Abstract
Early Childhood education and development has an interesting history dating back to the early philosophers, psychologists and sociologists. In Greece, philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and others were involved in the education of the child. In Switzerland Pestalozzi did the same. In German Friedrich Froebel who is regarded as the father of preschool did the same. However, in Southern Africa the field of early childhood Education is relatively new compared to old established fields of Education. The staff in this field is also relatively new. This has resulted in lecturers facing challenges of quality education and quality research output. This paper explores the concept of quality assurance and quality control in education and lends insight into the role of research and innovative projects as a tool for quality development in Early Childhood Education. It reveals that quality in early childhood depends on quality in the universities. The paper suggests a need for a baseline research that will seek a better understand of human capacity needs of the countries in Southern Africa in order to design appropriate professional development training programmes. Greater attention must be given to empirical studies related to early childhood Education and development in Southern Africa. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p1720
Highlights
Childhood education and development has an interesting history dating back to the early philosophers, psychologists and sociologists
This paper focuses on Quality in Research and Development in Early Childhood Education, this entails that lectures have to look at themselves and the quality of training they offer to future teachers
This paper looks through the whole process, starting with three sets of criteria for quality, learning organization, research and innovative projects as a tool for quality in early childhood development and education
Summary
Childhood education and development has an interesting history dating back to the early philosophers, psychologists and sociologists. The earliest preschools in Europe and the USA were influenced by Froebelian thinking Whilst he is often referred to as the father of pre-schooling the philosophy of practice has been considerably influenced by the writings of John Dewey the American philosopher and pragmatist who viewed early education as an opportunity to develop skills and attributes appropriate to the social and cultural context of their lives. The development of preschool and nursery education worldwide was stimulated in the 1960s following a series of reports from national commission and committees of enquiry which embraced the new knowledge emerging from developmental psychology and studies of social disadvantage. This paper looks through the whole process, starting with three sets of criteria for quality, learning organization, research and innovative projects as a tool for quality in early childhood development and education
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