“Respect is an Investment”: Community Perceptions of Social and Emotional Competencies in Early Childhood from Mtwara, Tanzania

Authors

  • Matthew Jukes RTI International image/svg+xml
  • Prosper Gabrieli University of Dodoma, Tanzania
  • Nkanileka Loti Mgonda University of Dar es Salaam image/svg+xml
  • Florentina Nsolezi University of Dodoma
  • Grace Jeremiah St. Augustine University of Tanzania image/svg+xml
  • Jovina Tibenda USAID Tusome Pamoja
  • Kristen L. Bub University of Illinois

Keywords:

Education, Assessment, Preschool education, Social and emotional competencies

Abstract

Education programs in Africa increasingly aim to develop and measure social and emotional competencies. However, assessments are typically adapted from those developed in other continents and are not derived from local perspectives. In the current study, we conducted focus groups and individual interviews with teachers, parents and students in 4 randomly selected rural primary schools from Mtwara region in Tanzania, 3 of which had recently begun participation in a pre-primary education program. The aim was to understand the social and emotional competencies in early childhood that participants viewed as important for school and for life in general. Compared to existing frameworks of social and emotional competencies, participants placed more emphasis on aspects of social responsibility, for example respect, obedience and being an attentive listener. Individual competencies such as curiosity, self-direction and self-belief were valued more by teachers than parents and seen as most important for success at school. In general, most social and emotional competencies – even individual competencies - were discussed in terms of social relationships. Findings have implications for how cultural values are taken into account in assessment, curriculum design and parent and community engagement around pre-school education.

Author Biographies

  • Matthew Jukes, RTI International

    Matthew Jukes, PhD, is a Fellow and Senior Education
    Evaluation specialist at RTI International.
    Matthew’s current research addresses culturally relevant
    approaches to assessment of social and emotional
    competencies; improving pedagogy through an
    understanding of the cultural basis of teacher-child
    interactions; and frameworks to improve evidence-based
    decision-making.
    Matthew holds a PhD in early childhood
    development from Oxford University. Previous positions
    include Associate Professor at the Harvard Graduate School
    of Education and Senior Director of Research, Monitoring
    and Evaluation at Room to Read.

  • Prosper Gabrieli, University of Dodoma, Tanzania

    Prosper Gabrieli, PhD, is a lecturer at the College of
    Education in the University of Dodoma, Tanzania. Prosper
    holds a PhD in education from Dodoma University. Previous
    positions include Assistant Coordinator in the Language
    Supportive Pedagogy Project and a researcher in the
    Enscience project in Tanzania. Prosper has teaching
    experience in secondary schools and interested in science
    education, teacher education and classroom research.

  • Nkanileka Loti Mgonda, University of Dar es Salaam

    Nkanileka Loti Mgonda, PhD is a Lecturer in the School
    of Education, University of Dar es Salaam. He teaches and
    supervises postgraduate research. His areas of research and
    teaching include: teacher professionalism and ethics, life
    skills and character education and foundations of education.
    Nkanileka holds a PhD in teacher education from
    Leipzig University Germany. Currently, Nkanileka is an
    Associate Editor of the Journal “Papers in Education and
    Development.”

  • Florentina Nsolezi, University of Dodoma

    Florentina Nsolezi, MA, is an assistant lecturer in the
    Department of Psychology, School of Education and PhD
    candidate at the University of Dodoma, Tanzania. She holds
    a BA in Educational Psychology and MA in Education from
    the University of Dar Es Salaam. Her research interests are
    in educational psychology and child development.
    Grace Jeremiah, MA, is an independent research
    consultant. She holds a Master degree in economics from
    University of Nairobi. Previous positions include lecturer at
    St. Augustine University of Tanzania in the Economics
    Department. She has also worked with TGNP (Tanzania
    Gender Network Program) Mtandao as coordinator of
    participatory action research in Morogoro, Tanzania. She is
    also part of the TAMASHA (Taasisi ya maendeleo shirikishi
    kwa vijana Arusha) team.

  • Grace Jeremiah, St. Augustine University of Tanzania

    Grace Jeremiah, MA, is an independent research consultant. She holds a Master degree in economics from University of Nairobi. Previous positions include lecturer at St. Augustine University of Tanzania in the Economics Department. She has also worked with TGNP (Tanzania Gender Network Program) Mtandao as coordinator of participatory action research in Morogoro, Tanzania. She is also part of the TAMASHA (Taasisi ya maendeleo shirikishi kwa vijana Arusha) team.

  • Jovina Tibenda, USAID Tusome Pamoja

    Jovina Tibenda, M.Ed., is a Senior Program Specialist in
    Research at the RTI International-Tusome Pamoja Program
    in Tanzania. Currently Jovina oversees operational research
    designed to understand what works well and what are the
    barriers to implementation with the aim of improving
    program effectiveness.
    Jovina holds a Masters of Educational
    Administration from Ohio University. Previous positions
    include Director of Monitoring Evaluation and Research
    USAID funded program- TMARC Tanzania Marketing and
    Communication

  • Kristen L. Bub, University of Illinois

    Kristen Bub, EdD, is Associate Professor of Educational
    Psychology and Developmental Sciences Division Chair at
    the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, College of
    Education. Her research interests are in quantitative
    methods and developmental antecedents of social,
    emotional, academic, and physical health outcomes across
    early and middle childhood. She has a doctorate in Human
    Development and Psychology from Harvard University.

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Published

2018-06-27

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 2 (2018): Early Childhood Education, Care, and Development: Perspectives from around the Globe

Section

Theme Articles

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