Skip to main content

Learning- How are children doing in India from age 4 to 8:



The reason young children matter is because international research demonstrates conclusively that 90% of brain growth occurs by age 5. This means that children’s environment and the inputs and support they receive in their early years will have an enormous impact on their future – both in school and beyond.

Children are enrolled in school but failing to learn even the basics. This crisis may begin long before children ever enter grade 1.

Credence Learning Foundation blog has consolidated the findings of IECEI study. The IECEI Study is a longitudinal study that followed a cohort of 14,000 four-year-olds from age 4 to age 8 in rural areas of three states of India: Assam, Rajasthan and Telangana. The first of its kind in India for its scale and its longitudinal, mixed-methods design.

4 Major findings:

1.    Seven out of every ten sampled 4-year-olds already attend a preschool programme. With access no longer the main issue, India is well placed to invest in the quality of early childhood education.

2.    Young children do not follow the linear trajectories that policies prescribe, or that the education system expects.

3.    Participation in good quality preschools leads to higher school readiness levels, which in turn lead to better early grade outcomes. But at the time of school entry at age 5, most children's school readiness levels are far below expectations.

4.    From `multi-tasked' Anganwadi Centres’ to `demand-driven' private preschools, the quality of preschool education is not developmentally appropriate for children.

Challenges in Anganwadi Centres:

Limited infrastructure and learning aids in classrooms.
More children in the younger (2-4) age group and fewer in the 5-6 age group.
No schedule is followed.
Community worker provided with minimal on-the-job training.

Challenges in Private Preschools:

Better infrastructure, but very few learning aids.
High pupil-teacher ratio.
Formal teaching with rote memorization and no age-appropriate activities.
Teachers untrained in ECE.


Key policy recommendations:

1.    Include Pre-Primary education in RTE Act 2009.
2.    Ensure children begin primary school only when they are developmentally ready.
3.    Design a flexible, play-based foundational curriculum for 3-8-year-olds along an early learning continuum.
4.    Institute a regulatory system for early childhood education.
5.    Reach out to parents, communities, and other stakeholders to generate demand for developmentally appropriate early childhood education.

Recommendations for teachers:

1.    Adequate education.
2.    Trained in Early childhood.
3.    Child friendly and interactive.

Click access UNICEF site:


Note: This blog is an initiative of CLF, which is read across India, US, UAE, Australia, Europe, and Africa.

Popular posts from this blog

Click to read: We have together 850+ Articles, Videos and Resources:

Explore below: Download Credence App if not yet downloaded: Browse, read through your area of interest and share the app with your connections.

This school for girls in a hot Thar desert in India will surprise you with design and beauty:

 -  Read till the end to see beautiful photos shot in an Indian desert school. Can you imagine children studying in the middle of the Thar desert, where day temperatures peak close to 50 degrees Celsius and harsh winds cause sand to blow through the day? An architectural marvel, located just a six-minute drive away from Jaisalmer's famous Sand Dunes, has taken shape in Kanoi village, with an aim to educate girls and empower them. The  School is made of yellow sandstone, and surprisingly, has no air conditioners. Here, students can study and even play in the protected courtyard without worrying about the extreme weather. Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl's School will serve more than 400 girls, from kindergarten to class 10, from below the poverty line residing in the mystic Thar Desert region of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, India-- where female literacy barely touches 32%. The school will be the first in a complex of three buildings known as the GYAAN Center. Desert Needs no ACs You can also

What is phonics in english and understanding Hauna phonics system:

HAUNA PHONICS HAUNA phonics is a systematic, child centred approach to teaching literacy skills. Children are taught the sounds of the letters in a specific order. Group 1- s, a, m, n, i, p, t Group 2-r, d, c, k, o, g, l Group 3- b, u, f, h, j, e, q Group 4- v, w, x, y, z,  Group 5- ai, ee, ai, oa, ue Group 6- Ng, ch, th, ah, OO, oo Group 7-ou, oi, or, er, ar After completion of one group of letters, children are taught how to blend and read words. Words that do not follow the phonics principle are named as Comm. words or frequently used words. Children are taught four lists of Comm. words in H3. List 1 I, me, he, be, to, do, no List 2 We, was, has, is, his, so, us List 3 All, go, she, my, are, here, one List 4 The, them, there, those, this, those, that, then, there Click to see video of Sounds of phonics: Further reading: Understanding Phonics of English language: So, what exactly is phonics? Phonics involves

