Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 1
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 2
Index Sl.
No.
Paper Title Author Page No.
01 Assessment and Understanding of Gender Equity in Education in Jammu And Kashmir
Showkeen Bilal Ahmad Gul
04-26
02 Status of School Improvement Planning (SIP) and its Implementation in Government Secondary Schools of Ethiopia
Dr. Sushanta Kumar Roul
27-48
03 Researching Pioneer Competency: An Interdisciplinary Perspective
Dr. Chhaya Goel & Dr. Devraj Goel
49-60
04 Quality Improvement Approaches in Primary Education
Beena Indrani 61-73
05 Effect of Scientific Creativity on the Personality of adolescence
Honey Premendra 74-90
06 An assessment of IQ by applying Cattell’s Culture Fair test and a comparative study of IQ between boys and girls (urban area of Burdwan district, West Bengal, India)
Poulami Mukherjee &
Tuhin Kumar Samanta
91-113
07 Education and Women Empowerment in India
Sundeep kumar shrivas, Bindu Gautam &
Vivek Gupta
114-127
08 Attitude of Undergraduate Students towards ICT after Laptop Distribution Scheme of UP
Dilip Kumar Singh & Akhilesh Shukla
128-140
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 3
Government
09 Student Welfare Programme: An urgent need for stress free Life
Dr. Sunita Singh 141-154
10 Professional Commitment among Teacher Educators: Influence of Gender And Qualification
Shipra Singh, Sonal Chabra & Vanita Chopra
155-167
11 Vedantic Perspective for Positive Psychology & Global Goodness
Dr. Asheesh Srivastava 168-178
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 4
Paper-1
Assessment and Understanding of Gender
Equity in Education in Jammu and
Kashmir
Showkeen Bilal Ahmad Gul
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 5
Assessment and Understanding of Gender Equity in Education in Jammu and
Kashmir
Showkeen Bilal Ahmad Gul1
Abstract The focus of this paper is on the assessment and understanding of the gender
equity in education in Jammu and Kashmir. Gender equity is the process of being
fair to women and men. To ensure fairness, strategies and measures should be
available to compensate for women's historical and social disadvantaged. The
central government, state government, NGO’s and local bodies are jointly working
for the promotion of women’s education. The paper discussed to what extent the
central government, state government, NGO’s and local bodies have achieved the
gender equity in education and what are the challenges in promoting gender equity
in the state? The objectives of this study included first, to understand and explore
the women’s level of participation in education and to explore the barriers to
women’s education. The data used are taken from the census of India, report from
the education sector of Jammu and Kashmir and National Human Development
Report of India. The literacy rate and education of the women of Jammu and
Kashmir is far lower than their counterparts and also lower than women at
national level. Poverty, ignorance of parents and lack of basic infrastructural
facilities seem to be major obstacles in the attainment of gender equity in
education. The educational schemes and developmental programmes seem have
not helped to improve the condition of girls. There is an essential need to make
serious efforts by government, not-for-profit organizations and other local bodies
1 Research Scholar, Department of Education, Aligarh Muslim University, U.P, India
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 6
to augment the pace of development in education of the women of Jammu and
Kashmir.
Keywords: Assessment, Understanding, Gender equity, Education
Introduction- Jammu & Kashmir State is one of the States of Indian Union. It is also well known
as paradise on the earth is the northern state of India with population more than one
crore as per Census figures and covers the area of approximately 2,22,236 sq. Kms.
The state has three regions namely, Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh and further
subdivided into 22 districts for administration and carrying out developmental
programmes. The State has its own Constitution besides the Constitution of India
and enjoys the special status under article 370. Topography of the J&K comes in
the way of rising adequate infrastructure and is further compounded by terrorism
and militancy, which have taken a heavy toll of life and public property besides
throwing normal life out of gear. Education could not run away from this calamity
as most of the educational institutions in rural areas were destroyed and loss of
schooling hours immensely affected the learning outcomes.
In the National Educational Scenario, State is subsumed as educationally backward
in reference to the established indices namely literacy rate, dropout rate, teacher
pupil ratio and the absorption pattern of the educated persons. The troubling
features are low literacy rate, higher drop-out rate, mismatch between education
and employment. The State strictly adheres to the National Education Policy and
with the exponential growth of the institutional framework and reach of services as
a consequence of sustained investment folio through plan strategy; improvement in
every parameter is visible. The improvement is more pronounced in the field of
female literacy. Education is one of the most precious means in achieving gender
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 7
equity and empowerment of women. The ranking of Jammu and Kashmir as per
census report 2011.
Table 1: Ranking of States and Union territories by literacy rate: 2011
Rank Persons
India/State/Union Territory Literacy rate
1 Kerala 93.9
2 Lakshadweep 92.28
3 Mizoram 91.58
4 Tripura 87.75
5 Goa 87.40
6 Daman And Diu 87.07
7 Puduchery 86.55
8 Chandigarh 86.43
9 NCT Of Delhi 86.34
10 Andoman And Nicobar Islands 86.27
11 Himachal Pradesh 83.78
12 Maharashtra 82.91
13 Sikkim 82.20
14 Tamil Nadu 80.33
15 Nagaland 80.11
16 Manipur 79.85
17 Uttarakhand 79.63
18 Gujarat 79.31
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 8
19 Dadra and Nager Haveli 77.65
20 West Bengal 77.08
21 Punjab 76.68
22 Haryana 76.64
23 Karnataka 75.60
24 Meghalaya 75.48
25 Orissa 73.45
26 Assam 73.18
27 Chhattisgarh 71.04
28 Madhya Pradesh 70.63
29 Utter Pradesh 69.72
30 Jammu and Kashmir 68.74
31 Andra Pradesh 67.66
32 Jharkhand 67.63
33 Rajasthan 67.06
34 Arunachal Pradesh 66.95
35 Bihar 63.82 Source: Census of 2011
The above table 1 shows that the state of Jammu and Kashmir ranked 30 in literacy
rate, as having only 68.74 percent literacy. It becomes clear that the state is one of
the educational backward states of India.
Education is a vital instrument for human resource development. Human resource
development for the advancement of the country requires the capacity building of
both the genders. In the Sixth Five Year Plan, women are accepted as a partner as
well as a stakeholder in the development of the country. The Ninth Five Year Plan
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 9
took up ‘empowering women as a means of socioeconomic change and
development’ as a major commitment. The Ninth Five Year Plan designed to
improve the status of the women in the country by shifting the concern from
‘development’ and ‘welfare’ to ‘empowerment’. Education is the single most
important tool that can result in bringing the welfare, empowerment and
development of women. An educated and empowered woman can have much to
add to the socioeconomic development of the country. If the education of the girls
and women remain unnoticed in a country, about half of the human resource would
remain unprepared and unutilized. Therefore, education of girls and women holds
crest priority amongst various measures to improve the status of the female citizens
of the country, so that they can also participate and avail the benefits of the
development.
For a long time gender equality in education was dominating the discourse and the
interventions. It is still generally believed that gender inequalities in education will
be set on if equal access for boys and girls is provided and if gender inequalities in
enrollment figures and retention rates are eliminated. Access to schooling is a
hazardous issue that still requires attention; however, a wider approach is
necessary, which, for e, g, includes the learning content of education such as
curriculum, textbooks and teaching learning practices. It is steadily being
recognized that the promotion of gender equity in education goes beyond access.
To consider achievement of gender equality as a goal to strive at is “a rather
narrow aspiration”. Education is not only about the knowledge acquisition;
education is crucial also in the process of socialization and in the transmission of
norms and values, such as the notion of gender equity.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 10
Review of Related Literature- Our literature review focuses on the work on gender inequity and biases in
education. The main issue that our research focuses is understanding and
exploration of gender equity in education in Jammu and Kashmir, despite the
intervention schemes for promoting gender equity in education. The matter of
universal elementary education has been debated time and again in the last six
decades. In 2000 it became the center of concern once more among policy makers,
practitioners, administrators, and the academia circle after the declaration of the
Millennium Development Goals (Mishra, 2005). The decade since then has
witnessed a considerable increase in the significance accorded to education,
especially the education of women, at international, regional as well as national
levels, with arguments being made for increasing financial investment and policy
focus on education provision (Herz, 2006). Investment in education is regarded as
the main way through which nations and their citizens can move towards long-term
development goals and improve both social and economic standards of living.
Education of the girls and thus the future of women are seen as key to securing
intergenerational transfers of knowledge, and hence providing long-term gender
equity, enhanced per capita income and social change (DFID, 2005). Global
discourses on education highlight the instrumental value of education as central to
this debate for securing investments in female education (Subrahmanian, 2002).
However, along with the instrumentalist rationale, the intrinsic value of education
for girls and women is also discussed (Sen, 2000). The latter regard the return of
education, for individuals as equally important as the social rate of return. Sen,
through his capability approach, suggests that both boys and girls should have
access to ‘adequate’ education to enable them to develop their capacities for
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 11
informed and rational choices and to have increased agency. This, Sen (2000)
argues, will help individuals to lead the lives they value. Thus girls’ participation
in education is considered a first step towards achieving equality.
Objectives of the Study- To understand and explore the women’s level of participation in
education in Jammu and Kashmir.
To explore barriers and constraints to women’s education in Jammu and
Kashmir.
Girls Level of Participation in Education in Jammu and Kashmir- Enshrined under Article 46 of the Indian Constitution are the provisions for a wide-
ranging and specific welfare of the weaker sections, the underprivileged and the
disadvantaged of India’s population (Mishra, 2005). The Article states, “The State
shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the
weaker sections of the people, and in particular of the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of
exploitation”. The gender issue runs through this.
Girls form an underprivileged or deprived section due to the cultural prejudice
involved in them. A girl becomes multiple disadvantaged when the gender gets
compounded with the other disadvantages like poverty, scheduled tribes and
scheduled caste, minorities, or disability. Among girls, those belonging to
Scheduled tribes or Scheduled castes or belong to Muslim community becomes
highly disadvantaged. Girls with disabilities also turn into a highly vulnerable
group. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) identifies the disadvantaged girls and aims
to provide special provisions and incentives to promote their basic or elementary
education. Because of SSA, there has been a remarkable growth in the enrollment
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 12
of girls and decrease in gender gaps in enrollment and dropouts between girls and
boys, still girls’ enrollment, transition and completion vary across regions and
social groups.
Girls are disadvantaged or underprivileged because they have not been able to take
the full benefit of the available opportunities and amenities due to several
economic factors and social-cultural. There is a general indifference to education
of girls mainly due to gender bias (Sen, 2007). There is the high occurrence of
child labor among girls belonging to the weaker section of the society. As we know
that there is also some social resistance arising out of misconceptions and fears that
education might estrange girls from tradition and social values. Society also
assigns stereotyped roles for girls like doing household chores, domestic work and
looking after siblings. Some school related barriers prevent girls to attend school.
These comprise: inflexible and unsuitable timings of the school; inadequate
provisions of female teachers in schools; lack of toilet and sanitary facilities in
schools; non-involvement of the community (Ahmad Gul and Khan, 2013);
irrelevant curriculum and teaching; lack of gender sensitivity of teacher in
recognizing girl’s educational needs.
Initiatives taken to improve Gender Equity in Education- Education of girls and gender equity has been a high priority with the Government
of India. The National commitment to provide free and compulsory basic
education to all children in the (6- 14) years is now a Fundamental Right of every
child in India after the passing of the Constitution (86th Amendment) Act in
December, 2002. Reaching out to the girl child is intimate to the efforts to
universalize elementary education. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or ‘Education for the
All’ program recognizes that ensuring girls’ education requires changes not only in
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 13
the education system but also in societal attitudes and norms. A two-sided gender
strategy has therefore been adopted, to make the system of education responsive to
the needs of the girls through targeted interventions which serve as a pull factor to
enhance access and retention of girls in schools and on the other hand, to generate
a community demand for girls’ education through training and mobilization.
The targeted provision for girls and for promoting gender equity in education
under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan includes:
To provide free textbooks to all girls up to class VIII
Separate toilets for girls
Back to school camps for out-of-school girls
Bridge courses for older girls
Recruitment of 50% women teachers
Early childhood care and Education centers in/near schools/convergence
with
ICDS programme etc.
Teachers’ sensitation programmes to promote equitable learning
opportunities
Gender-sensitive teaching-learning materials including textbooks
Intensive community mobilisation efforts
‘Innovation fund’ per district for need based interventions for ensuring girls’
attendance and retention.
In addition, to target pockets where girl’s education is lagging behind to boys, the
Government of India has launched focused interventions for girls as under;
National Programme for Education of Girls for Elementary Level (NPEGEL),
launched in September 2003, is an integral but distinct component of the Sarva
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 14
Shiksha Abhiyan. It offers additional provisions for enhancing the education of
disadvantaged/underprivileged girls at the elementary level through more intense
community mobilization, the development of model schools in clusters, gender
sensitization of teachers, early development of gender sensitive learning materials,
child care and education facilities and provision of need-based incentives like
escorts, stationery, work books and uniforms etc. for girls. All Educationally
Backward Blocks have been included under NPEGEL.
Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) is a scheme launched in July 2004,
for setting up residential schools at upper primary level for girls belonging
predominantly to the ST, SC, OBC and minority communities. The scheme is
being implemented in educationally backward blocks of the country where the
female rural literacy is below the national average and gender gap in literacy is
above the national average. The scheme provides for a minimum reservation of
75% of the seats for girls belonging to ST, SC, OBC or minority communities and
priority for the remaining 25%, is accorded to girls from families below the
poverty line.
Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) aims at addressing the needs of self development,
nutrition and health status, literacy, numerical skills and vocational skills of
adolescent girls in the age group of 11-18 years. It seeks to empower adolescent
girls, so as to enable them to take charge of their lives. It is viewed as a holistic
initiative for the development of adolescent girls. The programme through its
interventions aims at bringing about a difference in the lives of the adolescent girls.
It seeks to provide them with an opportunity to realize their full potential.
Pre-matric scholarship by the State Government is provided to girls to enhance
their level of literacy and to reduce the burden on the parents to sustain education.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 15
To reduce gender disparities in education access and to promote women
empowerment 9 women ITIs and 12 Women Wings in the existing ITIs have been
established under the Prime Ministers’ Reconstruction Program (PMRP).
Instead of the above interventions and initiatives the state ranked 32 number in
female literacy rate as per census 2011. The table 2 below shows the ranking of
states as per female literacy:
Table 2: Ranking of States and Union territories by female literacy rate: 2011
Ranking Females Literacy Rate
India/ State/Union Territory
1 Kerala 91.98
2 Mizoram 89.40
3 Lakshadweep 88.25
4 Tripura 83.15
5 Goa 81.84
6 Andoman And Nicobar Islands 81.84
7 Chandigarh 81.38
8 Puduchery 81.22
9 NCT Of Delhi 80.93
10 Daman And Diu 79.59
11 Nagaland 76.69
12 Himachal Pradesh 76.60
13 Sikkim 76.43
14 Maharashtra 75.48
15 Tamil Nadu 73.86
16 Meghalaya 73.78
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 16
17 Manipur 73.17
18 Punjab 71.34
19 West Bengal 71.16
20 Gujarat 70.73
21 Uttarakhand 70.70
22 Karnataka 68.13
23 Assam 67.27
24 Haryana 66.77
25 Dadra and Nager Haveli 65.93
26 Orissa 64.36
27 Chhattisgarh 60.59
28 Madhya Pradesh 60.02
29 Andra Pradesh 59.74
30 Arunachal Pradesh 59.57
31 Utter Pradesh 59.26
32 Jammu and Kashmir 58.01
33 Jharkhand 56.21
34 Bihar 53.33
35 Rajasthan 52.66 Source: Census of India 2011
Comparison of Jammu and Kashmir literacy rate with All India
literacy rate- Although, the literacy rate of the state is well short of the rate recorded at the
national level, yet figures reveal that the rate of increase in the literacy in the state
is more rapidly than at the national level. During 1961-2011, while the literacy rate
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 17
in the State increased by 56 points, it recorded an increase of 46 points at the
national level. Category-wise also, the rate of increase in the literacy percentage
both among males and females is better in the State than the country.
Table 3
Census
year
J&K
All India Increase in
literacy
%age over the
preceding
census
Male Female Total Male Female Total J&K All
India
1961 19.75 5.05 12.95 40.39 15.33 28.30
1971 31.01 10.94 21.71 45.95 21.97 34.45 8.76 6.15
1981 41.46 18.73 30.64 56.38 29.76 43.57 8.93 9.12
2001 66.60 43.00 55.50 75.26 53.67 64.84 24.86 21.27
2011 78.26 58.01 68.74 82.14 65.46 74.04 13.24 9.20
Despite the number of limiting factors, the State has been able to make a
remarkable progress in the field of education as is clear from the above figures.
Although, the outcomes of investment in education are no doubt quite visible, yet
the State is committed to achieve universalization of education. A number of steps
in this way have been taken like easy access of schooling by way of opening and
up gradation of Schools, development of infrastructure facilities, provision of
education manpower, establishment of Seasonal Camps at various Behaks,
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 18
nutritional support for the children up to elementary level, Scholarships, free text
Books etc.
Male-Female Literacy- A glimpse at the table 3 below shows that there is male-female gap in literacy rate
in the state. According to census 2011, the literacy level climbed up from 12.95 per
cent in 1961 to 68.74 per cent in 2011 but it still lags far behind the national
average of 74.04 per cent (census, 2011). Further analysis of the data shows that
the male literacy rate is higher than the female literacy rate in all the years. The
male literacy rate reached 78.26 per cent in 2011 which was only 19.75 per cent in
1961 whereas the female literacy rate increased from 5.05 per cent in 1961 to
58.01 per cent in 2011. The male-female gap in literacy rate has increased from
14.7 per cent in 1961 to 20.25 per cent in 2011. In the delineation of the above
figures, it can be argued that though there is a considerable progress in the female
literacy rate but the gender disparity in literacy rate still exists in the state.
Table 4
Literacy Rates by Sex in Jammu and Kashmir
Male Female Total MFG
1961 19.75 5.05 12.95 14.70
1971 31.01 10.94 21.71 20.07
1981 41.46 18.73 30.64 22.73
1991 NA NA NA NA
2001 66.6 43.0 55.5 23.6
2011 78.26 58.01 68.74 20.25 MFG- Male Female Gap; * Estimated Literacy Rates
Source: Census of India, J & K 2011
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 19
With the planned interventions and sustained efforts, considerable progress has
been made in the State in the field of literacy. As already stated that at the time of
Independence the literacy rate of the state was only five per cent. Census 1961 puts
the literacy rate of the State at 12.95% which increased to 21.71% during 1971
census. In 1981, the literacy rate was recorded at 30.64 and the projection for 1991
was made at 45% as no census was carried out during the latter period. During the
decade 2001-2011, literacy rate increased from 55.5% to 68.74% in the State as
against 64.84% to 74.04% at the national level.
Bridging Gender Gap in Literacy- The Government, both at National and State level made all out efforts to reduce the
gender gap in literacy. A number of steps for the accomplishment of the goal of
bridging gender gap in literacy were taken-up and these include the National
Program for Education of Girls at Elementary level (NPEGEL), Establishment of
Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalas (KGBVs), Free Textbooks/ Scholarships,
Community mobilization etc. As a result of these measures, the State has been able
to break this impasse and put a halt to the ever increasing trajectory of the gender
gap for the first time during the decade 2001-2011. This was possible only due to
higher rate of increase in the female literacy viz; by 15.01% as against 11.66%
recorded for males during 2001-11. The table 5 shown below indicates the male-
female increase in literacy.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 20
Table 5
Gender gap in literacy 1961-2011
Males Females
S.No.
Census
year
Male
literacy
rate
Increase in
literacy%age
over the
preceding
census year
Female
literacy
rate
Increase in
literacy%age
over the
preceding
census year
1 1961 19.75 ------- 5.05 -------
2 1971 31.01 11.26 10.94 5.89
3 1981 41.46 10.45 18.73 7.79
4 2001 66.60 25.14 43.00 24.27
5
2011
78.26 11.66 58.01 15.01
The analysis has brought this fact to the fore that the efforts put in by the
Government through various interventions to reach to the far-flung areas and bring
down literacy gap has materialized at ground level yet there is tremendous scope
for bringing further improvements with focused attention.
Barriers to Girls’ Education- Factors responsible for the barriers to girls’ education in Jammu and Kashmir can
be categorized according to how one perceives and defines barriers. Barriers take
different forms – e.g. Barriers to access, barriers to quality services and barriers to
relevant curricula and/or pedagogy. There are many religious, socio-cultural,
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 21
economic and educational barriers in Jammu and Kashmir, which hinder their
participation in education. Some of these barriers are discussed below:
Poverty: The rate of illiteracy is closely linked to poverty. Due to the
poverty or low family income, if parents are not in a position to send both
boys and girls to school, they usually send boys to schools and retain girls at
home to do house-hold work (Virender, 2012).
Parental Illiteracy: The high level of parental illiteracy among also
constraints the education of girl children. Lack of parental support and poor
learning environment at home makes learning for them very difficult. The
present education system does not fit their needs, which lead to stagnation
and wastage among them (J & K SRC Report 2009).
Number of children: In poor families generally, there are many children.
According to the priority list of parents, girls’ education is not compulsory
and boys get a high chance of receiving education (Bose, 2000).
Child Marriage: Many girls in many districts of J&K still get married at an
early age, which affect their education to a great extent (Dabla, 2007).
Customs and cultural practices: Many customs and cultural practices
hinder the higher education of girls. For examples many parents do not send
their daughters to schools when they attain puberty. Purdan system is also
affecting education of girls (Dabla, 2007).
Nature of Habitat: Most of the tribes live in difficult terrain, forests and
remote areas. The dearth of schools in these areas leads to absenteeism
among the tribal girl children. Study of Virender Koundal, Shows that tribal
girl children walk 3-4 km on foot to reach school every day (Virender,
2012).
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 22
Female teachers in schools: Girls are more interested in going to schools if
female teachers are there in the schools. They are more comfortable and
more vocal with female, thus actively focusing and participating in the
learning processes. In rural areas also, parents are interested in sending their
girl children to school if female teachers are present. If qualified female
teachers are teaching in the school they feel more secured towards their girl
children. They may be hesitating to send their girl children in male
environment based school (Ahmad Gul and Khan, 2013).
Transport facility: One of the barriers for girl education may be the
location of schools which are far away from their homes, particularly in rural
areas. Adequate transport system is needed for girl to attend the schools. It
will be more convenient for them if school buses take responsibility for pick
and drop facility for the girl children. In rural areas, other modes may be
tried out.
Molestation/abuse in school: Most of the parents feel in secured towards
their girl children as instances of abduction, rape, sexual harassment and
molestation of girl dampens the enthusiasm of parents and girl students in
pursuing their education beyond a certain age.
Inappropriate school timing: In rural areas morning time is not suitable for
girl education, as they are engaged in domestic work at home or in farms and
field during these hours. The enrolment and retention rate may be high when
educational facilities are made available during periods suitable to them
when they are free from domestic chores (Bose, 2000).
Toilet facility: This may be one of the reasons of lower participation rates of
girls in education especially at upper primary level. The separate toilet
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 23
facilities for girls must be created in the school premises. This must also
cover the security aspect for girl. At the same time, toilet facility is needed
for female teachers also (Ahmad Gul and Khan, 2013).
Lack of girls’ schools: Many parents do not want to send their daughters to
coeducational schools especially at upper primary level. There is an urgent
need to open separate schools for girls especially at upper primary level as a
powerful strategy for bringing to a conclusive girls’ school environment.
There must be strong provision of good quality schools for girls if demand is
there (Ahmad Gul and Khan, 2013).
Lack of hostel facilities: One of the obstacles in girls’ education is that
schools are away from their homes, they cannot avail themselves of this
facility due to lack of hostel arrangement. The girls belonging to SC/ST
category would continue their education particularly in rural areas, if they
are provided with free or inexpensive residential facilities nearer to the
school.
Conclusion - Education is a key indicator of socioeconomic development. It also increases the
knowledge and vision of a person. Equally, it is considered as an essential element
in bringing change in social, political, economic fields in a society. Emancipation
and upliftment of people can be achieved only through education. Indeed, the
country’s progress and development largely depend upon the educational
attainment of its people. Despite considerable progress, sharp disparities continue
to exist between male and female literacy levels. There is an urgent need to bridge
the gender gap in education in the state because no society and civilization can
move forward without the education of its half population as well said by Swami
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 24
Vivekanand, “There is no chance of the welfare of the world unless the condition
of women is improved”.
