All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual.
The department was established in July 1984.
The Department of HDFE at Bharati College was started in 1984. The department was initially called Family and Child Welfare (FCW) though later the nomenclature was changed to Human Development & Family Empowerment (HDFE). Since the beginning, the department has been actively engaging with the discipline of Human Development through academics as well as curricular activities. The objectives of the department are:
To understand the concept of child development and human development as a field of study.
To enable students to understand the scope and significance of human development study as a potential actualisation of abilities.
To develop knowledge, understanding and skills in the management of issues related to personal growth and development.
To sensitize the students regarding the needs and challenges of children with special needs. To develop the skills of the students for identification, screening and assessment of these children.
To develop an understanding of maternal health and education in order to work with community.
To enable students to create awareness about the government programmes, policies, and legal provisions as well as non-governmental efforts made to improve the status of Gender in India.
Our department provides a 3 year-long integrated degree to B.A programme students with specialization in Human Development and Family Empowerment. The 3 years programme covers the following courses:
Principles of Child Development
Introduction to Human Development
Empowerment of Women & Children
Principles & Perspectives on Early Childhood Care & Education
Child Rights & Gender Empowerment
Children with Special Needs
Life Skills Education
Introduction to Guidance & Counselling
Parent & Community Development
Adolescent Development & Challenges
Care & Well-being in Human Development
Child Rights & Social Action
HDFE has sustained itself as a major employment sphere in research and in extension of social services. The students can go for post-graduation (MSc. HDCS) after completion of B.A (HDFE). In addition, Early pre-school settings, family planning agencies, family counselling centres, pre-primary training centres, agricultural research centres, social welfare departments are some of the areas where HDFE graduates and post-graduates can find suitable places. They can also enter into curriculum development, e-resource development and development of media for children.
Human Development and Family Empowerment (HDFE) has been contextualized and embedded in the broader perspective of life span development. The increasing thrust on development programmes and legislations for women and children generates empowering awareness and prepares the students on 'quality intervention programmes'.
The course also emphasizes the integration and application of knowledge on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), to provide stimulating environment to young children. The course will also to provide practical experiences of working with children which will enable students to develop necessary skills to work effectively with infants and pre-schoolers in various settings.
The course offers an interesting assortment of skill-based courses and generic courses for students of other disciplines to allow for effective transmission of relevant experiences of daily life. HDFE is unique in its interdisciplinary focus on individuals and families over a lifespan.
HDFE also contains a focus on preventing and intervening in problem behaviours. HDFE majors learn how to implement and evaluate programs which are designed to improve the quality of people's lives.
Department helps to empower the young women to increase their control over the decisions that affect their lives both within and outside the household. Through their empowerment young women gain greater share of control over resources and it gives them the power of decision making in the home, community, society and nation.
This subject engages students in a curriculum that values and supports interdisciplinary perspectives and combines classroom learning with field opportunities.
Utkarsh is a Hindi word, which means 'Progress' or ‘Prosperity’. Department of HDFE, has an active student body which organizes many student activities with a purpose to give opportunities to students to showcase and enhance their potential in various domains and keep pace with changes in the society.
Utkarsh is the HDFE department society created and managed by students, which, as the name implies, strives to take them to new heights. It is led by a student union consisting of the president, vice president, general secretary and the treasurer. Utkarsh organizes various activities throughout the year including a one to two day annual department fest in the spring semester. Utkarsh organises and participates in various competitions throughout the year.
Our course is very well acceptable as many of our students work as pre-school teachers, special educators, counsellors and also go for further studies in various diverse areas. The field experience provided as a part of practicals is found to be very useful to train the students and provide them with hands on experience. They are also able to contribute to the society with their knowledge and experience on women and child related issues.
HDFE is an inter-disciplinary subject connects with various fields of social sciences like psychology, sociology, development studies, social work, gender and human rights issues etc. More specifically, some of the job avenues for HDFE graduates are:
| Vocational area | Opportunities of further education | Job opportunities after advanced course |
|---|---|---|
| Human Development | Diploma of Special Educators/Child Development Counsellors, Child guidance and counselling certificate course, BSc Elementary Education, Diploma in ECCE, Diploma in Women Rights, MSc. in Human Development. | Child Day care Supervisor, Preschool teacher, Social-Worker, Special Educator, After-school Programme Supervisor, counsellor, Project assistant in MWCD, Lecturer, can work as project coordinators in NGOs. |
