Challenges of Developing Quality Standards Tapaswini Sahu, MWCD and Meenal Sarda, UNICEF ECCE Conference, Delhi Sept 27, 2013

National ECCE policy GoI has approved the National ECCE Policy. This includes the Curriculum Framework and Quality Standards. The cardinal principles informing this policy are: Universal access with equity and inclusion Quality in ECCE Programmes – National ECCE Curriculum Framework – Quality Standards – ECCE programme evaluation Strengthening Institutional Capacity Community Mobilization for Implementation and Monitoring

Quality Standards for ECCE  Rationale Promote, reinforce and safeguard quality services for all young children Promote professionalism in the field Systemic development of the field  Principles Developmentally appropriate services Ensuring holistic development of children Relevant to the child’s context Partnership with family and community Centrality of child’s learning in the environment Equity, inclusion and diversity

Universal Access with Equity and Inclusion Age and developmentally appropriate National ECCE Curriculum Framework will be developed. The mother tongue/ home language/ local vernacular of the child will be the primary language of interaction in the ECCE programmes. Exposure to other languages in the region and English in oral form will be encouraged in a meaningful manner. Provision of safe, child friendly and developmentally appropriate play and learning materials and appropriate play spaces. Formative and continuous child assessment will be conducted at the ECCE center. Possible Regulatory Framework for ECCE to ensure basic quality inputs and outcomes, across all service providers.

Non-negotiable for promoting quality ECCE An ECCE programme of 3-4 hours duration 1 classroom 35 square meters for a group of 30 children and availability of adequate (atleast 30 square meters) outdoor space for a group of 30 children Adequately trained staff Age and developmentally appropriate, child centric curriculum transacted in the mother tongue/local vernacular Adequate developmentally appropriate toys and learning materials A safe building which is within easy approach. It should be clean and should have surrounding green area Adequate and safe drinking water facilities Adequate and separate child-friendly toilets and handwash facilities for girls and boys Separate space allocated for cooking nutritionally balanced meals and nap time for children Immediate health service in terms of First Aid/ Medical Kit available at the centre The adult/ caregiver: child ratio of 1:20 for 3-6 year old children and 1:10 for under 3s should be available at the ECCE Centre. Children should not be unattended at any given point of time.

Quality Standard Domains Standard I: Interaction Caregiver/ ECCE Teacher- child interaction Child - child interaction Child – environment interaction Staff- family/ parent interaction Intra staff interaction Standard II: Health nutrition, personal care and routine Health (check-up, first aid, immunization, handling illness) Nutrition Hygiene Habit formation Standard III: Protective Care and Safety Adult supervision Socio/Emotional protection Physical safety

Quality Standard Domains Standard IV: Infrastructure/ physical environment Space, building, outdoors (size, ventilation, light, disabled friendly) Aesthetics, cleanliness, green area Safety and approach Water facility Toilet facility Standard V: Organisation and Management Programme philosophy and methods Documentation and records Programme planning Parent involvement Financial management (fee, salary, fund allocation) Staffing(adequacy, professional qualifications, professional development opportunities)

Standard VI: Children experiences and learning opportunities Provide opportunities for exploration, experimentation Encourage child to make choices and participate in play Foster child’s language and literacy abilities Develop problem solving and mathematical abilities Promote each child’s physical abilities Nurture development and maintenance of relationships Cultivate enjoyment of and participation in expressive arts Standard VII: Assessment and outcome measures Assessment methods Assessment reporting Facilitating development through assessment Staff assessment and development Programme assessment (staff meeting, parent feedback) Standard VIII: Managing to support quality System Teacher education and on site professional development, opportunity for capacity building at all administrative levels, career path for the staff Monitoring and supportive supervision Research

Quality Standards for ECCE Quality Document being developed based on Quality Standards Framework by MWCD, to make it usable for practitioners. Being jointly developed by MWCD and UNICEF, in consultation with Core Group. Purpose is to develop a common understanding of quality in ECCE and provide a concrete description for people working in the field. Target: ECCE practitioners Key features: – Pictorial – Bi-lingual – Draw upon ongoing research – Draws upon similar work done by other countries in South Asia Document can be used for training teachers/ AWWs on quality elements.

Longitudinal Impact study Some lessons: 1.Physical facilities are a necessary but not sufficient condition for ensuring quality of an ECE programme. 2. Availability and use of Learning and play materials is essential for a developmentally appropriate ECE curriculum. 3. Focus on classroom management and organization emerges as a key input for a developmentally appropriate curriculum. 4. Democratic Classroom environment with an interactive teacher is conducive for a developmentally appropriate curriculum. 5.Close interdependence and association exists between and among activities for different developmental domains, indicating the value of an activity based approach. 6.Formal learning and teaching of the 3R’s at this stage has an inverse relationship with developmentally appropriate activities.

Contextualization of ECCE Curriculum: A Pilot Study ( Dec 2012 – Feb 2013) When the AWWs are supported they are willing and able to perform. Responsibility of ensuring good PSE on the middle and senior level officials to ensure conditions and opportunities whereby the AWWS can perform. Training of the AWWs should be based upon the curriculum they would transact and practical experience of carrying out activities through simulation or demonstration by experts. Development of detailed curriculum with day-wise and time-wise activity descriptions Decisions regarding monitoring evolved through participation and dialogue

Process S. No.ActivityTentative timeline 1 Agreement between MWCD and UNICEF on the Concept Note. March Set up the Core Group.April Meetings of the Core Group to work on the content for the document. (3 meetings) May- September Collecting pictures from different partners, to illustrate the contents. August onwards 5 Translation of the content in Hindi, so the quality dimensions are described both in English and Hindi. October Consultation Meeting/ Sharing the document for feedback. November Finalization of the documentNovember Printing and dissemination of the documentDecember 2013

Themes 1.ECCE centre Physical infrastructure Organization and Management Children experiences and learning opportunities 2.Teachers/ caregivers Roles and responsibilities Assessment Professional development and support 3.Children 4.Parents/ community

Challenges Gap between ‘minimum standards’ and ‘standards to aspire for’ Developing common standards for: – Rural- urban ( for eg: issues of space) – Government, voluntary and private – Standards for different states and their contexts Role of ‘teacher/ caregiver’- care, education and nutrition Language to be usable by practitioners Non- prescriptive Statements have to be formulated in a manner that can be illustrated through real pictures M & E framework: child outcomes can be attributed to quality Alignment between learning standard, curriculum and programme quality No legal implications