From the above analysis, it can be concluded that the position of education among
the women of Jammu and Kashmir reflects pathetic scenes. Their level of
education is very low. Women of Jammu and Kashmir are educationally backward
when compared to women at national level. It is a matter of serious concern and
problem for the entire country as it affects every individual of the society. The
constitution of India promises every support and assistance in mainstreaming the
disadvantaged sections of the society and to eliminate histories of discrimination.
However, in reality, given the opportunities were not exploited fully. Gender
disparity exists both in rural and urban areas, but it is higher in the rural areas. This
can be endorsed to a number of factors like Social dogmas, engagement of girl
child in domestic activities and other agricultural activities etc. To conclude,
education is an important avenue for improving the social and economic condition
of the women of Jammu and Kashmir. Hence, there is a need for quick checks and
proper supervision of implementation of the education policies in the State.
References –
Aggarwal, Y. (1999). Trends in Access and the Retention. New Delhi:
National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA).
Ahmad, I. (1987). Educational Development of Minorities in India: Future
Perspective, Educational Planning and Administration, Vol.1, No.2, p.201.
Ahmad Gul, S.B & Khan. Z. (2013). Interventions For Promoting Gender
Equity At Elementary Education Level In South Kashmir: An Evaluative
Study, International Refereed Research Journal, Vol.–IV, Issue–3, July 2013
[130].
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 25
Anuradha, D., Noronha, C., & Sampson, M. (2001). India: Primary Schools
and Universal Elementary Education. New Delhi: International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development.
Bandyopadhyay, M., Madhumita, & Subranhmanian, R. (2008). Gender
Equity in Education; a Review of Trends and Factors. New Delhi: National
University of Education Planning and Administration (NUEPA).
Bose, A. (2000). Jammu and Kashmir- Focus on children and women. A
statistical profile. Briefing report for UNICEF, New Delhi.
Dabla, B. A. (2000). Multidimensional Problems of Women in the Kashmir
Valley, A Report January 2000.
Dabla, B.A. (2007). Multi-Dimensional Problems of Women in Kashmir.
Gyan Publishin House, New Delhi, p. 43-44.
DFID (2005). Girls’ Education: Towards a Better Future for All. London:
Department for International Development.
DISE. (2011). Elementary Education in India Progress towards UEE: Flash
Statistics 2009-2010. NUEPA, New Delhi.
Jammu & Kashmir State Resource Centre. (2009). First half yearly Report
on SSA and MDM. University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar. Retrieved
from: SSA. nic. in/.../J%20%20K%20, %20University%20of%20Kashmir.
Herz, B. (2006). Educating Girls in South Asia: Promising Approaches.
UNICEF. At: http://www.ungei.org/1612_709.html.
Levine, R., Lloyd, C., Greene, M. et al. (2008). Girls Count: A Global
Investment and Action Agenda. Washington, D. C.: Center for Global
Development.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 26
Mishra, R. C. (2005). Women’s Education. New Delhi: A. P. H. Publishing
Corporation.
Pramod, J. (2008). Report on Education Sector in Jammu and Kashmir
State. Srinagar: Institute of Management, Public Administration and Rural
Development.
Ramachandra, V. (2003). Gender Equity in Education in India. New Delhi:
United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization.
Sen, A. (2000). Development as Freedom. New Delhi: Oxford University
Press.
Subrahmanian, Ramya (2002). Gender equality in education: Definitions and
measurements. International Journal of Educational Development 25 (2005)
395–40.
United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative. (2010). A Journey to Gender
Equity in Education. New York: NGLS Publication.
Virender, K. (2012). Socio-Economic Conditions of Nomadic Gujjar
Women in Udhampur District of Jammu and Kashmir. International Journal
of Social Science Tomorrow Vol. 1 No. 3. **********************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 27
Paper-2 Status of School Improvement Planning (SIP) and
its Implementation in Government Secondary
Schools of Ethiopia
Dr. Sushanta Kumar Roul
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 28
Status of School Improvement Planning (SIP) and its
Implementation in Government Secondary Schools of Ethiopia Dr. Sushanta Kumar Roul2
Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess the status of school improvement planning
and its implementation in government secondary schools with the focus on the
functions and elements in Gondar City of Ethiopia. To this end the basic objectives
were: To identify the major functions of a school to determine its successfulness for
implementation; and to identify the essential elements considered by the schools in
the improvement plan and its implementation process for successful
achievement.Gondar city comprises seven government secondary schools that all
were included in the study. Systematic random sampling technique had used to
select the respondents by which 292 were teachers, students and parents that filled
the questionnaire. The major findings of this study revealed that those school
functions and roles are not performed well to the effect of successful improvement
planning and implementation. The study results indicated that all elements
presented in the study are more significantly important in their contribution to the
success of schools in their improvement planning and implementation. The results
from this study concluded that a school improvement plan should emancipate the
schools from the traditional practices into an oasis of transformation which is
responsive to the expectations of the current education system.
Key Words: School Improvement, Planning, Implementation, Functions, Elements
2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Educational & Behavioral Science, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 29
Introduction- The goal of education, in general, is to enable children to learn, realize their full
potential and participate meaningfully in society. In spite of increasing enrolment
rates, too many children are learning far less than what they are thought about or
what they ought to learn in school. This low learning achievement is most
frequently due to a combination of factors that include inadequate learning
environments, inappropriate teaching methods and unmotivated and unfulfilled
parental roles and shares (UNESCO, 2000).
Enhancing the quality in education and providing quality education, therefore,
must be based on developing educational systems that are integrating learning of
students in which parental and community involvement, and the management of
the education system itself are addressed (Caitriona, 2009). This is a brief
described in the contemporary wisdom for learning that every aspect of a school
should be in a state of continuous improvement in which every one has a part
towards nurturing and developing in the learner (Hayward,2008).
Schools today are found in an increasingly complex and constantly changing
environment that poses challenges requiring them to get themselves out of the
traditional management practises (Leithwood and Riehel, 2003). School
improvement generally, is making schools better learning contexts and aims at
ensuring aspects of a school essential in creating successful learning, promoting
the full range participation of all partners, and realizing schools that are holding
accountability for learning of students (McREL, 2001).
School improvement therefore supports the initiatives of schools in developing
their school based improvement plans by which they identify and achieve their
goals of education, and enhance the quality in education for all students through
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 30
providing better and supportive learning contexts (Sathyabalan, 1993). Quality in
education is referred to include student outcomes that can be processed and
produced by the nature of educational experiences in the learning environment
(World Bank, 1995).
Ethiopia has placed education at the centre of its strategies for development and
democratization with strong policies to promote access, equity, relevance and
quality (African Union Commision, 2005). The Ethiopian Education System also
described in its manual for school improvement (MoE, Ethiopia, 2006) that schools
which give better education to students focus on identified domains of their
functions and major success elements to the best of achieving goals. Therefore,
highest ranked schools are those found in a systematic process of altering specific
practises and policies in order to improve teaching and learning.
School improvement as commonly perceived is both a principle and practice. As a
practice, it is viewed that every process and resources of a school should live in
continuous process of improvement and, as a practice there is a need for
identifying the strategic functions and considering the essential elements to turn
the principle in to reality. A profile of a school role in the functions of
improvement planning and implementation encompasses such consideration as
identifying the goals of education by which a commonly articulated and shared
direction could be set that could likely bring together all the possible inputs along
the continuum of high and excellence of education and learning success,
identifying effectiveness and measuring effectiveness that all together could help
to identify possible areas of deficiency, and processing the implementation through
resourcing, monitoring and evaluation. To this effect still, the school need to
consider elements that are essential in the planning and implementation process.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 31
These elements may generally be identified under four major categories as school
leadership, safe and caring school environment, school curriculum and strong
partnerships that are further delineated and discussed in brief in the review.
Therefore, the intention behind this study was to assess how school improvement is
being practised in government Secondary Schools of Gondar cith in Ethiopia with
the focus on functions of a school and elements for successful school improvement
planning and implementation.
Conceptual frame work of School Improvement Program- “School improvement” is an elastic term as generally applied in both educational
research and school practice, and can be viewed both narrowly and broadly.
However conceived, all approaches take as their fundamental assumptions that
teachers and schools matter in the lives of children and that educational quality and
students’ performance are conditioned by factors inside school organizations. The
educational research community considers all manner of things as contributing to
effective and improving schools. These include the importance of teamwork inside
schools, establishing a positive school climate, and having a principal and staff
who keep expectations high.
Successful school improvement requires establishing a clear educational vision and
shared instructional mission knowing how well the school is accomplishing the
mission, identifying areas for improvement, developing plans to change
educational activities and programs, and implementing those plans or new
programs effectively. It is essential that leaders of school improvement link to
others in the school and district and connect the school goals to the broader and
deeper mission of providing high quality learning for all students (Peterson, 1994).
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 32
Rationale for School Improvement- A school principle and practise affect and are being affected by a number of factors
that may be found within and the surroundings, or out of the school context, and at
the same time also directly or indirectly related to the school system of operation.
Having understood this, thus, principals and school leaders should be required to
direct the institutions they lead through the various challenges created by such
complex contexts within which they work (Leithwood and Riehel, 2003).
According to these writers, the schools today are found in a more accountability
oriented environment for ambitious learning of all students that has created a new
landscape of educational responsibility.
The urgent need today in a school system is changing the traditional culture into a
more scientific and progressive one through the improvement process to ensure
effective learning. Hence, this agenda for making change and ensuring quality has
already started calling schools to respond to the improvement process. The
improvement process should be designed to meet the needs of creating high
performing schools that ensure efforts on the interests of students and their
successful learning (LEA, 2006).
School Improvement Plan- For developing an improvement plan, it is very important to clearly understand the
prevailing reality of a school. A review system provides sufficient and relevant
data to describe and determine the existing situation (Hayward, 2008). One of the
most significant functions of a school in providing leadership for school
improvement and effectiveness is a clear knowledge of the school system. When it
is more meaningfully argued, the review of a school system is an attempt to search
for describing “what is” on which everyone should get prepared to “what ought to
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 33
be” and in general serve to provide database for decisions for actions (Townsend,
1994).
School Improvement Plan Implementation- Basically, the general assumption behind the school improvement is ensuring
quality education reflected in the learning outcomes that should be achieved by
students. According to Hayward (2008), the assumed expectation may not easily be
achieved. Quality doesn’t happen by accident and needs to be carefully planned
and implemented. The philosophy of quality education remarkably signifies and
highly respects achievement of each student, yet with due regard for collective
efforts. Again Hayward (2008) added that quality can be achieved through the
determination of hard work and using a range of considerations for tools and
techniques in realizing goals. The implementation process itself requires
continuous improvement through revising and reviewing each step in which
standards in teaching and learning is improved, and levels of commitment and
enthusiasm are also motivated.
However, without school processes that are efficient and effective in
implementation, the goals may unfortunately get lost in practice. Therefore, there
is a need for due consideration on critical issues essential in the school
improvement plan implementation and having such issues as an essential set of
efficient and effective processes in a school that can enable to progressively link
the theories in school improvement and effectiveness to its practice which
ultimately is for improved and effective schools (Townsend, 1994).
Essential Elements of School Improvement Planning and
Implementation-
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 34
A number of elements of successful plan implementation were provided by many
writers in the field of education and by the MoE, Ethiopia (2006) of which the
common ones are discussed here under that are conveniently categorized under
four major divisions as school leadership, curriculum, school environment and
school community partnership.
School Leadership Leadership as a critical process issue for successful school improvement plan
implementation can further be viewed in terms of other issues that are delineated
into such elements as clearly articulated school goals, high expectations, school
based leadership and resource management in addition to that of monitoring
progress and communication.
Curriculum- The provisions of appropriate and relevant curricula are among the major elements
that are essentially important for successful school improvement plan
implementation. The way in which the curriculum is put into actions can included
such issues as the quality of the program offered, the quality of teachers, the school
expectations, the school system of motivation, concern for learning, methods of
instruction and techniques through which student progress is monitored and
assessed (Townsend, 1994).
School Environment- Children learn and grow at home, at school and in the community that are chief
learning contexts and the contexts hold people that can potentially influence
student learning and development (Epstein, 2005). Among these contexts, schools
are formally established institutions for socialization of students being charged
with prescribed responsibilities that are accountability oriented to their respective
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 35
communities and their environment. The school environment is a significantly
influential element in the school operation for successful school improvement plan
implementation.
School, Home and Community Partnership- It is becoming evident that increasing challenges faced by schools that may be
caused by several and diversified factors within and outside their system are
inevitably making issues of strong partnerships and regular relationships an every
day issues of school effectiveness (Deslandes, 2009). Townsend (1994) affirmed
that the involvement of various stakeholders in the operations of a school is
becoming a pressing issue and many government and educational systems in the
world are encouraging local communities to assume more responsibilities for their
respective schools both in terms of finance and educational program.
Need and Significance of the Study- The current trend to education is largely showing increased need for improving
schools for better learning of students. In light of this, the study would assess the
existing status of government secondary schools of Gondar City, Ethiopia on how
they practise the improvement with primary concerns on major functions of the
school and major elements considered for successful implementation. Hence, the
results of the study would primarily be significant in providing important and
relevant feedbacks and information to those key stakeholders as the principals,
teachers, students, parents and the supervisor so that they can examine and review
their inputs and efforts for a relatively better plan implementation.
The results of the study could also be significant in providing knowledge in the
problem and new insight in the practise by which the leaders in the schools and
other concerned administrative bodies would use to assess progress in the
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 36
improvement process. Finally, the study could initiate teachers of the schools and
other concerned professionals in the area under investigation to study the problem
in wider scale based on the different dimensions of the issue.
Objectives of the Study-
To identify the major functions of a school to determine its successfulness
for implementation of school improvement plan.
To identify the essential elements considered by the schools in the
improvement of plan and its implementation process for successful
achievement. Methodology- The research design that was employed to conduct the study was the descriptive
survey method for the reason that the researcher has found it’s relevant to assess
and describe the existing status of the schools in relation to their functions and
elements they essentially considered in their process for successful improvement
plan and its implementation.
Sample and Sampling Techniques- In Gondar city, Ethiopia comprised seven government secondary schools that all
were included in the study purposefully. Systematic random sampling technique
was used in selecting all the teachers, students and parents as the representative
sample of the study. Thus, the sample size of the study included 77 teachers, 140
students, 75 parents that totally accounted for 292 that were represented from all
the schools in the sample.
Data Gathering Instruments and Procedure-
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 37
The study was mainly use a survey questionnaire for teachers, students and parents
to gather data since these groups contained a relatively large number of research
participants, and the research is survey type. Only one set of questionnaire was
prepared and administered to these groups of the research participants based on the
justification that each group being a source to provide data contained stakeholder
members that were thought to have almost similar knowledge and understanding of
the concept and practise of the school improvement process with respect to their
own schools. As far as questions in the survey questionnaire were concerned, the
respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement against sixty two
specific items that were organized under two major categories as major functions
and elements essentially considered by the schools under this study in the process
of school improvement planning and implementation. Analysis and Discussion of Results-
Table 1: Major functions of a school to determine its successfulness for
implementation of school improvement plan
No School Functions Rating scales
5 (SA) 4 (A) 3 (U) 2 (DA) 1 (SDA)
No % No % No % No % No %
1 Identifying goals of
education
15 5.14 20 6.85 111 38.01 123 42.12 23 7.88
2 Identifying their
effectiveness
19 6.51 32 10.96 96 32.88 118 40.41 27 9.25
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 38
3 Measuring their
effectiveness
26 8.90 45 15.41 64 21.92 123 42.12 34 11.65
4 Plan
implementation
271 92.81 15 5.14 2 0.68 3 1.03 01 0.34
As indicated in table 1, responses were shown were based on the reactions of the
respondents (teachers, students and parents) against each function of the school to
determine its successfulness for implementation of school improvement plan. In
this regard, the reaction of the respondents to the function of “identifying goals of
education”, the results displayed based on the total average of the responses
indicated that 5.14%, 6.85%, 38.01%, 42.12% and 8.10% respondents indicated
strongly agree, agree, undecided, dis-agree and strongly dis-agree respectively.
These figures all together may appear to be convincing enough to come to terms of
agreement that either there is little or no ways to justify on the prevalence of proper
identification of the goals in the school improvement process in the schools
identified for this investigation. Hence, this picture could show that the schools are
most likely to loose the mission towards which they should be doing and goals to
achieve and motivate them for high expectations and commitment.
As far as the second function in relation to “identifying their effectiveness: is
concerned, it showed that a total average of 6.51%, 10.96%, 32.88%, 40.41% and
9.25% respondents indicated strongly agree, agree, undecided, dis-agree and
strongly dis-agree respectively from which one can generally see an existing
inefficient and failing status of the schools under this study. This is the second
major concern which is critical in the concept of school improvement process. In
this case, the outcome of the study could be a proof that these functions of the
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 39
schools were not performed well. It is recognized that there is a need for
considering different approaches to identify what the schools look like in their
operation. This may include such commonly used experiences as standardized
testing, the reputational approach, review, evaluation and development process,
and that of community involvement in the identification process. Apart from this,
most respondents indicated that either they were uncertain or felt dissatisfied about
this critical function of a school for successful improvement. The consideration of
these approaches may help schools in clarifying their difficulties and their
strengths. This however was not the case in the schools under the investigation of
this study.
From the same table of third function of “measuring their effectiveness”, it is
similarly visible to see an average total responses of 8.90%, 15.41%, 21.92%,
42.12% and 11.65% respondents indicated strongly agree, agree, undecided, dis-
agree and strongly dis-agree respectively about the function of a school regarding
the techniques of measuring by which they identify and use in determining their
effectiveness. From this point of view, one can understand that there may be
considerable gap in the schools under study that deviated from using and
recognizing the major functions that are important in the school improvement
planning and implementation. Regardless of what is being measured, there seem to
be two ways of measuring performance. As per Townsend (1994), the ways are the
outcome method that concentrates on where students are at a particular time, and
the value added method which considers how far they have processed over time.
However, there may be no single way which is definitively acceptable for every
school to try since schooling is too complex. This indicates for consideration of
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 40
both according to the issue that require them. Hence, it could be argued that neither
the outcome approach nor the value added approach is partially acceptable in itself.
At last, the fourth function in relation to “plan implementation” is concerned,
respondents indicated that 92.81%, 5.14%, 0.68%, 1.03% and 0.34% respondents
indicated strongly agree, agree, undecided, dis-agree and strongly dis-agree
respectively. Still, from these responses it is considerable that the reactions in the
zones of disagreement have taken the highest share of the options and as a result
show unsatisfactory state of the schools in their activities for improvement plan
implementation. In many respects, the goals of school should need to be directed
towards the students, but without an efficient and effective process for
implementation of these goals, it can be argued that they could be lost in practice
(Townsend, 1994).
Having an efficient and effective set of processes within the school might be seen
as the link between the theory of school improvement and its practice. This is a
practical dimension in the school improvement process in that a number of critical
process issues emerge, each of which has an effect on the way in which the school
actually operates. Despite of this the study showed that the current status of the
schools under study with respect to this dimension was not acceptable to the
respondents in the sample as indicated by the responses to questions of the survey
in this section. These responses thus, could indicate that the schools processes for
plan implementation could be argued apart from the point of view of the
contemporary school management system for improvement that can be explained
best by schools failure to get themselves out the traditional system of their
leadership.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 41
In general, what has been observed from the above table about the general picture
of the data that may indicate the currently existed low status of the schools under
the focus of this study regarding their functions and roles for successful
improvement planning and implementation? The results may generally be
considered some what surprising when analyzed from the current point of view of
the education system and its endeavor for school improvement. Although the
different groups may identify reasons of their own for their concern and
involvement in the education, educators, employers, politician, policy makers and
others have been united and worked together for the betterment of the education
and for getting schools successfully involved and workout their plan of
improvement.
Overall, the results of the study demonstrate that the schools under this
investigation were characterized by failing pictures concerning their existing
functions for improvement. There is no overwhelming evidence from the responses
to the survey questionnaire that relatively indicate and support attributes of the
schools in line with the major functions and roles of the schools for successful
school improvement. Hence, it can generally be assumed from the analysis that the
current status of the school could be discouraging that could suggest the possible
loses of the benefits described in the literature for school improvement.
Table-2: Essential elements considered by the schools in the improvement of
plan and its implementation process for successful achievement
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 42
N
o
The school Rating scale
5 4 3 2 1
N % N % N % N % N %
1 Clearly articulated and commonly
accepted goals.
27
9
95.
5
11 3.
7
- - 1 0.
4
1 0.
4
2 Participative school based
leadership and commonly shared
decision making.
27
4
93.
7
16 5.
5
- - 1 0.
4
1 0.
4
3 Resource management with students
at the centre and learning at its
focus.
22
5
94.
2
14 4.
6
- - 2 0.
8
1 0.
4
4 Competent, motivated, participative,
dedicated and qualified teachers.
28
0
95.
6
9 3.
2
1 0.4 1 0.
4
1 0.
4
5 Quality teaching and learning which
is continuously assessed and
evaluated with timely feed back.
26
2
89.
3
4 7.
1
4 1.6 4 1.
6
1 0.
4
6 Relevant curriculum and,
continuous professional and staff
development.
28
5
97.
5
6 2.
1
-- -- 1 0.
4
- --
7 Safe, caring, supportive and positive
classroom environment, and
27
5
94.
2
12 3.
8
1 0.4 2 0.
8
2 0.
8
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 43
positive and promoting school
climate and culture.
8 Strategies and opportunities that
focus, empower and support student
involvement and responsibility.
27
1
92.
8
14 4.
4
3 1.2 2 0.
8
2 0.
8
9 Strong and meaningful school,
home and community relations and
communications and participation.
26
8
91.
8
15 5.
1
5 1.5 2 0.
8
2 0.
8
10 High expectations. 25
7
81.
4
26 9.
0
1 0.4 4 1.
6
4 1.
6
11 Early identification of learning
difficulties.
26
2
89.
7
19 6.
4
2 0.8 5 1.
5
4 1.
6
12 Monitoring student progress. 27
6
94.
5
13 4.
3
1 0.4 1 0.
4
1 0.
4
13 Parent involvement. 27
1
97.
5
16 5.
5
1 0.4 2 0.
8
2 0.
8
14 Time on task and positive
motivational strategies.
21
9
91.
6
14 4.
8
2 0.8 4 1.
6
3 1.
2
15 The support of the responsible
education authority.
27
1
97.
4
14 4.
8
2 0.8 3 1.
2
2 0.
8
16 Commonly shared responsibility 26 90 21 7. 2 0.8 6 2. 3 1.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 44
and accountability. 0 2 4 2
Total 43
35
92.
78
24
1
5.
18
25 0.5
3
41 0.
87
30 0.
64
Table two contains data concerning on the elements that should essentially be
considered by the schools for successful planning and implementation. In this
study, respondents were asked to indicate their reactions on the extent to which the
elements are essential in contributing for successful improvement planning and
implementation.
The results indicated that more than 97 % out of the total responses were at the
extreme of positive poles by which almost all the respondents reacted to the
essentiality of the elements in their contribution for successful improvement plan
and its implementation. On the other hand, as indicated in the table, only a total of
2.04% responses were stated at the opposite poles. It is shown that a small
proportion of the responses, 0.53% and 1.51% were made inline with uncertain and
disagreement respectively. These are somewhat insignificant when viewed from
the total responses under this category of the survey. Hence it could be argued that
all the elements listed in the survey for the respondents were proved to be essential
in contributing for successful school improvement process and need to be
considered by the schools all through the implementation processes. Overall, the
total average of the reactions of the respondents in general, and even their reactions
to each element in particular, could confirm that all the elements are essentially
important.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 45
As indicated in table two, where all the elements received an agreement of more
than 97% that indicated maximum consent on their essentiality for school
improvement planning and implementation was indicated if they are identified and
considered by the schools. The results give no room of debate and hence, could be
argued that all the elements listed in the survey for the respondents were proved
to be essential in contributing for successful school improvement process and
need to be considered by the schools all through the implementation
processes. Overall, the total average of the reactions of the respondents in general,
and even their reactions to each element in particular, could confirm that all the
elements are essentially important and more or less of similar significance if not
same.
Major Findings- 1) The results in relation to the functions of the schools were dissatisfied and not
performed well. The schools did not properly and adequately identify their goals of
education and most likely they are directionless in the improvement process. With
respect to identifying their effectiveness, the schools were characterized by low
performance in properly exploit such methods as standardized testing, reputational
approach, review system and involving partners in the identification process. More
to the school function, the study results indicated that the schools status in using
either process method or output method or both in measuring their effectiveness
was low. Finally to the function, the results still indicated the schools low level
performance in implementation of the plan.
