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Vincent Guezodje
456
Educational reform in Benin
457
Vincent Guezodje
458
Educational reform in Benin
There are no educational problems calling for separate solutions; there is one
development problem of which the educational problem is one important
aspect.
Education must become the prime mover of our economic and social
development. . . . This implies that it must aim at serving the whole
community and not a tiny minority of privileged persons. Accordingly,
education should become the natural point of convergence of all efforts to
seek, analyse and assemble whatever forces in the social environment can
be mobilized with the firm intention of transforming and developing that
environment.
All the Nation's available intellectual and technical personnel must be
used in addition to the traditional educational structures.
459
Vincent Guezodje
460
Educational reform in Benin
Í
T o this end, w e considered it indispan*
study of educational problems by holdi$
seminars on the subject, in particular the\s
development', and also to conduct further"
of practical training courses organized in
T h efirstof these started at Gandjazoumè and Paouignan in 1976.
S o m e of the crucial measures of the reform are already being
widely applied. For instance, all schools have really become pro-
duction units. Other measures will only become generalized practice
after the preparatory stages of reflection, training and experimentation
have been completed. This is precisely what w e aimed to achieve
by holding the Education and Development Seminar and organizing
the practicalfieldwork connected with it.
461
Vincent Guezodje
P A O U I G N A N : A TRAINING COURSE
ORGANIZED IN A SPECIFIC SOCIAL SITUATION
Objectives
As already stated, the main objective of such operations is to give
effect to the conclusions and resolutions of the Education and Devel-
opment Seminar—which amounts, in fact, to putting the reform to
the test of practical work in the field.
M o r e specifically, it was necessary, in the setting of a rural c o m m u n e
(in this case Paouignan), to arouse the interest of the entire popu-
lation, through the community organizers and local authorities
appointed by the revolutionary government, and to induce everyone
to participate in meetings and joint projects in order to pursue the
following subobjectives:
462
Educational reform in Benin
Implementation
T h e development promotion effort in which the entire population
was thus involved affected almost all aspects of life: economic and
political problems, health, nutrition, the education of children and
young people, housing, hygiene, co-operatives, literacy training, and
so o n .
In each of these sectors, the immediate objective was to find out
h o w the school could contribute to the development and advancement
of the whole community.
T h e ten specialists responsible for conducting the operation lived
in the village for three weeks and sought to mobilize every type of
development promotion organizer in the c o m m u n e for reflection and
action 'with a view to changing people's attitudes to educational
realities rather than supplying a set of recipes for teaching or devel-
opment promotion work'.
T h e y started by providing information intelligible to all. T h e
social groups with which they established contact were composed
of all teachers, considered as organizers of community activities, the
pupils, w h o play the leading role in such activities, and other people
contributing to development promotion work such as the personnel
of the following services: rural development, health, public works,
posts and telecommunications, public finances, social welfare, the
constabulary.
T h e local political authorities and the various socio-economic
463
Vincent Guezodje
Briefing teachers
While the above-mentioned activities were going on, special attention
was being paid to teachers. T o start with, joint study groups were
held on the L a w on Educational Policy. It was necessary to go over
the text in this way to make its meaning clear, even for teachers,
because the concepts and ideas of the National Programme for the
Construction of the N e w Education System were not always easy
for them to grasp.
After the small study groups had worked through questionnaires,
the teachers m a d e a list of everything that had been done in the
schools of Paouignan to set u p the n e w education system: the intro-
duction of n e w subjects such as patriotic civic education, ideology,
courses on h o m e economics; the reactivation of the school production
unit and co-operative, etc.
Lastly, the information that had been collected was used as the
basis of an objective assessment of the gap between what teachers
in the c o m m u n e had actually done and what remained to be done
in order ot make the n e w education system into 'a fermenting-agent
for transforming the social environment'.
464
Educational reform in Benin
taking the observation and analysis of the physical, social and cultural
realities surrounding the school as the subject-matter of lessons given in
various educational disciplines (languages, mathematics, history, geography,
observational sciences, etc.), in order to gain a clearer understanding of
problems affecting these realities and suggest practical solutions to be
applied with the co-operation of all development promotion workers and
the villagers themselves.1
POLITICAL CONDITIONS
465
Vincent Guezodje
STRUCTURAL CONDITIONS
EDUCATIONAL CONDITIONS
466
Educational reform in Benin
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insti- Reports Total Total
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467
Vincent Guezodje
468
Educational reform in Benin
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F I G . I. Diagram of dialectical relations
o
5
si between school and environment.
469
Vincent Guezodje
Diagram of school-environment
dialectical relations
Individual development
Training of persons w h o have
A collective and integrated 'development' qualities:
effort to promote the resourcefulness, imagination,
development of the environment a readiness to shoulder
holds out hope of a better responsibility, a sense of
life for the community reality, etc.
470
Educational reform in Benin
471
George Z . F. Bereday
Comparisons of one person with others, of one family with other George Z . P . Bereday
families, of one's locality, region or country with those of one's ( United States
of America).
neighbours are as old as juxtaposition of colours in the arts and Professor
older than comparisons of laboratory experiments in the sciences. of comparative
In education ad hoc comparisons are also old but meticulous compari- education
at Columbia University,
sons are not. Those w h o believe in comparisons point to the resulting founder and long-time
broadened vistas but admit that comparative methods are far from editor of the
being developed. Those w h o deny the worthiness of comparative Comparative
Education Review,
research not only complain of imperfection of method but add that former joint editor
inconclusive results are useless for the purposes of planning. T h e of the World Year Book
desenchanted m a k e their attack and the enthusiastic leap to the defence of Education.
Among his many
of comparative approaches. Meanwhile academic life goes on only works are:
slightly perturbed by these eruptions. A s long as there are people Essays on World
willing to pursue comparative interests, their activities ultimately Education,
Comparative M e t h o d
overcome the protests of the sceptics. in Education.
Within the field accommodations have to be m a d e for people w h o
wish to pursue comparisons with a varying degree of rigour. T h e
scope of comparative education is still sufficiently indeterminate to
permit one of two approaches. First, a micro-approach which would
mandate a setting off against each other of meticulously matched
countries or problems in order to elicit by a systematic and symmetric
comparison a balanced view of the similarities and differences. Such
semi-scientific comparison would come closest to permitting infer-
ences, predictions and recommendations of policy from the juxta-
posed materials. I have called this approach a balanced comparison.1
472
473
George Z. F. Bereday
SUBSTANTIVE TRADITION
i. The most complete of the editions of Jullien's writings available is Steward Fraser, Jullien's
Plan for Comparative Education, 1816-1817. N e w York, N . Y . , Teachers College Press,
1964.
2. Reprinted in G . Z . F . Bereday, 'Sir Michael Sadler's Study of Foreign Systems of Edu-
cation', Comparative Education Review, Vol. 7, N o . 3, February 1964.
3. I. L . Kandel, Comparative Education, Boston, Mass., Houghton Mifflin, 1933.
4. F . Schneider, Triebkräfte der Pädagogik der Völker, Salzburg, Otto Miller Verlag, 1947.
5. P . Rosello, La Teoría de las Corrientes Educativas, Rio de Janeiro, Unesco, i960.
474
Comparative analysis in education
475
George Z. F. Bereday
M E T H O D O L O G I C A L TRADITIONS
476
Comparative analysis in education
477
George Z. F. Bereday
1. Publications resulting from the I E A studies includes an initial report on mathematics and
nine volumes published by Wiley. For thefirstpart of a two-part review, see Prospects,
Vol. V I I , N o . 3, p. 440-3.—Ed.
2. This disappointing conclusion due to the complexity of the data has reinforced critical
appraisals of the I E A undertaking. See Journal for Research in Mathematics Education,
Vol. 2, N o . 2 , March 1971, and Educational Studies in Mathematics, Vol. 6, N o . 2, July 1975.
T h e most recent and the most thoughtful of these is Alex Inkeles's review in the Proceedings
of the National Academy of Education, Vol. 4, 1977.
478
Comparative analysis in education
479
George Z. F. Bereday
480
Comparative analysis in education
1. For example, W . D . Halls, Society, Schools and Progress in France, 1965; W . Dixon,
Society, Schools and Progress in Scandinavia, 1965.
2. They include the particularly relevant series: c O E C D Reviews of National Policies For
Education' and c O E C D Education and Development, County Reports, the Mediterranean
Retrieval Project'.
3. H . Rickover, Szviss Schools and Ours: Why Theirs are Better, Boston, Mass., Little,Brown,
1962.
4. A . S. Trace, What Ivan Knows That Johnny Doesn't: A Comparison of Soviet and American
School Programs, N e w York, N . Y . , Random House, 1962.
5. D . B . Kandel and A . S. Lesser, Youth in Two Worlds, San Francisco, Calif., Jossey-Bass,
1972.
6. U . Bronfenbrenner, Two Worlds of Childhood, N e w York, N . Y . , Russell Sage, 1970.
7. See J. Kagan and R . E . Klein, 'Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Early Childhood Develop-
ment', American Psychologist, Vol. 28, November 1973, p. 947-61.
8. Most recent book by these scholars is B . B . Whiting and J. W. M . Whiting, Six Cultures:
A Psycho-Cultural Analysis, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1975.
9. M . Carnoy, Education as Cultural Imperialism, N e w York, N . Y . , David M c K a y , 1974.
48I
George Z. F. Bereday
i. George Z . F . Bereday, Universities for All, San Francisco, Calif.j Jossey-Bass, 1973.
2. E . King, Education and Social Change, Oxford, Pergamon, 1966.
482
Comparative analysis in education
i. Several of King's other books are in the global style—see World Perspectives in Education,
Minneapolis, Bobbes-Merrill, 1962.
483
George Z. F. Bereday
484
Comparative analysis in education
485
George Z. F. Bereday
486
Comparative analysis in education
487
Viewpoints and controversies
Marjorie Mbilinyi 'Basic education' for the poorest of the world's poor has become
(United Republic the cornerstone of education policy of international agencies and
of Tanzania).
Senior lecturer national governments in the capitalist world. In order to understand
in education, the goals and probable consequences of basic education for peasants
University of
and workers in underdeveloped capitalist countries, it is necessary
Dar es Salaam.
Author of T h e to examine the policy in context. S o m e fundamental questions under-
Education of Girls lying such an analysis are (a) W h o benefits? W h o s e interests are
in Tanzania,
and has compiled
being served? and (b) H o w ? W h a t are the mechanisms through
a volume entitled which certain interests are served? T h e latent objectives and aspects
W h o Goes to School of education reform b e c o m e as important as the stated, explicit ones.
in East Africa
(in press).
1. Meeting Basic Needs. Strategies for Eradicating Mass Poverty and Unemployment, Geneva,
I L O , 1977 (author's italics).
489
49O
Basic education: tool of liberation or exploitation?
49I
Marjoríe Mbilinyi
work and at least the foundations upon which practical skills, relevant
to his or her environment, m a y be built'. Attitudes and values should
be learned to enable the participants tofitinto the existing 'societal
mould'.
492
Basic education: tool of liberation or exploitation?
1. Prospects, Vol. V , N o . I, 1975, p. 128. (The words in brackets have been added by the
author—Ed.)
2. ibid.
493
Marjorie Mbilinyi
494
Basic education: tool of liberation or exploitation?
495
Marjorie Mbilinyi
496
Basic education: tool of liberation or exploitation?
497
Marjorie Mbilinyi
498
Basic education: tool of liberation or exploitation?
499
Marjorie Mbilinyi
1. The Experimental World Literacy Programme: A Critical Assessment, Paris, The Unesco
Press, 1976.
2. Prospects, Vol. V I , N o . 1, op. cit.
5OO
Basic education: tool of liberation or exploitation?
5OI
Marjorie Mbilinyi
I. Paulo Freiré, 'Literacy and the Possible Dream', Prospects, Vol. V I , N o . i, 1976.
502
Basic education: tool of liberation or exploitation?
503
Elements for a dossier
Pre-school education
in developing countries
506
believe that the members of these societies scholastic attainment profile is already decided.
were more 'intelligent', more 'gifted', than Kraus, w h o followed 148 children in the
others, or even that they belonged to a 'superior United States—white, black, Hispano-American
race'. In the industrialized world, the exact and oriental—from kindergarten to adulthood,
sciences play a growing part. B y their very confirms Bloom's observations in the school
nature, they are based on a logic which, orig- environment. Kraus writes:2
inally philosophical, becomes mathematical;
T h e first assessment found to be in high and stable
upon a particular type of rationality charac- correlation with the results obtained in the intelli-
terized by a predominantly objective system of gence tests and the reading and mathematical compre-
reference. hension tests, given subsequently, is a reading test
T h e complexity of their theories and methods taken in the third year of primary school.
of organization and functioning also requires
highly abstract thought and language. A n d , Kraus continues, the results in the reading
It is largely for these reasons that in the test in the third year of primary school 'could
industrialized countries formalized, systematic have been used, for the majority of the children,
education begins increasingly early and lasts as predictors of success or failure, certainly for
longer and longer in a child's life. the following six academic years, thus covering
lower secondary education, and even for later'.3
Finally, Kraus observes that only a few of
A decisive period the pupils w h o failed in reading in the third
year were able to overcome this difficulty: these
This brings us to a crucial question. B y and were the children w h o had the good fortune to
large, it has been accepted for some time, thanks be individually assisted by reading remediation
to the progress of dynamic psychology, that a specialists. A n d the author concludes sadly:
man's character and affectivity are broadly out- 'There were no late bloomers.' 3
lined, even definitively drawn, in thefirstfive All this is confirmed by Husén 4 and by sev-
or six years of his life. This observation seems eral of m y o w n observations.6 At the end of a
to be universally valid. Furthermore, w e are longitudinal study carried out in Sweden, Husén
n o w in a position, at least in the highly indus- finds that the opinion of third-year primary-
trialized countries, to formulate a similar hy- school teachers and the results in intelligence
pothesis for cognitive development. tests taken at the same time are good predictors
It is k n o w n that in his now-classic work, for the school career.
Bloom 1 concludes from a considerable number In a Belgian mining region, M i n o n 6 has
of previous studies that the intellectual develop-
ment of the individual, in its varying phases,
1. B . Bloom, Stability and Change in Human Character-
evolves as follows: in relation to the general istics, N e w York, N . Y . , Wiley, 1964.
level of intelligence reached at the age of 17, 2. Philip E . Kraus, Yesterday's Children: A Longitudinal
about 50 per cent of aptitudes are already fixed Study of Children from Kindergarten into the Adult
Years, p. 41, N e w York, N . Y . , Wiley Interscience, 1973.
at the age of 4, the following 30 per cent are 3. ibid., p. 42.
achieved between 4 and 8 and the remaining 4. T . Husén, Talent, Opportunity and Career, Stockholm,
20 per cent between the age of 8 and 17. Almquist & Wiksell, 1969.
5. G . de Landsheere (ed.), Recherches sur les Handicapés
Parallel to this, the school career also seems Socio-culturels de 0 à 7-8 Ans, Bruxelles, Ministère
to be determined, in essence, early in life. de l'Éducation Nationale, Direction Générale de l'Or-
ganisation des Études, 1973,450 p .
Bloom observes that w h e n a child starts the 6. P . Minon, Facteurs Sociaux de la Première Orientation
first year of primary school, 33 per cent of his Scolaire. Liège, Institut de Sociologie, 1966.
507
Gilbert de Landsheere
shown that the occupational future of a great veloping countries do not need m e n of action
majority of socio-culturally deprived children trained on the spot rather than thinkers with a
is determined by the age of 10. long academic preparation? D o certain cultural
T h u s Ausubel 1 is probably right in asserting conditions in certain countries facilitate more
that 'in the field of culturally handicapped belated development than in the West?
childhood, the main theoretical and experimen- O n e cannot but be staggered by the fact that
tal problem, both for pure and applied research, large-scale transcultural studies were not under-
is that of the reversibility of the effects of taken years ago to clarify these problems. W e r e
cultural deficiency on the development of verbal m e n reluctant to raise them? D i d they wish to
and theoretical intelligence'. avoid them? This would be a serious mistake
O n e cannot but be struck by the convergence on the part of the developing countries. For
fo these various observations. However, they even if it were proved that man's intellectual
are still of purely statistical validity and w e lack, destiny is universally determined from child-
in particular, carefully collected studies of cases hood, this would not m e a n that the situation of
where this premature determinism seems to be these countries is hopeless. T h e West has faced
refuted by the facts. the same difficulty in its time.
H o w is this relevant to the developing In short, a series of problems with di-
countries? A s might be guessed, the question is, rect, fundamental educational repercussions
for m a n y of them, crucial. W e are reminded of arise during the transition—especially if it is
the despairing reaction of a teacher w h e n she accelerated—from an economy essentially domi-
heard of the aforementioned researches. For she nated by the primary sector to modern indus-
was devoting all her energy to educating Latin trialization and the development of services.
American adolescents w h o , u p to then, had This process exerts a dynamic influence on the
received no school education. W e r e her efforts whole culture which, from being static, sud-
practically useless? denlyfindsitself obliged to create n e w forms of
Certainly not. But could one hope to recover adaptation and to produce flexible, creative
all the educational time lost? W e cannot be sure. behaviour-patterns to which it is not used.
Whereas it is still possible, u p to a relatively This transformation, often of a mutational
late age, to m a k e reasonable progress in the character, requires, in particular: (a) an inten-
field offigurativeand social learning, it seems sification of communication and information
to be quite a different matter in the abstract, input, particularly in writing; (b) the use of a
symbolic field. It would appear that if a certain widely diffused language, which often has to be
basic symbolic learning has not been acquired learnt from scratch; (c) the formalization of
at the right time (during the 'sensitive periods', education.
as Montessori used to say), the aptitude for In order to achieve the acculturation w e are
acquiring it diminishes. H o w m a n y semi-skilled concerned with, children will have to learn to
workers, in the West, whose regular schooling perceive the world by means which have u p to
has often come to a halt at the age of 10, have then been partly or wholly alien to them; and,
been able to change course and start a n e w , as if such a task were not difficult enough in
more intellectual career? itself, the building of concepts, of this n e w
Nevertheless, the ambiguity of m a n y of the logic, will often have to take place at school, in
above reflections is obvious. Even if they are
derived from rigorous research, surely their val-
i. D . P. Ausubel, ' H o w Reversible are the Cognitive and
idity is limited to a very special type of culture? Motivational Effects of Cultural Deprivation?', Urban
Should w e not ask, for example, whether de- Education, Vol. 1,1964.
508
Pre-school education in developing countries
a language which is also alien, of which the academic progress, for which, by a strange
child originally knows nothing. coincidence, the criteria for success are precisely
If, as is only too likely, the pupils do not the capacity to reproduce, parrot-fashion, the
embark on this process until the age of 6 or 7, set forms he has learnt, and not to transfer or
or even later, w h e n , according to Bloom, only apply them to reality.
20 per cent of their general intelligence has still In what language should pre-primary edu-
to be developed, the vicious circle of difficulties cation be given? Bearing in m i n d the m a n y
is complete. tests conducted, with various objectives, in the
In writing these lines, one thinks particularly past, the only possible solution seems to be
of those regions of the world where contacts to use exclusively at the outset the language
with the culture which dominates the contem- heard by the child since birth and spoken
porary industrial, even post-industrial era have in the family circle. Except where the very
remained tenuous. M a n y less clear-cut situations nature of the conceptual substratum of the
exist, of course, but there is every reason to mother tongue makes this impossible, it is in
suppose that they are marked, in varying de- it that the quantitative study of the environ-
grees, by the basic difficulties w e are trying to ment, the pre-scientific construction of reality
indicate. Hence the usefulness of extreme cases and also, of course, certain essential qualitative
to m a k e the point more clearly. aspects would be approached.
F r o m the beginning of primary schooling, the
child would be initiated in the language of major
The role of pre-primary education communication in which secondary and, eventu-
ally, higher studies will be pursued. But u p to
As might have been guessed, all the preceding the age of 8 or 9, recourse would be had to the
considerations establish, in m y view, the necess- mother tongue to ensure deep understanding.
ity of making contact, as early as possible, with A s has been said, the child's living experience
the modes of thought and cultural forms of the must be enriched. H e will discover, in par-
world into which the future adult will have to ticular, in the school environment the cultural
integrate. elements missing in the family setting, yet
This must be done in such a w a y as to necessary in order to follow the educational
overcome the formidable difficulties in achiev- curriculum which awaits him. In these activities
ing balance and continuity between the original the conceptualization of space, time and caus-
culture in which the child has been soaked ality will take pride of place. Exercises involving
during the veryfirstyears of its life—apparently serialization, classification and grouping, always
the most decisive—and a culture which has in conjunction with the discovery of relevant
almost nothing in c o m m o n with the former, relations, will be done at every opportunity,
both from the point of view of attitudes and with hypothetico-deductive thought as the final
values and as regards behaviour towards the goal. T h e development of affectivity and moral
physical world. awareness will, of course, not be overlooked.
It is here that pre-primary education has a These few suggestions do not purport to be
decisive part to play, particularly in forming an a draft curriculum, but simply guidelines for
experimental background without which teach- thought, as regards both the elaboration of
ing can have no meaning for the pupil. In the educational programmes and teacher training.
absence of meaning, w e are reduced, at best, to T h e y also point the only way to breaking the
a solution of despair: the pupil learns by rote, vicious circle created by the system of parrot-
without understanding, all that is necessary for learning whose genesis w e have described above.
509
Gilbert de Landsheere
510
Pre-school education in developing countries
5"
David W o o d and Miriam Harris
A n experiment in psychological
intervention1
512
513
David W o o d and Miriam Harris
investment in child-minding as a service will got together a group of playgroup workers and
pay off. Other authorities do not wish to encour- trainers. A n d so on, through all those involved
age minding either because they feel it to be an in any way with the care of pre-school children
inferior form of care or because to do so would in Oxfordshire.
be to sanction mothers of young children going
out to work.
There is, then, no nationally agreed policy The search
governing the nature and extent of provision for for a common goal
pre-school children. Indeed, there is no agree-
ment as to whether the young child's primary T h e original purpose of our group was to exam-
need is custodial, social or educational; n o ine the literature and the prevailing wisdoms
consensus exists as to the extent of duration of about pre-school development in children,
his time in care or the desirability of his mother asking what recommendations these might offer
taking full-time employment. So it is clear that to those w h o have direct public responsibility
ourfieldof interest is a highly controversial one, for these children. First, w e convened a series
charged with m u c h political argument. of seminars which included research workers,
It was also necessary to acknowledge the practitioners from nursery schools, people in-
institutional and administrative constraints volved in the business of training teachers and
within which both w e and the practitioners playgroup supervisors and individuals whose
themselves were operating. But h o w were w e jobs involved them in the organization and
to do this? O n e solution to this problem was supervision of early education and welfare.
to take as a unit a single local authority, cover- As one might anticipate in the light of what
ing and administering the whole range of pro- w e have already said about the m a n y conflicting
vision. T h e convenient choice was the County opinions about the needs of pre-school children,
of Oxfordshire. W e realize that it is not of course these preliminary meetings led to wide-ranging
typical; no single county would be; but w e be- discussions and, occasionally, to open argument
lieve it can be used as a model or case study about the purposes and responsibilities of pre-
which others can adapt to their o w n local school organizations. These discussions eventu-
conditions. W e therefore set about acquiring the ally led us to reject what could be called the
necessary 'visa' to work in the county. W e saw 'usual' strategy of intervention. T h e most
it as essential to the whole idea of participatory c o m m o n strategy is for the researcher to go to
research that those involved should k n o w what the practitioner armed with a particular method
our aims were and, w e hoped, be interested in a and a theory of a set of hypotheses about what
collaborative venture; and in this w e were very should rightly be done with young children.
fortunate. Over thefirstmonths w e m a d e They might, as Joan T o u g h (1977) is currently
contact at various levels in the Education D e - doing, for example, try to steer teachers into
partment from the chief education officer, via specific types of conversation with children,
the senior primary adviser, the nursery teachers believing that forms of language use are instru-
and their staffs, in the Social Services Depart- mental in creating certain forms of intelligence
ment from the director via the principal social and ability. A n d indeed, there is a good case to
worker for child-minders and playgroups, and m a k e for the hypothesis that the characteristic
those responsible for day nurseries, to those w h o way in which language is used to help and
worked with the individual minders and play- control a child determines h o w well he will
groups, and nursery staffs. W e talked to the handle certain sorts of problems and h o w likely
County Pre-school Playgroup Association and he is to succeed in a formal educational setting
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A n experiment in psychological intervention
(e.g. Bruner (1971) and W o o d (1977)). However, factors likely to foster or impede the child's
this evidence is still somewhat equivocal and capacity for sustained, self-directed activity
such a strategy presupposes that those entrusted towards a goal. These are described below.
with the responsibility for pre-schoolers accept T h e zest and commitment demanded b y
and share such an educational and political ob- continuous physical and mental activity fail to
jective. W e felt that practitioners—particularly develop if, starting in utero, and in the formative
in playgroups—might well reject the idea that years, the child is deprived of a balanced,
they were in the business of providing such nourishing diet. Although, even in a relatively
'remedial' experiences. A n d w e also felt that w e prosperous society like the United K i n g d o m ,
knew too little about their problems and aspir- malnutrition is not u n k n o w n , it seemed u n -
ations to take such a strong premeditated line. likely that this particular area of knowledge
So, w e gradually came to the conclusion that would prove relevant to our work. However it
there was very little by way of compelling scien- did stand as a reminder that intellectual and
tific evidence to provide us with general goals social growth cannot be divorced from general
for joint pursuit. A s w e were moving towards standards of living.
this conclusion, one topic started to figure Adults are amongst the best and worst things
strongly in our discussions. This was the subject that happen to children. A growing body of
of concentration in children. Most members of knowledge in developmental psychology points
the seminar seemed to agree that it was likely to to the idea that adult interaction in the child's
prove a wide-spread goal, that those involved in earliest g a m e s — m u c h of it spontaneous and
both playgroups and nursery teaching would be unnoticed in daily life—helps shape and
likely to see the cultivation of children's capacity constrain both linguistic and intellectual
to work in a sustained way towards the achieve- (e.g. Bruner, 1975) as well as social growth in
ment of an objective—be this in play or in more general. Although w e are a long way from a full
formal curriculum areas—as a desirable end. appreciation of the range of individual differ-
There was a reasonable literature on the subject ences in children's responses to adults or adult
which proved a source of useful hypotheses responses to children, w e have k n o w n for some
about factors underlying the development of time that where sustained contact with an
concentration. There were also some interesting adult is not forthcoming, children tend to suffer
discrepancies between the recommendations intellectually and emotionally. T h e child's de-
which w e drew out of this literature and what sire or ability to concentrate is also influenced by
w e took to be c o m m o n practice in pre-school adult behaviour. Even the mere presence of an
institutions, so that there was room for dis- adult tends to extend the child's period of in-
cussion and development. A n d it would provide volvement in a self-selected activity. But an
us all with an opportunity to see whether pre- adult can also destroy a child's potential interest
dictions derived from this body of the exper- in an activity. Gail Zivin (1974) showed, for
imental evidence would stand up to scrutiny in a example, that w h e n a child lacks interest in a toy
real-life setting. W e seemed to have achieved talking to h i m about it, extolling its virtues, is
ourfirstobjective; a shared platform. less likely to excite his interest than simply
letting things lie. Another excellent way to de-
stroy a child's interest in a task or activity is to
obey the following simple rule: (a) find some-
CONCENTRATION
thing that he seems to be enjoying; (b) praise or
Our examination of the literature on concen- reward him for doing it for a time; (c) then stop
praising h i m or ignore him. Similarly, a good
tration suggested three main hypotheses about
515
David W o o d and Miriam Harris
w a y to ensure that a child continues to do some- sand, water, etc.—which permit self-expression
thing that you would rather he did not do is to and do not constrain creativity. T h e adults' role
get over-agitated and angry about it. is rather poorly defined but they are there to
H o w often, w e wondered, do w e spon- m a k e free expression possible, to provide m a -
taneously m a k e such mistakes (if indeed, our terials and a context for self-directed learning.
behaviour has such general effects outside the In fact they are by and large expected to
laboratory setting?). After all, it seems reason- be somewhat withdrawn and 'invisible' (e.g.
able to talk to the young child about the joys he Stallybrass, 1974).
is missing by his lack of interest in something O n the surface, then, there would seem to be
and to join in and praise him for something he is a mismatch between the conditions needed to
already enjoying. O r do w e soon learn not to do promote sustained, self-directed activity and
these things? certain aspects of what w e took to be prevailing
pre-school philosophy. If teachers and play-
group supervisors did wish to pursue our joint
STRUCTURED ACTIVITIES goal there might well be a need for changes.
So w e started out with three broad ques-
Although evidence here is not strong, there is tions. First, what is practice in pre-schools
some indication that children are likely to like? W o u l d w e find the characteristics of
concentrate for longer periods in activities 'child-centred' philosophy which w e antici-
which have a (for them) definite structure or pated and would this result in rather short
rule system. T h e child is likely to participate in bouts of concentrated activity in children? Sec-
variations on an already familiar theme, in ond, would the hypotheses, drawn from the
elaboration and play based on a k n o w n event literature, be borne out in the working situ-
or object and in tasks which pose recognizable ation? Third, h o w would practitioners respond
problems (Millar, 1968). S o m e psychologists to our findings? If there was a mismatch
have placed considerable stress on the part between the goal of concentrated activity and
played by 'rule-governed' games in helping methods currently in practice would this pro-
the child develop his powers of anticipation vide sufficient motivation for modifications in
and m e m o r y (Bruner, 1975). Simple turn- materials and methods?
taking games like 'peekaboo' where there are Before w e discuss our attempts to answer
quite definite rules of participation combined these questions, however, w e should spell out
with an element of surprise seem to have a more explicity what w e hoped to achieve with
natural attraction for young children (and their our emphasis on concentration. W e were not, of
parents). Structured, rule-governed interactions course, hoping to m a k e it the number one
thus seem to play an important part in develop- priority of every pre-school institution in the
ing the child's abilities to plan or anticipate, to county. Rather, w e hoped to use it m u c h as a
sustain his activity and to help h i m develop a scientist might use a tracer element, as a sig-
sense of control and power. nalling device whose charted passage through a
T h e prevailing practice in both playgroups and system helps reveal more about that system's
nursery schools in the United K i n g d o m , at least characteristics.
the stereotype held about prevailing practice, is This general interest has led us not only to
what is usually called 'child-centred'. T h e e m - interaction with practitioners but with parents,
phasis is on self-directed activity by the child, administrators, journalists and television pro-
on open access to all equipment and materials, ducers. Indeed the whole process of dis-
on the use of unstructured materials—clay, semination—the impact of information passed
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A n experiment in psychological intervention
517
David W o o d and Miriam Harris
sense, but it is perhaps worth picking out some his twenty minute session. Someone will interact with
of the findings which have emerged. him no more than once or twice to get something
In the course of our work w e asked a group going or to change his present line of activity. H e
will see them once again as they comment on his
of aboutfiftypractitioners h o w m a n y times they
activities, more often than not to suggest h o w he
would expect a child to change his activity in
might proceed more effectively or to pass judgement
the course of a 20-minute observation. Although on his efforts. H e will see them one further time,
w e found it extremely difficult to elicit 'average w h e n the interaction will not be concerned with overt
values' from them (there was m u c h resistance activity or real objects, but, rather, will concern some-
to making abstract numerical statements—see thing in the world at large or have something to do
below) w e eventually got a consensus value of with reasons and causes which are not self-evident.
three to four times. In other words, the expec- All these interactions will tend to be quite fleeting,
tation was that a child would spend between 5 seldom lasting more than a half-minute, and there
and 7 minutes on a selected activity. In fact, will almost certainly not be any sustained dialogue or
our research (this with the eldest, almost 5-year- shared endeavour. Put another way, in seven hundred
and twenty minutes of observation w e encountered
old children) produced a value of about seven
only five cases of sustained interaction, ones which
times—with an average of between 2 and 3 min-
involved more than a passing exchange of words.
utes on each activity. S o m e children spent the
whole observation period on one activity while A s w e had expected, then, from the supposed
several others changed as m u c h as nineteen philosophy of pre-school experience there were
times in 20 minutes. substantial descrepancies between the activities
O u r observations also showed, as w e ex- and materials which would tend to promote
pected from our search of the literature, that extended periods of concentration in children
children spent longer in an activity w h e n and what actually was going on in pre-school
an adult was present. A n d while the most settings. T h e data w e have collected tend to
c o m m o n materials to be found in pre-schools confirm the hypotheses w e had drawn from the
were, as anticipated, sand, water, clay and literature. So, the first step had been taken.
painting materials, the longest bouts of sus- W o u l d practitioners n o w try to promote greater
tained activity came not with these but with concentration in their children by modifying
more structured materials. Boys, in fact, dis- their practices? W e were available to help them
played longest bouts with material which offered monitor the effects of any n e w initiatives they
the opportunity to construct something—bricks, might want to try and w e had a few suggestions
jigsaws, etc.—while girls spent longer, on av- as to experiments they might want to try in
erage, in the ' h o m e corner', involved in d o m - attempts to achieve this goal.
estic role play. W e found very few games and
organized activities.
