North American Ed - The ecology of childhood

2.5 Cultural context

Culture includes our values, our beliefs and our ways of living. Earlier in this module, the works of theorists and researchers such as Bronfenbrenner, Vygotsky and Rogoff were considered. Each highlights different perspectives about culture – but all emphasize its importance in the lives of children and families.

The Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development provides a comprehensive discussion of the topic of culture, specifically how child development and culture are connected. Read the synthesis for a concise overview.

It is clear that there are a multitude of ways of studying the influence of culture – and a multitude of research studies that shed light on this fascinating subject. Dr. Kang Lee, research chair at the Institute of Child Study at the University of Toronto, studies babies’ early preferences for familiar faces. In the next two videos, he describes how the research is done and how babies’ preferences are influenced by early experience, specifically parenting.

When conducting research and interpreting results to design policies and programs, it is important to be cognizant of the cultural context. For instance, Dr. Alan Pence, the UNESCO chair for Early Childhood Education, Care and Development at the University of Victoria, points out that while 90% of the world’s children live in low- and middle-income countries (the majority world) only 10% of the research about children is conducted in those regions. He is concerned about the dominance of Euro-Western views.

Canada’s communities are changing. Statistics Canada provides highlights about the ethnic and cultural origins of Canadians, in the most recent census in 2021.

Developing appropriate programs for a community requires a full awareness of existing local culture, values, initiatives and strategies. Alan Pence is a strong proponent of ensuring that community members are intimately involved in designing, developing and implementing programs that will influence their children.

Remember, reconciliation is yours to achieve. We owe it to each other to build a Canada based on our shared future, a future of healing and trust” (The Honourable Murray Sinclair, CC, Mazina Giizhik-iban, 2015).

Indigenous community members were not consulted in the formation of Residential Schools, a devastating piece of Canadian history. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was created to document the truth of survivors of residential schools to inform all Canadians. You can read more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada at the link below.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada carried out extensive research about Residential Schools. Through this research, truths were heard from survivors, their families, members of their communities, former staff of residential schools, and others. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation was created to keep these records safe. You can view the NCTR website and these truths at the links below.

Warning: the content on the site below is emotionally challenging and may be triggering for some. Please do not review this content if that is true for you and reach out to your health provider, friends and/or family for support as needed.

From these truths, Calls to Action were written. Calls to Action are policy and practice recommendations made to advance Reconciliation. You can read these Calls to Action at the following link.

In Canada, it is important to consider the cultural context of the Indigenous population. The Aboriginal Children’s Survey was conducted one time only, on a sample of individuals who reported Aboriginal ancestry in Canada’s 2006 Census. The following article reports on the type of child care arrangements used, rates of use, as well as family and social factors for children aged two to five. The study authors report that the study, “demonstrates that traditional and cultural values and customs and Aboriginal language within the child care environment can have positive influences on young First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children’s outcomes” (Findlay & Kohen, 2010, para 28).

Dr. Jessica Ball is a Canadian researcher who has collaborated with Indigenous communities across Canada. In the following article Ball points out the importance of paying attention to cultural context and working with communities to identify appropriate measures and approaches.

Aboriginal Head Start is a large-scale Canadian initiative designed to provide early childhood education and family support to First Nations, Metis and Inuit children and their families. Aboriginal Head Start began in 1995 with a focus on Aboriginal families living off-reserve in cities and large northern communities. In 1998, Aboriginal Head Start was extended to First Nations communities. Indigenous culture and language is one of the six components of the program. Parental involvement is another (Government of Canada, 1998).

Over 350 First Nations Head Start programs operate On-Reserve and 134 Aboriginal Head Start programs operate in urban and northern communities.

An evaluation of AHS programs in urban and northern communities (off-reserve) from 2011-12 to 2015-2016 found four main explanations for the need for AHS programs:

• Indigenous people in Canada are increasingly living off-reserve;
• the programs offer protection against poor socioeconomic conditions;
• the early years are important for future success in education; and
• programs that are culturally appropriate and holistic are better at meeting the needs of Indigenous children  (Health Canada and Public Health Agency of Canada, 2016, p. iii-iv).