2) The results in relation to essential elements of the school improvement planning
and implementation were concerned, it is indicated in the study findings that more
than 97% of the total reactions confirmed the high value and importance of the
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 46
elements for the school improvement planning and implementation. Hence, such
elements as clearly articulated goals, dedicated teachers, resource management,
school based leadership quality, teaching and learning, relevant curriculum, safe
school climate, empowering students, meaningful partnerships, high expectations,
early identification of learning difficulties, monitoring student progress, parent
involvement, time on task and positive motivational strategies , support from the
local education authority and shared responsibility were positively felt and highly
acknowledge in their contribution to the successful improvement planning and
implementation.
Conclusion- In general, the results indicated that many believed, schools need to be oriented
with how to systematically manage change and improvement in the teaching and
learning process to achieve academic excellence and wholesome development of
students. In essence, the functions many expect schools to improve their system
actually requires provisions by which they emanicipate themselves from the
traditional obsolescence along the continuum of change. It is true that the schools
are provided with the new notions of school improvement plans that are
significantly indispensable and contain functions and elements that are through to
put in effect the improvement through changing the landscape of educational
accountability of the schools.
Findings of this study indicated that the schools need to permeate the concept and
practice of school improvement. To do so the school system must be aligned to the
goals, functions and elements of a school improvement planning and
implementation. Therefore, the study concluded that school improvement planning
and implementation is more than routines of a school. For school improvement
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 47
planning and implementation to be successful, schools must identify the major
functions and must consider essential elements of school improvement plan
implementation through which they must gear and direct resources towards their
development goals with the learning of students at the center.
References- African Union Commission (2005). Evaluation of the decade of education in
Africa. Addis Ababa: African Union.
Caitriona, R.M. (2009). Every School a Good School: A Policy for School
Improvement. Oideachais: Department of Education, U.K.
Deslandes, R. (2009). International Perspectives on Contexts, Communities
and Evaluated Innovative Practices: Family–School-Community
Partnerships. London: Routledge.
Epstein, J.L. (2005). School-family Partnerships for Children’s Success.
New York: Teachers College.
Hayward, R. (2008). Making Quality Education Happens: A ‘how-to’ Guide
For Every Teacher. Johannesberg: The Caxton Publishers.
LEA (2006). LEA and School Improvement: Non-regulatory Guidance
(Revised). July 21, 2006. Department of Education, U.S.
Leithwood, K. and Riehl, C. (2003). What We Know About Successful
School Leadership. Philadelphia: Laboratory for Student Successes,
Temple University.
McREL (2001). Leadership for School Improvement. Mid–Continent
Research for Education and Learning: Mc Rel.
MoE (2006). School Improvement Program. Addis Ababa: Ministry of
Education, Ethiopia.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 48
Peterson, K. D. (1994). Building collaborative cultures: Seeking ways to
reshape urban schools. Urban Education Monograph Series, Oak Brook,
IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.
Sathyabalan, V. (1993). Effectiveness of primary education in rural areas of
Tamil Nadu. Ph. D. Thesis, C.A.S.E., M.S.U., Vadodara
Townsend, T. (1994). Effective Schooling for the Community: core-plus
Education. London: Routledge.
UNESCO (2000). The Dakar Framework for Africa: World Education
Forum. Paris: UNESCO.
World Bank (1995). Priorities and Strategies for Education. Washington DC:
The World Bank.
******************************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 49
Paper-3
Researching Pioneer Competency: An
Interdisciplinary Perspective Dr. Chhaya Goel
Dr. Devraj Goel
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 50
Researching Pioneer Competency: An Interdisciplinary
Perspective Dr. Chhaya Goel3
Dr. Devraj Goel4
Abstract A Researcher is one who is fully lost in quest of solutions to the problems round
the clock through scientific, systemic, humanistic approach. A Pioneer is Noblest
Number One Innovator, excellent explorer & creator , all alone in the crowd,
twinkles unique in the sky, dives alone in the ocean to seek solutions to the
problems of all, fully identifying with the universe & nature, always busy with
what, how and why. A pioneer germinates, incubates, innovates, creates &
constructs. Developmental challenges demand newness of the theme, as well as,
methodology. A pioneer is round the clock lost in sensing, formulating and
addressing problems through most innovative, creative, constructive & innovative
approaches. The intent of the present paper is mapping the competencies of the
pioneers and trying to emulate these to address day to day problems so as to
recreate this sphere as a happy, healthy, peaceful residence for all, socially,
synergetically. The focus is on addressing many a challenges, such as, dementia
patients, heart & brain entrainment problems, Right To Education problems,
Environmental Education Problems, and Wholistic Education Problems. There is
no space, no spot, no dot in the Universe which is problem independent, even,
vacuum is in problem. But, with every problem simple or complex there is a
3 Associate Professor of Education, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, India
4 Former Professor of Education, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, India
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 51
solution. The present paper attempts to focus the Pioneer Competency in these
areas with an interdisciplinary perspective.
A. Emerging Problems of Dementia in India- With the changed scenario of Giant families to Nuclear families in India the
problem of dementia has emerged very wildly. The elderly people of India are very
commonly becoming victims of memory loss, that is, dementia. .What is the
resolve? Which disciplines this problem belongs to – Family & Community
Studies, Social Work, Medicine, Education, Psychology, Sociology, Economics,
Political Science, Architecture? It belongs to all these and many more. Below is
presented the case of an Indian Woman.
A Woman of 86 Year -
Here is a person, mother of 8 Sons & Daughters, all grown up well settled Adults
& Aged. None is ready to live with her, except, one. She is suffering from a severe
memory loss. For example, after washing, she very often forgets to close the jet.
As, a result the over head water tanks become empty. She has not been in a
position to attend to it despite daily reminders. As a result the family members
have started shouting at her at the pitch of their voice expecting her to close the jet
post-usage. But, no results. Now the question is-Is shouting the solution. Answer is
no. Instead, it is significantly damaging , both, the shouters and the shouted at.
What is the diagnosis? What is the prognosis for its disposition?
1. Amelioration of dementia
2. Disconnection of Jet
3. Support Staff
4. Empathy of the Family Members
5. Dementia specific Social Architect
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 52
6. Separate Abode for the Dependent (“ANASHRIT ASHRAM”)
7. Dementia Patient Policy
B. Falling Heart & Brain Entrainment Ratio in Many Indian- There is a falling Heart and Brain Entrainment Ratio in many Indians. It is a highly
complex systemic problem. It could be attributed to many a factors, such as, eating
habits, disregard of the cultural heritage of India, Lack of convergence amongst
Legislative, Executive, Judiciary, Education & Society, Lack of Life Skills. A
large majority of us neither know our strength, nor do we know our weakness.
Creative Thinking & Critical Thinking, both, in one are rarely found. Neither we
are in apposition to cope up with stress fully, nor with emotions. Despite the
abilities we do not exercise choice in time. We are slow in decision making.
Hence, we go on inviting problems. We do not enjoy life & living. The heart is
always fine-tuning its dopamine/adrenaline balance. Both adrenaline and dopamine
are always in use in the heart. Every microsecond, in response to thoughts and to
internal and external sensory perceptions, the heart is moving slightly more
towards one nerve set and its neurotransmitter or towards the other. The degree and
manner of heart wave resonance with thoughts and with internal and external
sensory perception determines the moment to moment balance between adrenaline
and dopamine. If the heart is more resonant, the neurotransmitter balance shifts
more towards dopamine. If the heart is less resonant or emotionally shut down, the
neurotransmitter blend shifts more towards adrenaline. The ratio of adrenaline to
dopamine at any given second determines how the brain will interpret the incoming
sensory information at that moment, and the manner in which the brain will
respond. Up until now, we have only mentioned dopamine as a paired
neurotransmitter with adrenaline. In fact, dopamine is not just the “opposite” of
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 53
adrenaline. Dopamine is the main driver of the heart. If the brain perceives a
reason to be fearful, the heart’s dopamine triggers adrenaline and a tilt towards the
sympathetic nervous system’s connection to the brain. If the brain is not fearful, the
heart’s basic dopamine supply triggers more dopamine and a tilt towards the
parasympathetic nervous system’s connection to the brain. Dopamine is the
primary activator of the heart. Dopamine levels in the heart determine the vigor of
the neural signals to the brain. Dopamine levels in the heart are determined by the
amount of joy and the amount of resonance that the heart is feeling. The sheer joy
of being alive is the energy that allows the heart to resonate and initiate the primary
dopamine release for the heart. Dopamine does not cause joy. Joy causes the
release of dopamine. The greater the joy, the greater the level of primary dopamine
in the heart. Whether a person is happy or sad, he can always resonate with the
sheer joy of being alive. Whether a person is in the midst of battle or in solitude,
the sheer joy of living can be present behind his fear or his tranquility. Joy and the
heart’s ability to resonate are very nearly the same. The former is more purely
energetic, the other is the more physical manifestation of the joy energy.
Just like light, which has a wave pattern and a photon, human joy has a purely
vibratory component and a more tangible component. Just as the astral form of
light does not require a photon, the vibratory component of joy exists whether the
body exists or not. For example, light has two components: the light “wave” and
the photon. The wave and the photon are considered to be equal and simultaneous,
in terms of energy, but the photon is the denser, more tangible, more “crude” half
of the combo. Like light’s relatively more tangible half, the photon, the
electromagnetic wave of the resonating heart is the denser, more crude, more
tangible component of joy. When the heart is resonating with the joy of being
alive, it releases dopamine to itself. That dopamine then energizes the other heart
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 54
responses. This underlying source of dopamine is what powers the heart’s
balancing act between the dopamine and adrenaline that flows to the brain. The
core dopamine in the heart drives the dopamine and adrenaline systems in the rest
of the body. The dopamine stashes in the head, in the substantial area and other
parts of the brain, are merely satellite supplies of dopamine. They are activated and
dopamine is released into various parts of the brain, when the heart instructs the
brain to respond to sensory events with joy. The core level of dopamine prepares a
person, in body and brain, to be a feeling, sentient being.
Adrenaline Dopamine
We should be in a position to sustain the equation of Adrenalin & Dopamin. There
is a need to train Thinking.
C. Children Selling Indian Flags on Independence Day & Republic Day
Here is daughter-The Pride of India selling Indian Flags. Where is Her Home?
Who are Her Parents? Which School She Studies? Where from She has brought
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 55
these Flags of India? What for She brought these Flags? Why is She holding these
Flags? What flows through these Flags? How is she holding these Flags? How do
we read the configuration of Her Face-Her Eyes, Her Hair, Her Ear Rings, Her
Smile, Her Vision?
How about the UNO Convention on the Rights of Children? How about the Indian
Constitutional Right to Education (RTE)? How about the KANYA KELVANI of
Gujarat? How about the Maharaja Sayajirao Vision of the Girl Education? How
about the Perceptions of Parents of their Girl Child? How about the Corporate
Social Responsibility? How about the role of the Entire Universe?
Have the Legislative, Executive, Judiciary, Society, Polity, Education sincerely
thought that why the State of many a girls is so miserable in India? Why the girls
are perceived as objects, rather than, embodiments of all the values & virtues and
the Soul for the genesis of human life? For realizing civilization & humanization,
we ought to understand the bipolarity- Positive & Negative, High & Low, Hills &
Valleys, PURUSH & PRAKRTI. How to make the masses understand the
bipolarity of Nature? Bipolarity is essentially the basis for genesis of life & living
in this Universe & Sustainable Development. It is not difficult to research the
misperceptions of the beauties of nature. Beauties of nature need to be respected &
appreciated. But, our obsessions for possession are destroying the beauties & bliss
of the nature. Could we realize detached love for the nature through unconditional
love for all the entities? Instead we have started treating the nature as a resource
rather than adoring Thee as Source. Resource is endowed by the nature. Usage of
resource has been presumed to be the prerogative of man. Man likes to be treated
as a Source than Resource. The Apex Administrator of India is the Ministry of
Human Resource Development.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 56
Let, each one of us, determine to own a Girl Child. Here are some of the Proposed
Actions by Young Indians, through Massive Action Research.
I will adapt her as my daughter.
I will purchase all the flags she is holding.
I will make her realize the vision of human life.
I will find some suitable Children Home for her.
I will support her economically, as much, as I can.
I will seek help from the NGOs for her.
I will open Educational Classes for such children, free of cost.
I will seek admission for her in a School & Support her Education.
I will make her energetic, full of momentum, with vision & action.
I will make her self-supportive.
I will make her realize her childhood.
I will Educate the State to Revisit Policies for Children.
Let us understand Bipolarity. Let us own our children Daughter or Son, Son or
Daughter. Let us adore the Mother Nature as Source and abstain from exploiting
Her, abusing Her, as Resource. Let us Learn to Respect the Preamble of the Indian
Constitution:
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 57
D. Environmental Education Problem- We have been found to be wanting in the areas of Environmental Awareness. A
large majority of us are not in a position to respond correctly on areas, namely,
whether landfills are designed to help biodegradable waste decompose quickly,
whether green washing is an alternative to white washing, whether Expanded Poly
Styrene & Poly Propylene are recyclable, whether more than 50 million of
Bangladeshis are exposed to excessive Arsenic in their drinking water, which are
the green House gases, whether it takes more than 1 million years for a plastic
plate to decompose, whether acid rains cause most problems in Australia &
California, which is the most beautiful,cleanest, greenest planned city in India &
which one is the most polluted, how the once common sparrows are now harder to
see, how the honey bees are disappearning globe over, how the fast food
contributes to health, which are the endangered species, which substances are more
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 58
eco friendly, What is global warming due to. It seems insipite of Environmental
education as a Special area in Teacher Education, it has neither been in a position
to develop environmental awareness, nor environmental ethics. Even in the 21st
century the Post Graduate Students with Science background do not know the
strutures of many a polymers, such as, Expanded Polystyrene, PolyPropylene,
Poly-Ethylene, Poly Vinayl Chloride.
a. Expanded Polystyrene
b. Polypropylene
E. Wholistic Education Problems- Wholistic approach demands development of a complete human where ideas
spring, feelings flow, motor creates, spirit reins, and the self resonates with the self
and the environment, for example:
a. Tea Preparation-
Why do we prepare tea & how do we prepare tea?
Where are the tea gardens?
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 59
Where from the tea has originated?
Is it native or non-native?
If non-native, who introduced tea in India?
What is the chemical composition of tea leaves?
Which pan we make use of while preparing tea?
What is the origin of the LPG which we make use of for tea preparation?
How the gas stove is manufactured?
Why very often water is used as a medium for tea preparation?
Why do we add milk and sugar?
Why do we add basil, black pepper and ginger?
How long we should extract tea leaves?
What finally is the prepared tea, its composition?
How should we serve tea?
How much and how frequently we should take tea?
How tea contributes to Wholistic development?
b. Production & Cracking of Crackers-
Let us take up an example of Production & Cracking of a Cracker, namely, Multi-
Colour Fountain (ANAR):
What are the ingredients of an ANAR?
Where from these ingredients are procured and how?
What is the ANAR container?
What are the determinants of multi-colours and height of the fountain?
Which chemical reactions take place when we spark the ANAR?
After the ANAR is cracked how do the evolving gases interact with the
environment?
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 60
What are the probable effects of cracking ANAR?
WHAT are the chemistry, physics, mathematics, economics, environmental
Science & Sociology of ANAR?
Is it joyful, harmful, or joyfully harmful?
What is the status of child labourers who work in factory of crackers?
Concluding Remarks- Developmental Challenges demand Pioneers with interdisciplinary competencies.
How long will we compromise with the fragmented research? Should not it be
Wholistic related to the ground realities, which are, very often, rather always,
multi-parametric?
Should not the Research be Collective & Collaborative: Formal-Informal-Non-
Formal?
Why the Scientists have not come out of their laboratories? Is not there a need to
conduct naturalistic situational research through deep observation, reflection &
intuition and construct grass root theories, addressing our problems, through our
tools, through our sources & resources, to better our quality of life & living?
******************************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 61
Paper-4
Quality Improvement Approaches in
Primary Education Beena Indrani
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 62
Quality Improvement Approaches in Primary Education Beena Indrani5
Abstract Primary education is the largest sub-sector of any education system and offers the
unique opportunity to contribute to the transformation of societies through
education of the young, since the World Education for All Conference that was
held in 1990, Jomtien Thailand, and primary education enrolment has expanded in
absolute terms. However the quality of primary education has not kept abreast of
the expansion in enrolment. Thus universal quality primary education continues to
be a global concern and was high on the agenda for the World Education Forum
that was held in April, 2000 in Dakar, Senegal. The resulting Dakar Framework
for Action, item 7 (ii) states, “Ensuring that by 2015 all children, with special
emphasis on girls and children in difficult circumstances, have access to and
compulsory primary education of good quality”. The reality is that there are over
100 million children out of the school and of those in school, a substantial
proportion of them either do not complete the cycle or leave without being
permanently literate and numerate. Therefore primary education continues to be a
priority for all. Early childhood education in India is subject to two extreme but
contrary deficiencies. On the one hand, millions of young children in lower income
groups, especially rural and girl children, comprising nearly 40% of first grade
entrants’ never complete primary school. Even among these who do poorly
qualified teachers, very high student ratios, inadequate teaching materials and
5 Senior Research Fellow, Department of Education, University of Allahabad, Allahabad
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 63
out-mode teaching methods result in a low quality of education that often imparts
little or no real learning. It is not uncommon for students completing 6 years of
primary schooling in village public schools to lack even rudimentary reading and
writing skills. At the other end of the social and educational spectrum, children
attending urban schools, especially middle and upper class children in private
schools, are subjected to extreme competitive pressure from a very early age to
acquire basic languages skills and memorize vast amounts of information in order
to qualify for admission into the best schools. Parents and teachers exert intense
pressure on young children to acquire academic skills at an age when children
should be given freedom and encouraged to learn as a natural outcome of their
innate curiosity, playfulness and eagerness to experiment. The Indian education
system has attempted to universalize elementary education while maintaining a
certain quality of educational experience. The present paper outline the concept of
quality in education and quality improvement approaches are discussed.
Introduction- Every human being should have the opportunity to make a better life for
themselves. Unfortunately, too many children in the world today grow up without
this chance, because they are denied their basic right to even attend primary school.
A sustainable end to world poverty as we know it, as well as the path to peace and
security, requires that citizens in every country are empowered to make positive
choices and provide for themselves and their families. Today’s education system
does not deliver quality education. Education should be able to bring out the best
qualities in a person above all the right to discern and a sense of curiosity which
would mould him into an empowered individual to take on the complexities of life,
Azim Premji said (Wipro Chairman).
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 64
The World Education Forum (2000) agreed on six Educations for All (EFA) goals.
The sixth goal concerned Education Quality, ‘….improving all aspects of the
quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and
measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy
and essential life skills’.
The role of education in facilitating social and economic progress is well
recognized. It opens up opportunities leading to both individual and group
entitlements. Education in its broadest sense of development of youth is the most
crucial input for empowering people with skills and knowledge and giving them
access to productive employment in future. Improvements in education are not
only expected to enhance efficiency but also augment the overall quality of life.
The 11th plan places the highest priority on education as a central instrument for
achieving rapid and inclusive growth. It presents a comprehensive strategy for
strengthening the education sector covering all segments of the education pyramid.
Primary education covering reading, writing and arithmetic is considered as a
crucial aspect of quality of life. Elementary education, under the Indian
constitution, is recognized as a fundamental right of individuals. Thus it is
imperative to ensure that every individual in the country is literate with primary
education. The planning commission of India in its Approach Paper for the 11th
Plan (2006) explicitly states, “Large parts of our population are still to experience a
decisive improvement in their standard of living. The percentage of the
population below the poverty line is declining, but only at a modest pace. Far too
many people still lack access to basic services such as health, education, clean
drinking water and sanitation facilities without which they cannot be empowered to
claim their share in the benefits of growth” (p. 1). It also states that, “The provision
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 65
of good quality education is most important equalizer in society and it is time we
launched a major effort in this area” (p.75).
Interpreting ‘Quality’ in Education- The quality of education is concerned with a child’s experience of education-an-
amalgamation of the school, teachers, teaching as well as the nature of
infrastructure and facilities. It is difficult to arrive at a universally acceptable
articulation of what quality in education means. At the same, such articulation is
critical since it plays an important role in shaping the practice of education. The
purpose of universalizing elementary education is to bring to every child at a bare
minimum, the ability to participate in social, political and economic processes. It
has often been possible to bring about such quality in education at a small scale
with intensive utilization of resources. However, the provision/distribution of
quality education by a large-scale system is a daunting challenge.
‘Quality’ as a term refers to ‘how well’ certain objects and processes achieve their
given aims. It is validating as well as comparative. Its most immediate connotation
is ‘better’. ‘Better’ as differentiated from ‘good’ and implying the existence of at
least two objects or processes, between which a comparison across a decided set of
parameters can be established. Understanding quality in education requires an
appreciation of the aims of education; the social and philosophical roots of these
aims as well as determining the nature of the organization and system that is best
oriented to achieve them. Educational quality concerns typically encompass topics
such as teacher-training, textbooks and materials, evaluation and physical
infrastructure especially school buildings.
To define quality in the field of education, it may be instructive to examine the
more widely practiced usage of quality and explore its appropriateness or
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 66
applicability for education. Quality is contextual. It is very difficult to give a
comprehensive definition of quality. However, the quest for quality has been the
major concern of the entire human civilization. Quality is not an act, it is a habit. It
generally signifies the degree of excellence.
Concept of Quality in Primary Education- Defining the concept of quality is a little like trying to define ‘motherhood’ – it is
clearly a ‘good thing’ but elusive and likely to be dependent on the perspective of
the person attempting the definition. For many parents, for example, it may well
relate to the learning outcomes, particularly end of cycle examination results of
their respective child; for the school manager or inspector quality may well
embrace improved general standards of reading or handwriting or mathematics; for
the classroom teacher a definition of quality linking closely to improved conditions
of service.
Quality is therefore directly related to what occurs in two educational contexts;
firstly in the more focused environment of the classroom; secondly in the wider
context of the school system and social context in which the classroom is
embedded. Both environments have a reciprocal relationship with each other. The
definition of the quality of primary education which focused largely on the former,
more focused context of the classroom. Quality, means –
Relevance to context, to needs ( both ‘needs now’ and ‘ needs later’ ) and to
humanity
Efficiency in setting standards, in meeting standards set and in improving
standards;
And as something special… which goes beyond normal expectations of a
school.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 67
A relevant, efficient and special education must, in other words, be available to all
children irrespective of gender, ability or wealth.
Drawbacks of Primary Education- No stimulation at pre-primary age group surfaced as an important barrier to
education. Although the poor economic background is the most important concern
for primary education, yet lecture mode in the multi-grade class and the gaps in the
planned and the realized goals of education also act as major deterrents for the
families, which are poor and face the dilemma of sending their children to school
or to make them earn a livelihood for the families. Besides, the schools are not
efficient enough to realize the basic goals of primary education like
functional/numerical literacy. Increase in drop-out rates can also be attributed to
the examination system which lays a lot of emphasis on memorization, resulting in
poor self-confidence.
To iron out the immediate problems faced in the implementation of primary
education goals, some drawbacks of primary education are-
1. Inadequate / absence of access to a comparable quality of education
2. Overcrowding in the existing government schools
3. Mismatches between the demand and supply of schooling facilities
4. Dilapidated condition of classrooms, particularly those running in rented
buildings
5. Unsatisfactory teaching-learning process
6. Lack of sanitation and water facilities in old school buildings
7. Excessive reliance on centrally sponsored schemes has also created its own
problems. The states seldom initiate programmes of educational development
at their own initiatives and wait for central government initiatives
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 68
Quality Improvement Approaches- 1) Quality Infrastructure- According to finance minister, this is the most
important equity issue considering that almost 85% of the children in our
country are in government school and they deserve much better school. It is
not acceptable that these children who don’t have a choice are made to learn
in dilapidated, leaky room sitting on the floor. In many school the current
quality of access doesn’t meet the government’s own norms provided for in
the Education Bill.
Another point regarding quality of education in primary school is that
researcher found most of the government primary school having the system
of the multiple classes being conducted simultaneously in the same room.
This implies that students of more than one standard are made to sit in a
combined class taken by a single teacher due to insufficient number of
classrooms and/or teachers.
2) The Attitude of the Teacher- The most important aspect of the approach is
the attitude of the teacher, which should be that learning is a form of play
which fosters the blossoming of the child’s nature development. Learning
should and can be made interesting, enjoyable and fun.
3) Teaching Materials- A large portion of the teaching materials are produced
at the school by the teachers, who customize their teaching aids suit the
interests and knowledge levels of students.
