JOURNAL OF INDIAN EDUCATION Volume XXXV Number 2 August 2009

CONTENTS Editor’s Note 3 Education as Tritya Ratna Towards Phule-Ambekarite Feminist Pedagogical Practice 5 SHARMILA REGE

Participation and Consequences of Education of 37 Scheduled Castes in Andhra Pradesh P. ADINARAYANA REDDY and E. MAHADEVA REDDY

Teaching of Social Science 52 A Situated Cognition Perspective SANDEEP KUMAR

Translating Social Constructivism into 64 English Language Teaching Some Experiences A.K. PALIWAL

Curriculum Implementation in Rural Schools 71 Issues and Challenges SHANTOSH SHARMA

Acquisition of Concept of Conservation of Length in 83 Elementary School Children through Piagetian Teaching Model REENA AGARWAL

Helping to Learn Science 97 A.B. SAXENA

Resilience in Promotion of Schools as Learning Organisations 104 Reflections on Karnataka Experience RASHMI DIWAN Examination and Assessment Principles 114 Integrating Assessment with Teaching-Learning Processes RAVI P. BHATIA

Evaluation of Inclusive Education Practices in 125 Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) Primary Schools AMITAV MISHRA and GIRIJESH KUMAR

Some Problems of Human Rights Education 139 SHANKAR SHARAN

Book Review 150 Growing Up as a Woman Writer by JASBIR JAIN REVIEWED BY KIRTI KAPUR EDITOR’S NOTE

Ever since India got Independence, the search for quality in school education has been on the agenda of policy-makers and authorities at all levels. Institutions like NCERT, SCERTs and DIETs have been continuously making efforts for that. The NCERT has been engaged for years in curriculum designing and development process for school education along with various stakeholders including policy-makers. The Journal of Indian Education in this issue highlights various aspects pertaining to the curriculum implementation and also different approaches of teaching and learning in rural and urban areas. ‘Children are the pillars of the Nation’ is a common phrase but in order to fulfil this slogan we need to build a constructive approach. Sharmila Rage in her article ‘Education as Tritya Ratna: Towards Phule-Ambedkarite Feminist Pedagogical Practice’ emphasised for the needs of equality based education irrespective of which caste he/she belongs. Her article also profoundly provokes the readers regarding the prevalent issues of gender bias in education and the relationship between teachers and students. Next in this series, an article by P. Adinarayana Reddy and E. Mahadeva Reddy ‘Participation and Consequences of Education of Scheduled Castes in Andhra Pradesh’ brings out the progress in terms of enrolment in the school and their participation amongst scheduled caste. The study also finds out that parents do realise the usefulness of education. Once students enrol and start their study in schools, the issue of learning and understanding stands before us. In this regard, Sandeep Kumar highlights how the knowledge and understanding of children develop. His article ‘Teaching of Social Studies : A situated Cognition Perspective’ demonstrates various methods of teaching and learning. Further, A.K. Paliwal in his article ‘Translating Constructivism into English Language Teaching: Some Experience’ discusses how constructivist approach leads children towards better learning of language. Efforts to design new curriculum, syllabus and textbooks to improve teaching-learning process and address diverse groups of students are continued in many countries including India. An article by Santosh Sharma, ‘Curriculum Implementation in Rural Schools : Issues and Challenges’ authentically pointed out the loopholes in the implementation of curriculum in rural areas. For effective implementation, she emphasises the need for number of interacting factors which can influence each other. The study conducted by Reena Agarwal on ‘Acquisition of Concept of Conservation of Length in Elementary School Children through Piagetian Teaching’ reveals on the designing and development of appropriate teaching-learning strategy for children. She uses Piaget’s work where explanations are based on the process of assimilation and accommodation. Each subject has its own pedagogy. Teachers need to realise this fact. In this regard A.B Saxena’s article ‘Helping Learn Science’ briefly explains pedagogy of science for teachers and teacher-educators. ‘Resilience in Promoting of Schools as Learning Organisations : Reflections on Karnataka Experience’ by Rashmi Diwan is an article that provides an idea about the learning experiences and the activities that can be carried out within the curriculum. She also emphasised the need for the educational institutions to be free from the bureaucratic framework. People who are concerned with the education of country’s children feel that unless Assessment and Examination system will change education reform will not take place smoothly. Taking up this very aspect of school education Ravi P. Bhatia in his article ‘Examination and Assessment Principles — Integrating Assessment with Teaching-Learning Processes’ reminds us the need to go beyond the traditional examination system based on assessing the student’s performances. India is a country with an extraordinary complex cultural diversity which requires a curricular vision which promotes flexibility, contextual and plurality. The attempt to improve the quality of education will succeed only if it goes hand in hand with steps to promote equality and social justice. Amitav Mishra’s and Girijesh Kumar’s article takes an analytical look at the progress towards Indian education system. Their case study shows us how the school children got benefitted from the government-sponsored educational schemes like Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. Democratising education is fundamental to addressing the diversity in optimistic way. Wherever issue of diversity emerges, it joins with the issue of Human Rights. Shankar Sharan in his article ‘Some Problems of Human Rights Education’ explores some of the Human Rights issue in Indian educational system. Finally, the issue of Journal of Indian Education concludes with a review essay by Kirti Kapur entitled ‘Women who Write’ in which she has highlighted the potential of women in literatures which many of the developing countries including India normally ignore. We believe that this issue will enlighten our readers to critically re-examine education system, and also motivate them to contribute their ideas in the endeavour of educational reform in India.

Academic Editor Education as Tritya Ratna Towards Phule-Ambedkarite Feminist Pedagogical Practice*

SHARMILA REGE**

Abstract

It is now well-accepted that colonial knowledges in India were structured on binaries that distinguished India from the West, Orient from the Occident, thus homogenising the Indian experience into a Hindu brahmanical one. The nationalists too, imagined alternate knowledges within these binaries, reversing them to claim over the West, a civilisational superiority located in the Vedas. This normalisation of knowledge as Hindu and brahmanical structured by both the colonial and nationalist binaries had/has implications for curricular and pedagogical practices in our classrooms. In this lecture, with an apology to the innumerable modern day Shambhukas and Eklavyas, and to students reduced to cases of suicides on campuses, I shall map some of the hidden injuries caused by the violence of these pedagogical practices. In the last decade and more, there has been a welcome change in the gender, caste and class composition of students. But this, as we know, is happening in a context constituted by the conflicting demands of discourses of democratic acceptance of social difference, conservative imposition of canonical common culture and of marketisation of higher education. Invoking Phule-Ambedkarite feminist perspectives which envision education as Tritya Ratna and are driven by the utopia of ‘Educate, Organise, and Agitate’, I seek to dialogue with fellow teachers on the different axes of power in our classrooms; more specifically to explore modes through which inequalities of caste are reproduced in metropolitan universities and classrooms. How may we as teachers and co-learners address questions of pedagogy and authority, pedagogy and transformation by throwing back the gaze of the ‘invisible’ and ‘unteachable’ students in our classrooms on our pedagogical practices?

* This is the written text of a lecture delivered during Savitribai Phule Second Memorial Lecture Series at SNDT Women’s University, Marine Lines, Mumbai on 29 January 2009, published by NCERT. ** Sharmila Rege is the Director, Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Women’s Studies Centre, University of Pune. 6 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

Education as Tritya Ratna sincere thanks to the faculty, staff Towards Phule-Ambedkarite members and students at Krantijyoti Feminist Pedagogical Practice Savitribai Phule Women’s Studies Centre ‘‘O learned pandits wind up the selfish and the Department of Sociology at the prattle of your hollow wisdom and listen University of Pune, as also the Phule- to what I have to say” Ambedkarite, Left and feminist (Mukta Salve, About the Grief of community for providing meaningful Mahar and Mangs, 1855) contexts for the practice of critical Let me ask you something oh Gods!... You pedagogies. are said to be completely impartial. But This lecture in many ways is a wasn’t it you who created both men and collection of ‘stories’ of our classrooms, women? relationships between students and (Tarabai Shinde, A Comparison of teachers and the political frameworks Men and Women, 1882)1 which constitute these stories. Like all I begin this lecture with words narrators, I have selected some and written by Mukta Salve, a fourteen year ignored or postponed other stories; old girl student of the mang caste in Jotiba interpreted them in one way rather than and Savitribai Phule’s school and another. As narrators, we imagine that Tarabai Shinde a young maratha woman we shall achieve something by telling the trained in the Satyashosdhak (Society of stories the way we do to the people. These Truth Seekers) tradition. For what better stories, I imagine, are a dialogue with tribute can one pay to the greatest fellow teachers on addressing caste and teachers of modern India than the words gender in the metropolitan classroom. of fire with which their students talked The present set of stories are put together back to the injustice of their times? I am from diary notings made on teaching, deeply honoured to be delivering the discussions with colleagues and Savitribai Phule Memorial Lecture students, notes written by students of organised by the NCERT in collaboration their experiences – often in moments of with SNDT, Mumbai. Savitribai in her disruptions or departure, comments writings and practices addressed the made on formal course evaluation complex relations between culture, sheets, the comments they half scratch knowledge and power and sought not only out from these sheets, questions raised to include girl students and students in class and those asked hesitantly from the ex-untouchable castes but also outside the class, their silences that one to democratise the very processes of rushes past in the business as usual learning and teaching. This memorial mode during peak periods of the lecture is particularly special because it semester and gestures that defy is instituted in the memory of this great narrative expression. woman visionary and institution- Many of these emerge as narratives builder. I am grateful to the NCERT of ‘betrayal laced with temporality and for deeming me worthy of delivering place’ – betrayal by the system (this is this lecture instituted in her memory. I not what I expected of this place; it was would also like to place on record my not like this earlier), betrayal of students Education as Tritya Ratna 7 by teachers (I did not think that someone A new generation of dalit scholarship for who waxes eloquent on democracy would instance, drawing upon the modern dalit be so selective in practice, teachers of testimoniol, has underlined the limits of times bygone, or in other places were/ pluralism of the Nehruvian era and are committed to practicing what they bringing to centre the violence of the preach) ; betrayal of teachers by students bleeding thumb of Eklavya and death of (I thought at least students would stand Shambhuka; rejected the regime of the with me against the injustice by gurukul as an alternative. This authorities; it was not so in the magical scholarship, following the Thorat 70s/is not so in other places). Often Committee Report on AIIMS, suicide of these narratives of betrayal and of Rajani (a dalit girl student who decline in plurality and of standards of committed suicide because the banks did our university become cynical not find her credit worthy for a student announcements of the ‘impossibility’ of loan) and Senthil Kumar (a dalit Ph.D. practicing critical pedagogies in our student whose fellowship was stopped) times or place. The present state of has raised questions both about the universities then comes to be explained accessibility of higher education and the either in terms of incomplete limitations in making it enabling for modernisation or the modern university those who struggle to gain entry into it2. being an alien concept in ‘our’ culture. The nexus of networks of exclusion that The explanations are thus framed within operate formally and informally on binaries that distinguish India from the campuses in the absence of transparency West, Orient from the Occident, and to reproduce caste inequalities in the thereby often equating Indian culture to metropolitan university are being the Hindu brahmanical practices. That debated3. is to say the liberal voices bemoan the While there are at present several loss of pluralism arguing that the din of efforts at ‘talking/writing back’4, I would ‘parochial identities’ of caste, like to mention a few by way of examples– community, gender on our campuses is Insight: Young Voices, a journal the result of ‘bad modernity’; the published by students and researchers indigenists call for gurukul like from Delhi, the work from Hyderabad of alternatives that may better suit ‘our’ research scholar like Murali Krishna, culture. who employs his autobiography to It is not a coincidence that these theorise educational practices, Indra narratives of decline come in times or Jalli, Swathy Margaret, Jenny Rowena places where the entry of a new who bring caste to centre to interrogate generation of scholars and students from feminist practices in the academy, the vulnerable sections in Indian society is film ‘Nageshwar Rao Star’ which starts posing challenges to the social with reflections on the star/asterix, the homogeneity of the classroom, boards of marker of caste identity in the admission studies and other academic bodies list and moves to reflect on and recover leading to obvious frictions on issues new knowledge on the Tsunduru related to decline of standards and merit. massacre, ‘Out-caste’ an informal, public 8 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 wall-journal which looks at caste as a of looking and listening?6 Do we as category that structures both exclusion teachers become used to ferreting out and privilege, discussions on caste on inconsistencies in stories offered to us campuses on several list-serves like Zest- by students and prematurely discard Caste, and on-going M.Phil. and Ph.D. them as irrelevant? This lecture is an thesis across campuses in India. Closer exercise that is both restitutive and home, in Pune University, mention may exploratory; I seek to re-listen, reflect and be made of Dilip Chavan’s caste-class assign new value to ‘stories’ and ‘voices’ critique of the debate on reforming the ignored and discarded earlier as also to UGC-NET, the efforts of Sajag (conscious) present recent experiences from the students’ research group to reinvent the classroom for exploration. relationship between social movements Recently, a young dalit researcher and the academia and the ‘Research and colleague narrated to me his Room Diaries’ put together by experiences of the school and the researchers in women’s studies university, the ways in which the reflecting on their diverse histories of curricular, extra-curricular and hidden injuries and privileges academic success (lesson on experienced as students on ‘teacher’s Dr Ambedkar in the textbook, elocution day’5. competition, becoming a UGC-JRF These and several other efforts are scholar) were all instances that seeking to challenge disciplinary regimes reproduced caste by reducing him to a of caste, opening up new ways of looking ‘stigmatised particular’7. Pointing to a at the present of our disciplines and paradox, he asked ‘why do even pedagogical practices and suggest that sociologists whose object of analysis is critical teachers should be ‘listening’ caste, believe that caste identities do not rather than bemoaning the loss of better matter in academic practices’? I wish to times. I wish to argue that these are ‘new take this question for consideration in times’ in the university, the suicides and the next section, reframing it a little other forms of ‘routine’ pedagogical provocatively to ask – Why are ‘we’ afraid violence notwithstanding. Men and of ‘identity’? Why do we assume women from vulnerable castes and neutrality when it comes to identities of classes are entering higher education for caste, ethnicity, and gender and the first time and those for long presume that they do not affect the considered ‘unteachable’ are talking/ content and practice of our discipline? writing back. This makes it possible to Do we disavow caste – say it does not exist throw back the gaze of the students who in our context and talk of it in other terms have long been ‘invisible’ and ‘nameless’ and codes – like standards, language and in the classrooms onto disciplinary and so on? It is common for many of us pedagogical practices. Is it that years of teaching in state universities and confidence and certainty of teaching in colleges not only to categorise our our areas of expertise makes us students into neat categories of English embedded in certain kinds of arguments and Marathi medium or English and so that we foreclose other possible ways Gujarati medium but also reduce these Education as Tritya Ratna 9 students to this singular identity (for in the discipline, with a more instance in a local college where I taught concentrated debate happening in the it was customary to ask students to add 1970s and 1990s. If we revisit some of an EM or MM when they introduced their the articulations of ‘crisis in the names in any gathering). However, we discipline’ in 1970s, it is apparent that may not always be open to discussing the the ‘language question’ is strongly different and contradictory identities of implicated in the salient features, causes teachers, students and other players in and solutions suggested to the crisis. The the social relations of teaching and crisis is described in terms of learning. In the next section, I want to unrestricted expansion of sociology at explore this issue of medium of the undergraduate level and in Indian instruction – the ‘language question’ so languages, market-driven textbooks and to say and fear of identity on a ground I takeover of ‘pure’ pedagogies by politics. am familiar with, namely the practice of The script is one that narrates the story sociology. of expansion of sociology at the undergraduate level and in regional Hidden in the ‘Language Question’ — languages as ‘provincialisation’ of higher 8 Tracing the Fear of Identity education, in general, and sociology, in The hierarchy of standards between particular. Re-reading this debate, one central and state universities, it might is struck by two rather paradoxical help to recall, draw not only on superior anxieties of the sociological community. infrastructural facilities but also on On the one hand, is the angst with English being the medium of teaching academic colonisation (why do not we and research in the former as against have ‘our own’ theories and categories), the local/regional language in the latter. while on the other is the apprehension As teachers in state universities and about the new and diverse ‘expanding local colleges, we may counter this logic public’ (what will happen to ‘standards’, through an opposition that assumes all if teaching and learning is no longer to social science practised in English to be be done in English). The new publics of elitist and that in the vernacular to be sociology are denigrated and assumed to more down to earth. At other times, we be ‘residual’, those who are in sociology, may respond to the ‘language question’ not because they want to because of a through efforts to find quality reading politically imposed expansion of regional material in Indian languages and develop universities/colleges. English language proficiency through The calls of ‘crisis’ in the discipline remedial classes. Interestingly, this surface again in the 1990s with ‘language question’ appears quite comments on the increasing number of prominently in some of the discussions students registered in doctoral that sociologists have had on their programmes and their ignorance of discipline being in ‘crisis’. elementary facts and concepts. It comes Sociologists more than other social to be argued that both teaching and scientists in India, have from time to time research are in a deplorable condition described and reflected upon the crisis because most of our universities and 10 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 other centres of higher learning have from the lived experience of caste and the become cockpits for caste, regional and horror of atrocities. If in the 1970s, as linguistic conflict and intrigue. As the seen earlier, ‘national sociology’ described enrolment rates of the ‘upper caste’9, the expansion of sociology in regional middle class metropolitan students mark languages as provincialisation of the a relative decline and the sociology discipline; in the 1990s the claims of classroom comes to be more diverse in ‘National sociology’ stood ‘provincialised’. terms of caste, region and linguistic ‘National’ sociology was ‘provincialised’ identities, the anxiety about the as it failed to say anything beyond expanding ‘public’ turns into a script of popular commonsense on the Mandal accusation. The accusation operates at controversy though its identity hinged two levels; the upsurge of identities in upon theorisation of caste; as also Indian society and politics is seen as because several questions came to be causing the demise of merit and any raised about nation as the ‘natural’ unit appeal to questions of identity and for organising sociological knowledge and language on the campus and in the about selective processes that equated classroom come to be viewed as always happenings in the elite set of institutions and already interest group politics. In in Delhi to Indian Sociology. times of Mandal, these narratives of So if we go back to my colleague’s decline of the discipline from its golden question with which we began – why do age have to be contextualised in the even sociologists assume that these battle between the pan-Indian English identities have no consequences for the educated elite and the new regional elites content and practice of their discipline? moving on the national scene. Why was there an expectation on his part Interestingly it is practioners located that sociologists would be different from on the institutional and organisational other social scientists? Probably because margins of ‘national’ sociology who caste, gender, and ethnicity are their shifted the axis of the debate from object of study and they have been the standards to questions of equality; first to include courses and modules on inquiring into the legitimacy of women, dalits and tribals in the sociology sociological knowledge and the curriculum? Yet as we just saw, it is pronouncements of decline. Further, the sociologists more than others who seem 1990s were marked by prominent to be afraid of any claims to caste or ‘national’ sociologists lending support to gender identities. They appear to assume the anti-Mandal position which that avowal of gender and caste identities dominated the middle class urban will lead to feminification of theory or perception of the issue. Additionally, the demise of merit – in other words to debate on dalits joining the Durban ‘pollution’ of academic purity. It might Conference against discrimination based help here to focus on the ways in which on race and caste underlined the ways sociological knowledge and practice are in which sociologists in the name of organised by the professional bodies and objectivity valued the opinion of experts the curriculum. Women, dalits, adivasis, while rejecting perspectives emerging may be included as substantive research Education as Tritya Ratna 11 areas of sociology and in optional courses hidden in what we discuss as a ‘language but this inclusion keeps the cognitive question’. structures of the discipline relatively Dalit Imaginations — Wedging Open intact from the challenges posed by dalit the ‘Language Question’ or feminist knowledges10. Thus ‘good sociology’ continues to be defined in “Now if you want to know why I am praised – well it’s for my knowledge of terms of the binaries of objectivism/ Sanskrit, my ability to learn it and to teach subjectivism, social/political, social it. Doesn’t anyone ever learn Sanskrit? world/knower, experience/knowledge, …That’s not the point. The point is that tradition/modernity and theoretical Sanskrit and the social group I come from; Brahman/empirical Shudra. don’t go together in the Indian mind. Against So every time, the problem of the background of my caste, the Sanskrit I expansion of the discipline in Indian have learned appears shockingly strange. languages or the language question That a woman from a caste that is the lowest comes to be discussed, we gloss over the of the low should learn Sanskrit, and not only that, also teach it is a dreadful anomaly …” several layers of identities and assume (Kumud Pawade, 1981 : 21) simplistic binaries of sociology practised “In a word, our alienation from the Telugu in English being national and rigorous, textbook was more or less the same as it and those in Indian languages being was from the English textbook in terms of provincial and simplistic. Alternatively, language and content. It is not merely a indigenists and nativists assume difference of dialect; there is difference in sociology practised in English to be elitist the very language itself. …What difference and incapable of grasping ‘our culture’ did it make to us whether we had an English and that in regional languages down to textbook which talked about Milton’s earth and applicable to ‘our culture’. ‘Paradise Lost’ or ‘Paradise Regained’, or While the former position seeks to resolve Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ or ‘Macbeth’ or Wordsworth’s poetry about nature in the tensions through remedial English England, or a Telegu textbook which talked courses, translation of textbooks or a about Kalidasa’s ‘Meghasandesham’, simple commitment to bilingualism; the Bommera Potanna’s ‘Bhagvtam’…. …. We latter proposes teaching and writing in do no share the content of either; we do not Indian languages as a ‘cultural duty’. find our lives reflected in their narratives” These positions though they seem (Kancha Ilaiah 1996 : 15) different are similar in that they see “Through his initiatives, Lord Macaulay was language only in its communicative to re-craft a new intellectual order for India aspects as if separable from power which threatened the dominance of the relations and the cultural and symbolic Brahmins and questioned the relevance of effects of language. In contrast, dalit the Varna/caste order. This was to give imaginations of language, wedge open Dalits a large breathing space … Should we know our past the way we like to, or the symbolic and material power of we know the past as it existed? Or should language. In the next section, I shall there be any distinction between History bring to centre some dalit imaginations Writing and Story Telling? Those who of language to underline ways in which condemn Lord Macaulay for imposing a caste and gender identities remain ‘wrong’ education on India do never tell us 12 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

what kind of education system which Pragnya Daya Pawar’s interrogation of Macaulay fought and eventually destroyed”. the power of the printed word over the (Chandra Bhan Prasad 2006 : 99 spoken word and Meena Kandaswamy’s and115) dream of a global English in small letters “While giving calls of ‘Save Marathi’, the offer immense possibilities for wedging question I am faced with is ‘which’ ‘Marathi’ open the ‘language question’. is to be ‘saved’? The Marathi rendered Kumud Pawade, a dalit feminist lifeless by the imprisonment of the oral in the standardised written Word? The Marathi intellectual in her testimonio ‘Thoughtful with its singular aim of ‘fixing meaning’ Outburst’ (1981), reflects on her journey which loses rhythm, intonation, emotion, into Sanskrit, teasing out in the process Rasa? The Marathi that generates inferiority the complex character of the ‘language complex in those speaking ‘aani- paani’11? question’ in our academia. Kumud The Marathi that forms centres of power Pawade foregrounds memories of her through processes of standardisation of school teacher Gokhale Guruji, a language? ……. Or the Marathi sans the prototypical Brahman dressed in a dhoti, Word that keeps the bahujan full shirt, a black cap and the vermilion knowledgeable? mark on his forehead; who she expected (Pragnya Daya Pawar 2004 : 45) would refuse to teach her Sanskrit. …………I dream of an english However expected responses stand full of the words of my language interrogated as he not only taught her an english in small letters an english that shall tire a white man’s but also became a major influence in her tongue life. People in her own community often an english where small children practice discouraged her from pursuing a Masters with smooth round degree in Sanskrit arguing that success pebbles in their mouth to the spell the right at matriculation need notembolden her zha to this extent. At college the peons as also an english where a pregnant woman is the higher-up officials usually simply stomach-child-lady commented on how ‘they’ were taking an english where the magic of black eyes strides because of government money and brown bodies replaces the glamour of eyes in dishwater and how this had made them too big for blue shades and their boots. At the university, the head the airbrush romance of pink white cherry of the department, a scholar of fame took blossom skins great pleasure in taunting her. She …………………… would find herself comparing this man an english that doesn’t belittle brown or apparently modern in his ways to black men and women Gokhale Guruji. an english of tasting with five fingers……… However, on successfully completing 12 (Meena Kandaswamy 2007 : 21) her Masters digree in Sanskrit achieving Kumud Pawade’s story of her a place in the merit list, her dreams of Sanskrit, Kancha Ilaiah’s comment on teaching Sanskrit received a rude the sameness of the English and Telegu shock as she could overhear the textbook, Chandra Bhan Prasad’s laughter and ridicule in the interview counter commemoration of Macaulay, room about people like her being Education as Tritya Ratna 13 government-sponsored Brahmans. Those wrote in the language of the purohit. Their passing these comments, she recalls culture was basically sanskritised; we were not all brahmans, many of them were not part of that culture. For good or were from the bahujan samaj who ill, no one talked about us. They never thought of themselves as brahman- realised that our language is also haters and even traced their lineage to language, that is understood by on and Mahatma Phule and yet the idea of a all in our communities…….” (p. 14). Ilaiah Mahar girl who was a part of this bahujan further underlines the sameness of the samaj teaching Sanskrit made them English and Telegu books in being ‘alien’ restless. After two years of meritorious to the bahujan; their only difference performance at the Masters level, being that one was written with twenty- unemployment and her marriage to six letters the other with fifty-six. Ilaiah’s Motiram Pawade, a Kunbi Maratha, she reflections problematise the secular finally got an appointment as an vernacularist position, underlining the assistant lecturer in a government complete domination of Hindu scriptures college and in later years went on to and sanskritic cultures in vernacular become a professor in her alma mater. education. Any easy equation between However, a thought continues to trouble English as alien and Telegu as ‘our her – it was ‘Kumud Pawade’ and not language’ – yielding ‘our categories’ of ‘Kumud Somkuvar’ who got the job. analysis stands interrogated. Further, Pawade’s critical work of memory unfolds Ilaiah suggests that the question of the complex gender and caste parameters culture mediates between the axis of in the ‘language question’ and lays bear equality and the academia and the the dynamics of a dalit woman acquiring ‘language’ in which education takes an authorised tongue. Importantly she place is an epistemological issue more underlines the operation of language as than a matter of mere instruction. a marker of subordination and exclusion Prasad’s celebration of Macaulay’s in our academia and thus the birthday on 25th October 2006 and impossibility of viewing the ‘language installation of a ‘Dalit Goddess of English’ question’ as a matter of communication to underscore the turn away from separable from power relationships and tradition has been brushed aside often cultural and symbolic effects of as an attention seeking gimmick. This language. counter commemoration of Macaulay Ilaiah comments on the sameness of has significance for destabilising the Kalidasa and Shakespeare, despite the hegemonic memory of Macaulay as the former appearing in the Telegu textbook ‘villain’ who declared that a single shelf and latter in English. He draws attention of Shakespeare was worth more than all to the difference between brahmanical the Sanskrit and Arabic literature of the Telegu and the bahujan renderings East. Prasad re-reads ‘Minutes on locating the difference in the latter Education’ to underline Macaulay’s emerging from production based argument about the British having to give communication. He argues “the scholarships to children to study in communists and nationalists spoke and Sanskrit and Arabic, even when they 14 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 were ready to pay for English education. bahujan. She recalls that the dictum of This re-reading disrupts the ongoing the liberal humanists ‘society will processes of collective remembrance of improve when its people gain wisdom language and education in colonial from education’ was first called into India. Prasad’s act of counter crisis in India by Jotiba Phule. That a commemoration renders Macaulay’s bahujan struggling against all forms of argument as not directed against the cultural colonisation, should have been vernaculars; but against the outmoded the first to call this liberal agenda into literature of the Vedas and Upanishads, question – she observes ‘is logical and and thus an important moment in the not coincidental’. The ‘language history of Dalit access to education. It is question’ thus opened up, traces the important to note Prasad’s comments on politics of internal fragmentation and discovering the top secrets of the hierarchisation of the vernacular in post- language politics of Macaulay in his colonial Indian states and sees these explorations into the tensions between processes as inseparable from those that history writing and story telling; monitor the differential epistemic status thereby suggesting that an engagement of different knowledges – particularly of with the ‘language question’ is also the printed and the oral. essentially an engagement with Meena Kandaswamy in ‘reinventing the archive’ – the very ‘Mulligatawny Dreams’ dreams of an methods of knowledge. ‘english’ full of words selected from her Pragnya Daya Pawar (2004) talks language, an ‘english’ that challenges back to those giving calls in Maharashtra both the purity of standardised to ‘save Marathi’; asking them the vernaculars and the hegemony of English. pertinent question ‘which Marathi?’ and It is an ‘english’ in small letters, a teases out the collusion of state and language that resists imperialist racism elites in framing the ‘language question’. and casteism of both English and the Interrogating the processes of vernacular. Such hybrid formations of standardisation of the language, she language are seen as enriching English points out to the homogenisation of by opening it up to appreciate brown meaning constituted by the processes of bodies, black eyes and eating with five standardisation. She draws attention to fingers. English as the language of the efforts of the Maharashtra state to modernisation, is disrupted suggesting empower Marathi as a language for that in the present conjuncture spread science and technology which freeze and of English has gone beyond the worldwide de-root the diversity of words into the elite thus opening up possibilities of singular ‘Word’. Standardisation on one challenging the hegemony of imperialist hand brutalises/marginalises/fails the English with many resisting ‘englishes’. dalit bahujan who bring into the system Further, ‘the dreams of english’ point to the ‘non-standardised’ language the limitations of framing the language practices. On the other hand, more question in terms of proficiency in violently, it wipes away the epistemic English language, leaving little space for value of all oral forms of knowing of the playful radical innovations in pedagogy. Education as Tritya Ratna 15

It is not coincidental, that dalit in re-imagining the content and methods imaginations engage with the power of knowledge becomes inseparable from relations that are glossed over in debates those in reinventing pedagogical on ‘language question’ discussed earlier practices. In the next section, I argue and thus wedge open and interrogate not for reinventing pedagogies through only the Right-Wing and state agendas Phule-Ambedkarite-Feminist (PAF) of the ‘language question’ but also that perspectives; asking why these of the liberal-humanists. We can see that perspectives came to be excluded in the liberal humanist fear of identity, of debates on education in post-colonial decline in standards comes from a India. commitment to a particular idea of democracy. It is not as if those who Phule-Ambedkarite-Feminist complain of decline in standards are Pedagogies — Location and Exclusion opposed to including ‘all others’ in their system of knowledges – be it the Having neither the expertise nor the university or the cognitive structures of intention to draw a set of guidelines for the discipline. Within this idea of a PAF pedagogies, what I seek to do in this democratic university, the masses will section is to historically map the have to wait until they receive a degree ‘difference’ of Phule-Ambedkarite of formal training (learn to ‘speak like us’) perspectives on the project of education to comprehend requirements of a plural and the probable reasons for the and democratic university. However, exclusion of these perspectives from since the 1990s, those considered imaginations of ‘alternative’ perspectives incapable of comprehending democratic on learning and teaching. If following 14 requirements have come to the fore to Paulo Freiere we see critical pedagogy defend democracy, even as it pertains to as contesting the logic and practices of the knowledge of democracy, while the the ‘banking method’ for a more imagined champions of democracy began dialogical and transformative project of moving away from processes that inform education, then PAF pedagogies, simply it13. ‘All others’ are entering the put, may be seen historically as university with new vocabularies and constituting one school of critical moral economy, and as the dalit pedagogy. Historically, we can read in the imaginations on language suggest – are colonialist and nationalist discourses on interrogating the assumed hierarchy of Indian society, a battle over the function different knowledges, archives and and nature of knowledge. While the methods of knowledge. For critical colonialist project represented India as researchers and teachers, fear of identity the spirit of Hindu civilisation and and masses can no longer be an option therefore distinct and disjunct from the as the radical instability of the many West; the regime of classification and languages of the subaltern citizens of categorisation of ‘Indian tradition’ mass democracy calls for careful created norms for colonial rule ‘listening’. If we as teachers are to enhancing the status of brahmans as participate in the ‘new times’, exercises indigenous intellectuals. While, colonial 16 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 knowledges were structured on binaries Throughout the text of ‘Gulamgiri’, that distinguished India from the West, Phule stresses that Hindu religion is Orient from the Occident; the indefensible mainly because it violates nationalists imagined alternate the rights and dignity of human beings. knowledges by reversing the claims of He turns the ‘false books’ of the brahmans superiority of the West, locating the on their head by reinterpreting the superiority in the Vedas. Thus, though ‘Dashavataara’ of Vishnu to rewrite a the colonialists and nationalists history of the struggles of the shudras contested the function of knowledge in and anti-shudras. He moves swiftly colonial India, for both, the nature of between the power and knowledge nexus knowledge of India was essentially Hindu in everyday cultural practices, myths and brahmanical. After the Second World and history. In his ‘Memorial Addressed War, social science discourse refashioned to the Education Commission (1882)’ for the binaries of Orient/Occident through a more inclusive policy on education and the tradition/modernity thesis or in his popular compositions like the indigenous approaches; both of which short ballad on ‘Brahman Teachers in glossing over the structural inequalities the Education Department (1869)’, Phule in Indian society normalised the idea of demonstrates how state policy and knowledge and the educational project dominant pedagogical practices are of/in India as Hindu and brahmanical15. intrinsically interlinked. He comments at Phule and Ambedkar in different length on the differential treatment to ways, by weaving together the children of different castes and the emancipatory non-Vedic materialist collusion of interests of the Bombay traditions (Lokayata, Buddha, Kabir) and government school inspectors and new western ideas (Thomas Paine, John teachers. He calls for more plurality in Dewey, Karl Marx for instance) had the appointment of teachers and the challenged the binaries of Western need to appoint those committed to modernity/Indian tradition, private teaching as a truth-seeking exercise. caste-gender/public nation and sought Ambedkar in ‘Annihilation of Caste’ to refashion modernity 16 and thereby its (1936) argues against the absolute project of education. Phule and knowledge and holism idealised by Ambedkar in several writings and brahmanical Hinduism and critiques the speeches but more particularly the peculiar understanding of nature and its former in ‘Gulamgiri’ (1873), and the laws (karma) in the Shastric texts. Both latter in ‘Annihilation of Caste’ (1936), Phule and Ambedkar underline the ‘The Riddles on Hinduism’ (Compiled and preference for truth enhancing values published in 1987) and ‘The Buddha and and methods through an integration of His Dhamma’ (1957) undertake a rational critical rationality of modern science and engagement with core analytical the skepticism and self reflection of categories emerging from Hindu ancient non-Vedic materialists and the metaphysics which had been normalised Buddha. It is clear both in and through as ‘Indian culture and science’17. their works that they see organisation of Education as Tritya Ratna 17 knowledge as complexly related to the underscores how this exam-centric mode interlocking connections of different in fact reproduces caste inequalities in identities. This leads them to value the university. He underlines the situated knowledge but such that they significance of combining efforts to do not collapse all experience into increase access to education for knowledge but do highlight how certain vulnerable sections with those to experiences (oppression based on caste, reconceptualise administrative and gender) do lead people to certain kinds curricular practices of higher education. of knowledges. Both Phule and Ambedkar, as may Phule in the first modern Marathi be apparent from the discussion above, Play Tritya Ratna draws complex seek a rational engagement with the linkages between religious-cultural and pedagogy of culture to see how power educational authority and re-imagines works through the production, education therefore as the Tritya Ratna distribution, and consumption of (third eye) that has the possibilities to knowledge within particular contexts enable the oppressed to understand and and re-imagine a culture of pedagogy transforms the relation between power based on truth-seeking. The ‘difference’ and knowledge. Ambedkar in a speech of Phule-Ambedkarite pedagogical in Nagpur in 1942 at the All India perspectives lies in a double articulation Depressed Classes Conference, advises that conceives education then not only the gathering to ‘Educate-Agitate- in terms of cultures of learning and Organise’ (a motto that became central teaching but also dissenting against that to the Ambedkarite movement and which is learnt and taught by dominant community) arguing that this was central cultural practices. This entails to the battle for freedom. Phule’s constituting teachers and students as conscious adoption of the dialogical form modern truth-seekers and agents of of communication and Ambedkar’s social transformation who seek to become insistence in the Bombay University Act ‘a light unto themselves’. The methods Amendment Bill (1927) to move beyond are those that seek to integrate the the examination-oriented patterns of principles of prajna (critical learning and teaching underline their understanding) with karuna (empathetic conviction on the centrality of dialogue love) and samata (equality). This in the project of education. Ambedkar, democratisation of method of knowledge debating the Bombay University Act marks the difference of Phule- Amendment Bill, highlights the linkages Ambedkarite perspectives from methods between issues otherwise thought to be based on binaries of reason/emotion, disjoint – namely understaffing, dictation public/private, assumption of neutral of notes and the lack of adequate objectivity/celebration of experience that representation of backward castes on inform much of our teaching and administrative bodies such as the research. One sees significant senate. Countering arguments regarding intersections with Black feminist examination-centric education as a pedagogies that directly link pedagogy safeguard for promotion of standards; he with political commitment in envisioning 18 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 education as the practice of freedom and society are being played out and a new thereby seek to challenge the assumed scholarship is making convincing divide between mind/body, public/ arguments about appeal to caste not private and reason and emotion18. Why being casteism and of claims unmarked then have social scientists in search of by caste made by the dominant to alternative pedagogies rarely turned to represent and classify the modern as Phule, Shahu or Ambedkar? Why did the being situated, local and partial. search for alternatives usually end with Since the 1990s, this ‘secular Gandhi, Aurobindo and Nehru? How upsurge of caste’ at the national level might this ‘Dalit Phobia’19 or exclusion interfaced with local dalit movements in the academia and its cognitive and international contexts like the U.N. structures be explained? Conference against Racism is shaping Baburao Bagul, the revolutionary varied trajectories of dalit studies in dalit writer has explained the exclusion different regions in India22. PAF of this discourse in the formation of pedagogies are enabled by this knowledges in post-colonial India in conjuncture and the assertion of dalit terms of the intelligentsia turning the feminism which have opened up national movement, into a form of possibilities of new dialogue between historical, mythological movement and Phule-Ambedkarite and feminist ancestor worship thus reducing the other perspectives. PAF pedagogical movements to a secondary status20. perspectives are critically different from The nationalist labelling of the dalit the two much discussed projects in discourse as anti-national, ideologically higher education of the same decade, viz., particularistic, specific to certain castes value education and autonomy. They are or as emergent from the British policy of different in that they contest the logic of divide and rule resonated in the projects based on essentialist apriori set practices of higher education in post- of morals or on neo-liberal rhetoric of colonial India. In the 1970s the ideology choice that comes without freedom. The and practices of the Dalit Panthers and practice of PAF pedagogies thus seek to dalit literature including the develop cultures of dissent through compositions of the mud-house cultural analyses of the various categories of activists – the shahirs (composers of oppression underlying the structures ballads) foregrounded the experience of and organisation of knowledge, but caste to challenge the feudal without reducing them to a mere additive backwardness of Hinduism normalised mantra of caste, class and gender in educational practices21. This differences and inequalities. The practice challenge was co-opted in the academia of PAF obviously needs more than a through frames that included dalits in simple transplantation of the guidelines disciplinary knowledges while keeping through which PAF perspectives work to intact the core of disciplinary our situations. In the next section, I shall knowledges. Since the 1990s, as try to grapple with some of the issues that discussed earlier, tensions between emerge in the practice of PAF pedagogies different forms of modernities in Indian in our academia. Education as Tritya Ratna 19

