• Prof. Rekha Sharma Sen
• Dr. Preetika Badgujar

To foster the development of children, it is important to understand how children develop from one year to the next. The years between birth and eight years have been divided into four age groups – birth to 12 months (the first year), 13 months – 36 months (between 1 and 3 years), 37 – 72 months (between 3 and 6 years) and between 6 and 8 years. For each age group, children’s development related to physical, motor, language, cognitive, social and emotional domains has been described. This content has been described in six Blocks of this six credit Course.

• Prof. Rekha Sharma Sen

While the concepts and practice of Curriculum and Pedagogy for Early Years and Foundational Stage Education has been divided into two Courses – Course 2 and Course 3 – these two Courses are inter-related. In order to make the content accessible, the Part 1 (i.e. Course 2) focuses on the age group birth to six years (up to pre-primary years) and Part 2 (i.e. Course 3) on early primary grades (classes 1 and 2). Course 2 will familiarize you with the concept of ECCE and how as a teacher/educator you can ensure that children in early childhood years be offered a stimulating learning environment and opportunities that promote their development across all the developmental domains. The Course will provide learning experiences that will prepare the learners for effective participation in 22 different areas of Early Childhood Care and Education and Foundational Stage Education in varied contexts such as crèches and preschools. However, many of the concepts discussed in this Course as well as the learning experiences described are applicable for education in early primary grades as well.

• Prof. Rekha Sharma Sen

Through this Course you will come to know about the curriculum and pedagogy of early years and foundational stage education, which enables you to plan and implement day-today play-based learning experiences for children in grades 1 and 2. The curriculum of early primary classes focuses on language and mathematics, and the teaching of environmental studies through the language and mathematics curriculum. Accordingly, the focus of this Course is on enabling the learner to develop the competencies to implement meaningful teaching practices related to literacy, mathematics and environmental studies. Special emphasis has been laid on explaining how curricular and pedagogical continuity can be maintained between pre-primary and early primary classes.

• Prof. Rekha Sharma Sen

This Course is concerned with the ‘Organization and Management of Early Years and Foundational Stage Education Programmes’ and offers a holistic understanding of various concepts and techniques, through numerous practical examples, that will help one to ensure effective planning, execution, implementation, and assessment of programmes in ECCE centre or primary school. This includes planning of physical space, materials and equipment, principles of management as applied to and early years education programme, and strategies of community involvement.

• Prof. Rekha Sharma Sen
• Dr. Preetika Badgujar

Through this Course you will come to know about the meaning of disability, the changing approaches towards disability, types of disabilities, their causes, the measures for prevention, specific policy provision and legislation to promote participation of persons with disabilities in the social, economic, cultural and political life of the society. Reading through this Course will enable you to be alert to early symptoms indicative of disability, to be able to provide meaningful learning experiences to children with disabilities within the setting of the preschool/early primary grades, to take preventive action and strengthen your skills of interacting with the community.

• Prof. Rekha Sharma Sen
• Dr. Preetika Badgujar

This Course consists of the Practical Activities that you are expected to carry out towards the successful completion of the Post Graduate Diploma. The Practical Activities are related to the theory syllabus of Course 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Doing these Practical Activities will help to clarify your understanding of the theoretical concepts explained in the five 27 theory Courses of this PG Diploma. These are field based Practical Activities where you will be taking observations, conducting interviews, reviewing print media articles etc. These activities will provide you opportunity to interact with children, their family members, their teachers and other functionaries associated with a preschool/primary school. These are not lab-based practical activities. You have to perform the specified activities under the overall guidance and supervision of the Academic Counselor at the Study Centre. Further details regarding the Supervised Practicum are stated in the Practical Manual as well as in the Section ‘Evaluation’ further in the Programme Guide.

• Prof. Rekha Sharma Sen

The Project Work 1/Internship 1 is the seventh Course of this Post Graduate Diploma Programme. Through this Course you will be able to get hands-on experience and the “feel” of working with children in a preschool setting. Details regarding the Project Work/Internship are stated in the Project Work/Internship Manual 1. However, some salient information about carrying out the Project Work is provided further in the next paragraph, in Box 1 and also in the ‘Evaluation’ section 4 of this Programme Guide. Broadly, you have to identify a preschool that follows the play-and-activity based approach. To help you to do this, checklists have been given in the Project Manual 1 which will help you to identify an appropriate school. You can also take the support of the Academic Counselor at the Study Centre to identify the preschool. However, the identification of the pre-primary school/ nursery school/ preschool is your responsibility. You have to work with one group/class of preschool children for 20 working days totaling 120 hours of work and carry out observations and play activities with the children there, under the guidance and supervision of pre-primary teacher there, as per the guidelines given in the Project Manual 1. Attending the counseling sessions related to this Course will help you to sort out doubts and challenges in carrying out the project work/internship by discussing the various aspects with the Academic Counselor. The pre-primary teacher will provide day-to-day guidance.