JOURNAL OF INDIAN EDUCATION - National Council Of ...ncert.nic.in/html/pdf/Publication/Journal2008/JIE/JIE_february07/... · Seventh All India School Education Survey Sandeep Kumar

CONTENTSEditor’s Note 3

Entrepreneurship Oriented Teaching-learning Shipra Vaidya 5Processes under School Education ProgrammeA Need for Contextual Epistemology

The Will for Peace: Induction and Transaction Pratibha Upadhyay 15through Teacher Education

Metacognitive Orientation on Enhancing K. Chellamani 23Writing competence

Hermeneutics of Education, Teacher Education, Rajarshi Roy and 29and Development in Indian Social Fabric Anjana Paira

Reflections on NGOs’ Interventions and Shakuntla Nagpal 45Value Education

Early Childhood Care and Education Neelam Sood 54Reflections on an Innovative Programme

Teaching of Mathematics 62An Interview with Prof. R. Ramanujan

Quantified Visual Estimation of Select Attributes by A. Ramachary 68Secondary StudentsTypes and Methods of Estimation - An Overview

Seventh All India School Education Survey Sandeep Kumar Sharma 81A Statistical Profile on Selected Parameters of andSchool Education Virendra Pratap Singh

Book Reviews 93– Life at Mirambika: A Free Progress School Newton Singh– Father of Tunisia – Habib Bourguiba Ved Vyas

Volume XXXII Number 1 February 2007

JOURNAL OF

INDIANEDUCATION

Entrepreneurship Oriented Teaching-learning Processes... 5

Entrepreneurship OrientedTeaching-learning Processes Under School

Education ProgrammeA Need for Contextual Epistemology

SHIPRA VAIDYA*

Abstract

IntroductionConfronting us today are the challengesto education and curriculumdevelopment that need to be closelyscrutinised. Educationalists today are

concerned about understanding how thesubjects which children study in schoolrelate to the world of work. Since, everychild will one day enter the workforce,applying classroom knowledge to the

In today’s competitive, dynamic world it is more important than ever before thatstudents gain a basic understanding of the world of economics and business.New companies and new technologies are coming into existence not only in Indiabut also throughout the world at an unparalleled rate, creating exciting employmentopportunities for enterprising individuals willing to take risks and take advantageof these challenges. This requires an entrepreneurial spirit that looks upon challengeas an opportunity–not an obstacle; an attitude that seeks creative ways to meetchallenges–instead of trying to block them. The economic, business andentrepreneurial challenges of the future are great. By encouraging our students todevelop their skills in scholastic areas, we can prepare them to meet these changes.In a very real sense, we have no option but to do so. Our economy is not isolatedand cannot be ignored. Our curricula must conform to this reality. The paperpresents some epistemological reflections on entrepreneurship-oriented teaching-learning processes. It tries to show how integrated approach to entrepreneurshipcan contribute in a significant way to some of the epistemological and methodologicalproblems this domain currently faces. The paper describes a framework in whicheffective teaching-learning processes can be developed.

*Reader, DESSH, NCERT, New Delhi 110 016.

6 Journal of Indian Education February 2007

world of work is vital. Besides, the processof globalisation and correspondinginterdependence of all nations hasoffered rethinking about the selectionand delivery of instructional content andintegration of new sources of informationin order to develop competence withknowledge1. A reduction in the jobopportunities and radical transformationis taking place in employment due toaccelerated pace of scientific andtechnological progress particularly in thearea of communication and information.As a result, there has been uncertaintiesin the social life, increasing socialinequalities, feeling of insecurity thatsometimes provoke depression, declinein moral and ethical values and othertimes violence. One can find uncertaintyplaguing in all aspects of life. Rapidchanges are taking place in job profilesparticularly with regard to specific coreskills such as independent and creativethinking, problem-solving, self-awareness, coping with stress, decisionmaking, motivation for a challenging andachievable goal, etc. and these shouldbe generated among students. So, it ispertinent to ask what education can doin anticipation of such situations. Howcan we cope with these uncertainties inschool and particularly throughcurriculum changes and reforms?

The answer lies in integrating basiclife skills across the school curriculum.The process of education caters to thevaried and heterogeneous clientele. Theultimate objective of education is toprepare students to face the challengesof life. The Report of EducationCommission (1964-66)2 remarked thatthe primary purpose of education is toprovide with the widest opportunity todevelop learner’s potentialities to thefull. The real challenge for educators’ liesin identifying and planning courses ofapplied nature that may have adequateproductive potential or immediate anddirect utility in life (NCF-2005)3.

The Context of EntrepreneurshipOriented Teaching-learningProcesses

The importance of education andtraining for an entrepreneurial societyhas been underlined on severaloccasions4. In the present scenario, theneed is felt to encourage and promoteyoungsters’ entrepreneurial endeavoursand develop appropriate trainingschemes for school teachers. Traditionalclassrooms and work environments maynot be conducive to promote theinnovative and creative behaviour. Theclassroom instruction needs to be goaland achievement-oriented. This involves

1 Globalisation and the Future of Work in Debates on Issues of our Common Future, (ed.),Wilhmelm Krull, Germany, 2000.

2 Education and National Development, The Report of Education Commission, Ministry ofEducation, Government of India, 1964-66.

3 National Curriculum Framework for School Education, National Council of EducationalResearch and Training (NCERT), 2005.

4 Dr. Abdul Kalam, The President of India, emphasises on education integrated with anentrepreneurial spirit...prepare students right from school to get oriented towardsit...provide them with creativity, freedom and ability to generate wealth.


instruct a student on how to be creative.Though, an atmosphere may be createdin the classroom in which creativity andspirit of innovation may be fostered.

But it is surprising to note thatdespite the importance of this concept(entrepreneurship) to the national andeconomic growth, we hardly find anything substantial about it undersystemic schooling. One cannot beentrepreneurial or creative in a vacuum.

the use of a variety of teaching methodsand approaches that allow students tohave control over their learning activities(refer figure 1). Classroom activitiesshould be designed in such a manner tobuild self-confidence in students thatfocus on positive ways to handleobstacles and learn from failures. Somecharacteristics cannot be taught butmust be experienced within theclassroom setting. A teacher cannot

Work and Education (NCF–2005, Position Paper, National Focus Groupon Work and Education)

“Our education has got to be revolutionised. The brain must be educated through thehand. If I were a poet, I could write poetry on the possibilities of the five fingers. Whyshould you think that the mind is everything and the hand and feet nothing? Those whodo not train their hands, who go through the ordinary rut of education, lack “music” intheir life. All their faculties are not trained. Mere book knowledge does not interest thechild so as to hold his attention fully. The brain gets weary of mere words, and the child’smind begins to wander. The hand does the things it ought not to do, the eye sees thethings it ought not to see, the ear hears the things it ought not to hear, and they do notdo, see or hear, respectively what they ought to. They are not taught to make the rightchoice and so their education often proves their ruin. An education which does not teachus to discriminate between good and bad, to assimilate the one and eschew the other isa misnomer.”

... Mahatma Gandhi, Harijan, 1939. Page.1.

“Engagement with work will promote multi-dimensional attributes in the cognitive,affective and psycho-motor domains in a holistic manner i.e. by integrating ‘head, handand heart’. Such attributes are admittedly missing in the education system. In this sense,placing productive work at the centre of curriculum will act as a powerful corrective tothe ‘bookish’, information-oriented and generally unchallenging character of schooleducation and, in turn, help relate the latter to the life needs of the child. Pedagogicalexperience in using work is thus viewed as an effective and critical developmental tool atdifferent stages of childhood and adolescence.” (Page iii-iv)

“A set of work-related generic competencies (Basic, Interpersonal and Systemic) willbe pursued at all stages of education and also inform the redesigning of evaluationparameters as well as the assessment system, including the public examinations. Genericcompetencies will include, among others, critical thinking, transfer of learning, creativity,communication skills, aesthetics, work motivation, work ethic of collaborative functioningand entrepreneurship-cum-social accountability.” (Page iv)


Desired Modelenabling entrepreneurship

Dominant ModelTeacher-centric

Book learning

Teaching by“experts”

Individual learning

Rote learning aboutphenomenon

Focus on grades

“Failure is not anoption” mindset

Learning =discovering “truth”

Learning by doing

Student centredlearning

Interactive learning

Practice thephenomenon

“Failure is a learningopportunity” mindset

Learning = creatingopportunities

Focus on creatingsocial and economic

value

▲▲

▲▲

▲▲

▲

Fig. 1: Education Methodology: Shift from Passive to Active Learning

The environment (social, economicand culture) has an impact in shapingthe entrepreneurial processes and itsoutcome. Children are intentionalhuman beings. They act and interpretfrom different views and often have clear

intentions. Transacting the schoolsubjects from an entrepreneurialviewpoint would in turn create a positivefuture which will certainly be differentfrom today.


Transacting classroom knowledgefrom an entrepreneurial viewpointenumerates the following benefits:

● It helps develop the key qualitieslike regularity and self-control,industriousness, sense of duty,desire to serve, responsibility,enterprising, creative andgenerative thinking, and sensitivityto greater equality, fraternity,democratic attitude and sense ofobligation to environmentprotection.

● It encourages students to analysetheir strengths and weaknesses. Inthis way, students learn aboutthemselves and find ways to developand value behaviours that lead tosuccess.

● It helps students to exploreopportunities of change. It makesthem understand that changebrings opportunity for those whopossess an entrepreneurial attitude.

● It also encourages students to thinkabout the work anew and use theprocess of questioning to find bettermethods of task accomplishment.

● The responsibility and risk ofmaking decisions are part of

learning experiences. It motivatesstudents to identify problems andfind alternative ways of solution.

Epistemological Reflections

Attributes of Entrepreneurial Learning

As a vehicle for enhancing capacities oflearners to think entrepreneurially, thefollowing attributes may prove useful:

Awareness of the need for lifelong learning

The learner

(a) develops an increasing awarenessof the modern world, the rapidity ofchanges occurring in all walks oflife, the phenomenon of expansionand obsolescence of knowledge andof changes in life roles as well asphysiological conditions at differentstages of life.

(b) realises that school education is notthe end of education, but a firstsystematic step towards lifelonglearning.

(c) develops an understanding ofpersonal responsibility for progressin life by acquiring new knowledge,skills and attitudes from time totime.

Intended Learning Outcomes

1. Achievement: solving problems, setting goals, evaluation, decisions, managing timeand money.

2. Individuals: understanding diversity, communication skills, negotiation, and motivation.

3. Groups: team building, facilitating, leading, resolving conflicts.

4. Creativity: visualisation, positive thinking, building self-esteem, relaxing.

5. Experience: finding alternatives, exhibit positive, optimistic, future-oriented, actionfocused attitudes, demonstrate willingness to break with routine stereotypes andtradition, practice willingness to learn anew and continue to learn as required.


(d) realises the importance ofcontinuing learning during later lifefor personal growth and that ofsociety.

Enhancement of Educability

The learner

(a) develops competence to profit fromdifferent learning strategies, suchas learning under the guidance ofa teacher, learning without ateacher, inter-learning in smallgroups, independent and individuallearning and develops flexibility inadapting alternative learningstrategies.

(b) develops basic learning skills suchas purposeful reading, keenobservation, and listeningcomprehension, verbal and non-verbal communication.

(c) develops basic intellectual skillssuch as reasoning, critical thin-king, interpretation, applicationand methods of inquiry.

(d) is able to use a variety of learningmedia, materials and aids such astextbooks, workbooks, generalreading books, newspapers, radio,TV, programmed lessons, etc., withease and discrimination.

(e) develops skill in identifying one’slearning needs and becomescompetent in planning, conducting,and evaluating study.

Exposure to Broad Areas of Learning

The learner(a) is exposed to a number of areas of

knowledge and skills that mayprovide a broad basis and widechoice for pursuit of furtherlearning.

(b) acquires familiarity with the natureand structure of different disciplinesof knowledge instead of theircontents only.

(c) develops mastery over elements ofindividual subjects of studyincluding basic terms andvocabulary of a given subject.

(d) acquires skill in adopting the toolsof learning and specific methods ofinquiry in different subjects.

(e) begins to identify interest indifferent aspects of knowledge andactivities in relation to general andprofessional life.

(f) makes a personal commitment toprogress in physical, intellectual,social, cultural and professionalaspects of life and equipsadequately with the coping skillsand creative abilities required forfuture growth.

Integration of School and Out of SchoolExperiences

The learner

(a) perceives learning in the school andoutside the school as inter -connected and mutually reinforcing.

(b) helps to gain from the educationalopportunities available in school,home and community and viceversa.

(c) develops understanding aboutoneself and one’s life roles in thecontext of the home, the communityand the world of work.

Entry into General EducationLearning Episodes

Consideration of methodologicalstrategies for entrepreneurship-oriented


education must reckon with how andwhere enterprise education enters intogeneral education.

● The relationship between practiceand knowledge in experientiallearning is complex and reflective.In such a relationship, practice isbased on theory which in turn isextracted from and refined bypractice. This model is circular, butwhen allied to experience, becomesa spiral, leading to an overallimprovement in competency andunderstanding. For experimentallearning to be maximised, theteacher should recognise theunique individuality of eachstudent….in responding to the needsof each student, the teacher shouldbe aware of the social andcommunity groupings to which thestudent and school belong…… Indoing so, he/she will become awareof an invaluable resource...thecommunity and its member.

The importance of entrepreneurshipcharacteristics and proficiencies,however, transcends money-makingsituations. They become essential forsurvival in the future. Hence, thesecharacteristics and proficiencies returnto the very heart of general educationitself and reassert themselves powerfullyto be generalised into a variety oflearning situations. Such a positionwould lead to their being included in thescope of general education even if theyare only for the narrow interests ofentrepreneurship, rather than only inenterprise education related toentrepreneurship. The following

descriptions illustrate the manifestationof the development of enterpriseproficiencies in learners in variouscontent areas.

Story-telling and EntrepreneurialProficiencies

Telling stories to children and teachingthem to tell stories themselves can havewonderful, even magical results. Story-telling is a fun and fundamental way ofmaking meaning out of life. Childrenlearn to hear stories and the manybenefits they derive from listening makeit a very powerful language teaching tool.Due to the growing body of research thatsupport this claim, story-telling and itsuse has become recognised as one of themost powerful teaching and motivationtools available whose effects reach farbeyond the Language Curriculum.

It is equally important in relation tothe formation of an individual’sentrepreneurial construct. However, ithas a limitation because the entre-preneurial narratives as it exists arealmost exclusively an adult pheno-menon, often not encountered inchildhood out with the family context.Also, there is an obvious dearth ofchildren’s stories specifically written toexpose them to the power of entre-preneurship. The following ideas illus-trated the integration of entre-preneurship into language curriculum:

Following on this discussion,learners are encouraged to take initiativein opinions and may focus on the hobbiesand skills that have begun to develop.This will encourage them to think of apossible business activity that relate totheir hobbies and skills.


Art and Craft and EntrepreneurialProficienciesThe art and craft class in the school havea vital role in developing the overall

personality of the child. The teacher canhold exhibition with ‘entrepreneurship asa theme’, help children draftadvertisement copy / flyer/ brochures for

Activity: An exemplar story to expose to the power of entrepreneurship

26 December 2004 will ever remain an unforgettable day in history, especially for India. Itwas a day when millions across South Asia were witness to the terrifying gigantic waves,which led to the death of over 85,000 people in the Asian Tsunami disaster. India also feltits impact, losing more than 10,000 people.

All ordinary citizens across the country rose to the occasion as one and it showed what agreat difference it made. A group of six young children, students of Class VIII saw themisery of the earthquake victims on their television sets and were disturbed. This gotthem thinking and talking about what they can do. They started discussing about how toextend a helping hand to the victims. There was a general agreement but only one problem:What were they going to do? It just happened that this group was sitting in a park, andnoticed that a person, at a distance, has brought a tape player and was playing music.Like good entrepreneurs they have their eyes and ears open for the sign of an opportunity.

When they looked around, they noticed that both children were responding to the tune tomusic. Feet were tapping, shoulders were moving and bodies were bouncing. It becameobvious to the group that people are inclined to good music. Within their group they hada considerable talent, Palak Munchal. Her sweet melodious voice easily won the heart ofthe audience. Adarsh Mahajan was also generally regarded as the best dancer in theschool. They decided to raise money by starting a series a charity shows. They talked totheir music teacher in the school who could play Guitar very well. They tried to convincetheir parents and friends to join hands and work together. Each one brought their ownset of skills to the venture. The group said” We do not know where Nagapattam is …… butwe could feel the victims anguish”. The noble cause was advertised in the local papers.They were surprised to see the innumerable responses. The first charity show was held inFebruary 2005 followed by series of shows in various parts of the country. The groups ofchildren were able to raise Rs. 15,000 for Tsunami victims through their performances.The money raised through these shows was donated to a charitable trust, ‘Make a DifferenceFund’ set up by Care India.

The group enjoyed plenty of affection and admiration for all they did.

“We just wanted to help them. They too have a right to live” – little entrepreneurs say everso sweetly.

Points for discussion:

(i) What are your reactions to this story?(ii) What are the values in the story?(iii) Identify any character from a movie/novel/story they have read or experiences heard

whom they think was entrepreneurial. They may be encouraged to grasp the possibilityupon which the identified character was focusing.


a saleable product, appreciate theaesthetic proportion of product; developsimulation models of traditionalhandicraft business, etc.

Summer Camp and EntrepreneurialProficiencies

In order to promote the spirit ofentrepreneurship and sense ofachievement among children at a tenderage, the school can organise summercamps during vacations. The activitiesof the camp may include generalawareness about entrepreneurialpursuits (particularly in a social context),industrial visits, informal interactionwith the achievers, etc. A meeting withthe parents can also be arranged toshare with them the experiences whichcould be helpful in sustaining themotivation of learners.

Nature and Entrepreneurial Proficiencies

Nature based entrepreneurship is one ofthe elements most needed to change ourattitudes. The present generation needsto realise that they do not have to leavetheir communities to find employment.They have to be motivated to create theirown opportunities and lead fulfillingindependent lives. Nature basedentrepreneurship is regarded asenvironmentally responsible entre-preneurship based resources andexperiences offered by nature. Inentrepreneurship, nature is a significantfactor and it must be taken intoconsideration ecologically. It can bedivided into the following categories:

(a) Responsible tourism servicesbased on opportunities offered bynature.

(b) Sustainable exploitation of wildberries, mushrooms, herbsgathered by nature.

(c) Sustainable exploitation of fish andCray fish.

(d) Other services such as photographyof nature, implementation ofrecreation services.

The Role of the Teacher

Teacher’s role in the development andimplementation of school curriculum isvital. Learner driven learning,encouraging learner initiatives, fortaking action, problem-solving, inter andgroup learning and action and otherepistemology of enterprise education isfruitful only when the behaviour ofteachers are changed. Unless theteacher sets an example by his/herbehaviour of being enterprising, it is veryunlikely that learners will acquireenthusiasm and inspiration towardsenterprise proficiencies. The visible andconsistently enterprising teachermanifesting these attributes provideslearners with a believable role model ofbeing enterprising. The most importanttask of the teacher is to match thelearning styles of students to variety ofinstructional strategies and not focus onone type of teaching to meet student’sneeds and strengths. The teacher shouldbecome a facilitator, an animator and aco-learner. Such a teaching-learningprocess will provide opportunities forstudents to learn by doing, assessing,evaluating and progressing from one stepto another throughout their lives. Thepolicies may be adequate, the learningsequences well-designed, yet thesuccessful implementation of educa-tional interventions for the developmentof enterprise proficiencies will dependcritically on teacher/facilitator.


Finally, the greatly changingscenario of the future will call from itsinhabitants to be better at thinking,planning, cooperating, organising,communicating, evaluating, takinginitiatives, and solving problems,irrespective of whether they are workers,consumers, community, business peopleor ordinary citizens. A shift will be visible

making ordinary citizens feel lesshelpless and feel more empowered.Whether, it is the solving of theunemployment crisis, poverty, ordrastic socio-economic changes,people must need to be enterprising.Thus, “Enterprise” would mean morethan a business skill. It would mean“Survival”.

REFERENCES

ANDERSON, C.A. and M.J. BOWMAN.1966. Education and Economic Development. FrankCass and Co. Ltd.

ANDY, F. 1997. A Road Map for Quality Transformation in Education. St. Lucie Press.Florida.

BALSARA M. 1999. Principles of Curriculum Reconstruction. Kanishka Publishers. NewDelhi.

Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership. 1995. The New Youth Entrepreneur. KauffmanFoundation. New Jeresy.

CHAUDHARY, N.K., and K.S. RAO. 1992. Catch them Young: Vocationalisation for HighEmployability. Sterling Publishers. New Delhi, India.

GUPTA R. 2001. Creating Indian Entrepreneurs. India Today. India.N.S. RAGHVAN Institute for Entrepreneurship. 2002. Global Monitor Report. IIM

Bangalore. India.National Curriculum Framework. 2005. National Council of Educational Research

and Training (NCERT). (Also see National Curriculum Framework for SchoolEducation-2000. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).New Delhi.

National Policy on Education. 1986. Ministry of Human Resource Development,Government of India. New Delhi.

SHIPRA VAIDYA. 2002. Assessing Incidence of Entrepreneruship Spirit Among CommerceStream Students at the Higher Secondary Stage. NCERT. New Delhi. India.

SHIPRA VAIDYA. 2005. Educational Reforms: New Trends and Innovations in EducationalDevelopment. Deep and Deep Publications. New Delhi, India.

STEPHEN R. COVEY. 1988. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons inPersonal Change. Simon and Schuster Inc.

UNESCO. 1994. Becoming Enterprising: Technical Guidelines. The Asia-Pacific Centreof Educational Innovation for Development.

UNESCO.1998. Education for Twenty First Century: Issues and Prospects. Paris.(Contributions to the work of the International Commission for the Twenty-first Century. Chaired by Jacques Delors).

The Will for Peace: Induction and Transaction through Teacher Education 15

The Will for Peace: Induction andTransaction through Teacher Education

PRATIBHA UPADHYAY*

Abstract

We are living in the world of globalterrorism and warfare. Never before inthe history of mankind, had war been sohideous, terrible and devastating as ithas become today. Biochemical andnuclear weapons can wipe out the manand civilisation in no time. War is notlimited to battle field or nationalboundaries rather it has taken the formof guerilla war or the proxy war wherethe agents of enemies and terroristgroups create devastation amidst thecivilian population of the countries.

In recent years we have experiencedthe frightful and devastating events in

the history of mankind as gruesomeattack on World Trade Centre (New York,USA), terrifying invasions inAfghanistan, Iraq War, serial bombblasts in Mumbai and other parts ofIndia, U.K. and so many other countries.Today whole world is living under thedreadful shadow of internationalterrorism and wars.

Alongside, it cannot be denied thatman has conquered the naturalresources by means of science andtechnology and has rapidly achieved theapex of the material development ofhuman civilisation and is still moving

We are now living a life with a perennial fear of uncertainties. The recentcatastrophes like the 9/11 have aggravated this fear and have rooted deep intothe consciousness of mankind. In fact, mankind has become the victim of his owncreations. The panacea of such misfortune lies in the education for peace thoughthere are some who advocate ‘war for peace’ and hence the inevitability of war. Itis in this backdrop that the NCF-2005 considers the Education for Peace to be theideal strategy for contextualising and operationalising values. The success ofeducation for peace solely relies on pedagogy and the ability to induce the will forpeace. It is a transactional process starting from the highest body of knowledgepenetrating through the teachers and then to the students. The paper tries topresent this process embodying Education for peace curriculum and pedagogy atevery stage of the transaction.

* Reader, Department of Education, University of Allahabad, Allahabad 110 001, U.P.


forward. Social consequence of the fasttrek material progress of human societyis the dehumanisation of man. Thus, theman is victimised of cynicism, violence,chaos, confusion and all types ofagitation in the Society, Today theindividual are tormented by the violence-ridden world around.

Apart from the external stimuli of theouter world, man is restless in worldlytoo. He is facing the maladies of themodern life where cut throat competition,materialistic approach towards the life,over exposure to market and consequentplay of multiple desires, social-emotionalinsecurity, interpersonal conflicts andconfrontation are the big threats to him.As a result, fear, distress, agony, disgust,lust, anger, loneliness and all types ofstress and tensions are precipitating inday-to-day life of the individuals. Theyare torn apart between inner self and theouter world. This is the tragedy ofmodern life. The question arises, whatis the remedy of the problem? Thoughproblem is difficult, its urgency isimpossible to escape. The question is,how to make the humanity non-violent,safe, fearless and tension free. Thesolution remains in peace. This is thehigh time to think about the ways andmeans to establish peace in the worldand ultimately in an individual.

The advocates of wars think thatthe idea of eternal peace is a beautifuldream which can never be materialised.To them war and struggle are the surestway to preserve the peace. A nation isstrong, and can preserve peace, if it hasability to withstand and defeat theenemy. Such people hold that war isunavoidable. It can never be banished.If any one wishes to usher in an era of

lasting and enduring peace in the worldby any other method, he is living in afool’s paradise. Thus, it seems that peaceis some thing unattainable and fugitive.

Alongside, there is a class of peoplewho have faith in non-violence andpeaceful living. They believe that ‘peaceis the lasting emotion of human being.Peace is certainly attainable, only itrequires the will for peace’. Peace is anultimate value desired by any humansociety.

In India, our sages and saints alwaysprayed for peace and well-being of all. ThePhilosophies of great thinkers asBuddha, Mahavir, Guru Nanak and ourancient scriptures as Bhagwad Gita andVedas have already prescribed the noblepaths and righteous conduct formankind to lead peaceful andharmonious life. These philosophiesimplicate in the context of the modernworld that all material progress anddevelopments should be based onDharma or Neeti (Right conduct andEthical Values). But in due course ofmaterial progress and growth of humancivilisation, man has forgotten andignored these values and sunk into moralcrisis. Today, the society is going downmorally all over the world. Particularlyin India, moral maladies manifesting inevery walks of life reveal the spiritual andethical bankruptcy of our people.

