Abstract
This article reports on a study that examined the levels of young children’s wellbeing and involvement in centre-based provision (birth to five years) at child, group and setting level1 in Free State, South Africa. The study was funded by the FlemishDepartment of Education and was executed in collaboration with the Free State Department of Education and the University of Free State. Nineteen settings were included in the study. The average setting was registered for 121 children (with ratio’svarying from 30 to 326 children registered). Foundation Phase students from the 2nd and 3rd year of study at the University of Free State collected data through observation tools designed by the Centre for Experiential Education at Leuven University, Belgium. The core instrument uses the Leuven scales for well-being and involvement. Results of the study indicate that overall scores for well-being and involvement are low, but also that there are huge differences between different groups and settings. Thus, indicating that early childhood education in centre-based provision makes a difference.
Highlights
Childhood development (ECD) services are receiving considerable attention from policy makers, service providers and families across the globe (Britto, Yoshikwa & Boller, 2011)
A recent study on addressing exclusion and invisibility in Early childhood development (ECD) in South Africa draws attention to the value of focusing on the well-being and involvement of children in both centre, and home-based, learning environments (Save the Children & Bernard van Leer, 2010). These constructs, as defined by the Centre for Experiential Education at Leuven University in Belgium, suggest that well-being involves the basic needs of children being satisfied, and refers to the degree to which children feel at ease
Taking into account the importance of paying attention to well-being and involvement of young children, the study reported in this article aimed at filling the gaps in knowledge about the levels of young children’s well-being and involvement in early childhood settings in Free State, South Africa
Summary
Childhood development (ECD) services are receiving considerable attention from policy makers, service providers and families across the globe (Britto, Yoshikwa & Boller, 2011). A recent study on addressing exclusion and invisibility in ECD in South Africa draws attention to the value of focusing on the well-being and involvement of children in both centre, and home-based, learning environments (Save the Children & Bernard van Leer, 2010). These constructs, as defined by the Centre for Experiential Education at Leuven University in Belgium, suggest that well-being involves the basic needs of children being satisfied, and refers to the degree to which children feel at ease. Involvement, on the other hand, refers to developmental processes. This concept is closely linked to Csíkszentmihályi’s (1979) concept of flow and to what Bronfenbrenner and Ceci (1994, p. 572) refer to as an intense ‘proximal process2’
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