Abstract:

Quality is a complex concept and it can mean different things for different people; hence, quality should depend on the issue at hand. There is no doubt that quality is an important factor for any sector, education sector included. Quality in many sectors can be explored using different indicators, however, in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) sector, the quality of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) centre-based programmes looks at the various activities on offer in the centres. The observations made necessitated this investigation as many centre-based programmes of ECD centres were not universal and this became a quality query. This paper is guided by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory to provide some insights about centre-based early childhood development programmes in Eastern Cape. Mixed method approach was adopted as it allowed for concurrent triangulation of research methods where from four municipalities of the Eastern Cape, 32 ECCE principals or managers, 49 ECCE practitioners and 63 parents from 37 ECD centres were purposively sampled. From the data generated using a structured questionnaire and observation sheets, this paper reveals the caliber of practitioners in the centres who are generally not fully trained and, have little experience. In addition, teaching and learning resources, infrastructure (buildings, indoor and outdoor play areas), as well as teaching and assessment methods, though available still need revamping. The paper recommends that efforts be made to capacitate the practitioners in the quest to provide quality ECCE programmes.

Keywords:

Centre-based ECD programmes, Early Childhood Care and Education, Early childhood development, Infrastructure, Learning resources, Play-based approach.