The birth of university affiliated early childhood centres of excellence: investing in children, families and communities

The wellbeing of young children is of national and international concern. Urgent action is therefore required to address issues of children's wellbeing, and failure to do so will have adverse consequences for children today and in generations to come. This paper addresses issues arising from recently published literature in the areas of Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) within the global arena. It covers aspects such as policy implications, various theories and Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model of early childhood development (ECD) as the theoretical basis of the paper, education and inclusion, teachers and parents and, finally, ECD centres of excellence. Universities need to establish ECD centres that can operate as centres of excellence, which can assist neighbouring centres focussing on day-to-day operational and managerial issues; training teachers on the curriculum and pedagogical aspects of ECDE; and conducting research with a view to ensuring cutting-edge ECDE practices