vol. 9, issue-2, may 2020. 9 issue-2, may2020.pdfdr. ajeet kumar rai 63-71 . education india...

Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education,

ISSN 2278-2435, Vol. 9, Issue-2, May-2020.

Vol. 9, Issue-2, May 2020



Index

Sl. Sl. No. Paper Title Author Page No.

1. How Asian Universities can Rise to the Current

Challenge – Interview with World Association

for Online Education President Steve McCarty

in Japan

Steve McCarty

Rajesh Panhathodi

03-08

2. From West Bengal to New York: A Cross-

Cultural Analysis of Grade Eight Students'

Attitudes and Experiences Using Computers at

School and at Home

Mathew Swerdloff 09-20

3. Gender Differential in Disability among School

Going Children and its Impact on School

Enrolment in India

Anita Pal

Dr. Madhusudan J. V

Dr. Jeetendra Yadav

21-36

4. Inclusion and Exclusion of Persons with

Disabilities in the Institutions of Higher

Education

Pathloth Omkar

37-47

5. Teacher’s Perception of Student Evaluation of

Teachers in Relation to Demographic

Determinants

Tanushree Balial

Sudeshna Lahiri

47-62

6. Professional Enrichment through Action

Research: Case of Cooperative Learning in

Teacher Education

Dr. Ajeet Kumar Rai 63-71



Paper-1

How Asian Universities can Rise to the Current

Challenge – Interview with World Association for

Online Education President Steve McCarty in

Japan

Steve McCarty

Rajesh Panhathodi



How Asian Universities can Rise to the Current Challenge – Interview with World

Association for Online Education President Steve McCarty in Japan

Steve McCarty1

Rajesh Panhathodi2

1. Medical experts are of the opinion that Covid-19 is going to stay with us until an effective

antivirus is developed. Is the online educational sector ready to cater to the increasing

needs during this pandemic?

Online education should not be a sector of technical specialists separate from educators, but rather

a pan-disciplinary set of meta-skills that educators develop on top of subject matter expertise.

Perhaps I should explain the difference between fields and disciplines. Academia is divided into

fields and areas thereof, but not every possible area in a field is researched, so disciplines have

developed in each field in the form of university departments, academic journals, and a canon of

cited literature. Academics have one or a cluster of specializations where they have expertise. [1]

India has abundant talent and thirst for knowledge, but its universities are not yet highly ranked

globally. There does not seem to be enough thought given to disciplinarity, with journals

sometimes combining odd combinations of fields, or events like Webinars not having a clear

disciplinary focus.

Having stated that, now we are faced with the opposite problem as well, where practitioners in

every discipline need to become online educators. Scholars in all fields can develop online

teaching skills and benefit from interdisciplinary perspectives. Rather than looking to an online

educational sector to cater to our needs, teachers and learners all need to rely on ourselves in a

new world of online inquiry and communication.

2. What is the role of online classes in post-pandemic pedagogy?

Most online classes regarded as emergency remote teaching may be gladly abandoned when

participants have the luxury of meeting face-to-face. Online classes are not a goal but rather a

means to the end of facilitating optimized learning. It all depends on the local situation and what

1 Full Professor for 22 years, he now lectures for Osaka Jogakuin University and the Japanese government

international agency JICA. He has been President of the World Association for Online Education since

1998. https://japanned.hcommons.org 2 Assistant Professor of English at the Department of Languages, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kochi, India. [email protected]

https://japanned.hcommons.org/

mailto:[email protected]



needs to be learned, but there will be a role for online classes in distance education or MOOCs –

massive open online courses offered by universities or individuals, free or discounted, to learners

anywhere who can access the Web. Because online classes offer flexibility of time, place, and

pace, there is a demand for them even when teachers and learners are near each other. It makes

continuing education possible for many learners who have to work or care for children. The role

of online classes is therefore ever expanding as Internet access increases, lifelong learning is

needed, and more purposes can be served usefully by formal or informal online classes. [2]

3. What kind of online education policy best suits the post-pandemic world? Do we have an

adaptable model in front of us?

One size does not fit all, so the policy needs to suit the local circumstances. Yet at the same time,

globalization continues unabated online where the study skills to navigate information and

communication technologies (ICT) are some of the same skills needed in the future workplace.

ICT can serve as both subject matter and medium of instruction.

Regarding adaptable models, the distance education discipline provides principles and

perspectives, for one thing to get away from equating physical distance with social separation.

The recent term social distancing is a misnomer, because it merely refers to physical distancing in

a world where people connect socially through ICT. Teleconferences can feel like being in the

same room with others, most of whom we would not physically touch in person anyway.

Like telephoning, technologies utilizing only sound can still result in a meeting of minds like a

lecture or a conversation. For more than 15 years, podcasting has increased in popularity, with on-

demand sound files transmitted through the Internet, but then available offline for listening, like

take-out food for thought. [3] For those with limited Internet access, podcasting could provide the

next generation of radio for distance education. [4]

However, the closest we have to an adaptable model for post-pandemic education is blended

learning. [5] That is, many of the technological solutions employed in online classes for

emergency remote teaching will carry over into enhancing face-to-face classes with a

supplemental online dimension available anywhere at any time. By necessity, the pedagogical

repertoire of teachers has been expanded, and some of these innovations and perspectives will be

incorporated into classroom teaching and assignments, just as our overall lifestyles migrate much

further online.

4. Among many social disparities, a digital divide is seen more clearly during the pandemic.

How do you think this will affect the effective outcome of online education?



This is an area where government policies would make a difference. The whole society would

benefit economically and socially by empowering its disadvantaged members to participate in the

online arena of daily life and education. If a middle-class society is the goal, reflecting democratic

values and the aspirations of minority groups, then perhaps the government can be persuaded to

be more representative of the governed.

5. Online education requires online meta-skills beyond subject matter. How is this going to

affect the teaching community?

Online education is pan-disciplinary, but most educators teaching online have been able to rely on

instructional designers or technical support, as if those meta-skills affecting the quality of

education could be outsourced. Now that educators worldwide are forced into emergency remote

teaching, it is no longer the duty or responsibility of someone else. Blended learning and lifelong

online learning are here to stay, so it is up to each educator to develop the skills to make online

education effective, whether we have the luxury of face-to-face classes or not.

Moreover, through promotion of open online information and free distance learning opportunities,

education can finally reach and lift up those who have been held back by poverty. The educational

community now has the global community in our purview, hence a greater responsibility to

engage in professional development, international collaboration, and sharing.

6. Remote communication and teaching cause a physical and psychological gap between

students and teachers. Will this permanently redefine ‘teaching’, which has always been a

social service profession?

Teaching will remain a social service and credentialing profession, and higher education stewards

expertise and ethics in all the professions. Perhaps we are redefining ‘social’ more than ‘teaching’

by reaching learners at greater physical distances. Remote communication is not a cause but an

effect of physical separation, and it provides an avenue for solutions to the tyranny of distance.

Rather than remote teaching causing a psychological gap, it should aim to fill the gap. That is a

criterion for effective communication and teaching.

7. Traditional educators are overwhelmed with the sudden shift to online education, and

increased demands to maintain excellence in e-learning environments. In this case, should

‘emergency remote teaching’ be compared with regular online learning?



The term ‘emergency remote teaching’ has arisen precisely to avoid a judgmental comparison

with professional online education. Educators who are suddenly thrust by a global pandemic into

an unfamiliar mode of teaching deserve a humanistic understanding by the surrounding society.

Unless teachers have presented themselves as all-knowing gurus, they should be held to neither

traditional standards nor expectations in the online education field that face-to-face outcomes can

be equaled or even surpassed by leveraging the affordances of new educational technologies.

8. Layoffs to balance budgets are common during the pandemic. Will online education fan

the flames of unemployment in the educational sector? If so, will it not jeopardize the

effectiveness of e-learning environments?

Online education itself would not normally cause unemployment unless bloated administrations

tried to justify their existence by a futile attempt to save money through mass production of

education. Layoffs of teachers can only hurt the quality of education. Schools often order

hardware like computers without investing in the more important training of teachers to use the

technologies effectively. Again, online education should not be a separate sector but rather a new

way that teachers work. For quality in education, people should always be the essential priority.

9. There is an edge in online education for those countries with a robust infrastructure and

governmental support. What kind of international cooperation can ensure educational

parity in developing countries like India?

Especially in these times of global economic crisis, perhaps self-reliance to achieve parity is more

effective than waiting for action at intergovernmental levels. The Internet has allowed for

disintermediation – cutting out the middle man both in shopping and in international relations.

First, get as many citizens online as possible, even with limited connectivity or by mobile phone.

Next, urge them to acquire the language and content they need to participate in the global market

of goods and ideas. Then approach individuals and institutions in other countries with knowledge

and skills to exchange. In the case of educators, participate actively in international online events

and academic associations.

10. Webinars and online conferences are plaguing the online learning environment during the

pandemic. Should there be regulations to maintain quality of e-learning content?

Count it as a blessing if there are too many online events in your country rather than too few. The

technology can be distracting until either it is perfected or it becomes embedded invisibly in the

environment and the user’s experience. That is the meaning of the ubiquitous computing toward



which we are heading. Thus, people need more experience and experimentation, which may be

unsatisfying at the moment but is part of the learning process. The relevant regulations should be

academic standards and ethics, not rules and restrictions imposed from above educational circles.

11. What is the role of the World Association for Online Education (WAOE) in popularizing

and enabling online education during the pandemic?

Since 1998, although the WAOE is one of the first global virtual organizations, we struggle like

most voices to be heard in an age of excess and questionable information fueled by the ease of

social media expression. We are encouraged by the renewed interest in online education and the

need for shared expertise, so we are trying to step up our outreach. We already have a global

network of scholarly educators, and we especially amplify the voices of Asians and Africans, so

we just need to provide specific activities and communication channels that are accessible and

educational. In that spirit, we appreciate your sharing the news about our work with your readers.

