The rationale of the study

We have set out on a quest for true humanity, and somewhere on the horizon, we can see the glittering prize. Let us march forth with courage and determination, drawing strength from our common plight and out brotherhood. In time, we shall be in a position to bestow on South Africa the greatest possible gift - a more human face.

Steve Biko (1988)

Several studies have shown that children as young as three years are racially conscious and are able to display negative attitudes towards people from different cultural backgrounds (Mac Naughton, 2006). Values and attitudes therefore develop very early on in the socialisation process of children, making the early years a crucial period for the introduction of democratic and human rights values. Families and Practitioners have a critical part to play in this process and are unwittingly tasked with the great responsibility of creating environments which value diversity and encourage active engagement with a range of people.

Programmes on diversity and social integration in early childhood education have been implemented in various countries around the world as early childhood centres offer services to children from a wide range of cultural, linguistic, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds.

However, even in places without a diverse student population, the need to address issues of diversity and social integration has become a priority. As noted above, a review of existing literature, discussions with early childhood development professionals in South Africa, as well as my past research experiences has revealed a dearth of research on how cultural diversity affects the learning and teaching environment within the field of early childhood development in South Africa. Most of the research that is currently available regarding ECD focuses predominantly on policy issues and the implementation of the Reception year (Grade R) (see L. Biersteker, 2001;

Department of Education, 2001; NAPTOSA, 2001; Valley, 2001; and Atmore, 2006).

Furthermore, programmes focused on social inclusion and diversity have unwittingly been almost entirely focused on children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Although this is a very important focus area, the concept of diversity education needs to be broadened within South Africa.

There is currently a tendency to use mathematics and literacy as the cornerstones of education, especially since the economic competition discourse is commonplace (OECD, 2006).

Although these are indeed fundamental areas which create a solid base upon which future learning can be built, there is a need to rethink the aim of education, to create a vision of education which takes into account the need to provide children from a young age with an environment which stimulates interaction across all barriers. Centres and schools need to be conceptualised as places where it is important to respect one another and where negotiations are employed when conflicts arise. Family involvement is essential, and healthy Practitioner-family relationships provide continuity between what is being modelled at home and within the more formal educational environment.

In most cases ECD centres operate as “places where the family meets the public environment, and should be viewed as a transition between the private and public domain”

(Vandenbroeck, 2007). ECD centres, therefore, play an important role in the socialization of children and in many instances for their families as well. These centres are places where diverse groups of people get together and therefore have the potential to build bridges across cultural and socioeconomic divisions (Ibid). This is corroborated by Friendly (2007), who writes that ECD programmes are especially valuable because they are multi-purpose, playing a key role for more than one group of people simultaneously.

Although all stages of learning are important, early childhood is a critical moment in which the foundations for future development can be established. It is in these first years that the child creates and reinforces his/her identity, and provides an opportune moment to create positive awareness about diversity (Lee & Van Keulen, 2007). It is also a time when children learn about the world to which they are exposed, including their families, their classmates, other people they know, the media, books and the toys with which they play (Ibid).

Finding out about the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours of Practitioners and families and gaining insight into oppressive social and institutional practices is an important step towards developing a specific intercultural education project that can contribute towards breaking down prejudice and promoting non-discriminatory attitudes, encouraging people to accept diversity as something that enriches communities instead of being something that threatens both individual and collective identities.

A Practitioner engaging with learners in an ECD centre in Queenstown, South Africa Photograph taken by Jaclyn Murray.

This study, therefore, hopes to stimulate thought and discussion about diversity and intercultural education within the early childhood development setting. This project is investigative orientated and it is hoped that the findings from this research effort can assist with highlighting some of the key challenges faced by early childhood Practitioners working in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms and offer insights regarding support strategies that could be offered to Practitioners and families as they raise children in an increasingly diverse world.

In light of the contextual overview presented in Chapter one of this work, it is not sufficient for South Africa to simply try to rebuild the nation from a neutral starting point; there is no neutral starting point. Instead the real work lies in transforming a society that was previously designed to meet objectives which were in fact hostile to those of a democratic society, starting with its youngest citizens and the adults who care for them. The education system at all levels plays a fundamental role in re-shaping this pluricultural society, particularly in relation to fostering positive intercultural relations, and to completely reset the foundations upon which the ‘old’ South Africa was built. In this way the intercultural education approach offers a good starting point upon which a foundation of understanding and respecting diversity

can be built, and, at the same time ensure that people’s identities do not feel threatened or weakened by cultural exchanges that are inevitable in a pluralistic society.

2.3 The phenomenon under study: Cultural diversity in Early Childhood Development