Public Policies in Early Childhood and Pre-Primary Education in Bangladesh: A Critical Analysis

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 28
  In Roundtable Session: Conversations About Early Childhood Experiences and Programs

Abstract

Using critical psychology as theoretical framework, this paper examined how early childhood development and pre-primary education are conceptualized in the key public policy documents of Bangladesh. The objectives were to learn what type of knowledge are legitimized in the policy and how Bangladeshi cultural contexts are addressed, if at all. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) of ‘Comprehensive Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCD) Policy Framework’ and ‘Operational Framework for Pre-primary Education’ were performed using three-dimensional model of CDA proposed by Norman Fairclough. The analyses suggest that both the polices heavily relied on ‘expert’ psychological knowledge on child development generated in western context and paid a very little attention to cultural context of child development in Bangladesh.

Authors

• Mohammad Mahboob Morshed, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

• Sumera Ahsan, University of Massachusetts - Amherst