FOUNDATION OF CHILDHOOD EARLY CARE
AND LEARNING
Introduction
The first six of life are critical years of human life since the rate of development in these years
is more rapid than at any other stage of development. Global brain research also informs us
about the significance of early years for brain development.
Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) makes a positive contribution to children’s long
term development and learning by facilitating an enabling and stimulating environment in
these foundation stages of lifelong learning.
Parents as caregivers are critical in providing a stimulating learning environment to the child
and the first two and a half to three years need not be in a formal learning environment. The
National Curriculum Framework acknowledges the significance of involvement of parents,
family and community.
The National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Curriculum Framework for all
children below six years of age is aligned with the Government’s vision of ECCE as spelt out
in the National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy.
The National ECCE
Curriculum Framework is informed by the Position Paper on ECCE (National Curriculum
Framework, NCERT, 2005) and the curriculum detailed there under.
The purpose of this framework is to promote quality and excellence in early childhood care
and education by providing guidelines for child care and early educational practices.
The
framework is intended to be a guiding document for ECCE service providers across all
regions. It wishes to support to early years professionals, service providers, ECCE
teachers/caregivers, communities and state governments in providing rich early stimulation
and learning experiences for children from birth to pre- primary years. This document may
also be of interest to families of young children too.
Growing up in India
India has a tradition of valuing the early years of a child’s life, and a rich heritage of cultural
practices for stimulating development and inculcating “sanskaras” or basic values and social
skills in children. In the past this was delivered primarily within joint families, through
traditional child caring practices which were commonly shared and passed on from one
generation to another. However, there have been changes in the family as well as social
context in the last few decades.
5
Families and communities represent vast geographic, social, cultural, linguistic, and
economic diversity within the country.
Children also differ in their physical, emotional, social,
and cognitive capacities. Urban and rural communities offer different types of opportunities
and face distinct challenges in providing good quality early care and learning experiences to
children. Socio –economic status as well as social and cultural diversity characterize the
nature of family life and the context for growing up in India.
Each child requires a safe and nurturing environment to develop optimally.
Children with
special needs and their families need assistance and information regarding prognosis and
early intervention in order to support optimal development of children. Other families may
also, face stresses that can compromise their ability to support their children’s early learning
and need support services to assist families in their critical role as primary caregivers.
Discrimination and inequities based on gender, social identity, disability and other
exclusionary factors is prevalent in the society that adds to the above problem. The issues
need to be addressed proactively to ensure universal access to integrated services towards
fulfilment of right to free, universal pre-primary education. Regardless of income, social
status, geographic isolation, and other potential barriers, all children deserve and have a right
to inclusive and equitable opportunities to build on their unique strengths.
In recent times many children are receiving early education and care outside the home in
child care centres, preschool programs, and other community-based early learning settings.
Whether children receive early education and care in the home or the community, it is
important that their early learning experiences draw on the unique strengths of their
relationships with their families. The diversity in social contexts and family structures needs to
be appropriately addressed in order to bring balanced parenting, including inputs from
fathers, mothers and other caregivers in the family through enabling provisions in
programmes. Strengthening capabilities of families, communities and services to ensure
quality care and education for children in the early years is therefore a priority for India.
Thus, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) encompass the inseparable elements of
care, health, nutrition, play and early learning within a protective and enabling environment. It
is an indispensable foundation for lifelong development and learning, and has lasting impact
on early childhood development.
It is imperative to accord priority attention to ECCE and
invest in it since it is the most cost effective way to break the intergenerational cycle of
multiple disadvantages and remove inequity. Investing in ECCE will undoubtedly lead to long
term social and economic benefits.
Vision for an Indian Child
The National ECCE Policy visualizes nurturance and promotion of holistic development and
active learning capacity of all children below 6 years of age by promoting free, universal,
inclusive, equitable, joyful and contextualised opportunities for laying foundation and attaining
full potential.
The vision for an Indian child reflects our beliefs about children and childhood and what is
possible and desirable for human life at the individual and societal levels.
While putting
forward a shared image of a child, full of potential, it is accepted that children differ in their
strengths and capabilities, there is diversity in views about childhood and children, and that
not all children have the same opportunities to develop their potential.
