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This volume makes a comprehensive assessment of the status and quality of early educational experiences at preschool and early primary grades in India. It raises a serious concern that despite high enrolment in preschools, children's school readiness levels remain low at ages five and six, and raises a vital question---are Indian children getting a sound foundation for school and for later life? It addresses three important issues from the Indian perspective: children's school readiness at age five; families' readiness for school; and, most importantly, the readiness of schools for children. 

India is one of many countries across the global South facing an early learning crisis. High quality early childhood education may be key to improving these outcomes for children, yet little is known about early childhood education programs in India and their impact on children's school readiness. This volume is based on a longitudinal, mixed methods research study which is perhaps the first of its kind in India. The study covers public provisions along with steadily expanding private pre-schools and schools in rural India and provides interesting narratives and insights into the multiple pathways children are adopting in these critical early years, particularly in the context of the expanding role of the private sector. Written in a lucid and narrative style, this volume is of interest to a diverse readership of researchers, educationists and early childhood education policy makers and practitioners in terms of both its design and findings. 

Early Childhood Education and School Readiness in India: Quality and Diversity

Part 1 Background.- Chapter 1 Introduction: Positioning School Readiness and Early Childhood Education in the Indian Context Venita Kaul.- Chapter 2 Research in India on Early Childhood Education and School Readiness: Some Learnings Venita Kaul.- Part 2 Children Ready for School.- Chapter 3 Till What Age is 'Age' Relevant? Examining the Effect of Age on Early Learning Manjistha Banerji and Mansi Nanda.- Chapter 4 Positioning Psycho-Social Development Within the Construct of School Readiness: Challenges and Opportunities Meenakshi Dogra and Aparajita Bhargarh Chaudhary.- Chapter 5 Does Participation in Preschool Help Children's Early Grade Learning? Wilima Wadhwa, Suman Bhattacharjea and Manjistha Banerji.- Part 3 Schools Ready for Children.- Chapter 6 Where do young children go? Provisioning in Early Childhood Education Purnima Ramanujan and Nayan Dave.- Chapter 7 What Works for School Readiness? Understanding Quality in Preschool Education Aparajita Bhargarh Chaudhary and Venita Kaul.- Chapter 8 Language Literacy and Bilingualism in the Early Years Sunita Singh.- Chapter 9 Situating Teacher Beliefs Sunita Singh and Aparajita Bhargarh Chaudhary.- Chapter 10 Are Schools 'Ready for Children'? Assumptions and Ground Realities Suman Bhattacharjea.- Part 3 Families Ready for School.- Chapter 11 Participation Trends in ECE programs: Who Goes Where and Why? Ben Alcott, Suman Bhattacharjea, Purnima Ramanujan and Mansi Nanda.- Chapter 12 As We Look Ahead T.S. Saraswathi, Venita Kaul and Suman Bhattacharjea.