Phule-Ambedkarite Feminist knowledge including the expectations Pedagogies — Issues in Practice and demands made on us as teachers and on relations with colleagues and PAF pedagogies, as argued earlier view students. the pedagogical as a cultural practice The present conjuncture is marked that cannot be separated from the by intense scrutiny and attack on higher contexts of articulation. This requires education constituted by conflicting and then analyses of the ways in which caste crisscrossing demands of several and gender organise knowledge in our discourses – more specifically those of educational setting, not as some post-Mandal mass democracy, state with unchanging essence but rather as token acceptance of social differences, interlocking connections of different reactionary brahmanical elitism seeking identities and the articulations between to impose canonical notions of ‘ common them. Therefore differences of caste, Hindu culture’ and privatisation, class and gender do not become economic and technological rationa- readymade answers to which all lisation of higher education. On our pedagogic practices may be reduced but campuses we see this unfold through the the history of their intersections, everyday events like changing social formation within particular historical composition of students and faculty events and spaces are the problems that members, instrumental rationalisation propel the pedagogical practices. This and Hinduisation of curricula in the would require us to be historically name of vocationalisation and grounded in the contributions of the indigenisation, opening up of centres/ oppressed to creating a democratic world, cells for study of socially excluded groups in general, and the anti-caste feminist which remain at the margins of the struggles, in particular, and to think institutions, shortage of hostel facilities through not just the classroom but also for students, privatisation of mess the academy. The academy as a part of facilities, greater pressures to combine the larger socio-political arena both work and studies, increased surveillance domesticates and manages differences by authorities to regulate student politics and inequalities and enables struggles and an increasingly intolerant against domination. If education, as meritocracy that expresses itself through discussed earlier is the space between a rhetoric of choice and freedom without the pedagogy of cultural practices and any reference to power and inequality. culture of pedagogy, our practices have The struggles of the feminists, dalit- to be located in specific historical bahujans, tribals and religious minorities conjuncture and institutional contexts in the 1980s and 90s have enabled to which both enable and constraint the some extent formerly silenced groups to articulation23. One may make a modest reassert and reclaim experiences and beginning by delineating crucial features knowledge in the educational setting. of our present and developing methods This identity politics has covered complex to ground historically and theoretically and diverse terrains of theoretical the organisation of relations of power and practices and not all positions move 20 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 unproblematically from resistance to a ‘normal/good’ teacher, student and broader politics of democratic struggles. classroom are socially and politically Yet it would be simplistic, as discussed constructed and thereby interrogate our earlier to dismiss all claims to identities different and contradictory locations as separatist, reactionary and within the social relations of teaching detrimental to academic standards. The and learning. Thus understanding and campuses at present are a site of violent transforming the social relations of and hidden breakouts, skirmishes and learning is a struggle that is both injuries over forms and ownership of personal and political. What we do not cultural capital. Many faculty members, have as a resource for such an exercise administrators and students who see and need to put together is a sustained this as a decline of standards and spirit project to collect, document and analyse of ‘real debate’ are turning to private the diverse life stories and everyday colleges and universities. Some others experiences of teachers in different stay back but withdraw from the contexts. This will allow ‘biographising’ everyday of academic bodies and of the social structures and processes of classrooms for the ‘new cultures’ they education and ‘structuralising’ of argue have scant regard for ‘civility’24. biography of those engaged in teaching25. What does this conjuncture produce in The search for new subject positions terms of positions and practices for the as teachers and students is constrained pedagogical, in general, and for PAF by the given educational settings pedagogical practices, in particular? and therefore cannot be entirely Drawing upon Ambedkar’s notion of straightforward. Even as we search for history as being crucial to the recovery new subject positions, we may still desire of hope in future; the present approval within the given terms, estimate educational setting becomes an a cost-benefit analysis of taking opportunity for drawing up a moral pedagogical risks or sometimes realise imagination beyond the existing that interests are served better by configurations of power. remaining within the dominant Many of us who see education, in discourse. In the relative absence of general, and the classroom, in critical pedagogies as an issue for particular, as a site of struggle do often departmental or college staff meetings, discuss several of the issues that have many of us turn to making notes from been raised in this lecture so far. Yet, in the lives of great teachers, scan the practice the challenge seems to be to burgeoning literature on feminist move beyond personal blaming or/and pedagogies or make observations about feelings of guilt and to design and develop the pedagogical atmosphere in renowned pedagogies as a political project. The colleges and universities in order to challenge is to develop a method of understand the possibilities and reflexive analysis, employing self- limitations of our own teaching practices. questioning as an analytical and Often, one is disappointed, for efforts and political process – to see how experiences experiences of others seem so far are socially constructed. To review how removed from what is happening in our Education as Tritya Ratna 21 classrooms. The first response to this gap with the tensions between what he calls in experiences often is to gloss over the ‘reservation’ of certain courses for faculty unease with justifications related to from the reserved categories and the material settings of the educational pressures to prove that these faculty settings differently equipped facilities, members have the more ‘universal’ and difference in number of similarly ‘theoretical’ knowledge that teachers of interested colleagues, difference in the that discipline are supposed to possess. levels of intervention by academic bodies. The actual relations of power are glossed While these material settings do matter, over as the difference; the social location these are a part of the problem – of the of this teacher becomes not a lens political project of ‘unsettling the through which the normative/assumed relations’26 in the university and we universal of the discipline has to be cannot as if postpone question of interrogated but rather a ground to make pedagogies until the material setting is suspect his commitment to ‘universal’. set right. The tensions between what one As feminists teaching courses on thinks is good teaching and what gender, participating in the organisation students expect from us; desire to be of academic life we have often contested popular/is accepted/to be made similar assumptions about women permanent and to challenge dominant teachers and criticised the ruling pedagogical practices is as much a part practices of our institutions which of the material setting. exclude women – from the theoretical and Both as teachers and students we the universal. As ‘upper caste’, middle enter the institutional space of education class, women teachers, while naming as persons with a set of experiences ruling practices which regulate our related to social location and informed educational settings; we may often name by set of discourses of education. gender but evade interrogating own Practices of academic training and power and privileges (caste, class, region) knowledge production generally ignore through practices of non-naming (‘we’ these social relations of the teacher and often claim that we do not even talk students and create an illusion of a about caste, it is ‘they’ who talk about it common academic ground. This has at all the time). The ways relations of power least two immediate and serious and knowledge are organised it’s quite implications for our educational possible to live these relations without setting – actual relations of power are reflecting on the power of non-naming glossed over and social differences get and ways in which academic success and articulated in ways that reduce failure are produced. As feminist difference to a singular identity. Consider teachers we cannot rest with the for instance the case of a dalit colleague, multiplication of seminars, workshops, an engaged teacher of Political Science modules and courses on women/gender who despite his on-going research into in our academia. We need to interrogate Ambedkarite thought finds himself opting this ‘success of gender’ in the academy to teach courses other than Ambedkar and to ask if these are driven merely by thought. As he explains – he is uneasy state policies and/or market imperatives. 22 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

Furthermore, we need to give up the PAF pedagogies reject the Hindu principle comfort of working with the homogenous of teacher as ‘god embodied’ (Guru category ‘woman’; for though the liberal sakshat par brahma) but then do engaged humanist subject of feminism stands pedagogies such as PAF instal teachers challenged the feminist imagination in as the new ‘saviours’ of the students? the classroom continues to assume the Since the classroom seems to be the best model of unitary student and feminist place to start to discuss these issues, I teacher27. Consider for instance the would like to put for your consideration account by Jenny – writing as a research here two autobiographical notes on scholar from a Backward Caste, disruptions from the classroom29 which analysing her complicated relationship I believe are situations commonly to women’s studies – “Today I know that encountered by teachers. The first refers it is not enough to open up research to to the shock, anger, disgust and pain feminist frameworks. If feminist research that one recognises in the body language cannot open itself up to the problems of of a student who has just been handed caste and religion in a casteist- her test paper with the marks or grades. patriarchal society like India, it will The student often lets some time elapse forever close the doors of research to so before contesting the evaluation, many women who are molded by the probably checking the marks, grades of experience of gender and caste others in the class comparing and religion.”28 This account disrupts any contrasting, thereby estimating the level of simplistic understanding of alternate injustice (imagined and real), done to her. spaces like women’s studies; once again Two students and not by co- drawing attention to the ways in which incidence, one from a Nomadic power and knowledge come to be community in Maharashtra and another organised even within alternate spaces a tribal student from Manipur, mustered in the academy. From the significance of enough courage to encounter me and understanding contexts and differences asked in different ways if their lower grade in our relationship to the academy in had anything to do with the less space general, in the next section, I move to the they had given in their answer to Phule- more specific but related questions about Ambedkarite critiques of ‘mainstream’ the relationship between teachers and perspectives on caste. As a teacher, I had students. at that point at least three options – respond in terms of some absolutes (it’s Interrogating Teacher as God or not really good, you have not covered it Saviour — Pedagogy, Authority and all, your expression could have been Cannon better) thereby exercising my authority In the present conjuncture how is the as final judge of the standards. relationship between the teacher and Legitimise my authority as an evaluator the taught performed? How does the by making transparent the parameters intersection of generational and ‘other’ of my evaluation. Most difficult of all differences between them disrupt this options seems to be the third option that relationship? We may as practitioners of of calling into question my judicial Education as Tritya Ratna 23 authority as a teacher-evaluator by into a state of confusion. As Phule- translating the student’s contestation of Ambedkarite feminist teachers grade into an opportunity for dialogue. contesting the cannons, one has often Dialogue here is not suggestive of a come up against similar criticism from strategy of appeasement (of increasing colleagues who argue that students get the marks) – but of ‘listening’ to the confused in ‘our’ classes because we contestation and reflecting upon and introduce critical debates before students reviewing in this context the very have mastered the cannons of the parameters of evaluation and possibly discipline. transforming them. Obviously these These cases of students contesting students were raising questions that evaluation and efforts at building critical moved within and outside the classroom, thinking in the classroom raise questions for one they were raising questions about about the relations between pedagogy, the possibilities of an evaluation authority, cannons and transformation. remaining ‘fair’ in the context of the The second narrative allows us to ask teachers avowed commitment to a Phule- awkward questions – do we as teachers Ambedkarite politics and about their own of particular disciplines have alienation from a curriculum that hardly responsibility and accountability to the engaged with ‘their’ histories and cannon – so to say initiate the students experiences. into the discipline? When is the ‘right The second autobiographical time’ at which the critique can be as if narrative relates to the comments of a introduced? In other words are we saying tribal girl student from one of the most that the initiates in sociology must know underdeveloped regions in Maharashtra G.S. Ghurye, Louis Dumont, M.N. who had opted for three of my courses in Srinivas on caste before engaging with consecutive semesters and who I saw as the critical perspectives of Phule, Periyar bringing considerable enthusiasm and and Ambedkar and Andre Beteille and intensity into the classes. However, at the Dipankar Gupta before reading more end of the Masters Programme, she told contemporary dalit-bahujan-feminist me, to my dismay, that the classroom writers on caste? Does such a move not experiences had been profound but gloss over the ways in which through the troubling because of the immense loss design of courses, assignments, list of of ‘certitude of definitions’ that she had prescribed and ‘supplementary’ experienced. That sometimes I seemed to readings, selection and elimination of her (and probably to many others) like a topics as legitimate for classroom person who does not know the basics of discussion; knowledge comes to be the discipline (for instance when I reply categorised and organised into to a query with another query rather legitimate/canonical and illegitimate/ than give a definition/definitive answer). non-canonical. At the level of practices For the student, the unlearning and of teaching it means attributing value to problematising of much that she had the canonical per se and not to the labour grasped through undergraduate of interpretation. Am I then suggesting textbooks and excelled in, was rendered that the Phule-Ambedkarite feminist 24 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 teachers do away with the canon? Far relatively autonomous space which can from it, the canon to be deauthoricised both empower the teacher and render and demystified must be seen her vulnerable. The everyday of this relationally; so that the canonical and classroom is routinely managed through the non-canonical emerge in the regime of time-tables and rules oppositional confrontation at the published in the handbooks. But on the historical level. field so to say – the real questions are – The first narrative pushes us to How do we manage the conflictual question the canon built on the imperatives of quiet and talk, conviction of the radical teacher – does responsibility and control, risk and she too build a cannon to render ‘her safety? Often these conflicting truth’ as natural and beyond the imperatives mean that classroom conflictual politics of interpretation? learning comes to be achieved through There is a desire for a stable ‘saviour’ issue of threat (threat to cut marks, freeze ideology and easily identifiable home30, on classes) competition and point scoring or fixed truth; but as Jenny’s account (setting groups or individuals against discussed earlier more than bears out, each other to get them to be responsible) a Phule-Ambedkarite feminist teacher and status consciousness (sanctions for must guard against the exclusions and those who talk and interact within given oppressions which such a desire would parameters and achieve learning within entail. The problem, therefore, is not only approved terms). Intentionally or about teaching the canon but unintentionally our strategies of getting canonicising whatever we teach and the the immediate done may often conflict challenge is to make the learning process with strategies of PAF that seek to always uncertain and contingent. Often encourage collaboration and foster the most difficult question for progressive democratic and social justice values. Are pedagogies like PAF pedagogies is to there models of progressive pedagogy retain passion and partnership of the that may guide us to move beyond these oppressed and yet breakthrough the brahmanical-patriarchal practices of canonical compulsions that exist at the discipline and control in the classroom? heart of all pedagogy.31 In the next section, I will address some While the relations of power of the issues emerging from this organised by the curriculum and the question. approaches to the curriculum have been discussed to some extent, those related Circuitous Relations between to the organisation of college-university Educate-Organise-Agitate — Tritya Ratna classroom as a physical and intellectual The Risky Paths of space have been relatively unaddressed. Generally speaking, teachers who believe Discussing pedagogies requires that we that learning is linked to social change, discuss the ways in which power is struggle over identities and meanings, enmeshed in the discourses and may practice variants and combinations practices of the more mundane everyday of three possible models of progressive of the classroom. The classroom is a pedagogical practice32. The first model is Education as Tritya Ratna 25 the one in which the PAF teacher recognition and redistribution identities believes that she understands the truth/ and social transformation related in a the real relations of power and imparts circuitous path; are constitutive of each it to the students. The second model other and as such the possibilities and believes in a dialogical mode and making constraints on agency as it intersects the silenced speak. While in the third the with social formation cannot be focus shifts on developing skills – so that predefined. If we look again at Mukta students are enabled to understand and Salve’s essay with which we began, it is intervene in their own history. It is clear that education becomes Tritya possible that different combinations Ratna in Jotiba and Savitribai Phule’s emerge from these models, for common school because what was demanded from to all three are a set of similar students was not conformity to some assumptions. The first model believes image of political liberation but of gaining that the teacher can and does know the understanding of their own involvement truth – the real interests of different in the world and its future. This makes groups brought together in the classroom the task of the PAF pedagogues slippery and has to just impart the truth to them, and hazardous – since the focus is on the second overlooks the real material contextual practice, one of multiplying and social conditions which may connections between what may seem disenable some from speaking and others apparently disjoint things. from ‘listening to silences’, and the third This returns us once again to the assumes that the teacher knows and question of authority in the pedagogical can impart the ‘universal skills’. These process – to ask if the critical pedagogue assumptions become problematic, for as practicing such a model needs to make PAF pedagogues, we agree that students a difference between abandoning all are neither cultural dopes that have to claims to authority and offering new be brought to predetermined positions forms and positions. The teacher still but this is not to say that the dominant remains responsible for production of institutions do not seek to dupe them. knowledge in the classroom but is There is then a loss of certainty for the required to traverse risky grounds that teacher, she does not have a readymade interrogate the binaries of knowing mantra to save the world nor can this be teacher/ignorant students, public/ replaced with a set of relativist private and rational/emotional. She celebration of different voices and recognises that often the students are experiences uninterested in the classroom not This kind of a rendering of the PAF because they do not want to work or pedagogical model which rejects because of the difficulties of jargon or convincing predefined subjects to adopt theory but they do not see reason. the teacher’s truth; draws upon not a Probably the questions being asked and unilateral but circuitous understanding answered are not ‘theirs’. This realisation of the Phule-Ambedkarite principle of cannot be followed up with a simple ‘Educate, Organise and Agitate’. dictum that from now on students will Education, organising struggles over define the questions. The challenge is to 26 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 discover the questions on the terrain of demanding, painful, frightening and everyday lives and popular cultural never makes the teacher ‘instantly practices. popular’ or the classes ‘fun’ to be in. Such a model throws open to Hooks problematises the rather easy question then a simple model of opposition between risk and safety, affect authority – one that poses an opposition and authority by putting at centre between mind and body as also authority processes of democratic persuasion as and affection. Black feminists33 have crucial to the goal of enabling all underlined the ways in which the body students and not just the assertive few is erased in the process of learning. in the classroom. Entering the classroom is as if about How do we understand the multiple giving up to the mind and making the and contradictory positions that we play body absent. It is assumed that denial of out in the classroom? It has been pointed passion and Eros as if is a precondition out35 that there are tensions between the for learning to take place. They remind three competing selves of the teacher – us that Eros is the moving force that the educative, the ideological/moral- propels life from a state of potentiality to ethical and personal. How may we actuality and therefore central to the ‘discover’ these tensions, the gaps energy of the classroom. It is often argued between what we think we do and what that there is no place for the affective in we actually do? Student evaluations of the classroom because this may affect teachers with all their limitations can be effective control or neutral evaluation of an eye-opener. Going over recordings of students. And yet all of us know there class discussions can sometimes be a have always been teacher’s favourites – veritable discovery! Recordings of there have been and are affective ties that classroom proceedings, ways in which are exclusive and privatised. The Eklavya we as teachers moderate a discussion, narrative is a reminder of the violent interrupt it or let certain questions pass consequences of selective, exclusive can point to the tensions between the affective ties between students and multiple and contradictory positions we teachers. occupy and our dilemmas. For instance, The pedagogical power in critical a PAF pedagogue introducing a powerful practices cannot be wished away by texts like Ilaiah’s ‘Why I am not a Hindu’ giving up claims to authority and has to address on one hand the following Black feminists like Hooks34 uncomfortable silences or resistance of persuasion of students may be seen as students (articulated through passing an option. In a diverse classroom, Hooks notes or nudging that seems to suggest argues there will always be students who here she goes again on her trip) who may are afraid to assert themselves as critical feel interpellated in the identity of the thinkers. Counter to several feminist oppressor. On the other hand, the claims that the silenced come to voice in persistence of silence of the subaltern atmosphere of safety and congeniality, students who, one imagines would she prescribes a ‘confrontational’ style experience instant identification with the of dealing with this. This can be very text and find voice also needs attention. Education as Tritya Ratna 27

The hesitance in naming and reclaiming as if prove their ‘applicability’ and identity in public; the tears shed in ‘employability’ value. Many of us seeking private conversations, the unease with to develop new courses in emotionally charged classroom pose interdisciplinary fields, such as women’s several dilemmas. studies, dalit studies and culture studies I am in no way arguing for reflexive encounter these demands to prove explorations by teachers on either ‘entrepreneurial’ value on one hand but student evaluations or classroom on the other are faced with the serious recordings as ways to bring ‘balance’ in ongoing intellectual debates on the positions – for balance as we know has relevance of practices of these fields in became a dirty word ever since hindutva the academy. Courses in women’s sought to denigrate all engaged left and studies and dalit studies which are often feminist thinking as imbalanced. Rather, seen as fields ‘naturally’ linking theory the effort is to reflect on the many and practice, knowledge and power may intended and unintended omissions in practice face the risk either of creating between the conceptual and material ‘alternate cannons’ or emptying political terrain of PAF pedagogies as produced content in ‘applying’ theory to the field. partly by attempts to create a democratic While those in cultural studies, more space within an undemocratic academy specifically the study popular culture, and society but also by our own face another kind of risk, that of not been investments in particular subject taken seriously for they are not easily positions. recognised as a site of the political37. Critical pedagogies do not in In this section, I shall limit the exchange themselves constitute a method, and of notes on experiments in developing micro level pedagogical implications of pedagogical tools to a course on PAF which are crucial to the everyday ‘Popular Culture and Modernity in India’. work of the classroom need to be In the concluding section, I detail discussed and developed through some of the experiences of teaching a dialogues in and across classrooms. We course on ‘Popular Culture and need to dialogue more on our efforts in Modernity in India’ least because I or the everyday of the classroom to develop anyone else involved imagine it to be a different tools, methods, strategies to narrative of success. This detailing is by combine social critique with skills of way of opening a dialogue with fellow doing critical work. In the concluding critical pedagogues on the nuts and bolts section, I would like to share some notes of developing pedagogical methods and on implementing PAF and collective tools for our present. This course on efforts to develop tools and methods. ‘Popular Culture and Modernity in India’ Pappu can Dance ‘….’ (?) was floated over two semesters in Possibilities and Limitations of classrooms that were socially very Pedagogical Experiments36 diverse and where the co-learners In the present of our academia, any sometimes shared very little in common effort to develop new courses, by way of nationality, region, language pedagogical tools and methods have to and also in terms of their investment in, 28 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 desire and pleasures of what they saw students and students who had recently as constituting and constituted by the completed their Masters Programmes) popular (the range included motorcycle became very important resources in clubs, annual village fairs, Sharukh enhancing dialogue and participation Khan films, old Hindi film songs, the ‘new’ through a research-based approach. The Marathi cassette cultures, cultural teaching assistants in this course did practices of movements and collective much more than the ‘prescribed’ role of actors, particular newspaper columns, getting together course, readings, and blogs, ‘days’ celebrated on campuses and correcting tutorials and in the process so on). fractured the assumed divide between The course began with three teacher and student. They ‘translated’ readings – one by Bell Hooks the teacher’s classroom discussions to interrogating the binaries that operate the students when required but in doing in the cultures of teaching and the other so pushed the teacher to become a by Samata Biswas38 on caste and culture student by seeing how and why the as it unfolds on the seemingly mundane students found them more accessible. site of the notice board in the students’ They became research and writing mess and selections from Phule’s consultants for students who were ‘Gulamgiri’. These readings made way for framing ‘researchable’ themes for the several discussions on interrogating the paper and in the process could revisit binaries of history and memory and and redraft their own on-going research cultures of teaching and the teaching of and writing. culture in the academy and had The course sought to build in implications for the conduct of the experience, dialogue and participation course. The course it was mutually through conscious selection of resources agreed would be constituted through materials and therefore the questions integrating dialogue, participation, brought to the classroom that came from experience39 the important elements of the everyday/ordinary of students’ lives PAF pedagogies. At the level of practice (tamasha, local museums, Hindi films, it meant being open to multiple newspapers, documentaries, music viewpoints, learning to ‘listen’ so as to videos, magazines, commemoration of better understand what others are days on campus), continuous group work saying than just stick to words they say, and intra-group evaluation, and to suspend judgement to create an developing writing and research as a environment where participants could method of classroom learning. Group reflect, communicate and interact. work and evaluation met with More specifically the dynamics of considerable resistance as groups were learning and teaching was sought to be drawn once by lots and another time rethought and reinvented through a through introducing a diversity quotient. research-based approach to the course. There was pessimism and resistance to This posed challenges for both the working with given groups, several students and the teacher and in our students were very uneasy grading their case, the teaching assistants40 (Research own and group members work and there Education as Tritya Ratna 29 was much frustration, tears and anger other should say or in forcing students over group processes. But what was sometimes to talk against their will. The novel and was that they were often teacher, teaching assistants and viewing their own culture (youth/village/ students despite efforts were not always city) critically and it was the teacher who listening and pre-judgement of ‘others’ was on their territory. was continued through bodily gestures The group work sessions were that discarded some issues while conceptualised, designed and conducted validating others. However, sometimes by the group members in the classroom; disruptions in dialogue were taken up as sometimes in the process driving the an opportunity to view the complex content of the course. Group work on linkages between practice and content – local museums for instance propelled the for instance impatience and tensions way in which the course interrogated the between group members (emerging from assumptions of the nation/national in differences of language, investment in our everyday life. Some groups for different genres of popular, access and instance compared and contrasted the ease with using audio-visual equipment, politics and aesthetics of the Gandhi and ways of reading a text and discussing it) Ambedkar museums to interrogate became a ground to reflect on the central received notions of history of the nation. theme of the course – namely ‘our Yet others drew attention to the tensions modernity/ies’. Heated discussions between nation and region, the public sought to address how courses on and private, tribal and Indian in the ‘Modernity in India’ could not push the arrangement of artifacts at the Raja experience of the epistemic wound of Dinkar Kelkar Museum or to the colonialism, the messy patterns of Indian interesting museumisation of modern modernity, the exciting instability of city life in the most unexpected of forces of mass democracy in our places – the toy railway museum. Group classroom to the backyard. work on the contemporary cultural The course sought to shift the focus practices of counter commemoration of from students as consumers of the anti-caste movements propelled knowledge to producers of knowledge by discussions on the significance of developing writing and research as a popular in the formation of counter method of learning. Reinventing the publics. Several individual papers on the teaching-learning nexus through recasting of caste and gender relations research was also envisioned as in the local annual fairs propelled countering the logic of vulgar discussions on caste in the constitution vocationalisation and applicability. of the popular. Students were expected to submit In the process of this group work, regularly written responses to events there were disruptions in dialogue and and to develop independent and participation – between students and collaborative student research projects between teachers and students. Often through the semester. Writing of conversations came to be controlled by responses to films watched or the expectations of what each thinks the celebrations in the city of the nation on 30 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

15th August or a music video of Kings XI meaning of life around us and they do so Punjab among others became sites for with zest and enthusiasm.”41 The essays developing critical thinking skills and not only showcase student writings but social critique. Writing response pieces; also document the intellectual processes the format for which was kept relatively by which the students came to their open became a recursive process as ‘theme of research’. The students had in students admitted that writing required the process of producing the book them to reflect, assess value and engaged with tasks of calling for appropriateness of argument, submissions, reviewing, editing, reconstruct and rewrite. designing and publishing and were Individual and collective research pleasantly shocked by the quality of the projects not only reinvented the product. pedagogic space but helped establish The ‘social utility’ of the several group mutually rewarding links with academics projects, film or the collection of essays inside and outside the university and lies in their capacity for inducing external community groups. One batch conjectural questioning. Many of these of students (2007-08) produced a film on are being integrated in a handbook for ‘Cell phone Cultures’; researched and teachers in Marathi on popular culture produced collaboratively. The process and modernity in India. However, there involved developing new intellectual, was not much effort on our part to ask practical and technical skills as students significant questions about how these researched the biography of the product, skills of combining critical thinking with it’s travels to different constituencies, social critique, of writing academic SMS as cultural consumption, the papers, making films, scripting might perceived dangers and anxieties related transfer to other contexts of collaboration to the product, celebrity scandals with or employment. Further, not all camera phones and so on. The film participants were satisfied with the focused on how cell phones were focus on writing and research as a organising and conducting students’ own method of learning as some student lives. The second batch of students evaluations suggested this took away (2008-09) wrote and published a book; a time from more interactive exercises in collection of researched articles in the classroom. Some participants argued English and Marathi on ‘Exploring the that ‘too much of democracy’ and Popular: texts, identities and politics’. insistence on group work had resulted The papers though individual were in loss of precious working time. There discussed right from their conception in was a case of plagiarism, but the group the classroom and in group exercises concerned collectively agreed that the designed both to think through the ‘crime’ be made an object of analysis and questions critically and to write the concerned student wrote finally wrote academically. To use words from the a reflexive essay on his own journey from foreword to this book by Uma being an engaged student-activist with Chakravarti, “these essays tell us a celebrity status in a town college to a something about why and how we make metropolitan university. Education as Tritya Ratna 31

The pleasure and politics of the knowledge but were constrained by the popular came to be debated as several limits set on ‘dialogue’ by powerful students narrated ‘problems’ that family languages. members and room-mates were having Lest we celebrate prematurely the because of their becoming critically ‘success’ of dialogue of our PAF engaged with popular culture. The pedagogies; the words of Bhujang teacher, the teaching assistants and Meshram, an engaged tribal poet who several students commented on how passed away recently, are a reminder of many, otherwise ‘quiet types’, those who the ways in which power is already rarely spoke in class (those considered enmeshed in dialogue. Pappus) were talking so much in class “The Teacher asked, when it came to films music videos or the ‘Name any three tribal villages’, pleasures of the ‘Trax cultures’ (local So I told. taxis that ply from the taluka place) of Slap me if I was wrong rural Maharashtra. At one level, it But do tell me do closed doors open without appeared as if contrary to the popular a push? I only told – Shelti, Varud, and Hindi film song (‘Pappu Can’t Dance …’), Kondpakhandi’. investigations into the world of the The teacher asked, popular could make ‘Pappus’ dance. But, ‘For what are these villages famous?’ at another level – could they really? For I only told, as students worked in English, Hindi and Shelti for Holi, Marathi, in different settings, the uneven Varud for the woman – Gowarin Bai, flow of knowledge and methodologies was And Kondpakhandi for the theft of cotton. more than apparent. The student The teacher roared and slapped with his research projects made apparent how hands He broke a couple of staffs of the Mehendi the study of culture has emerged bushes. differently in different regions and Go get a reference from three people languages and a question worth asking Or else no entry for you in this school – he but not risked in the classroom was – said. how might the course have looked if That’s when I decided to get introduced cultural studies did not speak only to Birsa kaka, Tantya nana and Ambar English but also spoke, for instance Singh Maharaj!!” Tamil, Ahirani, Bundeli or Marathi42? (Bhujang Meshram, In a socially diverse classroom there Mala Bhetlelya Kavita, 2007) are ‘many languages of studying Meshram’s words historically culture’ and specific understandings grounded in the struggles of tribals over of ‘popular’ are constituted differently resources, identities and meanings are and differentially through them. Our a reminder that power is never really collective efforts at ‘dialogue’ through external to ‘dialogue, participation and research and writing as methods of experience’ and that the task of making learning did, to some extent, disrupt education Tritya Ratna is indeed an traditional understanding of power and arduous long march. 32 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

REFERENCES

1. English Translations of Mukta Salve and Tarabai Shinde’s writings were first published in Susie Tharu and K. Lalita, Women Writing in India: 600 B.C. to Present, (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1991). Vidyut Bhagwat, the regional editor of this section highlighting the politics of selection and erasure involved in the building of archives discusses how Tarabai’s writing was ‘retrieved’ in 1975 by S.G. Malshe and that there is no account found of later writings of Mukta Salve. Scholars like S. G. Mali and Hari Narake have countered the doubts raised about the authorship of writings of Savitribai Phule with historical documents; thus highlighting the erasure of intellection of women and women particularly of the non-Brahman and dalit castes from the processes of established archiving. 2. See Senthil Kumar Solidarity Committee, ‘Caste, Higher Education and Senthil’s Suicide’ in Economic and Political Weekly: August 16, 2008, pp. 10-12, as also Anoop Kumar, ‘Casteism in Higher Education’ in Insight, Vol. 1, No. 1: Sept- Oct. 2007, pp. 8-10 and ‘Excerpts of Thorat Committee Report’ in Insight; op.cit., p. 10. 3. See Anveshi Law Collective, ‘Caste and Metropolitan University’ in Economic and Political Weekly, March 23, 2002, pp. 1000-2 and also Sanjay Palshikar and Arun Kumar Patnaik, ‘Violence in a University: Defending the Indefensible’ in Economic and Political Weekly, April 20, 2002, pp. 1490-9. 4. I use writing back/talking back in the sense post-colonial and Black feminist scholars employ the term; see for instance Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin, The Empire Writes Back (London: Routledge, 1989) and Bell Hooks, Talking Back: thinking feminist. thinking black (Boston: South End Press, 1989). 5. See http://www.insightfoundation.org, M. Murli Krishna, Autobiography as a Resource for Educational Theory: A Dalit Life Story, M.Phil. dissertation in English Literature, (Hyderabad: CIEFL, 2004); IAWS Newsletter, (Pune: Women’s Studies Centre, December 2003); Nageshwar Rao Star, is a film made by Nikhila Henry, Shonreichon, Rajesh and Nageshwar Rao, a group of mass communication students at HCU, Hyderabad; Out-Caste is an informal, public wall-journal started by the Dalit Studies class under the guidance of course instructor, Dr K. Satyanarayana. This is an open forum that engages with the caste question in a specifically Indian context see http://out-caste.blogspot.com/ 2008 02 25 archive.html. See also Dilip Chavan, ‘Bharatiya Uchh Shikshanatil Gunvatcha Prashana’, Vatsaru, Vol. 8, No. 4, June 16-30, 2008; the Sajag Vidhyrathi Shodharthi Gaat edited issue of Vatsaru, Vol. 8, No. 15, 1-15 December, 2008 and Research Room Diaries, Pune Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Women’s Studies Centre, University of Pune, November, 2008. 6. The Department of Sociology, University of Pune tried to address this question by organising a two day national workshop in January 2008 for teachers and students on ‘Caste in the Curriculum’ : Documentary Films as Pedagogical Tools. I am grateful to the speakers, film makers and participants in this workshop for suggesting new ways of listening and addressing caste in the curriculum and the classroom. Education as Tritya Ratna 33

7. I am grateful to Sanjay Kumar Kamble for the conversations we had on reproduction of caste inequalities in education, particularly his insights on the renderings of the issue in Marathi Cinema which I hope to pursue in the near future. 8. The debates on the ‘language question’ and the ‘fear of identity’ as they appear in the calls of sociology in crisis have been detailed in Sharmila Rege, ‘Exorcising Fear of Identity : Interrogating the ‘Language Question’ in Sociology and Sociological Language’ in Sujata Patel (ed.) Critical Reflections on Sociology of Indian Identity, Perspectives and Practices, (New Delhi, OUP, forthcoming). I am thankful to a number of colleagues for their insights from diverse positions and locations on pedagogical practices; to Sujata Patel for continued conversations and discussions on the history and politics of formation of sociology and its implications for the pedagogical; Kushal Deb, Shruti Tambe, Maitreyi Chaudhari and Satish Deshpande for periodic exchanges on the experiences of teaching and ‘translating’ sociology, Sadhana Natu and Vaishali Diwakar for sharing experiences on the diverse and exciting worlds of undergraduate pedagogies in Maharashtra. 9. Words like ‘upper castes’, ‘lower castes’ are put into single inverted comma to mark a disagreement with and distance from the ideology in which such linguistic practices emerge. 10. For accounts of this marginalisation, distortion and erasure in cognitive structures of sociology, see Vivek Kumar, ‘Situating Dalits in Indian Sociology’, Sociological Bulletin, 54, 3 (2005), pp. 514-532 and Edward Rodrigues, Dalit Struggle for Recognition within Indian Sociology’ in Maitrayee Chaudhari (ed.) The Practice of Sociology, (Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 2003), pp. 221-258; S.M. Dahiwale (ed.) Understanding Indian Society: The Non-Brahmanic Perspective (Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2005) and Sharmila Rege, ‘Feminist Challenge to Sociology: Disenchanting Sociology or ‘For Sociology’?’ in Sharmila Rege (ed.), Feminist Sociological Knowledge, (New Delhi: Sage, 2004). 11. Aani Paani – literally means ‘and water’ but as a phrase it refers to the Brahmanical colloquial reference to dalit rendering of Marathi which is considered ‘impure’ and technically incorrect. 12. For details see Kumud Pawade, Antasphot (Aurangabad: Anand Prakashan,1981); Kancha Ilaiah, Why I am Not a Us? (New Delhi: Vitasta, 2006). Hindu, A Sudra Critique of Hindutva Philosophy, Culture and Political Economy (Calcutta: Samya, 1996); Chandra Bhan Prasad, Dalit Phobia: Why do they Hate Us? (New Delhi: Vitasta, 2006); Pragnya Daya Pawar, Kendra aani Parigh, Mumbai: Dimple Prakashan, 2004) and Meena Kandaswamy, Touch (Mumbai: Peacock Books, 2006). 13. I am drawing this argument from Javeed Alam, 2004, Who Wants Democracy? Hyderabad: Orient Longman. 14. See Paulo Freire, Education for critical Consciousness, (New York: Continuum,1973). 34 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