The present dilemma has changedthe individuals into restless humanbeings. This is the biggest tragedy andemergent problem of the modern worldman is confronting with. Here, theaddress, ‘The Will for Peace’ delivered byAmadou Mahtar M’ Bow (The thenDirector General of UNESCO, 1978) atUnited Nation’s General Assembly on


urgently”. Though, UNESCO’senunciations targeted to the nationpreparing themselves for nuclearwarfare, but they also hold true eventoday for the individuals whose mindsengender violence in themselves.

Thus, it has become urgent andinevitable to induce ‘the will for peace’amongst the nations in general and theindividuals in particular. If we want apeaceful world, we must immediatelystart actions to accomplish it. UNESCOhas already taken steps in the form ofDelor’s Report, The Treasure Within,(1996). UNESCO’s Peace Project (1999)has been a serious effort in this direction.The UN General Assembly Resolution hasalso made a declaration of decade 2000to 2010 as the decade of ‘Culture ofPeace’ and ‘Non-Violence’ by identifyingareas to awaken the youth througheducational programmes. UNESCODirector General Federice Mayer has alsosaid that Nations, who relied on theirdefence force and armament factories forpeacekeeping, should shift their focus onlongtime preventive action BuildingPeace through Education. He called foreducation which will inculcate value ofjustice, equity and non-violence.

As far as India is concerned, it hasalways strived to seek peace througheducation. Mahatma Gandhi envisageda non-violent and truthful society, freefrom any kind of exploitation. He believedthat non-violence and truth could beachieved through the instrument ofeducation. The text of Indian constitutionembodies values and visions which wouldhelp the society to live in the dynamicsocio-cultural fabric with peace,harmony and prosperity.

Disarmament, may be quoted, “It isconvinced that without peace andrelaxation of tensions, the solution of theproblem confronting mankind would beseriously and perhaps irreparablyjeopardised”.

The General Assembly later on linkedthe struggle for peace with thecondemnation of all forms of oppression,discrimination or exploitation of peoplenot only because they inevitablyengender violence but also because theyconstitute violence in themselves andpartake the spirit of war.

In the preamble of UNESCO’sConstitution, it has been already statedthat, “Since war begins in the minds ofmen, it is in the minds of men thatdefenses for peace have to beconstituted”.

Thus, the General Assemblystressed that; it was necessary to attackthe very roots of the problem by meansof action to influence the minds of men.In this regard General Conference calledfor the establishment of long termprogrammes in education, scienceresearch, mass media, eradication ofilliteracy, etc. The General conferencestressed that the objective should be towork towards the inclusion of “Educationfor Peace” in courses not only at Schoollevel and University but whereverknowledge and skills are acquired.

UNESCO General Assembly furtherenunciated; “We are now on the thresholdof a new era where we know that war canbe averted because of the infinitepotential of ‘human spirit and will’.Furthermore, it reiterated that, “At thisturning point of the human history, wehave to deserve peace and deserve it


In the independent India, variouscommissions and committees have madeimportant recommendations forincorporating various values at all levelsof education. Time to time, the NationalCurriculum Frameworks (1975 to 2000)have been prepared which adoptedvalue-oriented approach to integratepeace concern in education. Recently theNational Curriculum Framework–2005has made a major change in approachand considers the Education for Peace,the ideal strategy for contextualising andoperationalising values.

The Education for Peaceencompasses relevant curriculum,designed to cultivate an environmentconducive to the development of peacein and out of the educational setting.Education for peace, as distinguishedfrom peace education, acknowledges thegoal of promoting a culture of peace asthe purpose, shaping the enterprises ofeducation. If implemented with vigourand vision, education for peace can makelearning a joyful and meaningfulexperience. Education for peace impliesa commitment not only to a certaineducational content but also to apedagogy that gives teacher and studentsan opportunity to practice some of thevalues the education for peace isconcerned about transmitting.

Thus, education for peace relies onthe strategy which is more than class-room teaching-learning about certainconcepts and events related to peace andpresented in textbooks. Rather it is theconcretisation of peace into action. Itmeans, the education for peace cannotand should not be delivered in theconventional mode of teaching-learning,its success solely rely on its pedagogy.

No culture of peace could be createdwithout the will for peace. Thus, the firststep in this direction would be to induce‘the will for peace’ among the peopleconcerned with education and then totranslate it into concrete actions. If so,it’s transactional process must be thecore of all the strategies and planning ofimparting it.

Obviously the transactional processof the education for peace would beholdteacher as its focal point. Hence, theteacher has to be prepared and trainedto become a carrier of ‘peace’ througheducation. Now the time has come, whenit is imperative for teacher education totake major share in the programme ofEducation for Peace. If teacher educationis to be organised for the transaction ortransmission of peace througheducation, what will be its structure ormodel? Will it demand a planned andpurposive approach?

A proposed or hypothetical model ofthe transactional process of theEducation for peace may be just like amiraculous Ashvattha Tree described byVeda Vyas in Mahabharata which isupside down, its roots are in the sky andthe branches are hanging upside down,penetrating into the earth.

mèoZewyksvokd~'kk[k%v'oRFkksxelukru%A

Likewise, peace transactionalprogrammes or peace educationprogrammes should start from thehighest body of knowledge, that is fromthe departments and faculties ofeducation in the universities and otherapex bodies as NCERT and NUEPA, etc.It should pass through teacher educatorto teacher trainees (with peace-orientedteacher education curriculum) and


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ultimately to School Children (Witheducation for peace curriculum) in andout of their classrooms at school level.

The teachers who are to be preparedfor the Education for Peace must passthrough the transactional process ofpeace education. (Model proposed in thepaper.) The process embodies peaceEducation curriculum and pedagogy atevery stage of the transaction.

STAGE 1

Academic Staff Colleges vis-a-visHeads and Faculties of UniversityEducation Department and AffiliatedColleges

Academic Staff Colleges (ASCs) shouldorganise orientation and refreshercourses preferably on peace educationwhich could be made obligatory tolecturers, readers, professors and evenHead of the departments and principalsof the affiliated and constituent colleges.Without preparing heads of theinstitutions, no institutional climatecould be created which would beconducive for peace education. Thus, itmay be emphatically suggested thatheads should voluntarily and willinglyattend the orientations and refresherson peace education for a very urgent andnoble cause.

University Faculty as a Role Model

University departmental heads andfaculties should be made to realise thatthey are the role models or the ultimatecreators of peace. They should beprepared to perform their roles.

The process may be divided into twosteps—

(i) Learning to Be(ii) Learning to Do

Learning to Be

● Liberating their own minds fromnarrow feelings, fear, biases,complexes, unethical desire etc.

● Controlling and regulating theirown emotions in conflictingsituations.

● Making congenial interpersonalrelationships with their colleagues,students and other staff members.

Learning to Do

● Functioning in a democratic andsecular way.

● Encouraging healthy competitionand peaceful cooperation in theinstitution and in the classrooms.

● Creating congenial atmosphere byresolving conflicts.

● Accepting the differences andrespecting diversities in theinstitution and classroom as well.

● All this requires the mastery overthe course content and pedagogicalaspect of peace education.

Course Content for Orientationprogrammes may be

● conceptual framework of peaceeducation.

● theoretical and practical aspects ofYoga and meditation.

● nature and needs of human society.● criticism of wars and violence which

include.● fatal consequences of wars,

violence, bloody straggle andterrorism.

● disarmament and expenditure ondefence.


● social Justice.● human rights and duties. (with

special reference to teacher andstudents.)

● stress management.● emotional Competence.● some of the scriptures which have

practical utility in making peace,like Bhagwad Gita.

Relevant films which convey messageof non-violence and other essentialvalues, as that of the recent film (MunnaBhai Lage Raho).

Pedagogy (Teaching-learning mode)

The review of literature and documentson peace education show that a numberof teaching methodologies are availablethat can be tried out to inculcate andpromote the peace in and out of theclassrooms.

In orientation courses along withlectures those methodologies andapproaches should also be chosenwhich, could suit to the mindset of seniorfaculities of university departments andheads of the higher educationinstitutions. These may involveintrospection, brainstorming, sharingviews dialogues, cooperative-learning,participatory approach, Valueclarification conflict resolution andjurisprudential model, etc.

The resource persons shoulddemonstrate the methods by involving allthe participants so that they can beprepared to handle the situations ofconflict, controversies and tensions intheir real work fields. They should bemade aware of other more approachesas, software and hardware self-instructional approach Role-playing andIdiographic, etc.

Resource Person

Resource Persons should have thefollowing qualities, as they should,

● speak clearly.● have appropriate knowledge and

skills of participatory methods andapproaches.

● have lesson plans in advance.● be organised.● be sensitive to trainees needs.● be relevant.● have good personality.● be enthusiastic and energetic.● be adaptable.● be encouraging.● create a positive learning

atmosphere.● be a good listener and build on what

the trainees say.● work from heart.● steer the discussions to them.● show good principles and provide

clear example of sustainability.

For practical purposes, Academicstaff colleges can invite the spiritualmasters, management gurus, Yogaexperts, councillors, subject experts andthe experts of the different pedagogicalapproaches.

STAGE 2

Departmental Faculty vis-a-visTeacher Educators (M.Ed. and MAStudents)

Faculties trained and oriented in peaceeducation should be motivated to imparteducation for peace. At M.Ed. and M.A.level, either course content of PeaceEducation should be kept separate or itshould be integrated with other relevantpapers as; Educational Philosophy,


Educational Sociology, EducationalPsychology, History and problems,Guidance and counselling, etc. In thedepartments of universities, other thanregular courses, project work, M.Ed. disser-tations and D.Phil research work can beundertaken on the peace related topics.

STAGE 3

Teacher Educators vis-à-visTeachers Trainees

It is hoped that, teacher educatorsimbued with peace related knowledge,understanding and skills are alreadytransformed individuals but they furtherneed orientation and refresher in PeaceEducation.

Teacher educators, or faculties ofB.Ed. Colleges, Colleges of TeacherEducation (CTEs), Institutes of AdvancedStudies in Education (IASES) and BasicTraining Institutes should be properlyoriented to deliver peace education totheir pupil teachers/teacher trainees.Training and orientation programmesshould be exclusively organised by edu-cation departments of the universities,NCERT, NUEPA and other peace agencies.

In broader sense the course contentand pedagogic skills may remain thesame as that of the first stage. The onlything to take care of is, the target groups(teachers) to what category they belong

and whom are they going to train(secondary of primary level).

Level of content and pedagogicalskills should be according to the ultimatebeneficiaries or children.

STAGE 4

Trained Teachers (Pre-service andIn-service) vis-à-vis School Children

This is the ultimate ground ofimplementation of Education for Peace,where peace loving and peace-orientedteachers can usher the children in anenvironment suitable for the Educationfor Peace. Through their positive attitudethey can cultivate the culture of peacein their classrooms and schools.

This is hoped that the teacherstrained in peace education could handlethe curriculum designed for theEducation for peace. At least they couldbe well aware of the fact that they arethe agents of the transaction of peaceprocess. In this respect they could know,what they have to be? And what theyhave to do? They are going to shape ageneration for the future society, livingin peace and harmony.

Out of optimism, it is hoped againsthope that the hypothetical model of thetransaction of ‘Education for Peace’presented in the paper will lead to itstesting and experimentation.

REFERENCES

UNESCO. 1978. ‘The Will for Peace’, address by Amodou-mahtar M’Bow, DirectorGeneral of UNESCO at the special session of the U.N. General Assembly onDisarmament.

UNESCO. 1996. Learning the Treasure Within. Report of the International Commissionon Education for Twenty-first Century.

NCERT. 2005. National Curriculum Framework-2005. Position Paper, National FocusGroup on Education for Peace, NCERT, New Delhi.

Metacognitive Orientation on Enhancing Writing Competence 23

Metacognitive Orientation onEnhancing Writing Competence

K. CHELLAMANI*

Abstract

In the era of globalisation, challenges areahead; job opportunities are plenty; andempowerment is a buzzword thatenvelops everyone in their successfulliving. In this scenario, education in alldisciplines must tune the individual toselect and excel in the job he has beenfitted in. The International Commissionon Education for the Twenty-firstCentury Learning: The Treasure Withinemphasises self-understanding and self-criticism for building our common futurein the following lines. “There is everyreason to place renewed emphasis on themoral and cultural dimensions ofeducation, enabling each person to graspthe individuality of other people and tounderstand the world’s erratic

progression towards a certain unity; butthis process must begin with self-understanding through an inner voyagewhose milestones are knowledge,meditation and the practice of self-criticism” (Jacques Delors, 1996).

The thought of self-understanding isso vibrant in the past two decades. Inother words, there is a paradigm shift toMetacognition from cognition in the fieldof education. Metacognition refers toknowledge about one’s own and otherpeople’s cognitive processes.Metacognition has been defined as‘thinking about thinking’, ‘cognition ofcognition’ or in Flavell’s (1979) words“knowledge and cognition about cognitivephenomena, a person’s ability to control

A fairly good grasp of the English language is a prerequisite in the context ofglobalisation of Education. Currently competitive exams and recruitment procedureshave started to lay a high level of importance for a student’s English communicativecapabilities. More than quantitative aptitude, verbal, reading-writing andcomprehension skills are getting maximum importance, like never before. Theinvestigator sensitised both the society’s need as well as the language deficiencyof college students in rural areas. In this paper, the author explained the effectivenessof metacognitive orientation among rural students in Ramnad District towardsdeveloping language competencies, with special reference to writing competence.

*Lecturer, Department of Education, University of Madras, Chennai 600 005.


a wide variety of cognitive enterprisesoccurs through the action andinteractions among four classes ofphenomena: (a) metacognitive knowledge(b) metacognitive experiences (c) goals (or)tasks, and (d) actions or strategies”.Precisely an individual with hisknowledge undergoes cognitiveexperience to meet the demand raised bythe task, and applies strategies foraccomplishing the task to make progresstoward goals. He keeps on monitoringand evaluating the process in hisapplication of strategies.

A good learner is likely to havemetacognitive and other strategies at hisdisposal among which he chooses,evaluates the efficiency and effectivenessof a given strategy. Strategy training hasthe advantage of assisting learners tobecome more effective and to aid teachersin better understanding and supportingtheir students’ mental processes andlearning effectiveness.

The basic requirement for learningis language development. Languageeducation involves the acquisition by thelearner of an understanding of language,language use and language learning.Learner empowerment is the result andpractical realisation of languageeducation. It relates to learner ability toassume an active and informed role inhis language study and ultimately, topursue those in their life situations. Theywill learn and use language in a selfdirected manner.

In this context if we look at thebackground of the students in some ofthe arts and science colleges in Ramnaddistrict, the responsibility of languageteacher raises up. Almost all thestudents come from rural area. The only

place is the classroom, where thosestudents experience English languageatmosphere. Paris and Winograd (1990)opine, “Students can enhance theirlearning by becoming aware of theirthinking as they read, write and solveproblems in school”. Borkowski andMuthukrishna (1992) argued thatmetacognition has “considerablepotential for aiding teachers as theystrive to construct classroomenvironments that focus on strategiclearning that is flexible and creative”.

Writing as a mode of Communication

Written communication is equallyimportant as that of oral communication.Unlike the latter the former is moreformal, concise and fully explicit. Writingis suited to a reinforcing role as it is donerelatively slow and involves closeconcentration.

Appropriateness of style, theknowledge of genre-structure, purpose ofcommunication, concern for theaudience, and the requirements of thewritten medium are elements involved ingood writing which aims atcommunication.

Writing Competence

A thriving citizen of today is expected tobe competent in writing at variousfunctions, viz., for action, for socialcontact, for information and forentertainment. Hedge adds some typesof writing such as study writing, publicwriting, social writing and creativewriting.

Necessity compels efficiency inwriting. As said before the social andeducational environment of the students


examinations and does give room neitherfor oral competence nor writtencompetence. Practice of metacognitivestrategies breaks away the convention,focuses on learner’s interest to create apositive classroom climate.

Metacognitive Experience

The focus of the teacher was to tune thestudents towards second languagecomponents and ultimately enhancingwriting competence. The classroomatmosphere was set – students satrelaxed, attending teacher. The teacherread out only the title of the poem – TheRoad Not Taken and asked the studentsto react. They all came out with theimpression they had (Advancedorganiser-metacognitive strategy). Thestudents listened to the teacher’smeaningful reading of the poem, withoutlooking at the text (Direct Attention-metacognitive strategy). Then they wereasked to listen to the teacher’s secondreading of the poem with the text in theirhands (Functional planning-metacognitive strategy). Here the teacherwanted to check the students’knowledge, retrieving information andmemory and so asked them to close thetext and come out with the words theycould pick it up in the poem being readout (Functional planning-metacognitivestrategy). The teacher wrote down all thewords recalled by the students and sheasked them to write sentences on theirown using all the words (Self-management-metacognitive strategy).The students gained vocabulary andpractice using them in writing. It helpedthe teacher to understand the students,how far they are closer to the poemcontext while reading out the sentences,

in arts and science colleges are notconducive for second languageacquisition. The language teacher will besuccessful in developing writingcompetence if she uses metacognitivestrategies in teaching-learning process.

Developing Writing Competencethrough Poem Teaching

The investigator feels that poem is insmall capsule. Anything small will catchfull attention and preserve interest. Withthe gained interest and attention,enhansing writing competences throughpracticing metacognitive strategies willbe successful. Therefore, the investigatordecided to take a poem, through whichstudents could be oriented onMetacognition. An instructionalprogramme was designed towardsdeveloping metacognitive awareness,regulatory skills, learning skills andaffective motivation skills. Instructionwas embedded and students wereinvolved in metacognitive learning.Evaluation of the programme was doneboth during the programme and after itscompletion.

The poem selected was, “The RoadNot Taken” by Robert Frost. The poem issufficiently simple and has relevance ineverybody’s life. Hence, there is scope forclassroom interaction. The traditionalmethod of teaching a poem would beginwith an introduction to the poet andreading of notes in the appendix.

It would then go on to a reading ofthe poem followed by explanations of wordmeanings, and context questions. Theteacher would then instruct the learnersto memorize the answers. In such anapproach only the learner’s memory istested solely from the point of view of the


and how much they have realised theusage of a single word in two or threecontexts.

Then the students were asked toopen up their text and read aloud one byone. Here we must note the point thatnowhere the teacher explained the poem.During the reading aloud, studentsorchestrate the meaning of the poem(Orchestrating-metacognitive strategy).After a few reading, the teacher probedsimple questions to check students’understanding of the poem. Theexperience of answering questions andinteraction with the teacher regulatesstudents’ knowledge towardsaccomplishment of that task(Regulation-metacognitive strategy).Then the students were asked to listento the teacher reading aloud with theirtext opened. This experience allowedthem self-questioning, self-appreciation,perspective monitoring and retrospectivemonitoring (Monitoring-metacognitivestrategy). After that the teacher allowedthem to think aloud. Then she gave themquestions to answer (Evaluation-metacognitive strategy).The learners were asked to respond forthe following.

1. The difference in spelling2. The difference in meanings3. The rhyming words4. Match the words with their

meanings5. Arranging the jumbled words into

a meaningful sentences6. Answering Annotations7. Answering in a sentence8. Answering in a paragraph9. Answering interpretative questions

10. Answering divergent patternquestions.

Such type of variety in answeringstimulated interest, built up vocabulary,boosts their confidence and directedthem for extensive reading. Ultimatelystudents shed off fear and picked up thereadiness to write. The students’ testscores on two different poems before andafter the treatment was taken foranalysis. The impact of the treatmentwas shown in the differences in the meanscores, i.e. 22.51% and 41.5%. Theindependent variable accounted for92.09% of variance in the dependentvariable.

It is quite evident that themetacognitive strategies accounted forthis variation in writing competenceamong students which has a verysignificant effect of the application ofmetacognitive strategies. This self-learning strategy allowed students to bealert and got interest in participating inthe learning activities of the classroom.This involvement helped them to knowwhat they know and what they do notknow. The process principle madestudents constantly aware of the use andfunctions of knowledge and skills. It wasquite evident that metacognitiveorientation developed taste for writingand attempting questions in other genres(prose and comprehension). Theinvestigator sensed the difference inclassroom atmosphere too. This self-learning enhanced their writing.

One of the goals of education is tohelp students operate effectively on alllevels of thought (knowledge,comprehension, application, analysis,synthesis and evaluation). The attentionto all levels of thinking may form a centraltheme in the development and teachingof comprehension skills to students. In


order to acquire the interpretive skillsevery individual has to process histhought in these six levels. Theinvestigator designed thinking strategiesto assist them to interact adequately

with material and to develop effectiveways of thinking to process textualmaterial. This helped them to drawconclusions, derive inferences and makegeneralisations.

SocialEnvironment

EducationalEnvironment

BiologicalEnvironment

MetacognitiveExperiences

Direct Attention

Self management

Regulating

Orchestrating

Monitoring

Evaluating

Advanced organizer

Functional planning

Functional planning

Interpretative writing

Acquisition of poetry meaning

Noting down important details

Mental mapping

Expressing symbolically

Labeling of words

Listen in terms of past experience and for relationship

Linking the understanding with the text in print

Setting for initiating impression

I N P U T

P R O C E S S

Inculcated interestVocabulary development

Self-confidenceExtensive readingOrganising Ideas

Semantic expressionEnhancement of Competence in writing

Advanced organiser

Self-management

O


REFERENCES

BORKOWSKI, J.G., and N. MUTHUKRISHNA. 1992. Moving Metacognition into the Classroom:“Working Models” and effective strategy teaching in M. Pressley, K.R. HARRIS, andJ.T. GUTHRIE (Eds.) Promoting academic competence and literacy in School (pp. 477-501). CA. Academic. San Diego.

FLAVELL, J. 1979. Metacognition and Cognitive Monitoring: A New Area of Cognitive-Developmental Inquiry. American Psychologist, 34, 906-911.

PARIS, S.G., and P. WINOGRAD. 1990. How Metacognition can Promote AcademicLearning and Instruction. In B.F. JONES and L. IDOL (Eds.) Dimensions of Thinkingand Cognitive Instruction (pp.15-51). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

RAO, V.K. and R.S. REDDY. 2002. Resources of Effective Teaching. CommonwealthPublishers. New Delhi.

UNESCO. 1996. Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Educationfor the Twenty-first Century. Learning: The Treasure Within.

file:// A/Communicative Competence.html.Thinking.html.

Hermeneutics of Education, Teacher Education, and Development... 29

Hermeneutics of Education, TeacherEducation, and Development in

Indian Social FabricRAJARSHI ROY* and ANJANA PAIRA**

Abstract

“Existing educational institutionswere created to meet the need of asociety that is first disappearing. Weneed new educational organisationsthat can exploit the newtechnologies to meet the need of

twenty-first century. Economicdevelopment will depend as muchon the success of creativity andsupporting such organisations, ason establishing the technologicalinfrastructure. It is critical to get

Nowadays, it is an axiom that education, necessarily, is a social phenomenon.The paper begins with an exploration of the social base of education in the midstof educo-sociology in consonance with ongoing research on ‘social aspects ofeducation’. Methodologies and approaches, as appeared as a trend in Indianacademia are highlighted in this section. The section is followed by the culture-driven approach of education. Existing socio-educational fabric of India is criticallysynthesised in this section. The third section of the paper thrives to explore thestatus of ‘education’ in a ‘disciplinary’ perspective in Indian context. Global effectover education vis-à-vis gestalt social development is analysed at breath in thenext section of the paper with the help of quantitative indicators of educationaldevelopment juxtaposing the experience of the Asia and the Pacific in the newmillennium. Fifth section of the paper is devoted to explore impact and interactiveeffect of education, technological education and socio-economic development inclose association with manpower planning. Penultimate section of the paper hingesover various pertinent issues relating teacher education system in Indian socialfabric.

*Assistant Professor in Education and Currriculum Development Centre. National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research (NITTTR), Kolkata.**Research Scholar, Faculty of Education, Vishva Bharati, Shantiniketan, West Bengal 731235.


this right because those countriesthat harness the power ofmultimedia communication foreducation and training purposeswill be the economic powerhousesof twenty-first century. The develop-ment of modern communicationsand information technologies isbecoming a major instrument forwidening access to education andtraining on a cost-effective basiswhile also enhancing its quality.”

—Tony Bates

Introduction to Educo-sociology

Education, being a broader connotationis defined by different scholars indifferent ways and approaches and alsofrom different perspectives. It is closelyrelated with society as well. Eminentsociologists and educationistscategorically establish the function ofeducation and its close association withthe society, where they opine thateducation is a social process [Ashley et.al., 1969]. Feinberg, way back to 1983,in his book Understanding Education:Towards a Reconstruction of EducationalInquiry opines, “… Education is bestunderstood by recognising that one ofthe functions of any society is that ofmaintaining intergenerational continuity–that is, of maintaining its identity as asociety across generations and even inthe context of many possible andsignificant changes, and that is theactivity and institution of education,both – formal and informal, that carrieson this function”.

Nowadays it is widely accepted thatany inquiry into educational processnecessarily incorporates the societywithin which the process of education

takes place. Present practice of socialscience research is oriented towardspositivistic approach, resulted due tomere imitation of the west. Shifting itsattention from positivism, social scienceresearch in our country ought toemphasise much over the humanisticapproach where interrelationship amongvalues, interests, actions and power ofthe social atom (i.e., human individual)is taken into consideration along withthe process of changes in society. Sincethe onset of the last decade, manyalternative approaches to study ‘socialprocesses’ and ‘research in the field ofeducation’ have emerged across theglobe, resulting to numerous confusions,opinions, counter opinions and conflicts.All these happen due to their motto tocompete against one another to establishtheir superiority and in search ofacceptance from scholars andresearchers (Myrdal, 1969).

Education and Culture

Whitehead (1962), the ever-recallededucational thinker utters in his well-known book, ‘The Aims of Education andOther Essays’, “… Culture is activity ofthought, and receptiveness of beauty andhuman feeling. Scraps of informationhave nothing to do with it. A merely well-informed man is the most useless boreon God’s earth. What we should aim atproducing are men who possess bothculture and expert-knowledge in somespecial direction. Their expert-knowledgewill give them the ground to start from,and their culture will lead them as deepas philosophy and as high as art.”

