In Papua New Guinea, the early childhood care and education of young children is largely a parental and community responsibility. Like many other village-based societies, including those found throughout Africa, Asia and the South Pacific, more than 80% of Papua New Guinean children grow up in subsistence farming and fishing tribal villages. In…

Less than 1 percent of children in sub-Sahara Africa currently attend formal care and education programmes, but the number is expected to increase substantially following large investments in the sector. To date, however, little attention has been given to the contents of these programmes. This article seeks to begin addressing this lacuna,…

The critical importance of the early childhood years and the rights perspective to human development has made policy and programming for early childhood development an imperative for every nation. In India, poverty, changing economic and social structures resulting in the breakdown of traditional coping mechanisms and family care systems, and the…

There is considerable evidence that young children in many developing countries suffer from profound deficits in nutrition, health, fine and gross motor skills, cognitive development, and socio-emotional development. Early childhood development (ECD) outcomes are important markers of the welfare of children. In addition, the deleterious effects of…

Early childhood is a time of remarkable transformation and extreme vulnerability. Programmes that support young children during the years before they go to primary school provide strong foundations for subsequent learning and development. Such programmes also compensate for disadvantage and exclusion, offering a way out of poverty. This Report…

This article intends to show that contemporary proposals for early child-care and education (ECCE), typical of the modern process of neo-liberal policies, have been familiar to developing countries since the 1960s. Their heralds continue to announce the same news; they have just changed their clothes. These heralds are the international…

Research was undertaken to assess the role of primary school teachers with regard to the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Structured and semi-structured questionnaires were responded to by 210 teachers drawn from primary schools in Eastern Nigeria (with pupils aged 6-15 years). These were supplemented by focus group discussions and…

The Handbooks in Economics series continues to provide the various branches of economics with handbooks which are definitive reference sources, suitable for use by professional researchers, advanced graduate students, or by those seeking a teaching supplement. With contributions from leading researchers, each Handbook presents an accurate,…