15. I am drawing this argument from Bernard S. Cohn, ‘African Models and Indian Histories’, in An Anthropologist Among Historians and Other Essays (New Delhi, Oxford University Press, pp. 224-54); Sujata Patel, ‘Beyond Binaries : A Case for Self Reflexive Sociologies’, Current Sociology, Vol. 54, 3 (2006), pp. 381-395 and Sharmila Rege, Dalit Studies a Pedagogical Practice : Claiming More than a ‘Little Place in the Academia’ Malcolm Adiseshiah Memorial Lecture, Chennai: MIDS, 2006. 16. For details see Gail Omvedt, Cultural Revolt in a Colonial Society: The Non-Brahman Movement in Western India (1873 to 1930), (Bombay: Scientific Socialist Education Trust, 1976); Rosalind O’Hanlon, Caste, Conflict and Ideology : Mahatma Jotirao Phule and Low Caste Protest in Nineteenth Century Western India (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1985); Meera, Nanda, Breaking the Spell of Dharma and Other Essays (New Delhi: Three Essays, 2002); Gopal Guru, ‘Dalits in Pursuit of Modernity’ in Romila Thapar (ed.) India: Another Millenium (New Delhi: Viking, 2000) and Sharmila Rege, Writing caste/writing gender: narrating dalit women’s testimonios (New Delhi: Zubaan, 2006). 17. All references to the writings of Phule and Ambedkar are drawn from Y.D. Phadke (ed.) Mahatma Phule Samagraha Vagmay (Bombay; Maharashtra Rajya Sahitya Sanskruti Mandal, 1991) and volumes particularly volume 2, 4, and Vol. 11 of Vasant Moon (ed.) Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches (Government of Maharashtra, Education Department,1987) and Changdev Khairmode, Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Vols. 1-12, (Pune: Sugava Prakashan, 1992). 18. See for instance Bell Hooks op.cit., 1989. 19. CHANDRA BHAN PRASAD, Dalit Phobia —Why Do They Hate. 20. See BAGUL quoted in ARJUN DANGLE (ed.) Poisoned Bread: Translation from Modern Marathi Dalit Literature (Hyderabad: Orient Longman Limited, 1992). 21. For details see SHARMILA REGE, Caste, Identity and Public Sphere: Mapping Ambedkarite Counter publics in Maharashtra (Kolkata: Samya, forthcoming). 22. For a nuanced and critical review of the local, regional and international contexts of emergence of dalit studies see K.Satyanarayana, ‘Dalit Studies as a New Perspective in the Indian Academia’ in Arun Kumar and Sanjay Kumar (eds.) Dalit Studies in Higher Education: Vision and Challenges (Delhi: Deshkal, 2005), pp. 81-95. 23. For a cogent argument on this, see Lawrence Grossberg, ‘Introduction: Bringing it All Back Home – Pedagogy and Cultural Studies’ in Henry A. Giroux and Peter McLaren (eds.), Between Borders — Pedagogy and the Politics of Cultural Studies, (New York: Routledge, 1994: 1-29). 24. For instance, a highly qualified Professor who left a renowned campus recently for private consultancy commented that with too many ‘mofusil’ students in his class he was worried that if he stayed longer he too would introduce himself as “Myself so and So from So and So place” thereby making a dig at the vernacular styles of personal introduction. Some other colleagues commented on how they would have nothing to do with a board of studies that was largely manned by the ‘Safari Brigade’; commenting on the Safari suit — a style of the early 1980s now considered passé by the elite but which has been reinvented as a modern Education as Tritya Ratna 35

formal wear by male teachers and bureaucrats from dalit-bahujan classes. The sartorial and other routine practices of our different and unequal modernities are begging for serious academic investigation. 25. See Lis Stanley, ‘An Autobiography in Sociology’ in Sociology (Vol. 27, No. 1,1993, pp. 41-55). 26. ‘Unsettling Relations’ is the title of an excellent collection of essays on the university as site of feminist struggles. See Himani Bannerji, Linda Carty et.al., Unsettling Relations — The University as a site of Feminist Struggles, (Boston: South End Press, 1992). 27. I am thankful to a number of colleagues for their insights on interrogating the ‘success’ of women’s studies in the academy; to Vidyut Bhagwat for long standing conversations on fractures of limiting the practice of women’s studies to English, Uma Chakravarti, Mary John, Tejaswini Niranjana, Rekha Pappu and Vandana Sonalkar for discussions in different contexts on pedagogies in women’s studies, Anagha Tambe, Swati Dyahadroy for continued exchange of notes on the pains and pleasures of ‘teaching gender studies’ and Sugeeta, Sneha, Sanjay, Nirmala, Tina, Nagesh, Sangeeta, Deepa and Roopali for their weekly reflections from diverse social locations on processes of teaching and learning women’s studies. 28. See Jenny, ‘Opening Up to Research : A Personal Narrative’ in IAWS Newsletter, Women’s Studies Centre, University of Pune, December 2003. 29. I am thankful to the several batches (from 1991 to the present) of Masters, M.Phil. and Ph.D. students at the Department of Sociology and since 1995 at the Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Women’s Studies Centre for the collective efforts in building and disrupting the pedagogical space. Their classroom interactions, ‘traditional’ day celebrations, parties, note and letters of criticism and appreciation, in fact makes the very exercise of this lecture possible. 30. For a provocative and evocative account of ‘home’ See Biddy Martin and Chanda Talpade-Mohanty, ‘Feminist Politics: What’s Home Got to Do with it?’ in Teresa De Lauretis (ed.) Feminist Studies/Critical Studies (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986). 31. This is a question R. Radhakrishnan pursues profoundly in his accounts of cultural politics of parenting and pedagogies in the diaspora. See R. Radhakrishnan. Between Identity and Location: The Cultural Politics of Theory (Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 2007). 32. I draw upon and seek to rework the models of progressive pedagogies outlined by Lawrence Grossberg, op.cit., 1994. 33. See Bell Hooks, ‘Eros, Eroticism, and the Pedagogical Process’, in Henry A. Giroux and Peter McLaren (eds.), Between Borders: Pedagogy and the Politics of Cultural Studies, (New York: Routledge, 1994:113-119). 34. For a nuanced discussion on confrontation as against safety in the classroom, see Hooks; op.cit., 1989. 35. See Carolyn McKinney, ‘A Balancing Act: ethical dilemmas of democratic teaching within critical pedagogy’ in Educational Action Research (Volume 13, No. 3, 2005: 375-91). 36 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

36. This draws upon the hit Hindi film number ‘Pappu can’t dance…’ from the film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Pappu in the vernacular generally refers to those young people considered to be ‘not so smart or happening’ by those who name what’s in and out. This section will look at moments in which it seems that “Pappus’ can also dance – but do they?” 37. For a compelling argument on complex relation between these fields and their pedagogical practices especially on the pedagogical challenges to feminism in the cultural studies classroom, see Tejaswini Niranjana ‘Feminism and Cultural studies in Asia’ in Interventions, Vol 9, No. 2, pp. 209-218. 38. See Samata Biswas, ‘Culture and Caste in CIEFL: The Classical Debate Continues’, in Insight, September10, 2005 39. For more on critical feminist pedagogies of dialogue, participation and experience see Esther Ngan-Ling Chow, Chadveck Fleck et al. ‘Exploring Critical Feminist Pedagogy: Infusing Dialogue, Participation and Experience in Teaching and Learning’ in ‘Teaching Sociology, Vol. 31, No. 3, July 2003, pp. 259-275. 40. I would like to thank for their insights, interventions, energy and affection – Anil Jaybhaye, Nagnath Shelke, Deepa Tak and Tina Aranha who assisted in teaching the Popular Culture course over the last two semesters. 41. Uma Chakravarti, ‘Foreword’, in M.A. Class of 2008 (ed.) Exploring the Popular: texts, identities and politics (Pune: KSP, Women’s Studies Centre, University of Pune, 2008). 42. I am rephrasing the title of Mariscal’s article – see Jorge Marsical ‘Can Cultural studies Speak Spanish?’ in Toby Miller (ed.) A Companion to Cultural Studies (MA: Blackwell Publishers: 2006). Participation and Consequences of Education... 37

Participation and Consequences of Education of Scheduled Castes in Andhra Pradesh

P. ADINARAYANA REDDY* and E. MAHADEVA REDDY**

Abstract

The NCERT has designed a multi-centric study covering a number of states to identify the participation and consequences of education of the Scheduled Castes by inviting selected experts in the field. The study was designed to cover selected states and one of the states selected for the study is Andhra Pradesh. The present paper is a part of the project deals mainly with the SC parents’ perceptions towards education of their children, progress of the literacy among Scheduled Castes in the selected districts. The findings of the study includes progress of education of the Scheduled Castes and non-Scheduled Castes in the study area in terms of enrolment, retention, transition, parental perception towards experiences provided by the schools, its accessibility, teacher efficiency etc. Further, it also identifies the progress of literacy in the sample area, the literacy programmes that have been implemented, extent of registrations in the employment exchanges by the Scheduled Castes and non Scheduled Castes in the selected areas were also identified.

The Scheduled Castes are one of the level lack of various essential skills and marginalised groups in terms of social depend mostly on manual labour for their and economic status and constitute livelihood. Of them, women were found 16.19 per cent to the total population of to be most affected section. Recognising Andhra Pradesh. This section of the their plight, the Government has brought population are considered as out a number of legislations to safeguard untouchables and located in the their rights. In addition, they have been outskirts of the habitations. Most of them provided a number of welfare measures are illiterates or educated up to primary to accelerate the pace of their socio-

*Director and **Research Scholar, Department of Adult and Continuing Education, S.V. University, Tirupati. 38 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 economic development. Education is literacy and to continuing education considered as one of the means programme. The knowledge generated to promote the socio-economic out of these efforts will go a long way in development. Keeping this in view, helping these groups to use the existing education was given priority at all levels systems by socialising themselves with by providing reservation at the entry the other groups, bringing social change levels, supporting them financially to in the society for accepting their presence retain them in the system and also in and claim the ladder of social mobility. the employment. Further, a number of Hence, it is an imperative study the welfare programmes have been initiated perceptions of the household heads, for the households so as to allow their especially the parents who are children to pursue their education. responsible for the education of their Besides, priority was accorded for this children and the participation of the section in the non-formal stream of family members in the literacy education not only to promote their programmes and the consequences of literacy levels but also to develop their their participation. competencies required for them to enter into the world of work through vocational Review of literature training programmes. Keeping the above in backdrop, an All these measures significantly attempt has been made to review the increased the enrolment of the SC studies already conducted in this sphere children in the formal system of to identify the lacunae and to identify the education, but for one reason or the priority area. The available studies other, more than half of them were conducted in these areas of education of withdrawn before reaching 5th standard scheduled castes were classified under and three-fourths of them were not able 4 subheads - I. Psychological Problems, to move beyond the high school (Bhatt, Educational Problems, and Education 2005). In other words, it appears that the Development and Miscellaneous studies. people enrolled in the formal system The studies relating to the adoption, self- education from these sections were not image, self-concept, interpersonal able to cope up within the system of relationships, occupation aspirations, education due to the external vocational needs of the scheduled castes environment or due to lack of adjustment have been conducted by Singh (1981), and adaptability with the system leading Naidu (1981), Desai (1981), Gupta (1979), to their dropout. Hence, there is a need Mishra (1978), Rangari (1984), Om to probe deeply into the experiences of Prakash (1986), NCERT (1987), Agarkar these people and their parental opinions and others (1986), Gaur (1989), Yasoda towards the educational system. In case Gaur (1989), Kakkar (1990), Rajani of adult education too, the promotions of Gautham (1990), Archana Agarwal literacy among these groups have to be (1992), Lal (1995) etc. comes under studied in terms of enrolment, success psychological problems. The studies on rate and transition from literacy to post Educational Problems of Scheduled Participation and Consequences of Education... 39

Castes conducted by promotion activities undertaken under Chandrasekhariah, K. (1969), Sharma Total Literacy Campaign, Post Literacy (1974), Joshi (1976), Kripal (1978), Programme, Continuing Education, D’Souza, Victors (1980), Goyal (1981), Akshara Sankranthi and Akshara Pimpley (1981), Satyanarayana (1982), Bharathi programmes. Singh (1982), Thyagarajan (1983), Participation — Participation refers to Seetharamu,(1986),Elangovan (1989) the enrolment of the target at various and Sachchidananda (1991) relating levels of formal and non-formal stream to the problems encountered by the of education students, while pursuing their education, Consequences — It refers to net result institutional problems in delivering of the participation of the target in formal education are grouped under the and non-formal stream of education. To broad theme viz., educational problems be specific, it refers to the experiences, of the scheduled castes etc. A few studies participation, dropout and success rate of Lal, Sheo Kumar and Nahar, Umed in case of formal education and the Raj, (1978), Nautiyal (1979), Govt. of extent of attainment of literacy, transition India (1981), Swaminathan, (1982), from literacy to post literacy and to University Grants Commission (1985), continuing education in case of adult Prameela Bai (1986), Showeb (1986), education. Ram (1987), Bhargava and Mittal (1988), Scheduled Castes — The Scheduled Gupta (1988), etc. are grouped under Castes are those castes which have been Educational Development among incorporated in the schedule as per the Scheduled Castes. The studies recommendations of the National conducted by Forester (1975), Sudame Commission for SC & ST and ratified by (1983), Yadav (1983), Mathur (1984), the Parliament. In case of Andhra Yadav (1984) and Sabnis and Mahurkar Pradesh, the SCs are broadly classified (1985) are miscellaneous in nature but under four major groups viz., Adi Andhra, are connected to the SCs, hence they Madiga, Mala and Rally with a number were grouped. of independent castes in each group. Statement of the problem Objectives of the study Participation and Consequences of Keeping in view of the above, the study Education of Scheduled Castes in Andhra formulated the following objectives: Pradesh. 1. To examine and analyse the Operational Definitions current status of education in Andhra Pradesh with special Education — For the purpose of the reference to Scheduled Castes. study, Education refers to the education 2. To identify the perceptions of the provided in the schools, viz., primary, parents towards education of the secondary and higher secondary in the children and the support extended formal stream of education and literacy by them. 40 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

3. To examine the awareness and 5. Whether the parents felt school extent of utilisation of the welfare environment and infrastructural measures available for Scheduled facilities are conducive for Castes and to find out the reasons education for their children? of the non-utilisation of such 6. What are the aspirations of the facilities. parents towards their children’s 4. To study the status of literacy education? promotion programmes 7. What is the opinion of the parents implemented and literacy in the towards the value of education? State of Andhra Pradesh and extent 8. Are there any differences between of progress attained in literacy with the perceptions of the parents of special reference to Scheduled Scheduled Castes and others Castes. across socio-economic groups about 5. To compare the Scheduled Caste the relevance of education? and Non Scheduled Caste in terms 9. Do the parents aware of the of their participation at various facilities and incentives provided to levels of education in Andhra Scheduled Castes at different levels Pradesh. of education? 6. To study the trend of employment 10. What are various facilities availed seekers among Scheduled and Non by the Scheduled Castes and to Scheduled Castes in the study area. what extent? 11. What are the reasons for non- In the light of the above objectives, utilisation of the available facilities? the investigator has formulated specific 12. What is the literacy status among questions to be answered. the Scheduled Castes vis-à-vis Research Questions others with reference to enrolment, success and transition from The research questions of the study are literacy to post literacy and as follow — continuing education? 1. What is the educational status of 13. What is the extent of employment Scheduled Castes vis-à-vis others seekers among the scheduled with reference to enrolment, castes with different educational dropout and transition from qualifications? primary to secondary level? 2. What are the facilities available in Scope of the study the SC habitations for promotion of The present study is designed to identify education? the status of the education in the 3. Whether basic facilities are Scheduled Castes in terms of primary available in the schools? education and literacy programmes in 4. What are the perceptions of the comparison with non-scheduled castes. parents towards the relevance of Further, it is also intended to study the education? perceptions of the Scheduled Castes Participation and Consequences of Education... 41 towards utility of education, facilities selection, from each mandal 3 villages made available and awareness of welfare having highest, moderate and lowest SC programmes designed and implemented households were selected. In the fourth by the Government and extent of their stage, all the households of SC utilisation. In addition, it also analyses habitations and equal households in various literacy programmes in the last mixed habitations covering not more decade and extent of the attainment of than 100 households from each mandal success with special focus on scheduled were chosen. The sample unit of the castes in the State of Andhra Pradesh. present study is household. Among the Methodology households, the criteria of having school- going children or the adult member The paper is the part of the nationwide attending the adult education centre was multi-centric study conducted on behalf adopted for choosing the household as of the NCERT by the investigators during sample unit of the study. By adopting the 2006-07 in the state of Andhra Pradesh above criteria, the study has covered 600 to study the participation and SC households and 100 non-SC consequences of the education of the households. Out of them, 540 SC parents Scheduled Castes. The study has been and 100 non-SC parents were selected conducted with the financial support of as sample of the study. All the household the NCERT. Further, the investigator heads constituted the sub-sample of the has participated in the 5-day workshop study. On the whole, 18 villages, 540 SC organised by the NCERT at New Delhi to design the study and to develop the and 100 non-SC parents constitute the framework for developing the tools. The sample of the study. investigator has adopted the 2. Tools used for the study methodology as suggested in the workshop in executing the project. The As the study is intended to identify the methodology adopted is as follows— participation and consequences of education in the Scheduled Castes, the 1. Locale and Sample of the study information is required to be collected As the study was formulated to identify from the areas of primary education the participation and consequences of and literacy in the state of Andhra education in Scheduled Castes in Pradesh — both from primary and Andhra Pradesh, the locale of the study secondary sources. The data on is the State of Andhra Pradesh. For the secondary information was collected from purpose of collection of primary data, of the records maintained at various levels three districts having highest Scheduled of educational administration. The Caste Population, i.e., one district from primary data has been collected from the each region was selected. In each district, household heads parents to study about 2 mandals having highest and lowest their opinion towards the various aspects Scheduled Caste population was of education. In order to collect the same, selected. In the third stage of sample a tool is required. Among all the possible 42 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 tools the schedule was found to be the levels of education for employment from best option as it not only helps to employment exchanges and State generate required information through Directorate of Employment and Training. personal interaction but can also elicit The primary data was collected by additional clarifications. Hence, for the administering the schedule to the purpose of the study, a schedule was parents of the children studying in designed keeping in view of the objectives formal education. The household head of the study. The section I of the schedule was treated as the representative of the was designed to elicit the information on household and for the purpose of the personal background information. The present study treated as sub sample to second section is designed to elicit the elicit the primary information on information on the perceptions of the multifarious aspects of education. In parents towards the education of their addition, the investigator has also children, their participation, aspirations, collected the information pertaining to attitude towards value of education, the facilities available in the habitations relevance of education to the present day and schools for the promotion of context etc. Besides, a village schedule education. and school schedule was also devised to Analysis of the data collect the relevant information. 4. The primary data thus collected was 3. Administration of the tools and found to be more qualitative in nature collection of the data and the data was not subjected to the For the purpose of the present study, the rigorous statistical analysis. However, data is required both from secondary and simple statistical techniques like primary sources. The information percentages and means were used to relating to the performance of the formal interpret and to draw the conclusions. education in terms of enrolment, dropouts, success rate, transition, Findings of the study facilities in the school, incentives The findings of the study were presented provided for SC children, literacy in 9 sections, viz., the Population Profile programmes implemented in the State of the Andhra Pradesh with special and study area in terms of enrolment, reference to Scheduled Castes forms the target, achievement, expenditure section I. Section II elucidates the incurred in different programmes were Educational Scenario of the State and collected from the secondary sources. In the study area in terms of number of addition to the above, the investigator schools functioning, number of teachers, has also collected the secondary data enrolment, dropout rate and success rate from the mandal, district and State level at terminal points. The Section III offices looking after the primary appraises the Status of Literacy in education and adult education Andhra Pradesh with special reference programmes. Further, information was to Scheduled Castes. Further, Literacy also collected about the registration of Promotion Programmes implemented in the Scheduled Castes with different the State and the study area in terms of Participation and Consequences of Education... 43 enrolment, success rate and expenditure sq km in 2001. The districts with high incurred etc. were also encapsulated. The density of population are West Godavari profile of the scheduled castes was (493), Krishna (485) and Rangareddy presented in the section IV. Section V (468). The urban district of Hyderabad presents profile of the household heads. has the highest density (18432) of The characteristics of the sample were population while Adilabad district has presented in section VI. The parents the least density (154) of population. perception towards various aspects of The literacy rate of the state is 60.47 education such as relevance of per cent as per 2001 Census and the education, assistance rendered by them gender-wise literacy rate is 70.32 per cent to their children, their participation in in males and in females, it is 50.43 per the school activities, their aspirations cent. The literacy percentage of rural is towards their wards education, 50.50 per cent, which is 15.82 per cent regularity of their wards, functioning of lower than the urban literacy rate. In the schools, their attitudes towards value case of male, it is 83.19 per cent in urban of education, knowledge about the areas and it is 65.35 per cent in rural incentives provided and utilisation by the men. In case of women, it is 43.50 per SC children etc. are the accentuated in cent in rural which is 25.24 per cent section VII. Section VIII indicates the lower than the urban women. facilities available in the habitations and The population of the Chittoor in the schools for promotion of education. District is 37,45,875. Out of it, 18.75 per The findings from all the sections are as cent belongs to scheduled castes. In the follow: general population, 50.44 per cent are Andhra Pradesh has a total men and 49.56 per cent are women. In population of 7, 62, 10,007 (2001 Census) case of scheduled castes, 50.32 per cent with an area of 2.75,069 sq. kms which are males and 49.68 per cent are females. accounts for 7.37 per cent of the The female population of scheduled country’s population and 8.4 per cent of castes is slightly more in comparison the area of the country. As per the 2001 with the general population. Out of the Census, there are 123.40 lakhs of total scheduled caste population, 78.35 Scheduled castes population in the state per cent is living in rural areas. In the and accounts for 16.10 per cent of the rural population, 50.32 per cent are total population of Andhra Pradesh. women. In case of the urban population, The growth rate of population during again males (50.75%) have outnumbered the decade 1991-2001 is 12.86 per cent the females (49.25%). In case of in the state as against 21.34 per cent in Karimnagar District, the total population the country. The decadal growth rate constitutes 34,91,822. Out of it, 18.62 per shows a declining trend from 24.20 per cent belongs to scheduled castes. In the cent between 1981 and 1991 to 13.88 per general population, 50.06 per cent of cent between 1991 and 2001. The them are men and 49.56 per cent are density of the population has increased women. In case of scheduled castes from 242 per sq km in 1991 to 275 per 50.10 per cent of them are men and 44 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

49.90 per cent are women. The rural by Chittoor (18.75%) and Karimnagar population of the District constitutes (12.44%). In terms of gender variations, 80.56 per cent to the total population. Karimnagar has highest females within On the other hand, urban scheduled general and as well as scheduled castes caste population of the District population followed by Chittoor and constitutes 19.44 per cent. In the rural Prakasam districts. In case of state as a scheduled caste population, the women whole, proportion of women from out numbered the men with 50.15 per scheduled castes are more in number in cent, i.e., the women population of the comparison with the general females. rural scheduled castes is 14,10,731, The sex ratio of the scheduled castes whereas men population (14,02,279) of population in the study area shows that the District comprises 49.08 per cent. the Karimnagar District has highest sex The trend of the gender differences of the ratio with 998 women for 1000 men which district shows that it is women-prone are higher than the state level of 978. district. The total population of the The Chittoor occupies second position in Prakasam district comprises 30,59,423. sex ratio with 982 which is also higher Out of them, 50.74 per cent are men and than the state level. In case of Prakasam 49.26 per cent are women. Out of the district, it is 971, which is lower than the general population, scheduled castes state sex ratio. In case of rural areas, constitute 21.29 per cent and 50.73 per again the Karimnagar district has cent are men and women constitutes highest women population with 1006, 49.27 per cent. The rural population of which is higher than the state level sex the district constitutes 84.72 per cent ratio of the rural population, i.e., 983. The and the urban population is 15.28 per ratios for Chittoor and Prakasam cent only. In the rural population, 50.78 districts is 986 and 969 respectively. The per cent of them are men and 49.22 per Chittoor has higher sex ratio than the cent of them are women. In case of state level whereas in case of Prakasam urban area 50.46 per cent of them are it is lower than the state level. In case of men and 49.54 per cent are women. urban population at the state level, the Among the scheduled castes, 91.77 per sex ratio is 965. In case of study area, cent are based in rural areas and 8.23 the Chittoor and Prakasam districts have per cent of them are located in urban the ratio 970 and 982, which is higher areas. Out of the rural, 50.80 per cent of than the state average. However, in case them are men and 49.20 per cent are of Karimnagar, it is 964 which is lower women. In case of urban SC population, than the state level. 49.95 per cent are men and 50.05 per A comparative picture of the literacy cent are women. rates among the general population and At the state level, the scheduled SC population shows that there is a castes population comprises 16.19 per variation, i.e., 60.47 per cent and 53.52 cent. In case of districts selected for the per cent respectively. However, among study, Prakasam District has highest the general population, there is a wide scheduled castes population to the total variation between the men and women population, i.e., 21.29 per cent followed i.e., more than 20 per cent. Similar trend Participation and Consequences of Education... 45 resembles even in case of SC population. and higher secondary schools has Among both the groups there are more proportionately increased in the last literate persons in the men than the seven years. In case of primary women. In case of study area i.e., in education, the strength of the teachers Chittoor District, literacy percentage has increased from 1, 33,546 to 1,67,723. among general population is 66.77 per In other words, there is an increase of cent, and it is 59.99 per cent among 25.59 per cent in the last 7 years. The Scheduled castes. The gender difference number of teachers working at upper is 21.84 per cent in case of general primary schools is also increased from population and it is 21.87 per cent in 20.73 to 25.65 per cent. On the other SCs. The gender variation is almost hand, the teachers working at high similar in both the groups. The literacy school level has increased in absolute percentage in Prakasam district is 54.9 number but decreased in terms of per cent and it is 46.47 per cent among percentage to the total population of the Scheduled Castes. The gender variation teachers. in literacy among general population is The enrolment at pre-primary level 24.34 per cent, and it is 22.42 per cent education has increased from 2.44 per in the SCs. In case of Karimnagar, the cent to 5.12 per cent in course of seven difference in literacy rates between total year i.e., from 2000-01 to 2006-07 population and SC population is 4.48 per However, the enrolment at Primary level cent only. The gender difference in (I – V) has gradually decreased between general population is 24.27 per cent and 2000-01 and 2006-07. The reason for it is 24.84 per cent in case of Scheduled the decrease in enrolment is due to the Castes. On the whole, the literacy rate reduced population in the age group of in men in comparison with women is 6–10 years. The enrolment in Upper higher in case of the state as well as Primary (VI–VII) and Secondary Stages districts of the study area. Further, the (VIII–X) has increased steadily between literacy rate in women was found to very 2000-01 and 2006-07 due to the low in Prakasam district. expansion of the high school education The numbers of schools established and increase in retention of children in during 2000-2001 is 76,091 and the the high school education. The success number of schools has gone up to 96,277 rate was found to be ranged between by 2007, i.e., there was an increase of 53.26 and 79.25 per cent in all the 26.53 per cent. During this period, the students. On the other hand, the increase in primary schools, is found to success rate in the scheduled castes is be only 11.20 per cent the number of found to be 57.73 to 75.93 per cent. In secondary schools has increased by case of the success rate between 1st 81.79 per cent. On the other hand, the standard and 5th standard among all the increases in high schools are found to students, it was found to be ranged be 57.58 per cent. between 76.54 per cent and 99.19 per The number of teachers working in cent and in scheduled castes, it is the primary, upper primary, high school between 88.59 per cent and 102.38 per cent. 46 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

There are 1,75,15,658 students The enrolment of all children and participating at various levels of scheduled castes in different classes is education in Andhra Pradesh. Of them, starting from pre-primary to 7th class in 55.20 per cent are males and 44.80 per the study area of Chittoor, Prakasam and cent are females. The institution-wise Karimnagar shows that it gradually participation shows that majority of the reduces from Class 1st to Class 7th general population and Scheduled Caste indicating that there are dropouts at students are at the school level, i.e., various stages and low re-enrolment of 89.91 and 91.38 per cent respectively. the discontinued children. The trend is Out of the school-going population, again resemired in all districts. 54.48 and 45.52 per cent of them are The trend of the dropout rate in the boys and girls in the general population. school aged children studying 1st In case of Scheduled Caste students, it standard to 7th standard in the study is 53.39 and 44.61 per cent in boys and area, i.e., Chittoor, Prakasam and girls respectively. The participation at Karimnagar districts shows that 1st college level, between general standard to 5th standard, the mean populations is 7.44 per cent whereas in dropout rate of the three districts, i.e., case of Scheduled Castes it is only 5.27 Chittoor, Prakasam and Karimnagar is per cent. The participation of male 14.20, 31.32, 27,19 per cent respectively. students at college level, among general However, the dropout rate in case of and Scheduled Castes is 9.21 and 6.82 scheduled caste, it is 16.21 per cent in per cent respectively. However, in case Chittoor and in Prakasam and of females, their participation is 5.25 in Karimnagar and it is 36.01 and 35.78 per general population and 3.34 per cent in cent respectively. The dropout-rate in Scheduled Castes. In case of the study both the groups was found to be low in area, the participation rates in the Chittoor district and high in Prakasam Scheduled Castes at the school level are district. Similar trend is also seen in case more than 90 per cent. To be specific, of Class I to Class VII. Among the sex the participation is more in case of groups, the dropout rates are found to Karimnagar (94.18%), followed by be more in comparison with the boys in Prakasam (93.25%) and Chittoor all the groups. The dropout-rate in (91.82%). Akin trend is being seen in Prakasam district is found to be more case of general population. The followed by Karimnagar and Chittoor. participation at the college level in the The state has undertaken Total study area in the general population Literacy Campaigns in all the districts shows that it is 6.99 per cent in Chittoor, and enrolled 128.44 lakhs illiterates and followed by Prakasam (6.82%) and out of them 80.45 lakhs have completed Karimnagar (6.44%). In case of the primer III. The overall achievement Scheduled Castes, the participation against the target was found to be 55.76 rates at the college level are more in case per cent increased. In the Post-Literacy of Prakasam (5.10%), followed by Programmes, 52.46 lakh neo-literates Chittoor (4.93%) and Karimnagar have completed PL1 primer. Out of 23 (4.63%). districts, 21 districts have entered into Participation and Consequences of Education... 47 the phase of Continuing Education of 5.93 lakh illiterates. The overall Programme with a sanctioned strength achievement under different schemes of 2,227 Nodal Continuing Education shows that the state was able of cover Centres and 17797 Continuing 80.45 lakh under TLC/mopping Education Centres. Out of them, 2,105 programme, 90 lakhs under other Nodal Continuing Education Centres schemes and 1.02 lakhs under residual and 17,282 Continuing Education CE phase. On the whole it has covered Centres are in operation. The Continuing 191.44 lakh illiterates. Education Centres were able to cater to The Karimnagar district has the needs of 82, 58,940 beneficiaries. Out implemented all the literacy programmes of them, 38,88,379 are men and initiated by the State Government and 43,70,561 are women. In caste point of enrolled 19.29 lakh and 14.57 lakhs of view, 12,43,464 belong to Scheduled them were made literates. Of the total Castes and 3,70,516 Scheduled Castes SCs, 4.52 lakhs of them were enrolled in were using these centres. As a part of literacy programmes and 3.38 lakhs were the mopping up of the Total Literacy made literate. In order to implement the Campaign for eradication of residual above programmes an amount of Rs. 6.5 illiteracy, a special drive has been taken crores has been spent. up by the State Government in the name The Prakasam district has enrolled of the Akshara-Sankranthi programme 11.83 lakhs and out of them, 69 per cent in four phases 2000-01 to 2003-04. have attained the literacy. In case of Under this programme, 139.37 lakh SCs, the attainment rate is 56.23 per cent illiterates were enrolled and 78.95 lakhs only. On the whole, the district has spent were made literate. Later, Akshara Rs 5.67 crores for literating 8.17 lakhs. Bharathi programme was initiated and In case of Chittoor district, it has 11.05 lakhs persons were made literate actively participated in all the against the enrolment of 16.58 lakhs in programmes and enrolled 17.32 lakhs the first phase. The second phase of the illiterates and attained literacy in 14.42 programme was launched in March 2006 lakhs. In case of Scheduled Castes it with an enrolment of 6.44 lakhs. In has enrolled 4.08 lakhs and literated addition to the above two programmes, 3.84 lakhs. the Government of India has sanctioned The profile of the Scheduled Castes a Project on Residual Illiteracy (PRI) for of Andhra Pradesh shows that they 10 low literacy districts, viz. Srikakulam, constitute 16.19 per cent to the total Vijayanagaram, Kurnool, Mahboobnagar, population and 82.50 per cent of them Medak, Nizamabad, Adilabad, are dwelling in rural areas. Nellore Karimnagar, Khammam and Anantapur district has the highest SC population of the State to cover 21.81 lakh and Vishakhapatnam has lowest illiterates. The first phase of PRI population. The sex ratio in SCs is 981 programme has enrolled 16.83 lakhs per 1000, which is higher than the illiterates and was able to literate 11.08 general population i.e., 978. Nizamabad lakhs. The second phase was launched has highest sex ratio (1046) and on 15th March 2006 with an enrolment Anantapur the least (956). The literacy 48 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 rate in the SC population is 53.50 per to be regular to the schools, cover above cent. Their work participation is 50.5 per half kilometre to attend the school and cent which is higher than the state does not have any problems in attending population (45.8%). Majority of them are the schools. Parents are assisting their main workers (79.2%), and among them children in their studies and teacher is 68.3 per cent involved in agriculture. the alternative support for those who Majority of them are Hindus. The work couldn’t support their children participation in the SC school-going education. Half of the parents are using children is 2 per cent. In case of out of the services of their children in domestic school children, majority of them are work. They feel that the children are main and marginal workers and work studying at home especially in evening participation is more in case of 15-19 about 1 to 2 hours. Children interact years. with the parents and inform about the Profile of the sample households school activities. The extra curricular shows that majority of them are headed activities were found to be useful to the by men with low income groups children and felt that the teachers are depending on labour for their livelihood. extending their support to the education Majority of the families belong to nuclear of their children. Majority of the teachers families with 2-4 children. Living were found to be effective and inefficiency standards show that majority of them among the teachers is due to their belong to medium standard of living irregularity. The students were able to without any land. The household income complete the home work in time. Parents shows that they have income up to are found to be participating in the Rs 20,000/-. They were exposed to activities of the school and are aware of television and benefited from the the parents-teachers meetings and developmental programmes. Majority of suggested that teacher’s regularity to the them were not aware of the adult school improves the educative education and non-formal education environment of the school. Parents are programmes. Their participation in satisfied about the physical facilities social organisations is limited to self-help available in the schools; aware and groups. utilized the facilities provide to their The characteristics of the sample of children and have high aspirations the parents selected show that majority about the education of their children, of them are in the age group of 31-40 have positive attitude towards value of years’ labourers and belong to nuclear education and functioning of the school. families. Level of education shows that Majority of them have been exposed to they belong to low educated group with the urban areas and interacted with the 2-4 members in the family along with 2- developmental programme functionaries 3 children. Majority of them have given frequently. Similar trend is also seen in in the majority priority for the education case of Non-SC parents. of their children as it improves their Employment seekers with school status. Majority of children were found education among SCs have steeply Participation and Consequences of Education... 49 increased from 37.44 per cent to 49.20 Conclusions per cent over a period of five years and The participation of the scheduled during the same period, the registration castes, both in the formal and non- of non-SC has decreased from 62.56 to formal stream of education was found to 50.80 per cent. In case of SCs with SSC be encouraging. The opinion of the and less qualification, there was a parents towards the education system marginal increase and there was a and their perception about the decrease from 52.50 per cent to 48.90 per usefulness of education to their children cent during the Non-SC registration. In are found to be the consequence of their case of intermediate qualifications, there participation in the education. The was a decrease in case of SCs in Chittoor administrators and policy-makers district and increase in case of should take the prevailing situation for Karimnagar and Prakasam districts. their advantage and increase the Similar trend being seen in case of Non- participation of the Scheduled Castes in Scheduled Castes. In case of graduates the educational system so as to and technical education graduates, the mainstream them in the society enable registrations have gone up significantly them to claim the ladder of social in case of SC graduation. In case of mobility. The perception of the non- technical graduation, the registration scheduled castes towards the have gone up in case of Chittoor and participation of the scheduled castes in Prakasam districts and there is a education is also found to be decrease in Karimnagar district, encouraging. This reflects the changed contrary to the above in case of non-SCs scenario of the society. Hence, effective the registrations have gone down in case administrative, academic and welfare of Chittoor and Prakasam districts and measures will bring radical changes in increased in Karimnagar district. socio-educational scenario of the country.

REFERENCES

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Teaching of Social Science A Situated Cognition Perspective

SANDEEP KUMAR*

Abstract

This paper aimed to provide an understanding about the teaching of social studies with reference of situated cognition. It starts with the understanding of meaning, nature and scope of social studies. Paper also talks about the basic objectives of teaching of social studies. It also include the understanding of situated cognition, its nature, scope and pedagogical implications. Following these there is an attempt to present the relationship between situated cognition and teaching of social studies or why we need situated cognition to teach social studies. The presenter of this paper has presented some educational implications with the examples from different classes.