He also considered culture as thebasic aspect of education, which isobviously having its root in the society


organisations are also available today inalmost each and every part of thecountry, extending training programmesto enrich the human effort to pursueresearch in educo-sociology withsophisticated methodologies. Expansionof higher education in course of timehelped people interested in education topursue formal research programmes andtraining (i.e., M.Phil, etc.). Right now, asmany as eighty-four higher learninginstitutions, if not more, across thenation, are extending such training tothe scholars, emphasising over variousdimensions of education, with largestshare towards educo-sociology 2.

In spite of all these efforts, the fieldof educational research failed to establish‘education’ as an independent disciplineof study [Roy, 2005]. This may be due tothe nature of interpretation of ‘education,’where cognitive-set of the researches inthe field are mostly enriched by otherallied disciplines than that of education.The basic requirement of establishing adiscipline, as we all know, depends uponthe ‘number’ and ‘quality’ of research inthe field, which, in its turn, enrich thenumber of theories in the discipline, helpevolving stable methodology, and alsooffers (more or less specified) boundaryfor the discipline [Peters, 1983, Roy,2005a]. Statistics says that thousandsof doctoral and post-doctoral researchstudies have been completed during thepreceding five years, out of which onehundred and ninety-two (192) researchstudies (up to June, 2006) hinge over thearea of educational research in relationto social process 3. However, except a veryfew, none of those contributed to formingtheory, nor to evolving methodology. It iscrystal clear that most of the researchers

within which an individual is born andgrows up. This advocates that theprocess of education as well as theproduct of the very process coexist withsociety.

Irrespective of societies, culturepossesses its own value. Being acomponent of education, it transmitsvalue to education. Therefore, in respectof education in general and to be morespecific in educational research,especially in social sciences, the attemptto carry out value-free research is hardlypossible, if not completely impossible(Roy, 2004). An attempt of merequantitative research on social aspectsof educational process may contributespecific information, but may hardlycontribute to knowledge until and unlessthose are generalised in the greatersociety (Hansen, 1967). However, onehas to agree about the restriction ofimposing personal values in the processof observation and recording the findingsof social-research in education becauseof the reason of ethical consideration.Ethnocentrism acts as a hidden currentand often influences the social aspectsof educational research and it is true inIndia. The tendency needs to be avoided.

Higher education in India witnessedphenomenal growth during last thirtyyears and the extent of growth is muchmore in the recent past (SelectedEducational Statistics, MHRD,Government of India, 1999-2005). As aresult, the scope of educational researchin India has expanded a lot. (Experiencereveals that this expansion has helpedto enrich other allied disciplines suchas sociology, social anthropology, etc.,much more when compared to that ofeducation)1. A handful of training


are habituated to adopt methodologiesfrom allied disciplines. The result revealsa dearth of ‘sound methodology’ leads toless number of ‘theories’ and lack of‘more or less specified boundary’ for thediscipline ‘Education’, which are the pre-requisites for the emergence of adiscipline. Apart from the exceptions, tobe more frank, the domain has becomean attractive platform for those whofailed in their respective disciplines andthereby oriented themselves with thisvery platform for their own survival as‘academician’ (Roy, et. al., 2004). Neitherthey are inclined to contribute fordeveloping theory and evolvingmethodology of education, nor are theycapable enough of doing so 4. Anothernoticeable trend reveals that a numberof eminent scholars in educationperceive pedagogy and education assynonymous, which is a misconception.As a result, ‘education’ remains aninterdisciplinary approach in which aPh.D is produced in every eighteen (18)hours (or may be even less than that) 5.Controversial issues prevail without anyfeasible solutions.

Global Effect and Development

It should be accepted by almost each andeveryone that at the present juncture weare supposed to think in globalperspective. The world is ‘expanding’ dueto advancement in communicationtechnology. From economic point of view,the world is polarised into two extremepoles – ‘the developed world’ and ‘thedeveloping world’. Economically self-sufficient countries are termed asdeveloped countries, where as the restbecame known as developing countries.

Self-sufficiency of a country depends onits economic stability 6. Therefore, everynation thrives on enhancing theireconomic condition. Today it is an axiomthat economic self-sufficiency is theprecondition of development 7. Variousresearch studies 8 and statistics revealthat developed countries posses almosta hundred percent literacy of theirpopulation. However, there areexceptions too. A perusal of the situationof the Gulf countries reveals that thoughthey are rich, they are not alwaysdeveloped due to lack of literacy 9. Recenthistory of those countries advocates thatdue to lack of education, they failed tokeep up their economic stability andwealth. Lack of education is one of themajor causes of wastage anddeteriorated economic condition. So itmay be assumed that education amongthe mass leads to development andenhance economic condition, which isfurther necessary to keep up andthereby to enjoy the developmentaleffect10. The argument may be clearer ifwe can have a comparative sketchof index of education and index ofeconomy 11 of a bunch of nations in Asiaas given in the following table, where ahigh positive correlation is visiblebetween the two major indicators ofhuman development.

The Experience of Asia and thePacific in 21st Century

The region of Asia Pacific consists of hugenumber of small and large countries overa vast area of the world. As a result, adiverse culture, people, anddevelopmental patterns can be observedhere. The region covers almost half of the


world’s population and almost 70% of thepopulation of the developing countries 12.However, it accounts for only around one-tenth (1/10th) of the world’s GrossNational Product (UNDP,1999). Theregion includes the largest countries ofthe world (viz. China, India) and some ofthe smaller countries such as Bhutan.The region also includes countries withvaried economic condition. The poorestcountries (such as Bhutan andCambodia) and the affluent countries,viz. Singapore, Japan, Korea are alsoincluded in the very region.

So far the economic potentialities ofthese countries are concerned, a changeis perused in due course of history,which is mostly guided by colonial rule[Tilak, 2001]. Most of the models ofeducational development in the regionare either borrowed or imposed bycolonial rulers13. The existing systems ofeducation and development in China andIndia, respectively, advocate the fact.However, most of the countries in thisregion can adopt the imported models totheir local environments, purely due toeffective market pressures in somecountries, and partially a moreauthoritarian approach to education inothers [Papanek, 1988]. Irrespective ofwave of globalisation, several of thesecountries are by nature religious andremain tradition-bound societies inmodern, technologically developingworld. Besides, most of these countriesare having their own historical andunique cultural background, bracketingtheir respective social, political, andeconomic institutions to inspire andguide its developmental goals [Haq,1975].

Education, Technological Educationand Socio-economic Development

Right now, countries in Asia and thePacific region are possessing varyingstages of socio-economic developmentfrom developed, to newly industrialising,to still under developed; where some ofthe countries are characterised as‘modern’ some are still ‘traditional’. Theydiffer on various developmental indexes.For example, on the economic indicators,such as their market potentiality,14

standard of living (measured with thehelp of gross national product,

TABLE 1Education and Economic

Development in Asian Countries

Country Education GDP IndexName Index

Bhutan 0.33 0.45Bangladesh 0.38 0.39Pakistan 0.41 0.46Nepal 0.45 0.40India 0.54 0.47Cambodia 0.64 0.43Maldives 0.66 0.89Myanmar 0.74 0.41Indonesia 0.78 0.59China 0.78 0.57Malaysia 0.79 0.73Vietnam 0.82 0.47Sri Lanka 0.82 0.54Thailand 0.83 0.70Honkong 0.83 0.92Singapore 0.85 0.94Philippines 0.90 0.59Japan 0.94 0.92Korea 0.95 0.82

Source: UNDP, Human DevelopmentReport-2001, Oxford University Press, NewDelhi.


abbreviated as GNP), per capita income,social indicators like life expectancy,health status, and other majordevelopmental indicators, viz. povertyand income inequalities–which widelydiffers across sub-region, and betweenthe countries. Demography and politicalsituations also vary significantly in theregion, all of which possess a tremendousimpact over the system of education ingeneral, and over various segments ofeducation, in particular, with a synergicimpact. In the existing scenario, evendeveloping countries can also afford tomake appropriate investments ineducation and thereby achieve economicmiracles (Tilak, 2001). However one of themost notable differences can bepressured so far the quality of educationprevails in the region. The experience ofmajority of the developing countriesreveals a comparatively high pupil-teacher ratio, which ultimately leads tohigh dropout, low retention, and lowerpromotion rates, and finally lower levelof students’ achievement.

Developmental Problems

Though education, as often argued, isthe vehicle for development, there remainvarious problems in the process of itssocial execution. Priority towardseducation – in terms of level is not wellthought of in India, as like of manynations in the Asia and the Pacificregion. A major disparity prevails amongthem so far gross enrolment ratio isconcerned.

Technical Education

Technical education in Indian academiais yet to be defined. It is combined with

varied interpretations, definitions andobservations, which, in course made itdifficult to define what actually technicaleducation indicates (Roy, et al. 2005). Tosome, it represents the very segment ofeducation, which deals with technicaldimensions and subjects, such as variedengineering trades, on which studentsmay imbibe skill; to others it is thesegment of education entrusted with theresponsibilities to prepare technicalhands to handle certain restrictedengineering operations, where as otherthink it as a process of developing a cadreof engineers (Roy, 2005).

Irrespective of these conceptualconflicts, one has to agree over thephenomenon that the very gamut ofeducation thrives to develop thetechnical skill-component of the learner,may be it at certificate level, diploma,degree or doctoral levels. Up till date,studies in this area may be classified intotwo broad categories such as theeducation in the respective trade in onehand and development of methodology inthe process of imparting contentknowledge in other hand. Unfortunatelyin the Indian scenario, research in thesecond dimension is still in the stage ofinfancy15. This may be due to non-familiarity or lack of familiarity of thoseinvolved in the process to impartingtraining and research methodologies tothe technical teachers. The scenario isnot much different in other gamut ofeducation.

Manpower Development

With a view to raise the standard ofmanpower and thereby to enhance theirpotentialities, the so-called developing


countries in Asia and the Pacific need toadopt appropriate policies for expansionof (skill) education, keeping in view theemerging needs of the respective nationsand the region as well. The technologyeducation, which comes under thepreview of higher education, therefore,needs to be given proper weightage.Sudden and huge-expenditure, massiveproliferation of the technical educationsystem, and enhanced enrolmentwithout carrying out any futuremanpower survey should no way behelpful for enhancing the standard ofhuman resource. Rather such attemptwill invite different sorts of problems withdifferent magnitude (which is presentlyexperienced by the country like India)16.Proper planning is inevitable so fareducation in science and technology isconcerned. It has been observed, whileEast Asian economy have beensuccessfully build up huge stock ofhuman capital and utilising those fornational development, India being thethird largest reservoir of scientific andtechnical manpower in the world, is yetunable to reap sizable economic benefits.Science and technology education willbecome futile, until and unless it istagged with social Research andDevelopment (R&D) activities. Therefore,apart from supplying sufficient ‘fresh-blood’ on technical education, researchand innovation should also be enhancedin this direction. Experience of Japancan be taken up as a model by the restof the world, which, even being an AsianCountry, excelled its economy, and ismuch ahead, not only of other countriesin Asia, but also of other developedcountries in the world17. This becomespossible with an investment of nearly

3 per cent of GNP over R&D activities,along with a strong feeling of nationalismamong the cross sections of thepopulation.

Human Capital

In contemporary economic analysis, theemphasis has, to a considerable extent,shifted from perceiving capitalaccumulation in primarily physicalterms to viewing it as a process in whichproductivity of human beings isintegrally involved [Sen, 2000]. Forexample, through education, learningand skill-formation, people can becomemuch more productive in course of time,and this contributes a lot over theprocess of economic expansion. In recentstudies of economic growth, ofteninfluenced by empirical readings of theexperiences of Japan and the rest of EastAsia as well as Europe and NorthAmerica, there is much greater emphasisover ‘human capital’. Human capitalhelps in enhancing the humancapability, and in consequence,enhances the social and economicindicators of human development[Backer, 1964]. Technical educationdirectly contributes for humandevelopment. This is the very segment ofeducation, which has its immediateimpact over the society at large. Researchin the very domain also helps to bringstructural change in the society.Therefore, with a view to achievedevelopment, proper attention isneeded over technical education andresearch.

Education (including both soft andhard skill) makes the human beingsmore efficient in production of commodity


or in extending services, which is also ahuman capital. These should add valueto economy and also to the income of aperson. But even with the same level ofincome, a person may benefit fromeducation – in reading, communicating,arguing, in being able to choose fromalternatives in a more informed way, inbeing taken more seriously by others.The benefit of education thus exceeds itsrole as human capital in producingcommodity (Sen, 2000). In consequences,if a person can become more productivein making commodities through bettereducation, better health and so on, it isnot unnatural to expect that s/he can,through these means, also directlyachieve more and have the freedom toachieve more to lead his/her life. In thisway, the process of development followsa rotating cycle and thereby acceleratesthe rate of development.

In the twenty- first century, not onlythe people of the Asia and the Pacific,but all over the world having high hopesthat new technologies, mostly in thesphere of information technology, willlead to the healthier lives, greater humanfreedom, increased knowledge (not mereinformation) and more productivelivelihoods. Though at the end stage ofthe last century (to be more specific, since1990s), massive gain was achieved bysome nations in the wave ofglobalisation, which was the output oftechnological breakthroughs, but timehas come to rethink over the supremacyof market and technology. No doubt,market is a powerful vehicle oftechnological progress; but not powerfulenough to create and thereby to defusethe technologies needed to irradiatepoverty in SAARC and other zones.

Affluent societies may gain especiallyhigh rewards from new technologies, butthey also use to face several challengesin managing risks. And it is mostly theso-called third world countries who arethe worst sufferer of technological risksdue to their poor safety, health andenvironment (SHE) measures.

Education and Teacher

The HRD Approach

Irrespective of levels and types ofeducation, teachers play a pivotal rolein the process of implementation of thepolicies, formulated to achieve thedesired goal in the qualitativeimprovement of education.

Effectiveness and performance of theteachers depend upon a sequel of factorsand variables, some of which can begrouped under psycho-educationalattributes. Teachers’ interest towardsteaching is one such major psycho-educational factor, which possesses atremendous impact over the entireprocess of teaching-learning (Roy, et al,2005).

Education of the day, as is apparentin India, facing sequels of problems tosustain without creating sufficient spacefor diversity within the curriculum frameas well as students and teachers.Though it is argued by the predominantoccidental psycho-pedagogical thinkersthat the days will come, convertingteachers into ‘learning-assistants’ andtransforming students into ‘clients’however irrespective of levels and typesof education, the traditional orientalguru-sishya parampara (i.e., the traditionof the guide and disciple) still prevails inour academic scenario (Basu, 1972).Obviously, teachers are expected to be


the co-learner with the students, thementors and facilitators, especially whenthe nature of learning involves a majorshare of acquisition of skill (Barr, andTagg, 1995). Technical education, in itsmiddle level, much emphasises overdeveloping skill among the students,which fall under the psychomotordomain of taxonomy of learning.

As like in other sphere of education,in technical education system too,teachers play a pivotal role in the processof implementation of the policies,formulated to achieve the desired goalsfor the qualitative improvement ofeducation. In fact, in educationalscenario, teachers act as a ‘pivot’ onwhich the entire process of educationrests on (Roy, 2005). Therefore, thequality and psychological makeup of theteacher possess tremendous impact overthe process of teaching, which spreadsamong the ‘level of acquisition ofknowledge and skill’ of the student too(Biswas and Roy, 2004).

Rethinking Teacher Education

Human Resource Management (HRM) ismere a utopia until and unless humanresources are ‘developed’ by processingexisting population through ‘appropriate’education and training. The task mostlystands with the system of education. Torun the system effectively, it is essentialto have a standard reservoir of teachers.Within the sphere of education,responsibility to develop well-equippedteacher is assigned to ‘TeacherEducation System’ (Roy, et al, 2004). Assuch, it is the most important factor;often influence the process of humanresource management (HRM) within the

paradigm of a given social set up,especially in the so-called developingnations like India.

Since its inception, formalprogrammes of teacher education inIndia perused sequential changes incourse of time. Such changes took placemostly in the ‘forms’ as well as in‘content’, keeping in view the need ofIndian society and cliental groups, forwhom the programmes were made. Inconsonance with changes in society atlarge and in the sphere of education, inspecific, educational and trainingprogrammes for teachers accordedmodifications. Some specific changes aresuggested to enhance effectiveness ofexisting teachers’ training programme towell-address the needs of the society inthe present juncture of time with a viewto develop human resources, and societyas well.

Teacher Education Defined

Teacher education may be defined as theformalised activity to induct the verygroup of professionals, either involved in,or desirous to be the professional groupto pursue their livelihood throughteaching. As such it comes under thevery domain of professional education.Education, as stands for a much broaderconnotation, therefore instead, with aview to enhance the potentiality tosuccessfully perform in the specifiedprofession, much emphasis needs to beplaced over imbibing skill in relation tothe profession (Roy, 2002). Therefore, itis judicious to supplement the word‘education’ by ‘training’ as the latter ismuch focused over the activity ofgenerating skill.


Teaching – The Profession versusMission?

The controversial and much debatedissue stands in the way of Indianeducators, whether teaching needs to beconsidered as a profession or be takenas a mission? Our history of Indianeducation advocates it to be keen tomission, where much emphasis wasplaced over developing affective domainof learning, apart from cognitivedevelopment. In course of time, howevera paradigm shift has taken place overpsychomotor domain, than to affectiveone. As such we need to keep a judiciousfocused attention over the very debateand should not try to sail against the tideof the present day.

Can Teacher be ‘Produced’ throughTraining?

This very pertinent question needs animmediate answer in view of day-to-daydeterioration in the frame of instruction.As is felt, for proper and optimum use ofhuman resources, teachers need to betrained properly so as to enable them totransmit their duties and responsibilitiesin the real work situation. Unfortunately,whatever existing trend reveals is notconsidered as absolute-desirable18.

What the Teacher is expected toperform?

The basic task of a teacher is to act as abridge between the student and thecurriculum, which, in course, reflectsfrom the output of the system, i.e., thestudents. As such, variety of curriculumis the basic intervening factor that needsto be taken in to consideration whileimparting instruction. More efficient the

teacher is in doing the sequel of function,better the teacher is (Reynolds, 1990). Sofar the methodology of teaching isconcerned, a uniform approach at everylevel of instruction will not give expectedresult. Specialised approach is thereforeessential. Prevailing concepts in relationto higher education in our country –‘teachers don’t require training’- needsto be changed. As such, in the very insetof entering in the profession, trainingneeds to be considered as a basicprerequisite. To address the issue theimmediate question arises is irrespectiveof levels and types, what teachers use todo? Teachers use to teach the students.Those who are having much affinity withwestern pedagogic concept will say tohelp the learner to learn. In course,teacher helps the learner to know aboutfacts/phenomenon, those can beobserved or experienced. Teacher helpsthe learner to guide to think critically,creatively and practically. This thinkingrest on ideas, which require explanationand prediction in an interpretativeperspective from the teachers endinitially, and also from the students.

For understanding and shapingone’s self, ideas, facts, phenomenon andconcepts supposed to be interconnectedby identifying similarities and findinginteraction. Here the task of the teacheris to help the student to connect allthose.

Teacher should be well-equipped tohelp the students in understanding andinteracting with others. These may betermed as acting with soft skill, whichshould cover physical, intellectual andpsychological awareness about thelearning environment.


Finally in the process of learning,teacher is to be caring enough towardsthe students in terms of feelings, interestand values.

Skill – The Underlining Factor

The dictionary meaning of the word skillrefers to expertness, a craft, oraccomplishment. A skill is the capacityto perform a task competently. In teachereducation, as like in technical andvocational subjects, skill development isa part of curricular experiences. Skilldevelopment comes under psychomotordomain. Here learning-outcomes hingeon motor skills, which require the abilityto carry on (manual) works. Teaching isexpected to be based on the three basicskills as follows:

Manipulative skill –––––> Hands on practice

Observational skill –––––> Capacity toobserve

Drawing skill –––––> Capacity to draw.

Basic Skill

We read, - we forget

We see, - we remember

We do, - we understand

While the manipulative skill requiresthe ability to handle and keep theequipment properly and followprecautions during handling withequipments, observation skill demandsrecording the observations faithfully,assessing activities with accuracy, andto deduce inferences correctly. In skilltraining, deliberation of the content willbe such so that the student should fillthe urge to learn the skill. There shouldbe specification about time and accuracyto perform certain job. Apart from these,

safety rules should be strictly followed.The concept of skill development is basedon ‘Learning by doing’ as well as on‘hands-on-practice’. Active involvementof the learner in the process is essential.Skill refers to a physical, mental or socialability that is imbibed though practice,repetition and reflection; and in which itis probably always possible for theindividual to improve upon the skill.

Developing Skill in Actual Environment

Existing teachers’ training, as often said,has become much more theoretical. Inthese training, on one hand, scope of‘practice’ is inadequate; on the otherhand, existing scope of practising-teaching is not well utilised, which ismostly caused due to over-mechani-sation of practice. Justification ofpractising-teaching thus becomes afutile exercise for the trainee. Actualclassroom/institutional condition is oftenignored. The tendency needs to bechanged.

Why Skill Learning?

Now a day it is felt by the Indiangovernment to implement a systematicapproach to develop highly qualified andskilled human resource for the overalldevelopment of the economy andstandard of living of the countrymen. Itis necessary to develop skilledmanagement of human resources. Boththese developments can be facilitated bya wholehearted commitment at employerand employee level to acquire skills inthe recognition and assessment of priorand experiential learning as a means ofproviding effective human resourcemanagement.


Assessment Defined

The usual meaning of the wordassessment is to estimate the size,quality, amount or value of certainthing(s). However in educationalperspective the word assessmentconnotes the level of acquisition ofknowledge or skill about certaincontent or task, which is mostlypsychological or behavioural in nature.While measurement or evaluation takesplace in estimating the potentialities ofan individual related to his/her cognitivedomain, assessment is related to theestimation of capabilities involved withaffective and / or psychomotor domain.

Assessment of Teaching Skill

The system or the methodology of skilllearning supposed to be followed by asystematic sequence. Skill componentsrequire to be specified in terms of ‘unitcompetency’ abbreviated as UC andfurther classified in ‘elements ofcompetency’ and ‘performance criteria’abbreviated as EC and PC respectively.While assessing the skill, the basicconsideration for the assessor should be,whether the trainee has achieved theperformance criteria or not. There is nofurther scope, neither to qualify nor toquantify the performance criteria, as itis pre specified at the stage ofidentification.

Considering teaching a skill, teachereducators need to give a second thoughtover the existing practice of assessing a‘trainee’. Almost each and every handshould accept it that in final teachingsessions, the method of assessing‘teaching-skill’ of the trainee is not welljudged. Difference of marks assigned by

different evaluator to a specific traineein a specific session is most commonphenomenon, where offering an averageof marks is usual practice.

Unit of Competency (UC) à Elements ofCompetencies (EC) à Performance Criteria(PC)

Elements of Elements of Elementscompetency competency of competency

Performance Performance Performancecriteria criteria criteria

Experience reveals, assessing skill,which is supposed to be a continuousprocess, is hardly assessed continuously.As such, ‘effective’ and ‘agreeable’feedback from the assessor to the traineeis a rare phenomenon. Even sometimessituation appears, where assessorsthemselves are not in agreement whileassessing certain skill. All these occurdue to our reluctance to develop astandard list of ‘performance criteria’ inrelation to teaching at various levels andsubjects. Availability of such subject andlevel specific list of ‘performance criteria’will surely help us to assess teachingskill in a more objective manner.

Recognising Technology

Emergence of new technology in theprocess of imparting information haschanged the teaching of the day. Power-point-presentation, graphic-art-designing, animation-effects over slides,programmed instruction are some of thenew forms of technology. Today’s’ teacher,as often argued, has become a morelearning assistant, with these techno-

▲▲▲

▲ ▲ ▲


devices. If the technological devices reallyhelp (and techno-devices often help) tocomprehend the concepts, facts,knowledge, obviously those will beutilised. Assuming an ideal situation ofavailability of modern technologicalgadgets, ‘trained teachers’ are supposedto be familiar with the application of suchdevices, not just only out of interest, butas a compulsory component of teacher-education curricula, preferably in anintegrated way, without introducing anew subject-paper. Does our existingcurriculum offer such scope to ourtrainees?

The need of the day is to offer methodsubjects/ papers orienting with ITapplications to enable trainee to applythe knowledge of IT-oriented teaching inhis/her professional setup.

Don’t Worry Technology

Irrespective of levels and types, the basictask of teacher is to teach the student.Those who are having much affinity withwestern pedagogic concept will hold, ‘tohelp the learner to learn’. In fact, the taskof teacher is to help the learner to knowabout facts/phenomenon those can beobserved and experienced. Teacher issupposed to help the learner to thinkcritically, creatively and practically.Those thinking rest on ideas, which oftenrequires explanation and prediction inan interpretative perspective from thetrainer initially, and also from thetrainees.

For understanding and shapingones’ self, ideas, facts, phenomenon andconcepts supposed to be interconnectedby identifying similarities and findinginteraction. Here the task of the teacher

is to analyse and synthesise and therebyReconnecting all those in a gestaltfashion. No technological devices haveyet been invented to perform the task,on behalf of the teacher.

Assessment of Prior Learning (APL)

Trainees are mature enough and possesssubstantial knowledge. However, it isoften observed that prior-knowledge ofthe trainee is hardly taken intoconsideration while offering trainingprogrammes and a sizable proportion ofresources and energy is wasted in almostentire span of training. The trend needsappropriate rectification throughassessment of prior learning at the veryoutset of the training to minimise thewastage of resources in various forms inteacher education programmes.