However, a strong
image of the child can motivate people to promote children’s individual strengths, and to
address conditions in children’s environments that constrain opportunities to engage fully in
early learning. This curriculum framework supports the creation of a shared image of an
Indian child that can guide our efforts to promote early learning at the local, state and national
levels.
It views children as happy, healthy and confident; each child with unique identity, grounded in
their individual strengths and capacities; and with respect for their unique social, linguistic,
and cultural heritage and diversity.
As children grow and learn, they explore, enquire, make
discoveries and apply their understanding to become self regulated lifelong learners.
Furthermore, they are sensitive to diversity, are communicative, caring and creative in their
relationship with people and environment.
Our young children strive to be:
• Happy and healthy
• Inquirer
• Confident
• Communicative
• Creative
• Caring
• Open-minded
• Resilient
• Sensitive to diversity
• Respectful
• Mindful
• Life-long learner
Rationale for ECCE
The first six years of life are critical since the rate of development in these years is more rapid
than at any other stage of development. Research in neuro-science confirms the importance
of the early years in a child’s life particularly since 90% of brain development has already
taken place by the time a child is six years of age. Research also indicates that the
development of brain is influenced not only by health, nutrition and quality of care but also the
quality of psycho-social environment the child is exposed to in these early years. (Figure 1).
A psycho-socially deficit environment or emotional neglect can lead to negative
consequences for a child’s development, which may even be irreversible. This places a very
large percentage of children from poorer or marginalised families, ‘at risk’, in terms of their life
chances and opportunities. Supportive ECCE services enable to bridge the gap that can lead
to more positive long-term outcomes for individuals and society than later interventions.
Figure 1: Trajectory of Development
Source: No Wolves Along the Way: towards a national ECD model in Kyrgyzstan, Hugh McLean & Rakhat
Orozova, UNICEF, 2009)
Scientific research also indicates that within the span of the early childhood years, there are
certain ‘sensitive periods’ or ‘critical periods’ for development of some cognitive, linguistic,
social and psychomotor competencies (Figure 2).
These have significant implications for
planning of a framework for children’s learning and development.
8
Figure 2: Sensitive periods for Early Development
Source: Adapted from Nash, Early Years Study, 1999, Shankoff, 2000
Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) makes a positive contribution to children’s long
term development and learning by facilitating an enabling and stimulating environment in
these foundation years of lifelong learning. Therefore, it becomes important to provide a
framework for planning for each sub-stage within the early childhood continuum up to the age
of six years.
A good learning programme at the early childhood stage helps to ensure appropriate
opportunities for holistic learning and development particularly in these sensitive periods.
Early intervention is of particular significance for children with developmental delays, infants
with disabilities and children growing up in impoverished environments, by counteracting
biological and environmental disadvantage, since plasticity in the brain allows circuits in the
brain to organise and reorganise, in response to early stimulation.
Theoretical Foundation
Philosophers have speculated about the nature of childhood and the process of socialisation.
Western thinkers like Rousseau, Froebel, Dewey, and Montessori, have been pioneers in the
movement of early childhood education.
While Dewey emphasized on the wonderful learning
opportunities everyday experiences provided and believed that the child's own instincts,
activities, and interests should be the starting point of education, Froebel believed that action
9
and direct observation were the best ways to educate children. Their ideas have opened the
way for sensorial and practical activities forming the curricular content.
Their insights into the
importance of exploration and play, art, rhythm, rhyme, movement, and active participation of
the child led to the inclusion of these elements in classroom dynamics.
Indian thinkers have also been guided by their observations concerning young children and
their findings about the child’s interest in activities using different materials. Gandhi, Tagore,
Aurobindo, Gijubhai Badekha, and Tarabai Modak were the first Indians to conceptualise a
child-centred approach to the care and education of young children. They were of the view
that education must be imparted in the child's mother tongue and should be connected with
the child's social and cultural environment and the community should be actively involved in
the learning process.
Since language is the true vehicle of self-expression a child can freely
express its thought in mother tongue/vernacular language.
In more recent times, scholars in Developmental Psychology and Child Development like
Piaget, Bruner, Vygotsky, Urie Bronfenbrenner and Gardner have further emphasised, based
on their research, play and activity as the child’s natural modes of learning and that children
living and learning in multiple social and cultural contexts influence children’s learning and
development. While Piaget emphasised that children constructed their knowledge by
assimilating the experiences and then accommodating within their own understanding and
that children are adjusting and using new information constantly to make sense of
perceptions and experiences. Vygotsky viewed that children are actively engaged in social
and cultural experiences and there is active interaction between children and more
experienced others in the process of learning and development. Further Jerome Bruner
proposed that children represent information and knowledge in their memory in three different
but interrelated modes such as action-based, image based and language/symbol based.