Parenting requires parents to have patience:

- Parenting is no easy task and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. It takes patience, time, and a lot of trial and error to figure out what will work for your family. But as any parent will tell you, it can be worth the effort. Sometimes parents think they need to correct every little thing their children do or they’ll never learn right from wrong. But as adults we know that this isn’t the case. If we make an error at work, we don’t get corrected by our boss every time we do it – we just try not to repeat it.  Parents have a very important role in their child's wellbeing and character. Parents are the first teachers of children. How parents deal with children everyday is very crucial. Here are some ways that patience in parenting can help your family. The Best Ways to Keep Your Patience as a Parent. Why do we need to cultivate patience? What is the best way to cultivate patience as a parent? Follow the 5 quick rules below: 1. Don't be quick to anger.  Children don't re

Challenges faced by school counsellors as per study undertaken in India (Part 1.12)--:

 - Counselling skills are seen as an important area in educational institutions. The education boards like CBSE mandates schools to appoint counsellor. The schools which have appointed counsellors in the school environment, the counsellor face few challenges, as school involves multiple stakeholders- Teachers, Children, Parents, Management, Civil society (Civil society- When school is involved with collaborative programs with external institutions). There are some kinds of stigma attached to counsellor and counselling practices. When counsellor calls children to meet, they become very conscious to go to the counsellor even to have general interaction. Some responded that if a child goes to a dedicated counsellor, the child might think he has negativity in him. A counsellor said that rapport building takes much time. Children are afraid because they have misinformation about counselling. Class 1st to 5th children know counsellor as a Lifeskills teacher and not as a counsellor. It helps

The role of a school counsellor in tackling the challenges faced by students, and how bullying is affecting at school (Part 1.13):

- There are multiple roles a counsellor does for student development at school- academic performance counselling, family related counselling, career counselling, school adjustment related aspects and so on. One of the major tasks for a school counsellor is also to help a child plan for his future, whether that means continuing on to higher education, doing entrepreneurship, entering the workforce and so on. Ideally, a school counsellor should be involved with this process since a student entered school, providing guidance and study skills and intervening during times of poor or declining school performance. As we discussed in our previous articles, there are myriad challenges which counsellors face to discharge their duties. As reported in an article from UWA online of USA, there are some school counsellors who go an extra mile, even accompany students on college visits and walk them through the application process (uwa.edu, N.A) . This cannot be possible in all situations, as coun

Azim Premji University is inviting students in Class 12 to apply for their full-time residential Undergraduate Programme 2021, based in Bengaluru:

 - Azim Premji University is inviting students in Class 12 to apply for their full-time residential Undergraduate Programme 2021, based in Bengaluru. *Stream-1 :* 4 year Integrated Dual-Degree programme  - B.Sc.B.Ed.(Physics | Biology | Mathematics & Education) (This is a professional degree programme approved by NCTE) *Stream-2 :*  3-year B.A.(Economics | English | History | Philosophy) and  3-year B.Sc.(Physics | Biology | Mathematics).  Along with a disciplinary major, students can also study Interdisciplinary themes like Understanding India,  Sustainability, Development, Education, Media & Democracy. Option to pursue honours degree.  *Early Admissions 2021* Selection process includes a written test and personal interaction for shortlisted candidates. Entrance test on 10 Jan 2021 - Interviews in Feb 2021 - Provisional offer letters by Mar 2021 - Classes commencing in Aug 2021.  *Scholarships* We believe that no one should be denied education at Azim Premji University due to

Children's early development and the need for quality pre-schooling:

-  Internationally there is a strong push for educating children from an early age, as early years are very impactful in teaching and learning. Teaching and learning do not mean only blackboard, chalk piece, textbooks and exams, in contrast, there is more to it. In India, there are many interventions towards early literacy, but the discussion or research about how to teach reading-writing to young children need to be more focused to cater to each age group. The primary objective of reading is not to rote learn and present in the exam, but the primary objective of reading is meaning-making. Through the construction of meaning, it is also expected that the reader should think critically about the thoughts and information expressed in the text. Currently, if we look at our classrooms these aspects are completely neglected in the prevalent skill-based literacy instruction. Skills-based instruction vs. whole language: Skills-based instruction is a traditional theory of learning to rea

Click to read the collection of 200+ articles and videos on life skills:

- Click to read: