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The Republic of South Africa has made notable investments in the early childhood development (ECD) sector over the past two decades to promote a comprehensive multisectoral approach that promotes nutrition, learning, development, and well-being for all young children and their families.1 ECD in South Africa officially spans children birth through age 6.2 Families play a central role in ensuring young children receive the care, safety, and stimulation necessary for healthy development.3 Yet there has been insufficient attention to the role of families in their children’s learning and development in the ECD sector. In national policies and frameworks, families are positioned as critical actors, but there is little clarity or formalization of roles for parents/caregivers in the centers providing ECD.4
Strong family, school, and community partnerships are crucial for ensuring access to high-quality ECD. This policy report presents key findings on how families are positioned in South Africa’s key ECD frameworks and provides recommendations on promoting more intentional and meaningful roles for families and to ensure mutual responsibility in early learning and development. This report focuses on education for children ages 3 to 5 in ECD centers, but the findings and recommendations can be applied to younger children. The primary audiences for this policy report are leaders in the Department of Basic Education as well as ECD providers.5
Findings are based on policy analyses of seven key national education frameworks and highlight the different roles and responsibilities ascribed to families in supporting their children’s early learning and development. Additionally, findings reflect the mixed-methods research conducted in the Western Cape district led by Mikhulu Child Development Trust (“Mikhulu”), a civil society organization working in the ECD sector in collaboration with the Center for Universal Education (CUE). This research used the Conversation Starter Tools approach, a participatory community-driven methodology, which includes surveys and focus group discussions with families and educators and identifies concrete barriers and opportunities for parental/caregiver engagement in ECD centers.
This report begins with introductions to the ECD sector and family engagement in South Africa, followed by a description of the research design. Finally, three key findings and recommendations, as outlined in the table below, are presented with strategies and tools for how to promote family partnerships in ECD centers.
Authors
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Acknowledgements and disclosures
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Footnotes
- Department of Social Development, National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy 2015 (Republic of South Africa [RSA], 2012). 2
- Department of Social Development, RSA, 2012; World Health Organization, UNICEF, and World Bank, Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development: A Framework for Helping Children Survive and Thrive to Transform Health and Human Potential (World Health Organization, 2018).
- Maureen M. Black et al., “Early Childhood Development Coming of Age: Science through the Life Course,” The Lancet 389, no. 10064 (2017): 77–90, http://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31389-7.
- DBE, South Africa’s 2030 Strategy for Early Childhood Development Programs (RSA, 2023); Department of Social Development, 2012.
- DBE, Keynote address by Hon. Ms Siviwe Gwarube, MP Minister of Basic Education, South Africa G20 ECCE Seminar (RSA, 2025a).
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