Does the village still raise the child? A collaborative study of changing child-rearing and community mobilization in Kenya.

This paper documents the impact of rapid social and economic change on child rearing, early education, and community mobilization in Kenya. The study employed a collaborative, micro-ethnographic design, which draws heavily from interview data and repeated observations in eight districts of Kenya. Data came from 462 parents, grandparents, children (older siblings, ages 8-12 years), preschool teachers, community leaders, and professionals working with children and families in communities representative of four types of settings. These settings include the following: 1) traditional/pastoralist; 2) rural/varying agricultural productivity; 3) plantation/tea and coffee estates; and 4) urban/high population density. Results showed that the most common theme concerning socioeconomic changes and associated problems affecting families was the issue of increasing poverty and an array of related problems, including cost of living and increasing cost of children's education. In addition, changes in family roles and structures, including transition from communal, extended family to nuclear family situations were noted. This problem was specifically acute in plantation and urban slum settings. Moreover, land tenure issues and nature of parent involvement had an impact on family and economic issues related to child rearing. Implications for early childhood policy and program planning and for authentic collaboration in cross- national research are discussed.