4) Evaluating the Status of Learning- The current status of the learning
assessment was quite revealing. Surprisingly, 50% of the children in any
village could not read fluently and 70% of the children attending school
didn’t understand the basic concepts of numbers and arithmetic. To tackle
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 69
these underachievement patterns, simplifying the evaluation becomes a
natural choice. Participation of the community must be sought to improve
the current education scenario in general and primary education, in
particular.
5) Teacher - Pupil Ratio- Among the most crying needs for the development
of the country is the quality of education. Several surveys, researches and
reports have established the current poor quality beyond doubt. In my view,
though seversl factors influence quality is the teacher-pupil ratio. The
current national average is 1:40. Elementary Education Budgets has
suggested that the quality is probably the best when the ratio is between 1:25
to 1:35.
6) Demonstrating The Change- To demonstrate a change requires multi-
pronged and strategic reforms in teaching. Focus on specific goals or skills,
assessing what the children know, designing activities specific to the child’s
level, recognizing small improvements and using all these to change
perceptions of children’s activities, were discussed as change factors.
7) Mid-Day Meal Quality- The decision to provide mid-day meal to all
children in elementary schools was the best thing to happen and has
positively impacted health, attendance and reduction in drop-out rates.
However, the current budget provision of approximately Rs.1.80 to 2.50 per
meal in various states is unable to ensure achievement of the nutrition norms
of the government itself. Finance minister estimate is that a decent,
nutritious meal would cost at least of Rs.5.00. The government has to,
therefore, double its current budget to bridge the gap considering that in
many cases that is the only decent meal the child has. This will go a long
way in making of a healthy educated nation.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 70
8) The Act of Teaching- The act of teaching consists primarily of presenting
sensory images, objects and information to the child in a pleasant and
interesting manner and permitting the child to observe and inquire about the
subject, without compelling the child to memorize. Coloured flash cards
with large images are utilized as convenient, low cost teaching aids.
9) Curriculum Reviewed & Reformed- There is a clear need for relevant
curricula in order to provide quality education. Curricula must be regularly
reviewed and reformed to reflect these changes and to adequately prepare
pupils to respond to their environment and its challenges.
Improved curricula, relevant to the life of the learner, can increase
participation in schooling and improve the quality of the education provided.
UNESCO is implementing a number of activities worldwide that include
curriculum strategy, curriculum development and reform, textbook revision,
training and publications.
UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE) has a mandate to support
and strengthen national capacity to lead and facilitate renewal of curricula
and to adopt the context and methods of school education. The regional
networking seminars, workshops and projects presented here provide a
platform for promoting exchange and dialogue on national experiences.
They are focused on a host of curriculum development issues ranging from
management of curriculum reform, to citizenship education,
multiculturalism, social exclusion, violence and learning to live together
through the teaching of history and geography.
10) NEW Approaches to Active Pedagogical Learning- New approaches to
active pedagogical learning and innovative modalities need to be developed
to encourage teachers to change from using a traditional lecture approach to
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 71
a more interactive style of teaching. Pedagogical techniques should include
participatory and gender-sensitive teaching and learning methods and
strategies that foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills. They
should instill in pupils willingness and motivation to continue learning
beyond the classroom.
11) Rapid Acquisition of Basic Math Skills- Rapid acquisition of basic math
skills is achieved through the use of number line method which enables the
child to physically experiment and act out differently combinations of
addition and subtraction.
12) Story Telling- Story telling is used to make learning fun and to
communicate basic values of goodness, beauty, harmony, responsibility and
right conduct. Information on people and living things, places, history,
geography and other cultures are presented to the child in the form of
stories, pictorial information and explanations combined together to present
facts in a living, integrated context rather than as a series of separate
divorced subjects.
13) Evaluation Methodologies- As an answer to the various problems posed
by current scenario(such as meaningless aggregation of skills etc.),
evaluation methodologies can be evolved in the direction of skill by skill
testing, competing with oneself rather than others, and providing adequate
opportunities to better one’s performance.
The concern for quality of education has been voiced from time to time in India.
The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 and the revised NPE, 1992 again
highlighted the urgency to address the quality concerns on priority basis. Quality
can’t improve by itself. It requires multi-pronged and strategic reforms in teacher-
training; improvements in the facilities and infrastructure in schools; teacher’s
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 72
motivation; and a change in the style of teaching to make it attractive to the
students. The policy also recommended that a system of continuous and
comprehensive evaluation would be established. Besides the state level schemes to
improve access and quality of education, a number of centrally sponsored schemes
and externally funded projects, undertaken in the recent years, are experimenting
with various models of bringing about increased coverage, retention and
improvements in quality.
Reference-
Agarwal, Yash: Quality Concerns in Primary Education in India: Where is
the Problem?, NIEPA; New Delhi
Chandra, Anil & Ravishankar: Issues in Education,
publications.aidindia.org/content/view/223/91
Dholakia, Ravindra H. & Iyengar Shreekant (2008): Access of Poor
Households to Primary Education in Rural India,
www.iimahd.ernet.in/publications/data/2008-02-02RDholakia.pdf
Kumar, Suneel Mitra & Mili (July, 2006): Quality in Education: Issues &
Reflections
Mishra, Dr. Seema: Challenges of Primary Education
Premji, Azim (Feb 19, 2008): India Growth Story Needs Good Quality
Education, Published in Economics Times
Premji, Azim (Nov 16, 2003): Improve Access, Quality of Education,
Published in India Times; New Delhi,
infotech.indiatimes.com/…/Improve…quality…education…/286526.cms
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 73
Stephens, David (2003): Quality of Basic Education,Published in
International Journal of Educational Primary Education,
unesdoc.unesco.org/images/001469/146968e.pdf
The Core of Development and Progress,
portal.unesco.org/education/…./ev.php-
******************************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 74
Paper-5
Effect of Scientific Creativity on the
Personality of Adolescence Honey Premendra
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 75
Effect of Scientific Creativity on the Personality of Adolescence Honey Premendra6
Abstract “Adolescence is the period of great stress and storm”
- G.S.Hall
Adolescence is considered as the prime stage in which any individual undergoes
rapid and drastic change in almost all the aspect of life it may be, emotionally,
may be mentally, may be socially the most important psychologically and
physically which affect them on various levels like on the level of emotion,
physique and also vastly on the level of their knowledge and understanding. At
every period scientist's quest to improve their knowledge to unravel the hidden
mysteries of the universe and to create new ideas, has enabled them to change the
inner dynamism of individual so that it also brings the appropriate and desirable
changes in society. It is better to say that study of various factors like creativity,
understanding the inner dynamism of each and everything possible, which
accounts for such changes which effects men degree of enlightenment, also enables
it to adjust more effectively in the changing scenario of universe. Present study
was carried out to find out the effect of Scientific Creativity on the Personality of
adolescent students. Scientific Creativity can be considered as one of the prime
mental faculty which effects not only the academic achievement, its adjustment in
changing situations but also every aspect of its whole personality. This study is
conducted on 200 students (100 males and 100 females) of secondary school of 6 Senior Research Fellow, Department of Education, University of Allahabad, Allahabad. e-mail-
[email protected] ,Mobile-09454948243.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 76
Allahabad district. Data was collected by various schools of Allahabad. The data
was analyzed with the help of corelational method in between various factors of
Personality and Scientific Creativity. The result of study revealed that there exist
significant relation on various aspects of personality in terms of various
dimensions of Scientific Creativity like Fluency, Flexibility, Originality and
Inquisitiveness which is discussed in the study. Further it also signified that on
gender basis although there is no significant difference on overall personality
factors of adolescence secondary school students but it has a significant difference
in overall Scientific Creativity aspect of adolescence students.
Key Words- Scientific Creativity, Personality, Fluency, Flexibility, Originality,
Inquisitiveness, Adolescence.
Introduction- In every moment life keeps on changing. It may be both in favorable and in
unfavorable aspects and the higher challenge to any individual is to cope up with
the changing conditions in which unfavorable conditions affects the individual
with its least negative impact. There are many factors which directly or indirectly
helps in coping up with the unfavorable conditions of life and among the most
important factors the ability to understand the nature of problem, adopting the
available solution to solve the problem, identifying the lacuna which makes the
solution inappropriate to solve the problems, making guesses and modifying or
formulating new solution to solve the problem etc plays the a important role to
meet and adopt to life demands and represents mans most pervading hope for
going on. This special ability on a wider sense, to create new combinations either
to meet specified requirement or are in some useful way in called creativity.
Human beings are not endowed with only one single power but many human
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 77
abilities like Intelligence, Personality factors, cognition, general sense etc
combinely helps to adjust in the changing situations of life. In this age of science,
scientific creativity along with some others factors plays an important role in
adjusting individual to its changing situations.
We can clearly say that there subjects in one way or another enable man to
innovate or to modify the existing articles in such a manner that the changing
environment, particularly adverse conditions, have minimum effect on individual,
physically, and psychologically both which in all results to an ideal personality.
And as scientific creativity is considered as the basic essentiality needed to invent
or to improve anything indirectly, it can be assumed as the inventor of all sciences
and trade. Scientific Creativity is considered as an important part of scientific
studies. Barron (1969) indicates that the role of scientific creativity in the whole
process of socialization is critical. As scientific creativity can be assumed as the
basic need to solve problem, testing of prevailing creation in the new environment
and also in innovating new inventions indirectly which helps in attaining the
perfect personality to which everyone wants. It also works at its prime in solving
the problems of the most stressful and tense stage of life to which everyone has to
go through sometime, the period of adolescence.
Studies like Cline, Richards and Abs (1962), Drevdoth (1956), Gretzels and
Jackson (1962), Guilford (1956), Holland (1961), Klanmeier and Wiersma (1965),
Torrance et-al (1960), Vamamoto 1964 etc. gave the impression that cognitive
traits associated with creativity traps a different spectrum of intellectual ability
than the traditional tests of Intelligence, Personality, concept formation methods to
attain or perceive new concepts etc. According to All port (1937), "Personality is
the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems
that determines its unique adjustment to its environment."
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 78
And thus, researcher has decided to take two most important factors, as variables to
estimate their factorial relationship which ensures the overall development of
adolescence, the variables of Scientific Creativity and Personality and the study
was taken under the heading:
“Effect of Scientific Creativity on the Personality of adolescence”
Objective of Study- The present study was conducted on secondary school students with the following
objectives- 1. To study the relationship between ‘Fluency’ factor of Scientific Creativity with
other factors of Personality of secondary school students.
2. To study the relationship between ‘Flexibility’ factor of Scientific Creativity
with other factors of Personality of secondary school students.
3. To study the relationship between ‘Originality’ factor of Scientific Creativity
with other factors of Personality of secondary school students.
4. To study the relationship between ‘Inquisitiveness’ factor of Scientific
Creativity with other factors of Personality of secondary school students.
5. To compare the overall Scientific Creativity of Male and Female secondary
school students.
6. To compare the overall Personality of Male and Female secondary school
students.
Hypotheses of Study- Following hypotheses were framed to conduct the study on secondary school
students-
1. There is no relationship between ‘Fluency’ factor of Scientific Creativity and
other factors of Personality of secondary school students.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 79
2. There is no relationship between ‘Flexibility’ factor of Scientific Creativity
with other factors of Personality of secondary school students.
3. There is no relationship between ‘Originality’ factor of Scientific Creativity
with other factors of Personality of secondary school students.
4. There is no relationship between ‘Inquisitiveness’ factor of Scientific
Creativity with other factors of Personality of secondary school students.
5. There is no difference in overall Scientific Creativity factor of Male and
Female secondary school students.
6. There is no difference in overall Personality factor of Male and Female
secondary school students.
Methodology of Study- In this study Field survey method was used covering empirical study to compare the
Scientific Creativity and Personality differences of secondary school male and female
students. A total of 200 secondary school students (100 male and 100 females) of
Allahabad were selected randomly for the study.
Tool Used- The standardized tool for Personality developed by S.D.Kapoor was used to evaluate
personality factor of senior secondary school students on pre-described 16 Factors of
Personality, described by Cattle. According to Cattle (1950) "Personality is that
which permits predictions of what a person will do in a given situation."
Cattle on basis of factor analysis proposed that personality consists of 16 Factors
which can he explained as: Table-1
16 personality factor as described by Cattle with their Low, Negative side and
High, Positive side
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 80
The standardized tool of Scientific Creativity developed by K.S.Misra, was used by
the researcher which deduct scientific creativity of adolescence students on the
dimensions of Fluency, Flexibility, Elaboration and Inquisitiveness with the help
of 5 sub tests, namely:
1. Consequence Test.
2. Unusual Test.
3. Product Improvement Test.
Low, negative side. Factors High, positive side.
Reserved A Warmhearted
Less intelligent B More intelligent
Affected by feelings C Emotionally Stable
Submissive E Dominance
Sober F Enthusiastic
Disregard rule G Conscientious
Shy H Adventurous
Tough minded I Tender minded
Trusting, Alaxia L Suspicious, Protension
Practical, Praxernia M Absent minded,
Imaginative.
Forthright, Genuine N Astute, Shrewdness
Self assured O Apprehensive
Conservative Q1 Experimenting
Socially dependent Q2 Self-sufficient
Uncontrolled Q3 Controlled
Relaxed Q4 Tense
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 81
4. Inquisitiveness Test.
5. Guess Cause Test.
Out of these five tests, first, second and fifth have two items each. And the
maximum time limit for every test is three minutes and maximum time limit on the
whole test is 15-20 minutes.
Statistics Used- The co-relational survey method of research was used for estimating relation in
between 16 various factors(A,B,C,E,F,G,H,I,L,M,N,O,Q1,Q2,Q3 and Q4) of
personality with 4 different factors of Scientific Creativity viz. Fluency, Flexibility,
Originality and Inquisitiveness separately. Further, data was analyzed by applying
mean, standard deviation and by calculating t-ratio to compare the Scientific
Creativity and Personality of secondary school students on gender basis.
Results and Discussion- Table-2
Relationship between ‘Fluency’ and various other factors of Personality of
secondary school students
S. No. Factors of Personality. Value of ‘r’ (N=200)
1. A 0.0027
2. B 0.0768
3. C -0.2674***
4. E 0.1672**
5. F -0.0002
6. G -0.0835
7. H -0.2254***
8. I 0.2401***
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 82
9. L -0.0334
10. M 0.0095
11. N -0.0284*
12. O -0.0074
13. Q1 0.0385
14. Q2 0.0407
15. Q3 0.1671*
16. Q4 -0.1236 (*/**/***significant at 0.001, 0.01 and 0.05 level significantly)
Regarding 16 Personality factor and their correlation with the ‘Fluency’ factor of
Scientific Creativity 10 personality factors namely, A, B,F,G,L,M,O,Q1,Q2 and Q4
are not found significantly related to the ‘Fluency’ factor of Scientific Creativity
whereas, other six factors viz. C,E,H,I,N and Q3 are found significantly related on
various level of significance.
In other words it can be stated that the ‘Fluency’ factor of Creativity can be held
responsible for influencing the personality factors like emotional strength,
submissive/dominating nature, Shy/venturesome nature, tough mindedness/tender
mindedness, Alerted/Shrewder nature and Undisciplined/controlled nature
effectively. Whereas it has a very little or no effect on personality factors like
reserved/outgoing nature, Intelligence factor, Sober/lively nature,
Expedient/conscientious nature, Trusting/suspicious nature, practical/imaginative
factor, Placid/apprehensive nature, conservative/experimenting nature, Group
dependency and relaxing nature of secondary school students.
Table-3
Relationship between ‘Flexibility’ and various other factors of Personality of
secondary school students
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 83
S.No. Factors of Personality. Value of ‘r’ (N=200)
1. A 0.3312*
2. B -0.0981
3. C -0.01408*
4. E 0.115
5. F 0.0451
6. G 0.221
7. H -0.218**
8. I -0.2511*
9. L -0.1784***
10. M 0.917 11. N -0.7884**
12. O 0.1200
13. Q1 -0.0238*
14. Q2 0.0541
15. Q3 -0.2451*
16. Q4 0.687** (*/**/***significant at 0.001, 0.01 and 0.05 level significantly)
Table-3 indicates that among, 16 Personality factor and their correlation with the
‘Flexibility’ factor of Scientific Creativity seven personality factors namely
B,E,F,G,M,O and Q2 are not found significantly related to the ‘Flexibility’ factor
of Scientific Creativity whereas, other nine factors viz. A,C,H,I,L,N,Q1,Q3 and Q4
are found significantly related on various level of significance.
In other words it can be stated that the ‘Flexibility’ factor of Creativity can be held
responsible for influencing the personality factors like reserved/outgoing nature,
emotional stability, Shy/venturesome nature, tough mindedness/tender mindedness
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 84
nature, Alerted/Shrewder nature, conservative/experimenting nature,
Undisciplined/controlled nature and relaxed/tense nature effectively. Whereas it
has a very little or no effect on personality factors like Intelligence factor,
humble/assertive nature, Sober/lively nature, Expedient/conscientious nature,
practical/imaginative factor, Placid/apprehensive nature and Group dependency of
secondary school students.
Table-4
Relationship between ‘Originality’ and various other factors of Personality of
secondary school students
S. No. Factors of Personality. Value of ‘r’ (N=200)
1. A 0.0418
2. B -0.1123
3. C 0.231
4. E 0.1245
5. F 0.0421
6. G 0.0984***
7. H 0.0784
8. I 0.0421
9. L -0.0411
10. M -0.1661*
11. N -0.0002
12. O -0.247***
13. Q1 -0.2471*
14. Q2 0.0381
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 85
15. Q3 0.408
16. Q4 0.214 (*/**/***significant at 0.001, 0.01 and 0.05 level significantly)
Table-4 indicates that among, 16 Personality factor and their correlation with the
‘Originality’ factor of Scientific Creativity twelve personality factors namely
A,B,C,E,F,H,I,L,N,Q2,Q3and Q4 are not found significantly related to the
‘Originality’ factor of Scientific Creativity whereas, other four factors viz. G,M,O
and Q1 are found significantly related on various level of significance.
In other words, it can be stated that the ‘Originality’ factor of Creativity can be
held responsible for influencing specific personality factors like
Expedient/conscientious nature, practical/imaginative factor, Placid/apprehensive
nature and conservative/experimenting nature at a significant level.
Whereas it has a very little or no effect on personality factors like
reserved/outgoing nature, Intelligence, emotional stability, humble/assertive
nature, Sober/lively nature, Shy/venturesome nature, tough mindedness/tender
mindedness, trusting /suspicious nature, Alerted/Shrewder nature, Group
dependency, Undisciplined/controlled nature and relaxed/tense nature of secondary
school students.
These findings are also found partially related to findings of Barron (1963) who
founded that person scoring high on tests of originality were marked by freedom of
expressions rebelliousness, disorderliness, exhibitions and independent of
judgement. They were also high on fluency, Intelligence confidence, non-
conformity, flexibility, quickness and have wide interests sense of beauty and
imagination.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 86
Table-5
Relationship between ‘Inquisitiveness’ and various other factors of
Personality of secondary school students
S. No. Factors of Personality. Value of ‘r’ (N=200)
1. A 0.0417
2. B 0.2401
3. C 0.0311
4. E -0.0231
5. F 0.0031
6. G 0.0512**
7. H -0.825
8. I 0.0611
9. L 0.0471
10. M 0.2674***
11. N 0.1214**
12. O 0.021
13. Q1 -0.451*
14. Q2 0.0114
15. Q3 -0.115*
16. Q4 -0.0049*** (*/**/***significant at 0.001, 0.01 and 0.05 level significantly)
Table-5 indicates that among, 16 Personality factor and their correlation with the
‘Inquisitiveness’ factor of Scientific Creativity, ten personality factors namely
A,B,C,E,F,H,I,L,O and Q2 are not found significantly related to the
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 87
‘Inquisitiveness’ factor of Scientific Creativity whereas, other six factors viz.
G,M,N,Q1,Q3 and Q4 are found significantly related at various level of
significance.
In other words it can be stated that the ‘Inquisitiveness’ factor of Creativity can be
held responsible for influencing specific personality factors like
Expedient/conscientious nature, practical/imaginative factor Alerted/Shrewder
nature, conservative/experimenting nature Undisciplined/controlled nature and
relaxed/tense nature of secondary school students at significant rate.
Whereas it has a very little or no effect on personality factors like
reserved/outgoing nature, Intelligence, emotional stability, humble/assertive
nature, Sober/lively nature, Shy/venturesome nature, tough mindedness/tender
mindedness, trusting /suspicious nature, Placid/apprehensive nature, Group
dependency of secondary school students.
Table-6
Mean, SD and t-ratio of Male and Female students showing the difference in
their Scientific Creativity
Factor No. of Students M SD value
Male Students 100 6.10 2.03 2.87*
Female Students 100 5.27 2.45 (Significant at 0.01 level of significance)
Table-6 shows that the mean score for male secondary school students and female
secondary school students are +6.10 and +5.27 respectively. The standard
deviation of the Male and Female secondary level students is found to be 2.03 and
2.45 respectively and t-value is found to be 2.87 which was found significant at
0.01 level of significance and thus, null hypothesis ‘there is no difference in overall
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 88
Scientific Creativity factor of Male and Female secondary school students’, is
rejected.
Thus, it can be inferred that on gender basis there exist is a significant difference in
Scientific Creativity factor between male and female students of secondary school
level. On mean basis it can be assumed that, male secondary level students are
more scientifically creative than their female counterparts.
Table-7
Mean, SD and t-ratio of Male and Female students showing the difference in
respect to their Personality factor-
Factor No. of
Students
M SD value
Male Students 100 5.65 3.30 0.78
Female Students 100 5.10 2.08 (Insignificant at 0.01 level of significance)
Table-7 shows that the mean score for male secondary school students and female
secondary school students are +5.65 and +5.10 respectively. The standard
deviation of the Male and Female students is found to be 3.30 and 2.08
respectively and t-value is found to be 0.78 which was found insignificant at 0.01
level of significance and thus, null hypothesis ‘there is no difference in overall
Personality factor of Male and Female secondary school students’, is accepted.
Thus, it can be inferred that on gender basis there exist no significant difference in
overall personality factors between male and female students at secondary school
level.
References-
Allport, (1937), Personality: A Psychological Interpretation, p.48.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 89
Barron, F. (1969): Creative person and creative Process. New York Halt,
Richart and Winston.
Barron F: Scientific Creativity.
Buch, M. B. (1987): IInd survey of Research in Education, Delhi NCERT.
Buch, M. B.(1991), Fourth Survey of Research in Education, NCERT, New
Delhi
Buch, M, B. (1992), Fifth Survey of Research in Education, NCERT, New
Delhi.
Cocuran,W, (1984), Sampling techniques, Ara Publication House, Bombay.
Garret,H.E.(1984), Use of Statistic in Educational Psychology, Kalyani
Publication.
Garnet, H.E. (1989): IIIrd Survey of Research in Evaluation, Delhi NCERT.
Garret, Henery E. Statistics in Psychology and Education, New Delhi,
Paragon International Publishers.
Guilford, J.P. (1956): Creativity-American Psychologists, p-444-454.
Guilford, J.P. (1973), Fundamental Statistics in Psychological & Education,
McGraw Hill, Kogokusha, Ltd. Tokyo.
Drevdahl, J.E.(1956) Factors of Importance in Creativity, J.Clin, Psychol. 12:
23-26.
Drevdahl J.E.(1958) Personality and Creativity in artists and writers. Journals
of clinical psychology, 14, p-107 -111.
Getzels,J.W. and Jackson, P.W.(1962) "Creativity and
Intelligence."Explorations with Gifted Student, New York. : Wiley.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 90
Holland, J.L.(1961) “Creative and Academic Performance Among Talented
Adolescents”. J.Ed. Psychol. 52: 136-47.
Klausmeier, H.J. and Wiersma, W. (1964), Relationship of Sex, Grade Level
and Locale to performance of high I.Q. Students on divergent Thinking
Tests.” J. Ed. Psychol. 55, 114-19.
Torrance. E.P. (1960) Guiding Creative Talent. New Delhi. : Prentice Hall of
India.
Torrance. E.P. (1962) Guiding Creative Talent Englewood Cliffs. : N.J:
Prentice Hall.