[6]

Endnotes: for further reading

[1] McCarty, S. (2012-2013). "What is the Academic Life?" series: 1. General Answers to

Essential Questions, 2. The Idea of the University, and 3. Upholding Professional Standards and

Ethics. Education India Journal: A Quarterly Refereed Journal of Dialogues on Education.

https://hcommons.org/deposits/download/hc:26460/CONTENT/academic_life_series.pdf

[2] McCarty, S. (2020, May 24). Post-Pandemic Pedagogy. Journal of Online Education. New

York University. https://www.academia.edu/43227493/Post-Pandemic_Pedagogy

[3] McCarty, S. (2005, August). Spoken Internet to go: Popularization through Podcasting. JALT

CALL Journal, 1(2), 67-74. https://www.academia.edu/11156449/Spoken_Internet_to_Go_

Popularization_through_Podcasting

[4] Sharma, P.K. (2020, June 2). Time to Leverage Podcasting in Education. EdTechReview.

https://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/trends/4072-time-to-leverage-podcasting-in-education

5] Mishra, S. (2020, May 30). Blended learning is the way forward after the pandemic. University

World News. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200528134934520

[6] Get involved through the World Association for Online Education Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/waoepage or WAOE-Views e-mail discussion list

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/waoe-views

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

https://hcommons.org/deposits/download/hc:26460/CONTENT/academic_life_series.pdf

https://www.academia.edu/43227493/Post-Pandemic_Pedagogy

https://www.academia.edu/11156449/Spoken_Internet_to_Go_%20Popularization_through_Podcasting

https://www.academia.edu/11156449/Spoken_Internet_to_Go_%20Popularization_through_Podcasting

https://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/trends/4072-time-to-leverage-podcasting-in-education

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200528134934520

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/waoe-views



Paper-2

From West Bengal to New York: A Cross-

Cultural Analysis of Grade Eight Students'

Attitudes and Experiences Using Computers at

School and at Home

Mathew Swerdloff



From West Bengal to New York: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Grade Eight Students'

Attitudes and Experiences Using Computers at School and at Home

Mathew Swerdloff3, Ed.D. ©2020

Abstract

This research took place in West Bengal, India and New York, United States, between April

and September of 2014. Randomly selected eighth grades students at one school in each

country were interviewed by the researcher. Students were selected from a sample of

convenience of all eighth grade students in each school. In New York, parents provided

written consent and students provided written assent. In West Bengal, verbal consent was

provided by the school Principal and by each student. Eight students from each school were

interviewed using a formal, structured approach, with informal warm-up questions

preceding each interview (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). Students were selected to provide an

equal distribution of male and female students interviewed at each school. Interviews were

recorded and transcribed verbatim. Each student was asked 20 questions covering their

experiences, feelings, and attitudes about computer use at home and at school. There was

no pre-determined research question; rather inductive data analysis was used to draw a

research focus from the data after it was collected (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). Data analysis

consisted of identifying themes and key words, counting and analyzing key word frequency

at each school, and noting similarities and differences between schools. Major items were

indicated and discussed. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research were

noted.

Conceptual Framework

The phenomenological approach was used to design and implement his study. This

approach recognizes that qualitative data analysis sometimes depends on the perspective of the

interviewer, and that the researcher is tasked with finding the meaning and themes in the

interview transcripts, both in what is said, and in what is omitted (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). The

goal of this research was to understand and compare the experiences of the students in each

country. While the interview questions were focused on computer use at home and in school, a

specific research question emerged from the transcripts. It was understood that there was an

3 Adjunct Professor, State University of New York, USA



element of subjectivity to this research. However, the researcher focused on identifying the

themes, similarities, and differences that were most obviously apparent in the transcripts. This

step was taken to minimize researcher bias, cultural misunderstanding, and subjectivity. In effect,

while the researcher’s perspective could not be completely eliminated, it could be applied in a

similar manner in both schools; this was intended to minimize the limitations of the study. The

phenomenological approach was chosen to help the researcher better understand the experiences

of the students. By using this approach, pre-conceived ideas were minimized, and the data itself

led to the conclusions that followed.

Gall, Gall, and Borg (2007) describe four specific steps in phenomenological

research. These steps are designed to allow the researcher to draw from the data the intentions

and meanings presented by the interviewees. It is useful when the research question is vague or

non-existent, in that it allows the research to proceed with just a topic or area of interest, as was

the case in this research. Depicted in Table 1 below, these steps were followed when conducting

the present research.

Table 1

Steps in Phenomenological Research

Step Description Specific Instance in this Study

1 Identify a topic of personal or social

significance.

How are student experiences using

computers in school and at home in West

Bengal and New York different and alike?

2 Select appropriate participants. Sixteen grade eight students chosen.

3 Interview each participant. Sixteen interviews conducted.

4 Analyze the interview data. Keyword and frequency analysis.

Description of the Setting and the Subjects

In West Bengal, the school is a rural, non-sectarian, private school serving Indian middle

class families for students in grades K through 12. Interviews with the Principal indicated that

many students travel to attend this school, some from as far as an hour away. Some take local

buses, some walk or bike, and a few are driven by parents. Parents pay tuition, with some

scholarships available, and some students attend from local, underprivileged communities at no



cost to the family. All students wear uniforms while in school. The school is part of a national

chain of similar facilities, operated on a for-profit basis, and governed by a central administrative

office, with a good deal of autonomy allotted to the Principal. The school adheres to the current

set of national educational standards in India. In comparison to other Indian schools this is an

advanced facility with a computer lab, clean, well lit rooms and clean grounds, some air

conditioning, and sufficient staff. Teachers report no discipline issues, and students show great

deference to the adult staff in the halls and classrooms.

The students were interviewed in an empty computer lab with the rest of the class, the

teacher, and the Principal present in the room. The students and adults remained seated off to the

side while interviews were conducted at the back of the room. Interview audio was recorded on a

laptop using an external microphone and videotaped using a portable camera.

In New York, the school was a suburban, middle class public school located an hour from

a major metropolitan city. Students at this school have parents who work in a variety of

professions that place them in the middle class for New York State but in the upper

socioeconomic class if ranked nationally. Students enter this school in the sixth grade after

attending one of three K-5 elementary schools in the district. Eighth grade is the terminal grade

for this building. Students were interviewed outside their computer lab in a quiet hallway while

class was in session. Each student was called out of class to meet the researcher. Student and

researcher sat opposite each other with a third chair between them holding a laptop for recording

and a portable video camera. The New York students were prepared for the interview in that

parents gave permission in writing and their teacher told them that the researcher would be

coming that day.

Both schools were comprised of mostly middle class students in terms of their respective

countries. While the socio-economic demographic was vastly different between schools, relative

to each country, they were comprised of a similar socio-economic grouping within their own

country. Similarly, both schools, relative to their countries, were well equipped and maintained,

with adequate staff and facilities. One major difference noted was between the grades served in

each school. As noted, the West Bengal school served the equivalent of American grades K-8,

while the New York school only served graded 6-8. Also, the West Bengal school was in a very

rural area, three hours from the nearest city, and within walking distance of extreme rural poverty.

The New York school was in a suburban community of middle class homes. Thus, while the



demographic of the students interviewed in both schools was similar relative to their countries,

the larger environments were quite different.

Research Question

As noted earlier, the research commenced without a formal research question. Using

Gall, Gall and Borg’s phenomenological approach (2007), the researcher identified a topic of

interest and designed interview questions to address this topic. The research question emerged

during the data analysis portion of the research, when it became clear that there were some

notable differences between the responses from each school. The research question became:

How are student experiences using computers in school and at home in West Bengal and New

York different and alike?

Research Design

This study used a qualitative design that was based on inductive data analysis methods

(Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). In West Bengal, the researcher was introduced to the students by the

Principal, in New York by the classroom teacher. Structured interviews took place in order to

facilitate the data analysis process with eighth grade students. In West Bengal and New York,

the interviewer used warm up questions that were designed to relax the interviewees (Bogdan &

Biklen, 2007) and recorded each session in order to be able to transcribe all data at a later date.

It was deemed important to establish rapport with the students in order to facilitate open and

honest responses and ensure useful data (Gall, Gall & Borg, 2007). This was accomplished

through informal conversation with each student prior to the interviews.

The focus of the questions was the experiences of students using computers at home and

in school in each culture. Twenty questions were asked of each student; ten pertained to school,

ten to home. Follow-up questions were asked where clarification was needed. Interviews were

recorded and transcribed. Data analysis was completed on the written transcripts as per Bogdan

& Biklen (2007), using analysis of key words and phrases. Within each interview, recurring word

or ideas emerged which were tracked using coded tables. This process involved looking for

recurring key words in the text between and within the sixteen interviews. There was no follow

up or report to the interviewees after the initial interviews were conducted.

Qualitative Data Analysis

The identification of key words in qualitative research is a valuable method of analysis

(Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2007). Six prominent key words emerged after the interview text was

analyzed using visual analysis and frequency counting using Microsoft Excel. Key words were



not pre-determined but emerged organically from the analysis of the data. Appendix A depicts

the key word responses to all 20 questions for each school. Creating this table was the first step

of data analysis.

Once the data was placed in this table, a frequency count was assigned to each

word at each school. Thirteen key words or phrases were identified based on frequency in the

interview text. The thirteen most repeated key words and phrases are show in Table 2. It is worth

noting that there are only two instances where the data reveals a similarity as defined by a match

or near-match in frequency between schools. For most key words the data reveals a pattern of

high frequency in one school with low or no frequency in the other school. This would seem to

point to a greater number of differences being identified between the two schools, and little

congruence in student response between schools.

Table 2

Frequency of Key Words Appearing in Each Interview Transcript

Word West Bengal New York Total

Gaming\games 25 5 30

Homework 0 26 26

HTML(web design) 15 0 15

Typing 1 14 15

Music 2 7 9

Frustrated\frustrating 0 9 9

Friend 5 1 6

Mother\sister 0 4 4

Father\uncle 4 0 4

Surfing 5 0 5

Research 3 3 6

Videos 1 1 2

Bored 0 1 1

A close examination of these data revealed several noticeable differences between the

responses from West Bengal and New York, both in terms of what computers are used for, the

relationship to the computers by the students, and troubleshooting procedures. When students



reported that they went to an adult for help with computers, all of the West Bengal students

reported seeking help from a male (father or uncle), while all of the New York Students sought

help from a female (mother or older sister). More students in West Bengal sought help from a

friend (5) than in New York (1), and 7 out of 8 New York students reported being “frustrated”

with computer problems, while none of the West Bengal students reported the same experience.

There were several noticeable differences in the types of activities students carried out on

the computers. The top three activities for the West Bengal students were gaming, HTML (web

design) and surfing. The top three activities for New York Students were homework, typing, and

listening to music. Table 3 depicts the top three keywords for each school. The top two

keywords were “gaming” and “homework”, which present an unique juxtaposition. In West

Bengal, “gaming” was mentioned 25 times, most notably as the home computer activity, but also

as an in-school activity. “Gaming” was mentioned only 4 times by the New York students. The

other most frequent keyword was “homework”, and it was mentioned 26 times in New York and

not at all in West Bengal. These observations would be worth further investigation at a later

date.

Table 3

Top Three Key Words for Each School

Word West Bengal New York

Gaming\games 25

HTML 15

Surfing 5

Homework 26

Typing 14

Frustrated\frustrating 9

It was deemed important to provide a balanced sample in terms of gender. Students were

selected randomly to be interviewed but an even mix of males and females was purposefully

selected by the researcher. Table 4 shows the gender breakdown of interviewees by school.



Table 4

Gender Distribution in Each School Sample

Gender Bengal New York Total

Female 4 4 8

Male 4 4 8

Limitations of the Study

Sample size- This is a clear limitation of this study. Due to reasons beyond the

researcher’s control, only eight students were able to be interviewed in India. With those data in

hand, the researcher chose to interview eight students in New York as well, to provide identical

sample sizes, even though both samples were quite small. Given this small sample size, any

implications for education are accompanied by a proviso that a larger study should be conducted

to verify these findings.

Population- It is expected that results of this study cannot be generalized to schools with

similar demographics. The schools were not diverse enough and the sample was not large enough

to generalize across different ethnic, cultural, home language, and socioeconomic groups.

Ecological- As the researcher administered all interviews and transcripts are available, it

is likely that this study will be fully replicable. A script was used for the interviews which can be

replicated at another site.

Hawthorne effect- Students knew that they were being assessed by a researcher in their

school. They may have been likely to embellish or overstate based on this information. To

counter this effect the researcher emphasized that the purpose of the study was to obtain honest

information on them, and that they should be honest and forthcoming in their participation. In

addition, the research design ensured that this affect would apply to both groups in the same

manner.