Introduction Therefore, we use every possible ‘subject’ to help us understand his problems and Long after history, geography, civics, how he dealt or deals with them…..Man’s economics and sociology were introduced struggle with environment yesterday and as independent subjects, social studies today, man’s use or misuse of his powers was offered as a study including and resources, his development, the essential elements of all these social essential unity of civilisation these are sciences. The social studies are the main themes of social studies. (Social understood to be those whose subject studies committee of schools board, matter relates directly to the organisation Victoria). and development of human society and Social studies is a field of study which to man as a member of social groups. deals with man, his relations with other (Commission of reorganisation of men and his environment. Its content is secondary education of associations, drawn from several social sciences but United State of America). What we study is not determined by the discipline of any in social studies is the life of man in some one of these. Rather the content and particular place at some particular time. organisation of social studies derive

*Lecturer, Department of Education, CIE, University of Delhi. Teaching of Social Science... 53 directly from the purposes for which it is psychology, social studies view these taught. Those purposes include an social sciences as a compact whole in the understanding of human relationships, process of synthesising these subjects knowledge of the environment, into a new field, blending them together, dedication to the basic principles and making it a compact and coordinated values of the society in which it is taught, whole. Social studies make a man and a commitment to participate in the human. It describes the entire range of processes through which that society is human history from the earliest time maintained and improved. These are the down to the latest moment and the widest most important characteristics of the reaches of contemporary society. social studies point of view. Social sciences and natural sciences As an inter-disciplinary course it are inter-related. Recent advances in the draws its contents selectively from fields of physical sciences, industry and several other branches of knowledge and technology have revolutionised social life human experience. The scope of the in all parts of the world. These have social studies is continuously growing, extended man’s vision from family to as the social process and problems are neighbourhood, from neighbourhood to changing from time to time. Its content town, from town to region, from region to must be revised periodically. The field of nation and even beyond expanding the social studies covers the study of area of human relationship from local, communities at all level — local, regional, regional and national level to national and international, focusing on international level. Therefore the man and his social environment. functional study of natural and physical Social studies provides situation in sciences like physics, chemistry, botany, which school children may use related zoology and physiology etc., is an learning in a functional and natural important part of social studies setting for the application and use of programmed. For example, while knowledge and basic skill in solving chemistry helps to eradicate various human problem. Thus, it may be used diseases, history helps chemistry in as means of integrating various school providing past human experiences activities and experiences. dealing with those diseases. The breadth, comprehensiveness, Thus, social studies provide a wide variety and extension of learning range of materials. In the words of experiences, provided through the Ohicholson and Wright, “its scope is teaching of social studies, make its scope really very wide and its theme is the as wide as the world and as long as the present social life of man, the world history of man on this earth. over.” But social studies is not a limitless Social studies include the study of and fathomless ocean. It provides only those social sciences and humanities, an overall integrated outline of essential which can be applied for a practical common knowledge so as to draw only understanding of human relationships. the functional knowledge from various These are history, geography, economics, subjects avoiding the material which has civics, sociology, literature, religion and no bearing on social context. Its subject 54 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 matter consists only of very simple and language, and images should be reorganised items of information and comprehensible, gender sensitive and experience from various fields having a critical of social hierarchies and practical value in the daily lives of inequalities of all kinds. children. On the basis of the above Something about situated cognition understanding we can draw several Before we start to discuss about situated objectives of teaching of social studies— cognition we must think that we can take ● Enabling children to understand learning as a dimension of teaching. To the society in which they live. understand the various concepts we ● Introducing children to the values must have a look on different schools of enshrined in the Constitution of thought about what they think about India such as justice, liberty, learning — equality and fraternity and the unity and integrity of the nation, Behaviourism “Learning is change in and the building of a socialist, behaviour due to experiences.” secular, and democratic society. Cognitivism “Learning is acquisition ● Enabling children to grow up as of knowledge, active, responsible, and reflective comprehension, skill, members of society. etc……..” ● Enabling children to learn how Constructivism “Learning is a process of society is structured, managed, and knowledge construction governed and also about the forces (Piaget)” seeking to transform and redirect Social “Learning is a social society in various ways. Constructivism process of knowledge construction (Vygotsky)” ● Enabling children to learn to respect differences of opinion, Situated cognition is a new movement lifestyle and cultural practices. in cognitive psychology which derives ● Engaging children to undertake from pragmatism, Gibson ecological activities that will help them develop psychology, ethno methodology, theories social and life skills and make them of Vygotsky (activity theory) and the understand that these skills are writings of Heidegger. However, the key important for social interaction. impetus of its development was work ● Encouraging children to question done in the last 1980s in educational and examine received ideas, psychology empirical work on how institution, and practices. children and young people learned ● Encouraging the reading habit by showed that traditional cognitive ‘rule providing children with enjoyable bound’ approaches were inadequate to and interesting reading material. describe how learning actually take place School is an important part of the in the real world. Instead, it was process of socialising the child. At all suggested that learning was ‘situated’, stages of school education, the content, that is, it always took place in a specific Teaching of Social Science... 55 context. This is similar to the view of acquiring the norms, beliefs and skills ‘situated activity’ proposed by Lucy of the community. Situated cognition Suchman social context proposed by starts from everyday practices to come Giuseppe Mantovani and ‘situated up with the theory. Thus situated learning’ proposed by Jean Lave and cognition view is often defined as Etienne Wenger. ‘enculturation’ or adoption of the norms, Situated cognition emphasises behaviour, skill, beliefs, language, and studies of human behaviour that have attitudes of a particular community. ‘ecological validity’ that is which take The community might be mathema- place in real situation. In more ticians or gang members or readers or traditional laboratory studies of how teachers or students any group that people behave in the work place, real has a particular ways of thinking and world complication such as personal doing. interruptions, office politics, scheduling Situated cognition is placed under constraints, private agendas and so forth ‘social constructivism’, which assumes are generally ignored, even though they ‘knowledge’ to be social construction as necessarily change the nature of the opposed to ‘knowledge’ being seen as activity. Situated cognition attempts to personal construction. The terms integrate these complexities into its ‘situated cognition’, ‘situated learning’, analytic framework. “The theory of ‘situated action’, or ‘situativity” denote situated cognition…….claims that very an array of related perspectives, falling human thought is adapted to the under the broad umbrella of ‘socio- environment, that is situated, because cultural constructivism’. what people perceive , how they conceive Situated cognition approaches are of their activity, and what they physically essentially based on the assumption that do develop together”( Clancey, 1997, pp. knowledge is inherently bound to the 1-2). Furthermore, that people perceive, context i.e., knowledge is situated. think and do develop in the Knowledge cannot be separated from the fundamentally social contexts; the unit context; in fact it is embedded in the of analysis in situated cognition is socio- context. By assuming ‘knowledge’ as cultural setting and the activities of the situated and context bound, ‘learning’ people within it rather than individual according to this approach is also seen mental functioning. Knowledge as lived as inseparably situated and context practices must be understood in its bound as exemplified in the mentioned relation to the social aspect as well as scenarios. the individual aspect. The cultural context, the co- Situated cognition approach comes constitutive nature of individual — from studies in informal situation rather action-environment and multiple than formal situation. By studying knowledge communities have all become cognition in real life it tries to come up elements of situated cognition theory. with a theory for education where Wenger (1998) succinctly summarised children acquire various skills naturally the basic premises of situated cognition as a child grows in a community tacitly theory as follow — 56 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

1) We are social beings. Far from being With respect to a specific knowledge trivially true, this fact is a central community, or community of practice, aspect of learning. Wenger defined three interacting 2) Knowledge is a matter of competence dimensions — mutual engagement, a with respect to valued enterprises, joint enterprise, and a shared repertoire. such as singing in tune, discovering That is “people are engaged in actions scientific facts, fixing machines, whose meaning they negotiate with one writing poetry, being convivial, growing another.” The actions are in service of a up as a boy or a girl and so forth. mutually negotiated goal which defines 3) Knowledge is a matter of participating the enterprise in which they are engaged in the pursuit of such enterprises, that and which “creates among participants’ is, of active engagement in the world. relations of mutual accountability”. 4) Meaning—our ability to experience the Finally over time, the activity of the world and our engagement with it as individuals engaged in the enterprise meaningful—is ultimately what gives rise to specific practices, symbols, learning is to produce. and artifacts that are shared by all members of the community. To understand the situated cognition in better way, we can have a look on this table—

Framework Principles

The role of context Everyday cognition — people reason in actively based upon experience within specific contexts; use a variety of methods to solve problem Authenticity — coherent, meaningful and purposeful activity that represent the ordinary practices. Transfer — situated learning environment are more likely to transfer to real life problem solving. The role of content Knowledge as tool — students acquire knowledge as well as a sense of when and how to use it. Content diversity and transfer— concepts need to be represented via various content; necessity to apply knowledge in various setting discriminate similarities and differences among setting. Cognitive apprenticeship to provide the opportunities for the learners to internalise learning and develop self monitoring and self correcting skill The role of Facilitation methods — situated learning environments attempts facilitation to help students to improve their cognitive abilities, Self monitoring and self correcting skill, encourage active learning and provide opportunities to internalise information facilitation is less directive, more continuous and highly interactive— Modeling Scaffolding (coaching, guiding etc.) Collaborating Fading Using cognitive tools and resources Teaching of Social Science... 57

The role of Problems and issues— in order to be useful in prompting higher assessment thinking skills testing needs to shift from domain referenced evaluation to assessment; Emphasis need to be on the abilities to diagnose cognitive growth rather than achievement.

Many concepts have emerged in advances through collaborative social situation cognition research, which interaction and the social construction helps, in understanding knowledge, of knowledge. Rsnick has pointed out cognition and learning in natural that throughout most of their lives people settings. Communities of practice, learn and work collaboratively, not legitimate peripheral participation, individually, as they are asked to do in authentic activities, and cognitive many schools. Lampets’s and apprenticeship are few of them. These Schoenfeld’s work, Scardamalia. are also some of the concepts Bereiter, and Steinbach’s teaching of representative of situated cognition writing, and Palincsar and Brown’s work approach. with reciprocal teaching of reading all Communities of practice is a employ some form of social interaction, unifying concept emerging from situated social construction of knowledge, and learning research—the idea that collaboration. The notion of cognitive learning is constituted through the apprenticeship is elated to situated sharing of purposeful, patterned activity cognition theory and simulates or (Lave and Wenger, 1989). In essence, capitalises on real world activities communities of practice are groups of (Berryman and Bailey, 1992; Brown, people who share similar goals and 1989). Practices of the community and interests. For example communities of following their norms, values and beliefs, scientists, community of workers, we become member of that particular community of farmers, community of community. Legitimate peripheral teachers, etc. In pursuit of their goals participation is also related to the and interests, they employ common communities of practices. Legitimate practices, work with the same tools and peripheral participation should be express themselves in a common understood as defining ways of belonging language. When one starts participating to a community of practice and someone in the activity of the community he/she who is not a legitimate participant would starts learning about the cognitive not be allowed access to the resources of apprenticeship methods try to the practice. acculturate students into authentic Authentic work practices or practices through activity and social authentic activities are based on daily interaction. Cognitive apprenticeship life practices or activities in which attempts to promote learning within the learners engage. Such activities have a nexus of activity, tool and culture. greater resemblance to activities in Learning both outside and inside school, which core members of a community 58 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 actually engage. For example, authentic child’s perception. It is important that social science teaching learning the process of learning should promote environments would allow students to the spirit of inquiry and creativity among practice social science as scientists work children and teachers. on research projects in real life. Working NCF-2005 says the teacher is an on projects with genuine purpose or important medium of transacting the cause will constitute social science curriculum and simplifying as an learning according to situated cognition. opportunity for teachers and students to Now we are in a position to identify learn together, thus developing a the principles of situated cognition. democratic culture within institutions. Principles of situated cognition are— In order to make the process of learning participatory, there is a need to shift from ● Knowledge needs to presented and the mere imparting of information to learned in an authentic context, i.e., involvement in debate and discussion. settings and applications that This approach to learning will keep both would normally involve that learners and teachers alive to social knowledge realities. ● Learning requires social interaction Concept should be clarified to the and collaboration students through the lived experiences ● Knowledge is socially embedded. of individuals and communities. For The principles of situated learning example, the concept of social equality can be applied to designing effective can be understood better through citing learning environments. The most the lived experiences of communities that appropriate instructional method will be make up the social and cultural milieu one that incorporates both— of the child. It has also often been (a) Realistic presentation of the observed that cultural, social, and class knowledge, procedures and skills differences generate their own biases, and prejudices, and attitudes in classroom (b) Opportunities for students to apply contexts. The approach to teaching, the knowledge and practice the therefore need to be open-ended. procedures and skills in a realistic Teachers should discuss different context. dimensions of social reality in the class, and work towards creating increasing Why situated cognition to teach self-awareness both amongst themselves social studies as well as among the learners. The focus group also discussed the Social studies need to be revitalised in adverse effects that the minimal order to help the learner acquire provision of infrastructure and poorly knowledge and skill in interactive qualified para teachers have on the environment. It has often been noticed learning on the discipline. The linkages that there is an increasing gap between between adequate infrastructure and the promises made in the curriculum the teaching of social studies is not often and what is happening at the level of the commented upon because instruction in Teaching of Social Science... 59 the subject requires no obvious space ● Situated cognition comes from like the way in which a laboratory is informal situation rather than required for the teaching of science. formal situation. However, the effective teaching of social ● It starts with everyday practices, studies is crucially linked to the efficient which is called enculturation. functioning of the school library and of ● Situated cognition not promotes the teachers who are trained to use the students to conceive only. resources that the library provides ● According to situated cognition towards the creation of challenging what we learn in a community that projects and activities. This shift away occurs in specific context and from rote learning to comprehension culture. This notion of situated through the implementation of projects cognition is against the traditional can only take place if the teacher is able classroom learning activity that to assess the child’s understanding believes that nature of knowledge through other means rather than just is abstract and it can be presented the completion of the project. A more in de-contextualised form. nuanced assessment of whether the ● In general school practices we see child is learning through project work that they belief, that we can teach might help mitigate the present the subjects according to the manufacturing of these projects in the textbooks. The basic assumption market as ready-made objects that behind it is, knowledge is abstract parents can buy. It will also help to and de-contextualised and modify the prevailing belief that increased knowledge can be transferred from marks on project work translates into teacher to students by textbooks ‘easy marks’ to be gained with the least and because of this assumption effort. they use more abstract methodology So we have many reasons in support to teach e.g. reading from textbook of situated cognition, which are given and lecture method. This approach below— is completely against the situated cognition. ● Because it starts with cognition in ● There is another notion that says daily life of a layperson in natural social studies is not a useful settings and produce a theory of subject. But according to situated ‘every day learning’. On the other cognition social studies develops the hand many other theories cultural and analytical ability. starts with some preconceived assumption. For example Infor- Situated cognition and NCERT social mation processing theory that science textbooks starts with this assumption – how experts solve the problems and how NCERT new textbooks are based on they study cognition in contrived NCF-2005. National Curriculum situation. Framework emphasising learning in 60 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 authentic situations and have strong non-democratic. Another chapter “What believe that learning can take place in is democracy? Why is democracy?” in context. We can easily find lots of same book has some more situated examples from these textbooks those cognition-based activities. One of them provide opportunities to students to learn is – follow editorial page of any newspaper and understand the concepts in for one month and collect editorial authentic situation or in context. articles and letters on the page that have Chapter ‘on equality’ of class seventh anything to do with democracy. These provides opportunities to students to kinds of activities are based on develop critical thinking and application rather than retention and understanding by coating real life teachers role become as a guide, monitor incidents and raising thought-provoking or facilitator. question about the equality and Some activities are purely based on rationality of equality in existing society students daily life such as – talk to some such as Omprakash situation in elderly person in your family or Joothan. These kinds of scenario help neighbourhood and collect information students to be more sensitive about about — the trees in his/her neighbour- certain sensitive issues such as caste, hood when she/he was your age, how did class, gender etc. they make their selves comfortable Same book in different lesson called during hot summers and cold winters ‘growing up as boys and girls’ talks about (Chapter — Our Environment, Class different activities which makes students Seventh). How your neighbourhood land aware and sensitive about current issues is being used. Collect information and like gender inequality. Such as — make discuss how your community being a drawing of street or a park in your effected by it (Chapter — Natural neighbourhood show the different kind Resources, Class VIII). of activities young boys and girls may be So, NCERT new textbooks primary engaged in. You could do this work goal is to develop the students’ cognition individually or in groups. Working in and cultivate awareness. These books groups is also being emphasised by these also focus to develop skills and abilities new textbooks and that is appreciable. to promote problem-solving, higher order The chapter “Democracy in thinking skills and deep understanding Contemporary World” consists very good of the concepts. Activities available in learning activities based on situated these books provide opportunities for cognition perspective. Such formation of apprenticeship, guided participation different groups in the class to collect learning with increasing complexity of different type of information (news, task, skills and knowledge construction. clippings, articles, photographs etc.) For deeper and better understanding of about struggle for democracy in any situated cognition in teaching of social country those currently are not science, in next segment of the paper we will democratic. Focusing of the following try to understand implications of situated question — what makes the government cognition in social science teaching. Teaching of Social Science... 61

Situated Cognition and teaching of ask about the various shapes (states) social science — Implications those are available on the globe and then teacher can help them to understand Situated learning environment attempts this concept. to help students to improve their cognitive abilities, encourages learning ● The teacher functions as guides, through active participation, facilitation monitors, coaches, tutors and is less directive, more continuous and facilitators. highly interactive. Communities of Example — teacher can organise a practices, apprenticeship, authentic debate on some topic such as “why activities, real world environment etc., democracy, Indian Constitution” etc. are some of them that are incorporated into situated cognition approach. The ● Activities, opportunities, tools and important aspects of situated cognition environment are afforded to approach are presented below. This point promote meta-cognition, self- will be helpful in designing a situated analysis, reflection and awareness. classroom. Example— if we want to teach about the ● Application rather than retention rules, how to walk on the road, we can becomes the mark of a successful take them to the road, where they find instructional encounter in the everyone is walking on his/her left side situated cognition framework. of the road, they will do self analysis and Example — Traffic light — If we want to understand that to avoid the accident we make students capable to understand should walk on the left side of the road. the traffic rules, we can held a visit to ● The learning situation, the traffic signal park, where they can environment, skills, tasks and understand the concept of traffic light by content are lifelike, relevant active participation. realistic, authentic and correspond Passing the bill in Assembly — if we to the natural complexities of the want to aware the student to understand real world. the procedure of passing the bill in assembly, we can create the same Example — if we want to teach the social environment in classroom as we see in customs we can assign them to assembly or we can held a visit to participate in the common customs of assembly session various communities living in their locality. ● The goal and objectives of the activity are resultant of the student ● Primary sources of information are and teacher negotiation. used in order to ensure authenticity and real world complexity. Example — if we want to provide opportunities to the students of fifth class Example — we can make capable about the lesson “find the place on students to understand the working of earth”, we can provide a globe to the the many social institutionns such as students to read. Interestingly they will Bank, Hospitals etc. by visiting them. 62 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

● The knowledge is constructed can make teaching more and more through social negotiation, effective, realistic and enhanced. These collaboration and experience. are given below— Example — we can have discussion on ● It supports learning from the any topic or we can take them to villages demand side rather than the supply to show how Gram Panchayat works? side. ● The designer moves from the ● The learner’s previous knowledge organisation of content and construction, beliefs and attitudes sequences of the creation of are considered in the knowledge environment to induce, and then construction process. facilitate understanding. Example — we can make student ● Require different roles for teacher: capable to understand the importance from a knowledge transmitter to a of the celebration of the various festivals coach or facilitator of student or how money bill pass (but before this understanding. students must know how to pass the ● Requires a fundamental change in ordinary bill) test traditions, focus on the ● Problem solving higher order individual’s cognitive progress and thinking skills and deep transfer of knowledge (testing the understanding are emphasised. cognitive progress) ● Emphasis high order thinking skill. Example — we can assign the work to ● Provides complex ill-defined and prepare the scrap book on any topic authentic tasks such as pollution, unemployment etc. ● Attempts to cultivate awareness ● Learners are provided with the (needed skill in the meta-cognitive opportunity for apprenticeship, monitory of process toward a guided participation learning in solution and the reasoning experts which there is an increasing experience in real world problem complexity of tasks, skills and solving) knowledge acquisition. ● Induces inferential reasoning, Example — if we want to teach the monitoring and regulation of process of election, we can create problem solving and utilization of realistic environment in the classroom meta-cognition skills. itself, so that student can learn how ● Focus on growth primarily in election take place and what is the student cognition. procedure of election? ● Has a primary goal to allow students and teachers to experience the Other implications of situated cognition effects of view knowledge on their There are many implications of perception and understanding and situated cognition for teaching. These understanding of the environment. Teaching of Social Science... 63

REFERENCES

AGGARWAL, J.C. 2002. Teaching of Political Science and Civics, New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, Pvt. Ltd. BAVEJA, BHARATI. 2005. Constructivism, Unpublished, CIE, University of Delhi, Delhi. ______. 2005. Situated Cognition, Unpublished, University of Delhi, Delhi. BINING and BINING. 1990. Teaching of Social Science, New York, McGraw Hill Book Company ICN. BROWN JOHN SEELY, COLLINS ALLAN and DUGUID PAUL. 1989. Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning, Education Researchers, Vol. 18, No.1. COLLINS, A. and BROWN, J.S. 1991. Cognitive Apprenticeship:Making Thinking Visible, American Educator. DANIELS, HARRY (ed.). 2001. Vygotsky and Pedagogy, Routledge Falmer, 29 West, 35th Street, New York, NY 10001. ______. (ed. II). 2005. An Introduction to Vygotsky, Routledge, 27, Church Road, Hove, East Susses BN3, FA. DIRISCOLL, MARCY. 2000. Situated Cognition in Psychology of Learning of Instruction. LAVE, J. 1988. Cognition in Practice: Mind, Mathematics and Culture in everyday life, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. MOLL, L.C. (ed). 1993. Vygotsky and Education Instructional Implication and applications of Socio-historical Psychology. USA, Cambridge University Press. National Curriculam Framework-2005, NCERT, Sri Aurbindo Marg ,New Delh110016. PATNEY, WINK (ed.). 2000. Vision of Vygotsky, Allyn and Bacon, 75 Arlington St. Boston, MA 02116. Re-sensitizing Education – Situating Learning in Context, Baveja, Bharati (Delhi University, Department of Education). Situated Cognition and Learning Environment: Roles, Structures and Implication for Design, Hannafin, Michael. Situated Cognition, Beveja, Bharati (Delhi University, Department of Education). Staffe and Gale (ed.), 1995. Constructivism in Education, New Jersey, Lawrence, Eriblaum associations. Studies on Cognition—The Paradigm Shift, Baveja, Bharati (Delhi University, Department of Education). GUPTA, R. 2003. Teaching of Social Science, Ansari Road, Daryagunj, New Delhi 110002. 64 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

Translating Social Constructivism into English Language Teaching Some Experiences*

A.K. PALIWAL** Abstract

This paper is based on the author’s own experiences generated through the actual classroom situations involving constructivist approach to English Language Teaching (ELT).The author of the paper holds the view that language is both a cognitive constructivist and social constructivist process and product. It is cognitive constructivist in the sense that learners construct their own language and its grammar. It is social constructivist in that it is only in, for and through society that language is used. No human language may evolve, function, operate, develop and be dynamic without social interaction. Language encompasses all forms of constructivism. However, its framework is largely social which helps the learners in acquiring/learning the rudimentary language skills (LSRW), grammatical / linguistic and communicative competence. This paper discusses some social constructivist activities and tasks to make the main point clear.

Introduction especially in the context of school education across the globe. Unlike the Let me make it clear at the very outset behavioural approach to education, that this paper is based on my own constructivism believes in helping the experiences generated through the child acquire new knowledge, actual classroom situations involving information, skills, etc., and construct constructivist approach to English meaning through exploration, experience, Language Teaching (ELT). engaging, exploiting varied contexts with Constructivism has recently emerged the assistance of convergent, divergent, as a powerful force to be reckoned with reflective, critical and creative thinking

*This paper was presented in a national seminar on ‘Constructivism’ in March 2008 held at RIE, Bhopal, NCERT. **Assistant Professor, Vidya Bhawan, IASE,Udaipur, Rajasthan. Translating Social Constructivism into English Language Teaching... 65 on the basis of previous knowledge, helps the learners in acquiring/learning experience and skills. the rudimentary language skills (LSRW), grammatical/linguistic and communi- ‘Social Constructivism’ cative competence. Vygostsky’s social constructivism The above mentioned basic stresses the value of culture and the assumption is based on the following two social context for cognitive development. accepted and other testable sub- He discusses the ‘zone of proximal assumptions: development’. For Vygotsky, the culture provides the child with the cognitive tools Assumption one required for development. The term Learners generally acquire/learn a ‘social constructivism’ is used in this language through social interactions in paper in a purely linguistic sense and a meaningful social setting. obviously it is slightly different from The vast and abundant literature on Vygostsky’s ‘social constructivism’. For the mother tongue (MT) or home the author of the paper, social constructi- language (HL) acquisition researches has vism is constructing knowledge, enlightened us on this issue. It informs information, and relationship, a network us that children acquire their MT and of linguistic properties through HL in the company of their family and conversation, dialogue, discourse, social relations. discussion and all those social inputs This hypothesis has been accepted which believe in dualism and/or by way of a large number of fundamental pluralism. Notwithstanding some researches with empirical evidence at differences of opinions, it is both a theory various points of time in varied linguistic of learning and approach to teaching- contexts. It has been proved umpteen learning. times beyond doubt that it is not possible The author of the paper holds the view to acquire a human language without that language is both a cognitive ‘social interaction’. Language and society constructivist and social constructivist go together and they cannot be of process and product. It is cognitive separated for individual existence with constructivist in the sense that learners the mutual support for each other. construct their own language and its grammar. It is social constructivist in Assumption two that it is only in, for and through society that language is used. No human Learners generally construct words, language may evolve, function, operate, phrases, clauses, sentences, dialogues, develop and be dynamic without social conversations and discourse in social interaction. It is also a radical settings. constructivist in nature. Language This hypothesis too has been encompasses all forms of constructivism. accepted by a large number of researches However, its framework is largely social. in linguistics and applied linguistics. As The author’s basic assumption in proved correct, children listen to the this regard is that social constructivism language spoken/used around them and 66 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 they learn it through observation, (d) Conversation imitation, experiencing, doing, etc. In (e) Dialogue fact, they ‘discover’ the inherent (f) Brainstorm (involving reflective, grammar on the basis of which they start critical, creative, divergent, ‘constructing’ words, phrases, clauses, convergent thinking) sentences, and discourse. (For the adult, (g) ‘Tasks’, ‘speech acts’, etc. these constructions may be the old ones but for the learners they are afresh and Assumption five of course novel). Learners generally construct the They generally learn to construct, fundamental linguistic properties and deconstruct, reconstruct not only skills through the following: phonological, morphological, lexical, structural, syntactic and grammatical (a) Engaging properties but also semantic world in a (b) Experiencing variety of enormously rich social settings, (c) Enquiry through meaningful social interactions. (d) Knowledge discovery However, it may be quickly added here (e) Exploitation of the oral/written texts that mistakes, errors, and their natural, (f) Exploration spontaneous rectification, eradication (g) Elaboration are part of the language learning which, Assumption six is essentially a constructive process. Learners generally construct their own Assumption three ‘grammar’ for linguistic development and Learners generally acquire / learn social communication. communication skills through social They have an innate ability to interactions such as dialogues, construct their own grammar. Noam conversations, role play, discussions, Chomsky’s theory of ‘language simulations, etc., in meaningful social acquisition device’ (LAD) is a strong settings. argument in this context. Learners have a natural ability to communicate Assumption four whatever they have decided to communicate with whatever linguistic Learners generally construct the properties and resources they have. They fundamental linguistic properties such may not know ‘metalanguage’ but they as vowel, diphthong and consonant do learn the language used by the sounds, accent, stress, juncture, pause, ‘society’ they live in. They learn the rhythm, lexis, structures, syntax, grammar of listening by listening, the semantic values by way of the following: grammar of speaking by speaking, the (a) Previous experience (through LSRW) grammar of reading by reading and the (b) Role play grammar of writing by writing (Jane (c) Simulation Willis). Translating Social Constructivism into English Language Teaching... 67

Assumption seven Being a teacher educator, the author of this paper conducted a number of Learners generally construct ‘grammar’ classes in the actual school situations and ‘sense’ for appropriateness, fluency at different points of time during the last and genuine communication. five years. He himself conducted some It is only through ‘social interactions’, classes with a view to finding out ‘speech acts’ that children pick up the whether or not school students could rules other than the rules of grammar ‘construct’ various linguistic properties and these rules are the rules of social in English as a second language. The behaviour, the rules of linguistic B.Ed. students under his supervision appropriateness, fluency and during teaching practice phase were also communication. They also learn what is oriented towards the ‘new’ pedagogic appropriate and what is inappropriate to techniques devised by him and they were say in particular social settings at suitably motivated to try out the ‘new’ various points of time. They do learn to techniques in novel situations for greater observe the rules of social relationships reliability, acceptability and for more to be established and/or maintained and refinement, modification. The lessons social themes to be discussed. were conducted in the ‘constructivist Assumption eight framework’ to the extent possible. The author has been fully aware of Learners generally construct new the efficacy of the tools prepared, of the knowledge and / or skills through the potentiality of the devices employed, the following sequence: delimitations of the sample, conclusions (a) Exposure to the language drawn and generalisations reached. (b) Elicitation of ideas Therefore, he does not make any claim (c) Restructuring of ideas for sweeping generalisations. ● Clarification of ideas Nonetheless, he wishes to share his ● Exposure of ideas successful and encouraging experiences ● Construction of new ideas in the constructivist classrooms which ● Evaluation of ideas are described and elaborated in the (d) Application of ideas following section of the paper for greater (e) Review of change in ideas discussions and if possible for Let it be mentioned here that the dissemination of the ‘idea of translating above mentioned constructivist social constructivism into teaching pedagogic framework is based on John English, as a second language in India. Sagy constructivist ideas. B. The Observations and Feedback A. Some Pedagogic Experiences The general framework of the lesson plan The above mentioned eight assumptions designed, adopted and adapted for (hypotheses?) were informally tested the teaching English as a second language details of which are as follows: is as follows: 68 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

(a) Orientation and Exposure (a) Thinking (b) Elicitation (b) Recalling (c) Construction (language elements, (c) Imagining skills and ideas) (d) Producing ideas IV. Application (e) Listening (f) Speaking The specific details of the above- (g) Reading mentioned points are as follows; (h) Writing 1. Orientation and Exposure (i) Communicating (j) Negotiating, etc. As a first step the teacher decides to break the ice in the class by way of The other’ tasks ‘which help in discussing something very general realising the above mentioned objectives related to their life such as : are as follows: 1. How did they spend the previous (1) Word games evening/ Sunday/holiday, etc? (2) Crossword puzzles (3) Riddles 2. Elicitation (4) Picture dictation (5) Picture composition ● Brainstorm (6) Role play (i) What do they expect of the topic (7) Simulation, etc. written on the blackboard? ● Role play (The teacher writes a theme word on the blackboard. For example, s/he, The teacher assigns some interesting writes”FOREST’ on the board. The and known roles to the class and asks students are asked to suggest some some pairs of the students to act out words related to the theme. They may the roles involved in the text or roles suggest words like: jungle, woods, trees, such as; plants, wild animals, birds, darkness, (1) The shopkeeper and the customer dense, hunting, deforestation, cut down, (2) The doctor and the patient furniture, pollution, medicines, etc.) (3) The teacher and the student (ii) What words, structures, do they (4) The mother and the child think, would occur in the text they (5) The bus conductor and the are going to read on the theme/ passenger, etc. topic/text chosen? (iii) What ideas would the author of the The tasks like the ones mentioned text present and how? above generally help the learners in (iv) What new things, do they think they developing the skills of: would learn through the text/ (1) Thinking lesson? (2) Improvising The tasks like the ones discussed (3) Creating new contexts above generally help the learners in: (4) Meaning making Translating Social Constructivism into English Language Teaching... 69

(5) Negotiating (12) Write a summary of the text read, (6) Starting and winding up a dialogue, etc. etc. The tasks like these (which need not The learners revise, consolidate, be in the above sequence all the time), reinforce and cement the previously not only help the learners construct ideas acquired/learnt linguistic, communica- but also linguistic properties on their own tive ‘experiences’ but also creates, or with the assistance of the peers, construct new lexical, structural, groups. Meaningful interactions take ideational and semantic sets and thus place between the learners, the text and communicative competence. the teacher. ● Text based Tasks These ‘tasks’ also help in ‘organising’ learning experiences for construction of The teacher takes up an authentic text knowledge and fostering creativity and (say, from a newspaper, a magazine, a connecting knowledge to life outside of brochure, an advertisement, etc.) and school (NCF 2005, NCERT). Through sets some specific tasks like the following; these types of tasks ( as mentioned (1) Read through the text. earlier on) learners become more active, (2) Make a list of the new words interactive, linguistically and occurring in it. communicatively empowered thanks to (3) Make a list of the new structures the inherent culture of the socially rich- occurring in it. linguistic and communicative inputs. (4) Make a list of the new grammatical In the whole business of ELT, the items occurring in it. teacher plays a role of a facilitator, (5) Make a list of the articles/verbs/ manager of activities, supervisor of the adverbs/adjectives/pronouns/ ‘tasks’, participant, philosopher, guide connectives/prepositions occurring and friend. in it. The texts are ‘explored’, ‘discovered’, (6) Find antonyms/synonyms/one ‘exploited’, ‘enquired into’, engaged with, words in the text. elicited, emitted, created, constructed, (7) Look up the words in the dictionary destructed, reconstructed for the and find the meaning of the new purpose of meaning-making by the words, their pronunciation and learners. Learner’s contribution helps grammatical categories, etc. in arriving at the composite culture of (8) Work in pairs and check each the text-construction involving lexis, other’s work. structures and sense. Authentic (9) Read the text and frame questions. materials are ‘means’ to the ‘end’ (that (10) Use the new words/ structures in is, the construction of linguistic, new sentences. communicative knowledge and skills for (11) Write out/act out a dialogue/ linguistic and communicative conversation between the two competence to be translated into what people discussing the theme of the Noam Chomsky calls ‘communicative text. performance’. 70 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

C. Challenges and Possibilities tasks. It is high time a full-fledged research project equipped with a formal The experiences described in this paper design in the Indian context was have been gathered in actual second conducted for more insights into the language classroom situations in which constructivist approach to ELT. This students encountered cognitively would help us spell out learners’ needs challenged tasks, explored linguistic and their roles, to study teachers’ possibilities, experienced the language perceptions, their roles, the roles of the learning process and product by texts and the design of the constructivist engaging themselves in meaningful testing, etc.

REFERENCES

AGNIHOTRI, R.K. and A.L. KHANNA. 1917. Social-Psychological Perspective On Second Language Learning: A Critique, In Singh, R.(ed), Grammar, Language and Society. New Delhi : Sage Publications CHOMSKY, N.C. 1986. Knowledge of Language, New York : Prageger CRYSTAL, D. 1987. The Cambridge Encyclopedia Of Language, Cambridge:C U P. JOHN, SAGY. Constructivism and Learner-Centred Approach in Education, In EDUTRACKS, Vol. 6. No. 5., Jan.2007. KRASHAN, S.D. 1992. Principles And Practice In Second Language Acquisition, Oxford: Pengamon Press. NCF 2005, New Delhi : NCERT. PALIWAL, A.K. 2007. Teaching of English : Theory and Practice, Jaipur, Kalpana Publications. ––––––––––––. 2007. Learn English. Jaipur, Kalpana Publications. VYGOTSKY, L.S. 1978. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Process, Cambridge. M : Harvard University Press. WILLIS, JANE. 1989. Teaching English Through English, Longman. http://www. education.indiana.edu/-cep/courses/p 540/vygosc.html/. http://www.ced.appstate.edu/vybio.html/. Curriculum Implementation in Rural Schools... 71

Curriculum Implementation in Rural Schools — Issues and Challenges

SANTOSH SHARMA*

Abstract

Learning achievement of rural children is low compared to urban children at all stages of school education. The NCF-2005 observes that while urban middle class children are stressed from the need to perform extremely well, rural children are not sure about whether their preparation is adequate even to succeed in the examination. Learning achievement of learners indicates the extent to which curricular objectives have been achieved and is significant indicator of quality of education. Low learning achievement and failure to achieve curricular objectives indicates that curriculum has not been implemented effectively. Curriculum implementation is a complex process where a number of interacting factors influence each other. These factors include curriculum itself, teacher, pedagogy, resource learning material, instructional time, infrastructure and community support. Curriculum implementation requires proper planning monitoring and above all political will. Curriculum is a crucial factor in successful implementation of the curriculum. If curriculum is heavily loaded with bookish knowledge which is beyond the comprehension level of learners, even the best teachers will be compelled to complete the syllabus by reading the textbooks or by writing questions and answers on the blackboard. When curriculum does not provide space for students’ thinking, activity and creativity, how can these objectives be achieved? Analysis of syllabi and textbooks of a number of states reveals that curriculum imparts bookish knowledge and textbooks are urban centric. These alienate rural children from their environment rather them attaching them to it. Language of the textbooks is not the language of the rural child’s communication. School and community are two different worlds for children. For effective implementation, curriculum needs to be relevant, flexible and related to life of children which meets the requirement of diverse learners.

*Professor and Head, Curriculum Group, NCERT, New Delhi. 72 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

Introduction achievement levels of the four groups, urban boys, urban girls, rural boys and The NCF-2005 observes that while urban rural girls are in the order: middle class children are stressed from the need to perform extremely well, rural Urban Girls > Urban Boys > Rural children are not sure about whether Boys > Rural Girls their preparation is adequate even to succeed in the examination. Learning That is, the achievement levels of both achievement of rural children is low boys and girls of rural schools are lower compared to urban children at all stages than the achievement levels of both boys of school education. The achievement and girls of urban schools. In rural surveys conducted by NCERT show that schools, nearly 50 per cent of students the pass percentage of rural children is cannot read, write or do basic arithmetic low compared to urban children at both in spite of spending four or five years in primary and upper primary stage. These school (Chavan, 2006). Learning achievement surveys do not include achievement of learners indicates the private schools and also Kendriya extent to which curricular objectives Vidyalayas which are located mainly in have been achieved and is significant urban areas and are known for high indicator of quality of education. The low achievement and good performance in learning achievement and failure to examinations. If these high achieving achieve curricular objectives reflected schools are also included in achievement poor curriculum implementation. surveys, the gap between achievement Curriculum implementation is a levels of rural and urban students would complex process where a number of be much wider. This difference is interacting factors influence each other. significantly high when pass percentage These factors include curriculum, is taken as 60% and above marks. The teacher, pedagogy, resource learning pass percentage (60% and above) is 42 material, instructional time, for rural children and 56 for urban infrastructure and community support. children at primary level (IV/V). This Curriculum implementation requires percentage is 36 for rural children and proper planning, monitoring and above 46 for urban children at upper primary all political will. stage. (An independent survey, EEI, Curriculum is a crucial factor in 2006-07). A research study conducted by successful implementation of the Sharma, S. (DPEP Calling March, 2000) curriculum. If curriculum is heavily on Achievement Levels of Urban and loaded with bookish knowledge which is Rural Children reveals that achievement beyond the comprehension level of levels of rural primary school children, learners, even the best teachers will be both boys and girls, are lower than urban compelled to complete the syllabus by children. The study compares the reading the textbooks or by writing achievement levels of children studying questions and answers on the in rural and urban schools of Ajmer blackboard. When curriculum does not (Rajasthan) and reports that the provide space for students’ thinking, Curriculum Implementation in Rural Schools... 73 activity and creativity, how can these attaching them to it. Language of the objectives be achieved? Analysis of textbooks is not the language of the rural syllabi and textbooks of different states child’s communication. School and reveals that curriculum imparts bookish community are two different worlds for knowledge and textbooks are urban children. Following illustrations from centric. These alienate rural children textbooks of Gujarat explain this: from their environment rather them Social Science, Class VI, Gujarat

Class VI, Science, Gujarat 74 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

Illustrations from textbooks of water requirements. How plants and different states (Gujarat, Nagaland, animals depend on each other. Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, NCERT, etc.) may help in understanding how curricular content can facilitate or hamper the achievement of learning objectives. Here, I would like to present an analysis of ‘Environmental Studies’ textbooks of different states, where teachers have classified content into two categories: (A) which may help in achieving the learning objectives of EVS, and (B) which may not help in achieving This illustration from Class III, EVS the learning objectives of EVS. The textbooks of NCERT helps children to curricular area of Environmental Studies understand how the letter that they drop at primary stage aims at developing in letter box reaches the addressee. The ability of the students to make sense and illustration is not providing direct draw meaning out of their experiences information but asking children to think with social and natural environment. and get the correct sequence. This helps in achieving the objective of developing A. Content/lessons which may help understanding of communication in achieving the objectives of EVS process through mail which most (i) EVS, Class III, NCERT children in rural India must have experienced. (ii) Finding My Way (Class III, EVS, Nagaland)

All children need to understand the This illustration from Class III, EVS way from home to school and back. They textbook of NCERT relates to experiences should be able to explain this way to of rural children and develops awareness others with the help of a map. This map about animals living on trees and in drawing and reading becomes pre- water. Children explore how these requisite learning for further learning animals meet their shelter, food and about maps. Curriculum Implementation in Rural Schools... 75

(iii) Map of classroom (Class III, EVS, The Nagaland EVS curriculum for Nagaland) Classes III and IV expects students to find way from home to their school, to draw a map of the classroom and to identify their seats, to locate school, hospital, post office in the village map. On the other hand, U.P. curriculum of Class III expects students to locate India in Asia using a globe and map. Experiences of teachers show that the objectives of Nagaland curriculum can be achieved whereas the objective of U.P. curriculum cannot be (iv) Locating places (Class IV, EVS, achieved by 8 or 9 year old children. For Nagaland) children of Class III, the concept of earth as a round ball and how this round ball when flattened becomes a complex map of the world is difficult to comprehend. Even the scientists are still debating about the shape of earth. Locating North, South, East and West on globe; finding different countries on map is beyond comprehension of 8-9 year olds. Content related to animal life which may help in achieving the learning objectives of EVS in primary classes are:

Illustrations (iii) and (iv) above A) (v) Animals and their shelter - represent maps of classroom and village (Class III, Nagaland) which help children in locating places.

