Early childhood offers a critical window of opportunity to shape a child’s holistic development trajectory and build a foundation for their future. The course is designed to give participants the foundation for understanding the field of child development. It establishes the knowledge base for domains of early childhood development (ECD), developmental milestones, the impact of context and culture on child development, etc. This course will introduce the major theories and the strengths and shortcomings of each. This course will also present a range of concepts and issues on play, play-based ECD models, and BRAC’s Play Lab Model & HPL as successful implementation of learning through play pedagogy, creativity, socio-emotional learning, and mental health of children. The course addresses basic concepts of school readiness, factors affecting children’s school readiness, the purposes of individualized teaching & the dimensions of the individual child. Additionally, the course will provide strategies for teachers to practice individualized teaching in classroom contexts. The course also looks at the issue of children with special needs, and contemporary issues in child development. Adults’ role in child development will be discussed throughout the course.