ABSTRACT
The normative framing of early childhood care and education is constructed from decontextualised minority world perspectives and approaches. This framing marginalises local narratives and context specific approaches in Africa and the majority world. In the study reported in this chapter, I investigated childcare practices for children from birth to 3 years in child-headed households in Uganda. Using theoretical underpinnings of the sociology of childhood and children’s funds of knowledge, I argue against the normative construction of children as homogeneously dependent in terms of receiving care. Findings demonstrate how children in child-headed households are competent actors and caregivers who produce contextually relevant ECCE knowledge, thus defying the narrow dominant framing of caregiving.
