How neocolonialism and globalization affect the early childhood workforce in Nepal and Kenya

Abstract

Research shows that modern forms of colonization are vested with globalizing discourses which include early childhood education, gender, and curriculum policies and practices that are Euro-western based. In this collaborative qualitative study, four ethnographic researchers—two who conduct research in Nepal and two who conduct research in Kenya—explored the influence of globalization and neocolonialism on the work lives of early childhood teachers. Data was drawn from three long-term, in-depth ethnographic projects over a period of 6 to 13 years. The methods of data collection consisted of participant observation, field notes, class observations, individual interviews, and focus groups. This article reports on the findings from focus groups and uses a constant comparative method to analyze the data. Three common themes emerged from the analysis of the two data sets: Euro-western dominance; gendered positioning; and teacher resilience. The teachers used Euro-western language (i.e. English) as a key indicator of quality. The findings revealed that early childhood teachers experienced pressure from parents to conform to Euro-western standards, especially the use of English, thus alienating local languages. Teaching young children continued to be positioned as “women’s work,” resulting in low pay for early childhood education teachers and a lack of professionalism within the field. Although the themes of Euro-western standards and gendered discourses were frequent within the data, the theme of resilience was also found. The teachers displayed perseverance by using various coping mechanisms to counter the lack of resources and deprecated status of early childhood education as women’s work.

Introduction

Globalization is defined in multiple ways for various audiences. In this article, however, we define globalization as a socially constructed, fluid, and shifting phenomenon that has become an “ever wider, deeper, and increasingly rapid linking between states and societies” (Fink-Hafner and Dagen, 2017: 572). Moreover, globalization is viewed as the “expanding of processes and movements across territories, just as de-globalization implies the opposite” (Coatsworth et al., 2015, quoted in Fink-Hafner and Dagen, 2017: 572). Kambutu (2013: 5) further stipulates that an educational definition of globalization is salient because “a uniform ‘global’ curriculum has emerged. Thus, Grant and Grant (2000, cited in Kambutu, 2013: 5) were concered about the “rise of monolithic global epistemologies that mimic Western cultures.” “Under globalization, western canons [and] American ideologies and learning structures specifically are popularized by neoliberal policies as the norm, inherently superior, and therefore, worth of pursuing globally” (Kambutu, 2013: 5). While a global perspective may be used to signify an increasing trend towards universal competencies and world views of early childhood education (ECE) services, we argue that a critical examination of this global perspective is needed to problematize and deconstruct the tensions that occur between local-to-global and global-to-local discourses and power structures (Gupta, 2018).

One of the central tensions of a global perspective concerns the effects of neocolonialism in majority-world educational communities. A neocolonial curriculum is likely to promote Euro-western or western colonial ideologies (Nganga and Kambutu, 2019). Thus, “education within this environment adopt[s] the explicit and implicit biases of neoliberalism and reproduce[s] power structures that reduce all human values to economic value and reward competition over cooperation” (McGregor and Park, 2019: 333). Gyamera and Burke (2018) suggest that the impact of neo-liberalism on education propagates neocolonialism through “hegemonic and common sense discourse that propagates a standpoint based on the white/Western/European/Anglo-American understanding” (quoted in McGregor and Park, 2019: 333). Thus, we take the position that ideas about what constitutes childhood and how young children are cared for and educated should be shared between and within countries, as well as with powerful donor or aid agencies. Doing so in this article will make visible both local and global voices within Kenya and Nepal (Georgeson et al., 2013).

Gupta (2015: 265) posits that “instead of the imperialistic colonization of the past, technologically advanced nations have now established economic and commercial colonies.” The term “neocolonialism” “suggests the exclusion of values originating from societies that may be deemed ‘uncivilized,’” (Emenike and Plowright, 2017: 5) referring to its archaic uses and its residual undertones from a colonial and directly racist past. These undertones still resonate today, naturalizing the exploitative relationship between the West and the neocolonized (Kayani, 2015, quoted in Emenike and Plowright, 2017: 5). Such perspectives assume that western educational ideals are the “best” and “more advanced” ways of teaching young children. These values and practices are often positioned as “superior” to indigenous communities (Nganga and Kambutu, 2019). As such, this study analyzes how neocolonialism influences the lives of traditionally marginalized groups of people and educational contexts (i.e. ECE teachers in Kenya and Nepal) through a world view that is grounded in the language and lifestyles of Euro-western countries.

Because of past oppression in Nepal and colonization in Kenya, it is imperative for these nations to determine what to borrow from global discourses and what to leave out in regard to local specificities and indigenous contexts (Madrid Akpovo et al., 2018). ¹ A global perspective and neocolonial framework make a significant link between markers of global quality, while also critiquing how global perspectives overlook and/or ignore the local context and indigenized practices of the ECE workforce. Therefore, in this collaborative study, we asked: “How do globalization and neocolonialism impact the ECE workforce in Nepal and Kenya?”

ECE in Nepal

Nepal is ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world. Although Nepal was never formally colonized, intellectual colonization is prevalent, and the concept of ECE in Nepal has a “Western orientation” (Khanal et al., 2017). Early childhood education and care in Nepal was established with the first Montessori school in 1949 as part of a government-operated laboratory school (Shrestha, 2006). The current curriculum guidebook, developed by the Ministry of Education and Sports (2009: 2), states that the main objective of the ECE curriculum (for children aged three to five) is “to prepare all children to go to primary schools.” Khanal et al. (2017: 138) warn that Nepal’s focus on a “modernized version” of ECE (mostly grounded in the Montessori method) has “downplayed and marginalized the minorities’ perspectives, culture, and languages.” This is particularly salient for rural and low-income families and children who cannot afford fee-based private schools. Government schools are notorious for poorly built school structures, unclean food and water, direct-rote instruction, insufficient teacher–student ratios, an untrained workforce, and the use of physical punishment by teachers (Bhatta, 2014). Moreover, to become an ECE teacher in a government school, only a short three-week training course is required, along with a 10th-grade level of education. Formal teacher training or college coursework is not required to teach in fee-based private schools or non-governmental organization or non-profit centers because the government does not monitor or regulate the private sector.

As noted above, Nepal’s education system does not replicate common teacher preparation programs in other countries; policies are determined via a top-down system that does not include the voices of administrators, teachers, parents, or children. Bhatta adds that:

important decisions regarding Nepal’s educational development are taken at the bi-annual joint government–donor review missions, and serious policy dialogue has been limited to that between the aid agencies and high-level MOE [Ministry of Education] officials. This has often occurred at the cost of dialogue with, and participation of, political parties, district education officials, teachers, parents and students, thereby leading to a narrowing down of avenues for broader participation. These stakeholders are merely “informed” of such policies. (Bhatta, 2014: 22)

Even more problematic is the absence of formal training. The “School Sector Reform Plan,” formulated in 2009 by the Nepal Ministry of Education, does not indicate prerequisites for ECE teachers, but mentions that prioritization of “teacher preparation and development” through raising the “minimum qualifications of teachers” is in the pipeline (Ministry of Education, 2009: 37). Nepali universities do not have ECE teacher preparation programs or a university degree in ECE. Thus, ECE teachers currently receive a 90-hour training course provided by the government in collaboration with the Embassy of Israel.

In contrast to government ECE centers, teachers in fee-based private schools come from higher caste groups, and therefore typically have completed high school and/or have some college experience. This contributes to the disparity in access to ECE between urban and rural regions (UNESCO, 2015). Moreover, these fee-paying schools reproduce a Euro-western discourse of ECE, which fosters an intellectual colonization and privileging of western values, practices, and language. Bhandari (2017: 134) posits that: “in a globalized age, many parents see that English is very important and, thus, want their child to learn English from an early age.” As such, ECE perpetuates the division between high-income and low-income families and children, which further perpetuates caste-based discrimination. Lastly, these fee-based private schools are shifting from contextually based and indigenized practices to Euro-western play-based, English-language schools.

