Early Childhood Care and Education

Early childhood is a period that covers the first six years of a life of a child, wherein their brain grows at an extraordinary speed. The synaptic connections to the brain are made by the experiences that a child draws from his/her environment. Hence the environment of every child should be enriched with powerful experiences to lay a stronger foundation and thereby fostering the holistic lifelong development.Early childhood care and education is a multidisciplinary field that relies on insights from several fields like human development, psychology, sociology, and medicine, particularly neuroscience.Having said the importance of the lifespan stage - the early childhood and the magnitude of the care and education components of it, this credit course on Early childhood care and education serves as a curriculum framework for children from birth to six years. It aims to provide information for the adults to plan and provide enjoyable learning experiences so that every child grows and develops as a competent and confident learner. The curriculum describes the theoretical underpinnings of learning and development of children at their early years and offers strategies and suggestions of how this learning can be nurtured. Also it intends to provide guidelines on supporting children’s learning through partnership with parents, interaction with others, play and assessment.The course provides a platform for the learner to explore and reflect the above said aspects by using multiple pedagogical techniques such as assignments, discussions, designing portfolio and first- hand experience as an intern, thereby encouraging you to be an effective ECCE provider.

Week - 1
1. ECCE in India2. Principles of growth and development and interrelatedness of the domains of development3. Brain development in early years
Week - 2
4. Theoretical foundations and its implications towards learning and development in early years - Behaviourism and social learning5. Theoretical foundations and its implications towards learning and development in early years – Piaget’s Cognitive developmental theory6. Theoretical foundations and its implications towards learning and development in early years – Information processing and Gardner’s’ MI
Week - 3
7. Theoretical foundations and its implications towards learning and development in early years - Ecological and socio-cultural perspective8. Objectives and Principles of ECCE9. ECCE concerns
Week - 4
10. Concept, meaning and benefits of play11. Types of play and its values - Part 112. Types of play and its values - Part 213. Learning and developing holistically through play
Week - 5
14. Curriculum of play way approach – supporting communication skills15. Curriculum of play way approach – supporting early literacy and numeracy16. Curriculum of play way approach – supporting reading skills
Week - 6
17. The planning process – Long term, medium term and small term18. The planning process - Reviewing and evaluating planned themes and activities
Week - 7
19. Setting up early learning environment – indoor20. Setting up early learning environment – outdoor21. Meaning and concept, general types of pedagogical techniques and strategies
Week - 8
22. Pedagogy in relation to ECE – Positioning, Empowering, Scaffolding23. Pedagogy in relation to ECE – Co-constructing, Modelling, Questioning24. Pedagogy in relation to ECE – Encouraging and praising, Problem solving, Documenting
Week - 9
25. Guiding principles and suggestive developmentally appropriate practices for birth to three years – Part 126. Guiding principles and suggestive developmentally appropriate practices for birth to three years – Part 2
Week - 10
27. Guiding principles and suggestive developmentally appropriate practices for three to six years – Part – 128. Guiding principles and suggestive developmentally appropriate practices for three to six years – Part – 2
Week - 11
29. Recognizing dispositions, skills, attitudes, knowledge and understanding of children30. Creating a strong emotional foundation
Week - 12
31. Principles of assessment32. Why, what, and when to assess33. Assessment tools and strategies
Week - 13
34. Key people in the assessment process – ECCE provider35. Key people in the assessment process – Parents and family36. Assessment information – Planning the next step in learning
Week - 14
37. Meaning and importance of effective transition38. Strategies to promote effective transition- to enable the child to be ready to learn
Week - 15
39. Strategies to promote effective transition- to facilitate parent to support child’s transition40. Strategies to promote effective transition- to assist the school to be ready for the child