A n analysis of adult contacts with these Feedback—its evaluation
children produced results which correspond
closely to observations m a d e elsewhere by other T h e 'traditional' research strategy, in which the
researchers (Tizard et al., 1976). Generally researcher decides the goal, frames the ques-
speaking, adults did not involve themselves in tions, designs the tools and executes the re-
the children's activities. A summary statement search as an 'external' observer, leaves h i m
from one of our interim reports illustrates the with the standard 'dissemination task'. H e must
main findings: alert his potential consumers to the importance
T h e child can expect to be addressed personally by of the question he asks, the suitability of his
an adult (in word or deed) three or four times during methods and thus get them to see the force of
518
A n experiment in psychological intervention
his work. If w e had been successful with our for this research work. W e could not understand what
strategy, had involved the practitioners in set- value the outcome would have on the future develop-
ting u p joint goals, and in designing and ment of playgroups.
executing the study, then ourfinaltask should
be m u c h simpler, since the importance of the Although this is only one reaction, the gen-
questions and the validity of the methods are eral impression gained from the meetings and
already agreed. So w e hoped that feeding back odd comments subsequently heard from prac-
the results would be relatively easy with the titioners convinced us that it was reasonably
implications clearly perceived. But w e were to representative.
be disappointed, and tofindothers disappointed
in us, at ourfirstformal attempt at feedback,
w h e n the results of our observations were The failure
beginning to come through. of psychological intervention
W e were given the opportunity to organize and the reasons
a series of in-service training sessions jointly
with the Advisory Services of the Local E d u - George Miller, an eminent American psychol-
cation Authority and the local branch of the ogist, once proclaimed that the aim of the
British Association for Early Childhood E d u - psychologist should be to 'give psychology
cation. These sessions were open to all staffs of away'. But h o w do w e do it and what precisely
nursery schools, day nurseries, and playgroups should w e try to give? A n d do people really
as well as anyone else involved with provision want what w e have to offer? O u r lack of success
for the under-5s. They were held in the even- in the in-service meetings seems to be typical
ings once a week for four weeks, and regularly of attempts to intervene. Several reports (e.g.
attracted over seventy people, w h o , since they Smith and James, 1975; Woodhead, 1976) of
came from all over the county, w e hoped would British and American attempts to 'inject' psy-
act as channels back to an even larger audience. chology into everyday life give the same pic-
So w e used these four meetings to present the ture. While researchers often manage to exert
result of our joint efforts, to comment on it the effect they desire during active intervention,
and to invite suggestions as to h o w w e might as soon as they withdraw or try to hand on
n o w proceed. their activities the effect is lost. W h y should
Perhaps the best w a y of summarizing our this be the case? This was the question which
impact at these meetings is to quote from a preoccupied us after the in-service experience.
report written in a local P P A publication by It was clearly vital that w e frame some sort of
two people w h o had attended them: answer because w e were already half w a y
through our short life as a group and needed to
In February w e attended the 4 lectures given by find a more effective way of proceeding. Before
Professor Bruner's Pre-school Research Group. goint on to examine potential reasons for the
Although one could understand what the research 'failure of intervention', however, w e should
was about, m u c h of the language used was very tech- redress the balance a little and talk about the
nical, and each lecture appeared as lists of statistics. successes which the observational study m e t
O n e was left wondering which playgroups they could with.
possibly have visited. It was stated that throughout
Oxfordshire there was zero rating for organised Generally speaking, those w h o had actively
games, i.e. no child in their observations played participated in the design (as opposed to use) of
Ring-a-roses or Farmers in his Den. During the first the instrument seemed as enthusiastic as w e are
three lectures neither of us could grasp the purpose about its value. A n d it is being used for several
519
David W o o d and Miriam Harris
purposes by such people, purposes which w e quite possible to give people completely dif-
ourselves did not envisage but, rather, which ferent interpretations of themselves and their
were discovered by practitioners themselves. behaviour and they will find them acceptable if
First, it is being widely employed at a county they are suitably worded. Alerted to this possi-
level by playgroup tutors in the P P A (who have bility w e decided to ask teachers and playgroup
responsibility for helping to train n e w playgroup leaders at the meeting to predict for us what
supervisors). T h e y are rinding it useful as a some of our data would look like. W e did this
device for getting newcomers to look systemati- at the start of a meeting before presenting any
cally and analytically at children's activities. data—data which they eventually found rather
Individual playgroups, again on their o w n in- obvious. However, w h e n w e eventually ana-
itiative, have also used it to look at 'problem' lysed their predictions after the meeting, w e
children, helping to identify more clearly what discovered two things:first,there was a highly
is disturbing about them. S o m e have used it to significant measure of agreement between the
to monitor the effects of changes in their room fifty practitioners w h o responded as to h o w their
layout, to evaluate use of equipment, and so on. energies were deployed in the classroom—thus,
So the instrument which w e designed as a basis it makes sense to talk of them having a point of
for discussions about concentration is n o w being view or hypothesis about the distribution of
used for a variety of purposes. However, in spite their efforts; second, this 'predicted' pattern was
of such successes our main goal—of involving notably discrepant from that w e actually ob-
practitioners in our investigations of concen- served in local pre-school provisions.
tration on a county-wide basis, was clearly not So then, while ourfiguresm a d e no impact on
being achieved—our attempt at intervention practitioners because they were 'obvious' their
was not succeeding. o w n predictions about their activities were not
W e could see m a n y possible reasons for the in fact borne out by our observations. This
failure. Perhaps w e had not had sufficient face- brings us to our second point.
to-face contact with enough people. W e were
clearly wrong in thinking that a large number STATISTICAL THINKING:
would share our enthusiasm for the selected GENERALITIES AND PARTICULARITIES
topic and this m a y have c o m e about through
insufficient consultation. Also, perhaps a fail- T o people w h o are used to thinking in terms of
ure of communication occurred because of the samples, means, ranges and so on, numbers have
differences in dialect between 'research' and a certain 'inescapable' quality about them. If
'practitioner' language. But there are deeper there is a discrepancy between one's general
issues too. expectations about an event and the picture
drawn by statistics then it has force and must
C O M M O N SENSE be explained. General pictures, sketched stat-
istically, are of immense value to the social
O n e very strong reaction w e had from our audi- scientist. They provide the bases for inferences
ence was that the statistics and descriptions w e about the workings of systems and about pos-
were giving them were obvious; they already sible cause-effects relationships. If w e find, for
k n e w the score thanks to c o m m o n sense. T h e example, statistical discrepancies between a
problem is of course that there are too m a n y group of people's stated attitudes and then-
c o m m o n senses. W e have m a n y hypotheses actual performance w e see room for further in-
about ourselves and our condition and these are vestigation and experimentation. But to the
not always internally consistent. Indeed, it is practitioner, faced with an individual child,
520
A n experiment in psychological intervention
521
David W o o d and Miriam Harris
topic withoutfirstcreating for him some sense on in Oxfordshire pre-schools, our aim here
of personal trouble in relation to it, is like asking was to develop elaborate descriptions of single
him to lift himself by his o w n bootstraps. A cases and of the goals and perceptions of indi-
sense of discrepancy, a mismatch between the vidual practitioners. W e have found that simply
expected and achieved is for D e w e y a necess- asking practitioners to tell us what they think
ary condition for the motivation of reflective and do is of little or no use for our purposes.
c
thought. Logically, w e had revealed two dis- Cold' discussions out of context are usually
crepancies; one between our data and prac- rather unsatisfactory. A n d this is not surprising.
titioners' estimates of children's concentration; So m a n y of our purposes and intentions are
and the other between what w e observed prac- fleeting, and never brought to the level of verbal
titioners doing with their time and their o w n expression. W e usually respond in context on
estimates of what they were doing. But these the basis of what w e see and recognize, acting
discrepancies had no real force, perhaps for directly and usually appropriately with little
the reasons just outlined. W h a t w e need, it mediation by full-blown language. In conse-
seems, is some way of generating more personal quence, w h e n w e try to remember what trig-
troubles, a mismatch between the individual's gered our behaviour w e are 'lost for words', for
o w n conception of his activities, intentions and the words were not there at the time. Further-
effects and that developed by an external ob- more, m a n y of the problems w e face in our
server. This is not to say, of course, that some dealings with children seem trivial—hardly the
practitioners m a y not have derived such a sense stuff of psychology. A n d yet, it m a y well be
of conflict from listening to presentation of data. such banal encounters which form the bedrock
But it seemed clear that if there really were of the child's development.
such widespread discrepancies in practitioner So, our method must give us some access to
activity w e needed a more powerful and indi- intentions and goals in context without overly
vidual technique for getting at them. disrupting the practitioners' activities or that of
the children.
522
A n experiment ¡n psychological intervention
varions of children is towards an emphasis on tape recordings for us. T h e y are encouraged not
the importance of the adult's role in the child's only to record actual sequences of conversation
development. This, as w e have already said, and interaction with their children but also,
might well run counter to the beliefs of prac- where possible, to try and tell us h o w they see
titioners. W e must be able to identify any such their immediate situation, what they are m o -
discrepancies and try to isolate their cause. mentarily intending to do and w h y . They might
They might be due to (a) genuine disagree- also want to reflect on a sequence of tape, giving
ments about children's needs; (b) the prac- their evaluation or interpretation of what went
titioner's inability to intervene skilfully in the on, what they felt was important and w h y . They
child's activities; or (c) constraints imposed by are perfectly free to erase sections of tape—which
numbers of children or the layout of pre-school they often do—and as few constraints as possible
premises. W e hoped to identify whether any are put on their strategies for using the equip-
discrepancies exist at the level of intention, skillment. A s one might expect, individuals varied
or management capability. tremendously in the way they used the tapes.
O n e , for example, just let the tape run on with
Enable us to evaluate the degree of match be- little or no overt comment. Another would work
tween the practitioner1 s goals and her (short-term) on the tape after the playgroup session, adding a
achievement. W e usually assess the success of hindsight commentary, while another would
our efforts by relating ends and means—we set often take time out in situ to say what she was
out to do something and if w e achieve our goal going to do and w h y . In no sense, then, can
then w e assume that what w e did was effective. these documentary tapes be called representa-
So m u c h is obvious. But, of course, w e are tive observations. N o r can the performances of
often unable to relate means and ends in this individuals be directly compared, for their
way. If the goal is a long-term one or is to actual strategic responses to the demands of the
be achieved (or not achieved) in another time recordings varied so substantially. However,
and place, then w e are unable to m a k e the these recordings, which w e like to think of as
correlation and must proceed on the basis of 'living theories' by individual teachers, do pro-
self-confidence and hope—not in the relative vide us with a number of valuable types of data.
security of observed effects. In a classroom, W h e n the practitioner returns her 'documen-
where continual demands are m a d e by m a n y tary' tape w e undertake a series of descriptions
children, it is reasonable to suppose that the and analyses of its contents—systems which
teacher or supervisor will not have the time have been evolved and are continually being
or capacity always to observe the fate of her modified through discussions with the 'targets'
actions and, thus, to discover the match be- themselves. There is not space here to go into
tween her intentions and her actions. W e hoped detail about these systems save to say that they
that our method would enable us to help her range from a general narrative account of what
bridge this. goes on—designed to check the validity of the
picture w e derive from hearing the tape—to
extremely detailed analyses of the functions
exerted in each of the teacher's interactions with
The method children. T o give some idea of the sorts of
further research and insights w e are gaining
W e provide the target teachers and playgroup from this procedure, w e will give two examples
supervisors with miniature tape recorders and of part case histories.
small but powerful condenser lapel microphones
and ask them to make half-hour documentary
523
David W o o d and Miriam Harris
524
A n experiment in psychological intervention
encountered and w e doubt that this is anything intriguing, for it suggests that there m a y be
like an exhaustive list: some systematic relationships between very
The 'family' model. Here the adult 'owns' a general characteristics of the school régime on
number of children. In an 'open-class' school the one hand and quite specific features of the
this means that most of the time her children content and extent of interactions between
m a y be anywhere in the school but she still teacher and child on the other. If this suggestion
retains responsibility for them. is borne out by our subsequent research, w e
The 'place' model. T h e teacher owns a room or m a y eventually be able to identify some
set of activities and any child w h o enters her c o m m o n problems and limitations imposed on
space becomes her responsibility. teachers' goals by different ways of running a
The 'fire-fighting' model. T h e adult stands in school. It makes sense, intuitively, to suppose
reserve and w h e n any trouble or difficulty that school structure, teachers' activities and
flares up she rushes to the scene. children's experiences are systematically inter-
Each of these techniques for handling children woven—but it would be useful to have some
places quite different constraints on the relation- scientific evidence as to precisely h o w these
ships and likely interactions between adult and relationships operate and, if necessary, h o w
child. Consider, for example, one of our targets they m a y be changed.
w h o employed the 'family' strategy. O n e of her W e are not, then, simply doing experiments
main objectives was to involve children, on to find out whether children can be expected
occasion, in sustained interaction, exploring in to act, think and talk about specific areas of
depth some topic or activity. However, w e their experience. W e are also trying to help the
found little of this on her documentary tape. teacher and playgroup leader to discover the
W e also found that about 90 per cent of her goals, methods and materials which work best
overtures to her children were of a management for her in trying to achieve particular ends.
nature—asking them to go somewhere or do These experiments—which would be difficult if
something. M o r e revealing to her, however, not impossible to carry out in a laboratory—take
was the finding that w h e n children came to her place in context, so that w e automatically find
for assistance they too were almost always out whether the encouragement of certain
looking for management—access to activities, experiences for children is realistic in a given
asking w h e n milk time was and so on. F e w of pre-school setting. Experiment and dissemi-
their approaches were actually to solicit inter- nation are thus bound together. A n d by doing
action with her. such experiments systematically, it is also poss-
T h e practitioner in question said in effect ible that w e m a y eventually provide a suitable
that this 'discrepancy' really helped her to addition to the laboratory for experiments in
articulate something that had been troubling the care and education of young children.
her for some time. She had felt that she was not It remains to be seen, of course, whether or
always able to achieve what she wanted to do not teachers and playgroup supervisors will
with children. N o w perhaps she knew one continue in any of the joint activities w e are
reason w h y . She is currently thinking about developing after w efinishour research. H o w -
n e w ways of integrating her family management ever, w e do not intend to leave the result
technique—which she still believes in—with entirely to chance. W e are currently trying to
the goal of achieving more sustained interaction find some way of handing over the techniques
with her children. which w e are developing. W e hope, as w e have
W e find this relationship between manage- done with the target-child observations, to find
ment style and teaching functions particularly some existing organization like P P A that will
525
David W o o d and Miriam Harris
take over the method and adapt it for the group's work w e must clearly seek to define and publi-
ends. S o , what w e intend to leave behind us cize our o w n role in the process. T h e techniques
w h e n w e cease to operate as a group is not a of co-operative research which w e have been
changed set of priorities nor even a particular describing here are thus not simply a search for
set of n e w methods for handling children. W h a t a n e w method of obtaining more representative,
w e hope to give away are methods of self-help, neutral descriptions of the state of part of our
experiment and analysis, so that practitioners society but an attempt to seek out morally and
or those w h o train and help them will have at politically feasible ways of intruding into the
their fingertips a method for identifying and personal and professional lives of groups
investigating n e w problems and n e w possi- within that society in an attempt to help them
bilities inherent in their o w n actions. do what they do more effectively and self-
consciously without, at the same time, insidi-
W e started this article by underlining our ously usurping their responsibilities and their
recognition of the essentially political nature right to decide what the aims and methods
of psychological intervention. T h o u g h some should be.
do exist, there are few psychological prin- T h e method w e have briefly described works
ciples or facts which are politically or morally though a process of continuous dialogue be-
neutral (Shotter, 1975; Bruner, 1977) a n a a tween individual practitioners and researchers.
fundamental problem that social scientists face W e have several times laid stress—perhaps too
is deciding h o w to conduct their activities m u c h so—on the need for these discussions to
without prejudicing the outcome of democratic locate personal troubles or discrepancies for
debate and decision-making. T h e y m a y operate the practitioner as a prerequisite to any act of
within the basic sentiments of their society—on joint experiment or problem solving. Perhaps
the belief, for example, that where inequalities w e should end by saying that where such prob-
of educational opportunities exist due to econ- lems cannot be found then the practitioner is
omic or social biases in society it is their duty perhaps already 'whole' and her activities toler-
to discover and publicize effective ways of ably (for her) integrated. O r perhaps the
obtaining equality. But even such seemingly psychologist's sense of what makes a problem is
acceptable moral ends m a y result in the identi- not hers. A n d that, one might argue, is the
fication of goals which are at variance with those psychologist's problem.
held by groups with more direct responsibility
for educational or political action. For example,
if the voluntary sector organizing care for pre-
school children elects not to fulfil educational References
or remedial roles then w h o is to gainsay them?
B L A C K S T O N E , T . 1971. A Fair Start: The Provision of
T h e problem, of course, is an old and hoary
Pre-School Education. London, Penguin Press.
one—who should decide what our children B O N E , M . 1976. Day Care for Pre-School Children,
need; parents, teachers, politicians, academics? Low Cost Day Provision for the Under Fives.
H o w should the debate between them be London, Department of Health and Social Secur-
conducted and policy decisions achieved? There ity/Department of Education and Science.
B R U N E R , J. S. 1971. Poverty and Childhood. The
is probably no single all-embracing formula for
Relevance of Education. N e w York, N . Y . , Norton.
achieving such decisions; for the formula itself . 1975. T h e Ontogenesis of Speech Acts. Journal
must be sensitive to the changing and evolving of Child Language, Vol. 2, p. 1-19.
needs of a society. A s social scientists interested . 1976. Participatory Research—The Oxford Pre-
in achieving some relevance and utility in our School Project. Social Science Research Council
Newsletter, N o . 32.
526
A n experiment in psychological intervention
GREENFIELD, P. M . ; B R U N E R , J. S. 1971. Culture and iour in Pre-school Centers. Journal of Child Psy-
Cognitive Growth. Reprinted in J. S. Bruner (ed.), chology and Psychiatry. Vol. 17, p . 21-33.
The Relevance of Education. N e w York, N . Y . , T I Z A R D , J. 1975. T h e Objectives and Organisation of
Norton. Educational and Day-Care Services for Y o u n g
M I L L A R , S . 1968. The Psychology of Play, London, Children. Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 1,
Penguin Press. 256 p . No. 3.
O L S O N , D . R . 1975. T h e Language of Experience: T I Z A R D , J.; P E R R Y , J.; P L E W I S , I. 1976. All Our
O n Natural Language and Formal Education. Children. London, Maurice Temple Smith.
Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, Vol. 28. T O U G H , J. 1977. The Development of Meaning,
S H O T T E R , J. 1975. Images of Man in Psychological L o n d o n , U n w i n Educational Books, 192 p .
Research. London, Methuen. 136 p . W O O D , D . J. 1977. Problem Solving: T h e Nature and
S M I T H , G . J J A M E S , T . 1975. T h e Effects of Pre- Development of Strategies. In: G . Underwood
school Education: S o m e American and British (ed.), Strategies of Information Processing, L o n d o n ,
Evidence. Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 1, Academic Press.
N o . 3> P- 223-40. W O O D H E A D , M . 1976. Intervening in Disadvantage.
S T A L L Y B R A S S , A . 1974. The Self-Respecting Child. Slough, National Foundation for Educational
London, Thames & Hudson. 264 p. Research.
T I Z A R D , B . 1975. Early Childhood Education. Slough, Z I V I N , G . 1974. H o w to M a k e a Boring Thing
Social Science Research Council/National F o u n - M o r e Boring. Child Development, Vol. 45, N o . 2 ,
dation for Educational Research. p. 232-6.
T I Z A R D , B . ; P H E L P S , J.; P L E W I S , I. 1976. Staff Behav-
527
Audrey Stephenson
The age for starting school varies throughout the world, but is usually between the ages of 5 and 7 although
nursery education is sometimes provided before then. For the purposes of this article, however, pre-schoo
children are considered to be those up to the age of 5, which is the age at which schooling begins in the
United Kingdom.
Wherever an age is mentioned, in relation to a suitable toy, it is intended only as a general guide,
for children vary to some extent in their rates of development. The differing economic situations, custom
cultures and environments of every country must also affect rates of growth, physical, mental and
emotional.
' T O Y . Anything a child plays with. Something activities. True pleasure is the awareness and
of no importance. Amusing trifle.' This defi- enjoyment of feeling, seeing, hearing, thinking,
nition in m y dictionary reveals the great enigma creating and moving; and of discovery, obser-
of the toy. Toys can be all things to all children vation and experiment. All of these are fostered
and to all m e n and w o m e n . T h e baby, playing by play and playthings in the earliest years of
with a rattle, the executive with his golf clubs, life.
the toddler with pebbles discovered o n the T h e growth of interest in toys for pre-school
beach, or a wooden spoon in the kitchen—all children in m a n y countries during the past few
are playing with their 'toys'. Toys are still years has been fantastic. With the increasing
considered by m a n y to be trivialities, yet they awareness of educationists, psychologists, de-
are n o w k n o w n to be vital elements in a young signers, manufacturers and others of the value
child's learning and development. Perhaps the of play in a young child's development, toys
key to understanding the fascination and i m - have become highly newsworthy. Books, m a g a -
portance of playthings is that the toy is essen- zines, newspapers, television and radio have all
tially an object of pleasure, and young children poured forth words of wisdom o n practically
learn most through the pleasure of their play every aspect of play and toys. Choosing toys for
the right age, toy safety, toys for handicapped
children, toys specifically designed for mental,
Audrey Stephenson (United Kingdom). Toy designer. physical and emotional development and so o n
Member of the Industrial Society for Artists and and so forth. Toys have become a very serious
Designers. Presenter and adviser on BBC television subject and are n o w big business both c o m m e r -
programmes Making Toys and Parents and Children.
cially and educationally.
Free-lance lecturer and visiting lecturer to Southwark
College, on play, toys and toy-making. However, as w e all k n o w , toys are not n e w .
528
They have been enjoyed by children through- age shape recognition, and simple wooden
out history. In all places, at all times, examples of bricks and construction sets to develop manual
familiar playthings recur again and again—dolls, skills. But toys tend to defy this type of analysis,
rattles, wheel toys and m a n y others, reflecting which although true misses the more complex
the elemental, basically unchanging nature of elements of play. For one toy m a y fulfil m a n y
children's play. Afifteenth-centuryengraving purposes. Bricks m a y be for building, but will be
shows a baby learning to walk with the aid of used too as 'pretend' animals, people and even
a right-angled wooden frame on wheels; today a bombs! T h e posting box without its lid can
remarkably similar baby-walker can be found become an excellent garage for little model cars
in m a n y toy shops, the design almost unchanged, or a house for tiny dolls; for young children
except for the addition of a cart in front. In playthings are objects of imagination and cre-
Pieter Brueghel's Children at Play, painted ativity too, and can be loved and valued by
in 1560, children are playing with a barrel. A their owners (whatever their material value) as
barrel (manufactured n o w in fibreglass) is m u c h as w e value our possessions. Toys can be
currently available from most British edu- endowed with an almost magical quality of life
cational equipment suppliers. There still exists that again defies analysis. A rag doll can assume
a toy m a d e in Egypt 3,400 years ago. T h e skills a reality and character to its owner that has
of life a new-born needs to learn remain the little to do with the cloth and stuffing with
same—to learn to focus the eyes, to listen, to which it is m a d e . T o y ownership is a form of
walk, to talk, to think, to begin to discover its security to a child. Familiar playthings create
o w n unique mental and physical abilities and feelings of comfort and stability: any parent
something of the nature of the world. T h e w h o has thoughtlessly thrown out the odd
child's principal means of learning these im- cotton reel, length of string or battered model
portant skills during thefirstfiveyears of life car, to be faced with floods of tears w h e n the
remain as ever—play and toys. T o the very loss is discovered by the owner, knows this only
young, play and work are one, and toys are the too well!
tools of this play/work. All the best ideas for toy designs come from
F r o m the research of Piaget and other psy- the children themselves, from watching h o w they
chologists into child development grew the play and understanding their stages of devel-
awareness of the need to provide well-designed opment and abilities. A recent British toy, the
toys and play materials matched to the child's 'tyre on wheels', is a direct development from
stage of development and particular play needs, the abandoned car tyre that children discovered
rather than the gimmicky commercial toys in the garage and turned to their o w n play
designed to attract the parent, but often doomed purposes—using it as a hoop to bowl along, or
to bore the child. hanging it from a tree to make a swing.
These c new' toys were not essentially dif- Most of the early 'modern' toys were m a d e
ferent from those of the past, but were m a d e of wood. Natural materials are an important
bigger, simpler and stronger to match the element in children's play; they are easy to
vitality and clumsiness of young children w h o handle, with a weight and stability that provide
have not yet learned to control fully their minds a sense of satisfaction often lacking in other
and bodies. Toys were also designed to encour- materials. T h e introduction of m a n - m a d e m a -
age specific learning. For instance, the posting terials, however, has m a d e possible the pro-
box (a box with simple shapes cut in the top, duction of toys that were unthinkable before
through which the youngster 'posts' an appro- their invention. A good example of the i m -
priate matching shape), was designed to encour- aginative use of plastics is the double-sided baby
529
Audrey Stephenson
mirror which is fast becoming a n e w classic of movements. T h e cooking pans are, for him,
the toy world. Self recognition is an important valuable toys. But small children need their o w n
play event, and an unbreakable mirror that a 'special' toys, as adults' possessions have to be
baby can handle and explore is a very important returned. Whether one chooses a manufactured,
toy. Unfortunately m a n y of the plastic toys possibly expensive toy or a simple 'everyday'
available are not of high quality, and there thing, it must be matched to a child's stage of
are all too m a n y flimsy, garish, plastic toys development, mental age and physical abilities.
produced. It is obviously useless giving a young child a
M a n y modern toys in industrialized countries complicated construction set designed for an
are replacements for the freedom that children 8-year-old, with lots of small pieces that are
have lost in urban living. T h e climbing frame m u c h too complicated and could be dangerous
(a wooden or metal frame with rungs, ladders too.
and platforms for climbing and play aloft) O n e must remember too the individuality of
replaces the tree, but h o w m u c h better is a real every child, with his or her o w n very special
tree with its textured bark and leaves that make likes and dislikes. There is a play pattern
wonderful hiding places. T h e sand-pit and the through which all children progress, but it is
water tray, though valuable, are poor substi- all too easy to generalize, there will always be
tutes for a beach with rock pools to explore, wet exceptions to every rule, one child enjoying one
and dry sand, marine life and, best of all, the thing and one another. So whatever guidance
sea itself. one m a y give, there will always be some mis-
In large cities one finds adventure play- takes, thank goodness, for if every child enjoyed
grounds sometimes with sophisticated concrete exactly the same thing, at exactly the same, w e
climbing structures, swings and slides, but these would all be turning into robots.
are sadly often too overdesigned and 'set' to
invite truly imaginative and creative play. Better
play areas are those that offer rough ground, Baby play
grass, a wood, running streams and pools, hills,
secret places, logs, planks and tree trunks for Babies need toys that stimulate their senses and
building—a seemingly unorganized environ- encourage movement: before being able to
ment that tries to create the atmosphere and crawl they rely entirely on adults to offer
excitement of an undeveloped rural area. Chil- exciting, interesting and pleasurable experiences,
dren in such an environment need very few things to watch and listen to, etc. W h e n he
toys. or she has learnt to clutch, toys must be
U p to age 5 children explore absolutely small enough to hold, but obviously not to
everything within reach, and anything can swallow, and should provide a wide variety
become a plaything. If an object fulfils some of sounds, textures, weights, shapes, sizes and
play purpose (which m a y sometimes appear colours—particularly primary colours.
meaningless to the adult), it is a good toy. T h e
toddler w h o , discovering some saucepans in the TOYS TO ENCOURAGE FOCUSING
kitchen, turns one upside d o w n and bangs it
with a lid, has m a d e a splendid drum. Sorting Mobiles. Before a baby can sit, a mobile can
the lids, trying to find which fits which pan, encourage him to focus his eyes. It should hang
the youngster is not only having great fun but fairly near the baby, but not near enough to be
is beginning to learn, to discriminate between knocked d o w n or at a later stage clutched, for
different sizes, and to control and refine his mobiles, by their very nature, are fragile and
530
Toys for pre-school children
strictly for looking at. Chime tube mobiles First floor toys
(available in m a n y Eastern countries) are excel-
lent for focusing, as the shiny metal tubes These are toys that encourage crawling and later
reflect the light. Simple h o m e - m a d e mobiles attempts at walking. B y the time children play
can be equally successful, m a d e from empty on the floor, toys are needed that are chunky
yoghurt cartons decorated with bits of metallic and easy to hold. Small children are still clumsy
paper or brighly painted cotton reels hung on in their movements, as their co-ordination is not
strings. fully developed and large solid toys are gener-
Pram beads. These big, brightly coloured, ally easier to handle. Little children are also
plastic beads, threaded on an elastic stretched impressed by size.
across the cot (often knocked by small involun- Easy-grip ball. This indented plastic ball is
tary movements) can attract the attention of easier to grap than the smooth surface of an
quite a young baby. ordinary ball. Rolling this w a y and that, it
encourages the baby to crawl after it, and the
TOYS TO LISTEN T O , CLUTCH, child soon discovers h o w a ball behaves.