ECE in Kenya

Kenya, a former British colony, gained independence in 1963 (Nganga and Kambutu, 2019). During the 1940s, the colonial government introduced formal early childhood programs and preschools to take care of children while their parents worked as laborers in the plantations (Swadener et al., 2000; Nganga, 2009). Formal childcare was also introduced in the big cities to serve families working for the colonial government. Today, the distribution of early childhood centers (preschools for children aged four to five) and teacher allocation are determined by many factors, including socio-economic status. Although Kenya has seen a decline in poverty levels since gaining independence, many Kenyans still live below the poverty line (Unterhalter et al., 2012). The gap between the poor and the rich in urban and rural communities has been increasing, which makes access to quality ECE an elusive outcome for many rural communities (Nganga, 2009). Nonetheless, it is also critical to note that the Kenyan government has tried to promote education for all.

In January 2003, the Kenyan government abolished all fees in public primary schools. While the government was lauded internationally for eliminating fees, reports of a strained public school system struggling to absorb new students without additional teachers or classrooms began to surface in the popular press shortly after the start of the program (Lucas and Mbiti, 2012). This policy led to overcrowding, since those who initially could not afford to pay school fees were now able to have their children enrolled. A ripple effect in the classroom, due to the inability of the teaching workforce to take care of the large numbers, led to a decline in the quality of education in public schools and to self-sorting by socio-economic status. Teachers who did not want to teach in overcrowded classrooms moved to private schools, which became very popular (Tessa et al., 2010). Teachers in early childhood settings were also affected due to the rising number of children registering in preschools, and inadequate teaching and learning resources to enable teachers to implement an ECE curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2006). The other challenges that face the early childhood workforce in Kenya include low remuneration, high numbers of children in classrooms, and high teacher–child ratios (Arden Early Childhood Consultancy Services, 2014). Lastly, the majority of research on ECE in Nepal and Kenya has been conducted by non-governmental organizations or government entities. It has only been within the last decade that independent research scholars have been conducting research with Nepali and Kenyan ECE teachers.

Methodology

The larger long-term, in-depth ethnographic research projects of the first three authors inform this article. These studies contained a large corpus of qualitative data collected over a span of 6 to 13 years. Data collection for these larger projects consisted of individual interviews, focus groups, classroom observations, videotaping of daily routines, and field notes. The common thread among the three projects was the goal to uncover the lived experience of the ECE teachers in each setting. Long-term engagement and established relationships with the participants at the research sites situated and legitimated the collaborative design and indigenous knowledge systems that were studied (Tobin and Hayashi, 2017).

While the data collection methods were similar, as consistent with indigenous and collaborative methodologies (Lassiter, 2005), the participants determined the focus and scope of their responses during the semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The nuances of the interviews and questions for the focus groups (see Appendices 1 and 2) varied to mirror local contextual issues and illustrate the cultural groups’ ways of perceiving reality and ways of knowing, and the value systems that informed the research. Rather than viewing data collection methods as linear, static, and universal, then, we viewed the methods as emergent, relational, and culturally situated. Therefore, while there are limitations related to a lack of standardized procedures and participants at each site, the ethics and trustworthiness of gathering data in situ outweighs such limitations. Redmond suggests that:

in as much as we recognize the cultural specificity of childhood, so too must we acknowledge that research methodologies are a product of, and embedded within, particular national/cultural contexts . . . and analysing data, culture, ethics and research methodology are closely interconnected and cannot easily be separated into discrete universally understood categories. (Redmond, 2003: 15)

This article came about as the researchers compared and contrasted experiences with ECE in the two contexts, noting the similarities in the data sets, even though the two countries are in very different parts of the globe. This led them to conduct a systematic comparative analysis of the data sets to uncover how globalization is affecting majority-world communities at the local level. In order to answer the question “How do globalization and neocolonialism impact the ECE workforce in Nepal and Kenya?” the authors drew on data from their three long-term ethnographic projects. Lassiter’s (2005) collaborative ethnographic framework was employed in this data analysis, as in the larger long-term research projects.

