PVPF 2024

Interview With Dr Vasavvi Acharjya, author of "Early Childhood Development"

This book touches upon many topics that would give its readers fresh perspectives into early childhood development that may use with their child inside or outside the classroom for holistic development.
on Apr 05, 2023

Early Childhood Education Expert, Edupreneur & Social Activist Dr Vasavvi is the Founder and Managing Director of Inner I Foundation Pvt Ltd (IIFPL). In 2013, she launched Tender Petals Preschools, which was featured in the Forbes India GPTS issue of Great Indian Preschools 2019. She moved into social work and founded D N Acharya Foundation for Children and Women Welfare in 2014 and its global initiative the Early Childhood Development Forum in 2019.

Frontlist: According to you, what is the significance of including Early Childhood Education in the formal education system in India, and how do you see this affecting the country's educational landscape?

Dr Vasavvi: The early years starting from birth to 7 years are the most crucial in terms of a child’s physical, mental, intellectual, socio-emotional, language, and cognitive development and form the bedrock for future success and happiness. These are the most impressionable years and therefore need the most attention and care. Children at this age need to have a positive and supportive environment around them so that they develop positive neural connections that would help them become more stable and balanced individuals, and develop positive relationships, who are mindful and in control of their emotions and of their lives.

Since this period is so important the inclusion of ECE in the formal education system has been a positive step as now ECE is mainstreamed and parents would give more importance to these years of their child’s life. This step has come like a breadth of fresh air to all early-year education leaders, preschools, and early years educators as now their work would be taken more seriously. As for children, this step is very helpful as they would get the much-required nurturing and care that is required in these years and would help them become rounded individuals.

Frontlist: What key takeaways can parents and educators gain from reading your book, and how can they apply these insights to promote optimal early childhood development?

Dr Vasavvi: This book touches upon many topics that would give its readers fresh perspectives into early childhood development that may use with their child inside or outside the classroom for holistic development. As this book has articles from global experts it would also enable them to see how different techniques, that are used worldwide, which may be used to inculcate the best values and practices into the child right from the start. The strategies shared in the book may be applied by them at home or in school in the form of modules or as part of their lesson plan to maximize the development of children.

Frontlist: As the book's editor, how did you select the contributors and topics covered, and what criteria did you use to ensure that the book provides a comprehensive and diverse perspective on early childhood development?

Dr Vasavvi: Early Childhood Development Forum works to develop the best practices of ECE and the forum has chapters in India and all over the globe. The forum members are early childhood experts, preschool principals, school leaders, parenting coaches, and early years educators to name a few. When the concept of a book was conceived, I approached a few experts who have specialized in different areas of ECD (early childhood development) to contribute their articles based on their long years of research and on-the-job experiences. I was selective about the topics and their relevance as we need a parent readership too and didn’t want to keep it too complicated. Some early years experts reverted with a positive response and that is how the book started to take a shape and finally culminated into a wholesome package for the readers,

Frontlist: How can parents and educators work together to create an optimal learning environment for children during their early years?

Dr Vasavvi: Parents and educators need to collaborate in order to create an optimal learning environment for children. Let me tell you about the Golden Triangle, where the student is at the top and the parent and teacher are at two other corners. Both the parent and the teacher aim for the development of the child, who is their point of focus. Therefore, they need to collaborate in order to take the best decision for the child. The parent has to lay their trust in the school/teacher and the school in turn needs to rely on the parents to give the best congenial environment to the child at home. So, I would like to say here that communication, transparency, understanding of the ethos of the preschool, empathy, and compassion will lead to collaboration, which in turn will help in creating an optimal learning environment for children during their early years.

Frontlist: How does early childhood development impact long-term outcomes such as social-emotional development and career success?

Dr Vasavvi: Early childhood is a period in which a child develops various skills ranging from language, cognitive, sensory-motor, social-emotional, personal awareness, and even core values. When a child is exposed to an enriched environment where they are taken care of, given nutritious food, a loving a supportive family, and opportunities to explore without any stress or competition, they tend to develop empathy, compassion, resilience, ability to manage emotions, stay mindful and become balanced individuals. Their frontal lobe which is the thinking mind develops and their memory and retention are enhanced. Children who have better socio-emotional skills are seen to perform better in exams and are able to sail through life’s challenges more easily. Therefore, they grow up to become more successful individuals in terms of careers and fulfilling life.

Frontlist: What common misconceptions about early childhood development do you hope to dispel through this book?

Dr Vasavvi: This book particularly doesn’t aim to dispel any misconceptions, rather it gives a direction to the readers to move in the right direction in the domain of ECD. There has been a lot of work going on in this domain to mainstream ECE and also to bring into focus the importance of the early years. This book is a step further in this attempt to make the world aware of it.

Frontlist: How do you see the insights shared in this book being applied in real-world settings, and what impact do you hope it will have on early childhood development more broadly?

Dr Vasavvi: Let me explain with an example. My chapter is about mindfulness practices and their impact. When we talk about mindfulness, we need to understand that mindfulness for adults is a bit different than that for children. The chapter explains why an adult first needs to be mindful before trying to inculcate the same in children around them. If an adult is in chaos, they can never inspire a child to be mindful. So, the chapter shares strategies for adults to practice mindfulness and then moves on to children. How can mindfulness help children in developing a peaceful mind which in turn would be a thinking mind, -calm and relaxed. Then strategies to incorporate mindfulness practices on a day-to-day basis are shared. These may be used in real-world settings by implementation through modules or as part of daily activities. Similarly, every chapter gives a detailed insight into the topic and also shares strategies for real-world implementation.