The Nationwide Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS), launched in October this 12 months, marks a paradigm shift in our understanding of schooling. It establishes a definite framework for the way India can implement one of many key options of the Nationwide Training Coverage (NEP) 2020.
Earlier than delving into any particulars about this framework, it’s vital to grasp the way wherein NEP is seeking to reconfigure our college system.
At the moment, we’ve got a ten+2 curricular mannequin of college schooling. NEP talks of switching that to 4 curricular levels — basis, preparatory, center and secondary.
Basis refers to ages 3 to eight (Class 1 and a pair of and three years earlier than that), after which you could have ages 8-11 (Preparatory), 11-14 (Center) and 14-18 (Secondary). So, from the present 10+2 system of college schooling, the NEP envisages transferring to a 5+4+3+4.
To get a greater understanding of NCF-FS and the influence it’s more likely to have on future generations, The Higher India spoke to Shankar Maruwada, CEO and Co-founder of EkStep Basis, a non-profit devoted to bettering entry to studying alternatives. He’s additionally a member of the Nationwide Steering Committee appointed by the Authorities of India to develop the Nationwide Curriculum Frameworks.
“That is the primary time, as a rustic, that we’re making a curriculum framework for the Foundational stage. That’s one motive why this can be a landmark doc,” says Shankar.
However why is there such an emphasis on the Foundational stage?
That is pushed by the deep and long-term implications that the primary eight years of a kid’s life have on their bodily, cognitive and socio-emotional growth. Neuroscience analysis tells us that about 85% of an individual’s mind growth occurs by the age of 8. Thus, early childhood care and schooling (ECCE), which refers to care and schooling of kids from the time they’re born to age 8, is of immense significance. Recognising this, many developed nations have invested closely in ECCE.
Kids between the age of 0 and three are cared for at house. As soon as they cross 3, kids transfer into institutional settings like pre-school, kindergartens, nursery, Balvatikas and Anganwadi for his or her total growth till they flip 6, which is then adopted by Class 1 and a pair of at school.
Evidently, it’s tough to overstate the significance of foundational stage schooling for kids between the ages of three and eight. It’s the inspiration that prepares kids for formal schooling from Class 3 onwards and their life-long journey of studying. If the foundations are sturdy, the remainder of the edifice can stand tall.
The NCF-FS ready by a Nationwide Steering Committee led by former ISRO chief Ok Kasturirangan presents an in depth framework of how India can impart high quality foundational stage schooling.
“Earlier than the Standing Committee even got here collectively, over 1.3 lakh lecturers and educators have been consulted. There have been greater than 1,550 district-level consultations. These resulted in additional than 500 papers on 25 subjects put collectively by 4,000 specialists throughout India. After which on the nationwide stage, 175 specialists deliberated on these findings and got here out with 25 papers, one on every matter. This was the wealth of fabric and expertise put earlier than the Steering Committee. The problem was harmonising these inputs, making it coherent and balancing the multiplicity of views into one framework. That was an especially difficult activity,” notes Shankar.
Setting the framework
What’s a curriculum? It’s the whole lot of organised experiences college students have in any institutional setting like a faculty, pre-school or Anganwadi centre directed in the direction of instructional targets.
“This consists of studying and developmental targets, syllabi, content material to be taught and learnt, pedagogical practices and evaluation (exams), teaching-learning supplies, faculty and classroom practices, the training surroundings, tradition of the establishment and extra,” famous Anurag Behar, member of the Mandate Group for NCF, in a current column for The Mint.
Each state is meant to develop its personal curriculum. However what’s the nationwide blueprint that states can comply with in order that we’re working in the direction of a collective nationwide aim?
The NCF is laying down a framework which states can use to create their very own curriculum. However how do they give thought to creating curricula? What ought to they give thought to when creating it?
A 12 months in the past, the Steering Committee started working on this regard to develop a nationwide framework for this, which concluded with the discharge of the NCF-FS in October.
Play-based studying
Educationists be aware that on the coronary heart of ECCE and the foundational stage is play-based studying, This stands in distinction to the extra conventional system, which over time has forgotten the expertise and exercise elements of studying.
“Primarily based on science and what we all know, and from a number of expertise, play is a vital manner for the kid to be taught. On this context, it’s not simply ‘enjoying’ as we all know it. It consists of singing songs, conversations, tales, music, puzzles, dancing, and so forth. It’s what the kid does naturally, or as we are saying, ‘play is baby’s work’. When a baby is enjoying, they’re studying. This isn’t groundbreaking perception. The NCF-FS is legitimising what everyone is aware of instinctively,” says Shankar.
