Making Malta fit for Children: Learning from Jordan

Making Malta fit for Children: Learning from Jordan

Professor Ronald G. Sultana was commissioned by UNICEF to write a series of case studies of educational innovation in the Middle East and North Africa region. One of the case studies documented the Early Childhood Development programme in Jordan, which had the explict aim of helping the country create home and community environments that are more fit for children. Professor Sultana’s lecture will give an overview of the origins of the programme, the influence of European approaches to ECE, and the manner in which local educators in Jordan adapted key concepts in early childhood education to be more in tune with local cultures and traditions. Highlights of the presentation will include reflections on the role of different social partners in promoting nurseries and kindergartens, with coordination between different Ministries, religious authorities, several local and international NGOs and development agencies. Such national coordination, together with vigorous efforts to address the issue of children’s well-being from every possible angle, go a long way in explaining the success that  Jordan has achieved in establishing itself as an ECE leader in the MENA region.