 The
field of early literacy is vast and diverse,
and some of the large-scale programmes taken
up by state governments and supplemented by
large-scale non governmental initiatives,
may at times be running as de-contextualised
programmes which are mismatched to the particular
needs of specific groups of learners. For
instance, many families migrate to their village
during harvest time when additional labour
is required. Although these migrations are
usually for a month’s duration, and even
though children may not necessarily migrate,
their attendance in school is drastically
reduced during this period because they take
up chores of family members who have migrated.
Within both the urban and rural settings,
the inability of working children to devote
the required time for schooling, combined
with their desire to study until they earn
some level of competency, often means that
their experience of schooling is a struggle.
They gradually begin to experience rejection
at school and internalise their inability
to learn as an innate failure rather than
as a result of circumstances.
This understanding of the larger context
needs to be worked into the framework of
educational initiatives if they are to be
truly successful and it is important that
academic reviews of programmes be undertaken
to assess what educational experiences mean
for the identity and self worth of different
groups of learners, as well as, for their
future life chances.
 In
an effort to gain a deeper understanding
of the larger context, a consultation for
developing a suitable framework for building
conceptual clarity on some issues of early
literacy was held with Trusts’ partner
organisations. Such an exercise will facilitate
consistency in the perspectives of the various
partners (some of whom have already developed
alternative approaches to early literacy
initiatives) and help to bring clarity of
vision within the early literacy / education
programmes being supported by the Trusts.
This collective visioning exercise has also
helped to identify some crucial aspects
of a sound and innovative pedagogical practice
for an early literacy programme.
The consultation was held in partnership
with the Early Literacy Project in New Delhi
from 25 to 28 April, 2011, and was supported
by inputs from external experts.
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To build an understanding
of the Indian context, so as to be able
to engage effectively with programmes
for early literacy |
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To define a broad
framework for work in early literacy
based on common understanding |
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To define some
non negotiables within programmes for
early literacy |
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To identify important
aspects of classroom based practice
/ approaches which equip young children
to build strong foundations for reading
and writing. |
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