7.

Early Childhood Care and Education

‘Points to remember’
1. Early Childhood Care and Education is an activity that benefits
childhood in different circumstances, as well as families by
providing the support to parents and the community in these
basic tasks.
2. Early Childhood care and Education is also called E.C.C.E.
3. Early childhood is the phase from birth till eight years of age,
which is divided into two parts -
i. Birth to 3 years
ii. 3 to 8 years
  This division is based on the developmental changes
taking place in young children in these two stages.
4. Infancy is the period between birth to two years of age, during
which a child is largely dependent on adults for his/her
everyday needs.
5. A child between two to three years. is called as Toddler, who
has a tendency to do jumpy walk.
6. A preschool child is a child who is ready for experiencing some
environment which is beyond that of the family.
7. Care given to a child in the absence of the mother is called
Substitute care. Child can be given substitute care by the
following people :
i. Grand parents
ii. Other relatives
iii. Elder sister/brother
iv. Maid
v. Creche
vi. Day care centre
8. Caregiver is a family member or paid helper who regularly
looks after a child or a sick, elderly or differently abled person.

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 9. There can be many reasons for giving substitute child care-
i. Untimely death of the mother
ii. Mother's ill-health/any disease
iii. Working woman
iv. Nuclear family
10. There can be many disadvantages of an elder sister caring for
her younger brother/ sister like-
i. She will have to leave her studies.
ii. She is young, cannot take proper care of the child.
iii. She can get involved in play, hence it is not safe to leave child
with her.
iv. If some emergency situation arises, like the child falls ill or gets
hurt, then she will not be able to handle it.
11. Creche is an institutional setting that is particularly designed
for the care of infants and young children in the absence of
home care.
Facilities provided by creche-
i. Feeding facilities
ii. Resting facilities
iii. Recreational facilities
iv. First aid
v. Informal education.
vi. Clean and safe environment
12. Day care centres are the centres which provide daytime care
to children in the preschool years. In these centres, infants
and preschoolers are cared for in the absence of a primary
caregiver.
13. Anganwadi means Courtyard shelter. These are a type of rural
/ urban child care centres as a part of ICDS programme.
14. Social development in Early childhood-
i. Infant develops an attachment with his family (specially
parents, siblings).
ii. He recognises his family members. Child learns to distinguish

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 between people who he/ she recognises and those who are
unfamiliar for him.
iii. A child of 8-12 months shows fear of unknown people.
iv. A 12 month old child is deeply attached to his mother, and
cries when she is not around him. Gradually, he understands
that mother does not vanish when she goes to another room.
15. Characteristics of a three year old child-
i. His activities and experiences began to expand.
ii. Child is able to do informal and small group activities
iii. Child is very eager to learn new things.
iv. He learns new things and explores his environment.
v. He interacts with people and things around him.
16. Preschool education is the provision of education for children
before the commencement of formal education between the
ages of 3 to 6 years. This education is provided by a good
preschool.
Characteristics of a Good Preschool-

PRESCHOOL

• Child centred approach.

• Play way method of learning.
• Child learns quickly among peers.
• Child enjoys each others company.
• Child becomes independent.
• Informal education and preparation for
formal school.
• Beneficial for children with special
needs.

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 17. Montessori schools are those schools which are based on the
principles of early childhood education as outlined by a well
known educationist Maria Montessori.
18. Some principles related to E.C.C.E.-
i. Children have different approach to understand things that
happen around them.
ii. All institutions of children should work according to the cultural
context of the families of those children.
19. A per the National Curriculum Framework. (NCF) 2005,
objectives of E.C.C.E. (Early Childhood Care and Education)
are-
i. Holistic development of the child to enable him/her to realise
the potential.
ii. To prepare the child to go to a formal school.
iii. Providing support services for women and children.
20. As per the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005, the
guiding principles of E.C.C.E. ( Early Childhood Care and
Education) are -
i. Play should be the basis for learning.
ii. Art should be the basis of education.
iii. Special features of children's thinking should be recognised.
iv. Give importance to experience rather than expertise.
v. There should be experience of familiarity and challenge in
everyday routines.
vi. There should be a mix of formal and informal interactions.
vii. There should be a blend of textual and cultural sources.
viii. Local materials, arts and knowledge should be used.
ix. Have developmentally appropriate practices, flexibility and
plurality.
x. It is important to teach health, well being and healthy habits.
21. Following are the expectations from a caregiver of young
children -
i. Teacher should teach children in play way method.

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 ii. Children should be taught in an interesting and stimulating
manner.
iii. Focus on providing opportunities to children to work.
iv. Teacher should have complete knowledge about children's
capacities.
v. The activities for the children should be kept according to their
cultural and regional environment.
vi. The teacher should have administrative and management skills
like record keeping, accounting, report writing, interaction with
parents etc.
vii. Teacher should have various artistic skills like narrating stories
to children, dance, music, voice modulation, organising games
etc.
viii. Young children have short attention span, hence teacher's plan
of action should be flexible, which can be changed according to
children's needs.

* Vygotsky, a psychologist and educator, had outlined the

great need that children have for a concerned, caring and
knowledgeable adult.

22. Essential skills that an Early Childhood professional needs to

have -
i. Have an interest in children and their development.
ii. Have knowledge about the needs and capabilities of young
children.
iii. Have capacity for interacting with children
iv. Should be able to do creative and interesting activities with
children.
v. Do all activities with children with enthusiasm like story telling,
poem recitation, talking about about environment related
topics etc.
vi. Children have curious attitude, so there should be willingness
and interest in answering their queries.

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 vii. Young children are different from each other, capacity for
understanding their individual differences.
viii. Be always prepared for different types of physical activities.
23. Services available in Early Childhood Care and Education-

Creches

Day Care Centres

Nursery schools

Services Non Government Organisation (NGO)

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)

Training Institutes

24. Careers in Early Childhood Care and Education-

i. Teacher in nursery schools.
ii. Caregiver in Day care centres and Creches.
iii. Team members for programmes for young children (like
Integrated Child Development Services)
iv. Professionals to plan and promote campaigns or services for
young children organised by government or NGOS.
v. Entrepreneur in children related activities like organising
camps, educational picnics, running activity clubs, opening
own preschool.
vi. Post graduation, Diploma and Degree in Early Childhood Care
and Education; higher education in this field. Later Ph.D. with
research in this field.
25. Educational qualifications necessary for career in Early
childhood field-
i. Nursery Teacher Training

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 ii. Child/Human Development or Child psychology-Graduation/
Diploma and then Post graduation.
iii. Educational programme from open University.
iv. Ph.D
Full forms of Abbreviations-
1. ECCE - Early Childhood Care and Education
2. NCF - National Curriculum Framework
3. ICDS - Integrated Child Development Services
4. NGO - Non Government Organisation
5. NTT - Nursery Teacher Training
6. IGNOU - Indira Gandhi National Open University.
OBJECTIVE TYPE QUESTIONS (1 mark)
(A) Multiple Choice Questions
1. What is full form of E.C.C.E. ?
a. Primary Childhood Care and Education
b. Early Childhood Care and Education.
c. Early Boyhood Care and Education.
d. Early Childhood Education and Care.
Ans. b. Early Childhood Care and Education.
2. Child of which age shows fear of unknown people?
a. 4-6 months b. 0-2 months
c. 6-8 months d. 8-12 months
Ans. d.8-12 months
3. Child between two to three years old is called _____________.
a. Toddler b. Infant
c. Adolescent d. School going child
Ans. a. Toddler
4. According to psychologist_____________, children have a need for a
concerned, caring and knowledgeable adult.

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