Acknowledgement : CECED Team Sponsored by AUD & NCTE

1. Pre-Service Teacher Education in ECCE in India – A Study Acknowledgement : CECED Team Sponsored by AUD & NCTE Technical Partners: IWSER & ICF International State partners : Andhra Mahila Sabha, Vidya Bhawan Society & Learning Imprints Venita Kaul and Swati Bawa

2. Background • ECCE in India is in the private and NGO sectors and is part of the 6 services of ICDS. Unregulated sector. • National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) is a statutory body for regulation of Pre service Teacher Education in India • NCTE includes a two year integrated diploma course in ECCE covering pre primary and grade I and II. • NCTE lays down specifications for : • Infrastructure • Batch size • Teacher educators qualifications • Curriculum etc.

3. Rationale On the one hand • Globally ECCE is emerging as significant stage of education. • Recent government initiatives in ECCE in India - RTE & Article 45 – have implications for significant expansion of ECCE & demand for teachers. On the other hand • No information available from field on coverage or quality. • Sector completely unregulated leading to anecdotal evidence of developmentally inappropriate curricula and practices both at teacher preparation & ECE center levels

4. Objectives of the study

7. CATEGORY WISE SAMPLE FOR FIELD OBSERVATIONS

9. Range of respondents covered: • Teacher educators • Academic heads • Trainees • Alumni • School heads where alumni work • Observation of classroom teaching • Study center coordinators (for distance courses)

10. MAIN RESULTS

11. Inequitable Access Across states • Inequitable access to ECCE Teacher Education • Maximum Institutions in Delhi / NCR and AP (10+) • Negligible no. in the North East, Haryana, Punjab & Himachal Pradesh • No. of Institutions declining in Gujarat, Maharashtra due to low demand in absence of regulation

12. Dominance of Private sector • Majority institutions in private sector (over 50 %) & are ‘stand alone’ institutions • Negligible involvement of higher learning institutions (8/95) Important for professional up-gradation and preparation of teacher educators, supervisors etc. • Very little investment by govt. sector in this area

13. Need for stronger regulation • More than 63 % institutions operating without NCTE recognition • Over 50 % of private institutions sampled were unrecognized • Significant variations from norms even among recognized institutions in terms of structure, duration, certification, physical facilities, curriculum & profile of teacher educators E.g. Duration varies from 3 months to 2 years!! Eligibility varies from class 10 to graduation

14. Positive finding - 60 % had work experience with children (not an NCTE requirement) • Concern: 40 % TEs do not meet required academic & professional qualifications; including 27 % even from recognized institutions • 58% TEs were unaware of the process of designing the curriculum & none had involvement in developing curriculum • No induction training for TEs

15. Majority Teacher Educators (53/78) showed no engagement in any research in ECE/ publishing any paper • Professional development opportunities and support were hardly reported

16. How do they develop it ? • 35 % institutions reported using National Curriculum framework (NCF) and National Curriculum framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE) guidelines and theoretical frameworks • Two thirds reported group consultations as the preferred method • 40 % teacher educators said that they organized workshops, seminars, talks etc. to supplement given curriculum & reduce curricular gaps • A few reported using innovative methods in teaching to overcome curricular gaps, if prescribed

17. Varied understanding of Curriculum • There is no uniform understanding across institutions about the age range of ECCE for which teacher education is provided • Overall content is centered on child devp. but confused often with academic instruction • Only 1 Academic Head reported receiving periodic orientation about the curriculum from the prescribing organization • Heads of all recognized institutions shared that NCTE rarely sought feedback about the curriculum or its transaction

18. Lecture method & small / large group exercises most common practices across all categories • Alumni report equal usage of all methods (such as lecture method, group discussion, role play and tutorials) However, not supported by observations!! • Minimal use of case studies, field observations & multi media

19. Practice teaching varied from 10% to 50 % of the curriculum • Trainees shared that they did not get enough experience of different ECCE contexts in their practical experience • Practical experience limited to ‘lab schools’ in many cases. Notion of ‘lab school’ a concern • Practice teaching only; no internship

20. WHAT DOES MARKET DEMAND? • 56% ads specified some academic and professional qualifications • Only 32 % of these specified nursery training. • In Orissa and Tamil Nadu all ads asked for graduation as academic qualif. not Class XII. • 35% demanded English fluency • Concern : 44% did not specify any qualification! 6 asked for English, Computer, pleasant personality etc.

21. Inequitable access across states • Need for stronger regulatory methods and norms • Higher learning institutions not engaged in teacher education • No course for teacher educators nor any induction training, curriculum involvement nor professional development • Curriculum varied since many do not conform to NCTE

22. Recommendations

23. Higher learning institutions to set up more programs at post graduate level to - (a) prepare teacher educators (b) provide refresher trainings for practicing teacher educators & ECCE leaders • Need for Integrating pedagogical priorities for pre school & early primary grades in respective TE courses to ensure common understanding & smooth transition • Flexible & innovative models including multi mode and modular programs to be encouraged with assurance of parity and outcomes

24. A system of accreditation for TE institutions to be instituted as incentive to improve & need to identify some well performing ones in different geographies as a chain of Resource institutions to support the system. Curriculum development to involve teacher educators Provisions be made for initial & refresher trainings Reference /resource material to be prepared to support teacher educators & student teachers NCTE to proactively organize periodic orientation programs

25. Ensure curriculum is consistent with developmentally appropriate practice and covers continuum from birth to eight years • Ensure focus on enabling student teachers to work in different settings & social milieu. • Should include updated insights from international research & contemporary policy scenarios in India, of relevance to teachers • Should include opportunities for individual growth & self development of student teachers

26. Each institution to adopt 20 -25 ECCE centers as a lab area for practice teaching and in the process upgrade these as demonstration centers • Practice – theory ratio to be 50:50 for student teachers to get a more balanced understanding • A phased approach to be adopted with initial period of observation, followed by practice teaching & then internship

27. Wider consultation with Teacher Educators & experts to review the current norms & prioritize those norms that should be non negotiable for ensuring quality. • Experience of working with children should be included as a desirable qualification for teacher educators. • Teacher educators should receive orientation from the prescribing organization in the content & transaction of the curriculum • TE institutions should expand their “lab school” concept into lab areas by working directly with a range of preschools within a defined geography, with the dual aim of informing & influencing their practices, while also providing opportunity to trainees to experience diverse contexts

28. Innovative use of technology for ensuring quality in instruction as well as practice teaching and internship. • Study material to be updated regularly, made attractive within approved norms. • Review/ Assessment of the study centers to be conducted on regular basis • Placements should be facilitated by the headquarters. • Norms and specifications for Distance Education to be laid down by NCTE