25years25Annual Report

2 0 0 8 - 2 0 0 9

CENTRE FOR LEARNING RESOURCES

We believe that this central purpose has had, over the years, a ripple effect in our own work, resulting in the creation and spread of some significant areas of inquiry and activities in child development and elementary education. For the CLR, there has also been a gradual discovery of purposes we did not know at the start.

School educationand support classes

Early childhood education

Inservice teachereducation

Programmes for early childhood careand development

The CLR is a technical supportorganisation for:

25 years ago, the CLR began with a vision – to work with individuals and organisations struggling to enhance the development of children in disadvantaged communities, and to fulfil their right to a good education.

Introduction to the “Ripples of Change” exhibitionstaged at CLR’s 25th anniversary celebration

25ye sar25

1984-2009

In 1984, the CLR began functioning from a rented 2-bedroom flat in Prabhat Road, Pune. We began with a combined staff of five people working in the field of early childhood and primary education, facilitated by a grant from the Aga Khan Foundation. In 2009, twenty five years later, the CLR is now a larger organisation working from our own premises located in the Yerawada area of Pune. While we continue to work towards our original goal of improving the quality of education and development of children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, the CLR has since its inception considerably expanded the scope and outreach of its activities.

Our 25th anniversary celebration was held in February, 2009 at the outdoor theatre of the Centre For Development Studies and Activities (CDSA), in Bawdhan on the outskirts of Pune. About 200 people - staff members from our partner organisations, other professional colleagues with whom we have worked through the years, representatives from funding agencies, and our well-wishers attended the function.

The chief guest was Prof. Krishna Kumar, Director, National Council For Educational Research And Training (NCERT).

Ms. Anjali Gokhale , a senior staff member of the CLR, welcomed the gathering. Dr. John Kurrien, Director of R, gave a brief history of the organisation and the

Celebrating 25 Years

the CLR, gave a brief history of the organisation and the basic challenges it had tried to address since its inception. While the goal of improving the quality of education and development of disadvantaged children continued to inform its work, the activities and projects of the CLR had continued to change dynamically to meet new needs. For example, a major addition to its initial focus on primary education and early childhood education, were the projects and activities initiated a decade ago in the area of early childhood care and development (birth to 3years), and in the area of teaching of English as a second language in government regional medium schools.

Prof. Krishna Kumar then addressed the audience. He focussed on two themes : students and learning, and teachers and teaching - concerns that have been of abiding interest to him during his long and distinguished professional career. He noted that despite a long tradition of global research, little is known about how learning takes place. But it was clear that the bond between teachers and students had a considerable influence on learning. Little attention is paid to this affective component of teaching; nor do we consider what it is that students themselves value. Our preoccupation is with measurable learning outcomes, which itself is a

questionable assumption. Moreover, this narrow focus on learning outcomes blinds us as teachers to the many unexpected positive outcomes that can occur in our classrooms.

While Prof. Krishna Kumar touched upon many other related issues, including teacher training, the Right to Education Bill and the implementation of the National Curriculum Framework, the focus of his stimulating address was to delineate the importance of context in learning, and to highlight the missing aspects in the teaching process.

A film depicting the work of the CLR was screened on the occasion. Entitled “Ripples of Change”, this was commissioned specially for the occasion. It portrayed various current projects in which the CLR was engaged in collaboration with other partners. Both CLR staff, as well as project partners, were featured in the film commenting on actual project processes and outcomes.

Ms. Zakiya Kurrien, Co-Director of the CLR, gave a vote of thanks and invited the audience to view an exhibition showcasing 25 years of our work. Like the film, the exhibition had also been specially commissioned for this occasion. The panels

highlighted the main areas of work and their rationale. A time-line depicted the evolution of CLR activities and materials.

The final section consisted of a map of India displaying the names and locations of various Government and NGO partners in different parts of the country who had availed of capacity building and teacher-development programmes of the CLR to improve their own child development and education programmes. Acknowledgements to all our donors were featured.

The entire range of CLR teaching-learning materials and training materials, was also displayed.

The celebrations concluded with a delicious Maharashtrian dinner.

The film “Ripples of Change” was conceptualised and produced by Swati Dandekar and Farida Pacha.

The exhibition was designed by Rashmi Ranade of DesignAtWork, Pune.

