“Traditional global development practices aren’t working. Despite substantial investments in development efforts over many years, many large projects initiated by traditional, top-down Global North philanthropic funders, international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and others have not resulted in meaningful and lasting change in communities. In some cases, there has even been unintentional harm done because of the disruption of … Continue reading
As I was completing my doctoral dissertation on ready schools in Pakistan a couple of years ago, I was intrigued by the in-depth conversations I had with so many parents and teachers about what education and knowledge meant to them, and how it fit within their values and worldviews. So, I was thrilled when I … Continue reading
How do you transform your troves of data into a story that fascinates people and moves them to act? This is an issue with which researchers, analysts, and evaluators grapple on an ongoing basis. Last week, I had the opportunity to learn and reflect on these very matters with colleagues working with data in the … Continue reading
I am happy to let you all know that I successfully defended my PhD thesis last week. It was an exhilarating experience and an immensely useful discussion with a group of academics whom I truly respect. I will be sharing more of my dissertation findings here in the months ahead, but in the meantime, I would like to share … Continue reading
[This post is part of my Noteworthy Early Childhood Development (ECD) Resources series, which rounds up and highlights key resources on particular topics.] I am often asked by parents of young children for clarification on some of the recommendations made by ‘experts’ on various aspects of parenting infants and toddlers, especially around sleep. As a … Continue reading
[This post is part of a series highlighting particular publications or resources I have written or developed in the past which may be of interest to my blog readers.] Many social issues need to be examined through research in order for us to better understand and act for change. These social issues are often best examined at … Continue reading
[This post is part of my Noteworthy Early Childhood Development (ECD) Resources series, which rounds up and highlights key resources on particular topics.] Early childhood development is often defined as the period from birth to eight years of age (some define it as birth to six years of age). However, prenatal development – the development that … Continue reading
[This post is part of my Noteworthy Early Childhood Development (ECD) Resources series, which rounds up and highlights key resources on particular topics.] Resilience – the capacity to adapt to and cope with change and stress – is fundamental to well-being. Building resilience in early childhood lays the foundation for long-term academic and social success. In … Continue reading
[This post is part of my Noteworthy Early Childhood Development (ECD) Resources series, which rounds up and highlights key resources on particular topics.] Research and data are important matters in the field of early childhood – enabling us to better understand contexts and perspectives, develop better-informed approaches and programmes, and assess impact and outcomes. In today’s edition, … Continue reading
[This post is part of my Noteworthy Early Childhood Development (ECD) Resources series, which rounds up and highlights key resources on particular topics.] In today’s edition, I’d like to share with you four important international resources in early childhood development that I have come across in the last few weeks: a digital children’s library, two books, … Continue reading
Sadaf Shallwani 