Corpus of data and role of researchers

All of the researchers teach at predominantly white universities in the USA with limited diversity or exposure to global perspectives. The Nepal team consists of two researchers who conduct ethnographic projects in the urban area of Kathmandu. One of the researchers is a white female who has been conducting research related to intercultural competence with US student teachers during internships in Nepal for the past eight years. The other is originally from Nepal but now teaches at a four-year US university and conducts research on cultural appropriateness in teacher education. Both researchers facilitated the interviews and focus groups with the Nepali teachers. The two members of the Kenya research team are native Kenyans. One now resides and teaches in a four-year institution in the USA. Her research is based on the development of global-mindedness and intercultural competence in pre-service teachers from predominantly white universities. She served as the lead researcher and conducted all of the interviews and focus groups. The second researcher is an early childhood teacher in Kenya who works with preschool children through 3rd grade.

Participants and school contexts

The first project was conducted at a for-profit private ECE school in Kathmandu for Nepali children aged two to five. The children and families who attended this facility belonged to the privileged upper-middle class, had mixed upper-caste and ethnic backgrounds, and followed Hindu and Buddhist practices. Many of the children and families belonged to the indigenous ethnic group of Kathmandu, the Newars, and a few belonged to remnant Rana families (royalty). Several of the children and families belonged to the Brahmin and Kshatriya or Chhettri (high caste), while a handful came from other diverse ethnic groups and castes, such as Sherpas and Tamangs (mountain people), and Thakalis from Mustang (a district in northern Nepal). Similarly, two of the five female teachers who participated in the study belonged to the Thakali ethnic group, while the other three were Chhettris and Tamangs. All of the teachers held at least a Bachelor’s degree and had from 3 to 16 years of teaching experience.

The second study included nine female teachers—four from a non-profit school and five from a for-profit school in Kathmandu. The teachers from the non-profit schools came from the middle-class income bracket and were predominantly Newars or indigenous people of the Kathmandu Valley. Two of the teachers from the for-profit schools had an upper-middle-class socio-economic background and belonged to the Thakali ethnic group, while the other three were Chhettris and Tamangs. The teachers followed Hindu and Buddhist practices.

The third study was conducted in Kenya (in the Muranga and Kiambu counties) with a total of four participants from two urban and two rural schools. The teachers at all of the Kenyan sites were interviewed and observed during frequent visits over the course of six months in 2017 and 2018. The teachers were all female and ranged in age from 30 to 50 with 10 to 20 years of teaching experience. One of the teachers had also previously worked with children in 1st through 3rd grade.

Data analysis

In order to analyze the data, we used the constant comparative method, examining each piece of interview and focus-group data with codes and notes from the two settings, which focused on the impact of globalization and neocolonialism on the daily lives of the teachers (Saldaña, 2016). The analysis reflects the shared interpretations that we gained about early childhood teachers in Nepal and Kenya. Triangulation among the multiple sources of data was used to ensure the cultural relevance and accuracy of the interpretations (Creswell, 2006). Our comparisons uncovered three common themes from the interviews and focus groups: Euro-western dominance; gendered positioning; and teacher resilience.

Findings and interpretations

It should be noted that the order of presentation of the themes does not reflect that one theme was discussed more or less within the data set. All of the themes appeared throughout the data, and we did not find a predominance of one theme over another. “Euro-western dominance” (Gupta, 2018) was defined as instances when the teachers spoke of educational values and practices that were not locally created and/or grounded in indigenous notions of teaching, learning, and caring for young children—they discussed how their practices were guided and influenced by Euro-western notions. “Gendered positioning” (Josephidou and Bolshaw, 2020) was defined as instances when the teachers discussed how gender was related to the early childhood workforce and/or women were regarded within the ECE profession. “Teacher resilience” has been defined as the capacity to positively negotiate adverse situations, manage the stressors of the profession, and provide high quality teaching” (Beltman et al., 2016: 173).