Elementary Education

Early Childhood Education (ECE)

Series for Pre-primary Schools

Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD)

Yuva English

Other Professional Activities

Funding

Acknowledgements

Curriculum Development and Teacher Training for Government Schools

Helping Vulnerable Children Cope with School

Piloting Classroom Libraries in Rural Primary Schools

Teaching English in Regional Medium Schools

Audio-Visual Materials for Inductive Value-Based Learning

Fulfilling the Young Child's Right to Development by Strengthening the Pre-School (ECE) Componentin ICDS Anganwadis of Dharni Block, Amravati District

Developing “Observation Centres” to Demonstrate Effective ECE

Interactive Story-telling

Promoting Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD)

39

43

11

ContentsActivities 2008-09

35

25

Elementary EducationElementary Education

Strengthening Language Development in Primary Schoolsin Nandurbar District

n partnership with technical support organisations, the Sir

Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) has initiated an intervention to improve the quality of elementary education in the predominantly tribal district of Nandurbar in north Maharashtra. The CLR's involvement is in building the capacity of teachers to enhance language (Marathi) teaching-learning

I

in 2 clusters, comprising 24 primary schools in Nandurbar block.

We are working towards improving classroom processes and learning attainment in Classes 1 and 2 of the project schools. The challenge here is to develop a pedagogy which is effective in classrooms where there are usually children from at least three linguistic groups. To complement our in-service teacher training programme and observation visits to the schools, further

monitoring is being carried out by the Hegdewar Sewa Samiti (HSS), a local NGO in Nandurbar.

Activities

During the first phase of the project, which commenced in September, 2009, the CLR's training team was able to better understand the overall context in which the schools function, and existing teaching methods.

Curriculum Development and Teacher Training for Government Schools

Pilot project in primary schools -2 clusters in Nandurbar block

Maharashtra

9

The focus was on enhancing teachers' understanding of how children learn to read and write. This in turn provided the rationale for putting into practice sound teaching methods introduced in the training. Two three-day in-service training sessions were conducted for about 27 teachers. In addition to this, two

observation visits were also made to a selection of schools.

We provided language learning material in the project schools by adapting our existing Marathi teaching material, developing additional material as required, and developing the capacity of teachers to both use these materials

and to make their own teaching-learning materials.

The CLR team also met with the HSS monitoring team after each training session, visiting schools with them, and discussing the issues pertaining to effective monitoring of language lessons. An observation schedule, feedback form and timetable for these visits were prepared.

Our work in Nandurbar is largely based on the following principles :

- Emphasis on spoken language before reading/writing.

Encouraging cognitive maturity through a series of pre-reading activities using CLR material.

- Acceptance of the child's language and thoughts in the classroom, by allowing the child free expression during class, writing down what the children speak and reading it back to them/with them, displaying children's work and writing in a non-judgmental manner.

- Inculcating the desire to read through story-telling.

- Mastering sound-symbol mapping through a combination of games/activities and meaningful reading experiences.

- Linking language to the child's reality structuring classes around what the children experience rather than only to what the text book presents.

- Introducing small group instruction apart from whole class teaching.

- Stressing the importance of lesson-planning to ensure a good balance of listening, speaking, reading and writing in every class.

- Using the prescribed textbook as one teaching tool amongst many.Class 2 students in the Nandurbar project10

Feedback received

Upto now, the feedback has revealed that some teachers have attempted change in their day-to-day teaching. They have begun to work in smaller groups in class, allowing more interaction and accepting children's own creative use of language.

A greater consolidation of these changes is required, with an attempt to influence more teachers. This will be undertaken in the second phase starting in June 2009.

11

Piloting a Readiness Curriculum forSchool Entrants in Andhra Pradesh

he vast majority of young children in the age-group

5 to 6 years enter Class 1 in our government elementary schools without any preschool experience. Those who have attended ICDS anganwadis or other ECE centres have often not been exposed to a programme that fosters cognitive growth, language development and the overall stimulation that prepares them for formal schooling.

This year, the Azim Premji Foundation (APF) initiated a partnership with the CLR to introduce a 'school readiness' component for school entrants within the Class 1 curriculum of a pilot group of government primary schools in Andhra Pradesh. Our role was to conceptualise and develop the readiness curriculum, the related teaching-learning materials in Telugu, a set of teacher-training modules, and to train a team of

Tmaster trainers selected by APF who would in turn train the teachers of the pilot schools in the implementation of the curriculum. APF is interested in conducting longitudinal action-research, to be launched in 2009-10, to study the process and impact of such a programme.

Conceptualising 'School Readiness'

We believe it is important to counter the predominant understanding of parents, teachers and our educational establishment in general, that “readiness” for meeting the demands of formal schooling comprises exclusively of academic skills related to literacy and numeracy to be acquired before entering primary school. Hence, based on recent global research, the CLR's readiness curriculum and related materials address multiple and interrelated developmental domains that influence young childrens' ability to learn successfully at the primary level.

