ABSTRACT
The dominant narrative of early childhood largely frames care and education as the domain of professionals. Drawing on qualitative data collected from 30 refugee households of various socio-economic levels from two central African cultural groups in Cameroon, the study reported in this chapter examined ethno-theories and practice of childcare and socialisation. Findings revealed that neither the culture of the home country nor that of the host country alone has a decisive influence on caregiving. Refugee families counter dominant perceptions of caregiving by reconfiguring, reorganising and rebuilding codes, values and norms to (re)produce hybrid approaches and models of care and education.
