The expansion of early childhood development services and the need to reconceptualize evidence

Abstract

The provision of early childhood development services is expanding in developing countries. The rationale behind this expansion is rooted in developmental psychology, socio-economic and human rights narratives. However, there are some limitations to this rationale, which are in particular related to the implicit universalism it assumes. This article outlines how early childhood development interventions imply a policing of families and childhood, which calls for a stronger consideration of context. As a consequence, the scope of what counts as evidence in early childhood development research needs to be questioned. The article is a theoretical contribution to the discourse of what early childhood development ‘does’. A critical approach, addressing the ideals and values that are communicated in early childhood development programmes and how they relate to dominant parenting ideals and practices in the society in question, should be an integral part of the expansion of early childhood development in the global South in the future.