12

This Early Learning Package entitled, “Attalatho Pattalu” in Telugu, was adapted to serve as a readiness curriculum for Class 1 school entrants in the Andhra Pradesh project. The adaptation involved incorporating certain aspects and materials the state is already providing, as also some additional experiential activities from the CLR instructional package 'ActiveMaths'. The adapted teachers' guidebook and learning materials in Telugu are entitled “Manchi Prarambham/Good Beginnings”.

Conducting Training

We conducted an intensive 6-day training session in October 2008 for master trainers, comprising resource persons selected by APF, which included government school teachers. The sessions focussed on understanding the child who enters Class 1, particularly a first-generation learner and his/her background of experience. Pedagogic principles embedded in the curriculum and materials were discussed. As master trainers, the participants were also

APF resource persons at a training session

Developing the Readiness Package

Our existing activity-based curriculum and correlated learning materials for early childhood education (ECE) has been developed in several Indian languages and systematically covers the following developmental domains:

- Background of experience

- Cognitive and language development, including pre-literacy and pre-numeracy skills

- Social and emotional development

Readiness materialsin Telugu, entitled“Manchi Prarambham/Good Beginnings”

13

exposed to effective training methods and provided detailed training modules, handouts etc for use in their local teacher-training programme. They subsequently trained the teachers of 20 pilot schools who will initially implement the school readiness programme.

Initial Feedback

APF submitted a detailed report of the pilot teacher-training programme conducted in Secunderabad. The teachers' feedback on the training was highly positive. The report noted that they found the sessions very relevant, and that they felt confident to apply it in their classrooms.

Helping Vulnerable Children Cope with School

he CLR has been offering

capacity-building programmes to

NGOs who run support classes in

their efforts to enhance learning and

prevent school dropout. In addition,

low-cost teaching-learning materials

developed by us are also made

available to support class teachers.

T India Sponsorship Committee (ISC)

ISC runs support classes in

Pune slums and in

the brick kilns on

the outskirts of

Pune. This year, as

part of our on-going

technical support for

Sentence-making in different ways atan ISC support class

Piloting Classroom Libraries in Rural Primary Schools

hildren learn to read by reading

- awareness of the truth of this

maxim needs to be spread as widely

as possible within our educational

establishment and amongst all those

concerned with the education of

young children, particularly of first

generation learners. As part of our

activities relating to language

development and the teaching of

reading, we are making reading

materials other than textbooks

available in mainstream primary

schools.

C The challenge is greatest in rural

government schools as surveys have

indicated that school libraries are

rarely being accessed by children

and their teachers, even where they

exist. We are therefore piloting the

concept of classroom libraries in

5 rural schools in Pune District. Our

attempt is to provide each primary

class with a selection of graded,

age-appropriate children's literature

and make the set more immediately

accessible to both children and

teachers, by housing it within their

own classrooms.

their educational programmes, ISC

requested us for a training

programme for their teachers in the

areas of language and mathematics.

An initial meeting was held with the

support class teachers to determine

their training needs. Based on their

needs, a recurrent training

programme was devised and

conducted. The CLR staff also

undertook some observation visits

to the support classes to gain

feedback on the implementation of

the training and the difficulties

faced by the teachers.

ISC support class teachers in a group discussion

14

Selection of books for a classroom library forClasses 1 and 2 at the Zilla Parishad school, Vadu

15

During the first year of the pilot

project, we decided to introduce

the classroom library in one Pune

Zilla Parishad school in village Vadu,

in order to trial the concept in

Classes 1 and 2 and get feedback

before launching a larger pilot

project.

Clarifying Objectives and

Motivating Teachers and Children

Discussions were held with the

school principal and teachers of

Classes 1 and 2 of the Vadu school so

that the objectives could be jointly

understood, as follows :

- To provide children's books - fiction and non-fiction - at the children's interest level and reading levels

- To encourage children to read beyond their textbooks

- To give opportunities for deriving enjoyment from books and sparking their imaginations.

CLR staff took the discussions a step

further by speaking to the school

children about the proposed library.

This created a sense of excitement in

anticipation of the actual provision

of books.

Selection of Books and Storage

A search was carried out by the

CLR in local bookstores and

through catalogues of various

publishers and organisations, to

identify children's literature in

Marathi, and in some cases bilingual

books in English-Marathi, at

age-appropriate and graded reading

levels for Classes 1 and 2. For each

class, 25 titles were selected. With

multiple copies of the titles, the full

set consisted of about 200 books, to

be shared between the two classes.

