BSc Home Science Early Childhood Curriculum Planning and Assessment Syllabus - Mumbai University 2026

This is the Semester 5 syllabus under NEP 2020, in force from the academic year 2026-27. The University still examines the earlier Choice Based papers alongside it: her third-year timetables name that scheme, so check which scheme your exam form names before you revise.

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Syllabus for Early Childhood Curriculum Planning and Assessment

Major · Semester 5 · Third Year - Human Development · 4 credits · 100 marks

Module I: Principles, Foundations, And Developmentally Appropriate

Practices (DAP) In Early Childhood Curriculum
1 Quality in Early Childhood Programs -Concept of developmental appropriateness and principles; adult-child ratio; group size; mixed-age grouping; developmental-appropriateness of activities; child-adult interactions and roles; staffing; teacher stability.
2 Early Childhood Teachers and Caregivers - Quality, attributes, and role of a good early childhood teacher; training and regulation of quality; professionalism and ethics; current issues and dilemmas (low pay, burnout, teacher turnover, teacher shortage).
3 Components of the early childhood education schedule -Activity time; large-group activities; small-group activities; use of learning centres; outdoor activities; start-of-day and end-of-day activities; clean-up, meals, nap and rest; transitions.
4 Guidelines for Program Scheduling -Alternating active and quiet times; alternating large- group and small-group activities; balancing child-initiated and teacher-initiated activities; building time for individual interactions; taking into account activity level and developmental level of the children; seasonal considerations; types of schedules.
5 Curriculum -Types of curriculum; theme-based learning content; child, family and community as a focus of the curriculum; planning general goals and instructional objectives/developing written plans (daily, weekly, short- term, long-term plans; planning an overall curriculum (units, lesson planning, activities and emergent curriculum).

Module II: Educators and Curriculum Models/Approaches

1 History of early childhood education, historical overview of
educators - Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Johann Pestalozzi, Friedrich Froebel, Maria Montessori, Rabindranath Tagore, Tarabai Modak, Gijubhai Badhekha.
2 Early Childhood Education Curriculum Models - Reggio Emilia Approach, Rudolf Steiner and Waldorf schools, Te-whariki, Thematic Approach/Project Approach, Glenn Doman approach.

Module III: Creating an Environment for Exploring Activities in Early Years

1 Gross and Fine Motor Activities: Movement, jumping, climbing apparatus, following an obstacle course, rolling and tumbling, throwing and catching, kicking and batting, patting/digging sand, using tools. Manipulative equipment/toys, Lego blocks, beads, sorting, drawing, painting, stacking rings, small plastic figures.
2 Art and craft activities: Painting, printing, pasting, drawing, cutting and tearing; making a collage, modelling/sculpture (clay, dough), and guided art and craft projects.
3 Language activities: Stories, poetry, books, sharing time/circle time, group discussion, puppets, dramatization/role play, reading corner, reading and writing readiness for preschool children.
4 Science Activities: Defining sciencing; developmentally-appropriate science for preschool children; goals and objectives for sciencing activities; scientific process (observing, classifying and comparing, measuring, experimenting and relating, inferring and applying); science table; science walks; science projects and experiments; providing a safe environment.
5 Mathematics activities: Defining mathematics; mathematical concepts, processes, understanding and skills (classifying, comparing, ordering, patterning, counting, shapes and space, measurement, fractions, vocabulary, numerical operations); use of toys and educational material; arithmetic readiness.
6 Social Studies activities: Appreciating diversity; appreciating own and other cultures/communities; knowing about different occupational roles; building starting knowledge of geography/ history/ ecology.
7 Special Considerations in Curricular Planning: Field trips, resource persons, learning centres, parents in early childhood education programs

Module IV: Play, Other Aspects of Curricular Planning; & Assessment/

Recording/ Reporting in Early Childhood Education
1 Significance and Role of Play: Defining play, value and purpose of play, stages/levels of play, types of play, child’s role, teacher’s role (observer,
elaborator, modeler, planner, evaluator).
2 Music and Movement: Goals of music and movement; singing (selecting songs, presenting songs, informal singing, group singing, playing instruments, rhythmic experiences, creating songs, listening experiences); movement and dance (fundamental movements of walking, standing, balancing, running, jumping, galloping, skipping, playing).
3 Assessing, Recording and Reporting Children’s Progress:
i Meaning and definition of assessment, purpose of assessment, planning assessment, types of assessment (informal and formal methods).
ii Recording: Meaning, purpose, and use of records; types of records.
iii Reporting: Meaning, purpose, and methods of reporting.

Reference Books

1 Amin, R. (1997). Learning for life…from birth to five. Nurturing the growing child. Mumbai: Books for Change.
2 Brewer, J. A. (2006). Introduction to early childhood education: Preschool through primary grades (6th ed.). Pearson Education.
3 Catron, C. E., & Allen, J. (2007). Early childhood curriculum: A creative play model (4th ed.). Pearson Education.
4 Christian Children’s Fund. (1994). Early childhood care and development (0 to 6 years): Trainers’ manual.
5 Dopyera, M., & Dopyera, J. E. (1992). Becoming a teacher of young children (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill, Inc.
6 Essa, E. L. (2013). Introduction to early childhood education (7th ed). Wadsworth.
7 Gestwicki, C. (2013). Developmentally appropriate practice: Curriculum and development in early education (5th ed.). Wadsworth.
8 Kaul, V. (1991). Early childhood education programme. NCERT.
9 Leeper. S. H., Witherspoon, R. L., & Day, B. (1984). Good schools for young children: A guide for working with three-, four-, and five-year-old children (5th ed.). Macmillan.
10 Maxim, G. W. (1997). The very young: Guiding children from infancy through the early years (5th ed.). Merrill.
11 NCERT. (1996). Minimum specifications for preschools.
12 Sebastian, P. (2002). Handle with care - A guide to early childhood administration. Wiley.
13 Seefeldt, C., & Barbour, N. (1998). Early childhood education: An introduction (4th ed.). Pearson Education.
14 Swaminathan, M. (1998). The first five years: A critical perspective on early childhood care and education in India. Sage

Reproduced from the University of Mumbai syllabus for B.Sc. (Home Science) under NEP 2020, in force from the academic year 2026-27. Wording is as printed in that syllabus. Module numbering is as printed there too.

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