Program Rationale and Context:

In Uganda's refugee-hosting Early Childhood Development (ECD) centers, young learners often face profound emotional and psychological challenges stemming from displacement, trauma, and disrupted family and community structures. These circumstances impact not only children’s cognitive development but also their affective well-being—emotional regulation, resilience, empathy, and identity formation.

Teachers in these settings need more than general pedagogical knowledge; they require specialized, context-sensitive competencies in using play as a structured, healing-centered tool to support children’s affective development. This CPD program addresses that urgent need by equipping ECD teachers with trauma-informed, culturally responsive strategies grounded in affective pedagogy.

Program Goal:

To build the capacity of ECD teachers in refugee-hosting contexts to intentionally design and facilitate play-based experiences that support children’s emotional healing, empathy, resilience, and identity development.

Program Structure:

The CPD program is organized into five sequential modules, each composed of three thematic sessions. Each module builds progressively on the other, integrating theoretical knowledge, reflective practice, practical tools, and context-relevant strategies.

Modules and Their Focus:

1. Foundations of Affective Pedagogies in Refugee ECD Contexts

   • Introduces Bloom’s affective taxonomy and explores the emotional needs of refugee children.

   • Emphasizes the teacher's role as an emotional co-regulator.

   • Focuses on designing emotionally safe, play-rich learning environments.

2. Designing Play for Emotional Expression and Empathy

   • Covers Learning through Play (LtP) typologies.

   • Equips teachers to scaffold emotional expression and empathy through guided play, symbolic play, and storytelling.

   • Encourages the development of emotionally intelligent play environments.

3. Trauma-Informed Play-Based Pedagogies

   • Examines the neurobiology of trauma and its manifestations in children’s behavior.

   • Introduces healing-centered routines, co-regulation strategies, and affective classroom management techniques.

   • Emphasizes play as a restorative medium.

4. Reflective Practice and Emotional Literacy for Teachers

   • Enhances teachers’ emotional literacy and self-awareness.

   • Teaches journaling, peer feedback, and video reflection for professional and emotional growth.

   • Promotes the formation of supportive communities of practice for sustained well-being.

5. Assessing Affective Learning through Play

   • Introduces observation tools, behavior mapping, child narratives, and visual portfolios aligned with Bloom’s affective domain.

   • Promotes participatory and culturally sensitive documentation.

   • Strengthens feedback loops and family involvement in children’s emotional development.

Learning Methodology:

• Blended Delivery (where feasible): Includes face-to-face workshops, video tutorials, reflective journaling, small group work, role-plays, peer-to-peer learning, and microteaching.

• Authentic Learning Activities: Case-based simulations, co-planning, emotion mapping, and behavior reflection tools contextualized to refugee ECD environments.

• Multilingual Resources: Integration of play materials, stories, and songs in local and refugee languages (e.g., Luganda, Arabic, Swahili).

• Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Each activity is adapted to recognize the lived realities and cultural backgrounds of refugee learners and their communities.

Target Participants:

• ECD teachers and caregivers working in refugee-hosting schools and centers.

• Pre-service and in-service early childhood educators in urban refugee contexts such as Kampala.

• Center Management Committee members and teacher trainers involved in psychosocial and child development programs.

Expected Outcomes:

By the end of the CPD program, participants will:

• Demonstrate enhanced affective pedagogical knowledge.

• Use trauma-informed, play-based strategies to support emotional growth.

• Reflectively engage with peers to prevent burnout and enhance professional resilience.

• Document and assess children’s emotional development using participatory tools.

• Design inclusive learning environments where refugee children feel seen, safe, and valued.

Alignment and Relevance:

This CPD program aligns with:

• Uganda’s National Integrated ECD Policy Framework

• UNESCO’s Guidelines on Social and Emotional Learning

• UNHCR and INEE standards for inclusive and protective learning in emergency contexts

• SDG 4.2: Ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care, and pre-primary education.

Conclusion:

This CPD program is more than a training—it is a transformative journey that centers on healing, human dignity, and pedagogical empowerment. Through the lens of play, it equips teachers in refugee-hosting ECD centers to become builders of hope and agents of emotional restoration for the youngest learners navigating the trauma of forced migration.