Interacting with Teachers

Initially, CLR staff themselves

demonstrated ideas for using the

library within each class. Sessions

with teachers included the following

aspects:

- The importance of reading stories aloud to young children

- Using the books for orientation to print

- Group work

- Encouraging guided reading and silent reading, with discussion

- Follow-up discussion and activities related to the books

- Maintaining simple records of children's supplementary reading

- Lending books for home use

- Helping children to handle books appropriately

Looking Ahead

The school principal has now allowed

for two library periods per class per

week. Teachers are reading stories

aloud during these periods, and have

started conducting some of the

suggested activities. We plan to

upscale this project in the coming

year to include 4 more rural schools.

16

Teaching English in Regional Medium Schools

Interactive Radio Instruction

o improve the spoken English skills of students studying in

government regional medium schools, the CLR has developed a 3-year bilingual, interactive radio programme in English-Marathi and English-Hindi. This programme has been broadcast over All India Radio (AIR) to elementary schools in Pune district in Maharashtra, and in various districts in Rajasthan,

TJharkhand and Uttarakhand. Municipal schools in Delhi have also availed of the programme.

Broadcasts in Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh

Our radio programme in English-Hindi, “We Learn English”, was broadcast in Lucknow District from August 2008 to March 2009, in partnership with the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) Lucknow, and UNICEF-

Lucknow. We conducted a training session for senior teachers and cluster coordinators who in turn oriented the school teachers on the use of the radio lessons.

1419 government schools in Lucknow District were covered by the broadcasts. Based on the positive response to the radio lessons, both UNICEF and SSA-Uttar Pradesh have expressed interest in upscaling the programme to cover more districts in the state.

17

Broadcasts in Amravati District, Maharashtra

The CEO of the Amravati Zilla Parishad visited the CLR to discuss the possibility of launching Level 1 of the radio programme on a short pilot basis. A 2-month intensive programme of 27 radio lessons was launched in January 2009, reaching out to 240 schools in 6 blocks of Amravati district. We conducted a two-day training session for 60 master trainers which included Block Education Officers, Extension Officers and senior teachers in Amravati district.

Akshara Programme, Mulshi Taluka, Pune District

The Akshara Programme is an initiative of the Mahindra United World College (MUWC), Mulshi Taluka, Pune. Its aim is to break the vicious cycle of poverty by creating conditions such that children from poor rural communities are able to receive a vocational or professional

education. Akshara sees the acquisition of basic communication skills in English to be important for the children, and requested assistance from the CLR in this area of their work. Student volunteers from MUWC were trained to use the bilingual audio CDs of our radio programme 'We Learn English' to teach a group of 30 Class 8 students from surrounding villages.

Based on the positive outcome, Akshara plans to continue the inputs next year in primary and secondary rural schools.

Enhancing English Skills of Teachers in Regional Medium Schools

he teaching of English now begins in lower primary classes

of regional medium schools. Given the increasing importance of English, there is a critical need to considerably strengthen the English communication skills of teachers in regional medium schools, who otherwise resort to rote teaching and learning of the language. We have developed an intensive, interactive course entitled “Enhance Your English” for teachers and other adult learners who have a passive knowledge of English, but need to build on their skills and confidence in speaking, reading and writing.

T

Conducting the Course for Pune Municipal Schools

We were requested by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Pune to conduct the course for a batch of 25 Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) school teachers. Two external course instructors were trained by us, who along with CLR staff, formed the instructors' team.

The course was conducted in a 'sandwich pattern' of two 12-day sessions, in June and November, 2008

respectively. Evaluation revealed significant progress among the teachers with regard to their confidence level, as well as their spoken English skills.

The PMC plans to upscale this teacher-training in the coming year to include further batches of school teachers.

PMC school teachers attending the course

18

“Personal attention has been given to every teacher during this course. As a result, I am not afraid of speaking English. I am now confident that I can also communicate in English. I try and use English in my daily interaction. I now read English newspapers, and listen to the news in English as well.”

Sangeeta GaikwadSchool teacher, PMC school no. 190B

“I have found this course very useful. Many grammatical points are now clearer, and as a teacher who needs to use English every day in class, this has been very helpful. I am able to interact more confidently with all my students.”

Changde BichkuleSchool teacher, PMC school no. 394

Feedback from PMC school teachers

Components of the course

- Instructor's manual

- Learner's workbook

- Grammar activity book

- Audio-visual materials

- Materials for the formative and summative evaluation of learners.

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Training of Instructors from Other NGOs

We conducted instructors' training for participants from the following NGOs, who have expressed an interest in conducting this course within their own projects :

- Schoolscape, Chennai, a centre for educators, that was started to enable teachers and the education leadership to enhance the quality of learning and life in schools and in educational organizations.

