Quality in Research and Development in Early Childhood Education a Case of Southern Africa

Authors

  • S.K. Thwala

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

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Published

2014-09-03

How to Cite

Quality in Research and Development in Early Childhood Education a Case of Southern Africa. (2014). Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(20), 1720. https://www.richtmann.org/journal/index.php/mjss/article/view/3911