A Postmodernist Approach to Culturally Grounded Training in Early Childhood Care and Development

This article describes a unique approach to involving cultural communities in elaborating curricula for training early childhood educators. This ‘Generative Curriculum Model (GCM) has been demonstrated in partnership programs between the authors and seven Canadian aboriginal communities. Indigenous experiences and culturally-valued knowledge are articulated by tribal Elders and considered alongside mainstream research and theory about child development and care. Ongoing evaluation research has documented the success of this model in facilitating completion of post-secondary training and career development among aboriginal students. The training resonates with the students’ own culture, and community members are involved throughout the training in dialogue and planned actions for delivering services for children and their families based on their own cultural constructions of childhood and effective care. The process and impacts of this training model in seven aboriginal communities in Canada are discussed in postmodernist terms. The legitimacy and potential utility of indigenous knowledge are acknowledged and multiple perspectives are brought to bear in elaborating effective praxis in community-driven early childhood care and education.