Empowerment Through Participatory Action Research and Herder Parents' Play With Their Young Children in Rural Mongolia

Abstract

Education for young children in rural Mongolia has been a problem due to the limited availability of formal education services, which are only accessible in town areas. Living in remote regions and not sending their young children to kindergarten at a young age, herder parents lack the knowledge and facilities to support their children's learning and development at home, potentially leading to future difficulties in their school learning. To address this issue and strengthen herder parents' involvement in their children's education, a participatory action research (PAR) approach was utilized wherein groups that are adversely affected by a social problem undertake collective research to understand and address it effectively. The PAR program lasted for seven months and was implemented in two rural areas of Mongolia. It included monthly in-person meetings and an online platform for sharing experiences of intentional play and activities developed by the herder parents.