FEEL AND EXPLORE Simple push and wheel toys. These are 'classic'
toys, that will be played with for a period of
Rattles. Encourage movement and co-ordi- years—first being pushed about by the crawler,
nation, as well as listening. A variety of rattles, later, pulled along by the toddler just beginning
each with different sounds, should be pro- to walk. Wheel toys at this stage should be
vided—only one or two at a time. Babies and simple and solid, constructed of either tough
small children can be confused by too m a n y plastic or wood. T h e wheel, like the ball, is
toys. fascinating to young children; thefirstinstincts
Soft toys. Nylon fur balls, and stuffed ani- are often to discover h o w these interesting
mals (small, with safely locked-in eyes). These things work. It is these early experiments that
should always be washable with hygienic stuffing. make the need for strong, well attached wheels
Squashy plastic toys. These, with squeakers, so important. Axles too, should be securely
stimulate hand movements. attached. If the toy breaks it will destroy some of
Baby mirror. This double-sided non-glass the child's confidence. This is equally true of
mirror is an importantfirstself-discovery toy; all toys. W h e n the youngster begins to walk, he
it makes a good mobile, too. will discover that it is more difficult to pull the
Cot rail. W h e n the baby can sit up, a broom toy uphill, but that it will run quickly downhill.
handle or piece of dowling, secured across a cot, This is an important discovery that always fasci-
with a variety of'everyday' things (all chewable) nates young children and through which the
hung on it makes an excellent toy that encour- youngster begins to learn about the force of
ages a baby to reach forward, grasp and exper- gravity. Cars, lorries and animals on wheels are
iment. Suitable objects to hang are an u n - all popular at this stage.
breakable plastic m u g , wooden spoon, bunch Baby walker. This is an important toy, as
of keys and empty plastic talcum powder important as the skill it helps to develop—walk-
container. These should be securely fastened to ing. Once children can get about from place to
the rail by tapes. T h e great advantage of this place, they become more independent and the
'rail' is that the 'toys' cannot be thrown out of world widens, becoming more interesting and
the baby's reach, and can be changed from time stimulating mentally and physically. A good
to time—to make life more interesting. strong 'walker' with a little cart in front will be
used for some years for loading and unloading,
531
Audrey Stephenson
as a pram for a doll, and in m a n y other ways in enjoyed toy (clambering up it is as important as
and out of doors. T h e base should be strong, as coming down).
the first thing most children do is step in it. If Strong carts. T h e carts must be big and strong
money is in short supply, a good handy-man enough for children to get in, to give each other
can make one of these carts comparatively easily. rides. Youngsters (between 5 and 7) will often
It is basically a box on wheels with a handle (the make their o w n cart from waste materials, like
right height for the baby to lean on) at right old pram wheels and orange boxes. If they are
angles to the cart. too young to do this on their o w n , a practical
parent can lend a hand and produce a toy that
will undoubtedly be popular. A cart like the
Activity toys
baby walker will be used for some years in m a n y
Activity toys help physical development and ways, particularly for imaginative play.
promote confidence, independence, exploration Tricycles and bicycles. These are expensive and
and social play. M u c h of this equipment encour- not essential. But, propelling oneself about at a
ages imaginative play—a rocking csee-saw' is faster rate than walking is an intriguing activity
transformed into a pretend horse, car or aero- to the young, and pedalling helps physical de-
plane, a climbing frame becomes the children's velopment. There are n o w tricycles without
'house' or 'castle'. It is in this section par- pedals available for smaller children to trundle
ticularly that m a n y toys provided in urban about on.
societies are substitutes for the natural materials Sand and water. These two are among the
to be found in less-organized rural areas. most important play materials in early years.
Climbing apparatus. T h e climbing frame is n o w Does it have a 'skin'? Can you hold it? Finding
standard equipment in m a n y nursery schools. out what sinks, whatfloats,pouring it, pumping
Young children gain confidence as they discover it, are all vital learning factors for young chil-
their o w n ability to climb. Social and imaginat- dren. Sand and water toys are among the easiest
ive play develop too—the frame will become a and cheapest to provide. A small bucket and
'pretend' house, castle or ship. T h e best frames strong wooden sand tools are useful, but
have platforms that give opportunities for this wooden spoons, plastic bottles, lengths of
type of play. A climbing rope can be easily m a d e tubing, funnels and m a n y more everyday bits
with a length of strong nylon rope with a knot and pieces can be utilized. Corks, stones, pieces
at end. This can be used for swinging as well as of wood are all excellent materials for water
climbing. experiments. Yoghurt cartons make good sand
Swings and rockers. Rocking and swinging are moulds.
strangely elemental h u m a n activities that can be
soothing and mind-expanding: children often
sit and daydream on a swing. A n old car tyre Fitting and fixing
hung from a tree makes an excellent and inex-
pensive swing and a plank balanced across a This section includes m a n y toys that are multi-
fallen tree trunk is as good as a plaything as any purpose, and are amongst the most difficult to
expensive manufactured rocker or see-saw. categorize. T h e simple picture tray for instance
Slides. These can be constructed with a firm not only develops discrimination of shapes and
wide plank that has been carefully sanded d o w n co-ordination, it also encourages speech and
and polished, and set at a suitably safe height imagination.
for the particular age of the children. Even at Tunnel pegs. This is a 'first-fitting' toy, with
18 months, a low slide is a valuable and m u c h five big easily clutched pegs that fit into a solid
532
Toys for pre-school children
533
Audrey Stephenson
involve screwing pieces together are also valu- of the grown-up world that they see and hear
able and there are m a n y to choose from for about them. They pretend to drive an imaginary
different aged children. train, telephone a friend or play at mothers and
fathers with dolls. T o w n life will be recreated,
with model toys, cars and bricks, and farms
Grading, hammering and others with toy animals. U n k n o w n worlds outside the
older child's o w n experiences will also be
Nesting toys. Boxes, barrels, dolls. A set of created, pretending to be legendary beings in-
graded boxes thatfitinside each other has enor- troduced infilmsor books that youngsters have
m o u s play value for the very young (1-3 years enjoyed. Children are often unable to express
old). T h e y discover which box fits in which, try their deepest emotions and fears—the arrival of
to balance one upon another andfinallyare able a n e w baby in the family or thefirstdays at
to recognize the right graded order and to build school, and m a y act out the problem in this
a complete tower. Sets of nesting barrels and fantasy play world with their toys, which be-
Russian dolls need more manipulative skill as come important outlets for secret anxieties.
they have to be taken apart to find the next
object inside. A good nesting toy can be m a d e Dolls. T h e doll is one of the most enduring
easily with empty tins. and important playthings ever created. For the
youngest children a tough rag doll (simple ones
Hammer pegs. A solid bench with big pegs to can be m a d e easily) is a friendly, comforting
bang backwards and forwards with a big wooden companion, w h o can be cuddled, loved and
mallet is a rewarding toy for children about dragged in the dirt at will. It is only later that
18 months old. Manipulative skills develop the doll will be mothered and tended in the way
learning to control the h a m m e r in order to hit that real mothers behave. Dolls do not have to
the peg squarely—the basics of carpentry can be expensive or elaborate, although the 5-
be seen here! to 7-year-olds appreciate a simple realistic baby
Pile-up rings. Big wooden or plastic rings that doll. In London, a doll has been found, made
thread on to a big rod make a good basic m a - from an old shoe, the heel becoming the head
nipulative toy from about 18 months onwards. with scraps of material added for eyes and
Threading toys, for older children, are easy to mouth, and the 'body' wrapped in a piece of
make. cloth. This was a poor child's plaything early
Screwing rod. A n 18-month-old enjoys screw- in this century, that was loved and cherished
ing large, easily handled nuts on to the rod, and as m u c h (and probably more) than the most
taking them off again. It's great fun, and an expensive plaything has ever been. Sophisti-
important new skill has been learned too. cated 'talking' dolls are unsuitable and limiting,
Mosaics. Large plastic or wooden geometric repeating the same words again and again;
pieces in strong colours make excellent material children prefer to invent conversations.
for 3-year-olds to sort and match; at a latter
Dolls' houses. Need not be expensive. A large
stage they can be used to make simple patterns.
wide wooden or cardboard box, the top removed
Different shaped bricks and tins can also be
and placed on its side makes an excellent, cheap
utilized as sorting and matching.
and simple doll-house unit. T w o or three of
these placed on top of the other can be used as
Imagination a block offlats,or a bigger house. Match boxes
can be used to make doll-house furniture, and
'Let's pretend play'. Imitating adult life helps pipe cleaners create the basis for doll-house
children to relate to and understand something 'families'. W o o d e n house units and furniture are
534
Toys for pre-school children
more suitable for younger children, and m a n u - wooden railway set from Sweden. Designed for
facturers in m a n y countries n o w produce strong the 3- to 7-year-olds, the simple wooden track
units. Manufactured, realistic dolls' houses are is easy for young children tofittogether and
very expensive, and are often fragile and badly organize in countless ways. Electric and m e c h -
designed. Older children (5-7 year olds) need anical trains are only suitable w h e n children are
more realistic toys than younger ones, w h o older and capable of understanding the m e c h -
accept decorative, almost symbolic playthings. anisms. A young child only gets bored watching
House play equipment. Discarded saucepans, a mechanical toy—he wants a toy he can control
plastic cups, brushes and other household items himself.
are better than m a n y of the toy ones available
for domestic play. Brushes must work, there is
nothing so frustrating for a child w h o really Creative play
wants to 'work' like M u m , than a scrubbing
brush that does not scrub! Collections of any Y o u n g children (3-year-olds or even a little
old clothes, shoes and hats for dressing u p are younger) are unselfconscious and spontaneous
some of the very best playthings a child can have artists, enjoying the sensuous quality of colours,
for fantasy play of all sorts. paints and crayons. They want results quickly
Cooking. Adding water to softfineflour,and and need big pieces of paper (newspaper,
turning it into dough, rolling it out, watching it wrapping paper, or old rolls of wallpaper are
being put into the oven, and seeing it come out, suitable and cheap materials for early ef-
crisp and biscuity, is an exciting and thought- forts) and other things such as big hog-hair
promoting experiment for little children. In brushes, powder paints, finger paints or large
countries where flour is an extremely valuable wax crayons. A s children grow older they ac-
commodity, and this play is not possible, playing quire more delicacy, and their pictures are
with earth, sand and water can be equally drawn more thoughtfully and become more
rewarding. W o o d e n spoons, rolling pins and recognizable—it is at this stage that smaller
pastry cutters (in countries where these are brushes and pencils will be appreciated. Model-
available) are useful for this type of play. ling with clay or other materials is another very
important activity for young children. Simple
musical instruments of all sorts, a d r u m m a d e
Transport play from a large empty tin, or marracas from plastic
bottles, foster a sense of rhythm and interest in
Model vehicles. Realistic, die-cast cars, lor- music that can often last a lifetime.
ries, etc., are basic playthings for most children Puppets. These are 'magic', with a strange
in the developed countries of the world. W h e r e 'reality' and 'life' that fascinates young children,
these toys prove too expensive, pieces of wood stimulating their imaginations and fantasy play.
can be simply fashioned and painted to take T h e best ones are those m a d e by parents and
their places. A large sheet of board painted with children together. T h e simplest form of puppet
a simple roadway, on which vehicles can be run, can be m a d e with an old sock.
and 'houses' (made from off-cuts, or building Carpentry tools. Real but smaller tools, such
bricks) can be built, is simple to m a k e and as hammers, saws and screwdrivers and others,
extends the scope of this form of imaginative can be used (with some supervision) from 5
play enormously. onwards: the very fact that adults have assumed
Train sets. O n e of the most successful of that the children are capable and responsible
manufactured toys in recent years has been a enough to cope with these grown-up tools
535
Audrey Stephenson
can promote enormous confidence in young learn to count, where formal methods of learn-
children. ing m a y have failed. These games are obviously
Games. Simple board, dice and card games only suitable for children beginning to under-
are all valuable learning material for pre-school stand numbers, usually from 5 onwards.
children. F r o m the baby happily playing on his Traditional children's games can be found all
o w n , to the toddler able to play alongside others over the world (undervalued by adults, for
(but still unable to share his toys) the child w h o m they are over familiar) which need only a
develops at around 3 the ability to play with other pencil and paper, or stick and patch of smooth
children. However, learning to stick to rules, sand or earth to scratch in, plus the ability to
to take your turn and win or lose a simple draw simple symbols, letters or numbers. O f
matching picture lotto game are difficult lessons these noughts and crosses is probably the best
to learn, and demand an emotional maturity known in the United Kingdom. All demand
that is seldom apparent before the age of 4 or 5. observation, reasoning and thought, and all are
As children learn to recognize letters and n u m - fun! M a n y are amongst the best (and cheapest)
bers, more complicated games involving reading play-learning activities of all for 5- to 7-year-
and counting are great fun, and help to develop olds.
these abilities.
Picture dominoes. This is afirst'matching'
picture game. T h e big dominoes have clear Observation and fascination
simple pictures in place of the dots found on
ordinary dominoes. Three-year-olds enjoy sort- All good toys are fun, but some have an extra
ing and matching these on their own. Recogniz- 'something' that is difficult to define. T h e y are
ing the pictures, shapes and colours is an fascinating—magic. Toys of this kind are mind-
important step to later recognition of letters and expanding, mind-jogging. Magnifying and dim-
numbers. By 4 or 5, the dominoes can be used inishing glasses reveal the world in strange new
as a game with other children. ways—larger or smaller. Seen through a trans-
Giant picture lotto. Another important match- lucent piece of coloured plastic the world turns
ing picture game that involves shape and blue. Little wooden hens that bob up and d o w n ,
colour recognition and observation and is suit- pecking at their wooden perch as it is swung
able for 4 - to 7-year-olds. T h e giant-sized, around (an old Russian toy) seem almost alive.
bright, uncluttered pictures of easily recog- T o young children, all of these are fascinating,
nizable everyday things, make this an excel- hypnotic (almost psychedelic) stimulating their
lent game for playing on the floor. imaginations and arousing unbounded curiosity.
Observing air. Blowing bubbles through a
simple twisted wire ring with soapy water, not
Ludo and snakes and ladders only demonstrates something about air press-
ure but the bubbles reflect rainbow colours that
In the United Kingdom, these simple dice are almost hypnotic as theyfloataway.
games (which have their equivalents in m a n y Balloons. These most humble of playthings,
parts of the world) are old favourites that never demonstrate the power of air pressure too as
cease to be enjoyed from one generation of they are blown up.
children to the next. T h e excitement of throw- Paper darts. Practically every child ever born
ing dice, moving along the board to the correct in the United Kingdom, and m a n y other places
number of places to discover if you must go too, has at some time m a d e one of these 'flyers'
back or forward, can give children an aim to by folding a paper square to form an aeroplane,
536
Toys for pre-school children
uncannily like the shape of the swept-back child's point of view, a whole n e w field of
wings of some modern planes. Turning a flat playthings opens up. A good example of this is
piece of paper into three dimensional flying the humble cardboard box. Countless parents
objects is a splendid w a y of discovering the have suffered the frustration of buying an ex-
veryfirstbasics of aeronautics. pensive toy for their youngster only to find it
Kites. These need a helpful co-operation to soon abandoned in favour of the box in which
fly—but making a kite together and then flying it was packed. But the box has great play possi-
it together is one of the very best forms of play bilities, and is an archetypal 'toy shape'. Dolls'
from 5 years old onwards. houses, nesting boxes, carts and m a n y more
Magnets. T h e power of a magnet to attract playthings are, basically, boxes. All too often
small metal objects is another form of early manufactured toys are too specific in their
scientific discovery in play—and is always fasci- design and limited to one purpose, whereas a
nating to young children. more simple toy (like the box) offers more scope
to the child's imagination.
T h e following toys cost little or nothing to
Not strictly toys make, and are all good playthings. With some
ingenuity and imagination, m a n y others can be
T h e magic of the natural world is a source of devised from the same basic materials.
wonder to small children. Natural materials of Posting box. This is m a d e from a tough box
all sorts interest and intrigue them, as do plants about 15 c m x i 5 c m x i 5 c m , with an easily
and animals. removable lid and three small different shaped
A jam jar or other suitable glass container objects (a cotton reel, ball about 4 c m diameter
makes a good observation jar for youngsters, to and a wooden off-cut about the size of a match
see this real world of nature in action. A bulb box, are ideal). Using these as patterns, draw
or onion balanced on the rim will thrust its the three shapes on the lid and cut out with
roots d o w n into the water in the jar, or cater- a sharp knife. T h e objects are used to 'post'
pillars can be seen crawling about on the leaves through the holes.
they feed on. A kidney bean on a piece of Bricks. For these, any medium-sized, strong
blotting paper will open u p and its roots and cardboard boxes are suitable. Stuff these well
leaves begin to grow as the small child watches, with pieces of crumpled newspaper and seal
impatiently day by day. securely with g u m or sticky tape. Covered with
Collecting pebbles or shells is another age- a layer of papier mâché (layers of newspaper
old activity that children enjoy. soaked in paste) and painted with emulsion
S o m e of the very best toys of all are those paint, these will be m u c h stronger and will last
m a d e by parents for their o w n children (or longer.
better still with their children). These are always Play box. This is a useful toy for a small child
successful playthings and are often treasured w h o is just beginning to play on the floor.
w h e n others are long forgotten. M a n y of the Choose a strong, fairly deep box andfillit with
easiest to make toys are amongst the most all sorts of'bits and pieces' and discarded house-
popular and useful playthings. Waste materials hold objects (none of these should have any
and discarded cjunk' of all sorts are good play- sharp edges or small pieces that could be
things in their o w n right and can often be used swallowed). Things like a bunch of keys (these
to improvise and make special toys too. rattle nicely), a large smooth stone, an old nail
If one can stop accepting objects for what brush, a cardboard tube, a tin with a lid to take
they seem to be and try to see them from a on and off, are all suitable. Playing with these
537
Audrey Stephenson
the baby learns about weights, textures and with a really long piece of string, make a work-
shapes. There are m a n y other good 'toys' that ing toy telephone. W h e n the string is pulled
can be used, tofillthe box and children will add tight one child speaking into one tin can be
'treasures' of their o w n . A box (or an old basket) heard by another w h o is using the other tin as
like this will be used for a number of years. a listening 'receiver'. This is an old idea that
Pretend play toys. Giant-sized boxes, big never cease to fascinate children, particularly
enough for children to get inside (the sort that if they are hidden from each other (in different
refrigerators are packed in, or the packing cases rooms or behind trees).
thrown out by supermarkets), m a k e excellent Using plastic containers. For younger chil-
play materials for imaginative, fantasy play, as dren's toys, always use containers m a d e of really
they can become 'pretend' cars, houses, trains tough unbreakable plastic. T h e thinner brittle
or aeroplanes. With a parent's help, a simple type (often used for yoghourt) is only suitable
puppet theatre can be m a d e with several boxes for 3-year-olds and older to use for sand-and-
stapled together. These big boxes will also be water play.
used as giant-sized building blocks. T h e hideout Rattles. Small, unbreakable, tube-shaped,
den (a large wooden box, with portholes) which plastic bottles (the ones often used for hair
is n o w standard play equipment in m a n y nur- rinses and shampoos) containing a few grains
sery schools was designed by Paul Abbatt' w h o of rice or some lentils, with the tops g u m m e d
based the idea directly on seeing children playing on securely, make very satisfying rattles. Dif-
with big boxes and getting in cupboards. ferent 'fillers' can be used (very small stones
Toys made from tins. Tins must always be or beads are suitable) but whenever the filling
checked carefully before use to see that there is non-edible the tops must be impossible to
are no sharp edges; a rotary tin-opener usually take off.
takes tops off cleanly. They should be clean Maracus. T o make these, two unbreakable
and have any paper labels removed. plastic soft-drink bottles are needed. Into each
Roll-alongfloortoys. A tin, about 10 c m high put some sand, small stones or dried beans
and 6 c m wide (or larger) makes a good toy (there are plenty of other suitable ,fillers') and
for a baby to roll about the floor. T h e m o v e - glue the tops on. These make good musical
ment of the tin encourages the baby to crawl instruments for the 3- to 6-year-olds. A number
after it. A tin of similar size, containing a few of bottles, each containing some different m a -
small stones, with a lid that is securely glued terials (thus producing a variety of sounds)
on, can make an interesting contrast to the are useful for early sound experiments. Simple
empty tin. T h e roll rattle will intrigue a small matching sound games can be devised by using
child, as the weights inside m a k e it behave in eight or ten bottles andfillingtwo with one
quite a different w a y to the simpler toy. If material, two with another, and so on; the chil-
the tins are painted, lead-free enamel paint dren can then try to match the sounds.
should always be used. Baby beads. A number of brightly painted
Nesting toy. This is m a d e with four or five (lead-free paint only) cotton reels threaded on
tins that will fit inside each other, and each elastic and stretched across the cot or pram
painted a strong, bright colour. This is an are as valuable as any 'bought' baby beads.
excellent toy for children, from 9 months to Rattle. Three or four coloured cotton reels
3 years old. threaded loosely on to a length of string, with
Telephone. T w o tins (without tops) about the the ends knotted together to form a sort of
size of that used for the 'roll along', each with 'bracelet' will make a good noise, and encourage
a hole punched in the base and threaded together a baby to clutch and m o v e .
538
Toys for pre-school children
Cotton-reel threader. A dozen or more painted are suitable at about 2 years old, increasing
reels and a length of plastic casing (the type tofifteento twenty pieces at about 5.
used by electricians for encasing earthing wire) Picture lotto. Collect a number of 'matching'
are excellent forfirstattempts at threading. T h e pictures from advertisements in magazines (the
plastic 'threader' is most suitable as it is fairly same advertisement often appears in several
stiff and easier to cope with than a floppy publications); mounted on board these can be
string. If this is not available a long shoe-lace used to m a k e m a n y matching picture games,
with good metal tags can be used. including lotto.
Cotton reels for sorting, matching and building. Scrap-books. Children around the ages of 4
Painted cotton reels make excellent material for and 5 love to collect things. Cutting out and
all sorts of discrimination activities—colour rec- sticking too are popular. Collecting and cutting
ognition, matching different colours to each out pictures from magazines is suitable from
other—and are useful for building too. For older about 4 years onwards. A simple scrap-book
children they can be used forfirstcounting. m a d e from sheets of tough paper sewn loosely
A simple abacus can be m a d e with four graded together at one edge with strong thread, can
lengths of dowling (a size that the reels can be be used to stick the pictures in. T h e child can
threaded on to) secured on a wooden base with choose one particular subject—like cars—and
four red, three green, two blue and one yellow cut out as m a n y as he can find to stick in the
reels to thread on. Each rod should be the scrap-book. A colour is another good theme to
length of each 'set' of reels. use—find as m a n y 'green' things as you can.
Using pictures from old magazines. For these Round-ended scissors are best for young chil-
jigsaws and games it is important to choose dren, but given some help and supervision,
really clear big pictures of things that will they can learn quite quickly to handle other
interest the children. Animals, cars, and m a n y scissors.
'everyday' subjects are popular and stimulate
curiosity. It is a good idea to collect a number Toys are not the trivialities they were once
of suitable pictures from magazines to choose considered to be—they are the most basic tools
from. of learning. Y o u n g children deprived of fun
Simple jigsaws. A large picture, mounted on and play opportunities, like those deprived of
a thick piece of board (an old cardboard box love, food and warmth, will be at a disadvantage
can be used or better still a piece of plywood) in all future relationships and learning. H a p p y ,
can be cut into the number of pieces required satisfied children are those most likely to grow
for the particular child. T w o or three pieces to be happy, creative people.
539
Julia Turgonyi
Pre-school education
and working mothers in Hungary1
Making w o m e n economically more active is in society as a whole, and partly exceed those.
the Hungarian People's Republic a social and T h e special benefits enjoyed by w o m e n provide
political programme that follows from the es- special protection against labour hazards, in or-
sence of our socialist society. der to help working w o m e n perform their bio-
W o m a n is a creative h u m a n being, and at logical function of motherhood and ensure their
the same time the biological reproduction of actual practice of equal rights with the same
any society depends on her willingness to accept chances as m e n .
motherhood. This, together with the proper T h e social programme of female employ-
care and education of children, is a paramount ment and the protection and encouragement
concern of society. It is our conviction that of motherhood can be realized only through
parents—mothers and fathers—who take an ac- an integrated economic system through which
tive part in the shaping and improvement of work is organized together with social welfare
socialist society are the mostfitto raise children and cultural development.
soundly in the socialist spirit. For this reason Society undertakes responsibility for the child
w e have created conditions under which w o m e n and the mother before birth, and its concern
are able to fulfil their role as employees and and solicitude extend over the entire period of
their responsibilities of motherhood at the same socialization.
time. Better opportunities for schooling and an im-
T h e constitution of the Hungarian People's proving occupational structure are improving
Republic, ratified in 1949 and amended in 1973, conditions in Hungary for the personality growth
ensures w o m e n equal rights and duties with of w o m e n , for their full equality in family as
m e n . T h e constitution devotes a separate pass- well as in society, and for enabling w o m e n to
age to children and the family. function as good, capable mothers.
T h e legal and other benefits applicable to T h e key to the social position of the working
w o m e n are, according to the constitution, partly w o m a n and of the mother lies in her position
the same as those provided for the welfare of within the family. Equality in employment and
in the h u m a n relationship to work form the
basis of her equality in the family—but this
Julia Turgonyi (Hungary). Sociologist and edu-
cationist, former Head of the Cultural Department of
the National Council of Hungarian Women, currently 1. This article is based on the background study written
involved in studying conditions of women and working for Unesco in 1976 in co-operation with Klara Flödesi
mothers. and Erzsébet Kósa.
54O
is only a basis. It takes m a n y other conditions is to develop democratic relations based on equal
to enable her to be a parent of her children rights, mutual respect and responsibility for
and the mate of her husband as an equal per- each other between marriage partners, and also,
son. S o m e of these conditions are ensured in as far as possible, with the children.
Hungary through an institutional system of fam- Equality is not interpreted as sameness. N o n e
ily assistance. the less, there is n o reason for family roles
Special health care of w o m e n before concep- to be rigidly differentiated between husband
tion is intended to ensure healthy pregnancies and wife, father and mother. Their tasks are
and healthy babies. T h e accent is on the pre- 'convertible', and they can—and should—assist
vention of the development of problems. each other in matters which were in earlier
All medical care and treatment is free as a family types strictly separated as being in the
right of citizenship. T h u s , employed and econ- competence of the male or the female partner.
omically inactive w o m e n are equally entitled Family and institution each must be fully
to gynaecological advice and all other health ser- aware of its o w n responsibility, which are
vices and benefits. In addition, there are some complementary.
centrally enforced aspects of the health-care of T h e basic responsibility for the child belongs
w o m e n that have to be observed by their e m - to the parents. O f course a lot of direct and
ployers. At all places of work, particularly in- indirect assistance is provided by the State—ma-
dustry, special attention is paid to compliance terially, politically, morally and educationally.
with safety rules and the use of protective In Hungary just about every social, political
equipment. and interest-protecting organization does what
Such children's institutions as crèches (from it can to help in the raising and education of
6 months to 3 years of age) and kindergartens children and to protect the interests of parents
(from 3 to 6) are important not only because they and children.
provide the most up-to-date means of social- There is—as there should be—close co-
ization but also because they help to achieve a operation between the socialist educational in-
greater equality of social opportunity. stitutions and parents. Parent-teacher associ-
T h e right to a vocation is a natural h u - ations ( P T A ) have been active for over thirty
m a n right, but it has also been recognized years in all crèches, kindergartens and schools.
that providing equal access to vocations for This is in fact a broad socialist m o v e m e n t that
w o m e n is the best possible contribution to the encompasses every family with young children.
development of children. As each family, as well as society at large, is
For the continued h o m e care of babies, work- interested in the sound personality develop-
ing mothers have the option to claim child- ment of children, parents are invited to co-
minding leave and allowance after their m a - operate on an equal basis with teachers. A t
ternity leave u p to the third birthday of each the same time the P T A provides opportunity
child. This benefit has been instituted in a in training parents in modern educational prin-
situation w h e n mothers are generally economi- ciples, which is done with educational and pol-
cally active, economic resources are not yet able itical tact.
to satisfy the extensive d e m a n d for crèches, It was in a developing and changing society
and w h e n there is good reason to encourage that female employment and the role of w o m e n
young w o m e n to accept the responsibilities of in the education of their children assumed the
motherhood. outlines w e are presenting here. T h e advances
T h e policy of support for families tries to were m a d e through deliberately planned prac-
encourage a certain h u m a n attitude. T h e aim tices, which were however, by no means free
541
Julia Turgonyi
of contradictions; in fact progress was often highly active economically, the pattern being
only achieved through the open clash of conflict- the same for them as for the entire working-age
ing methods and opinions. Up-to-date insti- group up to 55.
tutional support became possible only with As many as 67.3 per cent of all w o m e n of
the steady improvement of material resources. child-bearing age are gainfully employed. In
Moreover, in the meantime a system of in- the younger age group holding a job is taken for
stitutions had to be developed and expanded granted, and so the great majority of young
for the training of a sufficient number of mothers are economically active.
well-qualified health and teaching personnel A n analysis of demographic data indicated
capable of realizing the health and educational that out of 2,663,900 w o m e n of child-bearing
programme. age, approximately 620,000-630,000—or 2 4 -
25 per cent—have children under 6 years of age.
For salaried w o m e n the ratio is higher—about
Female employment 35-36 per cent (500,000 w o m e n ) .
542
Pre-school education and working mothers in Hungary
working w o m a n is at h o m e on sickness allow- needs maternal care at h o m e even after the age
ance or on unpaid leave to care for an ill child; of 3 the mother has the right to claim unpaid
(d) while the working w o m a n is on child- leave until the child's tenth birthday, with the
minding leave; (e) if she has been employed by period taken into account w h e n her time in
a State h o m e for infants to nurse babies. employment is computed.