In other words he explained how this was possible through the concept of the spiral
curriculum which involved information being structured so that complex ideas can be taught
at a simplified level first where children learn more through concrete experiences, and then
re-visited at more complex levels later on. Therefore, topics would be taught at levels of
gradually increasing difficultly (hence the spiral analogy).
Their basic tenets are that learning is an active and interactive process in which children
learn through play and through interaction between children and more experienced others.
Children are actively engaged in their social and cultural experiences, they constantly adjust
10
and use new information to make sense of perceptions and their experiences.
Most
importantly play leads to learning and development in children.
Based on the insights and philosophies of these practitioners and thinkers, early childhood
care and education programmes should be based on an understanding of the patterns of
development and learning that define the essential nature of childhood.
2. Objectives of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)
The aim of Early Childhood Care and Education is to facilitate optimum development of the
child’s full potential and lay the foundation for all round development and lifelong learning.
While parents and home have the main responsibility of the welfare of the child, a strong
partnership between the community and the ECCE centres is important for the well being of
the child and in achieving the following objectives.
Broad objectives of the Early Childhood Care and Education programme are to:
• Ensure each child is valued, respected, feels safe and secure and develops a positive self
concept
• Enable a sound foundation for physical and motor development of each child- as per each
child’s potential
• Imbibe good nutrition routines, health habits, hygiene practices and self help skills
• Enable children for effective communication and foster both receptive and expressive
language
• Promote development and integration of the senses
• Stimulate intellectual curiosity and develop conceptual understanding of the world around by
providing opportunities to explore, investigate and experiment
• Enhance development of pro-social skills, social competence and emotional well being
• Develop sense of aesthetic appreciation and stimulate creative learning processes.
• Imbibe culturally and developmentally appropriate behaviour and core human values of
respect and love for fellow human beings.
• Enable a smooth transition from home to ECCE centre to formal schooling
• Enhance scope for overall personality development
Principles of Early Learning and Development and its Implications for Practice
The principles and practices relevant for learning and development in the early years are
based on the insights and observations of thinkers and evidences from researches. Each
of the principle elaborates specific ideas and at the same time they are all interconnected
like the domains of development. The practical implications for each of the principle will
also be influenced by the culture and individual prerequisites.
1 Development and learning takes place in all domains, development in one domain
influences the other domain: Children are thinking, feeling and interacting human
beings and it is important to address all domains for their development. Changes or
development in one domain facilitates or hinders the development of another domain.
2 Children’s development and learning follows a sequence in which later acquired
abilities (skills and concepts) build upon what children already know and apply. In
the first few years of life the growth, change and development mostly follow a predictable
pattern; however the way these changes are demonstrated varies in different context and
culture. Knowledge of known sequence of development enables in developing early
stimulation activities and curricular planning for children.
3 Child Development and Learning are characterized by individual variation: While
learning and development follows a predictable pattern there may be individual variation
in the normative course of development as well as uniqueness of each child as an
individual. No two children, even within the same family are the same. Each child has an
individual pattern and timing of growth and development as well as individual styles of
learning. Each individual child has his/her own strengths. 4 Children develop holistically and benefit from experiential learning: This simply
means that children learn best through active exploration using the senses such as touch,
taste, smell and manipulation to build perceptual skills. Children should be actively
interested and engaged in their learning with a high sense of motivation and positive
disposition to explore and build skills across various domains.
5 Learning begins from birth: From birth onwards children are mentally and physically
active. They learn through all their senses and stimulations. Early care and stimulations
whether positive or negative have a cumulative impact on children’s development. Since
care and early stimulation promotes brain development and leads to the forming neural
connections, it is imperative that children are provided with optimal stimulation in the early
years and prevent cumulative deficit in the long run.
6 Development and learning result from a continuous interaction of biological
maturation and experience. A child has genetic endowments which may predict healthy
growth, but inadequate nutrition in the early years of life will keep this potential from being
fulfilled. On the other hand if the child is suffering from an inherent condition, then the
detrimental impact learning and development can be minimized through systematic,
individualized intervention. With this perspective in mind, it is important for early
childhood educators to maintain high expectations and employ all their knowledge, ingenuity, and persistence to find ways to help every child succeed.