Euro-western dominance

Euro-western dominance was evident as the teachers displayed a sense of pride when discussing how they used practices that were based on neocolonial or Euro-western discourses:

Like America is one of the richest country, and then like the country is doing so much for the children and for the students and for education. So, I feel like “Oh,” like, “We’re also not less.” Yeah, yeah—not less . . . That’s what I feel, and then I feel very nice, and I feel very proud. Like, “Oh, we also do the same thing in so many ways.” (Nepali teacher)

The choice to compare oneself to a school from a “rich country” perpetuates a discourse of western dominance. Sharma (2018: 112) warns that “the concept of globalization is more political than what is highlighted by Europeans and Americans after the end of direct colonization. Powerful nations are indirectly colonizing developing countries in the name of education, curriculum, and teaching methods.” The teacher above evinced such indirect colonization in her belief that quality education should enact and replicate activities and practices that aligned with best US practices. Her statement was reflective of many of the Nepali and Kenyan teachers in the study; Euro-western play-based pedagogies were often cited to create a discourse about the “quality” of their school context.

Not only did the teachers praise western practices and curricula; they also supported the use of English as the primary language of instruction. Using English in their classroom was a tool to recruit families into ECE programs by suggesting that their children could be competitive in a global society. In both Kenya and Nepal, learning in English and speaking English are seen as valuable not only by families and the government, but also by the teachers who participated in the research:

I am really happy about the progress of my child. He is four and a half years old and is speaking English very well. Mmmm, you know, like a msungu [“white person”] [laughs]. Children need to speak good English to pass exams. (Kenyan teacher, speaking about her own child)

So, anyone—who does English—no one does this here. But it would be good to teach only in English as it would make their English better. (Nepali teacher)

The education systems in Kenya and Nepal are dominated by the colonial language. English is seen as the language of success. Learning in English and speaking English were seen as valuable assets to their teaching and programs, and speaking English as an implied advantage for children. While Nepal was never colonized, intellectual colonization has occurred due to globalization, especially during the Rana regime, as Euro-western ideologies were perpetuated by the government. The curricula in Nepali fee-based, for-profit urban private preschools are based on Euro-western practices—a further indication of the influence of neocolonialism. While more local or indigenous child-rearing practices remain in rural areas and within certain castes, scholars (Kambutu et al., 2020) note that teaching in English is also favored by the government, leading to the marginalization of local languages. In Kenya, English has been adopted as the language that children use for examinations. Parents therefore put pressure on teachers to use an academic curriculum that promotes English.

Gendered positioning

The teachers in Kenya and Nepal also seemed to have stereotypical notions about gender roles for ECE teachers:

Best approaches in good practice comes from mothers’ groups. Men do not function very well with day-to-day support for children. Women have this quality. Men are less proficient because of the stereotyping. (Nepali teacher)

Facilitators are supposed to be women . . . our guideline has female facilitator because female is developing the guideline and female care very well to the children. (Nepali teacher) ²

The excerpts above support long-standing and stable discourses about the roles of men and women in Nepali society, where gender is viewed as binary and not as a “fluid” construct, as in minority-world countries. Dhungana (2015) says of Nepal that: “In the current context, we have a male-dominated society. The household head is always a man because that is what the law says. Therefore, women have to seek their rights from men.” Bhomi (2015: 4) further points out that, in many Nepali communities, “boys receive preference from their family—they are given more freedom,” while girls are expected to engage in household chores. In addition, female children are currently sacralized in the name of religion (Bhatta, 2014; Dubin, 2004).

