Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of ...
Transcript of Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of ...
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 1
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 2
Index Sl.
No.
Paper Title Author Page No.
01 Hidden Tribal Language of India Dr. M. Lakshmi Prabha 03-09
02 Bhagwan Dev Atma: His Contribution in Women Education
Harsangeet Kaur
10-18
03 Development and Implementation of a Multimedia Package to Teach Biology to Std. XII Students
Fr. Rayappan Irudayam & Dr. Devraj Goel
19-45
04 The Root Cause Factors of Conflict between Teachers and School Leaders in Government Primary Schools of Harari Regional State of Ethiopia
Mr. Maeregu Biyabeyen Asfaw & Dr. Manas Ranjan Panigrahi
46-71
05 Qualitative Research in Education : An Overview
Jitendra Singh Goyal & Suneeta Chaudhari
72-91
06 Influence of Locus of Control and Self Concept on the Academic Achievement of Adolescents
Anju Sharma & Madhu Sahni
92-119
07 Constructivism: A Vibrant Approach to Revitalize Social Studies Classroom
Vandana Yadav &
Dr.Anil Shukla 120-135
08 Impact of Education in Women’s Empowerment in India
Dr. Sunil Kumar Sain Dr. SudhirSudamKaware
136-153
09 A Study of Relative Status of Multiple Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence of Student-Teachers
Madhuri R. Shah & Chhaya Goel
154-175
10 Tourism and Globalization Kapil Shanker Tiwari 176-184
11 Perception of University
Studentsabout Constructivist
Classroom Learning Environment
Dr. Sarat Kumar Rout
Mr. Kulamani Sahoo
Mamata Rani Panda
185-208
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 3
Paper-1
Hidden Tribal Language of India Dr. M. Lakshmi Prabha
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 4
Hidden Tribal Language of India Dr. M. Lakshmi Prabha1
Abstract Indian subcontinent consists of an umpteen number of separate linguistic
communities, at times sharing a common language and culture and again, at
times standing in huge difference in dialects. It is already acknowledged that
cosmopolitan and metropolitan populace possesses their indigenous
sophisticated version of language and mode of communication. However, the
point of interest in this context is the mode of utilization of the language of
tribes and tribal population in the country.
Tribal people make up 8.2 percent of the Nation's total population, Tribal
people are essentially an aboriginal community residing in India, possessing
their own customs and languages. Indian tribesmen are almost secluded in their
universe, cut off from the rest of 'civilised' society. As such, it has since long
remained a point of much curiosity and research about the kind of daily life they
lead, or the style of language they employ. Indeed, Indian tribal languages are
perhaps the second most enamouring topic of daily discussion, with the first
being accredited to tribal dance and jewellery.
Introduction- The Languages of India belong to several language families, the major ones
being the Indo-Aryan languages spoken by 73% of Indians and the Dravidian
languages spoken by 24% of Indians. Other languages spoken in India belong to
the Austro-Asiatic, Tibeto-Burman, and a few minor language families
and isolates. The official language of the Union Government of Republic of
1 Assistant Professor (SG), Department of Biotechnology, Karunya University, Coimbatore 641 114. E-mail:
[email protected],09442424136
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 5
India is Hindi in the Devanagari script and English. The constitution of India
states that "The official language of the Union shall be Hindi
Devanagari script." a position supported by a High Court ruling. In addition,
some individual states legislate their own official languages, depending on their
linguistic demographics. Individual mother tongues in India number several
hundred; the 1961 census recognized 1,652 (SIL Ethnologue lists 415).
According to Census of India of 2001, 30 languages are spoken by more than a
million native speakers, 122 by more than 10,000. More than three millennia of
language contact has led to significant mutual influence among the four
language families in India and South Asia. Two contact languages have played
an important role in the history of India: Persian and English.
Dialectologist distinguishes the terms "language" and "dialect" on the basis
of mutual intelligibility. The Indian census uses two specific classifications in
its own unique way: (1) 'language' and (2) 'mother tongue'. The 'mother tongues'
are grouped within each 'language'. Many 'mother tongues' so defined would be
considered a language rather than a dialect by linguistic standards. This is
especially so for many 'mother tongues' with tens of millions of speakers that
are officially grouped under the 'language' Hindi. The government of India has
given 22 "languages of the 8th Schedule" the status of official language. Some
languages with a large number of speakers still do not have this status, the
largest of these being Bhili/Bhiladi with some 9.6 million native speakers
(ranked 14th), followed by Garhwali with 2.9 million speakers, Gondi with 2.7
million speakers (ranked 18th) and Khandeshi with 2.1 million speakers (ranked
22nd). On the other hand, 2 languages with fewer than 2 million native speakers
have recently been included in the 8th Schedule for mostly political
reasons: Manipuri/Meiteiwith 1.5 million speakers (ranked 25th) and Bodo with
1.4 million speakers (ranked 26th).
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 6
Odisha is one of the Indian states with a sizeable tribal population of roughly
22%. Tribals also called Adivasis, or “the original inhabitants.” They live in
deep forests and speak many different languages. There is no education
provided in any of the languages they speak. In each census the number of
people speaking these languages is decreasing. The Shabari River marks the
boundary between Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Tribals living on both sides of the
river speak Gondi. Tribals in all the nearby bordering states have the same
issues, as all of them are communities dependent on natural resources. But after
getting educated in different languages and losing their own languages,
increasingly they are unable to communicate about these common issues with
each other. Communication makes a community. They also learned how to
communicate more effectively in their own native languages using new tools
like mobile phones. This is the first communication platform of any type in all
these languages. There are no newspapers, magazines, radio or TV in any of
these tribal languages. Now they send messages in their own languages using
the main Swara channel. We hope all of these Adivasi languages will have their
own exclusive mobile phone-based communication platform soon to give tribals
a way to communicate and preserve their languages and their unique culture.
A "hidden" language has been documented in an isolated hill tribe in a
northeastern Indian region considered a "black hole" in the study of languages,
linguists announced today. The new language, Koro, is spoken by about a
thousand people in Arunachal Pradesh a state for which little linguistic data
exist, due to restrictive entry policies, according to the linguists behind the
findings. Koro belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language family, which includes
400 languages such as Tibetan and Burmese. About 150 Tibeto-Burman
languages are found in India, but a team with the National Geographic Society's
Enduring Voices Project discovered that Koro was distinct from all other
languages in its family. The linguists happened upon the language in 2008 while
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 7
researching another two poorly known languages—Aka and Miji—which are
spoken in one small district. While listening to these tongues, the researchers
detected a third language, Koro. (Related: "'Lost' Language Found on Back of
400-Year-Old Letter.")."This is a language that had been undocumented,
completely unrecognized, and unrecorded," said researcher Gregory Anderson,
director of the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages. What's
more, the newly identified Koro tongue may be endangered: Only about 800
people are speakers—most of them older than 20—and the language hasn't been
written down.
Newfound Language in a Class by Itself- The team climbed steep hillsides and took to bamboo rafts to access the remote
villages, where people make a living raising pigs and cultivating rice and barley.
Going door-to-door among the stilted bamboo houses, the team recorded
villagers speaking the newfound language. It's unknown how the Koro, who
number between 800 and 1,200 people, came to live as a subtribe of the 10,000-
person Aka tribe. But it's clear that Koro differs greatly from Aka, the team
found. For instance, Koro's inventory of sounds is completely different, as is the
way sounds combine to form words. Words and sentences are built differently
in Koro too. For example, the Aka word for "mountain" is "phù" while the Koro
word is "nggõ." Aka speakers call a pig a "vo," while to Koro speakers, a pig is
a "lele." The groups share about 9 percent of their vocabulary."Koro could
hardly sound more different from Aka," linguist K. David Harrison of
Swarthmore College writes in his new book The Last Speakers. The linguist is
also a National Geographic Society fellow."They sound as different as, say,
English and Japanese."
Though they lack a common language, Koro speakers and Aka speakers insist
there is no difference between them. Typically, the minority language in such an
arrangement would lose ground to the majority language and in time die out—
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 8
or the smaller group would maintain its own language by asserting a unique
identity. But in the villages of the Aka and the Koro, in the shadow of India's
contested border with China, everyone maintains the tribe and subtribe are the
same but for a small variation in dialect.
Indian Tribal Language- The Indian tribal languages are a good indicator to the lifestyle and history of
many of the famous tribes of India. So, here we have attempted to update with
some of the Indian tribal languages.
Abujmaria- It is a language belonging to Dravidian language family and is
generally spoken in the Abujmar hills in Bastar Disstrict (M.P). Hill Maria
tribes of India usually speak in this language.
Aariya-Madhya Pradesh
Gadaba- It is spoken in Orissa.
Garo- This language of Indian tribes belong to Western Assam, Garo hills,
Meghalya, Nagaland and Tripura. The language also has many a dialects
namely Atong, Chisak, Megam and many more.
Saurashtri- Also known as Patnuli, this language is spoken by many a tribes of
India in Chennai, North Arcot, parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Tsangla- It is spoken in the villages of Arunachal Pradesh.
References-
Mc Groaty, M. (2006). Lingua Franca Languages. Annual Review of
Applied Linguistics, 26.
Kenna, M. & Stahl, S. (2004).Assessment for reading instruction. New
York: Guilford Press.
Mc Narma, D. S. (2007).Reading Comprehension Strategies: Theories,
Instruction, and Technology. New York: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 9
Nation, I.S.P. (1990). Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. New York:
Newbury House.
Nunan, D. (1989).Understanding language classrooms: A Guide for
Teacher-Initiated Action. New York: Prentice-Hall.
Nuttall, C. (1996).Teaching reading skills in a foreign language (2nd ed.).
Oxford: Heinemann.
Perfetti, C. (1985). Reading Ability. New York: Cambridge University
Press.
Kuhn, M.R. & Stahal, S.A. (2003). Fluency: A review of developmental
and remedial practices. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 3-21. ********************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 10
Paper-2
Bhagwan Dev Atma: His
Contribution in Women Education Harsangeet Kaur
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 11
Bhagwan Dev Atma: His Contribution in Women Education Harsangeet Kaur2
Abstract This article aims to discuss the development and growth of the socio-religious
reform movement started by Bhagwan Dev Atma with special reference to
women education and their empowerment. He Thought that without women
education social and economic progress of country was not possible. Bhagwan
Dev Atma was the moving spirit behind empowering women and getting for
them a respectable position in the society. Education is important for everyone
but when it comes to women, its importance becomes even more prominent.
Key words- Women Education, women Empowerment, Bhagwan Dev Atma
Introduction- Education is a process of inner growth and development. Education is a
continuous and dynamic process. Man learns something every day and every
moment. The imperative character of education for individual growth and social
development is now accepted by everyone Education is one of the factors
affecting the physical and mental growth of an individual. Today education is
seen as a series of teaching thinking learning experiences which serve to change
behaviour. Education plays a vital role in giving human beings proper
equipment to lead a gracious and harmonious life.
Need of Women Education- Women and men are just like the two wheels of a chariot. They are equal in
importance and they should work together in life. Nation's progress is
impossible without trained and educated mothers. If the women of a country are
not educated, about half of the people will be ignorant. Women empowerment 2 Assistant Professor, Dev Samaj College of Education for Women, Ferozepur, Punjab (India), Pin- 152002
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 12
can only be achieved through the provision of adequate and functional
education to the women folk. The need for women education is also informed
by the fact that the purposeful occupational achievement and satisfaction is
ensured by deep self awareness and understanding which can only be achieved
through the provision of effective and functional education and guidance &
counseling. Women education in India plays a very important role in the overall
development of the country. It not only helps in the development of the half of
the human resources but in improving the quality of life at home and outside.
Educated women not only tend to promote education of their girl children but
also can provide better guidance to all their children. More over educated
women can also help in the reduction of infant mortality rate and growth of the
population.
About Bhagwan Dev Atama- Bhagwan Dev Atma-the most worshipful founder of Dev Samaj the teacher of
one universal science rounded system of religion and all sided benefactor of
mankind is Shree Pandit Satyanand Agnihotri. The spiritual sun of the world
was born at Akbarpore, District Kanpur on Posh Badi Pratipada, Sammat 19 so
sat Bikirmi Corresponding to 20 December 1850. The auspicious time when
Bhagwan saw the light of the day was the break of dawn when the moon was
about to set and the sun was about to raise, upto the age of 16, Bhagwan Dev
Atma took his education in his village. During these 16 years of his life
Bhagwan's unique life displayed a drama which is simply heartening to read and
think over.
At the age of 16, Bhagwan completed his education in his village. His parents
who were ardently fond of him. did not like to send him outside Akbarpur for
any further education but Bhagwan's love of education had become an
imperious force in him, hence as soon as he came to know that there was a
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 13
chance for him to go to Roorki for further education, he appeared for the
preparatory examination and he successfully passed it.
He told his parents frankly that if they would not let him go to improve his
intellectual prospects, he would run away and join the institution. His father had
to yield. He took him to Roorki in the last month of November 1866, when he
had not completed even the sixteenth year of this life. When he was at Roorki,
he came in contact with a remarkably noble soul whom he accepted as his
religious guru, guide, and preceptor named pandit shiv Dyal Sigh. He was an
altruistic soul. By faith he was a vedantist.
He served in the college as the curator of the college central Instrument Depot.
He also served there as meteorological observer. Bhagwan felt a sweet. Holy
and higher psychic attraction for this good soul. This attraction made Bhagwan
to seek his suitable environments at his feet. This attraction was silent and
unnoticed but it possessed a mighty import for the evolution of Bhagwan's soul.
Contribution of Bhagwan Dev Atma in Women Education- A renowned religious and social leader, Bhagwan Dev Atma was committed to
the spread of women education In India. He fought to empower women by
promoting women's right to property and women's education. One of the
methods Bhagwan Dev Atma implemented in order to ensure that women
education was made accessible to all, was by establishing a number of schools
& colleges in India. His idea was to enable the women of India to raise the
knowledge and living standards so that they would be able to compete with the
society. Bhagwan Devatma the founder of Dev Samaj played the most
conspicuous part in the emancipation of women in the early 19th century in
India. He played a great role in the fight for women's equal status in law, society
and education. When he established the society of Dev Samaj he inspired his
disciples to build institutions, for girls for in education lay the emancipation of
women Dev Samaj girls school was the first dear child in his Herculean efforts
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 14
for women emancipation. He says that education is milestone of women
empowerment because it enables them to respond to the challenges to confront
their traditional role and change their life. Education of women is the most
powerful tool of change of position in society.
History of first Girls School- Dev Samaj Girl's school was his first dear child in his efforts for women
education. This institution was the only institution whose responsibility was
shouldered by the head office. This institution has the distinction of being the
first High school in Punjab by an organization. On 2nd November 1901, the
opening ceremony of the famous institution of Dev Samaj Girl’s School
Ferozepur was performed by Bhagwan Dev Atma. At shikarpur, in 1905, one of
the most important Ashrams was opened, the account of which appeared in the
jiwanpath magh Bakrimi (1905). In Shikarpur Sindh the building of the Ashram
was due to the enthusiasm of Revered Bhai Mohan Dev ji. Two other girl's
schools have also been maintained at Ambala and incharge of two lady
members of Dev Samaj Besides these two schools there are two Nari Ashrams
(Training homes for adult women) opened and worked at Ferozepur & Moga).
The Courses of Instructions and training followed in the institutions were Hindi
Reading, Hindi Writing, elementary arithmetic, cooking and sewing and
religious exercises. The kindergarten system of education has been introduced
in the infant classes Physical training of girls is receiving special notice
Dev Samaj College for Women (Ferozepur)- The pressing demand of the public in and around Ferozepur motivated and
inspired the Dev Samaj Society to open the gates of higher education for girls. It
was in the years 1934 that in response to the pressing demand of the citizens of
Ferozpur and of the surrounding areas for a separate girls college, the Dev
Samaj Started an intermediate college for girls. The college has the distinction
of producing first Hindu Lady B.A.B.T., First lady IAS officer in the undivided
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 15
Punjab, the first lady principal of lady Irwin medical college New Delhi, with
great pleasure and pride we place on recod that Mrs. Sarla Grewal, the former
Principal secretary to Late Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi and later on the
Governor of Madhyapradesh, was product of this college.
Dev Samaj college of Education Ferozepur- Education College at Ferozepur was established in 1942 by the society of Dev
Samaj which works for the social moral and spiritual upliftment of humanity. It
was a great vision of Bhagwan Dev Atma to educate the women folk during the
times, when women were not educated at all. He opened training college for
women to fulfill the demand of quality teachers for school. It was the first non-
governmental Teacher's Training College in the whole of united Punjab. It was
the oldest women Teacher’s Training College in the state of Punjab. This
college provides pre-service teacher-education to the women students. College
provides all necessary assistance and guidance to students.
Dev Samaj College for Women Sector-45, Chandigarh- Dev Samaj College for women Chandigarh was started in 1981. At Dev Samaj,
equal opportunities for education, work and service are provided to cultivate in
the women, characteristics which will make them good daughters, sisters, wives
and mothers. Dev Samaj aims at the social moral and spiritual uplift of
humanity.
Dev Samaj College of Education Sector-36(B) Chandigarh- Dev Samaj took positive steps to build a social structure where women could
enjoy respectable position free from the gender bias. The venerable founder of
Dev Samaj realized that future of women lay in education. Dev Samaj society is
running about 26 educational institutions in the country. Dev Samaj College of
Education sector 36-B Chandigarh is an Institution of high repute having carved
a name of itself with academic and curricular achievements of unrivalled
standards. The college has a record of educational success that dates backs to
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 16
1981, completed 28 years of meritorious service to the country and to the union
territory of Chandigarh in particular in the field of teacher education for women.
Present Women educational institutes running by Dev Samaj
Society in border areas and UT- In spite of the forceful intervention by the bastion of female previllage, feminist
critics, constitutional guaranters, protecting laws and sincere efforts by the Dev
Samaj Society and State/Centre Governments through various schemes and
programmes over the last centuries and above all/with regards to the uplift
plight of women in terms education is still in the state of an enigma in India for
several reasons.
S.N
.
Name of the
Institutions
Date of
Eastibli
sh-
ment
Principal Course Offered
1 Dev Samaj Sr.
Secondary School
Ferozepur
1901 Mrs. Sunita
Rangbulla
Up to 10+2
2
Dev Samaj College for
women Ferozeur City
1934
Dr. Mrs. Madhu
Prashar
UG PG
BA
B. Sc.
B.
Com
BCA
BA(H)
B.Sc(H
)
Mathematic
s
Chemistry
Physics
English
Punjabi
Hindi
History
Economics
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 17
Commerce
M.Sc. IT
3 Dev Samaj College of
education
1942 Mrs. Balwinder
Kaur
B. Ed & M. Ed.
4 Dev Samaj College for
Women Sec. 45
Chandigarh
1981 Dr. Meera Modi BA, BBA, BCA, B.
Com, M. Sc.
Computer Science
and MA Economics
5 Dev Samaj College of
Education Sec. 36B
Chandigarh
1981 Dr. Mrs. Jyoti
Khanna
B. Ed., M. Ed. And
Diploma in Guidance
and Counseling.
Conclusion- Educated women are the creator of a healthy society. Following with the foot
marks of his holiness Bhagwan Dev Atma, the Dev Samaj society has made all
out endeavors with missionary zeal to put permanent end to the evils against
women. According to Dev Samaj society, education of girls is the most
powerful tool of change of position in society. Education also brings a reduction
in inequalities and functions as a means of improving their status within the
family. To encourage the education of women at all levels and for dilution of
gender bias in providing knowledge and education, established schools,
colleges, and universities even exclusively for women in India.
Education for all programme and other many educational programmes are
providing various facilities to enhance the education for women, hence these
programmes are very helpful to improving the girl’s education in India.
References-
Amar Singh. Life and Teaching of Bhagwan Dev Atma. Lahore:
Mercantile Press.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 18
Kanal, P. V. (1929). Dev Atma. Moga: Dev Samaj.
Kanal, S. P. (1950). A brief Life Sketch of Bhagwan dev Atma. Moga:
Dev Samaj
Kanal, P. V. (1992). My Bhagwan:What I saw of Him. Chandigarh: Dev
Samaj
Gupta, L. D. (1998). Eight Distinguished Women of dev Samaj.
Chandigarh: Dev samaj
Kanal, P. V. (2003). The Chronicle of dev Samaj V2. Chandigarh: Dev
Samaj
Kumar, Raj (2000). Women and Education. New delhi: Anmol
Publications.
Shukla, Narendra and Shrivastava, Sangya (2014). Women
Empowerment: Challenges and Opportunities. New Delhi: Sarup Book
Publishers.
http://www.devsamaj.org/history-dev-samaj.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Devatma
http://dscwfzr.org/
http://www.devsamaj.org/about-dsce.php ********************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 19
Paper-3
Development and Implementation of a
Multimedia Package to Teach Biology to Std.
XII Students
Fr. Rayappan Irudayam
Dr. Devraj Goel
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 20
Development and Implementation of a Multimedia
Package to Teach Biology to Std. XII Students Fr. Rayappan Irudayam3
Dr. Devraj Goel4
Introduction- There have been many calls for reforming Science Education in India. If these
are to be attended to, attention needs to be directed towards the Life Sciences,
including Biology Education Research. The basis for this claim is found in
elementary, middle, and high school classrooms throughout the country. Life
Science content is commonly taught at all levels. One reason is that elementary
teachers tend to be most comfortable teaching Life Science topics. In addition,
for students at both the elementary and secondary levels, learning about living
things, including themselves, is a dire necessity. Thus, research that enlightens
on teaching and learning Biological Concepts has the potential to improve the
Biology Education that students receive. This may be particularly important
because today we are in the midst of a Biological Revolution -- one that will
continue to present significant political, economic, ethical, and educational
issues for our society to grapple with. Properly designed Educational Multimedia on Multimedia Computers supports
active participation and puts the students in control. Such multimedia demands
the right teaching architecture, as explained here. Learning about people and the
various ways in which they interact with each other and with the various
environments in which they find themselves is very essential. The way to make
3 Doctoral Scholar, Centre of Advanced Study in Education, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,
Vadodara- 390002
4 Professor Emeritus, Centre of Advanced Study in Education, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,
Vadodara- 390002
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 21
people aware about themselves and their environment is through education. The
subject of Biology which directly deals with every form of life and the
environment in which they live, carries a special responsibility of preparing
young children to become well informed, constructive participants in society
and capable of developing healthy and harmonious relationships. The aim of
providing education to the children is the all round development of their
personality. The scope of Biology is very vast and in fact as wide as the world
itself and as lengthy as the history of life on the earth. Modern Technologies
can make learning Biology an engaging affair. It allows students to find
information which they construct into their own knowledge using computer
production software. In the proposed research, the investigator is taking an
effort to use modern technologies in the form of Multimedia Instructional
Software Package to teach some important components or concepts of Biology
to standard XII students of (GSHSEB) Gujarat Secondary and Higher
Secondary Education Board.
Review of Related Literature- The investigator has reviewed a total of 63 studies keeping the present study in
view to develop a complete and holistic perspective of these studies and to
arrive at the implications to support the present study. The investigator has first reviewed 56 studies related to innovative methods of
teaching science and other subjects other than Biology conducted by Shah
(1966), Sharma (1966), Patel (1975), Jones (1980), Kolz (1980), Adeshera
(1981), Tauro (1981), Golani (1982), Krishnan (1983), Rao (1983), Vardhini
(1983), McDonald (1984), Menon (1984), Desai (1985), Joseph (1985), Parry,
et al (1985), Johnson and Stanne (1986), Meyer (1986), James (1987), Joshi
(1987), Cutlet (1990), Slick (1990), Srivastava (1990), Jeyamani (1991),
Mahapatra (1991), Raghavan and Dharmaraja (1991), Bhatia (1992), Douglas
(1992), Stella (1992), Williamson (1992), Shah and Agarwal (1994), Waddick
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 22
(1994), Agarwal (1995), Wilson (1995), Karandikar (1996), Rangaraj (1997),
Das (1998), Khirwadker (1998), Zyoud (1999), Yadav (2000), Dalwadi
(2001). Zschoke (2002), Crews (2003), Sharma (2003), Casanova (2004),
Helaiya (2004), McLaughlin Daniel (2004), Barot (2005), Hung (2005),
Rosales (2005), Gilbert (2006), Parikh (2006), Thakkar (2006), Ford (2007),
Galvis (2007), Ratwa (2007) and Karnati (2008). They have found in their
studies that teaching through computers and multimedia is effective in terms of
students’ academic achievement and it helps in increasing conceptual
understanding of the subject matter.
The investigator has also reviewed 7 studies related specifically to teaching of
Biology conducted by Hopper (1982), Ravindranath (1982), Waugh (1984),
Dighal (1985), Leila (1987), Bhardwaj (1990) and Adhikari (1992). They
have found that teaching Biology through computers and other innovative
methods is effective in terms of students’ academic achievement and they could
learn at their own pace.
Implications of the Review Of Related Studies for the Present
Study- On the whole, from the review of the related literature it can be inferred that
majority of the studies indicated that teaching through computers and
multimedia is effective in terms of students’ academic achievement. Teaching
through computers or multimedia has been found effective, not only for
academic achievement but for developing interest and attitude towards
Biological Sciences.
From the review of related literature, the investigator further infers the
following:
The nature and the type of methodology adopted for the teaching of
Science determines the effectiveness of the method.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 23
In many of the studies it was seen that innovative methods were more
effective than traditional methods.
Audio-visual methods also promoted the understanding of the subject
well.
Learning capacity of the students was more when Multimedia
Instructional Packages were used along with traditional methods of
teaching.
The methodology used is largely based upon the pre-test –
intervention - post-test design. The tools used are Questionnaires and
Reaction Scales. The data have been analyzed using the appropriate
statistical tools, such as, t-test, correlated t-test, Chi-square ANOVA
and ANCOVA.
The studies have been carried out for the teaching of mainly Science.
The sample group, in these studies, consisted mainly of school
children of urban areas.
There is no one single method of teaching Science. The teacher
should be experimental-minded and should use different approaches in
the light of different objectives.
On the basis of review presented above, the researcher has observed that the
scope of studies was quite diverse. The available studies clearly indicate that
not many studies on teaching of Biology have been conducted in India.
From the review of the related literature, it can be inferred that the methodology
of teaching Science has an impact in the learning process. Most of the studies
mentioned above concluded in favour of innovative methods in comparison
with traditional methods of teaching.
The pressing need of the hour therefore, is to impart Education (Biological
sciences) effectively. This has been the immediate inspiration behind the
researcher taking up the present investigation. The investigator has been very
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 24
keenly interested as to whether imparting knowledge through a new and non-
traditional, multimedia instructional package would make it easier for the
children to understand the different Biological Concepts in an efficient and
effective manner.
As not many studies on Biological Sciences have been conducted at the higher
secondary level, the researcher sought to explore the effectiveness of an
innovative Multimedia Instructional Software Package in the teaching of
Biology at the higher secondary level. It is in this background that the present
study seeks to improve upon the existing methods adopted for the education of
the students. The present study seeks to study the impact of the Multimedia
Instructional Software Package in increasing the knowledge, interest, and
scientific attitude of the students regarding Biological Sciences.
Rationale for the Present Study- Biology as a discipline, by its very nature is media-genic. Biology is a study of
life which is broadly classified into two parts, namely Botany, the study of the
life of Plants and Zoology, the study of the life of Animals. Subdivisions of
each of these branch include Cytology, that is the study of Cell and Cell
structure, Histology, that is the study of Tissues, Anatomy or Morphology,
that is the study of internal and external features of living organisms,
Physiology, that is the study of various functions of the living organisms and
Embryology, that is the study of the embryonic development of an individual
animal or plant.
The various features of the biological contents are height, weight, length,
breadth, depth, shape, size, colours, textures and sounds, pictures, diagrams,
landscapes, lab experiments, field trips, educational tours and so on. The time
for the coverage of the content is limited whereas the volume is very large.
Properly developed multimedia may very well facilitate coverage of the content
more efficiently and intelligibly. It may not be feasible to take the students on
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 25
to the field trips for each and every bit of content coverage or to dissect in the
laboratory each and every animal or plant, they study in their syllabus.
Moreover, today the dissection of animals in the labs is prohibited. Thus, the
reality may be captured and mediated through a well developed Instructional
Multimedia Package. Particularly in life-sciences, multimedia has shown to be
beneficial because it provides visualization of concepts that are difficult to
envision. Today, we are in an age of computers, ICT and digital technologies.
Media are said to be the extension of human beings which are expected to
facilitate educational instruction cost effectively. In today’s society, students
are constantly surrounded by many aspects of technology. Allowing the use of
technology in the classroom, can make learning more meaningful, exciting and
enjoyable too. Once students have discovered a purpose and passion for
learning, the drive for solving problems increases. Biology is a subject that
contains an inordinate amount of abstract concepts. So, using the multimedia
can aid in clarifying matters for students.
A successful student in biology should have exposure to hands-on laboratories,
but when the situation does not always warrant the means for accomplishing
this task, it is important to look for alternatives. As a means of enhancing the
curriculum, the technology is priceless. The students can actually “see”
concepts via virtual laboratories, they have the most current research/findings
available, and they are taking a direct part in their learning. Due to the fact that
Biology, and most other science disciplines have very broad, abstract topics, it
became apparent that the traditional way of delivering instruction could be
revised. Implementing technology into the classroom seemed a likely solution.
Biology is a subject that involves many processes such as mitosis and meiosis.
These topics can be unusually difficult for students to grasp when taught with
chalk and talk method, so when a visual presentation can be used, it goes a long
way as for as comprehension is concerned.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 26
As teachers, we must present as many ways of learning to our students as
possible. Lectures, laboratories, field trips, and computers are all helping our
students succeed in school and in life. We must understand that technology is
here to stay and it is involved in every aspect of our lives. If we allow our
students to become familiar with the software available for biology (and other
subjects), we can assist in opening their minds and increasing their critical
thinking skills. The learning styles of students in any given classroom vary
greatly. Therefore, if we include computers, we are helping to bridge the gap for
those students who may otherwise tune out the subject matter.
The investigator after having graduated in Biology at Masters Level and having
more than 15 years of experience in teaching Biology subject is very much keen
on realizing quality Biology Education. Also, the investigator has specialized
in the area of Computer Education. And therefore, the investigator has decided
to develop a Multimedia Instructional Software Package to teach Biology. The
investigator has not come across any study at Standard XII level on Biology
teaching through multimedia.
The investigator envisaged to try his level best to make the Multimedia
Instructional Software Package as comprehensive, interesting and enriching as
possible, directing the concepts to the various senses of the learners optimally
for their maximum involvement. Most of the students find it difficult to
understand biological concepts on Animal Physiology and Reproduction as
compared to other units in Biology. And therefore, the investigator thought of
developing Multimedia Instructional Software Package on Animal Physiology
and Reproduction for better understanding of the seemingly difficult biological
concepts.
