Child-Centred Education MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Child-Centred Education - Download Free PDF

Modern educational philosophy emphasizes that learning is most effective when it is meaningful, engaging, and connected to real-life experiences. 

Key Points

•  In the given scenario, the school adopts a flexible curriculum, encourages hands-on activities, and treats learning as an active, exploratory process. These features align directly with the principles of child-centered education.
• This method values experiential learning, curiosity-driven exploration, and individual pacing.
• It fosters critical thinking, creativity, and deep understanding by involving learners in real, meaningful tasks rather than passive reception of information.

Hint

•  Traditional education, in contrast, often emphasizes discipline, standardization, and teacher-led instruction, with limited room for student input or flexibility. It prioritizes content delivery over personal engagement.
• Rote learning relies on memorization without understanding or critical thinking. It discourages inquiry and hands-on exploration, which are central to the approach described in the question.
• Teacher-centric instruction positions the teacher as the sole authority in the classroom, directing all learning. It typically involves lectures and predefined content, offering minimal student autonomy or activity-based learning.

Hence, the correct answer is child-centered education.

Child-centred education is an approach that places the learner at the heart of the teaching and learning process. It recognizes that each child is unique, with individual needs, interests, and learning styles. This approach encourages active participation, exploration, and discovery, promoting holistic development beyond just academic achievement.

Key Points

•  Focusing on the individual needs, interests, and active participation of the learner best describes the core principle of child-centred education. It fosters creativity, critical thinking, and motivation by making learning relevant and engaging for children.
• In contrast, rote memorization, curriculum structured only around tests, or strict discipline emphasize teacher control and conformity, which are not aligned with the child-centred philosophy.

Hence, the correct answer is focusing on the individual needs, interests, and active participation of the learner.

The learner-centred approach of teaching puts learners in the centre and gives primacy to children's experiences and needs.

• It strongly believes that when children are given the freedom to work at their own pace, they develop the ability to assimilate the concepts efficiently.

Key Points

Characteristics of the learner-centred approach:

• It stresses the importance of enquiry, observation and investigation.
• It takes into account learner's capabilities, capacities and learning styles.
• It uses methods like experiential learning, problem-solving, concept mapping and creative writing.
• It emphasises to provide ample opportunities to the children to foster their own strategy of learning to perform a task.
• In this method, teachers facilitate students as a facilitator by providing with proper environment and materials to learn at their own pace.
• Students work in flexible, cooperative groupings to solve problems and analyze texts to demonstrate an understanding of a task.

Hence, it could be concluded that the sentence 'It emphasises transmitting knowledge to the learner by the teacher' is not correct about the learner-centred approach.

Additional Information

Child-centered education focuses on tailoring the learning process to the needs, interests, and abilities of each child. It emphasizes active engagement, creativity, and critical thinking, rather than passive reception of information. 

Key Points

•  Considering individual differences is crucial because it acknowledges that each child learns differently and at their own pace, allowing teachers to adapt methods accordingly.
• Encouraging active participation invites children to be involved in their learning through discussions, hands-on activities, and problem-solving, which deepens understanding and motivation. These strategies make learning more relevant and effective.
• Emphasizing memorization of facts and relying on teacher-centered lectures focus on rote learning and passive listening, which are contrary to the principles of child-centered education. Such methods limit student engagement and do not foster critical thinking or creativity.

Hence, the correct answer is (i) and (iii).

A learner-centered approach focuses on the needs, preferences, and interests of the students. It emphasizes active learning, student engagement, and collaboration. 

Key Points
There are the following characteristics of the Learner-centered approach:

• Students are encouraged to work together in groups or teams to discuss topics, solve problems, and complete projects.
• Students are responsible for their learning, including setting goals, managing time, and seeking resources.
• Collaboration is often facilitated through group projects, cooperative learning activities, and collaborative problem-solving tasks.
• Students often have a choice in what they learn, how they learn it, and how they demonstrate their learning.
• Student feedback is valued and used to shape the learning experience. Teachers adjust their methods based on student input.

Hence, we can conclude that Allowing students to interact with their teams through discussion and learning activities is correct in the case of a learner-centered approach.

Education would be meaningful only then when it would be student/child-centred. Education is referred as child-centred education when it gives preference to child's needs, interests & aptitudes.

Key Points

• The child-centred approach always emphasises to provide ample opportunities to the children to foster their own strategy of learning and ways of thinking to perform a task or classroom activities.
• The active participation and involvement of children play a very vital role in learning and shaping the personality of a child.
• In this method, teachers facilitate students as a facilitator by providing with proper environment and materials to learn at their own pace.
• Students take leadership in the classroom, present their work, and facilitate groups.
• Students work in flexible, cooperative groupings to solve problems and analyze texts to demonstrate an understanding of a task.
• Students are assessed for process, group work, and product.

