Unpacking the Relationship Between International Development and Early Childhood Care and Education in Dharamshala, India

Abstract

This research study provides a new model to evaluate early childhood development internationally by integrating perspectives from the disciplines of International Development and Early Childhood Care and Education. This new model, The Geographic Context Education Development Matrix, was developed through this piece of research and will assist in providing a deeper understanding of the intersectionality of these disciplines as they relate to early childhood development. This model helps to illustrate the scholarly gap in understanding the local perspectives of international development, specifically through short-term international volunteering in Dharamshala, India. Data was collected through an experiential learning project where the primary investigator volunteered for one month in a private school in Dharamshala. Following this participatory experience, qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with local teachers and parents. The purpose of this research was to ascertain the current effectiveness of international interventions in Early Childhood Care and Education, especially through international volunteers, in Dharamshala, India and provide insight into the barriers impeding sustainable Early Childhood Care and Education. Through the analysis of the data collected, it was evident that the practice of short-term international volunteering is not effective in supporting Early Childhood Care and Education in Dharamshala. Short term volunteers are not an effective intervention because they cannot address the most significant barriers faced by local educators, their support is generally unreliable, and their presence can, and often does, perpetrate neocolonial tendencies.