Novelty and disruption effects- The novelty of having the researcher in the classroom

was likely to cause some disruption to the classroom culture. In West Bengal in particular, the

presence of an American educator in a small rural school was notable, and received with some

fanfare. This was minimized by his being present in both groups to conduct the interviews, but the

West Bengal students saw the researcher in a very different way than the New York students did.



To these students the researcher was a venerated scholar and highly respected. In New York this

was not the case. How this affected responses is unknown.

Researcher bias- The researcher made every effort to put aside his desires for the

outcome of the study and his biases towards the portrayal of Indian students and culture and

student use of computers. The researcher used the data as a guide in developing the focus of the

paper.

Qualitative Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness with regards to qualitative research is a measure of how useful, worthy or

relevant the research is. Unlike quantitative research, where validity and reliability are the

standard upon which the research is measured, in the qualitative realm researchers look for a

study with a high degree of trustworthiness. Trustworthiness is assessed by using the four factors

below.

Credibility- Each student had the opportunity to ask additional questions or discuss other

topics if they chose too.

Transferability- Data were maintained on the demographic background of the entire

sample. As this was a cross-cultural study, the data needs to be considered in the context of the

cultural milieu.

Dependability-Transcripts of each interview were maintained and reviewed by the

researcher and spot checked against the audio recordings.

Conformability-The researcher’s bias was clearly identified in the study.

Statement of Ethics

In New York, permission to conduct this research was granted by the Superintendent of

Schools in the district where the study took place. The parents received a letter describing the

study and were asked to return a form to provide consent. Parents provided consent for their

children to participate in the study or did not return the form. All students assented to the study in

writing.

In West Bengal, a very different set of cultural and academic norms prevailed. The

researcher did plan to get written parent approval prior to the interviews, but this was deemed

unnecessary. Upon arrival at the West Bengal school he was informed that he could begin the

interviews right away, and given the opportunity cost of postponing, decided to proceed without

explicit parental consent. Recognition of the different cultural norms in West Bengal is important

in terms of this research. Discussions with local school administrators and academics indicated



that the procedure used in this research was completely acceptable. Although it would not be so

in New York, in West Bengal the role of the teacher and principal is very different. This notion

of relational ethics (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2007), wherein the cultural milieu is considered when

making research decisions, was important in this case. Given the minimal risk to the interviewees

participating in the study, and these cultural norms, the research proceeded with verbal consent

from the Principal and the interviewees.

To assure confidentiality, all identifying data were held by the researcher in a secure

location using modern data encryption techniques. All published data has been stripped of any

identifying information.

Implications for Education

These data presents some interesting points for consideration and possible further

research. There were notable differences between the interviewee responses in the two schools

with regard to what computers are used for, how they receive help when in need, and how they

feel about using the computer. In India, the computer was associated with fun activities, with free

time and with enjoyment. It was never used for homework or typing practice, and was used

mostly for gaming, which was clearly an enjoyable activity for the interviewees, along with

creating web pages, also a high interest and high enjoyment activity. Due perhaps to the gender

roles of parents, the interviewees in West Bengal sought assistance exclusively from male adults

when in need.

In New York, the computer was associated mostly with typing and homework, neither of

which was deemed fun or enjoyable. It was unclear if this was a factor of more homework in

New York or just that the homework they received required the computer to complete. In New

York all of the students who sought assistance did so from adult females. Again, the reason for

this was not discovered, but is worth considering in the future. In addition, New York students

expressed frustration with their computers often (7 instances), while those in West Bengal never

did.

Despite the small sample size, there were notable differences that became apparent in the

data analysis. The apparent lack of creative, fun uses of the computer by New York students was

notable, as was the excitement and joy in West Bengal. All of the students encountered virus’,

pop-up ads and slow Internet speeds, but only the New York students expressed frustration with

this.



Suggestions for Further Research

Research into the gender roles of parents in both countries in terms of computer use of

students in particular and education in general is a topic that is worth exploring further.

Specifically, it would be interesting to compare how the gender roles of parents compare between

the two cultures in terms of education and educational issues, amongst the middle class.

Student perceptions of computers seemed very different in West Bengal and New York.

An examination of the causes of this is worth exploring. It might be worth examining if the

novelty of the personal computer has worn off in New York, while in West Bengal it still retains a

fresh appeal. For the New York students, was the mobile device the platform for creative and fun

activities rather than the computer?

The role of homework in education is being discussed broadly in New York and the

United States. There is a vocal constituency of parents and educators that decry the burden of

homework on adolescent lives, and are asking for less of it. Again, while the sample is small, all

of the New York students reported that homework was their main activity, in home and at school,

while none of the West Bengal students did. How does this affect student attitude to school and

computer use, student enjoyment, and adolescent development?

References

References:

Bogdan, R.C. & Biklen, S. (2007). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to

theories and methods. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.



Creswell, J.W & Plano Clark, V.L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Gall, M., Gall, J., & Borg, W. (2007). Educational research: An introduction. Boston, MA:

Allyn and Bacon.

Lester, S. (1999). An introduction to phenomenological research. Taunton UK, Stan Lester

Developments

Meyers, L., Gamst, G., & Guarino, A. (2006). Applied multivariate research. Thousand Oaks,

CA: Sage Publications.

Campbell, J. (2011). Qualitative method of research: Phenomenological. NSU Ph.D. program documents.

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



Paper-3

Gender Differential in Disability among

School Going Children and its Impact on

School Enrolment in India

Anita Pal

Dr. Madhusudan J. V

Dr. Jeetendra Yadav



Gender Differential in Disability among School Going Children and its Impact

on School Enrolment in India

Anita Pal4

Dr. Madhusudan J. V5

Dr. Jeetendra Yadav6

ABSTRACT

The target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognizes disability as one of the

factors which influence equity and inclusion in the social, economic and political dimensions of

development. India has majority youth population suffering from single or multiple disabilities for

whom pursuing education is a major challenge. This study aimed to understand the gender

differential in disability and assess the effect of various disabilities on school enrolment in India.

The study used data from Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE 2016-17).

To identify the disparities and nature of association between disability and school enrolment,

bivariate and multivariate analysis were performed. Our study pointed that the percentage of

children enrolment with disability was very low and there were huge gender disparities in terms of

enrolment with various forms of disability. It can be argued that this focus on the redistribution of

resources and access is desirable and important, as children with disabilities. The influence by

medical understanding of disability further reinforces this gap, so it seems convenient to

distinguish between children who can access educational opportunities available to the majority,

while others by their own restricted (disabled) abilities, and therefore must attend special schools

with little regard to a possible lifetime of existence at the fringe of society.

Keywords: disabilities, education, school enrolment, DISE data

Introduction

According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Report on Disability, an estimated

95 million children (5.1%) aged 0–14 years have some form of disability which include Autism

Spectrum Conditions, Developmental Delay, Behavioural Disorders and Learning Difficulties

4 Research Scholar, Department of Education and Education Technology, School of Social Sciences, University of

Hyderabad, Hyderabad-500046 Telangana State 5 Associate Professor, Department of Education and Education Technology, School of Social Sciences, University of

Hyderabad, Hyderabad- 500046 Telangana State 6 Technical Officer (B), National Institute of Medical Statistics (NIMS)

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Deptt. of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt

of India, Medical Enclave Ansari Nagar, New Delhi -110029



(WHO 2013). As per Census 2011, around 30% of age 0-19 years, having disability where 17% of

children 10-19 years had a disability which is highest as compared to other age groups of people.

[0-4 (5%); 5-9 (7%)]. Out of the total disabled in the age group 0-19 years, 20% are having a

disability in hearing followed by 18% with disability in seeing and 9% has multiple disabilities.

The Census 2011 showed that, 61% of the disabled children aged 5-19 years are attending

educational institutions and among the disabled children aged 5-19 years who were attending

educational institutions, 57% are male children. 54% of the disabled children with multiple

disabilities never attended educational institutions. Also, 50% of the children with mental illness

never attended educational institution. Fifty-four percent of the disabled children with multiple

disabilities never attended educational institutions. Also, 50% of the children with mental illness

never attended educational institution.

According to WHO Disability defines, “Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering impairments,

activity limitations, and participation restrictions”. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with

Disabilities (CRPD) states that “persons with disabilities include those who have long-term

physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers

may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others” (CRPD

2006).

The aim of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) recognizes disability as one of the

components which influence equity and inclusion in the social, economic and political dimensions

of growth. It build and enhance existing education systems across countries in such a way that

would allow the disabled population to access educational institutions with greater ease by 2030.

Children with disabilities are widely believed to be less likely to attend school or access health

care, and more vulnerable to poverty. However, children with disabilities continue to be the group

most excluded from the education system. It is widely acknowledged that of the 57 million

children who were out of school in 2011, a high proportion of these were likely to have had some

type of disability.

Many studies attempted to identify the factors associated with low school enrolment of children

with disability. The lack of preparedness in the school system and societal failure to cater for

special needs children are the causes for the low enrolment. Embedded in the Societal factors

associated with low enrolment includes poverty (African Child Policy Forum 2011; Rousso H

2003) and negative attitude (Roussa H 2003; Avramidis E & Norwich B 2002; Etenesh A 2000).

The school system also lacks an adequate number of skilled teachers trained in special need



education (Avramidis E & Norwich B 2002; Agbenyega J 2007; Agbenyega JS 2003; Lewis I

2009), lack of budget and appropriate resources to provide streamlined education (Deng LB 2003;

UNICEF 2003), and their infrastructures are not suitable for children with disability (African

Child Policy Forum 2011; UNICEF 2003). Apart from this, disability is a barrier to get schooling

mainly because of discrimination and children with disability can be enrolled in ordinary schools

with some adjustment of the school environment (Oranga W 2001; African Child Policy Forum

2011; Shimelis T 2011). However, school enrolment of children with disability in developing

countries is very low (Savolainen H 2000). The rights of children with disability (CwD) are

grossly neglected, especially the right to education (Savolainen 2000). A failure to address

inequalities, stigmatization and discrimination related to wealth, gender, ethnicity, linguistic

communication, location and disability is holding back progress towards quality teaching for all.

Disability is strongly connected with poverty and marginalization. Children and youth with

disabilities are among the most marginalized, excluded people in the world. For instance, many

children drop out of school in Brazil because of a lack of reading glasses, widely usable in most

high-income countries (Mont D 2007).

According to National Policy for Children (2013), all children have equal rights and no child shall

be discriminated against on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, class, language, and

disability, social, economic or any other status. India has majority youth population suffering from

single or multiple disabilities for whom pursuing education is a major challenge. These children

have equal rights to be included in mainstream school.

Objective of the Study:

This study aimed to understand the trends of total enrolment gender differential in disability and

assess the impact of various disabilities on school enrolment in India.

Data and Methods

Data

The study used data from Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE 2016-17)

which is conducted by National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA).

National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) is involved in data

collection as such and therefore the accuracy and truthfulness of the data rest with the States/UTs.

It is provided data by States and UTs through annual Census of schools and teachers.