7 There are critical periods in development: Research evidences reveal that some
aspects of development occur most efficiently at certain points in the life span. For
example the optimal period for oral language development in children is in the first three
years of life, peer social skills are developed effectively during 3-5 years of life etc. Thus
it is important to use these “windows of opportunity” and ensure that the children get the
needed environmental inputs and supports for a particular kind of learning and
development at its “prime time” for desired outcomes.
8 Children’s learning reflects a recurring spiral that begins in awareness, and moves
to exploration, to inquiry, and finally, to application: Any new learning by children
begins with awareness, which is generated from their experiences with objects, events, or
people and ends with utilization, where children are able to use what they have learnt for
multiple purposes and apply their learning to new situations. At this stage children start
exploring the next level of information and the spiral continues. Children with disabilities
show a great degree of individual variations and the curriculum should make suitable
adaptations to ensure that children are provided developmentally appropriate materials
and experiences.
9 Children learn and develop in a stimulating/nurturing/supportive/protective
environment: During the early years of life, children move from sensory or behavioural
responses to symbolic or representational knowledge. They learn within a social context
and from meaningful interactions with other children, adults and materials around them.
Throughout the early years, adults must provide a nurturing environment and play
significant roles in helping children learn to develop empathy and cooperation, cultural
socialization and self-regulation, language acquisition and communication, peer
relationships, self concept and identity formations.
10. Development and learning is largely influenced by the social and cultural
context of the children. Development and learning of children happens hand in hand
and it largely depends on the influence of the child’s family, immediate environment, the
community and at a broader level the society. Every culture has its own norms,
structures and behaviours and more so each culture has its own way of interpreting
children’s behaviour and development in its own way. Educators must be sensitive how
their own culture has shaped their thinking and also consider the multiple environments
in which different children live and how they need to be considered while making
decision for children’s development and learning.
11 Children’s have curiosity and desire to learn: Children are curious and have an
innate desire to learn. Children observe what happens, talk, discuss and reflecting on
their findings, stretch their imagination for possibilities, ask questions, and formulate
answers. While exploring and learning young children construct their knowledge and
understanding of the world, they learn as well as from teachers, family members, peers
and older children, and from books and other media. To enable these ECCE
teachers/caregivers must use multiple teaching strategies in meeting children’s different
learning needs.
12 Children learn through play: Play is central to the child’s well being and development.
Children’s spontaneous play provides opportunities for exploration, experimentation,
manipulation and problem solving that are essential for constructing knowledge. Play
contributes to the development of representational as well as abstract thought. Children
engage in various kinds of play, such as physical play, language play, object play,
pretend or dramatic play, constructive play, and games with rules. This further influences
their motivation, disposition and approaches to learning. Developing positive approaches
to learning goes a long way to determine later academic success in life. Adults must
provide opportunities for children to explore, play and apply.
Curricular Issues and Concerns
1 Multilingualism
Language plays an important role in communication, exchange of information, development
of reading skills, reading with comprehension, and, in later years, academic success. Yet little
attention is being paid to language acquisition and experiences in ECCE programmes.
(ECCE Position Paper)
Language acquisition and teaching of language is a multifaceted issue in a multilingual
country like ours. Even though young children are not formally taught language, language
acquisition is part of the overall development of children physically, socially, and cognitively.
Any single Indian language used as a medium of interaction in preschools/ ECCE centres
poses problems for children coming from different language backgrounds and dialects,
especially in towns and cities. It is a challenge for the ECCE teacher/ caregiver to cope with
different languages at the same time in an early childhood setting. Furthermore, children who
come to preschools or ECCE centres in their area or even enter directly into a primary school
that uses the state language totally unfamiliar to them face significant challenges.
It is
observed that such children face tremendous difficulties in various parts of the country, often
resulting in their inability to read with comprehension the state language even after Class V.
This is compounded by the sense of failure and inadequacy which may ultimately force them
out of the educational system altogether.
The linguistic diversity of India poses a number of challenges for early childhood educators;
however if leveraged in a systematic way it also provides a range of opportunities to provide
a rich environment for the child.