Wertheimer, M. (1945). Productive Thinking. New York: Harper. ******************************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 91
Paper-6
An assessment of IQ by applying Cattell’s Culture Fair test and a comparative study of IQ between boys and girls (urban area of Burdwan district,
West Bengal, India) Poulami Mukherjee
Tuhin Kumar Samanta
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 92
An assessment of IQ by applying Cattell’s Culture Fair test and
a comparative study of IQ between boys and girls (urban area of
Burdwan district, West Bengal, India)
Poulami Mukherjee7
Tuhin Kumar Samanta8
Abstract An intelligence quotient, on IQ, is a score derives from one of the several
standardized test designed to assess intelligence. The abbreviation ‘IQ’ comes
from the German term ‘Intelligenz-Quotient’ originally coined by psychologist
William Stern. IQ scores are used as predictors of educational achievement,
special needs, job performance etc. Investigation of different pattern of increase in
IQ study informs about human intelligence in an enlightened way. Cattell’s
Culture Fair Intelligence test is very effective to assess intelligence of learners in a
significant way. IQ of boys and girls in an urban area was examined by applying
Cattell’s Culture Fair Intelligence test. There is no significant difference of IQ
content between boys and girls. The most important notable point is IQ of learners
is not directly related to their academic performances.
Introduction- It all started with the Binet scale with one single goal in mind, to serve as a guide
to identify children in the school who need special education to minimize their
7 Poulami Mukherjee, Research Scholar, Department of Education,The University of Burdwan, Golapbag, Burdwan,
West Bengal, India -713104.
8 Dr. Tuhin Kumar Samanta, Associate Professor, Department of Education, The University of Burdwan, Golapbag,
Burdwan, West Bengal, India-713104
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 93
inferior level. Later, after many modifications on the original method of Binet such
as Simon-Binet, or Stanford-Binet, intelligence tests were getting more popular
among the population as well as in Government Departments. In 1989, the
American Academy for the advancement of Science, listed the IQ test among the
twenty most significant scientific discoveries of the twentieth century.
The simplest definition proposed is that intelligence is whatever intelligence test
measure. According to psychologist Johnson,”intelligence is the ability to solve the
general run of human problems to adjust to new situations and in short the ability
to think.”
Intelligence can also be defined as-“Intelligence consists of an individual’s those
mental and cognitive abilities which help him in solving his actual life.”
An intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a score derived from one of several standardized
test designed to assess intelligence. Originally, IQ tests were created to identify
children who might need special education due to their retarded mental
development. Binet’s test included varied questions and tasks.
In recent years, a number of theorists have argued that standard intelligence tests
measure only a portion of the human abilities that could be considered aspects of
intelligence. Other scholars believe that such tests accurately measure intelligence
and that the lack of agreement on a definition of intelligence does not invalidate its
measurement. In their view, intelligence is much like many scientific concepts that
are accurately measured well before scientists understand what the measurement
actually means.
IQ is used to study the distribution in population and the correlations between IQ
and other variables. Raw scores on IQ tests for many studies have been rising at an
average rate that scales the perfect result since early twentieth century.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 94
Cattell’s Culture Fair intelligence test is a very effective to assess intelligence of
learners in a significant way. The mission is to study ‘average IQ’, ‘superior IQ’
and ‘very poor IQ’ among the school boys and girls in a comparative way.
Hypothesis- H₀1: IQ of boys is always higher than that of girls in the same class situated in the
same environment.
H₀2: IQ of girls is always higher than that of boys in the same class situated in
same environment.
H₀3: There is no notable or significant conclusion i.e. boys are better than girls in
IQ content or vice versa.
H₀4: IQ is directly related to the performance of the learners.
Procedure- With due permission from the Head of Schools, samples of 25 girls from Burdwan
Bidyarthi Girls’ High School and 25 boys from Burdwan C.M.S. Boys’ High
School were drawn purposively to carry out the action research.
Cattell’s Culture Fair Intelligence test scale II is used to determine IQ of learners
of age 11 to 12 years and to compare the IQs of boys and girls of urban area of
Burdwan district, West Bengal, India.
This test is easy to administer and is not influenced by verbal material. This scale
contains four sub-tests. The first sub-test is ‘series’ where the individual is
presented with an incomplete progressive series. The task of the learners is to
select the answer that best continues the series.
The second sub-test is ‘classification’ where the individual is presented with five
figures. The task of the learner is to select the answer which is different from the
others.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 95
In the ‘matrix’ sub-test, the task is to correctly complete the design or matrix
presented at the left of each row of the test booklet.
The final sub-test ‘condition’ requires the individual to select from the five choices
provided the one which duplicates the left boxes of the booklet.
At the beginning of each sub-test, examples are provided, so that the task
requirements are clear to the learners.
Findings and discussion- On a norm referenced test, scores show where an individual’s result fall in relation
to all other results obtained. Standardized measures are designed in such a way that
the intelligence test score typically follow a normal distribution on a bell-shaped
curve in which the majority of the scores are linear or around the average score of
the norm group. The curve is largest in the middle because most people perform
somewhere near the average score of the norm group i.e. a score between 90 and
110. The distribution is much smaller to the left and to the right, signifying that
few individuals have exceptionally low or high scores. Standardized tests use
standard scores to report results. Standardized scores, however, are evenly spaced.
IQ tests use the number 100 to designate average scores and tend to use a smaller
range of numbers to represent the total range of possible scores on the measure.
When modern IQ tests are devised, the mean score within an age group is set to be
100 and the standard deviation (SD) almost always to 15, although this was not
always so historically. Thus, the intention is that approximately 95% of the
population scores within two SDs of the mean i.e. have an IQ between 70 and 130.
Almost all scores are given with their corresponding percentile ranks. This
simplifies matters. For example, if one is told that a student obtains a score that
falls at the 50th percentile, it means that his score is the same as the average score
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 96
for all of the same aged peers who also took those tests. Hypothetically, percentiles
tell us where an individual’s score ranks relative to other people who took the test.
If a person’s score fall at the 99th percentile, it can be said that he/she would score
as well or better than 99 out of 100 of his/her same aged peers on that particular
measure. Percentiles are unevenly distributed in the normal curve owing to the
larger number of scores that are closer to the mean.
Statistical analysis of data- A) Calculation of total raw score for determination of I.Q. of 25 subjects ( girls
of class VII) of Bidyarthi Bhavan Girls’ High School, Burdwan :
Table-1 SAMPLE
NUMBER
SCORE OF
SUB-TEST 1
SCORE OF
SUB-TEST 2
SCORE OF
SUB-TEST 3
SCORE OF
SUB-TEST 4
TOTAL RAW
SCORE
1 8 3 9 7 27
2 7 4 4 4 19
3 10 8 6 4 30
4 7 8 4 6 25
5 12 10 6 6 34
6 7 8 11 5 31
7 8 6 9 4 27
8 6 9 6 6 27
9 7 9 5 3 24
10 8 8 8 7 31
11 9 7 11 7 34
12 9 10 10 7 36
13 9 8 9 5 31
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 97
14 8 8 10 5 31
15 3 6 4 2 15
16 9 5 8 6 28
17 9 10 11 6 36
18 11 11 11 8 41
19 6 7 5 4 22
20 6 6 8 6 26
21 7 9 10 7 33
22 6 8 1 3 18
23 0 6 1 3 10
24 8 3 1 4 16
25 10 8 11 4 33
B) Calculation of total raw score for determination of I.Q. of 25 subjects ( boys
of class VII) of C.M.S High School, Burdwan:
Table-2 SAMPLE
NUMBER
SCORE OF
SUB-TEST 1
SCORE OF
SUB-TEST 2
SCORE OF
SUB-TEST 3
SCORE OF
SUB-TEST 4
TOTAL RAW
SCORE
26 9 7 8 5 29
27 8 6 7 5 26
28 11 10 8 6 35
29 10 6 7 2 25
30 9 10 9 5 33
31 10 8 7 0 25
32 8 5 4 3 20
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 98
33 1 7 2 4 14
34 10 9 10 4 33
35 9 6 8 5 28
36 7 5 10 5 27
37 6 6 2 2 16
38 11 5 8 6 30
39 12 8 9 4 33
40 8 8 9 3 28
41 3 6 7 2 18
42 10 12 6 5 33
43 7 7 9 3 26
44 7 8 11 2 28
45 7 6 10 7 30
46 7 5 8 1 21
47 8 6 5 4 23
48 8 8 6 3 25
49 0 7 0 1 8
50 1 5 0 5 11
C) Data for determination of I.Q. and its comparison with scholastic
achievement of learners ( i.e. marks obtained by learners in their annual
examination while getting promoted from class VI to class VII ) :
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 99
Table-3
SAMPLE
NUMBER
RAW SCORE AGE
(YEARS)
PERCENTILE I.Q. PERCENTAGE OF
MARKS ( %)
1 27 12.2 50 100 81.71
2 19 12.4 10 79 85.57
3 30 11.3 74 110 90.71
4 25 11 50 100 82.42
5 34 11.4 92 122 90.42
6 31 11 84 116 83.00
7 27 12.3 45 98 87.75
8 27 11.5 45 98 87.75
9 24 11.5 58 103 82.57
10 31 11.5 38 95 88.57
11 34 12.2 79 113 88.71
12 36 11.5 96 128 81.42
13 31 12.3 65 106 81.14
14 31 11 84 116 85.57
15 15 13 01 65 83.71
16 28 13 42 97 87.42
17 36 12 94 125 93.85
18 41 11.5 99 147 92.85
19 22 11 31 92 95.42
20 26 12.4 38 95 85.28
21 33 11 90 121 85.57
22 18 12.4 07 77 92.00
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 100
23 13 11.8 02 66 85.85
24 16 12.3 03 71 84.42
25 33 12.2 83 115 84.71
26 29 11 76 111 84.57
27 26 12.8 38 95 89.57
28 35 11.3 94 125 67.00
29 25 11.6 42 97 70.85
30 33 11.9 83 115 81.57
31 25 11.8 42 97 70.28
32 20 11.6 17 85 66.71
33 14 12 02 68 58.85
34 33 12.3 76 111 59.28
35 28 11.8 62 105 57.00
36 27 11 62 76 55.28
37 16 11 07 107 51.42
38 30 12 67 108 50.85
39 33 13 69 105 46.71
40 28 11.6 62 105 53.42
41 18 11.5 11 80 43.42
42 33 11.6 88 119 47.42
SAMPLE
NUMBER
RAW
SCORE
AGE
(YEARS)
PERCENTILE I.Q. PERCENTAGE
OF MARKS (
%)
43 26 11.6 50 100 82.57
44 28 12 55 102 83.57
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 101
45 30 11.6 74 110 85.42
46 21 12.5 16 84 52.57
47 23 11.6 33 93 51.28
48 25 11.4 42 97 48.14
49 13 11.6 02 66 34.42
50 13 11.2 02 68 50.71
D) Data for calculation of coefficient of correlation between I.Q. of boys and
I.Q. of girls using Pearson’s product moment method :
Table-4
I.Q of girls
( X )
I.Q. of
boys
(Y)
x=(X - mean
I.Q. of girls)
y=(Y –
mean I.Q.
of boys) x² y² xy
100 111 -6.2 10.84 38.44 117.50 -67.20
79 95 -27.2 -5.16 739.84 26.62 140.35
110 125 3.8 24.84 14.44 617.02 94.39
100 97 -6.2 -3.16 38.44 9.98 19.59
122 115 15.8 14.84 249.64 220.22 234.47
116 97 9.8 -3.16 96.04 9.98 -30.96
98 85 -8.2 -15.16 67.24 229.82 124.31
98 68 -8.2 -32.16 67.24 1034.27 263.71
103 111 -3.2 10.84 10.24 117.50 -34.68
95 105 -11.2 4.84 125.44 23.42 -54.20
113 76 6.8 -24.16 46.24 583.70 -164.29
128 107 21.8 6.84 475.24 46.78 149.11
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 102
106 108 -0.2 7.84 0.04 61.46 -1.56
116 105 9.8 4.84 96.04 23.42 47.43
65 105 -41.2 4.84 1697.44 23.42 -199.41
97 80 -9.2 -20.16 84.64 406.42 185.47
125 119 18.8 18.84 353.44 354.94 354.19
147 100 40.8 -0.16 1664.64 0.025 -6.52
92 102 -14.2 1.84 201.64 3.38 -26.12
95 110 -11.2 9.84 125.44 96.82 -110.21
121 84 14.8 -16.16 219.04 261.14 -239.17
77 93 -29.2 -7.16 852.64 51.26 209.07
66 97 -40.2 -3.16 1616.04 9.98 127.03
71 66 -35.2 -34.16 1239.04 1166.91 1202.43
115 68 8.8 -32.16 77.44 1034.27 -283.01
Mean I.Q. of boys = 100.16, mean I.Q. of girls = 106.20
From the above data, ∑ x²=10196, ∑ y²=6530.36, ∑ xy =1934.20
Using Pearson’s product moment method of calculating coefficient of correlation
we have-
∑ xy
Coefficient of correlation (r) =
√ (∑ x² X ∑ y²)
Putting required values, we get, r = 0.227
E) Data for calculation of coefficient of correlation between I.Q. of all learners
and their scholastic achievements using Pearson’s product moment method :
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 103
Table 5
Sample
number
I.Q. of all
students
(X)
Marks
obtained by
the students
(Y)
x= (X - mean
I.Q. of all
students)
y= (Y - mean
marks obtained
by students) x² y² xy
1 100 81.71 -3.18 7.49 10.11 56.10 -23.81
2
79 85.57
-24.18 11.35
584.6
7 128.82 -274.44
3 110 90.71 6.82 16.49 46.51 271.92 112.46
4 100 82.42 -3.18 8.2 10.11 67.24 -26.07
5
122 90.42
18.82 16.2
354.1
9 262.44 304.88
6
116 83
12.82 8.78
164.3
5 77.08 112.55
7 98 87.75 -5.18 13.53 26.83 183.06 -70.08
8 98 87.75 -5.18 13.53 26.83 183.06 -70.08
9 103 82.57 -0.18 8.35 0.03 69.72 -1.50
10 95 88.57 -8.18 14.35 66.91 205.92 -117.38
11 113 88.71 9.82 14.49 96.43 209.96 142.29
12
128 81.42
24.82 7.2
616.0
3 51.84 178.70
13 106 81.14 2.82 6.92 7.95 47.88 19.51
14
116 85.57
12.82 11.35
164.3
5 128.82 145.50
15 65 83.71 -38.18 9.49 1457. 90.06 -362.32
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 104
71
16 97 87.42 -6.18 13.2 38.19 174.24 -81.57
17
125 93.85
21.82 19.63
476.1
1 385.33 428.32
18
147 92.85
43.82 18.63
1920.
19 347.07 816.36
19
92 95.42
-11.18 21.2
124.9
9 449.44 -237.01
20 95 85.28 -8.18 11.06 66.91 122.32 -90.47
21
121 85.57
17.82 11.35
317.5
5 128.82 202.25
22
77 92
-26.18 17.78
685.3
9 316.12 -465.48
23
66 85.85
-37.18 11.63
1382.
35 135.25 -432.40
24
71 84.42
-32.18 10.2
1035.
55 104.04 -328.23
25
115 84.71
11.82 10.49
139.7
1 110.04 123.99
26 111 84.57 7.82 10.35 61.15 107.12 80.93
Sampl
e
numbe
r
I.Q. of
all
students
(X)
Marks
obtained
by the
students
x= (X -
mean I.Q.
of all
students)
y= (Y -
mean marks
obtained by
students) x² y² xy
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 105
(Y)
27 95 89.57 -8.18 15.35 66.91 235.62 -125.56
28
125 67
21.82 -7.22
476.1
1 52.12 -157.54
29 97 70.85 -6.18 -3.37 38.19 11.35 20.82
30
115 81.57
11.82 7.35
139.7
1 54.02 86.87
31 97 70.28 -6.18 -3.94 38.19 15.52 24.34
32
85 66.71
-18.18 -7.51
330.5
1 56.40 136.53
33
68 58.85
-35.18 -15.37
1237.
63 236.23 540.71
34 111 59.28 7.82 -14.94 61.15 223.20 -116.83
35 105 57 1.82 -17.22 3.31 296.52 -31.34
36
76 55.28
-27.18 -18.94
738.7
5 358.72 514.78
37 107 51.42 3.82 -22.8 14.59 519.84 -87.09
38 108 50.85 4.82 -23.37 23.23 546.15 -112.64
39 105 46.71 1.82 -27.51 3.31 756.80 -50.06
40 105 53.42 1.82 -20.8 3.31 432.64 -37.85
41
80 43.42
-23.18 -30.8
537.3
1 948.64 713.94
42
119 47.42
15.82 -26.8
250.2
7 718.24 -423.97
43 100 82.57 -3.18 8.35 10.11 69.72 -26.55
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 106
44 102 83.57 -1.18 9.35 1.39 87.42 -11.03
45 110 85.42 6.82 11.2 46.51 125.44 76.38
46
84 52.57
-19.18 -21.65
367.8
7 468.72 415.24
47
93 51.28
-10.18 -22.94
103.6
3 526.24 233.52
48
97 48.14
-6.18 -26.08
38.19
24 680.16 161.17
49
66 34.42
-37.18 -39.8
1382.
35
1584.0
4 1479.76
50
68 50.71
-35.18 -23.51
1237.
63 552.72 827.08
Mean I.Q. of all learners =103.18, mean marks obtained by all learners = 74.22
From the above data, ∑ x² = 17031.38, ∑ y² = 13970.32, ∑ xy = 4137.61
Using Pearson’s product moment method of calculating coefficient of correlation
we have-
∑ xy
Coefficient of correlation (r) =
√ (∑ x² X ∑ y²)
Putting required values, we get, r = 0.268
Analysis and interpretation of data-
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 107
Pie chart presentation (Figure I) Bar diagram presentation (Figure II)
Hypothesis Ho1:
From the pie-chart presentation and statistical analysis of data, it is found that
average IQ of boys and girls of same age is almost same in the same environment.
Also very low positive correlation (0.227) exists between IQ scores of boys and
girls i.e. boy’s IQ is almost independent of girl’s IQ content. Thus it can be said
that, hypothesis Ho1 is rejected.
Hypothesis Ho2:
From the pie-chart presentation and statistical analysis of data, it is found that
average IQ of boys and girls of same age is almost same in the same environment.
Also, very low positive correlation (0.227) exists between IQ scores of boys and
girls i.e. boy’s IQ is almost independent of girl’s IQ content. Thus it can be said
that, hypothesis Ho2 is rejected.
Hypothesis Ho3:
From the pie-chart presentation and statistical analysis of data, it is found that
average IQ of boys and girls of same age is almost same in the same environment.
Also, very low positive correlation (0.227) exists between IQ scores of boys and
95
100
105
110
IQ of girls (106.20)
AverageIQ (100.16)
IQ of boys (103.18)
IQ of learners
Boys' mean
I.Q.
100.16
Girls' mean
I.Q.
106.20
Mean I.Q. of boys and girls
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 108
girls i.e. boy’s IQ is almost independent of girl’s IQ content. Thus it can be said
that, hypothesis H 3 is accepted i.e. there is no significant difference between IQ
content of boys and girls.
Figure-C
Hypothesis Ho4:
From the graph it is found that IQ of learners is not directly related to their
academic performances. Very low positive correlation (0.268) exists between IQ of
all learners and their scholastic achievements i.e. hypothesis Hₒ4 is rejected.
From the above data, we get
(i) mean I.Q. of 25 boys of C.M.S. Boys’ High School, Burdwan is 100.16
(ii) mean I.Q. of 25 girls of Burdwan Bidyarthi Bhavan Girls’ High School is
106.20
(iii) mean I.Q. of all learners (25 boys + 25 girls) of both the above mentioned
Schools is 103.18
From given statistical analysis, and using Pearson’s product moment method of
calculation of coefficient of correlation between I.Q. of boys and I.Q. of girls, we
come to know that-
020406080
100120140160
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49
I.Q. o
f lea
rner
s
Marks obtained by learners
I.Q.
Percentage of marks obtained
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 109
(a) The coefficient of correlation between I.Q. of boys and I.Q. of girls is
0.227 i.e. very low positive correlation exists between the scores. This
shows that there is no dependence of I.Q. of boys on I.Q. of girls or vice
versa.
(b) The coefficient of correlation between I.Q. of all learners and their
scholastic achievements is 0.268 i.e. very low positive correlation exists
between the scores. This shows that there is almost no dependence of I.Q.
of learners on their scholastic achievements or vice versa i.e. a learner
having high I.Q. may or may not score good marks in examinations.
Also, it is not a necessary criteria that a learner scoring high marks in
examinations will possess a high I.Q. content.
Since the number of samples are large ( more than 30), product moment method of
calculating coefficient of correlation is used in order to avoid errors and to
maintain accuracy in calculations.
Data for drawing frequency polygon and ogive using raw scores of the learners:
Table-6
Raw
Scores
Class
Boundaries
Mid
Value
Frequency
of Boys
Frequency
of Girls
Total
Frequency
of All
Learners
Cumulative
Frequency
Cumulative
Frequency
Percent
10-14 9.5-14.5 12 3 1 4 4 8
15-19 14.5-19.5 17 2 4 7 11 22
20-24 19.5-24.5 22 3 2 5 16 32
25-29 24.5-29.5 27 10 6 15 31 62
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 110
30-34 30.5-34.5 32 5 9 15 46 92
35-39 34.5-39.5 37 2 2 3 49 98
40-44 39.5-44.5 42 0 1 1 50 100
Frequency polygon representation of I.Q. of boys and girls:
Figure-D
Frequency polygon representation of all learners (boys + girls) together-
Figure-E
02468
1012
12 17 22 27 32 37 42
Freq
uenc
y
Mid point of raw scores
Boys
Girls
02468
10121416
12 17 22 27 32 37 42
Tota
l fr
eque
ncy
Mid point of raw scores
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 111
Ogive representing I.Q. of both boys and girls separately-
Figure-F
Presentation of Ogive of all learners-
Figure-G
Very low positive correlation exists between IQ scores of boys and girls, i.e. boy’s
IQ is almost independent of girl’s IQ. From statistical analysis of data it is found
that average IQ of boys and girls of same age is almost same in the same
environment. There is no significant difference between IQ content of the boys and
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
14.5 19.5 24.5 29.5 34.5 39.5 45.5
Cum
ulat
ive
freq
uenc
y pe
rcen
t
Upper limit of class boundaries of scores
Boys
Girls
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
14.5 19.5 24.5 29.5 34.5 39.5 45.5
Cum
ulat
ive
freq
uenc
y pe
rcen
t
Upper limit of class boundaries
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 112
girls. The most important notable point is that IQ of learners is not directly related
to their academic performances.
The work reported here is done on a small scale basis in urban school of Burdwan
district. The period of this study is limited. The data from a broader field area,
would give more precise and multifaceted conclusion from detailed data analysis.
However, the present study gives an idea about the gender based view of IQ of
learners.
Human intelligence is one of the most debated subjects within the field of
psychology. There are researchers who suggested that intelligence is a single,
general ability while others believe that intelligence encompasses a broader range
of aptitudes, skills and talents.
Intelligence is a general mental capability that, among other things involves the
ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex
ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. Rather it reflects a broader and
deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings-‘catching on’, ‘making
sense’ of things, or ‘figuring out’ what to do.
References-
Bartholomew, David J.(2004).Measuring Intelligence :Facts and Fallacies.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.p.50.ISBN 978-0-521-54478-8.Lay
summary (27 July 2010).
Carroll, J.B.(1993).Human cognitive abilities: A survey of factor-analytic
studies. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-38712-4.
Jerusha B Detweiler-Bedell, Brian Detweiler-Bedell (2013).”Doing
collaborative research in Psychology”. Sage.Mumbai-20
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 113
Lubinski, D.(2004). “Introduction to the special section on cognitive
abilities: 100 years after Spearman’s (1904) ‘“General Intelligence,”
Objectively Determined and Measured”’. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology 86(1):96-111
Markus Jokela. G. David Batty, Ian J. Deary, Catharine R. Gale, Milika
Kivimaki (2009). “Low Childhood IQ and Early Adult Mortality: The Role
of Explanatory Factors in the 1958 British Birth Cohort”. PEDIATRICS 124
(3) : e388.
Neisser U (1997). “Rising Scores on Intelligence Tests.”American Scientist
85 : 440-7.
Romero, A,& Kemp, S(2007).Psychology demystified. New York City
:McGraw Hill.
Turkheimer, Eric(spring 2008). “A Better Way to Use Twins for
Developmental Research”. LIFE Newsletter (Max Planck Institute for
Human Development):2-5.Retrieved 29 June 2010.