The investigator has attempted to improve the understanding of the students in
Biological Sciences, using various media, such as, Power Point Presentation,
Charts, Video-clips, accompanied by appropriate music, flash, animations,
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 27
virtual laboratories and movie clips in the Multimedia Instructional Software
Package. Students enjoy learning through various differential modes.
Therefore, this study was undertaken to improve the quality of teaching and
learning Biology in the classroom.
Statement of the Problem- “Development and Implementation of a Multimedia Package to Teach Biology
to Std. XII Students”
Objectives of the Study-
1. To develop a Computer Based Multimedia Instructional Software
Package to teach Biology to the students of Standard XII. 2. To study the effectiveness of the Multimedia Instructional Software
Package in terms of mean achievement of the students in the subject of
Biology. 3. To study the effectiveness of the Multimedia Instructional Software
Package in terms of reactions of the students towards Biological Sciences
through multimedia package. 4. To study the effectiveness of the Multimedia Instructional Software
Package in terms of reaction of Biology teachers towards teaching of
Biology through multimedia Software Package. Operationalization of Terms- Multimedia Instructional Software Package: In this study, Multimedia
Instructional Software Package consists of Power Point Presentation,
accompanied by appropriate music, video clips, charts, movie clips, flash,
animations and graphics.
Effectiveness: Effectiveness of the programme was studied in terms of the
difference in the mean gain score of the experimental group and the mean gain
score of the control group and the reactions of students and Biology teachers
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 28
towards teaching of Biology through Multimedia Instructional Software
Package.
Hypotheses-
1. There will be no significant difference between the mean gain scores of
the experimental group and control group from pre-test to post-test. 2. There will be no significant difference between the observed frequencies
and the expected frequencies against equal probability on various points
of the reaction scale of the students. 3. There will be no significant difference between the observed frequencies
and the expected frequencies against equal probability on various points
of the reaction scale of the Biology teachers. Delimitation of the Study- The study is delimited to Biology textbook (2010-11) prescribed for Standard
XII by GSHSEB. The research has been further delimited to 8 chapters covered
in the syllabus of the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education
Board as mentioned below.
Chapter 05: Nutrition in Animals
Chapter 06: Digestive system of Cockroach & Human beings
Chapter 07: Respiration in Animals
Chapter 08: Circulation in Animals
Chapter 09: Excretion and Osmoregulation in Animals
Chapter 10: Movement and Locomotion in Animals
Chapter 11: Nervous System of Cockroach and human
Chapter 12: Reproduction and Development in Animals
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 29
Populaltion of the Study- All the students of Standard XII studying in English Medium opting Biology in
the schools of Baroda, following the syllabus of Gujarat Secondary and Higher
Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB). Sample of the Study- The sample for the proposed study was selected purposively. For this the
researcher selected standard XII students studying in two schools of Baroda
city. The investigator judged the availability of Computer and Multimedia LCD
Projector, speakers etc, for implementing the Multimedia Instructional Software
Package while deciding on the school. The willingness of the Principal and of
the teaching staff was also taken into account while deciding the school. Other
factors like convenience of approach and availability of time were also taken
into account while deciding upon the school.
All the 30 students of Biology Group of (2010-11) of Standard XII B of Covent
of Jesus and Mary School, Fatehgunj, were taken as experimental group,
whereas all the 31 students of Biology Group of (2010-11) Standard XII B of
Rosary High School, Pratapgunj, were taken as control group for the present
study. All the 35 Biology teachers of Bio-teachers’ Club, Baroda (2010-11)
comprised the sample of Biology teachers.
Methodology of the Study- A. Design of the Study
The proposed study is experimental in nature where Quasi-experimental design
was employed. The Pretest-Posttest-Experimental and Control Group Design
was employed for the study. The design of the study is presented as follows.
O1 X O2
O3 C O4
Where, O1 and O3 are pretests
O2 and O4 are posttests
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 30
X stands for Experimental group and
C stands for Control group.
For the purpose of studying the effectiveness of Multimedia Instructional
Software Package in Biology, the achievement of students in Biology of
experimental group and control group was considered.
B. PROCEDURE OF THE STUDY
The entire procedure consisted of four phases for the present study.
Phase I: Development of Multimedia Instructional Software Package and
Tools-
All the eight chapters of animal physiology and reproduction were
selected from the English Medium Biology textbook of Standard XII
prescribed by the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education
Board (GSHSEB) for the preparation and implementation of the
Multimedia Instructional Software Package.
Content analysis of all the eight chapters was done. Thereafter, the
Multimedia Software Instructional Package was developed with the help
of Power Point Presentation, video clips, charts, movies, graphics, flash,
and animations, accompanied by appropriate music.
The Multimedia Instructional Software Package was developed over a
period of three months. The developed Multimedia Instructional Package
was shown to two experts in the field of Biology and two experts in the
field of Education to ascertain its content validity, clarity, mode of
presentation and comprehensiveness. Changes were made as per the
suggestions of the experts.
A pre-test, post-test, reaction scale for students and reaction scale for
teachers were constructed by the investigator and validated by the experts
mentioned above. Changes were made as per the suggestions of the
experts.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 31
Phase II: Administration of the Pre-test.
Before the implementation of the Multimedia Instructional Software
Package, both the groups, viz., control as well as experimental were
administered pretest on achievement in Biology to check the level of
knowledge in Biology.
Phase III: Implementation of the developed Multimedia Instructional
Package.
The developed Multimedia Instructional Software Package was
administered on the experimental group for 5 months, 35-minutes each
day, during the Biology period.
Phase IV: Administration of the Post-test.
After the completion of the treatment with the Multimedia Instructional
Software Package, the Post-test was administered on the students.
Tools for Data Collection- A Pre-test and a Post-test-
A Pre-test and a Post-test were constructed on the selected chapters of Biology
to study the achievement of the students. After constructing the tests, they were
shown to the experts in the field for determining their correctness, language,
comprehension and validity. Changes were made as per the suggestions of the
experts. Answer keys, for both, the Pre-test and Post-Test were prepared to
maintain the objectivity of scoring. The answer keys were given to the experts
for validation. Each test consisted of forty items, to be answered in forty
minutes. All the items were of multiple choice types. Each item was having
four alternative answers (A, B, C and D) and the students were expected to
encircle the correct answer. In every question there was only one correct
answer. Each question carried one mark. All the questions were to be
answered.
Reaction Scale for Students-
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 32
The reaction scale for students was constructed by the investigator comprising
the areas concerned with the Multimedia Instructional Software Package for
teaching Biology. It is a five point scale. The initial draft was given to the
experts for correction and suggestions and also to point out language clarity,
inconsistency in the presentation and direction (positive and negative) of the
statements. After receiving the feedback some of the items were modified and
some eliminated. Thus the final and modified scale was having 50 items.
Reaction Scale for Biology Teachers-
The reaction scale for Biology teachers was constructed by the investigator
comprising the areas concerned with the Multimedia Instructional Software
Package for teaching Biology. It is a five point scale. The initial draft was
given to the experts for correction and suggestions and also to point out
language clarity, inconsistency in the presentation and direction (positive and
negative) of the statements. After receiving the feedback some of the items will
be modified and some eliminated. Thus the final and modified scale was
having 50 items.
Data Collection- The data collection was personally done by the investigator from the students.
The investigator prepared a time schedule for data collection. The investigator
personally administered the tests mentioned above. The first step involved
administering the Pretest to the students. The second step was to implement the
intervention programme. This was followed by administration of the Post-test
and the Reaction Scale for students and the Reaction scale for Biology teachers.
Thus the required data for the study were collected.
Data Analysis- Data analysis was done quantitatively by employing the t-test to find out the
significance of difference between the mean gain scores of the Experimental
and Control Groups. The data on the reactions of the students towards Biology
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 33
through Multimedia Instructional Software Package and the reaction of teachers
on Multimedia Instructional Software Package to teach Biology were analyzed
through Chi-square.
Findings- The findings of the study are as follows:
A. The Multimedia Instructional Software Package was found to be
effective in teaching Biological Sciences.
This could be said on the basis of the statistical tool adopted for data analysis:
The t-test. The computed t-value of 2.46 is lesser than the table t-value of 2.66
at 0.01 level against 57 degrees of freedom. So, the null hypothesis that there
will be no significant difference between the mean gain scores of the
experimental group and the control group is not rejected at 0.01 level.
The computed value of 2.46 is greater than the table t-value of 2.00 at 0.05 level
against 57 degrees of freedom. So, the null hypothesis that there will be no
significant difference between the mean gain scores of the experimental group
and the control group is rejected at 0.05 level. The mean gain score of the
experimental group has been found to be significantly greater than the mean
gain score of the control group. Hence, the Multimedia Instructional Software
Package treatment has been found to be effective at 0.05 level.
It is evident from the above analysis that the treatment through Multimedia
Software Instructional Package in teaching Biological Sciences has been
found to be effective.
B. Reaction of Students towards Biology through Multimedia Software
Instructional Package in terms of expected frequencies and observed
frequencies against equal probability has been found to be effective
This could be said on the basis of the tool adopted for data analysis, that is,
Reaction of Students on Multimedia Instructional Software Package for
teaching Biological Sciences in terms of expected frequencies and observed
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 34
frequencies against equal probability on various points of the reaction scale of
the students.
The computed values of Chi-square are greater than the table value of Chi-
square of 13.277 at 0.01 level against 4 degrees of freedom. So the null
hypothesis that there will be no significant difference between the observed
frequencies and the frequencies expected against equal probability is rejected
against all the 50 statements. The frequency loading is greater on the higher
points of the rating scale that is Strongly Agreed (SA) and Agreed (A) against
the statements 1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 32,
34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 and 50, having positive polarity. Whereas,
greater on the lower points of the rating scale that is Strongly Disagreed (SD)
and Disagreed (DA) against the statements 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 28,
31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43 and 49 having negative polarity. So, the students have
been found to have favourable reactions towards Biology through Multimedia
Instructional Software Package.
So, the treatment through Multimedia Software Instructional Package in
terms of reactions of the students towards teaching Biological Sciences
through Multimedia Instructional Software Package has been found to be
effective.
C. Reaction of Biology teachers on Multimedia Software Instructional
Package in teaching of Biological Sciences in terms of expected
frequencies and observed frequencies against equal probability has
been found to be effective.
This could be said on the basis of the tool adopted for data analysis, that is,
Reaction of Biology teachers on Multimedia Package for teaching Biological
Sciences in terms of expected frequencies and observed frequencies against
equal probability on various points of the reaction scale of the biology teachers.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 35
The computed values of Chi-square are greater than the table value of Chi-
square of 13.277 at 0.01 level against 4 degrees of freedom. So the null
hypothesis that there will be no significant difference between the observed
frequencies and the frequencies expected against equal probability is rejected
against all the 50 statements. The frequency loading is greater on the higher
points of the rating scale that is Strongly Agreed (SA) and Agreed (A) against
the statements 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 31,
33, 35, 37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 45, 47, 48 and 49, having positive polarity. Whereas,
greater on the lower points of the rating scale that is Strongly Disagreed (SD)
and Disagreed (DA) against the statements 3, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 22, 25, 28,
30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 41, 44,4 6 and 50 having negative polarity. So, the Biology
teachers have been found to have favourable reactions towards Multimedia
Instructional Software Package to teach Biological Sciences.
So, the treatment through Multimedia Software Instructional Package in
terms of reactions of Biology teachers towards teaching Biological Sciences
through Multimedia Instructional Software Package has been found to be
effective.
Suggestions for Further Research in this Field-
Multimedia package on other units of Biological Sciences may be
designed, developed and implemented in the schools.
Multimedia Instructional Software Package may be designed on other
branches of Science such as, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.
Multimedia Instructional Software programmes may be prepared for all
levels of education, that is, schools, colleges and universities.
Proper evaluation of already available Multimedia Instructional Packages
on science studies can be done to put Multimedia Instructional Software
Package on a sound footing.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 36
A survey can be done to ascertain the prevalence of such non-traditional
Instructional Packages in the teaching and learning processes.
The efforts of present study can be extended to a wider spectrum of
schools to ascertain its impact on the learning abilities of children at
different levels.
Studies with a large sample can be done to arrive at more generalized
findings.
Case studies can also be conducted on Technology Integrated Biology
Education and problems faced in imparting Science Education. Conclusion- The investigator in this study has made a genuine attempt to design, develop
and implement Multimedia Instructional Software Package to teach Biological
Sciences to the Students of Standard XII. The investigation revealed that the
Multimedia Instructional Software Package was effective in understanding
various Biological concepts. It has enhanced the understanding of the students
towards Multimedia Instructional Software Package to learn Biology in a joyful
way. It has also brought tremendous awareness among the Biology teachers on
how effectively Biological Sciences can be taught through Multimedia Software
Instructional Package. The Multimedia Software Instructional Package was developed taking into
consideration the psychological needs of the children. The Package very well
captured the attention of the students. The Software Instructional Package was
very interesting and facilitated joyful learning in the students. It motivated the
students to learn the Biological concepts with much interest. The inclusion of
pictures, video clips, movies, flash, animations, sound effects and appropriate
music made the subject of Biological Sciences more realistic and
comprehensible. The Multimedia Package resulted in saving of instructional
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 37
and learning time. The presentation of the Package was found to be very
appealing to the students.
References-
Adeshra, J.N. (1981). Developing instructional skill in teaching using
auto-instructional material and using microteaching approach under
simulated condition and real situation – A comparative study. An
Unpublished Doctoral thesis, CASE, The Maharaja Sayajirao University
of Baroda, Vadodara.
Adhikari, R. (1992). Development of Computer Aided Instructional
Material on Cell and cell Reproduction for Class XI, Unpublished
M.Ed. Dissertation, D.A.V.V., Indore.
Barot, H. (2005). To study the effectiveness of CAI in Sanskrit for std.
VIII students. An unpublished M.Ed. Dissertation, CASE, The Maharaja
Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara.
Bhardwaj, H. (1990). Development of Computer Aided Instructional
material on microbes for class VII. Unpublished M.Ed Dissertation,
CASE, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara.
Bhatia, K (1992). Identification and remedy of difficulties in learning
fractions with Programmed Instructional material. Indian Education
Review, 27(3): 102-06.
Casanova, A (2004). An Analysis of Computer Mediated Communication
Technologies as Tools to Enhance Learning. Dissertation Abstract
International 65 (12).
Crews, J.M. (2003). Helping poor readers: A case study of Computer
Assisted Instruction. Retrieved from
http://www;[email protected]/
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 38
Cutlet, (1990). The effect of pictures in computerized instruction: A waste
of memory, Dissertation Abstract International, 51(4).
Dalwadi, N. (2001). Development of Computer Assisted Instuction to
teach science for the students of std. IX. An unpublished M.Ed.
dissertation, CASE, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,
Vadodara.
Das, A. (1998). Exploring effectiveness of Computer Assisted Learning
Material on Rhymes in Different Modes. An unpublished Doctoral
Thesis, CASE, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara.
Desai, D.B. and Trivedi R.S., (1974). Achievement, Motivation,
Development in high school pupils through implementation of a specially
designed curriculum, M.B. Buch (1974) (ed.). A survey of Research in
Education. CASE, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,
Vadodara.
Desai, D.B. (1972). Achievement Motivation in high school pupils in
Kaira District, An Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, B. Patel College of
Education. Vallabh Vidyanagar.
Desai, K.V. (1985). An Investigation into Efficacy of Different
Instructional Media in the Teaching of Science to the Pupils of Class VIII
in Relation to Certain Variables. Doctoral Thesis, Sardar Patel
University, Vallabh Vidhyanagar.
Dighal, K.C. (1985). Improved methods of teaching biological sciences in
schools of Tripura and West Bengal. Doctoral Thesis in Education,
Calcutta University, M.B.Buch (1985) (ed.). Fourth Survey of Research
in Education, NCERT, New Delhi.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 39
Douglas, (1992). The effect of hypermedia based learner controlled
instruction on atomic structure learning achievement at the junior high
school level, Dissertation Abstract International, 53(2).
Ford, G.S. (2007). Effect of Computer Aided Instruction versus
traditional modes on students PT’s learning musculoskeletal special tests.
Doctoral Thesis, State University of New York at Buffalo, 2007.
Dissertation Abstract International, 68 (12), 5020-A.
Galvis, A.T. (2007). Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) as a teaching
tool for occupational therapy education: A guide to understand CAI
design and effectiveness. (Doctoral Thesis, Texas Women’s University,
2007) Dissertation Abstract International, 68 (7), 2907-A.
Gilbert, D.W. (2006). Effectiveness of computer assisted instruction
blended with class room teaching methods to acquire automotive
psychomotor skill. (Doctoral Thesis, Southern Illinois University at
Carbondale, 2007) Dissertation Abstract International, 67(8), 2947-A.
Golani, T.P. (1982). The Use of Audio-visual Aids in the Secondary
Schools of Thane District, Doctoral Thesis, Pune University, Pune.
Helaiya, S. (2004). Development and Implementation of CAI package for
teaching statistics to B..Ed. Students. An unpublished Doctoral Thesis,
CASE, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara.
Hopper, W.A.F. (1982). An experimental study in the use of modular
approach for teaching Biology in Standard XI (Vols. I-II). An
unpublished Doctoral thesis, CASE, The Maharaja Sayajirao University
of Baroda, Vadodara.
James, L.A., (1987). “The Micro Computer: its use as a tutorial tool for
ACT preparation, Dissertation Abstract International , 47 (8).
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 40
James, V. (1995). Research in Education. (7th Edition). Prentice – Hall of
India Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi.
Jayamani, P. (1991). Effectiveness of Stimulation modes of teaching
through CAI, NCERT (1992). Fifth Survey of Research in Education,
NCERT, New Delhi.
Johnson,T.R., Johnson, D.W., and Stanne, M.B., (1986). Comparison of
computer Assisted cooperative competitive and individualistic learning,
American Educational Research Journal, 23(3).
Jones, Loretta L., (1980). The teaching of chemistry by means of
videocassettes employing computer Graphics, Dissertation Abstract
International , 40 (9).
Joseph, J., (1985). Sculptures through Computer Assisted Television
Instruction, Dissertation Abstract International , 47(3).
Joshi, A. (1987). Evolvement of an instructional strategy for teaching
elements of Science to Class IX students of Madhya Pradesh State.
Doctoral Thesis in Education, Indore: Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyala,. M.B.
Buch, (ed.). Fourth Survey of Research in Education. NCERT, New
Delhi
Joshi, A., and Mahapatra, Bhuban C. (1993). Reactions of Extrovert and
introvert students towards CAI, In Progress of Education, 28(6),137-41,
Pune.
Karandikar, C.M. (1996). Evolving a Video Instructional Package to
teach the student of standard VII and studying its effectiveness in terms of
students’ achievement, Doctoral Thesis, CASE, The Maharaja Sayajirao
University of Baroda, Vadodara.
Karnati, (2008). Computer Aided Instruction for out-of-school children in
India: An impact study in Andhra Pradesh. (Doctoral Thesis., University
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 41
of Pennsylvania, 2008) Dissertation Abstract International, 69(4), 1335-
A.
Khirwadkar, A. (1998). Development of Computer Software for Learning
Chemistry at Standard IX. An unpublished Doctoral Thesis, CASE, The
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara.
Kolz, Marlene Pactwa., (1980). The evaluation of the effectiveness of
several CAI programmes in general chemistry, Dissertation Abstract
International , 41(6).
Krishnan, S.S. (1983). Development of Multimedia Package for Teaching
a Course on Audio-Visual Education. Doctoral Thesis, CASE, The
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara.
Leila, (1987). The use of the computers in teaching Biological Sciences at
selected secondary schools, Dissertation Abstract International , 7(11).
Mahapatra, B.C., (1991). Development of software package for teaching
chemistry and abstract reasoning of class IX students, Unpublished
M.Ed, Dissertation, D.A.V.V., Indore.
Mc Donald, (1984). The effect of supplemental micro-computer
instruction on the achievement of university level developmental
mathematics students using the Keller-plan, Dissertation Abstract
International , 6 (45).
McLaughlin, Daniel, K (2004). Towards a new paradigm for teaching
and learning: A case study of the process of integrating instructional
design and technology at Florida Community College at Jacksonville.
Dissertation Abstract International, 65(10), p.3667.
Menon, M.B. (1984). Evolving Multimedia Approach to Teaching at post
graduate level. Doctoral Thesis, CASE, The Maharaja Sayajirao
University of Baroda, Vadodara.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 42
Meyer, Patricid Ann Fvroy, (1986). A comparative analysis of the value
of intrinsic motivation in computer software on the math achievement,
attitudes, attendance and depth of involvement of underachieving
students, Dissertation Abstract International , 47(4).
Parry, J.D., Thorkildsen, R.J., Thomas, B.M., Christine, A.M., (1987). In
a framed work for Introduction of computers in schools, Educational
research Quarterly, 10(1), NCERT, (1986). Sachdeva S.K., New Delhi.
Parikh. P.D. (2006). Developing and implementing Computer Assisted
Learning Material for 11th std commerce students on subject Introduction
to book-keeping and Accountancy prescribed by GSEB. An unpublished
Doctoral Thesis, CASE, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,
Vadodara.
Raghavan, S.S, Dharmaraja, T., Field Trials in the Development of
Educational Computer Software Packages : A case study, Media
Technology for Human Resource Development, New Delhi, 3(4), pp.
197-200, New Delhi.
Rangaraj, K.R. (1997). Effectiveness of computer assisted instruction in
teaching physics at higher secondary stage. Doctoral Thesis, Bharathiar
University, Coimbatore.
Rao, S.B., and Shantha, C.K., (1987). Computers in Mathematics
Education”, School Science Resource Letter, 8(1), 31-37, College of
Education, Ajmer.
Ravindranath, M.J. (1982). “Development of Multimedia Instructional
Strategy for teaching Science (Biology) at secondary School Level.”
Doctoral Thesis, CASE, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,
Vadodara.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 43
Robbert, Larryclyde, (1983). The Effects of Using Interactive Computer
Simulated Laboratory Experiments in College Chemistry Courses,
Dissertation Abstract International, 45(7).
Rosales, J.S. (2005). The effect of computer assisted instruction on
mathematics achievement of ninth-grade high school students in the
lower Rio Grande Valley, In Dissertation Abstract International, 66 (7),
2482-A.
Rose Antony Stella V, (1992). Effectiveness of computer assisted
instruction with special reference to underachievers. Doctoral Thesis,
Bharathidasan University, Fifth survey of Research in Education,
NCERT, New Delhi.
Shah, Beena and Agrawal, Rashmi (1995). Teachers’ attitude towards
computer assisted instruction and computer education in relation to sex,
organization and experience. Journal of Indian Education, 20(3), 40-45.
Sharma, D. (2003). A study of effectiveness of Computer Assisted
Learning (CAL) in Chemistry for the students of standard XI. An
unpublished M.Ed. dissertation, CASE, The Maharaja Sayajirao
University of Baroda, Vadodara.
Shrivastava, D (9190). Programmed learning as a function of anxiety
under different motivational conditions. Independent study. Unnai
Dayanand Subhash National College. In Fifth Survey of Research in
Education, NCERT, New Delhi.
Slick, Kim Joal, (1985). A comparative study of two computer assisted
methods of teaching introductory chemistry problem solving”,
Dissertation Abstract International, 51(2).
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 44
Stella, (1993). Effectiveness of CAI with special reference to under
achievers, Media Technology for Human Resource Development, 5(3),
pp. 229-236 New Delhi.
Tauro, John Peter, (1981). “A study of academically superior students
response to particular computer assisted programmes in chemistry”,
Dissertation Abstract International, 42(2).
Thakkar, S. I, (2006). To develop and Implement CAI for ‘Organization
of commerce and management subject in standard XI as prescribed by
GSEB. An unpublished Doctoral Thesis, CASE. The Maharaja Sayajirao
University of Baroda, Vadodara.
Vardhini, V.P. (1983). “Development of Multimedia Instructional
Strategy for teaching science at Secondary Level.” Doctoral Thesis,
CASE, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara.
Waddick John, (1994). “Case study: The creation of a computer learning
environment as an alternative to traditional lecturing method in
chemistry”, Educational and Training Technology International, 31, (2).
Williamson, Vickie Marie., (1992). The Effects of Computer Animation
emphasizing the particulate nature of matter on the understandings and
misconceptions of college chemistry students, Dissertation Abstract
International, 53(6).
Wilson Daniel Glen, (1995). An examination of the relationship among
learning style, attitude and outcomes of computer assisted instruction,
Dissertation Abstract International, 55(10).
Yadav, S. (2000). A study of the effectiveness of the Computer Software
for students of standard I. An unpublished Doctoral Thesis, CASE. The
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 45
Zschoke, T. (2002). Instructional Websites Design: an Object-oriented
Approach. Dissertation Abstracts International. 63(6). pp 215.
Zyoud, M. (1999). Development of Computer Assisted language teaching
for standard VII students. An unpublished Doctoral Thesis, CASE. The
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara. ********************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 46
Paper-4 The Root Cause Factors of Conflict Between Teachers
and School Leaders in Government Primary Schools of
Harari Regional State of Ethiopia
Mr. Maeregu Biyabeyen Asfaw
Dr. Manas Ranjan Panigrahi
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 47
The Root Cause Factors of Conflict between Teachers and
School Leaders in Government Primary Schools of Harari
Regional State of Ethiopia Mr. Maeregu Biyabeyen Asfaw5
Dr. Manas Ranjan Panigrahi6
Abstract The main objective of this study was to examine the root causes of conflict
between school leaders and teachers in government primary schools of Harari
Regional State of Ethiopia. As a descriptive survey, the study population
comprised all the 48 government primary schools in the State. Out of this
population, a sample of 12 schools was drawn while 152 `respondents (58
leaders and 94 teachers) were selected through the stratified` and simple
random sampling technique. Questionnaire and interview were the main data
gathering tools. The data collected were analyzed using mean, mean rank, and
grand mean. The findings show that conflicts have not been seen as effective
and constructive in the schools’ outcomes according to the views of teachers.
However, school leaders had better understanding about the positive effects of
conflict on school outcomes. Ethnic based assumption, ideology differences and
communication barriers were primary cause factors for conflict of teachers and
school leaders. Inter personal and intergroup conflicts were dominantly
occurred in primary schools of Harari Regional State.
5 Lecturer, Department of Educational Planning and Management, Haramaya University, Ethiopia, Email
6 Associate Professor, Department of Educational Planning and Management, Haramaya University, Ethiopia.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 48
Key words- conflict, causes, primary schools, teachers and school leaders
Introduction- Conflict may involve individual or group disagreements, struggles, disputes,
quarrels, or even physical fighting and wars (USAID, 2003 E.C). It ranges from
work issues of responsibility, power, authority, and ethics to interpersonal
matters like misunderstandings, difference of opinion and poor communication
between two persons (Salleh & Adulpakdee, 2012). Conflict can also be
perceived as the opposition of an individual’s ideas by another part. Kreps
(1990) cited in Makaye and Ndofirepi (2012) views conflict process by which
individuals express and negotiate their differences. Furthermore, Kreps (1990)
asserts that conflict is an expressed struggle between two or more competing
positions held by one or more individuals usually based on incompatible beliefs,
ideas or goals. Conflict arises whenever perceived or real interest collide
(Hanson, 1991) in the organization.
Organizational behaviour is positively related to organizational output. For this
reason, the educational administrator needs to take conflict management issues
as very important issues because "conflicts and attempts towards resolution are
perhaps the most powerful force existing for bringing about changes in patterns
of organizational behaviour" (Hanson, 1991; Gonie, 1998). Indeed one of the
commonly expressed concerns of organizational people in developing countries
is that of permanence of internal conflicts in their organizations. Each institution
has shared the view that it is characterized by internal wrangling. Undeniably,
the disagreements are often manifested in open conflicts.
Conflict may take various forms and manifest itself at various levels. Kinard
(1988) cited in Gebretensay (2002), CRU Institute (1992–2004) and Gonie
(1998) for example, distinguishes between three types or levels of conflict.
Firstly, conflict may occur within an individual, hence, an intrapersonal conflict.
The situations that give rise to such conflict are many. They range from
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 49
conflicting needs, frustrating situations, failing to achieve aspired goals.
Secondly, conflict may occur between individuals who are brought together in
work places or elsewhere. Confrontations between individuals must often occur
where they have to compete for limited resources. Such conflict is often termed
as interpersonal conflict. Thirdly, conflict may occur at the level of groups.
There are several situations that may turn groups into rivals. These include
situations where groups have to compete for limited resources such as money,
personnel and equipment, or when communication difficulties occur. Groups
may also experience confrontations because they promote different interests and
goals.
Review of Related Literature- An organization comes into being when there are people who are to interact
with each other and who are prepared to put force and a unified effort in pursuit
of a common goal. Rahim (1986) and Gebretensay (2002) write on the nature of
conflict in school organizations. Conflict in school organizations has been a
common phenomenon for a long period of time. When people interact with one
another, it is natural for conflicts to occur. It received different degree of
emphasis from social scientists during various periods of history. Thus, the
phenomena related to conflict have been deeply studied by philosophers,
sociologists, economists, political scientists, anthropologists, and psychologists.
Those scholars agreed that conflicts arise when interests collide usually as a
result of divergence in organizational goals, personal ambition, group loyalties,
demands on scarce resources and so forth (Rahim, 1986). Gray and Stark (1984)
cited in Hendel, Fish, and Galon, (2005) identified six sources of conflict. These
are: 1) Limited resources, 2) Interdependent work activities, 3) Differentiation
of activities, 4) Communication problems, 5) Differences in perceptions, and 6)
The environment of the organization. According to these writers, conflict can
also arise from a number of other sources, such as: 1) Individual differences
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 50
(some people enjoy conflict while others do not); 2) Unclear authority structures
(people do not know how far their authority extends); 3) Differences in
attitudes; 4) Task symmetries (one group is more powerful than another and the
weaker group tries to change the situation, and 5) Difference in time horizons
(some departments have a long-run view and others have a short-run view).
Therefore, conflicts originate from multitude of sources found at personal and
organizational levels in institutions. Whatever the sources of conflict are for the
sake of this research, intrapersonal, interpersonal, intra group and intergroup
types of conflict are addressed below.
