Early Childhood Teacher Education in Namibia and Canada

Abstract

Abstract This comparative and qualitative study-in-progress focuses on two early childhood teacher education (ECTE) programs in contexts where the participants are undergoing rapid social and personal change: a program in Namibia and a training program for immigrant childcare educators in Canada. The objective is to provide in-depth understanding of the ways in which differing ideas about ECTE are reflected in practice. It is important to ensure that ECTE programs prepare teachers to dovetail children’s preparation for school with meaningful connections to the culture and language of the home community, since more and more children spend their preschool years in early childhood (EC) centers that are becoming increasingly westernized in character. Without such connections, children in settings undergoing rapid change will continue to drop out of school before literacy and other skills are firmly established. The data will stem from analysis of early childhood care and education and ECTE curricula; policy and other documents; focused observations in ECTE classrooms and teaching practica; and interviews with teacher educators, education officers, teachers, parents, and community leaders. The results are expected to illuminate issues and strategies which are most likely to be effective for ECTE programs, with implications for teacher education in a range of settings in both the majority and minority worlds.