“Studying is not only when the kid is sitting down in consideration, writing one thing. In actual fact, between the age of three and eight, completely different kids be taught at completely different paces, and in several methods. It’s crucial to not drive a selected fashion of studying. Let the kid play! No matter catches the eye of the kid and is protected is nice,” he provides.
Domains, curricular targets and studying outcomes
The NCF-FS articulates what are the curricular targets we’re setting for our kids. These are non-negotiable. In Hindi, we discuss of padhai (finding out) and poshan (vitamin).
“Padhai historically means finding out, however in case you change that to growth and studying, the definition of the curricular targets expands to 5 domains of studying and growth. These domains have been arrived at from science, NEP 2020 and Indian civilisational data and traditions. The 5 key domains are bodily and motor growth, cognitive growth, socio-emotional-ethical growth, cultural/creative growth and growth of communication and early language, literacy, and numeracy,” says Shankar.
Sometimes, language, literacy and maths is seen as padhai within the Indian context of rote studying, however as this framework emphasises, it’s way more than that. In opposition to these 5 domains, NCF has listed 13 curriculum targets, with every being additional damaged into competencies, and every competency into illustrative studying outcomes.
“These illustrative studying outcomes are what a instructor or a dad or mum can observe each day. So, if these studying outcomes are achieved, you recognize {that a} baby is making progress in the direction of a competency. When the actual competency is achieved, you recognize that the kid is making progress within the curriculum,” he explains.
“The NCF-FS units the curricular targets. It lays out some competencies, studying outcomes as an example, however these will not be prescriptive. The states and different autonomous instructional our bodies are free to vary them supplied there’s a logic behind it, and it achieves the curricular aim.”
Studying at your individual tempo
We will delve additional into these curricular targets, competencies and studying outcomes with some examples.
Underneath the area of Language and Literacy Improvement, one of many curricular targets is that “kids develop fluency in studying and writing in Language 1 (L1)”. Right here, L1 refers to their language/mom tongue. Underneath this aim, a required competency is “reads quick tales and comprehends their that means — by figuring out characters, storyline and what the writer desires to say — on their very own”.
What kind of studying outcomes is the NCF-FS anticipating right here?
Beginning out, the kid listens to “Learn Alouds” and responds to the questions posed by the instructor or reads image books and identifies objects and actions. By the age of 8, because it will get extra refined, the kid is anticipated to do “impartial studying” of books with extra textual than visible content material and establish characters, plots, sequences, and perspective of the writer.
It’s crucial to grasp that not all kids could have a linear path to reaching the training end result of “impartial studying” of books with extra textual content material than visible content material. In spite of everything, between the ages of three and eight, each baby has their very own pathway in the direction of studying. They’ll have their very own peaks and valleys and take their very own time in reaching these studying outcomes.
“By the age of 6, for instance, one baby could have achieved a sure studying end result, however not reached the extent of her friends. Academics mustn’t choose one baby as higher, smarter, sooner than the opposite. It’s solely on the age of 8 that their studying paths begin to converge,” says Shankar.
And the training outcomes listed within the NCF-FS aren’t set in stone.
Some states might want their kids to have the ability to pay attention and act out the feelings of the character or need them to pay attention and draw out what’s taking place in a narrative.
“Suppose I learn a narrative to a baby. Now, I’ll ask the kid to inform me the story from the angle of not the primary protagonist, however one other character. I ask the kid what this character is feeling on the finish. When a baby solutions that query, there’s a large cognitive leap of comprehension, of referring to that individual character. Completely different kids will provide you with completely different interpretations,” he says.
“Let the kid be curious, converse with them as a result of a baby learns by conversations. . At that time, the NCF-FS is telling lecturers ‘Don’t choose the kid’ for his or her different interpretations. And extra importantly, don’t attempt to obtain every curricular aim, studying end result or competency individually. Generally, by telling a narrative by a dialog or enjoying a sport, you possibly can obtain a wide range of completely different curricular targets and competencies,” he provides.
On this context, a key level NCF talks about is that autonomy must be given to the instructor to do what they suppose is true in that classroom context. The NCF-FS presents an in depth framework that lecturers can lean on to do their work.
However why is that this such an in depth doc? “As a result of with out the main points, there’s a excessive likelihood of misinterpretation and lack of expertise. This doc is supposed for teachers, directors and officers, however primarily the instructor,” notes Shankar.
Primacy of mom tongue
The kid has a mom tongue or a language spoken at house. In response to NCF, it’s good if the kid expresses in that language as a result of at that age, they need the kid to have the ability to specific.
