DEVELOPING EARLY LEARNING STANDARDS FOR PRESCHOOLERS

Monimalika DayCECED. Ambedkar University

WHAT MOTIVATED US ?

Request from states and organizations to develop or review curriculum

Parents’ expectations Teacher’s expectations MWCD Policy on ECCE mentions the

need to develop standards Recommendations from NCF

PARENT EXPECTATIONS

sit quietly, follow instructions, and study

TEACHERS EXPECTATIONS

read and write, know rhymes, survive competition, and learn to come to school neat and clean.

PURPOSE

To address the above issues, the Early Learning Standards have been developed by the Centre for Early Childhood Education and Development (CECED) to inform educators working with young children between the ages of 3-6 years regarding appropriate educational goals for this age group and promote developmentally appropriate practice in India

DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE

• development of all domains•content and desired outcomes that have showed significant difference in learning and development•characteristics, sequences and processes involved in the early learning and development•appropriate and clear desired outcomes in relation to early learning and development •sensitive to socio-cultural, linguistic and individual diversity

DEFINITION OF ELS

The NAEYC defines ELS as ‘expectations for the learning and development of young children.’ ARNEC further describes it as set of standards of what children are expected to know and be able to do.’

BENEFITS•Improvement in preschool services•Educators begin to understand the importance of pre-requisite skills and begin to appreciate informal teaching approaches•Educators begin to understand purpose behind the activities•May impact school readiness in children because the curriculum and instruction is more aligned with learning goals•Standards may motivate policymakers to develop more capacity development opportunities for educators

RISKS

•Too much importance on learning outcomes and the learning process becomes secondary•Narrow standards•Burden of achievement may be shifted to children and teachers•May not consider socio-cultural factors

PROCESS

•orienting,•writing•validating•implementing •reviewing

DEVELOPMENTAL DOMAINS OF THE ELSAGES 3-6

•Understanding the environment (cognitive)•Language and Literacy•Social Emotional •Physical•Creative

DEVELOPING ELS FOR WEST BENGAL DUR

• AWW and CDPO’s involved in translating the ELS

• Focus group with 15 AWW who were involved in field testing of the curriculum

FEEDBACK FROM AWW

•Helped them to understand the purpose of activities•Understand the needs of children in different age groups•Language was easy to understand •Recommended changes in writing standards

THANK YOU