Soft Skill

Teachers should be well-equipped to‘understand’ students, and also to helpthem in understanding and interactingwith others. These may be termed asacting with soft skill, which coversphysical, intellectual and psychologicalawareness about the learningenvironment. Irrespective of possessing‘sufficient teaching skill’, the traineecan’t be a good teacher until and unlesss/he acquires these soft skills, whichalso incorporates enough caring attitudetowards students in terms of feelings,interest and values. Teacher educatorsneed to emphasis these aspects, whichare hardly uttered in the curriculum, andeven spelt out somewhere, rarelypracticed in the teacher educationprogrammes.


PostscriptRelevance of any programme largelydepends upon its contribution towardscontemporary society. In case of a‘subject of study’, recognition for thesubject is strongly tied with its’ ‘basediscipline’. Therefore, need of the day isto make the existing teacher educationprogrammes more need-based anddemand-driven to enable it to holdcommand in the sphere of human

resource management by catering thechanging needs of the contemporarysociety and of the nation, failing whichnot only the programmes will loose theirrelevance in the process of HRM, but alsowill become ornamental. Simultaneouslyit is essential to strengthen the basediscipline ‘education’ with a view togain feedback for the enrichment ofteacher education programmes in courseof time.

END NOTES

1. In Indian universities, educational research mostly initiated in aninterdisciplinary approach, where the outcome of such studies contributingtheories and methodologies to allied disciplines much more, compared toeducation.

2. Data in this context are available in the website: www.education.nic.in, theofficial website of MHRD, Government of India.

3. The study was initiated with the financial support of Indian Council of SocialScience Research [ICSSR], New Delhi, to bring up a doctoral dissertation abstractin social aspects of education.

4. Though the issue is much debatable, however well-recognised by the stalwartsin Indian higher education.

5. Data in this context are explored from the reporting depicted in ‘The theses ofthe month’ columns, periodically published by Association of Indian Universities,New Delhi in its journal University News.

6. Apart from human resources, as Professor Sen perceives, economic stabilityhelps in maintaining congenial climate, within which fruits of self-sufficiencyripe.

7. Development depends upon four basic components – viz., Independence,cooperation, enhanced skill and growth in production rate.

8. Most of these studies are carried out in the disciplines – Economics andInternational Relations.

9. Though literacy is one of the major indicators of formal education, however itcannot be considered synonymous with education.

10. ‘Welfare-Economics’ stressed the very concept.11. Among many others, gross domestic product is a component of economic-index,

which estimates human development.12. Please refer to world development reports.13. History of colonial East advocates the fact.14. Two major countries in the region – China and India hold a sizable proportion

of world market.


15. Though data in this context is yet to get a published form, however trend ofexisting data, pooled by the author (as a member of a small group), establishthe fact.

16. Such attempts of expansion of technical education without proper manpowersurvey drastically reduced the per capita potential earning of newly graduateengineers since last eight years [i.e., 1998 onwards].

17. Please refer to World Development Indexes.18. Experience reveals the fact.

REFERENCES

ASHLEY, B.J. et. al. 1969. An Introduction to the Sociology of Education. Macmillan.London.

BACKER, GARY S. 1964. Human Capital. National Bureau of Economic Research. NewYork.

BARR, R.B. and J. TAGG. 1995. From Teaching to Learning - A New Paradigm forUndergraduate Education. Change. 27 (6); pp 13-25. New York.

BASU, APARNA. 1972. Essays in History of Indian Education. Concept Publication. NewDelhi.

BISWAS, N.B. and R. ROY. 2004. Philosophy of Inclusion in Education: A CriticalExposition, Cit. in the post-seminar proceedings of National Seminar, jointlyorganised by University of Kalyani and Ministry of Social Justice andEmpowerment, Government of India, on Inclusion in Education: A Matter ofRight to Education for all. pp. 97-101.

FEINBERG, W. 1983. Understanding Education: Towards a Reconstruction of EducationalEnquiry. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

Government of India. Selected Educational Statistics. 1999-2001. Manager ofPublication. New Delhi.



HANSEN, D.A. 1967. On Education: Sociological Perspectives. Wiley.HAQ, M. S. 1975. Education and Development Strategy in South and South East Asia.

East-West Center. Honolulu.MYRDAL, G. 1969. Objectivity in Social Research. Pantheon, West Ministry. Maryland.PAPANEK, GUSTAV. 1988. The New Asian Capitalism: An Economic Portrait. Cit. in

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PETERS, R.S. 1983. Educational Theory and its Foundation Disciplines. Rout Ledge andKegan Paul Ltd. London.

REYNOLDS, M.C. (ed.) (1990). Knowledge Base of Beginning Teachers. Pargamon Press.Oxford.

ROY, R. 2002. Information Based Instruction and Future. Cit. in Annual ConferenceVolume of NEIES, February 2002, pp. 150-158.

ROY, R. 2005. Rethinking Teacher Education: Need of the Day, University News,43(51), pp 12-16.


ROY, R. 2005. Society, Culture and Education. Indian Science Cruiser, 19(2),pp. 29–36.

ROY, R. 2005a. Social Aspects of Educational Researches: Trends and Issues. IndianScience Cruiser, 19(3), pp. 39-46.

ROY, R. et. al. 2004. Education, Technology and Development: An Approach. IndianScience Cruiser, 18 (4), pp. 36-44.

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ROY, R., et.al. 2005. Gender, In Relation to Some Selected Psycho-educationalAttributes Among the Technical Teachers. Journal of Technical and VocationalEducation. 22(1), pp.7-13.

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Great Britain.

Reflections on NGO’s Interventions and Value Education 45

Reflections on NGO’s Interventions andValue Education

SHAKUNTLA NAGPAL*

Abstract

Introduction

The dynamics of value education beingfluid and flexible are not amenable to anyscale of measurement as theirquantification in strict behaviouralsense is not possible. However,behavioural changes can be inferredfrom the overt manifestation of humanactivities. Hence, no clear-cut strategy

for value education interventions can beevolved, but perception of change can befelt. The evaluation of value educationprojects of 36 NGOs was done, which werelocated in 14 States/UTs of India[Andhra Pradesh, Assam, ArunachalPradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jharkhand,Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya,Orissa, Pondicherry, Rajasthan, UttarPradesh and West Bengal].

A large number of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) are implementing valueeducation projects with the financial assistance received from Ministry of HumanResource Development (MHRD), Government of India under the “Grant-in Aid Schemeof Assistance for Strengthening Culture and Values in Education”. The presentstudy attempts to evaluate the programmes of 36 such NGOs. Presuming thatNGOs’ interventions must be resulting into tangible measured outcomes, furthersurvey through an open-ended questionnaire was undertaken with respect tovalue education indicators, mechanisms, parameters and strategies for judgementof behavioural modification in the recipients. This raised many methodologicalissues in qualitative and quantitative assessment, which are not only relevant tovalue education programmes but are also applicable to other interventions inbehavioural sciences. Mainly two techniques are generally used – introspectiveexpressed subjective data and participants’ manifested behaviour as objectivedata. There is a need to use other techniques such as questionnaires, tools, scalesand inventories, etc. specifically suited to the programme objectives, methodologyand clientele to establish credibility in this area and for sharing pragmatism ofpurpose. The paper stresses on interdisciplinary approach, which combinesphilosophical thinking and scientific psychological research and theory.

* Professor, Department of Teacher Education and Extension, NCERT, New Delhi 110 016.


The focus of evaluation was to find out:

(i) What are the purposes/objectivesthe NGOs seek to attain?

(ii) What types of input NGOs areproviding to attain their purposesand objectives?

(iii) How effectively inputs areorganised? and

(iv) What are the perceptions oforganisers, key resource personsand participants on the variousaspects of objectives, input,content, process and on theoutcome of the projects?

To establish this fact, empirical datawas collected from the NGOs engaged inthis specific behaviour modificationtransactional process, which may betermed as value education/peaceeducation/moral education/charactereducation/virtue education; evenspiritual intelligence may be called apart of it.

In order to complete this taskscientifically, an Evaluation Proformawas developed keeping in view thevarious dimensions of NGO’s work suchas training, development, research andextension related with the strengtheningof culture and values. Both qualitativeand quantitative data were collectedthrough field observation, interview andanalysis of various documents related toimplementation of the project such asthe project proposal and progress reports,programme schedule, materialsdeveloped, lists of resource persons/participants, sanction and expenditurestatement, etc. Accordingly, field reportswere prepared about each NGO’s

activities. The analysis of these reportsrevealed the following:

Objectives of Value Education

The objectives of these NGOs were foundto be very diverse and related to providingtraining in moral and spiritualeducation; propagating Indian cultureand values; creating social awareness,mobilising public opinion for health andwell-being of people; fostering citizenshipvalues; strengthening culture andvalues-related activities in schools andnon-formal education system;strengthening in-service training of art,craft, music and dance teachers;enhancing the competencies of teachersin developing teaching-learningmaterials; promoting Indian poetry andinterests of the poets in India; welfareand promoting the holistic physical,intellectual, socio-emotional and spiritualgrowth of all with special emphasis onthe minority community; promotinguniversal brotherhood, peace, respect forhuman rights; promoting communalharmony and national integration; pro-moting ancient vedic knowledge and so on.

Value Education Programmes

A brief analysis of various projects/programmes of the NGOs during the lastfive years revealed a wide range ofactivities. These included short termtraining and orientation courses forschool and college teachers; publicationof newsletters, journals, books and othermaterials; personality developmentprogrammes for children; organisation ofworkshops, seminars and conferences forcreating awareness on various issuespertaining to different themes such as


dances, festivals, workshops infolklore, classical arts, literature,crafts, theatre, yoga, etc. to presenta holistic vision of Indian art andculture and thus promoting closeinteraction among students andartists.

● Setting up of various clubs such asHeritage Clubs for the students forpromoting their capacity building,inculcating secular values andcreating awareness for the preser-vation of the cultural heritage of India.

● Organising personality developmentprogrammes for children with thepurpose of inculcating disciplineand its practical orientation, self-confidence, power of remembering,experiencing the power of inner self,holistic health and hygiene andother such values.

● Conducting value educationprogrammes for students to promoteself-development and academicperformance through short-termtraining.

The Target Groups

The target group in NGOs programmesvaried from school populace toindividuals engaged in other settingssuch as business organisation, etc. Theinstructional strategies/transactionalstrategies varied from curricular to co-curricular activities.

NGOs had developed different typesof materials (print and non-print) tofacilitate the conduct of their respectiveprogrammes. This included CDs, audio-cassettes, kits such as charts, dolls,books, booklets, and pamphlets ondifferent themes/issues in differentlanguages.

AIDS, cancer, adolescent andreproductive health, interfaith,consumer education, environmentaleducation, citizenship development, etc.Beside these panel discussions, culturalprogrammes, educational and socialprogrammes for the welfare of thedisadvantaged children, etc. were otheractivities organised by NGOs.

Though working on diverse issues,the central theme of all the NGOs hadbeen to strengthen culture and values.The different types of inputs provided byNGOs to achieve their objectives are:

● Value education trainingprogrammes for teachers andstudents for strengthening valuessuch as honesty, leadership, timemanagement, etc. through folkloreprogrammes, moral stories, games,biographies, active listening, andconflict resolution.

● Orientation programmes for keyresource persons (Educationists,School Principals, Administrators,Teachers Heads and Senior Facultymembers of DIETs).

● Inculcating values through musicand culture of Guru-ShishyaParampara, Gharana, GuruVandana, and playing instrumentalmusic.

● Organising art and culture basedplays, dramas and other suchprogrammes for children to providethem an opportunity to enhancetheir natural artistic skills andexhibit aesthetic expressionsthrough different art and cultureforms such as painting, singing,mime, etc.

● Organising cultural programmessuch as performance of classical


Qualitative Reflection on NGOsinterventions and OutcomeAssessment

The NGOs are indeed putting in asubstantial amount of efforts and henceit becomes imperative to find out theoutcome of the same. As the NGOs arecontinuing with these programmes formore than five years, it was presumedthat they might be adopting somesystematic techniques or measures forthe assessment of behaviourmodification. With this objective in mind,as an extension of departmentalevaluation, a questionnaire wasdeveloped to gather data from NGOsabout the indicators of value attainment,the process of value developmenttechniques, mechanisms used foradjudging the development of values,parameters used for value assessment,strategies used by them for judgement,of being their programmes as excellentand providing tangible learning outcomesfor assessing behavioural competenciesfor adjustment in the present complexculture through semi-structuredquestionnaire. However only one thirdof the sampled NGOs responded to thequestionnaire.

Analysis of Data

The qualitative study of the data revealsthe following findings on four areas ofNGOs intervention on value education.

(i) Indicators of Value Attainment

In most cases, NGOs pointed out thatvalue attainment indicators are“perceived unity in diversity; harmony ofreligions; social cohesion, national unity;scientific temper; universal human

values; adjustment to new environment;self-discipline; development of moralvirtues such as courage, honesty,cleanliness; spiritual attitude, i.e.seeking for knowledge; work culture;good manners, habits; commitment anddedication.” Value attainment indicatorsmentioned by some NGOs were relatedto organisation in thought and actions;maintaining disciplined life with adistinctive sixth sense; influencingothers positively; positive attitudetoward hygiene and daily work schedule;punctuality and work mindedness;creativity and confidence in theircreation; geographical andenvironmental awareness; maintainingsilence in classrooms, dining halls;participation in all activities with love,co-operation, tolerance; silence, respect,truth, etc.

(ii) Mechanisms

The NGOs used varied mechanisms/framework/techniques/ wayouts foradjudging the development of values. Afew examples are:

● Comparison of pre and post trainingattitude of participants through aquestionnaire as– (i) How do Iconsider others at present and howI was treating others earlier?(ii) Checking whether negative traitssuch as short-tempered, use ofharsh words, back biting, if presentearlier were later on controlled.

● Observation of behaviour as healthhabits, reading of relevantliterature, and participation innational functions, competitivespirit, tolerance and belongingnesswith the group. Regular observationof participants engaged in


discharging various duties indifferent programmes. Theprogressive change in desireddirection confirmed the impact oftheir interventions.

● Some other mechanisms includedinterviewing principals, teachersand parents, participants, self-introspection and diaries ofstudents.

● Creative writing (poems/songs/dramas, etc. on moral values),drawing painting and deityculture was also considered amechanism reflecting a change inbehaviour.

● Some NGO’s. have also beendeveloped and used assessmenttool covering five universal humanvalues

(iii) Parameters

NGO’s tried to make use of differentparameters to assess the attainmentlevel of their inputs. Some suchparameters were:● Observation, interest in the

activities; participation in seminars,excursions, prayers, meditation,shramdan, SUPW- and so on.

● Diary writing, discussions, visitingthe rooms and heartily conversationwith the trainees, pre-postprogramme change in theparticipants through filled in bio-data forms before the programmesfilled opinion forms analysis afterthe programme, etc. were consideredas parameters. Oral tests andwritten examinations too on thetransacted themes or content asinput during the programme wereconducted. Some such transacted/

input themes were awareness ofbehavioral sciences, nationalintegration; holistic health, Yogaasana, techniques of self-management, stress management,positive thinking and moralmathematics. Shunning off orleaving bad habits such as use ofdrugs, smoking, paan, beedi, gutkaby disposing material and leavingother bad habits or by written self-commitment or self-promises in thedisposal box were some of theparameters used by participants.Sharing of collective experiencesduring the concluding session ofthe programme, however, had alsobeen taken as parameters.

In addition to the above, someNGO’s considered perceivedparameters as maintenance ofdiscipline, respect and obedience ofparents, sharing household duties,better concentration, improved self-confidence, helping attitude,interest in reading good books, lovefor country and understanding itsspiritual heritage, understandingharmony of religions, regularity inprayer and practice of mediation.Respect for basic educational,moral and ethical values,inclination for participation insocial service, sense of fellowship inthe community of neighbors, feelingof concern for others irrespective ofcaste, class and creed, a civic sensefor a good social establishmentvibrant with cultural ethos anddeep sense of national identity andcitizenship were also considered asparameters for assessment.


(iv) Strategies for Judgement

The following strategies were used byNGO’s for judgement of participants’behaviour:

● Individual experience of partic-ipants, their report on the work /assignments, quiz programmes,presentations in seminars,suggestions and opinion given inthe questionnaires development ofcompetitive spirit, leadershipqualities, expression through visualarts using different media apainting, graphics, mask making,puppet making so on.

● Participation in competitions assports, painting, dance, drama,rangoli, role-play, narration ofexperience was also used asstrategies for judgment ofbehaviour.

Methodological issues in ValueAssessment

Value assessment is a case where a closecollaboration of philosophy withpsychology has emerged. Psychologicallychange or modification of behaviour dueto some intervention is quantified.Philosophically, the change andbehaviour modification process isgradual and is not amenable to strictquantification. No clear-cut strategy canbe evolved for value assessment butperception of change may be qualified.

The words indicators, mechanism,parameters, strategies for adjudgement,opinion on excellence were purposelyused to elicit some qualitative responsesof outcome assessment. NGO’s had usedsome interventions input as behaviourmodification interventions as per their

objectives. During the process of projectevaluation, it was observed thatsomehow many technical words havingdifferent connotation and meaning wereused by NGO’s. Moreover, the meaningsof some of these words were over lapping.The obtained responses, confirmed this.Here it will be appropriate to have a lookat a dictionary meaning of the terms usedby NGOs:

Indicator - to indicate, to give a clue,a hint, to point out, show, and be sign of.

● Mechanism– a tool; a way throughwhich the goal is achieved, aframework, a technique.

● Parameter– a scale having somenumerical values as meter, or equalinterval scale, etc.

● Strategy– a technique or art ofplanning.

● Opinion– Value Judgement,personal ideas or feelings, beliefbased on ground reality a short ofproof; view; professional advice, etc.

All these are used for the qualitativeassessment of behaviour modification.Value cannot be practiced in the closewalls of laboratory. An interdisciplinaryapproach in methodology by combiningboth qualitative and quantitativetechniques of assessing and predictinghuman behaviour was followed. The purequantitative and statistical techniquessometimes mislead the prediction in thiscontext. Quantitative analysis oftenignores consciousness and of any aspectof human struggle. It is difficult to findmeaning of human’s unique, internal,sub-conscious experience in theNewton’s mechanical paradigm. Thebehavioral sciences as psychology andeducation must focus on a balanced way


of life. In this context, totalitarianism canserve a purpose on the Indian culturalscale.

Sometimes, we need to bend socialphenomena as per human needs.Natural processes need to be reduced incomplexity and simplified intopredictable law like behaviour.Accordingly, in the present contextwords like ‘indicators’, ‘parameters’,‘mechanisms’, ‘strategies’ for adjustment,etc. were used. There was another reasonfor doing the same. The familiar classicalparadigm model cannot be ignored, whichexplains the world in an observable,assessable and predictable orderlyfashion. This is also considered bypsychologists as an idealistic modelwhich assumes that if we want toundertake scientific projects we mustask right questions, gather enoughinformation and solve the problem in asystematic way. The research wascarried out to further to confirm andverify the existing realities, throughquestionnaire by asking right questionson indicators: parameter for gatheringsufficient information and data todiscuss the methodological issues invalue education as reflection on NGOsinterventions.

In behavioural science it has beenempirically found that psychologists findthemselves in the discomforting positionof lacking clear criteria of meaning formany of the terms used. There aremarkedly different terms to describesimilar process. Due to this, the terms(indicators, parameters, mechanisms,strategies) were used to elicit similartypes of responses from the NGOs. Aneffort was made to share pragmatism ofpurpose and opernationalisation of

terms. Philosophical thinking (valueeducation) and scientific research andtheory were focused simultaneously.Thus, qualitative experimentalism inbehavioural intervention and valueeducation by NGOs guided investigatorstowards the ethical questions andmethods, which are also at the heart ofscientific advancement. In this way, thecontent analysis and phenomenologicalanalysis as qualitative modes of analysisthrough the personal evaluation in thequestionnaire were used. Thisinterdisciplinary approach was taken asan instrument for further knowledge.Presently, many scholars are followingthe ultimate warrant for their knowledgeclaims in this way. Their own humanexperiences are used. This conception,although not fully developed into aspecific research programme points theway to qualitative experimentalism forsolving the issue of NGOs interventionsfor value education.

The dualism between quantitativeand qualitativeness is an offshoot ofsubjectivity and objectivity, feeling andconcept, nature and culture, beauty andtruth, concept and object and the like.All the merit of such binary distinctionshould be judged ultimately on theirusefulness towards the behaviourmodification. Moreover, it is imperativefor us to make efforts to develop theoriesand principles relevant to our culture byundertaking these types of utilityresearches for our survival in the Globalcompetitive world and thus must adoptsuch new paradigms. In this researchmethodology, the components of valueeducation were streamlined opera-tionally, by keeping in mind the theoriesof Newton and Einstein who have


remarked “The structure of the world issuch that any object can be rationallypredicated if we were given a sufficientlyprecise description of past eventstogether with all the laws of nature”. Inthis context, universe of NGOs weresampled on which a narrow bridgebetween chaos and order has been takenwithout ignoring the model ofdeterminism. The factors of chance andprobability are not taken as convenientway of accepting ignorance but they arerather used as a part of a new extendedrationality.

NGOs are implementing valueeducation projects under the grant-in-aid scheme of Assistance forstrengthening Indian culture and valuesin our country. The need of valueeducation is arising in every moment ofour existence. A concept of uncertaintywhether it is developed or not is alwaysinvolved. The mental processes may befixed and knowable in some factual way,but creativity, authenticity, uncertaintyand anxiety in this process cannot beseparated. From a psychological point ofview, our concern should be to includethese concepts for a way to revise it sothat it may be experienced as a positivelife force in value education.

Conclusions/Suggestions

There is a need to design tools (bothqualitative and quantitative) for valueeducation as per the identification ofvalues aimed to be developed along withthe methodology to be used. Theinterventional input of NGOs will befulfilling its purpose if the objectives areachieved followed by appropriate impact,documentation and dissemination. Thisprocess establishes credibility of their

programmes and makes implementationpossible on a wider scale.

The data have further confirmed thatinterventional processes, their outcomes,dedication and commitment of associatedpersons and conducive Human ResourceDevelopmental (HRD) climate jointlycontribute towards the attainment ofvalue education. It should be acceptedthat value education is a slowinternalisation process, which requirescontinuous practice and feedback. Thisencourages reading and reflection thusmodifying the behaviour. The change inbehaviour can be assessed in four ways:self-expression (introspective expresseddata), manifestations of changedbehaviour in activities (Manifested),testing the changed behaviour throughappropriate information content (tested)and assessment of behaviour throughscales as inventories or ratings scales(inventoried). Observation of thoughtprocess, speech and action give anindication of the same. The change inthinking process, attitudes, and way ofoperations indicate the inner feelings andetiquettes of a person. The positiveattitude of accepting ideaswholeheartedly and adjusting with allkinds of situations or circumstances aresome of the examples. Similarly,respecting instructors, resource persons,teachers, obeying the rules andregulations indicate a positive change.Giving up one’s undesirable habits as anoutcome of intervention is a manifestedbehaviour. One’s own commitment anddedication with firm self-belief andcommitment of giving up the sociallyundesirable habits is also an expressedindicator. Manifestation of positivity inparticipants’ behaviour has been


reported by all observers and also by closeassociates such as parents, friends, andcolleagues, of the target group. All kindsof feedback unanimously confirmedimpact of intervention in behaviourmodification which was also confirmedfrom the available institutional recordsand in actions. It was also found thatNGOs at rural level have been successfulin bringing down dropoutrate in the schools as a result of theirinterventions.

Evaluation of programme is a processof determining the extent to which theobjectives of the programme areachieved. It facilitates the decision-making process related to thecontinuation of the project, refiningobjectives, content, input transactionalstrategies, methodology and finding outthe degree to which the goals are attained.

It is felt that some technical know-how must be obtained by these NGOsbefore starting their venture. It may helpthem in proper planning, execution andimplementation of their objectives.Therefore, suitable orientation

programme by MHRD must be plannedto help them. The NGOs beforeimplementation of the programme mustmake systematic attempt to list thevalues their programmes aim to develop;to find out the existing value awarenessor practices of the target group throughsurvey, and be aware of the feedbackstrategies for finding the level ofattainment after the intervention.Evaluation of different components of aprogramme and feedback fromparticipants, no doubt contributessignificantly for improvement of thequality of a programme and itsacceptability. However, it is desirable toassess/evaluate the level of those valuesfor which educational are provided.

However the tools and techniques forthis kind of assessment need to beframed suitably for the programmeobjectives, clientele and type ofprogramme. The tools/techniques mayinclude rating scales, checklists,inventories, anecdotal records, self-appraisal, peer-appraisal, diaries, self-descriptions, observation and interviewschedules etc.

REFERENCES

DALAI LAMA and A. BERZIN. 1997. The Gelug/Kagyii Tradition of Mahamudra.Ithaca, Snow Lion. New York.

EINSTEIN, A. 1997. The Cosmic Religious Feeling. in D. Fideler (Ed.), Alexandria: TheOrder and Beauty of Nature. Phanes, Grand Rapids. M1.

GORDON, K. 2003. The Impermanence of Being: Toward a Psychology of Uncertainty.Journal of Humanistic Psychology. 43(2). 96-117.

KALU, R. 1986. The Dharma that Illuminates all Beings Impartially like the Light of theSun and the Moon. State University of New York Press. New York.

MAY, R. 1977. The Meaning of Anxiety (Rev.ed.) Norton. New York.NAGPAL, S. 2004. Commentary on Editorial. Indian Journal of Community Psychology.

Inaugural Volume (Issue II), i-v.PAJARES, F. 2003. In Search of Psychology: Philosophical Centre. Educational

Psychologist. 38(3). 177-181.ROSEIK 2003. A Qualitative Research Methodology Psychology can call its Own:

Dewey’s Call for Qualitative Experimentalism. Educational Psychologist. 38(3).165-175.