What is more remarkable about U-DISE is that it has drastically reduced the time-lag in

availability of educational statistics which is now down from 7-8 years to less than a year at the

national and only a few months at the district and state levels. To assess the progression in

elementary education, a baseline the data of 2005-06 was taken into consideration. The basic aim

was to ascertain the trend of progression in elementary education after interventions. It has

successfully developed School Report Cards of more than 1.47 million schools imparting

elementary education and about 260 thousand Secondary and Higher Secondary schools. In

addition to quantitative data, the Report Cards also provide qualitative information and a

descriptive report about individual schools. The core parameters – access, infrastructure, teachers

and outcomes designed by NUEPA were included in the study. On each parameter there exited a

set of sub-parameters (22 variables). For each sub-parameter the baseline data was decided. Some

other sources of data such as All India Educational Survey (AIES, 2002. 2009) and Annual Work

Plan and Budget (AWP&B, 2015-16, 2016-17) of SSA in Bihar were taken into consideration. It

was a time series data based on U-DISE data capture format (DCF).

This dataset is available in the public domain for research use and hence no formal approval from

the institutional review board is required. So, no ethics statement is required for this work. The

data can be freely accessed from the U-DISE website www.udise.in.

Variable Descriptions

For this study we used data based on only elementary education.

The main variables were used in this study, total enrolment of children, total children with special

needs, place of residence (Rural and Urban), gender (Male and Female), region (North, Central,

East, Northeast, West, South) and grade (Grade I to VIII which is called elementary).

Methods

To fulfil the objective first we used to show trends of disability among children across India. Then

we were trying to show the gender differences of total enrolment rate and CWSN rate across state

with the help of ARCGis Software. We also used descriptive statistics to show the gender

difference of enrolment among disabled and non-disabled children by selected background

characteristics.

Results

Trends of Total enrolment and enrolment of children with special needs, India, 2006-17

Figure 1 represents the trend of total enrolment of children and enrolment of children with special

needs for elementary education. In 2006, the gap between male and female was 5.5% which

http://www.udise.in/



denotes that the total percentage of male children enrolment was higher than female (53% versus

47%). However, in 2007 this gap was drastically declined by 4.7% within a year. Post 2007, the

gender gap in terms of school enrolment was continuously declined by 3% in 2013. But Post 2014

it again was increased by 3.5 in 2017. It also illustrates that the trend of total enrolment of

children who having any kind of disability. The pattern of gender gap in total enrolment of

children with disability were similar pattern as total enrolment. But the percentage of gap was

higher as compared to total enrolment. In 2006, 17% of more disabled boys were enrolled for

elementary education as compared to disabled girls (59% versus 41%). This gap was continuously

decreasing which decreased to 16% in 2011 but after that it started increasing again. The result of

which was that 15% and 14.5% in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Figure 1: Trends of Total enrolment and enrolment of children with disability, India, 2006-

17

Figure 2 represents the gender disparity in total enrolment and enrolment of children with

disability in states. In this figure there were two categories, below national average and above

national average which was helps to understand that where the percentage of male and female are

less as compared to overall percentage. As per figure, in most of the states the total enrolment of

male children were higher as compared to girl’s children. However, children with disability found

more likely of girls enrolment in some of the states.



Figure 2: Gender differentials in Total enrolment and enrolment with disability by states in

India (Map)

Table 1 illustrates the gender differential in total enrolment by grade. The overall percentage of

total enrolment in grade I-V was higher among boys (51.89%) than girls (48.1%) which was

almost same in grade VI-VIII and the differences between male enrolment and female enrolment

were 3.78% and 2.93% in grade I-V and VI-VIII respectively. In grade I-V, the highest

percentage of boys (55%) were enrolled in Haryana as compared to girls (45%) which followed

by Punjab (54%), Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Maharashtra, Sikkim and

Daman & Diu at the same percent which was 53%. Whereas, in Bihar, there were almost same

percentage of total enrolment in boys (50.4%) and girls (49.6%). In other side, in grade VI-VIII,

55% of boys were enrolled in Punjab as compared to 46% of girls. It was almost similar



percentage in Haryana, Gujarat, Chandigarh and Rajasthan. In Meghalaya, the highest percentage

of girls (53%) were enrolled in grade VI-VIII as compared to boys (47%) which were followed by

West Bengal, Assam, Lakshadweep, Sikkim and Bihar by 47-49%. Considering gender

differential, there was huge difference in Haryana (10%) in elementary education (10% in each in

grade I-V and VI-VIII). In Meghalaya the highest percentage of enrolment were found among

girls, followed by West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Lakshadweep, and Sikkim in

grade VI-VIII.

Table 1: Gender differential in Total enrolment of children in India and its states, 2016-17

India and States

Boys Girls % Differences

I-V VI-VIII I-V VI-VIII I-V VI-VIII

INDIA 51.89 51.46 48.11 48.54 3.78 2.93

Jammu & Kashmir 52.60 52.93 47.40 47.07 5.20 5.86

Himachal Pradesh 52.33 52.60 47.67 47.40 4.66 5.19

Punjab 54.38 54.96 45.62 45.04 8.76 9.93

Chandigarh 53.37 54.29 46.63 45.71 6.74 8.59

Uttrakhand 52.97 52.33 47.03 47.67 5.93 4.66

Haryana 54.95 54.88 45.05 45.12 9.89 9.75

Delhi 53.22 53.40 46.78 46.60 6.45 6.81

Rajasthan 53.42 54.45 46.58 45.55 6.84 8.91

Uttar Pradesh 51.24 50.29 48.76 49.71 2.48 0.59

Bihar 50.36 49.28 49.64 50.72 0.72 -1.45

Sikkim 53.10 49.39 46.90 50.61 6.20 -1.21

Arunachal Pradesh 51.49 49.20 48.51 50.80 2.97 -1.60

Nagaland 51.33 50.78 48.67 49.22 2.67 1.56

Manipur 51.41 50.24 48.59 49.76 2.81 0.47

Mizoram 51.87 51.75 48.13 48.25 3.75 3.50

Tripura 51.08 50.57 48.92 49.43 2.16 1.14

Meghalaya 50.58 47.47 49.42 52.53 1.17 -5.06

Assam 50.50 48.43 49.50 51.57 1.00 -3.14

West Bengal 51.39 48.31 48.61 51.69 2.79 -3.38

Jharkhand 51.62 50.07 48.38 49.93 3.24 0.13



Odisha 51.68 51.90 48.32 48.10 3.35 3.80

Chhattisgarh 51.17 50.41 48.83 49.59 2.34 0.83

Madhya Pradesh 52.53 52.47 47.47 47.53 5.05 4.94

Gujarat 52.88 54.28 47.12 45.72 5.76 8.56

Daman & Diu 53.07 53.63 46.93 46.37 6.15 7.25

Dadra & Nagar Haveli 53.25 53.29 46.75 46.71 6.51 6.59

Maharashtra 53.14 53.16 46.86 46.84 6.27 6.32

Andhra Pradesh 52.81 51.61 47.19 48.39 5.63 3.23

Karnataka 51.82 52.24 48.18 47.76 3.64 4.48

Goa 52.22 52.43 47.78 47.57 4.44 4.87

Lakshadweep 51.70 49.29 48.30 50.71 3.40 -1.42

Kerala 51.13 51.14 48.87 48.86 2.27 2.28

Tamil Nadu 51.45 51.21 48.55 48.79 2.90 2.43

Puducherry 51.72 51.51 48.28 48.49 3.44 3.03

Andaman & Nicobar Island 50.94 50.80 49.06 49.20 1.88 1.60

Telangana 51.92 51.33 48.08 48.67 3.84 2.66

In table 2, the overall percentage of total enrolment of children with disability in grade I-V was

higher among boys (58.04%) than girls (41.96%). While in grade VI-VIII, the percentage of

disabled boys and girls were enrolled 56% and 44% respectively. The differences between male

enrolment and female enrolment were 16.08% and 11.75% in grade I-V and VI-VIII respectively.

In grade I-V, the highest percentage of boys who have any kind of disability (66%) were enrolled

in Lakshadweep as compared to girls (34%) which followed by Andaman & Nicobar Islands

(64%), Goa (63%), Dadra & Nagar Haveli (62%). In other side, in grade VI-VIII, 63% of boys

were more likely enrolled in Goa as compared to 37% of girls. While in Arunachal Pradesh only

46% of boys were enrolled in respect of girls (54%) followed by Puducherry (47%), Meghalaya

(48%). Considering gender differential, there was huge difference in grade I-V where boys were

more likely to enroll than girls which was in Lakshadweep (33%), Andaman & Nicobar Islands as

well as Goa (27%). In Arunachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Jharkhand less than 10% of more boys

were enrolled in grade I-V as compared to girls. Considering enrolment in grade VI-VIII, there

were higher gender difference in Goa (25%), followed Chandigarh, Gujarat and Haryana.



Table 2: Gender differential in total enrolment of children with disability, India and its

states, 2016-17

Boys Girls % Differences

India and States I-V VI-VIII I-V VI-VIII I-V VI-VIII

INDIA 58.04 55.88 41.96 44.12 16.08 11.75

Jammu & Kashmir 57.32 58.35 42.68 41.65 14.64 16.70

Himachal Pradesh 57.14 57.59 42.86 42.41 14.28 15.18

Punjab 60.52 52.16 39.48 47.84 21.05 4.32

Chandigarh 62.06 59.58 37.94 40.42 24.12 19.16

Uttrakhand 59.44 56.29 40.56 43.71 18.88 12.58

Haryana 60.31 58.92 39.69 41.08 20.62 17.84

Delhi 55.38 57.53 44.62 42.47 10.75 15.06

Rajasthan 59.78 57.97 40.22 42.03 19.57 15.95

Uttar Pradesh 57.47 55.45 42.53 44.55 14.94 10.89

Bihar 56.67 55.60 43.33 44.40 13.34 11.19

Sikkim 56.63 55.94 43.37 44.06 13.26 11.88

Arunachal Pradesh 52.62 46.04 47.38 53.96 5.23 -7.91

Nagaland 55.68 54.11 44.32 45.89 11.37 8.22

Manipur 57.07 55.72 42.93 44.28 14.14 11.45

Mizoram 57.14 52.97 42.86 47.03 14.27 5.95

Tripura 58.27 58.20 41.73 41.80 16.54 16.40

Meghalaya 55.75 48.36 44.25 51.64 11.51 -3.27

Assam 58.20 53.23 41.80 46.77 16.40 6.46

West Bengal 55.96 50.23 44.04 49.77 11.92 0.47

Jharkhand 54.21 51.00 45.79 49.00 8.42 2.01

Odisha 58.32 56.95 41.68 43.05 16.64 13.90

Chhattisgarh 55.53 54.42 44.47 45.58 11.06 8.83

Madhya Pradesh 56.54 56.29 43.46 43.71 13.09 12.58

Gujarat 58.54 58.98 41.46 41.02 17.09 17.95

Daman & Diu 58.90 57.41 41.10 42.59 17.81 14.81

Dadra & Nagar Haveli 62.23 56.03 37.77 43.97 24.46 12.06



Maharashtra 60.38 57.09 39.62 42.91 20.77 14.17

Andhra Pradesh 57.98 55.59 42.02 44.41 15.96 11.19

Karnataka 57.18 57.13 42.82 42.87 14.37 14.25

Goa 63.32 62.67 36.68 37.33 26.64 25.34

Lakshadweep 66.41 56.58 33.59 43.42 32.81 13.16

Kerala 58.01 55.67 41.99 44.33 16.02 11.34

Tamil Nadu 60.20 56.49 39.80 43.51 20.40 12.98

Puducherry 53.90 46.67 46.10 53.33 7.80 -6.67

Andaman & Nicobar Island 63.51 57.89 36.49 42.11 27.02 15.79

Telangana 56.81 54.52 43.19 45.48 13.62 9.03

Table 3 demonstrates the percentage of CWSN was 2.2% out of total enrolment of children in

grade I-VIII where grade I-V contributes 1.09% and Grade VI-VIII was 1.13%. Most of the

children who mentally retarded (0.48%) were enrolled for elementary education which followed

by children having low vision (0.46%) and locomotor impairment (0.35%). However in grade I-

V, children who mentally retardation were more enrolled and in grade VI-VIII, higher percentage

of children having low vision were enrolled. When we shift our focus on gender differential,

mental retardation were more common among boys (12.28%) in grade I-V as compared to girls

(11.39%) which followed by locomotor impairment and low vision. Considering grade VI-VIII,

low vision were mostly found among male (13.27%) as compared to female (12.51%).