In response to a 2022 report printed in UNESCO, “Analysis exhibits that schooling within the mom tongue is a key issue for inclusion and high quality studying, and it additionally improves studying outcomes and tutorial efficiency. That is essential, particularly in main faculty to keep away from data gaps and enhance the pace of studying and comprehension.”
“Early schooling is finest supplied within the language the kid speaks at house. NCF calls upon educators, curriculum builders and lecturers to construction the kid’s studying expertise in her house language. A baby on the age 3 learns the language spoken at house. She is nearly beginning to specific herself. At this stage, it’s extra vital for her to have the ability to talk than be taught a language. Our framework presents a pathway on how a baby can talk higher, and science says the easiest way is to be taught of their mom tongue,” says Shankar.
Any rejection of the kid’s mom tongue in a classroom setting may show very detrimental to her confidence. However how do you implement this suggestion, significantly in main city centres which are house to a wide range of languages and social and cultural contexts?
“Academics should get inventive. In a sensible scenario, there will probably be a baby within the classroom who is aware of a couple of language. They’ll take help from that baby to grasp what her classmate is saying. In that scenario, there’s a pure manner of dealing with it,” says Shankar.
“The NCF-FS just isn’t prescribing it as a result of each context is completely different. There may be additionally know-how which might translate easy sentences. However extra importantly, the instructor has to place in that effort to truly talk with kids. They need to leverage each useful resource round them, together with the neighborhood. And the instructor in a classroom isn’t the one one who can impart studying. You will have dad and mom, neighborhood elders and folks from completely different walks of life like an area farmer who can take them out on subject journeys to clarify how they develop their crops or the native policeman or blacksmith,” he provides.
Assessing kids
What must be the tenet for assessing a baby’s progress between the ages of three and eight? In response to the NCF, evaluation shouldn’t contribute to any further burden for the kid, shouldn’t overly burden the instructor and care have to be taken to not label the kid.
“Each baby is exclusive. Our recommendation to lecturers is to offer every baby particular person care and a spotlight and maintain observing what they’re seeing. The concept is to work with that baby in that manner,” he says.
No textbooks as much as Class 1
NCF has advised that textbooks ought to act as work books to offer alternatives for kids to work on their very own and document their work. The very important distinction is textbooks versus books.
“The NCF-FS is clearly saying no textbooks until Class 1. However books, sure — image books, story books, exercise books, worksheets, and so forth. Worksheets specifically have been highlighted as a essential software for each lecturers and youngsters within the NCF-FS. For instance, within the worksheet, there may be a top level view of a cat and the kid is tasked with portray inside the strains. On web page 1 of the worksheet, the kid could paint outdoors a line a little bit. By web page 20, there may be a top level view of one other animal. However on this portray, the kid has colored completely inside the strains. Thus, over a time period, a instructor can assess whether or not a baby’s dexterity has improved by seeing whether or not she will be able to color inside the strains of their worksheet. Subsequently, the workbook additionally turns into a document of the kid’s progress with out making it appear to be a proper examination,” he explains.
It’s vital to transcend textbooks and make use of a wide range of educating studying materials (TLM). The concept is to make the method of studying pure. “If a baby is focused on a toy, that’s the TLM for the day. Equally, if a baby has picked up a leaf or any person has introduced a toothpaste cap to the category, that merchandise turns into a TLM. If any person is singing a Hindi movie tune and heard it the day gone by, that can be a educating studying materials. Don’t be constrained by textbooks and solely books. That is a vital course that NCF talks about,” he provides.
Care, love and roadmap forward
“On the very core, if kids obtain care and love, they are going to be taught. If nothing else, lecturers must be caring human beings. They need to present a protected surroundings. For this new framework being constructed, it’s vital to grasp kids. Don’t take a look at them from the lens of an grownup. Have a look at it from the lens of a kid. There are three sorts of lecturers. The primary is the dad or mum. The second, most vital instructor is the one at school. The third instructor is the surroundings within the classroom or the place the kid resides,” he says.
Earlier than implementing this mannequin of foundational schooling, nonetheless, it’s vital for stakeholders throughout India to realize what Shankar calls ‘NCF literacy’.
Stakeholders like lecturers, faculty directors and officers in autonomous faculty boards should perceive the letter and spirit of NCF, and what states can take away from it. He reckons that it’s going to take as much as 3-5 years for the states and autonomous our bodies to completely implement NCF, practice their lecturers, design a syllabus and TLM based mostly on this new mannequin. There may be nonetheless some option to go.
(Edited by Divya Sethu)
(Characteristic Picture courtesy UNICEF/UN05810/Kiron. Different pictures courtesy Medium/Swetha Guhan, UNICEF, World Indian Faculty Weblog and Pixabay)