Intrapersonal conflict is caused by poor person-environment fit, poor time
management, underestimation or over estimation of skills, and assigned tasks
that do not bring much goals, interests, values or abilities, lack of confidence,
feeling of powerlessness extra (Hanson, 1996). The primary sources of
intrapersonal conflict as suggested by Makaye and Ndofirepi (2012) and Kinard
(1988) are: conflicting needs, role ambiguity and incompatibility of
organizational and personal values. At the individual level, behavioural
scientists have asserted personality as ''The dynamic organization within the
individual of those needs dispositions that govern his or her unique reactions to
the environment '' (Getzels in Campbell et al., 1983). In other words, individuals
with the same formal responsibility in a school organization may perceive these
differently because of differences in their personalities.
Interpersonal conflict involves conflict between two or more individuals and is
probably the most common and most recognized conflict (Makaye and
Ndofirepi, 2012; Kinard, 1988). This may involve conflict between two
departmental managers who are competing for limited capital and manpower
resources. According to Chandan (1994), interpersonal conflicts can also be
expressed by disagreements over goals and objectives of the organization. For
example, some members of a school board may like to offer courses in sex
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 51
education while others may find this proposal morally offensive and thus
causing conflict.
Intergroup conflict refers to differences and clashes between groups,
departments, or divisions within an organization (Hellriegel & Slocum, 1982).
According to these writers, the causes of intergroup conflicts are: 1) task
interdependency; 2) task dependencies; 3) inconsistent performance criteria and
rewards; 4) intergroup differences; and 5) problems in sharing scarce common
resources. Ivancevich and Matteson (1990) suggested that there are causes of
intergroup conflicts. These are: 1) Interdependence (pooled, sequential and
reciprocal); 2) Difference in goals, and 3) Difference in perceptions. Similarly,
Hellriegel and Slocum (1982) indicated three major factors that contribute to
intergroup conflicts in organizations. First, the need for joint decision making
creates potential for conflict. This refers to the dependence and interdependence
over and between groups dictated by the systems nature of organizations.
Second, the difference in goals: multiple goals exist within the same
organization. This is because different individuals and groups develop different
goals by virtue of internally inconsistent reward systems, competition for scarce
resources, etc. These complications give rise to the third factor contributing to
inter group conflict, difference in perceptions, which are also exacerbated by
departmentalization and different flows of information to different
organizational sub units. Along with intergroup conflict intra-group conflict is
common in school organizations. According to Curşeu (2011) intra-group
conflict refers to disagreements of differences among the members of a group or
its subgroups regarding the goals, functions, or activities of the group. Members
of the same group (department, or two or more subgroups within a group)
develop conflict either substantive or affective one, based on intellectual
disagreement, or on emotional responses to a situation. It describes a situation in
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 52
which group members hold discrepant views (have different opinions, attitudes,
knowledge) or has interpersonal incompatibilities with each other.
The better educators and students understand the nature of conflict, the better
able they are to manage conflicts constructively. Moran (2001) sees conflict
management as “a philosophy and a set of skills that assist individuals and
groups in better understanding and dealing with conflict as it arises in all
aspects of their lives”. Conflicts as concept never remain positive or negative
but it has always been seen as a basic and result oriented part of school life.
According to Owens (1998), frequent and powerful conflict can have a
devastating effect on the behaviour of people in organizations. Such conflict
results in physical and psychological withdrawal and is a widely occurring
phenomenon in schools that is often written off as laziness on the part of
teachers who have been spoiled by ''soft'' administrative practices. Effective
management of conflict can lead to outcomes that are productive and enhance
the health of the organization. Except in some situations where conflict can lead
to competition and creativity, in most other cases conflict is destructive in
nature. Therefore, it should be resolved as soon after it has developed as
possible. But it is advisable for managers to make an effort in preventing it from
developing (Chandan, 1994).
As to Hendel, Fish and Galon (2005), conflict management refers to the modes
used by either or both parties to cope with a conflict. Owens (1998) in
Gebretensay (2002) suggested that effective conflict management can lead to
outcomes that are productive and enhance the health of the organization
whereas ineffective management of conflict can and frequently does-create a
climate that exacerbates the situation and is likely to develop a downward spiral
of mounting frustration, deteriorating organizational climate, and increasing
destructiveness of the school. Adler and Towne (1990) identified three possible
courses of actions when faced with a conflict as mentioned in Hendel, Fish and
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 53
Galon (2005): (1) accepting the status quo (that is living with the problem); (2)
using force and mandating change; (3) reaching an agreement by negotiating.
The writers pointed out tree types of outcomes that result from these approaches
to conflict management: Win–Lose approach, Lose–Lose approach and Win–
Win approach.
Statement of the Problem- Conflict as an inevitable event, occurs in the organization in any circumstance.
School organizations frequently appear to be centers of tension; on occasion,
they are perhaps a manifestation of problems in the community (Ghaffar, 2010).
As Fikru (1993) and Gonie (1998) indicated, conflicts are realities in Ethiopian
schools. In line with these findings, Fikru (1993) based on MoE reports
identified the following major conflict generating factors: Dissatisfaction of
some teachers and other workers, unnecessarily dominating (authoritative)
principals, dissatisfaction in performance evaluation systems, improper
distribution of class load extra and worthiness for advancement. As far as the
researcher’s knowledge is concerned, as a lecturer of the primary and secondary
school leaders at Haramaya University in summer season, school leaders raised
many causes for conflicts of teachers and school leaders. Some of them were
lack of transparency regarding school resources, ethnic problems, unproductive
and monotonous political meetings, negative attitude of teachers towards
teaching profession, lack of teachers’ motivation in their job and poor
performance of teachers and school leaders. In case of this many leaders
especially principals reject their position in many schools of Harari Regional
State. These gaps inspire the researcher to prove and identify the existing root
causes of conflict of teachers and school leaders in primary schools of Harari
Regional state. This paper addresses the following basic questions that under
pin the issues:
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 54
1. What are the major root causes of conflicts in primary schools of Harari
Regional State?
2. How do primary school teachers and school leaders view conflicts in Harari
Regional State?
3. What major types of conflicts are there in primary schools of Harari
Regional State?
Objectives of the Study- The objectives of the study are-
1. To identify the major root causes of conflicts in primary schools of Harari
Regional State
2. To explore the views of school leaders and teachers about conflict in Harari
Regional State
3. To scrutinize the major types of conflict that exists in primary schools of
Harari Regional State
Research Design and Methodology- Research Design-
The purpose of the study is to explore the root causes of conflict between
primary school teachers and leaders in Harari Regional State. Hence descriptive
research survey design was used to explore the existing root causes of conflict
between teachers and school leaders and the perceptions of teachers and school
leaders towards conflicts.
Sources of Data-
Primary and secondary data sources were used. As primary sources, teachers,
school leaders (principals, vice principals, department heads and unit leaders)
and parent-teacher associations were included and secondary sources were
regional reports on school governance and school reports on recording conflicts.
Sample and sampling techniques-
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 55
In Harari Regional State there are over 48 primary schools. Of whom, 12
schools were selected as samples through simple random sampling. As far as
participants are concerned, stratified sampling and simple random sampling
were generally used to take representatives. Accordingly, 24 principals (through
available sampling), 24 department heads (stratified sampling), 10 unit leaders
(by available sampling) and 94 teachers (through simple random sampling)
were participated. Additionally, 5 Parent-teacher association representatives and
3 Woreda Education Bureau supervisors of Harari Regional State were involved
purposively to crosscheck the validity of the data obtained from teachers and
school leaders.
Data gathering tools-
Questionnaire and interview were the main data gathering tools. Both open
ended and close ended questionnaires were prepared in English language for
teachers and school leaders and interview guiding questions were prepared for
parent teacher association representatives and supervisors.
Data collection and analysis-
A total of 152 respondents were participated and 56 (96.6%) questionnaires
from the school leaders and 88 (93.6%) questionnaires from the teachers were
properly filled in and returned. The questionnaires were collected by the
researcher with the support of school leaders. Furthermore, interview was
conducted by the researcher through arranging appropriate time for Parent
teacher association representatives and supervisors. The data were tabulated and
analyzed using mean, grand mean and mean ranks.
Results and Discussion- The respondents were asked to rate eight possible root cause factors of conflict
between teachers and school leaders on a five point Likert-type scale which
extends from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) and the second five
point Likert scale which extends from not at all (1) to always (5) which
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 56
measures the views of teachers and school leaders towards conflict. The rating
scores were computed to mean value and rank as presented in Table 1.
Table-1 From the view points of school leaders as Table 1 shows, all of the set reasons
except one variable (Lack of outdated policies and guidelines for teachers and
leaders) were rated as the root factors that lead to conflict. The mean values
range from a maximum of 3.80 to a minimum of 2.29 while the overall average
mean was 3.08. Similarly, the response rate of teachers was similar with
responses of school leaders. All of the set reasons except one factor (Teachers
are resistant to change (disengagement, low spirit of work and low intimacy)
were the root causes of conflict which leads teachers and school leaders in
conflict.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 57
N
o
Major root causes of conflict Respondents
Leaders N=56
Teachers
N=88
Response Rating Score 푴풆풂풏
value
푴풆풂풏
rank
5
4
3
2
1
1. Sick school climate (aloofness and
unproductive disengagement of leaders)
Leaders
(N=56)
Teachers
(N=88)
6
25
9
29
12
20
23
9
6
7
2.75
3.70
6
3
2. Group think (ethnic based assumption ) Leaders
Teachers
10
38
12
31
18
12
7
5
9
2
3.13
4.10
5
2
3. Communication problems (unclear
direction and work assignment)
Leaders
Teachers
12
17
14
21
24
41
5
8
1
2
3.55
3.52
2
5
4. Unfairness due to ideological and ethnic
differences on the part of leaders
Leaders
Teachers
9
50
16
29
23
6
5
3
3
0
3.41
4.43
3
1
5. Lack of outdated policies and guidelines
for teachers and leaders
Leaders
Teachers
5
11
9
14
19
38
16
21
10
4
2.29
3.08
8
7
6. Problems in implementing teachers Leaders 7 15 20 9 5 3.18 4
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 58
Table1: Rating scores of respondents on root causes of conflict between teachers and school leaders
career structure Teachers 20 31 23 9 5 3.49 6
7. Because decisions are made without the
participation of workers (teachers)
Leaders
Teachers
2
17
6
28
13
31
23
10
22
2
2.52
3.55
7
4
8. Teachers are resistant to change
(disengagement, low esprit of work and
low intimacy)
Leaders
Teachers
14
9
21
12
17
21
4
24
0
12
3.80
2.45
1
8
Overall Leaders
Teachers
3.08
3.54
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 59
The mean values of teachers range from a maximum of 4.43 to a minimum of
2.45 whereas the overall average mean was 3.54. Since the mean values rating
scores for all the set cause factors from both groups of respondents were greater
than the acceptable mean value of 2.5, it can be concluded that all the variable
except two variables (lack of outdated policies and guidelines for teachers and
leaders and teachers are resistant to change) are the root causes of conflict for
teachers and school leaders.
The level of impact of the root causes however shows slight variations. As
depicted in Table 1, from the view point of school leaders the most significant
factors in rank order 1 to 4 were teachers are resistant to change
(disengagement, low spirit of work and low intimacy), communication
problems (unclear direction and work assignment), unfairness due to ideological
and ethnic differences on the part of leaders and problems in implementing
teachers career structure. Even though the mean values of the responses of the
school leaders and teachers show agreement on the root causes of conflict, the
respondents provide different ranking order for the root causes. The most
significant cause factors according to the teachers’ responses in rank order 1 to
4 were, unfairness due to ideological and ethnic differences on the part of
leaders, group think (ethnic based assumption), sick school climate (aloofness
and unproductive disengagement of leaders) and because decisions are made
without the participation of workers (teachers).
Teacher respondents agreed up on the problem of ethnic differences and group
think (ethnic based assumption) as principal cause factor of conflict for the
teachers and school leaders in primary schools of Harari Regional State. One of
the primary school PTA members states during interview ‘‘conflict at this time
is seen as common events in every school. There are many reasons for conflict
of teachers and school leaders in the school, however; the major are unfairness
of school administrators in every level regarding various benefits and ethnic
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 60
based assumption.’’ As it is known, the Ethiopian government system was
organized based on ethnicity. Every citizen does not get equal job, justice and
living opportunity in regions as Ethiopians. Therefore, regions are organized
according to the country’s constitution and they provide opportunities and
benefits to their ethnic groups. As far as ethnic based conflict is concerned,
Alemayehu (2009) states that regional state in Ethiopia supported its respective
ethnic group rather than searching for common or joint resolution of the
conflicts between or among different ethnic groups. This circumstance leads
individuals to engage in ethnic based conflict. This case was occurred in
primary schools of Harari Regional State as the finding depicted.
Table-2 Organizational conflict is viewed as neither good nor bad, but it is inevitable.
Thus, whether we like it or not, conflict will exist or will occur even if
organizations have paid great sacrifice to prevent it (Gray and Strake, 1984).
Table 2 presents the views of teachers and school leaders towards conflict and
how they perceive it in their schools.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 61
Table 2: Views of Teachers and School Leaders towards Conflict
No Description Respondents Response Rating Score 푴풆풂풏
value
SD
5 4 3 2 1
1. The extent to which conflict
affects staff morale
Leaders (N=56)
Teachers
(N=88)
12
35
18
29
14
16
9
5
3
3
3.48
4.00
2.59
3.75
2. The degree of conflict creates bad
feelings among staff
Leaders
Teachers
17
41
21
19
14
17
3
9
1
3
3.89
4.01
3.46
3.78
3. The degree of job effectiveness
in the absence of conflict
Leaders
Teachers
10
20
12
23
18
25
7
15
9
5
3.13
3.43
2.11
2.41
4. The extent to which conflict can bring a
change
Leaders
Teachers
9
6
16
3
23
50
5
14
3
15
3.41
2.67
2.12
1.86
5. Conflict results in better work climate Leaders
Teachers
7
5
15
9
20
23
9
20
5
31
3.18
2.25
2.17
2.00
6. Conflict is useful in creating new
ideas if properly managed
Leaders
Teachers
2
10
6
9
22
31
23
28
13
10
2.84
2.78
1.91
1.88
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 62
As it can be seen in Table 2, teachers and school leaders had similar understanding
about conflict. Since the mean values of teachers (M=4.00) and school leaders
(M=3.48) indicate that conflict affects the staff morale and motivation. Moreover,
school leaders and teachers believe that conflict creates bad feeling among the staff
with mean values 3.89 and 4.01 in that order. However, research findings show
that teachers and school leaders should see the positive effects of conflict on the
effectiveness of school outcomes. Functional conflict is a confrontation between
groups that enhances and benefits the organization's performance. Without
functional conflict in organizations, there is a possibility to have little commitment
to change, and most likely groups would become stagnant (Gebretensay, 2002).
Additionally, USAID (2003 E.C) in its training manual on leadership skills for
primary school female teachers states that conflict can help school leaders to
identify the root causes of problems, identify the possible ways of problem solving
strategies, and facilitate school changes. Contrary to the above research findings,
both respondents in Harari Regional State view that job effectiveness is increased
in the absence of conflict with mean values of 3.13 and 3.43 of school leaders and
teachers respectively. As evidence shows, however; job effectiveness alone does
not realize through in the absence of conflict rather than conflict and disagreement
between decision makers (school leaders) and teachers can improve school
outcomes (Hunt, 1992). Constructive conflict enables individuals to release their
tensions and frustrations about the overall atmosphere of the school and permits
open discussion on conflicting school issues. This action explicitly improves
individual teacher and leader performance in company with school outcomes.
As the mean values of school leaders (M=3.41) and teachers (M=2.67) depict,
response difference was observed regarding the values of conflict that brings
school change. From the figure it can be concluded that teachers did not sure that
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 63
conflict brings organizational (school) change. Along with this, one of the PTA
members reported that ‘‘teachers are change resistant that they do not want put
forth their effort to realize the change. They always would like to maintain the
status quo of the school as it is.’’ Furthermore, great discrepancy was seen from
responses of school leaders and teachers concerning conflict results in better work
climate with mean value 3.18 and 2.25 correspondingly. Teachers were generally
pessimistic about the constructive effect of conflict in the sample schools. This
may be able to come from the deprived knowledge of teachers on the positive
effects of conflict. On the other hand, school leaders had better understanding on
the positive effect of conflict. School leaders therefore are responsible for
facilitating the school climate to be conducive for change. Additionally, leaders
must play an active role in initiating change and in attempting to reduce resistance
to change. They can think of the current condition in school as equilibrium, which
is the result of driving forces and resisting forces working against each other.
Research verifies that conflict create conducive work climate if it is seen as
constructive and managed properly. Rue and Byars (1989) state that conflict
usually causes changes; activates people’s mind, and can make the school
environment healthy.
Therefore, we can say that functional conflict can activate the minds of teachers
and promotes the interactions of the staff by shaping the schools climate. Shaped
school climate on the other hand plays important role in setting the atmosphere
conducive for a particular school. It is achieved through the interaction between the
principal and teachers, between teachers and students and between the principal
and students. The social interaction compels the principal, teachers and students to
discuss mutually in area of planning, decision-making, problem solving and
control through reducing the causes of conflict.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 64
Table-3 Conflict can be either intrapersonal, interpersonal, intra groups, inter groups and
between the organization and individuals. In this research the former four types of
conflict were examined and identified through factorial analysis. The five point
Likert scale (always=5, usually=4, sometimes=3, rarely=2 and not at all=1) was
used to measure the frequencies of conflict occurrences between teachers and
school leaders.
Table 3: The types of conflict
Types of Conflict Leaders Teachers
1. Intrapersonal Mea
n
Mea
n
rank
Mea
n
Mean
rank
Low standard of living (low salary) 3.33 1 4.21 1
Mismatch between individual and organizational
goal
2.89 3 3.42 2
Lack required ability for a particular job 2.96 4 2.54 4
Family related problems 3.01 2 3.11 3
Grand Mean 3.05 3.32
2. Interpersonal
Ideological and goal difference (personality
differences)
3.31 3 4.34 2
Absence of cooperation between workers 3.89 2 3.76 3
Competition for limited resources 4.56 1 4.78 1
Inappropriate implementation of rules and 2.67 4 3.67 4
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 65
regulations
Grand Mean 3.61 4.14
3. Intra group
Unfair distribution of teaching load 2.34 3 2.42 4
Divide and rule style of group leadership 2.56 2 3.69 2
Group think 3.00 1 4.13 1
Incompetence of the group 2.33 4 2.49 3
Grand Mean 2.56 3.18
4. Inter group
Due to the difference in ideology, interest and
goal between groups
2.78 3 3.56 2
Lack of professional commitment on teachers
and leaders
3.21 2 2.69 4
Due to lack of resources 4.48 1 4.54 1
The problem in the assignment of educational
managers
2.23 4 3.43 3
Grand Mean 3.18 3.56
Table 3 shows, the four types of conflict which comprises four factors under each
type of conflict. As far as intrapersonal conflict is concerned, the first reason of
intrapersonal conflict of school leaders and teachers was low standard of living
(low salary) with mean value 3.33 and 4.21 in that order. Seeing that the mean rank
of factors indicates, low standard of living was ranked first by both respondents.
Mismatch between individual and organizational goal and family related problems
were the second factor which occurs usually in the schools as the sources of intra
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 66
personal conflict. Since the mean values and grand mean values rating scores for
all factors from both groups of respondents were greater than the acceptable mean
value of 2.5, it can be concluded that all the variables were occurring in primary
schools of Harari Regional State. In line with this, the type of conflict which highly
occurred in primary schools of Harari Regional State was interpersonal conflict.
The primary factor that occurs most of the time in the sample schools was
competition for limited resources with mean value of 4.78 of teacher and 4.56 of
leaders. In this regard, Kinard (1988) reports that disagreement between
individuals is often occurring where they have to compete for limited resources.
Resources are very limited in primary schools of Harari Regional State and
teachers have no any means of alternative to boost their incomes. This in turn
creates conflict between individuals when few incomes generating means get hold
of in the school. The second set reasons for interpersonal conflict were ideological
and goal difference (personality differences) and absence of cooperation between
workers which were rated by the teachers and leaders with mean values 4.34 and
3.89 respectively. During personal communication, one of the primary school
leaders said ‘‘most employees in the school are concerned about their ethnic,
position, status, power, benefits and resent any encroachment on them. Also they
are often competing with each other for recognition, approval and promotion.
Every individual in the school focus on fulfilling their own interest and becomes
reluctant for shaping and creating academic environment.’’ Kinard (1988) and
Hendel, Fish and Galon (2005) suggested that interpersonal conflict is occurring by
personality difference, power struggles, and competition of resources in the
schools. Similarly, among the intra group factors, group thinking was the first set
reason ranked first by both respondents as the factor of conflict in the schools.
Secondly, divide and rule style of group leadership was mentioned by the teachers
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 67
as the factor for intra group problem with mean value 3.69. Significant difference
was observed between teachers and school leaders mean scores about the factors of
divide and rule style of group leadership that school leaders were reported had
insignificant factor for the cause of intra group conflict.
In line with intra group type of conflict, teachers and school leaders said that
shortage of resources in the school always creates inter group conflict in the
sample schools with mean value 4.54 and 4.48 in that order. The second reason for
inter group conflict was difference in ideology, interest and goal between groups as
to the teachers mean score of 3.56 while as to school leaders, the second reason for
inter group conflict in the schools was due to lack of professional commitment on
teachers and leaders to achieve organizational goals according to school leaders
response. Furthermore, teachers contended that the reason for inter group conflict
was not due to lack of professional commitment of teachers but due to the problem
in the assignment of educational managers. For both cases, one of the school
supervisors said during interview that ‘‘nowadays teachers do not have
professional commitment and good morale for their job. They become reluctant,
vegetate and resentful. Not just teachers but also school leaders do not perform
their work properly. They spent their huge time with lot of worthless meetings and
they have working political activities rather than professional works. That is why
the quality of education is deteriorating through time. In any case both groups do
not execute their responsibility as intended therefore this leads in conflict.’’
Figure 1: Summary of the type of conflict with grand mean value
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 68
The likely types of conflict found in the literature were forwarded as an example
out of which respondents could select the types of conflict which they think were
existed in primary schools of Harari Regional State. The results are clearly seen in
Figure 1. According to the grand mean values observed in the Figure, the types of
conflict can be put in order on their degree of magnitude 1) Inter personal conflict,
2) Intergroup conflict, 3) Intrapersonal conflict, and 4) Intra group conflict.
Therefore, intergroup conflicts and interpersonal conflicts are predominantly found
in primary schools of Harari Regional State. Both respondents seem to agree on the
rate of occurrence of the types of conflict mentioned in the sample schools.
Conclusions- The findings of this study have led the researcher to conclude that major root
causes of conflicts are unfairness due to ideological and ethnic differences on the
part of leaders, group thinking (ethnic based assumption), sick school climate
(aloofness of school leaders and unproductive disengagement) and because
decisions are made without the participation of workers (teachers) in primary
schools of Harari Regional State. This shows that the teaching learning process and
Intrapersonal Interpersonal Intragroup IntergroupSchool leaders 3.05 3.61 2.56 3.18Teachers 3.32 4.14 3.18 3.56
3.053.61
2.56
3.183.32
4.14
3.183.56
00.5
11.5
22.5
33.5
44.5
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 69
the management of the schools are adversely affected by the teachers and school
leaders’ disagreement. This in turn brings deteriorate of quality of education in
every grade levels. According to the findings, teachers and school leaders viewed
that conflict affects the staff morale (motivation) and creates bad feeling among the
staff as well as it reduces the effectiveness of the schools outcomes. This
designates that teachers and school leaders perceived that conflict does not have
constructive impact on the schools’ results. Hence, they do not give any room for
the functional outcomes of conflict. Inter personal conflict and intergroup conflicts
are major types of conflict which frequently occurring in primary schools of Harari
Regional State.
References –
Abdul, Ghaffar. (2010). Conflict in Schools: Its Causes and Management
Strategies. Qurtuba University of Science and Information Technology,
Pakistan. Journal of Managerial Sciences Volume III, No II
Adler R.B. and Towne N. (1990). Looking Out Looking In, Interpersonal
Communication. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Forth Worth.
Alemayehu, Fentaw. (2009). Conflict Management in the Ethiopian Multi-
national Federation. Stadtschlaining, Austria. Unpublished Master Thesis,
European University
Campbell, R.F., Carbally, J. E., and Nustrand, R.O. (1983). Introduction to
Educational Administration (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon Inc.
Chandan, Jet. (1994). Organizational Behaviour. New Delhi: Vikas
Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.
Gebretensay, Tesfay. (2002). A Study of Factors that Generate Conflict
between Government Secondary School Teachers and Educational
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 70
Managers in Addis Ababa Administrative Region. Unpublished Master
Thesis, A.A.U.
Gonie Tegbaru (1998). A study on Teacher-Principal Conflicts in Amhara
Secondary Schools. Unpublished Master Thesis, A.A.U.
Gray,J.L and Strake,F.A. (1984). Organizational Behaviour-Concepts and
Applications (3rd. ed.). Columbus Bell and Howell Company.
Hanson, M. (1991). Education Administration and Organisation Behaviour.
Massachusetts: Ally and Bacon.
Hellriegel, D. and Slocum,J.W.(1982). Management (3rd ed. ). London:
Wesley Publishing Company.
Hendel T., Fish M., and Galon, V. (2005). Leadership Style and Choice of
Strategy in Conflict Management among Israeli Nurse Managers in General
Hospitals. Journal of Nursing Management 13, 137–146
Hunt, J.W. (1992). Managing People at Work: A Manager Guide to
Behavior in Organizations. (3rd.ed.). London: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Ivancevich, J.M and Matteson, M.T. (1990). Organizational Behaviour and
Management (2nd ed.). Boston: R.R Donnelley & Sons Company.
Jeriphanos, Makaye. and Amasa, P. Ndofirepi. (2012). Conflict Resolution
between Heads and Teachers: The Case of 4 Schools in Masvingo
Zimbabwe. Greener Journal of Educational Research ISSN: 2276-7789 Vol.
2 (4), pp. 105 – 110
Kreps, G.L. (1990). Organisational Communication. New York: Longman.
Owens, R.G. (1987). Organizational Behaviour in Education. (3rd ed.).
Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall Inc.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 71
Petru, L. Curşeu (2011). Intra-Group Conflict and Teamwork Quality: The
Moderating Role of Leadership Styles. Department of Organisation Studies,
Tilburg University. Adm. Sci., 1, 3-13
Rahim, A.M. (1986). Managing Conflict in Organizations. New York
Praeger Publishers.
Rue, L.W. and Byars, L.L. (1989)). Supervision: Key Link to Productivity.
Boston Hoomewood.
Salleh, Mohamad Johdi and Adulpakdee, Apitree (2012). Causes of Conflict
and Effective Methods to Conflict Management at Islamic Secondary
Schools in Yala, Thailand. International Islamic University Malaysia
(IIUM). International Interdisciplinary Journal of Education - Volume 1,
Issue 1
Tschannen, Moran, M. (2001). The Effects of a State-Wide Conflict
Management Initiative in Schools. American Secondary Education
ዩ.ኤስ. ኤይድ (2003). የአመራር ክህሎት፤ ለመጀመሪያ ደርጃ ትምህርት ቤት ሴት መምህራን
የተዘጋጀ ሞጁል፡፡ ያልታተመ፣ አድስ አበባ ኢትዮጵያ፡፡ **********************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 72
Paper-5
Qualitative Research in Education: An
Overview Jitendra Singh Goyal
Suneeta Chaudhari
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 73
Qualitative Research in Education: An Overview Jitendra Singh Goyal7
Suneeta Chaudhari8
Abstract Qualitative research is designed to explore the human elements of a given topic,
while specific qualitative methods examine how individuals see and experience the
world. Qualitative approaches are typically used to explore new phenomena and to
capture individuals’ thoughts, feelings, or interpretations of meaning and process.
Such methods are central to research conducted in education, nursing, sociology,
anthropology, information studies, and other disciplines in the humanities, social
sciences, and health sciences. Qualitative research projects are informed by a wide
range of methodologies and theoretical frameworks.
Key words- Phenomena, Frameworks, Approaches.
Introduction- Qualitative research is a generic term for investigative methodologies described as
ethnographic, naturalistic, anthropological, field, or participant observer research.
It emphasizes the importance of looking at variables in the natural setting in which
they are found. Interaction between variables is important. Detailed data is
gathered through open ended questions that provide direct quotations. The
interviewer is an integral part of the investigation. This differs from quantitative
research which attempts to gather data by objective methods to provide
7 Research Scholar, Deaprtment of Education (IASE), University of Lucknow, Lucknow (U.P.), E-mail-
[email protected], Mobile no.-08909683734
8 Lecturer (Education ), Gaya Prasad Verma P.G. College, Dhibhauli, Chakarnagar District-Etawah (U.P.), E-mail-
[email protected], Mobile no.-09058414147
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 74
information about relations, comparisons, and predictions and attempts to remove
the investigator from the investigation.
Characteristics of Qualitative Research- Purpose: Understanding - Seeks to understand people’s interpretations.
Reality: Dynamic - Reality changes with changes in people’s perceptions.
Viewpoint: Insider - Reality is what people perceive it to be.
Values: Value bound - Values will have an impact and should be understood and
taken into account when conducting and reporting research.
Focus: Holistic - A total or complete picture is sought.
Orientation: Discovery - Theories and hypotheses are evolved from data as collected.
Data: Subjective - Data are perceptions of the people in the environment.
Instrumentation: Human - The human person is the primary collection instrument.
Conditions: Naturalistic - Investigations are conducted under natural conditions.
Results: Valid - The focus is on design and procedures to gain "real," "rich," and
"deep" data.
Point of Comparisons Qualitative Research Quantitative Research
Focus of research Quality (nature, essence) Quantity (how much, how
many)
Philosophical roots Phenomenology,
symbolic interaction
Positivism, logical
empiricism
Associated phrases Fieldwork, ethnographic,
naturalistic, grounded,
subjective
Experimental, empirical,
statistical
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 75
Goal of investigation Understanding,
description, discovery,
hypothesis generating
Prediction, control,
description, confirmation,
hypothesis testing
Design characteristics Flexible, evolving,
emergent
Predetermined, structured
Setting Natural, familiar Unfamiliar, artificial
Sample Small, non-random,
theoretical
Large, random,
representative
Data collection Researcher as primary
instrument, interviews,
observations
Inanimate instruments
(scales, tests, surveys,
questionnaires,
computers)
Mode of analysis Inductive (by researcher) Deductive (by statistical
methods)
Findings Comprehensive, holistic,
expansive
Precise, narrow,
reductionist
Advantages of Qualitative Research-
In-depth Examination of Phenomena.
Uses subjective information.
Not limited to rigidly definable variables.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 76
Examine complex questions that can be impossible with quantitative
methods.
Deal with value-laden questions.