B. Content/lessons which may not help in achieving the objectives of EVS (i) (Class III, EVS, U.P.)

This illustration relates to experiences of rural children and asks children to explore more about animals and their shelters. 76 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

B. (ii) The content related to human (iii) About plant life Mizoram Class IV systems which may not be syllabus teaches process of understood by students and there- photosynthesis which cannot be fore does not help in achieving the understood by 9 year olds. These objectives. Children of 9-10 years are too abstract for children to age learn through experiences and understand. making meaning out of their experiences. At this age, they can be introduced to the method of Science - experimentation and providing plausible explanations. But understanding organic structure in human system such as structure of brain, heart, lungs requires pre-requisite under- standing of cell, tissue, muscle, blood flow, etc. These complex structures are beyond the comprehension of students at primary stage. (Mizoram, Science, Class IV) (iv) About air Mizoram syllabus of Class IV describes air pollution in terms

of pollutants such as CO2, SO2, CO

It is clear from the illustrations that the objectives of Mizoram syllabus cannot be achieved by 9 year old children. This has too many technical terms and abstract concepts which are beyond comprehension level of children. Curriculum Implementation in Rural Schools... 77

Similarly, to develop the B) (v) Whereas textbooks of Uttrakhand understanding of time in terms of (2004-05) teach about our rulers historical event and culture, Nagaland such as Class IV curriculum includes content Chandragupt Vikramaditya such as Harshvardhan Rajendra Chola A) (vii) How man learnt to grow food Krishndev Rai (Class IV) - Nagaland Prithviraj Chouhan Allauddin Khilji Shershah Suri Akbar, Rani Durgavati Rana Pratap, Chtrapati Shivaji Guru Govind Singh (vi) Sant and Poets Tukaram, Sant Kabir, Sant Ravidas, Guru Nanak, Malik Mohammad Jayesi, Tulsidas, Surdas, Meerabai, Khwaja Muiuddin Chishtee. The State of Uttrakhand has now changed their textbooks of elementary classes considering the fact that the objectives of the earlier curriculum and the content of the textbooks cannot be understood by 9 year old students and leads to rote learning. Implementation of this kind of curriculum at B is difficult for both rural and urban children. More rural children will fail and dropout because many of them are first generation learners. (viii) Festivals we celebrate - Class IV - Rural parents and students Nagaland start believing that this education is not for them or they do not ‘fit’ into this system of education. Urban parents on the other hand may raise the issues related to ‘difficult’ curriculum and ‘poor’ teaching and ask for improvement rather than withdrawing children from schools. Also curriculum is limited and labels only some forms of knowledge as ‘curricular’ and others as ‘co-curricular’. 78 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

The curricular subjects include in Bhesana, which has recorded the Mathematics, Science, Social Science 100% enrolment of girls. All 200 girls in and Language. Other forms of knowledge the age group 6-14 now go to school. such as Health and Physical Education, Besides, bringing children to school and Arts and Aesthetics are considered as motivating children for learning, Physical ‘co-curricular’ subjects. These ‘co- and Health Education is important for curricular subjects do not receive allround development and growth of attention in terms of school time and children. Art education helps children to teachers. This way many areas of express themselves and to develop knowledge which have potential for aesthetic sensibilities. development of skill, aesthetics, creativity and team work get sidelined. The National Curriculum Framework, 2005 recommends that Health and Physical Education and Arts and Aesthetics should be treated as curricular subjects and should be given same importance as Science or Social Science. These should be given due importance in terms of ‘teacher preparation’ and allocation of time in the school time table. Interaction with teachers during SOPT training at SCERT, Gurgaon, Haryana, teachers from rural schools of Haryana, ‘drawing’ teachers reported that they had not Curricular options are limited at received any in-service training during secondary and senior secondary stage past 25-26 years, whereas teachers which impedes universalisation of teaching scholastic subjects receive secondary education in rural India. Of training at frequent intervals. Drawing the total 5437 schools offering vocational and Physical Education teachers are education at Higher Secondary stage, assigned most of the ‘non teaching’ work 60% are in urban areas and only about given to school by administration. A 40% are in rural areas. Of 241,917 success story from Bhesana village of students enrolled in vocational stream, Gujarat may help in understanding the only 88,953 are in rural schools. importance of Physical Education in Statewise data shows that in major school curriculum. In Bhesana village, states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, the traditional sport of Kabaddi has Jharkhand and Karnataka, rural helped to bring all girls to school. The students are practically deprived by sport is now the reason for record change vocational stream. Curriculum Implementation in Rural Schools... 79

Statewise number of Higher Secondary schools with vocational stream and students’ enrolment in them (7th AISES)

State Area No. of schools with Enrolment in vocational stream vocational schools

Andhra Pradesh Rural 212 8, 870 Urban 195 13, 418 Total 407 22, 288 Chattisgarh Rural 31 916 Urban 62 1710 Total 93 2626 Haryana Rural 15 874 Urban 24 2572 Total 39 3446 Jharkhand Rural 6 580 Urban 29 2407 Total 35 2987 Karnataka Rural 167 4273 Urban 267 10,530 Total 434 14,803 Madhya Pradesh Rural 41 771 Urban 183 5075 Total 224 5846 Maharashtra Rural 353 19,591 Urban 361 22,591 Total 714 42,182 Rajasthan Rural 2 65 Urban 11 374 Total 13 439 Tamil Nadu Rural 461 14,776 Urban 1099 50,339 Total 1560 65,115 Uttar Pradesh Rural 185 5984 Urban 347 11,209 Total 532 17,193 Delhi Rural 10 187 Urban 226 6916 Total 236 7103 80 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

For students living in cities, plenty flexible curriculum which can be of vocational options are available after implemented. completing schooling, apart from Another important factor in continuing to do University degree curriculum implementation is the programmes. In urban areas, there are curriculum transaction where teacher is courses in Information Technology most important and central. Even the enabling services such as BPOs, best curriculum would fail if teachers are maintenance and repair of computer not competent to transit the curriculum hardware, computer networking, fashion effectively. 7th AISES shows that 86,694 designing, training secretarial jobs etc. fulltime teachers teaching in primary Due to lack of vocational training and rural schools have qualification below employability, people migrating from secondary whereas this number is villages to cities end up doing unskilled 30,320 for urban schools. The numbers laborers’ job and living in slums. There of fulltime teachers with secondary is need to create more job opportunities qualifications are 550,200 in rural in rural areas by offering vocational schools whereas this number is 151,461 courses. The vocational courses should for urban schools. Of the total number, not be limited to agrobased courses. In 513,638 of para teachers, 475,859 (93%) addition to setting up agrobased are in rural schools. To design and select industries in rural areas, there is need appropriate learning experiences for to provide courses enabling repair of boat children, teachers’ own knowledge of engines, diesel mechanics, motor content and pedagogy is essential. winding and welding, auto parts, Teacher competence is an important computers, forestry, etc. Diversity in factor, which determines the success or vocational courses is required to prepare failure of the curriculum. Teachers in learners for the world of work. Mahatma rural areas have limited general and Gandhi’s visualised workoriented professional knowledge. The best education would enable rural youths to teachers make for cities, where they have earn their livelihood and empower them better opportunities in terms of to decide their destiny. The curricular promotion, education of their children objective of preparing the child for the and housing, medical and other facilities. world of work can be realised by The urban oriented teachers scarcely institutionalising work in school understand rural children and their curriculum. NCF-2005 suggests that the context. During pre-service teacher school curriculum from pre-primary to education also, school experiences are senior secondary stage should be provided mainly in urban schools. reconstructed for realising the Teachers are ill-equipped to teach rural pedagogical potential of work as a children. They fail to use resources from pedagogic medium in knowledge local rural context. Teachers do not acquisition, developing values and relate themselves to rural community multiple skill formation. For successful and therefore do not interact with implementation of curriculum, the first community. In rural education, teachers task therefore is to develop relevant and are the real bottleneck of the system. Curriculum Implementation in Rural Schools... 81

The inefficient teaching methods are teachers and to accommodate rural responsible for failure to achieve the learner and rural context. Providing objectives of curriculum. The most rural schools with professionally qualified common method used by teachers for teachers is an essential pre-requisite for curriculum transaction is reading of implementation of curriculum. textbooks and writing the difficult words Pedagogy based on sound theoretical on the blackboard. Teachers write principles is required for successful questions and readymade answers on the implementation of the curriculum. Pre- blackboard which students copy and service training of teachers also needs memorise to pass the examination. to be remoulded and in-service teacher Experiential learning methods are training programmes must also relate to generally not used and child’s innate the school experiences of the rural abilities to learn through experience, to teachers. Opportunities must be provided observe, to question and to find solutions to teachers to continue to learn and to to the problems are not developed. improve their teaching skills. Teachers Classroom teaching is a monologue where and students together should explore the teacher speaks and students listen; local area and regime to discover the many a time students do not understand teaching-learning elements geography, teacher’s urban and standardised economics, industry and agriculture. language. Lessons are a mechanical Collaborating learning, team projects and repetition of text. Teachers try to complete preparing resource material for teaching- syllabus by reading the textbooks. The learning need to be encouraged in schools only equipment is blackboard and chalk. for meaningful learning. Rote learning Students get no opportunity to express methods need to be discouraged. School themselves, to give their opinions or of must contribute to development of village reflecting on what they have learnt. Rural life and must participate in children are ridiculed by their teachers developmental plans of villages. The for using their rural language/accent, environment itself (climate, geology, their manners and culture. Sometimes nature of soil, vegetation), crafts, tradi- ‘urban middle-class’ teachers are totally tional and modern patterns of agriculture, unfit for rural schools. The teacher’s first customs, languages, traditions etc., must task is to familiarise himself/herself with form part of school life. his/her school; but she/he must also Rigid evaluation system imposed on know and understand the world outside teachers by educational administrators the school. Teacher’s first concern hampers implementation of curriculum. should be to understand rural learner, In most of the states a large number of his/her environment and rural life. tests are conducted to evaluate students’ Teacher has to become a part of village learning achievement. The schedule of community and then only renewal will testing and syllabus to be covered is be possible. Teacher should be able to generally decided at the ‘state’ level. draw on the community using the facts Rural teachers from U.P. reported (Rural of its existence as material for his Teachers’ Meet held at RIE, Ajmer in teaching. There is need to remould November 2007) that schools open in 82 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

July and by August/September they have adequate Physics, Chemistry and Biology taught only one/two chapters but labs whereas this number is about because of examination pressures they 12000 for the urban areas. At secondary cover the syllabus (prescribed for test) stage 5717 in rural schools have without properly teaching. The question adequate Science laboratories whereas of giving autonomy to schools and this number is 10770 for urban schools. teachers in matters of pupil assessment Instructional time is very important needs to be addressed. for effective implementation of the Lack of academic support to curriculum. Rural teachers spend teachers also contributes to poor considerable instructional time in works performance of teachers. Linkages other than teaching. These include between schools and universities or preparing list for electoral purposes, other institutions of higher learning are administering polio drugs and other weak or absent. Opportunities and services. In schools where there is one means to discuss their difficulties related teacher, if this teacher is deputed for to curricular areas with experts are not such works, the school does not function available to teachers. BRCs and CRCs at all. neither have adequate academic staff Lack of basic infrastructural nor any learning resource material. The facilities is another factor which monthly meetings held at BRC and CRC impedes the successful implementation level discuss only the administrative of curriculum. Each rural school needs matters. Teachers work in isolation and to be provided basic infrastructural they do not have anybody with whom facilities, teachers, learning resource they can share their academic materials and learning conditions experiences and difficulties. equivalent to those available in Kendriya Resource learning materials are Vidyalayas. Piecemeal reforms may not also not available in rural schools. help in achieving the objectives of Schools lack basic facilities of library, curriculum. There is need to overhaul labs, computers and other teaching aids the rural education system considering required for effective learning. Rural the present and future needs. teachers from Uttrakhand informed that Effective curriculum implementation even the book shop is available at a requires systemic changes including distance of 20 to 25 kilometers from the reforms in curriculum, teacher school. 7th AISES shows that only about preparation, examinations and 7000 schools in rural areas have infrastructure. Acquisition of Concept of Conservation of Length... 83

Acquisition of Concept of Conservation of Length in Elementary School Children through Piagetian Teaching Model

REENA AGARWAL*

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of training programme based on Piaget’s theory on the elementary school children’s acquisition of the concept of conservation of length. The experiment involved the use of pre-post- delayed post test design. 40 children were selected for the study out of which 24 constituted the experimental group and 7 children were assigned to the control group on the basis of their pre-test performance. Nine children were not included in the experiment because they have successfully completed the length conservation tasks during the pre-test. Results indicated more than 40 per cent progress immediately after the training but got raised to more than 50 per cent progress at the second post-test. The major implication of the study is on the designing and development of appropriate teaching learning strategy for primary school children.

Introduction Various efforts have been initiated to improve the quality of education system In India, there has been a sizable in India. The Education Commission quantitative improvement in education (1964-66) stressed the need to pay a since independence. However, as far as greater attention in bringing about qualitative improvement is concerned the qualitative change in the method of situation is a dismal one. The learning teaching. The report recommended that programmes and the teaching strategies in the lower primary classes teaching adopted by our school fail to bring out should be related to child’s environment all round development of children. and at the higher primary stage Concepts are taught to students in emphasis should be laid on the theoretical way and not by acquisition of knowledge, the ability to experimentation. think logically, and draw conclusions

*Reader, Department of Education, University of Lucknow. 84 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 and to arrive at scientifically tenable “From Elementary Number Conservation decisions. The method should be to the Conservation of Length’’ based on modernised stressing on the Piagetian approach on the primary school investigatory approach and the children’s acquisition of the concept of understanding of basic principles. conservation of length. More specifically, The National Policy on Education the investigator attempted to find answer (1986), which is an action-oriented to the following questions: document, laid special stress on the 1. To what extent do selected training development of proper education programme affect the primary scool programmes for young children. The children’s concept of conservation report made it clear that the new thrust of length? in the elementary education should 2. Does any difference exist in concept emphasise a substantial improvement in of conservation of length between the quality of education so as to enable children who have had participated children to develop themselves by in training programme and the exercising their own initiative, their own children who have not had personality, learning abilities and participated in such training communicating capabilities. Various programme. educational systems and programmes 3. What are the mechanisms of suggested over the years have focussed transition involved in progress from on active participation of children in the one stage to the next stage marking construction of knowledge but they were the development of concept of not based on any sound empirical conservation of length. foundation. However, current view on cognitive development has been greatly Methodology influenced by the pioneering work of the Swiss Psychologist Jean Piaget. Piaget is Design of the study: The experimental of the opinion that knowledge is programme involved the use of pre-post- constructed by the child through its delayed post-test design. active transaction with the environment. Sample: The subjects were 40 children Certainly the scientific knowledge about (20 girls and 20 boys) randomly selected the development of children’s cognitive from second grade of Rani Laxmibai abilities—how children think and how Memorial School, Indira Nagar, Lucknow. that thinking systematically matures Their age ranged from 5:0 years to 7:4* over time could be useful in making years. decisions about teaching strategy and General Design: The experiment designing of the curricula. consisted of three phases: pretesting, training and two-stage posttesting. In the Purpose pretesting subjects were given the The purpose of this study was to examine Conservation of Number and the effect of training programme labelled Conservation of Length. 31 subjects who

* the child is 7 years 4 months old Acquisition of Concept of Conservation of Length... 85 have successfully completed the elementary number conservation problems and unsuccessful in conservation of length task were selected for the expriment. 9 children of ages 5:0 yrs. to 7:3 yrs. were not included in the experiment because they successfully completed the conservation of length tasks during the pre-test. Out of 31 subjects , 24 ranging in age from 5:5 yrs. to 7:4 yrs. constituted the experimental group while 7 subjects of ages 5:1 yrs. to 7:1 yrs. were assigned to control group. Training programme: 24 subjects of the experimental group took part in three training sessions administered twice a week, each lasting 15 to 20 minutes. The child was always asked to build a road “of the same length as” or “just as long as” the model, or to build his road “so that there is no further to walk on it than on the other”. In all the situations of Session 1, matchsticks were used, those given to the child being shorter than those used in the model (exact proportion 5:7). In the situation of complex close layout (see Figure-1) the child had to build a straight road of the same length as the zigzag model road. The general layout of this model was such that the Fig. 1: Lesson 1/Session 1 most obvious solution was to make the end points coincide. concentrate on the end points. The Furthermore, as the child’s correct answer could be derived from matchsticks were shorter than those in situation (iii). the model (four short matchsticks placed In the situation of separate layout in his straight road “go just as far” as (see Figure1), the road to be constructed the five long ones of the zigzag model), was not directly underneath the model. counting alone could not result in the This layout did not suggest the ordinal correct answer although it could help the (“going just as far”) criterion, but child overcome the tendency to suggested the numerical comparison. 86 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

However, since the child’s matchsticks were not of the same length as those of the model road, they could not serve as units as such. A rough visual estimate could be made and the correct solution could be derived from the situation (iii). In the situation of simple close layout (see Figure 1), both roads were straight with their initial end points coinciding, the ordinal criterion gave the correct solution immediately. Since the model road in situation of complex close lay-out was made up of the same number of matchsticks as that in situation (iii), the latter situation provided the answer for situation of complex close lay-out if the child had grasped the principle of transitivity. In all the situations of Session 2, the model was always made up of matchsticks of various lengths (e.g. Fig. 2: Lesson 2/Session 2 3,5,6,7 cm. long) and the child was given a collection which included five matchsticks identical to those used by A the experimenter. This problem gave the B X ▲ idea of measurement and compensation to the child. All the three lay-outs (see Fig. 3 Lesson 3/Session 3 Figure 2) were used as in Lesson 1. In the third session (see Figure 3), construction so as to comply with the the model road consisted of a straight imposed starting point. For this problem length of wire, while the child has only one layout was used. matchsticks of various lengths and had Post-test: Conservation of Length tasks to start his road further to the right than was administered immediately after the the model. To find the correct solution, training session and again after fifteen some idea of measurement was days of the first administration. necessary—one could either start at the indicated point which made the end of Scoring: Subjects responses on pre-test one’s road coincide with the model and and post-test (conservation of length) then add a matchstick of the same length were scored into non-conservation, as the difference between the starting intermediate and conservation. points of the two lines, or one could first Non-conservation (NC): Children construct a road directly underneath the who give all incorrect answers to all the wire and then displace the whole situations of conservation of length tasks Acquisition of Concept of Conservation of Length... 87 were categorised as non-conservers. The Results: Data was analysed qualitatively child sticks to his incorrect answer or as well as quantitatively: else changes his mind and says that one Qualitative analysis: Out of the eight road is longer than the other. Being children of Int stage, seven ( two of Int + reminded of their initial equal length has and five of Int-) reached the C stage no effect on this child. immediately after the training and Intermediate (Int): Children who give sustained it till the second post-test. either type of responses: However one child (14F, 7:3 yrs.) named ● Faced with the same situation, the Roshni, remained at its initial level at the children changed their minds as to first post-test. This can be clearly whether the two lengths are equal understood by her responses during the or not. training sessions as follows: ● Some children gave correct answer During the training sessions in the in only one of the situations. first situation of lesson I, Roshani ● Some children influenced by what puts five red matchsticks (each 5 the experimenter says, for instance, cm. long) for five green one (each answer correctly when the latter 7cm. long) and judges correctly ^^vc reminded them of the equality of lM+d gjh cM+h gks xbZ gS** further puts two the initial length, or else change ^^vc their minds after giving a correct more red matches and answer answer. yky lM+d cM+h gks xbZ** D;ksfd blesa vf/d ● Some children who gave correct rhfy;ka yxh gSaA** If contersuggestion is answer were unable to give clear applied ^^gedks gjh lM+d cM+h yx jgh gS** and complete reasons for them. D;ksfd gjh rhfy;ka cM+h gSa--- She answers” ● In this category a distinction was ^^gjh rhfy;ka cM+h gSa--- rks D;k--- ;g (gjh) made between Int-responses (i.e. those responses in which the child rhfy;ka de Hkh gSaA** She shows her gives partially correct answers in inability to make an equal road. both the situations) and Int+ In the second situation she puts six responses (i.e. those responses in red matchsticks and says ^^yky lM+d which the answer is completely cMh gS D;ksafd T;knk rhfy;ka yxk nh gSa--- lh/h correct for one of the situation and lM+d bl (lM+d v) ds cjkcj ugh cu ldrh- for the other the answer is partially correct). -- oSls gh fp=k cukuk iM+sxk** A She then makes Road B same way as the Conservation (C): Children who gave model and for one green match she correct answers i.e., judge equal puts the two red matchsticks and quantities in each situation. The child says ^^vc yky lM+d cM+h gS--- bu rhfy;ksa ls is capable of giving compensation and cjkcj&cjkcj lM+d ugh cu ldrhA** reversibility arguments. Furthermore these children stick to their correct In the third situation, Roshani puts answers even when the experimenter five red matchsticks for five green, tries to make them change their minds. then added two more matchsticks 88 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

making the end point coincided and at the second post-test. Out of nine non- replies ^^nksuksa lM+d cjkcj&cjkcj yEckbZ dh conservation children at the first posttest gSa** and on counter suggestion she two children reached Int + level, one at Int- level and six children showed no replies ^^yky rhfy;ka NksVh gSa--- gjh rhfy;ka cM+h gSaA** progress at all. The responses of a child When again come to first and named Naushad Ali (13M, 7:4 yrs.) who second situation she shows reached the final stage are given below: inability and unable to draw In the situation (i) of Lesson 1, conclusion from the third situation Nausad puts five red matchsticks to correct her first and second in a straight line (according to the situation. number of matchstick) and says In the first situation of Lesson 2, ^^nksuksa cjkcj&cjkcj yEckbZ dh lM+d gSa & Åij she puts three yellow matchsticks okyh lM+d eqM+h gqbZ gS tcfd esjh lM+d (each 6 cm. long) from the imposed lh/h gS** point for 7+3+3+6+6 cm. long road and on counter suggestion, and replies ^^lM+ds cjkcj&cjkcj yEch gSaA** he whisper ^^vkSj rhfy;ka yxkus ls lM+d On countersuggestion she puts one (c) cgqr cM+h gks tk;sxh** and suggests more yellow matchstick and replies to make the Road A straight, then ^^vc ;g lM+d (c) yEch gks xbZA** In the adds one red matchstick to road B second and third situation of accepting the compromise solution, Lesson 2, she uses the same since the difference in length is now matchsticks as in the model but the less and the difference in number situation (iii) does not make her to not too great. In the second correct her first situation because situation Nausad puts four red her going beyond scheme is strong. matchsticks for four green ^^nksuksa cjkcj&cjkcj lM+ds gSa--- D;ksafd nksuksa esa pkj&pkj In the third lesson, Roshani tries to make the road equal to 15 cm. long wire (rhfy;ka) gSa** and on countersuggestion haphazardly, without following any he puts one more red matchstick strategy and unable to make equal road accepting the compensation to wire even after three mistakes. between the two matchsticks ^^gjh Three children of non-conservation rhfy;ka cM+h gSa--- blfy;s vf/d yky rhfy;ka stage also reached to the final stage at yxkuh gksaxh** He responds to the third the first post-test and maintained their situation as to the second situation. performance level till the second post- When again come to the first test, four children progressed partially situation he does not accept seven reached Int-level, while nine children red matchstick for the five green by remained at non-conservation stage. ^^lM+d cgqr cM+h gks tk;sxh** The four children who progressed to saying Int- level from non-conservation stage In Lesson 2, Nausad is made further progress between the two influenced by the level of post-tests. Two of them (15M and 13M) coincidence ^^lM+d cgqr NksVh gS ysfdu reached the final stage, and two Int- level vkxs rhfy;ka yxkus ij ;g cM+h gks tk;sxhA** Acquisition of Concept of Conservation of Length... 89

On counter suggestion he spon- ● Most of the children started giving taneously finds the solution of with five red matches (each 5 cm. making the road start from the long) (because the model road is same point as the model and then made up of five green matches, each shifting the whole construction to 7 cm. long) but they differ in their the right. Nausad immediately solve reasoning. In the first category, the problem of lesson 3, in a similar there were children who put five way as in Lesson 2. He puts three red matches in a straight line but matchsticks for the 15 cm. long wire. explained that B road (made up of red matches) was longer than A Finally, a child (14F, 7:3 yrs.) who (made up of green matches) because gave initially Int-response did not former went beyond latter. But the progress even between the two post-tests. same time they did not remove the The results of a control group (see match from road B, because there Figure 5) who were not administered the were five matches used in the road training but were given the same pre-test A. They felt a conflict between the and post-test were different from those number of matches and the level of of the experimental group. One child coincidence. (16F, 6:1yrs.) regressed to non- conservation stage from Int-. at the ● In the second category, there were pretest, this child gave partially correct children who gave responses like responses in both the situations e.g. in the first category, but they did not the Situation (i) , she answered “both the came to right conclusion after the roads are of equal length…. Because third situation was presented to both ends here (by pointing the end point them ( e.g. 10F, 11F). from finger). When asked whether both ● Thirdly, there were children who will walk equal or one has to farther walk, made up a compromise solution. For she said, “You have to walk farther Situation 1, they put five red because you have to walk zigzag”. On matches in a straight line and countersuggestion, she maintained her declared that both the roads were answer “Both the roads are of equal of equal length because road A was length because this road (Road A) has curved, e.g. 15 M, 13 M. This become small/little….”. solution may be considered a step Analysis of responses during the forward since the difficulty of the training: Lesson 1 elicited a variety of overpowering “going beyond” responses which indicated clearly the principle is overcome. However, it is nature of the difficulties encountered by far from perfect, since the total children and the conflicts arising in the length is simply judged by the children’s mind when they had to number of matches. compare their different solutions. The ● Fourthly, some children put five red different types of solutions shown seemed matches and declared that even to follow a developmental order; now Road A is bigger. Most of these children corrected their mistakes 90 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 Acquisition of Concept of Conservation of Length... 91

after third situation was presented, five green, one should put seven red e.g. 4M, 2F. because green were longer and red ● Fifthly, some children realised the were shorter. independent length of green and red In lesson 2, a variety of responses matches from the very beginning were given: and showed their inability to make a road equal to Road A because ● The most primitive type of response their matches were shorter than the was to make road B start at the green matches, but after the third imposed point, but stop in situation they came to the right coincidence with the end point of A, conclusion, e.g. 12F. e.g. 5F, 8F. ● Sixthly, children who put seven red ● At a slightly more advanced level, matches in a straight line at once the children first produced the but declared that green road (model primitive solution, but then judged road) is shorted than red one B too short and added another match. (subjects’ road) but if experimenter Having done this, they incorrectly made that (green road) straight judged that B was longer than A. both would be of equal length e.g. They continued to waver between 6M, 14F. the two solutions, e.g. 4M, 14F. ● Lastly, the children who put seven ● At the next level, the children red matches in a straight line immediately made their road go immediately and reasoned that for beyond Road A. But since they had 92 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

Table: Showing Z values of the proportion of progressed children of the experimen- tal and control groups and their comparison for the training programme labelled ‘From Elementary Number Conservation to the Conservation of Length’

State I: State II: State III: Pre-test- Post-test 1 Pre-test- Post-test 2 Post-test 1- Post-test 2

TTo =.75 Experimental - 1.89* - 0.47 -2.17* Group - 4.60** - 4.60** -4.60** Control Group TTo =..50 0.81 Experimental Group (.40 = 1.80*) -2.03* -0.00** Control Group -2.65** -2.65** -2.65** Difference between 2.47** 2.47** 2.18** experimental and control group

to work with matches of various ● Secondly, children who overcome lengths, they could not simply pick the ‘going beyond’ situation any match and place that at the end haphazardly to complete the road, of their road B to make correct e.g. 1F, 4M, 18M. compensation. They had to find one ● Thirdly, children measured length of exactly the right length. Several between the left ends of the sticks children chose their final match at e.g. 5M (Dilshad) put three red random, arriving at an approximate matchsticks. solution, e.g. 3M, 6M, 11M, 3F, 1F. ● Lastly, children immediately ● At the most advanced level, various put three red matchsticks from methods were used to produce a the imposed point without correct solution, e.g. 15M (Vasu measuring. Kumar) put 6+6+6+7 cm. long matchsticks from the imposed point Quantitative Analysis: Results of for 7+3+3+6+6 cm. long road. qualitative analysis show that intervention programme lead to progress In lesson 3, a variety of responses in the acquisition of conservation of were furnished. length but it does not reveal whether the ● Firstly, children who showed progress made is significant. Thus, in inability to make an equal road order to make a firm decision, it is from the imposed point, and if necessary to subject the results to experimenter suggested to over- statistical analysis. Z values were come the coincidence level, they computed for the experimental and rejected the suggestion by saying control groups separately on more that Road B would be longer e.g. stringent criteria of TTo = .75 and 10F (Shalu Tewari) put one more subsequently slightly less but match below. theoretically justifiable criteria of Acquisition of Concept of Conservation of Length... 93

TTo = .50. Z values for making a The programmes were designed to see comparative assessment of the progress that when elementary number made by the experimental and control conservation had been acquired, groups were also computed. whether the system of operations bearing When TTo = .75 was used as a cut off on a number of elements could be point for the experimental group the extended directly to the conservation of results (see table) revealed negative and length (because the number of elements significant value (Z = -1.89, -2.17; p< .05) when put together form a certain at the first and third state, and negative ‘length’) or conservation of length does and insignificant value ( Z= -0.47, p> .05) also show complex relationship. Results at the second state. For the control group indicated that only more than 40 per values turned out negative and cent progress was observed immediately insignificant ( Z = -4.60 at all the three after the training but got raised to more states; p < .01). All in all no significant than 50 per cent progress at the second progress for the experimental as well as post-test. Approximately, similar amount control group was indicated when more of progress was found by Inhelder et.al. stringent cut off point TTo = .75 was used. (1974). Using the TTo = .05 as cut off point In the present study, children the results (see table) revealed positive selected for training were those who had and insignificant value ( Z = 0.81; p> .05) qualified the number conservation at state I, positive and significant value problem and were transitional or (Z = 2.03; p< .05) at state II, and nil i.e., preconserver for the length conversation Z = 0.00 at state III for the experimental problem. Thus these children were at the group while for the control group, value state of structural mixture and therefore, turned out negative and significant ( Z= would likely be able to construct the -2.65; p<.01) at all the three states. The concrete operational structure for length result on the whole indicated significant conservation than those children who impact on the experimental group, while were strictly at intuitive operational level control group showed no progress. i.e., displayed no measured structural When progress for experimental and mixture (Strauss and Langer, 1970; control group compared and examined, Langer and Strauss, 1972). Studies by the results turned out positive and Beilin (1965), Turiel (1969) and Inhelder significant (Z = 2.47, 2.47; p< .01, Z = and Sinclair (1969) also indicated that 2.18, p< .05) in favour of the experimental children who displayed structural group at all the three states respectively mixture were more likely than those who indicating thereby significant training displayed no measured structural impact on the experimental group. mixture to progressively transform their Discussion: The aim of the training cognitive structures and thereby higher programme labelled “ From Elementary level of equilibrium. Number Conservation to the Inhelder and Sinclair (1969) Conservation of Length” was to facilitate attempted to determine whether the the acquisition of conservation of length. acquisition of length (for which subject 94 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 was intuitive) could be facilitated by whole range of attempts to coordinate the applying numerical operation (for which two different methods of length subject was operational) to the evaluation was observed. In fact, before evaluation of length. The post-test results they discovered that they needed more showed that 35 per cent of the subjects matchsticks in their road because theirs made no progress at all. Of the remaining were smaller than those in the model and 65 per cent, slightly more than one- that “going beyond” did not necessarily fourth was assessed to have applied the mean “being longer”, the children often concrete operational structures to both tried out a number of compromise number and length conservation solutions, which were very instructive as problems. regards the regulatory mechanism Number and measurement are involve. Thus the training situations are based on isomorphic operatory designed to present the child structures: measurement is constructed simultaneously with several possible from a synthesis of displacement and approaches to a particular problem, additive partitioning and inclusion. which, at his cognitive level, are However, the first measurement concept incompatible. The material itself is only (length) is achieved later than that of of secondary importance, as is shown by number (Inhelder et. al. 1974). the fact that those children who were not The results of children who had made intrigued by the contradictory results of most the progress during the training the two methods of length evaluation sessions and at the post-tests provide made little or no progress. further evidence that these new The major implications of this study acquisitions are not the result of a simple are on the designing and development of generalisation of previously acquired appropriate teaching-learning strategy knowledge to a new context, but of a true for children. The findings suggest that reconstruction on a new level. This the acquisition of concept of conservation reconstruction is analogous to that of length can be facilitated by inducing resulting in a child’s grasp of cognitive conflict in children. It, therefore, conservation of numerical equivalences, appears that appropriate teaching- In the acquisition process of the learning strategies can accelerate the notion of length the children become acquisition of various conservation aware of conflicts. The reasoning based concepts. Proper designed method based on one-to-one correspondence schemes on Piaget’s theory of cognitive clashes with inferences drawn from development should find an important frontier effects. When the children place in the teaching programme of understand that correspondence elementary schools. First of all, the judgement need not contradict configural teacher should bear in mind the central features, they start to attempt to solve role that children play in their own other problems in similar way. Indeed, learning and try to make learning when subjects at this stage were asked experiences as active as possible. to place matches end to end to form a Second, the teacher should adopt road of the same length as a model, a pedagogical strategies designed to make Acquisition of Concept of Conservation of Length... 95 children aware of conflicts and matching of curriculum and teaching inconsistencies in their beliefs. Third, strategy to the intellectual level of child rather than suppressing the wrong is a tricky issue. It is easy to confuse the notions, the teacher must bring them out child’s manifest level of cognitive to forth restructure them and then competence with his “true” integrate them with other notions. understanding. For example, just Because any attempt to skip an because the child uses the word intermediate stage or to cue out the “animal” correctly in everyday context wrong notions is likely to result in does not mean he knows or can define hindering later learning. When earlier concept. concepts are shaky, they will not serve In Piagetion curriculum teaching is as foundation that generates high order a two-step process of diagnosis followed concepts. by instruction in the concepts for which Since teaching strategy and the child is ready. The long-term curriculum are dependent on the implication of diagnostic prescription is educator’s awareness of the child’s that teacher training programmes must capacity to deal with material, it is be oriented to train teachers acquire necessary for the teacher to identify the diagnostic skills as well as pedagogical child’s level of cognitive structures. The skills.

REFERENCES

BEILIN, H. 1965. Learning and Operational Convergence in Logical Thought. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 2, 317-339. BEST, J.W. and J.V. KAHN. 1986. Research in Education. Fifth edition. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India. BRAINERD, C.J. 1978. Piagel’s Theory of Intelligence, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. FLAVELL, J.H. 1963. The Developmental Psychology of Jean Piaget, New York : D. Van Nostrand Company. GUILFORD, J.P. and B. FRUCHTER. 1981. Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and Education. New york: McGraw Hill. INHELDER, B. and H. SINCLAIR. 1969. Learning Cognitive Structures. In P. Mussen, J.Langer, and M. Covington (Eds.), Trends and Issues in Developmental Psychology, New York: Holt, pp. 2-21 INHELDER, B., SINCLAIR H. and BOVET, M. 1974. Learning and the Development of Cognition, Cambridge: Harvard University Press. LANGER, J. and S. STRAUSS. 1972. Appearance, Reality and Identity. Cognition, 1, 105-128. National Policy on Education-1986, (May 1986), New Delhi: Government of India Publication, Ministry of Human Resource Development. 96 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

PIAGET, J. 1950. The Psychology of Intelligence, London : Routledge and Kegan Paul. –––––––––. 1952. The Origins of Intelligence in Children. New York: International University Press. Report of the Education Commission: Summary of Recommendations (1964-66) (May 1967), New Delhi: Publication Unit, NCERT. STRAUSS, S. and J. LANGER. 1970. Operational Thought Inducement . Child Development, 41, 163-175, SUMMERS, G.W., W.S. PETERS and C.P. ARMSTRONG. 1985. Basic Statistics in Business and Economics. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company. TURIEL, E. 1969. Developmental Processes in the Child’s Moral Thinking. In P. Mussen, J. Langer and M. Convington (Eds.) Trends and Issues in Developmental Psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Helping to Learn Science 97

Helping to Learn Science

A.B. SAXENA* Abstract

The paper discusses in brief the characteristics of children’s ideas and how these could be dealt within the classroom, to make learning less stressful and more meaningful. Implications for teacher education are also discussed. This article also tries to explain how teachers should present themselves while dealing with the problems of students.

Introduction ● Students do not come to classroom with a blank-mind-slate but with The existence of alternative frameworks ideas about natural phenomena. or conceptions has been well documented These ideas influence perception, (e.g. Driver et. al. 1985, Halloun, and observations and inferences. Hestenes, 1985, Osborne and Freyberg, ● The explanation of a phenomena 1985, Saxena, 1997). It has also been offered by children may not be same reported that the existence of alternative as scientific explanation. frameworks creates considerable ● The language used by children is hindrance in understanding the imprecise, have been found to be concepts in depth and to apply them in similar across countries and a novel situation. Sometimes it is found cultures, but are not consistent that the children persist with two sets of across different situations that are conceptions, one for academic purpose similar scientifically. and the other that children consider ● Children’s ideas are stable and do their own and use it in personal not change despite ‘education’. encounter (Solomon, 1983). Obviously ● Sometimes children make such a situation creates frustration inappropriate links with the among learners and also among teachers. previous ideas and therefore construct meanings that are Characteristics of children’s ideas different from what is intended by The following are the main charac- the teacher. teristics of children’s conceptions (Driver ● Children’s ideas lack generality and and Oldham, 1986, Driver, 1987). are context-specific.