- Hand in Hand, a public charitable trust in Tamil Nadu, has developed a number of programmes to suit the different needs of children in residential schools, transit schools, a school strengthening programme, and Alternative Innovative Education (AIE) centres set up by them.

- Eklavya, Bhopal, working with schools interested in improving their educational standards.

- Azim Premji Foundation (APF), Bangalore, also sent a consultant to participate in the training.

Glimpses of the course materials

Enhanceg h

Your En lishe

A Course for Teac rs

in l

Regiona Medium Schools

and Other Adult LearnersGr

i

ammar Activ ty Book

EnhanceYour English

A Course for Teachers

in Regional Medium Schools

and Other Adult Learners

Workbook

ae

Enh nc

oun li

Yr E

g sh

Cou f r

h r

A rse o Teac e s

ni g

n ld

m Sch o s

Re ioa Me iu

o l

O

u L arns

and ther Ad lte

er

nstru tor

Ic

’s

nuMa

al

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Audio-Visual Materials for Inductive Value-Based Learning

Mumbai-based NGO to make available a selection of slide shows from this series in CD format. We converted these titles into digital format, and made them available on CD.

This year, CAT will initially use the following shows from the CLR series during EVS lessons in 60 PMC schools:- Aqua at Home/À§…n⁄ ±…Ω˛…x… M…Æ˙V… ®…Ω˛…x…

- Aqua in Trouble/V…±…À§…n⁄˘ ∫…∆EÚ]ı…i…!

- Water Management/……h™……S…‰ ¥™…¥…∫l………x…

- Keeping our Neighbourhood Clean/∫¥…SUÙ +……±…… … Æ˙∫…Æ˙

he CLR has been disseminating its audio-visual series of

instructional slide shows in Marathi and English, entitled “

/You and Your Environment” that includes a wide range of topics related to health, ecology, agriculture, history, biology etc. Besides making syllabi-related subject matter more meaningful and relevant, the materials also encourage discussion and analysis in the classroom.

This year, we received a request from Conservation Action Trust (CAT), a

i…÷®Ω˛“ +… h… i…÷®…S…… … Æ˙∫…Æ˙

T Subsequently, they plan to include them in the EVS Resource Centre they are setting up exclusively for PMC schools.

Given the shift in technology and increasing use of computers and DVDs in schools and homes, we find that, by and large, schools are discontinuing the use of slide projectors and colour transparencies. Hence we plan on digitising more titles in the series and make them available on CDs.

A typical city water distribution system, featured in“Aqua at Home/ ”À§…n⁄ ±…Ω˛…x… M…Æ˙V… ®…Ω˛…x…

Various factors that pollute water bodies, featured in“Aqua in Trouble/ ”V…±…À§…n⁄˘ ∫…∆EÚ]ı…i…!

Water conservation at work as a child closesan unused flowing tap, featured in “Water Management/

”……h™……S…‰ ¥™…¥…∫l………x…

Early Childhood EducationEarly Childhood Education

Fulfilling the Young Child's Right to Development

by Strengthening the Pre-School (ECE) Component

in ICDS Anganwadis of Dharni Block, Amravati District

22

he ICDS is India's single largest scheme for reaching

health, nutrition and early childhood education services

to vulnerable children. In Maharashtra, as in several other

states, its mandate to fulfil the child's right to holistic

development poses many challenges and requires greater

commitment, effort, and innovativeness.

As a member of the Bhavishya Alliance, the ICEE (ICICI

Centre for Elementary Education), has identified Amravati as

a district in which the Early Childhood Education (ECE)

component could be strengthened. Given our long

T experience in providing such support for the effective

implementation of ECE in several government and NGO

programmes, the CLR, as a partner of the ICEE, has been

requested to provide the necessary technical support for the

intervention in Dharni block.

The overall 2-year project strategy formulated by us involves

decentralised capacity-building and development of locally

relevant materials through the active involvement of ICDS

functionaries at all levels, with technical inputs from the

CLR. A decentralised strategy is imperative if any positive

Maharashtra

Intervention in ICDS, Dharni Block, Amravati District

change in the implementation of the preschool component

is to be brought about, together with addressing the

systemic issues that at present constrain the delivery of

quality ECE. This is particularly so in the case of a

predominantly tribal block such as Dharni.

Preparatory Phase

This phase extended from October 2008 to March 2009.

Discussions were held with the ICDS Commissioner and his

staff, to engage them in the planning of the intervention.