Explore new areas of research
Build new theories. Qualitative Research Vs Quantitative Research-
QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Multiple realities Single reality
Reality is socially
constructed.
Reality is objective.
Reality is context
interrelated.
Reality is context free.
Holistic Reductionist
Strong philosophical
Perspective
Strong theoretical base
Reasoning is inductive. Reasoning is deductive and inductive.
Discovery of meaning is the
basis of knowledge.
Cause-and-effect relationships are the
bases of knowledge.
Develops theory Tests theory
Theory developed during
study.
Theory developed a priori.
Meaning of concepts Measurement of variables
Process oriented Outcome oriented
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 77
Control unimportant Control important
Rich descriptions Precise measurement of variables
Basic element of analysis is
words
Basic element of analysis is numbers
Uniqueness Generalization
Trustworthiness of findings Control of error
Comparison of Qualitative Methods -
TABLE COMPARISON OF QUALITATIVE METHODS
METHOD STUDY
FOCUS
ANALYTIC
FOCUS
DISCIPLINES
Ethnography culture/cultural
group
describe a
culture/cultural
group
Cultural Anthropology
Grounded
Theory
cultural groups generate
theory about a
basic social
process
Sociology/ Symbolic Interaction/
Criminology
Phenomenologyindividual
experience
discern the
essence of the
lived
experience
Philosophy/ Psychology/
Sociology
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 78
Holistic Description- When conducting qualitative research, the investigator seeks to gain a total or
complete picture. According to Stainback and Stainback (1988), a holistic
description of events, procedures, and philosophies occurring in natural settings is
often needed to make accurate situational decisions. This differs from quantitative
research in which selected, pre-defined variables are studied.
Corroboration- The purpose of corroboration is not to confirm whether people’s perceptions are
accurate or true reflections of a situation but rather to ensure that the research
findings accurately reflect people’s perceptions, whatever they may be. The
purpose of corroboration is to help researchers increase their understanding of the
probability that their findings will be seen as credible or worthy of consideration
by others (Stainback & Stainback, 1988).
Triangulation- One process involved in corroboration is triangulation. Denzin (1978) has
identified several types of triangulation. One type involves the convergence of
multiple data sources. Another type is methodological triangulation, which
involves the convergence of data from multiple data collection sources. A third
triangulation procedure is investigator triangulation, in which multiple researchers
are involved in an investigation. Related to investigator triangulation is researcher-
participant corroboration, which has also been referred to as cross-examination.
Other procedures can be used to improve understanding and the credibility of a
study. These include research or inquiry audit, peer debriefing, and the seeking of
negative cases in the field that might disconfirm interpretations.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 79
Qualitative Research Methods - There are following some major qualitative research methods:
1. Case study
2. Ethnography
3. Phenomenology
4. Concept Mapping
5. Focus Group Methodology
6. Grounded theory
7. Naturalistic Inquiry
8. Symbolic Interactionism
9. Content Analysis
10. Interpretivism
Case Study- Case studies are detailed investigations of individuals, groups, institutions or other
social units. The researcher conducting a case study attempts to analyze the
variables relevant to the subject under study (Polit and Hungler, 1983). The
principle difference between case studies and other research studies is that the
focus of attention is the individual case and not the whole population of cases.
Most studies search for what is common and pervasive. However, in the case
study, the focus may not be on generalization but on understanding the particulars
of that case in its complexity. A case study focuses on a bounded system, usually
under natural conditions, so that the system can be understood in its own habitat
(Stake, 1988).
Ethnography-
Ethno – refers to human culture
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 80
Graphy – means description of A research process used in the scientific study of
human interactions in social settings.
Used extensively in anthropology.
Has become increasing popular in educational research over the past few years.
Has been relatively slow to become accepted in agricultural and extension Education. Purpose-
To describe and explain a facet or segment of group social life as it relates to
education.
Hypotheses and questions-
Begin as a broad statement about the purpose of the research, then are allowed to
emerge more specifically as data are amassed.
Data-
Verbal descriptions of people, interactions, settings, objects and phenomena within
the context being studies.
Data Sources – the people, settings, and relevant objects being observed
Data Collection – done by the researcher through observation, sometimes
combined with interview
Data treatment and analysis – presentation of verbal descriptions and/or
logical analysis of information to discover salient patterns and themes.
The Process-
A question or concern is identified for study
A group to study is identified
– Typically small
– Typically purposively selected
Permission to study the group is obtained.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 81
The researcher observes the group
– Privileged observer – just observes
– Participant observer – functions as part of the group
Researcher watches and listens attentively and records as much detail as possible (this
is called naturalistic observation). Large amounts of notes are typically generated.
This process may last a week or two or could be years.
The researcher analyzes the notes, identifies themes, looks for answers to research
questions, and makes logical inferences.
The final step is to write the research paper describing the process, observations,
findings, and conclusion.
Often rich descriptions are provided so the readers can make their own interpretations.
Phenomenology-
Is not a unified position (e.g., Husserl, Merleau-Ponty, Sartre, Heidegger)
A school of philosophical thought that underpins all of QL research.
Emphasis on experience and interpretation
Also is a set of tools
Essence-
Focus of the study is on the essence or structure of an experience
(phenomenon) (Merriam).
The task of the phenomenologist is to depict this essence or basic structure
of experience (Merriam).
“The assumption of essence, like the ethnographer’s assumption that culture
exists and is important, becomes the defining characteristic of a purely
phenomenological study” (Merriam, p. 15 quote from Patton, p 70).
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 82
Concept Mapping-
Social scientists have developed a number of methods and processes that might be
useful in helping you to formulate a research project. I would include among these
at least the following- brainstorming, brainwriting, nominal group techniques,
focus groups, affinity mapping, Delphi techniques, facet theory, and qualitative
text analysis. Here, I'll show you a method that I have developed, called concept
mapping, which is especially useful for research problem formulation.
Concept mapping is a general method that can be used to help any individual or
group to describe their ideas about some topic in a pictorial form. There are several
different types of methods that all currently go by names like "concept mapping",
"mental mapping" or "concept webbing." All of them are similar in that they result
in a picture of someone's ideas. But the kind of concept mapping I want to describe
here is different in a number of important ways. First, it is primarily a group
process and so it is especially well-suited for situations where teams or groups of
stakeholders have to work together. The other methods work primarily with
individuals by a trained facilitator in helping a group to articulate its ideas and
understand them more. Second, it uses a very structured facilitated approach. There
are specific steps that are followed clearly. Third, the core of concept mapping
consists of several state-of-the-art multivariate statistical methods that analyze the
input from all of the individuals and yields an aggregate group product. And
fourth, the method requires the use of specialized computer programs that can
handle the data from this type of process and accomplish the correct analysis and
mapping procedures.
Steps of Concept Mapping-
A concept mapping process involves six steps that can take place in a single day or
can be spread out over weeks or months depending on the situation.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 83
Preparation Step
Generation Step
Structuring Step
Utilization Step
Interpretation
Representation Step
Focus Group Methodology-
Qualitative research method
Address research questions that require depth of understanding that cannot
be achieved through quantitative methods.
Purpose: exploratory, pretesting, triangulation, phenomenology
Purpose-
Gather background information
Diagnose problems
Stimulate new ideas or identify new relationships
Generate hypotheses
Evaluate programs
Interpret quantitative results
Independent investigation
Principal data source
Multi-method study or program
Qualitative & quantitative methods
Triangulation
Supplement
Interpretation of quantitative data
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 84
Grounded Theory-
Theory which is derived inductively from the data which were
systematically gathered and analyzed throughout the research process
(Strauss and Corbin 1998).
Data collection, analysis and theory stand in a reciprocal relationship with
each other. A researcher does not begin with a pre-conceived theory in mind,
rather the researcher begins with an area of study and allows the theory to
emerge from the data.
Grounded theory involves-
1. An initial attempt to develop categories which illuminate the data.
2. Saturation of these categories with many appropriate cases in order to
develop their relevance.
3. Developing these categories into more general analytical frameworks with
relevance outside the setting.
Skills needed for the grounded theory research approach-
Important to minimise subjectivity by:
Maintaining an open disposition, a willingness to be surprised
Think comparatively; comparing incident to incident
Study multiple viewpoints of the phenomena in question
Researcher should periodically step back and ask ‘what is going on here?’
Phase 1 - Initial attempt to develop categories which illuminate the data.
Conceptual ordering / creating basic codes
Internal aspect- they must be meaningful in relation to the data
External aspect- they must be meaningful in relation to other categories
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 85
Open coding: the analytic process through which concepts are identified
and their properties and dimensions discovered in the data (Strauss and
Corbin 1998).
Microanalysis of the data
Progressive refocusing in light of the data
Phase 2- Saturation of categories with many appropriate cases and further
development of categories
Axial Coding: further analysis and linking of the codes
Creating subcategories in categories
Linking categories according to properties and dimensions.
Phase 3 - Developing categories into general analytical frameworks with
relevance outside the setting.
Selective coding: the process of integrating and refining categories.
Major categories are finally integrated to form a larger theoretical scheme.
In certain public sector workplaces, which deal with face to face
interaction with potentially violent customers, the physical presence of
management is desired by frontliners.
Naturalistic Inquiry-
The process of scientific inquiry follows a paradigm of deductive- hypothetico-
inductive approach. In other words, the process of scientific inquiry starts with
statements of hypotheses, which are arrived at through a deductive process. Then
starts the process of testing hypotheses or theoretical questions either in physically
controlled situations or through statistically controlled techniques. Objectivity is to
be ensured through selection of representative samples, use of standardized tests
and instruments, and use of different sophisticated statistical designs for treatment
of data and generalization of findings. i) Multiple Realities: First, naturalists
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 86
assume that there exist multiple, realities in social and educational situations which
exist in concrete forms. They are perceived by people differently and thus become
different mental constructs for different people. In other words, realities are taken
to be what people perceive them at a particular point of time. Since social and
educational situations keep on changing from time to time, the realities, too, keep
on changing. Furthermore, since the realities are context specific, they cannot be
tangible in a generalized form.
Symbolic Interactionism-
Symbolic interaction theories focus on the interpretation (social meaning) that is
given to behavior, and on the way such interpretation helps to construct the social
world, the identities of people, and, ultimately how they behave. All interaction
theories are concerned with the way in which meaning is constructed. Its basic
principles are:
1. Humans have capacity for thought.
2. Thought is shaped by social interaction.
3. Through interaction, people learn symbols and meanings that allow them to
think.
4. Meanings and symbols allow for human action.
5. People can interpret a situation and modify their action or interaction.
6. People can create own meanings.
7. Groups and societies are made up of patterns of action and interaction.
According to Herbert Blumer (1969), symbolic interactionism “is based on the
idea that social reality is constructed in each human interaction through the use of
symbols, such as, words or gestures.” Studying symbolic interaction assists us in
understanding human behavior.
The following are the importance of symbolic interactionism:
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 87
Adds micro-level perspective to mainstream sociology.
Adds potential to bridge gap between macro and micro-levels.
Advances our understanding of sociological processes.
Content Analysis-
Content analysis of documents is another qualitative research method that can
potentially provide a holistic picture of an organization, event, or issue. When
using this non-intrusive research method, information is extracted from documents,
such as those found in archives or administrative data. This method can provide a
detailed historical account of the subject(s) of study. Data found in documents such
as letters, memos and books are often coded and statistically analyzed. This form
of research is a valuable alternative when people are not available to give needed
information.
Interpretivism-
Interpretivism is an ‘ism’ that draws together a lose church of qualitative research
approaches including phenomenology, hermeneutics and symbolic interactionism.
Interpretive research focuses on identifying, documenting, and ‘knowing’ –
through interpretation – ‘the world views, values, meanings, beliefs, thoughts and
general characteristics of life events, situations, ceremonies and specific
phenomena under investigation, with the goal being to document and interpret as
fully as possible the totality of whatever is being studied in particular contexts
from the people’s viewpoint or frame of reference’
1. Naturalistic Inquiry
Studying real life situations as they unfold
Non-manipulative, unobstrusive, and non controlling
Openness to whatever emerges – lack of predetermined constraints on
outcomes.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 88
2. Emergent design flexibility
Openness to changing inquiry as understanding deepens or situations
change; responsive
Researcher avoids getting locked into rigid designs
3. Purposeful ‘Sampling’
Cases for study (people, organisations, events, cultures) are selected because
they are the focus of interest
‘sampling’ can be emergent too
4. Qualitative Data
Observations that yield detailed, ‘thick’ description
Interviews that capture people’s personal perspectives and experiences
Careful and close document analysis
5. Personal Engagement
The researcher gets close to the people, situation, or phenomenon under
study
Researcher’s personal experiences and insights are important in
understanding the phenomenon
6. Empathic Neutrality
The researcher takes an empathic stance to seek understanding without
judgment
Shows openness, sensitivity, respect, awareness, responsiveness
7. Systems awareness
Researcher alert to dynamics of systems
Attends to contextual complexity
8. Inductive analysis
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 89
Immersion in the details and specifics of the data to identify important
categories, themes, dimensions and inter-relationships
Begins by exploring then confirming
9. Holistic perspective
The whole phenomenon under study is understood as a complex system that
is more than the sum of parts
Focus on complex interdependencies not on a few discrete variables
10. Credibility
Conveys findings with authenticity and trustworthiness
Uses data
Conveys understanding of the phenomenon in all its complexity.
References-
Abercrombie, Nicholas 1980 Class, Structure and Knowledge. New York:
New York University Press.
Aho, James A. 1998 The Things of the World: A Social Phenomenology.
Westport, Conn.:Praeger.
Ainlay, Stephen C. 1986 "The Encounter with Phenomenology." In James
Davison Hunter and Stephen C. Ainlay, eds., Making Sense of Modern
Times: Peter L. Berger and the Vision of Interpretive Sociology. London:
Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Armstrong, Edward G. 1979 "Black Sociology and Phenomenological
Sociology." Sociological Quarterly 20:387-397.
Benner, Patricia 1995 Interpretive Phenomenology: Embodiment, Caring
and Ethics in Health and Illness. Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Sage.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 90
Bentz, Valerie Malhotra 1995 "Experiments in Husserlian
Phenomenological Sociology." Studies in Symbolic Interaction 17:133-161.
Bentz Valerie Malhotra and Jeremy J. Shapiro 1998 Mindful Inquiry in
Social Research. Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Sage.
Darroch, Vivian, and Ronald J. Silvers (eds.) 1982 Interpretive Human
Studies: An Introduction to Phenomenological Research. Washington, D.C.:
University Press.
Davilla, Roberta A. and Judy C. Pearson 1994 "Children’s Perspectives of
the Family: A Phenomenogical Inquiry." Human Studies 17:325-341.
Denzin, Norman K. and Yvonna S. Lincoln 1994 Handbook of Qualitative
Research. Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Sage.
Denzin, Norman K. and Yvonna S. Lincoln (eds.)1998 Collecting and
Interpreting Qualitative Materials. Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Sage.
Dickens, David R. and Andrea Fontana (eds.) 1994 Postmodernism and
Social Inquiry. New York: Guilford Press.
Hitzler, Ronald, and Reiner Keller 1989 "On Sociological and Common-
Sense Verstehen." Current Sociology 37:91-101.
Hwang, Ahn-Sook 1996 "Positivist and Constructivist Persuasions in
Instructional Development." Instructional Science 24:343-56.
Ihde, Don 1977 Experimental Phenomenology: An Introduction. New York:
Putnam.
Jordan, Brigitte and Austin Henderson 1995 Interaction Analysis:
Foundations and Practice. The Journal of the Learning Sciences 4:39-103.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 91
Livingston, Eric 1995 "The Idiosyncratic Specificity of the Methods of
Physical Experimentation." The Australian and New Zealand Journal of
Sociology 31:1-21.
Luckmann, Thomas (ed.) 1978 Phenomenology and Sociology: Selected
Readings. New York: Penguin.
Lynch, Michael 1993 Scientific Practice and Ordinary action:
Ethnomethodology and Social Studies of Science. Cambridge, England:
Cambridge U Press.
Morris, Monica B. 1975 "Creative Sociology: Conservative or
Revolutionary?" American Sociologist 10:168-178.
Murphy, John W. 1986 "Phenomenological Social Science: Research in the
Public Interest." Social Science Journal 23:327-343.
Peele, Stanton 1985 The Meaning of Addiction: Compulsive Experience and
Its Interpretation. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books. ******************************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 92
Paper-6
Influence of Locus of Control and Self
Concept on the Academic Achievement of
Adolescents Anju Sharma
Madhu Sahni
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 93
Influence of Locus of Control and Self Concept on the Academic
Achievement of Adolescents Anju Sharma9
Madhu Sahni10
Abstract The main purpose of the study was to examine the influence of locus of control and
self-concept on academic achievement of adolescents in Haryana. In doing so,
multistage random sampling procedure was employed to elicit responses from 400
(200 males and 200 females) senior secondary school students identified in various
parts of the State. Locus of Control scale by Roma Pal and Children Self Concept
Scale by Dr. S.P. Ahluwalia were used to measure locus of control and self-
concept of adolescents. While the respondents' 11th standard Examination results
were measures of their academic achievement. The data collected was analyzed by
using two way ANOVA (2x2factorial design). The findings revealed that
adolescents of Haryana State have average academic achievement, there is
significant independent effect of variables viz. locus of control and self concept on
academic achievement of senior secondary school students and there is significant
two factor interactive effect of variables on academic achievement among senior
secondary school students.
Key words-Academic Achievement, Locus of Control and Self concept.
9 Asstt Professor, Vaish College of Education, Rohtak. Email – [email protected]
10 Asstt Professor, Vaish College of Education, Rohtak.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 94
Introduction- Education is highly acclaimed as the most essential prerequisite for human development
since ages. The difference between developed and developing nations is not on the basis
of colour, race or any other criteria, but on the basis of education and knowledge. Even
in a society itself, people are differentiated on the basis of the quality of education,
received by them (Mumthas, 2006). Education, therefore, has an immense impact on the
development of human society. It is a process of instruction which aims at all round
development of the individual, facilitating realization of self-potential and latent talents
of an individual. It endowed man with discrimination power. In the present scenario,
Education is a unique investment and academic achievement is a vital aspect of it. In
this world of industrialization and globalization the educational status of an individual
is highly depicted through the academic achievement. Keeping, this in mind, academic
achievement of the students needs to be promoted. Academic achievement in general
refers to the scores obtained in the annual examination or refers to the degree or level of
success or proficiency attained in some specific area, concerning scholastic or academic
work. It is directly related to students’ growth and development of knowledge in an
educational situation where teaching and learning process takes place. It is defined as
the performance of the students in the subject they study in the school (Pandey, 2008).
It gives children an opportunity to develop their talents, improve their grades and
prepare for the future academic challenges. It is the attained ability or degree of
competence in school tasks usually measured by standardized tests (Torres,1994).Good
academic records in the school lead to self esteem and self confidence, which in turn
leads to better adjustment of the students. No doubt, educational reforms and various
efforts have been made in improving academic achievement of the students but their
inadequate performance still continues to be a big problem.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 95
Adolescent age is a crucial stage in individual’s life. It is the period of heightened
sensitivity for rapid learning and of critical acquisitions which determine the general
style of adult life. Academic achievement during this period can be a stepping stone for
the coming up years. Adolescence is the period of transition from a relatively dependant
childhood to the psychological, social and economic self sufficiency of adulthood.
During this period the individual begins to develop an attitude towards the world. It is
the time during which many developmental changes takes place in the individual like
the way he thinks looks and behaves. Adolescence is the period of time when the flow
of life reaches its highest peak. Their life is, or might be full of opportunity to enter into
new experience, to explore new relationship, to feel new resources of inner strength and
ability (Jersild, 1963). Adolescence can be a time of high risk for children, where
newfound freedoms can result in decisions that drastically open up or block life’s
opportunities. Today, the world is becoming more and more competitive. In this competitive world,
quality of performance has become the key factor for personal growth. Parents aspire
that their children climb the ladder of performance to as high level as possible. This
desire for a high level of achievement puts a lot of pressure on students. They have to
face not only the demand of multiple pressures, cutthroat competition and cope with
academic standards, but also have to bear the criticism and social embarrassment if fail
to secure the desired results. Adolescents having high academic achievement are
considered to achieve their identity in the society, get good career opportunities, get
acceptance from peer, parents and teachers, develop leadership qualities, and enhance
their self confidence and self esteem .Whereas, academic failure leads to frustration,
stress, inferiority complex, rejection from the loved ones, increased number of suicides,
discouragement and ultimately to dropping out (Ekstrom et al.,1986, Steinberg, Blinde
and Chan, 1984; Gadwa and Griggs, 1985). Hence, there is a dire need to give due
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 96
attention to the factors which are directly or indirectly influencing the academic
achievement. This will depend on a number of factors like, student’s interest and
attitude towards the subject of study, aptitude, intelligence, achievement motivation,
socioeconomic status, locality of institution, gender, physical health, family background
etc. (Behrens and Vernon, 1978; Pandey, 2008) but, there are several other factors like
home environment, parental relations, parent’s education, occupation, students self
concept, personality, emotional intelligence locus of control etc which have a close
relationship with academic achievement. One of the most important factors to take into consideration when working towards
improving academic achievement is the sense of control that students believe they have
over their academic performance(Moore,2006). The concept of Locus of Control was
systematically interpreted by Aronfreed (1968), DeCharms (1968) respectively. Locus
of control was defined as the placement of fixing responsibility for the outcome of
events or behavior. It was further identified as either internal or external locus of control
of human behavior. People with external locus of control believe that “reinforcements
are not under their personal control but rather under the control of powerful others,
luck, chance, fate etc.” while people with internal locus of control believe that
“reinforcements are contingent upon their own behavior, capacities or attributes”
(Rotter,1966). Individuals with strong internal locus of control believe that success or
failure is due to their own efforts. In contrast, externals believe that the reinforcers they
receive in life are controlled by luck, fate or chance (Garcia,2005). Researchers have
subsequently attempted to relate locus of control to various personality variables.
Externality has been correlated with low-ego strengths (Erikson and Roberts,1971) and
poor personal adjustment (Warehime and Foulds,1971). Lombardo et al.(1975) found
that externals exhibited less self-acceptance than internals while Baldo et al. (1975)
found that externals performed lower than internals on psycho-social developmental
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 97
tasks. Bar-Tal and Bar-Zohar (1977) found a significant relationship between locus of
control and academic achievement with internals having higher achievement than
externals. Stipek and Weisz(1981) reviewed a number of research articles and
concluded that locus of control was a significantly better predictor of grades. Numerous
other studies on academic achievement and locus of control shows that students having
high internal locus of control score showed better performance than students with high
external locus of control score (Yates, 2009; Shepherd, et al., 2006; Brown, et al., 1984;
Findley and Cooper, 1983; Gordon, 1977) Another important factor that can influence academic achievement is self concept which
is the picture the individual has of himself /herself. Self-concept is not innate, but is
developed or constructed by the individual through interaction with the environment
and reflecting on that interaction. This dynamic aspect of self-concept is important
because it indicates that it can be modified or changed ( Franken,1994).The way an
individual views himself accounts to a large extent for his success. It was found that
aspirations and the drive to succeed are good predictors of achievements (Hamacheck,
1971). Allport (1961) has described the self-concept as, “the self is something of which
we are immediately aware, we think of it as the warm, central personal region of our
life, as such it plays a crucial part in our consciousness, thus it is some kind of core in
our being.” Combs and Syngg, 1964 (as cited in Ahmad et.al.2012) refers self-concept
as, “the individual’s perception or view of himself.” It can be concluded that self-
concept is the sum total of all that the individual can call “I” or “Me”. It refers to those
perceptions, beliefs, feelings, attitudes and values which the individual views as part or
characteristics of himself. It refers to individual’s perception or view of himself. It
includes the person abstractions and evaluations about his physical abilities,
appearance, intellectual capacities, social skills, psychological self- image, self-
confidence, self- respect and self-adequacy. A child who has an adequate self concept is
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 98
likely to follow the problem solving approach and tends to be spontaneous, creative and
original. He trusts himself and is free to accept others without any negative feelings. As
against this, a child with inadequate self concept does not come to grip with the
problems of life. He tends to view himself as unwanted, unaccepted, incompetent, more
anxious and less adjusted, less effective in groups and develops inferiority complex. He
is also likely to exhibit a large extent of anxiety in his behavior. Due to poor self
concepts such children have lack of confidence in the mastery of environments and
leads to academic failures. Thus, an individual must choose a discipline and career
which permits him / her to function in a role consistent with his /herself concept which
will help them to achieve their desired goal (Sood, 2006). Research efforts, here strongly suggest that self-perceptions are important meditational
influences which define for individuals the nature of their relationships with other
people, the types of behaviour and tasks in which they will engage, the state of tension
they will experience, and in turn, how individuals will perceive themselves (Kifer,
1975; Abraham, 1978; Bandura, 1990; Weiner, 1980).Hamachek (1971) opined that
there is a continuous flow between the self and the stream of experiences involved in
the process of living and learning in school. He further stated that a student perceives,
interprets, accepts, rejects, or resists what he/she encounters at school in the light of the
way he/she sees himself/herself as a person generally and as a student. He then
concluded that there is a mounting body of evidence to suggest that a student's
performance in an academic setting is influenced, in both subtle and obvious ways, by
his/her concept of self. Roth (1959), investigating the role of self-concept in
achievement concluded that: In terms of their conception of self, individuals have a
definite investment to perform as they do. With all things being equal, those who" do
not achieve, choose not do so, while those who do achieve, choose to do so.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 99
It would seem logical to reason that a poor self-concept, which implies a lack of
confidence in the environment, would be related to deficiency in one of the most
important areas of accomplishment for children - their performances in school. It is not
surprising therefore, that studies (Fink, 1962; Doyle, 1970; Purkey, 1970) have
documented a significant relationship among variables such as academic achievement,
school satisfaction, and self-concept. It has also been noted that this relationship has
been reported for children at all grade levels, from the primary grade levels through
college (McCandless & Evans, 1973; Adeniran, 1985; Salawu, 1991). And again the
findings of Guay, et.al.(2004); Harter,(1999); Bandura,(1997); Marsh and Yeung
(1997); Wigfield and Eccles,(1992); Connell and Wellborn,(1990); Eccles,(1987) and
Deci and Rayan,(1985) also show relation between academic achievement and self-
concept. Need of the Study- Present age is the age of competition and achievements; therefore, education has a
tremendous role to play in motivating the students to achieve higher and to have the
realistic aspiration in all of their doings especially at senior secondary stage of
education. The students have to realize their capacities and to have the self introspection
in various matters. It is, therefore, imperative that the adolescents at this level of
education have development of locus of control and self concept so that they can
perform all their activities perfectly. It is well known that maximum benefits ensue to
the society when all individuals are mentally healthy and when they are contributing to
the welfare of the society to their maximum capacity. It has been often said that
obtaining a good education is the key to being successful in the world. And successful
individual can contribute to the welfare of the society. Naturally, individuals with
maladjusted backgrounds, personality disorders, inadequate self concept and locus of
control and poor achievement levels cannot perform well and contribute to their optimal
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 100
capacity. The research studies conducted with locus of control have indicated that
locus of control is an important factor influencing intellectual functioning and learning
behavior of students (Levin and Levin, 1991). Individual’s belief about the control of
his life is an important factor for learning and development (Shapiro, Schwartz and
Astin 1996).Similarly, review of literature on self-concept also reveals that despite
some methodological limitations there is reciprocal relation between self concept and
academic achievement. Hence the present study has been undertaken to explore the
influence of locus of control and self concept on academic achievement of adolescents.
Objectives-
To assess the academic achievement of adolescents.
To study the influence of locus of control and self-concept and their interaction
on academic achievement of adolescents. Method- Research Design-
For the purpose of the present investigation, factorial design based upon two
independent variable viz., Locus of control and Self-concept was followed. The
independent variable Locus of Control (A) varied in two ways-internal locus of control
(A1) and external locus of control (A2); the second independent variable Self-concept
(B) varied in two ways- high self-concept (B1) and low self-concept (B2); The extreme
grouping of self-concept was set by using the formula Mean ±SD. In order to analyze
the data, two ways ANOVA (2 X 2 factorial design) was applied to see the interactional
effect of locus of control and self-concept on the academic achievement of adolescents.
Sample and Procedure-
The respondents in this study were adolescents ranging from 16-18 years studying in
class XII who were randomly selected from various senior secondary schools of state
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 101
Haryana. The state Haryana was divided into four zones namely North, South, East and
West. Out of each zone, one district was picked up by using the lottery technique. A list
of senior secondary schools located in these four districts was obtained from office of
the concerned district education officer. Out of that list twelve schools (three from each
district) were randomly selected for collection of data. The investigators personally
visited the selected schools one by one. After rapport formation investigators
administered the tools to all students of class XII present on the day.
Initially 450 respondents were chosen. Out of this, the responses of only 300 students
could be taken for analysis, as only extreme ends were taken into consideration in case
of independent variables. As per the requirement of 2x2 cells (50 in each cell of the
paradigm) the sample of 200 adolescents was chosen.
Figure: 1
Layout of the sample
Tools-
The following tools were used in the present study to obtain reliable data:
Academic Achievement-
Academic achievement in present study refers to total marks obtained by XII standard
students in annual examination in XI standard
Total Sample200
Internal LoC100
High Self-Concept50
Low Self-Concept50
External LoC100
High Self-Concept50
Low Self-Concept50
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 102
Locus of Control Scale by Roma Pal-
It consisted of 35 pairs of items having two dimensions (a) internal and (b) external
locus of control. The test-retest reliability coefficient of the scale was found to be .80
and validity coefficient was found to be .77.
Children Self Concept Scale by Dr. S.P. Ahluwalia-
This scale contains 80 items. The maximum score for total self-concept scale can be 80,
whereas minimum score can be zero. The test-retest and spilt-half reliability coefficient
of self concept varied from .83to .88 and.74 to .79 respectively.
Analysis and Interpretation- In pursuance of the objectives data was analyzed and interpreted under the following
heads (1-2): 300 adolescents were classified in to three groups according to their
percentage scored in XI standard as given in following table 1.
Table-1 Classification of subjects on the basis of their percentage scored in XI standard
Results in Table 1 reveal that majority of adolescents ie. 42.66% had range of scores
which is 59% & below, 39.33% had between 60% to 84% and only 18% had range of
scores between 85% & above i.e. excellent academic achievement.
1. Overall Academic Achievement of Senior Secondary School Students-
Mean and S.D. of 300 students of senior secondary schools of Haryana was calculated
to assess the level of their academic achievement.