*Professor and Principal, Regional Institute of Education, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. 98 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

The traditional classroom teaching is of scientific concepts and children’s based upon ‘blank-mind-slate’ or ideas. This similarity cannot be by transmission model and positivist view chance and needs to be taken care while of learning. It assumes that — developing the teaching strategy. It requires strategy that lays emphasis on ● students come to the class with learning as conceptual change. It has its blank-mind-slate and anything can own requirements of epistemology and be inscribed on it; methodology because science teaching is ● the knowledge is with the teacher, generally centred on declarative is propagated by him/her and is knowledge and ignores procedural received, interpreted and knowledge. This needs to be corrected assimilated by the student in the (Gil-Perez and Carrascosa-Alis, 1994). same form without any distortions; Much work has been done to identify ● a good lecture, therefore, coupled conditions that induce conceptual with some demonstrations, etc., is change. In this context, it is relevant to a sure method to improve the state model suggested by Posner et al. efficacy of teaching. (1982). However, we know from experience It states that necessary conditions that this model does not work and a for conceptual change are following: large number of students persist 1. It is necessary to have with alternative frameworks despite dissatisfaction with the existing schooling over number of years conceptions. One is not likely to (Osborne and Freyberg, 1985, McDermott, change the presently held 1984, Gilbert and Fensham, 1982). In fact conceptions until he believes that teachers have also been found to contain less radical will not work. alternative frameworks (Saxena 1990). 2. The new conception should be Common misconceptions found minimally understood. The among students individual must be able to grasp how experience can be restructured ● A body needs push continuously in by a new conception sufficiently to order to move with constant velocity. explore the possibilities inherent in it. ● Current in a circuit gets consumed. ● When a body is at rest, its acceleration 3. The new conception must appear is also zero. initially plausible. Any new ● A part of lens would form incomplete conception adopted must at least image. appear to have the capacity to solve ● River and Sun are considered as living the problems generated by its bodies. predecessor conceptions, and to fit with other knowledge, experience and help. Otherwise it will not Learning as conceptual change appear plausible choice. It may be mentioned that there is a 4. A new conception should suggest parallel between historical development the possibility of a fruitful research Helping to Learn Science 99

programme. It should have the interpretations of the world of ideas potential to be extended, to open up presented to him/her (Driver and to new areas of inquiry, and to have Easley, 1978); technological and/or explanatory ● Development of alternative power. frameworks is from the same mechanism that leads to the During the last couple of decades development of scientific conception many attempts have been made to remove (Bet-sheva and Linn 1988); alternative frameworks with varied ● Due to their different conceptual degree of success (e.g. McDermott, 1991, ecologies, different students can Rief, 1994, Saxena ,1992, Brown, 1992). ‘incorporate’ the same new Slowly, constructivism has emerged as experiences/ideas differently in a powerful approach to help meaningful their conceptual structures/ learning. Dewey is often cited as frameworks (Jordaan, 1987); philosophical founder of this approach. ● The process of concept formation is Piaget, Bruner and Ansubel have much a continuous process of successive contributed to its development. Bruner approximation and refinement (1990) provides the following principles (Fisher and Lipson, 1986); of contructivist learning: ● Students hold intuitive ideas that 1. Instructions must be concerned are both identifiable and stable, and with the experiences and contexts have enough commonality to make that make the student willing and it worth in planning and able to learn. instructional strategies (Clough 2. Instruction must be structured so and Driver, 1986). that it can be easily grasped by the Constructivism assumes that student (spiral organisation). knowledge is constructed by the 3. Instruction should be designed to individual; he does not mirror what is told facilitate extrapolation and/or fill or read but the meaning of the the gaps (going beyond the information made by an individual information given). depends upon intents, beliefs, emotions The important features of and previously held ideas. Effort is constructivist model of learning could be required on the part of individual to stated as: construct meaning and therefore, ● Knowledge acquisition is a learner is responsible for his/her constructive or generative process learning. Learning implies and each person’s knowledge is reorganisation of prior conceptual personal or idiosyncratic (Fisher scheme or cognitive map. and Lipson, 1986); Development of curriculum ● Misconceptions may originate as a result of students’ interactions/ Constructivist approach for the experiences with the real world development of curriculum lays and/or because of his/her mis- emphasis on the questions which are of 100 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 interest to the students and the domain 1987), providing laboratory experience, of experience that enable the learner to use of concept map (Moreira and construct knowledge and develop Dominguez, 1987). However, sometimes understanding. Curriculum is therefore, these approaches are not considered not a body of knowledge and skills but a sufficient as they do not take into account programme of activities. It gives motivational and contextual factors that importance to the students’ prior ideas may play an important role in actual and on learning process. One such model situation. These cognition-only models has been suggested by Driver and may not be effective unless individual’s Oldham. It includes five steps in goals, intentions, purposes, expectations constructivist teaching. The steps are and needs are also taken into account. 1. Orientation, 2. Elicitation of ideas, Therefore, there is the need to go beyond 3. Restructuring of ideas consisting of cold conceptual change (Cynthia, 1994). clarification and exchange, exposure to The above mentioned ideas are conflict situations, construction of new largely influenced by the theories ideas and evaluation, 4. Application of proposed by Piaget. Vygotsky proposed ideas, and 5. Review and change in ideas alternative perspective which is known (Driver and Oldham, 1986). as socio-cultural perspective. It is Many teaching strategies have been believed that human activities take place used to promote conceptual change. It is in cultural settings and cannot be suggested that teaching for this purpose understood ignoring it. The social must include (Hewson and Hewson, interactions play an important role in 1983): influencing cognitive development. However, according to Vygotsky, the 1. Integration of new conception with purpose of social interaction is different the already existing conception; than as envisaged by Piaget. For Piaget, 2. Differentiation between the it creates disequilibrium leading to existing and the new conception cognitive development, whereas for particularly in terms of implications Vygotsky cognitive development is in different situations; facilitated by interaction with a person 3. Exchange between the old and the who is more advanced, be it teacher, new conception because they have peers and others. a different implication that is contradictory; Teaching Methodologies that help 4. Conceptual bridging between the the learners old and new conceptions through a variety of examples, experiences etc. The following could help the learners, if included in class-room teaching: For effective conceptual change, various strategies have been used. These ● Encouraging the students to take include use of alternative curriculum responsibility for their learning by (e.g. Saxena, 1992 1993, Lee et al., 1993), providing space for autonomy, use of analogy (Brown, 1992, Clement, initiative and leadership. Helping to Learn Science 101

● Encouraging students to elicit their ● Use of activity method should not ideas, elaborate them and test them be limited to physical manipulation in different situations. of objects but should include ● Designing situations that confront mental manipulation of ideas. the students with their alternative ● Students are permitted to discuss frameworks and provide and argue with teachers and peers opportunity for new thinking. to test their thinking and get ● Allowing wait time after posing feedback. Communication with questions, challenging students’ others sometimes helps to change hypothesis without discouraging the thinking. their response, providing ● Training in use of assisted learning opportunity to reflect upon their in the zone of proximal development, experiences and to make testable collaborative learning and predictions. scaffolding as per requirement. ● Using interactive physical material Once learning is complete the to allow students to collect data, assistance could be removed. make observations and draw ● Ability to tailor teaching strategy conclusions. according to students’ response. ● Using specific strategies to remove ● Providing opportunity to the misconceptions such as use of learners to find and frame problems, concept map, anchoring and pursue solution by means of their bridging analogy, context specific ability and thinking style which instructional material, computer encourages the construction of assisted learning. knowledge and negotiation of ● Drawing from Vygotsky using the meanings. strategies such as peer tutoring, ● Training in different methods of peer collaboration, cooperative identification of alternative learning (Damon and Erinphelps frameworks such as paper and 1989, Tao et al., 1999, Tao, 1999) pencil test, semi-structured and scaffolding to help the learners interview, clinical interview, use of with difficulties. concept map and analysis of students’ response. Implications for teacher education ● Exposure to the teachers to the children’s ideas so as to appreciate The teacher education programmes its importance and commonality. require inclusion of the following to prepare more effective and sympathetic The teacher training could include to the learners: the following activities: ● Including conceptual, procedural — Preparation and use of paper and attitudinal aspects to increase pencil test to identify efficiency to use constructivist misconceptions and learning approach. difficulties; 102 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

— Making of concept map and provides flexibility and openness its use for 1. providing the without leading to anarchy; outline of lesson/unit/chapter, — Hands-on experience in pla- 2. judging the richness nning and conducting activities of understanding and 3. for classroom situations; identification of misconception. — Practice in pursuing pro- — Organising learner friendly cedural knowledge in different teaching environment which situations.

REFERENCES

BET-SHEVA, EYTON and M.C. LINN. 1988. Learning and instruction: An examination for research perspectives in science education, Review of Educational Research, 58 (3), 251-301. BROWN, D.E. 1992. Using examples and analogies to remediate misconception in physics: Factors influencing conceptual change, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 29 (1) 17-34. BRUNER. 1990. Acts of meaning, Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press. CLEMENT, J. 1987. Overcoming students’ misconceptions in physics, The role of anchoring intuition and analogical validity, in J.D.Novak, Proceedings of Second International Seminar: Misconceptions and Educational Strategies in Science and Mathematics, Vol. III 84-96, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. CLOUGH, E.E. and R. DRIVER. 1986. A study of consisting in the use of students’ conceptual frameworks across different tasks contexts, Science Education, 70 (4), 473-96. CYNTHIA, R. HIND, et al. 1994. The role of instructional variable in conceptual chang in high school physics topics, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31 (9). 933- 46. DAMON, WILLIAM and ERINPHELPS. 1989. Critical distinction among three approaches to peer education, International Journal of Educationl Research, (13) 9-19. DRIVER, ROSALIND. 1987. Restructuring the Science Curriculum: Some important implications of studies on learning for curriculum development, Innovations in Science and Technology Education, Ed. David Layton: Vol. II, p. 59-84 Paris UNESCO. DRIVER, R. and J. EASLEY. 1978. Pupils’ paradigms: a review of literature related to concept development in adolescent science students, Studies in Science Education, Vol. 5, 61-84. DRIVER, ROSALIND and VALERIE OLDHAM. 1986. A constructivist approach to curriculum development in science, Studies in Science Education (13) 105-122. DRIVER, R. et al. (eds.). 1985. Children’s ideas in Science, Milton Keynes: Open University Press. FISHER, K.M. AND J.I. LIPSON. 1986. Twenty questions about student error, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 23 (9), 783-803. Helping to Learn Science 103

GILBERT, J.K. and P.J. FENSHAM. 1982. Children’s Science and its consequences for teaching, Science Education, 66 (4), 623-33. GIL-PEREZ, DANIEL and JAIME CARRASCOSA-ALIS. 1994. Bringing Pupil’s learning closer to a scientific construction of knowledge: A permanent feature in innovations in science teaching, Science Education, 78 (3), 301-315. HALLOUN, I.A. and D. HESTENES. 1985. Common sense concepts about motion American Journal of Physics, 53 (11), 1056-65. HEWSON, M. and P.W. HEWSON. 1983. Effect of instruction using students prior knowledge and conceptual change, strategies on science learning, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 20 (8), 731-43. JORDAAN, A.A. 1987. Aspects of understanding and teaching of the Laws of Science. In J.D. Novak (ed.) Proceedings of the Second International Seminar: Misconceptions and Educational Strategies in Science and Mathematics, Vol. III, 258-67, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. LEE, OKHNEE, et al. 1993. Changing middle school students’ conceptions of matter and molecules, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 30 (3), 249-70. MCDERMOTT, L.C. 1984. Research on conceptual understanding in mechanics, Physics Today 37, 24-32. –––––––––––––––. 1991. Millikan Lecture 1990: what we teach, and what is learned closing the gap, The Americal Journal of Physics 59 (4), 301-34. MOREIRA, M.A. and M. DOMINGUEZ. 1987. Misconceptions in electricity among college students, Ciencia e Catura 109, 55-61. OSBORNE, R. and P. FREYBERG. 1985. Learning in Science: Implications of Children’s Science, Aukland: Heinemann. POSNER, G.J. et al. 1982. Accommodation of a scientific conception: Toward a theory of conceptual change, quoted in E.L. Smith et al. 1992. Teaching strategies associated with conceptual change learning in science, Journal of Research in Science Teaching 27 (1), 111-26. RIEF, FREDERICK. 1995. Millikan lecture 1994: Understanding and teaching important scientific thought process, The American Journal of Physics, 63 (1), 17-32. SAXENA, A.B. 1990. A constructivist approach to physics teacher education, Media and Technology for Human Resource Development, 2 (3), 153-159. –––––––––––. 1992. An attempt to remove misconceptions related to electricity, International Journal of Science Education, 14 (2), 157-62. –––––––––––. 1993. Dealing with misconceptions in physics, Media and Technology for Human Resource Development, 5 (3), 243-247. –––––––––––. 1997. Alternative frameworks and Science Education, Indian Educational Review, 32 (1), 1997. –––––––––––. 1994. Understanding Learning Physics, Radha Publications, New Delhi. SOLOMON J. 1983. Many contradictory and obstinately persistent: A study of children’s out of school ideas about energy, School Science Review 6 23, 225-33. TAO, PING-KEE. 1999. Peer collaboration in solving qualitative physics problems: The role of collaborative talk, Research in Science Education 29 (3), 365-83. –––––––––––. 1999. Conceptual change in science through collaborative learning at the computer, International Journal of Science Education, 21 (1), 39-57. 104 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

Resilience in Promotion of Schools as Learning Organisations Reflections on Karnataka Experience

RASHMI DIWAN*

Abstract

Present scenarios of school education in India portrays school as a rigid system of teaching-learning where teaching processes dominate over learning. Children voices do not have any place in the classroom. Teachers do not reflect themselves as life- long learner. Deliberating on this crucial aspect of Indian Education system this article makes a plea before all the stakeholders to transform the schools from teaching organisation to learning organisation. The paper strongly recommends that in today’s world, each school must become a learning organisation.The paper strongly recommends that in today’s world, each school must become a learning organisation. Looking at the possibility of transforming schools into learning organisations, the two practices namely, the H.D Kote and Kalikayatna in Karnataka reflects on the success with which schools have been providing rich learning experiences in all its activities right from curriculum transaction to teacher training. Highlighting the quintessential characteristic of schools as organisations that learn, the paper suggests some workable propositions by which schools inspite of functioning in bureaucratic framework can become learning organisations.

Introduction children and managing difficult situations in the classrooms. Here School as a learning organisation is the children also right from the beginning are center where students and teachers both sensitised to new concepts and practice have enormous opportunities to learn and drilling in counting, alphabets, everyday. While teachers interact with social environment and moral education each other and with children, they and beyond curricular and co-curricular continually are learning different aspects boundaries. And at the same time not of teaching skills, taming the problematic only do children learn from books and

*Associate Professor, National University of Educational Planning and Administration, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi. Resilience in Promotion of Schools as Learning Organisations... 105 teachers and other exercises improvised learn, rather than focusing on the by the teachers as facilitators, they also learning of isolated individuals. It soon get ample opportunity to learn from each came to be realised that the concept other. In many of the instances, children could also be skillfully applied in studying in schools provide opportunity education enterprise as well. The works to teachers to learn from them. of Everard and Morris, 1990; West- Burnham, 1992; Yinger and Hendricks- Understanding Learning Lee, 1993; Southworth, 1994; Sammons Organisations : Implications for et al, 1995; Leithwood and Sharratt, Education Sector 1998; Clark, 1996; and Lumby, 1997 The concept can be traced back with the further expanded the idea of learning works of Argyris and Schon (1981), organisation to education and Revans (1982), Pedler (1987) and Senge introduced the concept as a ‘Learning (1990) on learning organisations in School’ or a developing school. It was business organisations. There is no repeatedly advocated that the concept of uniform definition of learning learning organisation is relevant to organisation. In the Indian context, educational institutions because Malhotra in 1996 defined a learning changing times demand new means to organisation as an ‘organisation with an manage change on an unprecedented ingrained philosophy for anticipating scale. It infact, promotes the idea of reacting and responding to change, context-specific research into school and complexity and uncertainty’. Most college effectiveness, need based teacher definitions are valid to some degree but development, organisation of prompt possibly the closest to the essence is from learning among individuals for the Joop Swieringa and Andre’ Wierdsma benefit of educational institutions etc. who explain learning organisations are The notion of schools as learning not only capable of learning, but also of communities can be understood as a learning to learn. In other words, they means of enhancing the quality of are not only able to become competent teaching and learning. but also to remain competent (Swieringa Learning organisation in the most and Wierdsma, 1992). The basic premise simplistic terminology in the education on which institutions were recognised as sector can be one with the features as learning organisations accrued from the follows: statement by Peter Lassey ( 1998), “If ● a flexible organisation that learns organisations are to gain a competitive and encourages learning advantage in a changing world they need ● promotes exchange of information to have the ability to adapt constantly to ● new circumstances and challenges” and creates well-informed personnel that the “Organisations can and have who are willing to learn further capacity to develop a culture where ● accept and adapt to new ideas learning is encouraged”. The research till ● changes through a shared vision then emphasised on the need to develop ● contributes whole-heartedly in the the capacity of whole organisation to entire transforming effort 106 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

This entails rejuvenation of SUCCESS factor. Peter Lassey (1998) traditional culture of schools that are while stating the capacity of based on positional hierarchy. In this organisations to develop culture where milieu, conventional style of functioning learning is encouraged explains that will be replaced by a welcoming culture “Learning Organisations have the on learning and skills of individuals. This capacity to reconstruct themselves will apply specially on our grassroots rather than be dependent upon external practitioners who actually have to be pressures; learning organisations are empowered to take up challenges able to exert a level of control on their emerging from field realities to which our environment rather than be slaves to it”. policy and decision makers are ignorant. The successful organisations have been The Indian government schools are seen as forward looking institutions deeply fastened by centralised control showing progressive trends faster in system. As a researcher, experience over terms of preparedness for managing the years has made us realise that change than many of the conventional although our schools function within institutions. In fact, institutions that bureaucratic rules and regulations, can have embraced change and development enjoy the freedom to take decisions at as the most important factor have their own levels about how and what assured better success as they have changes need to be introduced. Ofcourse expanded their capacity to allow learning it requires commitment and initiative at to take place, to reconstruct them rather the part of teachers and the School than be dependent upon external heads. Richard Elmore and colleagues pressures, and have been successful in discovered that even when teachers are exerting a level of control on their willing to learn new methods, they often environment rather than be slaves to it. applied them in a superficial or Simple changes to the way the inconsistent way, offering the organisation operates can make a huge appearance but not the substance of real difference to the culture and change (Larry Lashway, 1997). Although environment of the organisation. this is an inspiring vision, schools may be far from achieving it. Teacher Key Characteristics isolation, lack of time, and the complexity The process of transformation of an of teaching present significant barriers organisation into a learning organisation to sustained organisational learning. calls for commitment to lifelong learning This does not mean that all schools for all those within the school. Argyris till now were not learning. All (1977) explains: ‘organisational learning organisations train their staff, develop system’ which encourages and supports new concepts and methods of working to a learning organisation, should form the cope with changing situations but many foundation of this transformation. The of them move towards new situations individuals’ learning activities are slowly and painfully. “In reality all facilitated or inhibited by an ecological organisations do learn”. But with a system of factors that may be critical in difference — and this difference is the determining whether or not its Resilience in Promotion of Schools as Learning Organisations... 107

‘organisational learning system’ is one group members takes initiative to chalk which encourages and supports a out a programme for themselves about learning organisation. Here there is an how to cope with the changing emphasis on collaborative learning and expectations of the local people and the creative and positive use of difference community to which it caters. Barring and conflict. Unfortunately, many of our very few, majority of our school heads schools prefer to be on the safer side by follow their own trail but within the not introducing something new in the norms specified by the respective State system for which they may even might governments. The journey is long and have to be answerable to the higher tiring but with confident specific steps if authorities. followed seriously can make it possible This organisation is highly to transform schools into institutions characterised with commitment of the that can learn and provide opportunities entire school team to change the for the personal development of its people structure, system and practices to by recognising that people learn in sustain learning. It is the structural different ways depending upon their changes which encourages and support abilities and capabilities, providing them cultural change, and therefore a more instructions depending upon their fundamental change process may be maturity levels on how to go about in needed. “To become a learning certain directions for their self and organisation involves both attitudinal institutional improvement, finally and process changes” comments encouraging all its people to learn, Middlewood, Coleman and Lumby. innovate, and contribute for the progress Another salient characteristic of its institution to which they belong. usually found in such organisations The importance of developing a clear requires a holistic understanding of the vision of a school head to create an school as an organisation. Aspinwall and effective management system wherein Pedlar (1997) illustrates totality of ample learning opportunities are learning in an organisation that provided to teachers cannot be denied. visualise learning about things, learning Helping teachers understand the new to do things, learning to become content, developing new teaching skills, ourselves, to achieve full potential and enhancing practical pedagogical skills, learning to achieve things together— understanding the psychology of completely embedded in learning learning, giving them the opportunities culture. for attending training programmes with other subject specialists, developing The Commitment essential team skills in them, involving them in the macro and micro school- The determination to become a learning based decision making can be considered organisation, important as it is, cannot as safe beginning strides for a School transform a traditional organisation Head. Unquestionably, one can unless a school head along with his apprehend that a learning organisation 108 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 allows freedom and autonomy to our major breakthrough in State of School Heads and other practitioners to Karnataka. The two major initiatives, be able to decide for themselves that H.D Kote has been in practice for more works in the system. This will in itself than one decade and Kalikayatna, a make an enormous leap towards the recent initiative have shown high level organisation becoming a learning of commitment and zeal as learning organisation. How a school can be organisations, well reflected in the promoted as learning organisation is a forthcoming paragraphs.

An Innovative Learning Approach: The H.D. Kote Experience The remote tribal Heggadadevankote block of Mysore district in the State of Karnataka initiated certain innovative learning exercises on Micro planning on 257 government schools out of 279 schools in the block in 1995. This collective purely teachers’ movement began its journey with the help of UNICEF involving District Institute of Education and Training and teachers of Rishi Valley in making initial efforts to transform the entire schooling practices which brought into action a number of changes in all domains of school activities. Curriculum was designed on the basis of competencies identified under MLL; learning materials were developed; teaching methodology and evaluation procedures were redesigned, learning kits which replaces textbooks, workbooks and teachers guide were devised (these include learning ladders which encourage individual pace of learning, learning cards easily identifiable to the children by the logos used, instructional cards for teachers, games and reinforcement cards) appropriate classroom management techniques were adopted, a sense of ownership was built among children by helping them to prepare learning materials through art and craft and suitable indoor and outdoor activities were chalked out for joyful learning among them. A drastic change was seen in the learning and recapitulation exercises of the subjects like language, mathematics and Environmental Sciences. Classroom management and transactions have been entirely different from the traditional practices. Similarly progress chart specially designed for children to mark their progress themselves, the weather chart where children can freely record information about weather conditions daily are significant additional features in this learning experience. Interactions among teachers at cluster level to exchange notes, ideas, songs, activities, puzzles etc., form an integral part of learning exercises.

The Learning Initiative: The Kalikayatna Experiment Kalikayatna (KY), is a reflection of recent shift in paradigms in education as a response to the National Curriculum Framework-2005, formulated by NCERT, which largely envisages a total shift in the classroom environs. Children are seen Resilience in Promotion of Schools as Learning Organisations... 109

as constructors of knowledge and teachers as facilitators of learning. Developing critical thinking among children is held to be an important value. Learner autonomy is stressed. It is initiated by an NGO called Prajayatna in collaboration with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Karnataka. Kalikayatna Kalikayatna is under implementation in Bilikere Cluster of Hunsur Block in Mysore District of Karnataka. The class room management forms a major part in organising learning environment in the schools. Children from classes 1-3 form one group and children in classes 4-5 form another group. There is no concept of introduction of a textbook for curriculum transaction. They are allowed to refer to books, textbooks meant for those classes and any other material available to them, develop reading habits in them and they learn more effectively at their individual pace. The syllabus prescribed by the state for classes 1-5 is redefined here in terms of concepts/ themes. The subjects are seen as a holistic programme, conceptualised in the form of learning points. With every learning, the learner keeps reconceptualising his/her own understanding of these subjects in relation to other subjects. There are series of interactive discussions in smaller and larger groups in different phases through several reiteration by composing different ability groups. All the activities center on several discussions. The teacher also pays personalised attention to each child depending on the situation. The observations made by the teacher are recorded in the observation book. The teacher maintains separate observation schedules for each child. A portfolio of each child is maintained by children themselves, based on which evaluation exercises are done by the teacher. There is also a provision of well designed professional training of teachers once a month at cluster headquarters, which keeps them constantly reminding and discussing about gaps, lacunae and progress of each child. The training sessions also gives them a platform to chalk out plan of action at every step.

Transformation of Schools into result into conflict but it is equally Learning Organisations important that educators move beyond the conventional boundaries they had Creating enabling conditions is set for themselves. The transformation becoming a necessary condition for of traditional institutions to learning bringing changes within the schools. organisations does not suggest a Barth (1991), suggests that diminished role for school strengthening interpersonal relations administrators. It does suggest that what and collegial conversations focus more it means to be a leader needs to be upon what is occurring in the school fundamentally altered. This shift require and, in particular, upon what needs to a supportive climate from decision be done to improve the quality of making authorities where the school education for students. Barth recognises practitioners are encouraged to do that such conversations may, at times experimentation, learn from mistakes, 110 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 take risks, while working across passive role in learning. Robert departments while following Melamede (1997) suggests dialogue multidisciplinary approach. rather than debates-listening, Understanding the school is vital, which suspending judgement, common comprises of the following information understanding in this situation. Faculty about the school: and other staff can act as facilitators in learning organisation. Healthy two-way ● Levels of student achievement in debate, positive conflict and internal and external examinations; disagreement are part of the culture of a ● Academic and infrastructure learning organisation. facilities in the school; As recommended by Joyce and ● Student discipline and health Calhoun (1996) that schedules and status; assignments should allow time for ● The special needs of disadvantaged, collective enquiry, otherwise, marginal, and hard to reach significant reform is nearly impossible in segments of student population a typical school situation. In this setting, such as girls and children with learning needs to be generated in small physical and mental disabilities; groups to provide motivation, support, ● Health of children; learning etc. Honey (1991), supports “a ● Family background and socio- mini learning organisation in the parts economic and poverty status, etc. you can influence. Small incremental etc. changes, if sustained, have a habit of This baseline exercise is expected to gaining momentum to the point where help them to determine the priority areas they become transformational”. for their respective schools. Based on Therefore, the learning experiences that such an assessment, each school can a school is expected to provide is activity have its own school development plan. based and joyful. Morgan (1986) — Some simple changes to the way a ‘Organisational learning’ requires school operates can make a huge openness and self criticism that is difference to the culture and challenging to conventional environment of the organisation (Lassey, management. 1998). The H.D experience shows that a As well echoed in Kalikayatna school has enough capacity to develop practice, training and professional as a learning organisation as it should development activities for school be able to provide enough space for faculty will have to include a component freedom to children to explore their world that helps teachers to understand and themselves to follow their own pace of redefine their roles for creating an learning in order to steer a sense of environment which is conducive for individuality among them. Group work development of child’s personality, and co-operative learning seems to be a encourage such activities which locks workable proposition in Kalikayatna them in the cycle of learning and practices. The children need to be improvement throughout without encouraged an active rather than a disturbing the broader framework of Resilience in Promotion of Schools as Learning Organisations... 111 rules and regulations. Sharon Kruse and are no drop-outs, push-outs and pull- Karen Louis (1993) contends that outs. This is high time when recruitment preparatory exercises can help in the procedures are changed, even though formation of “Responsible Parties”, which this requires an extensive exercise. act as champions for extended inquiry Based on different empirical findings and points out that email and regular supported by our own perceptions/ faculty meetings becomes an important observations, the teachers in each school aspect in this arrangement. can be divided into three categorise: Practitioner research is another First category comprise of teachers element that supports the process of who have attained total liberation learning as it is more sustained and from the jobs expected of them. systematic in bringing “conceptual and Second category comprise of instrumental change” (Lumby, 1999). teachers who are committed, sincere Morgan (1986) asserts that fruitful despite whatever may come. research needs to be linked to the idea Third category comprises of teachers of the school as learning organisations, in between these two categories. where learning occurs at many levels Sometimes they are with Group 1 and and leads to organisational learning and sometimes with Group 2. change. The actors who participate in the process give them the chance of Now the success of an educational reflecting on their own practices and leader in building a learning organisation consider themselves as part of the depends upon bringing Group 3 with organisation. The participation they find Group 1. Group 3 is the most important it quite ‘challenging’, ‘refreshing’ and human resource who through proper ‘enlightening’ since learning can be care and nurturing can become the most driven by data. Practitioners’ research important instrument for restructuring in fact gives an opportunity to teachers the school to which they belong. and institutional heads to lock into the Important is to identify this category of system of reflection and feedback that teachers and for locking the school helps them to adapt educational ideas system in the continued cycle of learning. to one’s own context and professional bringing basic commitment for school needs. Schools where the culture of improvement planning . collaborative research is promoted, If passion for teaching is to be becomes a learning centre for both, the rekindled, the selection procedures will teachers as well as its students. have to recast if institutes of teaching No improvement can take place until have to be transformed into institutes of teachers are emotionally involved with learning. Selection procedure of teachers their jobs. Teacher selection holds very based on I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) important place in the process of lighting degrees, divisions and other formalities that spark. School environment needs need to be revisited. May be teachers to be made more child “friendly” and with high E.Q. can be one of the possible welcoming to their parents, so that there answers but how to select teachers who 112 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 are emotionally involved with the we actually consult teachers? Are profession is the question to be we doing it in the real sense or addressed seriously. our consultation is confined to a small group? Is our behaviour Concluding Statement demotivating the IInd Category? What are the ways by which an ● Appreciation, recognition is a institution can lock itself into the cycle natural urge. Do we actually mean of learning? In order to bring positive what we say and convey right results, there is a need for every school messages with right tone? We talk personnel to reflect on the most to the of Generosity. Are we really doing it? most vital issues honestly: ● Schools until this time have been a ● Are we ourselves pace setters? teaching institutions. Can we make Which category do we actually it a teaching-cum-learning belong to – Ist, IInd or IIIrd? institution — Learning Centre for ● When policy in school is framed, do Heads as well as for Teachers?

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KRUSE, SHARON D. and KAREN SEASHORE LOUIS. 1993), An Emerging Framework for Analysing School-Based Professional Community, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta Georgia. LASHWAY, LARRY. 1997. Leading With Vision, Eugene, Oregon: ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management. LEITHWOOD , K.L. LEONARD and SHARRATT. 1998. Conditions Fostering Organisational Learning in Schools, Educational Administration Quarterly, 34 (2), pp. 234-276. LUMBY, JACKY. 1996. The Learning Organisation. In Managing People in Education, edited by Tony Bush and David Middlewood, Educational Management Research and Practice, New Delhi: Sage Publication. MALHOTRA, YOGESH. 1996. Organizational Learning and Learning Organisations: An Overview (Website: http://www.brint.com/papers/orglrng.htm. MIDDLEWOOD, COLEMAN and LUMBY. 1999. Practitioner Research In Education: Making a Difference, United Kingdom : Sage Publications Ltd MORGAN, G. 1986. Images of Organisation, London: Sage Publications. PEDLER, M., J. BURGOYNE and T. BOYDELL. 1991, 1996. The Learning Company. A Strategy for Sustainable Development, London: Mc Graw Hill PETER, LASSEY. 1998. Developing a Learning Organization, London: Kogan Page Limited. ROBERT, MELAMEDE. 1997. http://eric.uoregon.edu/publications/digests/ digest121.html. SAMMONS, P., HILLMAN, J. and MORTIMER, P. 1995. Key Characteristic of Effective Schools, London: Office for Standard in Education. SCHÖN, D.A. 1983. The Reflective Practitioner, New York: Basic Books. SENGE, P. 1990. The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, New York: Doubleday. SOUTHWORTH, G. 1994. The learning school In RIBBINS, R. AND BURRIDGE, E. (eds) Improving Education : Promoting Quality in Schools, London: Cassell. WEST-BURNHAM , JOHN. 1992. Understanding Learning, website: http://edlinked.soe.waikato.ac.nz/users/jan/ELC/learning.pdf WOODWARD, HELEN and CYNTHIA HALL. 2003. Collegial Learning and Collective Capacities, Paper presented at New Zealand Association for Research in Education, (NZARE) and Association for Research in Education (AARE) Joint Conference, Auckland YINGER, R. and M. HENDRICKS-LEE. 1993. Working Knowledge in Teaching. In C. DAY, J.CALDERHEAD and P. DENICOLA (Eds) Research on Teacher Thinking: Understanding Professional Development. London: Falmer Press. 114 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

Examination and Assessment Principles Integrating Assessment with Teaching-Learning Processes

RAVI P. BHATIA*

Abstract

An analysis is made about the well-known drawbacks and inadequacies of the present examination system in India in terms of the poor quality of questions, lack of transparency and its inability to cater to the needs of the modern society that requires skilled manpower. There are also administrative difficulties although some of them like cheating in examinations and late declaration of results have to a considerable extent being successfully addressed. We underline the limitation of the present examination system which is mainly used for certifying purposes and which is integrated only to a limited extent with the larger teaching-learning system. We point out that a proper assessment system similar to the one that prevails in U.K. and elsewhere, not only fulfils this basic need but also helps the teaching- learning aspects both of students and faculty. This is done by a proper understanding of the objectives and principles of assessment, by aligning the assessment with the curriculum and by giving periodic feedback to students. A brief discussion about the various types of assessments and their objectives, and how they are able to improve the educational system and generate requisite skills is made. The need for proper infrastructure and qualified teachers who enjoy trust and support systems is also stressed.