Table 3: Percentage by Nature of Disability to total enrolment, India, 2016-17

Nature of disability

Total Boys Girls


Blind 0.03 0.03 1.57 1.56 1.45 1.47

Low vision 0.17 0.29 7.85 13.27 7.28 12.51

Hearing Impairment 0.12 0.11 5.49 5.12 5.09 4.83

Speech Impairment 0.11 0.09 5.35 3.89 4.96 3.67

Locomotor Impairment 0.17 0.18 8.11 8.32 7.51 7.85

Mental Retardation 0.26 0.22 12.28 10.24 11.39 9.65

Learning Disability 0.12 0.12 5.93 5.33 5.49 5.03



Cerebral Palsy 0.03 0.02 1.53 1.02 1.42 0.97

Autism 0.01 0.01 0.54 0.42 0.50 0.39

Multiple 0.07 0.05 3.25 2.29 3.02 2.16

Table 4 shows the CWSN by nature of disability. In overall grade I-V, more than one fifth of

children suffered with mental retardation which followed by low vision (15.13%) and locomotor

impairment (15.62%) while in grade VI-VIII a slightly more than one fourth (25.78%) of children

having low vision, followed by mental retardation (19.89%) and locomotor impairment (16.17%).

The percentage of autism children were low in both the grades which was 1.05% and 0.81% in

grade I-V and VI-VIII respectively. Considering male-female gap, in grade I-V mental retardation

were more common among both boys (13.75%) and girls (9.94%) and also the difference was

3.81%. However, in grade VI-VIII, the percentage of children with disability were more suffered

from low vision (14.41% versus 11.38%) which shows 3% of boys with disability having low

vision as compared to girls. As similar results, in both grade of boys and girls were found least

common problem with autism.

Table 4: Percentage by Nature of Disability to Total Students with Disability, India, 2016-17

Nature of disability Total Boys Girls


Blind 3.02 3.03 1.76 1.69 1.27 1.34

Low vision 15.13 25.78 8.79 14.41 6.35 11.38

Hearing Impairment 10.57 9.94 6.14 5.56 4.44 4.39

Speech Impairment 10.30 7.57 5.98 4.23 4.33 3.34

Locomotor Impairment 15.62 16.17 9.07 9.04 6.56 7.14

Mental Retardation 23.67 19.89 13.75 11.12 9.94 8.78

Learning Disability 11.42 10.36 6.63 5.79 4.80 4.58

Cerebral Palsy 2.94 1.99 1.71 1.11 1.24 0.88

Autism 1.05 0.81 0.61 0.45 0.44 0.36

Multiple 6.27 4.45 3.64 2.49 2.63 1.97

Table 5 represents the gender differential of enrolment by residence, region and grade. In Urban

areas, the percentage of difference was 5.84%, 5.92% and 15.42% in enrolment of children with

having no disability, total enrolment of children and enrolment of children with disability



respectively which were higher than rural areas. The gender difference in total enrolment were

mostly found in north region (7.64%) and least found in east (0.91%) and northeast (0.21%).

While children with disability, the gender difference in enrolment were higher in west region

(18.15%) followed by north (16.67%) and south region (14.79%). Considering grade wise

enrolment, the gender disparity were declined in terms of total enrolment, enrolment of children

with disability and non-disabled children. In grade I, the percentage of difference in total

enrolment was 4.55%, children with disability (17.91%) and children with non-disabled (4.43%)

as compared to grade VIII total enrolment (2.68%), children with disability (10.56%) and children

with no disability (2.59%).

Table 5: Gender differential in total enrolment, CWSN and non-disabled children by selected

background characteristics, India, 2016-17

Background Total

enrolment

Children

with

disability

Non-disabled

children % Difference

Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Total Disabled Non-disabled

Residence

Rural 51.31 48.69 57.17 42.83 51.24 48.76 2.62 14.33 2.48

Urban 52.96 47.04 57.71 42.29 52.92 47.08 5.92 15.42 5.84

Region

North 53.82 46.18 58.33 41.67 53.78 46.22 7.64 16.67 7.55

Central 51.32 48.68 56.56 43.44 51.27 48.73 2.63 13.12 2.55

East 50.45 49.55 55.77 44.23 50.40 49.60 0.91 11.54 0.80

Northeast 50.11 49.89 56.53 43.47 50.03 49.97 0.21 13.05 0.06

West 53.24 46.76 59.08 40.92 53.15 46.85 6.48 18.15 6.29

South 51.72 48.28 57.39 42.61 51.63 48.37 3.44 14.79 3.27

Grade

I 52.27 47.73 58.95 41.05 52.22 47.78 4.55 17.91 4.43

II 51.86 48.14 57.88 42.12 51.80 48.20 3.73 15.76 3.61

III 51.75 48.25 57.67 42.33 51.69 48.31 3.51 15.35 3.37

IV 51.83 48.17 58.24 41.76 51.75 48.25 3.65 16.48 3.49



V 51.73 48.27 57.69 42.31 51.65 48.35 3.45 15.39 3.30

VI 51.64 48.36 56.56 43.44 51.58 48.42 3.28 13.12 3.17

VII 51.40 48.60 55.74 44.26 51.35 48.65 2.81 11.48 2.71

VIII 51.34 48.66 55.28 44.72 51.30 48.70 2.68 10.56 2.59

Conclusion

Our study pointed that the percentage of children enrolment with disability was very low and there

were huge gender disparities in terms of enrolment with various forms of disability. Boys were

more likely to enrol for primary or secondary education as compared to girls. Similarly, in Rural

Eastern Ethiopia, Male children with disability (AOR=2.40; 95% CI=1.47, 3.92) had a better

chance for school enrolment (Geda B at al., 2016). Distance to school constitutes an educational

barrier for many girls which is intensified for girls with disability (Rousso H 2003; Al-Balushi T,

Al-Badi AH, Ali S 2011). It can be argued that this focus on the redistribution of resources and

access is desirable and important, as children with disabilities. The influence by medical

understanding of disability further reinforces this gap, so it seems convenient to distinguish

between children who can access educational opportunities available to the majority, while others

by their own restricted (disabled) abilities, and therefore must attend special schools with little

regard to a possible lifetime of existence at the fringe of society. Evidence of study aimed at

educating the girl child have highlighted that while ensuring basic conditions for ensuring girl’s

access to education such as infrastructure is essential, there is also a need to focus on

transformations in the pattern of study and the method and practice of teaching. Current endeavour

must address concerns of equity in agreement with quality for the education of children with

disabilities.

Ethical approval: The study is based on a secondary data set with no identifiable information on

the survey participants. This dataset is available in the public domain for research use and hence no

formal approval from the institutional review board is required. So, no ethics statement is required

for this work. The data can be freely accessed from the U-DISE website https://www.udise.in

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests

Funding: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial entity or

not-for-profit organization.

References

http://www.udise.in/



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.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/disabilityinindia2011data.pdf.

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Geneva. World Health Organization, retrieved on March, 15.

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Paper-4

Inclusion and Exclusion of Persons with

Disabilities in the Institutions of Higher

Education

Pathloth Omkar



Inclusion and Exclusion of Persons with Disabilities in the Institutions of

Higher Education

Pathloth Omkar7

Abstract

There are many invisible views, cultural myths and superstitious beliefs towards Persons with

Disabilities (PWD). The social perception, sympathetic views and discrimination of non-disabled

individuals are stigmatizing, marginalizing and excluding the persons with disabilities and there

is growing invisible inequalities with in the institutions, with in the spaces of higher education

which are creating multitude of barriers to their full participation in everyday life. The person’s

self-concept, cognitive and social development, academic performance, and psychological health

are largely affected, when an individual is not accepted fully in their own environment and in

social opportunities. A persistent focus on abilities/inabilities, negative attitude and social

rejection of people with disabilities is evident across the cultures. One side institutions do not

respond in full forms to the needs of persons with disabilities and other side follows one set of

pedagogical practices and curriculum. The provision for persons with disabilities is gaining

ground after the enactment of various disability laws and it has contributed to the increasing

enrolment of persons with disabilities in the institutions of higher education. Universities are

becoming hub for disabled but these staff and students constantly face various barriers in their

educational environment. In the institutions of higher education context this refers primarily to

the relationship between persons with disabilities and the process of teaching and learning,

preparation of pedagogy, curricula and entire engineering of the ambiences with research and

extension. In this context, this paper deals with how institutions include and exclude the persons

with disabilities and their practices for inclusion with in the institutions of higher education.

Keywords: Inclusive Policies, Persons with Disabilities, Institutions of Higher Education and

Pedagogical Practices.

7 Department of Educational Studies,School of Education,Mahatma Gandhi Central University,

East Champaran, Bihar-845 401 (India) Email: [email protected]



Introduction

“Privilege is invisible to those who have it”.– Michael Kimmel

There has been a growing interest in supporting the learning of disabled students in higher

education, stimulated in part by legislation. However, what the students themselves have to say

about their experiences has not been sought in any systematic way. Even though the enactment of

various disability laws has contributed to the increasing enrolment of disabled students in higher

educational institutions, Palan (2016) suggests that ‘these students constantly face various barriers

in their educational environment’. One of the fundamental responsibilities of higher education is

to provide open and equal opportunities for students to learn, succeed, and positively contribute to

their local, national, and global societies.

The Concept of Disability

Disability is seen as the lack of ability to perform mental or physical tasks that one can normally

do (Michailakis, 2003). The term is used in legal medicine to apply especially to the loss of

mental or physical powers as a result of injury or disease. In this sense, therefore, any person

whose ability to function in a “normal” manner is limited by physical, cognitive, visual or

environmental factors is said to have a disability. When disability is interpreted as an illness or

impairment, it is viewed as occurring in an individual’s body or mind, and when interpreted as a

social construct, disability is seen in terms of the socio-economic, cultural, and political

disadvantages resulting from an individual’s exclusion.

