Cultural Dissonance in Developmental Benchmarking: A Comparative Analysis of Traditional Ndebele Developmental Milestones and Standardised ECD Assessment Indicators in Matobo District, Zimbabwe
Mnkandla SilindileDepartment of Educational Foundations, Primary Education and PedagogyMidlands State University, ZimbabweORCID: https://orcid/0009-0009-1026-9525Email: mnkandlas@staff.msu.ac.zw Abstract: Early childhood development (ECD) assessment tools, rooted in Western psychological frameworks, are routinely implemented across sub-Saharan Africa with little cultural validation. This comparative qualitative case study investigated cultural dissonance between standardised ECD assessment tools and traditional Ndebele developmental knowledge systems…