Introduction test only about 4,500 students are finally selected and those who are successful Some faculty members and Directors of are highly motivated and serious. IIT are informally admitting that IIT is And yet this is one more admission unable to get the best students through of the fact that there is something its competitive examinations. This may drastically wrong with the examination appear puzzling, considering that out of system in India. It is not being able to more than 3 lakh students who take the produce persons with relevant skills and

*Retired from the University of Delhi, 4, Mall Apartments, Mall Road, Delhi-110054. Examination and Assessment Principles... 115 knowledge required in today’s world. The format of the education system There are several common problems in has not undergone many changes except the examination system both at the that the annual academic programme at school and college levels: the tertiary level has been modified to a semester programme in several courses. ● Poor quality question papers with On the examination front also certain vague and often repetitive questions modifications have been introduced in ● Subjectivity and lack of consistency the system – a mid-term exam or test has in marking of scripts by examiners been introduced carrying about 5 to 10% ● Problems in administration of weightage and a few written assignments examinations and in declaration of or projects have also been introduced in results certain subjects like commerce or ● Cheating in examinations management studies etc. ● Lack of transparency in the system The entire issue of curriculum and ● Large scale stress among students examination reforms at the school level both before the start of the has been considered by NCERT in 2004- examination and after the 05 in the National Curriculum examination results is declared. Framework. The Position Paper of the But in addition there are serious National Focus Group on Examination substantive issues involved as to the Reforms (2005) has cited several different purposes of assessment of the problems being faced by Examination students and how these are to be Boards, and has come out with certain addressed. While the education sector suggestions for improvement or good both at the school level and Higher practices. The paper lists various Education (HE) levels has undergone deficiencies in the present examination drastic, almost unimaginable changes system – lack of quality of question both in terms of content, approach and papers, stress on rote memorisation, pedagogy, the examination system is an lack of transparency in grading and obsolete system that we are unable or marking, lack of flexibility in the system do not wish to substantially change. to cater to the needs of ‘slow learners’ or Most of our universities had adopted students belonging to schools with the British system of education including inadequate infrastructure, etc. the examination system that basically The paper also underlines the consisted of year end final examination inability of the system to serve ‘the needs in different papers of any particular of a social justice’ and to cater to the course – U.G. or P.G. For science or demands of the modern society. It writes: statistics subjects there were in addition, “Indian school board exams are largely the practical examination, usually held inappropriate for the ‘knowledge society’ before the theory papers, which carried of the 21st century and its need for about 20 to 30 % weightage. For medical innovative problem solvers” or engineering courses there were On the administrative front several certain additional tests like clinical improvements have been carried out in examination or workshop practices etc. our examination system. Cheating in 116 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 examinations has been reduced by the declaration of results in India, although introduction of flying squads and other welcome, have not fully addressed the measures; declaration of results and substantive problems of teaching- issuance of mark sheets have generally learning that have been outlined above. been expedited and in many cases like The examination system has basically the CBSE, the results can be obtained performed a certificative role – i.e., on line. The quality of papers and their remained a means of giving marks or evaluation has also improved although grades to students and has not been fully there is scope for taking further steps. integrated in the teaching-learning In India the pattern of examinations regime. What is required is a thorough has remained almost unchanged for the understanding of the issues of last sixty years although in U.K. and assessment and evaluation – their basic elsewhere, assessment and evaluation purpose in the teaching-learning procedures have undergone major processes and advantages or changes. Not only are there changes in disadvantages of different types of procedure to make assessment more assessment procedures. systematic, transparent and fair both to Considering the principal limitations the students and the teachers, a of the present examination system, we considerable amount of research has offer some suggestions for going beyond also been undertaken to evolve effective the certificative role of the examination and innovative procedures. This has system and to evolve a system for been done in view of the evolving societal improving teaching-learning needs, which lays emphasis on relevant environment in India. The new system skill generation and not just obtaining a that we propose is not being called degree of science or commerce for examination system, which has a specific example. connotation but rather the assessment As a result of this evolution in the system. The latter has much broader education sector, significant changes significance than the former with have taken place in (what we call examinations forming one of the examination system) the assessment components of the assessment system. system and practices in U.K., Australia This is not just a semantic difference but and other countries. Assessment is now rather a substantive one where the role used as an integral part of the total of teaching-learning and assessment are teaching-learning process (TLP). There is organically linked. In fact the total also a great deal of dependence on IT not teaching-learning assessment combine only in the teaching but also in the is also called TLA in modern terminology assessment sector. Computers have (Biggs, 2003). become indispensable in the educational In the following sections of the article, and assessment sectors both as tools we discuss several key issues: and in the form of e-learning and e- ● Objectives and Purposes of assessment. Assessment The administrative improvements in ● Principles of Assessment the conduct of examinations and ● Teaching Learning Process (TLP) Examination and Assessment Principles... 117

● Skills required in Contemporary (ii) Feedback for teaching-learning Society In our system feedback about students’ ● Role of Teachers, etc. learning is generally ignored. Feedback Objectives, Purposes and needs to be given to students periodically Principles of Assessment for improving both learning and teaching. It is instructive to outline the various If there is a deficiency in learning, objectives/purposes of assessment. suitable inputs need to be provided to There are also various broad principles students to improve learning or of assessment that we must adhere to alternatively, if most of the students are make the assessment fair, transparent not learning properly, teachers need to and dependable. change their methodology or strategy of teaching. This is being increasingly done Objectives to improve teaching-learning There are basically two important environment in UK, Australia and USA. objectives why we need to assess Feedback is an important aspect of students – (i) for certification, and (ii) for teaching-learning process. If it is specific giving feedback to students in the and worded clearly, it can enhance process of teaching and learning. students’ motivation, encourage reflection and in general, promote (i) Certification learning. As mentioned earlier, the main objective Another purpose of feedback as of assessment in India has been to discussed by Boud and Falchikov (2006) certify students’ achievement at the end is to promote long-term learning after of a course or programme. formal teaching has come to an end. We This means that when a student has will discuss the impact of feedback in passed his/her plus-2 examination in teaching-learning process in greater detail Science and Mathematics stream, we later. know what the student has studied in Keeping in view these objectives we Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, have two different types of assessment: English and possibly Computer Science ● Summative: a final mark or grade or Life Sciences or perhaps Economics. or division at the end of a unit/ His marks or percentage scored by him module/course or at any specified gives an idea about the level of period of the academic year. achievement in the various subjects and ● Formative: used for facilitating the complete result provides information learning. Both students and whether the student has passed, or teachers need to know how learning obtained second, first division or is proceeding. distinction marks. The same is true for College or We should indicate that summative University level examinations also. assessment itself is of two kinds 118 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

● Normative—Norm Referenced A. Students Assessment NRA (for ranking ● Obtain a certificate of passing and students) marks/division obtained ● Criterion Referenced Assessment. ● Grade or ranks students CRA (for informing what and how ● Diagnose students strengths/ well a student has learnt). weaknesses In India the NRA is used both for ● Assist weaker students by giving grading students’ performance in an them special inputs or support examination as well as to rank them. ● Motivate students to learn better However, it is important to differentiate ● Provide feedback for students between the two purposes. The former learning. purpose is meant for giving marks or B. Teachers grades (50 % or B grade or II division). The latter is to choose the top 10 or 15 or ● Evaluate course strengths/ 20 % students irrespective of the marks weaknesses obtained by them. This is needed in ● Identify weak students who may entrance examinations for admission to need special support systems a course or even for selecting candidates ● Suggest alternate methods/ for a job e.g. in the Indian Civil Services strategies of teaching. or in the Defense Services, etc. C. Organisers/Policy Makers In CRA the objective is to assess students’ understanding of and ● Provide inputs for curricular performance on what they have learnt changes/development on the basis of certain pedagogic criteria ● Provide feedback about features or competencies. Courses or modules are (strengths/weaknesses ) of courses written in terms of competencies, criteria or Modules and skills that are tested by this method. ● Gauge employment possibilities of The emphasis is not on rote memory as passouts used to be earlier or confined to a given ● Provide relevant feedback and textbook alone, but on a proper information to prospective understanding and application of employers, etc. competencies and the ability to acquire Principles of Assessment the necessary skills. There are some broad principles of any Specific purposes of assessment assessment process that should be followed for fairness, transparency and We have already listed two important consistency. Some of these are listed objectives of assessment. There are some below: other specific purposes of assessment that are dependent on the point of view ● Assessment to be integral part of the that is in our mind — the students’ or Course/Curriculum teachers’ or policymakers’ points of view. ● Assessment should provide feed- We list below these purposes: back to support learning process Examination and Assessment Principles... 119

● Assessment to include several have their advantages or disadvantages different competencies or learning with some being more appropriate in criteria. certain situations and others in different ● Assessment should be situations. However we do not discuss – Consistent and Reliable them here since they are beyond the – Valid scope of this article. – Transparent – Bias Free Teaching Learning Process – Practicable and do-able within This is a very important objective of available time. assessment, which has traditionally By reliable and consistent we mean been largely ignored in the Indian that if the same answer is being marked system. A proper and regular process of by different persons or the same person assessment allows the teachers as well marks it at different times, the marks as the administration to know how the obtained should be either same or very teaching and learning process by close to each other. Validity means that students is going on and if remedial steps the questions should test what is desired need to be taken to improve it. to be tested. For example if we want to test students’ understanding and According to Biggs (p. 141): applications of quantitative techniques, To the teacher, assessment is at the then the question should do precisely end of the teaching-learning that and not ask question about the sequence, but to the student it is at definition or meaning of terms like mean the beginning. If the curriculum is or standard deviation etc. reflected in the assessment, the Transparency signifies that teaching activities of the teacher and students are aware of the nature of the the learner activities of the learner assessment, how their performance is are both directed towards the same being assessed and how to improve it. goal. They should have access to their answer books after marking a practice that is an Learning-oriented assessment has absolute taboo in our present system. been considered to be very important in Bias free assessment means that the British and Australian Universities there should be no bias – for or against today. A special issue of the Journal of any student while assessing his Assessment and Evaluation in Higher performance – a written or oral test or a Education (Vol. 31, No. 4 August 2006) project report or an assignment etc. has been devoted entirely to this objective There are various Methods of so that assessment could be so tailored Assessment like Quiz, Weekly/monthly to maximise meaningful student exams, Open book exams, Objective learning. Boud and Falchikov (op. cit.) (Multiple Type) Tests, Take-home tests, have considered the issue of assessment assignments, E-Assessment, etc. These from the point of long-term learning. 120 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

According to them: examinations and about 25 % have passed only the eighth class examination “The raison d’etre of higher or lower. education is that it provides a It is not surprising therefore that in foundation on which lifelong most Examination Boards and learning in work and other social Universities, a veil of secrecy covers the settings can be built. Thus apart whole gamut of the examination system. from short term focus of Right from the time of paper setting to assessment, it must also foster evaluation of scripts to moderation and learning after graduation…” finally to declaration of results, the We have already underlined the system works on the principle of secrecy advantages of proper feedback for and opaqueness and the belief that promoting teaching-learning. However, teachers who do all the components of Beth R. Crisp (2007) in her paper argues the examination system, cannot be that teachers’ feedback alone is trusted. They are supposed to work in inadequate to promote deeper learning. utmost secrecy and confidentiality At best it has limited impact. There could without their names being identified or be several reasons but one reason is that publicised. This practice has been the feedback is of general and imprecise continuing right from the British times. nature which leaves students puzzled. Not only in the School examination This may be due to large number of Boards, but also at the University level, students to deal with and with limited examinations are externally organised time available to teachers, it is often which means that paper setting, difficult for teachers to give proper moderation and evaluation of answer feedback. Another reason could be that scripts is done by outside teachers. The students themselves are often not very teacher usually is not allowed to evaluate keen to act upon the teachers’ feedback. the scripts of his own students. A recent study of the U.P. Board Role of teachers in Examination examination results for Classes X and system XII indicates that of about 34 lakh The low status of school teachers, their students who appeared in these poor emoluments and the minimum examinations, an abnormally large qualifications prescribed for becoming a number of about 15 lakh students failed. school teacher have been graphically This is a shocking state of affairs which described by Kumar (pp. 81-82). He writes should cause soul searching and a deep that as late as 1950, only 13% of analysis of the factors responsible. There elementary teachers in India were are many causes responsible for this matriculates. This percentage rose to 34 tragic situation but one of the principal towards the end of 1950s. Even today ones is the fact that since there is one only about 70% of the primary teachers paper for all the students, economically in India have passed the Higher or academically weaker students are put Secondary or Senior Secondary to a great disadvantage. Similarly rural Examination and Assessment Principles... 121 students also face difficulties since the process consisted of disseminating it orientation of the question paper usually through prescribed textbooks. The prime has an urban bias. Another factor is the purpose of examinations appeared to absence of qualified and trained consist of testing the success of such teachers and lack of proper transmission. The process of nation infrastructure. building and the creation of an This situation needs to be altered. In industrialised society however required addition to removing or at least reducing diverse skills and competencies. the above bias, a system where teachers A modern society requires various are given proper recognition, support types of professionals with diversified systems and necessary responsibility skills – not just doctors, scientists, should be adopted for a better teaching- engineers, chartered accountants or learning environment. economists, but also nurses, Krishna Kumar has written paramedicos, travel agents, advocates, extensively on the practice that prevailed TV and newspaper reporters and anchors, from the time there were public salespersons, computer personnel etc. examinations at the school levels. He The type of skills required are usually writes (p 68): not addressed in the examination system that prevails in India today. “The teacher however could not This results in what has been termed be trusted and hence was not as unemployable graduates or post permitted to examine his own graduates. The NCF has quoted a head students. All he could do was to hunter who has said that “nineteen out prepare them (students) to the of twenty graduate applicants and 6 out hilt which meant giving them the of 7 post graduate applicants are opportunity to rehearse endlessly unemployable. They lack the requisite the skills of reproducing the text problem solving skills or often do not from memory … on any question know what problem solving means”. based on the textbook…” Ganesh Natarajan writing on Here the question of using the Transforming the skills environment in examination system as a feedback to India has also underlined this problem. improve teaching and learning processes He writes: did not arise. To a large extent the practice still prevails today. “There is a constant refrain in the Indian IT and BPO sectors that less Knowledge Society and Skills than 20 per cent of the 300,000 and more engineers who graduate each In the time of British rule, knowledge year are employable in the software remained scare since it was confined to industry without huge investment in a select few. Here the primary goal of learning and training inputs”. education was to produce clerks and a few other professional people like doctors He further writes that ‘many other or engineers for the country and the sectors like retail, hospitality and 122 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 healthcare have joined the clamour for synthesis, collation, extension, a better skilled workforce. Our generalisation, evaluation, educational apparatus has failed to application, etc. The levels of deliver what the industry needs and no analysis or synthesis will depend on number of finishing schools which are the stage or level that a student is now mushrooming all over the country studying. For example, analysis at will compensate for a structural malaise the lowest level would mean the in the learning content and processes’. ability or skill to analyse with The monthly journal Seminar in its guidance of teachers using given July 2008 issue writes (p. 12): classification principles or criteria. For the higher levels it may mean “It is difficult to deny that no Indian analysis without or with minimum university or institute, the IIMs and guidance. IITs included, ever makes it to the top ranks in any list …. Little surprise ● Transferable skills that exceptions apart, all employers These include communication, – public or private – continue to carp management of information, about the unsatisfactory skill and problem solving, quantitative skills knowledge base of our graduates, or abilities, graphical or drawing and at all levels.” skills. There are also skills involved in working in groups or as a team. Types of Skills ● Practical skills There are various types of skills that need These include the skills to work on to be taught and acquired by students. computers, handle scientific These will naturally depend on the stage equipment or machinery, working of education as well as the subject/ in a lab or studio etc. Again these stream that a student is following. But skills will be developed from a very some broad skills that are necessary at rudimentary level to advanced level different levels, are outlined below: as the student progresses from a lower level to higher levels of study. ● Development of Knowledge and Understanding. A good education and assessment These are subject specific. For system should be able to test different example in the subject of Political types of skills in addition to the subject science at the UG level the specific understanding and concepts. knowledge of the Indian Today, the focus of the education system constitution and its framers, its is to transmit knowledge and concepts development in the last sixty years, to students, without ascertaining to what its main features will be required extent various skills are being acquired to be understood and learnt by by learners. Even in the science courses, students. there is only a limited emphasis on ● Cognitive and Intellectual skills making students adept at practical These are generic skills that skills. Whatever skills a student is able include the concepts of analysis, to imbibe is incidental and fortuitous and Examination and Assessment Principles... 123 in spite of the prevailing system. This is unemployable. If assessment is properly particularly true of non-elite institutions aligned to the curriculum and of higher learning which lack adequate appropriate teaching-learning strategies resources and qualified faculty. are observed, students are likely to The system that has been suggested acquire these skills and acquire better above integrates the teaching-learning skills and become employable. and assessment practices organically. The article points out at the low With proper infrastructure and qualified status of teachers in India especially at faculty enjoying good support systems the school level. Moreover, a cloak of and trust, there will be a noticeable secrecy surrounds the examination improvement in skill generation. system that works on the principle that teachers cannot be trusted despite the Conclusions fact that they are involved in all stages We have tried to analyse the present of the examination system. Teachers examination system at the school and must be given proper recognition and University levels and underlined the responsibilities. various deficiencies and limitations it It is critical that proper working suffers from. We have attempted to go conditions, trust, recognition and beyond the traditional examination support system are available to the system to an assessment system which teachers. Otherwise, they will obviously is aimed at integrating the teaching- not be able to play the increasingly learning process with the assessing of responsible part in the teaching-learning students’ performance. This system is process that has been suggested above. prevalent and successful in U.K., They also need to be periodically given Australia and other countries. Broad orientation and training in pedagogy and principles and purposes of assessment use of newer technologies and practices. have been outlined above. In this system, We understand the constraints on the importance of proper feedback by teachers even at the higher education teachers to encourage and motivate level — not to speak of the school level. students is stressed. However, if a beginning is made at least The article also lists various types of in some well endowed and forward skills required in a modern society which looking institutions like the IITs and the unfortunately are not being acquired by IIMs, the results are bound to be students in the traditional education encouraging for all the stakeholders – and examination system thereby making students, teachers and education a large number of graduates providers. 124 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

REFERENCES

BIGGS, JOHN. 2003. Teaching for Quality Learning at University, second edition. Berkshire, U.K.: The Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press. BOUD, DAVID and NANCY FALCHIKOV. 2006. Aligning assessment with long-term learning, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 31 ( 4), August, 399-413. CRISP, BETH R. 2007. Is it worth the Effort? How Feedback influences students’ subsequent submission of assessable work, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 32 ( 5), October, 571-581. KUMAR, KRISHNA. 2005. Political Agenda of Education, second edition. Sage Publications, New Delhi. NATARAJAN, GANESH. 2008. Transforming the skills environment in India, Rediffnews, 29 August. NCERT. 2006. National Curriculam Framework (NCF). Position paper of National Focus Group on Examination Reforms, New Delhi. Evaluation of Inclusive Education Practices in Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA)... 125

Evaluation of Inclusive Education Practices in Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) Primary Schools

AMITAV MISHRA* and GIRIJESH KUMAR** Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the influence of inclusive education practices on learning and teacher attitude towards children with special needs as well as to evaluate how children with special needs placed in regular schools have benefited. Twenty children with disabilities of two from each 10-randomly selected schools were chosen for case study. A critical evaluation was done on all possible related variables responsible for meeting unique needs of child with disabilities such as: dropout/ retention; provision of incentives including aids and appliances; individualised programme; curricular adaptation; academic achievement; attitude of teachers and peers; and resource support to school. It was observed that not only mild and moderate, but children with disabilities having any severity level were part of the primary schools. Significant gap between school age and chronological age; lower grade level inappropriate examination practices were observed. Retention of children with disabilities was found good with appropriate attendance. Half of the teacher’s attitude towards these children were nor favourable; however, positive peer acceptance was observed. The present article also mentions all possible practical suggestions and recommendations.

Introduction attention. Inclusive Education is not just about including people with disabilities; The inclusive education (IE) has been well it is about including everyone, and accepted and practiced throughout the making particular efforts to identify who globe because the learning needs of the is excluded or marginalised. The basic disabled children demand special strategies of inclusive education are:

*Reader in Special Education, Faculty of Education and Allied Sciences, M.J.P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly. **Head, Department of Education, Faculty of Education and Allied Sciences, M.J.P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly. 126 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

(i) curriculum and teaching approaches in 1998. After action plans on lED were are flexible and child-focused; developed by different states, and then (ii) learning for all children is more state specific strategies were evolved effective and relevant; (iii) buildings and differently on every state depending on environments are accessible; state specific vision and needs. In each (iv) teachers work together and are well state interventions were broadly made in supported and adequately trained; the areas of teacher training, material (v) examination and assessment systems development and provision of resource are flexible and accessible; (vi) there are support that child with special needs adequate and accessible water, often need for teaching and learning. sanitation, nutrition and health and Teachers were adequately oriented to the safety standards and provision; and needs, problems and implications of (vii) drop-out and repeater rates are every kind of disabilities (Mishra, 2002a). reduced, and completion rates improved. As a result, there has been a substantial Several steps need to be taken to provide expansion of lED in terms of number of equal access to education to every disabled children identified and enrolled category of disabled individuals as an in DPEP schools. Department of EEL integral part of the education system (2006) reported that through DPEP/SSA (WDEFA-1990). We are always in search about 21,00,000 children with special of appropriate and effective strategy to needs (CWSN) identified and about bring all children with disabilities under 16,00,000 of them are already in the the umbrella of primary education regular school system in a span of 8 (Mishra, 2003). It has been rightly said years. About 20,00,000 teachers have that the issue is not whether disabled received in-service training, about children can be included in general 80,000 have undergone 45/90 day RCI classrooms, but the issue is how to recognised course and about 30,000 VEC include them (Jangira, 1987). members are being oriented about IE in The inclusive education in developing 17 states (MHRD, 2007). countries like India is still in infancy. An important issue associated However, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) with any large-scale scheme/ had visualised of providing quality intervention is that how an effect is primary education to all children by expected. The impact of DPEP on IED 2007. The emerging ‘school for all’ appeared to be an important issue globally is a pointer to this trend. During when planners were about to frame 1994-95, District Primary Education strategies for Sarva Siksha Abhiyan Programme (DPEP) was launched in 42 (SSA). Without evaluation, there districts of seven states namely has no means of assessing how Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, effectively lE has been imparting Haryana, Tamilnadu, Madhya Pradesh quality education to disabled children. and Assam and later it was expanded. Case study method was adopted to carry The guidelines on Integrated Education out the study. Case studies were for Disabled (lED) in DPEP were developed undertaken both at individual and in 1997. lED became operational in DPEP school levels. Evaluation of Inclusive Education Practices in Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA)... 127

The specific objectives of the study attitudes of the non-disabled peers were were: (i) to evaluate the influence of lE rejecting; (3) the achievements of on learning and teacher attitude towards children with disabilities were evaluated children with special needs; (ii) to through Grade Level Assessment Tool. evaluate how children with special needs Vineland Social Maturity Scale was also place in regular schools have benefited administered on disabled children to from this programme. The variables evaluate their social maturity/ considered for the present study were: adjustment due to IE; (4) Teacher (i) level of learning achievement; training programmes conduct as part of (ii) teacher attitude; (iii) teacher training DPEP was evaluated on the basis of and its impact on students, (iv) peer whether or not teaching strategies/ acceptance; and (v) retention of disabled methods used are effective in helping children. children with special needs to learn better; (5) Teacher attitudes were judged Methodology by observing the teacher who is teaching According to the design of the study, 10 the children with disabilities. primary schools were randomly selected as samples. Besides the detailed study Results of each school and were also undertaken The study covered 10 primary schools two children with disabilities randomly those were randomly selected from Hardoi selected from each school. district of Uttar Pradesh. Reportedly efforts have been made in Hardoi district Procedure to promote ‘Inclusive Education’ as part The procedures adopted for the study of DPEP and SSA intervention. Although were: (i) for recording the case history of the lE programme is spread throughout every CWSN, appropriate formats were all nineteen blocks of Hardoi, but the developed. Also for studying the role of target blocks were: Sandila, Kachauna, school in lE, a different format was made. Sursa and Bawan. Out of 7648 identified Focus was given on benefits accruing to children with special needs (CWSNs) in the child on account of his/her the whole district, the four project blocks placement in regular schools. The school have integrated 621 CWSNs out of their in which the child studying was 861 identified cases. The interventions evaluated on the basis of information towards promotion of IE programme were: and observation compiled through a (i) teacher training/sensitisation in lED detailed checklist and data sheet; (ii) Peer (5 days/10 days/45 days); (ii) community attitude was studied through direct sensitisation and training to Village observation of interaction between Education Committee (VEC); (iii) parent disabled and non disabled peers that: counselling and guidance services; (a) whether or not the non-disabled peers (iv) collaboration/hiring of NGO; (v) free accepted the disabled peer(s); (b) whether distribution of aids and appliances and the attitudes of the non-disabled peers free health checkup; (vi) construction of were condescending; and (c) whether the ramps; (vii) distribution of scholarships; 128 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

(viii) resource support to project schools representation in sample SSA schools. by District Coordinator-lED, three Out of 69 enrolled students (with special educators and one resource disabilities), the number of students with teacher in every block. locomotion impairment (LI) was the According to the design of the study maximum (35) followed by students with two students with disabilities from each hearing impairment (15), then visual 10 selected schools (20) were chosen for impairment (12) and the number of case study through case history method students with mental retardation was and field observation. The details of minimum (07). The number of male schools covered under study have been students with disabilities (45) was almost given in Table 1. two times higher than their female A broad difference in ratio of children counterparts (24). Even children aged with disabilities and without was found fifteen years were also observed studying over sample schools. However, on in the sample primary schools. Although average, one child with disability was most of the children with disabilities were found in every 28 children and hence a provided with free textbooks, but many prevalence rate of 3.57% was recorded. of them did not receive scholarship. Only In the sample schools 69 children with half of the total students were given aids disabilities were enrolled out of 82 such and appliances. children. This implies an enrolment rate The attendances of such children of 84%. The things those observed to be recorded at schools were impressive. It more alarming was: (a) poor teacher- was also given to understand the positive student ratio; (b) physical incapability of relationship between wazifa (free school building to accommodate all distribution of 4-Kilograms wheat grains students. A school was also observed per month to each child) and his/her that did not have a building to shelter attendance. Many a times the its student and teachers. When the exaggeration of figures in school record primary schools did not have basic might result in impressive figures. infrastructure and required number of Despite poor infrastructure, inadequate teachers then what we could debate number of teachers, the enrolment and about the success of inclusive education retention of children with disabilities are by ensuring appropriate and quality very encouraging. However the quality of education to children with disabilities? classroom transactions and academic Due to DPEP/SSA intervention, most of performance of such children are yet a the teachers were found to be oriented matter of concerns. about education of children in the As mentioned earlier that two disabilities either through 5-day training students with disabilities from each 10 workshop or of 10-day duration. Further, selected schools (20) were chosen for case some variables related to children with study. The summary of children disabilities were studied in detail those (disability wise) are given in Tables 3-6. were covered by 10-sample schools. Students with mild to severe mental Table-2 given below represents the retardation were observed in primary detailed scenario of CWSNs schools. All students were found with low Evaluation of Inclusive Education Practices in Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA)... 129 Attennance day Trg. to 2/2 day Trg. to 5/6 day Trg. to 3/3 day Trg. to 4/4 day Trg. to 3/3 day Trg. to 1/2 Appl. R NR DO Training of Teachers 19/38 58 07 4 Space tolE in Available Accommodate Ratio Student Teacher- Age Aids/ 6-15 20 16 21 9 3 66 19 Range I II III IV V FTB S Not Teachers Enrolled Table 1: Details of Schools Covered Under Study CWSN No. of Table 2: Details of CWSNs Covered by Schools under the Study Total Types of Disabilitiesof Types Sex ClassIncentives Students Enrolled MR HI VI LI Total M F 3456 3107 2728 3759 28410 182 05 148 13 243 07 112 06 02 04 00 07 02 04 04 08 06 02 03 01 03 02 02 04 1:52 04125 1:91 1: 03 0371 1: 02 1:46 250 1:49 250 200 1: 81 1:56 150 5 150 5 day Trg. to 2/3 5 150 5 day Trg. to 4/4 150 150 5 5 5/10 day Trg. 1/3 & 5 12 394 126 14 05 01 02 02 02197 1: 1:63 150 00 5 day Trg. to 2/2 5 10Total 07 1 15 12 1 35 - 69 2 45 24 04 3 1 7-9 3 1 0 0 0 04 02 1/1 04 00 0 1234 1 004023/304000 5 26 5 -7 - 2 38 2 2 - 69 3 - - 1 14 1 2 - 3 -2-204317-91300 1 05 1 - 5 9 - 2 05 5 2 5 13 - 1 6-11 3 3 3 07 2 9 7-10 3 1 2 06 6 4 5 7-15 0 04 2 7-14 3 1 07 1 1 6-11 3 3 8 9 7-11 3 4 1 2 2 0 2 7-11 3 0 0 2 2 7-12 3 1 0 1 0 3 3 0 1 2 14 1 1 0 1 05 0 1 02 4 03 3 0 01 0 13 3/8 0 03 0 06 0/1 02 11 1 06 0/2 01 0 03 04 3/6 04 04 01 04 0 4/6 07 09 00 01 0 1/6 01 06 02 0 2/3 05 00 3 2/2 01 04 1 07 00 0 00 0 0 Schools Schools MR: Mental Retardation, HI: Hearing Impairment; VI: Visual LI: Locomotion Impairment, FTB: Free Text Book; S: Scholarship; Aid/Appl: Aids and Appliances; R: Regular, NR: Not Regular; DO: Drop-out 130 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 profile in their social maturity and grade varied severity. Academic achievement level. However, the students were given was also found to be low — though they opportunity to appear for the last school did not have any sensory or mental examination to the class they were disability. Most of the children were enrolled. Achievement in the reported of attending school regularly. examination did not logically correlate About half of the teachers had favourable with their actual level of performance on attitude. Peers exhibited positive grade level assessment tool. Their acceptance towards them. attendance in the school was Examples of one case study each on encouraging and except a few students. a child and schools are given at the end Many teachers’ attitudes towards them of due paper for readers. were observed to be favourable. The most The following conclusions may be exciting fact is that there was complete drawn from the above observations: acceptance by their peers. (a) Not only mild and moderate, but Hearing-impaired students of varied children with varied severity were severity were observed studying in found studying in schools; primary schools. Their academic achievement was evaluated to be one (b) The significant gap between school grade below the actual grade in which age (grade age) and actual age was they were studying. Achievement in last found with half of the children — examination also did not correlate with not only with mental retardation but their actual level of performance. The with all types of disabilities. In some social maturity and group adjustment of cases it was due to late enrolment hearing impaired children were found to in the schools; be age appropriate and almost at par (c) Except few cases (including all with their normal counterparts. The students with mental retardation) attitude of teachers was also favourable social maturity exhibited by the including the acceptance by peer groups. students with disabilities was age Both students with total blindness appropriate and at par with non- and partially sighted were found studying disabled peers; in primary schools. Academic (d) On grade level assessment, all achievement was also found to be low but children were found to be the evaluation done by school through functioning at several grade levels last examination was different in many below the actual grade on which cases. Age appropriate social maturity they were studying; was observed in most of the children. (e) Results obtained from school Although 60% of teachers had examination concerning perfor- unfavourable attitude towards them, but mance of children with disabilities peer acceptance was good at every were not reliable. Teachers had situation. The attendance of such difficulty in examining these children was good. children with various categories of Like other disabilities, students with disabilities; locomotors impairment were found with (f) As per available records, retention Evaluation of Inclusive Education Practices in Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA)... 131 Peers’ Peers’ Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Accept- Accept- Atten- Teacher’s Atten- Teacher’s Math ance Math ance 12% 10%33% 78% 37% Favourable 82% Favourable Hindi Hindi m - - 78% Unfavourable 3m 46% 40% 83% Favourable 2 m 15% 16% 81% Favourable aturity last examination dance Attitude Social Achievement in Social Achievement in Maturity last examination dance Attitude appropriate appropriate Moderate appropriate Table 3: Mental Retardation Table 4: Hearing Impairment Math Math Grade 1 Grade 1 16% of Age - - 55% Neutral Evaluation M Evaluation Grade Level Grade Level Hindi Hindi 15% of 5%of 5 yrs 3 20% of 25% ofyrs 6 13% 17% 80% Favorable 45% of 32% of48% ofyrs 5 33% of08% ofyrs 7 13% of 13% 5 yrs 8 m 9% 14% 5% 84% 9% Favorable 9% 80% Favorable 68% Neutral 30% ofGrade 1 25% of50% of Grade 1 Age 55% of Age 23% of 20% ofGrade 1yrs l0 Grade 1 22% of 24% ofyrs 7 Class Class 7/M/l 9/M/2 Grade 1 Grade 1 11/F/4 Grade 1 Grade 1 11/F/4 Grade 1 Grade 1 7/F/2 8/M/3 8/M/2 6/M/1 9% of Mild (Sangeeta)Mild Grade 1(Suaram) Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 1 (Brijesh) Moderate (Sufiya) Mild (Vandana) Severe +CP (Prema Devi)Profound (Shivakant) Moderate (Atul Kumar) Grade 1 Grade 1 (Kusuma)1 Grade Grade 1 SevereModerate 12/F/2 (Vinod) Severe 8/F/2 Severity(Name) Age/ Sex/ Severity Age/ (Name) Sex/ 132 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 Peers’ Peers’ Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Accept- Accept- 72% Favourable 86% Unfavourable Atten- Teacher’s Atten- Teacher’s Math ance Math ance 12% 77% Unfavourable 40% 73% Unfavourable 79% 81% 86% Favourable 54% 57% 83% Favourable -- -- Hindi Hindi m 11% 16% 42% Unfavourable m 13% 17% 78% Unfavourable Social Achievement in Social Achievement in Maturity last examination dance Attitude Maturity last examination dance Attitude yrs 6% 8% 81% Favourable appropriate appropriate 1 appropriate 1 appropriate 2 appropriate 2 appropriate 1 appropriate Table 5: Visual Impairment Table 6: Locomotors Impairment Math Math Grade 2 Evaluation Evaluation Grade Level Grade Level Hindi Hindi Grade 122% of Grade Grade 1 30% of15% of Grade Age 22% of19% of 7 25% of 9% 18% of5 yrs 7 22% of Age 36% ofGrade 2 43% of52% of Grade Grade 2 Age 62% of28% of Grade Age 41% of20% ofGrade 18 Yrs 9 15% of Grade 34% Age 36% 81% Neutral 25% of 65% of Age 50% 15% of 14% of Age Class Class 9/F/3 8/F/3 8/F/2 8/M/2 14/M/3 Totally blind Partially 60%40% 7/M/3 75% 11/M/5 I2/F/3 (Chhoteylal) (Saroj) Sighted(Vimla) Partially (Kamini) Partially Sighted Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 2 (Madhuraj)(Ranjeet) (Nasim) Grade 1(Nisha Devi) Grade 1 50%(Ritu Dixit) 6/F/1 Grade 1 Grade 1 (Rakshapal) Sighted Grade 1 Grade 1 (Name) Sex/ Severity Age/ Severity Age/ (Name) Sex/ Totally blind 40% 6/M/1 Evaluation of Inclusive Education Practices in Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA)... 133

in the school was found good with had unfavourable attitude towards IE. appropriate attendance; This implies that 50% students’ (g) Half of the teachers’ attitude towards population having disability is deprived these children was not favourable. of a caring and sincere teacher. The However peer acceptance was attitude of teachers may improve by positive at every instance. administrators. Based on the detailed study on (a) Tagging high priority by individual cases and schools on different administrators to the education of variables, some specific suggestions are children with disabilities with drawn from the above results which are continues observation and outlined below. monitoring of their classroom transactions; Level of learning achievement (b) Arranging more resource support The level of learning achievement was to teachers; found to be significantly low. It is oblivious (c) Recognising dedicated and skilled that disabling condition affects learning. teachers; However, the learning achievement of (d) Planning collaborative group works. these children would improve by: Teacher training and its impact (a) Appropriate resource support to school and teachers; Training of teachers receives top priority. (b) More input to teachers through in- Teacher training was conducted at three service training; different levels. At the first level, all (c) Exploring the possibility to frame general primary school teachers were and implement individualised provided intensive five-day training on education programme (IEP); and special education inputs, so that they (d) Giving importance to appropriate develop skills for identifying children with teaching-learning material. disabilities and recognising their special needs. At the second level, six-week (45 Teachers’ attitude days) training was imparted to selected For successful IE programme, teachers teachers, in which they become aware must be purposeful, enthusiastic and of practical issues concerning handling clear in their directions and instructions of various disabilities in the classrooms. to promote greater participation of At the third level, a small number of students with disabilities. Attitudinal highly motivated and interested teachers barrier concerns general educators’ lack are selected for intensive training of one- of feeling responsible for educating year duration or above. students with disabilities (Mishra,2004). In the present study, about 75% of During evaluation, about 50% of teachers teachers were oriented by 5 days were found to have positive attitude training. The number of second and third towards the special needs of such level teachers was very meager. children. At the same time 15% teachers Therefore, the general teachers did not were indifferent and rest 35% teachers get opportunity to be supervised or 134 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 helped by a resource teacher. The issue and five girls, the numbers of orthopaedic of teacher training may be examined with disabled (OD) children is the maximum the following suggestions: i.e., 06, then hearing impaired children (HI), 05; visually impaired (VI):02 and; one (a) Each NPRC, should get at least one child with mental retardation (MR). of these teachers trained at six The basic facts related to primary week level courses. school Attamau is given below: (b) The quality and methods of training also be standardised even for 5 day 1. Address: Village Attamau, Block training; Sandila, District Hardoi,U.P. 2. Building capacity to accommodate (c) A team of special educators must be (No. of Students): 150 available at block level to monitor 3. Total strength of students: 394 training and resource support to 4. Total strength of disabled students: general/resource teachers; 14 (d) Teacher training needs to be 5. Number of teachers;02 redefined and planned. 6. Teacher-student ratio: 1:197 Peer Acceptance 7. Number of classrooms:04 (including Varandah) Peer acceptance was very positive and 8. Training of teachers in lED 5 days encouraging at every school, wherever Training received by all teachers the study was carried out. Peers were 9. Resource support for lED: NGO supportive and different forms of peer (National Association for Blind, tutoring were observed. Every child Lucknow). irrespective of potential was found to be 10. Aids and Appliances: three children part of the group. Even few students with provided out of 8 required cases. severe form of disabilities were found to Different variables related to school be very comfortable with the group. as well as individuals towards meeting Better peer support could be encouraged the specific need are briefly described through integration camps and here: integrated/unified sports (Special Olympics) and ability competition (like (a) Drop-out Abilympics). During the last three years, seven EXEMPLAR CASE STUDIES children with disabilities have left the school — four children by promotion and APPENDIX-I three were dropped out. Amongst the dropout students, an orthopaedic Case Study: Primary School Attamau disabled child namely Shaharuddin and In Primary School Attamau, out of 394 a multiple disabled child Satyendra students, 14 children with disabilities Kumar had been shifted to elsewhere have been enrolled in different classes, leaving their place of residence. The which constitutes as 3.6% of the total parents of hearing impaired child namely school children. Among the nine boys Sarvesh were not interested to send him Evaluation of Inclusive Education Practices in Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA)... 135 to the school. Reportedly the parents of Govt. of Uttar Pradesh. The hearing aid Sarvesh were not satisfied with the possessed by Prema Devi was not academic achievement of their child working and Jalaluddin was reluctant to (whereas the normal siblings of Sarvesh come to school with caliper since it is are attending the same school). not well fitted. Four students were yet in need of hearing aids and Sangita would (b) Attendance require a caliper for her better mobility. Out of the currently enrolled 14 students, a hearing-impaired boy Vijay Pal was not (e) Individualised Programme coming to the school since the last six Plans of Individualised Educational months. Not less than five students like Programme (IEP) of Sarvesh Kumar Vijay Pal were very irregular to the (Visually Impaired), Pushpa Devi school. During the visit to the school, (Visually Impaired), Sofia (Mental nine students were present in their Retardation) and Prema Devi (Hearing respective classes. A specific observation Impaired) were found with the teachers, was made that the students with visual but many hearing impaired children did impairment and orthopaedic disability not have their IEPs. The special found to be regular. educators of the consulting NGO (National Association for Blind, (c) Transportation Lucknow), which was looking after the Theses children attend the school from implementation of lED programme in a radius of 0.51 km, ranging from 100 Hardoi, had developed these IEPs. The meters to 1 kilometer only. All children IEPs usually carry annualised goals for come by themselves except Sarvesh every student with disability, but all IEPs (visually impairment). He takes the help found in the school were maintained as from the peers. part of the record work but were not adequately implemented. Many technical (d) Incentives/Aids and Appliances jargons incomprehensive to the teachers All students with disabilities had been were observed in those IEPs. provided free textbooks. Two students, (f) Adaptation in Curriculum only, those with visual impairment, has been given scholarship under lED Adaptation in the curriculum and scheme of MHRD through a NGO namely evaluation process was found not being National Association for the Blind (NAB), practiced. This might be due to the lack Lucknow. Out of 14 students, eight of of orientation to the teachers. Oral tests them were in need of aids and were taken for Sarvesh Kumar (Visually appliances. However only three students Impaired) and Pushpa Kumari (Visually viz. Sarvesh Kumar was provided with Impaired) due to difficulties to evaluate Braille kit, Prema Devi with hearing aid their performance through Braille. Since and Jalaluddin with caliper (Ankle Foot hearing impaired children viz. Md. Orthosis-AFO) through different agencies Wakeel (Hearing Impaired), Neeraj including Deptt. of Handicapped Welfare, (Hearing Impaired) and Prema Devi 136 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

(Hearing Impaired) did not follow gestures and due to overcrowding instructions, then neither appropriate classroom they mostly ignored the special written test nor oral tests were needs of such children. According to the conducted. However they were asked to teachers, no specific attention was given write whatever they knew irrespective of to Sufiya (Mental Retardation) — other the requirement of the test. Sufiya than correcting her classroom behaviour (Mental Retardation) was reported to be through peers. The children with academically unfit by her teacher and orthopaedic disability do not require any hence no test was taken for her. There specific attention, since their peers was no difficulty for the students with manage their special needs. Since no orthopaedic disability for appearing the student is using wheelchair hence no tests. All students were promoted. significant physical barrier is reported in the school. The attitude of the peers (g) Academic Achievement was found to be positive to the children The academic achievement of the with disabilities. students with disabilities was reported to be nearly at par with the non-disabled (i) Resource Support peers. For example, Sarvesh Kumar As far as resource support to the school (Visually Impaired) achieved 55% in concerned, the services of a NGO Hindi, 59% in Mathematics and 55% in (National Association for Blind, Social Studies in the last examination. Lucknow) had been hired for their Pushpa Devi (Visually Impaired) even did services under DPEP-IED Scheme. Their better than Sarvesh Kumar (Visually special educators covering all disabilities Impaired). Incidentally a mentally used to visit the school at least 2-3 times retarded girl, Sufiya had 40% in Hindi, in a month. The quality of resource 45% in Mathematics and 36% in Social support for the visually impaired Studies in her last examination of Class children was observed to be good. III; although she did not appear for the Overall, the role of school was found to examination. The level of performance of be positive towards education of CWSNs. the students observed during evaluation Despite large number of students in the by the investigator did not match with classrooms, teachers were observed to the past examination records. have genuine interest towards the (h) Attitudes of Teacher and Peers betterment of such children. Amar Singh, Class teacher of Sarvesh APPENDIX-ll Kumar (Visually Impaired) has started learning Braille and for him the Case Study: Child with Hearing classroom transaction for the visually Impairment in Primary School, Sathri impaired students is no more a challenge. Atul Kumar with moderate hearing loss However Shri Singh and his fellow was enrolled two years back to Primary teacher found difficulty to handle the School at Sathri. Now he is studying hearing impaired children in their in Class II under the class teacher classrooms. Sometimes they used Ms. Nidhi Srivastava. According to Evaluation of Inclusive Education Practices in Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA)... 137

Ms. Srivastava, he could write complete This suggests that Atul is performing Hindi alphabets, identify simple words about one grade level below than his and count meaningfully up to 10. actual grade. Before admitted to school, Atul had Atul hails from a higher middle socio- difficulty in hearing as well as in economic status family with well-built speaking. He did not prefer to play and house and handsome monthly income. many a time he used to hit young The parents perceive no problem children. Over the years, Atul has learnt regarding management of his condition. how to play. But today, the problem of Now Atul has been provided with a hearing and speaking still is unsolved. hearing aid by the school and since then At the age of one year, when Atul did the parents have come forward with their not speak and hear like normal children, interest towards speech training for Atul. then parents recognised that he has Parents acknowledge the role of school some problem. When Atul was conceived, as well teacher in bringing up the child. his mother was only 16. At the age of 2-3 Parents perceive that Atul would be months, Atul fell down and had head self-dependent in his life and the family injury and at the 7th month he had high would support him to open a shop (or fever and was hospitalised. The parents similar jobs) as soon as he is grown up consulted several doctors at Hardoi and and learnt something. However, parents Lucknow. Hearing aid was recommended feel that Atul could learn better if he shall for the child, but the parents did not be admitted to a deaf school. provide to him. Except, speech and The class teacher of Atul, Ms. Nidhi language area, all milestones of has undergone ten days training of development were within the normal ‘Master Trainers’ at M.J.P. Rohilkhand range. Currently Atul has begun to University during May, 1999. Ms Nidhi imitate few sounds like etc and able to feels competent in classroom comprehend name of the objects if management, use of TLM; but finds spoken to him by gestures. Atul is difficulty in undertaking speech and independent in his activities of daily language training of Atul. Many a times living. He has adequate age-appropriate she fails to explain some abstract social skills except a few problem concepts due to communication behaviours. On Vineland Social Maturity barriers with Atul. According to the Scale, an above average profile was teacher, her training has helped her to obtained in self-help dressing and strengthen the enrolment status of occupation dimensions. Atul has disabled students in her school. But significant difficulties in communication when the training aspect is considered, skill such as understanding at gesture she explains her incompetence in level only; speech is limited to imitation preparing Individualised Educational of few sounds. Speech regarding (lips Programmes (IEPs) and implementing reading) skill is not developed yet. In them if specific and special techniques academics, on grade level assessment to be used. To help Atul, the teacher 50% achievement was obtained in Hindi wishes to have further training such as and 55% in Mathematics of grade one. undergoing a ‘Foundation Course’ etc. 138 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

The class teacher is not satisfied with too, can draw and paint nicely; the the current achievement of Atul. She teacher is good to them and loves says that the performance of the child Atul and such children. When Atul could be improved if barriers in was asked about him, he said that he communication are managed effectively. would love playing cricket. However, According to her, parents are supportive, Atul was not happy about his hearing aid but they need counselling from an expert because of its poor control on noise. in the management of hearing It was observed that the teacher is impairment. Teacher perceived the personally and professionally devoted to society as changing very fast with the cause. Her level of motivation seems supportive attitude towards children to be high in terms of receiving resource with special needs including Atul. consultation and pursuing further The peers of Atul, namely Jyoti, training. Although, not of good quality and Mahendra, Rajesh, Arti and Shiv Devi wide range, but teaching learning mate- do not find any significant different rials (TLM) were found in the school at used between Atul and them. According to condition. Peer acceptance and support them Atul plays well and is very friendly was observed to be exceptionally good.

