Sadaf Shallwani

University of Toronto | U of T · Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

In this chapter, it is argued that, as part of the modern Enlightenment project, the dominant discourse on 'child development' reflects and reproduces racism and imperialism. In the first section, it is asserted that racism, as defined by Foucault (1975-76/2003), is found within the child development discourse, both in the regulation of children's...

Throughout the world, young children make many transitions in their lives, from the family to the wider community, and from the community to primary school. They may or may not participate in an early childhood program as part of this transition process. While a great deal has been written about these transitions for children and families in the mi...

Education has a long history and valued place in Pakistani society. From the earliest recorded history, teachers and schools, along with families and the broader community, have played fundamental roles in children’s learning as well as the development of their character (Gupta, Introduction: culture, curriculum, and points of intersection. In: Gup...

Developmental science is both concerned with and has accumulated a wealth of evidence around factors that support and harm child development – many of which overlap substantially with the recently agreed upon global Sustainable Development Goals, placing developmental scientists in an apt position to contribute to the realization of these goals and...

Evaluation has long been considered an essential part of international development, as it seeks to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of different interventions. Global development is increasingly being critiqued for perpetuating neo-colonial, imperial, neoliberal and racist agendas, and we believe that the principles and practices of...

International development agencies often support community-based organisations (CBOs) to improve the wellbeing of children and their families. The relevance, impact, and sustainability of these funding partnerships are neither widely nor consistently understood. This article discusses the CBO leader and practitioner perspective on social change and...

This exploratory study examined the strengths and weaknesses in the quality of early childhood care and learning at selected community-based childcare centers (CBCCs) in Malawi, and aimed to understand underlying challenges and opportunities that may be addressed to improve quality and ultimately children's outcomes. Classroom environments and inte...

The present study examined children's use of behavioural outcome information to make personality attributions in social and non-social contexts. One hundred and twenty-eight 3- to 6-year-olds were told about a story actor who engaged in primarily successful or primarily unsuccessful interactions with several different people (social context) or sev...

In the mainstream discourse on child development and education, 'school readiness' has been conceptualized as the skills and knowledge that children need when they enter school in order to learn effectively in the school environment. However, school readiness is an idea which is entwined with our beliefs about child development and child needs (E....

Although globally primary school enrollment has increased dramatically in recent years, primary school completion rates remain disappointing. In many countries, the highest rates of dropout and repetition are at the Grade 1 level. In such a context, it becomes critical to examine children’s entry into, adjustment to, and success in their earliest y...

The first half of the training workshop focuses on introducing some of the concepts upon which community-based participatory research rests: research, ethics, participation, and action research. These modules attempt to demystify theoretical concepts by relating them to participants’ own lived experiences. In the second half of the workshop, we dem...