Disability refers to the disadvantage or restriction of activity caused by the way society is

organized which takes little or no account of people who have physical, sensory or mental

impairments. As a result such people are excluded and prevented from participating fully on equal

terms in mainstream society. Disability is thus imposed on people with impairments who, as a



result, become disabled not by their impairments, but by society (UPIAS, 1976 in Philpott &

McLaren, 1997:181). From the perspective of the social model, disability can therefore be

understood only by focusing on the relationship between persons with impairments (or perceived

impairments) and the society or environment of which they are part. In the higher education

context this refers primarily to the relationship between a student with impairment and the process

of teaching and learning and research. Are there conditions in higher education which allow

disabled students to participate fully in this process, even if their participation entails using

different forms of engagement with the curriculum such as braille or sign language? To answer

this question it is necessary to examine whether there are any barriers in higher education

institutions or in society at large that prevent or limit the emergence of conditions that would

enable disabled people to participate fully in higher education.

Models of Disability

Disability is a social construct, not the inevitable consequence of impairment. Disability is best

characterized as a complex interrelationship between impairment, individual response to

impairment, and the social environment and the social disadvantage experienced by disabled

people is caused by the physical, institutional and attitudinal (together, the ‘social’) environment

which fails to meet the needs of people who do not match the social expectation of ‘normalcy’

(Hosking, 2008, p. 7). Critical disability theory thus recognizes the need to consider both personal

and social factors when trying to understand disability, without making one aspect dominant over

the other (Hiranandani, 2005). Two important elements of critical disability theory are relevant in

this study. These are rights and language.

Human Rights



The theory recognizes that people with disabilities have rights to autonomy -individual rights, as

well as rights to full participation in society (Hosking, 2008). Several human rights legislations,

for example, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights; the UN Convention on the Rights of

the Child; the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, clearly establish that

people with disabilities have the same rights as other members of the societies they live in.

Discrimination on the grounds of disability is therefore prohibited. Critical disability theory

embraces human (and legal) rights as an indispensable tool to advance the equality claims of

people with disabilities and to promote their full inclusion into all aspects of their society

(Hosking, 2008). In recent years, inclusion and exclusion have been viewed and interpreted as

rights. A Rights discourse of inclusion and exclusion is supported in and by many international

rights declarations. For Example the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948); the United

Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (1989).

Language and Labels

Critical disability theory also addresses how language and labels affects the concept of disability

and the status of people with disabilities (Hosking, 2008). Kress-White (2009), points that “the

language of disability, and the definitions and symbols that attach to societal lexicon, can be

significant disablers” (p. 53), for many persons in society. Directly associated with the concept of

difference and disability discourse are the words or language that define and categories those as

different. Language is often reported as instrument of exclusion. The dimensions of disabilities

are as vast and as widespread as the individuals themselves. The specific language used to

identify able-bodies and disable-bodies within culture are so conflated that the meanings merge

together.



Inclusion

Inclusion is a difficult concept to describe because how it is defined and implemented tends to be

context specific (Armstrong et al., 2011; Lambe 2011; Ratan Sarkar 2016). Inclusion refers to all-

encompassing access to admission, programs, events, classes, and physical spaces within the

university environment. Inclusive education’ in general a system of education wherein all students

i.e. those with and without disability, learn together, most or all of the time, and the system of

teaching-learning is suitably adapted to meet the learning needs of different types of students such

that learning outcomes of comparable/satisfactory quality are achieved for all students (The

Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill Draft, 2012).

Exclusion

The process whereby certain groups are pushed to the margins of society and prevent from

participating fully by virtue of their poverty, low education or inadequate life skills. This

distances them from job, income and education opportunities as well as social and community

networks. They have little access to power and decision making bodies and little chance of

influencing decisions or policies that affect them and little chance of bettering their standard of

living. The concept of social exclusion is closely related to the concept of marginalization.

Marginalization originated from the political struggles of people of colour, women, the poor,

immigrants, the mentally ill, and children (Hall, 1998). It is tied to the notion of normality, where

those who are not perceived to fall within the bounds of normality. Marginalization is often

described as a socio political process that results in inequality and disadvantages.

Pedagogy and Instruction

Pedagogy and instruction are the core of the university. As suggested by Rodney Pennemon,

“When you’re designing your class and putting it together, you really need to think globally in



terms of who’s going to be (your) audience, who do (you) need to reach? (There may be) younger

students, non-traditional students, students from different backgrounds and different

cultures…you are going to have an audience of people that come from a lot of different

backgrounds, and so you want to be able to appeal to as many different levels as possible.”

(University of Washington, 2015). Each and every differently abled students has individualized

instructional needs in their academics, one set of curriculum and one set of practices does not help

in creating inclusive and supportive atmosphere in the campuses.

Universal Design in Education

Universal design in the education setting is a framework of instruction that aims to be inclusive of

different learners to reduce barriers for all students, including those with disabilities. We used the

principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL focuses on the learner) and Universal Design

for Instruction (UDI focuses on instruction). UDL/UDI strives to make educational products and

environments welcoming, accessible, and usable for everyone. Can be applied to instruction,

services, information, technology, and physical spaces to ensure welcoming, accessible, and

usable products and environments for students, instructors, staff, and others (Myers et al., 2013).

Applications of Universal Design in Education

In Instruction In Services In Information

Technology

In Physical Spaces

Class climate

Interaction

Planning, policies,

and evaluation

Physical

Procurement and

development policies

Physical environments

Planning, policies, and

evaluation



Physical environments

and products

Delivery methods

Information resources

and technology

Feedback

Assessment

Accommodation

environments and

products

Staff

Information

resources and

technology

Events

and products

Information

Input and control

Output

Manipulations

Safety

Compatibility with

assistive technology

Appearance

Entrances and routes of

travel

Fixtures and furniture

Information resources

and technology

Safety

Accommodation

(Source: Burgstahler, 2013)

Universal Design for Learning

Burgstahler (2013) states that the term "universal design for learning" means a scientifically valid

framework for guiding educational practice that-

(A) Provides flexibility in the ways information is presented, in the ways students respond or

demonstrate knowledge and skills, and in the ways students are engaged; and

(B) Reduces barriers in instruction, provides appropriate accommodations, supports, and

challenges, and maintains high achievement expectations for all students, including students with

disabilities and students who are limited English proficient.

The UDL framework and principles helps address learner variability by shaping the design of

flexible goals, methods, materials, and assessments that empower educators to meet varied needs

the all learners.



Conclusion

A cohesive and multidisciplinary approach is essential to the integration of students with

disabilities in the mainstream of campus life. Supporting students with disabilities needs to

involve personnel at every level across the institution, from policy makers at managerial level to

academics, general and direct line staff and, of course, the student him/herself. A truly inclusive

campus takes a more holistic approach. It takes an entire campus, from administration to

architecture to academics, to create a welcoming and inclusive environment. In many cases,

exclusion and marginalization are unintentional, a matter of unquestioned assumptions, lack of

knowledge, or inadequate skill. What makes our approach unique is that it focuses not only on the

institutional mechanisms required to support an inclusive and diverse university, but also on the

ways in which each of us must take responsibility for supporting inclusion and diversity. We are

convinced that simply changing a policy or two, or identifying a key point person responsible for

inclusion on campus, while important, will not result in the deep cultural change needed. Each of

us from members of the senior administrative table, to members of student social clubs needs to

build our understanding of how we (intentionally and unintentionally) include and exclude

members of our community; to take steps to bridge and respect differences; and to hold ourselves

accountable for change and inclusive society.

References

Armstrong, D., Armstrong, A. C., & Spandagou, I. (2011). Inclusion: By choice or by chance?

International Journal of Inclusive Education, 15(1), 29-39.

Burgstahler, S. (2001). Universal design of instruction (EC309179). DO-IT, University of

Washington



Burgstahler, S. (2009). Self-Examination: How Accessible Is Your Campus? Retrieved from DO-

IT, University of Washington.

Burgstahler, S. (2013). Introduction to universal design in higher education. In Universal design

in higher education: Promising practices. Seattle: DO-IT, University of Washington.

Burgstahler, S. (2015). Universal design: Process, principles, and applications: a goal and a

process that can be applied to the design of any product or environment.

Hall, J., & Tinklin, T. (1998). Students first : the experiences of disabled students in higher

education (SCRE Research Report Series No. 85). Edinburgh, Scotland, United

Kingdom: Scottish Council for Research in Education.

Hiranandani, V. (2005). Towards a critical theory of disability in social work. Social Work, 6(1).

Hosking, D. L. (2008, September). Critical disability theory. In A paper presented at the 4th

Biennial Disability Studies Conference at Lancaster University, UK.

Karen A. Myers, Jaci Jenkins Lindburg, & Danielle M. Nied (2013). Allies for Inclusion:

Disability and Equity in Higher Education: ASHE Volume 39, Number 5: John Wiley

Publications.

Kress-White, M. (2009). The quest of inclusion: Understandings of ableism, pedagogy and the

right to belong (Doctoral dissertation).

Michalakis, K. X., Hirayama, H., & Garefis, P. D. (2003). Cement-retained versus screw-retained

implant restorations: a critical review. International journal of oral & maxillofacial

implants, 18(5).

Ministry of Law and Justice, (2012). The Draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act,2012, By

the controller of Publications, Delhi.

Myers, K. A., Lindburg, J. J., & Nied, D. M. (2013). Allies for Inclusion: Disability and Equity in

Higher Education: ASHE Volume 39, Number 5. John Wiley & Sons.



Palan, R. (2016). Disabled Students in Higher Education: A Study of Experiences and Aspirations

(Doctoral dissertation, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai).

United Nations (UN). (2006). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and

Optional Protocol.

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Paper-5

Teacher’s Perception of Student

Evaluation of Teachers in Relation to

Demographic Determinants. Tanushree Balial

Sudeshna Lahiri



Teacher’s Perception of Student Evaluation of Teachers in Relation to Demographic

Determinants. Tanushree Balial8

Sudeshna Lahiri9

ABSTRACT

Education plays a pivotal role in the advancement of a nation. It is a source of acquiring

knowledge and transmitting values and culture to the young lot of the society. These educational

goals are achieved through teaching and learning experiences being offered in schools and

colleges. Teachers play a basic and dynamic role in an educational system. It is said that good

performance of students depends upon effective teaching of their teachers. One of the most

difficult problems in educational research is that of recognizing the teacher’s effectiveness; i.e.,

discriminating between more effective and less effective teachers (Coleman, 1998).The present

study “Teacher’s Perception of Student Evaluation of Teachers in relation to demographic

determinants” was conducted to explore the aspects about evaluations teachers like or dislike,

and what they would like to change or improve. The intent of the findings is to provide

suggestions on how to improve the evaluation process for teachers and administrators.

Normative survey method is used by investigator in this study & the standardized Questionnaire

was adapted from the Lecturers Response to Students Evaluations of Teaching (LRSET) which

was developed by Machingambi and Wadesango (2011) and Researcher adopted random

sampling technique and selected randomly seven different degree Colleges affiliated to

University of Calcutta (India) for data collection. After testing the null hypothesis the results

comes out that there was significant difference in teacher’s perception towards student

evaluation of teaching effectiveness in relation to gender for summative functions of student

evaluations of teaching. There was significant positive relationship for formative functions and

negative significant relationship for summative functions of student evaluations of teaching

between teacher ages and teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching

effectiveness. There was significant effect of nature of employment on teacher’s perception

towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness for formative functions of student

evaluations of teaching.

Keywords: Teacher Perception, Student Evaluation of Teacher, Demographic

determinants

8 Ex-M.Phil Scholar, Department of Education, University of Calcutta, Email: [email protected] 9 Associate Professor, Department of Education, University of Calcutta, Email: [email protected]



Introduction

Teacher evaluations can be a tool for increasing teacher effectiveness and accountability if it is

determined how evaluations can be best used. According to current literature, this is not the case.