• The medium of interaction in the ECCE centre should be home language or mother
tongue. However, there may be more than one language as mother tongue, which may
pose problems for children coming from different language backgrounds and dialects. It is
therefore important to allow as many languages as are in the classroom to be used for
expression. We know that language is closely linked to child's identity and emotional
security. Therefore, it is important to encourage different languages for expression by
children in the ECCE centres.
• Research is now establishing that children can learn many languages in the first six
years. Therefore, while promoting mother tongue, there is also merit in utilizing ECCE as
an opportunity to provide exposure to school language, so that children enter school
better prepared. However, this should be done in a phased manner. Children should be
15
encouraged to be proficient in their mother tongue/ home language first and then the
formal school language (regional language or English) should be introduced.
• There is a widespread and growing demand for English at the preschool level, since it
is seen as the path to upward mobility and achievement. The majority of parents from all
classes, occupations and regions have an explicit desire for their children to learn
English. However, teaching through child’s mother tongue/ home language, is
internationally recognised as the most appropriate way of working with children in the
early years of concept formation. Children who attend ECCE programmes conducted in
their own mother tongue face fewer problems of comprehension as compared to children
whose mother tongue is different from the medium of instruction. When the child is
comfortable and proficient with the mother tongue/ home language first, it supports
developing proficiency in the second language later. However, it is crucial that when the
school language (which may be regional language or English) is introduced, the ECCE
teachers/ caregivers must continue to convey a positive attitude about children’s first
language (mother tongue/ home language). There is also an urgent need for community
awareness and parental education initiatives so parents can be made aware of what is
developmentally appropriate for their children. Parents and families should be provided
materials with information on dual/ multiple language learning and on the importance of
home language.
• Multilingual classroom: ECCE perspective, or a developmental pedagogy, would
suggest that language should be learnt by processes in the following order: ‘Listen–
speak–read–write.’ In the early years, the focus is on listening and speaking as the major
activities in the classroom, facilitated through free play with peers. Teachers should also
attempt to learn a few words and phrases of the child’s home language. In a multilingual
classroom, children should be encouraged to express themselves in their own language
and to pay attention to and learn from each other. This is a natural and easy process in
play situations. Multilingualism and children’s learning abilities are not the issue here, but
rather the ability of the educational system to address the issue and find the appropriate
solutions.
• Training support: It is a challenge for the ECCE teacher/ caregiver to cope with different
languages at the same time in an early childhood setting. ECCE teachers/ caregivers
must be trained on supporting children to continue to develop proficiency in their mother
tongue/ home language, especially if it is not the language spoken by the majority of
16
children. ECCE teachers/ caregivers require ongoing professional development and
resources to support parents’ use of mother tongue/ home language and
bilingual/multilingual language acquisition at home.
2 Inclusion
In India, a learner with special education needs is defined variously in different documents,
and over a period of time the approach of the Government has shifted from the medical
model of care to a more child’s rights model of accepting diversity and making it inclusive.
‘Inclusion in the early years’ implies that children with disabilities should have access to
mainstream early learning environments which should accommodate them with a childcentred pedagogy capable of meeting their individual needs (Singh, 2005).
Since segregated
services for children with disabilities have historically been based on the ‘medical model’
approach to disability which explains children’s needs in terms of ‘deficit’ and ‘cure’ (Oliver,
1996), it has, by its nature, been limiting in terms of opportunities and outcomes, and
perpetuated negative attitudes towards disability.
With very few special education early
learning centres available (particularly in rural India) inclusion must be adopted, in letter and
spirit by ECCE.
The basic premise of inclusive education is that children be treated equally rather than be
segregated based on their individual, educational, social, emotional or physical impairments
While a learner may have special education needs [SEN], and may need differentiated inputs
to be able to learn concepts in a given area, it is critical to identify areas of strength of the
child that can be built upon. Therefore the child must have a space where he/she can
exercise these faculties and develop them to optimum level possible.
The defining features of inclusion that can be used to identify high quality early childhood
programs and services are access, participation, and supports.
When envisioning an
inclusive environment for children where an individual’s needs are catered to, the challenges
involve both infrastructure and personnel. However many of these challenges can be
managed if there is a clear commitment to the philosophy of inclusion and the right of every
child to learn with his/her peers. It is therefore necessary to make all ECCE programmes
sensitive and responsive to the special needs of children, including training of, ECCE
teachers and caregivers in identification of needs of the children with disabilities, use of ageappropriate play and learning materials, making adaptations in the physical environment and
counselling of parents.
