Fostering community-responsive innovative early childhood education in Bangladesh: policy lessons from Japan

Purpose The objective of this paper is to determine critical community-responsive practices in preschool education in Bangladesh. The second objective is to assess the flexibility of Japanese community-based preschool practices in relation to existing parent programs in Bangladesh for early childhood education. The paper also examines the issues and possibilities of promoting community involvement in early childhood education in urban Bangladesh, with a particular focus on Dhaka. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a qualitative, exploratory research design with a pragmatist philosophy. This study used Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) to collect data from 30 participants using the purposive sampling technique. The thematic analysis method was used. Findings Preschool institutions in Bangladesh show interest in integrating culture-centered practices with local resource circles, such as cultural activities; however, these practices are limited, sporadic and mostly teacher-centered. Time constraints for parents, long commutes, space shortages in institutions and communication challenges are noted as key barriers to ongoing community involvement. Participants, however, indicated that they were highly willing to be more involved by undertaking better planning, more explicit scheduling, electronic communication, and more robust local cooperation. There is an example of Japanese practices used to illustrate, not as a comparable system, child-centered and community-based practices that include socialization, emotional well-being and the holistic development of these children. Originality/value Although past research has already addressed parental involvement and access to early childhood education in Bangladesh, research is scarce on how community-responsive practices are lived in dense urban settings like Dhaka and through the lens of multiple stakeholders. This paper fills this gap by presenting qualitative stakeholder perspectives on the influence of structural urban constraints on community engagement in preschool programs.