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Early Childhood Education and School Readiness in India pp 3–18Cite as

Introduction: Positioning School Readiness and Early Childhood Education in the Indian Context

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Abstract

This chapter provides a theoretical, conceptual, and contextual introduction to the book. It is divided into two parts, with the first part focusing on helping the readers develop a technical understanding of the meaning, scope, and significance of the concepts of early childhood education and school readiness and their interrelationships. This discussion rests in the context of the current “learning crisis” that is looming large over school education across the Global South. The second part places the discussion specifically in the Indian context, with the aim of familiarizing readers with the broader landscape of policies and provisions in early childhood education and school readiness in the country; it also gives a glimpse of the challenges that still remain.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    According to the social deficit perspective, individuals from underprivileged social groups inherently lack the potential or ability to achieve because their social and economic contexts limit their exposure levels.

  2. 2.

    The IECEI study referred to in the preface and summarized in Chap. 2, which has formed the basis of this publication, derives its framework from this interactionist perspective in conceptualizing the construct of school readiness, reflecting a distinct and more eclectic perspective bringing the “social” and the “developing individual” within an interactive frame. A similar framework, which examines this phenomenon of school readiness comprehensively from the multiple perspectives of the child and the family and the quality of early educational experiences in preschool/school settings, has also informed the structure of this publication.

  3. 3.

    Preschool education for 3- to 6-year-olds is referred to as early childhood education (ECE) in this volume.

  4. 4.

    See website Nutan Bal Shiksha Sangh.

  5. 5.

    An anganwadi is a community or habitation level center for delivery of six ICDS services related to health, nutrition, and preschool education; covering pregnant women, lactating mothers, adolescent girls, and children below 6 years.

  6. 6.

    See Center for Early Childhood Education and Development (CECED) website: Ceced.net.

  7. 7.

    See Jamia Millia Islamia University, Center for Early Childhood Development and Research. website. https://www.jmi.ac.in/cecdr

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CECED, Ambedkar University Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Venita Kaul

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  1. Venita Kaul
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. CECED, Ambedkar University Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Venita Kaul

  2. ASER Centre, New Delhi, India

    Suman Bhattacharjea

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Kaul, V. (2019). Introduction: Positioning School Readiness and Early Childhood Education in the Indian Context. In: Kaul, V., Bhattacharjea, S. (eds) Early Childhood Education and School Readiness in India. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7006-9_1

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