The pioneering research focused on the Perivoli Schools Trust (PST) Early Child Care and Education (ECCE) Model—a programme that trains nursery teachers, known as Educarers, to nurture and educate children aged 0 to 6 years across all 14 regions of Namibia.
The ECCE model focuses on using waste materials to build environmentally conscious, sustainable, educational activities and resources to support children’s learning and development in their formative years.
Led by a team of four researchers from both institutions, the study explored the lived experiences of those involved in the PST training programme. It responds directly to pressing demands from the Perivoli Schools Trust, the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture , and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare for robust evidence to shape and strengthen the future expansion of Namibia’s Early Childhood Development policies.
The research will play a critical role in informing the ongoing implementation of the Integrated Early Childhood Development Service Framework (IECDF), guiding efforts to improve early learning outcomes for children in Namibia.
The project found that the ECCE model has strong environmental credentials. Not only in the way it uses waste materials to construct educational resources and toys for early childhood development and learning, but also the ‘green’ education curriculum content of the programme.
The model has significant value for regions which are under-funded and under-resourced, as waste materials are freely available and accessible, and their recycling and re-purposing also simultaneously tidying the local communities in which they exist. This offers a route for children (and Nursery Teachers) to equitable access to early years education and development when resources are not available – underpinned by principles of environmental sustainability, aligned with national agendas.
Recommendations include embedding these principles to all ECD provision and programming in Namibia at a national level to strengthen existing provision across the country.
Dr Vicky Sharley, Co-Director of the newly established Centre for Childhoods & Social Justice in the University's Faculty of Arts Law and Social Sciences, commented: "This was an exciting three-year partnership with the University of Namibia, providing an opportunity to produce research that responds to national priorities. The cross-institutional model further allowed us to champion the principles of Transformative Research outlined in the Africa Charter for collaborations between the Global North and Africa."
Find out more about the project and its recommendations in this short film: