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ERIC Number: EJ1261257
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jun
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1463-9491
EISSN: N/A
How Neocolonialism and Globalization Affect the Early Childhood Workforce in Nepal and Kenya
Nganga, Lydiah; Madrid Akpovo, Samara; Thapa, Sapna; Mwangi, Agnes Muthoni
Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, v21 n2 p111-125 Jun 2020
Research shows that modern forms of colonization are vested with globalizing discourses which include early childhood education, gender, and curriculum policies and practices that are Euro-western based. In this collaborative qualitative study, four ethnographic researchers--two who conduct research in Nepal and two who conduct research in Kenya--explored the influence of globalization and neocolonialism on the work lives of early childhood teachers. Data was drawn from three long-term, in-depth ethnographic projects over a period of 6 to 13 years. The methods of data collection consisted of participant observation, field notes, class observations, individual interviews, and focus groups. This article reports on the findings from focus groups and uses a constant comparative method to analyze the data. Three common themes emerged from the analysis of the two data sets: Euro-western dominance; gendered positioning; and teacher resilience. The teachers used Euro-western language (i.e. English) as a key indicator of quality. The findings revealed that early childhood teachers experienced pressure from parents to conform to Euro-western standards, especially the use of English, thus alienating local languages. Teaching young children continued to be positioned as "women's work," resulting in low pay for early childhood education teachers and a lack of professionalism within the field. Although the themes of Euro-western standards and gendered discourses were frequent within the data, the theme of resilience was also found. The teachers displayed perseverance by using various coping mechanisms to counter the lack of resources and deprecated status of early childhood education as women's work.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Nepal; Kenya
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A