A single working w o m a n under 18 w h o has a Free care and supervision for young children,
dependent child can be dismissed from her job subsidies for the maintenance of children's
only on very exceptional grounds. institutions and for the prices of children's
Maternity and child care are an independent clothing and other articles needed for children
major branch of Hungarian health and medical are some of the main indirect forms of State
services. T h e various health institutions, lying- assistance.
in homes, hospitals, clinics, and the district There are also direct cash benefits. Family
physicians' and consultants' offices all help to allowances are paid for two or more children,
prevent trouble. T h e Family Planning and progressive until the third child. A single
Maternity Protection Counselling Service has working parent is entitled to family allowance
been set u p in 1974 with stations in bigger for one child. During the twenty-week m a -
centres or attached to gynaecological clinics. ternity leave, the mother is entitled to a monthly
S o m e tasks in maternity, child and family care maternity allowance depending on the mother's
devolve on the organization of medical social term in employment. She is also entitled
workers. It is their task to visit families regu- to a maternity grant payable once after each
larly from the registration of pregnancy until delivery.
the child has reached the age of 6. There are also m a n y other possibilities for
Maternity leave is twenty weeks long in providing material aid to families with several
Hungary. Four weeks are to be taken before children. It is a social and State programme that
delivery, and sixteen afterwards, but if the the cost of raising children should be borne in a
doctor certifies that he sees no danger in the steadily increasing proportion by the State.
mother continuing work until labour, the full
maternity leave can be reserved for after the
birth of the baby. In cases of critical pregnancies Early childhood education
or paranatal complications the physician rec-
o m m e n d s the extension of the maternity leave T h e rapid rate of building up-to-date children's
with an additional four weeks. institutions like crèches and kindergartens helps
A w o m a n w h o returns to work after maternity families in the care and education of children
leave receives time off for nursing with her under 6 years of age.
average pay unaffected. Only healthy infants over 5 months and
If the child is ill the employed mother (or under 3 years of age are admitted to the crèches.
single father) m a y be put on sickness allowance As they take small babies w h o need, above all,
to care for the baby. N o time limit is set for good physical care, the crèches operate under
sick leave with a baby under 1 year of age, the supervision of the Ministry of Health, which
sixty days a year are allowed for a sick baby regulates their establishment and running with
between 1 and 3, and thirty days for a child decrees and instructions.
between 3 and 6. T h e kindergarten is an independent insti-
After the twenty-week maternity leave a tution under the authority of the Ministry of
working w o m a n m a y claim the child-minding Education, for the training and education of
leave; moreover if a child is ill or weak and pre-school children between 3 and 6 w h o are
543
Julia Turgonyi
physically and mentally fit. There are special needs of each baby to ensure harmonious physi-
facilities for backward or handicapped children. cal and mental development. T h e schedule is
Attendance is until the i September following fixed separately for each age group and for every
the sixth birthday of each child, at which time season; as far as possible the same nurse remains
she or he can enrol in primary school. in care of each group throughout the crèche
A s local organs of representation and admin- years. By and large, babies learn to walk, master
istration, the councils run the crèches and differentiated motor skills, and find their way
kindergartens, but from the central State budget. around the house and garden, and learn to
There are also crèches and kindergartens main- express themselves verbally by the time they are
tained by companies, but the professional super- ready for kindergarten. Before age 4 they can eat
vision is in this case, too, provided by the alone neatly, take off their clothes and pull shoes
councils. on and off. With a little help they wash and use
There are regular crèches operating through- a c o m b and handkerchieves. Each child is able
out the year, and a few seasonal ones chiefly in to occupy himself for a longer period of time
agriculture. Regional crèches are open for four- and to pick playthings for independent activity
teen hours a day on weekdays. from the wealth of equipment, m u c h of which is
There are several types of kindergartens, with designed to develop observation and manual
day-time care and meals, those with seasonal skill. Music and literature are introduced in a
day-time care, s u m m e r kindergartens with day- playful form as early as the crèche.
time care, nationality kindergartens, six-day Since 1957 the kindergartens have been work-
boarding kindergartens, and special kinder- ing on the basis of standard programmes. T h e
gartens. n e w programme, in effect since 1971, is based on
Because of the large number of mothers w h o experience with its predecessor, and relies on
work, the kindergartens with daytime facilities the latest findings in psychology, sociology,
are the most sought after and is available for public health, medicine and education.
98.6 per cent of all kindergarten-age children. D y n a m i s m is a basic feature of the pro-
In the school year of 1975/76 out of gramme: it depends on some of the best tra-
I
5 5 J 6 O 3 first graders 111,112 had attended ditions of kindergarten practice and at the same
kindergarten, and 29,993 pre-school pro- time encourages the introduction of good n e w
grammes. In other words, 96.2 per cent of the methods. H a r m o n y is stressed between theory
first graders were prepared for school in kinder- and practice, and the fact that the programme is
garten or at courses. A s long as the kindergarten not rigid but an outline leaves room for the
facilities cannot cover all pre-school children, creativity of the kindergarten teacher.
great importance is attached to the organization T h e kindergarten programme provides a sys-
of such school-entrance preparatory courses. tematic framework for the physical care, train-
ing and instruction of children, governed by the
view that education is the process of personality
The programme of crèches development, which shapes character, mental
and kindergartens ability and emotional life and even taste. T h e
whole child is developing in the interaction of
T h e children of mothers w h o work or are physical and psychological development for
students are cared for in crèches which try to which the friendly ambience, m a n y activities
provide a homelike environment. and community life of the kindergarten give
T h e crèche nurses follow a definite pro- ample scope. T h e educational process in this
g r a m m e , but pay attention to the individual framework is not an attempt to force develop-
544
Pre-school education and working mothers in Hungary
ment and change habit patterns, but the deliber- munity. T h e y adjust quickly, are self-reliant,
ate organization of environmental influence. and dependable in classwork.
T h e rhythm and schedule of activities in T h e speech patterns of pre-school kinder-
kindergarten life are built on the characteristics garteners are satisfactory and their arithmetic
of the three kindergarten age groups, but the aptitudes have been developed to a degree
demand and expectations consider individual corresponding to their age, but probably more
needs as well. C o m m u n a l group education is a could have been done to improve their ability
fundamental factor that permeates life in the for logical thinking.
kindergarten. It is also a basic principle that the T h e 6-year-olds are interested in plants and
children should be stimulated to activity and to nature and k n o w a lot about the h u m a n body
thinking for themselves. (parts of the body, sensory organs) and hygiene.
T h e development of both work and learning Their judgements of beauty and other abstrac-
activities through play is encouraged during the tions are surprisingly reliable. T h e y are well
kindergarten years and is deliberately organized informed about m a n y aspects of family life, the
to promote educational objectives. Physical jobs and workplaces of parents, etc. Their
training, community feeling, attitudes and acti- concepts of the division of labour within the
vities, and getting to k n o w the environment family and of parent-child relations are correct.
and learning to adjust to its realities are the T h e knowledge brought from the kindergarten
three principal aims of the kindergarden pro- was presented not only on a verbal level but
g r a m m e in preparation for school. m a d e part of the experience of the children and
Kindergarden provides a background in the they themselves were able to apply it.
correct use of the mother tongue, in basic math- A s a matter of fact, the social recognition of
ematics, nature studies, the arts and crafts, and the value of pre-school experience for children
in physical culture. Through teaching children is such that today most non-working mothers
to play and to be active, it gives them also prep- would also like to send their children to kinder-
aration in the technical skills which are becom- garten. Consequently the present government
ing so important today. In this way kindergarten programme calls for the expansion of kinder-
in fact helps to equalize educational oppor- garten facilities or at least school preparatory
tunities and thus contributes to socialist courses for all pre-school children.
equality. At present the criterion for acceptance to
At the same time educational policy defi- crèches and kindergartens is based on both
nitely warns against kindergartens anticipating parents being gainfully employed, the social
the functions of school and becoming 'baby significance of the mother's work and the
schools'. financial position of the family. Today 100 per
A representative national sample was taken cent of the babies accepted to crèches and 90 per
of 6-year-old kindergarteners in M a y and cent of the children enrolled in kindergarten
June 1976 under the guidance of the National have gainfully employed mothers. So, despite
Institute for Education, the results of which are the large-scale expansion of the system, the full
still being analysed. Previous smaller-scale demand for places in crèche and kindergarten
studies have shown that in thefirstgrade there placement still cannot be met, and the introduc-
was a decrease in failures proportionate to the tion of child-minding allowance in 1967 was
increase in the number of children w h o had mainly intended to palliate this difficulty.
attended kindergarten. It was also found that T h e child-minding allowance is very popu-
the groups of children w h o enter school from lar. It presupposes a certain term of e m -
kindergarten form a homogeneous little c o m - ployment, or enrolment in an educational
545
Julia Turgonyi
institution. T h e full time spent on child-minding years, come out in a large number of copies. T h e
leave must be regarded as employment and interesting themes, the well-known authors, and
must be taken into account w h e n computing the combination of professional skill and read-
any employment-relationship-dependent ben- able presentation which characterize them make
efits (length of annual leave, pensions, etc.). A the series very popular.
w o m a n returning from child-minding leave Highly sought after and often reprinted has
must be taken back into her former job or some- been the manual Mothers' Book on infant care.
thing closely corresponding to it, and her pay T h e educational journal entitled Our Child has
cannot be less than earlier: in fact it must be been likewise well received by families and edu-
raised commensurate to the average payrisein cationists alike.
her job category during the period which she All in all, m a n y publications, theatrical pro-
spent on child-minding leave. ductions, and radio and television programmes
O f all young mothers, 80 per cent avail them- help parents and educationists in their treatment
selves of the opportunity to stay at h o m e with of pre-school children. S o m e others teach the
their babies for at least part of the two and a children an appreciation of the arts.
half years after the regular maternity leave.
T h e average duration of the leave shows that
the majority of mothers do not stay at h o m e for Training personnel
the full three years allowed after the birth of the for the pre-schoolers
child but claim an average of only twenty-one
months. Health visitors, or Medical Social Workers, are
T h e average length of time mothers stay out expected to have graduated from secondary
of work on child-minding leave, and the dif- school and then receive additional training for
ferences according to social strata or occupation, three years at college. T h e training of crèche
indicate the significant influence of the material and pediatric nurses is done at the two-year
position of the mothers, the degree of qualifi- Pediatric Nurse Training School, which pro-
cation required in the mother's job, the length vides courses in the medical, educational and
and distribution of the working hours, and of psychological aspects of infant and child devel-
the local availability of children's institutions. opment, care and nutrition. Equal time is de-
Despite plans for the large-scale development voted to general and to specialized subjects.
of crèches and kindergartens, child-minding For kindergarten-teacher training, graduation
leave is expected to function for a long time yet from the four-year secondary school with m a -
to come as one way of solving the problems of triculation is the requirement for applying
young mothers. T h e leave encourages a har- to the two-year (four-semester) Kindergarten
monious h o m e environment for mother and Teachers Training College, which also has a
child during thefirstyears of life w h e n this is correspondence and an evening section. U p to
important for the emotional development of the the late 1970s Hungarian kindergarten-teacher
baby. Efforts are m a d e to encourage young training has generally met the demand, but as
mothers to use this period for reading and self- the kindergarten network continued its rapid
improvement especially in thefieldof education development, there were periods of shortages in
and child psychology. the proper personnel, and the secondary school-
T h e series 'Parents' Library' devotes separate level training of kindergarten teachers was re-
volumes to the family education of the two main introduced in 1972. Completion of the vocational
age groups of pre-school children. T h e books secondary school for kindergarten teachers with
in it, published continually for almost twenty a matriculation examination at the end qualifies
546
Pre-school education and working mothers in Hungary
students for kindergarten teaching, and is at the parents and families in their responsibilities,
same time the equivalent of an academic sec- help children develop in a healthy w a y ,
ondary school education, for graduates m a y and at the same time aim to eliminate social
enrol in the correspondence school of the differences.
kindergarten-teacher-training schools or m a y T h e economic activity and contributions of
continue their studies at any other college or w o m e n promote their social integration and
university. equip them to perform their maternal responsi-
Training includes practical work at the model bilities on a high standard. T h e presence of
kindergartens and in the fourth semester in w o m e n in various posts of the economy, cultural
the form of practice teaching for a full-month life and of public life is changing the earlier
period in a regional kindergarten at the end of value judgements on the social function and
the course. contributions of w o m e n , replacing them with
Kindergarten teaching is considered an at- a different image of the ideal w o m a n that is in
tractive career in Hungary. Generally twice as harmony with the modern h u m a n ideal, one in
m a n y young people wish to enter the vocation which work and motherhood supplement each
as can be admitted. Selection is by means of other.
admission examinations. A n d , finally, there have been simultaneous
changes in the assessment of the social and
W e have presented the experiences, the results family role of m e n , whereby the role of the
and problems of a society which cherishes the father in the family becomes richer and more
principle that w o m e n have equal rights and are challenging.
to have equal chances for exercising them, with This is not to say that in our country all the
m e n . This means that w o m e n in general, and difficulties which hinder the combined per-
particularly the younger generation of w o m e n , formance of maternal and occupational duties
are given the possibility of practising gainful on a really high level have been solved. But
work and motherhood together in harmony. O u r efforts for their solution are generalized and
social observations present convincing proof the younger generation supports these changes.
that, if the proper social conditions exist, Perfecting the conditions for working mothers
motherhood and a vocation are compatible. is, however, a long process and has far from
They can be compatible even if the resources reached its completion.
for adjustment are relatively limited because of W e still have only partially achieved the goal
mediocre economic and industrial development; that motherhood—which is a natural ambition
the modification of roles and expectation within and desire of most women—should not be an
the family follow the socio-economic changes impediment but an advantage in work and
but slowly; and even though the care and edu- public life, and on the other hand a vocation
cation of children under 6 is time consuming and public activity should be considered enrich-
and ties d o w n parents, usually the mother, ment to a w o m a n ' s personality, making her a
m u c h more than at any other period. better mother. Today w e still often depend on
Motherhood and a vocation can be compat- temporary compromise solutions, which m a y
ible if society does special planning and makes bridge gaps and adjust individual and social
deliberate efforts to create the proper conditions interests in the best possible way at a given stage
of education and employment to enable w o m e n of development, though they cannot be re-
to take on work they can consider a vocation; garded as ideal in long-range perspectives.
in the same way society is building u p a sys- N e w demands and n e w requirements have
tem of interdependent institutions which assist come into being in the education of children, in
547
Julia Turgonyi
ways of family living, and in regard to the re- combine the understanding of scientific theory
lationship between people and their work. T h e y with practical skills in training; to encour-
usually precede the possibilities, the conditions age co-operation between the family and the
for their satisfaction, and so they set the never- educational institutions; to enhance the social
ending task of solving n e w problems. prestige of education as a career, in order to
O u r experiences have clearly led us to the attract the best candidates for teaching; it will
conclusion that the practical realization of the depend on adequate preparation of young
programme of social equality can be achieved people—the future partners in marriage and
only if w e are capable of long-range thinking parenthood—for family living and for raising
and vision, and m a k e our plans accordingly children.
on the basis of all component factors and in It depends on developing a good, workable
adherence to our principles, and taking into pattern of direct and indirect material subsidies
account experiences in other countries. Prin- for the raising and education of children.
cipled planning in long-term perspective is A n d ,finally,it depends on finding the means
certainly just as important for progress as m a - for developing the best possible material and
terial resources, for only a clear and progressive moral milieu for parents, for mother and child;
social programme is capable of activizing all the the means conducive to the development of
constructive forces and the financial resources social attitudes and practical behaviour which
of society. help mothers to practise w o m a n ' s double vo-
W h a t w e have accomplished so far and success cation of motherhood and economic activity
in the tasks which are still ahead, have all harmoniously for the full realization of her
depended, or will depend, on our ability to personality, for the happiness of her children,
train qualified staff for our institutions and to and in the service of social progress.
548
Juana Consuelo Ibañez Salazar
Most Latin American countries, notably Peru, not only the education authorities but even the
Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile and Venezuela, are majority of the population more aware of the
in a similar geographical and socio-cultural urgency of giving priority attention to the
situation: huge areas with high population 6-year-old child. In this respect the huge de-
density and few resources, isolated rural c o m - m a n d for enrolments at teaching centres estab-
munities with inadequate means of c o m m u n i - lished for this purpose, as well as the petitions
cation, 'sprawl' developments and 'shanty continually addressed to the responsible bodies
towns' where poverty and its consequences put from all sectors of society w h o wish to ben-
education virtually out of the reach of millions efit from their services, are proof of success.
of children and adults w h o have been ignored Whereas up to 1969, in the majority of de-
for centuries by their governments and are as veloping countries, pre-school education only
a result incapable of contributing to the pro- concerned the upper-middle class, at present
ductive potential, not only of their countries it is satisfying to note that peasants from
but even of their o w n communities. communities as remote as the Quechua and
Fortunately, some of these countries have Aymara communities, from the shores of Lake
undertaken extensive reforms and, in the case Titicaca (Peru and Bolivia), or the inhabitants
of Peru, seek radical solutions by approaching of communities from the forests bordering the
the problem of education in its true setting of A m a z o n , the Marañon or the Ucayali, are de-
underdevelopment and total marginality. manding the creation of pre-school teaching
At the level w e are concerned with, that of centres for their children.
pre-school (known in Peru as 'initial' teaching), There are problems c o m m o n to the majority
the problem represents a real challenge. T h e of Latin American countries; one of them is the
unanimous acceptance of the idea that a child inadequacy of schooling provided, if one takes
should be given an all-round education from into account the fact that the children w h o
the earliest age, and the collective aspiration to benefit from this teaching represent, on average,
turn out n e w generations able to build, maintain 4 per cent of the total population under the age
and further develop a just society, have m a d e of 6, and if one realizes that the number of
mothers w h o take on paid work outside the
Juana Consuelo Ibañez Salazar (Peru). Head of unit 1. Abridged and slightly modified version of a paper given
for non-formal initial education programmes at the by the author at a meeting on pre-school education at
Ministry of Education. Unesco (January 1976).
549
Prospects, Vol. VII, N o . 4, 1977
Juana Consuelo Ibañez Salazar
h o m e is increasing daily. T h e consequence is m u c h more complex, and the overall plans and
that the population under the age of 3, which programmes drawn u p in the central govern-
used to be the exclusive responsibility of the ment departments of each country prove to be
parents, is n o w swelling the number of children inoperable in certain zones, especially if they
for w h o m supplementary or additional services are not periodically revised.
must be provided. There are, furthermore, Another factor is that the analyses under-
variations as regards the provision of these ser- taken in each country in regard to this problem
vices. In Peru, 'initial' teaching is destined for have proved that one cannot expect the parents,
children from 0 to 6 years old and even for especially in the underprivileged areas, to be
fathers, while in Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador capable, unassisted, of fulfilling their responsi-
and Bolivia, for example, all-round education bility as initial teachers with the required ef-
is only provided from the age of 3 or 4. ficiency. Dependent on the system in which
T h u s children under 3 years old stay at h o m e they lived, they have had neither the means to
or benefit only in insignificant numbers from prepare themselves for this task, nor the re-
special assistance given by various—mostly pri- sources essential for creating and maintaining
vate—institutions. the requisite living conditions for the all-round
It is not, however, merely a question of open- development of their children. H o w , in such a
ing education centres here and there, which situation, does a country like Peru set about the
would, moreover, absorb 80 per cent of the problem of pre-school teaching?
education budgets; there is also the fact that, Since 1972, pre-school teaching has been in-
given the impossibility of satisfying all needs in stitutionalized under the n a m e 'initial teaching',
this field, it would be necessary to establish and it is provided, in a n e w setting, by the
priorities in the siting of these centres, thereby centros de enseñanza inicial (initial teaching
running the risk of falling into another type of centres) (CEI)—known as crèches for children
marginality. up to the age of 3, and kindergartens for
In addition, the number of teachers special- children from 3 to 5—and by informal pro-
ized or capable of teaching at this level is grammes aimed at children w h o do not benefit
minute. In Peru, for example, u p to 1969 from the normal C E I programmes or from the
there were only two higher training centres for family education programmes aimed at parents
pre-school teaching instructors; in the other and the community.
countries mentioned there were barely three or Nevertheless, initial teaching does not come
four centres—situated, of course, in the capital within the exclusive scope of the education
cities—whose students, as soon as they were sector. In particular, the crèches, where children
qualified, were absorbed into the urban centres. are fed, their physical well-being provided for
Even n o w , while each of the countries m e n - and medical attention given, are the responsi-
tioned has, on average, four to six higher bility of bodies within the scope of the edu-
centres training instructors specialized in pre- cation sector, but also of other sectors, in the
school teaching, after two, three or four years of form of activities and programmes integrated
post-secondary studies, the number of teachers and co-ordinated with those of the health sector,
trained is scarcely sufficient to cover the needs the Junta de Asistencia Nacional (National
of the accessible areas. This is w h y there are, in Welfare Board) ( J A N ) , 1 the local authorities, the
the remote rural communities, no pre-school
teaching instructors possessing the required
professional qualifications. 1. A decentralized body whose chief task is to provide
welfare services for the children and families of the
But the problem is not only quantitative: it is 'sprawl' and marginal areas.
55O
Non-formal education programmes for children and parents in Peru
55I
Juana Consuelo Ibañez Salazar
552
Non-formal education programmes for children and parents in Peru
recreational activities and other forms of cre- Staff responsible for the
ative and physical expression take place; halls implementation of the programmes
and wards converted for this purpose in hos-
pitals and clinics, in order to work with children THE CEI TEACHERS
waiting for their parents while the latter are
visiting patients; premises adjoining detention All teachers responsible for initial-teaching
or rehabilitation centres for w o m e n ; reception classes have a statutory obligation to divide their
centres on housing estates, where groups of working time between work carried out with the
mothers, assisted by specialists from the N E C children in the framework of the official school
carry out voluntary child-minding activities for programmes and the non-formal activities for
mothers w h o work during the day; premises which they are appointed by their N E C and
adjoining markets, to work with the stall- expected to collaborate in the planning. Each
holders' children; factories, workshops and teacher at present devotes a m i n i m u m of two
craft centres, where mothers go with their and a half hours a week to looking after children
small children because there is no one to look not covered by the official teaching programmes
after them. or those organized by parents and the c o m -
T h e non-formal programmes at regional level munity, on a rota basis. In practice, a large
have a wider scope and are applied in the re- n u m b e r of teachers devote more time to these
gions declared to be strategic priority zones in duties.
the context of the overall national development Generally speaking, the direct work of the
plans. They are, like that of Puno, more exten- teachers is concerned with tasks for which
sive, both in the number of children w h o benefit special pedagogical training is essential; hence it
from them, and in the territory they cover and is they w h o provide the teaching and direct the
the range of departments concerned. other activities of the children; but their most
These programmes receive direct financial important task is to advise and supervise the
assistance from the central departments of the work of the parents, students and other individ-
Ministry of Education for their transactions at uals from the community w h o have volunteered
h o m e and abroad. T h e nature of their organiz- to help them.
ation is, given their scope, somewhat special.
For example, the experimental programme of PROFESSIONAL
non-formal initial teaching carried out in the re-
MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS
gion of Puno at present looks after 5,000 Aymara
children under the age of 6, and 3,000 families These include specialized teachers or those w h o
and other members of the 149 rural Quechua have been trained in the field of pre-school
communities, in the zones bordering Bolivia; teaching, family educators, community organ-
the Jaén-Santa María de Nieva programme is izers and other personnel responsible for co-
aimed at children and families from the lake- ordinating, guiding and supervising certain
dwelling communities on the banks of the large-scale informal programmes, such as the
Marañón, while at Tumbes-Tacna other pro- pilot programmes put into effect in strategic
grammes of the same type were providing for a zones of Peru for the benefit of thousands of
variety of activities suited to the various socio- children, with regard to which young people
economic and cultural conditions. can give voluntary assistance.
These teams, working in groups, are respon-
sible for certain tasks geographically defined at
the level of the N E C , and meet periodically at
553
Juana Consuelo Ibañez Salazar
professional training courses, in order to co- they wish to take advantage of the opportunities
ordinate work, prepare teaching material and for cultural enrichment which they are given to
assess the activities with which they are improve their preparation. T h e y successfully
concerned. T h e y also take part in training vol- replace teachers in places where it is almost
unteers. T h e y are responsible to the regional impossible to get specialized staff to come and
authorities, w h o co-ordinate their work and settle permanently. Finally, they increase the
advise them. return on the investment m a d e in teaching,
since even if they receive some remuneration, it
is always less than a teacher's salary—not that
AUXILIARY STAFF FROM THE COMMUNITY
this means they are exploited, since they have
These are the parents and young people w h o an opportunity to improve their cultural attain-
take part directly in the teaching work, by carry- ments andfinancialsituation in the course of
ing out tasks for which they are prepared training for their duties, and taking part in the
through periodic intensive courses, daily radio educational process which affects not only the
broadcasts and information and guidance m a - children but also themselves.
terial on pre-school teaching.
T h e auxiliary staff from the rural peasant
communities are not officially paid; they receive Programmes provided for parents
only a modest remuneration from various bodies and the community
or from the communities themselves and the
subsidies necessary to allow them to take part in T h e beneficiaries of these programmes are the
the training activities in the field of initial parents of children being taught at the C E I , as
teaching. well as the young people and adults living in
Experience has shown us that the best non- certain zones.
formal programmes are those in which members
of the communities themselves, chosen by their METHOD
groups, take part as organizers and direct collab-
orators. T h e y identify with their milieu, its T h e organization of each programme is based
customs, problems, aspirations and language, on an overall analysis of the socio-economic and
and are consequently in the best position to cultural situation of the community, assessed
carry out efficient work, since they are trusted in relation to the general situation of the country.
and respected in their communal groups; this Next, the situation of the child in its family
is not so for the teachers, w h o are often out- and communal context is studied. Once the
siders and have difficulty in integrating in the problems have been identified, a publicity c a m -
conditions of these communities. T h e auxili- paign is undertaken to gain widespread accept-
aries have no interest in emigrating to other ance for the idea that it is important to look
zones, since, being part of the community, they after the child under the age of 6, since he is
ensure the continuity and stability of the work an essential element in the lasting changes it
undertaken. Having good knowledge of their is hoped to make in society.
o w n community's resources, they are better W h e n each m e m b e r of the family and the
equipped to exploit this in inexpensive teaching community is conscious of the responsibilities
equipment and material. T h e y fulfil their teach- he has towards the child, the next step is that
ing duties with the children efficiently, after of personal training or self-education and group-
receiving suitable training for this purpose, and learning between adults, with a view to plan-
the more they come to feel motivated, the more ning and carrying out co-ordinated joint action
554
Non-formal education programmes for children and parents in Peru
enabling the problems revealed to be tackled tens, but is also the result of life in the h o m e ,
effectively. and that it very m u c h depends on the attention
As a general rule the programmes include, and education given by the mother and the
on the one hand, guidance and training ac- influence the child undergoes in the family and
tivities concerning: knowledge of the child and communal context.
the stages of its development; the study of
legislation in force concerning the family, the FORMS OF WORK
mother and the child; medical advice and care
concerning conception, pregnancy, the pre- In the programmes for parents and the c o m -
natal period, breast-feeding, infant diet and munity, use is m a d e of techniques which en-
nutrition, etc.; and the early development and courage the active participation of all w h o are
pre-educational stages; on the other hand, pro- present. It is they w h o formulate all the ques-
motional activities aimed at obtaining better tions to be dealt with, and the action to be
living conditions for the child: facilities for carried out. For this purpose, the mountain
working in barns and family or communal communities do not need to organize special
gardens, or in workshops where teaching m a - meetings, since they already possess the c o m m u -
terial, clothing, etc., are produced, intended for nal assembly, which is an integral part of their
the child under the age of 6; organization of life and customs, so that it is there that the
supplementary feeding services for children, the questions relating to initial teaching are exam-
work being done on a rota basis by the parents ined. It is there that the co-ordinating teacher
themselves, w h o contribute according to their and the volunteer auxiliary go to motivate,
means; building and upkeep of community re- guide and advise the assembly, but not to
ception centres and other specially designated 'direct' it. Likewise in other zones, the groups
premises, such as the wawa-wasi and wawa- are convened by the teacher and the chiefs or
uta (Quechua and Aymara words respectively, other most representative members, but are
meaning the 'children's house' in the non-formal given all the responsibility and independence
programmes of initial teaching in Puno); and necessary to enable them to take their o w n
educational activities carried out under the pro- decisions.
grammes intended for children, with the help
Efforts are being m a d e to modify the tra-
of specialized teachers.
ditional forms of work which were limited to
In the work undertaken with the parents, talks and lectures. At present, family education
it is advisable, bearing in mind the most pressing provides for greater active participation in order
needs revealed and the resources available, to to take advantage of the knowledge and ex-
attempt to intensify suitable guidance for the periences of the beneficiaries themselves, in the
family in order to supplement and reinforce form of dialogues, practical demonstrations and
the effect of the programmes for children, in collective work in small groups. T h u s the work
such a way that the work done with infants is becomes a real group-learning exercise in which
directly linked to the aims to be defined in everyone is at the same time teacher and student,
the programmes directed at the parents and the which is one of the basic characteristics of the
community. informal programmes provided for adults.
Throughout these programmes, the parents O n e form of work practised in the peasant
must be aware of the fact that the educational communities of Puno is the participation of girl
process starts even before the child's birth and volunteers responsible for the practical guidance
that education is not only provided in specialized of mothers in their homes, in connection with
establishments, like the crèches and kindergar- early development and feeding during the first
555
Juana Consuelo Ibañez Salazar
three years of life. This step has been taken ing was 152,000, which represented an increase
because of the impossibility of creating special of 86 per cent, the quantitative projections
teaching centres exclusively for these children, for 1975-80, as given in Table I, can be m a d e .
but above all because the ideal solution is that In the estimates given, it is anticipated that
the mother herself should look after the child the main effort will be on work with the family
at this age. and the community.
In the years to come, the priority needs
LENGTH OF THE PROGRAMMES for the development of pre-school teaching are
AND TIMETABLES of two kinds. A s regards staff and extension
of the services, it will be a matter of taking
T h e length of the programmes aimed at adults steps aiming, on the one hand, at developing
and the community depends on local conditions, programmes of specialization and training for
the aims in view and the activities involved. teachers in pre-primary education and, on the
It is notfixed,and the programmes m a y stretch other hand, at attracting and training volunteers
over a whole year or be applied for discontinuous from the community and disseminating the idea
periods at any time of the year. of initial teaching. It will also be a matter of
T h e timetables are drawn u p in agree- following atfirsthand the official and non-
ment with the participants. Owing to climatic formal initial teaching activities in isolated zones
conditions, the participants' occupations and and of giving material support to the launching
the resources available, the activities are usually of non-formal programmes which will progress-
conducted on holidays or outside school hours. ively become financially independent.
In general, various alternatives are offered so A s regards the improvement of the quality
as to ensure the participation of all those of the teaching, apart from the further training
concerned. and specialization courses already mentioned,
it will be a matter of supporting research on
the living conditions, growth and development
Quantitative projections in Peru of the child, and of giving assistance for ex-
periments aimed at bringing to light n e w forms
If one bears in mind the fact that the popu- and techniques of work which would facilitate
lation aged between o and 6 is about 3,671,900, the 'creation' of appropriate methods and tech-
which represents 23.1 per cent of the total nologies. O n these different points, the exchange
population of Peru, reckoned to be 15,868,800 of experience between developed and developing
in 1975, and if one considers that during the countries with a view to seeking n e w paths
period 1970-74 the total number of children for the expansion of pre-school teaching is
between 3 and 5 years old in pre-school teach- indispensable.