Early Childhood Care and EducationReflections on an Innovative Programme

NEELAM SOOD*

Abstract

“The early childhood stages, until the ageof 6-8 years, is the most critical periodwhen the foundations are laid for lifelongdevelopment and the realisation of fullpotential; research shows that there are‘critical periods’ at this stage for fulldevelopment of the brain’s potential. Theformation of later attitude and values aswell as the desire to learn are alsoinfluenced at this stage, while lack ofsupport or neglect can lead to negativeconsequences, sometimes irreversible.Early Childhood Care and Education(ECCE) requires that young children beprovided care, opportunities andexperiences that lead to their all rounddevelopment – physical, mental, socialand emotional, and school readiness. A

holistic and integrated perspective viewsthe health and nutritional needs ofchildren as integrally related with theirpsychological/educational development.The curriculum framework and pedagogyfor ECCE must be based on this holisticperspective, taking into account thevarious domains of development, thecharacteristics of children at each sub-stage, and their learning needs in termsof experiences”.

National Curriculum Framework-2005, p.65.

Young children in India received informalEarly Childhood Care and Education(ECCE) traditionally by growing up inlarge extended families where caretakingwas a shared responsibility of several

This article is about an innovative pre-school education programme of an NGO inUttranchal called Uttrakhand Environmental Education Centre. After a briefbackdrop of practice of early childhood care and education in India, the papergives a detailed narrative of UEEC’s programme and highlights its key strengthi.e. participation of women in planning and management of the programme. Thewrite-up explains with anecdotes the transformation that the programme hasbrought in the lives of children, mothers and the community at large. Key featuresof the programme that have contributed to its success have been culled out.

* Assistant Professor, NUEPA, New Delhi 110 016.

Early Childhood Care and Education... 55

adults and older siblings. Enriched homeclimate served as a typical setting forchildren to have opportunities forlearning through participation in work,play and ritual activities, thus allowinglearning to occur in context and in aholistic way. Opportunities for play withpeer group and older children withminimal interference from adultsprovided for development of self-relianceand values of collectivity. A wealth of localmaterials and a rich cultural traditionof games, toys, songs, riddles, stories andpoems provided a cultural and linguisticcontext for learning.

Formal early childhood educationwas first organised in India in pre-Independence era by pioneers likeGijubhai Badheka and Tarabai Modakin Gujarat and Maharashtra. Also, withthe impetus from Maria Montessori’swork in India around the same time,some ECCE centres, organised aroundher didactic philosophy were started.Thus, ECCE centres were started byNGOs in some urban settings and serveda segment of the population who couldafford such services.

Later in independent India,universities played a key role inpromoting ECCE. Colleges of HomeScience spread across the countryprepared graduate students who majoredin Child Development, specialising inECCE and parent involvement. Facultyand students from these colleges servedas a critical mass that further promotedthe cause of ECCE in the country. Alsogrowth of ECCE centres run by voluntaryorganisations, serving poor children inrural India received a boost by thesponsorship from Central Social WelfareBoard, set up by the government in 1953.

Meanwhile, following the pronoun-cement of National Policy for Children in1974, Government of India initiatedIntegrated Child Development Services –a large-scale child developmentprogramme providing for holisticdevelopment of children under 6 yearsof age. Apart from addressing health andnutritional needs of the children andwomen, the programme includes pre-school education for 3-6 year-olds as animportant component. Currentlyoperational in 7.48 lakh centres, theprogramme covers 467.18 lakh childrenbelow 6 years of age (Ministry of Womenand Child Development, 2006).

Subsequent to proclamation of theNational Policy on Education, 1986,wherein early childhood care andeducation was emphasised as “a crucialinput in the strategy of human resourcedevelopment, as a feeder and supportprogramme for primary education…”(MHRD, 1986), pre-primary sectionsintroduced in the government schoolscontributed to widening the access topre-school education, particularly for thechildren from the marginalised groups.However, total coverage of children invarious public programmes has beenestimated to be around 22 per cent only(NCERT, 2005).

Besides the Government’s ICDS andother programmes and a network ofECCE centres run by the voluntarysector, a fairly large number of earlychildhood care and education centresare also run by the private sector, thoughthese are confined mainly to urban areas.A common feature of all the three typesof programmes, i.e. government,voluntary and private, is the fact theseare invariably designed and implemented


by the people without any directinvolvement of the beneficiaries.Although a component of communityinvolvement is often incorporated, blueprint is rarely prepared with the directparticipation of the people, theprogramme intends to serve.

This article is about a pre-schooleducation programme that represents aunique example of a voluntary effortwhich came about solely as planned bythe people themselves. Began as amodest effort of a non-governmentalorganisation (NGO) and intended as asupport service for women, the strategyhas since then developed into a full-blown pre-school education programmeand has contributed towards a silentrevolution that has brought atransformation in the lives of severalchildren and women in the hill region inUttranchal.

What follows here is the story of pre-school education programme run byUttrakhand Environmental EducationCentre (UEEC). Commonly known asBalwadi programme, this is one of theflagship programmes of this NGOcatering to 3-6 year old children and theirmothers. It may be mentioned here thatthe data for this study were gatheredthrough field visits of four pre-schoolcentres, observation of teacher-trainingsessions, and discussions with thewomen’s groups as well as UEEC staff.

The Narrative…

The Context

In mid 1980’s when UEEC team, keen tolaunch an adult literacy programme,went to the village and asked people whatthey expected from a literacy programme,

one of the women said “It is too late tochange our lives; it would be wonderfulif you can do something for our children.”Thus, responding to the felt needs of thewomen, two balwadis were started byUEEC with the active involvement of asmall group of women. From a smallbeginning thus made in 1987, now about7,000 young children in the age group of3-6 years receive pre-school educationin 300 balwadis spread across theregion. This is the population in remotecommunities which had hitherto noaccess to pre-school education of anytype – government, private or voluntary.

UEEC is primarily engaged in thefield of environmental education andhelps people organise and develop intocohesive communities who areempowered to create rich andsustainable lives for themselves. Alongwith 28 Community-based Organisations(CBOs), it enables people to come togetherand collectively tackle issues criticalto saving their environment andlivelihoods. People are directly involvedin planning and decision-making whileUEEC plays more of a catalyst.

Balwadis

Balwadis proved to be a boon as thewomen were relieved from theresponsibility of childcare and couldcarry on their daily chores of cutting andbringing fuel-wood and fodder from theforest with a reassurance that theirchildren were looked after well. They wereoften overwhelmed on finding theirchildren happily engaged in singing anddancing when they returned after toilingin the heat for long hours. This can begauzed from a mother’s emotion as shesays “as I seat myself on the ground in


the balwadi, tired and exasperated, mydaughter comes running and throwsherself in my lap chanting rhymes, mytiredness seems to just vanish” (Nanda,2001).

Balwadi plays a role that goes farbeyond serving a day-care. It draws thevillage into a cohesive community andrepresents a symbol of women’s unity. Itis the women who decide when to set upa new balwadi in a village. The timingsare also set as per their conveniencekeeping their seasonal workload in view.Women get together and decide how theaccommodation for balwadi is to bearranged. Most of the men in thesevillages have migrated to cities in searchof employment.

Women take an active interest notonly in setting up the balwadis but alsoin its day-to-day functioning. In severalinstances when the Shikshika (pre-school teacher) moves out, mostly due toher marriage, women take over theresponsibility of managing the balwadis.In this process, women get together andparticipate in all aspects of balwadiprogramme.

Balwadi settings vary a great deal,depending upon the place allocated bythe village community. The upkeep ofindoor space hinges on the ingenuity ofthe shikshika, as no standard patternis imposed on her. Variety in availabilityand use of play materials was clearlydiscernible through field observations.However, one common feature that wasobserved in all balwadis was a set ofenergetic children, singing full-throatedand enjoying balwadi activities.

Although initially seen as a safehaven for young children and a focalpoint for women to come together to

address environmental issues, Balwadishave emerged as institutions providingquality pre-school education to youngchildren which is very well aligned totheir socio-cultural context. Thephilosophy followed here is largely achild-centred education with a majorfocus on learning-through-playapproach. Balwadi activities are gearedtowards kindling children’s curiosity. Atypical day’s programme in a balwadi isa judicious mix of group-cum-individualand active-cum-restful activities. Anannual cost of a balwadi has beenestimated to be approximately Rs. 15,000that includes costs on salaries, teacher-training, and materials.

Impact of pre-school educationreceived by children in these balwadisover the years, on the growth anddevelopment of children is clearlyevident. Primary school teachers ofUEEC’s school programme have reporteda significant difference in balwadichildren and corroborate that thesechildren have more confidence, richervocabulary, emotional maturity andbetter comprehension as compared tochildren who enter school directly,though a systemic research is needed forempirical evidence.

Teachers

Local girls in their early twenties withan education of minimum Class X areidentified by the villagers and CBOs toperform the role of shikshikas. The focushere was to develop young girls in thevillage as teachers rather than hiring anoutsider. Local status of the girls wasbelieved to have advantages such aslanguage (same dialect) and easybonding with children. Nonetheless it is


interesting to note how UEEC’s policy onthis issue was revised.

It seems the practice of hiring girlsfor balwadis from the same village hadto be modified in view of some difficultiesencountered. The elderly people invillages did not take her seriously as theyhad seen her since her childhood andconsidered her a daughter. It was hardfor her to address serious issues to thevillage populace because of her‘daughter’ status. The organisationfound that hiring a teacher from aneighboring village, who is viewed as a‘sister’ made a marked difference to theattitude of villagers and she wasrespected more, which in turn boostedher confidence. This is a reflection onUEEC’s policies which are constantlyadapted to meet the local needs. It wouldnot be incorrect to state here that UEEChas no policy of its own; these evolvethrough their interactions with thepeople.

Shikshikas form the backbone of thebalwadi programme. UEEC and CBOshave the overall responsibility ofpreparing the young girls to perform therole of a shikshika. They receiveintensive induction training at UEEC’scampus. For this purpose, traineesare required to travel to Almora and livethere during the ten-day period oftraining. For some of them, thisrequirement itself may prove to be animpediment as they may not get theirparents’ permission to stay out for tendays (see box 1).

The training at UEEC bringstogether, master trainers, experiencedand newly inducted shikshikas. Asshikshikas learn through activeparticipation the songs, stories, andactivities they will conduct with childrenin their balwadis, they internaliselearning-through play philosophy.Discussions and practical sessions areorganised around themes such as

BOX 1*When we received a letter from CBO that four trainees from Dhangu village cannotjoin, as they do not have permission from parents, we decided to make a trip to Dhanguto take stock of the situation.

When we spoke to the father of one girl, he said “our daughter is not goinganywhere…if you want, you can train her here”. I told him all about the training andwhy it was important for her daughter to participate in a group, but he was firm in hisstand. I even told him that he was welcome to accompany her daughter to Almora andthat we could take care of his arrangements there. He began to show signs of relenting.My openness in inviting him to Almora seemed to assure him.

When the next training took place, all four untrained teachers from Dhangu cameaccompanied by five guardians. They spent three days looking curiously into theclassrooms while the training took place, after which they were convinced that thegirls were safe and went back.

The girls were ecstatic to have made the journey. I was happy because small triumphslike these have huge outcomes. The incident has led to a greater acceptance in theregion for girls to travel out of their village.

*as narrated by a master trainer at UEEC.Source: Nanda, 2001


understanding young children, theirdevelopmental experiences in relation totheir homes, and activities fordevelopment in different domains suchas motor, psycho-social, emotional andcognitive. Environmental education andissues of health, nutrition, hygiene,gender equality, respect for all religions,etc. underpin the discussions during thetraining.

The transformation brought in bythis training is remarkable. In ten days,these young girls undergo a kind ofmetamorphosis. To quote a visitor whoobserved the training at UEEC:“watching this transformation is likewatching a time-lapsed movie of aninexperienced teenager growing tobecome a self-confident responsibleyoung person” (Hollweg, 2006).

In addition to the training at UEEC,shikshikas also have an opportunity tovisit high quality balwadis and interactwith experienced teachers. Apart fromthis, they receive regular guidance frommarg-darshikas (supervisors) duringtheir fortnightly visits to the balwadiswhere new shikshikas are appointed.Master trainers from UEEC offer regularon-site support to shikshikas.

Shikshikas receive a nominalmonthly sum of Rs. 500 as honorarium.Apart from this small monetaryincentive, significant benefits accrue tothem through their association withbalwadi. These include averting earlymarriage, desire to study further and awill to do something for their village.Sense of self-worth and a positive self-image gives them a sense of purpose andmakes them more enthusiastic in theirwork. Success in tackling local issuesfuels their motivation to perform and get

better at their work constantly.Shikshikas thus begin to serve as rolemodels for other younger girls in thevillage.

Women’s Groups (WGs)

Shikshikas play a pivotal role in bringingthe village women together. Events suchas celebration of festivals, children’sbirthdays are organised at the balwadiwhere village women are invited. Sweetsare served and women sing and danceto mark the event. These events helpgenerate a sense of community and serveas an opportunity for forming women’sgroups.

WGs meet frequently and identifythe problems that need attention andcome up with solutions. In the past,WGs’s efforts to address the issues ofdeforestation and degradation of landhave resulted in lush green forests insome villages. UEEC staff, CBOs andshikshikas act as catalyst in WG’sdiscussions. WGs take steps to improvetheir life in any way that they can. Incase circumstances demand, womendo not hesitate to venture intosolving seemingly hopeless situations(see box 2).

Health of women has become apriority area for WGs. Common healthproblems such as anemia; chronicbackaches, etc. are tackled by thevisiting health workers who also workwith young girls and women to raisehealth consciousness. As a result ofthese developments, women now believethat they are the masters of their owndestiny. The cooperation among themand a strong sense of togethernessmakes them one unified community.Their collective efforts bring results and


give them confidence and a belief inthemselves.

Key Elements of Success

As evident from the description, thisbalwadi endeavour evolved with UEECleadership is an innovative pre-schooleducation programme reaching poorchildren in an area that remaineduntouched by public programmes. Theprogramme benefits young children, theirmothers, and the community at large.Given its able leadership, uniquecharacteristics and a specific context,the model may not be easily replicablein another context. This is true of mostsocial development programmes ororganisations as the success of anyprogramme ultimately is a function of thecritical fit achieved between the differentelements of the programme. The conceptof fit has gained importance as researchelucidates an important relationshipbetween task, context and organisational

variables (Ickis, 1978). Although theconcept is simple, yet the elements thatgo into achieving fit are varied andcomplex, especially when the concept isapplied to participative ruraldevelopment (Korten, 1980).

Nevertheless, based on the insightsgained through this exercise, some keyelements that have understandablycontributed to the success of thisprogramme can be culled out. Foremostamong these, seems to be thecommunity’s direct involvement and fullparticipation in design andimplementation of the programme.Rooted in the socio-cultural context of thefamilies, addressing the needs of mother-child as a unit, the programme incorporatesflexibility in implementation. Altogetherthese features have led to communityownership of the programme asevidenced by the fact that they take overthe balwadi’s functioning in the absenceof the teacher.

BOX 2*People in Mayoli village did not have electricity owing to a faulty transformer. Whenmen’s trips to the electricity office did not work, WG decided to take up the matter. Asmall delegation of women visited the electricity office and registered their complaint,but nothing moved.

In the next meeting, the issue was discussed and an action plan was chalked out.About forty women from Mayoli village and some from neighboring village left theirhomes at 4 a.m. and landed at the main electricity office at 7 a.m. They sat outside theoffice and waited; when the officer came he refused to meet them. When they startedshouting slogans and began to brandish their shovels, the office door was locked frominside. Not deterred, women kept waiting. When the door was opened to let the peon inwho took tea for the officer, a few women managed to enter and then the rest of themstormed into his office. They told him ‘if you can not arrange electricity for us, youshould leave this chair now’. The officer was, by then rattled enough. The transformerwas thus arranged and installed within 24 hours. That’s how Mayoli village got theelectricity.

*as narrated by a master trainer at UEECSource: Nanda, 2001


Second key element in this successstory perhaps has been the role playedby shikshikas. Being a local woman andthrough her warm interactions withchildren, speaking the same dialect, sheis able to bond easily with children.Shikshika has been able to turn thebalwadi into an exciting place forchildren, having received inputs in thehigh-quality induction training andthrough professional developmentsessions. Coupled with UEEC’s policyand all other efforts to develop localhuman resource as balwadi teachers,rather than hiring from outside, thiselement has been a major strength of the

programme. The third major strengthappears to be the comprehensiveredressal of needs of the women andchildren. Concerns such as genderequality, bringing harmony among socialgroups, health and nutritional inputsprovide the underpinning and have thusenhanced the value of the programme.Fourthly, the role of community agencyand the voice they seemed to have gainedthrough this process is indeed a majorcomponent as well as an evidence ofsuccess of this programme. Lastly, anunmatched commitment of UEEC’s teamand leadership seems to be the crux ofthe story.

REFERENCES

HOLLWEG, K.S. 2006. Observations, Understandings and Recommendations for theUttrakhand Environmental Education Centre – Reflections from visit May-June,2006. Unpublished Manuscript. Uttrakhand Environmental Education Centreat Almora.

ICKIS, J.C. 1978. Strategy and Structure in Rural Development. Harvard BusinessSchool Doctoral Dissertation. Mass. Boston.

India. Ministry of Women and Child Development. 2006. Integrated ChildDevelopment Services, Operational Centres. Retrieved on 8 March, 2007 fromhttp://www.wcd.nic.in

India. Ministry of Human Resource Development. 1986. National Policy on Education.Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Education. New Delhi.

KORTEN, D.C. 1980. Community Organisation and Rural Development: A LearningApproach. Public Administrative Review, Vol. 40, No. 5 (Sep.–Oct). pp. 480-511.

National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development. 1992. NationalEvaluation of ICDS: An Impact Study. NIPCCD. New Delhi.

NANDA, M. 2001. The Balwadi: Binding the Himalayan Village. Uttrakhand Seva NidhiParyavaran Shiksha Sansthan, Almora. UEEC. Almora.

National Council of Educational Research and Training. 2005. Position Paper ofNational Focus Group on Early Childhood Education. NCERT. New Delhi.

National Council of Educational Research and Training. 2005. National CurriculumFramework. NCERT. New Delhi.


Teaching of MathematicsAn Interview with Prof. R. Ramanujan*

Shubhra Majumdar (SM): Today, I havegreat pleasure in welcoming Prof. R.Ramanujam, Professor at Institute ofMathematical Science, Chennai.Professor, when I think of mathematicsor the mathematical science, the firstquestion that comes to my mind is howand what are the main goals ofmathematics education?R. Ramanujan (RR): As envisaged in thePosition paper of the NFG on ‘Teachingof Mathematics’ and NCF-2005documents, the main goal of

mathematics education is tomathematise thought. It sounds circularbut it is not. Well if you see scienceeducation, it’s a way of approaching theworld; it’s a way of studying the world.So in that sense what is mathematicseducation about? Its mainly aboutthinking about developing an attitudetowards problem-solving, it is about akind of technique that you bring in anda kind of analytical technique whichequips you to look at problems in amathematical way – a way that may be

During the formulation of the National Curriculum Framework–2005, twenty-oneNational Focus Groups (NFG) on various themes related to school education wereset up such as ‘teaching of Science’, ‘Teaching of Mathematics’, ‘ExaminationReforms’, ‘Gender Issues in Education’, etc. Each Focus Group has brought out aposition paper on the respective theme which provides inputs for the NationalCurriculum Framework–2005. The dissemination of NCF–2005 needs to be donethrough many modes apart from the print media so that it can reach up to grassrootlevel. In this regard, the Central Institute of Education, NCERT has recorded aseries of audio-interviews with Chairpersons of National Focus Groups. We presenthere for our readers a transcription1 of a recorded interview with Professor R.Ramanujan, Chairperson, NFG on the Teaching of Mathematics. The interviewwas anchored by Ms. Shubhra Majumdar.2

* Professor, Institute of Mathematical Science, Chennai and Chairperson for the National Focus Group on Teaching of Mathematics.1 The transcription of the interview was done by Dr. Ranjana Arora, Reader, Curriculum Group, NCERT, New Delhi and Ph. Newton Singh, JPF, DTEE, NCERT, New Delhi.2 She is a retired school teacher.

Teaching of Mathematics: An Interview with Professor Ramanujam 63

there in other disciplines but they do notaddress it effectively. So, mathe-matization amounts to bringing certainanalysis techniques and rigour intothinking, thinking about anything.SM: Now talking about this analysistechnique, what kind of curriculumwould be needed to develop it?RR: Well, any curri-culum tries to comeup with certain educational experiencefor a child and seeks to organise theseexperiences to achieve the goals set fora particular subject. In the context ofmathematics education, mathematicsoffers certain educational experienceslike formal problem-solving which findsa place in school education mainly inmathematics. There are other things alsosuch as visualisation, how do youvisualise certain situation and how dowe abstract it, how do you find arelationship between the abstractionsyou got and the subject you taught. Somathematics prepares the ground for youto think in abstract and formal ways. Thecurriculum in Mathematics uses contentareas such as algebra, geometry,trigonometry, arithmetic andmeasurement and through these meansspecific educational experiences arecollated, organised and offered in aparticular way distinctive ofMathematics.SM: You talked of algebra, geometry,trigonometry, etc., these are all very bigwords. Basically all education includingmathematics education is meant to bringenjoyment and fun to child’s life. Howdoes mathematics comprising ofarithmetic, algebra, and trigonometry,etc. bring enjoyment into a child’seducation process? I mean for a child oftoday.

RR: A child of today is a child of any day.Learning brings enjoyment when you findthat you have sense of success especiallyin mathematics. Mathematics isespecially very closely tied to what we callaesthetics. Because it is an appreciationof symmetries and it is an appreciationof pattern. In fact, the beginning ofmathematics is the moment when youstart looking at things and realise thatthere is a certain relationship that youhave discovered. So, it is in that processof discovering relationships and usingthem to look for newer patterns andwhen you start looking at patterns andsay certain patterns are beautiful andcertain patterns are useful, thisappreciation brings fun. This isparticularly true when you talk ofgeometry. The very process of looking atthe shapes and recognising them asformal things and relating them withthings around you develops appreciationand brings fun. Let us take an example,when you see a circle; you understandthe circle as formal thing. When you seesomebody wearing a bindi or bangle, youwill recall the shape of circle. Themoment you start seeing regularitiesall round and in rangolis there isplenty of mathematics. So, I think thatsense of fun is something that can bevery easily brought into mathematics.More so than many others subjects,Mathematics itself tends to have a lot offun.SM: What could you define as importantmathematics and its use in daily life?RR: Well in the National Focus Group’sPosition Paper on Teaching ofMathematics, there are a lot ofdiscussions about what should be thegoal of mathematics. We referred two


because that bit of Mathematics you willlearn by going to market, buying thingsand thereby paying money. Mathematicshas lot more to offer you. So, importantmathematics is for instance is what Isaid, looking at a bangle and seeing acircle in it. Because Mathematics isaffecting your way of thinking, it is notonly the application of formulas. Thisappreciation of what is ambitiousmathematics is something that not justteaches you certain formulae but allowyou to create your own when you need to.SM: That is a great idea. I would like totake you a little back. Prof. Ramanujan.Emphasis on the thinking process inMathematics is not a new thing in Indianeducation. Various commissions andcommittees as well as policies oneducation did give importance to it. Inwhat way is you’re your Focus Group’sthinking makes impact on the newcurriculum framework?RR: Certainly mathematics education issomething that is very old in some senseand particularly India had a very strongtradition of mathematics education. Formany centuries we have had many ways,for instance, of teaching fraction. So, onthe whole realm of content areas ofMathematics, like algebra, geometry,there has been continuity for a long time.This is one and secondly, in the NationalCurriculum Frameworks of 1975 and1988 there has been lot of emphasis onmaking Mathematics enjoyable. All thesehave been talked about. What may be adeparture if at all in the currentcurriculum framework is an emphasis onprocess. What we are saying is whilethere is a broad agreement on the contentof Mathematics, the process by whichMathematics education takes place need

categories of goals of Mathematics –firstly, the goals which are meant formathematics that are actually useful inlife – of an individual, for social purposes,for development, and for production. Wealso refer to as the higher goals ofmathematics namely, strengthening theinner resources of the child. If we reallywant to ensure that mathematicseducation is about thought, aboutstrengthening resources to think andreason mathematically, the curriculumhas to pay more attention to what is calledimportant mathematics.SM: Does higher goals mean a higherlevel of mathematics?RR: No. Let me make this clear. Whodecides the importance when we talk ofimportant mathematics? This is onewhich a child finds it worthwhile tospend time on it. A child attaches hisimportance to it. Suppose a child issolving a puzzle, he likes the activity butit is only when we give importance to thisactivity and motivate the child to engagewith it and participate in it, the child willstart realising its importance. It issomething a teacher finds it worthwhilespending time on. It’s somethingmathematicians agreed to bemathematics. Importance is somethingthat is negotiated. But what we aretalking about is once a child does aproblem and sees it somethingcompletely trivial, not in the sense ofchallenge, he/she loses interest in theproblem. You often give a problem whichsays that one pen costs that many money,so twenty-five pens will cost how much?SM: That is very mechanical.RR: Exactly, it’s not only mechanical butit is something that no child or teacherwill acknowledge as very important


to be given importance. We want to moveto pedagogy-oriented curriculum, acurriculum which places pedagogicalprocess at the centre. In some sensesmathematics education has notaddressed the pedagogy as seriously asit addresses the content. Even in termsof enjoyment, we are talking aboutcertain thing, but more we have talkedabout how these processes can be builtup from the primary stages to the upperprimary stages, then to secondary stageand further to the higher secondarystage. This formulation in some sense isan important departure that has beentalked about. We are saying that theseprocesses should in fact determine evencurricular choices. For instance in NFGDocument, in some places we say that iffor visualisation we need to spend moretime and more pages in terms of textbooksthen for this reason, we have to give upcertain content areas and this is worthdoing.SM: Now, talking about different stagesof education and content areas, etc. Iwould like to take you into a typicalclassroom situation. Here is a classroomin which roughly half the class is verymuch interested in Mathematics and forthe other half it is a daily sense of failureand fear. How does your focus groupaddress this prevailing problem in termsof decisions that you have taken?RR: The decisions come later but first interms of what we list as the areas of coreconcern. We in fact list this sense of fearand failure in the sense of disappointingcurriculum, as the most important thingto worry about.SM: I am so glad. This is a crying problem.I think every school child in India will behappy to hear this.

