Creating sustainable early childhood learning environments for emergency situations: the case of Sweden, Kenya and South Africa.

Abstract

Early Childhood Education (ECE) is understood to take place between birth and the age of 9 including preschool as well as primary school years. It is also at this stage that the greatest damage can be inflicted on the vulnerable growing child. This chapter through literature and data from one country internationally, one on the African continent and South Africa explores challenges of teaching and learning, at early childhood environments during the pandemic. These serve as bases for mapping out how these nations continue to survive and lay foundation for the future productive citizenry in their respective contexts. Issues of race and social class are laid bare so as to come up with plausible strategies to create sustainable early childhood learning environments. These are understood to be contexts where economic development of all in an environmentally sustainable manner for the social inclusion of all are emphasized. The chapter over and above the research literature also examines strategies as well as theories of sustainable early childhood learning environments by way of making recommendations for South Africa in its search for solutions under such emergency situations.