Education and training experiences of early childhood care and education practitioners in rural and urban settings of Durban, South Africa

South African Journal of Childhood Education

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Education and training experiences of early childhood care and education practitioners in rural and urban settings of Durban, South Africa
 
Creator Zulu, Pam P. Aina, Adebunmi Y. Bipath, Keshni
 
Subject — early childhood care and education; practitioner’s qualifications and training; professional identity; rural and urban settings; Child Care practitioners; Early Childhood Development
Description Background: The education and training experiences of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) practitioners reflect gaps and inequalities in South Africa’s educational system. Most South African ECCE centre practitioners do not have the appropriate qualifications to provide quality education to young learners.Aim: The study aimed to explore how the education and training experiences of ECCE practitioners impact their professional identity in urban and rural settings in KwaZulu-Natal province and to develop a model that would enhance the education and training of ECCE practitioners.Setting: Ten participants were selected for this study: one centre head and four practitioners from a rural setting, and one centre head and four practitioners from an urban area.Methods: Wenger’s social theory of learning was used to obtain an in-depth understanding of ECCE practitioners’ education and training experiences and how they function as professional workers. An interpretative, qualitative case study was adopted. Data was collected through focus group semi-structured interviews and non-participants’ observation and then analysed thematically.Results: The findings revealed that practitioners in rural settings had to contend with unfair working conditions daily, working all day in challenging circumstances whilst earning low incomes. Urban practitioners worked reasonable hours and received living wages, although they also experienced challenges such as a lack of parental involvement, lack of transport for children and high rates of absenteeism.Conclusion: Inequalities between rural and urban practitioners existed concerning resources, salaries, working conditions and further study and professional growth opportunities. Ensuring that practitioners attain proper Early Childhood Care (ECC) qualifications will raise the profession’s esteem amongst wider communities.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2022-05-25
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Interviews
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajce.v12i1.1167
 
Source South African Journal of Childhood Education; Vol 12, No 1 (2022); 11 pages 2223-7682 2223-7674
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1167/2155 https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1167/2156 https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1167/2157 https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1167/2158
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2022 Pam P. Zulu, Adebunmi Y. Aina, Keshni Bipath https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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