At the local level, the CEO and Deputy CEO of Amravati

district, the faculty of the Anganwadi Workers Training

Centres (AWTCs) and the Middle Level Training Centre

(MLTC), together with the Child Development Project Officer

(CDPO) and Assistant CDPO participated in initial meetings

with CLR staff. We also visited some anganwadis in Dharni

block and met with anganwadi workers and some NGOs

working in the area.

Baseline Study

A qualitative baseline study of the ICDS in Dharni block was

undertaken by us, with the following objectives :

- To specify the context (geographical, physical, political and socio-cultural) in which ICDS Dharni project operates.

- To understand explanatory models of ICDS functionaries and training personnel regarding their role in the ECE component with respect to their perceptions regarding knowledge of what is expected, training received and existing practice/challenges and ways to facilitate better practice.

- To describe the process of ECE in the anganwadis described as having “good” practice, and to outline the factors influencing the practice of ECE in Dharni block.

- To identify specific challenges at various levels, in the functioning of the ECE component.

A sample of twelve anganwadi centres (AWCs) was selected

for detailed information and observation. The AWCs were

selected from the 9 circles, proportionate to the listed

number of “good functioning” AWCs (42 out of 215), as

perceived by the CDPO and ACDPO, as per their criteria, in

each circle. Detailed information was generated through

interviews, observations and video documentation.

The findings have been documented in a separate report of

the baseline study. They reveal the various situational and

systemic factors leading to inadequate functioning of the

ECE component. These findings have been taken into

account in planning the training and strategic inputs at

all levels.

23

24

Development of Materials

During the preparatory phase, we started work on adapting

the CLR A.V. training package “Active Learning in Early

Childhood” for use in the Amravati AWTCs, together with the

adaptation of the existing CLR early learning materials. Our

field-based project officer was involved in getting feedback

directly from children regarding their understanding of our

picture material, and in photographing their homes and

surrounding environment. This forms an important part of

the attempt to devise certain locale-specific preschool

activities and materials.

The first phase of the intervention will commence in

May 2009. Apart from the implementation of an effective,

activity-based ECE programme in the 215 anganwadis of

Dharni block, this pilot project aims to demonstrate a

decentralized strategy that can be replicable in ICDS-

Maharashtra, and shared with other states.

A typical anganwadi structure and its surroundingsin Dharni block

25

Developing “Observation Centres” to Demonstrate Effective ECE

ast year, we began to develop 3 rural ICDS anganwadis

in Mulshi Taluka of Pune district, to serve as observation

centres within the inservice training programmes we offer.

This was done with a view to expose our trainees, i.e.

existing balwadi and anganwadi workers, to best practices

that are possible in spite of the constraints of a scheme

like the ICDS.

During 2008-09, CLR staff continued their in-depth

interactions with the anganwadi workers of the observation

L centres and their helpers, in the villages of Kule, Sathesai

and Hadshi. It has been very encouraging to see the helpers

becoming more involved in conducting certain preschool

activities, and both workers grow in their understanding of

young children and how to best relate to them. The

particular focus we are giving to the daily planning of

activities has also paid off, with the result that a

developmentally appropriate, holistic curriculum is being

implemented, with the use of child-centred materials.

26

Infrastructure

We have made several improvements in the basic physical

infrastructure of these observation anganwadis, with

considerable involvement of Gram Panchayats and the local

communities. Whereas outer beautification of the

anganwadi in Sathesai was done earlier, this year attractive

outer murals were created in Hadshi with the enthusiastic

assistance of student volunteers from Mahindra United World

College nearby. Similar beautification is planned for Kule.

A colourful mural at the anganwadi at Village Hadshi,incorporating several discussion possibilities with children A recent issue of “+∆M…h…¥……b˜“ ®…÷±……∆S…“”

Newsletter

We had started a taluka-level newsletter “Anganwadi News”

last year that aimed to highlight unique initiatives of

participating workers. This year, one issue was published

which featured the experiences of the anganwadi worker

and helper at Village Kule, as well as some of the activities

being implemented by them.

Trainee Visits

Balwadi teachers of Karve Institute of Social Sciences, as

also urban anganwadi workers from Pune who participated

in a CLR training programme visited the observation centres

in all 3 villages as part of their training. Follow up

discussions were held after the visits.

27

Other ECE Training Programmes

Karve Institute of Social Sciences, Pune

his year, we continued the recurrent training sessions

for the balwadi teachers of Karve Institute of Social

Sciences and urban anganwadi workers with whom the

institute’s social work students interact. Field visits to the

ECE observation centres in Mulshi Taluka were organised for

the trainees.