Gendered roles in education not only apply to ECE, but also to primary schools. In primary schools, there is a shortage of female teachers because primary education holds a higher status than ECE and is seen as men’s work. Gurung explains why this is the case:

Despite calls for equality world-wide, and despite Nepal’s multiparty democracy, women remain marginalized in education. In our Nepalese context, education is thought more important for men than for women as men play the role of a breadwinner and women are engaged in household work within the boundaries of their house. (Gurung, 2018: 9)

The notion that males should be primary school teachers further supports the division of ECE as women’s work. The Nepali government attempted to address this issue by stating that there should be one female teacher in each primary school (Gurung, 2018), but has not enforced a policy about male teachers in ECE centers. As such, women continue to be the primary caregivers of young children and dominate the ECE workforce in Nepal—as seen in the case of the facilitator above—and the implicit cultural script that guides who teaches young children from birth to age five remains unchallenged.

The Kenyan participants, who were also all female teachers, noted the gendered positioning of ECE:

Men do not want to be in this kind of work. There is a negative attitude toward the profession. In our communities, there is still the feeling that women are the ones to take care of young children. You know, just like many still feel the woman’s place is in the kitchen and not a regular job, men see this job as a lady’s job. At the national level, our title is caregivers. The Teacher Service Commission states that counties cannot hire teachers. (Kenyan teacher)

Historically, Kenya is a patriarchal society. Kenyan males, as well as females, continue to view ECE as a profession reserved for women. Decisions that affect early childhood teachers are often constructed and determined by “male-dominated policy-level leadership” (Omwami, 2011: 21). The female teachers in this study expressed that the traditional social structure stratifies relations based on sex, and women are seen as the “natural” caregivers of young children. These traditional beliefs also appear to play out in policy discourses that give those working in ECE the title of “caregivers,” not “teachers.”

Further evidence of gender positioning appeared related to the patriarchal hierarchy that exists in Kenya. For example, during colonial rule, educational opportunities for women were also oriented towards complementing their gender-defined roles as caregivers (Omwami, 2011). This attitude still pervades Kenyan culture, and ECE is seen as a woman’s job:

The workforce has very few men. In a meeting we had recently, out of about 150 participants, there were only two males. When I was in college, in a class of 32, we had only two men. The two men were actually not there because they wanted to work with children in early care (it was a bridge to another career). (Kenyan teacher)

Another factor that is likely to impact the early childhood workforce in Kenya is the gender disparities in higher education. Many women do not get the opportunity to continue education at the university level, and have to seek work opportunities that do not require a university degree in the Kenyan context (Onsongo, 2009).

The female teachers in this study did not refute or discard the assumption that females are “natural caregivers,” but rather used this assumption to explain why ECE is a female-dominated profession and why people have a negative attitude towards ECE teachers. Some showed a critical consciousness as to why there are fewer males. For example, one Kenyan participant noted that she felt that males could do equally well, giving the example of her husband, who provides childcare to their two children when he is on leave:

Men can do well in educating young children, even at the preschool level. [My husband] takes care of our children when he is on leave and when I am at work, and does activities with them. But I feel that men do not want to be seen working with young children because they have not seen examples in the community. (Kenyan teacher)

With regard to both themes (gender positioning and Euro-western dominance), the teachers did not counter these global discourses at the local level; instead, these discourses informed their practices, beliefs, and values (Gupta, 2018). The struggle for women’s rights is not outdated, yet “troubling” gender is not necessarily the way forward for these female Kenyan teachers. Notions of non-binary gender and “troubling gender” are Eurocentric and are not woven into the fabric of this culture. Kenyan women will need to resolve and come to their own understanding of gender rights, which might not follow the Eurocentric path established by minority-world countries.