It is more pertinent than ever that administrators use evaluations to strengthen marginal teachers

and further develop skills of teachers who are already proficient. Education holds the golden key

to human progress. The role of education as one of the most important factor in the development

of a nation is universally accepted.Teacher evaluation is one of the most controversial issues in

education. It is a complex and highly debated issue in the age of reform and contract negotiations.

Teachers are also concerned with evaluations since it may affect their job. They are becoming

more involved in planning and monitoring their own evaluations.Teacher’s perceptions on

teaching functions would provide educators with significant information to help determine

curricula and program direction (Pajares, 1992). Student evaluation of teaching (SET) as a

measurement of effective teaching in higher education has drawn much attention due to the need

for greater accountability and improvement in student learning. Our review of literature on SET

suggests that that there are considerable controversy and criticism surrounded its use, fairness and

validity. If universities are to continue to use SET as the main source of mechanism for measuring

teaching effectiveness; teachers must understand and be aware of its uses and purposes. “The

Education Commission (1964-66) rightly emphasized that education is the one and only

instrument that can be used to bring about a change towards social and economic development of

the nation.”

Objectives of the study

1. To find out the difference in teacher’s perception towards student teaching effectiveness in

relation to gender.

2. To find out the effect of stream of studies on teacher’s perception towardsstudent

evaluation of teaching effectiveness.

3. To find out the relationship between teacher age and teacher’s perception towards student


4. To find out the effect of nature of employment on teacher’s perception towards student


Hypothesis



Ho1: There is no significant difference between male and female teacher’s perception towards

student evaluation of teaching effectiveness.

Ho2:There is no significant effect of stream of studies on teacher’s perception towards student


Ho3:There is no significant relationship between teacher age and teacher’s perception towards


Ho4:There is no significant effect of nature of employment on teacher’s perception towards


REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

According to Mouley (1964), the review of the literature is an exciting task calling for a deep

insight and clear perspective of overall field. It promotes a greater understanding of the problem

and its crucial aspect and ensures the avoidance of unnecessary duplication. The published

literature is a fruitful source of hypothesis. Review of related literature means those studies; have

already been done and related directly or indirectly to the proposed theme of research. The review

of related literature not only enables the researcher to define the limitations of proposed subject

but also supports to avoid biasness. Similarly, Inko-Tariah (2013), carried out to ascertain the

attitude of lecturers in Nigerian universities towards students’ evaluation of their teaching

effectiveness. Descriptive survey was employed in carrying out the study. The population

comprised all lecturers in three universities in south-south Nigeria.The findings of the study

showed that most of the lecturers have positive attitude towards students’evaluation of their

teaching effectiveness. It was also found that gender, age and teaching experience madesignificant

differences while professional status and discipline did not make significant differences in the

attitudeof lecturers towards students’ evaluation of their teaching effectiveness.

Mohsen, Ghafar and Omar (2013 ) in their study to discuss the role and functions of lecturers in

teaching based on the two different views of teaching theories. This paper gives more attention

on constructivism view for making change on lecturers’ roles in teaching for improving teaching

practice. The study survey results show that there is a gap between the lecturers’ perception on

teaching functions and their roles on teaching at CC in enhancing their professional knowledge

and experience. Olatoye and Aanu (2011 ) in their study sought teachers’ view or opinion about

using or involving students in rating of their effectiveness in teaching.Results show that majority

of the teachers are in favour of using students to evaluate their teaching effectiveness. Moreover,



Pazhanimurugan, Sivakumar, Edward (2015) studied teachers’ perception about the scheme of

continuous and comprehensive evaluation, the problems they face while its execution and the

suggestions that teachers want to give in making Continuous and comprehensive evaluation

(CCE) effective a ground realities. The result of the study revealed that currently the perception of

government school teachers is average which indicates moderate acceptability of CCE by the

teachers. The teachers are not adequately prepared for the effective execution of CCE in

government schools. Akram, Raza, Khaleeq, Atika (2011) investigated the perception of

principals on how the factors of subject mastery, teaching methodology, personal characteristics,

and attitude toward students affect the performance of teachers at higher secondary level in the

Punjab.The major conclusions of the study were that the factor of subject mastery was perceived

to be influencing the performance of teachers maximally, but the factor of attitude toward

students was affecting the performance of teachers minimally. Further, Singh, Patel , Desai (2013)

found that, a) to construct a scale to measure the attitude towards continuous internal assessment ,

b) to measure the attitude of B.Ed students of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India

towards Continuous Internal Assessment, c) to study the attitude towards Continuous Internal

Assessment with respect to different variable like gender, habitat and caste. The result of the

study relevant that the attitude of B.Ed. Students of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda

towards Continuous Internal Assessment have found to be favourable. The majority of the

students were in the favour of continuation of this system of assessment with certain

improvements. They were of opinion that this system helps, both teachers and students for

improving themselves time to time; in systematizing and regularize the studies and students

attendance; enhancing the achievement of the student. Moreover, Sharma (2011) found that to

evaluate the attitude of teachers towards the SET, to make a faculty wise analysis of the teachers

of Garhwali University teachers on the basis of theiropinion towards SET, to make sex-wise

analysis of teachers on their opinion towards SET, to identify and analyse, teachers with positive

attitude towards SET,to identify and analyse, teachers with negative attitude towards SET.These

conclusions have been put in to different categories keeping in view theopinion of the teachers on

various aspects of the Students’ Evaluation of Teachers.

Methodology

Normative survey method is used by investigator in this study & the standardized Questionnaire

Teacher's Perception ofStudents Evaluation of their teaching Practices Scale

(TPSETPS)was adapted from the Lecturers Response to Students Evaluations of Teaching



(LRSET) which was developed by Machingambi and Wadesango (2011) and Researcher adopted

random sampling technique and selected randomly seven different degree Colleges affiliated to

University of Calcutta (India) for data collection. A total 93 Teachers were selected as sample

from all seven colleges.The teachers teaching at University and colleges, affiliated to University

of Calcutta (West Bengal), has been considered as population for the present study.

Table 1. Number of sampling.

SL.NO. SCHEME OF

STUDIES

MALE FEMAL

E

TOTA

L

1 Social Science 14 36 50

2 Science 17 10 27

3 Commerce 07 09 16

Grand Total 38 55 93

Reliability and Validity

The reliability is analyzed through internal reliability test. For this purpose using SPSS (Statistical

software for the Social Sciences) version 17.0 and Cronbach alpha is used which gives internal

reliability of the scale as 0.749.The validity ofTeacher's Perception ofStudents Evaluation of their

teaching Practices Scale” is ensured through consultation with subject experts as content validity.

The questionnaire is four-point Likert scale with twenty items dispersed over three

dimensions. Dimension I corresponds to 1-10 items and named as, the extent to which Teachers

value student evaluations of their teaching. Items from 11-15, in order of occurrence, corresponds

to Dimension II and entitled as, Formative functions of student evaluations of teaching. Lastly,

Dimension III constituted item numbers 16-20, may be named as, Summative functions of student

evaluations of teaching.

Table2 : Inter-dimension correlation matrix among the dimensions of (TPSETP)

Dimension Statistics Dim I Dim II Dim III

Dim I

Pearson Correlation 1 0.479**

0.373**

Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.000

N 93 93 93

Dim II Pearson Correlation . 1 0.543**



Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000

N 93 93

Dim III Pearson Correlation . 1

Sig. (2-tailed)

N 93

**Correlation is significant at 0.01 levels

Reliability of the scale through Cronbach alpha is 0.749.

Findings

After testing the null hypothesis the results comes out that there was significant difference in

teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness in relation to gender for

summative functions of student evaluations of teaching. There was significant positive

relationship for formative functions and negative significant relationship for summative functions

of student evaluations of teaching between teacher ages and teacher’s perception towards student

evaluation of teaching effectiveness. There was significant effect of nature of employment

on teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness for formative

functions of student evaluations of teaching. It is found that urban teachers showed higher

teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness.

The items of Attitude towards Computer Scale are responded over 4-point Likert scale. So the

scoring of the responses will be as follows in Table 3

Table 3 Scoring Pattern of TPSETP Scale

Dimension

Item no

Responder

Strongly

agree

Agree Disagree Strongly

disagree

I

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

4

3

2

1

II

11,12,13,14,15

4

3

2

1

III

16,17,18,19,20

4

3

2

1



The Table 3shows the array of scoring through three sets of dimensions of “Teacher's Perception

ofStudents Evaluation of their teaching Practices” Scale. The maximum score for the extent to

which teacher’s value student evaluations of their teaching(Dimension I) may be 40; for

Formative functions of student evaluations of teaching(Dimension II) may be 20 and for

Summative functions of student evaluations of teaching(Dimension III) may be 20. Similarly,

minimum scores could be scored as for Dimension I: 10; Dimension II: 5; Dimension III: 5.

The data are subject to relevant differential statistics which are mean and Standard Deviation.

Data are further subjected to inferential statistics which are coefficient of correlation, T-test and

ANOVA. For the conducted study, 0.05 and 0.01 levels are considered for level of significance.

To find out the difference in teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching

effectiveness in relation to gender for the data is subjected to t-test. The result of t-test is

given in Table 4 and Figure 1.

Table 4.Teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness in relation

to gender.

Dimension Gender N Mean SD t-value P

Dim I Male 38 29.50 4.88 0.999 0.32

Female 55 28.34 5.85

Dim II Male 38 15.05 1.67 1.522 0.13

Female 55 14.25 2.91

Dim III Male 38 12.52 3.19 1.997 0.45**

Female 55 11.05 3.68

**0.05 level of significance



Figure 1.Teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness in relation

to gender.

There is significant difference between teacher’sperception towards student evaluation of teaching

effectiveness in relation to gender. So the null hypothesis is rejected 0.05 level of significance. In

Dimension I, number of male is 38, mean is 29.50, and number of female is 55, mean is 28.34

their t-value is 0.999 which is significance at 0.05 level. So there is a significance difference

between male and female.

In Dimension II, number of male is 38 ,mean is 15.05,and number of female is 55,mean is14.05

their t-value is 1.522 which is significance at 0.05 level .so there is a significance difference


In Dimension III, number of male is 38 ,mean is 12.52,and number of female is 55,mean is 11.05

their t-value is 1.997 which is significance at 0.05 level .so there is a significance difference


Between male and female teachers, male teachers are more effective to evaluate themselves in

Formative functions of student evaluations of teaching then Summative functions of student

evaluations of teaching.There is no significant difference in teacher’s perception towards student

evaluation of teaching effectiveness in relation to gender for the extent to which teacher value

student evaluation of teaching and formative functions of student evaluations of teaching. So, the

null hypothesis, Ho1 there is no significant difference in teacher’sperception towards student

evaluation of teaching effectiveness in relation to gender, stands accepted for the extent to which

teacher value student evaluation of teaching andformative functions of student evaluations of

teaching. However, there is a significant difference in teacher’s perception towards student

evaluation of teaching effectiveness in relation to gender for summative functions of student

evaluations of teaching. So, the null hypothesis, there is significant difference between

teacher’sperception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness in relation to gender

stands not accepted for summative function of student evaluations of teaching.

