Child Development, Special Needs and Learning – a certificate course
Batch 6
हिंदी में जानकारी के लिए यहाँ क्लिक करें
A blended mode 7 month course for professional development offered & certified by Eklavya Foundation, Bhopal
INTRODUCTION
The course is designed with a focus on understanding children and childhoods in the Indian context, specifically from disadvantaged backgrounds. Whilst engaging with core issues of childhood and development, the course simultaneously poses ‘specific’ socio-cultural and political realities of the family, school and community at the core of looking at children and their learning. It deploys the participants’ field knowledge and experiences to widen the scope of understanding children and their development beyond the boundaries of disciplinary psychology; with a special focus on children with disability.
Objectives:
The course aims to:
- Build capacities of participants in the area of children’s development and their process of learning, with a special focus on children with special needs
- Forge and strengthen field-theory linkages on issues around development and learning, to make participants more capable and mindful in their work with children.
- Strengthen information about core conceptual issues and ongoing research which brings change in how participants engage with children.
- Facilitate a process of reflection from field insights, readings and discussion
- Focus on enhancing capacities of participants in academic reading and writing
Participants / Beneficiaries:
The course is for working adults who want to learn something new, work with children, engaged in their upbringing and education and want to enhance their understanding of their work. These may include:
- School teachers, esp. Primary level
- Education field workers working at grassroots level
- Team leaders who work with people working directly with children
- Administrators working in the field of education
- Educators, curriculum planners and administrators working in the field of education
- Anyone working with children and/or interested to understand them
Curriculum:
The five themes (units) which form the core of the curriculum are:
- Concept of childhood
- Understanding child development
- Recent beliefs and theories/ principles about the process of learning
- Emotional health of children and motivation
- Special needs and its relation to learning
These themes would be engaged with rigour in the context of working with school children in the field. The first unit of study engages with the question of ‘who is a child?’ and includes a historical unravelling of understanding of childhood in the Indian context. The unit on development introduces the participants to core themes and theories that underlie development. Theoretical foundations of learning include constructivist theories of Piaget and Vygotsky and their relevance and application in the field-based realities. The emotional and psychological health of children is included as a core component in the course. The last unit builds a critical understanding of discourses that cast children in ‘problem’ categories.
Course Pedagogy:
- Two residential workshops (total of 11 days) will provide immersive experience through activities, readings, discussions, plenary sessions and exposure visits.
- Projects, readings and assignments as well as virtual learning sessions interspersed between the workshops will ensure continued engagement with conceptual and field issues.
- Continuous mentoring and hand-holding by faculty will be provided throughout the course duration.
Medium of Instruction: Hindi Participants will be expected to read, understand, speak and write Hindi. Basic computer literacy and familiarity with email management is also required for project and assignment work.
Assessment:
Participants are given course completion certificates based on their participation in the workshop and evidence of engagement with core issues emergent in the course. The latter may be in the form of journals, daily reports and/ or field based assignments. Originality of ideas and style of writing in assignments and daily reports is given importance.
Parameters of Assessment:
- Participation in both the workshops of the course is mandatory.
- Participation during the workshops - raising questions, participation in discussion, making comments, helping/ assisting classmates etc.
- Writing daily reports for both workshops.
- Written assignments - require close reading and reflecting/ engaging with the study material and other relevant material; and/or field based reflections
- Bringing changes in one’s understanding, outlook and engagement with children on the basis of the concepts learnt in the workshop. The evidence could be in form of written samples - from daily reports or assignments.
Faculty profile: The course is designed and conducted by senior faculty of Eklavya and Institute of Home Economics, University of Delhi. Practicing psychologists and subject experts are part of the visiting faculty of the course. Profile of the core faculty is as follows:
- Anu Gupta has worked with adolescents on health and education issues for over 20 years. As a member of Eklavya, she has also worked with a number of state government agencies towards developing Teacher Education courses and materials. She is the author of the book Beti Kare Sawal and Beta Kare Sawal.
- Nidhi Gulati teaches in the Department of Elementary Education at Institute of Home Economics, University of Delhi. She has been active in various initiatives in the area of education and social development since the last two decades. Her research interests are study of childhood, popular culture, and teacher education.
- Deepti Saini teaches in the Department of Elementary Education at Institute of Home Economics, University of Delhi.
- Rashmi Paliwal has been part of Eklavya for over three decades and has worked with a number of state government agencies and the NCERT in the domain of social science curriculum, primary school language and math teaching and learning, and material development.
- Tultul Biswas worked with Eklavya's publishing unit as its Editorial Coordinator for over two decades - conceptualizing, developing and publishing children's books as well as educational literature. Involved in the development of Teacher Education courses and materials, she is now a member of Eklavya's Teacher Education, Outreach and Advocacy program area.
- Ruchi Shevade works with the Teacher Education, Outreach and Advocacy programme at Eklavya Foundation. Currently, she is busy exploring her interests in Education and Systems for Dialogue, peace and justice.
- Mihir Pathak for the last 10 years, has been working with formal and informal spaces to mentor children for ‘self-designed learning’ & facilitate unconventional learning experiences through nature-project - theater-based experiential pedagogies.
- Karuna Amy Guria is associated with Teacher Education, Outreach and Advocacy. She works in Pipariya block of Narmadapuram district in a project called Holistic Initiative towards Educational Change.
Venue: Residential workshops at the Narmadapuram (Hoshangabad)/Bhopal campus of Eklavya
Project work and assignments to be done at participants’ own place of convenience.
Course Fee To partially cover some of the costs of this course, a differential self-assessed structure of contributions has been worked out. Participants/sponsoring organisations are expected to choose any of the following options for the entire course (including 11 days of residential contact, all reading materials, faculty time, travel etc.) and specify reasons for their choice:
- ₹ 15,000
- ₹ 10,000
- ₹ 5,000
Important Dates:
Last date to fill online form – 6 May 2023
List of selected participants to be issued – 10 May 2023
Workshop 1 – 26-30 June 2023
Workshop 2 – December 2023
Certificate and commendation – February 2024
Contact - Email: