth section presents the new development innovations that have been made in early childhood education in recent times. The fifth section highlights early childhood education pedagogical challenges. The last section reflects on pedagogical prospects for children in marginalised localities.