17
• The identification of SEN of children at an early age is crucial to helping them cope
with challenges in later life. Thus, the sensitization, orientation and training of parents,
caretakers and other stakeholders become imperative.
• Having the staff trained and dedicated to this process of inclusion becomes
mandatory. From curricular perspective it is important to understand the significance
of early identification and intervention, make the curriculum flexible and accessible,
make adjustments in the physical environment to ensure it is barrier free, make the
curriculum accessible to children with differing impairments, develop appropriate
assessment and evaluation procedures, capacity building and empowering all
stakeholders to address attitudinal barriers. This process also sensitises typical peers
to accept and learn to respect diversity
• Prevention efforts for families of ‘at-risk children’ should focus on strengthening the
family and building on the family’s positive attributes. The desired results of inclusive
experiences for children with disabilities and their families include a sense of
belonging and membership, positive social relation-ships and friendships, and
development and learning to reach their full potential.
3 Multi-Age Grouping
In an ECCE centre there may be teachers who struggle with ways to meet the needs of all
the learners in their classrooms. Alternately there may be some children who struggle with
learning, others who perform well on their developmental tasks, and the rest fit somewhere in
between. Each child has its own pace of learning.
Within each of these categories of children,
individuals also learn in a variety of ways and have different interests. However the
curriculum used is most often driven by ‘one size fits all’ approach and with the expectations
that all children will achieve the standards by the end of the academic year.
In response to this situation most often ECCE teachers and caregivers would use the
concept of ‘differentiation’ to meet the varying needs of their learners.
At its most basic level,
differentiation consists of the efforts of ECCE teacher/ Caregiver to respond to variance
among learners in the classroom. An ECCE Teacher / Caregiver may approach
differentiation by
(1) content—what the child needs to learn or how the child will get access
to the information;
(2) process—activities in which the child engages in order to make sense
of or master the content; (3) products—culminating projects that enable the child to
18
rehearse, apply, and extend what he or she has learned in a topic; and
(4) learning
environment—the way the classroom/ ECCE centre works and feels.
There is ample evidence that children are more successful in school and find it more
satisfying if they are taught in ways that are responsive to their readiness levels, interests
and learning profiles (Tomlinson, 2000). So it may be helpful for children work sometimes
with like-readiness peers, sometimes with mixed-readiness groups, sometimes with children
who have similar interests, sometimes with children who have different interests, sometimes
with peers who learn as they do, sometimes randomly, and often with the class as a whole.
In the above context, Multi-age grouping refers to "a class grouping in which students of
different ages and identified age levels are grouped together in a single classroom for the
purpose of providing effective instruction" (Miller, 1995, p. 29). The multi-age environment is
deliberately created for the benefit of children, not because of economic needs or declining
enrolment. The intention is to allow children of various ages and abilities to progress at their
own individual pace rather than according to specified objectives for a particular grade level.
Research shows that multi-age groupings benefit both younger and older students in the
classroom. According to Dr. Lilian Katz, "Mixed-age grouping resembles family and
neighbourhood groupings, which throughout history have informally provided much of
children's socialization and education. The intention of mixed-age grouping in early childhood
settings is to increase the heterogeneity of the group so as to capitalize on the differences in
the experience, knowledge, and abilities of the children”. Moreover, children learn from each
other and from older children- thereby facilitating cooperative learning skills.
In rural areas multi-age grouping is more often a pragmatic response to the needs of
communities, where it is practical to set up a single Anganwadi/ ECCE centre for a village or
settlement.
Various reasons such as insufficient students of a similar age, places with limited
physical or human resources may seem viable to have a multi-age grouping in the ECCE
centres.
4 Gender Equality
The early years lay the foundation for gender socialization. Gender Socialization is a process
by which individuals learn to act in a particular way and mostly conforming to the societal
beliefs, values, norms, attitudes and examples.
Early gender socialization starts at birth and
is a process of learning socio-cultural roles according to one's gender. Right from the
beginning, boys and girls are treated differently by the members of their family and immediate
19
environment, and learn the differences between boys and girls. Even by the time children
are two year old they have absorbed the gender stereotypes in some form which is evident
because of clothing and toys chosen by adults and provided to them.
