Page 7 - Final Lesson-1.pmd

Early Childhood Care and Education : Meaning and Significance

It is important to observe the signs of developmental delay in children to provide
them appropriate and timely intervention. Early intervention means taking
necessary actions as early as possible to work on children’s developmental and
learning needs, thus reducing the effects of any developmental delay. It means Notes
introducing the right kind of interventions in children’s life as early as possible
when their mind is most receptive to learning new things.

Therefore, regular health check-ups of children should be undertaken and a health
record should be maintained. Health examination should include general
appearance, body structure, recording of pulse, breathing rate, temperature,
measurement of height, weight, chest and abdomen. Examination of neck, eyes,
ears, nose, throat, teeth, skin, hair, nails, vision, hearing, mental responsiveness,
movement of limbs, urine and stool examinations should also be done. This
helps in early detection of defects. If any problem is diagnosed or reported early,
it can then be immediately attended to.

Physical and sensory impairments especially impede children’s development.
For example, if any child has sensory impairment, that child might find it difficult
to interact well with the environment. This may have ripple effects and the child’s
language and socio-emotional development may also slow down. If a child is
called repeatedly and the child does not respond, it may be that the child has
difficulty in hearing. Similarly, if a child does not speak even after a certain age,
then he may need support to acquire the skill of speaking as per age. Thus, timely
identification helps to provide early intervention to children. If a child’s
developmental delays are not addressed on time, then these temporary delays
may become permanent. Any intervention given at a later stage will not be
sufficient to catch up. Large numbers of children in our country are susceptible
to multiple risk factors in the early years of life including poor health, malnutrition
and low levels of stimulation in the home environment. So, it is even more
important to detect early developmental lags and provide corrective inputs for it.

1.5 ECCE IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT
There has been a growing awareness about the importance of early years and the
need for providing quality early care and learning opportunities to young children.
Many educational thinkers have contributed to the field of ECCE, expressing
their thoughts about the way children grow, think and develop. In India, the
early pioneers of early childhood education include Gijubhai Badheka, Tarabai
Modak, and Maria Montessori.

Gijubhai Badheka believed that good education is very important for the proper
development of children. For this, he founded ‘BalMandir’, a preschool in
Bhavnagar, Gujarat in 1920.
Tarabai Modak also made significant contributions in the field of preschool
education in India. In 1926, she founded the Nutan Bal Shikshan Sangh in

EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION 7