S Sr. No. Range of Scores (%) Category
1 1. 85% & above 54 (18%) High
2. 60% to 84% 118 (39.33%) Average
3. 59% & below 128(42.66%) Below Average
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 103
Table-2 Mean and S.D. of Academic Achievement of adolescents.
N Variable Mean S.D.
300 Academic
Achievement
63.8 15.45
As the obtained mean scores falls in the category of ‘Average’ as per table 1, this
can be safely interpreted that students of senior secondary schools of Haryana have
found to be ‘Average’ in their Performance.
2. Influence of Locus of Control and Self Concept and their Interaction on
Academic Achievement of Adolescents
Table-3 Summary of (2x2) Factorial Design ANOVA for Academic Achievement of
Adolescents.
Locus of Control (A) and Self Concept (B)
Source of
Variance
df Sum of
Squares
Mean
Squares
F– ratio Sig.
Level
A
B
AxB
Between cells
Within subjects
Total
1
1
1
3
196
199
18837.41
7875.13
1357.2
28069.74
17649.42
18837.41
7875.13
1357.2
90.04
209.21
87.46
15.07
.01
.01
.01
Significant ‘F’ value according to ‘F’ table at .01 Level = 6.72
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 104
Locus of Control- In case of Locus of Control, F- ratio 209.21(vide Table 3 for df 1/196) is highly
significant at .01 level. This indicates that Locus of Control has a significant
independent effect upon the academic achievement of adolescent. In order to
interpret this, t-test was applied. The results for the same have been given in the
Table 4 Table-4
Mean, S.D and t-ratio of Academic Achievement on Locus of Control.
Sr No Groups Mean SD t- ratio Sig. Level
1
2
A1
A2
76.02
56.61
13.53
23.66
7.13
.01
Table 4 depicts that t-ratio between adolescents with internal locus of control and
external locus of control is significant at .01 level. This indicates that significant
difference exists in the mean academic achievement scores of adolescents with
internal locus of control and external locus of control. Students with internal locus
of control got higher scores (M=76.02) than the students with external locus of
control (M=56.61). It means that adolescents with internal locus of control are
better than the adolescents with external locus of control.
Self- Concept- In case of Self-Concept, F- ratio 87.46(vide Table 3 for df 1/196) is significant at
.01 level. This indicates that Self- Concept has a significant independent effect on
the academic achievement of adolescent. In order to interpret this, t-test was
applied. The results for the same have been given in the Table 5.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 105
Table-5. Mean, S.D and t-ratio of Academic Achievement on Self -Concept
Sr No Groups Mean SD t- ratio Sig. Level
1
2
B1
B2
72.59
60.04
15.34
11.95
6.46
.01
Table 5.depicts that t –ratio between adolescents with high Self-Concept and low
Self-Concept is significant at .01 level. This indicates that significant difference
exists in the mean academic achievement scores of adolescents with high self
concept and low self concept. Students with high self concept got higher scores
(M=72.59) than the students with low self concept (M=60.04). It means that
adolescents with high self concept are better than the adolescents with low self
concept.
Locus of Control (A) X Self- Concept (B)
Table 3 further reveals that the combined interaction between Locus of Control and
Self-Concept of adolescents is significant at .01 (F-ratio 15.07 for df 1/196). This
means that there is particular combination of Locus of Control and Self-Concept
(AxB) which affects the academic achievement of adolescents. In order to interpret
this further, t-test was applied to find out the difference between mean academic
achievement scores of different combination group. The results for the same have
been given in Table 6.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 106
Table-6 t-ratio for different combinations of A X B levels for Academic Achievement
of Adolescents
Groups A1 BI A1 B2 A2 B1 A2 B2
Mean (S.D) 84.9(8.24)
67.14(11.85)
60.28(9.98)
52.94(6.67)
A1 BI
84.9(8.24)
9.97** 13.45** 21.30**
A1 B2
67.14(11.85)
3.13** 5.83**
A2 B1
60.28(9.98)
4.34**
A2 B2
52.94(6.67)
Table 6 shows that t-ratio for the all groups are significant at .01 level. This indicates
that these combinations differ significantly on mean academic achievement scores. In
order to present the results in brief, these have been arranged in descending order on
the basis of their mean scores for different combination groups in Table 7.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 107
Table-7 GroupWise arrangement of mean Academic Achievement scores in
descending order for Locus of Control(A) x Self- Concept (B)
Sr No Groups Means
1
2
3
4
A1B1
A1B2
A2B1
A2B2
84.9
67.14
60.28
52.94
It may be inferred from Table 7 that students with internal locus of control and high
self-concept have the highest academic achievement scores and students with
external locus of control and low self-concept have the lowest academic achievement
scores. This shows that students with internal locus of control and high self-concept
perform better than the students with external locus of control and low self- concept.
Discussion and Conclusion- Adolescents’ Academic Achievement and Locus of Control-
The finding in the present study reveals that there is significant difference in the
academic achievement of adolescents with respect to locus of control i.e. adolescents
with internal locus of control are better in their academic achievement than the
adolescents with external locus of control. In other words the result of this investigation
support the belief that the more internal the individual’s orientation, the higher the
individual’s achievement. Findings of Stipek,1980; Findley and Cooper,1983; Brown et
al., 1984; Yates,2009 are also in consonance of the present investigation. Conclusion of
Shepherd et al.,(2006) also revealed that students with higher GPA group reported
higher scores on internal locus of control. Bar-Tal and Bar-Zohar (1977) also found a
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 108
significant relationship between locus of control and academic achievement with
internals having higher achievement than externals. Stipek and Weisz( 1981) reviewed
a number of research articles and concluded that locus of control was a significantly
better predictor of grades. Children with internal locus of control earn somewhat better
grades and work harder. The reason for this may be that students with internal locus of
control spend more time on home work as well as studying for tests, whereas those with
external locus of control spend less time at a task. Again internals are more likely to
continue at task that they have succeeded at, while externals are likely to stop working
on the successful task and move on to a different task. The another reason for this may
be that learner with internal locus of control are more effective in acquiring and using
required knowledge than external (Lefcourt, 1976; as cited in., Chubb et. al.,1997). For
that reason it could be said that internal learners will perceive the tasks less
uncomfortable and thus try to learn more effectively. They agree upon the ability,
method and noticing factors of the learning dimensions more when compared to the
students with external locus of control. Further, the students with external locus of
control are more likely to respond to failure by giving up hope and not trying harder,
whereas, those with an internal locus of control are likely to respond to failure by trying
harder to improve. This may be perhaps the reason for the internals performing better
academically.
Adolescents’ Academic Achievement and Self- Concept-
Again, this study also supports the notion that there is a link between academic
achievement and self-concept. The findings of Guay, et.al.(2004); Harter,(1999);
Bandura,(1997); Wigfield and Eccles,(1992); Connell and Wellborn,(1990);
Eccles,(1987) and Deci and Rayan,(1985) support the finding of present study. The
results of this investigation support the belief that students with a strong self-concept
tend to perform academically better as self concept is considered to be a predictor of
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 109
coping with life stresses (Bandura,1993) and there is a link between self concept and
academic achievement of students. Students with high self-concept have better ability to
cope with stress and a higher likeliness that the individual takes on difficult tasks. They
are able to accept challenges and enjoy a new learning experience that is perhaps the
reason for their better achievement. Results of Tiwari and Bansal (1994); Hattie (1992);
Short(1992) and Chapman(1988) are also in consonance of the present study. On the
other hand students with a low self concept tend to have both attitude and behavior
problems. They may be unwilling to try new things, because they believe they will fail
anyway, or they may not work up to their potential, and that is perhaps the reason for
their not performing well. Again, the children who have adequate self concept are likely
to follow the problem solving approach and tend to be spontaneous, creative and
original. They trust themselves and are free to accept others without any negative
feelings. They tend to approach school related tasks with confidence and success on
those tasks reinforces this confidence (Hamachek,1995). As against this, a child with
inadequate self concept does not come to grip with the problems of life. He tends to
view himself as discarded, unaccepted, incompetent, hopeless, more anxious and less
adjusted, less effective in groups and develops inferiority complex. He is also likely to
display a large extent of anxiety in his behavior. Due to poor self concepts such children
have lack of confidence in the mastery of environments and leads to academic failures.
Further, adolescents with high self concept approve themselves, realize to have
potential to solve the problems, take decisions and control over their emotions, feel
more cheerful, confident, positive, secure and competent and naturally get the feeling of
sufficiency and adequacy, which might in turn help them for their academic success.
The results are congruent with Nuthana (2007) who reported that there was a positive
and significant relation between self concept and academic achievement. Further,
Varma (1976) found that high levels of ego involvement help the students to secure
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 110
better performance in their studies. However, these findings are contradicted by Uma
Devi et al. (1998) who demonstrated that academic achievement did not have
significant relationship with self concept.
Interactional effect of Locus of Control and Self- Concept on Academic Achievement
of Adolescent-
According to results regarding interactional effect, it could be interpreted that the joint
effect of locus of control and self-concept is found significant on academic achievement
of adolescents. Findings of Rotter(1962) concludes that self concept leads to an internal
locus of control, which in turn foster a high educational attainment level. The probable
reason for significant interaction effect may be due to the two different ways in which
each variable is varying.
Implications- According to the results obtained in this study, it could be suggested that teachers
should stimulate their students to develop and enhance internal locus of control and
high self concept for being good mastery learners. Hence this paper calls for structuring
environments that will induce and maintain realistic internal perception of Locus of
Control and high self-concept.
Since the development of Locus of Control begins in early childhood by the
influence coming from parents and teachers (Purkey,1970 and Lefcourt,1980) as
cited in, Hawkes,1991 and Lawrence,1998; hence, child-parent interaction and
child-teacher interaction should be developed.
Attribution training, which concentrates on strengthening the students’ internal
locus of control, may be helpful in increasing motivation. It increases internal
locus of control and improve task persistence. Part of attribution training is
having say positive things about themselves. Students should be trained to say
positive things to them.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 111
Children should be taught to believe in their own ability to control lives and the
reinforcements in their lives. The role of teacher in motivating the students may
prove fruitful if the children from a young age are taught that hard work can pay
off. Their self confidence, decision making and problem solving skills should be
developed.
Children are taught to have more hopeful attitude.
Classroom interventions, such as peer tutoring and cooperative learning should
be used in promoting self concept
Appropriate positive feedback by the teacher should be used to maintain high self
concept.
Praise, recognition and encouragement should be given to promote high self
concept.
Teacher can prevent or reduce feeling of low self concept by reducing social
comparison cues in the classroom.
Students should be encouraged to focus on how much they have improved over
time instead of focusing on how their peers are doing.
References-
Abraham, L. V. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and
reformation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49-74
Ahluwalia,S.P.(1971). Children Self Concept Scale National psychological
corporation, Agra.
Ahmad ,P.A., Hamid, M.M.and Ganaie, M.Y.(2012). Self concept, level of
aspiration and academic achievement of physically challenged and normal
students at secondary level in district Barramullah. Journal of Research on
Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol.2, No.2.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 112
Allport, G.W.(1961). Pattern and Growth in Personality. New York: Holt,
Rinehort & Winston.
Aronfreed, J. (1968).Conduct and Conscience: The Socialization of
internalized control over behavior. Academic Press, NewYork.
Adenrian, E. A. (1985). Self-concept and academic performance of Nigerian
adolescents. Journal of Teacher Education, 1 (2), 12-16.
Baldo,R., Harris, M. and Crandall, J. (1975). Relations among Psychosocial
Development, Locus of Control and Time Orientation. Journal of Genetic
Psychology 126: 297-303.
Bandura, A. (1980). Test of the generality of self-efficacy theory. Cognitive
Therapy Research, 4, 39-66.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W. H.
Freeman
Bar-Tal and Bar Zohar. (1977). The Relationship between Perception of
Locus of Control and Academic Achievement. Contemporary Educational
Psychology, 2,181-199.
Behrens, L.E. and Vernon, P. E. (1978). Personality correlates of
overachievement and under-achievement. British Journal of Educational
Psychology, 48,290-297.
Brown, D., Fulkersm,K., Furr,S.,Ware,W. and Voight, N.(1984). Locus of
Control, Sex role orientation and Self Concept in black and white third and
sixth grade male and female leaders in a rural community. Development
Psychology, 20,717-721.
Chapman,J.W. (1988). Learning disabled children’s self- concept. Review of
Educational Research 58,347-371.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 113
Chubb, N.H., Fertman,C.I. and Ross, J.L.(1997). Adolescent self esteem and
locus of control: A Longitudinal study of Gender and Age Differences
.Adolescence, 32, 113-130.
Connell, J. P., and Wellborn, J. G. (1990). Competence, autonomy and
relatedness: A motivational analysis of self-system processes. In M. Gunnar
& Sroufe (Eds.), Minnesota symposium on child psychology (Vol. 23, pp.
43 - 77). Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum
Decharms, R. (1968). Personal Causation: The internal affective
determinants of behavior. New York: Academic Press.\
Deci, E. L., and Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-
determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum Press.
Eccles, J. S. (1987). Gender roles and women's achievement-related
decisions. Psychology of Women Quarterly,11, 135 - 172.
Eccles, J. S., and Wigfield, A. (1995). In the mind of the actor: The structure
of adolescents' achievement task values and expectancy-related beliefs.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 215 -225.
Doyle, B. A. (1970). Relationship between self-concept and school
achievement, maternal self-esteem and sensory integration abilities in
learning disabled children aged 7-12. Dissertation Abstracts International,
12(1), 7267-8-A.
Ekstrom, R. B., Goertz, M. E., Pollack, J. M. and Rock, D. A.( 1986). Who
drops out of high school and why? Findings from a national study. Teachers
College Record, 87: 356-373
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 114
Erikson,R.V., Roberts,A.H. (1971). Some Ego Functions Associated with
Delay of Gratification in male Delinquents. Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology 36:378-382.
Findley, M.J. and Cooper, H.M.(1983). Locus of Control and Academic
Achievement: A Literature Reivew. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology,44(2),414-427.
Fink, M. B. (1962). Self-concept as it relates to academic achievement.
California Journal of Educational Research, 13, 56-62.
Franken, R.,(1994). Human motivation (3rd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA:
Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.
Gadwa, K. and Griggs, S. A.( 1985) The school dropout: implications for
counselors. The School Counselor, 3 9-17
Garcia, E.E.(2005). The effects of students perception of teacher
communication, teacher encouragement and locus of control on
achievement, attendance and behavior. Dissertation Abstracts
International,66(14), 1283A.
Gordon, D.(1977). Children’s belief in internal-external control and self-
esteem as related to academic achievement. Journal of Personality and
Assessment.41(4),383-386.
Guay, F., Marsh, H. W., & Boivin, M. (2004). Academic self-concept and
academic achievement: Developmental perspectives on their causal
ordering. Journal of Educational Psychology, in press.
Harter, S. (1999). The construction of the self: A developmental perspective.
New York: Guilford Press
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 115
Hamachek, D. (1971). Encounters with self. New York: Holt, Rinehart &
Winston.
Hamachek, D.( 1995). Self-concept and school achievement: Interaction
dynamics and a tool for assessing the self-concept component. Journal of
Counseling & Development, 73(4), 419-425
Hattie, J.(1992). Self-Concept. Hillsdale; Lawrence Eribaum Associated.
Hawkins, B.B. (1991). Teacher locus of control: Who is Responsible?
Education,111(4),475-479
Hilton, M. (1986). The effect of academic achievement and social
acceptance upon the self-concept of exceptional children. Journal of Special
Education, 10(1), 27-40.
Jersild, A.T.( 1963). The psychology of adolescence, London, Collier
Macmillan Ltd., The Macmillan Company, pp3, 5, 19
Kifer, E. (1975). The effects of school achievement on the affective traits of
the learner. Chicago: University of Chicago.
Lawrence, I.M.(1998). Deconstructing locus of control: Implications for
Practitioners. Journal of counseling and development, 76 (3) 251-261.
Levin, M. and Levin J.R.(1991). A critical examination of academic
retention programs for at- risk minority students. Journal of college students
Development,3,323-332.
Lombardo,J.P., Fantasia, S.C.and Solheim,S. (1975). The Relationship of
Internality and Externality,Self-Acceptance and Self Ideal Discrepancies.
Journal of Genetic Psychology 126: 281-288.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 116
Marsh, H. W., & Yeung, A. S. (1997). Causal effects of academic self-
concept on academicachievement: Structural equation models of
longitudinal data. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 41 – 54
McCandless, B. R. & Trotter, R. J. (1973). Children behaviour and
development. New York: Holt, Rinehart &Winston
Moore, M. (2006). Variation iv test anxiety and locus of control orientation
in achieving and underachieving gifted and nongifted middle school
students. Roeper Review,28(4),252. Retrieved Nov.5,2006 from http://
proquest.umi.com.library Capella.edu/
Mumthas, N. S.( 2006). Parental attributed reasons for their choice of
schools, Journal of .Community Guidance and Research, 23(10):153-160.
Nuthana, P. G.( 2007). Gender analysis of academic achievement among
high school students, M. Sc. (Agri.) Thesis, Uni. Agric. Sci., Dharwad
Pandey, R.C.( 2008). Academic achievement as related to achievement
motivation and parental background. Indian Psychol. Rev., 70 (4): 213-216.
Purkey,W.W.(1970). Self Concept and School Achievement .Printice-Hall
(Eaglewood Cliffs,N.J.)
Roma P.( ) Manual for Locus of control scale( Internal External Scale)
for adolescents and adults; Agra: Psychological Research Cell.
Roth, R. M. (1959). Role of self-concept in achievement. Journal of
Experimental Education, 27,265-281.
Rotter, J.B. (1966). Generalized Expectancies for Internal versus External
Control of Reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80(1, whole No 60).
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 117
Salawu, A. A. (1991). Relationship between adolescents' self-concept,
perception of parents' behaviour and their academic achievement.
Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, University of Ilorin, Ilorin.
Shapiro, D.H., Schwartz, C.E. and Astin, J.A. (1996). Controlling ourselves,
controlling our world: Psychology’s role in understanding positive and
negative consequences of seeking and gaining control, American
Psychologist, 51, 1213-30.
Shepherd,S., Owen, D., Fitch,T.J. and Marshall, J.L.(2006). Locus of
Control and Academic Achievement in high school students. Psychological
Reports 98(2):318-22.
Short,E.J. (1992). Cognitive, Metacognitive, Motivational and Affective
difference among normally achieving, learning disabled and
developmentally handicapped students: How much do they affect school
achievement? Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 21, 229-239.
Sood, P.( 2006). Educational choices in relation to academic stress,
achievement motivation and academic self concept. Journal of Community
Guidance and Research. 23 (2)141-152.
Steinberg, L., Blinde, P. L., Chan, K. S. (1984). Dropping out among
language minority youth. Review of Educational Research, 54: 113-132,232-
234.
Stipek,D.(1980). A casual analysis of the relationship between locus of
control and academic achievement in first grade. Contemporary Educational
Psychology, 5,90-99.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 118
Stipek, D. and Weisz, J.R.(1981). Perceived control and children’s
academic achievement: A review and critique of the locus of control
research. Review of Educational Research,51,101-137
Tiwari, S. and Bansal, I.(1994). A study of Self-concept of high and low
achieving adolescent girls. Indian Psy.Rev.,43 Special Issue,21-25.
Tolor, A. (1974). Self-concept and locus of control in primary grade children
identified as requiring special education programming. Psychological
Reports, 40,4-9.
Uma Devi, L., Sudha Rani, J. and Venkatamaiah, P.(1998). Self concept of
urban school children : Relationship with selected personal social variables,
Indian Psychol. Rev., 50 (1): 11-16.
Varma, M.(1976). Significant correlates of secondary school failures.
Department of Education, Gorkhpur, University.
Warehime, R.G. and Foulds,M.F. (1971). Perceived Locus of Control and
Personal Adjustment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 37:
250-252.
Weiner,B.(1980). Human Motivation New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston.
Wigfield, A., and Eccles, J. S. (1992). The development of achievement task
values: A theoretical analysis. Developmental Review, 12, 265 - 310.
Wigfield, A., and Eccles, J. S. (2000). Expectancy-value theory of
achievement motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 68 -
81.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 119
Yates,R. (2009). Locus of Control and Academic Achievement: A Study of
gender and grade level differences among low income African-American
students in a middle school. Ph.D. thesis Southern IIIinois State University. **********************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 120
Paper-7
Constructivism: A Vibrant Approach to
Revitalize Social Studies Classroom Vandana Yadav
Dr. Anil Shukla
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 121
Constructivism: A Vibrant Approach to Revitalize Social
Studies Classroom Vandana Yadav11
Dr. Anil Shukla12
Abstract Generally Social studies subjects are considered as boring and non-utility subjects,
and they get less importance than natural sciences. It is believed that social
science merely transmits information and these subjects are theoretical and too
text-centred in nature. On the contrary social studies subjects are equally
important as any other subject as these subjects create a base for values like trust,
freedom, mutual respect etc. and promote civic competence in young students.
Thus the aim of social studies teaching should be to develop child’s ability to think
independently, to enhance the capability of analysing social-political reality
instead of just memorization of facts. But unfortunately in present, these subjects
are still taught by traditional methods which involve techniques like lecture,
memorization of facts and heavy reliance in text-books. So Social studies
classroom needs to be revitalized by adopting such vibrant teaching approach
which fosters creativity, critical thinking, ability to draw relationship between past
and present among students. Constructivism is a new approach which can be
successfully utilized for attaining above mentioned goals. Present paper will throw
light on the utility of constructivist approach for social studies teaching. It will
11 Research Scholar (JRF), Department of Education (IASE), University of Lucknow, E-mail:
12 Professor, Department of Education (IASE), University of Lucknow,
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 122
also present and discuss major constructivist learning models that can revitalize
the social studies classroom.
Keywords- Constructivism, learning environment, social studies teaching
Introduction- There are many learning theories and approaches which work as a tool for the
teaching and help teachers for classroom teaching. In the first of the twentieth
century behaviourist school of psychology provide the most important theory of
learning according to which learning is a change in the behavioural disposition of
organism. This view of learning excluded the mental operations and was only
focused on the objectively overt aspect of learning. It places teacher as a “source of
knowledge” and students as “a vessel to be filled”. It gives the total control of
classroom in his hand. But in the past few years we find a paradigm shift taking
place in the field of education especially in the area of teaching-learning process.
New student-centred learning theories and approaches are emerging in which
constructivism as a learning theory and an approach has reached a high popularity
in past few decades. Although constructivist theory has emerged as an influential
learning approach in recent years, the idea of constructivism is not new. We can
easily trace the historical roots of constructivist theory among the works of
GiambattistaVico, Socrates, Plato, Kant and Aristotle all of which emphasize the
creation of knowledge. But application of constructivism as an approach and a
learning theory in education is a more recent development derived from the work
of development psychologist Jean Piaget (1973) and Russian psychologist Lev
Vygotsky(1978). Jean Jacques Rousseau, John Dewey, Jerome Bruner, G Stanley
Hall, David Ausubel and E .V. Glasersfeld had also contributed in the proposition
of constructivist principles.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 123
What is Constructivism? The Verb ‘to construct’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Con struere’ which means
to arrange or to give structure. On-going structuring (organizing) processes are the
conceptual heart of constructivism. Constructivist epistemology assumes that
learners construct their own knowledge on the basis of Interaction with their
environment. Constructivism focuses on knowledge construction, and not on
knowledge transmission (Jha, 2012). It is basically a theory --based on observation
and scientific study -- about how people learn. It says that people construct their
own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and
reflecting on those experiences (Mehta, 2013). When we are encountered with
something new, we have to relate it with our previous experiences (either change
our ideas or discard the new information). In the process we tend to create new
knowledge by asking questions, explaining and assessing what we already known.
(Dwivedi , 2010)
Basic assumptions of Constructivism- Basic assumptions of constructivism are as follows-
Knowledge depends upon on past constructions. We know the world through
our mental framework and we transform and interpret new information
through this framework.
Constructions come through systems of assimilation and accommodation
into our existing mental framework.
Learning is an organic process of invention, not mechanical.
Meaningful learning occurs through reflection and scaffolding of new
knowledge upon existing framework of knowledge.
Learning is active and social process rather than the process of acquisition of
knowledge.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 124
Learning is collaborative rather than competitive.
Learning is the result of dynamic interaction between task, instructor and
learner.
Knowledge is constructed out of sensual and perceptive experience of the
learner.
Each learner is a unique individual with unique needs and backgrounds.
Background and culture of the learner is an important component in
learning.
Context in which learning occurs is central to learning itself.
Assessment is a part of learning process, and hence assessment is a
continuous and interactive process.
Teaching of Social Studies and Constructivist Approach- Social science and social studies are the two terms that generally used identically.
But there is a difference between in these two subjects. Social science is a subject
which studies the individual or groups of individuals in terms of their social
relations. On the other hand social studies is an integrated study of the social
sciences and humanities to promote civic competence….the primary purpose of
social studies is to help young people make informed and reasoned decisions for
the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an
independent world (NCSS, 1994).It includes subject like history, Geography,
Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Law, Philosophy, Archaeology,
Anthropology, Psychology etc.
National Curriculum Framework, 2005 in relation to the teaching of social studies
stated that “Social science teaching needs to be revitalized towards helping the
learner acquire knowledge and skills in an interactive environment. The teaching
of social sciences must adopt methods that promote creativity, aesthetics, and
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 125
critical perspectives, and enable children to draw relationships between past and
present, to understand changes taking place in society….In order to make the
process of learning participative there is a need to shift from mere imparting of
information to debate and discussion.”
But in the most of Indian schools still teacher-centred approach is being employed
for social studies teaching. Constructivist approach in this regard can prove very
worthwhile as it creates a healthy environment in which learners actively
participate in the process of knowledge construction and meaning-making. This
approach engages students in collaborative learning, promotes high-order thinking
skills and relates social studies concepts to the lives and experiences of students by
using various techniques like problem solving, brain storming, debate, discussion,
and role etc. It makes social studies classroom a fun, interesting and a vibrant
learning place.
There are many constructivist learning models which can be used for teaching of
social studies but two major learning models that can really revitalize the social
studies classroom are as follows-
Interpretation Construction (ICON) Design Model
5Es Learning Cycle
Interpretation Construction (ICON) Design Model- Black and McClintock (1995) have created a model based on the principles of
constructivism which has following seven steps:
Observation: Students make observations of authentic artifacts anchored in
authentic situations.
Contextualization: Students access background and contextual materials of
various sorts to aid interpretation and argumentation.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 126
Cognitive Apprenticeship: Students serves as apprentices to teachers to
master observation, interpretation and contextualization.
Collaboration: Students Collaborate in observation, interpretation and
contextualization.
Interpretation Construction: Students construct interpretations of
observations and constructs arguments for the validity of their
interpretations.
Multiple Interpretation: Students gain cognitive flexibility by being
exposed to multiple interpretations.
Multiple Manifestations: Students gain transferability by seeing multiple
manifestations of the same interpretations.
Learning Situation- Presents the students with a graphic simulation of an archaeological site,
then the students study the history of the site through simulated digging up
of artefacts, making various measurements of the artefacts in a simulated
laboratory (Observation), and relating the objects of what is already known
using a wide variety of reference materials (Contextualization).
The students work cooperatively in groups (Collaboration), while the
teacher models how to deal with such a site than fades her involvement
while coaching and supporting the students in their own study efforts
(Cognitive Apprenticeship).
The students develop ownership of their work by developing their own
interpretations of the history of the site and mustering various kinds’
evidence for their conclusions (Interpretation Construction). By arguing
with the other students and studying related interpretations in the historical
literature, they get a sense of other perspectives (Multiple Interpretations).
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 127
By going through the process a number of times bringing each contextual
background to bear on a number of different artefacts, the students learn and
understand the many ways that the general principles behind what they are
doing become manifest (Multiple Manifestations).
5EsLearning Model - A team of The Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS), whose principal
investigator was Roger Bybee, developed an instructional model for constructivism
in 1997. This model is known as “Five Es". Though it was designed primarily for
the science teaching; it has a great utility for social studied teaching too. This
model has five phases: Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration and
Evaluation.
Engagement: It is a first step of learning, which engages students in classroom
activities. In this phase, firstly the instruction task is identified and encountered by
learners. Students also made connection between their prior and present learning
experiences. Here teacher tries to generate interest and pique curiosity of students
by many ways like asking a question, defining a problem, showing a discrepant
event, and acting out a problematic situation. During this phase student generally
ask these types of questions “Why did this happen?” “What do I already know
about this?” “What can I find out about this?”
Exploration: In exploration phase students get opportunity to directly involve with
the materials and phenomenon without teacher’s direct instruction. In this phase,
they construct a base of common experiences which helps them in the process of
sharing and communicating. Here the teacher plays the role of facilitator who
provides material and guides the students’ focus. Basically it is a stage of
disequilibrium where students are embroiled in complex problem. In this phase
students test their predictions and hypotheses, form new predictions and
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 128
hypotheses, try alternatives and communicate with others, record their ideas and
observations and suspend their decisions.
Explanation: It is the stage where student start to have abstract experiences. Here
students are provided with the opportunities to demonstrate their conceptual
understanding, process skills or behaviour. In this phase teacher stimulates
learner’s process of thinking. To do this he/she encourages them to explain the
definitions and concepts in their own words, to give justification of their
explanation, and present evidences and to listen critically each other’s explanation.
In addition, for explaining the concepts teacher provides and clarifies definition,
explanation and new labels. Thus it is stage where teacher tries to assess their
growing understanding by using variety of techniques like verbal communications,
drawing, writing, videos, films, educational courseware.
Elaboration: Phase of elaboration facilitates the process of transfer of learning.
Here students extend the learned concept to new but similar situations. Here
teacher helps students in drawing reasonable conclusion from evidences by asking
questions like “What do you already know?”, “What do you think..?” Thus this
phase allows students to make conceptual connection between new and previous
experiences, deepen their understanding of concepts and processes, and interact
with peers to check their understanding.
Evaluation: Final step of this model “Evaluation” is an on-going diagnostic
process which presents throughout the entire learning process. It gives chances to
teacher to assess students’ knowledge, understanding and skills. For fulfilling this
purpose he/she asks many open-ended questions such as “Why do you think?”
“What evidences do you have?” “What do you know about X?” “How would you
explain X?” In this whole process students also assess their own progress as they
compare their current knowledge with their previous understanding.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 129
Lesson Plan Based on 5e Learning Model- TOPIC: Advent of European Trading Companies in India-
1. Preliminary Information-
Subject- History
Class- VIII
Duration- 45 minutes
Topic- Advent of European Trading Companies to India
2. Teaching Materials-
Chart (different trading companies and their target countries) , Power Point
Slides (Purposes of arrival in India), Map (India and World), Index
Cards, Teacher constructed Material (Different trading centres of companies
and their commodities)
3. Previous Experience-
Learners are aware of the Mughal History
4. Content Analysis/ Teaching Points-
Introduction
Purpose of the companies to come to India
Upcoming trading companies and the year of their arrival
Trading centres and competition among companies
5. Main Objectives-
To help the students in constructing knowledge related to the topic.
