Introduction

Introduction

Department

Cairo Papers in Social Science

Abstract

We present in this issue of The Cairo Papers a broad spectrum of articles dealing with the children of Egypt and their families; each article has a research base in the real world of childhood and each in its own way sug­gests trends for further work in both research and applied areas in child de­velopment. Ciaccio's paper consists of an integrated set of recommendations based on action-oriented research sponsored by UNICEF- it is clear from a reading of his paper that the International Year of The Child is not simply another 'UN year' but rather a point of departure from which improved, increased and con­tinuing services for children will begin. Indeed, the second paper by Saleh and Moubarek take up Ciaccio's challenge by showing how they have begun to re­build the school system of a Cairene sluni area, Bulaq. Their work has already served as a model for educational and social welfare improvement in several developing countries. Dr. Claire Fahim, eminent Egyptian Chil d Psychiatrist and long-time advocate of children's rights in the Arab World, gives us an in­side view of the operations of a clinic for children which services over 124 schools in the West Cairo district; her successful use of the 'team approach' to child psychiatric problems is unique in Egypt. Fahmy's paper concerning 'emergent consciousness' in a group of young women in the upper Egyptian village of Akhmim is a unique and fascinating doc­umentary of the socialization process_ of both males and females in a society undergoing rapid social change. Her perceptive use of in-depth interviews gives the reader an intimate view of family life paralleled perhaps only by Harrmed Arrmar's Growing Up In An Egyptian Village (1954). Waines' paper, a report of a pilot study she completed in 1978, actually is the first in a series of studies she is conducting on the mental health status of Egyptian children. She very clearly outlines the major clinical and research parameters involved and cogently argu es for more empirical data to guide future planning in the mental health field. The last paper in this issue, El-Mofty's "Children's Reports of Child Rearing Practices," offers readers a most unusual and very refreshing view of socialization techniques as seen through the eyes of the children themselves. She presents data on sex and social class differences, some of which are clearly divergent from patterns found in the West. In sum, most of the articles in this volume represent work that is still in progress, work that will continue long after the celebration of the International Year of the Child. The underlying spirit of all the work however, is the recognition that the understanding and well-being of all children is closely linked with economic stability and world peace.

Publication Date

1979

Document Type

Book Chapter

Book Title

Child Development in Egypt

Editors

Nicholas V. Ciacco

ISBN

NA

Publisher

American University in Cairo Press

City

Cairo

First Page

1

Last Page

2

Series

Cairo Papers in Social Science 3(2)

Keywords

Children, women, development, school, Egypt, education, mental health, child rearing

Introduction

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