Hence, it could be concluded that education is referred as child-centred education when it gives preference to child's needs, interests & aptitudes.

Additional Information

At primary stage covers the children of class I-V. At this stage, the child is very curious to learn new things. In this age group, children are not able to comprehend the learning.  Therefore, at the primary stage when children have to learn basic concepts they should be taught through play and activities arid not through the 'chalk and talk' method. 

Learner-Centered Instruction at the primary stage: There are demands for learner-centered methods so that learning is meaningful to learners.

• It should basically have a child-centered approach involving the interaction of children. The activities .should be interesting, relevant, based on the daily life experiences of the child.
• The age. mental level. aptitude, interest, and abilities of the child should be the main criteria for selecting the activities.
• It should enhance the natural curiosity of the child; It should help the child in developing attitudes and qualities such as self-confidence, the spirit of inquiry, initiative, courage to ask questions. 
• It should encourage the child to think of solutions to problems in higher day-to-day life.
• It should develop the desired skills in children; It should help a child to develop logical thinking; It should help a child to take an active interest and participate in solving some simple problems in a limited way.

Hence, we can conclude that Instruction at the primary stage needs to be Student-centered.

Good (1973) defined education as “a general overall plan of the content or specific materials of instruction that the school should offer the student by way of qualifying him for certification”.

Key Points

• A child-centered curriculum considers children as individuals who learn differently from adults.
• Father of child-centric education: Jean Rousseau is known as the father of early childhood education. Rousseau's theory of education highlighted the significance of expression to create a well-adjusted, freethinking child.

Important Points

• Objectives:
  • The main objective of child-centered Education is to enable the child to learn through permanent experience.
  • The course and subjects should be experience-oriented to meet the need of the child.
  • The child is the center of the whole education process.

Hence, we can conclude that Rousseau is known as the father of child-centric education.

A child-centered classroom is focused on a variety of learning activities for the learners because it’s organized in a way that naturally encourages students to explore. Each student plays and does projects that interest them, as opposed to the same work being assigned to everyone.

Key Points

• Child-centered education is a sort of revolt against subject-centered education. 
• Child-centered Education seeks to provide a natural flow of activity and spontaneous growth of the child.
• He must be allowed to enjoy complete freedom of action subject to the condition that he should not interfere with the freedom of others.​
• The teacher provides timely feedback to the learners about their performance in a child-centered classroom.
• In child-centered education, the curriculum, teaching method, classroom environment, assessment, learning material, activities will all be designed keeping the student in mind.
• According to N.C.F. 2005, child-centered education means prioritizing the child's voices and experiences.
• The role of the teacher in child-centered education is that of facilitator, counselor.

 Hence, we can conclude that providing timely feedback to the learners about their performance.

Important Points

The following points need to be considered for promoting child-centered education.

1. Freedom
2. Self-activities
3. Process of spontaneous development
4. Development of interest and needs 
5. Education-based on experience additional
6. A variety of learning activities

The Father of child-centered education is Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In India, Child-centered education's supporter is Giju Bhai Badheka.

A child-centered curriculum refers to the curriculum which gives primacy to children's needs, experiences, and understanding. It helps children to learn better by catering totality of their experiences that occur in the educational process.

Key Points

 A child-centered curriculum of the primary stage should focus on:

• harmonious adjustment with community life.

• harmonious development of child's individuality.

• children's natural interests, aptitudes, and capacities.

• children's own strategy of learning and ways of thinking.

• different pedagogical approaches to meet learner's diverse needs.

Hint

• A child-centered curriculum/any curriculum should not focus on children's abilities for monetary gains as it could lead them on the wrong path and could spoil their innocency too.

Hence we can interpret that a child-centered curriculum of primary stage should not focus on children's abilities for monetary gains

Learner-centred Classroom: Students and teachers participate equally in the teaching-learning process. The teacher is the facilitator and students actively engage in the activities. The needs of individual students form the basis.

• ‘Child-centred’ classroom means giving primacy to children’s experiences, their voices, and their active participation. This kind of classroom requires us to plan to learn in keeping with children’s psychological development and interests. 

