Grandmothers: A Learning Institution - Basic Education and Policy ...

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“Social capital is a community’shuman wealth – the sum total of itsskills, knowledge, and partnerships. Itis a powerful motor for sustainabledevelopment because it harnesseslocal capacity, indigenous knowledgeand self-reliance” (UNESCO 2001, 69in Gould).An initial examination of these policy statementsdoes not reveal explicit reference tothe role and involvement of grandmothers.Rather surprisingly, none of the policystatements of these leading child developmentorganizations directly refers to therole or involvement of either “grandmothers”or “grandparents” in child developmentactions. However, a closer analysis ofthese policy priorities reveals that they doprovide support for the inclusion of grandmothersin child development programming.Table1 below suggests how each ofthe policy statements (left column) do infact support the integration, or inclusion, ofgrandmothers in child development programs(right column).This analysis leads to the conclusion thatthere is a significant discrepancy betweenthe policy statements of key internationalorganizations that support the inclusion ofgrandmothers in child development programsand the virtual absence of thesesenior women in child development programming.Each of the statements in theright column clearly suggests how grandmotherscan be incorporated into communitylevel program activities. Examplesof how various programs and projectshave involved them are presented in thefollowing two chaptersTABLE 1: Policy Support for the Inclusion of Grandmothers in Child Development ProgramsChild Development PolicyPrioritiesImplications for the Inclusion of Grandmothers inChild Development Programs1. Strengthening family systems Grandmothers should be full partners in all efforts tostrengthen family systems.2. Building on cultural roles and Grandmothers’ roles and experience in children’svalues.development should be reflected in materials andactivities.3. Integration of traditional and Grandmothers’ practices should be inventoried, themodern childcare practices. beneficial ones encouraged, and the harmful onesslowly discouraged.4. Building on community resources Grandmothers should be viewed as a positive forceand strengths.for children’s development, while at the same timethey are provided with opportunities to strengthentheir practices.5. Strengthening community support Programs should strengthen natural grandmothermechanisms for children and their leaders and networks as well as their sense offamilies.collective responsibility for children in the community.6. Building social capital for Links between grandmother networks and othersustainable development.community structures should be reinforced.20 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
III. HOW HAVE CHILD DEVELOPMENTPROGRAMS INVOLVED GRANDMOTHERS?“With age comes experience and wisdom. Grandmothers are themain resource persons for all matters related to thewell-being of women and children.”Community Leader,MaliThis chapter aims to answer thequestion,“To what extent do programsthat promote children’sdevelopment view grandmothers as aresource, involve them in community programs,and capitalize on their experienceand commitment?” Here, programs thathave explicitly involved grandmothers,referred to as grandmother-inclusive programs,are reviewed.PROGRAMS INVOLVINGGRANDMOTHERSAn extensive search was carried out, basedon the published literature, on informationabout the programs of numerous developmentagencies involved in children’s development,on the gray literature to whichthe author had access, as well as on informationfrom multiple key informants. Theresults of this review support the conclusionthat at a global level, in the areas ofECD, basic education, maternal and childhealth and nutrition, and HIV/AIDS thereare very few programs that have explicitlyinvolved grandmothers. Alternatively, involvinggrandmothers in development strategiesproduces benefits for all generations.This assertion is illustrated in the briefdescriptions of grandmother-inclusive projects(below), and in the more detaileddescription in Chapter IV of work in Malisupported by Helen Keller International(HKI).The projects identified are presented hereby topical area: early childhood developmentand primary education, newbornhealth, child nutrition, HIV/AIDS, andmaternal and child health. For each ofthese projects/activities a brief descriptionis provided that includes, whenever possible,information on how grandmothershave actually been involved in the childdevelopment activities, whether the grandmothers’role is reflected in educational,communication, and training materials, andthe results of their involvement for children,other family and community members,and for themselves. Given that thedocumentation on the identified experiencesis often limited, it was usually notpossible to collect information on all ofthese parameters.EARLY CHILDHOODDEVELOPMENT ANDPRIMARY EDUCATIONBOLIVIAA nutrition education booklet based ongrandmothers’ advice.GRANDMOTHERS:THE LEARNING INSTITUTION21
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Page 11 and 12: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYSociety itself fai
Page 13 and 14: Education, the Bernard Van LeerFoun
Page 15 and 16: SEVERAL FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO THELI
Page 17: - Who am I? Assign children to askf
Page 20 and 21: in educational activities on home t
Page 22 and 23: “A grandmother’s understandingo
Page 24 and 25: “Culture tells peoplehow to view
Page 26 and 27: attention given to grandmothers’
Page 28 and 29: social work, including family syste
Page 30 and 31: mation from Azerbaijan (McNulty 200
Page 32 and 33: “The status of eldersin tradition
Page 34 and 35: “As women, thegrandmothers haveli
Page 36 and 37: members often consult the moreexper
Page 40 and 41: In a collaborative effort between
Page 42 and 43: in-laws and the additional free tim
Page 44 and 45: "Involving grandmothersin community
Page 50 and 51: CULTURALLY-ADAPTED EDUCATIONMATERIA
Page 52 and 53: strated the power of participatory
Page 54 and 55: effects of the new ideas, their con
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Page 59 and 60: Many health and development workers
Page 61 and 62: VI. RECOMMENDATIONS FORBASIC EDUCAT
Page 63 and 64: parents themselves did not go to sc
Page 65 and 66: community ties by increasing teache
Page 67 and 68: of millions. On the other hand, som
Page 69: teachers, teacher abuse of children
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Page 75 and 76: acceptable for younger women to mak
Page 77 and 78: showed that men are not directly in
Page 79 and 80: ecause they had more time to devote
Page 81 and 82: matrilineal or patrilineal areas
Page 83 and 84: diet, work, fetal development, sexu
Page 85 and 86: in the family and social networks.
Page 87 and 88: elated, for example, to early child
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REFERENCESAdams, A. M., S. Madhavan
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BASICS and LINKAGES. 1998. Influenc
Page 93 and 94:
Childhood Education and Development
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Krishna, A. and N. Uphoff. June 199
Page 97 and 98:
Sear, R., R. Mace, and I. A. McGreg
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ABOUT THE AUTHORThis review was pre
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