Resilience: persistence in the face of challenges

As noted above, in Nepal and Kenya, ECE is characterized as a female career that does not require much training or education; it simply requires that one is female. The consequences of this institutionalized discrimination of female ECE teachers include low pay, unfair hiring practices, a lack of resources, and underqualified teachers (Gale and Bolzan, 2012). However, each time one of the teachers discussed a stressor, she followed with a narrative or comment that countered or justified the struggle, and her reasons for remaining in ECE:

Being in early childhood, teaching preschool especially, is a calling. I tell my fellow workers that even though we are paid low and sometimes our needs are not met, I always get a good feeling when I help children. So, again, my faith really helps, as I see it as working for my God. (Kenyan teacher)

This type of reframing was found repeatedly within the data and is not an uncommon finding within the ECE field (Sahin and Sak, 2015). In fact, this is also part of the implicit global and neocolonial discourse of ECE work as a “sacrifice” and “service” for young children; it is a justification for staying in the field, despite the low pay and status of the ECE workforce. Resilience, then, is both a mechanism of neo-liberal control and a way for ECE teachers to construct a palatable narrative about the importance of their work. For example, teachers across international contexts often state that they remain in the ECE workforce out of their “love” for children, and this discourse offers teachers a reason to persist in the field of ECE. This same strategy for building resilience was also found in the Nepali teachers’ data:

We keep believing them to try so they learn something. When we look in their eyes with pride—the child also feels that, no? The child feels that “OK, I am capable of doing those things.” And then to see the child feel so nice—we feel nice too. (Nepali teacher)

One stressor that appeared throughout the data was the unfairness of hiring practices, including low pay. The teachers often mentioned struggles between policies at the national level and their work at the local level. In the Kenyan context, the government has a policy that every child has the right to free and compulsory ECE. While this policy benefits children, teachers at the preschool level are not guaranteed pay. Thus, the participants noted that issues of socio-economic status, insufficient government funds, and late salaries are a hindrance to quality care. The constraints were heightened when the teachers were hired on a contract basis and could lose their job at any time. In order to cope with this situation, the teachers discussed how they just “keep quiet and not complain,” but also noted the need to unionize:

To make sure our voice is heard, people in early childhood are trying to unionize. This will help us get a voice. If you speak as an individual, you do not go far. You might even get fired, so you have to be careful not to complain. I am just happy to have a job . . . Tumezoea [We are used to the politics]. (Kenyan teacher)

The teacher in this excerpt demonstrates consciousness of the precariousness of her position, as well as agency and resilience by discussing ways to have her voice heard.

While the Nepali teachers also frequently discussed how little the Nepali government does for community and government ECE centers, in order to counter this stress, a Nepali teacher suggested that each person should examine themselves, rather than simply complaining and blaming the government:

Well, then maybe we shouldn’t complain. We are blessed in some way or the other. Look at what we can do. Instead of saying “What do you do? What do you do?” [referring to the government]—“What are we doing?” That was a question, I thought, “What are we doing?” then, because we’re all busy blaming the government—everyone—but I think everybody should—and then I also feel that we all have to be responsible, and then that is what we should pass on to the children also. Instead of saying “Who did it?”—let’s do it. (Nepali teacher)

The early childhood teachers in Kenya and Nepal attributed their resilience to intrinsic rewards derived from “serving” children and collaboration with community members. The teachers particularly noted that being persistent and taking responsibility for local ECE issues was important. In Kenya, being a collaborative voice was of great importance in coping with low pay.

Drawing on discourses of service appeared to have also motivated several of the teachers in the Nepal research, who had entered the ECE workforce when they had children (despite having advanced college degrees). The change in career indicated that their primary duty was towards their husband and family. ECE jobs were taken because they would fulfill the duties of “the wife,” as well as provide opportunities to be close to their child:

So, I had my baby boy, and then I was—I didn’t work for—I took a break, and when he was about to turn two, I actually came here to enroll my son. It’s kind of a very interesting twist how I ended up here, because, because I actually belong to a hospitality background. I love hospitality, but then the thing is, it’s so demanding. (Nepali teacher)