Areas of Focus in CLR ECE Training

l

l

l

l

l

l

l

l

Understanding oneself for ECE work

Children's developmental needs and rights

Activity-based ECE curriculum

Making and using teaching-learning materials

Attitudes and motivation of ECE workers

Classroom organisation and management

Monitoring ECE programmes

Gender sensitivity

“I have found the training very helpful. Aspects like maintaining a time-table for activities, and planning in advance for the following day have made a positive difference in my balwadi. I have learnt that it is important to involve every child in the classroom interaction.

All the learning materials are very useful.”Balwadi teacher

“I am happy that as a result of the training, I pre-plan everything, and am able to conduct all activities in a systematic way, such that the children can learn well.

I have acquired a lot of knowledge about effective early childhood education, and am able to implement it in my anganwadi.”

Anganwadi worker

Feedback from participants

T

Alternative Materials for Balwadis

To provide similar, attractive picture material for story

telling in urban balwadis where there is often no electricity,

a selection of our slide shows has been converted to large,

pictorial flip charts. In 2008-09, the following organisations

availed of these flip charts :

- Deep Griha Society

- Indian Red Cross School (for hearing and speech impaired children)

- Snehadeep Janakalyan Foundation

- Adhar Mukhabadhir (for hearing and speech impaired children)

- India Sponsorship Committee

Audio-Visual Slide Series

or teachers and children alike, story-telling is one of

the most satisfying interactions, capturing children's

imaginations and developing their language at the same

time. The CLR series of slide shows in English and Marathi

entitled “Story Time” help teachers to engage in interactive

story telling within their classrooms.

These slide shows are disseminated through our A.V. lending

library scheme for Marathi and English medium schools in

Pune. This year, 10 member schools availed of the “Story

Time” series. Separate orientation sessions for Marathi and

English medium schools were held at the start of the

academic year.

F

Interactive Story-telling Series for Pre-primary Schools

Rabbit throws allthe animals into a panicin “The Sky is Falling /

+…¶……≥˝ …b˜±…∆”

Shanti and Shakti discover a magic lotusin “The Many-Coloured Lotus /

Æ∆˙M…“§…‰Æ∆˙M…“ EÚ®…≥˝”

meiS

Tt -ory

]M

π…‰‰ “ı…… M∆® -… …i]

Mπ…‰ “ı…… M∆® -… …i‰

/

28

Early Childhood Care and DevelopmentEarly Childhood Care and Development

Promoting Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD)

30

he CLR has been working since the past few years towards

promoting the holistic development of children in the birth to 3 years age-group. While health and nutrition education generally features in programmes for caregivers from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds, education related to the psychosocial development of their children receives limited or no attention.

We offer a range of comprehensive technical inputs to organisations interested in implementing home-based interventions for improving early child care in poor rural and urban communities, as follows :

- An Education Package for parents and caregivers, incorporating a curriculum focussing on holistic child care

- Training programmes for trainers and field workers in the use of the above package for re

T implementing child care interventions

- Training materials for use in training of field workers

- Community-based IEC strategies and materials for awareness-raising activities related to early child care

- Tools to assess knowledge of parents and caregivers on reproductive health and holistic child care.

31

Focus areas of the CLR curriculum for caregivers

- Holistic development and role of parents / caregivers

- Prime messages in reproductive health, child health, nutrition, safety and age-appropriate handling of children

- Importance of psychosocial stimulation and how to promote it

- Play materials

- Gender equity in caregiving practices

Swabhimaan, Pune

Recently, we have been providing

inputs to Swabhimaan, a Pune-based

organisation, in training their field

workers and master trainers in the

implementation of their ECCD

programme.

In 2008-09, we completed further

recurrent training sessions that had

commenced in the previous year.

P.R.I.D.E-India, Mahad Taluka,

Raigad District

Started in 2005-2006 in partnership

with the CLR, P.R.I.D.E continues to

implement its home-based caregiver

education programme in 44 villages

in Mahad Taluka. This year, to

augment the knowledge and skills of

their master trainers, we conducted a

3-day intensive refresher training for

10 participants, focussing on the

importance of planning, monitoring

and evaluation.

Video Documentation

The video documentation of the intervention and action research that we have been doing over 3 years was consolidated this year in the form of a film entitled “Right From The Start”, which also features the highly positive impact of our home-based caregiver education. This film can help other interested organisations to understand the entire caregiver education process. We also intend to use it for advocacy purposes as it highlights both the crucial need and the efficacy of early child care interventions.