W.Newton Suter (2012).”Introduction to Educational Research(Second
Edition)”.Sage.Mumbai-20
Weiss,Voklmar(2009).”National IQ means transformed from Programme for
International Student Assessment (PISA) Scores”. The Journal of
Social,Political and Economic Studies 31(1):71-9 **********************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 114
Paper-7
Education and Women Empowerment in
India Sundeep kumar shrivas
Bindu Gautam Vivek Gupta
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 115
Education and Women Empowerment in India Sundeep Kumar Shrivas9
Bindu Gautam10
Vivek Gupta11
Introduction- “If you educate a man you educate an individual, however, if you educate a
woman you educate a whole family. Women empowered means mother India
empowered” -Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru
Education is an important aspect of developed nations and it
is proved that nations without education cannot develop at its full as it cannot
take full advantage of its human resources and human resources is one of the major
resource/asset of any nation. Woman make almost half of the population of any
country, thus their involvement in the development cannot be ignored. Without
educated woman a nation cannot see their distant dreams as woman are the
mothers who write the future of a generation. In last few years there has seen
considerable improvement in women education in India. More and more women
are coming out of houses and opt for education in India. That is the reason, why we
are seeing lot of women on top positions in India. They have done considerable
improvement in all areas. Today we see women in education, in government, in
teaching, in research and in forces. Today they are the CEO's of top companies.
9 Reasearch Scholar, Department of Education, University of Lucknow, Lucknow
10 Reasearch Scholar, Department of Education, University of Lucknow, Lucknow
11 Reasearch Scholar, Department of Education, University of Lucknow, Lucknow
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 116
They are running successful businesses. We can empower women with the help of
education.
Women’s Empowerment: According to Cambridge English Dictionary
‘empowerment’ means ‘to authorize'. In the context of the people, they have to be
authorized to have control over their own lives. When applied in the context of
development of the particular segment of population, the women have to be
‘empowered' to have control over their own lives to better their socio- economic
and political conditions. Thus, women empowerment can be interpreted as totality
of empowerment including political, social, cultural, and other dimension of
human life as also the physical, moral and intellectual.
Govt. of India declared 2001 as year of women empowerment. National policy for
the empowerment of women was also passed in 2001. In 2010 march 9, one day
after international women’s day, Rajya Sabha passed women’s Reservation Bill,
ensuring 33% reservation to women in parliament and state legislative bodies.
Empowerment is the manifestation of a redistribution of power that challenges
patriarchal ideology, transforming the institutions that reinforce or perpetuate
gender discrimination. The parameters of empowerment have been identified as-
1. Developing ability for critical thinking;
2. Developing decision-making and action through collective processes;
3. Ensuring equal participation in developmental processes;
4. Enhancing self-esteem and self confidence in women.
After independence, Government of India took several initiatives, educational
programmers’ and policies, apart from constitutional and legal safeguards for the
empowerment of women in the country. The time has arrived to realize the
relevance, in a rapidly developing country like India, of education for leadership-
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 117
building, especially for women –something which can be achieved only through
Education.
History of Women's Education in India: Although in the Vedic period women had
access to education in India, they had gradually lost this right. However, in the
British period there was revival of interest in women's education in India. During
this period, various socio religious movements led by eminent persons like Raja
Ram Mohan Roy, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar emphasized on women's education in
India. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Periyar and Baba Saheb Ambedkar were leaders of
the lower castes in India who took various initiatives to make education available
to the women of India. However women's education got a fillip after the country
got independence in 1947 and the government has taken various measures to
provide education to all Indian women. As a result women's literacy rate has grown
over the times and the growth of female literacy has in fact been higher than that of
male literacy rate. In present time (census, 2011) 65.46% female is literate.
Importance of Women's Education in India: Women’s education in India plays a
very important role in the overall development of the country. It not only helps in
the development of half of the human resources, but in improving the quality of
life at home and outside. Educated women not only tend to promote education of
their girl children, but also can provide better guidance to all their children.
Moreover educated women can also help in the reduction of infant mortality rate
and growth of the population.
Empowerment of Women through Education- You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.
- Jawahar Lal Nehru
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 118
Female Literacy in India- Table -1 Female Literacy Rate in India 1901-2011
Percentage of Literates to total population
Year Persons Males Females
1901 5.3 9.8 0.7
1911 5.9 10.6 1.1
1921 7.2 12.2 1.8
1931 9.5 15.6 2.9
1941 16.1 24.9 7.3
1951 16.7 24.9 7.3
1961 24.0 34.4 13.0
1971 29.5 39.5 18.7
1981 36.2 46.9 24.8
1991 52.1 63.9 39.2
2001 65.38 76.0 54.0
2011 74.04 82.14 65.46 Source: Census of India, Government of India (2011)
According to the Table-1 the pre-Independence time literacy rate for women had a
very poor spurt in comparison to literacy rate of men. This is witnessed from the
fact that literacy rate of women has risen from 0.7 % to 7.3 % where as the literacy
rate of men has risen from 9.8 % to 24.9 % during these four decades. During the
post-independence period literacy rates have shown a significant increase in
general. However the literacy rate of male has almost tripled over the period e.g.
24.9% in 1951 and 82.14% in 2011.Surprisingly the female literacy rate
has increased at a faster pace than the male literacy during the decade 1981 -
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 119
2011. The growth is almost e.g. 7.3 % in 1951 and 65.46 % in 2011. Thus
promoting education among women is of great important in empowering them to
accomplish their goals in par with men in different spheres of life.
Factors Responsible for Poor Female Literacy Rate- Historically, a variety of factors have been found to be responsible for poor female
literate rate, viz...
The Lower Enrolment: The lower enrolment of girls in schools is one of the
foundational factors which stand as stumbling block for women
empowerment in India. Reliable sources indicate that more than 50 % of the
Non-Starters (those who have never been to school) are girls. According to
the latest statistics, two out of every ten girls in the age group of 6-11 are
still not enrolled in schools.
Higher drop-out rate among girls from schools: The incidence and
prevalence of drop –outs among girls especially in rural, tribal and slums
areas seem to be quite high. According to available sources, occurrence of
drop-out and stagnation amongst girls is nearly twice that of boys all over
India.
Girl Child as Second Mother: In many families girl children play the role of
second mother by shouldering the responsibilities of household work such as
looking after the sibling, fetching water, collecting firewood, bringing
fodder for cattle, cleaning and cooking etc. In rural India especially in poor
families this traditional sex role makes girl child handicapped and
conditioned by the attitude of mother and the family and discourages girl
child to go school as it becomes secondary.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 120
Bonded Labour System: This social evil is a quite discouraging phenomena
which stand as barrier for girl's education in rural areas for the
underprivileged families of washer men and agricultural labor, scheduled
caste and scheduled tribes.
Cast System as a Barrier; Children belonging to low caste families are
forced to learn skills and work ways and not encouraged to go to school due
to various factors in the sphere of strict instruction /threat from high caste
communities for their selfish motives of keeping them as domestic servants
and child laborers in the farms or factory.
Child Labour Practice: A large segment of child population in India is
engaged in child labour practices. According to UN sources India is the
most child labour populous nation in the globe with more than 50 million
child labourers indulged in beedi works , carpet making , bricks, mining ,
quarrying ,glass, bangles, match and fireworks, gem polishing ,handloom
works. zari, embroidery ,coir industry, domestic works, construction etc. In
most of these industries girl children are preferred for high productivity and
low cost.
Poor School Environment for girls: In general the school environment for
girls in India is not really interesting and encouraging. The subjects taught in
schools are also not related to the environment of girl children. The methods
of teaching are mostly out – dated, rigid and uninteresting. There are still
hundreds of schools with poor basic amenities such as drinking water, latrine
and toilet facilities, improper building, and inadequate number of teachers'
especially female teachers preferable for any parents for safety of their girl
children from different types of exploitation and abuse.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 121
Female age at marriage: There is high association of female literacy with
female age at marriage. By and large the female age at marriage of 18 (
recently 21 years ) as prescribed by various legislations not at all followed in
India .It is very much ignored and neglected by the families of parents with
low literacy and illiteracy background. This obnoxious practice discourages
female children to continue their schooling and higher education as they
enter into family life at the early age which is not advisable from the
physical and mental health point of view and also of social development.
Poverty as a Barrier: In many poverty stricken families, children especially
girls are considered as economic assets as they bring income for livelihood
as well to save from economic crises due to death or incapacity of parents
(sick/ handicapped/aged)
Ineffective Law Enforcing Machinery: Indian constitution and various
legislations pertaining to education to children assure free and compulsory
education all children of this nation but unfortunately the enforcement
machinery fail to discharge its duties and responsibilities to the satisfaction
of the public interest and welfare of women.
Demographic Factors: The high population growth rate, rapid urbanization,
migration etc also attribute immensely for the poor literacy level of women
and girls in India.
Poor Political Will and Conviction: Government officials, policy makers,
politicians etc of our country have neither political will nor conviction for
the empowerment of women in general.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 122
Recurring Policy Recommendations to Promote Girls Education- Schools within walking distance, closer to the place of dwelling, if necessary
satellite schools for remote hamlet.
Provide child care facilities/crèche within school premises.
Escort for girls, if schools are away from the village or hamlet.
Introduce flexible schools timings and region specific school calendar.
Provide alternative modes/forms, combine formal with non-formal,
condensed coursed for dropout, residential schools (ashram shalas) for
special focus groups like nomadic tribes and others.
Residential condensed education programme for adolescent girls and young
women who dropped out of school or never enrolled (Mahila Shikshan
Kendra).
More women teachers in rural areas, with residential accommodation.
Expand pool of women teachers by lowering qualifications, intensive
training (near the place of dwelling), provide regular educational support,
organize special condensed courses for dropouts who can be trained to work
as teachers, provide secure accommodation for out station teachers, and so
on.
Make curriculum relevant to the lives of poor women who are engaged in
battle for survival.
Recognize the problem of working children, provide special facilities.
Introduce facilities for 'bridge programs" to enable dropouts to re-enter the
school system.
Provide incentives such as uniforms, textbooks, exercise books, attendance
scholarship and free bus passes.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 123
Involve the community in managing the school through advocacy,
mobilization and formation of village education committees with at least
50% women members.
Improve quality of education; motivate teachers to make learning a joyful
exercise.
Decentralize educational planning and administration; bring it closer to
people so that it reflects the special needs and aspirations of community.
Address management issues that inhibit the implementation of government
policy, like grievance redressed, administrators and teachers union's
resistance to flexible timings and school calendar, make teachers feel wanted
and appreciated.
Recruit women with lesser qualifications from rural areas, recruit local youth
in remote areas where teacher's absenteeism is rampant, and appoint teachers
to a specific school and so on.
Mobilize public opinion for primary education and universal literacy in
general and women's education in particular. Advocate for greater political
will and administrative commitment. Make it a national mission with time-
bound 'targets' - a la National Literacy Mission (NLM), National Elementary
Education Mission (NEEM).
Strategies for Promoting Girls Education- Nations around the world have formulated a number of strategies that have been
successful in promoting girls' education in different settings…
Advocacy for girls' education. This is the most important strategy for raising
awareness in society about the economic and social benefits of girls'
education, and the economic and social costs of keeping girls uneducated.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 124
Parents need to be convinced that the benefits of educating daughters out
weight the costs.
Lower the costs for parents. Lowering the costs by eliminating school fees,
the requirement of school uniforms, providing scholarships to girl, and day-
care facilities for younger siblings have been found effective by many
countries. Bangladesh, India, and Guatemala have experimented
successfully with scholarship programme for girls, especially to encourage
them to persist in secondary schools.
Develop relevant and gender-sensitive curricula. To increase parental
demand for girls' education, the curriculum must be made relevant for girls'
everyday life and future job requirements; it should link education with
farming, health, nutrition, sanitation, and local environment; employ the
local language; and eliminate gender stereotyping.
Promote recruitment and training of female teachers. Many countries are
trying innovative ways to recruit and train female teachers, such as financial
incentives; quota systems (Bangladesh); and lowering the minimum
qualifications but making up for this by intensive training and close
supervision.
Improve access by reducing distance to school and providing culturally
appropriate facilities in response to girls' special needs. Innovations such as
satellite schools, cluster schools, and multi-grade classes have been used to
increase the availability of schooling facilities.
Promote community participation in planning, development, and
management of education programs.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 125
Develop flexible school calendar, timing, and mode of teaching around girls'
domestic chores. Community participation in planning ensures this.
Promote literacy training of parents. Many countries cite lack of parental
education as an important constraint on girls' education. But in order to be
effective in attracting participation, adult literacy training for women needs
to be combined with skill training and income - generating activities.
All of the above strategies are based on two guiding principles: first, the principle
of affirmative action for girls' education must be applied; girls must be targeted as
the main beneficiaries in programme design and delivery. Second, the overall
status of women in society must be improved, as girls' educational deprivation
cannot be separated from the broader issue of women's status.
Other Special Initiatives for Women-
1. National Commission for Women- In January 1992, the Government set-
up this statutory body with a specific mandate to study and monitor all
matters relating to the constitutional and legal safeguards provided for
women, review the existing legislation to suggest amendments wherever
necessary, etc. 2. Reservation for Women in Local Self –Government- The
73rd Constitutional Amendment Acts passed in 1992 by Parliament ensure
one-third of the total seats for women in all elected offices in local bodies
whether in rural areas or urban areas. 3. The National Plan of Action for the Girl Child (1991-2000)- The plan of
Action is to ensure survival, protection and development of the girl child
with the ultimate objective of building up a better future for the girl child.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 126
4. National Policy for the Empowerment of Women, 2001- The Department
of Women & Child Development in the Ministry of Human Resource
Development has prepared a “National Policy for the Empowerment of
Women” in the year 2001. The goal of this policy is to bring about the
advancement, development and empowerment of women. 5. The Mahila Samakhya Project in India- Women's Empowerment Through
Mahila Samakhya (MS) was launched in 1989 in ten districts in three states
as a women's empowerment project. The objective was to empower women
through education to bring about a change in women's own perception about
themselves and their society.
Conclusions- Women are an integral part of our society. The idea of human race can't be
conceived without the existence of a woman. Women in the holy books have been
bestowed with a very high status and have been adored with various adjectives.
She is called as mother of the nation and it is said that education of the mother
means education of the entire family. Educated women have better opportunity
compared to uneducated women in the society. They are facing so many problems
in the society. With the help of education and law and order it is easy to escape
from those problems. So it is necessary to educate all types of women in the
society. Education gives strength, wealth, health and power to the individual. In the
words ofSwami Vivekananda-"We want that education by which character is
formed, strength of mind increased and intellect is expanded, and by which one
can stand on one's own feet". References-
Census of India, (2001), Government of India, New Delhi.\
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 127
Gupta, N.L, (2003) Women’s Education Through Ages, Concept
Publications Co, New Delhi.
Kothari Jaya Pillai (1995) Women and Empowerment, Gyan Publishing
House, New Delhi.
National Policy for Empowerment (2001) Published By Government of
India, New Delhi.
Rao, R.K. (2001) Women and Education, Kalpaz Publications, Delhi
S.P.Agarval (2001),Women’s Education in India(1995-98)Present Status,
Perspective, Plan, Statistical Indicators with Global View,VolIII Concept
Publications Co, New Delhi.
http://wcd.nic.in/empwomen.htm **********************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 128
Paper-8 Attitude of Undergraduate Students towards
ICT after Laptop Distribution Scheme of
UP Government
Dilip Kumar Singh
Akhilesh Shukla
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 129
Attitude of Undergraduate Students towards ICT after
Laptop Distribution Scheme of UP Government Dilip Kumar Singh12
Akhilesh Shukla13
Introduction- Nowadays the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT),
especially internet in the education sector plays an important role, especially in the
process of empowering the technology into the educational activities. Education
sector can be the most effective sector to anticipate and eliminate the negative
impact of ICT. Technology (internet) in another side can be the most effective way
to increase the student’s knowledge. Being aware of the significant role of ICT
(internet) in our life, especially in the educational activities, education authorities
should be wise enough in implementing the strategies to empower ICT in
supporting the teaching and learning process in the classroom. ICT is not just the
bloom of the educational activities, but also it will be the secondary option to
improve the effective and meaningful educational process. ICT in Education is the
foundation upon which a country develops. It is a dynamic force in the life of
every individual influencing his physical, mental, emotional, social and ethical
developments. There is a growing importance for ICT within the school curriculum. Not only it is
used to support teaching and learning within other curriculum subjects, but it is
also a subject in its own right as a separate discipline. The major objective is that
developing skills, knowledge, and understanding in the use of ICT prepares pupils 12 SRF, Department of Education, University of Allahabad, Allahabad
13 JRF, Department of Education, University of Allahabad, Allahabad
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 130
to use such technologies in their everyday lives. ICT tools enable pupils to access,
share, analyze, and present information gained from a variety of sources and in
many different ways. The use of ICT provides opportunities for pupils to work
both collaboratively and independently. As such, the role of ICT within the
curriculum is not only to enhance the learning experiences of pupils but also to
help them develop the skills essential to participate effectively in the world of
affairs. It generates avenues for working in groups developing team spirit,
cohesion, and social values. Annaraja and Joseph (1997) Conducted a study an “Teacher Trainees Attitude
towards information and communication technology” The result that (i) 54% of
male teacher trainees have high level of attitude towards ICT (ii) 78% of Female
teacher trainees possess high level of attitudes towards ICT (iii) there is no
significant difference between male and female teacher trainees in their attitude
towards ICT. There is no significant association between attitude towards
ICT and (a) father’s educational qualification (b) Mother’s educational
qualification (c) father’s occupation (d) family income. Njagi, Smith and Isbell
(2007) conducted a study on, “Assessing students’ Attitudes towards Web-based
learning Resources.”
The results indicated no significant difference in attitude-change between the
groups. However, there was a positive technology, among the demographic
variables, gender and time students spent on the internet for class projects were
found to predict positive attitude. Dey,B.: Saxena, K.M. and Gihar,S. ((2005)
conducted a study on ICT and Teacher Educators wee they found that more than
80% teacher educators were found not using educational technologies like magic
lantern, epidiascope, video-camera, film projector, LCD projector, radio and DVD
in their teaching. 72-90% teacher e4ducators did not use internet, tape recorder,
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 131
TV, OHP, Computer and Slide Projector during teaching their classes. 68% teacher
educators did not use working models during their teaching whereas 7% teacher
educators did not use calculators.
Hussain (2007) conducted a study on “A study of student’s Attitude towards
Virtual education in Pakistan.” From the result a positive attitude was found
towards virtual education, by the use of virtual education the nation extending the
opportunities of higher education, uniform curricula, technology based
instructional methodology and equal opportunities of higher education. Priya
(2007) a study on “An analysis of web usage among teacher educators and student
teachers” reported that WWW is considered as an important learning environment
among the Student Teachers and Teacher Educators. The Student teachers access
the Web more than the Teacher Educators. It shows that the internet has not
penetrated fully in every sphere of life, particularly in the academia.
Roy, Sormunen, Harris (2008) Conducted a study on “Men’s and women’s
Attitudes towards Computer technology; A comparison,” The analysis of the
findings indicate that, contrary to earlier studies on these issues, women reflected
more positive attitudes than men on all three scales. Females held more positive
attitude than males regarding the value of computers to make users more
productive, Although neither men nor women in this group reflected concern about
the impact of technology on people and their work environments, women were
more positive than men in this regard. Women also reflected greater comfort in
using computers than man. McKibben,D.M., McDonald,S.(2009) conducted a
study on ‘Reflections on the Impact of ICT on Teacher Education.’ This paper has
briefly explored some of the reflections of students on the affect that ICT and
broadly collaborative, or social constructivist, approaches to learning have had
upon their own their own learning. The reflections are for the most part very
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 132
positive. It is still however early days and we aim to continue to monitor and
reflect upon the learning experience as we endeavor to construct knowledge on
how to learn with ICTs. They found that significant relationship between computer
literacy and attitude towards computer.
Objective-
To study the Attitude of Undergraduate Students towards ICT after Laptop
Distribution Policy of UP Government. Hypothesis-
Undergraduate Students have no difference of attitude towards ICT after
Laptop Distribution Policy of UP Government. Methodology- In this study field survey method was used. The population of the present study has
been defined as the Undergraduate Students of Allahabad District. Purposive
sampling was used for study. A sample consists of 120 Undergraduate Students
which have found the Laptop by Uttar Pradesh Government. To know the attitude
of Undergraduate Students an Attitude Scale was developed by the researcher. The
scale consists of 20 items and it has both positive and negative statement with
Likert model having 3-point rating scale i.e. Agree, Indifferent and Disagree. The
data was collected by using above scale. To analyze the data the Chi- Square Test
was used. Analysis f Data-
Frequency Statement Agree Indifferent Disagree Total χ²Value Significance
Statement 1 90
(75%)
18
(15%)
12
(10%)
120 94.2 Significant
(Rejected)
Statement 2 78 12 30 120 57.8 Significant
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 133
fo
(65%) (10%) (25%) (Rejected)
Statement 3 24
(20%)
18
(15%)
78
(65%)
120 54.6 Insignificant
(Accepted)
Statement 4 84
(70%)
24
(20%)
12
(10%)
120 74.4 Significant
(Rejected)
Statement 5 78
(65%)
12
(10%)
30
(25%)
120 58.2 Significant
(Rejected)
Statement 6 78
(65%)
24
(20%)
18
(15%)
120 54.6 Significant
(Rejected)
Statement 7 48
(40%)
30
(25%)
42
(35%)
120 4.2 Insignificant
(Accepted)
Statement 8 12
(10%)
48
(40%)
60
(50%)
120 26.7 Significant
(Rejected)
Statement 9 30
(25%)
12
(10%)
78
(65%)
120 58.2 Significant
(Rejected)
Statement 10 84
(70%)
24
(20%)
12
(10%)
120 74.6 Significant
(Rejected)
Statement 11 84
(10%)
12
(10%)
24
(20%)
120 64.4 Significant
(Rejected)
Statement 12 36
(30%)
36
(30%)
48
(40%)
120 3.3 Significant
(Accepted)
fe 40 40 40 120
Frequency Statement Agree Indifferent Disagree Total χ² Value Significance
Statement 13 42
(60%)
18
(15%)
30
(25%)
120 40.2 Significant
(Rejected)
Statement 14 66
(55%)
18
(15%)
36
(30%)
120 29.4 Significant
(Rejected)
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 134
fo
Statement 15 60
(50%)
18
(15%)
42
(35%)
120 22.2 Significant
(Rejected)
Statement 16
72
(60%)
12
(10%)
36
(30%)
120 35.6 Significant
(Rejected)
Statement 17
24
(20%)
48
(40%)
48
(40%)
120 11.4 Insignificant
(Accepted)
Statement 18
30
(25%)
60
(50%)
30
(25%)
120 15.0 Insignificant
(Accepted)
Statement 19
66
(55%)
30
(25%)
24
(20%)
120 15.80 Significant
(Rejected)
Statement 20
66
(55%)
24
(20%)
30
(25%)
120 25.80 Insignificant
(Accepted)
fe 40 40 40 120 Note: Significance level – 0.01, df – 2, χ² Table Value- 9.21
Findings-
1. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “Revolution has come in the field of ICT after
Laptop distribution Scheme in UP”. It was found that 75% Undergraduate
Students have agreed, and 10% have disagreed, whereas 15%
Undergraduate Students have shown indefinite attitude. 2. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “ICT has simplified the Objectives of Education
through Laptop distribution Scheme in UP”. It was found that 65%
Undergraduate Students have agreed, and 25% have disagreed, whereas
10% Undergraduate Students have shown indefinite attitude. 3. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “Information obtained through ICT is not
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 135
reliable”. It was found that 20% Undergraduate Students have agreed, and
65% have disagreed, whereas 15% Undergraduate Students have shown
indefinite attitude. 4. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “ICT does not help in guidance and counseling
of Students”. It was found that 70% Undergraduate Students have agreed,
and 10% have disagreed, whereas 20% Undergraduate Students have
shown indefinite attitude. 5. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “ICT makes easy the exchange of Educational
information after Laptop distribution Scheme in UP”. It was found that
65% Undergraduate Students have agreed, and 25% have disagreed,
whereas 10% Undergraduate Students have shown indefinite attitude. 6. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “Students can get experts advice easily through
ICT after Laptop distribution Scheme in UP”. It was found that 65%
Undergraduate Students have agreed, and 15% have disagreed, whereas
20% Undergraduate Students have shown indefinite attitude. 7. There is no significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “ICT save the time and labour of students after
Laptop distribution Scheme in UP”. It was found that 40% Undergraduate
Students have agreed, and 35% have disagreed, whereas 25%
Undergraduate Students have shown indefinite attitude. 8. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “Role of ICT is negligible in e- learning at
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 136
present time”. It was found that 10% Undergraduate Students have agreed,
and 50% have disagreed, whereas 40% Undergraduate Students have
shown indefinite attitude. 9. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “The solution of educational problem is
impossible through ICT”. It was found that 25% Undergraduate Students
have agreed, and 65% have disagreed, whereas 10% Undergraduate
Students have shown indefinite attitude. 10. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “Information of journals and magazines are
easily available through ICT after Laptop distribution Scheme in UP”. It
was found that 20% Undergraduate Students have agreed, and 10% have
disagreed, whereas 12% Undergraduate Students have shown indefinite
attitude. 11. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “Online discussion is possible through ICT
after Laptop distribution Scheme in UP”. It was found that 70%
Undergraduate Students have agreed, and 20% have disagreed, whereas
10% Undergraduate Students have shown indefinite attitude. 12. There is no significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “ICT not provides current information to
students”. It was found that 30% Undergraduate Students have agreed, and
40% have disagreed, whereas 30% Undergraduate Students have shown
indefinite attitude.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 137
13. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “Laptop distribution Scheme in UP saves the
time of students in leaning process”. It was found that 60% Undergraduate
Students have agreed, and 25% have disagreed, whereas 15%
Undergraduate Students have shown indefinite attitude. 14. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “Immediate feedback can be provided to
students through ICT”. It was found that 55% Undergraduate Students
have agreed, and 30% have disagreed, whereas 15% Undergraduate
Students have shown indefinite attitude. 15. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “Laptop distribution Scheme in UP is useful in
exchange of information”. It was found that 50% Undergraduate Students
have agreed, and 35% have disagreed, whereas 15% Undergraduate
Students have shown indefinite attitude. 16. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “Students get benefit in literature collection
through Laptop distribution Scheme in UP”. It was found that 60%
Undergraduate Students have agreed, and 30% have disagreed, whereas
10% Undergraduate Students have shown indefinite attitude. 17. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “ICT does not help in organizing the
examinations”. It was found that 20% Undergraduate Students have
agreed, and 40% have disagreed, whereas 40% Undergraduate Students
have shown indefinite attitude.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 138
18. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “Self-evaluation of students can be done easily
with the help of ICT after Laptop distribution Scheme in UP”. It was found
that 25% Undergraduate Students have agreed, and 25% have disagreed,
whereas 50% Undergraduate Students have shown indefinite attitude. 19. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “ICT plays an effective role in educational
administration after Laptop distribution Scheme in UP”. It was found that
55% Undergraduate Students have agreed, and 20% have disagreed,
whereas 25% Undergraduate Students have shown indefinite attitude. 20. There is significant difference among Undergraduate Students attitude
towards the statement that “Continuous use of ICT decrease the working
capacity of students”. It was found that 55% Undergraduate Students have
agreed, and 25% have disagreed, whereas 20% Undergraduate Students
have shown indefinite attitude. Conclusion- After analyzing the opinion of Undergraduate students towards ICT after Laptop
Distribution Scheme of UP Government, it is found that majority of the
Undergraduate students agreed that Revolution has come in the field of ICT,
Objective of Education, Guidance and Counseling, Reliability of Information, ,
Expert’s Advice, Online Discussion, Information about Journals and Magazines,
Immediate feedback, exchange of Information and Ideas. Solution of Educational
Problem, Role in E- Learning, Low cost and More Information, ICT plays a crucial
role in Examination, Evaluation, Administration and Continuous use of ICT
decrease the working capacity of students. However there is difference in the
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 139
opinion about teachers in some statements it is observed that the majority of
Undergraduate students disagreed to Labor and Time and current information
through ICT. References-
A., Chris (2001) ‘ICT: Changing Education’ London: Routledge Falmer
pp23-29
Angel Rathnabai (2007), “Infusing ICT in teaching learning process: A
Reflection” proceedings of International Seminar held at Periyar University
Dey,B.: Saxena, K.M. and Gihar,S. ((2006),‘ICT and Teacher
Educators’Indian Educational Abstracts, Vol. 6, No.1
Illayaperumal (2007), ”Perception of student teachers towards the role of
technology in education for sustainable development ” proceedings of
International Seminar held at Periyar University
Jasmine kumar and et al., (2007) “professional competency of teachers and
teacher educators in relation to their ICT usage” proceedings of
International Seminar held at Periyar University
K.,Savernus(2008), ‘The Role of ICT in Education Sector’ Inside magazine,
Vol. 2
L.Daniel (2009) ‘ The Role of ICT in Enhancing Education in Developing
Countries’ Australia: Journal of Education for International Development.