REFERENCES

JANGIRA, N.K. 1987. Project on Integrated Education for Disabled — A Document. New Delhi, NCERT. HART, S. 1992. Differentiation Part of the Problem from the Part of the Solution? The curriculum Journal, B (2). MHRD. 2002. Short Term Study in lED: New Delhi, Govt. of India. –––––––. 2006. Elementary Education and Literacy. In Annual Report 2005-06. New Delhi, Government of India. –––––––. 2007. Elementary Education and Literacy. In Annual Report 2006-07. New Delhi, Government of India. MISHRA, A. 2002a. Short Term Evaluation of IED in DPEP- The Project Report, Lucknow, UPEFAPB. MISHRA, A. 2002b. Teacher Education in Special Education. In R.P. Singh et al. (Eds); Teacher Education in Turmoil, New Delhi, Sterlings Publications Pvt. Ltd. –––––––––. 2003. Innovation and challenges in Education of Children with Special Needs. In B. Shah (Ed) Re- Engineering Education. Agra: Y.K. Publishers. –––––––––. 2004. Evaluation of Inclusive Education Practices and Implications for SSA in U.P. Paper presented in National Seminar on Management of Inclusive Education, organised by NUEPA, New Delhi, 4-6 October 2004. RAO D.B. 1998. District Primary Education Programme. New Delhi, Discovery Publishing House. RATHAIAH, L. and D.B. RAO. 1997. International Innovation in Education, New Delhi, Discovery Publishing House. World Declaration on Education For All (WDEFA). 1990. Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs, Article-3, Clause 5. Some Problems of Human Rights Education 139

Some Problems of Human Rights Education

SHANKAR SHARAN*

It has been said that the democracy is based on the rights of man; it has been replied that it should rather take its stand on the duties of man; but both rights and duties are European ideas. Dharma is the Indian conception in which rights and duties lose the artificial antagonism created by a view of the world which makes selfishness the root of action, and regain their deep and eternal unity. Dharma is the basis of democracy which Asia must recognise, for in this lies the distinction between the soul of Asia and the soul of Europe. —Sri Aurobindo It is time in the West to defend not so much human rights as human obligations. —Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Abstract

Human Rights is becoming a very significant concept in the contemporary world. At the same time its use and misuse is also a much contested area. Theoretical, political and juridical pronouncements on the subject are as diverse as are the countries in the world. In the event, the Human Rights education becomes a tricky subject. Various agencies, organizations and individuals interpret the very concept of Human Rights in hugely different ways, frequently contradicting each other. On the other hand their uses for covert and overt purposes in the international arena generate heated polemics. Therefore, we in India have to be careful while imparting Human Rights education through various channels and to a range of target groups. This essay tries to underline some of the essential issues in this regard. If the conceptual differences, political overtones and activist agenda are not carefully taken into account, the Human Rights education cannot serve a positive purpose in this country. Our teachers and educationists must care for all the nuances and should not be carried away by any one or other declaration on the subject.

*Lecturer, DERPP, NCERT, New Delhi. 140 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

Human right is an oft repeated phrase as the source of human rights concept is these days. However, its intent and a post-colonial wisdom, and not quite objectives are widely different for different innocent. After all, one may ask: why so people. Words and deeds of many much concern for the human rights of activists here and abroad, demands of those very human beings after they various NGOs, their political became free from the colonial rule of the orientations, a systematic selection or Western masters? Is the concern exclusion of issues, their sources of genuine, or is it a new variant of the financial support and inspirations – all proverbial ‘white man’s burden’? The these present a complex gamut of great historian Arnold Toynbee had problems. Validating all kind of demands rightly underlined the point by asking the and posturing under an umbrella West: “What entitles its culture, its concept of human rights sometimes science, its social organisation, finally its become a contradictory exercise. It would rationality itself, to be able to claim be in order, therefore, to first consider universal reality? Was this not a mirage some pertinent points related to the associated with economic domination concept of human rights. and political hegemony?” (a) Every introductory discourse on (c) The concept of ‘human’ as well as human rights invariably mentions that ‘rights’ do not have any universal the concept has been largely derived from meaning. At least three major and the ‘The Declaration of Independence’ fundamentally different formulations (USA, 1776) and the ‘Declaration of the exist in the world. They are: the Western- Rights of Man and Citizen’ (France, Christian, the Arab-Islamic and the 1789). After these customarily comes the Indian-Hindu. Any standard discourse in United Nations Declaration of Human these three thought currents proves it Rights (1948). Thus, almost all academic beyond doubt that each of them has presentations on human rights fundamentally different notions of underline the experiences, expositions human beings, human society, etc. and even the verbiage of the Euro- Therefore, it is not correct to pronounce American history and agencies. some ‘universal’ human rights without (b) The slogan of human rights came to first arriving at a genuine consensus acquire more prominence much after the with clear-cut meaning of the term. Second World War, i.e. in the post- (d) Though there are some valuable ideas colonial era. It is surprising, therefore, generated in the historical development that when dozens of Asian, African and of the Euro-American democracies, it is Arab countries were under the colonial still imperative to note that the yoke – the same Western scholarship did experience of a Western observer may not never call human rights as a universal tally with that of countries that are noble right. This was despite the fact that culturally and philosophically very the aforementioned celebrated different such as India or Japan. One has documents were already there for a long only to consult the classic writings of time. Hence pointing to those documents Lenin, Sri Aurobindo, Winston Churchill Some Problems of Human Rights Education 141 and Ayatollah Khomeini, and it will be common humanity and his common apparent at once that the very human rights.”2 It must not be glossed understanding of what a human over that a similar evangelical sense constitutes and concepts like liberty, pervades in those human rights equality, democracy, progress, organisations guided by Church happiness, rights, duties, etc. has never missionary establishments. And they are been one and the same for different numerous and well-connected in our people. For instance, Sri Aurobindo says: country. So it should be recognised that by human rights they don’t always mean This was the weakness of what common educated Indian might European democracy and the assume. For a large section of source of its failure. It took its international human rights motive the rights of man and not organisations the universalism is the the dharma of humanity; it Church concept of universalism which appealed to the selfishness of the has one closed concept of God, one lower classes against the pride of dogmatic designation of the deity, one the upper; it made hatred and fixed form of faith, one regimented mode internecine war the permanent of worship, one rigid moral conduct, and allies of Christian ideals and one straight-jacket of culture. wrought an inexplicable Accordingly the universalism of the confusion which is the modern prevalent view of human rights, too, is a malady of Europe.1 dogma insisting on a Western-Christian With this profound view a comparison notion of man and, therefore, equally of those Western documents would reveal counterfeit. the fundamental difference on the whole (f) Not only the dogmatic insistence is a issue. Then, one may ask, why force a forged universalism, but also this particular, uniform meaning, citing the persistence on forcible uniformity, US, UN or other Western documents, on whether in religion (‘Only True God’) or all people of the world? Especially on the in human rights, reflects an imperialist young and innocent students of Asian mindset that has been the root cause of nations who habitually trust their elders civilizational violence for centuries. Even on points of knowledge? Western scholars are now coming to (e) In a sense, the insistence to project realise that the monotheistic creeds are something as ‘universal’ human rights the source of intolerance and violence. is an extension of the Western dogmas. In a very perceptive article Jean-Pierre The well known British political scientist Lehmann has clearly held monotheism Ernest Barker has noted that the genesis responsible for intolerance, violence, of the humanitarian movement in the hostility and wars3 . Professor Lehmann West was a fervent conviction “that the is a Professor of Political Economy at the benefits of the Gospel belonged to all and International Institute of Management must be extended to all …whoever Development in Switzerland and the needed the comfort of recognition of his head of Evans Group, a global think tank 142 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 composed of government, industry and the human race…. Man has not opinion leaders from Asia, Europe and been seen by the thought of India the US. His is not an isolated perception. as a living body developed by Andrew Sullivan, the former editor of The physical Nature which has New Republic and currently a regular evolved certain vital propensities, contributor to the New York Times, has an ego, a mind and a reason, an also underlined it. He says, “It seems as animal of the genus homo and in if there is something inherent in religious our case of the species homo monotheism that lends itself to terrorist indicus, whose whole life and temptation.”4 Taking yet another education must be turned example, the widely respected Time towards a satisfaction of these magazine published a readers discussion propensities under the on ‘Christianity, Islam and the Pope’. In government of a trained mind and this discussion the Time gave the most reason and for the best advantage prominent place to this view: of the personal and the national “Monotheistic religions that lay claim to ego. … India has seen always in the one and the only possible truth are man the individual a soul, a doomed by their very nature to end up portion of the Divinity enwrapped in conflict”5 . The very selection and the in mind and body, a conscious distinction given to it shows that the view manifestation in Nature of the is gaining ground in the Western universal self and spirit.6 discourse as well. With such perceptions In fact, Sri Aurobindo was only it is inescapable to conclude that an reiterating the classical Hindu thought. insistence on a particular, Western- The earliest definition of human being Christian understanding of human in Hindu tradition is to be found in rights is another variation of the same Upanishads. The rishis who by employing monotheism. Thus, the Western notion yogic methods reached the farthest of human rights, in as much as it is frontiers of the inner in human being bandied as a universal remedy for many arrived at the conclusion that human ills, is itself a source of intolerance for a (dks"k) large section of humanity. This must be being have five faculties or sheaths , taken into account if one is sincere about one within the other. These they the rights of the human. enumerated as follows: (i) human body or the physical sheath (vUue; dks"k), (g) To better appreciate the issue it would (ii) human desires and drives, or the vital help to compare the Western-Christian (izk.ke; dks"k) concept with the Indian-Hindu concept sheath , (iii) human sense of a human being. As Sri Aurobindo perceptions or the mental (eukse; dks"k), rightly observed: (iv) human intellection and intuition at their highest and most universal or the There are very different (foKkue; dks"k) conceptions possible of man and spiritual sheath , and, (v) his life, of the nation and its life human self-delight or the blissful sheath and of humanity and the life of (vkuane; dks"k). Some Problems of Human Rights Education 143

Thus, a wise reflection on the Indian Sri Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi and dharmic concept of human beings is of Dr Ambedkar, if not the classic immense worth to evaluate the philosophies available in the Upnishads universalistic claims of the Western and Mahabharata, for instance. In the human rights discourse. The sense of Indian context there is no escaping from human there does not go much beyond such a most valuable corpus of the first three sheaths and, knowledge and understanding. If human consequently, limits a human being little rights organisations and activists in more than an eating and procreating India are reluctant to study Sri animal, even if a rational one. In Aurobindo or Gandhi as essential texts common parlance, too, a human being in order to understand human issues, in the current Western outlook is they must answer: what they fear? basically a free consumer and a tax- (j) In hectoring discourses on human 7 payer . How can, then, it be accepted as rights in India a particular community the ‘universal’ viewpoint except by using is targeted for abuse or insensitivity to propaganda and force? human rights. For instance, some (h) Apart from the fundamental ‘untouchability’ is always bandied, in philosophical difference on the concept almost every paper or seminar or of a human being, one should not educational programme, as an, nay the underestimate the fact that the concept example of human rights issue. of human rights has been greatly Untouchability is also directly or different for the erstwhile USSR, South indirectly mentioned as a part of Africa during its apartheid, Saudi Arab standard Hindu religious practice which and Algeria etc.8 China today insists that is, of course, a concoction. But that is the human rights issue is nothing but a beside the point. The point is that stick in the hands of powerful Western nowhere in the human rights discussion agencies to threaten certain countries the practice of ‘triple talak’ as a and make them subservient. Therefore, sanctioned and vigourously defended enforcing in our country a Western pro Islamic practice is mentioned as against forma human rights discourse in human rights. Even while flaunting education is both arbitrary and harmful. ‘women rights’ no human rights activist One must include the non-Western views or institution ever bring up the recurring on the issue to make the discourse plight of Muslim women by all kind of meaningful. Refusing to do so will only mediaeval, barbaric practices not limited prove the charge that the ‘universalism’ to triple talaq 9 but including many others is forced and phony. like Muta’h10 (temporary marriage), (i) For a balanced, comprehensive and infibulations (aka FGC, FGM)11 , forcible meaningful understanding of what is veil-wearing etc. Various fatwas12 of ‘human’ and all concepts related to Ulema and its actual implementation on human society it is essential to study the several hapless Indian Muslim women views of at least the contemporary great have made tragic stories in media. But Indians such as Swami Vivekananda, no human rights activist seemed even 144 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 to take note of it. Similarly, the treatment international missionary organisations of kafirs (non-Muslims) in standard eager to help the victims with the clear Islamic theory and practices are nowhere intent of ‘harvesting souls’. The criticised as an abuse. In stark concerned organisations, too, never deny contrast to all this, despite being stray it, they only try to bury it under silence. incidents of dalit maltreatment — that So, why the fraudulent, unethical too not at all sanctioned or approved by practices upon simple human beings are the Hindu society — a war cry is being not taken up as human rights abuse in tried by some missionary organisations any human rights discourse? ‘to liberate 160 million dalits’ as a part of (l) In all human rights documents, human rights movement. This selective papers, memoranda, seminar only the badgering of the Hindu community and state is presented as violators of human forcing it into a guilt sense is not fair. rights. Consequently all remedies, Why this discriminatory targeting and safeguards, solutions are addressed to selective silence? Are some communities, it. In India, most human rights violations, to recall George Orwell, more humans tortures, killings and other atrocities on than humans? Or is it something entirely human beings are done by criminals, else being tried under the garb of human fundamentalists and terrorists. rights education in India? Therefore, no rationale can be found for (k) There have been well-recorded the silence of the human rights activists reports, complaints and repercussions of over such huge number of violations as missionary activities in India. The Niyogi if the victims of non-state aggressors are Committees’ detailed report (1956), the less worthy humans! Besides, a Wadhwa Commission report after the democratic state such as India is subject killing of the Australian missionary to every type of control by people and Graham Stains (1999) and various news institutions. To present a democratic appearing every year in India about state as the ‘other’ and an adversary fraudulent activities in mass conversions does not indicate a healthy attitude on in tribal and distant, hidden areas are the part of human rights activists. for everyone to see. Still the notorious (m) The issues of rights and duties, practices by whom Mao called ‘spiritual particularly in the global context, do have aggressors’, of buying some poor or political connotations often representing innocent man’s faith by muscular and some selfish interest. Russian and unethical ‘rice bowl’ methods is never Chinese scholars and governments have taken up as a gross human right abuse. resented on occasions that the human Why? Please note: no one has ever rights issue has been used by some challenged the facts and findings of Western forces as a whip to control and the Commissions about the fraud punish some unfriendly regimes the being committed by missionary world over. Other scholars such as Homi organisations13 . After every natural Bhaba, Gayatri Spivak or Edward Said calamity like earthquake, tsunami and have also underlined that many war-devastation news appears of theorisations about the coloured (Negro, Some Problems of Human Rights Education 145 black) people in the West is but one way university programmes, the later also of dominating its stranglehold on them. comes under close watch and necessary Our own observers have also noted the measures is taken. In the same way, in same: India, if a same source funds the spiritual There was a time when every aggression programme to ‘Convert Asia’ “local tyrant” was in fact a client and the NGOs engaged in human rights or a protégé of the West. What the activism, one must treat the latter in a white powers find most similar way. The vigour to spread ‘human troublesome today is having to rights literacy’ may be a subterfuge to keep track of the fast-changing prepare ground for ‘planting the Cross’. identities of friends and foes in a Or, alternatively, to work as public turbulent region like the Middle relation propaganda outfits for religious East. After all every outstanding terrorism15 . nationalist leader in the area – One may recall that Shri K P S Gill, Nasser, Ben Bella, Gaddafi, the former chief of the Punjab police, has Assad, Khomeini – has taken on time and again stressed that several the appearance of a monster in human rights organisations active here the white man’s eyes at one time are but the front for terrorist or another. If none of them organisations. According to his long, first invited the kind of vengeance hand experience, “Such organisations being wreaked on Saddam are not at all interested in genuine Hussein it is because, unlike the investigations in human rights rest, the Iraqi leader has hit the violations, they repeatedly reject offers white world where it hurts to cooperate in sincere inquiry. Their sole most.14 purpose is to malign the security forces, Therefore, behind the concerns for and how to tarnish the image of the Chechens, Palestinians, Tibetans or country.”16 Such warnings should not be Bosnian Muslims and a willful brushed aside if we are sincere in our indifference to the plight of Kashmiri educational undertakings. Hindus, for instance, there have been (o) Therefore, before accepting any thing covert and overt interests of some as a human right, especially for the Western powers, both governmental purpose of educational, training, and non-governmental. So we must ‘sensitising’ programmes, an open learn to check the credentials of human consensus must be made with the rights enthusiasts and educators before participation of hundreds and thousands giving them respectability and of educational, social, cultural, political responsibility. worthies of every stream as to what (n) After the 9/11 terrorist attack the should and what should not include into Western governments have been the concept of human rights in India. A scrutinising the sources for terror cogent, precise definition of human funding. In the process if a source is found rights must come first before funding a terror network as well as some disseminating it. 146 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

(p) Basic texts for such educational and and Dr Ambedkar are more humane, training programmes should include at faultless or pertinent for the purpose least the contemporary Indian classics of understanding and training around such as the Chicago Speech (Swami the subject human rights. Therefore, Vivekananda), Ideals of Human Unity, in any educational course, syllabi Foundations of Indian Culture and and essential reading materials as well Uttarpada Speech (Sri Aurobindo), Hind as for training, sensitising programmes Swaraj (Mahatma Gandhi), On the precedence should be given to the Untouchables and Untouchability and The thoughts of these Indian great Great Conversion (B.R. Ambedkar). It is thinkers. Only then our students and hugely profitable to compare the ideas officials can fully appreciate the Western and ideals presented in the Chicago documents in perspective. Then they Speech and the Ideals of Human Unity will be more realistic, wise and confident with the celebrated Western documents in the matters related with human like ‘The Declaration of Independence’ rights. (USA) and the ‘Declaration of the Rights In any case, a vague, sectarian and of Man and Citizen’ (France). selfish concept of human beings and It is worth recalling in the context of human rights cannot serve as a good the Western documents that the foundation. It is essential that the maltreatment of black population in concept be suitably understood for the Europe and the USA continued under the purpose of education and training of reign of the very celebrated documents! officials, administrators and educators. Evidently there was no contradiction for Without having a comparative the West treating its own black people understanding of the nature of human and the subject peoples of the erstwhile beings and the consequent scope of what Asian, African colonies heartlessly while is being perceived as human rights, at the same time claiming such especially for our country, various declarations as the main, practically the institutions and agencies might be only source of ideas related to human working to dissimilar purposes and to progress and liberation. Also, it is no their own narrow, sectarian and coincidence that every totalitarian concealed intentions. Without this ideology of the twentieth century was understanding our policy makers, manufactured in the West and bears the administrators, officers, students, marks of its provenance. In any case, teachers and educational institutions “The scientific, rationalistic, industrial, might feel bewildered very soon as to pseudo-democratic civilization of the what is behind the idea of human rights West is now in process of dissolution and sensitisation. Is it to make people more it would be a lunatic absurdity for us at humane or bitterer? Is it to make them this moment to build blindly on that more lenient to all kind of imperialist sinking foundation”17 . ideologies and terrorism? Is it to make All this boils down to the fact that people kind or more selfish, more dutiful the ideas and ideals presented by Swami or more right oriented, more social or Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Gandhi more indifferent? We all must find out, Some Problems of Human Rights Education 147 with an open mind, free from pre- outer instrumental self and not his whole fabricated constructs and given dogmas, being.” Always keeping this difference in and free from the ‘moral’ pressure mind can we make any social science generated by vested interests. We must discourse more relevant and thought- continue our search and discourse provoking? Losing it will make our entire keeping in mind what Sri Aurobindo had academic exercise, as it has largely been, called the difference between the just a pathetic repetition of frequently spiritual and mental view of existence: changing (and often serving a particular “The spiritual view holds that the mind, ‘national’ interest) Western doctrines and life, body are man’s means and not his theories. It has not made our social aims and even that they are not his last science academics respectable on the and highest means; it sees them as his world arena.

REFERENCES

1SRI AUROBINDO, “Asiatic Democracy”, Bande Mataram, March 16, 1908. 2ERNEST BARKER, Principles of Social and Political Theory (London: Oxford University Press, 1967), pp. 242-43. 3JEAN-PIERRE LEHMANN, “The Dangers of Monotheism in the Age of Globalisation” in The Globalist, (online daily), Washington, March 30, 2006. 4ANDREW SULLIVAN, “Is this a religious war?” in Span, the journal of the US Embassy in New Delhi, March-April 2002. 5CAROLYN D. LEWIS in Time , New York, Dec. 25, 2006/January 1, 2007. 6SRI AUROBINDO, “A Preface on National Education” in Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on Education (Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 2004), thirteenth impression, pp. 14-15. 7GANDHI’S Hind Swaraj has a small chapter on the ‘philosophy of civilization’ where Gandhi very perceptively analysed the lopsided view of the human being in the Western discourse. 8 See, for example, SAMUIL ZIVS, Human Rights: Continuing the Discussion (Moscow: Progress Publishers), 1980. Representing the erstwhile Soviet ideology Zivs has presented an understanding of human rights which is very from the Western notion or that represented by Amnesty Interna- tional or Human Rights Watch etc. 9 Citing instances of women being summarily divorced, over phone and through telegrams, noted lyricist Hasan Kamal calls it “a heinously irresponsible act which cannot be challenged in court because our personal law says it is fine. Would you believe, some men have actually divorced their wives because they were displeased with the meal prepared by them?!’’ (Indian Express, online edition, 13 Sept 2004). However, in general Muslim representatives do not speak about it. They also want others to keep mum since they regard it as an internal affair of Islam. Therefore, not open under human rights or any other consideration. According to Tahseen Usmani, for instance, “Whether triple talaq in one sitting is valid or not cannot be decided by discussions, arguments and counter- arguments in newspapers and TV channels. This sensitive issue could only be solved by ulema, muftis and religious scholars belonging to different schools of thought within the limits of Shariat.” (“Why media is worried about triple talaq” by in The Milli Gazette, New Delhi, October 16-31, 2004). 148 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

10 Muta’h is a fixed-term marriage contract according to Shariat (Islamic law). The duration of this type of marriage is fixed at its inception and is then automatically dissolved upon completion of its term. The duration can be of any length, even few minutes or hours. By its very nature its intent is questionable. To exemplify, an incident in Hyderabad: “In ten minutes of one another, Afreen (17), Farheen (20) and Sultana (19) were married. To a stinking rich 60-year-old sheikh from the Emirates named Mohammed Baquer Khan. He paid the parents of the Rs 10,000 each and promised another Rs 10,000 each plus visas for their families to move to the UAE.” (The Telegraph, Calcutta, 15 August 2005). The girls filed a complaint with police that the sheikh had disappeared after spending several days with them at a city lodge. This is not an isolated incident. For its frequent occurrence it has got a particular name in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala: ‘Arab marriage’. To take another example, in Kashmir numerous foreign jihadis used it at will to satisfy their lust. Noted columnist Varsha Bhosle wrote, “Under Mutah, a militant could enter into a contract marriage for, say, a period of two years with a girl of his choice, and on completion of that period, the marriage stood automatically annulled. Thereafter, the girl is left to her own fate, with the burden of social stigma and the responsibility of single-handedly rearing the progeny of the union for the rest of her life.” (‘Human Rights Violations in Kashmir’, rediff.com, 25 January 2000 ). 11 Infibulation is also known as female genital mutilation (FGM), female genital cutting (FGC) etc. The UN documents use the terminology of FGM. For a brief description, see the “Female genital mutilation”, Fact sheet N°241, May 2008, by World Health Organisation. In Islamic texts it is referred to as khafd or khifad. FGC is practiced in mostly Islamic countries. Especially in Middle East and Africa. As a result, according to World Health Organisation, every year two million young girls die of sepsis or loss of blood. (Oriana Fallaci, The Force of Reason, (New York: Rizzoli International, 2006), p. 220). For a detailed exposition of the problem and horror see Marianne Sarkis, “Female Genital Cutting (FGC): An Introduction” (http://www.fgmnetwork.org/intro/fgmintro.php). To raise awareness about this barbaric practice the United Nations has declared February 6 as “International Day Against Female Genital Mutilation”. Also see, “Female Genital Mutilation: Report of a WHO Technical Working Group, Geneva, 17-19 July, 1995.” World Health Organisation: Geneva. 1996. The renowned author Ayaan Hirsi Ali has described it in her famous book, “Infidel” (New York: Free Press, 2007), pps 112-113,143. This is useful to understand the feelings of a hapless victim of FGC. Still, Islamic scholars defend the practice. In 1994, Egyptian Mufti Sheikh Jad Al-Hâqq argued that the procedure may not be banned simply on grounds of improper use. Al-Azhar University in Cairo had issued several fatwas endorsing FGC, in 1949, 1951 and 1981. (http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Female_genital_cutting). Similarly, Sheikh Musa Mohammed Omer, a member of the Executive Committee of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Ethiopia explained and defended the practice. During the sub-regional conference on female genital mutilation in February 2005 in Djibouti he explained (in an interview, given to IRIN, an UN information network) the position of Islam in relation to FGM and why he continues to supports certain forms of the practice Q: Why is the practice of female circumcision important in the Muslim religion? A: Our Islamic scholars believe that female circumcision is different from male circumcision. They have a strong view that female circumcision is allowed, and that there is no evidence from Islamic sources prohibiting female circumcision, unless it is pharaonic (for full text of the interview see http://www.irinnews.org/InDepthMain.aspx? InDepthId=15&ReportId=62475). Some Problems of Human Rights Education 149

12 See, “Text of the Question and fatwa on Imrana” in The Milli Gazette, New Delhi, 6 July 2005. Imrana Case: The woman was raped by her father-in-law. However instead of proceeding under the criminal courts for action as a first recourse, a Fatwa was issued by Dar – Ul – Uloom [Deoband] stating her marriage with her husband to stand nullified and directing her to marry her father-in-law. Gudia’s case: Her husband went missing for 7 years which entitled her to consider the marriage dissolved according to Islamic laws. She contracted a second marriage. During her pregnancy from the second marriage her first husband returned. The religious leaders [of Deoband] pronounced a fatwa declaring her second marriage as void and directed her to return to her first husband without any consideration of the woman’s choice. (Indira Jaisingh, “Working with the legislative, judicial and legal system to end institutional gender bias in the administration of justice and promote gender justice in the informal and parallel justice institutions”, 18th-20th July 2007, Expert Group Meeting on CEDAW UNESCAP). 13 The Wadhwa Commission found that Graham Stains was not only a social worker but also a jealous missionary committed to spread of his faith and converting the tribals into Christianity. This resulted in group conversions of poor tribals, which is illegal in law. This was the root cause of anger among a section of the local Hindu population. About the Wadhwa Commission’s findings the Times of India in its editorial (9 August 1999) commented, “This, however, is not to suggest that the [Wadhwa] report must be unreservedly welcomed. Some Christian organisations, for instance, have pointed to what certainly seem like discrepancies.” Use of the word ‘discrepancies’ is a reluctant way to admit the truth of the report. 14 SHAM LAL, “The White Man’s Burden” in A Hundred Encounters (New Delhi: Rupa, 2003), p. 206. 15 Some people object to the term. They should note that our National Security Adviser, one of the highest responsible official in our country, Shri M.K. Narayanan not only uses the term ‘religious terrorism’ but also consider it ‘the greatest challenge’ to the country. See Dainik Tribune, Chandigarh, 30 Nov. 2006. 16 From the speech delivered at a book release function held in New Delhi, Sept. 9, 2006. 17 SRI AUROBINDO, “A Preface on National Education” in the reference no. 6 above, p. 11. 150 Journal of Indian Education August 2009

Book Review

Growing Up As a Woman Writer counterpart in every way.” She expresses AUTHOR: JASBIR JAIN confidence in education and a career- PUBLISHER: Sahitya Akademi orientation as a means of achieving this. ISBN 978-81-260-2547-3 Sobti also asserts, ‘Why should we be anxious to invent a new moral value for Pages: xxii+528 Price: Rs.220/- woman writers? Let us not create two Growing up as a Woman Writer is a separate categories of writing.’ The compilation of proceedings of two central thesis/argument being that seminars organised by the Sahitya categorising literature on the basis of Akademi in 2001 at New Delhi and in gender can lead to an unequal footing 2005 at Hyderabad. Edited by Jasbir for women. After all, women writers are Jain, the book is broadly divided into five increasingly no longer at the margin but sections. very much a part of main stream The first section presents two literature. reflective essays by Nabaneeta Dev Sen It was the second section of the book, and Krishna Sobti on the status of ‘Growing up as a Woman Writer’ that I Women’s Writing in India. In her essay personally found most appealing. This Nabaneeta Dev Sen stresses upon section has the potential and material gender equality. She urges one to rise to motivate any aspiring creative writer. above gender-bound writing as it often The representation of writers in this becomes a self-defeating act. As a woman section is from different walks of life, writer one needs to widen one’s horizon regions, languages, religions and socio- and talk about every issue that is economic strata which, serves as an relevant to society. There is nothing that excellent illustration of the fact that is the sole prerogative of male writers. creative writing is neither the prerogative Instead, women need to take every one of a select few nor an inborn talent. along and while doing so they will also Comprising experiences of eleven be able to free men from the ‘chains of contemporary women writers, this masculinity’. In a nutshell, women autobiographical section narrates how writers need to rise above limiting labels their journeys led them to becoming and narrow definitions and aspire for a writers in a male dominated society. humanistic focus in their work. Here we get to share the journey of Krishna Sobti speaks in a similar vein women writers such as Mridula Garg, and emphasises that creative writing is Padma Sachdev, Jeelani Bano, Rajee and should be above gender, caste, colour Seth and Indira Goswami to name a few. and creed. To quote her, “a woman is The stories these writers had heard handling her text and her life with new during their childhood, their keen energies, self confidence and vibrancy observation of life, the insatiable desire and wants to be the equal of her male to read more books along with a mature Book Review 151 sensitivity towards their immediate why I write is like asking me why I live. I environment (physical and social) and live thinking of the works yet to be the much needed encouragement from written. If I cannot write, I cannot derive family are listed as having helped them any pleasure from life.’ The act of writing become creative writers in their own here expresses a sense of discovery, respect. Often, it was the will to triumph freedom and connecting with other against all odds. To quote Mridula Garg, people as well as a sense of achievement. “challenge in any form is the propelling Particularly striking is J. force of all creativity and I have no dearth Bhagyalakshmi’s ‘The Giver’ wherein she of it. Each bout of criticism and writes, “I give you full freedom,” he said. excommunication by male writers and I smiled and asked, “Where was my critics, or male dominated female critics freedom till now?” and writers gave me fresh reasons to The fifth and final section titled, continue and write, the only way I knew ‘Histories, Positions and Redefinitions’ how.” These reflective journeys also are critical essays that question the underline the need for encouragement existing literary canons. The of women writers. As Meena Kakodkar representation of thought herein extends says, “being a writing woman, to manage from the personal to the political, from the house, office and continue writing creative to critical opinions and indeed, would not have been very easy without from Kashmir to Kanyakumari! the encouragement, and support of my Lipipuspa Nayak in her essay, ‘The parents and family.” Feminist Interrogation’ raises some very The third section titled ‘Different valid questions — ‘…This leaves me with Frames’ is a collection of sixteen the problematic: feminist concerns evocative stories by representative remaining the common denominator in Indian women writers such as Bama’s the writings of writers across times and ‘Annach,’ Volga’s ‘Confluence’, Shashi gender, what is the true feminist canon? Deshpande’s, ‘Hear me, Sanjay …’, And has the canon been interrogated Neelum Saran Gour’s ‘The Birth’ …These only by women writers? Can a text that stories remind one of an orchestra, each meets the parameters of feminist playing a different tune, representing a literature be accepted by a large section different reality and yet maintaining a of society?’ Another notable discussion harmonious core. Thus, the issues dealt is on how the mainstream feminist with in this section range from the movement did not address the concerns problems of the aged, gender exploitation, of Dalit women during the struggle for the struggle for acceptance in the society, independence. Victims of centuries of partition, oppression etc. social, political, economic, cultural and The fourth section ‘Songs of the Birds religious pressures, Dalit women deserve of Fire’ is an overwhelming array of representation in the struggle for dignity. emotions. Written in free verse, it depicts The book duly acknowledges Mahasweta the different facets of life as seen by Devi’s contribution towards in taking up various women-poets. As K. the cause of Dalit women. ‘Rudali’, Saraswathyamma writes, ‘Asking me Draupadi and ‘The Hunt’ are a few 152 Journal of Indian Education August 2009 examples of her work. However, Dalit writers have produced excellent creative women writers have been emerging as work in this area as well and it would articulate authors and activists like have been interesting to read how Bama. In her individual essay, humour is used as a tool by women Jasbir Jain talks of how feminist writers to negotiate with the world writing has to come to terms with the around them. Nonetheless, one cannot notion of femininity, negotiate the help but agree with the editor that we cultural difference and work with need to re-frame ‘feminist’ writing in a the idea of centrality, all at the same wider perspective: ‘shift the lens’ as it time. were, to capture the varied dimensions The collection has quite a few of women’s writing. translated pieces as well and the The appeal of this edited volume translations are of high quality. To me, extends to the field of education as well. this serves as a silent ode to translation Deliberations on what it means to be being a creative act in itself. The book creative and how creativity is not clearly has a lot to offer its readers. The determined by gender, caste or class is biographical notes at the end are an appreciable concept. The curricular excellent references that supplement the debates have also recognised the fact main writings and the theme of the text. that ‘The voices of women in all their glory They have been written well and make need to find a prominent place in our for an engaging read. This also lends the textbooks and teaching strategies.’ And book certain completeness. the book presents an excellent argument Balancing the diverse array of topics for the same. and issues, the language is simple and KIRTI KAPOOR avoids jargon. Though the presentation Senior Lecturer is praiseworthy, there is only one Department of Languages noticeable absence — humour. Women NCERT, New Delhi