Yuva EnglishYuva English

Developing A Basic English Course forUnderprivileged School Leavers - “Yuva English”

nglish is an important tool

for the empowerment of

underprivileged youth. In comparison

with other socio-economic groups in

India, the English skills of

underprivileged youth who have

mainly attended regional medium

government schools are extremely

limited - especially speaking and

listening skills. Without basic English

skills, young people are handicapped

not only in terms of opportunities for

higher education and employment,

but also access to various bodies of

knowledge and to new technologies.

These young people would

considerably benefit from a short

course, which would teach them

basic communication skills in

English. However, few individuals or

institutions address this target group

in any sustained way. While every

city or town in India offers hundreds

of English courses, the vast majority

of these courses are not specifically

geared to this target group.

E

33

Yuva English aims to enable learners to:

Use English in multiple contexts - college, at the workplace and in social situations.

Build confidence in speaking and understanding English.

Improve higher education performance, increase employment prospects and job performance, and better life-chances.

l

l

l

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To bridge this gap, the CLR,

supported by the Tech Mahindra

Foundation is developing an

intensive course, entitled “Yuva

English”, for school leavers. The

course seeks to improve the

listening, speaking and reading skills

in English of rural and urban youth

from primarily socio-economically

disadvantaged backgrounds. These

learners would have completed their

secondary education in regional

medium schools, and would be about

16 - 21 years old. They would be

attending higher secondary schools

or colleges, seeking employment or

would be already employed.

Structure, Content and Duration

Yuva English, developed in a modular

form, consists of 72 modules, each of

2-hours duration. The course would

take about 3 months or less

depending on whether one or two

modules can be taught each day.

The course materials include an

Supplementary materials, part of the“Yuva English” course

instructor's manual, learner's

workbook, audio-visual materials and

evaluation materials to track the

progress of learners.

In the next year, Yuva English will be

trialled with different NGOs. Based

on the trialling feedback, we would

then begin the process of upscaling

the course in partnership with Tech

Mahindra Foundation.

Other Professional ActivitiesOther Professional Activities

36

s. Ujwala Samarth attended a meeting on Teaching

English as a Second Language, organised by Swanirvar

in Kolkata in July, 2008. She made a presentation on the

CLR’s “We Learn English - Using Radio to Teach English”.

Ms. Anjali Gokhale, Ms. Vidya Ghugari AND Ms. Zakiya

Kurrien attended a meeting of resource persons organised by

UNICEF at YASHADA, Pune, in July, 2008, to formulate the

Early Childhood Education component of the Maharashtra

Project Implementation Plan for the forthcoming ICDS IV.

Ms. Kurrien gave the initial background presentation on the

possibilities within ICDS IV.

Ms. Zakiya Kurrien presented a discussion paper on the use

of educational radio in government regional medium schools

at the Consultation on National Policy on ICTs in School

Education held at the NCERT, New Delhi, in April, 2008.

Dr. John Kurrien and Ms. Zakiya Kurrien participated as

panelists at the Symposium on Education and Technology in

Schools organised by Quest Alliance in Bangalore in

August, 2008.

Workshops / Conferences / Meetings Attended

M Dr. John Kurrien participated in the following :

- An Advisory Board Meeting of the conference on

Education Technology in India held in New Delhi in

May, 2008

- The Executive Committee Meeting of the National

Mission of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan held in

December, 2008

- As an invitee at the National Seminar on Small

Multigrade Schools in India, where he chaired a session

on “Small Schools in Orissa”. This seminar was held in

New Delhi in February, 2009, and organised by NUEPA.

37

Committee Memberships

r. John Kurrien served as a member of the Executive

Committee of the National Mission for Sarva Shiksha

Abhiyan (SSA) set up by the Department of Elementary

Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource

Development, Government of India.

Ms. Zakiya Kurrien served as a member of the Advisory

Board set up by Save The Children to conceptualise their

proposed Institute of Early Childhood Education

Funding

he CLR gratefully acknowledges the grants received

from The Karuna Trust, U.K., and the ICICI Centre For

Elementary Education, towards the capital and recurrent

expenditure on its activities for 2008-09.

We are grateful to the Sir Ratan Tata Trust for supporting

the adaptation of the CLR radio programme “We Learn

English” to the audio-CD format.

We are also grateful to Tech Mahindra Foundation for

funding the development of the English language course

entitled “Yuva English”.

e gratefully acknowledge the guidance and

cooperation of the members of our Governing Council.

The members are:

Ms. Shirin Darasha Ms. Zakiya Kurrien

Ms. Shridevi Mukhi Mr. Ardeshir Dubash

Dr. John Kurrien Mr. Dharmasukh Nanavati

Dr. Statira Wadia Mr. Milon Nag

Mr. Gautam Patel

Acknowledgements

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T