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
Tagged with learning …
Noteworthy ECD resources (v4): Prenatal learning and brain development
[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
Supporting multiple languages in early childhood
In Canada, as in several parts of the world, many children grow up in multiple linguistic contexts. They often live, learn, and interact in different languages at home, at school, and in other contexts. A number of research studies have demonstrated that it is beneficial for children to grow up bilingual from their earliest years (see … Continue reading
Differences in mindsets, persistence, and the ability to cope: Effects on child outcomes
When I was growing up, it was very rare for a school grade to be ‘good enough’ for my parents. I still laughingly reminisce about how when I would come home with a 98%, my dad would ask, “What happened to the remaining 2%?” Of course this anecdote might be a bit extreme, and to … Continue reading
Educational and other effects of giving children tablets for learning: Critical questions on the One Laptop Per Child approach
Recent news articles have been discussing the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project being implemented in various parts of the Majority World. Here’s an article at Mashable, and another at Dvice. Basically, the OLPC programme recently gave tablets to Grade-1-aged children in two remote Ethiopian villages. OLPC has given tablets to children before. What was different … Continue reading
Sadaf Shallwani 