RR: Again, it is not that people areunaware but the centrality of it has tobe given importance. You said half and Ithink it would be a happy situation if itwere half-half but actually its not. It’sonly a small percentage of children whoreally love Mathematics and they areenjoying every bit of it. And about 80 percent of children not in the early ages butvery quickly get into a situation wherethey think that they are not gettinganything out of it and develop a Humenahi aata kind of attitude.SM: Is this because the books being usedtoday are same, as they had been usedever since perhaps the 1920s? There ishardly any change. May be the numbersand figures vary.RR: Well. Books have changed but not toa great extent. But books are not the onlyreason. Yes, books are definitely one ofthe reasons but more is because of thenature of the Mathematics educationitself. We made in the NCF-2005 thispoint about the shape of the curriculumwhich has become tall. This is in thesense that if you have problem with thedecimals you are going to have problemin fraction. If you have problem withfraction then you will have problem withalgebra and if you have problem withalgebra, you have problem witheverything that comes later.SM: If I may interrupt, what do you meanby problem? Problem, as the school childunderstands is getting the mechanicalcomputation all wrong or the answer doesnot come out correct and that is the startof the failure. So, how do you addressthis?RR: Well in the NFG on Teaching ofMathematics and also in the NCF wetalked about the tyranny of the one right


answer got by applying one algorithmthat is taught to the child. Now, anobvious solution is a multiplicity ofapproaches. We need children to thinkin many different ways to approach theproblem. That is why we talked aboutattitude to solve problem as the mostimportant thing. And in terms of posingmeaningful problem and solving that, forinstance, in algebra, we give a lot ofimportance to solving an equation. Here,we need to give as much importance tosetting up an equation for children to talkto each other about Mathematics.Coming back to this problem ofprocesses, it is really tied to that. Theyshould see mathematics not asknowledge, but as a process, processof visualisation, mathematicalcommunication and mathematicalargumentation. Unless they talk aboutMathematics, they will not enjoyMathematics. For that, in textbooks – thecurricular content needs to have whatwe talked about having more topicscloser to the ground. Not only inMathematics but in other subjects also,there is common problem, i.e. you haveto understand something very well andsomething partially and only a little youcan get back. Now, because of thesequential nature and the uses ofsymbolism, what happens is if youhaven’t understood something you feelas if you understood nothing. That isprecisely why engaging every child withsome sense of success is something farmore critical than ensuring theparticular piece of knowledge is taughtto the child.SM: I would like to pose another issue toyou and that is the settings beyond the

classroom for Mathematics. What hasbeen thought on these lines?RR: Here, we talked of several things. Oneis, for instance, a compartmentalisationthat is talked about in the NationalCurriculum Framework–2005.SM: What is compartmentalisation?RR: Firstly, a teacher of Mathematicsthinks that he/she has nothing to dowith the teaching of Science. Now, thiscreates a serious problem because achild who sees a particular equation orformula in Physics governing to a body,does not find any role of Mathematics toplay in it. You talked about quadraticequation in Mathematics but a child inPhysics will not think in that way. Onechild told me that the Sin ? when yousee in Mathematics it is about trianglesand in Physics it is called waves. Thiscompartmentalisation is not in the mindof the child but in the practice ofcurriculum transaction and also howteachers interact with child and his/hercolleagues. So, we don’t have ways ofborrowing or working together. Anotherproblem of compartmentalisation is thatthere is very little formal means ofcommunication between a teacher whoteaches at primary school and the onewho teaches at upper primary school.And also between the teachers who teachPhysics and the other who teachesMathematics. Also the teacher of highschool hardly talks to a teacher of ahigher secondary school and a highersecondary school teacher never talks toa college teacher. None of them ever talkto mathematicians or the other wayround. So, this compartmentalisation inthe sense that I only look at it bringsabout a problem in continuity and in


terms of borrowing techniques from eachother and helping each other. So, this isone particular problem that has similarthings and in some senses even withinMathematics, as algebra is algebra andgeometry is geometry; they are notintegrated properly whereby you bringdifferent techniques from processes ofsolving problem.SM: Let us come to specifics. What aboutthe Class X Board examinations? Howwould all these techniques fit into aproper system of examinations andevaluation?RR: Well the shadow of the board examlooms over the entire system. So, that’ssomething that we have to pay attentionto. There are specific recommendationsthat we have made in the NCF documentfor both classroom assessment and thepublic examinations. We have todistinguish between these things. It is apity that even a Class VII quarterlyexamination paper looks lot like a paperof Class X board exam. So in a way if we

make the changes all the way throughover a period of time, you have to changethe structure of the board exam and thekind of tremendous fear and stress itcauses among children. So it is notsomething that you can do in one shot.You begin with the board examination butyou have to work towards it.SM: And the professional development ofteachers, my last question to you.RR: I think this is the area which requirestremendous efforts from our side, whatwe must pay enormous importance to.And for that we need a multiplicity ofmaterials. Textbook alone is not enoughfor enrichment of teachers forstrengthening their foundations and forgiving different assessment models andfor instance, giving importance to theprocesses I was talking about. We needa lot of material for that.SM: Thank you so much. We hope thiswould be a good beginning makingmathematics a humanised subject bothinside and outside the classroom.


Quantified Visual Estimation ofSelect Attributes by Secondary Students

Types and Methods of Estimation – An Overview

A. RAMACHARY*

Abstract

Introduction

Students at school learn about“Measurement” while studyingMathematics and Science. Thisknowledge remains useful throughoutthe life for various applications. Studentsmeasure and compute variousattributes, like length, area, volume,

angle, mass and time, etc. Need ofaccuracy in measurement is wellemphasised in secondary education.However, absolute accuracy is notachievable in practice, as any measuringdevice or technique has its ownlimitations, like least count of themeasuring device. Most of the day-to-day

School education includes measurement and computation of various attributes ofphysical quantities, like length, area, volume, mass, time, etc. Any measurementor its computation inevitably inherits certain limitation, due to built-in errors ofmeasurement/computation and provides approximate value. Accuracy inmeasurement/computation often remains restricted to certain degree or level,depending on the measuring device and technique of computation, etc. Compromisewith the accuracy of measurement depends on specific requirement/utility. Absoluteaccuracy is hypothetical and do not meet the practical requirements. Estimatedvalues of these attributes often serve the purpose of the user, in day-to-day life.Study and practice of estimating certain simple attributes suffer due attention inschool education. Quantified visual estimation of select attributes by students ofmathematics and science is of practical use. Developing the estimating ability instudents, while teaching measurement, is likely to promote the application abilityof recognised concepts of measurements and related computations. This paperpresents different types and methods of estimation for the benefit of mathematicsand science teachers and hopefully to their students in turn.

* Research Scholar, CASE, M.S. University, Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat.

Quantified Visual Estimation of Select Attributes by Secondary Students 69

applications of measurement remainsatisfactory with near approximations.Realising the importance of this,“Estimation” topic is recommended bymany experts/committees to be taughtto the students. However, a caution isrequired for when to use estimation andto what degree the accuracy is requiredfor a given situation. Following presen-tation is an attempt to offer certain usefulmethods of estimation to the teachingcommunity, for the benefit of students.

Estimation is a kind of makingjudgement. It may be tentative andapproximate, offering the value, number,amount, size, etc. to some degree ofaccuracy. Better estimates are the onewhich remain close to true value. On theother hand measured values are at bestgood estimates providing accurate valueto the extent possible. No measuringdevice or technique can provide anabsolute true value. Ability to estimateany attribute with higher degree ofaccuracy is desirable and useful inpractical world. Better estimationensures waste reduction, accidentprevention, disaster control and alsobetter cost management, etc. Ability tomake a better estimation calls for certainbasic qualities. Critical observation,logical thinking, numerical sense,creative thinking, scientific attitude, etc.are likely to help the estimator inreaching out to better estimation.Conversely, these basic qualities arelikely to get enriched with good practiceof estimation. Good knowledge andunderstanding of “UNITS”, ability totransfer the acquired knowledge andunderstanding for practical applicationare few other key aspects related to helpfor better estimation.

Different types of estimation can beconsidered before discussing variousmethods of estimation. To begin with,Estimation can be based on sensorysignal inputs or without them. Sensorysignals include, signals from visual,audio, smell, taste and touch in isolationor combination. Most commonlypracticed and highly useful estimationis visual signal based one. It is handyand helpful in addressing various criticalrequirements of practical nature. Visualestimation merits greater attention dueto its utilitarian value. Further,estimation can be qualitative orquantitative. Qualitative estimation islimited to non-numerical expression.Small-big, near-far, bright-dark, hot-coldsort of assessments pertain to thiscategory. Different shades between theabove mentioned extremities of the rangealso can be observed in the qualitativeestimation. One such example is;extremely hot-very hot- hot-bit hot-warm-Luke warm-normal-cold-very cold-extremely cold. Human beings, animals,birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects,aquatic creatures, carnivorous plants(based on Bio-chemical sensing) makequalitative estimation in their day-to-dayactivities. Growing infants clearly exhibittheir success and failure in their abilityof estimation for their physical actions,involving psychomotor activities.

Quantitative estimation calls fornumerical assertion. Learned individualsmake quantitative estimation.Quantitative estimation needs to expressnumerical value along with its units, like6 ml. Quantitative estimation can bepoint estimation or range estimation.Point estimation offers a single value ofestimation. On the other hand range


estimation stretches into a band, and theestimated value can take any position inthat range including the extreme valueof the range. However, wider the rangeslower the quality of estimation. It is likelythat, lesser the level of confidence inestimation greater the possibility ofchoosing widening range of estimation.It is desirable to have the confident levelof offering better quantitative estimation.Quantitative estimation can be furtherbranched into computational and non-computational and computational can besimple computational using simpleformulae, or rigorous computations, likethat of weather forecasting or oil poolreservoir analysis, etc.

Students of Mathematics andScience study measurement andcomputation of various attributes foryears. Accordingly these students arerequired to develop good understandingof estimation and different methods thatcan be effectively used for suitable needs.

In the process they are expected to applydifferent concepts learned for practicalutility. Thus, practice of estimationenriches the student with the skills ofapplying different concepts of contentknowledge. NCF–2005 re-emphasisesthis need in identifying the instructionalobjectives of teaching mathematics andscience. Thus, one can appreciate thesignificance of quantitative visualestimation, as it promotes the realapplication of knowledge acquired inrespect of “measurement”.

Types of Estimation

One can have different ways ofclassifying the types of estimation. Onesuch brief way of branching of estimationis presented below. This, however, doesnot include Estimation in Mathematicalcomputation, which is presentedseparately at the end, for the benefit ofstudents. Figure-1, given below depicts thebranching of different types of estimation.

Scientists regard estimation of quantities and approximating solutions, when exact onesare not available, to be absolutely essential skills. The physicist Fermi was famous forposing estimation problems based on everyday life and showing how they helped in nuclearphysics. Indeed, when a farmer estimates the yield of a particular crop, considerableskills in estimation and approximation are used. School mathematics can play a significantrole in developing and honing such useful skills, and it is a pity that this is almostentirely ignored. Optimism is never even recognised as a skill in schools. Yet, when wewish to decide on a set of goods to purchase, spending less than a fixed amount, weoptimize Rs. 100 can buy us A and B or C, D and E in different quantities, and we decide.Two different routes can take us to the same destination and each has different advantagesor disadvantages. Exact solutions to most optimisation problems are hard, but intelligentchoice based on best use of available information is a mathematical skill that can betaught. Often, the numerical or geometrical facility needed is available at the upperprimary stage. Developing a series of such situations and abilities can make schoolmathematics enjoyable as well as directly useful.

National Curriculum Framework–2005, Position Paper: National Focus Group onTeaching of Mathematics, NCERT, 2006. pp 9-10.


Estimated value may have a truevalue coupled with some error (Bias /Contamination). Especially, whileconsidering the quantitative estimationwe may represent the estimation as:

E = E0 + ?e ...(1)

Where, E is estimated value, E0 istrue value and ?e is the error inestimation. ?e requires greaterattention. For all the higher accuracyrequirements ?e needs to be low enough.Due to waste accumulation ?e carriescost burden, higher probability ofaccidents, etc. Better estimation withleast value of ?e ensures better qualityresults, with least cost and minimumrisks. Instructional objective whileteaching “measurements” inMathematics and Science should be tominimize the ?e as far as possible.However, the estimator can becategorised into a very good estimator orover estimator or under estimator,depending on ?e. Failure to maintain

consistency in estimation may lead toanother category, i.e. inconsistentestimator.

E > E0 implies a + ?e meaningPositive error in estimation (PEE). Thisis called an over estimation and theperson making it is an Over Estimator.Similarly,

E < E0 implies a - ?e meaningNegative error in estimation (NEE). Thisis called an under estimation and theperson making it is an Under Estimator.

Conscious effort, with due attentionover a period of time is likely to help theestimator to improve his or herestimating ability and ensureconsistency. Proper check back habit toverify the correctness of estimationmade, enhance the quality of estimation.This feedback technique helps inavoiding or at least reducing identicalmistakes. Estimating attribute is not thesame for all physical quantities. We mayfind some identical or even common

Fig. 1: Types of Estimation

Estimation

EUSS ENUS(Estimation Using Sensory Signals) (Estimation Not Using Sensory signal)

Qualitative estimation Quantitative Estimation (Point/Range)(EQL) (EQN)

Computational Estimation Non-computational Estimation(CEQN) (NCEQN)

Simple Computational Estimation Rigorous Computational Estimation(SCE) (RCE)


methods. Following are some of thedetails of different methods of estimationin brief.

Methods of Estimation

Measurement or quantitative estimation,both require clear and correctunderstanding of units. Meter, Kilogram,Second, etc. Just as m, cm, etc. is usedfor linear measures Sq.m, Sq.cm, etc. areused for area and cubic meters, cubiccentimeters, etc. for volume. Practisingteachers observe how often thesecondary students commit mistakes inhandling these units.It is essential forestimator to have clear knowledge of unitconversions for linear, aerial and cubicalconsiderations. As an example we maynote one meter equals hundred cm. butone Sq.m equals to ten thousand Sq.cm,and one cubic meter equals to ten lakhscubic cm. Further for capacity l, ml or ccis used. One needs to have goodknowledge of these units for differentattributes along with their multiples andsubmultiples. Most of the studentsappear to lack clear understanding ofthese units, resulting in wrongmeasurement, estimation or computations.

There are few methods of estimation,or techniques scantily referred in theliterature with different names. One maynot find well-classified and explainedinformation on this subject. Authorinitiates and presents below a holisticview and summarised methods ofestimation, offering some original views,requiring further study. These methodsmay be considered as tentative anddeserve further development andexperimentation. However, reference ofpreceding authors work is mentionedwherever quoted.

(A) General Methods of Estimation

Following methods are useful inquantified estimation of variousattributes. These methods are basicallyusing some rational, logical and scientificapproach in arriving at the finalquantified estimated value for anattribute. However, Intuitive method maystand as an exception to it. One may findsome overlapping situations in thesemethods, as they are not rigid, isolatedand compartmentalised methods.

A.1 Unit Iteration Method

A small unit, or a well-known portion, isconsidered for estimating the target.Basing on critical visual observation theidentified unit is repeated mentally toarrive at the estimation of the requiredattribute. This is useful in estimatingmany attributes like length, area, mass,etc. Considering the length of a tile asunit, say, 20 cm in a room, having 20tiles placed on the floor yields 400 cm asthe length of the room. A brick volumecan be unit to find the volume of a brokenwall. Similarly, number of persons persq.m can be a unit in finding the crowdsize in a large area. A small unit of Rubiccube is one such example for estimatingthe total volume of the cube. Total massof stacked boxes can be estimated byconsidering the mass of one box as aunit, for iteration.

A.2 Bracketing Method

In this method both maximum possibleand minimum possible estimated valuesare considered. Average of these twovalues gives the final estimated value forany given attribute. Also, individualestimations of a group of persons can be


taken into account and by ignoring twoextreme end values one may take theaverage of remaining estimated valuesfor final estimation of an attribute. Thisis essentially averaging method. Onemay apply different possible methods inestimation and arrive at the averagedvalue of it as the final estimation.

A.3 Referencing Method

In this method a standard reference ischosen, like a ruler of 15 cm or 30 cm, or100 cm and on comparative basis it ismentally transposed or matched with thetarget object for estimation of targetattribute. How many times more or lessthe target is in comparison to thestandard reference when viewed isconsidered in this method. Reference canbe the shadow length of a person or meterrod at a place. By knowing the shadowlength of a building and using thereference shadow length of a person ormeter rod one can estimate the height ofa building. Area of an irregular shapedobject or ellipse shaped object may beestimated by considering the nearestpossible circular area, with suitablecorrection to it. This method isessentially a benchmarking method.

A.4 Formula Method

As the name suggests, one may usesimple or rigorous formula to estimate theattribute. After estimating the basicparameters required with the help of anyof the above methods, one can estimatethe required attribute, using the suitableformulae, like; ½ bh, v3/4 x a2, ðd, ðr2,lb, ðr2h, 4/3ðr3, D=s x t, M=d x v, etc.Considering ð equals to 3(approx), onecan estimate the circumference of a circleas the triple of its diameter. Different

simple formulae available inmathematics and science can help inusing this method of estimation.Newton’s laws of motion, Archimedesprinciple, etc. are examples of this.

A.5 Intuitive Method

This is different from the above logicaland some rational based methods. As thename suggests one may use intuition asthe basis for making estimation of anyattribute. It may be non-logical andrandom. Estimation may intuitivelyconsider the object as a whole, insteadof considering the part based iteration.Referencing may be considered in thistype of estimation. Innate potential of theestimator for intuitive thinking is likelyto play the key role in this type ofestimation. Choosing the requiredquantity of salt, without using anymeasure, for adding it to the dish underpreparation, for a large group of personsmay be an example of this type ofestimation.

A.6 Logical Deduction Method

This method is essentially used whenestimation is to be made in the absenceof any sensory signals. Though first fourmethods mentioned above are also usingsome logic in estimation, this methodexclusively depends on logical deduction,seeking some basic input information.How many left-handed persons are therein your city? Or how many persons in agiven city are users of spectacles? Suchquestions can be answered by logicaldeduction using some basic inputinformation, like the total population ofthe city and some rational, such as 50%population use spectacles in this part ofthe country. Popularly known “Fermi


questions” are of this type. When sensorysignal inputs are not the keydeterminers, estimator needs to dependon some basic information/knowledgeand make estimation using logicaldeduction. For example to answer aquestion like how many lefthanders arein Vadodara city? First need to get thereference like left handed persons in theworld level are 13% and this may reachup to 30% depending on the definition ofleft handedness. We may choose say, 13%as the basis. Next population of Vadodarais 12, 00,000. So 13% of the populationis 1,56,000. However, this can beapproached from different perspectivesalso.

(B) Estimation of Certain Select Attributes

Following are the details of estimating theselect attributes. These attributes areselected keeping in view of their greaterutility and inclusion in the school levelsyllabus. Different methods mentionedabove are used in the estimation of thefollowing select attributes.

B.1 Distance/Length/Thickness/ Width/Height/Depth

There are few methods and techniquesused in judging the distance by defensepersonnel. (Mahindra Singh.2002).Details are as follows.

Methods of judging distances

(i) Unitary method for judging distance

This is essentially based on unit iterationmethod. Primarily a small unit ofdistance is considered; say 100 metersas the unit and its multiples areconsidered while estimating the target

distance. This is more useful up to 400meters, after which different methods areconsidered by the defense personnel.

(ii) Visible method for judging distance

A person’s height and shape is observedfor estimating the distance to that personfrom the observer. This can be trainedfor 200 to 600 m distance judgement.Soldiers are trained for lying, kneelingand standing positions in practising thismethod while keeping in view of followingpoints.

● Up to 200 m person’s face and partsof the body can be seen clearly andperson can be recognised.

● At 300 m person’s face appearsblurred, but body parts appear.

● At 400 m person’s face cannot berecognised but body shape is visible.

● At 500 m person’s body belowshoulder appears thin and lean.

● At 600 m person’s head appearslike spike and face does not appear.Further, lower part of the bodyappears too lean.

(iii) Bracketing method for judging distance

This is good for estimating distance morethan 600 m. In this method highest andlowest possible values are estimated,and then the average of these two valuesis taken as final estimation. Heremaximum and minimum estimations arebracketed/averaged.

(iv) Key range method for estimating distance

In this method known range is comparedwith unknown objects on left, right orahead or backward positioned objects ofknown objects. Known distance of aparticular object is used to estimate its


neighboring objects. Known distance ofone object is the key element in thismethod whose range is applied as a basisfor determining the distance to theunknown neighboring objects.

(v) Section average method for estimating distance

Members in the group are asked toestimate the distance to the target object.Extreme values of the estimation madeby the group are ignored and the averageof the remaining values given by themembers is considered for arriving at thefinal estimation of the value.

It is important to note that, Distanceappears less than actual value whenBrightness/light is excess or sun isbehind observer. Target is bigger thansurrounding objects. Terrain isdepressed between target and observer.Observer positioned below and lookingupwards. Similarly, Distance appearsmore than actual value when brightnessis less or sun is in front of observer,target is smaller than the surroundings,observing from a narrow place, or a valley,or a forest, observing the target placedat a lower position with respect to anobserver and also, when the observer isin lying position.

Few other exclusive methods are alsoused by defense personnel in judgingdistances. There are few Generalmethods of estimation, which are usedin estimating any of the attribute, likelength, area, volume, mass and time etc.

Length, thickness, width can beeasily estimated using unit iteration andreferencing methods. Choose any of thereference like, a mark on the fore fingerequals to about 2.5 cm. Or 1”. A ruler ofgeometry box measures 15 cm (6”) or its

bigger version measures 30 cm (1’).Known Height of a person can be areference for certain objects estimation.One may find many common day-to-dayitems like, doors, windows, match box,trunk, etc. have standard sizes/measures, which can act as reference.Mentally, place standard reference on tothe target object and estimate how manytimes the target object measures, bycomparison with the reference selected.Height of goods carrying containers is of9.5 feet and 8.5 feet. And, for curvilinearlines one may choose to mentally holdthe ends of the curvilinear line andstretch it to be a rectilinear line andtaking help of a reference its length canbe estimated. Alternatively choose asmall unit of length as a reference andmentally place it along the curvilinearline to sum up its length estimation. Asimple formula like Distance equals theproduct of speed and time (D=S × T) mayhelp in distance estimation by knowingthe speed and time elapsed while movingin a vehicle. One may estimate thedistance to the thundering/lighteningoccurred at some height in the sky.Considering the speed of sound as 330m/s and by knowing the number ofseconds elapsed (say 3 seconds) from thelightening to hearing of sound ofthundering we may estimate the heightat which the lightening occurred (330 ×3= 990 m) Shadow comparisons of knownobjects to unknown object’s shadow andby using proportionate computation onecan estimate the height of the unknownobject.. Normal buildings have about 10’internal height per floor. So a five storybuilding’s height will be five times of it.Depths can be estimated say, by droppinga pebble from height (h) and noting the


time (t) of its touch at the bottom and byusing the simple formula from Newton’slaws of motion and taking accelerationdue to gravity as 10m/s2 we may estimatethe depth as: h=5xt2. Say, for example; astone is dropped into a deep well and ittakes one second for touch down impliesthat the depth of the well is 5 meters.

B.2 Area Estimation

Area estimation for regular geometricalshapes can be found by using simpleformulae, as discussed at FormulaMethod. In case of irregular geometricshapes area can be estimated bymentally fitting in the regular shapedfigure like nearest square/rectangle/circle. Even smaller square of I sq.cm.can be repeated number of timesrequired to fill into the irregular shapedfigure to estimate its area, to the nearestapproximation. Normal brief case has asurface area of 1360 sq.cm. Similarly, atypical railway goods wagon of closedtype has about 39 sq.m area in side.Normally used white paper’s area of “A4size” is (21 × 29.7) 623.7 sq.cm. suchstandards can be useful in certainestimations. It may be useful to notehere the ISO 216 standard sizes ofdifferent paper sizes: A0-1 sq.m., A3 is29.7 × 42 sq.cm.. Books are of sizes B5is 17.6 × 25 sq.cm., B6 is 12.5 × 17.6sq.cm., A5 is 14.8 x 21 sq.cm., A6 is 10.5× 14.8 cm.

B.3 Volume Estimation

Volume estimation can be done similarto that of area estimation by using simpleformulae used for cube (a3), cuboid (lbh),cylinder (ðr2h), cone (1/3ðr2h), sphere(4/3ðr3) etc. For irregular object one can

always mentally imagine it to the nearestsphere or cube for the estimationpurpose. In certain cases the volumes ofwater displaced by say, a stone can givethe volume of the stone. One may havethe idea of some standard measures likea tea spoon measures 5 ml (1 ml = 1cc).Water or milk pouches, mineral waterbottles and other soft drink bottles givean idea of capacity of the liquid in ml.Liquid containing tankers have standardcapacity like 12Kl. and big containershave fixed volumes. Beakers, burettesand other flasks have standardmeasures and can be considered forreferencing in estimation. Water storagetanks/over head tanks/drums maintainsome standard capacities. A normalplastic bucket contains 15 ltr. And oftenone may find graduations marked on it.Similarly shoe box volume is 10” × 6”× 6”(360 cubic inches).