McKibben,D.M., McDonald,S.(2009) ‘Reflections on the Impact of ICT on
Teacher Education. .( www.eircomlearning.ie)
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 140
Priya (2007), “An analysis of web usage among teacher educators and
student teachers” proceedings of International Seminar held at Periyar
University
Selvam .M (2007), ”Attitude of matriculation teachers towards educational
technology – an investigation” proceedings of International Seminar held at
Periyar University
http://naweb.unb.ca/proceedings/2003/PosterNjagiIsbell.html
http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde26/pdf/article_6.pdf **********************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 141
Paper-9
Student Welfare Programme: An
urgent need for stress free Life Dr. Sunita Singh
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 142
Student Welfare Programme: An urgent need for stress free Life Dr. Sunita Singh14
Abstract Modern time is characterized by an era of tension, anxiety, frustration owing to cut
throat competition and increasing consumerism. In this era, explosion of
population and changing dimensions have brought a rapid change in socio-
economic scenario of human life. The mutual relationship, principles of co-
existence and tolerance have got a major setback in the days. These short-coming
infused isolation, helplessness and feeling of insecurity, direct or indirect lack of
reliable warmth, overprotection, lack of real guidance, disparaging attitude,
injustice, discrimination, un-kept promise and so on so forth.Therefore there is
imperative need to organize some welfare programs in schools that become helpful
in maintaining sound mental health of the students.
Key words: Welfare programme, stress free life, yoga.
Introduction- “The destiny of India is now being shaped in her classroom”
-Education Commission
The progress of any nation is depends on quality of educational system and quality
in education can only be maintained when education is accessible to all children
that caters the need, ability and interest of students. School is chief agency for
imparting education to the young members of the society. School is a place where
student can grow and develop their personality.
14 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education (k), Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-10
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 143
Today’s life is full of challenges. In everyday we come across many situations,
some of them act as a source of inspiration and some causes challenges. This is
true for students also any challenges that exceed the coping abilities of individual
becomes stress. Singh (2004) was found that anxiety of the table tennis players
were significantly developed whereas the basketball players had not shown any
difference. Mc Donald (2001) observed that the overall prevalence of test anxiety
appear to be increasing. Peterlini et al (2002) examined anxiety and depression in
the 1st year medical students. Singh (2004) has found that - (1) there is no
difference in the level of anxiety of secondary school students coming from
nuclear and joint family. (2) Students of calm homes are less anxious as compared
to students of bitter and noisy family atmosphere. Upadhayay and Sharma (2007)
found that - (1) non-tribal group to be high on non-specific anxiety. (2) Physical
anxiety is more in females than in males.
Hans Selye (1936) introduced the concept of stress into the life science for the first
time. He defined stress as “the force, pressure or strain exerted upon a person who
result their forces and attempted to maintain its original state.” Stress decreases the
capabilities of individuals. Individual under stress can’t perform well on any front
of life. It was found that 43% of all adults suffer from adverse health effect from
stress. Stress is linked to the six causes of death – heart diseases, cancer, lung
ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of liver and even devil suicide. So, utmost care
should be taken to keep away our students from the evil effects of stress. Richard
Lazarus of university of California also defined stress as “Stress is state we
experience when the demands that are put upon us cannot be counter balance by
our ability to deal with them”. In school environment we can identify the stress
among students on the basis of certain observable symptoms. These symptoms can
be classified as follow:
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 144
Physical symptoms: Some of the physical symptoms like Chest pain or
palpitation. ingestion (most common symptom of stress), nausea, heart burn, loss
of appetite, constipation or diarrhea, stomach cramps, tremor and shaking and / or
nervous twitches and tapping, muscle cramps and spasms, increased sweating,
baldness or increased hair loss, poor circulation with cold fingers and toes, more
frequent asthma attacks, more frequent flus and colds, neck pain and back pain etc.
Behavioral Symptoms: Obesity and overeating, increased or excessive drinking
of alcohol, Loss of appetite or anorexia, if a person used to smoke , he will more
smoke, increased coffee consumption, excessive continuing irritability with other
pupil, substance abuse , indecisive, unable to concentrate( most common symptom
of stress), increased and suppressed anger, loss of sense of humor, Paranoia,
notable to cope with life feeling out of control, jump from one job to another
without finishing thing, excessive emotion and crying at small irritations, lack of
interest in anything other than work, permanently tired even after sound sleep
(another very common symptom), nail biting these are the behavioral symptoms of
stressed person.
Therefore, there is imperative need to organize some welfare programs in schools
that become helpful in maintaining sound mental health of the students. Student
develops best in school where teaching and learning occurs in context of student
welfare. Student welfare is enhanced when all members of the school community
participate in learning programme and life of the school. “Student welfare
encompassed everything that our school community does to meet the personal and
enhance their well-being. It involves recognizing and developing their each student
as a total and unique person in context of society.” In other words, student welfare
programme is sum total of all the policies, structures and activities which are
planned and implemented by school to promote student welfare. School and
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 145
communities have developed their own student welfare policies and practices
within the framework of student. Welfare policy has now been extensively revised
to assist schools to build on existing good practices and incorporate contemporary
educational perspectives.
Component of Student’s Welfare Programme- Welfare of students concerned with their holistic and all round development,
therefore under this programme various activities are organized which can fulfill
physical, mental, social, and cultural well-being of each students. Such programme
includes-
1. School health programme: School health programme fulfills the need of
physical as well as mental development of students.
2. Guidance and counseling: Guidance and counseling programmeto cater the
psychological need of students and maintain the mental health of the
students.
3. Educational tour and recreational cultural and spiritual activities that can
cater the cultural and spiritual demands of students.
4. Yoga, Games and sports which can fulfill the physical as well as social well-
being of the students.
W.H.O. defines the term health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social
well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity (1948). Health
plays a very important role in all types of developments like mental, social,
emotional etc. If a child is physically unfit he will not be able to pay attention on
any work in school or home. He may not be able to learn anything because of poor
mental development. Studies have shown that poor health and nutritional status of
children is a barrier to attendance and educational attainment and therefore plays a
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 146
crucial role in enrollment, retention, and completion of school education (Rana, K
& Das, S: 2004; World Bank: 2004). Panachakkel’s, Gowri and Bhattacharya and
Shukla work shows that a well-planned health programme is needed for the
students and community both. The findings are also supported by the work of
Vimal (1991), he has described the need of school health programme (SHP). He
has stated that SHP is an integrated approach to health. Teachers, parents, health
personnel’s, community leaders, community at large and other related organization
have a vital role to play in school health programme. The main objectives of SHP
are –
To promote health & health consciousness among school children & staff
about prevent of diseases.
To provide healthful learning in a healthy environment recognizing the child
as a ‘change agent’ in community.
Author suggested the school health care & health education program to the village
children is a potent means of introducing behavioral change & from basic health
concepts among the family & villagers because the village children are often more
educated than their parents.
Many efforts have been conducted to formulate an effective SHP. Varghese, Mary
(1991) conducted a study to determine if there was a relationship between health
status and achievement of pupil. He found that the largest percentage of pupil has
good health status and there was a significant association between health status and
achievement for the total group.
It shows that SHP is meaningless, if the aims of this programme to give knowledge
only but it is meaningful when attitude and practices change for better skills and
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 147
practices. Amar (1992) has suggested different combination of knowledge, attitude
and practices for achieving better results of SHP.
The present day school is concerned with the many-side development of the child.
Like other programmes of intellectual development, school health programme
must be an important component of the welfare programme. It is as important as
any other school programme. It is neglected in the case of traditional educational
programme is fraught with serious consequences. School that running the
programme of student welfare must provide effective teaching and learning within
secure well managed environment, in partnership with parents, caregivers and the
wider school community. So that student derives enjoyment from their learning
and to make useful contribution to the life of the school where every student can
enjoy the success from the learning experiences and got their individual
recognition.
Guidance and counseling services provided to improve students’ mental, emotional
and social health. These services include individual and group assessments,
interventions and referrals. Organizational assessment and consultation skills of
counselors and psychologists contribute not only to the health of students but also
to the health of the school environment. Professionals such as certified school
counselors, psychologists and social workers provide these services. Guidance and
counseling programme needs to be introduced in our schools and colleges to meet
the varied need of the educational system and to the vital element of the system.
Such type of programme develops readiness for choices and changes to face new
challenges. It also helps fresher’s in establishing proper identity. This programme
also plays an important role in the proper choice of the careers as well as
vocational development. It motivates the youth for self-employment. It can helpful
for student in their period of turmoil and confusions. Such programme identifies
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 148
and motivates the student from weaker section of society. This programme also
helps the policy makers in checking wastage and stagnation as well as identifies
and helps the student of special need. It helps in tackling problems arising out of
student’s explosion especially during adolescence. Thus, guidance and counseling
programme must be an integral part of Student welfare programme
Yoga and physical education are seen as routes for achieving not merely physical
fitness but for psychosocial development as well. There are broadly four areas that
are related to health, yoga and physical education. These are: Personal health,
physical and psycho-social development, Movement concepts and motor skills,
relationships with significant others, Healthy communities and environments.
Srivastava and Verma study the effect of Yoga Education on students. The findings
indicate that-(1) Yogic exercise are extremely helpful in increasing self-
confidence. (2) The yogic exercises are helpful in the increase of chest expansion,
height and grip strength and the decrease of bulk in the body. (3) The non-
practicing yoga students had not shown any changes in their state of anxiety but a
definite shift was found from higher state anxiety to lower state anxiety among
yoga practicing student. (4) The superiority of yogic practices was also found
helpful in increasing the level of adjustment. They concluded that yoga based
education certainly helps in the all-round development of the child.
Yogasana is based on a sound knowledge of human anatomy and physiology.
Placing the body in certain posture or position stimulates specific nerves, organs
and glands. Many yogasanas offer an opportunity for the physical expression of
mental imagery, with which children are usually very comfortable. Sitting
yogasanas provide greater blood circulation in parts above the waist. Thus, the
vital organs are energized, giving increased stimulus to brain functioning.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 149
Similarly, inverted yogasanas help in increasing blood flow to the brain and
activate the brain cell. So, yogasanas may be helpful in improving the memory
span of children with intellectual impairment. Breathing exercises, Pranayama,
Sithilikaranavyayama,Suryanamaskar, Yogasanas& Meditation improve the IQ
and social adaptation of mental retarded children.(Uma et al,1989).The findings of
Manjunath &Telles(2004) study indicate that Yogasanas &Yoga breathing increase
the delayed recall of spatial information. Yoga training also increase the grip
strength, dexterity, confidence, self-efficiency, mental health, creativity,
concentration, memory & intellectual abilities. Yogasana reduce neurotic tendency,
general anxiety, and physiological anxiety & sleep disturbance. (Venkatesh,
2005).Crowley (2002) found that if brief yoga programme organize that reduce the
immediate anxiety level. Yoga improves the quality of life and self-esteem.
(Deshpande, 2008).We can say that these programmes are needed to help the
students to deal effectively with the normal developmental task of adolescence and
face life situations boldly.
Significance of Student Welfare Programme- School is considered as social institutions as well as social system. School is
interacting unit which involve interaction among their members i.e. teacher,
students, principals and staff. As described in the words of Bareback “The human
interaction within a school may be described as a social system.”
For all-round and harmonious development of students these interaction should be
tuned, healthy and balanced which can be incorporated in school system by
launching student’s welfare programme. This programme has various
significances:
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 150
1. To develop self –reliance among students means that student can realize
their capabilities and potential and utilized it up to maximum for their own
personality development.
2. This type of programme creating the sense of responsibility among the
students, who consistently efforts for their own development as well as
contribute to the development of others.
3. Student’s welfare programme help to develop school as a place where
students get maximum exposure for pleasant learning environment where
they can learn and grow with confidence.
4. Launching such programme in school creating a safe and happy climate for
students, staff and parents. It strongly encourages community participation
and derives great benefit from the positive interaction of all stakeholders in
the school.
5. As already mentioned that programme developed a safe and caring
emotional climate of school which can fulfill the personal, social and
nurtured their learning in all three dimensions of cognitive, affective and
conative views.
6. The programme has wide scope that incorporates preventive health and
social skill programs and also stresses the value of collaborative early
intervention when problems are identified.
7. It provides ongoing educational services to support students.
8. Promotes harmony in schools and socio-emotional climate if differences are
encountered due to cultural diversity within the school community.
9. Helpful in developing role of schools as are source to link families with
community support services.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 151
Conclusion- Student welfare programme is definitely a good step towards student’s well-being.
Its fruitfulness depends upon its implementation. If student welfare programme is
implemented properly, we can develop all the three dimension of education i.e.
cognitive, conative and affective simultaneously in students and we can achieve
the goal of education in a proper manner. Students will participate in decision
about their own learning as well as pursue a programme of learning for their needs
and aspirations. Students will also develop an understanding of themselves as well
as skill for positive socially responsible participation. Through this programme
student will develop competencies which will enhance the quality of their
relationship with others. They will feel valued as learner. Programme guaranteed
the cooperation by everyone therefore ensure success for all students. Provide
opportunities for inclusion of all type of students and excellence for all. This
programme will be helpful in developing positive attitude and prevention of
learning errors among the students. School community can create the environment
for success by designing teaching and learning programs in such a manner that can
promote fun and enjoyment. Under these programs student can learn best when
they secure experience recognition, achieve success and derive enjoyment from
their learning, where the talent of all students get ample opportunity to develop.
We can conclude that Student welfare programme have so many benefits for
students. It can help all-round development of the students. It will be helpful to
achieve the ultimate goal of education i.e.; well-being of students in all aspect of
life.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 152
References- Bhattacharya and Shukla. (1991). Project Nation, Health Education and
environmental Sanitation: An Impact Study. In M. B. Butch (Ed.) fifth
survey of Educational Research, Vol. II, New Delhi: NCERT, pp1305.
Crowley, A. (2002). The psychological and physiological effects of yoga on
children (M.A. Thesis, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia).
Deshpande, S. (2008). Influence of yoga on quality of life: A control study
(PhD thesis, Swami Vivekananda Yoga AnusandhanaSamsthana, India).
Gori K. (1991). Impact of nutrition education imparted through the mass
literacy programme. In M. B. Butch (Ed.) Fifth Survey of Educational
Research, Vol.II, New Delhi: NCERT, pp1313.
Jessie Helen Haag. (1968). School Health Programme. Calcutta: Oxford and
IBH Publishing Co. 17, Park Street,
Manjunath, N. K. &Telles, S. (2004). Spatial and verbal memory test scores
following yoga and fine arts camps for school children. Indian Journal of
Physiology and Pharmocology, 48 (3), 353-356
Mc Donald (2001). The prevalence and effect of test anxiety on children in
compulsory education. Psychological Abstract, 88 (5), 2032.
Panachakkel, thomaskutty (19991). Health education and community
development. In M.B. Butch (Ed.) Fifth Survey of Educational Research,
Vol.II, New Delhi: NCERT, pp1320.
Peterlini et al (2002). Anxiety and depression in the 1st year medical
students. Psychological Abstract, 89, (2).
Rana, K & Das, S (2004); Health and Physical Education a position paper.
NationalCurriculumFramework (2005), NCERT, New Delhi.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 153
School Health Programme (Nov.26- Dec. 01 1978) New Delhi: central
health education bureau, Directorate general of health services,
Singh B. (2004). Student’s Anxiety and family background: A study of
relationship. Gyan: The Journal of Education, PresstechLitho Pvt. Ltd. 2-A,
UdayVihar, Greater Noida.
Singh B. (2004). Student’s Anxiety and family background: A study of
relationship. Gyan : The Journal of Education, PresstechLitho Pvt. Ltd. 2-
A,Uday Vihar, Greater Noida.
Uma, K., Nagendra, H. R., Nagarathna, R., Vaidehi, S. &Seethalakshmi, R.
(1989). The integrated approach of yoga: A therapeutic tool for mentally
retarded children: A one year controlled study. Journal of Intellectual
Disability Research, 33 (5), 415-421.
Upadhayay S. and Sharma Rashmi(2007). Anxiety as a personality
dimension of tribal and non-tribal: A comparative study. Indian Journal of
Social Science Researches vol. 2 no. 1. ManovaigyanikParikshanSansthan,
Choukaghat, Varanasi.
Venkatesh, M. (2005). The effect of yoga on the personality development of
students (Ph.D. thesis, Swami Vivekananda Yoga AnusandhanaSamsthana,
India).
Verghese, Mary (1991). A study of the health status of primary schools pupil
and it’s in influence on achievement for forming a SHP. In M.B. Butch
(Ed.), fifth survey of Educational Research, Vol.II, New Delhi: NCERT,
pp1331.
Vimal (1991). “Actor in SHP”. Unpublished Thesis of VandanaDwevedi
(1993). “Effect of Health education on knowledge, opinion and practices
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 154
regarding Immunization amongst rural and urban slum women in Varanasi
district.” Faculty of Education, BHU Varanasi.
Rana, k &s. Das (2004) ‘Primary Education in Jharkhand’ Economic and
Political Weekly, Vol. XXXI(11), 1171-1178
World Bank : (2004) Snakes and Ladders – Factors Influencing Successful
Primary School Completion for Children in Poverty Contexts: A Qualitative
Study, South Asian Human Development Sector, South Asia Region
******************************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 155
Paper-10 Professional Commitment among Teacher
Educators: Influence of Gender and Qualification Shipra Singh
Sonal Chabra
Vanita Chopra
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 156
Professional Commitment among Teacher Educators:
Influence of Gender and Qualification Shipra Singh15
Sonal Chabra16
Vanita Chopra17
Abstract Education is the most powerful instrument whose effective use requires the
strength of will, dedicated work and sacrifice.Teacher commitment has been
identified as one of the most crucial factor for the success of the education and
schools. A competent and committed teacher is in demand for today’s
revolutionary era. Competent teachers are required in every educational
institution so as to increase the effectiveness of the institution, it is necessary to
know about professional commitment and how it is influenced by other variables.
In the present study an attempt was made by the researcher to study professional
commitment among B.Ed teacher educators, the ‘teachers of the teachers’.
Professional commitment scale was used on a randomly selected sample of 80
teacher educators. The results revealed that teacher educators had high
professional commitment, which is a welcome sign.
Introduction- The 21st century is said to be the century of enlightenment. It is an established fact
that no nation can develop without education. The progress of a country depends
upon the quality of its teachers and for this reason, teaching is the noblest among
all professions and the teachers are aptly called the nation builders. The Secondary
15 Assistant Professor, Research Scholar, Lucknow Univeristy 16 Assistant Professor, RawalCollege of Education, Faridabad 17 Assistant Professor, Gargi College, Delhi
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 157
Education Commission (1953) observed that ‘we are however, convinced that most
important factor in the contemplated educational reconstruction is the teacher – his
quality, his educational qualifications, his professional training and the place he
occupies in the school as well as in the community. The reputation of a school and
its influence on the life of the community invariably depend on the kind of teachers
working in it’. Accomplishment of the goals of education and the objectives of
teaching is possible when teachers are professionally committed and experience
satisfaction in their profession. These two variables are conceptually independent
and practically interactive. B. R. Rao (1986) rightly pointed out that ‘the quality or
effectiveness of a teacher is considered to be associated with his attitudes towards
his profession, his satisfaction with his values and adjustment in the job and
professional interest.’ Similarly Dr. D. S. Kothari (1964-66) advocates ‘of all the
different factors, which influence the quality of education and its contribution to
national development, the quality, competency character and job satisfaction of
teachers are undoubtedly the most significant’.
A teacher can perform his or her multifarious tasks and responsibilities only if he
or she is updated professionally and personally. Gone are the times when teaching
was considered an art. Now with research in the concerned area and the changing
demands teaching is taken as a skill, for which individuals can be trained. To train
the teachers and to keep them updated is the purview of teacher education. So, like
various other professions, teacher education has assumed special significance.