To enable the learners to understand about the purpose of trading
companies arrival to India.
To train the students in skills like making the timeline related to
arrival of trading companies in India and marking various trading
centres of these companies on map of India.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 130
To enable the students to recognize the causes of competition among
the trading companies and adopted means to edge ahead of them.
To make the learners capable of comparing these trading companies to
the modern Multi-National Companies with special reference to their
nature, motives and impact on India.
6. Development of Lesson-
Engage-
In order to raise students’ interest in the topic teacher will give following
sheets to students. Activity Sheet-1
List of Goods Is it made in India or other
country?
(I/OC)
Nokia Phone
Bajaj Motorcycle
Barbie Doll
ChachaChaudhary Comics
Mercedes Car
Activity Sheet-2
List of Transport Mode of Transport
(Air/Land/Water)
Aeroplane
Animal Cart
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 131
Steamer
Bus
Train
Truck
Boat
Teacher will start class discussion by asking these questions-
a) Which trade routes were used during the Mughal Period?
b) If you all have to open stationary shop then which student will bring
what material for the shop and how much expense will it cost?
c) What is a trading company?
Explore- Teaching point: purpose of the companies to come to India
With the help of power point slides the teacher will present the purposes of
the companies to come to India out of which few will be direct and few will
be indirect (the students will observe this )
Group discussion will be held on the topic that what could be the probable
causes for trading with other countries?
Teaching point: upcoming trading companies and the year of their arrival
With the help of chart the world map will be marked with different symbols
to represent the companies arriving in India and those countries will be
marked where these companies went for trade. Thereafter, following points
will be discussed :
a) Which are the places marked in the map?
b) What is the meaning of different symbols used in the map?
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 132
The companies will be shown in order of their arrival to India with the help
of a slide. Students will be asked to mark them on the world map.
Teaching point: Trading centres and competition among companies
The teacher will provide the students with self-constructed written material and
will instruct the students to write answers to the following questions:
a) Prepare a list of all trade centres of all trading companies.
b) Trading companies traded in which materials?
c) Had you been the owner of a trading company what would you have
done to increase the profit of your company? ( the class will be divided
into 4 groups for group discussion)
Explain- Teaching point: purpose of the companies to come to India
The students will be asked to prepare separate lists for the direct and indirect
purposes for the arrival of the trading companies to India and will be asked to
explain for the purposes mentioned.
Teaching point: upcoming trading companies and the year of their arrival
The class will be divided into two groups. One group will be asked to
prepare a time line for the arrival of the companies in accordance with their
dates of arrival and the other group will be asked to match the arriving
trading companies and the year of their arrival through index cards.
Teaching point: trading centres and competition among companies.
The students will be asked to mark the trading centres of various trading
companies on the map of India.
Following topics will be discussed after providing the teacher made written
material:
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 133
a) Which methods were adopted by trading companies to go ahead in the
competition?
b) What were the results of this competition among the companies? Elaborate- The teacher will provide opportunities to students to practice transferring their
learning to other contexts. For this purpose she will form four groups and organise
brain storming session in each group on following topic:
Compare European trading companies on the basis of their-
a) Nature
b) Motives
c) Measures used to go ahead in the competition
d) Impact on India
Evaluation-
Arrange these companies in correct order according to their year of arrival in
India and place their country map in front of them. 1. English East India Company 2. Dutch East India Company
3. Portuguese East India Company
4. French East India Company
5. Danish East India Company
Mark the major trading centres of each company on map of India by using
five different symbols or colours.
Teacher can ask some more questions to check that students have well acquired the
objectives of lesson or not.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 134
Conclusion- Constructivism is a theory about how people construct and acquire knowledge.
This theory challenges the “traditional” approach that gives emphasis on the
memorization of facts and concepts. Sadly in majority of Indian schools social
studies subject are being taught by this “traditional” approach. Thus there is a need
to reform the social studies’ pedagogical practices. Constructivist theory can play a
crucial role in the way the content of social studies is presented to the students. It
can changed the social studies drastically as it shows the complexity and multiple
perspectives of real world situations and promotes active learning in classroom by
using various constructive teaching methods like class discussion, brain storming,
storytelling, situation analysis, observation, demonstration, role play etc. Bringing
changes of this nature in the classroom the role of teachers is very important.To
teach social studies in an interesting, active and effective manner teacher should be
well versed in theory and implications of constructivist approach.
References-
Black, J.B. and McClintock, R.O. (1995). An Interpretation Construction
Approach to Constructivist Design. In Senapaty, H.K. (2010). Constructivist
Learning Situation. Developmental Challenges and Educational
Determinism, 27-38.
Bybee, R.W. (2006). The BSCS 5E Instructional Model: Origins and
Effectiveness.https://www.science.education.nic.gov/houseofreps.nsf/b82d55
fa13878362852572c9004f5566/$FILE/Appendix%20D.pdf. 03/01/2013.
Dwivedi, R.D. (2010). From Behaviourism to Constructivism: A Paradigm
Shift in Teaching-Learning Process. University news, 48(07), 14-18.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 135
Jha, A.K. (2009). Constructivist Epistemology and Pedagogy Insight into
Teaching learning and Knowing. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers
&Distributors (P) Ltd.
Jha, A.K. (2012).Epistemic Skills: A Constructivist Perspective. Taxonomy
of Educational Skills. 20-29.
Mehta, D. (2013). A Conceptual Understanding ofConstructivist Pedagogy.
Education India Journal, 2(1), 118-128.
NCERT (2005). National Curriculum Framework. Retrieved on 16 August
2012 from www.ncert.nic.in.
NCSS (1994). National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies:
Introduction. Retrieved on 09 July 2012 from
www.socialstudies.org/standards/introduction. **********************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 136
Paper-8
Impact of Education in Women’s
Empowerment in India Dr. Sunil Kumar Sain
Dr. SudhirSudamKaware
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 137
Impact of Education in Women’s Empowerment in India Dr. Sunil Kumar Sain13
Dr. SudhirSudamKaware14
Abstract Education is a basic requirement and a fundamental right for the citizens of a free
nation. It is also of increasing strategic importance in the new environment of
knowledge and information technology based globalized economy. Education plays
a catalytic role in a country’s socio-economic development and is one of the
principal means available for a deeper and harmonious form of human
development reducing poverty, ignorance and exclusion. Higher Education, which
is a training ground for a professional, research-based, career-oriented future,
must be respected as a potential instrument for bringing about social
transformation and ensuring the success of democracy. Education must be
provided to all categories of citizens by breaking down constraints and barriers.
Women empowerment is a debatable subject. At earlier time they were getting
equal status with men. But they had faced some difficulties during post-Vedic and
epic ages. Many a time they were treated as slave. From early twenty century
(national movement) their statuses have been changed slowly and gradually. In
this regard, we my mentioned the name of the British people. After then,
independence of India, the constitutional makers and nation alleaders strongly
demand equal social position of women with men. Today we have seen the women
13 Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Guru Ghasidas Central University, Bilaspur (CG)-495009, Mob:-
09926196776
14 Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Guru Ghasidas Central University, Bilaspur (CG)-495009
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 138
occupied the respectable positions in all walks of the fields. Yet, they have not
absolutely free some discrimination and harassment of the society. A few numbers
of women have been able to establish their potentialities.
Keywords- Empowerment, WORK PARTICIPATION, Higher Education
Introduction- Women empowerment is a debatable subject. At earlier time they were getting
equal status with men. But they had faced some difficulties during post-Vedic and
epic ages. Many a time they were treated as slave. From early twenty
century(national movement) their statuses have been changed slowly and
gradually. In this regard, we my mentioned the name of the British people. After
then, independence of India, the constitutional makers and nation alleaders
strongly demand equal social position of women with men. Today we have seen
the women occupied the respectable positions in all walks of the fields. Yet, they
have not absolutely free some discrimination and harassment of the society. A few
number of women have been able to establish their potentialities. Therefore, each
and every should be careful to promote the women statuses.
Empowerment: Concept and Its Meaning- Now the women in India enjoy a unique status of equality with the men as per
constitutional and legal provision. But the Indian women have come a long way to
achieve the present positions. as a commodity. History is a witness that women
was made to dance both in private and public places to please the man. Secondly,
in Indian society, a female was always dependent on male members of the family
even last few years ago. Thirdly, a female was not allow to speak with loud voice
in the presence of elder members of her in-laws. In the family, every faults had
gone to her and responsible. Forth, as a widower dependence on male members of
the family still more increase. Empowerment can be viewed as means of creating a
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 139
social environment in which one can make decisions and make choices either
individually or collectively for social transformation. It strengthens the innate
ability by way of acquiring knowledge, power and experience (Hashemi Schuler
and Riley, 1996). Empowerment is the process of enabling or authorizing
individual to think, take action and control work in an autonomous way. It is the
process by which one can gain control over one’s destiny and the circumstances of
one’s lives. Empowerment includes control over resources (physical, human,
intellectual and financial) and over ideology (beliefs, values and attitudes).
(Baltiwala, 1994). It is not merely a feel of greater extrinsic control, but also grows
intrinsic capacity, greater self-confidence and an internal transformation of one’s
consciousness that enables one to overcome external barriers to accessing
resources or changing traditional Women’s empowerment is very essential for
the development of society. Empowerment means individual sacquiring the power
to think and act freely, exercises choice and fulfill their potential as full and equal
members of society. As per the United National Development Fund for women
(UNIFEM), the term women’s empowerment means-
1. Acquiring knowledge and understanding of gender relations and the ways
in which these relations may be changed.
2. Developing a sense of self-worth, a belief in one‟s ability to secure
desired changes and the right to control one’s life.
3. Gaining the ability to generate choices exercise bargaining power.
4. Developing the ability to organize and influence the direction of social
change.
5. To create a more just social and economic order, nationally and
internationally. Thus, empowerment means a psychological sense of
personal control or influence and a concern with actual social influence,
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 140
political power and legal rights. It is a multi-level construct referring to
individuals, organizations and community.
6. international, ongoing process centered in the local community, involving
mutual respect,
7. critical reflection, caring and group participation, through which people
lacking an equal
8. Share of valued resources gain greater access to the control over these
resources.
Empowerment and Education- Education as means of empowerment of women can bring about a positive
attitudinal change. It is therefore, crucial for the socio-economic and political
progress of India. The Constitution of India empowers the state to adopt
affirmative measures for prompting ways and means to empower women.
Education significantly makes difference in the lives of women.
Education is important because literacy has become a tool of evaluating a person-
whether one can read or write. Illiteracy has become a very pejorative word in our
society. Today we find that literacy itself gives you status. If one can read or write
is educated he/she may get access to so much of information. Information about
what you can access for others and for yourself, whether it is educational facilities,
health, employment opportunity, legal literacy and so forth. These are very
extrinsic reasons, but intrinsically education is important for individual
development and confidence. But we see today that even where all these conditions
exist, women do not come forward to claim their human entitlements. True
empowerment is achieved only if women themselves „realize‟ that it is important
for them to be empowered to enjoy a just, fair and happy life. Then why is it that
they hesitate to come forward? A simple answer to this can be that our government
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 141
is corrupt and the justice system long drawn are expensive. But there is more to
this than putting the blame on “systems”. There is an “inherent” reluctance to leave
the “comfort zone of self and societal notions” on one hand and the lack of “skill”
to handle such situations in real life on the other Empowerment of women as a goal
of development projects and programs has gained wider acceptance since 1990s.It
is not a simple linear process. It has long been argued by various UN agencies that
the critical determinant of women’s socio-economic status is education, and that
education is the key to achieving social development by improving the well being
of the girls and women and thus promoting gender equity. The experience of
numerous programs in the government and the NGO sector shows that it is indeed
possible. Empowerment of women was one of the nine primary objectives of the
Ninth Plan (1997-2002) and every effort was made to create an enabling
empowerment where women could freely exercise their rights within and outside
their home as equal Partner with men.
Education is one of the most critical factors responsible for the development of a
human person. Right to education, therefore, is held as a very important human
right. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is the principal
instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later
professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In
these days, it is doubtful any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life
if he is denied the opportunity of an education. The international community has
realized the importance of education for individual and collective well being made
explicit provisions in several human rights instruments on the rights to education.
The Constitution of India was recently amended to provide for the right to
compulsory elementary education to children falling between the age group of 6-14
years. Among the world’s 900 million literacy people, women outnumber men two
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 142
to one. Girls constitute the majority of 130 million children without access to
primary education (Human Development Report 1995). The illiteracy rate of
women is 55.16percent as against 75.85 percent for men (2001). They can be seen
as beggars on road crossing and rag pickers. Kabeer (1990) estimates that the
deaths of young girls in India exceed those of young boys by over 300,000 each
year and every sixth infant death is specifically due to gender discrimination. Of
the 15 million baby girls born in India each year, nearly 25 percent will not live to
see their 15thbirth day (Patel, 1995). Of late, the girl child’s educational needs
received special attention in the wake of national and international efforts on
empowering women.
Education, in a broad sense, essentially involves penning the mind, enhancing self-
esteem and self-confidence, building a sense of positive self-worth, accessing
information and tools of knowledge and acquiring the ability to negotiate this
unequal and unjust world from a position of strength. No society has ever liberated
itself -economically, politically or socially–without a sound base of educated
women. Many countries experiences around the world have demonstrated that
investment in educating women is the most precious investment a society can ever
make. Women’s health is another important issue under Human Resource
Development and also highest prioritized area in family welfare programs.
However, the accumulated research evidences show that the achievement levels in
providing better health care and safe motherhood for women, especially for rural
women, are not at expected levels. In India, the highest number of deaths in the age
group of 16 to 25 is recorded among women one of the most commonly found
deficiency among the women and it is also mentioned by several studies that they
are often not too healthy when they bear the first child and none of them are
physically ready to bear a second child. A pathetic reality is that nearly 88 percent
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 143
of the pregnant women (1985-95) reported to be anemic. World Health
Organization figures also show that the lifetime risk of dying from pregnancy or
child-birth-related causes is one in twenty in some developing countries, compared
to one in ten thousand in some industrialized countries. About one in five of these
deaths stem from unsafe abortions. The available data says that in India about 20
percent of the women in the age group of 15-49 years are at the risk of unintended
pregnancy. Coming to anti-natal care only 10 percent of the pregnant women
receive it on an average in rural India. In this regard Tamil Nadu, Himanchal
Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, West Bengal is in better position than other states.
Nearly 33 percent of the babies are under low birth weight category. During 1993,
5.5 percent stillbirths are recorded at all India level and this percentage is more in
Bihar and West Bengal (around 15%). The reasons for such high percentage of
stillbirths are usually associated with low age of mother, poor nutritional level of
women and low utilization of primary health care.
Work Participation- On the world level, women and girls together carry two-third of the burden of the
world’s work yet receive only a tenth of the world’s income. They form 40% of the
paid labour force. Though women constitute half of the world’s population yet they
own less than one percentage of the world’s property. The condition of women in
India is more miserable than the rest of the world in almost every field of social
life. They are paid half of three-quarters of the money while their male
counterparts earn for the same job. India is predominantly agricultural country.
Women do more than half of the total agricultural work. But their work is not
valued. On an average a woman works 15 to 16 hours a day unpaid at home and
underpaid outside. According to 1971 census, every one-fourth works in the
country is an agricultural labour. One third of the agricultural labour is female.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 144
Only 2.5 percent of the central government employees are women. According to
National Committee on Women, the growth in the percentage of women labourer
force in the organized sector is minimal in the last sixty years i.e. 3.44percent in
1911 to 17.35 percent in 1971; besides the work load either in the field or in the
factories or offices, the women have to do the household such as cooking, washing,
cleaning up the house etc. The younger women besides all these have to carry the
burden of early pregnancy, childbirth and breast-feeding. In terms of help offered
to people for their various function women seem to receive the least attention from
the society.
Women Empowerment Perspective- The term empowerment pre-supposes primacy of power over other dimensions.
We speak of women’s sharing of political power and participation in government.
An important issue related to women’s empowerment is the reservation of seats
for them in the state legislature and union parliament. The 73rdand
74thConstitutional Amendment Act 1992 has provided 33 percent seats for women
in Panchayats and municipal bodies. Though the experience of the Indian
Panchayat Raj Institutions, one million women have actively entered political life
in India. Since the creation of the quota system, local women-the vast majority of
the illiterates and poor- have come to occupy as much as 43 percent of seats-
spurring the election of increasing numbers of women at the district, provincial and
national level. Since the onset of PRI, the percentages of women in various levels
of political activity have risen from 4-5 percent to 25-40 percent. The account of
measures taken for women’s empowerment in India clearly shows that there is a
deep concern in the country to uplift their social and economic conditions, so that
they may plan an active role in the task of national developments. Government is
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 145
not serious for the political participation of women; the data shows that they are
lagging behind in political sphere.
Strategies of Empowering Dalit Women- Empowerment of the Dalit women is a means to poverty alleviation. The goals of
poverty eradication can be effectively achieved if Dalit women could be organized
into groups for community participation as well as for assertion of their rights. Any
strategy of sustainable development relating to poverty eradication has to involve
the large number of poor women. Social mobilization and building organization of
the poor are essential prerequisites for poverty alleviation. There are several
strategies, which enable overall development of Dalit women. The following
strategies were found more effective for overall development. They are:
a) Empowerment of women through development of women and children in
the rural areas/ Self-Help Groups.
b) Empowerment of women through education and training.
c) Empowerment through political participation.
d) Empowerment evaluation as strategies of empowering women.
These different strategies are not independent and exclusive but used interactively.
a) Empowerment of women through DWCRA/SHG approach
Government Policies and Women Empowerment Reservations- The Government of India has made structural provisions to uplift the socio-
economic condition of the Scheduled Caste, through a policy of reservations or
protective discrimination. Protective discrimination is an affirmative state action
(Lal, 1986) that promotes Sanskritisation process among the Scheduled Castes.
Scheduled Caste person changes his or her customs, ritual ideology and way of life
in the direction of higher castes (Guru, 1986). Protective discriminations have three
components:1) political reservation (articles 330 and 332), which consists in
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 146
reservation of 18% of seats for Scheduled Castes in legislative Assemblies and
Panchayats; 2) Educational reservations[articles 15(4)] and 29 that require state
and union territories to reserve for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes 20
percent of all seats in educational and technical institutions; and 3 percent job
reservations [articles 16 (4), 320 (4)] and 333 requiring 15percent and 7 percent
position to be reserved for them at all levels in government and public sector
undertaking (Shah, 1986). Reservations prevent total injustice promotes social
mobility and leads to class-consciousness among the Scheduled Castes besides
guaranteeing a minimum share (Khan, 1994).The policy of reservations has helped
mostly those who are now in the higher income groups; but only less than 5
percent in rural areas got jobs through reservations(Selvanathan, 1989). Data from
Tamil Nadu show that the Scheduled Castes Hindus are somewhat better
represented in the higher occupational categories compared to the Scheduled
Castes Christians. This might be because of the reservations policy that benefits
Hindus and not Christian Scheduled Castes (Balakrishnan, 1993). Unfortunately,
implementation of reservation policies has so far not been fully satisfactory
Scheduled Castes are conscious of the ineffectiveness of the policies of protective
discrimination of the government, since the advance of Scheduled Castes is often
blocked by stubborn social forces. The civil rights enforcement cell that is
expected to look into the non-implementation of reservations and economic
deprivations of the Scheduled Castes is more a laughing stock than a helpful
agency as it has no power to investigate and proceeds further (Khan,
1993).Besides, a long tradition of oppression and servitude makes it difficult for
The Scheduled Castes to develop in a short time the confidence they required for
the total utilization of the benefits provide by the government (Beteill, 1969).
Subharao (1982) suggests that while reservation policy is a must, it should not
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 147
impair telnet and excellence. One of the consequences of reservations, however, is
that they will accentuate the alienation of Scheduled Castes, they will continue to
be a separate category to enjoy the benefits of reservations and thus remains
integrated with the mainstream of the society (Sinha, 1986). b) Concessions To
enable the Scheduled Castes to secure professional jobs, a number of concessions
are given to them: some of these are, relaxation in age, payable fee, standard of
suitability, experience and qualification (Brochure, 1988), Chitnis (1986) suggests
that social class considerations and vested interests seem to operate imperceptibly
in the of a follow-up of the implemented scheme; lack of seriousness on the
implementing scheme or on bank to disburse quota amount leading to year-end-
rush.
Concerns and Directions of Higher Education- Strategies of Empowerment: Higher Education and the Indian Perspective-
The Indian National Policy on Education (NPE) is a landmark in the approach to
women’s education when it proclaims: ‘The Education System will play a positive
interventionist role in the empowerment of women. It will foster the development
of new values through redesigned curricula, textbooks, training and orientation of
teachers, decision makers and administrators’. The programme implementation
explains women’s empowerment through collective reflection and decision-
making. For this Higher Education needs to take responsibility for:
Cultivation of positive self-image and self-confidence;
Developing capacity for critical thinking;
Achieving group cohesion and fostering decision-making and action;
Providing women’s centers in Agricultural and Home Science Colleges;
Providing Continuing Education and Correspondence Centers for organizing
vocational and literary skills;
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 148
Revamping the Industrial Training Institutes in terms of diversification of
trades and courses, keeping in view the job potential, facilities for vocational
counseling, imparting information about credit, banking, entrepreunal
development and access to women’s technical education;
Providing Women’s Studies Research centers to identify issues and areas
and organize seminars and workshops to discuss and analyze women-related
issues and disseminate information and encourage interaction with students
and the general public through the media’;
Providing classes on legal literacy, programmes for women’s socio–
economic development delivered via media, adult education and information
and training support;
A more relevant and responsive curriculum catering to the cultural and
occupational needs of women;
Meeting the expenses of higher education for the rural, backward sections
with incentives like scholarships and frees places;
Meeting the requirement of achieving full integration of women within the
democratic and developmental efforts of the country.
Education is an end in itself as well as a means of realizing other desirable ends.
In our world of unpredictable social and technological changes, education has
taken on a particular significance as a means of understanding and coping with
such complexities. The knowledge explosion, supported by tools of information
and communication technologies, is a driving force of the Indian economy,
facilitating a better quality of life. Thus Indian Higher Education needs to reorient
itself to become more vibrant, competitive, meaningful and purposive. In the
emerging global environment, women are required to develop a more skilled
approach to cope with the rapid multiple changing environments. If Higher
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 149
Education is to thrive within contemporary realities, then there needs to be a shift
from exclusive reliance on a masculine-orientated curriculum to a more developed
market-oriented content that is comprehensively suited to the entire population.
Higher Education is a means to achieve vertical mobility which can counteract the
deep divisions that exist in society. Since access to education allows each person
the opportunity to gain an understanding of self as well as of society and its
resources, equal educational opportunities should be available to both men and
women. Equality and social access became major goals of Higher Education in
post-independence India. In 1948-49 the University Education Commission
commented that colleges should be established that would serve both men and
women simultaneously for Higher Education but, nonetheless, gender inequalities
in access to Higher Education have continued through decades. The target of
Higher Education is to provide women’s access to vocational, technical,
professional education and emergent technologies. Identification of skills and
occupations suitable for women should be based on the employment potential of
women. Over the years, these four challenges have been faced by Higher
Education:
1. To introduce more disciplines and diversity;
2. To satisfy the social demands for new options;
3. To remove gender barriers and role stereotyping;
4. To enable enrolment of women for purposes of productivity and of
empowerment
Traditional concepts acknowledge Higher Education as an instrument of personal
development, by expanding an individual’s intellectual horizons, interests and
potential for empowerment and a better quality of life. It has also been taken to be
a vehicle of social engineering that conforms people to social values. Theodore
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 150
Schultz and Mary Backer emphasized the role of Higher Education in the
transformation of human beings to human capital. With the unveiling of economic
reform policies, the role of Higher Education is being reinterpreted and redefined.
Market-promoting policies are posing a challenge to Higher Education, and are
being considered as both a driving force of economic development and the focal
point of learning in a society. Higher Education has assumed responsibility for
transmitting accumulated knowledge both cultural and scientific. The effect of
innovation and technological progress will increasingly demand competencies and
pose challenges requiring more dynamism in the course content. Higher Education
needs to be reoriented to increase women’s access to traditionally male dominated
courses and equip them to take up entrepreneurial management and leadership
roles and responsibilities. The three specific needs related to women and Higher
Education are:
1. Recognition of women as an essential human resource base of each country;
2. A strong commitment to equip women with the necessary range of
managerial skills empowering them in their decision making role;
3. Institution of a feminine leadership model suited to the needs of social
development across all sectors.
Role of Universities: Empowering Agents of Higher Education- To be effective agents of empowerment through Higher Education, universities
need to give attention to:
Mass motivation and mobilization – dissemination of information through
newsletters and other social agencies;
Literacy Promotion: preparation of training packages and development of
learning materials;
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 151
Techno–pedagogic inputs: Preparation of data based information and
transference of matter into technological display;
Network Culture: monitor activities related to women’s studies and women’s
movements and recommend better implementation.
Women and Research: The University Grants Committee has agreed to
provide part-time research associate ships to 100 girls every year
Special access for women: Women students from scheduled caste and tribes
in India will be eligible for Government schemes of scholarship, coaching
assistance and remedial classes
Globalization and Challenges of the Century- Globalization has effected changes in educational systems owing to the
introduction and exercise of technological and communication developments.
Twenty-first century India is facing a number of challenges in the field of
education. Adjustment to social demands for new options in Higher Education and
for removal of gender barriers is creating pressures on educational leaders. Higher
Education is finding it difficult to meet the challenges of a knowledge explosion,
uneven growth and inequities in policies. As a consequence, there is a fall in
standards, posing a serious threat to India’s national development. Strategies to
provide management training and research work for women are the areas which
Higher Education needs to address to promote women’s advancement and
empowerment.
Evidence of a paradigm shift from pure industrialization to an information-based
society is present. From a gender perspective, the questions that arise are:
a) Does the curriculum content promote research and gender equality?
b) Does the learning environment foster assertiveness and empowerment in
girls?
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 152
c) How will the education system foster sensitization of members towards
girls’ Higher Education and empowerment?
d) Will limited participation in humanities and social sciences help women and
society?
e) Will Higher Education help women’s transition from emancipation to
empowerment?
Conclusion- Higher Education of women plays a crucial role in releasing their energy and
creativity and enabling them to meet the complex challenges of the present world.
In acknowledging them as potential human resources, investment must be made in
developing their capacity in terms of education, skill development, and technology
transfers through technical training. Special emphasis needs to be given to
Research and Development of appropriate scaled-down occupations engaging
women in large proportions. Illiteracy and cultural barriers need to be removed
without any further delay. For women to make personal strides forward, a synergy
of effort, concentration, planning and cohesive functioning at the Higher Education
level will create possibilities of a different future. By extending women’s visibility
and their self-sustaining ability, Higher Education must train them to become
leaders with decision-making capacities to achieve the best for themselves and the
country.
References-
Arya, Anita. (2000). Indian Women – Education and Empowerment. Delhi:
Gunjan Publishing House.
Banerjee, Amita and SenRajkumar. (2006). Women and Economic
Development. Delhi: Deep and Deep Publishers.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 153
Banerjee, Shruti. (2009). Role of Women in Development Sector. Calcutta:
Adhayanam Publishers
Budhhapriya, Sanghamitra .(1999). Women in Management. Delhi: APH
Publishing House.
Gupta, Mukta. (2003). Women and Educational Development. Mumbai:
Swarup and Son Publishers.
Korres, George M. (2010). Women’s Participation and Innovation-
Activities in a Knowledge Base Economy. Delhi: The Women Press.
Mishra, Kavita (2007). Encyclopedia of Women. Calcutta: Omega
Publishers
Ministry of Human Resources. (2003-2007). The 3rd, 4th and 5th
Educational Survey Government of India.
Poonacha, Veena and MeenaGopa. (2004). Women and Science: An
Examination of Women’s Access to and Retention in Scientific Careers.
Mumbai: SNDT Women’s University
Bright, Pritom Singh (edt)----Competition Refresher, August, 2010, New
Delhi.Hasnain, Nadeem---Indian Society and Culture, Jawahar Publishers
andDistributors, 2004.New Delhi.
Kar, P. K---Indian Society, Kalyani Publishers, 2000, Cuttack.Kidwai, A. R-
---(edt)Higher Education, issues and challenges, Viva Books,2010, New
Delhi),
Rao Shankar, C. N.----Indian Society, S.Chand& Company Ltd, 2005,
NewDelhi. **********************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 154
Paper-9
A Study of Relative Status of Multiple Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence of
Student-Teachers Madhuri R. Shah
Chhaya Goel
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 155
A Study of Relative Status of Multiple Intelligence and
Emotional Intelligence of Student-Teachers Madhuri R. Shah15
Chhaya Goel16
Introduction- Two of the significant approaches which have received increased recognition are
Howard Gardner’s (1983) on multiple intelligences (MI) and Daniel Goleman’s
(1995) on emotional intelligence (EI). It is now well accepted that when schools
attend to students’ social and emotional education, behavioral problems decrease
and academic achievement increases. There is also an enhanced quality of
relationships supporting students. Gardner’s and Goleman’s work can be described
as promoting a holistic view of children which advocates an integrated teaching-
learning-testing approach. These are important standpoints because the education
and assessment of multiple intelligence and emotional intelligences can assist in
intervention planning as a way of building upon observed weaknesses. More
specifically, teachers and school psychologists can help design plans for assessing
multiple and emotional intelligences, and integrating them into the intervention
process (Fernández & Martines, 2008).
Gardner proposed seven basic intelligences and emphasized that these are
intelligences not talents or aptitudes. Multiple Intelligence is not a set program of
fixed techniques, but a philosophy of education and an attitude toward teaching
15 Research Scholar, CASE, Department of Education, Faculty of Education and Psychology, The Maharaja
Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara-390002
16 Professor, CASE, Department of Education, Faculty of Education and Psychology, The Maharaja Sayajirao
University of Baroda, Vadodara-390002
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 156
and learning. The basic idea of this theory is to support that human brain has
various areas responsible for various kinds of intelligences and these intelligences
can be measured. The separate scores obtained through this measurement are
useful to understand various human abilities, and its implication in Education
(Gangal & Singh, 2012). Science has discovered tremendously about the role emotions play in our lives.
Researchers have found that even more than IQ, our emotional awareness and
abilities to handle feelings determine our success and happiness in all walks of life,
including family relationships.