B.4 Angle Estimation

As we know angles can be acute (<900),right (=900), Obtuse (>900), straight(=1800), or reflex (>1800). One needs tobe clear about some of the commonlyused angles like, 00, 900, 1800, 3600.Further, rotational positions of theseangles also required to be clearlyunderstood, as it helps in properestimation of angles. Angles lyingbetween 00 and 900 like, 300, 450 and600, needs to be well versed in theirdifferent orientations, like rotation,inversion and reversal or mirror imageof the angles. Two set squares availablein any geometry box give the reference,one with a set of 300,600, 900 and theother with 450, 450, 900. Subdivisions ofangles like, 10 = 60’ and 1’ = 60” is useful


information. It may be clear that theangle formed between the two side raysof an angle remains constant for anylength of the rays. That is angle will notchange with the increase or decrease ofside rays. Trigonometrically it is possibleto find the heights and distances andalso certain astronomical distances. Thediameter of moon or sun can be estimatedtrigonometrically by using the relation2DTan (è/2) and by knowing thedistance (D) to them and the angle (è)formed between the lines of sight drawnfrom eye to the either end points alongthe diameter of the sun or moon. It isuseful to note that 40 angle is formedbetween the two lines of sight passingfrom your eye and running over the tipsof the closed fist’s mounts of fore fingerand small finger. Similarly, 190 angle isformed by the lines of sight passing fromyour eye and running over the tips ofstretched out finger tips of small fingerand thumb. These values can be usedin the estimation for knowing angularseparation.

B.5 Mass/Weight Estimation

For normal and simplistic consideration,it is clear that the mass (m) is quantitycontained in the object and it remainsconstant at all places. Weight is the forceacted upon the object due to the gravity(g) of the earth. The value of g may betaken as 10 m/s2. Accordingly we noteW = mg or mass equals to weight dividedby 10. Also one may consider to estimatemass equals to the product of densityand volume, as Density = mass/volume.Using these relations and depending onthe available information one canestimate the mass. Also one canassimilate certain standard values like

100g, 200g, 500g, 1kg, 5kg, 10kg, 25kg,50kg, 100kg, etc. One may also use theknowledge of coins mass/weight incertain cases. Using these as referencesone can estimate the given mass of anunknown, by visual comparison.However, one needs to keep an eye onthe density variations due to change inthe material or composition. Packedmaterials of the day-to-day use aremostly printed with value of mass on it,critical observation of these simple thingsaround also helps in better estimationof unknown mass of different objects. Atypical closed railway goods wagoncarries up to about 25 tons (25000Kg)and fully loaded closed railway wagonmeasures about 56.5 tons. Doctors, inspecific emergencies, use Weightestimation of a child (in kg) equals todouble of the sum of age of the child inyears plus four (Wt in kg. = 2 × Age inyears+4). Alternatively, body height upto a maximum of 1.45m or 34 Kg can beestimated by considering the calibrationof tape measure of body height to theweight (J A W Argall et al. 2003). Shoesize, mid-arm circumference and agemay be helpful in predicting the weight(Will Carroll, et al., ibid).

B.6 Number/Quantity Estimation

To estimate the number of objects in agroup one may choose a small portion/area say 1m × 1m and estimate thenumber of objects in it and iterate thisunit information to cover the full targetarea to get the total number estimated.However, density variation in the crowdmay affect the final estimation. For non-uniform density distribution casesprocess can be repeated choosing unitarea each time from different corner and


finally taking the average of all suchpossible estimation as the finalestimation. For systematically placed likesoldiers in a formation or crop plantationsin some formation, following a regulargeometrical pattern, one can count alongthe length and along the breadth.Product of these two measures gives thetotal estimate. For estimating thenumber of dots in a big circle one canchoose a quarter of it for initialestimation and the four times of it givesthe final estimation. Similarly, numberof dots in a triangular figure can beestimated by considering anotherinverted triangle attached to it making anear rectangle and make estimation ofits number using the afore saidtechnique and later taking half of thisvalue gives nearest possible number ofdots in a triangle.

B.7 Time Estimation

Time at a given instant is different fromthe time elapsed in an event. Estimatingthe time at a given instant can beestimated by using any of the oldmethods like shadow length, due to sunlight or stars position, etc. Shadowlengths peak at sunrise and sun settimes. Shadows progressively reduce tillnoon and reverse the trend to reach itspeak value by sun set time. To estimatethe time elapsed in an event continuouscounting, following the time rate of clock,i.e. 1 count per second through out theevent helps. Periodic sounds likedripping of water can also be used forreferencing in estimation of elapsed timeintervals. T ime estimation Gizmo(www.explorelearning.com) may be ofsome use for practising the time

estimation. It is worth estimating andmonitoring one’s own time consumptionrates in simple day-to-day activitieslike, time spent in having a meal,writing a page of A4 size, talking tofriends, etc.

There are few websites offering thepractising techniques for length, area,mass, etc. estimations. www.shodor.orgis one such site (Bethany Hudnutt) thathelps in improving estimation ability.Using different methods one may improvethe estimating ability over a period oftime, with practice.

(C) Estimation in Mathematical Computations

The methods of estimation discussedbelow essentially useful in mathematicalcomputational works. These methodshelp in providing quick values ofestimation. Gail Englert(2005), JudithThreadgill-sowder (1980) and others workedon these computational estimations.

C.1 Reasonableness Method

This is to get the idea in general whetherthe answer is with in the range ofreasonableness. As an example weconsider seeking the product of 0.5 ×12.6. If the answer given is 63 we observeit to be unreasonable, as the half (0.5) of12.6 cannot be greater than it. Similarly,1/4 × 40 or 0.25 × 40, etc. can be thoughtover. Here, one attempts to look at thereasonableness of the answer to satisfywhether the answer is in the range ofappropriateness, by quick check method,without going into the rigor of themathematical operations. We know v4=2& v9=3, it is reasonable to find the valueof v5 lying between >2 and <3.


C.2 Front End Estimation

In this method front parts of the numbersare considered first, and for computingonly with them, then adjusting answerusing a quick estimate of the rest of thenumbers. Consider an example like;545+391+143. There are 5 hundredsplus 3 hundreds plus 1 hundred addingto 9 hundreds. Then looking at theremaining figures, i.e. 45 and 43 is about1 hundred and similarly 91 is nearlyanother hundred adding to 2 morehundreds. Finally, sum estimated will be(9+2) 1100. Seeking differences betweentwo numbers also can be considered bychoosing nearest hundreds, etc. One mayalso consider multiplication in thismethod, say 352 × 524. This can betreated as 3 hundreds and 5 hundredsresulting to 15 followed by four zeros, sothe final estimated value shall besomewhat more than 1,50,000.Alternatively, one may consider350 × 500 = 1,75,000, a better estimate,against the actual product value of1,84,448. One may think of manyopportunities and ways of choosingto get the nearest value for quickchecks.

C.3 Clustering Method

Clustering method uses to rearrange thenumbers for comfortable solution.Consider 17+38+43, one may choose toconsider it as 17+43+38. Inherent aspectis to rearrange the numbers in such away you choose to put two numbersadding to tens like 7+3=10. When you aremore at ease with pairs that add to tenslike 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6, 5+5 and thereverse combination of these numbers alladding to tens. Another way is to make

the numbers compatible while addingthem. As an example we may consider348+567. Take out 2 from567 and add itto 348, making it as 350, then balance565 can be added to 350, resulting in915. Alternatively, taking out a number52 from 567 to make 348 as 400 and thenadding 400+(567-52=515)=915. Thesemethods initially look not so easy butwith a good practice they become morecomfortable to work with. In case ofsubtraction, like 567-348, we may add 2to both the numbers making them as569-350, for somewhat comfortablesubtraction.

One need not consider the methodsdiscussed above as comprehensive andfinal, as there can be many moresituations where a better application ofestimation can be tried out. The objectiveis to apply better solutions to realisticsituations using different methods ofestimation.

Conclusion

Knowledge of “Measurement” is veryuseful in solving many day-to-dayproblems. Measuring various attributesincluding their computations is wellemphasised at school level, whileteaching Mathematics and Science.However, no measurement is absolute.In other words all measurements areapproximations to some degree ofaccuracy, especially measures ofcontinuous nature like, length, mass,time, etc. An exception may be countingof discrete number of objects. Estimation,being a very practical and useful tool inmeeting the requirements of day-to-dayneeds students need to learn estimation.Students may be encouraged to develop


good sense of quantified visualestimation and acquire a better level ofestimating ability, for quick grasp of theproblem. For this, they need to be madeaware of various methods of estimationfor different attributes, which they arestudying at school level. Thus, studentsare likely to contribute to wastereduction, accident prevention,disaster control, besides they will be

able to apply their understandingand knowledge for effective problem-solving. In the process they are likelyto exercise and nurture their creativethinking, logical deduction andscientific attitude, etc. Differentmethods of estimation and estimatingselect attributes presented above arelikely to help to some extent in thisdirection.

REFERENCES

ARGALL, J.A.W. et al. 2003. Archives of disease in childhood, 88: 789-790.BETHANY HUDNUTT. 2005. The Shodor Education Foundation, Inc., Durham. New York

27705. www.shodor.org/interactive/activities.GAIL ENGLER T. 2005. Estimation. The Math Forum. Drexel University.

www.mathforum.orgJUDITH THREADGILL SOWDER. 1984. Computational Estimation Procedures of School

Children. Journal of Educational Research. 77 (6), P. 332.MAHINDRA SINGH. 2002. Dogra Presis, Dadwala, Dogra Publishers, Faizabad.

Seventh All India School Education Survey... 81

Seventh All India School Education SurveyA Statistical Profile on Selected Parameters

of School Education

SANDEEP KUMAR SHARMA* and VIRENDRA PRATAP SINGH**

Abstract

IntroductionThe school education had been realisedan important sub-sector of the educationsector of India’s human development interms of its contribution in the formation

of world’s largest democracy sinceindependence. Accordingly, the People ofIndia had given due importance in theIndian Constitution with a nationalcommitment enshrined under Article 45

This paper attempts to document, and analyse the statistical profile on selectedparameters of school education, viz., rural habitations and habitations havingelementary level schooling facilities, number of schools, enrolment at various schoolstages, gross enrolment ratio for elementary school stages, teachers in schools,pupil-teacher ratio and type of school buildings in India based on the seventheducational survey in view of the education for all and policy underlying it. Thepresent study also presents the temporal comparisons with respect to the SixthSurvey, and reveals that the access of primary/upper primary schooling facilitieswithin a walkable distance of one/three km had not been achieved for all ruralhabitations in India, thereby, has been requiring an extensive review of distancecriterion. The expansion in number of rural schools has been quite slow anddisparities among and within States/UTs are prevailing. Efforts are also requiredto create the pucca/partly pucca school buildings in the country. The grossenrolment ratio in rural area to total enrolment of Classes I to V and Classes VI toVIII have increased over the period of nearly one decade. The pupil-teacher ratioin primary schools in rural area has gone up, thereby, showing a poor achievementand requires an urgent overview by the public authorities.

* Research Associate, Department of Educational Surveys and Data Processing (DES&DP), NCERT, New Delhi.**Reader, DES&DP, NCERT, New Delhi.


in the Constitution to provide free andcompulsory education to children up tothe age of 14 years, and subsequentlyeducation was considered by the Peopleof India a fundamental right of thechildren up to the referred age. Toachieve the national commitment, theGovernment of India (GOI) hadundertaken the First All IndiaEducational Survey in 1957 foreducational planning, formulation ofeducational policies, and mid-termassessment of the Five Year and AnnualPlans. Thereafter, the National Councilof Educational Research and Training(NCERT) had conducted six educationalsurveys in the year 1965, 1973, 1978,1986, 1993 and 2002 underadministrative and financial support ofthe GOI. In addition, the data of thesesurveys were widely used by theresearchers, educationists and socialscientists for various purposes befittingto the human development. The seventhsurvey had been undertaken to fulfillthese aspirations, and was renamed asthe Seventh All India School EducationSurvey, as its scope had been confinedto the school education. The date ofreference for the survey had been30 September 2002. The survey wasconducted on census basis, and sevenschedules had been canvassed for thecollection of data in all 35 States/UTs ofthe country. The seventh surveyincluded the variety of data items frommany sources including public andprivate schools vis-à-vis the surveyreports contained information on thevariety of aspects on educationalstatistics. These referred survey reportswere distilled on following given aspects(NCERT, 2007).

● State Policies and Practices inSchool Education;

● Schooling Facilities in Rural Area;● Schools, Physical and Ancillary

Facilities;● Media of Instruction and Languages

Taught;● Incentive Schemes;● Enrolment in Schools;● Teachers and their Qualifications;● Schools for Physically Challenged

Children;● Specific Facilities in Secondary and

Higher Secondary Schools; and● Pre-primary Classes and Alter-

native System of Schooling.

The demographic information basedon the Population Census-2001conducted by the Registrar General ofIndia were also included in theeducational statistics reports of seventhsurvey consisting of 593 districts, 6,374sub-districts (Sub-districts are termed asCommunity Development Blocks in someStates/UTs as per communication heldwith the Office of Registrar General ofIndia), 5,291 towns and 6,36,715 villagesincluding uninhabited villages in thecountry. The seventh survey data hadprovided certain basic inputs, viz.,identification of habitations withoutschools; their population and distanceat which schooling facility is available;and to provide schooling facilities therein.Besides, it had given inputs for planningnew schools, upgrading existing schools,and enhancing the essential facilitiestherein.

In view of the significance ofeducational surveys for systematicplanning of school education in thecountry, t1he present study will examine


temporal comparison thereof with sixthsurvey on key parameters of schooleducation in the country. It will certainlyprovide the necessary areas ofintervention to be undertaken by thepublic authorities in achieving the goalsof education for all.

Rural Habitations

The concept of rural habitations hadbeen very dynamic, and it had beenchanging from survey to survey. Thedetails of dynamic changes in theconcept of rural habitation had beendiscussed in the literature elsewhere(Singh, 2005: 36-37). As per the seventhsurvey guidelines, the definition of a ruralhabitation is given below (NCERT, 2002:178; Singh, and Raju, 2006: 23).

(a) A habitation is a distinct cluster ofhouses existing in a compact andcontiguous manner; with a localname; and its population should notbe less than 25 in plain areas andnot less than 10 in hilly/desert/sparsely populated areas. In casethere exists more than one suchcluster of houses in a village, theywill not be treated as separatehabitations unless the convenientwalking distance between them ismore than 200 metres.

(b) Any habitation with population lessthan 25 in plain areas or withpopulation less than 10 in hilly/desert/sparsely populated areasmay not be given a separate statusof a ‘habitation’ and its populationwill be included in the nearesthabitation of the same village. Butthis condition will not apply to avillage with one habitation only.

the salient features of school educationon selected parameters based on theseventh survey data to demonstrateconditions of school education in thecountry. Tangible comparisons with sixthsurvey data will also be made to revealthe temporal changes over two points oftime covering a period of nearly onedecade.

Materials and Methods

The secondary data on school educationfor India were collected from the Sixth AllIndia Educational Survey (SAIES) Reportsas on 30th September 1993, and SeventhAll India School Education Survey (SAISES)– Main Reports as on 30th September2002. The data on number of ruralhabitations and habitations havingelementary level schooling facilities,number of schools, enrolment at variousschool stages, gross enrolment ratio forelementary school stages, teachers inschools, pupil-teacher ratio and type ofschool buildings for elementary levelschools were collected from the referredsurvey reports (NCERT, 1998 andNCERT, 2007).

The tabular presentation of datawere not included in this study sincethese were already available on thewebsite www.seventhsurvey.ncert.nic.inand hosted in the public domain. Thedata were processed and analysed bysimple statistical approach to provide thedirections to school education that weretaking place in India in recent years.

Results and Discussion

We shall, now, present our majorfindings in brief regarding some salientfeatures of the seventh survey and


(c) A village may have one or more thanone habitation, except when it is adeserted/bechirag village.

Based on above concepts, theseventh survey enumerated 12,09,521rural habitations in the country. As perthe findings of seventh survey, theprimary educational facilities up to 1 kmin 10,35,764 rural habitations and upperprimary educational facilities up to 3 kmin 9,78,580 rural habitations wereavailable in the country. Hence, theaccess to primary and upper primaryschooling facility was available in 85.63per cent and 80.91 per cent ruralhabitations in the country in 2002,respectively.

The state-wise access to primaryschooling facility was available to allrural habitations in Lakshdweep up to 1km, and 9 States/UTs (Andhra Pradesh,Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Nagaland,Punjab, West Bengal, and Pondicherry)had provided the same for more than 90per cent rural habitations. Theperformance regarding providing accessto primary schooling facility up to 1 kmfor rural habitations was reflecting poorin Arunachal Pradesh (51.40 per cent)followed by A&N Islands (63.74 per cent)and Himachal Pradesh (73.72 per cent).

Similarly, state-wise access to upperprimary schooling facility in Delhi andLakshdweep were available to all ruralhabitations up to 3 km, and sevenStates/UTs (Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab,Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Pondicherry) hadprovided the same for more than 90per cent rural habitations. Theperformance regarding providingaccess to upper primary schooling

facility up to 3 km for rural habitationswere found poor for Arunachal Pradesh(32.85 per cent) followed by A&NIslands (54.98 per cent) and Nagaland(58.33 per cent).

The seventh survey reported alongitudinal increase of 14.04 per centin number of rural habitations ascompared to the sixth survey. It was alsoevident that coverage of ruralhabitations for primary (upper primary)schooling facility up to 1 km (3 km) hadincreased by 17.16 per cent (21.16 percent) in comparison to the sixth survey.Besides, Assam presented highestgrowth rate for primary schooling facilityfor rural habitations up to 1 km followedby Uttaranchal, Rajasthan and Jammu& Kashmir in comparison to the sixthsurvey. Similarly, upper primaryschooling facility for rural habitationsup to 3 km in Assam (62.22) was havinghighest growth rate followed by MadhyaPradesh and Rajasthan in comparisonto the sixth survey.

Number of Recognised Schools

As per the seventh survey, “recognisedschool is that in which the course(s) ofstudy followed is/are prescribed orrecognised by the Government (Central/State) or a University or a Boardconstituted by law or by any other agencyauthorised in this behalf by the Centralor State Government and which satisfiesone or more of the authorities, forexample, Directorate of Education,Municipal Corporation/Committee,Board, etc. with regard to its standard ofefficiency. It runs regular classes andsends candidates for public examination,if any” (NCERT, 2002, 179).


In order to above definition, there hadbeen substantial expansion in thenumber of recognised schools during1993-2002, particularly, for primary andupper primary schools. The seventhsurvey had identified 10,30,996recognised primary, upper primary,secondary and higher secondary schoolsin the country. These schools werefurther segregated over rural and urbanareas. The rural area covered 8,53,184recognised schools, whereas the urbanarea had, 1,77,812 recognised schools.Of these, 63.15, 23.79, 8.80, and 4.26 percent schools were primary, upperprimary, secondary and highersecondary schools, respectively.

The number of recognised schoolshad registered a positive growth of 25.35per cent over a period of time from 1993to 2002. Area-wise, the growth in ruraland urban area for the number ofrecognised schools were 22.53 per centand 40.91 per cent respectively.

The rural recognised upper primaryschools had increased maximum inAndhra Pradesh (152.01 per cent)followed by Madhya Pradesh (142.56 percent), Rajasthan (132.21 per cent),Lakshadweep (116.67 percent) andDadra & Nagar Haveli (100.00 per cent)from 1993 to 2002. On the other hand, ithad decreased in Goa (-40.22 per cent)followed by West Bengal (-28.10 per cent),Delhi (-22.95) and Kerala (-18.35 percent) over the referred period.

Secondary Schools

The seventh survey had documented90,741 recognised secondary schools,consisting 63,576 secondary schools(70.06 per cent) in rural and 27,165

secondary schools (29.94 per cent) inurban area, respectively. The maximumnumber of recognised rural secondaryschools was manifested in Maharashtra(8,825) followed by Andhra Pradesh(8,272), Orissa (5,681) and Karnataka(4,631).

Longitudinally from 1993 to 2002, thenumber of recognised secondary schoolsexhibited a percent change of 38.40points in the country. The growth inrecognised secondary schools registered32.81 percent and 53.53 percent in ruraland urban area, respectively.

The rural recognised secondaryschools showed the trend of maximumper cent increase in Chhattisgarh(119.27) followed by Uttar Pradesh(112.42), Madhya Pradesh (103.25) andAndhra Pradesh (73.71), whereas themaximum per cent decrease wasobserved in Kerala (-35.41) followed byDaman & Diu (-26.67) and Goa (-5.91) inthe referred period.

Higher Secondary Schools

The number of available recognisedhigher secondary schools was 43,869 inthe country as per findings of the seventhsurvey. These schools were situated inrural and urban area. In rural area,22,847 recognised higher secondaryschools (52.08 per cent) were located,whereas remaining 21,022 recognisedhigher secondary schools (47.92 percent) were situated in urban area in thecountry. The maximum number ofrecognised rural higher secondaryschools was available in Uttar Pradesh(3,881) followed by Maharashtra (2,073),Madhya Pradesh (1,680) and Rajasthan(1,654).


The number of recognised highersecondary schools had a change of 85.40per cent from 1993 to 2002. Area-wise,change in number of recognised highersecondary schools was obtained 96.96and 74.28 per cent in rural and urbanarea, respectively.

The State-wise number of ruralrecognised higher secondary schoolshad a positive growth in Meghalaya(825.00 per cent); next in line were Kerala(409.76 per cent), Manipur (342.86 percent) and Himachal Pradesh (285.03 percent) from 1993 to 2002. Besides, it hada negative growth in Bihar (-20.50 percent) as well as in Delhi (-17.78 per cent),Jharkhand (-9.30 per cent) and Goa(-3.45 per cent) over the referred period.

Enrolment in Schools

Enrolment is defined as the number ofpupils or students enrolled in a givenlevel (viz., primary, upper primary,secondary and higher secondary stages)of school education, regardless of age(Singh and Raju, 2006: 18). The seventhsurvey revealed that nearly 20,14,57,062children of all ages were enrolled inschool education in India, which was anincrease of 32.73 per cent over sixthsurvey. Besides, participation of girls interms of percent change had been 45.27percent in the seventh survey ascompared to the sixth survey. The detailsof stage-wise school enrolment arepresented in the succeeding sub-sections.

Enrolment in Classes I-V

The total enrolment of Classes I-V hadgone up from 9,70,29,235 in 1993 to12,29,15,301 in 2002 at the nationallevel, thereby, registering an increase of

26.68 per cent. In seventh survey, thedistribution of total enrolment of ClassesI-V by area was reported nearly9,30,97,960 (75.74 per cent) and2,8,17,341 (24.26 per cent) in rural andurban area, respectively. The girls’participation (46.82 per cent) recordedan improvement over the total enrolment(86.50 per cent) at primary stage in ruralarea during the period 1993-2002.

The percentage of girls’ enrolment tototal enrolment in schools had increasedfrom 43.16 per cent in 1993 to 46.82 percent in 2002 in the country. Besides, anincreasing trend in percentage of girls’enrolment was observed in rural area,that was, from 41.96 per cent in 1993 to46.73 per cent in 2002. The seventhsurvey brought out in nearly 11 States/UTs, viz., Bihar (42.04 per cent),Jharkhand (43.58 per cent), Rajasthan(45.04 per cent), Arunachal Pradesh(45.08 per cent), Jammu & Kashmir(45.10 per cent), Haryana (45.86), Dadra& Nagar Haveli (45.91 per cent), Gujarat(46.20), Uttar Pradesh (46.41 per cent),Madhya Pradesh (46.54 per cent) andPunjab (47.46) that had registered fewergirls’ enrolment in Classes I-V ascompared to the national girls enrolment(46.73 per cent) in rural area.

During 1993-2002, the grossenrolment ratio (GER) for total enrolmentof Classes I-V had increased from 81.85to 93.32, whereas this ratio for girls hadrecorded an impressive jump from 73.10to 91.31.

At the national level, the enrolmentin Class V as percentage of enrolment inClass I was 62 per cent in 2002. It was asubstantial jump of 7.67 per cent pointsas compared to 1993. This percentage for


States/UTs was lying between 29 forBihar to 144 for Goa during seventhsurvey. Besides, the referred percentageof enrolment in Kerala, A&N Islands,Chandigarh, Lakshadweep andPondicherry were recorded more thanone hundred per cent points.

Enrolment in Classes VI-VIII

The seventh survey brought out that totalenrolment of Classes VI-VIII hadincreased from 3,40,71,058 in 1993 to4,68,45,845 in 2002 at the national level.It depicted a growth of 37.49 per centduring the period. In year 2002, totalenrolment of Classes VI-VIII by area wasreported nearly 3,05,66,950 (65.25 percent) and 1,62,78,895 (34.75 per cent)in rural and urban area, respectively.The girls’ participation (66.55 per cent)recorded an improvement over totalenrolment (105.91 per cent) at upperprimary stage in rural area between theperiods 1993 to 2002 in the country.

The percentage of girls’ enrolment tototal enrolment in schools for ClassesVI-VIII had gone up from 39.62 per centin sixth survey to 44 per cent in seventhsurvey. Besides, the percentage of girls’enrolment had a positive upward patternin the rural area, which was reportedfrom 36.43 per cent in 1993 to 42.63 percent in 2002. It was evident from thefindings of seventh survey that 9 States/UTs, viz., Rajasthan (31.86 per cent),Bihar (33.61 per cent), Dadra & NagarHaveli (35.41 per cent), Madhya Pradesh(36.96 per cent), Jharkhand (37.31 percent), Uttar Pradesh (39.87 per cent),Gujarat (40.98 per cent), Chhattisgarh(42.10 per cent) and Jammu & Kashmir(42.37 per cent) had registered girls’

enrolment less than the national girls’enrolment (42.63 per cent) for ClassesVI-VIII in rural area.

The GER for total enrolment ofClasses VI-VIII had increased from 54.21to 58.42. This ratio for girls had gone upfrom 45.42 to 54.09, thereby registeringa gain of nearly 10 per cent points duringthe period of sixth and seventh survey.

The enrolment in Class VIII aspercentage of enrolment in Class I was43 per cent at the national level in 2002,which was a substantial jump of 7.12 percent points as compared to 1993. ForStates/UTs, it was lying between 15 forBihar to 143 for Goa in seventh survey.Besides, Kerala, Chandigarh, Laksha-dweep and Pondicherry had recordedmore than one hundred per cent pointsin the referred enrolment.