Teacher educators facilitate the training and development of teachers. Teacher
educators offer learning opportunities to teachers through a variety of means and in
a range of contexts. Teacher educators are responsible to provide the totality of
experiences which contribute to the preparation of a person for a teaching
profession, and to help to qualify a person to assume the responsibilities as a
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 158
member of the educational profession. Teacher educators can be involved in the
preparation, management, delivery and evaluation of a range of training and
developmental tasks. Teacher educators as a specialised professional group within
education create their own specific identity and have their own specific
professional development needs. It is of vital importance that teacher educators
internalise the changing role expectations with the changing times and make
themselves ready for the future changes. It is the role of teacher educators to
prepare future teachers to be life- long learners and educational workers to create a
learning society. Now-a-days ‘teachers’ and ‘teacher educators’ alike are facing
many problems in their profession. The educational planners consider ‘professional
commitment’ of the teaching community as the most important aspect. Thus, from
the above observations it is clear that the significance of teacher ‘professional
commitment’ should be considered as primary object to achieve the academic
objectives. Nowadays, there is a general feeling that the teachers are not
professionally committed to their job, neither are the teacher educators. Teacher
commitment has been identified as one of the most critical factors for the future
success of education and schools (Huberman, 1993). Teacher commitment is
closely connected to teachers’ work performance and their ability to innovate and
to integrate new ideas into their own practice, absenteeism, staff turnover, as well
as having an important influence on students’ achievement in, and attitudes toward
school.
Professional commitment represents behavioural predictors of work achievements,
absenteeism, fluctuation, but also of the professional satisfaction. The concept of
professional commitment signifies an attitude reflecting the strength of the bound
between an employee and an organisation. The quality of teaching depends a great
deal on the level of teachers’ involvement in relation to the profession exerted, to
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 159
the organisation one is part of and the professional satisfaction that one feels.
Professional commitment on the part of teacher-educators essentially consists not
only in doing their best for introducing teacher-trainees to the competencies that
they would need as teachers in school, but also practically inspiring them to
inculcate values of the teaching profession.
Purpose of the Study- According to National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (2010) India
is having a large system of teacher education with more than 12,500 elementary
teacher education institutions, colleges of teacher education and departments of
education wherein more than 1,20,500 teacher educators are engaged in the
preparation of school teachers. NCERT organises various professional
development programmes for teacher educators in areas like student teaching,
micro-teaching, research and evaluation activities, upgradation of teacher
education curricula and so on. The UGC also implements various teacher
education programmes and offers financial support for conducting seminars,
workshops and research projects for teacher educators. Despite all these efforts,
there has not been any substantial improvement in this field. While there is clear
and categorical recognition of the vital role that the teacher educators have to play
in preparing school teachers in terms of professional competencies and
commitments on their part, surprisingly, in the total enterprise of teachers, the most
neglected group is the teacher educators themselves. In fact, there is little
information about who these people are, what are their motivations to enter the
field, their perceptions of the area of their work, their social origins and their world
view. Thus with an acknowledgement of the overlooking of the research on teacher
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 160
educators, an effort was made in this research to study the professional
commitment among the teacher educators. The objectives of the study thus are -
1. To study professional commitment among teacher educators.
2. To ascertain gender-wise difference in professional commitment of teacher
educators.
3. To find out difference in professional commitment of NET qualified and
non-NET qualified teacher educators.
Research Design- The present study is a Descriptive Research as information is gathered from a
sample of teacher educators drawn from a cross section of pre-determined
population of teacher educators of teacher training institutes at one point of time.
Sample and Sampling Technique- The sample for the present study was eighty teacher educators selected from
different colleges of Education located in Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar
Pradesh.Colleges were located by convenience sampling and teacher educators
within the college were selected through random sampling.
Tool used- Scale for Professional Commitment of Teacher Educators by Vishal Sood was used
for the present study. The scale is devised in both Hindi and English language.This
scale comprises of 70 statements. Each statement has to be rated on any one of the
five given responses i.e. Always, Frequently, Sometimes, Rarely and Never. It
measures five important dimensions (i) commitment to the learner, (ii)
commitment to the society, (iii) commitment to the profession, (iv) commitment to
achieve excellence for professional actions and (v) commitment to basic values.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 161
Analysis of Data- The data was analysed through descriptive as well as inferential statistics. The
normality of data (professional commitment scores) was assessed by calculating
the values of mean, S. D. In order to study the significant differences in
professional commitment of teacher educators with regard to gender and
educational qualifications, t-test was employed.
Findings of the Study- The results from the study were encouraging in terms of observed professional
commitment among teacher educators. The main findings from the analysis of the
data have been encapsulated in the following points:
1. The analysis of data revealed that the mean value of professional commitment
scores of B.Ed teacher educators was 286.18. This indicates that the professional
commitment of B.Ed teacher educators was of high level. This finding is not
completely in agreement with Sood and Anand (2010) who reported that the
professional commitment of B.Ed. teacher educators in Himachal Pradesh was
of moderate level. Further, the analysis revealed the following about the teacher
educators. ,S.No. Level of Professional
Commitment
Number Percentage
(%)
1 Highly Committed 52 65
2 Moderately Committed 14 17.5
3 Least Committed 14 17.5
Table -1: Level of Professional Commitment among teacher educators
2. Percentage of professional commitment of highly committed male and female
teacher educators showed a slight variation of 10% whereas moderately
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 162
committed and least committed male and female teacher educators showed very
little difference of 5% as shown in Fig 1.
Fig 1- Professional commitment among teacher educators.
4. The ‘t’ value obtained 0.7843 is not significant at either 0.05 or 0.01 level of
significance thereby, accepting the null hypothesis that there exists no
significant difference in professional commitment of male and female teacher
educators. Hence, it was inferred that female teacher educators and male teacher
educators tend to be equally professionally committed. This finding is in
disagreement with Srivastava (1986) who reported that female teachers are
significantly more professionally honest as compared to male teachers. There is
also disagreement between the present finding and results reported by Sengupta
(1990) who indicated that a large proportion of male teachers had higher
professional involvement in comparison to women teachers.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 163
S.No. Gender Mean Standard Deviation t-value
1 Male 285.03 39.82
0.7843 2 Female 287.25 32.21
Table 2 – Gender wise difference in professional commitment among teacher educators
4. The percentage of professional commitment of highly and moderately
committed NET qualified and non-NET qualified teacher educators showed a
slight variation of 5% whereas least committed NET qualified and non-NET
qualified teacher educators showed no difference in their commitment towards
their profession. S.No. Level of Professional
Commitment
Net
Qualified
Non-Net
Qualified
No. % No. %
1 Highly Committed 25 62.5 27 67.5
2 Moderately Committed 8 20 6 15
3 Least Committed 7 17.5 7 17.5
4 Total 40 100 40 100
Table 2- Professional commitment among NET and Non-NET qualified teacher educators
5. While studying the difference inProfessional commitments of NET qualified
and non-NET qualified teacher educators analysis of data reveals that the mean
difference in professional commitment scores of NET qualified teacher
educators 287.9 and non-NET qualified teacher educators 283.875 was not
found to be significant as the computed‘t’ value 0.6461 fall short of the table
value at 0.05 level of significance. Therefore, the hypothesis that there exists
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 164
no significant difference in the professional commitment of NET qualified and
non-NET qualified teacher educators, stands accepted. It may be averred that
the level of professional commitment of NET qualified and non-NET qualified
teacher educators was more or less the same. This finding is in agreement with
Sood and Anand (2010) who reported that the professional commitment of
NET qualified and non-NET qualified teacher educators in Himachal Pradesh
was same and there exists no significant difference between NET qualified and
non-NET qualified teacher educators with respect to their professional
commitment.
Implications of the Study - Common sense confirms that teacher education is not immune to the problem of
teachers’ low level of job satisfaction and professional commitment which could
result into unfavorable economic and non economic outcomes such as high exit
turnover, reduced teaching effectiveness and intellectual development of the
students. So policy makers and academic administrators should take necessary
measures for the optimal provision of intrinsic and extrinsic job rewards to make
their core workforce highly satisfied and committed to reap the benefits of
improved motivation and performance. Some of these are suggested below –
1. There is a need to enhance the professional commitment level of B. Ed.
teacher educators so that they can give their optimum to the teacher trainees.
The teacher educators should be provided healthy academic environment in
the training colleges so that they feel satisfied and comfortable. The teacher
training institutions should give the teacher educators opportunity to attend
orientation programmes, refresher courses, workshops etc. organized by
various agencies.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 165
2. The role of teacher educators is of prime importance for effective
implementation of teacher education curriculum, they need to be given
suitable in-service and orientation education. Teacher educators as a
specialised professional group within education create their own specific
identity and their own specific professional development needs.
3. There is a dire need that regulatory bodies in the field of teacher education
like NCTE and affiliating universities should strictly initiate steps to enforce
rules and regulations especially which are related to welfare of teacher
educators. Healthy academic environment, more salaries and other facilities
might enhance commitment and satisfaction among teachers. This initiation
will be a great boon and boost for enhancing the professional commitment
among teacher educators.
Overview- The relevance of professional commitment is very crucial to the long-term growth
of any educational system around the world. It probably ranks alongside
motivation, professional knowledge and skills, centre competencies, educational
resources and strategies as the veritable determinants of educational success and
performance. Professional knowledge, skills and centre competencies occur when
one feels effective in one’s behaviour.
The study findings present valuable understanding for policy makers regarding
how to make faculty committed to organization to enhance their teaching and
learning effectiveness, improved professional practices, and reduced turnover.
Academic administrators could make their core workforce highly satisfied and
committed by optimal provision of intrinsic and extrinsic job rewards. This
research has clearly raised further questions for research: What factors transform
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 166
some teachers’ perceptions from committed to non committed or satisfaction to
dissatisfaction over time, especially in the context of developing countries? Why
do some teacher educators are more committed to their profession while others, in
very similar conditions, do not? How might teachers be encouraged to develop
more satisfaction in their job and deal with the existing dissatisfaction? How might
policy makers be persuaded to provide more autonomy for teacher educators and
their organisations?
References-
Huberman, M.A. (1993) The Lives of Teachers. New York: Teachers
College Press.
Kothari, D.S. (1964-66)Education Commission Report, New Delhi
National Curriculum Frameworkfor Teacher Education(2010)Towards
Preparing Professional and Humane Teacher, National Council for
Teacher Education, New Delhi
Rao, B.R. (1986), A Study of inter-relationship of Values, Adjustment and
Teaching Attitude of Pupils-Teachers at Various levels of Socio Economic
Status, Ph.D.(Edu.), Avadh Univ.
Secondary Education Commission (1953)Secondary Education
Commission report, New Delhi
Sengupta, P.(1990) Professionalisation of teachers: A case study of men and
women teachers of Calcutta University. Ph.D., Edu. Jawaharlal Nehru
Univ.
Sood and Anand (2010) Professional commitment among B. Ed. Teacher
educators of Himachal Pradesh, E-journal of All India Association for
Educational Research (EJAIAER) 22, 1.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 167
Srivastava, S. (1986), ‘‘A Study of Job Satisfaction and Professional
Honesty of Primary School Teachers,’’ Buch, M.B., (1991) Ed., Fourth
Survey of Research in Education, Vol. 2 , NCERT, New Delhi, P 996 **********************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 168
Paper-11
Vedantic Perspective for Positive
Psychology & Global Goodness Dr. Asheesh Srivastava
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 169
Vedantic Perspective for Positive Psychology & Global
Goodness Dr. Asheesh Srivastava18
Abstract This article is intended to exasperate the creative role of Positive Psychology for
the goodness of humankind in this nuclear age through its integration with the
Vedantic traditions of Indian thought. I believe an integration of some thought
currents of the East & West is now indispensable for human goodness calling for
the inner unification of humankind which is not possible in the absence of this
integration. One of the key concept of Positive Psychology is spirituality which
leads into a meaningful life and goodness. Spirituality acts at the fundamental level
of human nature in a paradoxical manner and once we understand it the possibility
of visualizing the meaning of virtues, character strength, happiness; goodness
become quite clear. Moreover the idea of inner unification of humankind tends to
appear as a reality and ceases to be a utopia. I will therefore attempt to
substantiate these statements in this article.
Introduction- Peace, happiness, progress and goodness have been the aims of human being since
time immemorial. Everyone has a different interpretation of, and approach to, these
aforesaid concepts. Mind, profoundly influenced by sense, is the only available
instrument to explore the world within us. But, before one can use his mind, it is
necessary to learn to control it, as undisciplined mind is useless to achieve
18 Associate Professor, Department of Education, Vinaya Bhavana, Visva-Bharati: A Central University & An Institution of National Importance, Santiniketan. Email: [email protected]
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 170
anything meaningful. Katha Upnishad has compared the senses with the horses
yoked to a chariot and mind to a bridle-
atmanam rathinam viddhi shariram rathameva tu
buddhim to sarathim viddhi manah pragrahameva cha.
indriyani hayanahur vishyamsteshu gocharan
atmendriamanoyuktam bhoktetyahurmanishinah.
Spirituality is a dedication of mind, will and feelings of an individual to the inquiry
of the Absolute Reality. It is unanimous belief of the thinkers of East and West that
spirituality is an answer to all societal afflictions. Spirituality is keynote of the
Vedantic traditions of India and it is explained in terms of the working of human
nature at its fundamental level. We are told in the sixteenth canto of the Gita that
there two opposing tendencies expressed in human conduct which originate from
the same source i.e. human nature embodying human spirit. One of them is
described as the Devic or the Divine and the other is designated as Ashuric or the
Demonic. The human spirit working as Divine is expressed through virtues exactly
described in the following words- A man who is born with tendencies toward the
divine is fearless and pure in heart. He perseveres in that path to union with
Brahman which the scriptures and his teacher have taught him. He is charitable. He
can control his passions. He studies the scriptures regularly and obeys their
directions. He practices spiritual disciplines. He is straightforward, truthful and of
an even temper. He harms no one. He renounces the things of this world. Ha has
tranquil mind and an unmalicious tongue. He is compassionate toward all. He is
not greedy. He is gentle and modest. He abstains from useless activity. Ha has faith
in the strength of his higher nature. He can forgive and endure. He is clean in
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 171
thought and act. He is free from hatred and from pride. Such qualities are his
birthright.
Now when the human spirit turns to the evil it acts with the full force of its
demonic character which is clearly spelled out in the Gita. Hence we find “When a
man is born with demonic tendencies, his birthright is hypocrisy, arrogance,
conceit, anger, cruelty and ignorance”. Men of demonic nature know neither what
they ought to do, nor what they should refrain from doing. There is no truth in
them or purity or right conduct. They maintain that the scriptures are a lie and that
the universe is not based upon a moral law but godless, conceived in lust and
created by copulation without any other cause. Because they believe this in the
darkness of their little minds, these degraded creatures do horrible deeds
attempting to destroy the world. They are enemies of mankind.
Their lust can never be appeased. They are arrogant and vain and drunk with pride.
They run blindly after what is evil. The ends they work for are unclean. They are
sure that life has only one purpose: gratification of the senses. And so they are
plagues by innumerable cases, from which death alone can release them. Anxiety
binds then with a hundred chains delivering them over to lust and wrath. They are
ceaselessly busy, pilling up dishonest gains to satisfy their cravings. ‘I wanted this
and today I got it. I want that: I will get it tomorrow. All these riches are now
mine: soon I will have more. I have killed this enemy. I will kill all the rest. I am a
ruler of men. I enjoy the things of the world. I am successful, strong and happy.
Who is my equal? I am so wealthy and so nobly born. I will sacrifice to the gods. I
will give alms. I will make merry.’ That is what they say to themselves, in the
blindness of their ignorance. They are addicts of sensual pleasures made restless by
their many desires and caught in the net of delusion. They fall into the filthy hell of
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 172
their own evil minds. Conceited, haughty, foolishly proud and intoxicated by their
wealth, they offer sacrifice to God in name only for outward show without
following the sacred rituals. These malignant creatures are full of egoism, vanity,
lust, wrath and consciousness of power. They loathe me and deny my presence
both in themselves and in other. They are enemies of all men and myself; cruel
despicable and vile.
Human spirit can therefore act both as creative as well as a destructive force.
Consequently, spiritually expresses a paradoxical character. It may however be
mentioned here that the great Professor P. A. Sorokin had made a timely
observation tat with the rise of the sensate culture replacing sanity with cynicism
“The very Boundry line between the true and the false, between right and wrong,
disappears and society finds itself in a state of veritable mental, moral and cultural
anarchy. No society can long exist under these conditions. Either it perishes or it
substitutes another system of truth- one sounder and more adequate to its needs”
(p. 81).
Accepting these two aspects of the working of human spirit I therefore consider
spirituality as the super power which the creator has given us. Embedded in human
potential, this super power carries a “sounder and more adequate truth” which is
needed today and which can be revealed with the integration of Positive
Psychology with the Vedantic traditions of Indian thought as a first decisive step
toward bringing together positive and healthy thought-currents of the East and
West. The divine can be unleashed under the act of human will reinforced by the
faith that our self can transcend those limitations which originate from our
biological nature. This is well borne out through the writings of Maslow, Frankl,
Krippner and many more notable thinkers of the west.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 173
The Indian Psychology brings to us a heuristically powerful Vedantic concept of
Spiritual Synergy telling us that “spiritual synergy is a power carrying a sort of
buoyancy that enables the self to hold ‘within itself’ and become increasingly
objective toward events, things and happenings. This tendency to stand aloof on
the part of the self is a unique hidden power of our being that comes into operation
through Adhiyatama acting of Adhidiva. Drawing insight from the Kena Upanishad
it explains further, “Adhiyatama is not an abstract concept…. It refers to a certain
level of man’s relation with his own self where its paradoxical nature leads into a
greater freedom in term of Adhiyatama. The paradoxical nature of self carries
tendencies of egotism, pride, envy, jealousy, hatred, greed and anger on the one
hand and kindliness, love, compassion and humility on the other and the self
moves toward greater freedom or a larger self through empathy and transcendence
over its sense of duality without destroying it. As we understand from the Vedanta,
empathy and the aforesaid transcendence prepare the ground for the development
of spiritual synergy. It is therefore quite evident from the foregoing exasperation
that the Vedantic version in theory and application must be integrated with Positive
Psychology for the goodness an envisaged by Vedantic perspective.
The burden of this exasperation takes us to the idea that in fact, thought-currents of
the East and West must be integrated for the goodness of a global society if at all it
comes into existence in the near future. This integration under the existing
circumstances is quite exigent; the alternative is a clash of civilizations. However,
the integration of the cultures of the East and West, as it was first attempted by the
great Professor F.S.C. Northrop, must now be carried further. It calls for the
discovery of a unifying principle whose resiliency would bring together those
thought-currents of the East and West that are heading for a unified vision of
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 174
reality where matter and spirit do not stand apart. In other words it calls for a
paradigm shift from the philosophical outgrowths of Classical Physics to the
Philosophy of the Contemporary Physics because the philosophical extrapolations
resting upon. The classical Physics have largely generated divisive philosophies.
This paradigm shift allows us to accept a unifying principle. This principle
partakes the idea of unitive consciousness as identical to spirituality bringing
Vedantic perspective and Positive Psychology together for taking us into the idea
of transcendence which seems indispensable to the goodness of a global society.
Here transcendence means transcending our secondary identities represented by
religion, race, nation, culture and harmonizing them with our supreme identity as
the human being in wholeness which this civilization has failed to achieve leaving
us victims of those deadly conflicts that are now threatening our very existence on
this planet. This state of affairs will continue so long as human ego is not liberated
from its violent involvement is aggressive ideas of religion and other secondary
identities.
The principle of existential unity gives us scientific meaning of the indivisibility of
existence telling us that existence is a qudri-dimensional reality which is unified
because we cannot separate those four relational patterns that tend to exhaust its
meaning. They include our relationship with our own self, with the other self, with
the physical world and with a transcendental order of causality existing is a
paradoxical relationship with the visible determinate order of causality. Western
civilization destroyed this unified order separating matter and spirit at the outset
under the impact of divisive philosophies originating through empiricism deemed
to be the final word given by classical physics. Setting aside the ontology and the
theory of knowledge resting upon empiricism the principle of existential unity thus
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 175
makes a paradigm shift on the basis of insights drawn from the contemporary
physics.
Once we accept the idea of the wholeness of the human being our ego assumes a
different direction leading toward the inner unification of human kind which alone
now ensures its further existence on earth in this nuclear age. This inner unification
now seems absolutely essential for sustaining any external order for the creation of
global society, such the creation of a world parliament or and enforceable
international order of justice. No global society can evolve in the absence of inner
unification and this inner unification rests upon the intellectual religion of
Humanity as advanced by Sri Aurobindo. It may be said that that a meaningful life
bringing happiness and goodness is not now possible without this transcendent
religion carrying the real spirit of all religions. This point of view seems to draw
support from Positive Psychology and Vedantic orientation, more accurately from
their integrated version. I therefore believe the principle of existential unity has the
resiliency for incorporating the meaning of spirituality in its creative aspects which
is inalienable to Positive Psychology. If we can accept these ideas and the
integrated version of Positive Psychology and Vedantic orientation we tend to
move toward scientific Mysticism or Mysticism explained by the renowned
German thinker Ernst Cassirer who writes, “Mysticism reveals to us, or rather
would reveal to us, if we actually willed it, a marvelous prospect, but do not and in
most cases we could not, will it; we should collapse under the strain. Therefore we
remain with a mixed religion” (p.134). This ‘marvelous prospect’ opens up before
us the principle of existential unity which goes to address a very enigmatic
problem of nuclear age whose solution is not possible without taking it to the
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 176
fundamental level or in other words settling it at the fundamental level of human
nature under creative spirituality.
This problem is explained by John Adams who write, “Throughout the twentieth
century, there has been an underlying tension between two logically incompatible
sets of ideas; the sovereignty of states on the one hand and the creation of a
supranational order through international law and organization on the other.
Sovereignty implies the right of each state to have its own rules and institutions.
International law and organization, especially when covering the vast range of
matters which they now encompass, imply a serious limitation of sovereignty. The
experience of the twentieth century is that neither approach can triumph over its
opponent. If some kind of ordered and law-based international society has
emerged, it has done so on a curious basis: it is founded on two logically
incompatible sets of ideas, each of which needs the other in order to remedy its
own inherent limitations (pp. 317-318).”
I hold to the view that this problem cannot be solved by any external measure such
as the creation of a world parliament. In fact all problems are essentially aspects of
human affairs and they cannot be solved in any superficial manner taking only the
external measures. Under the principal of existential unity this problem calls for
sacrifice of sovereign rights of a State and absolute transparency of motives and
intentions accompanied by clean intentions and regard for a given word. And this
in turn calls for real character strength and taking righteousness as highest virtue.
Here the spirit of the principle of existential unity merges with spirit of Positive
Psychology. They stand integrated for the goodness of humankind. They both take
inner unification of humankind as a prerequisite to the creation of one world which
can only be warless because the one world with the idea of war is a contradiction.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 177
A global society can exist only in a warless world and with a lasting peace as a
source of universal human happiness. However, the idea of universal happiness
replacing the existing universal anxiety, distress, tensions and unhappiness has its
ultimate source in the invincible power of love inalienable to the idea of human
brotherhood superseding all ideas of communal brotherhood. The integrated
version of Positive Psychology and Vedantic traditions brings to us a lively picture
of this state of human society. Centuries of human experience tell us that human
goodness as envisaged by the recently developing Positive Psychology has always
gone with love unfolding the deepest meaning of life. Today we need it
immediately for averting a global disaster.
Now since the integrated version of Positive Psychology with the Vedantic
tradition of Indian thought stands consistent with the Principle of Existential Unity
and since this principle tends to bring about a solution of the two most enigmatic
problems of the world of today i.e. the liberation of human ego from its violent
involvement in ideas representing our secondary identities and the creation of a
global society under an international order of justice, it may be appealed to the
distinguished scholars to take up this matter in all seriousness and give a call to
have deliberations through a dialogue among civilizations of the East and West
because their integration under a unifying principle is needed without delay.
References- Adams, C.F.(ed.); The Works of John Adam. Boston,1856.
Ernst Cassirer; The Problem of Knowledge: Philosophy, Science, and
History, Yale University Press, 1969.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014. Page 178
Goswami, S.D.; Readings in Vedic Literature. The Bhaktivedanta Book
Trust, Los Angeles, 1990.
Northrop, F.S.C.; The Meeting of East and West: An Inquiry Concerning
World Understanding, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1946.
Sorokin, P.A.; Society, Culture, and Personality: Their Structure and
Dynamics, A System of General Sociology, Harper & Brothers Publishers,
New York & London, 1947.
Swami Gambhirananda; Katha Upanishad. Advaita Ashram, Calcutta, India,
1987.
Swami Madhavananda; Minor Upanishads. Advaita Ashram, Calcutta,
India, 1992.
Swami Vijnanananda; Rama Gita. Advaita Ashram, Calcutta, India, 1990.
******************************************************************