If it takes a village to educate a child - - - the impact of the global village on learning opportunities for young chi

1. If it takes a village to educate a child - - - the impact of the global village on learning opportunities for young children and families. Marion Flett

2. Outline • - look at new technologies as opportunity or threat • -a new politics of knowledge • - powerful mechanisms • - examples from research and practice • - challenges for the future

3. Opportunity or threat? • While opportunities and challenges are welcomed by some policy makers and practitioners, others sense a threat to their professional status / identity. • Examples

4. Information rich and information poor • Debate moving beyond this dichotomy: 1 lower costs of hardware and software 2 emphasis on connectivity 3 use of cell technology

5. A new politics of knowledge • - rise of the Internet and the collaborative Web • A new generation is being reared not simply by their local village but comfortably adapting to a global village

6. New technologies provide a set of powerful tools to underpin and extend the creativity and the capacity of the developing child. • Example – launch of ICT Strategy for Under Fives in Scotland

7. New technologies also a powerful tool to enhance children’s rights within the framework of the UN Convention on Children’s Rights – in particular Articles • 2 non-discrimination • 3 the best interests of the child • 6 life, survival and development • 12 respect for the views of the child

8. Example from research • Alison Clark’s work along with Peter Moss on the mosaic approach • Interesting parallels with the work of Paulo Freire in relation to adult literacy

9. Example from action-research • The Young Families Now Project in Aberdeen, Scotland • - involvement by adults in participatory processes • - less involvement by children

10. Examples from Practice • Illiterate farmers in Kenya using cell phones to negotiate prices

11. Examples from Work with Children • 1 health education • 2 architecture and design • 3 web based science programmes • NB Agencies outside ‘education’ domain

12. A changing ‘world view’ • Access by poorer communities in both the developed and developing world • Examples: Jamaica – mobile phones Dominica – local library Uganda – health records

13. Holistic Child Development • - what we know from brain research • - intent community participation • Development of different domains interlinked: physical, social, emotional, cognitive -each benefits other

14. Implications for Service Delivery • - infrastructure • - breaking down isolation • - multi-generational approaches • - “learning communities”

15. Could this provide an answer to early primary school drop-out? • See ‘Starting Strong’ on the dangers of importing outmoded systems from the West into ‘developing countries’ • Build on responses by communities plus innovations supported by new technologies and new alliances