Enrolment in Classes IX-X

Overall increase in enrolment of ClassesIX-X was from 1,52,19,392 in 1993 to2,18,88,898 in 2002 that was 43.82points in terms of percentage during1993-2002. The total enrolment ofClasses IX-X had increased by area thatwas nearly 1,26,06,680 in rural (57.59percent) and 92,82,218 in urban area(42.41 per cent), respectively. The girls’participation (80.97 per cent) recordedan improvement over total enrolment(117.50 per cent) at the secondary stagein rural area during 1993-2002 in thecountry.

The percentage of girls’ enrolment tototal enrolment in schools for Classes IX-X had gone up from 36.47 per cent inthe sixth survey to 41.51 per cent in theseventh survey. In addition, thepercentage of girls’ enrolment had


achieved a positive growth in rural area,which was reported from 32.23 per centin 1993 to 38.96 per cent in 2002. It wasalso evident from the findings of theseventh survey that girls enrolment inClasses IX-X in rural area was less thanthe national girls enrolment (38.96 percent) in 8 States/UTs, viz., Rajasthan(24.38 per cent), Bihar (29.19 per cent),Madhya Pradesh (29.59 per cent),Jharkhand (31.48 per cent), UttarPradesh (31.27 per cent), Chhattisgarh(33.64 per cent), Gujarat (37.44 per cent)and Dadra & Nagar Haveli (38.12percent).

The enrolment in Class X aspercentage of enrolment in Class I was31 per cent at the national level inseventh survey, which was a substantialjump of 6.24 per cent points as comparedto sixth survey. These percentages forStates/UTs were between 10 for Biharto 98 for Lakshadweep. However, Goa,Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala,Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu,Uttaranchal, A&N Islands, Chandigarh,and Pondicherry had revealed thereferred enrolment for more than fifty percent points.

Enrolment in Classes XI-XII

During 1993-2002, the total enrolmentof Classes XI-XII had increased from54,65,154 in 1993 to 98,07,018 in 2002,thereby reflecting an increase of 79.45per cent. It was attributed nearly41,32,971 in rural area (42.14 per cent)and 56,74,047 in urban area (57.86 percent), respectively. The girls’ hadrecorded an improvement over totalenrolment with respect to theirparticipation in rural area that was159.25 per cent as compared to 168.53

per cent at higher secondary stage duringreferred period in the country.

The per cent girls’ enrolment to totalenrolment in schools for Classes XI-XIIhad gone up from 35.93 per cent in sixthsurvey to 41.24 per cent in seventhsurvey in the country. Besides, thepercentage of girls’ enrolment to totalenrolment had a positive growth in ruralarea, which was reported from 29.76 percent in 1993 to 38.31 per cent in 2002.The girls’ enrolment in schools forClasses XI-XII in rural area was belowthe national level of girls’ enrolment(38.31 per cent) in 15 States/UTs, viz.,Rajasthan (23.73 per cent), Chhattisgarh(29.07 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (29.09per cent), Bihar (25.15 per cent), Daman& Diu (32.08 per cent), Dadra & NagarHaveli (33.88 per cent), West Bengal(34.52 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (35.11per cent), Jharkhand (26.30 per cent),Jammu & Kashmir (36.51 per cent),Chandigarh (36.03 per cent), Haryana(36.40 per cent), Tripura (38.32 per cent),Orissa (35.95 per cent) and ArunachalPradesh (37.92 per cent).

The enrolment in Class XII aspercentage of enrolment in Class I was14.17 per cent at the national level in2002. It was substantially a poorperformance as compared to the ClassesV or VIII or X in terms of per cent pointsas mentioned in the precedingparagraphs. These percentages forStates/UTs were between 1.34 for Biharto 68.62 for Chandigarh followed by Goa(50.60 per cent).

Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER)

The GER represents the number of pupilsenrolled in a given level of education,regardless of age, expressed as a


percentage of the population in thetheoretical age group for the same levelof education (UNESCO Institute forStatistics, 2004: 148). This ratio can oftenexceeds one hundred per cent becauseof late entrance or repetition and is anindication of the theoretical capacity ofan education system to accommodate allchildren of that level of school age.

The GER for all children at primarystage was increased from 82 in the sixthsurvey to 93 in the seventh survey, andit was found nearly 91.31 for girls inseventh survey as compared to 73 in thesixth survey. This ratio of 80 or lesserfor all children, and also for girls werefound in the States/UTs of Bihar,Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir,Jharkhand, Nagaland, Punjab andChandigarh.

The GER for upper primary stage was58 in the seventh survey as compared to54 in the sixth survey. The GER of 50 orlesser was found in Assam, Bihar,Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Nagaland andUttar Pradesh. The GER for girls was 54in the seventh survey as compared to 45in the sixth survey. The States with GER45 or lesser for girls were Bihar,Jharkhand, Nagaland, Rajasthan andUttar Pradesh.

Teachers in Schools

Teachers (Teachers include para-teachers in the Seventh Survey) (areconsidered the most important resourcefor a school. Teachers are defined aspersons whose professional activityinvolves the transmitting of knowledge,attitudes and skills that are stipulatedin a formal curriculum programme tostudents enrolled in the formaleducational institutions. There is little

doubt that the schooling system in Indianeeds more teachers (Singh, 2004).Quantitatively, around 55,30,269teachers in 2002 as against 41,97,555teachers in 1993 were available to teachthe children in schools therebyregistering a growth of 31.75 per centduring referred successive surveys in thecountry. The reported number ofteachers in 2002 was further distilled inrural and urban area. The rural area hadengaged nearly 36,65,857 teachers(66.29 per cent) to teach rural children,whereas approximately 18,64,412teachers (33.71 per cent) were teachingurban children in the country.

Of the total 55,30,269 teachers in thecountry, 19,13,575, 15,80,536, 9,93,560and 10,42,598 teachers (34.60, 28.58,17.97 and 18.85 per cent) were workingin primary, upper primary, secondaryschools and higher secondary schools,respectively.

The participation of female teachersto educate the children in schools hadincreased during 1993-2002. Thepercentage of female teachers comprisedof 38.64, 40.63, 38.14 and 42.14 forprimary, upper primary, secondary andhigher secondary schools in the country.The corresponding percentage of femaleteachers in schools in rural area was31.09, 31.04, 25.86 and 27.36respectively.

According to the seventh surveyfindings, 3,77,962 primary schools (58.05per cent) were having one or two teachersin the school. However, distribution ofpercentage of total primary schoolswith zero, one, two, three, four, and fiveor more teachers reported in the year2002 were nearly 0.92, 14.75, 43.30,16.88, 9.05 and 15.10, respectively.


Corresponding percentage in rural areawas reported around 0.91, 16.14, 46.73,17.29, 8.39 and 10.54, respectively.

Pupil-teacher Ratio (PTR) in SchoolsOn the basis of the school enrolment andnumber of teachers, PTR had beencomputed. The PTR is used to measurethe level of human resources input interms of number of teachers in relationto the size of pupil population. It shouldnormally be used to compare withestablished national norms for each levelor type of education (Singh and Raju,2006: 40).

During the sixth survey, PTR inprimary schools was 40:1 in upperprimary schools it was 36:1, and insecondary schools the PTR was 30:1. Inseventh survey, this ratio had increasedto 42:1 in primary schools, 34:1 in upperprimary schools and 30:1 in secondaryschools. Correspondingly, the situationin rural area revealed an acuteimprovement, that was, 41:1, 36:1 and29:1 in the sixth survey to 44:1, 35:1 and31:1 in the seventh survey for primary,upper primary and secondary schools,respectively.

Although, the number of schools hadconsiderably increased during 1993-2002, the higher PTR indicated thatutilisation of the educational facilitieshad also been increased. The increasedenrolment at various school stages alsounderscored the need for opening of newschools for improving the quality ofschool education. The State-wise detailsof PTR during seventh survey indicatedthat Bihar (83:1), Jharkhand (59:1),Uttar Pradesh (55:1) and West Bengal(53:1) were having higher PTR thannational level for primary schools. Forupper primary schools, the PTR for Bihar

(72:1), Jharkhand (57:1), West Bengal(50:1), Dadar Nagar & Haveli (43:1), TamilNadu (40:1), Gujarat (39:1), Orissa (39:1),Chhattisgarh (36:1), Karnataka (38:1),Maharashtra (37:1) and Uttar Pradesh(35:1) were higher than the nationallevel. Similarly, the PTR for secondaryschools was found more than thenational level for States/UTs, viz.,Gujarat (34:1) West Bengal (55:1), Bihar(49:1), Jharkhand (41:1), Uttar Pradesh(39:1), Maharashtra (34:1), Dadar &Nagar Haveli (31:1) and Daman & Diu(32:1).

School Buildings

The type of school buildings in which themajority of classes were held duringseventh survey had been classified as:pucca, partly pucca, kuchcha, tent, andopen space. The concepts and definitionsin regard to types of building wereavailable in the survey guidelines(NCERT, 2002).

Out of 10,30,996 schools in thecountry, 93.78 per cent schools werehoused in pucca/partly pucca buildingsand 3.76 per cent were running inkuchcha buildings. The remaining 2.46per cent schools were without buildingsincluding tent and open space in thecountry. Similarly, 93.12, 4.19, and 2.69percent schools in rural area wereaccommodated in pucca/partly pucca,kuchcha and without buildingsincluding tent and open space in thecountry in year 2002. A brief resume ofschool buildings in primary and upperprimary schools are given in thesucceeding paragraphs.


School Buildings in Primary Schools

Out of total 6,51,064 primary schools,1,25,564 primary schools (19.29 per cent)were running in non-pucca buildings(partly pucca, kuchcha, tent and openspace) in the country in year 2002. Theremaining 5,25,500 primary schools(80.71 per cent) were functioning in puccabuildings.

The situation of primary schoolswithout building in rural area haddeclined from 22,365 in the sixth surveyto 17,748 in the seventh survey,consequently, depicting a negativegrowth of –20.64 per cent. Nearly 8States/UTs, viz., Chhattisgarh, Mizoram,Sikkim, Tripura, Chandigarh, Daman &Diu, Lakshadweep and Pondicherryreported that primary schools withoutbuilding did not exist during seventhsurvey. However, the number of primaryschools without building in rural areawas prevailing in thousands in theStates like Andhra Pradesh (5,607)followed by Bihar (2,762), MadhyaPradesh (2,490), and Uttar Pradesh(1,510) on the referred point of time.

School Buildings in Upper PrimarySchools

Among 2,45,322 upper primary schools,the situation was comparatively betterthan primary schools as 43,326 upperprimary schools (17.66 per cent) were innon-pucca buildings, and remaining82.34 per cent were housed in puccabuildings.

The upper primary schools withoutbuilding in rural area had increasedfrom 2,804 in 1993 to 4,656 in 2002,thus, was registering a positive growthof 66.05 per cent. Nearly 13 States/UTs

reported zero upper primary schoolswithout building like Chhattisgarh, Goa,Kerala, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim,Tripura, A&N Islands, Chandigarh,Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu,Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. Besides,the number of upper primary schoolswithout building in rural area wasreported in hundreds for MadhyaPradesh (1,693) followed by UttarPradesh (598), Rajasthan (330), Bihar(295), Himachal Pradesh (186),Uttaranchal (153), Punjab (141), andGujarat (103) in the country.

Conclusions

Based on above captioned results anddiscussion on selected parameters ofschool education based on the SeventhAll India School Education Survey,following conclusions had emerged inregard to the general school educationin India.

● The access of primary/upperprimary schooling facilities withina walkable distance of one/threekm had not been achieved for allrural habitations in India. Itrequires a planned and systematicintervention from the publicauthorities involved in catering theschool education facilities,particularly, in hilly areas - therebyit had been requiring an extensivereview of distance criterion.

● The expansion in number of ruralschools was quite slow anddisparities among and withinStates/UTs were prevailing. Theincrease in number of primaryschools was less than 10 per centin majority of States/UTs. The


increase in number of upper primary,secondary and higher secondaryschools might have appeared dueto the upgradation of existingschools. Efforts are also required tocreate the pucca/partly puccaschool buildings in the country.

● During 1993-2002, the grossenrolment ratio (GER) in rural areato total enrolment of Classes I to Vand VI to VIII had increased. The PTRin primary schools in rural areahad gone up, thereby, showing apoor achievement. On the otherhand, the PTR in upper primaryschools in rural area had gone down.

● The data analysis showed that,despite relatively high participationin increasing the enrolment atelementary stages in schools, aneffort would have to be made toremodel the school educationsystem by providing additionalfacilities such as school buildings,school teachers, etc. toaccommodate the school children inthe secondary stages in order toeducation for all up to highersecondary level in the country,which might be the priority area incoming decades for the publicauthorities.

REFERENCES

National Council of Educational Research and Training. 2007. Seventh All IndiaSchool Education Survey: National Reports (Report I to Report IX). Department ofEducational Surveys and Data Processing, New Delhi submitted to the PublicationDivision – NCERT for Publication.

___________ 2002. Seventh All India School Education Survey: Guidelines for SurveyOfficers. Department of Educational Surveys and Data Processing, New Delhi.

___________ 2005. Seventh All India School Education Survey: Provisional Statistics.Department of Educational Surveys and Data Processing, New Delhi.

___________ 1998. Sixth All India Educational Survey: National Tables (Volume I toVolume VII). Department of Educational Surveys and Data Processing, New Delhi.

SINGH, S. 2006. All India Educational Surveys: A Critical Appraisal. Indian EducationalReview. 42(1). 3-38.

SINGH, V.P. 2004. General School Education in India and Development Thereof.Journal of Indian Education, 30(1): 59-75.

___________ 2006. Rural Elementary School Education in North East States of India:A Report Card. Journal of Indian Education, 31(4): 87-103.

SINGH, V.P. and M. KUMAR. 2006. Changing profile of rural elementary education inWestern States/UTs of India. National Journal of Education, 10(1): 17-37.

SINGH, V.P. and B.M.K. RAJU. 2006. Manual on Statistics and Indicators of SchoolEducation. Department of Educational Surveys and Data Processing, NationalCouncil of Educational Research and Training. New Delhi.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics. 2004. Global Education Digest 2004: ComparingEducation Statistics Across the World. Montreal. Canada.

Book Reviews 93

Life at Mirambika: A Free Progress SchoolAUTHOR: Anjum Sibia, NCERT, 2006Price: Rs. 90.00Pages: 180

Schools have been accorded significanceas institutions for imparting educationand social upliftment. But the lurkingquestion today is what are schools for?Are the existing schools living up to theirrole? These questions bear significancein view of the schools becoming a prisonhouse with its highly structured, time-wise rigid and strict enforcement ofdiscipline. In this background, many newschools have mushroomed with claimsof better educational achievement andchildren’s overall development. Even acasual observation of the schooleducation in India suggests atremendous growth of schools at theelementary level. These are schools withvarying motivations, resources and therange extends from voluntaryorganisations, missionary schools andschools founded on philanthropicventure to clearly commercial set-ups.Each school claims to be different and amodel school for others with innovativemethods of teaching-learning adopted orthe kind of values imparted to the youngminds.

Different factors explain thephenomenon of mushrooming schools inIndia. The ‘retreat of the state’ driven bythe market economy is one. Also, thegrowing sense of cultural pluralism andgrowing concern about the decline ofmorals and civility prompted private

Book Reviews

initiatives to fill the vacuum. On the otherhand, we have the government schoolswith its deteriorating system with itsconventional subject oriented teachinglearning method and instruction ofinformation enterprise supported by asubject time bound curriculum whichneither relates to the needs or abilitiesof the learner nor takes intoconsideration the way children learnsuccessfully. Anjum Sibia’s book on thestudy of ‘Mirambika – A Free ProgressSchool’ reflects the growingdissatisfaction of the existing schoolsystem among the parents and theirsearch for a better alternative. The ideaof a free progress school gainedprominence in the 1960s. This is a modeof education where the child isconsidered to be the centre of theeducational process and largely choosesactivities according to its own needs andinterests. In such a mode there is arejection of imposed discipline andexternal authority of the excessive useof punishment on the one hand andextrinsic rewards on the other. Amovement against inert, meaninglesslearning, it attempts to dissolve thedistinction between work and play.Anjum’s subject of her study Mirambikais based on the ideals of free progressiveeducation. It is therefore pertinent to seewhat is the difference betweenMirambika, a ‘free progress school’ andother schools. A brief perusal of the bookreveals an interesting discovery.

The book has nine sections eachdevoted to different aspects of the school.


The first section gives a brief overview ofeducation in India – the transition in theteaching-learning approaches, the shiftin the pedagogy and the content of thecurriculum. For example, in the Vedicperiod the system of learning was mainlythrough memorisation of texts, etc. Ithowever changed to oral, repetitive andexemplary methods of teaching andlearning. With the advent of Britishcolonialism English education wasintroduced in the schools with rotelearning becoming a main feature. Theexisting education system in the countryis in fact an inheritance of theMacaulay’s policy of 1835 with itsimperial culture and colonial characterwith teacher in the dominant position.The inherent flaws in the system led theeducationists believe that theeducational ideas of Indian thinkerswould provide a base for a new system ofeducation in India. The section alsodwells on the educational thoughts of thegreat Indian thinkers like MahatmaGandhi, Vivekananda, RabindranathTagore, etc. There is a detaileddiscussion on the educational thoughtsof Sri Aurobindo on whose philosophy theMirambika School establishes andoraganises itself.

The book also focuses on the role ofideology in shaping the various processesin school, the organisational structureand also the culture of the school. Theideological underpinning is reflected inthe study of the school, the teaching-learning approaches and also thedisciplinary mechanisms, etc., which arediscussed in the subsequent sections.Another section dwells on the study ofMirambika child and his/her overallachievement. The book thus revolves

around the closely-knit network betweenideology, the school processes and thechild.

Mirambika’s basic ideal ofprogressivism makes it distinct fromother schools. There is no gradedclassroom; rather children are groupedaccordingly to their age. Progress of thechild is assessed against the child’s ownrecord thus relieving the children of thepeer pressure. It follows a multi levellearning system and children are taughtat their individual level with no test orexam conducted at any stage in anygroup. The school follows a projectapproach to teaching and has no fixedcurricula or syllabus.

Notwithstanding the innovativepractices followed and the absence of astrict curriculum, the Mirambika Schoolremains an exclusive school for aselected few. The exclusivist characterinherent in the school system, say, theselection procedure of the childrenthrough parents interview and also thekind of activities organised purelyinformed by a certain ideology restrictsa large chunk of children from diversebackgrounds. If we see the socialcomposition of the school, we find theschool catering to a certain strata ofpeople. Anjum Sibia’s book hasoverlooked some of these issues in herpassionate eulogy of the school. Nodoubt, Mirambika has redefined the roleof the schools, the teachers and thewhole pedagogy. What is more vitalhowever, in a country like India isproviding education to all.

There are also disagreements on thebasic idea of progressivism itself for its‘explicit denial of systemetisation andstructure’, and also for being a mere

Book Reviews 95

‘sophisticated method of socialisationunder the guise of an apparent freedom’.A reference to Rachel Sharp andAnthony Green’s Education and SocialControl: A Study in Progressive PrimaryEducation would be beneficial. Accordingto them, the educational ideology of child-centred progressivism fails tocomprehend the realities of a stratifiedsociety where faculties, prestige andrewards are unequally distributed andcannot explain the phenomenon. Thebook misses out on these debatesurrounding ‘progressive schools’.Notwithstanding this omission, theauthor has made a smart choice of thesubject of study in view of the growingconcern for education and educationalpractices adopted in the schools.

NEWTON SINGH

Centre for Political StudiesSchool of Social SciencesJNU, New Delhi 110 067

Father of Tunisia – Habib BourguibaAUTHOR: Anju Bali Pandey, 2005,Price: Rs. 350Pages: 88

There are many Indians who havewritten on historical and social eventsin and around India but rarely, have Icome across Indian writers who havewritten about other countries. ExceptAmitava Ghose, who has written, asfiction, this is the first book of an Indianwho has dared to write about the historyof a country we Indians know, viz,Tunisia.

This book is written by a professionalstudent of History and working as aReader in DAV (PG) College, Dehradun.

Mrs. Anju Bali Pandey has attempted itin a factual manner about politicalhistory of Tunisia. She has taken thereader with her through many years ofhistorical events of the country. She hasnot adopted any established system ofwriting to start from one point in historyand then take the reader according toany fixed chronological order. It is apleasure to read the political/historicalevents that factually took place inTunisia by going forward and backwardto develop a linkage with the similarevent in history of Tunisia. The readergoes forward while reading and peeps inthe similar event that took place about adecade ago to refresh his/her memory,without breaking continuity of thenarration of the history. Rarely we comeacross Indian writers who write about thehistorical movements of countries veryfar away from India.

I was surprised to learn, later thatshe has never seen the country.Although Mrs. Anju has kept the title ofthe book “Habib Bourguiba”, she hasactually written about the freedommovement in Tunisia keeping Bourguibaas a central character. She has atappropriate places given historical,strategical, geographical and socialimportance of the country with referenceto Europe, Middle East, Asia, NorthAfrica and Arab world.

The real beauty of the book is that itdevelops a taste to know more about alittle known country Tunisia. Afterreading the book an urge develops to gainmore knowledge about this strangecountry. The book works like an appetizerwithout giving full course of meal.

A feeling develops, while goingthrough the book that the actions and


reactions as narrated in the book arefiction and not facts that actually tookplace. To ensure that the Reader is notmisled, Mrs. Pandey left references withfacts and figures continuously. Thewriter, it is evident, has done a lot ofhomework and studied almost entirehistorical literarture on the subject.Nothing in the book can be taken as theopinion of the author. The remarks arebased on factual data corroborated by afew well-known authorities on Tunisia.

The book is a must for those who aredoing post graduation in world historyand are thinking to do historicalresearch. Only in less than seventypages he/she will know almost aboutTunisia, its history, struggle for freedomand Habib Bourguiba. This reading willleave an unsurpassable desire to knowmore about it and its people.

About Habib Bourguiba, animpression develops that his emergenceas an absolute administrator of thecountry that had seen, almost negligibledevelopment before its complete freedom

from French rule, was blessing. He hadrules like a dictator but carefullycovering the rule under the umbrella ofdemocracy. The people got the taste ofdemocracy, development, improvementand most important a hope for better lifein future.

I only wish, the publisher had takenmore care of printing mistakes. The flowof sentences is smooth and selection ofwords is appropriate. The writer is, itappears has deliberately avoided heropinion at various places and thatbecomes prominent. With the depth ofinformation on the subject, the authorcould have given her comments andviews. But like a true student of history,the facts and only facts should be writtenand readers should be left alone to formtheir own opinion.

A good book for every student of worldhistory in every part of the world.

VED VYAS

28/5, Canal Road, KishanpurDehradun, Uttaranchal 248 009

Book Reviews 97

Priority Areas of Research under ERIC. NCERTEducational Research and Innovations Committee (ERIC) of NCERThas identified the following priority areas of research. Researchproposals related to these areas will receive priority for providingfinancial support by the ERIC in coming years.

Curricular Areas

In the backdrop of National Curriculum Framework (NCF–2005) it isimportant that each curricular area is revisited by the researchersand probed in depth to find answers to problems related to teaching-learning of different subjects. In this context the status and role ofarts, crafts and aesthetics; health, yoga and physical education; workeducation and peace education also need to be examined. Thelinguistic diversity of India poses complex challenges but also a rangeof opportunities. Language teaching needs to be multilingual not onlyin terms of the number of languages offered to children but also interms of evolving strategies that would use the multilingual classroomas a resource. Issues related to language as medium of instructionand multilingualism, therefore, assume significance. Researchproposals will also be welcome in the area of comparative studies onconcerns related to school education.

National Concerns

One of the foremost concerns is ensuring enrolment and retention ofall children in the school. Commitment to Universal ElementaryEducation presupposes representation of cultural diversity, ensuringenrolment of children from different social and economic backgroundswith variations in physical, psychological and intellectualcharacteristics in the education process. In this context,disadvantages in education arising due to inequalities of gender,caste, language, culture, religion or disabilities need to be addressed.Research related to education of the disadvantaged groups, inclusiveeducation, gender equity, education of rural children and functioningof rural schools becomes significant in this background. Vocationaleducation and environment education are two emerging concernsthat require attention from sociological, psychological, economic and

pedagogical point of view. Some other concerns in this context likepsycho-social development of children, education for life skills, andeducation policies and practices related to school education will alsoreceive priority.

Systemic Concerns

The curricular vision presented in NCF–2005 needs to be supportedand sustained by systemic reforms. Important among these are thesystem’ for preparing teachers - both pre-service’ and in-service,system of producing textbooks and learning materials and theexamination system. Integration of ICT in education as a pedagogic,administrative and monitoring tool and the related practices requireextensive research for maximum efficiency within the boundaries ofdemocracy, human dignity and freedom. Classroom processes andpractices and management strategies are other useful areas ofresearch in this context.

Pedagogic Practices and Learning Processes

Our current concern in curriculum development and reform is tomake it an inclusive and meaningful experience for children. Thisrequires a fundamental change in how we think of learners and theprocess of learning. Within the ambit of child centred pedagogy,research in areas like thinking and learning processes of children,pedagogic approaches of training teachers, text-analysis and text-learning dynamics becomes crucial.

Any other area as per National Curriculum Framwork–2005(NCF–2005) not covered above.

Research proposals may be submitted in prescribed format. The formatand necessary guidelines can be downloaded from NCERT website(www.ncert.nic.in) or can be obtained by post from the address givenbelow:

HeadDepartment of Educational Research

and Policy Perspectives (DERPP)National Council of Educational Research and Training

Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 110 016Tel: 011-26563980, Fax: 011-26868419

e-mail: [email protected]

Documents

JOURNAL OF INDIAN EDUCATION - National Council Of ...ncert.nic.in/html/pdf/Publication/Journal2008/JIE/JIE_february07/... · Seventh All India School Education Survey Sandeep Kumar