History of Intelligence- Over the years there have been numerous attempts to answer the twin question,
namely, what is intelligence and how can this be measured. For well over two
thousand years, at least since the rise of Greek City-State, a certain set of ideas of
mental powers- capacities has been discussed. Many theories were proposed in
order to develop proper understanding of intelligence. Among these theories,
‘Faculty theory’ by Alfred Binet (1916), Spearman’s ‘Two factor theories of
Intelligence’, L. L. Thurston’s ‘Primary Mental Abilities’ and ‘Structure of
intelligence theory’ by J.P. Guilford (1967) were much popular and discoursed.
Theory by Thurston and Guilford attempted to describe mental abilities more
comprehensively.
After this, by extensive research work in developmental psychology and
neuropsychology, Howard Gardner proposed a “Theory of Multiple Intelligence”.
The roots of Multiple Intelligence (MI) can be traced to France in 1904 when the
Minister of Public Instruction and a group of colleagues developed the first
intelligence test to identify students in primary grades who might be "at risk" for
failure. They created the "IQ" test which was thought to measure "intelligence"
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 157
objectively. Eighty years later Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner challenged
this belief. He suggested that our culture had defined intelligence too narrowly, and
proposed the existence of several basic intelligences. He sought to broaden the
accepted view of human potential beyond the confines of the IQ score. (Brantley,
2002).
When seen in the light of theory by Thrust one, there are certain similarities
between theory of Multiple Intelligence by Gardner with Primary Mental Abilities.
Here, Thurston’s mental abilities like, verbal fluency, spatial visualization, number,
etc are equivalent with Gardner’s linguistic, visual, mathematical intelligences
respectively.
In 1990, researchers Jack Mayer, Peter Salovey and their colleagues published two
articles that introduced the term ‘Emotional Intelligence’ itself into mainstream
American psychology. And then, in 1995, came psychology journalist Daniel
Goleman’s best seller Emotional Intelligence. Goleman brought together the
existing body of Emotional Intelligence research with an introduction to how
emotion works in the brain, and added some practical examples of how ‘Emotional
Intelligence’ was being cultivated in schools and workplaces around the USA. In
this 1995 version, Goleman cherry-picked bits of both Gardner’s and Mayer and
Salovey’s definitions to put together his own version of Emotional Intelligence,
comprising knowing one’s emotions, managing one’s emotions, motivating oneself,
recognizing emotions in others, and handling relationships skillfully (Clavton,
2005).
Theory of Multiple Intelligence- Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory was first
published in Howard Gardner's book, Frames Of Mind
(1983), and quickly became established as a classical
Howard Gardner
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 158
model by which to understand and teach many aspects of human intelligence,
learning style, personality and behaviour - in education and industry. Howard
Gardner initially developed his ideas and theory on multiple intelligences as a
contribution to psychology; however Gardner's theory was soon embraced by
education, teaching and training communities, for whom the appeal was immediate
and irresistible - a sure sign that Gardner had created a classic reference work and
learning model. Types of Multiple Intelligence- Initially, seven different types of multiple intelligence were given by Howerd
Gardner. Than other three type of multiple intelligence that is Naturalistic
intelligence, Spiritual intelligence and Existential Intelligence added. Types of
multiple intelligence are as follows: Linguistic Intelligence: To think in words and to use language to express and
understand complex meanings. Sensitivity to the meaning of words and the order
among words, sounds, rhythms, inflections. To reflect on the use of language in
everyday life. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence: To think of cause and effect connections and
to understand relationships among actions, objects or ideas. To calculate, quantify
or consider propositions and perform complex mathematical or logical operations. It
involves inductive and deductive reasoning skills as well as critical and creative
problem-solving. Kinesthetic Intelligence: To think in movements and to use the body in skilled and
complicated ways for expressive and goal directed activities. A sense of timing,
coordination for whole body movement and the use of hands for manipulating
objects.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 159
Musical Intelligence: To think in sounds, rhythms, melodies and rhymes. To be
sensitive to pitch, rhythm, timbre and tone. To recognize, create and reproduce
music by using an instrument or voice. Active listening and a strong connection
between music and emotions. Spatial Intelligence: To think in pictures and to perceive the visual world
accurately. To think in three-dimensions and to transform one's perceptions and re-
create aspects of one's visual experience via imagination. To work with objects
effectively. Interpersonal Intelligence: To think about and understand another person. To have
empathy and recognize distinctions among people and to appreciate their
perspectives with sensitivity to their motives, moods and intentions. It involves
interacting effectively with one or more people in familiar, casual or working
circumstances.
Intrapersonal Intelligence: To think about and understand one's self. To be aware
of one's strengths and weaknesses and to plan effectively to achieve personal goals.
Reflecting on and monitoring one’s thoughts and feelings and regulating them
effectively. The ability to monitor one's self in interpersonal relationships and to act
with personal efficacy. Naturalist Intelligence: To understand the natural world including plants, animals
and scientific studies. To recognize, name and classify individuals, species and
ecological relationships. To interact effectively with living creatures and discern
patterns of life and natural forces. Existential Intelligence: This intelligence is the newcomer among all above
mentioned intelligence. It is the ability to recognize, share, uphold and impact
values (religious, social, human) of life. This is concerned with humans living and
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 160
not merely existing. Those with this intelligence enjoy reading philosophical
writings and find that learning is done more easily by using real world experiences. Spiritual Intelligence: Spiritual intelligence is the intelligence to connect the self
with all, becoming universal being, along with this transcending time-space-body-
mind, gaining as much knowledge as feasible with this life, cleansing the self &
becoming integral with the whole with wholistic submission & full immersion. Nine of the ten types of multiple intelligence expressed above are depicted in the
following figure (source: http://bestcareermatch.com/files/2011/08/multiple-
intelligences-lrg-top-clearest.gif):
Theory of Emotional Intelligence- Emotional Intelligence is a way of recognizing,
understanding, and choosing how we think, feel, and act. It
Denial Goleman
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 161
shapes our interactions with others and our understanding of ourselves. It defines
how and what we learn; it allows us to set priorities; it determines the majority of
our daily actions. Research suggests it is responsible for as much as 80% of the
"success" in our lives". Often referred to as EI, Emotional intelligence is about
having the ability to understand and manage the emotions of yourself and also
those around you. Remember, the objective of a leader is to complete the task
successfully, keep the team together and manage the team on an individual basis to
ensure everyone is happy and playing to their strengths.
The Mayer and Salovey Model of Emotional Intelligence- Mayer and Salovey’s ability model of emotional intelligence (Mayer & Salovey,
1990) focuses exclusively on the emotional processing of information and studies
the abilities related to this processing. This theory defines EI as someone’s ability
to attend to and perceive emotions appropriately and accurately, their ability to
assimilate and understand these emotions properly, and the skills involved in
regulating and modifying their own or others’ affect. More precisely, these
authors define EI as follows: “Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive
emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand
emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to
promote emotional and intellectual growth”.
The mental ability model of EI consists of four major components:
Perceiving Emotions;
Using Emotions;
Understanding Emotions;
Managing Emotions
These all major components of this model describe below in brief:
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 162
Branch Name Description of Skills Involved
Perceiving Emotions The ability to perceive emotions in oneself and
others as well as in objects, art, stories, music, and
other stimuli
Using Emotions The ability to generate, use, and feel emotion as
necessary to communicate feelings or employ them
in other cognitive processes
Understanding
Emotions
The ability to understand emotional information, to
understand how emotions combine and progress
through relationship transitions, and to appreciate
such emotional meanings
Managing Emotions The ability to be open to feelings, and to modulate
them in oneself and others so as to promote
personal understanding and growth
These abilities are linked so that, to regulate emotions properly, a good
understanding of these emotions is necessary; at the same time, a good
understanding of emotions requires the skill to perceive emotions accurately.
However, the opposite is not always true. People with a great ability to perceive
emotions may lack understanding and regulation of emotions. This ability may be
self-used (personal competence or intrapersonal intelligence) or may be used on
others (social competence or interpersonal intelligence). In this sense, EI differs
from social intelligence and from social abilities since EI comprises self-emotions,
private emotions that are important for personal growth and for emotional
adjustment.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 163
Multiple intelligences and Emotional intelligence in Education- The primary intent for developing MI theory was to chart the evolution and
topography of the human mind, not to prescribe educational practice. Nonetheless,
MI theory has been discussed widely in the educational field and has been
particularly influential in elementary education, where it has provided a useful
framework for improving school-based practice in the areas of curricula,
instruction, and assessment (Elias & Arnold, 2006).
From an MI perspective, curricula, particularly for young children, should
encompass a broad range of subject areas that include (but go beyond) reading,
writing, and arithmetic, because all intelligences are equally valuable. The visual
arts, for example, are a serious domain in and of themselves, and not just as a
means to improve reading scores. According to MI theory, the talented artist is just
as intelligent as the excellent reader, and each has an important place in society.
In The Disciplined Mind, Gardner cautions that an authentic MI-based approach
goes beyond conveying factual knowledge about various domains: He stresses the
importance of promoting in-depth exploration and real understanding of key
concepts essential to a domain.
An inspirational classroom is characterized by hope, respect, and a sense of
community, and creates a climate capable of unleashing positive energy, unified
spirit, and cooperation. Effective learning is not built on domination but on people
working together toward common goals. Recognize the value of students’
contributions and encourage their participation. When conflict arises, remember
that it is often self-perpetuating and the perceived cause for conflict is rarely the
issue. Effective conflict resolution requires emotional intelligence skills in the
teacher as well, so again, successful self-integration of these skills is of utmost
importance.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 164
Education continues to struggle with the fragmentation of the learning process in
our current objectivist climate. Encouraging emotional intelligence in the
classroom offers the potential to heal this rift because EI acknowledges the
emotional influences on learning. When students are better able to express
authentic feelings, not just emotional reactions, then real learning can begin.
According to Goleman, childhood is "a special window of opportunity for shaping
children's emotional habits." We must help children recognize and understand their
emotions and the emotions of others. (Davie, 2008). If we challenge the traditional
models of pedagogy, a paradigm shift from education as a path to successful
accumulation to a path of enriched possibilities will occur.
Specification of the problem- Statement of the problem-
“A Study of Relative Status of Multiple Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence of
Student- Teachers”
Objectives of the Study-
1) To study multiple intelligence and emotional intelligence of student
teachers.
2) To compare status of multiple intelligence and emotional intelligence
of student teachers.
Operationalization of the terms-
Multiple Intelligence: The scores obtained from Multiple Intelligence Inventory
for Adults can be considered to be multiple intelligence of that particular student
teacher. Here, nine set of scores for each of intelligence is obtained. Among nine
score the highest and lowest score of any one or more intelligence gives an idea
about which intelligence is more prominent and which one is least respectively.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 165
Emotional intelligence: The scores obtained through Emotional Intelligence Test
is showing amount of emotional intelligence of an individual. Higher score
indicates more emotional intelligence and lower score indicating less emotional
intelligence.
Relative status: Correlation between Multiple intelligence scores and Emotional
Intelligence scores indicating how far these two are interrelated and weather this
relation is significant or not.
Delimitation of study-
This study was delimited to students perusing B.Ed. course in The Maharaja
Sayajirao University of Baroda of Vadodara city during the year 2012-2013.
Hypothesis of the Study-
There will be no significance difference between mean scores of student teacher
with respect to their emotional intelligence and multiple intelligence.
Methodology- Design of the study-
As per the objectives of study, the investigator adopted correlational study. The
scores obtained by Multiple Intelligence Inventory for Adults and Emotional
Intelligence Test were correlated by establishing one to one correlation among
each set of scores.
Population-
The population for present study consists of all the B.Ed. colleges 2012-2013 of
Vadodara city. All the student teachers of these B. Ed. Colleges constitute
population.
Sample-
All the student teachers of The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda pursuing
B.Ed. constituted the sample for the present study. Purposive sampling technique
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 166
was employed for sample selection. All 155 student teachers constituted sample of
study.
Tools for Data Collection-
In order to collect the requisite data for the study, the following tools were used:
Multiple Intelligence Inventory for Adults
This tool was prepared by Armstrong in 2000. It serves the purpose of measuring
all aspects of multiple intelligence except spiritual intelligence. Scores obtained
through this test will indicate the level of each of the type of multiple intelligence.
Here, different nine sets of scores were obtained. This tool contains 90 items, so,
there are 10 items for each type of multiple intelligence. The respondent have to
choose either ‘yes’ if statement is applicable on them or ‘no’ if not applicable. The
total number of ‘yes’ responses would be the final score of respondent.
Emotional Intelligence Test
This emotional intelligence test used to evaluate several aspects of person’s
emotional intelligence. This test was developed by a team of experienced
developers led by Ilona Jerabek (1996). This emotional intelligence test was used
to evaluate several aspects of emotional intelligence like, Emotional Facilitation of
Thought, Emotional Management, Emotional Perception, Identification, and
Expression. This test is of 5 point scale contains 145 items. For allotting score to
each of the item of test, researcher had taken care of positive and negative polarity
of each statement. Each test is well researched and developed according to APA
(American Psychological Association) standards for educational and psychological
testing. All the tests on Queendom.com that carry the “Scientifically Validated”
seal are professionally developed and based on a thorough statistical analysis. As
both the tools are fulfilling purpose of study and ensuring its appropriateness the
researcher utilized these tools for data collection.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 167
Data collection-
For collection of data the investigator personally visited Department of Education,
The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and administered both the tools. As
one Emotional intelligence test have 145 items and Multiple intelligence inventory
for adults have 90 items, which requires minimum 3 hours to fill it up, planning for
data collection was done in advance by taking care of availability of time and
maximum number of student teachers.
Data analysis-
The objective-wise data analysis techniques are given in the table below:
Objectives Data Analysis Technique
(1) To study multiple intelligence
and emotional intelligence of
student teachers.
Descriptive Statistics
(mean, median, mode,
minimum score, maximum
score)
(2) To find out correlation between
scores of student teachers
obtained by multiple intelligence
and emotional intelligence test.
t- test, Pearson’s Product
Moment Correlation
Steps of Data Analysis-
1. All the data were represented in tabular form for its statistical analysis.
2. All data were sorted out in different table on basis of its variable.
3. T-test is employed to test level of significance at both 0.01 and 0.05 levels
to test null hypotheses.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 168
4. Overall product moment correlation of all data was found out to check
relative status of each of the multiple intelligence with emotional
intelligence.
5. After the statistical analysis of these data, results are interpreted and on
basis of this investigator had arrived at certain findings.
Findings of the Present Study- As a result of data analysis certain findings can be drawn. These findings were
merely on the basis of calculated value of central tendencies, student’s t-test and
product moment correlation.
The mean score of multiple intelligence score reveals that all kinds of
multiple intelligences are equally distributed among group of student
teachers. As the means of all types of MI are almost similar, not a single
kind of intelligence was found to be predominant.
The values of standard deviation of all aspects of multiple intelligence are
negligibly differing for all kinds of multiple intelligences. So, on basis of
this finding it can be interpreted that wide range of variation was not found
with regard to aspects of multiple intelligences. Thus, group is homogenous
with regard to this aspect.
On basis of mean scores of multiple intelligence (MI) and emotional
intelligence (EI), it can be interpreted that there is no much difference found
in mean scores of multiple intelligences of student teachers from science,
commerce and arts stream.
The result of correlation of EI calculated with each of the aspects of MI. It
was found that emotional intelligence is low positively correlated with
Linguistic Intelligence, Logical-Mathematical Intelligence, Spatial
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 169
Intelligence, Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence, Intrapersonal Intelligence,
Existential Intelligence.
It is not surprising that the higher a person’s linguistic skill the more
assertive and interpersonally sensitive to feelings they might be. Having
language skills for expressing one’s feelings and moods likewise makes
sense when we think of the power of poetry, storytelling and social
communication.
The low positive correlations (r= 0.13) among several EI scales and Logical-
mathematical intelligence reinforce the idea that effective calculating and
problem solving are also enhanced by skillful emotional self-management,
stress tolerance and adaptability.
Moreover, Musical Intelligence, Interpersonal Intelligence and Naturalistic
Intelligence found to be low negative correlation with emotional
intelligence. A somewhat surprising finding is that emotional intelligence is
showing low negative correlated with Interpersonal (r= -0.06) followed by
its low positive correlation with Intrapersonal at r=0.02. These values
reinforce the idea that emotional intelligence is less correlated with the
strength of one’s self-understanding awareness.
Discussion and Conclusion- Individual lives in a world full of different complications and external demands.
This continuous flooding of stimuli makes them utilizes different abilities, which
help them to live and work intelligently. While interacting with external stimuli,
individuals happen to use multiple kinds of intelligences, excelling in one and
failing in other. In his influential book, Frames of Mind, Howard Gardner (1993)
challenged this prevailing model of a singular, unitary intelligence to include many
skills and abilities not typically identified and valued as “intelligent” in popular
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 170
culture as well as in the fields of education and psychology. Gardner’s new
definition of intelligence fundamentally broadens the scope of mental and
behavioral performances that need to be considered as part of our intellectual
repertoire.
With the established relationship of emotional intelligence skills and academic
achievement, students would benefit from learning and applying emotional
intelligence skills to improve academic performance in school and college settings.
With new research evidence linking emotional intelligence to instructional
performance and as a factor in teacher retention, pre-service, new, and novice
teachers could benefit from learning and using emotional intelligence skills for
personal and professional development.
One study by Shearer (2006) found out that, the MI Intrapersonal scale displays the
greatest number of significant correlations with all of the EQI main scales. The
EQI Intrapersonal and General Mood scales also display many significant
correlations with nearly all of the MI scales, except Music and Naturalist. These
results suggest that emotional competence is a function of both Intra and
Interpersonal skills. As predicted, the Intrapersonal and Interpersonal scales for
both measures are the strongest correlations with each other (r=.39 and r=.55,
respectively). However, as per present study, it has been found out that there is
negative correlation found between emotional intelligence and Interpersonal
Intelligence, which is mismatch with study by Shearer (2006) and is quite
unpredictable.
As per other findings of Shearer (2006) anticipated, there are very few significant
EQI main scale correlations with the Naturalist, Spatial, Kinesthetic and Musical
scales. The overall pattern of correlations among the eight MI scales and the 23
EQI scales is congruent with theoretical expectations, e.g., the most correlations
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 171
and the strongest are with the Intra and Interpersonal scales and no correlations are
strong enough with the other scales to be considered theoretically inconsistent
(Musical, Kinesthetic, etc.). Investigator also found low negative correlation of EI
with Musical and Naturalistic Intelligence but again there is controversy found
with regard to correlation of EI with Spatial and Kinesthetic Intelligence.
The overall conclusion by an investigator shows that strengths and patterns of
these findings support the theoretical expectation that emotional self-awareness
and management are components of Intrapersonal self-understanding. Howard
Gardner’s definition of Intrapersonal intelligence includes three main aspects,
cognitive, affective and behavioral. The Emotional Intelligence concept represents
one aspect of Intrapersonal intelligence. One’s general mood and ability to manage
stress and problem solve are likewise related to the degree of one’s self-
understanding. Second, the ability to recognize the feelings of other people is
primarily a function of one’s Interpersonal intelligence that is facilitated by
Linguistic skill. Skill in managing relationships with other people is also a factor in
one’s overall mood and emotional well-being.
Recommendations for Future Research- The current study is only the beginning of a larger programme to study the role of
Emotional Intelligence and Multiple Intelligence in Educational Institutions. The
findings of the study have provided valuable insights about variables that affect
various aspects of multiple intelligence and emotional intelligence of the student
teachers. However, additional research is needed to fill in the gaps of study and to
broaden the understanding of the factors, which contribute in the development and
management of emotional intelligence and multiple intelligence. The present
research is limited by its reliance on mere comparison of scores obtained on
multiple intelligence inventory for adults and emotional intelligence test, which
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 172
can be extended by using other aspects of intelligences like creativity, intelligence
quotient, life skills, socio-emotional intelligence, etc. It can be yield valuable
information about their correlations with each other. It would be interesting to
collect data using other data collection techniques like observation, projective
techniques and other tools like anecdotal records, etc.
Implications of Findings of Study and Conclusion- The current study has produced some important results that have implications for
both educational and real life practices. It helps us in understanding the level of
development of both cognitive and affective domains of teachers which further can
be enhanced by them for their professional and personal growth. The knowledge
regarding this can be transfer through them to next generations as they have to deal
with children who are future of our nation. But prior to that knowing about our
own intelligences is very important.
Intelligence of a person directly affects their achievements and way of performing
various tasks. There are various study (few included in reviews) signifies that the
preposition that multiple intelligence is strongly related to the academic
performance of the students. This has implications for educators, who can
distinguish low performing students from high ones and can particularly focus on
the development and management of emotional and multiple intelligence by
designing and incorporating certain programmes in curriculum.
This study also has implications for educational institutions and schools who
recruit fresh graduates (in education as well as other fields) for entry level jobs.
Institutions and organizations could profit by identifying the soft skills (which has
both emotional and social components) that they require for a particular position.
This could help them assigning work and duties to suitable employees. For
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 173
instances, if a teacher who is low in interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence,
might not be kept as a counselor in school.
Finally, in brief the concluding remarks for present study are, there is low positive
correlation found between emotional intelligence and Linguistic Intelligence,
Logical-Mathematical Intelligence, Spatial Intelligence, Bodily-Kinesthetic
Intelligence, Intrapersonal Intelligence, Existential Intelligence. The concept of
Emotional intelligence in the Indian context is embedded in its highly valued social
concerns, virtues, religious, traditions and cultural practices. The level of
emotional intelligence is not fixed genetically nor does it develop in the early
childhood. Children who are in the elastic period of their life are easily influenced
by their teacher. Emotionally intelligence teacher can produce emotionally
intelligence citizens. Teachers, who can perceive, integrate, understand and
manage the emotion of their own and of others as well as mere successful in class,
school, college and working with other people (Farooq, 2003).
Teachers should help the children to express their emotions freely in the
classrooms and also at homes. This may helpful to create self – confidence in
children. Curriculum of secondary and higher secondary school should be modified
so that lessons relating to multiple intelligence, emotional and social skills are
given importance in the activities. Teachers and parents can play an important role
in the developing emotional intelligence. Therefore they should be role models; by
observing these role models children gradually learn to analyze and copy with.
Every teacher and school personnel should be trained to behave with emotional
intelligence to make their life free from all type of stresses.
Reference –
Armstrong, T. (2000). Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom (2nd Ed.).
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 174
Bara, D. (2005) A study of the development and implication of an
instrumental strategy incorporating the theory of multiple intelligence
(Unpublished Ph.D. thesis). The Maharaja Sayajirao University of
Baroda, Vadodara: CASE.
Brantley, P. (2002). A model of school improvement. Journal of Adventist
Education. North American Division Board of Education. Retrieved from:
http://www.journeytoexcellence.org
Clavton, G. (2005). An intelligent look at Emotional Intelligence. The
Association of Teachers and Lecturers (Teaching to Learn campaign),
University of Bristol, London. Retrieved from: http://www.atl.org.uk/
Images/Emotional%20intelligence.pdf
Davie, L. (2008). Emotional Intelligence: An Essential Component of
Education. Retrieved from
http://www.kellybear.com/TeacherArticles/TeacherTip3.html
Elias, M. J. & Arnold, H. (2006). The Educator’s guide to emotional
intelligence and academic achievement: Socio-emotional learning in
classroom. California: SAGE Publications company.
Farooq, A. (2003). Effect of Emotional intelligence on Academic
performance. (Unpublished Ph.D. thesis). Institute of Clinical psychology,
University of Karachi, Pakistan. Retrieved from:
Fernández, P.B. & Martines, D. (2008). Assessment of Emotional and
Multiple Intelligences. Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-
data/22974_Chapter3.pdf
Gangal, M. K. & Singh, J. (2012). A Study of Emotional Intelligence of
Teacher Trainees of Meerut City. International Journal Of Behavioral Social
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 175
And Movement Sciences, 2(2), 99-106. Retrieved from
http://www.ijobsms.in/v1s2p12.pdfx.pdf
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligence.
New York: Basic Books
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books.
Jerabek, I. (1996). Emotional Intelligence Test. Retrieved
fromhttp://www.queendom.com/ queendom_tests/transfer
Salovey, P. & Mayer, J.D. (1990) Emotional intelligence. Baywood
Publishing Co., Inc. Retrieved from
http://www.unh.edu/emotional_intelligence/EI%20Assets
/Reprints.EI%20Proper /EI1990%20Emotional%20Intelligence.pdf
Shearer, C. B. (2006). Exploring The Relationship Among The Multiple
Intelligences and Emotional Intelligence, Kent State University. MI
Research and Consulting, Inc. Retrieved from
http://www.MIResearch.org/research.php
Thurstone, L. L. (1938). Primary Mental Abilities. USA: The University of
Chicago Press.
Williams, B. R. (2002). Multiple Intelligence: For Differentiated Learning.
USA: SAGE Publications Ltd ******************************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 176
Paper-10
Tourism and Globalization Kapil Shanker Tiwari
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 177
Tourism and Globalization Kapil Shanker Tiwari17
Abstract The tourism sector is one of the exemplars of the phenomenon of globalization.
This is due to the geographical scale of the industry, increased spatial linkages
between places and people from different locations. The purpose of this paper is to
evaluate the extent to which tourism globalization had impacted on various
countries. The paper submits that some countries have indeed increased their
revenues and foreign currency earnings, created employment, brought new
technology, and improved their tourism facilities and services to meet international
standards. Globalization has created respect for different countries cultures and
contributed to the protection of historical monuments and natural environments.
The paper notes the role of technological improvements in transportation and
telecommunications in making global travel shrink in terms of time and distance.
However, the paper notes that globalization has also brought negative impacts to
few countries. These include financial leakages, price increases, natural disasters
and a change in some countries cultural values. The paper concludes that the
world is in the era of globalization and that the phenomenon is here to stay.
Therefore, the paper recommends that countries should closely monitor the
negative impacts of globalization while continuing to reap the benefits that accrue
from tourism globalization.
Key words- Globalization, spatial linkages, natural disaster, multinational
corporations, vertical and horizontal mergers. 17 Mobile: 8601090128, Email: [email protected]
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 178
Introduction- All through the last decade, the tourism industry has seen many noteworthy
changes that will have a momentous impact on potential tourist demand. On the
one hand, the rise of e-tourism, the democratization of travel and the tendency to
book and to make up one’s trip online rather than to buy a standard tourist package
proposed by a tour operator, stood out with regard to the new traveler’s
preferences.
Where as on its contrary, many of the challenges like natural disasters such as
tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes as well as health issues, such as
avian and swine influenza, have changed our perception of holiday and leisure.
Therefore, it would be fascinating to hypothesize about the future trends in travel
that we can expect to see over the next decades.
New Emerging Inbound Destinations- Eastern Europe, with many countries amalgamation the EU, Asia and South
America will play a major role as leading inbound destinations since they excite
and arouse the interest of many travelers. On the other hand, North Africa is
threatened with a decline if it does not innovate and diversify its tourism product.
We can predict that competition between destinations is going to be fiercer in the
future. Each country should therefore look for a competitive advantage that it can
develop and exploit.
New Emerging Outbound Markets- Among the biggest emerging outbound markets, we can cite here China and India
with over a billion people each, many of which are starting to travel
internationally. If we look, for instance, at the number of Chinese people who
traveled abroad, it rose considerably between 2010 (34,524 million travelers) and
2012 (57,386 million travelers) thus marking a 66 per cent increase over the two
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 179
years. This implies that inbound destinations interested in those promising markets
should get prepared for this large influx by-
Improving their infrastructure, mainly road and airport infrastructures;
Preparing communication media in relevant languages;
Ensuring better air connections by seeking common ground with other
airline companies or Tour-Operators;
Initiating in-depth studies on tourists’ travel needs from those markets.
Green Tourism- Green tourism, also known as nature-based tourism or sustainable tourism, is in
great demand and will continue its growth in the future since many travelers are
now aware of the negative impact tourism might have on the environment and
have, therefore, become more responsible with regard to sustainability.
Climate Change and Alternative Future Transport- When thinking of the warming of the planet, the erratic weather patterns and the
natural disasters that will likely occur and are occurring already, we can describe
global climate change as one of the worst disasters to hit the humanity.
Furthermore, destinations should expect climate change to have an impact on
tourists’ purchasing trends. We will gradually see new means of transport gaining
ground to the detriment of air traffic: Will tourists be willing to fly across the
ocean if they consider the carbon footprint of their flights?
Travelers may opt for journeys made by train, boat or coaches especially that these
modes are nowadays offering more comfort, great web accessibility and timetables
suitability. In addition, shorter trips within the same continent or the same
geographical region will more likely outweigh the long ones.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 180
Travel with a Mission- Another important future trend is travels that incorporate an added-value rather
than just a classic lazy sun and see vacation: Many travelers are nowadays looking
for real travel experiences that enrich their culture and let them live and feel the
authenticity. Furthermore, they seek out travels that involve volunteering (e.g.
providing support to a population in need, humanitarian actions, etc.) or that
include a particular mission, for instance, learning a new language, exploring new
culinary techniques, attending a seminar, a concert or an event, etc. As a result,
tour operators are now becoming specialists rather than generalists: Some are
positioned as experts in golf vacations while others are specialized in cultural tours
and so on. Social Media- Social media includes web-based and mobile technologies used to turn
communication into interactive dialogue between organizations, communities and
individuals. The last decade has witnessed an unprecedented rise of social media in
many different forms: Collaborative projects (e.g. Wikipedia), blogs and micro-
blogs (e.g. twitter), content communities (e.g. You Tube), social networking sites
(e.g. Facebook), etc. Businesses currently refer to social media as consumer-
generated media since they are relatively inexpensive and accessible to anyone
compared to industrial or traditional media. In the US, for example, social
networking now accounts for 22 per cent of all time spent online.
However, if destinations or tourism authorities decide to use these online platforms
to make promotions or to bring updates, it is crucial that they understand how to
deal with social media to become effective influencers and thus cleverly pass the
desired message to public. Furthermore, organizations should always bear in mind
that people are nowadays resistant to marketing in general and especially to direct
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 181
social marketing and hence they should find better tricks to be socially powerful.
Some studies came up to these organizations with two important suggestions:
Either to establish themselves as “experts” in a particular field or area, thereby
become influencers in that particular field or area, or try to gain trust and
credibility as most people prefer to learn from other people like them who share
their experiences rather than from marketers.
Safety and Security- Tourism is very different from what it was prior to the notable terrorist and
criminal attacks the world has recently witnessed. Modern tourism is a
multifaceted and complex industry involving many stakeholders. Safety and
security need, therefore, to be priorities for any tourism destination. Furthermore,
policies and practices that protect both tourists and locals, and also that address
how a crisis should be managed if the need arises are an essential component of
tourism development. To reach the safety goal, governments should work on the
implementation of an action plan that may include the following-
Devoting special and sufficient budgets for safety issues: There is a common
perception, especially in developing countries, that governments want
tourists to receive extraordinary services within the confines of ordinary
budgets. As a result, law enforcement agencies generally suffer from a lack
of funding, manpower shortages and low-morale staff due in part to low pay
and lack of resources.
Involving all stakeholders in crime prevention programmes (e.g. hoteliers,
airline companies, the local population, transportation agencies, restaurants,
bars, taxi drivers, etc.) since safety is everyone’s responsibility. This can be
achieved through a better coordination between stakeholders as well as
through appropriate planning and awareness campaigns.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 182
Security professional tourism training: Security professionals, who work in
tourism areas, need to be sensitive to the special needs of the transient
person. In fact, they need to know how to reduce crimes’ probability and
how to comfort the tourist if he/she is a victim of a crime.
Property inspections with minimal safety standard: it is often easier to
prevent a crime than to deal with it post facto.
In brief, as today’s tourists seek places that are safe and secure, countries
should continue to get heavily involved in developing policies that protect
their population and visitors from perceived unsafe situations.
Workforce Development- The success of the tourism and hospitality sector is based on the continually
evolving challenge of “selling the intangible”. Thus, the human factor is of an
increased importance. If we look, for instance, at destinations and companies
selling tourism services, they are struggling to differentiate themselves beyond just
the physical product. In other words, it is the human element that creates their
competitive advantage and what makes or breaks a tourism experience.
Nevertheless, due to the large human resource needs of the tourism industry, there
is often a lack of qualified employees available to the industry. Destinations that
want to consolidate their positions in the future world travel market should then
work hard on upgrading their workforce. This can be achieved by-
Developing a sustainable workforce, either through education and training of
their own workforce, or through migration policies.
Implementing appropriate educational policies for all tourism organizations
(hotels, amusement parks, restaurants, bars, etc.). These policies should be
designed and developed by relevant tourism entities within the government
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 183
and not by other entities, as in some instances, educational policies are set by
the ministry of education!
Creating human resource councils that address the needs of the tourism
sector at a local, regional or national level and aiming at reducing the gap
between what is offered and what is needed, and focusing on quality control
and related issues.
Conclusion- This analysis clearly highlights that destinations seeking to maintain or strengthen
their position in the future world of travel should start working on a long-term
action plan comprising a set of strategies that comply with these eight trends. In
any case, the above study deserves a deep reflexion as it might spark other ideas
and create interesting debates.
References-
Author: Kingsbury P, 2005. Jamaican tourism and the politics of enjoyment.
Geoforum, 36: 113–132. CrossRef
Author: Knowles T, Diamantis D, El-Mourhabi J B, 2004. The Globalization
of Tourism and Hospitality: A Strategic Perspective (2nd ed.). London, New
York: Continuum, Insbes.
Author: Liu A, Wall G, 2006. Planning tourism employment: a developing
country perspective. Tourism Management, 27(1): 159–170.
Author: Macleod D V L, 2004. Tourism, Globalisation and Cultural Change:
An Island Community Perspective. Clevedon: Channel View Publications.
Author: Mbaiwa J E, 2005. Enclave tourism and its socio-economic impacts
in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Tourism Management, 26(2): 157–172.
CrossRef
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 184
Author: Reid D G, 2003. Tourism, Globalization & Development:
Responsible Tourism Planning. London: Pluto Press.
UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization), 2005. Tourism,
Microfinance and Poverty Alleviation. Madrid: UNWTO.
http://www.vault.com/industries-professions/industries/hospitality.aspx
http://sbr.com.sg/hr-education/news/singapore-companies-freak-out-amid-
stiffer foreign-labour-rules
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/
http://www.livemint.com/Companies/JBRVLcYwDXQAUshcxevfyL/Skille
d-manpower-shortage-threat-to-hotel-industry-growth.html
http://www.publishingindia.com/ijhts/24/trends-and-practices-in-hospitality-
and-tourism-research-a-selected-study-from-international journals/298/2191/
Author: - Michael Riley, Adele Ladkin, Edith Szivas 2002 Tourism
Employment: Analysis and Planning **********************************************************
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 185
Paper-11 Perception of University Students about
Constructivist Classroom Learning Environment Dr. Sarat Kumar Rout
Mr. Kulamani Sahoo
Mamata Rani Panda
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 186
Perception of University Students about Constructivist
Classroom Learning Environment Dr. Sarat Kumar Rout18
Mr. Kulamani Sahoo19
Mamata Rani Panda20
Background of the Study- Constructivist theory promotes student learning by creating learning environments
that directly expose the learners to the things being studied. Experiencing the world
directly, the learners can derive meaning with pleasure from them. This gives
ample access to the view that constructivist learning takes place within a suitable
constructivist learning environment (CLE). One of the central tenants of all
constructivist learning is that it has to be an active process (Tam, 2000); therefore,
any CLE must provide the opportunity for active learning. Tam (2000) lists the
following four basic characteristics of CLEs, which must be considered when
implementing constructivist instructional strategies: knowledge will be shared
between teachers and students, teachers and students will share authority, teacher’s
role is one of a facilitator or guide and learning groups will consist of small
numbers of heterogeneous students.
Learning environment refers to the social, psychological and pedagogical contexts
in which learning occurs and which affects student achievement and attitudes
(Fraser, 1998). In constructivist learning environments, content, instructional
18 Lecturer, Department of Education, Ravenshaw University
19 Guest Lecturer, Department of Education, Ravenshaw University
20 Research Scholar, Department of Education, Ravenshaw University
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 187
materials and pace of learning are based upon the abilities and interests of each
individual learner. Each learner is unique and ‘is an individual who must be helped
to find his or her way to become autonomous’ (Williams & L. Burden, 1998) and
learners have different learning styles, learn at different rates, have varying
socioeconomic backgrounds, and have diverse intellectual capabilities (Dileo,
2007). Researchers have revealed that students’ perceptions of their learning
environment are influenced by a great variety of factors. there are gender, subject,
grade-level, school-type, school-location (urban and rural) and ethnic-related
differences in classroom learning environments (Fraser, 1998; Huang, 2000, 2001;
Huang & Waxman, 1995a, 1995b; Waldrip & Fisher, 2000; Waxman & Huang,
1998; Wong, Young & Fraser, 1997). Goh and Fraser (1998) found that girls
generally viewed their classroom environments more favourably than boys did,
although there were differences in mathematics achievement in favour of boys.
Wierstra, Kanselaar, Linden, and Lodewijks (1999) compared Dutch students in
foreign countries and foreign students at a Dutch University, and noted that great
differences were found between the different countries in their university learning
environments. Huang and Waxman (1995b) compared the learning environments
of Asian and Anglo-American students, with 1200 in each group, and concluded
that middle school girls had more favourable perceptions than boys had. Across
both ethnic groups, girls were more involved and attentive in class, more affiliated
with their classmates, and enjoyed their mathematics class more than boys did.
Wong and Fraser (1994) similarly found that female students held more favourable
perceptions than males. Newby and Fisher (2000) proposed a two-level model
using Structural Equation Modelling and found that learning environment variables
made a significant contribution to attitudinal variables, and that these in turn made
a significant contribution to achievement variance. Furthermore, students’
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 188
perceptions of their classroom learning environments have been found to be
positively correlated with academic efficacy in a study that examined a sample of
1055 mathematics students from Australian secondary schools (Dorman, 2001).
Significance of the Study- The teacher transmits information that the learner receives. Teaching practices
focus on lecture as a means of conveying information and on the traditional paper
pencil, multiple choice type assessment. This changing landscape of education
focuses on learning, rather than on teaching and pedagogy, curriculum and
instruction. It seeks to create a generation of learners whose learning is defined as
“the ability to retain, synthesize and apply conceptually complex information in
meaningful ways” to encourage better student learning through the learning
objectives of project based learning or learning by doing and to enable problem
solving, analysis, creativity and communication to take place in the classroom.
There are many researches conducted in the area of constructivist learning
environment. Researchers’ main focus of study was on construction of information
in classroom situation. But there are very few studies conducted on constructivist
learning environment at university level. Hence, the investigators are keenly
interested in knowing about the Perception of University Students about
Constructivist Classroom Learning Environment.
Objectives of the Study- The study was undertaken with the intention to investigate the followings-
1. To study the perceptions of post-graduate students about the constructivist
classroom learning environment.
2. To study the perceptions of male and female post-graduate students about
the constructivist classroom learning environment.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 189
3. To study the perceptions of Arts and Science post-graduate students about
constructivist classroom learning environment.
Research Question and Hypothesis –
1. What are the perceptions of Postgraduate students about the constructivist
classroom learning environment? 2. There does not exist any statistically significant difference in perception of
male and female postgraduate students about constructivist classroom
learning environment. 3. There does not exist any statistically significant difference in perception of
Arts and Science Post-graduate Students about constructivist learning
environment. The Design of the Study- Present piece of research work is descriptive survey research because the
investigators made a survey in order to study the perception of University Students
about constructive classroom learning environment.
Population-
The population of this study was consisting of all the post graduate students of
Ravenshaw University, Cuttack.
Sample-
Out of 100 post graduate students of Ravenshaw University, 50 from Arts male
and female students and other 50 from Science male and female students
constituted the sample of the study.
Tool Used-
Constructivist learning environment scale for students was developed by the
investigators to know about the information associated with their education. There
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 190
were forty two questions prepared by the investigators and administered upon the
students.
Procedure of Data Collection-
The researchers personally collected all the relevant data relating to the proposed
study with the help of constructivist learning environment scale from the arts and
science post graduate students of Ravenshaw University
Techniques of Data Analysis-
After collection of all the relevant data the investigators analyzed the data. Both
qualitative and quantitative techniques were followed to analyse and interpretation.
The perception of postgraduate students about the relevance of their classroom
interaction was examined by using the Constructive Learning Environment
perception scale. The scale included six sub dimension namely relevance,
reflection, negotiation, support, empathy and leadership. The students rated their
levels of agreement with the statements by using a five-point Likert-type scale.
Results- The first dimension of constructive learning environment is relevance which says
what extent the learning environment is relevant to students’ own experiences,
background and aspiration. The information obtained in this dimension from the
postgraduate students is presented in the table-1.
Table-1 Percentage, Mean and S.D of Perception of Postgraduate Students
about Relevance Dimension of Constructive Learning Environment
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 191
S. No.
of
Items
Statements of Relevance (%) Almost
Always
+ Often +
Many times
Mean S.D
1 I have interested in the learning which
is
practiced in our classroom.
80 3.52 1.09
7 Teacher teaches those things which are
right for the student.
72 3.49 1.15
13 Teacher relates students learning with
their past experiences.
42 3.01 1.39
19 At the time of teaching, teacher tells us
how to assimilate the lessons which are
taught in the class room.
67 3.29 1.03
25 Teacher tells us to concentrate the
things of our everyday life which are
related with the new things.
92 3.92 1.06
31 Teacher tells to analyse the lessons
which he has taught at first.
94 3.46 0.90
37 Teacher tells at the time of teaching,
which lessons are changeable.
41 2.74 0.97
Overall 70 3.34 1.08
As presented in above Table-1, the findings indicated that large majority of the
postgraduate students perceived that their classroom interactions as almost always
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 192
or often or many times were practical based classroom (80 %, M=3.52),
concentrate the things of everyday life which are related with the new things (92%,
M=3.92), analyse the lessons which he has taught at first (94%, M=3.46). Majority
of the postgraduate students perceived that their classroom interactions as almost
always or often or many times were relevant or appropriate to their understanding
level (72 %, M=3.49), relate among the lessons which are taught in the class room
(67 %, M=3.29). On the other hand very low percentage of postgraduate students
perceived that their classroom interaction as almost always or often or many times
were based on their past experiences (42 %, M=3.01), lessons are changeable (41,
M=2.74). However, overall a faire majority of postgraduate students (70 %,
M=3.34) revealed that their classroom learning environment were constructive.
The second dimension of constructive learning environment is reflection. It points
to the perception students about how the teachers critically reflect on the
background knowledge, new ideas, understanding and role as teacher. Data
collected in this dimension is presented in the table-2.
Table-2 Percentage, Mean and S.D of Perception of Postgraduate Students
about Reflection Dimension of Constructive Learning Environment
S. No.
of
Items
Statements of Reflection
Dimension
(%) Almost
Always
+ Often +
Many times
Mean S.D
2 Teachers tell us to think deeply after
end of his/her teaching the lesson in
the classroom.
35 2.51 0.79
8 Teachers give us chance to relate new 93 3.84 0.81
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 193
learning with the previous learning.
14 Teachers tell us to summarize the
lessons at the time of teaching.
80 3.60 0.85
20 Teachers teach the lesson in the
classroom with the help of the
students.
98 3.93 0.32
26 Teachers give suggestions to follows
more than one book.
99 4.89 0.49
32 Teachers tell the students to compare
the two things of their lessons.
29 2.54 0.90
38 At the time of teaching, teachers give
pause to present our opinion about the
lesson.
94 4.61 0.85
Overall 75.42 3.70 .72
From the Table-2, It has been found that more than three fourth of the postgraduate
students perceived that their classroom teaching was reflective as ‘Teachers give us
chance to relate new learning with the previous learning’ (93%, M=3.84), ‘At the
time of teaching, teachers give pause to present our opinion about the lesson’ (94
%, M=4.61) ‘Teachers teach the lesson in the classroom with the help of the
students’ (98%, M=3.93), and ‘Teachers give suggestions to follows more than one
book’ (99%, M=4.89). Very few percentage of postgraduate students reported that
classroom teaching was not reflective as ‘Teachers tell us to think deeply after end
of his/her teaching the lesson in the classroom, (35%, M=2.51) and ‘Teachers tell
the students to compare the two things of their lessons’ (29%, M=2.54). But
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 194
overall a good majority of postgraduate students (75 %, M=3.70) stated that
classroom teaching was almost always or often or many times reflective.
The third dimension of constructive learning environment is negotiation which
indicates how teachers communicate ideas with other teachers and students. The
responses of postgraduate students in this dimension are presented in the table-3.
Table-3 Percentage, Mean and S.D of Perception of Postgraduate Students
about Negotiation Dimension of Constructive Learning Environment
S. No.
of
Items
Statements of Negotiation
Dimension
(%) Almost
Always
+ Often +
Many times
Mean S.D
3 Teacher gives a chance me to present
my opinion about a particular topic.
72 3.43 0.95
9 My friends help me to clear about my
doubt in the classroom.
9 2.17 0.56
15 Teacher tells us to remember the
lesson which S/ he teaches with our
understanding.
85 3.01 0.64
21 Teacher doesn’t want that students
remembered only their lessons.
3 1.11 0.53
27 Students try to understand the more
new concepts which are teach by the
teachers in the classroom.
98 4.41 o.92
33 Teachers provide opportunities to the
students to present their lesson.
96 3.23 0.66
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 195
39 When students couldn’t follow
teacher’s teaching, then teacher
elaborate it by using different methods.
98 4.84 0.60
Overall 66 3.17 0.69
From Table-3 it is found that a very high majority of postgraduate students (more
than 96 %) agreed upon that ‘students try to understand more new concepts which
are teach by the teachers in the classroom’ (98 %, M=4.41), ‘Teachers provide
opportunities to the students to present their lesson’ ( 96 %, M=3.23) and ‘When
students couldn’t follow teacher’s teaching, then teacher elaborate it by using
different methods’ (98 %, M=4.84). Similarly, more than three fourth of the
postgraduate students perceived that ‘Teacher gives a chance me to present my
opinion about a particular topic’ (72 %, M=3.43) as well as ‘Teacher tells us to
remember the lesson which S/ he teaches with our understanding’ (85%, M=3.01).
On the other hand very low percentage of postgraduate students (less than 10 %)
stated that ‘My friends help me to clear about my doubt in the classroom’ (9 %,
M=2.17) and ‘Teacher doesn’t want that students remembered only their lessons’
(3%, M=1.11). Moderate majority of the postgraduate students (66 %, M=3.17)
reported that their classroom learning environment was cooperative and
collaborative.
The fourth dimension of constructive learning environment is leadership which
says about the leadership qualities of teachers like organisation, setting task and
holding attention. The responses of postgraduate students in this dimension have
been presented in the table-4.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 196
Table-4 Percentage, Mean and S.D of Perception of Postgraduate Students
about Leadership Dimension of Constructive Learning Environment
S. No.
of
Items
Statements of Leadership
Dimensio
n
(%) Almost
Always
+ Often +
Many times
Mea
n
S.D
6 Teachers encourage me to know
new information about the lesson.
85 2.92 0.42
12 Teacher focuses on the activities
which are related to the students
learning.
10 4.71 0.73
18 Teacher relates their teaching with
the students thinking.
78 3.04 0.87
24 Teachers decided the works which
are done by the students for their
learning.
7 2.59 1.19
30 When students do their work, then
teacher guide them not to do
wrong things.
13 4.62 0.82
36 Teachers give pause to present
right answers.
4 3.68 0.82
42 Teachers tell students to do their
home work correctly.
15 4.61 0.81
Overall 30 3.73 0.69
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 197
From the table-4 it may be concluded that three fourth of the postgraduate students
opined that ‘Teachers encourage me to know new information about the lesson’
(85%, M=2.92) as well as ‘Teacher relates their teaching with the students
thinking’ (78 %, M=3.04) almost always or often or many times. Where as, very
low percentage of postgraduate students informed that ‘Teachers give pause to
present right answers’ (4 %, M=3.68), ‘Teachers decided the works which are
done by the students for their learning’ (7 %, M=2.59), ‘Teacher focuses on the
activities which are related to the students learning’ (10 %, M=4.71), ‘When
students do their work, then teacher guide them not to do wrong things’ (13 %,
M=4.62) and followed by ‘Teachers tell students to do their home work correctly’
(15 %, M=4.61). Overall, low percentage of postgraduate students (30 %) stated
about the about the leadership qualities of teachers like organisation, setting task
and holding attention.
The fifth dimension of constructive learning environment is empathy which points
to perception of the way in which teacher understands, listens attentively and
shows confidence in students. The data obtained from the postgraduate students in
this dimension is presented in the table-5.
Table-5 Percentage, Mean and S.D of Perception of Postgraduate Students
about Empathy Dimension of Constructive Learning Environment
S. No.
of
Items
Statements of Empathy
Dimension
(%) Almost
Always
+ Often +
Many times
Mean S.D
5 When I can’t understand 24 2.49 0.93
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 198
From the table 5 it is noticed that cent percent of postgraduate students remarked
that ‘Teachers identify the students, who have not understood the lessons’
(M=4.81), ‘Teacher tries to understand the student’s thinking ability’ (M=4.74)
and ‘When students don’t understand the teachers teaching, the teachers don’t
angry with them’ (M=4.73) almost always or often or many times. In the similar
way a very high majority of postgraduate students (more than three fourth)
reported that ‘Teachers believe on my opinion’ (78 %, M=3.64), ‘When students
feel some difficulty of their lessons, then teacher listen it patiently’ (81 %, M=3.65)
teacher’s teaching, at that time
the teacher look at me with full
of doubt.
11 Teachers believe on my opinion. 78 3.64 1.20
17 Teachers identify the students,
who have not understood the
lessons.
100 4.81 0.56
23 Teacher tries to understand the
student’s thinking ability.
100 4.74 0.66
29 When students don’t understand
the teachers teaching, the
teachers don’t angry with them.
100 4.73 0.66
35 When students feel some
difficulty of their lessons, then
teacher listen it patiently.
81 3.65 0.90
41 Teacher knows those things
which are difficult for us.
86 3.70 0.88
Overall 81 3.96 0.82
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 199
and ‘Teacher knows those things which are difficult for us’ (86 %, M=3.70) as
almost always or often or many times. Very low percent of teachers pointed out
that ‘When I can’t understand teacher’s teaching, at that time the teacher look at
me with full of doubt’ (24 %, M=2.49) as almost always or often or many times.
Overall a high majority of postgraduate students (81 %, M=3.96) agreed that their
teachers understand, listen attentively and show confidence in them.
The sixth dimension of constructive learning environment is support which means
the extent to which teacher assists, shows interest and inspires confidence and trust
in students. The data obtained from the postgraduate students in this dimension is
presented in the table-6.
Table-6 Percentage, Mean and S.D of Perception of Postgraduate Students
about Support Dimension of Constructive Learning Environment
S. No.
of
Items
Statements of Support
Dimension
(%) Almost
Always
+ Often +
Many times
Mea
n
S.D
4 Teachers help us to write the
answers of the questions which are
given by them.
40 2.45 0.77
10 Teachers correct the answers
which are written by me.
98 3.20 0.63
16 Teacher tells us to gather the
knowledge about a particular
chapter from multiple sources.
100 4.80 0.58
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 200
A very high majority of postgraduate students (more than three fourth) pointed out
that ‘Teachers correct the answers which are written by me’ (98%, M=3.20),
‘Teacher tells us to gather the knowledge about a particular chapter from multiple
sources’ (100%, M=4.80), ‘When I give rectify my notes to teachers, they see it
interestingly’ (93%, M=3.54), ‘Teacher helps the students to understand their
lesson’ (98%, M=4.66). On the other hand very low majority of postgraduate
students (less than half) stated that ‘Teachers help us to write the answers of the
questions which are given by them’ (40%, M=2.45), ‘Teacher helps the students to
relate any two important things’ (31 %, M=2.56), ‘Teacher tells about the process
of synthesing the concepts and ideas of a lesson’ (21%, M=2.45) as almost always
or often or many times. Overall majority of the postgraduate students (68%,
M=3.38) revealed that teachers were almost always or often or many times assists,
shows interest and inspires confidence and trust in them.
22 Teacher helps the students to
relate any two important things.
31 2.56 0.94
28 When I give rectify my notes to
teachers, they see it interestingly.
93 3.54 0.96
34 Teacher tells about the process of
synthesing the concepts and ideas
of a lesson .
21 2.45 0.94
40 Teacher helps the students to
understand their lesson.
98 4.66 0.76
Overall 68 3.38 0.79
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 201
Table-7 Overall Percentage, Mean and S.D of Perception of Postgraduate
Students about Constructive Learning Environment Dimension wise
Fig
ure
-
1S
ho
win
g
the
Ov
era
ll
Percentage of Perception of Postgraduate Students about Constructive
Learning Environment Dimension wise
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Relevance
Reflection
Negotiation
Leadership
Empathy
Support
S. No.
Dimensions of Constructive
Learning Environment
(%) Almost
Always
+ Often +
Many times
Mea
n
S.D
1 Relevance 70 3.34 1.08
2 Reflection 75 3.70 .72
3 Negotiation 66 3.17 0.69
4 Leadership 30 3.73 0.69
5 Empathy 81 3.96 0.82
6 Support 68 3.38 0.79
Overall 65 3.54 0.95
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 202
Figure-2 Showing the Overall Mean and S.D of Perception of Postgraduate
Students about Constructive Learning Environment Dimension wise
From the above table-7 and Figure-1&2 it may be concluded that a very high
majority of the post graduate students (81%, M=3.96) stated that existing learning
environment is more empathetic. In the similar vein, three fourth of the
postgraduate students (75%, M=3.70) perceived that teachers are reflecting
critically the background knowledge, new ideas and understanding their role as
teacher. Subsequently, majority of postgraduate students (70%, M=3.34) pointed
out about the relevance of learning experiences in the classroom interaction which
were based on their own experiences, background and aspiration. Similarly,
majority of postgraduate students (68%, M=3.38) revealed that teachers were
assisting, shows interest and inspires the confidence of the postgraduate students
as well as majority of the postgraduate students (66%, M=3.17) described that
teachers were communicating the other peer teachers and experts to solve problems
of students. Only 30 percentage postgraduate students perceived that teachers were
organising task and setting task.
Table- 8 Significance Difference between the Mean Constructive Learning
Environment Scores of Male and Female Post Graduate Students
01234
Gender N Mean SD ‘P’ value df Remark
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 203
p- Value < 0.05
Table-8 revealed that p-value (.000) does not reach at 0.05. Hence, the investigator
rejects the null hypothesis and it signified that there existed significant difference
between the male and female post graduate students with regard to their
constructivist learning environment classroom; female students have scored better
in comparison to their male counterparts.
Table-9 Significance Difference between the Mean Constructive Learning
Environment Scores of Arts Male and Arts Female Post Graduate Students
p- Value < 0.05
Table-9 revealed that p-value (.009) does not reach at 0.05. Hence, the investigator
rejects the null hypothesis and it signified that there existed significant difference
between the arts male and arts female post graduate students with regard to their
constructivist learning environment classroom; arts male students have scored
better in comparison to their arts female counterparts.
Male 50 136.54 11.088
.000
98
Significant Female 50 140.16 16.100
Gender/Stream(Arts)
N Mean SD ‘P’ value df Remark
Male 25 137.88 11.617
.009
48
Significant Female 25 136.36 17.684
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 204
Table-10 Significance Difference between the Mean Constructive Learning
Environment Scores of Science Male and Science Female Post Graduate
Students
P-value > 0.05
Since p-value =0.092 > 0.05= α, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. Hence, it is
stated that there is no statistical significant difference between constructivist
learning environment scores of science male and science female post graduate
students. The science female post graduate students performed better than that of
their science male counterparts in constructivist learning environment scale.
Table-11 Significance Difference between the Mean Constructive Learning
Environment Scores of Arts and Science Post Graduate Students
P-value > 0.05
Since p-value =0.870 > 0.05= α, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. Hence, it is
stated that there is no statistical significant difference between constructivist
learning environment scores of arts and science post graduate students. The science
Gender/Stream(Science) N Mean SD ‘P’ value df Remark
Male 25 135.20 10.599
.092
48
Not Significant Female 25 143.96 13.652
Stream
N Mean SD ‘P’ value df Remark
Arts 50 137.12 14.828
.870
98
Not Significant Science 50 139.58 12.879
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 205
post graduate students performed better than that of their arts counterparts in
constructivist learning environment scale.
Table-12 Significance Difference between the Mean Constructive Learning
Environment Scores of Arts Male and Science Male Post Graduate Students
p-value =0.673 > 0.05= α, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. Hence, it is stated
that there is no statistical significant difference between constructivist learning
environment scores of arts male and science male post graduate students. The arts
male post graduate students performed better than that of their science male
counterparts in constructivist learning environment scale.
Table-13 Significance Difference between the Mean Constructive Learning
Environment Scores of Arts Female and Science Female Post Graduate
Students
P-value > 0.05
Since p-value =0.193 > 0.05= α, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. Hence, it is
stated that there is no statistical significant difference between constructivist
learning environment scores of arts female and science female post graduate
Gender/Stream(Male)
N Mean SD ‘P’ value df Remark
Arts Male 25 137.88 11.617
.673
48
Not Significant Science Male 25 135.20 10.599
Gender/Stream( Female) N Mean SD ‘P’ value df Remark
Arts Female 25 136.36 17.684
.193
48
Not Significant Science Female 25 143.96 13.652
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 206
students. The science female post graduate students performed better than that of
their arts female counterparts in constructivist learning environment scale.
Educational implications- On the basis of observations made in the study, the following implications have
been drawn..
Implications for Students- Constructivist learning environment helps the students to gathered their
previous knowledge and construction of new knowledge.
Students can apply this knowledge in their professional field.
Students can able to refresh or up-to-date their previous knowledge.
Implications for Universities- Universities should make provision of workshop, ICT laboratories, ICT
integrated classrooms, seminars, ICT project work for help of the students.
Universities should integrate constructivist learning in college curriculum.
Implications for Government- Government should make provision of ICT training programmes for teachers
which can help them to construct learning environment.
Government should provide efficient teachers to colleges which can help the
students for construction and transmission of knowledge
References-
Burden, R.L. and Williams M. (1998). Language Learners' perceptions of
supportive classroom environments. Language Learning Journal.
Dileo, J. (2007). Individualized Instruction. Retrieved August 22, 2008, from
http://www.dropoutprevention.org/effstrat/individualized
instruction/overview.htm
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 207
Dorman, J. P. (2001). Associations between classroom environment and
academic efficacy. Learning Environments Research, 4, 243–257.
Fraser, B. J. (1998). Classroom learning environment instruments:
Development, validity, and applications. Learning Environments Research,
1, 7–33.
Goh, S. C., & Fraser, B. J. (1998). Teacher interpersonal behaviour,
classroom environment and student outcomes in primary mathematics in
Singapore. Learning Environments Research, 1, 199–229.
Huang, S. L. (2000, January). Diversity of Asian American students’
learning environment. Paper presented at the Second International
Conference of Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education, Taipei,
Taiwan.
Huang, S. L. (2001, April). Classroom processes and learning environments
of middle school students in Taiwan. Paper presented at the annual meeting
of the American Educational Research Association, Seattle, WA.
Huang, S. L., & Waxman, H. C. (1995a). Differences between Asian- and
Anglo-American students’ motivation and learning environments. In D.
Fisher (Ed.), The study of learning environments, Volume 8 (pp. 129–144).
Perth, Australia: Curtin University of Technology.
Huang, S. L., & Waxman, H. C. (1995b). Motivation and learning
environment differences between Asian American and white middle school
students in mathematics. Journal of Research and Development in
Education, 28, 208–219.
Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education, ISSN 2278- 2435, Vol. 3, Issue-4, November-2014. Page 208
Newby, M., & Fisher, D. (2000). A model of the relationship between
university computer laboratory environment and student outcomes. Learning
Environments Research, 3, 51–66.
Tam, M. (2000). Constructivism, Instructional Design, and Technology:
Implications for Transforming Distance Learning. Educational Technology
and Society, 3 (2).
Waldrip, B. G., & Fisher, D. L. (2000, April). City and country students’
perceptions of teacher-student interpersonal behaviour and classroom
learning environments. Paper presented at the annual meeting of American
Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.
Waxman, H. C., & Huang, S. L. (1998). Classroom learning environment in
urban elementary, middle, and high schools. Learning Environment
Research, 1, 95–113.
Wierstra, R., Kanselaar, G., Linden, J., & Lodewijks, H. (1999). Learning
environment perceptions of European university students. Learning
Environments Research, 2, 79–98.
Wong, A. F. L., & Fraser, B. J. (1994, April). Science laboratory classroom
environment and student attitudes in chemistry classes in Singapore. Paper
presented at the annual meeting of American Educational Research
Association, New Orleans, LA.
Wong, A. F. L., Young, D. J., & Fraser, B. J. (1997). A multilevel analysis
of learning environments and student attitudes. Educational Psychology, 17,
449–468. **********************************************************