Role of the Teacher in a Learner-Centred Classroom are:-

• To make the active engagement of a child involves inquiry, exploration, questioning, debates, application, and reflection, leading to theory building and the creation of ideas.
• The teacher would employ such methods in which the learners are encouraged to take initiative for their own learning.
• The teacher will have to be sensitive to tribal cultures and practices and be able to incorporate local knowledge in the curriculum and textbooks.
• The teacher should provide space for individual children to express themselves freely in the classroom without fear of being judged or stereotyped. Children need to be aware that their experiences and perceptions are important and need to be encouraged to think and reason independently.
• To plan the teaching and learning process to suit the needs of the students.
• To promote learning by providing a conducive environment.
• To encourage learners to become active learners.

Hence, it becomes clear that in a learner-centred classroom, the teacher would employ such methods in which the learners are encouraged to take initiative for their own learning.

Learner or child-centered approach to education means planning and transacting curriculum in the classroom in a way that allows for flexibility in pace and style of learning to keep in mind that children in a classroom are widely different.

• It, therefore, suggests an approach to teaching different from the existing practice of having a uniform curriculum, uniform learning material and activities, uniform time, and uniform instructional and evaluation strategies for the whole class.

Key Points In child-centered education the learner learns in such ways:

• By exploring their thoughts in a divergent way.
• With the help of peers, they can learn through interaction.
• They can learn by exploration with multiple sources of learning.
• The learner can learn by exploring their knowledge with the help of different sources and methods.
• Children are the center of the classroom, they can learn by their own needs and interest.
• Engagement of the learners in hands-on activities, teamwork, etc.

Thus by all these references, we can conclude that learning in the child-centered classroom should be done through the exploration of the diverse sources of learning.

Hint 

• Learning from textbooks is not the key feature of the child-centered classroom, learners gain their knowledge through activities and hands-on experiences.
• Direct instruction-based learning can not be promoted in the child-centered classroom, learning should be based on exploring different sources.
• Students are the active listener in the child-centered classrooms.

Child-centered education means planning and transacting curriculum in the classroom in a way that allows for flexibility in pace and style of learning to keep in mind that children in a classroom are widely different.

Key Points

• Providing education keeping in mind the interests and abilities of the child is called child-centered education.
• In child-centered education, evaluation can be used to find out how much the student has learned.
• In child-centered education, what the child has to learn should be judged according to the ability, interest, capacity, and previous experience of the child.
• If the students are judged based on their ability, interest, and experience, then the students will take interest in the assessment and try to give better responses.

Hence, we can conclude that in child-centered education, what the child has to learn should be judged according to the ability, interest, capacity, and previous experience of the child.

A child-centered system of education is designed to develop the individual and social qualities of a student rather than providing generalized information or training by way of the prescribed subject matter. Child-centered education regards education as the fundamental right of every child. Every child is educated, no matter whatever is his social and economic background.

Important Points

The overall goal of education, according to this approach is all-around development of the child and not only that of acquiring knowledge.

• Curriculum, according to this approach, should be based upon the needs, interests, aptitudes, and abilities of learners at different levels so that it enables them to acquire the necessary skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values for realizing their full potential.
• The learner or child-centered approach means planning and transacting curriculum in the classroom in a way that allows for flexibility in pace and style of learning to keep in mind that children in a classroom are widely different.
• It, therefore, suggests an approach of teaching different from the existing practice of having a uniform curriculum, uniform learning material and activities, uniform time, and uniform instructional and It emphasizes learning by doing,

Key Points

​Child-centered approach advocates:

• self-learning 
• flexible curriculum
• varied methods of teaching
• varied learning experiences/tasks/activities
• varied learning time
• varied methods of assessing children’s progress
• selection of alternative text-books
• classroom demonstration 

Hence, we can conclude that organization of alternative classes is contradictory to child-centred instruction.

The learner-centred approach of teaching puts learners in the centre and gives primacy to children's experiences and needs.

• It strongly believes that when children are given the freedom to work at their own pace, they develop the ability to assimilate the concepts efficiently.

Key Points

Characteristics of the learner-centred approach:

• It stresses the importance of enquiry, observation and investigation.
• It takes into account learner's capabilities, capacities and learning styles.
• It uses methods like experiential learning, problem-solving, concept mapping and creative writing.
• It emphasises to provide ample opportunities to the children to foster their own strategy of learning to perform a task.
• In this method, teachers facilitate students as a facilitator by providing with proper environment and materials to learn at their own pace.
• Students work in flexible, cooperative groupings to solve problems and analyze texts to demonstrate an understanding of a task.

Hence, it could be concluded that the sentence 'It emphasises transmitting knowledge to the learner by the teacher' is not correct about the learner-centred approach.

Additional Information