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
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Book review: Early childhood education for Muslim children
Note: My colleague Hasina Ebrahim from South Africa invited me to review her insightful book as it was being published in late 2016. I was honoured to have the opportunity to review it and comment on its contribution to the field. Hasina Banu Ebrahim’s book, Early Childhood Education for Muslim Children: Rationales and Practices in South Africa (2017), is … Continue reading
Parenting with community support: Our experience in Tanzania
In late February, my family landed at the small Mwanza airport in Tanzania. With our luggage and our toddler, Z, hoisted on my hip, we climbed down the airplane stairs and onto the shuttle bus that would take us to the terminal. The shuttle bus was packed and I remember feeling slightly disappointed that … Continue reading
Ready schools in Pakistan: School & classroom factors associated with children’s success in early primary
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
Racism and imperialism in the child development discourse: deconstructing ‘developmentally appropriate practice’
[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.] One of the most influential approaches to early childhood education in North America is ‘Developmentally Appropriate Practice’ (DAP), articulated by the NAEYC. When I used Foucauldian and other … Continue reading
Community-based participatory research: training manual for community researchers
[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
Social work: What does it mean to me?
I completed my Masters in Social Work (MSW) degree at the University of Toronto almost eight years ago. Although since then I have had a range of academic, professional, and personal experiences that have affected me, I want to share a bit today about the influences of my training and background in social work on my … Continue reading
A tribute to my grandmother, Dr. Shireen Lakhani (Valliani)
My grandmother, Dr. Shireen Lakhani (Valliani) has been one of the most significant influences in my life, and much of who I am today is because of her. Two weeks ago, she passed away. In the fields of child development, psychology, education, and social work, we know the importance of extended family, loving adults, and … Continue reading
Welcome!
Welcome to my website and blog! I am a doctoral candidate at the Department of Human Development & Applied Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (Canada). I am interested in research, theory, and practice in a range of areas: early childhood development; early education (pre-primary and primary) – including … Continue reading
Sadaf Shallwani - Early Childhood Development Research 