North-West University experts collab on mission to improve early childhood education in Africa

Dr Marinda Neethling and Dr Susan Greyling, both academics from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) research focus area Community-based Educational Research (COMBER), recently travelled to Namibia and Zimbabwe to collaborate and build relationships in the field of early childhood development.

Dr Neethling’s research focuses on providing comprehensive training to caregivers in African early childhood development centres, where many caregivers are unqualified grandmothers or mothers.

Dr Greyling’s research, on the other hand, concentrates on the management of these centres, which is considered a scarce skill.

Together, they are creating training materials for caregivers that emphasise practical lessons and activities to promote the holistic growth of young children. After visiting some centres, they realised the importance of contextual knowledge and adjusted the materials.

During their stay in Zimbabwe, the two NWU researchers also paid a visit to Dr Fae Chung, a former Zimbabwean Minister of Education and founding member of the Forum for African Women Educationalists. Dr Chung expressed her support for the NWU’s work in the field of early childhood education and emphasised its significance on the African continent.

The co-researchers from South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe plan to collaborate further in 2023, and they are looking to extend their collaborations to other African nations as well.