As they reach
preschool age, children begin to develop their sense of self in relation to others.
Certain gender inequities can persist right from infancy through the lifespan. Gender
stereotypes may get perpetuated by family, teachers and society by having different
expectations for girls and boys. However, early childhood period also presents a crucial
opportunity to promote gender equity right from the start and facilitate the development of
gender-sensitive attitudes and beliefs.
ECCE interventions can promote gender equity by compensating for gender biases in
nutrition, health care or stimulation that may occur in the home. (Arnold, 2004:10). A gender
sensitive curriculum needs to ensure that gender stereotypes are broken. In the early years it
is important:
• Adults are there to support, protect and involve children in approaches and activities
that help them develop their minds, their bodies, their social skills and behaviours.
• Caregivers should not perpetuate gender stereotypes. Instead, they should be
encouraged to have equal and appropriate expectations of boys and girls and
promote equal opportunities for them. They can provide opportunity to explore the
children’s thinking about gender and help children expand their understanding of
gender.
• ECCE teachers /Caregivers have had gender training and know how to routinely do
gender analysis. This equips them to see gender bias in the community and to
actively keep it out of the classroom. Girls and boys receive equal attention and
respect. It is ensured that during the day the tone of voice and comments given, wait
time provided for answering questions, feedback provided, opportunity in classroom
tasks are same for both boys and girls. As a result, they learn to value themselves
and others equally. Equal treatment sends messages that each child is worthy and
valued regardless of her or his sex or other differences.
• Facilitate as much active learning as possible through play and other activities which
are free of gender bias. Stories, songs, activities and facilitation aids should depict
girls and boys in the same roles and men and women in all professions. Both women
and men should appear as leaders, heroes and problem solvers etc.
• Girls do some things that boys don’t do and some things more or less than the boys.
So boys and girls have different ideas, experiences and behaviours. However,
preschoolers enjoy imitating adults and role plays are good ways for them to show the
20
different things they do and know. Girls like to pretend to be boys or fathers and boys
like to role play female roles. While enacting they understand the other sex and
teachers/caregivers can explore what feelings girls and boys have, build the comfort
of both sexes in discussing their feelings too. As the educator treats each child well, it
may be easier to get children to listen to each other, to share and to play respectfully.
• There are few male ECCE teachers and Caregivers. Encourage male ECCE teachers
so that learners will benefit from male role models.
• The families and local community is encouraged to participate and support the
programme. Parents need to be sensitized and educated so that they can support
these practices at home. It is important here to help them understand and stop
discrimination against boys or girls.
5 Harms of Early Formal Instruction
Surveys have indicated that play-based, development-oriented ECE programmes as
advocated in the National Policy of Education (1986) are more of an exception than the norm.
The curriculum surveys in all major cities indicated that children as young as 3 to 5 years old
are being taught the syllabus prescribed not only for Class I but even for Class II, for which
they are neither cognitively nor physically mature enough. Children are made to give regular
tests and examinations, and are assigned regular doses of homework.
Exposure to formal
instruction is causing harm to children. This is a result of misinterpretation of early care and
education.
The risks are both short term and long term; the short-term risks include the manifestation of
stress and anxiety symptoms among children and the long-term risks include far-reaching
effects on the children’s motivational, intellectual, and social behaviour.
The above findings resonate with what is termed as ‘damaged disposition hypotheses’. Lilian
Katz’s theory of learning dispositions (1985) describes the child’s ‘natural tendency’ or
‘emotional attitude’ to learning. Katz considers learning dispositions as ‘relatively enduring
habits of mind or characteristic ways of responding to experience’.
Both the fostering and
assessment of positive attitudes or ‘dispositions’ to learning experiences are viewed by Katz
as the basis of the curriculum for early childhood education. An important feature of children’s
dispositions is that they are environmentally sensitive—meaning they are acquired,
supported, or weakened by interactive experiences in an environment with significant adults
and peers. However early formal instruction, structured curricular practices, repeated
negative outcomes, in the form of criticism from adults or the inability to achieve tasks
successfully, can lead to feelings of ‘helplessness’.
We often focus on knowledge and skills
21
and the cognitive domain and give little consideration to feelings and dispositions. As a result
the disposition to learn, make sense of experiences, being reflective, inquisitive, inventive,
resourceful, full of wonder and perhaps puzzlement is damaged at a very early age.
