Investment in early childhood development: Strong foundations for higher education in Tanzania and Zimbabwe

In this paper we argue why higher education should be concerned with early childhood development (ECD) and demonstrate how investment in ECD can form a strong foundation for more children pursuing higher education. On the other hand, we substantiate how higher education can be inferred to create, plan and design relevant curricula and programs that support early childhood development policy and practice in Tanzania and Zimbabwe. It is undeniable that planned well ECD and higher education influence one another. Implying that while early ECD forms a strong basis for higher education, higher education can influence the planning and designing of relevant curricula and learning activities that suit early childhood education. In other words, we see higher education as an important ECD partner in designing and delivering contextually relevant early childhood education services and programs in Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Keywords:

Early childhood development , Higher education , Learning through play , Curriculum , African philosophy of education