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Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-3, August-2014.


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


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


Paper-1

Assessment and Understanding of Gender

Equity in Education in Jammu and

Kashmir

Showkeen Bilal Ahmad Gul


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


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


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


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


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.


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


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


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


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


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.


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


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


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,


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


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.


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,


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).


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


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


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.

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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

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Subrahmanian, Ramya (2002). Gender equality in education: Definitions and

measurements. International Journal of Educational Development 25 (2005)

395–40.

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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. **********************************************************


Paper-2 Status of School Improvement Planning (SIP) and

its Implementation in Government Secondary

Schools of Ethiopia

Dr. Sushanta Kumar Roul


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


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


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.


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).


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


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-


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


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


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-


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


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


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


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.


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


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


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.


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.


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


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


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.


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.

******************************************************************


Paper-3

Researching Pioneer Competency: An

Interdisciplinary Perspective Dr. Chhaya Goel

Dr. Devraj Goel


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


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


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


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


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


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.


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:


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


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?


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?


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?

******************************************************************


Paper-4

Quality Improvement Approaches in

Primary Education Beena Indrani


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


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).


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


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


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.


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


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


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.


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


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


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


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-

******************************************************************


Paper-5

Effect of Scientific Creativity on the

Personality of Adolescence Honey Premendra


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.


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


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."


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


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.


2. There is no relationship between ‘Flexibility’ factor of Scientific Creativity


3. There is no relationship between ‘Originality’ factor of Scientific Creativity


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


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


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***


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



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


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



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


15. Q3 0.408

16. Q4 0.214 (*/**/***significant at 0.001, 0.01 and 0.05 level significantly)


‘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.


Table-5

Relationship between ‘Inquisitiveness’ and various other factors of

Personality of secondary school students


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)


‘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


‘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


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.


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.


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. ******************************************************************


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


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


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.


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.


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


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


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


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 ) :


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


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


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


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 :


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


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


(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


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-


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:



Also, very low positive correlation (0.227) exists between IQ scores of boys and


that, hypothesis Ho2 is rejected.

Hypothesis Ho3:



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



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


(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


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


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


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


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 **********************************************************


Paper-7

Education and Women Empowerment in

India Sundeep kumar shrivas

Bindu Gautam Vivek Gupta


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




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 socioeconomic

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-


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


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 -


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.\


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 **********************************************************


Paper-8 Attitude of Undergraduate Students towards

ICT after Laptop Distribution Scheme of

UP Government

Dilip Kumar Singh

Akhilesh Shukla


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


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,


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


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


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%)


(Rejected)

Statement 5 78

(65%)

12

(10%)

30

(25%)


(Rejected)

Statement 6 78

(65%)

24

(20%)

18

(15%)


(Rejected)

Statement 7 48

(40%)

30

(25%)

42

(35%)


(Accepted)

Statement 8 12

(10%)

48

(40%)

60

(50%)


(Rejected)

Statement 9 30

(25%)

12

(10%)

78

(65%)


(Rejected)

Statement 10 84

(70%)

24

(20%)

12

(10%)


(Rejected)

Statement 11 84

(10%)

12

(10%)

24

(20%)


(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%)


(Rejected)

Statement 14 66

(55%)

18

(15%)

36

(30%)


(Rejected)


fo

Statement 15 60

(50%)

18

(15%)

42

(35%)


(Rejected)

Statement 16

72

(60%)

12

(10%)

36

(30%)


(Rejected)

Statement 17

24

(20%)

48

(40%)

48

(40%)


(Accepted)

Statement 18

30

(25%)

60

(50%)

30

(25%)


(Accepted)

Statement 19

66

(55%)

30

(25%)

24

(20%)


(Rejected)

Statement 20

66

(55%)

24

(20%)

30

(25%)


(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


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%


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



towards the statement that “Role of ICT is negligible in e- learning at


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%


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.



towards the statement that “Laptop distribution Scheme in UP saves the

time of students in leaning process”. It was found that 60% Undergraduate



towards the statement that “Immediate feedback can be provided to

students through ICT”. It was found that 55% Undergraduate Students



towards the statement that “Laptop distribution Scheme in UP is useful in

exchange of information”. It was found that 50% Undergraduate Students



towards the statement that “Students get benefit in literature collection

through Laptop distribution Scheme in UP”. It was found that 60%


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.



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,


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,


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


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)


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 **********************************************************


Paper-9

Student Welfare Programme: An

urgent need for stress free Life Dr. Sunita Singh


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


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:


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


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


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


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


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.


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:


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.


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.


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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

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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,

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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.

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health education bureau, Directorate general of health services,

Singh B. (2004). Student’s Anxiety and family background: A study of

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Singh B. (2004). Student’s Anxiety and family background: A study of

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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

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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).

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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


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district.” Faculty of Education, BHU Varanasi.

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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

******************************************************************


Paper-10 Professional Commitment among Teacher

Educators: Influence of Gender and Qualification Shipra Singh

Sonal Chabra

Vanita Chopra


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 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


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


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


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.


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


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.


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


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.


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


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.


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 **********************************************************


Paper-11

Vedantic Perspective for Positive

Psychology & Global Goodness Dr. Asheesh Srivastava


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]


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


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


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.


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


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


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


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.


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.


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.

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