• When ECCE Teachers/Caregivers display curiosity and creativity and value the same
dispositions in children, these are likely to flourish in the classroom.
• ECCE Teachers/ Caregivers can influence parents’ perceptions of their children’s
dispositions, address to parental concerns in terms of dispositions.
6 Preparing ECCE Teachers/Caregivers
The staffs running an early-childhood care and education programme is the single most
important factor in determining the quality of the programme, and yet it is the most neglected
aspect of the educational system (ECCE Position Paper).
Preparation of ECCE teachers,
training, coaching and ongoing support which is very crucial, is hardly emphasised. ECCE
teachers/ caregivers are either unprepared or inadequately prepared; the courses are
obsolete and devoid of practical hands on training. Currently, what is offered as training for
the staff varies tremendously in terms of the duration of training, methodology, and exposure
to theory and practice. On one hand, there are university and government recognized
courses with fixed curricula and duration and some standards set for trainers and
organisations. On the other hand, there are private institutions which run their own courses
with no standards for curricula or duration, producing individuals who are unable to develop
healthy programmes for young children.
There is clear absence of any induction programme
or continuous professional development and ongoing support available for teachers.
• Given the variations in duration is dire need for standardization and for providing
better professional development opportunities to ECCE teachers/ caregivers in all
sectors. Teachers should undergo and complete a course with hands-on supervised
training period, working with young children in classroom settings of in ECCE centres.
• Provide ECCE teacher/ caregiver does require ongoing training (through regular,
onsite mentoring support) and professional development to build the skills required for
an ECCE professional.
• Curriculum for teacher education in ECCE should cover the entire developmental
continuum from birth to eight years, to provide fuller understanding of child
development and the early child care and education practices.
• The selection of teachers should ideally be made from the local community or area.
These individuals should have undergone training in Early Childhood Education and /
or Child Development or have a degree in Primary Education. They should also
display suitable personal characteristics that are conducive towards working with
young children. The nurturing and teaching style of the ECCE teachers/caregivers
22
has a strong influence on children’s motivation and learning. Therefore, it is crucial
that the ECCE teacher/ caregiver have the capacity and temperament to build a
warm, caring relationship with young children.
• In the context of involvement and active partnership of the community members
women and men from the local community, having a good understanding of the
socio cultural context can be chosen to support the teachers in the preschool centres.
She can be provided induction and intensive training and support to address the
developmental needs of the children. More so they can take the role of local resource
person who provides valuable information to women, adolescent girls and other care
givers on issues related to health, child care and earl learning. Women from the local
community are considered as potential change makers in this process.
• For this reason, the teacher-child ratio and group size are important planning
considerations. The younger the group of children, the more important it is to have
adequate numbers of staff in the classroom. Appropriate staffing patterns will vary
according to the age group of the children, the type of activity, and the inclusion of
children with special needs. Appropriate teacher-child ratios encourage the bonding of
children and teachers.
7 School Readiness
Typically school readiness is understood or rather has been based on the assumption that
there is a predetermined set of skills and abilities that all children need before entering
primary school. Most specifically in India it is assumed that children entering primary schools
would have achieved the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic (commonly known as 3Rs).
In India a large number of children are first generation learners and come to school without
social, academic or language readiness. Across the country learning levels in first few grades
are low which may be symptomatic of this issue. It is well known that as more and more
children enter school, there are high incidences of drop outs, repeating grades, enrolling too
late or too early, and thus failing to learn.
As a result educational disparities are ever
increasing.
One need to recognize that child’s early learning, growth and development is
multidimensional, cumulative and is influenced by individual, social, cultural, and contextual
factors/variations. A recent study (CECED, 2013) in India has revealed that phonetics,
communication skills and cognitive activities such as sequential thinking and classification
are areas needing attention. However, any discussions or conclusions regarding school
readiness or what we expect children to know and do before entering school will be guided
by three basic factors:
• the diversity of children’s early life experiences as well as inequity in experiences;
• the wide variation in young children’s development and learning; and
• the degree to which school expectations of children entering kindergarten are
reasonable, appropriate, and supportive of individual differences ( NAEYC, 1995)
The concept of readiness includes much more than children’s readiness.
Comments
Post a Comment