1975 1980
Programmes 0—3 Aged 4-6 Total
C E I crèches or
kindergartens 1,000 160,000 l6l,000 350,000
Non-formal programmes 3,000 47,00O 50,000 250,000
TOTAL 4,000 207,000 211,000 600,000
556
Carmen Balmaceda, Johanna Filp,
Patricia Gimeno and Howard Richards
T h e school of Trapiche Alto is situated 600 kilo- to go to the food office to collect the milk for
metres south of the capital of Chile, Santiago. her child. In the space of half an hour, the
It is a typical little rural school beside a dirt twenty mothers w h o attend the course have
track lined with poplars. A dog is asleep in assembled. They chat, knit and await the arrival
the shade, and there are chickens and pigs of the w o m a n teacher w h o will open the meeting.
wandering about. There are children playing T h e teacher begins by asking the mothers
at the edge of the track. A little house can be about the matters dealt with at the previous
glimpsed in the distance. T h e school is built meeting. T h e mothers do not answer immedi-
of sun-dried bricks; the classrooms are dark, ately. There is a certain reluctance to speak
with earthen floors; the benches are arranged in front of a group, but then a bold mother
in straight rows, and some of them are in a reminds them that they discussed the import-
perilous state. T h e children havefinishedtheir ance of talking to children at h o m e . That dis-
day's work and go h o m e . Not long afterwards, cussion was illustrated with slides. They saw
the mothers arrive for the meeting. O n e comes that children learn by imitating, and that they
with her little boy, because there was no one also talk to themselves w h e n playing, because
at h o m e to leave him with. T h e n another mother this helps them to succeed better in what they
arrives, bringing a message from her neighbour, are doing. A few mothers mention further as-
w h o will be unable to attend since she has had pects which they remember.
Next, w e see that the mothers have split
up into small groups. O n e mother is blindfolded
and takes an object from a bag containing vari-
Carmen Balmaceda (Chile). Responsible for the pro-
duction of teaching materials and practical guides for ous things brought from h o m e : pebbles, nails,
the Parents and Children Project; infant-school teacher. sticks and boxes. T h e blindfold mother de-
Johanna Filp (Chile). Responsible for the psycho- scribes the object and the other mothers ask
logical content and measurement of mother-child interac- her questions. They are practising a game that
tions for the Parents and Children Project; psychologist.
they will be able to play with the children at
Patricia Gimeno (Chile). Works in production of
teaching materials for preschool children and creative h o m e , so as to help them express themselves
games for the home; teacher at primary and preschool and use and recognize n e w words. There is
levels. some sheepish laughter; they feel a little foolish
Howard Richards (United States of America), to be playing children's games, but they are
educational psychologist and philosopher. Lecturer at
Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana, adviser to the
curious and painstaking.
Parents and Children Project. S o m e 20 minutes later, w e find the mothers
557
Prospects, Vol. VII, N o . 4 , 1977
Carmen Balmaceda, Johanna Filp, Patricia Gimeno and Howard Richards
once again in small groups, talking and laughing. of the children w h o goes to school will be able
O n e of them is writing and the others are to read it aloud. She also encourages them to
making comments and telling the 'secretary' invent games. T o close the meeting, the teacher
what she has to write down. They are making asks the mothers to bring their pre-school-age
up a story to tell their children. Although at children to the next meeting, because they are
first they lacked confidence w h e n faced with going to play with them the games which they
this task, in the end each group proudly pro- have practised today.
duces its handiwork. S o m e mothers have re- Slowly, the mothers depart, some hurrying
told stories which were told to them, and others more than the others, because they must get
have remembered poems which the children h o m e to prepare the evening meal for their
might learn. For example: families, and especially for their husbands, w h o
like to eat as soon as they come home.
Pin Pin, the Kitten As they make their way homeward, they
W h a t is it I feel talk animatedly among themselves, while the
W h e n I recall children run beside them, picking u p stones,
M y frolics with little Pin Pin? jumping and chasing one another.
People don't know him
But I will tell you
H e is a kitten, as small as can be. Summary of the project
H e has no ears
T h e Parents and Children Project is sponsored
He's going bald
by the Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de
He's lost an eye
A n d he's lost his nose
la Educación (Centre for Educational Research
His tongue is as black and Development) ( C I D E ) in Santiago, Chile,
As a lump of coal a private, non-profit-making foundation which
A n d his t u m m y is like a drum. has connections with the Catholic Church and
receives assistance both from various Chilean
W e are already approaching the end of the churches and societies and from international
meeting. T h e teacher asks the mothers to relief agencies, such as Brot für die Welt (a
comment on their activities. ' W e enjoyed them, G e r m a n Evangelical agency) and the Ford
but w e do not know whether w e shall have time Foundation (a private United States agency).
to play these games with the children. O f course, T h e Director of C I D E is the Reverend Father
Rosita goes to school, so she could play with Patricio Carióla, a Chilean Jesuit, w h o , over the
them—she could help them. . . .' years, has become devoted to the quest for edu-
T h e mothers hand over the children's h o m e - cational innovations in Chile and Latin America
work. T h e children have drawn the flight-path which will lead to improved social justice and
of afly.T h e mothers have also told the children greater opportunities for all.
to draw in the sand with a stick. O n e mother Parents and Children affects the Uves of
has m a d e a toy from a tin and some pebbles, children of all ages, to the extent that it affects
which her child can use as a musical instrument. the community's attitudes towards education.
A n e w pamphlet is given out, containing However, the project focuses directly on the
suggestions on ways in which mothers can help education of pre-school-age children (aged 4
their children and a list of things to do. T h e to 6), toddlers (2-4) and babies.
teacher reads it out, because there are some T h e Parents and Children Project is based on
mothers w h o cannot read; later, at h o m e , one the following major assumptions:
558
Parents help to educate their children: an experiment in Chile
This form of education for children and adults of poor rural dwellers. T h e project began
is the most economical. in 1972, and its development has been deter-
B y using this system of teaching, it is possible mined by the conditions prevailing in the
to achieve more lasting effects, both by m o d - country and by the success of the experiments.
ifying values and by improving knowledge in In the previous paragraph, w e referred to the
the spheres of education, nutrition and health. fact that the schoolteachers conduct various
Its extension and expansion to the countryside activities designed to enlist parents' partici-
and/or the town depends on the resources pation in educational processes. These activities
existing in the community, which, given its fall into the following five categories:
economic feasibility, enable the programme First, motivation of parents. W e believe that an
to cover the most needy sectors. important factor in the success of parents' and
T h e principal promoter of educational and guardians' co-operation with the rural school
social change, within the ambit of the Parents is that they should derive rewarding experi-
and Children Project, is the rural schoolteacher. ences from it. S o m e examples of activities in
Every week, he meets the parents and conducts this category are the entertainments put on
various activities designed to enlist the partici- by the pupils of the school in their parents'
pation of the parents and guardians (mainly, in honour, and the activities which highlight the
practice, the mothers) in strengthening the knowledge and skills of the parents, such as
effectiveness of those places of learning k n o w n repairs to school furniture, making black-out
as the ' h o m e ' , the 'school' and the 'neighbour- curtains for showing slides at school, and
hood'. A t regular intervals, the teachers from planting a kitchen garden for the school.
the schools taking part in the project hold In the second group come the initiatives of the
a meeting, also attended by specialists from community itself. For example, during one
the C I D E . These meetings provide them with series of meetings the mothers realized that
an opportunity to conduct experiments in group some children had difficulty in learning to
dynamics, discuss the progress of the project read because there was nobody at h o m e to
and the intentions underlying the teaching m a - help them with their spelling. They organ-
terials, circulate audio-visual materials for the ized themselves so that a literate person from
work with the mothers and circulate teaching another family could help every child w h o
materials to be used by the mothers in their had such a problem. O n the whole, it m a y be
o w n homes. W e have used the term 'circulate' said that traditional systems of educational
for the audio-visual and teaching materials, planning often spend vast sums on im-
rather than 'distribute', because w e see the plementing ideas put forward at the national
educational process not as a business trans- or international level, while thousands of
action, based on the handing out of knowledge ideas of equal or greater merit, albeit on a
from the specialists to the schoolteachers and less grand scale—initiatives taken by rural
from there to the mothers; w e see it rather as a schoolteachers or rural women—are lost for
network of communications, in which there is lack of a sheet of carbon paper, scissors, a
give and take between teacher-learners and stamp or a pair of scales.
learner-teachers. In the third category are the actual classes for
the mothers, which, as a rule, are also at-
A s a small sample of the project, and as an tended by the elder sisters w h o second their
introduction to it, w e have just given an account mothers in the household duties. In addition,
of a typical meeting held in the province of there is direct work with girls in grades VII
Curicó, where work is currently under way in and VIII w h o are the most actively concerned
various parish schools attended by the children
559
Carmen Balmaceda, Johanna Filp, Patricia Gimeno and Howard Richards
with child care in the h o m e . In our intro- which has emerged in the course of the system-
duction to this article w e described a typical atic participation already outlined, in which
class, and in what follows w e shall give fuller parents, children, teachers and specialists all
information on this aspect of the project. T h e have a say. Let us take as our example the work
subjects for discussion are chosen partly ac- done for the third thematic unit, language.
cording to a codification which corresponds T h e unit consists of four meetings. T h e first,
to the world view of rural people and the based on slides (or pictures if there is no elec-
opinions expressed by them and, partly, ac- tricity), should demonstrate the importance for
cording to the opinions and under the re- the child of verbal communication, in enabling
sponsibility of the teachers and specialists. him to cope with life at h o m e , at school and in
T o be more specific, some of the subjects the community. It is planned to give rural
dealt with so far have been language, n u - people access to the findings of scientific re-
trition, parents' participation in school out- search in thefieldof child development. In this
ings, child development, the kitchen garden, unit as in others, the influence of Jean Piaget
children's preparation for reading, their prep- and the Geneva school is conspicuous, although
aration for mathematics, discipline, h u m a n use is also m a d e of research carried out at C I D E
relationships, sex education, mechanical skills, and other Latin American centres. T h e second
affection in the h o m e and the role of the adult meeting, called a booster meeting, centres on
male in the life of the child. the same subject, tying it in with the everyday
Fourth, activities in the h o m e itself. T h e lives of the participants, and appraising the
mothers come to the meeting accompanied suggestions and opinions of the mothers. A t
by their children. At the meeting, they work this second meeting, the work done by mothers
with the teaching materials which are cir- and children at h o m e is commented upon, and
culated. Later, they can take the materials creative activities take place. For example, a
h o m e and engage in learning activities with mother is asked to put her hand into a cloth
their o w n children. T h e mothers talk about bag containing various objects (chalk, sticks,
their experiences at the next meeting. pencils, small boxes, etc.) and to try to describe
Fifth, activities which arise from the conclusions the qualities of the object which she is touching.
reached at the meetings would appear to T h e following week, she will play similar games
fall into a fifth category. For example, if with the children at h o m e .
the mothers consider, in view of the scien- T h e third meeting of the unit is a workshop,
tific background supplied by the specialists with the children present. Teaching materials
and the teachers, that access to the mass produced by the same mothers at earlier meet-
communication media is important for the ings will provide a basis for the educational
children's linguistic development, such a games which will subsequently be played
conclusion m a y lead to a campaign to acquire throughout the neighbourhood. T h e mothers
n e w batteries for radios, since most rural have already m a d e up children's stories, perhaps
families o w n a transistor radio, but one whose by recalling tales which they themselves used
batteries are flat. to hear from their grandmothers, and these sub-
jects n o w serve as a basis for all kinds of activi-
ties which help to stimulate the imagination.
Particulars of a thematic unit At the fourth meeting, the mothers learn simple
techniques of appraisal, so as to understand
Let us n o w take a more leisurely look at the their children better, observing, for example,
stage reached by one of the thematic units their ability to perform a manual task in accord-
560
Parents help to educate their children: an experiment in Chile
ance with verbal instructions. Thus they be- care for their children, and are concerned for
come capable of gearing h o m e education to the their children and their children's future. A s
needs of each child. one mother said: ' W e must teach our children,
Let us n o w take a closer look at one of the because they do not realize that some day they
small 'bricks' or 'cells' on which the proceedings are going to want to get married.'
of a meeting are based. W e chose the method W e also k n o w that there is a kind of learning,
recommended for working with the sixth of the which Albert Bandura has studied under the
twenty-three slides shown at thefirstmeeting n a m e of 'social learning' which depends largely
of the thematic unit on language. This is the on seeing examples of things being done. In
meeting briefly described above, which aims order for this type of learning to work the
at introducing some scientific knowledge into example must be one with which the subject
teaching methods based on dialogue. T h e sixth can identify; for this reason the pictures that
slide shows on the one hand a parrot, on the w e use to motivate discussions are pictures of
other a child. T h e drill is as follows: people in situations where the parents can see
T h e teacher encourages the group to decode themselves. There is a certain parallel here with
each of the images. In other words, the m e a n - the psycho-social method: in that method the
ings of the pictures are deciphered. teaching-learner returns to the group its o w n
H e asks the group to state, on the basis of their words; in our method w e also return to the
knowledge or suppositions, h o w to teach the group pictures of themselves.
parrot to talk, and h o w to teach the child to talk. There is abundant evidence for the prop-
T h e aim is to identify the differences between osition that favourable attitudes and actions by
the parrot and the child where the use of parents are crucial for education. For example,
words is concerned, thereby discovering and the British Plowden Report found that an index
drawing attention to the fact that the child of parental attitude was a better predictor of
is able to think. In addition, he can use the school success than either family income or
objects which he names. parents' education. For another example, this
T h e teacher makes a synthesis of the group's one on the pre-school level, Olim Hess and
opinions. Shipman have found that assessments of the
T h e same procedure is followed for each of the mother's language style and of the mother's
twenty-three transparencies in the lesson, some teaching behaviour towards the child are better
of them are shown a second time for appraisal, predictors of the child's abstract reasoning score
and the lesson concludes with a general evalu- on a sorting task, than either the mother's or
ation. T h e lesson with slides sets the trend for the child's I.Q. score.1
the remaining meetings of the unit, as w e have It is also k n o w n that for attitude change to
already said. occur there must be some heat as well as some
light, that is to say, that information will never
accomplish attitude change without interper-
W h a t w e k n o w about parents sonal interaction in which one gives something
and guardians of oneself, and feels that something important
to one is at stake.
O n e of the few genuine instincts that can be
identified in the h u m a n species is the instinct i. E . G . Olim, R . D . Hess and V . Shipman, 'Relationship
to protect one's offspring. In most cultures this Between Mother's Abstract Language Style and A b -
straction Styles of Urban Pre-school Children'. Paper
instinct and the tendencies associated with it are presented at Mid-West Psychological Association Meet-
developed in such a way that parents love and ings, Chicago, 1965.
56I
Carmen Balmaceda, Johanna Filp, Patricia Gimeno and Howard Richards
O n the other hand, there is evidence that the work are that long periods of time are often
vocabulary of Chilean peasant parents is lim- necessary for a child to develop a given capa-
ited, that children are often hit by their mothers, bility for logical thinking, and that children do
that there is a high rate of alcoholism a m o n g the not simply absorb information from outside,
fathers, that there is little or no reading matter but rather process it through their o w n thought
or other cultural resources in the h o m e , and patterns—thought patterns which are to some
that the males tend to consider child-rearing to extent the same in different children in a given
be a feminine role. Piagetian stage, but which also vary to some
In short, w e k n o w that peasant parents, es- extent from child to child, with respect to h o w
pecially the mothers, are likely to be interested fast a child progresses. T h e work of Bruner and
in the subject-matter that w e are dealing others tends to reinforce the conclusion that
with, that there are feasible ways to facilitate children learn slowly and idiosyncratically.
communication, and that there are problems on It follows from these considerations that no
which to reflect. W e are also quite sure that school can compensate for an educationally
they k n o w more about those problems than w e poor environment. Even with m a x i m u m school
do, and that our main role is not to tell them attendance from ages 6 to 14, a child of 14 will
h o w to solve their problems, but to give them have spent less than 10 per cent of his waking
support where they need it and ask for it. hours in school, and none of those hours will
have been in the crucialfirstmonths and years
of life. It follows that if children are going to
What w e know about children be educated, their homes and neighbourhoods
must provide suitable learning environments.
It is well established that irreparable brain W e also k n o w that a m o n g the needs of infants
damage is done if the mother suffers from pro- are emotional security, and a rich linguistic
tein deficiencies during pregnancy, or if the environment. T h e work of C h o m s k y and other
child suffers from such deficiencies during its linguists and psycho-linguists has shown the
early years. It can also be shown that to some intimate connection between syntax acquired in
extent it is possible to secure an adequate diet infancy and reasoning capacity. It appears that
within the limitations of a peasant income, a child is a device capable of generating quite
although it is also a matter of urgency to complex rules of thought/speech, and it also
increase the incomes of the poor. T h e experi- appears that in order to fulfil this potentiality it
ence of Unicef in Africa and elsewhere shows needs proper exposure to language at the right
that one can hope to change eating habits so stage of development. 1
that a wiser use is m a d e of available resources if These brief notes on some of the main results
one begins by building on the healthy traditions of research on the nature of thought and on
which already exist in a given community. children lead to the conclusion that children
T h e work of Piaget tends to show that raised under typical peasant conditions are not
children learn during their early years through likely to become participants in the mechaniz-
physical interaction with their environment, ation of agriculture, no matter h o w m a n y years
and through the gradual formation of logical
operations through the internalization of pat-
I. T h e studies m a d e on the subject are summarized in
terns of physical interaction. His work under- Gonzalo Gutierrez et al., Educar para el Mañana,
lines the importance of a rich sensorimotor Santiago, Prensa de la Universidad Católica, 1974; and
environment for young children. Other im- in H . Richards, 'El Desarrollo Intelectual del Niño',
Cuadernos de Educación—Orientaciones, N o . 21,
portant conclusions to be drawn from Piaget's Santiago, C I D E , 1972.
562
Parents help to educate their children: an experiment in Chile
they spend in schoolrooms. But there are also barriers that often separate the peasants from
grounds for optimism, for these results suggest the school and the teacher.
that if w e can find feasible ways to enrich the Studies of rural schools in Latin America
child's environment in the right ways, the report with discouraging regularity that such
children of peasants m a y develop mechanical, schools are not effective by any measure. 1
verbal and mathematical reasoning powers. Teacher morale is low, student achievement is
low; few students finish a five- or six-year
course, and m a n y w h o attend for a time relapse
What w e know about social change later into functional illiteracy. Most schools
and about rural schools rely on rote learning, and teach a curriculum
in Latin America that has little relevance to peasant life. Chilean
rural schools have been described as 'urban
T h e results of research on the work of social schools located in the country'.
change agents w h o attempt to promote tech- S o m e commentators judge that improvement
nical innovations, indicates that there are gen- of the rural school is either not feasible at all or
eral attitudes which constitute receptiveness to only feasible at a prohibitive cost. T h e y reason
innovation. They suggest that innovation in one that school will be meaningful to peasants only
area—child-raising in the present case—may be w h e n it opens the door to economic oppor-
conducive to the formation of modern attitudes tunity, and that schooling should therefore wait
that favour a generalized interest in acquiring until economic development creates a need for
n e w skills and techniques, and in rational evalu- more clerks and other school-trained personnel.
ation. O u r o w n experience suggests that a Ivan Illich has gone farther, and argued that the
major component of such a generalized recep- whole concept of 'school' is pernicious and
tiveness to technical innovation is a qualitative wasteful.
change in interpersonal relations, such that the T h e pessimists, w h o hold that rural schooling
peasant feels neither fear nor shame nor mis- will not work at all, or that it will only work
trust in discussing a problem with a person w h e n economic and social conditions are pro-
w h o possesses so-called 'western' or 'modern' pitious, have not persuaded any Latin American
knowledge, such as a schoolteacher or an government to close rural schools. Elemen-
agronomist. tary schooling for everyone has been under-
It is a general principle recognized b y taken as a social commitment, whether or
students of social change that in order to not it is believed that it is a good investment
gain acceptance, change must begin within the economically.
community, rather than be imposed from out- In this panorama, thus briefly sketched, the
side it. For this reason w e do not introduce Parents and Children Project approachfitsin
change agents into the community from out- as one which assumes that rural schools are
side, but rather support the local schoolteacher, here to stay, and which promises to be an
w h o is already a functioning m e m b e r of the inexpensive and effective w a y of improving
community, and often one with consider- them. W e believe that w e are improving teacher
able prestige. O n the other hand, the school-
teacher is often somewhat isolated in the very
i. See, for example, the appropriate section of the series
community where he or she lives and works. edited by T h o m a s L a Belle, Education and Develop-
O n e of the functions of the periodic meetings ment: Latin America and the Caribbean. Los Angeles,
mentioned earlier is to exchange ideas and ex- Calif., U C L A Latin American Center, 1972. For a fuller
bibliography, see the Resúmenes Analíticos en Educa-
periences with respect to breaking d o w n the ción, Santiago, C I D E , 1972.
563
Carmen Balmaceda, Johanna Filp, Patricia Gimeno and Howard Richards
morale and w e give limited support to teachers us); (e) unpaid volunteers are used (such as
for their o w n initiatives. the mothers, w h o devote themselves to their
W e hypothesize that an effective way to relate children's education as a central part of their
the school to the community is to encourage maternal duties); (f) self-teaching materials are
teachers to work with the parents, and that this used, and the learners help one another with
process will have positive side-effects in the these; (g) learning eventually becomes part of
school itself, even though our principal target an activity or project with which the local
is not the school but the h o m e and the c o m - community is constantly concerned (such as
munity. O u r approach is supported by research child rearing).
on in-service training of teachers in the United T h e same report specifies one more condition,
States, which suggests that in-service training which the Parents and Children Project does
works best where short teacher-workshops are not fulfil, i.e. producing articles for sale, and
conducted over a long period of time, and where the data on which the report is based are often
there is a close tie between training sessions and no more than analogous, not equivalent, to our
classroom practice. It is also supported by the o w n case. Nevertheless, w e believe that the ex-
history of the British infant school movement, periment conducted in that report shows that
which did not begin as a national plan, but our target is economically feasible.
rather through initiatives of small groups of T h e social and emotional development of
teachers, which were systematically encouraged children, and the emotional climate of the h o m e
by regional education officers. and school, are dimensions that should be
considered in any comprehensive assessment of
the benefits of an educational programme. W e
Costs and benefits consider it to be a merit of the Parents and
Children Project approach that it makes an
T h e evaluation of the project, both in the sep- attempt to work constructively in this area.
arate stages of training and in the overall as- It is also a merit of the project that it seeks
sessment summarizing the results, should enable to strengthen the values of family life. M a n y
an analysis of costs and benefits to be m a d e . Latin Americans feel that in the process of
It will furnish grounds for at least an approxi- industrialization some of the advanced countries
mate comparison of these with the costs and have lost traditional values associated with the
benefits of other projects and programmes which family, and in seeking to create societies in
seek solutions to similar or related problems. accord with their values they hope to achieve
Although only a mass of incomplete data is the benefits of industrialization without this
available (not included in this report), it m a y drawback. Given this value, it would be reason-
be noted that one of the fullest cost-benefit able to say that in a case where identical edu-
studies on rural non-formal education, carried cational results can be achieved either through
out by Unicef in 1974, arrived at the following the family or through other institutions, then
conclusions, which w e find pleasing.1 T h e costs the method which works through the family
of the programmes are always reduced, by and is to be preferred, just because it tends to
large, when: (a) existing schools are used; (b) the strengthen the family as an institution by help-
community helps to provide the necessary fa- ing it to function more effectively.
cilities; (c) the participants m a k e their o w n
materials as an integral part of the educational 1. Unicef, document E/ICEF/L.1304, 27 March 1974,
activities; (d) part-time staff are employed (such p. 164. See also Philip Coombs et al., New Paths to
Learning for Rural Children and Youth, which is based
as the rural schoolteachers w h o collaborate with on the same study.
564
Khady Gueye
Tendième, in the Casamance region, was the and the various maintenance tasks: cleaning the
second village in Senegal to see the establish- premises, carrying water, and preparing and
ment of a W o m e n ' s Action Centre (Animation serving the meals.
Féminine). T h e organizers trained at this centre T h e children received a midday meal, a single
have been responsible for numerous successful rice-based dish served with vegetables, meat
experiments in the economic and social domains, or fish bought out of the collective fund, some-
including the organization of a village day nur- times supplemented by a dessert provided by
sery during the 1962 winter season, a two- the Organisme de Recherche pour l'Alimenta-
month period during which the w o m e n are tion et la Nutrition en Afrique (Organization
obliged to work intensively in the rice fields. for Research into Food and Nutrition in Africa),
First of all, the w o m e n cultivated a collective a body which existed at the time. In the m o r n -
field whose yield was intended to cover part ing and afternoon, they were given a cup of
of the costs of their undertaking: a contribution milk provided by American Catholic Relief.
in the form of rice and other foodstuffs enabled T h e nursery operated in this way every day
the nursery to operate by providing a midday of the week for two and a half months, and the
meal for the children. Tendième villagers, satisfied with this exper-
T h e Tendième nursery was opened in iment, decided to repeat it the following
July 1962, with a total of n o children between year.
the ages of 1 and 5. It was established in the T h e 'rural day nursery' institution, the ex-
same premises as the W o m e n ' s Action Centre. periment introduced ten years ago at Tendième,
T h e staff of the centre, the director and her spread rapidly through the département, then
assistant, w h o had helped in the preparations throughout the Casamance region, and to the
continued to participate, but it was the peasant other regions of Senegal. At present, there are
w o m e n themselves w h o took effective charge some nurseries in the country, including about
of the organization, collecting the money necess- thirty in Casamance.
ary for the purchase of provisions, taking turns
daily to see to the supervision of the children
Aims of the day nursery
565
Prospects, Vol. VII, N o . 4 , 1977
Khady Gueye
of the year. But the nursery very quickly ex- ledge, which too rarely find a practical appli-
ceeded the bounds of its initial aims. cation in the life of the village.
T h e nursery indeed lightens the women's It is with these considerations in mind that
task at a m o m e n t w h e n they need to devote action from outside the village community
themselves entirely to the work on the land, should be conceived. T h e aim is not to contrib-
and provides the children with better living ute money or gifts, or take the place of the
conditions in the winter season, w h e n certain peasant w o m e n in order to set up ideal nurseries.
diseases, such as malaria, are rife. But looking It is m u c h more a question—using as a basis
after such a large group of children (a m a x i m u m the driving force and community spirit which
of ioo per nursery) raises problems different gave birth to thefirstnurseries—of helping the
from those of the maintenance of the biggest w o m e n improve their initial achievements by
family. making the largest possible use of local re-
With this rhythm of work, in a framework sources and by training competent leaders from
of activities so different from the usual course among the w o m e n , m e n and young people of
of daily tasks, the peasant w o m e n gradually the village itself.
become aware of a certain number of require- T h e nursery should, in fact, be regarded not
ments as regards hygiene and education which as a State institution which the villagers would
passed unnoticed in the routine of family life. be invited to adopt, but rather as an enterprise
Better hygiene and preparation of children for of the village communities, particularly the
school life become as imperative at h o m e as w o m e n , to which the State provides aid.
at the nursery. T h u s the peasant w o m e n make In the urban and semi-urban milieu, as in the
the knowledge they have discovered while look- rural environment, it is the later stage of infancy
ing after the nursery part of their day-to-day (from 2 to 6 years) that has to be catered for in
family life; the nursery, for them, is a source this scheme.
of real practical training, teaching them h o w It is, indeed, from the age of 2 onwards
to draw up and manage a budget, to think that Senegalese families devote less care to the
about a balanced diet, to become aware of the older child in favour of the new-born baby. At
dangers of contagion and the effectiveness of the same time, the government puts the e m -
preventive measures, and to discover n e w means phasis, as regards education, on children from
of helping their children succeed at school. the age of 7. For children up to the age of 3, the
T h e nursery involves the whole village c o m - Ministry of Health, through the child welfare
munity. Although the w o m e n are those more services, gives assistance to mothers in a number
directly concerned, the m e n also appreciate its of large centres.
advantages and make their contribution. They It is nevertheless recognized that the child at
help the w o m e n financially, and also by ar- this age (from 2 to 6 years old) is most in need of
ranging and building the premises which house suitable educational facilities, since this is the
nursery children. period during which the child's intelligence and
T h e adolescents also make their contribution aptitudes develop most intensely. T h e chief
to this enterprise, those that are illiterate as concern of the service is therefore to help
well as others w h o continue their education parents launch this day-nursery scheme, which,
in the town and return to spend their holidays among its other advantages, is a means of pre-
in the village. Thanks to their education, the paring their young children for school life.
latter can introduce n e w activities in the edu-
cationalfieldand thus bring to the community
some of the benefits or their academic k n o w -
566
Day nurseries in Senegal
567
Khady Gueye
and hygiene of the children, cleans the premises communities has been considered essential for
and cooks the meals. the normal operation and success of the day
F r o m the organizational point of view, it nurseries, is precisely because the latter provide
is essential that one or two w o m e n of undis- an ideal setting for the full development of
puted authority should b e responsible for community life, by means of the joint under-
overall supervision and liaison between the takings which offer numerous opportunities for
different teams; they should be full-time workers developing a sense of responsibility, and, more
at the nursery, whose usual work at this par- especially, of creative imagination in the face of
ticular period is taken on by the village c o m - the problems to be resolved each day.
munity. N o less important is the fact that the day
nurseries are also nuclei of development, offer-
ing ideal opportunities for participation by the
Two main lessons people: indeed, assuming responsibility for nur-
sery activities develops a sense of initiative and
In these few pages, I have tried to describe the willingness for endeavour a m o n g the c o m m u n i -
development of day nurseries in Senegal, first at ties, and makes them realize the fact that
the outset, and then in the course of their evol- external aid can, and must, only be a temporary
ution. T w o noteworthy features can be seen contribution. In addition, it seems particularly
throughout this evolution. detrimental to the communities that the tech-
First of all, the nursery is essentially a nical assistants helping in the running of the
people's institution. Indeed, not only have m a n - day nurseries should lose sight of this essentially
agement and operation been entrusted to the educational purpose, by supplanting them in
sole responsibility of the communities, but, their functions through their excessive n u m -
what is more, the initiative as regards every type bers, or by providing too m u c h material, thereby
of activity to be undertaken lies with the people making operation of the nursery seem easier
themselves. Even w h e n suggested, such activi- than it is and threatening to weaken the sense of
ties have always been left to the judgement of effort and responsibility.
the community in the light of local resources at In addition, since such an approach m a y cause
their disposal, and the aims which they set the communities to lose interest, it is important,
themselves. in m y opinion, that the action of the technical
This course of action has only been possible services called upon to provide aid should be
thanks to the discretion of the supervisory ser- confined to well-defined activities within the
vices, which, prompted by respect for the per- educational framework established under the
sonality of the communities, have always acted structure of the scheme.
with tact and judgement. Only thus can collaboration develop smoothly,
Respect for this independence, regarded as a enabling the day nurseries to be truly nuclei of
major priority, has given rise to repeated re- development and education in the service of the
minders to W o m e n ' s Action personnel, giving communities.
particular emphasis to the need to avoid any act In the end, the effectiveness of the action of
which might in any way lead the peasants to feel the nurseries will be ensured not so m u c h by the
that they were not entirely responsible for the improvement of the surrounding material
functioning of the day nurseries. conditions as by the opportunity given to the
In the second place, the institution of day communities to assume real responsibility for
nurseries has a multiple educational purpose. the conduct of the operations.
