Last date for nomination: June 5, 2025
About This Course
Course Objective
This course aims to develop a sound understanding of the meaning and importance of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), and the approaches and practices related to the holistic development of children aged 0 to 6 years. The course provides a basic understanding of the ECCE curriculum and pedagogical approaches to ensure optimal and holistic development of young children, and to build capacities to design and implement ECCE programs in the participants' own contexts.Course Outcomes
By the end of the course, the participants will be able to:- Understand the importance of ECCE and its objectives
- Understand the different developmental domains and milestones important for early years
- Understand how young children learn and the importance of play
- Understand working of anganwadis and how to work with various stakeholders such as anganwadi workers/pre-school teachers
- Have the necessary skills to engage in pre-school learning themselves and mentor teachers who will deliver pre-school learning
- Understand the role of parents in early stimulation and early learning
- Be able to design their own ECCE programs with anganwadis/ private pre-schools
- Understand ECCE in the context of NEP 2020 and the new National Curriculum Framework
Pre-requisites
The course is suitable for:- Leaders and program heads of organizations interested in starting ECCE as a program, or in strengthening ECCE
- Program managers or other program team members of organizations
- School/pre-school teachers
- Resource persons or individuals interested in ECCE
Expected Commitment
- In-person workshop at Bengaluru: Four (4) days in-person at the beginning
- Online: Four (4) sessions of two hours each
- Assignments/pre-work: Sixty minutes every fortnight for catch up calls
- Other expectations: Openness to try/ test what is learnt with a group of children
Course Details
Evidence from neuroscience reveals that over 85% of a child's cumulative brain development occurs before the age of six years. This shows the critical importance of preschool education to promote sustained and healthy brain development and growth. NEP 2020 does lay emphasis on the importance of the early years. However, there is a need for greater understanding of quality ECCE, and the relevant best practices, by all relevant stakeholders including anganwadi teachers, parents, caregivers and civil society stakeholders.Makkala Jagriti's training program for practitioners seeks to fill these gaps. Topics covered include introduction to ECCE, domains of development, setting up of learning spaces, and strategies for working with young children, among others. These are combined with field visits and observations of best practices.
About The Resource Organization
Makkala Jagriti is a Bengaluru-based NGO committed to empowering underprivileged children and youth through holistic learning. With age-appropriate interventions for children and youth to enable self-discovery and unleashing their potential, the organization works in government schools, anganwadis, Child Care Institutions (CCIS), and urban poor communities. Over 20 years, Makkala Jagriti has directly impacted over 80.000 children and transformed 500+ institutions across 13 districts in Karnataka. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) is a key program in the organization's mission. Makkala Jagriti works toward an empowered future aimed at equipping anganwadi teachers and the ecosystems around them to deliver quality preschool education to children between 3 and 6 years. The organization is excited to share and build knowledge toward making quality ECCE for all a nationwide sustainable movement.
Visit makkalajagritiFacilitators
Amrutha Murali
Amrutha has a degree in Biotechnology. As a Teach for India (TFI) fellow, she has taught in a government school in Pune for two years. Following the TFI Fellowship, she joined the founding team of Meghshala, a Bengaluru-based NGO empowering government schoolteachers with technology. After her stint with Meghshala, she completed her Montessori training from Indian Institute of Montessori. She currently leads the ECCE Program at Makkala Jagriti, empowering anganwadi teachers with pre-school learning.
Dr. Chaitra G K
Dr Chaitra has a background in Ayurvedic Medicine, Surgery and Public Health. She has been working in the field of child health since 2014 Among other positions and assignments, she has worked with Rashtriya Bala Swasthya Karyakram, and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bengaluru She currently leads efforts of the design and delivery of ECCE trainings for anganwadi teachers at Makkala Jagriti.
Sucheethra srinivasn
Sucheethra holds an MA in Education from TISS Mumbai. She is also a trained Montessorian from Indian Montessori Training Centre South, Bengaluru. She brings over a decade of experience in the field of education, combining both teaching expertise and a strong background in collaborating with government agencies to drive systemic improvements in government schools. Her core competencies include designing learning experiences for both academic and non-academic contexts, and curriculum and training design. Suchithra has conducted training sessions for primary school teachers and ECE educators. She also has hands-on experience in establishing a Montessori method school in Bengaluru.
Ashwini
Ashwini is a seasoned project manager and trainer with seven (7) years of experience in the education sector. She holds an MCom and a Diploma in ECE. Over the course of her career, she has successfully managed projects for Makkala Jagriti with collaborations with organizations such as Save the Children, and United Way. She has also worked in close capacity with functionaries from the Department of Women and Child Development. Ashwini has trained over 300 teachers and impacted more than 7,000 children through school readiness programs. She has led teams of over 30 people and managed large-scale projects. Ashwini's expertise spans preschool education, project management, and team leadership, demonstrating a proven track record in effectively managing projects, training educators, and leading teams.
Testimonials
Gowramma, Anganwadi Teacher, Devasandra
“It was an eye-opening experience for me. I didn't know my role as an anganwadi teacher was so important. I feel both responsible and equipped now to provide learning opportunities for the children of my anganwadi. The trainings from Makkala Jagriti being experiential in nature were very easy to understand and apply thereafter. Their on-the-job support helped me clarify things. Now I look forward to doing pre-school learning every day with my children.”
Neha Mathur, Program Head (ECCE), Youngistaan Foundation
"We have integrated many key principles of early childhood development and early education into our Early Learning Program. The discussions at the workshop were an encouraging reinforcement, thereby boosting my confidence that we are on the right track!
A significant learning from the workshop was that we can create low-cost meaningful learning aids and resources for our classrooms using simple, everyday material like cardboard and paint, and do not necessarily need to purchase expensive games and toys. Also, that we can extend this knowledge to our parents community!
I was always a little intimidated by learning corners, and if these were actually feasible in our setups with limited resources. I was pleasantly surprised to know that running learning corners in a small classroom is possible. I also learnt that this can be done successfully in ways that are meaningful for our young learners, and not just as an empty routine."
