Early Childhood Care and Education in India: A Social Work Perspective

Abstract

This article reflects critically on some of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead concerning Early Childhood Care and Education in India from a perspective of social work in the context of NEP 2020. It projects the crucial role a social worker may play in mitigating some of these systemic inequities and ensuring equitable access to quality services in ECCE. It advocates that there needs to be a social work perspective imbued within both the inclusionist and qualitative objectives set out by the NEP on early childhood education, examining, through a lens of the social determinants of learning, how diverse child populations are affected by cultural contexts and socio-economic disparities. Analyses in the paper stand on the shoulders of research and available policy frameworks with an understanding of India’s unique socio-cultural context. It points out the need for the sensitization of practice that addresses the specific needs of excluded groups of children and therefore the creation of an effective, sustainable system. Finally, the article calls for incorporation of the principles of social work in the development and execution of policies on ECCE at both national and state levels, positioning social workers as agents of change in the transformation of early childhood education in India.