T h e fact that respect for the authority of the It goes without saying that the efficient oper-
568
Day nurseries in Senegal
ation of the nurseries requires, above all, very work which must necessarily be done before a
close collaboration between the services seeking nursery is opened.
to ensure their success: the community work T h e Ministry of National Education and that
which brings a sense of awareness to the popu- of Higher Education send, respectively, trainee-
lation; the health services which undertake vac- teachers studying pre-school education and
cinations before the nurseries are opened, medical students, into the various Casamance
and provide medical supervision; the w o m e n départements, so that both groups m a y take part
teachers in h o m e economics and social work, in the operation of the nurseries. T h u s , not only
w h o , during the training sessions for girl assist- do they acquire experience but they also help
ants at the nurseries, help to draw u p menus and effectively in medical supervision and see to the
rations according to the regions; the w o m e n in- cleanliness and hygiene of the premises and the
structors in rural h o m e economics w h o teach children, the organization of games and the
village mothers and thus facilitate the training drawing u p of budgets.
569
Meera Mahadevan
Poverty is a vicious circle. Beginning with the of his family and community. O n this under-
child, not only is he affected but also his standing the services in Mobile Crèches evolved
parents, the family and community and it is and developed.
reflected in the state of society as a whole. With W e started the programme with a crèche, as
limited resources in hand, Mobile Crèches that was our priority as w e saw it. T h e m o m e n t
went forward to tackle this problem by taking w e took in the baby, the older children w h o
the child on the construction site as its priority. were looking after them had nothing to do and
By child, I m e a n a baby of the 0-3 age group. they also came into the centre. Most of them
This is the most vulnerable group. For cen- had never been to school because of their
turies this child has lain by the roadside while nomadic w a y of life and because they were
his parents have helped to build magnificent looking after their siblings. Today, instead of
cities. W h e n you pass by a bundle of rags you having only a crèche, our programme consists
do not realize that there is a baby inside until of a crèche, school centre covering the entire
you hear it cry. This is a state of affairs not only gamut of 0-12 years. There are n o w three
in Delhi but all over India. Not only do the sections: a crèche for the 0-3 group; nursery
construction labourers leave their babies on the classes for the 3-6 group; and elementary
roadside but for that matter every poor mother classes for the 6-12 group. But this was not all:
w h o is compelled to work has to leave her as w e gained experience, w e found a great need
young to fend for themselves. T h e older chil- for contact with parents. Although the mothers
dren are left in charge of the babies and the were constantly visiting the crèches and were
household. A girl of 6, for example, w h o needs in touch with our staff w e felt the need for
attention herself is forced into a position where more time with them. It was on this basis that
she brings u p her baby brothers and sisters. w e launched our adult-education programme.
O u r focus is, and always has been, the little Since both parents work, all our adult-education
one. Even today the children under 3 form our classes are held in the evening. W e have realized
most cherished age group, and around them w e h o w impossible it will be to cater only to this
have drawn u p a large circle of activities and
services without which our aims cannot be
1. This article is an edited version of a paper written for
achieved. T h efirstlesson w e learned in our Unicef and currently being published in the fourth
experiment was that the child cannot be iso- issue of 1977 of Assignment Children by the late
M r s Mahadevan, founder of Mobile Crèches. It is being
lated either from the family or from the used by Prospects with the kind permission of Unicef
community. H e is very m u c h a part and parcel and of Mobile Crèches.
570
or that age group, and have taken the whole Crèches have basic equipment like cradles,
community as our target. mats, a crèche table to change babies' clothes,
Mobile Crèches specializes in working with to keep medicines, etc., plates, glasses, spoons
the poorest sections of our society. T h e u n - and linen. T h e accommodation allotted to us is
skilled labourers, the rag-pickers, coal pickers usually drab. It m a y be housed in a basement
and others like them are our clients. W e have or on the eighteenth floor of an unfinished
decided to concentrate on this group, as very skyscraper. With the work going on in full
few agencies work with them and they form swing all around us and dust floating, w e do
the bulk of our population. F r o m its inception our best to keep the place pleasant. T o mellow
w e have realized that the best way to get closer d o w n the harsh surroundings, the staff decorates
to the community was to keep our centres as the place with the children's colourful drawings.
close to their homes as possible. In India, there T h e cradles and cots of the babies have lovely
is a tradition of beautifying simple huts by mobiles hanging on them and there are m a n y
plastering them with m u d and cow dung and things around which could be called toys in
decorating them with various indigenous m a - conventional language. A n average budget of
terials. W e adopted this method and kept our io rupees is enough to replenish our supply of
centres cheap, simple but beautiful. T h e equip- toys for a section of say fifty children.
ment was also simple and familiar to the T h e babies w h o come to us from the age
mothers. For example, the cradle that w e use in of 3-4 weeks and are generally malnourished
our crèches is typically Indian and versatile. receive an initial medical examination and are
Throughout rural India this kind of cradle is prescribed a diet by the visiting doctor. Most
used and it costs next to nothing. T h e cloth of the babies get milk, vitamin drops and other
h a m m o c k in which the baby sleeps is easy to high-protein food according to need. Although
wash. In case of a sudden rise in the number of the doctor visits a centre only once a week, the
babies to be accommodated additional h a m - supervisors and nutritionists keep a close watch
mocks can be tied between two cradles. T h e on the children's progress.
staggering number of children that India has Since the child receives very little attention
to cater for, calls for a cheaper and local model. from the mother w e try to make our crèches a
Anything sophisticated will not only defeat our h o m e from h o m e . Every effort is m a d e to
purpose but it will also be a useless exercise develop the child physically as well as emotion-
since it would not be possible to copy this ally, intellectually and socially. T h e crèches
model on a large scale throughout the country. resound with the traditional songs familiar to
India is developing fast in everyfield.T h e the children. A conscious effort is m a d e to
country is mobilizing every resource to accel- converse with the babies in order to develop
erate its transformation from the bullock cart their vocabulary. Working in unhygienic sur-
age to the space age, but w h e n are w e going to roundings without sanitation, Mobile Crèches
find a solution for millions of our people w h o has a gigantic task to maintain hygienic stan-
live in dire poverty? T h e vast potentiality of dards in its centres. W e had to improvise little
our h u m a n resources still he untapped. T h e places which babies could use as toilets and then
majority of our children are stunted physically find methods of disposing the waste in a hygi-
and mentally because basic opportunities are enic way. Almost everything that is undertaken
denied to them. Only when this situation can be in the crèche programme for the children is
rectified can our country truly progress. something that can be practised at h o m e .
At this point a short description of the Mobile
Crèches services would not be out of place.
571
Meera Mahadevan
572
Face to face with poverty: the Mobile Crèches in India
bring curds (yoghurt) and feed their children Let m e give a few examples. W h e n w e
on that day at the centre, to wish them good started working on the sites w e had to depend
luck in a traditional way. It was a touching on the contractors to give us accommodation
sight to see the proud parents beaming at their for our centres. W e were invariably given
children. Once the barriers were broken and a places without doors, windows orfloors.It m a y
few children started going to the elementary be a bit ridiculous but it is true that an engineer
schools, the fear subsided and n o w it is part of on the building site could not conceive that
our programme to prepare children to join the 'these children' needed a proper room to be
elementary local schools, twice a year. accommodated. T h u s w e had to change our
Our other problem in India is that of school definition of accommodation to the structures
drop-outs. About 80 per cent of the children as—a lockable room, a washablefloorand non-
w h o join elementary schools drop out for leaking roof. T o this day Mobile Crèches is
various reasons, the most important being fighting this battle and at times w e start a
poverty. W e find that the child with illiterate centre in a doorless room and persuade the
parents and a bare atmosphere at h o m e lags contractor to put a door in for us.
behind in his studies. Mobile Crèches decided Contractors w h o are obliged to give a water
to continue special coaching to elementary facility to the labour on the work-site by law
schoolchildren. Every year w e organize schools never fulfil the condition. Since w e could never
during s u m m e r vacation in order to help the operate the crèches without water w e make it a
child keep up with the rest of the class. Several big issue and somehow convinced the contrac-
methods are used in order tofillin the gap in tors to provide us with the water facility. Here
the knowledge of the child due to poverty. again w e felt that they were a little more willing
Visits to historical places, m u s e u m s , post offices, to give water facilities for the crèche rather than
railway stations, etc., are included in the to their labour. Mobile Crèches, of course,
curriculum. never kept the water tap inside the centre but
W e also had to contend with the elementary insisted on a c o m m o n bathroom. There are a
schoolteacher's prejudice which hampered our number of examples like this which can be
child's progress. This teacher had her pre- quoted.
conceived notion that a slum child was dirty, W e had to educate our o w n staff. T h e train-
used bad language and would steal things from ing starts for everyone in a way that helps them
the school. They failed to see the child's eager- to change their attitude. W e addressed the child
ness to be part and parcel of the school. Mobile endearingly and respectfully so that the crèche
Crèches worked on this front as well. W e had workers could follow our example. T h e first
invited the local teachers several times to come lesson for every worker was to treat the child
and be our guests so that they would see the as her equal. For example, early morning
methods w e used in our elementary sections. cleaning is normally done by the children and
It was not enough for us to accept these teachers together. T h e training also gives the
children as our priority and work out methods worker an idea as to h o w to identify our clients.
to help them, but w e had m a n y battles to fight For example, in the slums of Delhi w e have
to achieve our goal. T h e most difficult battle mixed populations. T h e families which are a
was that of attitudes. T o our great dismay w e little well-to-do easily befriend the teachers and
found that our children were always an outside their children come to the school cleaned u p .
entity. They did not form part of our society This becomes a great temptation for the teacher
according to most of us. T h e stamp of a 'these to neglect the poorer child whose mother m a y
children' was too glaring for us to ignore. not bring him to the centre. Although w e do
573
Meera Mahadevan
not reject the child w h o comes to the centre to laugh and sing with the children w h o wear
cleaned up, constant surveys are m a d e to check torn clothes. In the last seven years, w e have
if w e are not neglecting our real client. consistently watched a pattern that has emerged
T h e other group whose wrong attitudes in our recruiting system. If the girl can survive
bothers us m u c h more is the professional group thefirstone or two days with us, she can be one
in our country. Unfortunately, the unimagin- of our staff. There is a large number of needy
ative professional tries tofitin everything in the applicants w h o onfirstvisit decide they cannot
definition they have learned in the textbooks. work in our centres. M a n y of them have left us
W h e n a person has higher degrees in social work feeling a little sorry for us. For thefirsttwo or
and relevant subjects, she or he often becomes three weeks, a new applicant is allowed to work
completely remote from field activities. If w e under experienced teachers and absorb the
are to evolve our theories out of practical work, situation. Unless the trainee volunteers to do all
a lot of experimental work will have to be the work in a centre, she is not taken on for
undertaken in thefieldwith the people in order training.
to arrive at solutions to our problems. Unfor- Mobile Crèches has n o w evolved its o w n
tunately, the rigours offieldwork are so great training programme. In early years, w e tried to
that our professional friends m a y not be able to take girls trained by other institutions but they
stand it. Normally non-professionals like myself could not stand the rigour of work that Mobile
undertake experiments like Mobile Crèches Crèches has before it. T h e unfortunate part of
while our professionals are hunting for solutions any training w e found was that a teacher will
outside the country. There has to be a meeting only teach and a nurse will only bandage.
point as it is a great loss to both professionals Mobile Crèches needed teachers w h o will first
and non-professionals. attend to a child's sores, bath and earache before
settling in a classroom. W e also needed teachers
w h o will convince the parents to send their
Training children to the school. T h u s , the duties of a
worker in Mobile Crèches were many-sided.
T h e crèche worker is the main pivot around She has to be a social worker, a teacher and a
w h o m the programme blossoms. She is the mother to the child.
heart and soul of the project. She is the insti- O n the face of it, it sounds too idealistic and
tution and therefore she has to be one w h o rather an impossible proposition. Even w e can-
shares all the aspirations of the institution. not claim to have found an answer to all the
W h e r e does one get a person of that calibre, training problems. But w e have with us today a
w h o will share the aspirations and ideology of large group of people w h o are not just the paid
an institution? Basically, all the workers Mobile employees of Mobile Crèches, but m u c h more
Crèches employs come to us out of their econ- than that—they are, as mentioned earlier, the
omic need. T h e y belong to the lower-middle main pivot of the programme.
classes and are educated through the Hindi W e took our lesson in our training from some
m e d i u m . M a n y of them are members of large of the senior conventional social work organiz-
families and have had no opportunity for higher ations. T h e usual pattern is that the field-level
education. worker and the policy-makers are so remote
Belonging to the lower-middle classes and from each other that both parties are not aware
traditionally brought u p , the girls are hard of each other's difficulties. Not only is the field
working and lively. Since most of the girls are worker in any welfare work, be it government
between 18 and 25, they are optimistic, ready or voluntary agency, the lowest paid person,
574
Face to face with poverty: the Mobile Crèches in India
but she has no status or voice in the policies of could go and get a toy early for himself.
the project. W e also m a d e Ufe easy for the staff by making
Mobile Crèches tried to avoid this pitfall by a comfortable kitchen with a gas burner and
drastically changing our constitution, making it proper storage bins.
compulsory to have only active workers from But the most important thing that w e achieved
the field, administration and fund-raisers to was to produce model nursery equipment suit-
form the governing body. This also helped us able to a country like India that has to think of
to keep the so-called élite committee ladies away children in millions. With little variations, the
from our governing body. same model can be copied in rural nurseries.
Mobile Crèches set before it a training which T h e greatest disadvantage of this socio-
gave its staff not only the skills to operate a economic level is parents' inability to help their
crèche, nursery and elementary classes, but child, but with our grooming in the nursery
also a rigid training in decision-making and class the disadvantages of a bare h o m e back-
dealing independently with local problems. T h e ground can be taken care of to some extent.
first part of the training is easier than the later Although our children come from economically
part and it also takes a longer time for any deprived backgrounds, they have an abundance
trainee to mature to this role. But it certainly is of parental security and love. These children,
not an impossible task. given an opportunity, learn very fast; and that,
Most of our training takes place in the field perhaps, is our main strength.
with some classroom lectures. After the initial Once a crèche worker has gone through the
screening of the candidate in thefieldunder a formal training in all the aspects of work at a
senior worker, she starts attending weekly work- Mobile Crèche centre, she then is given further
shops at our training centre. Every candidate orientation in nutrition, community work and
goes through the training for all these sections, medical social work. T h e candidates selected
namely crèche, nursery and elementary. In for such further training are usually the ones
India, there is no crèche training as such and w h o have shown initiative in their work. At a
Mobile Crèches had to evolve its o w n syllabus. senior level, most of the staff are encouraged
T h e emphasis in the crèche training had to be to discuss their problems intelligently during
very basic and simple. W e had to spell out small their monthly meetings. Normally, w h e n a
details in dealing with crèche babies. particular problem is brought up by one director
A simple routine of baby's bath, feed and of a centre, it is put before all the directors to
medication had to be standardized and equip- discuss. Out of these discussions w e have m a d e
ment provided accordingly. T h e role of the all our rules to be followed at the centres. I feel
dustbin had to be dramatized, disposal of dirty that this practice of group discussion has given
cotton was formalized. our crèche workers m u c h more confidence and
Whereas w e could make our crèche workers initiative that helps us to carry on our work
accept m a n y n e w standards in this training efficiently.
there are always small problems that keep Again, there are some local problems with
aropping up all the time. For instance, having which w e have to live. W e encourage our
separate towels for each child is one long battle workers to find whatever solution they think is
one has tofightwith our crèche helpers. W h e n best for the centre. In one of the slums near a
w e found that the toys for the little ones are power station in Delhi, at least once a m o n t h
brought out only w h e n all babies are bathed due to a change of wind, the smoke would settle
and ready, w e changed the arrangement of d o w n on the whole slum, including our centre.
crèche furniture in such a w a y that the child T h e in-charge got into a habit of calling m e u p
575
Meera Mahadevan
and asking for advice. I told her if she would their o w n problems successfully with only a
like to close d o w n for the day, she was free to little guidance from us. Workshops, although
do so. She knew I had no way of controlling w e call them workshops, are m u c h more than
this situation. But after putting d o w n the phone that. They are sessions for planning, for evalu-
she got a brilliant idea. They packed up their ating and also at times periods of introspection.
lunch and took all the four classes to the zoo W e have several categories of staff. Higher sec-
which was only a io-minute walk from the ondary school girls w h o form a bulk of our staff
centre. T h e youngest were taken by the crèche are the teachers, crèche worker and community
workers to the next centre which was near by. workers. W e have also started recruiting boys
F r o m that day on, the children always waited for the past 3-4 years to work in crèches. They
for the wind to change its direction so that they bring a different atmosphere with them and
would have their classes in front of the duck children love to have a male teacher around.
pond in the zoo.
T h e m o m e n t you raise the status of the field
worker, their involvement is increased. But w e Community's role
must also be prepared to let them make a few
mistakes—and you cannot buy involvement. It F r o m the beginning, Mobile Crèches had whole-
can only come from the ideology of the insti- hearted support from the children on construc-
tution of which she is a part. tion sites as well as slums. Mobile Crèches
workers became part of all the big construction
sites. Seeing their children so happy with our
Senior supervisors staff, parents also accepted us, although they
were a little suspicious at the beginning. But
Each capable worker is given training broadly from the beginning w e were very conscious that
in crèche work, pre-school, elementary school our role was to give the community equal treat-
and community work. During training, apti- ment. W e wanted to keep away from a chari-
tudes of each worker are observed and encour- table approach. This was not easy to achieve
aged in that direction. For example, a girl as the community had nothing to give us for
m a y be poor in a classroom with children but the services.
excellent with parents and vice-versa. Today, T o begin with, w e identified a few families
w e have trouble-shooters in everyfield.Prob- as our contact point and asked them to do
lems in community, poor attendance, staff dif- small chores for the centre. In a place where
ficulties—you n a m e it—and w e have our ex- water was difficult to obtain, each family would
perts trained by us. Very often I feel that help the staff to get enough water for the day.
because they are unaware of the wonders they Each child was charged a nominal fee. They
are doing as social workers, they are unassum- all had to buy slates, notebooks, pencils, erasers
ing. T h e turnover, surprisingly, is quite low and any other item needed by him at sub-
and the reason is that they are themselves sidized rates. Each time children were taken
involved in this work. out on local trips, parents were asked to give bus
In a very old fashioned way, w e are highly fares and some snacks. Here again let m e explain
disciplined in our duties. Most of the staff that it took a lot of convincing for parents
argues out their point of view. They are allowed to agree to buy a slate or a notebook for their
to make a few mistakes and learn very fast. child. Again, there are always a few families w h o
W e put too m u c h responsibility on each worker decide to remain unconvinced for a long time.
and as a result m a n y of them have dealt with In the crèches, m a n y babies are given half
576
Face to face with poverty: the Mobile Crèches in India
577
Meera Mahadevan
W e also included in our education programme through songs and dramas. From time to time,
political topics like m o c k elections, inviting im- Lok-Doot also produces children's plays based
portant guests, etc. M a n y labourers from other on stories from Punch Tantra and Hitopadesh.
states w h o lived without their families in Delhi T h e skits for literacy are taken from some of
took keen interest in our cooking demonstrations the incidents that happen on the work-sites.
and were always ready to ask intelligent ques- T h e artists use the language spoken by the
tions as they cooked their o w n meals. site workers and thus endear themselves to the
Although literacy did not draw enough crowds audience. W e get the local leaders to invite
at our adult literacy centres, our general meet- the troupe and most of the arrangements of
ings are more popular. D r a m a groups per- organizing are left to the community leaders.
forming Ram Leela is the most popular enter- T h u s taking the child as our mid-point, our
tainment. F r o m the religious themes, w e bring compass has gone in a circle to cover the
our adult to social and political themes. Here child's family and the whole community. This
again, the slum population advances faster than circle would have remained incomplete if w e
our migrant labour. I can go on giving so m a n y had failed to carry with us the authorities
examples of h o w w e tried to solve our problems concerned.
of getting closer to the community. Community For instance, contractors are required by law
involvement is perhaps the most discussed jar- to provide crèches on work-sites if they employ
gon in social work. W e took the simple Indian more than twenty w o m e n . Neither the contrac-
tradition of hospitality and got the involvement tors nor the contracting parties (government
of the community. W e went to their slums and or non-government) ever paid any attention to
worker camps but w e went as their guests. In this welfare clause of crèches in our contract
the worker camps w e went with the blessings conditions. T h e bureaucrats were quite satisfied
of the contractor and the Works Ministry as that there are beautiful welfare sites for children
well, but in the slums w e insisted on being of construction workers in the country. W h e n
invited. This at once m a d e them feel important w e appeared on the scene, this law was a dead
and responsible for our crèche workers. B e - letter. N o n e of the officers in the Public Works
cause of their poverty, they do not offer their Department or the Labour Ministry were fully
hospitality unless they are sure w e will welcome aware of the law or its implications. W e took
it. W e banked on this simple thing and got up the matter at the ministerial level and wrote
their full co-operation. letters to ministers concerned, including the
Prime Minister of India. Our dialogue with the
government continued for three or four years
Lok-Doot and, in the end, w e received an assurance that
in future all government contracts would be
Lok-Doot, the cultural troupe of Mobile m a d e known to Mobile Crèches. T h e govern-
Crèches, was launched this year to motivate ment could not help us more than this. This
and educate people in various aspects of our did not make our task any more easier for our
literacy programme. Most of the artists are meetings with the government officials which
the talented staff of Mobile Crèches. Apart had annoyed some of the contractors to some
from staging entertaining programmes, L o k - extent. But w e continued to work consistently
Doot produces skits and small plays empha- on building sites trying to make crèches a reg-
sizing the importance of education and its use ular feature at least in Delhi and B o m b a y .
in day-to-day life. It has met with tremendous In the early years of its expansion, contractors
success in getting the message to the people supported Mobile Crèches with a c c o m m o -
578
Face to face with poverty: the Mobile Crèches in India
dation, water facilities and monthly contri- W e failed miserably to bring a healthy environ-
butions. Our problems with contractors started ment in the worker camps as well as in the
after a few years of our work with the migrant slums. T h e authorities had to be reminded all
labour. T h e crèches had m a d e life m u c h easier the time about their o w n duties. Sanitation is
for the mothers, and the community benefited still our problem in most of the areas.
on the whole from our services. A time came W e are also aware that the economic level
when the labour started looking for a Mobile of each family matters a lot and yet w e were
Crèches centre at every work-site. This was not effective as far as helping them improve
a turning point w h e n the contractors blamed in that direction. W e have worked so hard to
us for spoiling their labour. Although w e tried change the attitude of our people towards chil-
to point out that the mothers would be m u c h dren and yet I do not think w e have convinced
more efficient if there was a crèche on the them. It is always charity that is lurking behind
work-site, the contractors were always doubt- every individual donation, and w e are termed
ful. W e tried not to precipitate matters. W e as Mahathmas (great soul). N o one looks upon
m a d e friends with contractors and tried to be- this work as part of India's development. Fi-
friend government officials in order to be able nally, there is a preconceived idea that welfare
to set u p as m a n y crèches as possible on the work is w o m e n ' s job.
big building projects. Today, w e are definitely In training, also, there are plenty of frus-
a familiar but a little troublesome group on trations. T o prepare a good, solid crèche worker,
the work-sites and m a n y contractors comply it takes a great deal of effort. If Mobile Crèches
with our requests only to get us out of the would want to expand and multiply its ac-
way. A m o n g the government officials, there are tivities, it will be difficult mainly because of
friends w h o inform us unofficially about forth- a lack of workers.
coming big contracts. In the fifth plan, the I have tried to make a point that you need
Government of India gave a priority to crèche very little by way offinanceto make a happy
programmes and Mobile Crèches n o w receives centre. A country like India which is poor and
a substantial grant from the Welfare Depart- lacks resources, cannot afford to sit back and
ment. This has enabled us to work at cer- do nothing. W e have seen little girls improving
tain sites even if the contractors refuse to in health only by washing their hair regularly.
contributefinancially.O u r aim is to educate T h e joys of childhood are simple and should
the community through our work. W e want not be denied to any child. Every country will
the contractors and the authorities concerned have to solve its o w n problem locally without
to be convinced that there is no ulterior motive, importing sophisticated models from developed
and our focus is the child. countries. Unless w e decide to manage with
Throughout this article, it m a y sound as if little, w e will not be able to bring every child
Mobile Crèches had nothing but success in its the basic services it needs. Personally, I d o
work. It has been, however, an uphill task to not think money would be a problem. If only
build u p this chain of day-care centres for the w e can create a cadre of workers w h o will
poorest urban child. At every place w e worked, accept this challenge w e m a y be able to achieve
half the things there were beyond our control. the goal.
579
Trends and cases
A statistical analysis of the latest available data into consideration, so that the conclusions must
concerning public expenditure on education make allowance for a fairly wide range of
and a comparison between them and those variation.
concerning military expenditure show that, un- Table 1 below gives a general picture of
til about 1972/73, world military expenditure the world situation in 1965, 1970 and 1974.
was greater than expenditure on education, but F r o m this table it will be seen that in 1974,
that the trend has changed since then, so that for the world as a whole, governments devoted
the latter is n o w at a higher level than mili- $295,000 million to education and almost
tary expenditure. This is only true of the devel- $274,000 million to military purposes, or 5.5 per
oped countries, however, for in the developing cent and 5.1 per cent respectively of world G N P
countries, taken as a whole, military expendi- (or 15.6 per cent and 14.5 per cent of the total
ture was lower than expenditure on education s u m represented by national budgets). W e shall
until 1973 but has since overtaken the latter. first summarize the situation for each group or
This article attempts to summarize the major region in 1974, and shall then proceed to ana-
trends noted since 1965 for the world as a lyse the trends since 1965.
whole, 1 the developed countries and the devel-
oping countries. It is useful to show certain
In 1974
facts and data separately for North America as
well as for Europe and the U . S . S . R . , on the It was the developed countries that were con-
one hand, and for Africa, Latin America and tinuing to devote the largest proportion of
Asia, on the other. It is also worth while in their G N P to military purposes (5.2 per cent as
some cases to refer separately to the Arab States, against 4 per cent for the developing countries).
which have already been included with Africa North America, Europe and the U . S . S . R . ac-
and Asia respectively. counted between them for 85 per cent of total
As the analysis is based on work currently world military expenditure, with 5.7 per cent
being carried out in Unesco's Office of Stat- of their G N P . Furthermore, the range is seen
istics,3 it has obvious limitations: the conversion to be very wide within the developed countries
of national currencies into dollars and the group- group w h e n they are looked at individually. For
ing by region often have the effect of concealing example, Japan devoted only about 1 per cent
substantial disparities between countries. In of its G N P to the military budget, whereas
view of the internationalfinancialdevelopments Israel exceeded 31 per cent.
that have marked the period under review, the T h e developing countries accounted for only
structural changes observed and the other modi-
fications they have entailed ought to be taken
1. For lack of data the People's Republic of China, the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Social-
ist Republic of Viet N a m are not included.
2. R . L . Sivard, World Military and Social Expenditures,
Gabriel Cárceles (Spain). Chief of the Division of Leesburg, Va, W M S E Publications, is the source for
Statistics on Education, Unesco. the military expenditure.
58I
T A B L E I . Gross national product ( G N P ) , military expenditure and public expenditure o n education, 1965, 1970
a n d 197s (in millions of U . S . $ at market prices)
Per- Per-
Military centage Public centage
expen- of expenditure of
Major regions Year GNP diture GNP on education GNP
10 per cent of total military expenditure, with America; on the other hand, Europe and the
4 per cent of their G N P . This percentage was U . S . S . R . devoted about 8,000 million more
higher for Africa1 and the Arab States. In dollars to military expenditure than to expendi-
contrast, Asia devoted to military expenditure ture on education.
only 3.5 per cent of its G N P and Latin America In the developing countries, public spending
1.7 per cent. on education, which was higher than the mili-
For the world as a whole, public expenditure tary budgets until about 1972, thereafter ex-
on education exceeded military expenditure by ceeded the latter by about $200 million (or
about $21,000 million (representing a 7.7 per 0.7 per cent) (see Fig. 1).
cent increase). This situation, which was true
of the developed countries as a group, was
South Africa alone accounted for 18 per cent of the
attributable primarily to the trend in North continent's total military expenditure.
582
Trends and cases
&&
N-
&
W e shall analyse trends during this period from T h e growth rate calculated at market prices
four main viewpoints: (a) changes in the distri- between 1965 and 1974 for the three items
bution by major regions of G N P , military under review was very irregular in the different
budgets and public expenditures o n education; regions. For example, the developed countries
(b) average growth rates of those three items; multiplied their G N P by 2.54, while military
(c) relation between the military budget and expenditure multiplied by 1.92 and expenditure
expenditure o n education; and (d) per capita on education by 2.8. T h e developing countries
expenditure. (while starting from m u c h lower levels and
583
Trends and cases
Military Expenditure
GNP expenditure on education
Year (%) (%) (%)
having to provide for larger and rapidly expand- education (22 per cent as against 26 per cent).
ing populations) saw their G N P multiply by Table 3 shows the pattern of the growth
2.73, their military spending by 4.09 and their rates in each major region. T h e general rise in
expenditure on education by 3.53. growth rates relating to expenditure on edu-
However, the growth rate was not uniform cation stands out quite clearly. T h e table also
for the two periods 1965-70 and 1970-74. Thus, indicates that those growth rates have been
in the case of G N P , the world growth rate was overtaken by the growth rates relating to mili-
distinctly higher between 1970 and 1974 th311 tary spending in Africa and Asia since 1970.
between 1965 and 1970. This applies par-
ticularly to the developing countries. RELATION BETWEEN
T h e growth rate of military expenditure in THE MILITARY BUDGET
the developed countries—lower than that of AND EXPENDITURE O N EDUCATION
GNP—declined after 1970. In the developing
countries, on the other hand, that rate, which It emerges from Table 1 that in 1965 world
was distinctly higher than the G N P growth rate military expenditure was 30 per cent higher
between 1965 and 1970 (10 per cent as against than expenditure on education. This means
7.7 per cent), still kept well ahead between 1970 that for every dollar spent on education $1.30
and 1974, rising to 26 per cent while G N P rose was allocated to arms procurement budgets.
on average by only 17.3 per cent. That ratio changed to $1.14 in 1970 and $0.93
T h e developed countries' expenditures on in 1974. It should be pointed out, however, that
education, which rose at a higher rate than the ratio was strongly influenced by the situ-
G N P between 1965 and 1970 (10.8 per cent as ation of the developed countries which, as
against 8.7 per cent), slightly exceeded the a group, weigh very heavily on the world
latter's growth rate between 1970 and 1974 average (1965,1.34; 1970,1.16; I974> 0.92). For
(13.8 per cent). T h e developing countries, for their part, the developing countries which were
their part, took steps between 1970 and 1974 spending $0.87 on military budgets for every
to raise the growth rate of their expenditure on dollar on education in 1965, maintained the same
education, which has always been higher than ratio in 1970 but raised it in 1974 w h e n $1.01
that of their G N P , but saw the growth rate of was allocated to military spending for every
their military expenditures surpass the rate for dollar allocated to expenditure on education.
584
Trends and cases
T A B L E 3. Average annual growth rates of G N P , military expenditure and public expenditure on education,
1965-74
Military Expenditure
Major regions Period GNP expenditure on education
1. China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Socialist Republic of Viet N a m are not included.
2 . Already included with Africa and Asia.
585
Trends and cases
T A B L E 4 . Military expenditure and public expenditure on education per capita, 1965-74 (in U . S . S )
Military Expenditure
Year expenditure on education
World1 1965 53 41
1970 70 62
1974 91 98
Developed countries 196S 125 93
1970 172 148
1974 221 241
Developing countries1 1965 5 6
1970 7 8
1974 15 15
1. China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Socialist Republic of Viet N a m are not included.
world expenditure on defence systems and ance Committee, 2 that percentage—which was
the facts about the world arms trade. There 0.52 in 1961-62—fell to 0.34 in 1969 and 0.33
are solid grounds for calling for such a review. in 1974. T h e United States of America, which
N o n e the less, it would be inaccurate to at- provided a volume of aid in 1974 ($3480 million)
tribute the 4 per cent of G N P spent on ar- equivalent to almost one-third of the amount
maments by the developing countries as a provided by the D A C countries, went from
group to all the countries in that group. In 0.56 per cent of their G N P in 1961-62 to
fact, 13,000 million of the $28,000 million 0.32 per cent in 1969 and 0.25 per cent in 1974;
spent on arms are spent by the countries of whereas Japan ($1,100 million in 1974), which
the Middle East (11 per cent of their G N P ) . had an aid percentage of 0.17 in 1961-62, went
T h e African continent—with the exceptions of to 0.26 per cent in 1969 and 0.24 per cent
Rhodesia and South Africa—does not spend in 1974. 3
more than $2,700 million (out of the region's There can be no doubt that it is necessary,
$4,900 million), representing 2.6 per cent of in order to discuss the question of rational
its G N P . Lastly, out of the $26,800 million allocation of resources, to undertake a thorough
spent on armaments by the Asian region, only re-examination of the data, at both the national
$5,700 million are accounted for by that conti- and the international levels. It would be par-
nent's developing countries, representing 3.2 per ticularly interesting to know what margin to
cent of their G N P . W e see, then, that w e must allow for the practice of underestimating mili-
beware of any diagnosis that does not take into tary expenditure and also to compare foreign
account the different situations prevailing in the aid for military purposes with development aid.
countries of the Third World. Lastly, w e must not forget that two-thirds of
T h eflourishingstate of the world arms trade
is a well-known fact, as is the drop in the per-
centage of G N P represented by the net amounts Excluding the U . S . S . R . and Eastern Europe, owing to
absence of data.
contributed by governments1 and multilateral Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Federal
bodies to development aid for the developing Republic of Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden
and the United Kingdom.
countries. For example, to take the case of the
Handbook of International Trade and Development Stat-
countries composing the Development Assist- istics, 1976, U N C T A D .
586
Trends and cases
Expenditures on education
FIG. 2. Distribution by major region of total population G N P , military budgets and expenditures on education,
shown as a percentage of the totalfigurefor each item, 1974.
the world's population live in the developing forget that those countries have the heaviest
countries (this article, I repeat, does not in- social burden to bear, because of the predomi-
clude figures for China) but account for only nance of very young people in their d e m o -
13 per cent of world G N P . N o r should w e graphic structure.
587
Trends and cases
One of the objects of this section of the review is to give an account of any experiments or innovation
going on in certain Member States which may be suitable for carrying over or adapting to others. The
experiment need not necessarily have been entirely successful and the innovation need not have been fina
introduced into the educational system: what we want to do is to show, through the description of a par-
ticular case, possible new ways of dealing with a problem and to draw the attention of teachers and admin
istrators to the spirit rather than the letter of the venture described. Apart from this, the experiment h
described by José Francisco Nereu, which has at present stopped, seems to us to be deserving of attention
for two further reasons:first,thefinancialcost was low; second, the experiment was closely in line wit
one of the concerns and activities of particular interest to Unesco: encouragement of national productio
of inexpensive educational materials, particularly in developing countries.
T h e idea of the experiment described here came in class, m y pupils learned about the poverty
to m e quite by chance, about 1968, w h e n I was a and suffering of children in what w e call the
very young teacher in a private primary school developing countries. A great number of pro-
in Lisbon. posals and suggestions for helping such children
T h e school in question had all the basic equip- were immediately put forward. M a n y of them
ment required, the children's parents being, for were dropped as impracticable; others, however,
the most part, members of the liberal professions were put into effect, one being the sale of things
or senior technical personnel. But I soon noticed m a d e , or m a d e over by the children.1
that m y pupils had a predilection for everyday T h e inventive spirit shown by these children
things that would be thrown away: empty bottles gave m e the idea that the waste products of a
which theyfilledand emptied; packaging from a consumer society might be used to alleviate
variety of products which they played with or shortages of teaching materials. I was thinking
used for cutting out letters and pictures; cotton mainly of the provincial public schools where
reels which became toy cars or simple gear m e c h - living and working conditions were m u c h more
anisms; old newspapers and magazines and ice- difficult than those w e enjoyed in our city
lolly tubs and sticks, which they used most school.
creatively and ingeniously. I then got into touch with some business
O n e day, through the reading of a short story friends working in advertising and marketing
and explained m y idea to them. They did not
think it had anything to recommend it commer-
José Francisco Nereu (Portugal). Works with the
Educational Action Service (primary teaching) and is
cially. In a society like ours, at a time w h e n
a subeditor of Escola Democrática, the journal of the campaigns to encourage consumption were
Directorate of Basic Education. He is President of beginning to spread in our country and w e were
the General Assembly of the Modern School Move-
ment—Freinet Pedagogics—in Portugal and has been
responsible for a number of educational experiments 1. From the sale of these objects, w e were able to send a
concerned with children's spare-time activities and cheque to Unicef. T h e money, w e later learned, was
handicapped children. used for Biafran children.
588
being beset on all sides by advertising, I re- O n e of m y 'marketing' friends and I agreed at
alized what dangers might have arisen if the afirstmeeting that it was absolutely necessary
idea had been accepted straightaway: it might to m a k e the project k n o w n to as m a n y people as
well have been used for ends quite contrary to possible. These people should be, primarily,
m y intentions—to manipulate children and those professionally concerned with advertising
adult consumers more easily on the pretext of and marketing. Only with the help of such
serving a national need. people should w e be able to win business firms
W h e n , in October 1974,I w a s asked to work over to our scheme.
in the Directorate of Basic Education at the A first meeting was held in N o v e m b e r 1974.
Ministry of Education and Scientific Research There were ten of us at it, all in our capacity as
( M E I C - D G E B ) , I got to k n o w the full extent private citizens. O u r agenda included the fol-
and gravity of the problem of the shortage of lowing points: (a) information concerning the
school materials affecting all the schools in the actual situation with regard to school materials
country; even today, most of them consider that in Portuguese primary schools; (b) definition of
priority should be given to such things as objectives; (c) dehmitation of thefieldof action;
moveable letters and figures, measuring rules, (d) choice of packaging materials which might
sets of rubber stamps, m a p s , sets of geometric be of interest and suggestions as to their use;
figures and liquid measures. (e) resolutions.
T h e far-reaching changes which have oc- O n thefirstpoint (a), it became clear from
curred in Portugal since 25 April 1974, both in the discussion that the overwhelming majority
political and economic structures and in social of the 15,000 primary schools in Portugal
and cultural organization, have given the (24,000 classrooms) did not have the most ur-
country a n e w sort of dynamism. gently required teaching materials. In the
Despite governmental instability and the schools which were rather better off, the equip-
manifold problems to be solved if w e are to ment was of doubtful value or little used, since
transform an archaic, elitist educational system, the 35,000 or so teachers had not the necessary
it has been possible to overcome a number of funds to replace damaged equipment or to buy
bureaucratic hindrances and to start up again a expendable supplies. Over 1 million Portuguese
few projects which had earlier been dropped. children were affected by the situation.
T h e 'Packaging Useful to Schools Campaign' In this connection, I m a y mention that, prior
was set on foot in this way. to 25 April 1974, each primary school child had
been entitled to an annual amount of less than
$0.10 for the purchase of miscellaneous m a -
The launching of an innovation terials. This s u m , administered by the 'school
district'1 managements, was often not spent b e -
I went back, still informally, to some friends cause of the difficulties involved.
with w h o m I had been in touch in 1968. This O u r objective was to try to alleviate the most
time, I had a scheme instead of merely an idea to serious deficiencies in the schools' teaching m a -
put before them. I k n e w that there was in the terials by recovering some of the packaging
marketing world something k n o w n as 'pro- flooding on to the market, after incorporating
motion', which was meant to increase the sale of into it ingredients of educational and teaching
products by giving customers the idea that they interest.
were getting some benefit or advantage: there Our field of action, for the time being, w a s
was to be no advertising, promotion or manipu-
lation, however, in m y scheme. 1. Regional administrative division.
589
Trends and cases
confined to the primary schools (children from 6 this purpose, the packs concerned were to be
to io years of age). distinguished by a special stamp; (d) to establish
Given the enormous amount of packaging official relations immediately between the M i n -
material on the market, w e found it necessary to istry of Education and the group of people
begin by making a selection of packaging as- interested in working for the campaign, whether
sociated with widely used products available all in their private capacity or as representatives of
over the country (since w e were aiming to reach agencies and companies.
a million children throughout Portugal) but not I have dwelt at some length on thisfirstmeet-
directly consumed by children or likely to en- ing because it was, in fact, the starting point for
danger their health in any way. all the work that followed.
I then m a d e a few suggestions which were
agreed on, as a working hypothesis, by the
people attending the meeting: Development
O n e side (or more) of parallelepiped packs
might show, in place of the customary in- In December 1974, a formal proposal was sub-
structions for use or advertising matter, let- mitted to the State Secretariat for Educational
ters,figures,work-cards, maps, games, etc. Guidance and adopted; it hadfirstbeen ap-
T h e tops of large cylindrical packs might carry proved by the Director of Primary Education
compass cards, protractors or clock faces; Services and by the Director-General of Basic
smaller cylindrical packs might have on their Education.
labels instructions for making them into lan- T h e proposal took up the resolutions w e had
terns, microscopes and kaleidoscopes. adopted and laid emphasis on the need to enlist
With slight alterations, ice-lolly sticks could be the help of the national radio and television
converted into rulers, capillary tubes, knitting network, to secure m a x i m u m publicity for the
needles; cones or spherical packs could be campaign, and of the Juntas de Freguesia, to
used to m a k e globes of the earth and the facilitate the central collection and distribution
moon. of the material to schools.
Liquid containers (bottles or jars m a d e of glass T h e 'Packaging Useful to Schools Campaign'
or plastic) might include capacity measuring officially began in January 1975. A n appeal was
scales. launched through the press and the radio, and
Chess-men, letters orfiguresmight be stamped by circular, to secure support from all business
on bottle caps. firms. T h e response was immediate and mass-
Plastic and cellophane wrappings might be pre- ive, even some multinational companies ex-
pared in such a w a y that they could be used pressed their willingness to take part.
for slides,film-stripsand transparencies. T h e problems of the economic situation at
At the end of the discussion, the following de- the time, restrictive legislation as regards adver-
cisions were taken: (a) to secure the support of tising and the general uncertainty about the way
business firms and advertising and marketing Portugal was likely to go, m a y all help to account
agencies for the scheme; (b) to encourage par- for the support given to the scheme.
ticipation by instituting a prestige prize to be Well-attended meetings were held at the
awarded to the team responsible for the best and D G E B once a week. These took place outside
most popular packaging; (c) to awaken the normal working hours and no one attending
interest of the general public and the Juntas de
Freguesia1 so that civic campaigns might be or-
1. Juntas de Freguesia—the smallest administrative div-
ganized to get the used packaging to schools—for isions with executive power.
590
Trends and cases
them was paid. Between January 1975 and teachers, most of w h o m were either friends or
January 1977, about sixty meetings in all were acquaintances of mine. I did, of course, appeal
held, representing a total of 200 working hours. to teachers, by way of radio and television inter-
F r o m the outset, two items on the original views and through the press, to send in their
proposal were dropped at the suggestion of the suggestions to the directorate. Unfortunately,
participants themselves: the institution of a very few suggestions were received. This prob-
prize for the team designing the best and most lem, which was of prime importance for the
popular pack; and the issue of a special stamp, success of the campaign, was discussed at our
at the expense of the D G E B , to be affixed to weekly meetings, and it was decided, in order
the packs. Participants felt that merely sharing to deal with certain shortcomings, to set up a
in such a significant civic campaign would pro- 'support committee' in the Directorate of Basic
vide sufficient incentive and that a symbol, Education.
which would be the sort of trade mark of the
campaign, was preferable to a stamp.
It should also be mentioned that the condition Implementing machinery
that the 'educational' part of the packaging was
never in any circumstances to carry any refer- The Support Committee, which was a purely
ence, explicit or otherwise, to the make of advisory body, consisted of volunteers and was
product or the manufacturer was immediately entirely independent of the ministry's set-up.
accepted. It was laid d o w n by m e m o r a n d u m that the
The Ministry of Education, however, being main purpose of the committee was to use the
fully occupied with the manifold problems in- professional experience of its members to help
volved in the reform and democratization of the in the campaign and to co-ordinate the work
educational system in Portugal, did not support necessary for carrying it out successfully. T h e
the campaign as it should have done. N o n e the m e m o r a n d u m dealt with such matters as the
less, the campaign was, at the express desire of organization of the Support Committee; its
the minister, included in the Programme of the relations with the D G E B ; relations between
Ministry of Education and Scientific Research the D G E B and the participating companies;
for 1976. relations with advertising agencies, design and
While I was able to count on m y superiors' marketing executives; and relations with other
trust and was accorded great freedom of de- unspecified partners in the campaign.
cision and initiative, I a m sure that the fact that Working parties were set u p within the
I was practically alone was detrimental to the committee to deal with 'contacts with those
publicizing of the campaign and hampered taking part in the campaign', 'ideas devel-
efforts to launch and expand it. opment' and 'advertising supervision'. Others
The choice of the instructional matter to be were later added: 'liaison with outside organiz-
printed on the packaging, for instance, was ations' and 'design support for small and
determined solely by m y own previous experi- medium-sized businesses'. S o m e of the latter,
ence, m y knowledge of existing needs in our while anxious to assist in the campaign, had
schools, and m y brief study of the Primary difficulties because their scale of operations did
Education Curriculum which followed. N o other not warrant their using the services of adver-
study was carried out, nor was any survey tising agencies and design teams for the prep-
conducted among primary teachers. All I was aration of their packaging materials.
able to do was to obtain the advice of some I was responsible for liaison between the
primary school inspectors and about thirty Support Committee and the ministry, as well
591
Trends and cases
as for contacts with outside bodies, including or on behalf of the agencies or design studios
the mass media. After hearing the committee's where they worked.
advice on technical questions, I was involved in Lastly, the m e m o r a n d u m provided that any-
decision-making on activities, prototypes and one wishing to help with the campaign and not
finalization. T h e circuit ended with the issue falling into one of the above-mentioned categ-
of an authorization to the firm concerned to use ories, should be received by the Support
the campaign identification symbol. Apart from Committee and subsequently given guidance.
familiarizing people with the campaign's symbol
and publicizing the campaign itself by other
possible means, I was also responsible, as the Teaching materials and packaging
ministry's representative, for providing detailed
information to teachers and for the arrange- T h e participants shared out the themes by
ments for the reception of teaching materials in agreement, after being given details of the
the Juntas de Freguesia, which, in their turn, priorities fixed. T h efirms'representatives and
distributed them to the schools. people from advertising and marketing agencies
As regards relations with participating firms, thus agreed on the themes they preferred, or
the Support Committee had drawn u p a ques- could take on, having regard to their type of
tionnaire which the firms had to complete at a packaging, the number of colours they used and
first interview and to which they had to attach the extent of their market.
samples of the packaging they proposed to use. In this way eleven different teaching material
T h e committee would then suggest ways of projects were developed during thefirststage
using the packs, or consider the proposals put of the operation, and came onto the market
forward by reference to the list of priorities between November 1975 and November 1976.
previously established; a decision was then m a d e Considering the time needed and the various
and thefirmfilledup a 'proposed-action' form. phases of work involved in launching a n e w type
It should be stressed that the symbol could of packaging, this was quite a highfigure.S o m e
only be used with prior permission from the of these projects were carried out in co-operation
ministry and in accordance with terms and by two, three or even four competing firms,
conditions laid d o w n . Wherever firms wished including some multinationals.
to include a reference to their collaboration with T h e following is a list of the educational m a -
the ministry and the D G E B in their usual terials produced, and the types of packaging
advertising campaigns, they hadfirstto secure used to carry them: detachablefiguresand
the ministry's approval of the advertising m a - mathematical signs (packaging for toothpaste);
terial concerned. detachable letters and punctuation marks (pack-
W h e r e advertising agencies and marketing aging for toothpaste); maps showing cereals
and design specialists were concerned, a ques- grown in Portugal (packets of washing powder);
tionnaire had also been drawn u p , because of miniature marionette theatre (kitchen-sponge
their particular competence and special techni- boxes); clock faces (kitchen-sponge boxes);
cal knowledge, asking for information about miniature television set m a d e of cartridge paper,
their professional specialty and the type of co- with twofilmstrips (kitchen-sponge boxes); six
operation they proposed. Their main task was strip cartoons on the history and use of the
to help the committee with the development of following fruits—oranges, lemons, raspberries,
ideas for the use of the packaging materials of mint, pineapple and maracuja1 (sweet boxes);
the participating firms. S o m e specialists took
part in the campaign in their individual capacity 1. Maracuja: a Brazilian fruit.
592
Trends and cases
593
Trends and cases
Broadcasting time had been booked for 'spots' new participants so as to give them a better
publicizing the campaign, but w e decided idea of the problem and to bring h o m e to them
it was counter-productive to use the radio the purpose of the campaign and the civic spirit
w h e n the visual aspect of the campaign was behind it.
decisive. W h e n reviewing the results of our activities
Nevertheless, the work was by no means a up to December 1976 with the members of the
waste of time, w h e n the number and calibre of Support Committee, w e came to the conclusion
those w h o took part on a voluntary basis in the that the campaign was likely to be limited to
preparation, distribution and publicizing of the the eleven projects already operating through
materials are considered: seven private firms, commercial channels. T h e Support Committee
five advertising agencies and more than a dozen therefore felt it necessary for the continuation
professionals were involved. of the campaign that the situation should be
Four State organizations also co-operated: considered at ministerial level, since w e did not
those already mentioned (the Institute of E d u - k n o w what percentage of the millions of pack-
cational Technology and the Co-ordination of ages distributed were actually recovered; w e did
Publicity Group in the Ministry of C o m m u n i - not think the support promised by the ministry
cations), the Press Section of the Ministry, for publicizing the campaign and its symbol
which had advertisements for the campaign, had proved very effective; and, finally, some
showing the symbol and containing an appeal, firms were already beginning to lose interest
inserted without charge in the Lisbon and while others could not be brought in because
Oporto dailies; and the Posts and Telecommuni- they did not think the prospects good.
cations Department, which put a special post- I submitted to m y superiors a factual report
mark on mail passing through the main post to help in considering in detail h o w useful the
offices of the major cities. campaign was, its nature and aims, together
Other bodies and institutions showed interest with a scheme of practical measures and an
in the campaign. S o m e members of the Support estimate of their cost.
Committee and I, for instance, in answer to in- In that document I proposed, inter alia,
vitations addressed to us, visited the Portuguese that an evaluation be m a d e , through primary
Marketing Society and the Evora University teachers, of the quality and use of the material
Institute. T h e idea was very favourably received already in circulation, that the same material
and the people w e spoke with displayed great be tested in schools where it might not have
interest in what w e were trying to do, h o w w e chanced to come to notice and that a new list
were doing it, and what w e had achieved. T h e of suggestions for the launching of n e w m a -
Evora University Institute even put some of its terials be drawn up. I also proposed that there
scientists at our disposal to help with certain should be wide publicity for the symbol and
aspects of the campaign in which they were the campaign through the mass media. Another
specially competent. line of action would be to bring in n e w partici-
A working party from the Gulbenkian Sci- pants and to make the campaign better known
ence Institute's Educational Research Centre to teachers and a specific public (parents, school
was also ready to help us in the work if asked children, educators and others responsible for
to do so. primary education) by special briefing sessions
It m a y be well to mention at this point that in firms andfixedand travelling exhibitions in
the ministry had to spend only 800 escudos schools, in the ministry and in other places
(about U.S.$2o) for the production of a collec- visited by teachers; the distribution of self-
tion of slides for the project, to be shown to sticking labels bearing the symbol to primary-
594
Trends and cases
school children was to round off this series of together on a joint project of civic interest,
measures. though, of course, still in keen competition.
So long as the specialists continued to give T h e support of senior officials and others,
their services free, and firms and advertising including some of the best educationists in
and marketing agencies collaborated on a vol- Portugal, the favourable reactions of school-
untary basis, the cost of the proposed boost teachers and primary-school inspectors, the
for the campaign was not, according to our co-operation given by some official bodies and
estimates, to exceed some 80,000 escudos (about by the Evora University Institute and the re-
U.S.$2,ooo); and this included computer studies, search team from the Gulbenkian Science Insti-
the preparation of material for the exhibitions, tute, all confirmed that w e had started out o n
and the manufacture of 50,000 self-sticking the right lines, that our intentions were under-
labels. stood and supported, and our project a worthy
Last February, the ministry decided to with- one.
draw its support for the commercial promotion F r o m a social point of view, it was clear that
of teaching materials, giving the following of- the campaign could test the possibilities of
ficial explanation: recovering and using available resources—an
experiment in line with the need for austerity
A scheme has been submitted to the Minister of in the country's economic life.
Education and Scientific Research for continuing In addition, the fact that the campaign awak-
measures to recover commercial packaging for use in ened parents and the community in general to
teaching. T h e ingenious presentation of m a p s , pro- the shortcomings of the schools and appealed
tractors, rulers and other designs on commercial for their assistance in solving a problem helped
packaging leads, in practice, to a form of pressure to to bring school and community into closer
buy the products concerned. If the acronym of M E I C touch, which is, incidentally, an explicit goal of
(the Directorate of Basic Education) appeared on such
the primary school curriculum and indeed of
packages, the ministry would find itself involved in
propaganda campaigns not in conformity with its
the Constitution of the Republic of Portugal.
purposes. M E I C has no objections to legal advertis- F r o m the strictly educational standpoint,
ing; it merely declines to be a vehicle for it. T h e there was no doubt at all that the campaign
recovery of a variety of materials for teaching pur- materials, being adapted to and providing sup-
poses is a c o m m o n practice, but this should not be port for the various objectives of the primary
associated with strengthened advertising to benefit school curriculum and also being novel, offered
commercial firms. . . . manifold possibilities and could be put to a
variety of uses as circumstances might require.
Finally, as the materials were unfinished and
S o m e conclusions exercised both the intellectual and the manual
capacities of the children using them, pupils and
Our initial purpose, it should be remembered, teachers might thereby be prompted to devise
was to alleviate the shortage of materials in the other materials for themselves.
schools, when—so far as w e knew—nothing had A scheme of the kind described here has not
been done to solve that problem. the slightest chance of success without decisive
Our experience showed us that it was possible support from the government, especially in
to interest private firms in co-operating with the countries where the educational system is cen-
State. It also showed that firms which were tralized. O n the other hand, if the project does
generally engaged in what is called 'commercial not stimulate the interest and enlist the partici-
espionage', might quite well be prepared to work pation of teachers and the co-operation of local
595
Trends and cases
authorities and various other institutions—in achieved are anxious to make the results of our
short, if there is not a firm commitment on the work and thinking during this one-year experi-
part of the whole population—it is likely to fall ment available to the international community,
far short of what it might produce. so that the 'Packaging Useful to Schools C a m -
Most of those w h o worked on the campaign paign' m a y be studied, developed and m a d e
and helped to bring about what little was truly effective wherever it m a y prove useful.
596
Notes and reviews
597
Prospects, Vol. VII, N o . 4, 1977
Notes and reviews
literate; and for having trained hundreds of young reached a large number of w o m e n and girls; for
rural community leaders at both the national and having used the teaching of reading, writing and
subregional levels. arithmetic as a basis for vocational training and
Telimele Regional Centre for Improving the Status encouraged artistic and cultural activities connected
of Women, Guinea, for having m a d e literacy work a with work; and for the value of its achievements
part of economic development by organizing literacy as a national example.
courses for w o m e n and girls and, thereby, improving T h e jury expressed the hope that all governments,
the production and marketing of agricultural produce Unesco, the other organizations of the United Nations
and favouring the development of craft activities in family, intergovernmental, regional and bilateral as-
the region; for having trained newly literate people sistance institutions and non-governmental bodies
as mass-education teachers; and for having actively will m a k e a greater effort to identify literacy works
involved the people concerned in the literacy work. deserving of reward.
Seva Mandir (a centre for the development of adult It urgently invited the governments and organiz-
education), Udaipur, India, for having organized and ations concerned to take exceptional steps to join
carried out literacy projects for farmers in tribal the support of public opinion, at national and world
regions, young school drop-outs, and villagers and level, for the fight against illiteracy, and to increase
w o m e n of modest means; for having established a the exchanges between those engaged in it.
vast network of rural libraries with reading materials Finally, it emphasized the need for a massive m o -
for the newly literate and semi-literate, reading rooms bilization of h u m a n ,financialand material resources
and a mobile home-delivery system; and for having on a par with this major task of our century, the
disseminated, through its Publications Department, resources available so far having proved insufficient
a monthly bulletin in the local language and a to provide every m a n and w o m a n with the m i n i m u m
quarterly in Hindi. of education to which they are entitled, in accordance
General Union of Women of Yemen, People's Demo- with the appeal launched by the General Conference
cratic Republic of Yemen, nominated by the W o m e n ' s of Unesco at its nineteenth session to intensify the
International Democratic Federation, for having struggle against illiteracy.
Book reviews
T h e nursery school is thefirstelement in the general considers the mental development of a child as the
system of education in the Soviet Union. It must be result of the assimilation of the social experience
emphasized that it is one of the most crucial elements of mankind. In his pre-school years, a child assimi-
because early childhood is such an important period lates the simpler aspects of this experience, using
in the mental development of the individual. N u m e r - the objects around him, acquiring elementary k n o w -
ous studies in educational psychology have established ledge and skills, and grasping certain moral and
that the rate of mental development in pre-school aesthetic norms. This assimilation of knowledge and
children is very high in relation to older children. skills can occur in random fashion, in the course
T h u s , errors which are committed during the edu- of the child's daily life and his contact with adults,
cation of pre-school children cannot be rectified at and also in the course of purposeful instruction in
a later stage. the nursery school. N u m e r o u s studies in educational
T h e problem of the all-round development of psychology have shown that organized instructions
pre-school children is approached by Soviet scientists produces very substantial improvements in the child's
on the basis of the Marxist-Leninist theory which mental development.
598
Notes and reviews
A n important role in the evolution of the theory T h e findings showed that each of the aptitudes
of Soviet pre-primary teaching has been played by studied represents a specific operation of perception.
the work of the well-known Soviet educationist T h e analysis of the structure of this operation makes
A . P . Usova, w h o has worked out the content and it possible to develop the relevant aptitude in any
methods for a programme of education which takes normal child.
into account the general pattern of child develop- In discussing their data, the authors come to
ment. T h e content of the course is defined in a several general conclusions about the genesis of both
'nursery-school education programme'. This reorgan- sensory and other types of aptitude. T h e y throw a
ization of teaching has led to a significant rise in n e w light on the basic theoretical aspects of the prob-
the level of children's overall development. lem of aptitudes—the criteria for the separation and
T h e ideas of A . P . Usova have been further differentiation of aptitudes, the relationship between
developed in the work of the Soviet educationists aptitudes and knowledge and skills, the reasons for
N . P . Sakulin, N . A . Vetlugin, V . N . Avanesov, individual differences in aptitudes, and the relation-
N . N . Poddyakov and others. ship between the development of general and specific
In recent years, scientists have been particularly aptitudes.
interested in the study of problems of educational psy- T h e practical importance of the research described
chology concerned with the sensory and mental devel- in this book is that it raises the question of h o w to
opment and training of children in the pre-school age increase the effect of pre-school education on develop-
group. W h e shall n o w examine some of these studies. ment and h o w to introduce content and methods
T h e book The Genesis of Sensory Aptitudes1 is a which are directed towards the purposeful develop-
collection of papers, edited by L . A . Venger, which ment of children's aptitudes.
describe the results of studies carried out by a group T h e collection of papers edited by N . N . P o d -
of workers in the Laboratory of the Psychology and dyakov and entitled The Mental Training of the
Physiology of Early Childhood of the Scientific Pre-school Child2 presents and analyses a large
Research Institute for Pre-School Education, Acad- quantity of experimental and theoretical material
e m y of Pedagogical Sciences of the U . S . S . R . This which makes it possible to m a p out n e w approaches
work is an extension of the previous studies m a d e in to the problem of the mental training of pre-school
the laboratory on the general characteristics of the children. T h e papers published in this reader have
development of perception in children from birth to a c o m m o n methodological basis and discuss the de-
the age of 7. A theory of the development of per- velopment of the subject matter and methods of
ception has arisen out of this work and has been nursery-school teaching. T h e book uses and analyses
used to produce a detailed analysis of the develop- a wide range of theoretical and experimental studies
ment of particular aspects of perception which mani- which have been carried out in recent years in the
fest themselves as specific aptitudes in the fields of field of early childhood education and psychology.
music and art, such as the feeling for rhythm in T h e authors pay special attention to laying the
music and art, the perception of proportion and of theoretical foundations for n e w principles for the
the changes in the shape and size of objects due to selection and systematization of the subject matter of
perspective, the kinaesthetic perception of the par- pre-school education and to the results following
ameters of one's o w n movements as expressed in the from the application of these principles to the design
control of one's hands in the act of drawing. of content and methods for mental training in pre-
T h e researchers have concentrated on the possi- school institutions. According to these principles, it
bility of purposeful development of aptitudes. In is important to select as the central element in the
contrast to the overwhelming majority of studies on systematization of pre-school knowledge about some
problems related to aptitudes, which attempt to area of reality (animate or inanimate nature, social
reveal already established abilities and to observe the phenomena, etc.) the kind of basic relationships
changes which take place with age or under various which children can grasp by means of their visual-
kinds of educational influence, the authors of this operational or visual-image modes of thinking. T h e
book study the very earliest stages in the formation general idea that the external structure of an animal's
of the corresponding qualities. T h e fact that these body depends on the conditions under which it lives
studies were conducted on pre-school children whose
abilities were either non-existent or existed only in
an embryonic state meant that it was possible in the
fullest sense of the word to 'develop' them, to carry 1. Genesis Sensornyh Sposobnostej, Moscow, Pedagogika,
out developmental research showing h o w aptitudes 1976.
arefirstformed. 2. Umstvennoe Vospitanie Doskol'niha, Moscow, Pedago-
gika, 1972.
599
Notes and reviews
was, for example, used as a basis for the systematiz- tative evaluation of the successfulness of the solutions
ation of pre-school knowledge about living things. In and the calculation of indicators for the discrimi-
the children's constructional activity, use was m a d e nation, reliability and validity of the methods.
of the fundamental idea that the structures which T h e book sets out the underlying principles for
they m a k e from building blocks or other components a system of indicators of mental development in
will depend on the conditions under which they are children. These have been derived from a concept
to be used. which has become established in Soviet child psy-
These n e w principles of systematization can chology and which sees mental development essen-
be used to develop a basically n e w content for a tially as the successive assimilation of different types
mental training programme, and correspondingly n e w of mental operation (perceptual and intellectual), the
methods for teaching this material to children. aim of the methods used being precisely to reveal the
T h e book by N . N . Poddyakov, Thought Processes degree to which the principal types of operation have
of the Pre-school Child,1 deals with the question of the been assimilated.
development of pre-conceptual forms of thought in A n appendix to the book contains material for the
pre-school children. T h e work describes the principal investigation of mental development and instructions
results of the experimental and theoretical studies and tables for evaluating the results. T h e book can
which the author has m a d e over a n u m b e r of years. therefore serve as a handbook of psychological
Poddyakov develops the idea that a special role in diagnosis. A s the authors point out, the proper use of
the mental progress of a child is played by pre- the proposed methods can only be ensured if the
conceptual forms of thought: 'visual-operational' and tests are performed in the presence and under the
'visual-image' thought. These have their specific guidance of a specialized psychologist.
functions in the overall mental development of pre- T h e book by A . M . Leushina entitled The For-
school children and are of great importance in mation of Elementary Mathematical Ideas in Pre-
the formation of a n u m b e r of aptitudes which school Children3 makes a significant contribution to
evolve throughout the life of an individual. Visual- the problem of mental training in the nursery school.
operational and visual-image thinking in pre-school T h e book makes use of the results of the latest
children function in close connection with each other, studies in educational psychology relating to the
thus enabling the children to m a k e important gener- development of mathematical skills of pre-school
alizations and creating a basis for the assimilation of children. T h e author has worked out a programme of
more complex forms of conceptual material. mathematical knowledge and skills to provide for the
T h e book Diagnosis of the Mental Development of overall mental development of children as well as for
Pre-school Children? edited by L . A . Venger, is the the development of their mathematical aptitudes.
result of m a n y years of work in the Laboratory of the In outlining the range of mathematical knowledge
Psychology and Physiology of Early Childhood, Scien- which nursery-school children should acquire,
tific Research Institute for Pre-School Education, A . M . Leushina singles out as her starting point the
A c a d e m y of Pedagogical Sciences of the U . S . S . R . knowledge of sets. She gives a detailed analysis of the
T h e laboratory has developed a system of methods of ways in which this knowledge m a y be acquired by
diagnosis aimed at establishing the level of mental pre-school children of various ages and describes the
development in children from three tofiveyears old. teaching methods which are most effective in enabling
Unlike non-Soviet specialists in thefieldof psycho- children to assimilate the material being taught. T h u s ,
logical diagnosis w h o attempt to find methods of the author emphasizes the necessity of developing in
determining a child's C IQ' without reference to his young children the idea of a set as a structurally inte-
living and educational conditions, the authors of the gral unit inside which they must be able to see each
present book consider mental development as a m e m b e r of the set. T h e assimilation by children of
process which is organically related to education and knowledge about sets lays the foundation for the sub-
instruction, and regard psychological diagnosis mainly sequent study of arithmetic.
as an instrument for determining the effect which they Methodological hints are given in the book for
produce. organizing the instruction of children of all pre-school
In developing their methods of diagnosis, the
authors started out from a qualitative approach to
diagnosis—its orientation towards the identification 1. Myslenie Doskol'nika, Moscow, Pedagogika, 1977.
2. Diagnostiker Umswennogo Razititija DoskoVnikoi),
of meaningful indicators of mental development and
Moscow, Pedagogika, 1977.
the allowance which it makes for the ways in which 3. Formirovanie Êlementarnyh Matematiceskih Predstazl-
children perform diagnostic tests. T h e statistical Unij u detej Doskol'nogo Vozrasta, Moscow, Prosves-
approach was also used, for example, in the quanti- cenie, 1974.
60O
Notes and reviews
ages in elementary mathematical knowledge and skills. T h e hypothesis from which the authors proceed is
Very important factors in the problem of pre-school that as soon as children show a desire for various
education are the development of speech and the kinds of activity, it is essential to provide them with
learning of the mother tongue: correct pronunciation, the artistic skills which are the essential prerequisite
the learning of n e w words, grammatical improve- for artistic creation.
ments in the spoken language, the development of Special attention is paid in the book to the relation-
connected speech and instruction in story telling. A ship between teaching and creation, their interdepen-
special and important part of speech work in the nur- dence and their differences and, correspondingly, to
sery school is the teaching of reading and writing the relationship between methods of teaching the dif-
habits (particularly reading to older children). ferent forms of artistic activity and of guiding the
T h e book Development of Speech in Pre-school Chil- creative proclivities of children and developing their
dren1 edited by F . A . Sokhin and written by m e m b e r s creative aptitudes.
of staff of the Institute for Pre-School Education of T h e book presents information about the content of
the A c a d e m y of Pedagogical Sciences of the U . S . S . R . programmes of creative exercises used in art, music
and the Departments of Pre-School Education of the and speech activities. It shows the ways in which works
M o s c o w and Leningrad Institutes of Education, sets of art can be used to develop a child's creativity and
out the main methodological principles of speech de- explains the correlation between imitation and cre-
velopment in pre-school children in nursery schools ation. In accordance with the hypothesis mentioned
and gives methodological recommendations and above, the authors have attempted, in determining the
instructions to teachers. T h e authors base their programme of creative exercises, to stimulate children
work on recent educational, psychological and psycho- to create artistic images by systematically showing
linguistic studies, relate children's acquisition of the them the significance of the various media of artistic
mother tongue and the development of speech to their expression.
mental development and emphasize in particular the T h e overall conclusion of the studies presented in
importance of acquainting children with the formal this book is to prove the validity of combining in-
and semantic aspects of speech and language. struction with a system of exercises directed towards
T h e problem of teaching pre-school children to developing the artistic skills of children in order to
read forms the subject of the book Reading and foster incipient creative aptitudes. T h e book also
Writing in the Nursery School2 by L . E . Zhurova. T h e raises the question of the individual approach to
author bases her ideas on the theoretical principles children in the guidance of their artistic proclivities
worked out by Professor D . B . Elkonin (Correspond- and suggests that consideration should be given to the
ing M e m b e r of the A c a d e m y of Pedagogical Sciences idea of the children being grouped according to their
of the U . S . S . R . ) , w h o defines reading as the process of interests and the level of their ability.
reconstructing the sound form of a word from its W e have given a short account of a n u m b e r of
graphic model (letter composition). T h u s thefirstand studies in which pre-school education is discussed in
fundamental task in teaching children to read is not to close relation to the general problems of the psycho-
establish relations between sounds and letters (as is logical development of children. These works are but
presupposed by all the traditional methods) but to a small part of a wide range of studies which are
reveal the phonemic composition of the word and to currently providing the basis for a substantial i m -
define the sequence of sounds in it. This approach not provement in the effectiveness of education in nursery
only makes it possible to develop reading skills suc- schools.
cessfully but also orientates children towards the p h o -
nemic system of the language. T h e author gives a LEONID ABRAMOVICH VENGER
detailed description of the method she has evolved for
and N I K O L A Y P O D D Y A K O V ,
teaching pre-school children to read.
heads of laboratories
T h e collection of papers Artistic Creation and the at the Scientific Research Institute for
Child,3 edited by N . A . Vetlugina, deals with the prob- Pre-School Education, A c a d e m y of
lem of guiding the artistic and creative aptitudes of Pedagogical Sciences of the U . S . S . R .
children in the spheres of music, art and literature.
T h e book is the result of a series of studies carried out
by the Laboratory for Aesthetic Training in the 1. Razvitie Reci Detej DoSkol'nogo Vozrasta, Moscow,
Prosvescenie, 1976.
Scientific Research Institute for Pre-School Education
2. Gramota v Detskom Sadu, Moscow, Pedagogika, 1974.
of the A c a d e m y of Pedagogical Sciences of the 3. Hudozestvennoe Tvorcestvo i Rebënok, Moscow, Pedago-
U.S.S.R. gika, 1972.
60I
Notes and reviews
T h e book is a collective work of a team of writers w h o increasingly heavy burden of education o n the
have, under the general guidance of the principal government budget.
author, examined the contribution of external assist- T h e role of foreign assistance in respect of both the
ance to educational development in Kenya, Senegal, main achievements and the central problems of the
Tunisia, India, Turkey and Chile. T h e writers have educational system has been, o n the whole, marginal
also reviewed briefly the stated policies, procedures in terms of funds, technical assistance and ideas,
and record of external assistance by France, the Fed- though in m a n y specific projects foreign assistance
eral Republic of G e r m a n y , the Netherlands, the certainly has been the dominant factor. Even in these
United K i n g d o m , and the United States of America specific cases, the m o r e 'successful' ones have had
and have included a sketchy description of develop- strong indigenous inputs in both ideas and resources.
ment assistance by the United Nations family of Foreign aid in education, therefore, has a limited
organizations and some other international organiz- capacity for good or evil. T h e basic problem of edu-
ations (such as the Organization for Economic C o - cational development is not h o w m u c h aid is avail-
operation and Deveolpment ( O E C D ) , the European able, h o w it is administered, and what terms and
Economic Community ( E E C ) and the C o m m o n - conditions are laid d o w n , but whether the host
wealth Secretariat). T h e book ends with a chapter of government has been able to put its o w n house in
general conclusions and recommendations which some order regarding the national development goals
summarizes the salient points m a d e in the earlier and priorities and whether the nation has the deter-
chapters. mination to resolve the socio-economic contradictions
T h e six country reports (Kenya by Mustafa T u q a n , arising from the legacy of a colonial and feudal past.
Senegal by Adri Kater, Tunisia by Robin Ostle, India T h e recipient country has to discover and shape a
by L . S. Chandrakant with assistance from Muriel model for national development which meets the
Wasi and K . Rangachari, Turkey by Paul Stirling, basic h u m a n needs of all the people, makes the best
and Chile by Harold Blakemore) constitute the sub- use of the nation's resources and potential and ensures
stance of the book and are both interesting and in- just sharing of the benefits of development. O n c e
formative. Following a c o m m o n outline, each report s o m e progress is m a d e in this effort, it might be dis-
provides a general historical and socio-economic covered that it is feasible to offer a certain level of
background of the country, a sketch of the edu- basic education to all citizens, that there are alterna-
cational situation, a brief account of total foreign aid tive ways of meeting high-level specialized m a n p o w e r
received for educational development, description of needs other than the prototypes of higher education
selected projects benefiting from foreign assistance, institutions in industrial countries, and that the usual
the writer's o w n judgement about the performance of educational ideas and models available from the in-
the projects, and a general assessment of the role dustrial countries have only limited applicability in
played by foreign aid in the country's educational the developing countries.
progress. A part of the problem is that the policy-makers
Considerable educational progress can be recorded and managers of education and the negotiators of
for the decade of the 1960s in each country. Enrol- foreign assistance, themselves being the products of
ments at various levels have increased spectacularly the conventional educational system and forming the
in some cases, n e w types of educational institutions ranks of the relatively privileged in a socio-economic
and programs have been established and m a n y kinds structure propped up by the existing educational sys-
of high-level specialized manpower are being pro- tem, do not as a group have the intellectual vision or
duced in all of the countries. At the same time, the the inclination to forge ahead in n e w directions.
litany of complaints about the educational systems has Professor Blakemore writes in the report o n Chile
remained unchanged: large proportions of children (p. 339) :
and youth still unserved by education, growing press-
ure on successively higher levels of formal education, The situation facing Chilean education in the early 1960s
high unemployment a m o n g the educated, unequal was not, then, simply a matter of devoting more resources
to correcting deficiencies of both a quantitative and quali-
distribution of educational opportunities, poor qual-
tative kind; it was no less a question of devising appropriate
ity of instruction and its lack of relevance to the machinery for creating an educational system which, from
student's environment and life prospects, and the top to bottom, would be more appropriate for a modern,
602
Notes and reviews
developing democratic state, than the existing outdated, India have been better off to lay m u c h greater stress
regressive and socially divisive structure which was increas- on agricultural and rural development, creating a firm
ingly unrelated to Chilean reality. base for sustained and self-reliant development, than
O n the contrary, the problem with the Chilean edu- to emphasize industrial growth during the early
cational system was that it faithfully reflected the decades of her independence?
Chilean reality! T h e educational system in any Questions can be raised about the relative effective-
country can hardly avoid reflecting the reality of the ness of the institutional training approach (in contrast
existing power structure. to an approach combining apprenticeship, on-the-
Given this general context in most of the Third job training, and short-duration, flexible institutional
World countries, it is not surprising that there is often training that shifts the major burden of appropriate
a scramble for any form of external assistance; there skill development to the employers) for middle-level
is an uncritical acceptance of foreign advice, experts, skill training followed by the industrial training insti-
equipment, p r o g r a m m e designs, and funds; and tutes and polytechnics in India and (at least partially)
careers are m a d e and performances are rated o n the by the I N A C A P in Chile. Similarly, in the case of
basis of h o w m u c h aid is attracted and negotiated. Haceteppe University in Turkey, one wonders if it
Foreign assistance never comes as pure financial was necessary or appropriate to send all professional
and technical resources to be put to the best use as staff abroad for training and whether the sophisticated
seen fit by the recipient government. It is always facilities and the products of these facilities were the
accompanied by particular perceptions, assumptions, most suitable ones for improving the health and well-
attitudes, values, and preferred solutions embodied in being of the Turkish masses.
the project design, the equipment and materials, the It would be presumptuous, even with the benefit of
training programmes, and the particular technical ad- hindsight, to suggest that the right course of action
visers selected. It takes a high level of self-confidence, in each instance w a s beyond doubt and the course
a clear sense of purpose and direction, and well- followed w a s invariably wrong. But it is clear that
articulated policies and programmes for self-reliant there are alternatives, the consideration of which are
development on the part of the host government to per- foreclosed b y the national decision-makers' incli-
mit a synergistic integration of the external inputs into nation to adopt the conventional pattern inspired b y
the national development process and to prevent the familiar Western examples—a tendency strongly re-
reinforcement of values and norms inconsistent with inforced by external assistance.
national needs, misallocation of national resources, and These uncomfortable thoughts are only hinted at
the continuation of a dependency relationship. A here and there in the country reports. T h e conclusions
fundamental irony of foreign assistance is that those in each country report and the general conclusions in
w h o are in most need of it can use it least effectively. the final chapter deal mostly with operational prob-
Even those aid-supported projects regarded as lems of organizing training programmes, recruiting
relatively successful—such as the Indian institutes of experts, arranging language instruction, co-ordinating
technology, training of technical teachers in India, aid and so o n within the existing framework of
Haceteppe University in Turkey, and I N A C A P in national development policies and the role of external
Chile—can be considered successful only within the aid. In doing so, the book concentrates mainly o n
limited frame of reference of the projects themselves. bilateral assistance, touching only lightly the policies,
T h e y have been successful in terms of what they have m o d e of operation, and projects of the major inter-
set out to do. In each case, legitimate questions can national donors—the W o r l d Bank and the United
be raised about the basic rationale and assumptions Nations Development P r o g r a m m e ( U N D P ) .
of the project and the propriety of the approach in T h e emergence of the W o r l d B a n k in the 1970s as
relation to the overall development needs of the the single largest external donor in m a n y sectors,
country. For instance, it can be asked if there were including education, along with its relatively large
in the case of India other ways of developing special- professional staff, elaborate project identification and
ized technologies than the formal institutional ap- appraisal procedures and a conscious effort to develop
proach with wholesale importation of technical staff, and pursue a strategy for development assistance
equipment and educational models. ( A n alternative (note the sector policy papers and the voluminous
might have been the applied research and develop- country economic reports and sector reviews) signals a
ment approach combined with on-the-job training n e w chapter in external assistance for national devel-
in close collaboration with public and private sector opment, with various implications for national pol-
industries making efficient use of the considerable icies and appropriate national responses. Within the
scientific and technical m a n p o w e r pool India already United Nations family, U N D P ' s co-ordinating role
possessed.) A prior question might have been: W o u l d and country programming exercises represent an
603
Notes and reviews
effort to integrate external assistance with national reports, profitable reading if he is willing to draw his
goals and programmes. O n the whole, in recent years, o w n conclusions and lessons from the account given
multilateral assistance has grown in volume and for the half dozen countries.
significance—a trend bound to continue and intensify
in the context of the debates on the N e w Inter- MANZOOR A H M E D
national Economic Order. But these developments International Council
have been too recent to be included in the book. A for Educational Development, Essex,
reader will stillfindthe book, particularly the country Connecticut (United States)
It is evident that interest in distance-education ing materials, and associated physical production
methods amongst educational planners, economists and distribution methods.
and researchers has increased enormously in the last Holmberg's book unfortunately says next to nothing
few years. T h e reasons for this increasing interest about the economics of distance-education methods.
are m a n y . Research over the last decade or so into, T h e chapter on organization, administration and
for example, individualized instruction, educational planning is three pages long, whilst that on course
broadcasting and group study methods has had a creation contains only nine pages. Little is said about
profound influence on the design of n e w and inno- physical production and distribution of materials.
vative distance-education institutions which bear Other important aspects are also given fairly s u m m a r y
little resemblance to the more traditional correspon- treatment (e.g. a chapter of three and a half pages on
dence colleges. T h e success of some of these insti- evaluation).
tutions in terms of the quality of their teaching and T h e cursory nature of the text would matter less
their cost effectiveness—the British O p e n University had the book included an annotated guide to the
is a case in point—has contributed to the establish- bibliography (the latter takes u p nearly one-half of
ment of committees and working groups on open and the book's 167 pages). References are given at the
distance education in almost every Ministry of E d u - end of each chapter, but with hardly any guidance
cation in the world. T h e potential contribution of as to the scope, level and content of the different
distance education in developing countries, in in- items. For example, the references in the chapter
creasing educational output at reduced recurrent and on evaluation list seminal theoretical and research
capital cost levels, is enormous. works like those of Scriven, Bloom, and Gagné
In the reviewer's experience, over the last few years, alongside minor articles and descriptive notes of a
of meeting and working with planners and educators few pages' length. There are also some strange omis-
from over thirty different countries interested in the sions in the bibliography—for example, one of the
potential of distance-education systems, there is a most recent comprehensive works on distance/open
real need for both introductory and specialist publi- education—Open Learning, by MacKenzie, S c u p h a m
cations in this field. This is true regardless of the and Postgate—is not mentioned. These factors would
teaching objectives and target audiences of the system not be a problem for somebody already reasonably
envisaged, which m a y range from degree-level studies familiar with thefield,but the text itself is obviously
for school-leavers to functional-education programmes intended as a brief introduction and overview for
for dispersed rural populations. Three areas in par- newcomers. However, such readers would need to have
ticular come to mind where the need for information access to a large specialist library, and a lot of time to
seems most acute: spare, to get m a x i m u m value from this publication.
T h e relative costs of distance and open-education T h e book tries hard, in a limited n u m b e r of pages,
systems compared with more conventional sys- to do two very different things: introduce n e w readers
tems, the nature of these costs (e.g. course-based, to the field of distance education, and provide a
student-based, fixed costs) and factors which in- guide to an extensive specialist literature. Unfortu-
fluence them. nately, it does not totally succeed on either count.
T h e various possible organizational frameworks and
administrative subsystems suitable for distance ANTHONY KAYE
education projects. Assistant Director
T h e procurement, adaptation, and creation of learn- O p e n University Consultancy Service
604
Notes and reviews
The issue of reading motivation is of vast importance. a formal and a non-formal nature, should be recorded,
It touches virtually every nation. analysed and compared.
Non-reading literates and lapsed literates should be
T h e book in question contains a report o n the studied to ascertain why they do not read.
different possibilities of promoting the reading habit. Studies should be made of h o w people's reading needs
T h e work is of particular importance for all those and interests change throughout their lives.
Unesco and other international organizations should
w h o are active in the field of reading instruction.
make every possible attempt to encourage the study of
T h e report starts by showing the importance of and reading motivation. These groups should also use every
the reason for reading ( W h y read?), and suggests possible means to disseminate the results of such studies to
m a n y measures that can be taken for its enforcement. government officials, educational administrators, teachers,
T h e chapter on practical problems touches on ques- parents, librarians, publishers, writers, and those involved
tions which are of interest to anyone working in this in special reading programmes.
field: education for reading, availability of reading
T h e appendix, with the help of 'case studies', pro-
materials, the effects of non-print media.
vides the reader with an insight into the reality
Following this are 'recommendations' as to h o w and the practical side of the book-work. Iran and
one can help to alleviate or solve the problems that Malaysia are quoted as examples.
occur in m a n y countries. W i t h reference to research A comprehensive list of persons w h o concern t h e m -
s o m e of these recommendations are: selves with the problems of reading instruction and
Literacy and reading programmes should be examined and literature for young people, and an extensive cata-
evaluated in terms of the effectiveness of their approaches logue of 'microfiche collections' complete the report.
to reading promotion. T h e sharing of experiences is particularly signifi-
Comparative studies should be undertaken in order to cant in times like these, where international co-
define the problems and current solutions in co-ordinating operation is so very important for the education
extracurricular reading with formal education. of young people. In this sense this book can be
Drop-outs from special reading programmes of all types r e c o m m e n d e d to any reader w h o m a y be interested.
(ranging from formal school to adult literacy programmes)
should be studied in order to determine why people drop
out, and how their initial expectations relate to their actual RICHARD BAMBERGER
experience. Director, International Institute
In contrast to drop-outs, the reading habits of those w h o for Children's Literature
successfully complete various reading programmes, of both and Reading Research
605
Notes and reviews
Senior Science Master, Malvern College brought actively into the process of developing
Malvern, Worcs., United Kingdom teaching materials so that in-service teacher training
(L'Enseignement des Sciences Fondamentales) was combined with curriculum development. T h e
322 p., tabl. author concludes by indicating factors militating
1977 (ISBN 92-3-201410-6) against total success of the project and lessons to be
Already published in English 38 F learned from the experiment.
Market: This pilot project will be of interest to
mathematics teachers, teacher trainers and edu-
Tendances Nouvelles cational administrators, particularly in other develop-
de l'Enseignement Intégré des Sciences ing countries. 10 F
Vol. III: L a Formation des Maîtres
Edited by P. E . Richmond
Senior Lecturer in Education, Science and Technology
University of Southampton, in the Development
United Kingdom of the Arab States
(L'Enseignement des Sciences Fondamentales) (Science Policy Studies and Documents, 41)
235 p., fig., tables, illus. 327 p . , figs., tables
1976, already published in English 30 F 1977 (ISBN 92-3-101494-3)
T o be published in Arabic
This publication is based on the Conference of
Nueva Tecnología en la Enseñanza Ministers of Arab States Responsible for the A p -
de las Ciencias plication of Science and Technology to Development
Programas y Métodos de la Enseñanza) ( C A S T A R A B ) , organized by Unesco with the co-
437 p.,figs.,tables operation of the Arab Educational, Cultural and
1975 (ISBN 92-3-301143-7 (Unesco)) Scientific Organization ( A L E C S O ) in Rabat, M o -
(ISBN 84-307-7366-5 (Editorial Teide)) rocco, from 16 to 25 August 1976.
Co-publication: The first part consists of the final report of
Editorial Teide/Editorial de la Unesco the conference, giving highlights of the debates and
Exclusive distribution in Spain: the texts of the Rabat Declaration and the resol-
Editorial Teide S.A., utions adopted. The main working document of the
Viladomat, 291, Barcelona 15 65 F conference is published in the second part of the
book. 30 F
607
Notes and reviews
609
Notes and reviews
Books received
A D J A D J I , Lucien; D U SAUSSOIS, Pierre. Adapter l'école d'apprendre, Situation II. Paris, Les Éditions O u -
à l'enfant. Paris, Fernand Nathan, 1977. 158 p . vrières, 1977. 327 p . , index. (Collection Points
(Bibliothèque pédagogique F . Nathan.) d'Appui-Éducation. )
B I D W E L L , Sidney. Red, white and black. London, H O G O N - D E R Q U E N N E S , Huguette. Le jeu réinventé.
Gordon Cremonesi Ltd., 1976. 204 p . Paris, Fleurus, 1977. 186 p .
B U R N , Barbara B . (ed.). Access systems youth and K A E P P E L I N , Philippe. Le psychodrame moyen de for-
employment. N e w York, N . Y . , International C o u n - mation. Paris, L e Centurion, 1977. 172 p . , annexes.
cil for Educational Development, 1977. 198 p . K E M P E , Henry C ; H E L F E R , Ray E . L'enfant battu et
D E L S E M M E , Jean-Paul. Décision et programmation sa famille, Paris, Fleurus, 1977. 370 p .
théâtrales. Brussels, J E B 2/77. 132 p . , annexes. La décentralisation culturelle. Brussels, JEB Points 4,
(Série Théâtre.) 1976. 165 p .
E C K H O L M , Erik P. Losing ground. Environmental stress D E L A N D S H E E R E , Vivianne; D E L A N D S H E E R E , Gilbert.
and world food prospects. N e w York, N . Y . , Norton Définir les objectifs de l'éducation. Paris, P U F , 1976.
& C o . , 1976. 187 p . , notes. 282 p . , bibliog.
Educational research in the Netherlands. Septem- L E G R A N D , Louis. Pour une politique démocratique de
ber 1972-September 1974. T h e Hague, Stitchting l'éducation. Paris, P U F , 1977. 274 p . , annex.
voor Onderzoek van het Onderwijs, 1976. 352 p . L E M A I T R E , Carole. Les relations urbaines spontanées.
E L V I N , Lionel. The place of commonsense in educational Brussels, J E B 1/77. 173 p .
thought. London, Allen & U n w i n , 1977. 153 p . L E M A Y , Michel. Le diagnostic en psychiatrie infantile.
H A M E L I N E , Daniel; D A R D E L I N , Marie-Joëlle. La liberté Paris, Éditions Fleurus, 1976. 308 p .
61O
Notes and reviews
LÉON, Antoine; CAMBON, Jacqueline; LUMBROSO, Brussels, Elsevier Sequoia, 1976. 198 p . , bibliog.
M a x ; W I N N Y K A M E N , Fajda. Manuel de psycho- (Collection Elsevier savoir.)
pédagogie expérimentale. Paris, P U F , 1977. 356 p. R E U C H L I N , Maurice. L'enseignement de l'an 2000.
LlNIGER-GouMAZ. AFRICANA. L'Afrique d'hier à Paris, P U F , 1973. 119 p . (Collection S U P . )
demain. Genève, Les Éditions d u T e m p s , 1977. R O B I N S O N , Kenneth. East wind, west wind. Some
236 p . , index. practical ideas from China's new society. Brasenose
L I P M A N , Matthew; S H A R P , A n n Margaret; O S C A N Y A N , Cottage, Great Rollright, Chipping Norton, O x -
Frederick S. Philosophy in the classroom. Upper fordshire (United Kingdom). 132 p .
Montclair, N . J . , Institute for the Advancement of R O D R I G U E Z D I E G U E Z , J. L . Las funciones de la imagen en
Philosophy for Children, 1977. 172 p . la enseñanza. Barcelona, Gustavo Gili, 1977. 196 p .
M C H E N R Y , Dean E . , et al. Academic departments: S I N G H , Sohan. Learning to read and reading to learn.
problems, variations, alternatives. San Francisco, An approach to a system of literacy instruction.
Calif., Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1977. 224 p . , bibl., Indiana, Hulton Educational Publications Ltd.;
index. Tehran, International Institute for Adult Literacy
N A I D M A N N , E . ; D E L M O N T , P . La lecture silencieuse et Methods, 1976. 116 p .
active. Paris, F . Nathan, 1976. (Fiches individuelles S O R I A N O , Marc. Guide de littérature pour la jeunesse.
de lecture.) Paris, Flammarion, 1975. 529 p . , bibliog.
P E R R A T O N , Hilary (ed.). Food from learning. C a m - T H I A G A R A J A N , Sivasailam. Programmed instruction for
bridge, International Extension College, 1976. literacy workers. A m e r s h a m , Hulton Educational
35 P- Publications; Tehran, International Institute for
V A N P E U R S E N , C . A . Une stratégie de la culture. Paris/ Adult Literacy Methods, 1976. 136 p .
OU
Vol. VII, 1977
Index No. 1, p. 1-159
No. 2, p. 163-319
No. 3, P- 323-451
No. 4, p. 455-614
6I3
614
Planning by Jacques Hallak
the location of
schools
an instrument of educational policy
Book Reviews
T h e changing role
of the teacher
International perspectives
Education today for by Norman M . Goble and J a m e s F. Porter
the world of tomorrow (IBE: Studies and surveys in comparative
education)
by Charles H u m m e l
The authors examine the influences and
(IBE: Studies and surveys in comparative alternatives affecting the teacher's role and
education) propose a three-phase model for teacher
education to confront the pressures of a
This book aims to present an objective society undergoing constant transition.
analysis of the dominant trends and problems
of education in the world today. The author 1977, 2 3 4 p.
examines four major topics: reforms and 38 French francs
innovations; lifelong education; democratization
and access to education; the place of education Co-published with Unipub, N e w York;
in society. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education,
Toronto; N F E R Publishing C o . Ltd, Slough,
1977, 200 p. w h o have sales rights in the United States,
38 French francs Canada and the United Kingdom respectively.
the Unesco
Regional
Office for
Education Section One
Science Education in the Asian Region
in Asia
Published yearly
A sales publication
Section Two
Science Education in Asian Countries
Afghanistan; Australia; Bangladesh;
Burma; India; Indonesia; Japan;
Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Nepal;
N e w Zealand; Pakistan; Philippines;
Singapore; Sri Lanka; Thailand;
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Section Three
Aspects of Science Education in the Asian
Region
Science Education in the Rural
Environment
Where is Education Going?
Science Curriculum Development
in Thailand
T h e Training of Science Teachers
in View of Changing Trends
Producing Low-cost Science
Equipment for Developing
Countries—a Report of a Commercial
Unesco Regional Office Project in H o n g K o n g
for Education in Asia Scientific Literacy for Adult Learners
Evaluation in Science Education
C P O Box 1425, Bangkok at the First and Second Levels
(Thailand) in Indonesia
Notes about the Authors
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