Another Nepali teacher had a Master’s degree in business, and had studied and worked in Australia. When she married and returned to Nepal, she took a job as an ECE teacher to be with her son. Her son attended the same school where she worked. She did not position this shift in her career as a sacrifice. Rather, she told this story with pride because it demonstrated a commitment to her son’s education. These examples illustrate the ways in which the teachers accepted and embraced the gendered “rules for life” that are depicted in Hindu religious texts (Ghimire and Samuels, 2014: 30). These texts “prescribe that women should remain under three guardians: the father until she is married, the husband after marriage, and the son when she is old” (30). Hinduism and Buddhism are not necessarily religions, and are misunderstood and misinterpreted by western scholars; they are “a way of life” (Narayanan, 2004: 13). Hindu and Buddhist women, by explicit choice, are invested in “Dharma” or righteousness and the duty to support and sustain their respective families by following the traditions, rituals, and customs depicted in the ancient texts. While these choices might appear to be the result of oppressive practices from a global perspective of women’s rights, in the local Hindu and Buddhist contexts of Nepal, they demonstrate a form of agency. Choosing to be an ECE teacher in order to remain close to their own children was highly valued and positioned as a way of being resilient in the face of other challenges.

Concluding remarks

The findings of our studies in Nepal and Kenya revealed that discourses of globalization and neocolonialization shape the work of ECE teachers, alongside the historical and social backgrounds of the two nations. Although Kenya still has some remnants of the colonial impact, Nepal was not physically colonized, but intellectual colonization persists as a result of globalization and the privileging of Euro-western norms and practices in educational settings. Our findings revealed that ECE teachers in Kenya seemed to favor a Euro-western ideology in which the language of the colonizer (i.e. English) was seen as “more successful,” to the extent, in some cases, of undermining instruction in local languages. Similar arguments of global politics in the educational workforce are evident in Nepal, as noted by Turin (2005), who argues that using English in developing countries, and thereby eradicating indigenous languages, is a form of “internal colonization.”

The ECE teachers in this study seemed to accept rather than challenge the stereotypes about Euro-western pedagogies and the role of women in the ECE workforce. Our results suggest that the ECE workforce continues to be a gendered career in both contexts. In Nepal, the influence of the Hindu family system—where women are the only caregivers of young children (Sharma, 2018)—was found within the data from our female teachers. It appears that female teachers continue to support and perpetuate this discourse by believing that women, rather than men, should be ECE teachers. In Kenya, remnants of the colonial past and the patriarchal social system relegated women to nurturing roles as paid “caregivers,” despite recognition of the value of universal education. The complexity of the gender discourses in these two ECE workforces is highlighted in this article, as female teachers want equality and the profession to be respected, but seem unwilling to challenge the historical and societal expectations that only women should be early childhood teachers.

The ECE workers in both contexts were committed to the practice of teaching young children and believed it was valuable, but also felt undervalued by other members of their society. Nevertheless, the data illustrated that the teachers in this research were able to persist and demonstrate resilience in challenging work environments. In particular, the Nepali and Kenyan teachers wanted their voices to be heard at the local level, but as there were few avenues for their voices to be heard by policymakers, there was a seemingly permanent disconnect. The teachers in both countries acknowledged these limitations and looked for ways to demonstrate agency and/or legitimacy in their roles as ECE teachers. For some, this meant finding pride and satisfaction in their service to their community or family through their work, even when their own aspirations or needs were not met.

The findings from these studies illustrate that changes regarding the early childhood workforce should be grounded in local solutions to develop a multidirectional and synergetic relationship among government and non-government agencies, families, community members, and teachers. When considering these relationships, future directions should first consider the global-to-local complexities, and then expand the role of teachers and community members in influencing how policies are enacted and embedded in the everyday contexts of classroom life. Thus, research is needed in Nepal and Kenya to explore how measures could be taken to move beyond the effects of globalizing and neocolonial discourses on the ECE workforce to how its capacity for resilience and agency can be mobilized for the good of all.