Early Childhood Education in Ankara Gecekondus: A First Report from a Longitudinal Field Study in Ankara

This paper addresses the conditions of families in Ankara, Turkey, who live in gecekondus (hastily built homes of the poor). The socioeconomic and educational disadvantages of these families result in continuous academic underachievement for their children. Ecological and educational interventions for breaking the poverty cycle are proposed. Preliminary findings of a field experiment with 60 mothers of low socioeconomic status that began in November of 1988 in Ankara are described. The 6-year field experiment is part of the Early Childhood Education in Ankara Gecekondus project. The project attempts to follow sequential stages involving: (1) preparation for parenthood by means of information about child care, nutrition, and health care; (2) facilitation of reciprocal interaction in child-parent relationships from the child's birth to its third year; (3) exposure of children of 4-6 years to a cognitively oriented preschool program and continuing parental intervention; and (4) assurance of parental support of children's educational activities during the elementary school years. Although the study has not yet been completed, preliminary findings indicate that ecologically oriented early childhood educational programs that start before birth and involve the mother will eventually change the child's immediate environment. A bibliography provides nine references. (GLR)