To find out the effect of stream of studies of teacher’s perception towards student

evaluation of teaching effectiveness for the data collected is subjected to F-test as shown in

Table 5 and Figure 2.

Table 5.Teacher perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness in relation to

stream of studies



Dimension Stream N Mean SD F Sig.

Dim I Science 27 30.66 4.89 2.440 0.093

Social Science 50 28.30 5.68

Commerce 16 27.31 5.25

Dim II Science 27 15.07 1.73 2.726 0.071


Commerce 16 15.43 2.42

Dim III Science 27 12.14 2.90 0.813 0.447


Commerce 16 12.18 4.79

Figure 2.Teacher perception

towards student

evaluation of teaching effectiveness in relation to stream of studies

Using F-test, it has been found that there is a no significant effect of stream of studies of colleges

and universities teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness for the

extent to which teacher value student evaluation of teaching. So, the null hypothesis, Ho2 there is

no significant effect of stream of studies of colleges and universities teacher’s perception towards

student evaluation of teaching effectivenessstands accepted for the extent to which teacher value

student evaluation of teaching the teachers with Commerce stream show lowest mean and Science

show highest mean on for dimension I as shown in Figure 2.

Using F-test, it has been found that there is a no significant effect of stream of studies of

colleges and universities teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness

for the formative functions of student evaluations of teaching. So, the null hypothesis, there is no

significant effect of stream of studies of colleges and universities teacher’s perception towards

student evaluation of teaching effectivenessstands accepted for formative functions of student



evaluations of teaching. The teachers with Commerce stream show highest mean and Social

Science show lowest mean on for dimension II.

Administrating F-test, it has been found that there is a no significant effect of stream of

studies of colleges and universities teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching

effectiveness for the Summative functions of student evaluations of teaching. So, the null

hypothesis Ho2, there is no significant effect of stream of studies of colleges and universities

teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectivenessstands accepted for

summative functions of student evaluations of teaching.The teachers with Commerce stream

show highest mean and Social Science show lowest mean on for dimension III.

To find out the relationship, between teacher age and teacher’s perception towards student

evaluation of teaching effectiveness for the data collected is subjected to test of correlation

along with mean and S.D. are calculated as shown in Table 6

Table 6.Teacher age and teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching

effectiveness.

Variables Statistics Age Dim I Dim II Dim III

Age Pearson

Correlation

1 -.012 .003 -.041

Sig. (2-tailed) .907 .980 .694

N 93 93 93 93

Dim I Pearson

Correlation

Mean=28.8172

SD =5.47712

1 .479**

.373**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000

N 93 93 93

Dim II Pearson

Correlation

Mean =14.5806

SD=2.50357

1 .543**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000

N 93

Dim III Pearson

Correlation

Mean = 11.6559

SD=3.54933

1

Sig. (2-tailed)

N 93



**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level

There is a negative correlation between teacher age and teacher’s perception towards

student evaluation of teaching effectiveness for the extent to which teacher value student

evaluation of teaching. There is a low and positive correlation between Teacher age and teacher’s

perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness for formative functions of student

evaluations of teaching. There is a negative correlation between Teacher age and teacher’s

perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness for summative functions of

student evaluations of teaching. Moreover, there is significant correlation found between teacher

age and teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness for formative

functions of student evaluations of teaching and summative functions of studentevaluations of

teaching. Thus there is no significant relationship of teacher age and teacher’s perception towards

student evaluation of teaching effectiveness for formative functions of student evaluations of

teaching and summative functions of student evaluations of teaching stands not accepted at

0.01level.

To find out the effect of, nature of employment on teacher’s perception towards student

evaluation of teaching effectiveness for the data collected is subjected to F-test as shown

in Table 7 and Figure 3.

Table 7.Teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness in relation to

nature of employment.

Variables N Mean SD F-value P

Permanent/Full time Teacher

Part-time Teacher

Contractual Teacher

59 28.05 5.44 3.495 0.035*

21 31.52 3.58

13 27.92 6.96


Part-time Teacher

Contractual Teacher

59 14.28 2.65 1.918 0.153

21 14.66 2.24

13 15.76 1.92


Part-time Teacher

Contractual Teacher

59 11.03 3.19 2.998 0.040*

21 12.85 3.42

13 12.53 4.73

*significant at the 0.05 level



Figure 3.Teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness in relation to

nature of employment.

There is no significant effect of nature of employment on teacher’s perception towards student

evaluation of teaching effectiveness for the formative functions of student evaluations of teaching.

So, the null hypothesis Ho4 there is no significant difference in effect of nature of employment

on teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching effectiveness stands accepted for

formative functions of student evaluations of teaching.However, there is a significant difference

in effect of nature of employment on teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of teaching

effectiveness for the extent to which teacher value student evaluation of teaching and summative

functions of student evaluations of teaching. So, the null hypothesis Ho4 there is no significant

difference in effect of nature of employment on teacher’s perception towards student evaluation

of teaching effectiveness stands notaccepted for the extent to which teacher value student

evaluation of teaching and summative functions of student evaluations of teaching.

Limitations:

Limitation of the present study is as follows:-

The limitation of the no work has been study is that performed on private sector.

The work has been conducted primarily at urban and semi urban area in Kolkata district

only.

The work has been done primarily with college teacher only. Use for different groups than those

used to develop the survey is not yet tested. Additional research to test the instrument with

different populations is suggested.

The accuracy of the analysis is dependent upon the Self –reported behavior of the respondents.



Conclusion

The present study reveals the teacher’s perception towards student evaluation of their teaching

practice. The apprehension of a section of teachers, planners and administrators that the teachers

of the Universities, in India are not in favour of TPSETP, this goes in favour of Recommendation

of Rastogi Committee (1996) for higher education and the plans of University Grants

Commission that the Students’ Evaluation of Teachers’ should be implemented in higher

education It clearly effects on their teaching profession. The findings of this study shows that the

gender, age, , nature of employment and stream of studies teachers are correlated with the

perception of teacher’s towards student evaluation. College and university students routinely

complete a summative course evaluation toward the end of each semester throughout their degree

or non-degree programs. Questionnaires are generally the most frequently used format of SET

using rating scales. It is reasonable for students to assume that their feedback has an impact on the

modification, transformation, and improvement in future lecture formats and materials, course

requirements, assessment methods, and classroom management and interactions.

Suggestion for the Further Research:

The further work of present study are framed as follows -

A similar study may be conducted on the teachers of other campuses.

A similar study can be carried out a school level.

A similar study can be conducted on male and female teachers separately.

The study can be conducted on younger and older teachers separately

References

Ali, Mofreh., Samah, G., Najib, M. & Omar, Audul .(2013). A Study on Lecturers’

Perceptions on Teaching Functions among the Lecturers of Community Colleges.

International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, 2(5), 109-112.

Retrieved from http://www.ijstr.org/final-print/dec2013/A-Study-On-Lecturers-

Perceptions-On-Teaching-Functions-Among-The-Lecturers-Of-Community-

Colleges-Yemen.pdf .



Akram, J. M., Syed, A. R., Abdur, R. & Samrana, K. A. (2011). Principals’ Perception regarding

factors affecting the Performance of Teachers. Journal of International Education

Research, 7 (2),33-38.

Inko-Tariah D. C. (2013),“Attitude of Lecturers towards Student’s Evaluation of Their Teaching

Effectiveness in Nigerian Universities”. Journal of Education and Practice, 4 (15).

Port Harcourt. Nigeria. Retrieved from www.iiste.org

Olatoye R.A.,& Aanu E.M.(2011), “Senior Secondary School Science Teachers’ Perception of

Using Students to Evaluate Teaching Effectiveness”. Journal of Emerging Trends

in Educational Research and Policy Studies, 2 (3): 164-170.Nigeria.Retrieved

from jeteraps.scholarlinkresearch.org.

Pazhanimurugan, S., Sivakumar, R., Benjamin, William & Edward, A. (2015), “Teachers Attitude

towards Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation on Secondary Schools”.

Indian Journal of Applied Research, 5. Bharathidasan University, Tricky.

Singh, A., Patel, J. & Desai, R. (2013). “Attitude of Student Teachers towards Continuous

Comprehensive Evaluation with Reference To Gender, Caste and Habitat”.

Educationia Confab, 2 (1). Vadodara, Gujarat, India.

Sharma, N. (2011), “A Survey of Teachers’ Opinion on the Students’ Evaluation of Teachers”.

International Journal of Educational Research and Technology. Volume 2; 57-

61.Badhani-Pathankot, Punjab. Retrieved from www.soeagra.com/ijert.html

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



Paper-6

Professional Enrichment through

Action Research: Case of Cooperative

Learning in Teacher Education.

Dr. Ajeet Kumar Rai



Professional Enrichment through Action Research: Case of Cooperative

Learning in Teacher Education.

Dr. Ajeet Kumar Rai10

Abstract

Action Research is a teacher's inquiry into their professional theories, context and practices that

enriches them professionally and solves their frequent context specific professional problems. An

action research was carried out in the context of a teacher education institute with the aim of

creating an instructional experience that is more motivating for the students. Cooperative

instructional method was used by the author to get insight into the constructivists pedagogical

approaches and encourage learning with cooperation rather than competition. An appropriate

intervention was designed and implemented in a B.Ed. class and data was collected through

multiple sources. Reflections on the consequences of the intervention helped the teacher as

researcher to develop insight into the instructional innovation by designing and implementing the

same in his own professional context. The inquiry into professional practice enriched the

teacher’s professional understanding and skills and at the same time it provided opportunities for

learners to own their learning. A reflection on the action research process is also discussed.

Key words: Action Research, Cooperative Learning, Teacher education, Students reaction

Introduction:

Learning is a life-long activity. Hence a good teacher continuously learns. A good teacher learns

through their practices with great perseverance. One way to learn while in practice and develop

professionally is through action research. The teacher can solve their professional problems and

enrich their knowledge and skill repertoire as well as better understand their professional context

through small scale action research independently or in collaboration with other teachers.

Action research (AR) is a context specific problem solving approach to their day to day

professional challenges and problems. AR is specifically defined by Carr and Kemmis &

McTaggart (2000 ) as a form of self-reflective inquiry that

10 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Banaras Hindu University ([email protected])



serve the purpose of more sophisticated understanding of the professional practices, the

rationality behind the specific acts included in the practice and overall the context specificity that

has a bearing on their professional practices and beliefs. Thus the teacher acts as a researcher in

search of new solutions and better understanding, often post-encounter of any problem or sort of

dissatisfaction in their professional (educational) context. The teacher as a researcher, provided

that they are willing, explores the possible causes of the problem, navigates through the related

literature and ponders over the possible solutions which they can bring in their repertoire of

professional practice. It can be said that the teacher, through AR, brings in a sort of intervention

in the form of specific actions followed by reflection on the consequences that determines the fate

of the intervention on the one hand and enriches the teacher on the other hand.

With this background information regarding action research the author, as a teacher

educator, presented a report of an action research carried out in the context of teaching at the

B.Ed. level in a premier institute in India. Professional enrichment along with a needed evidence

based change in the teaching strategy was the aim of this action research conducted during the

even semester in one of the class at undergraduate level in the year 2019.

Context:

The study reported is contextualized at a premier institute of Education where B.Ed and M.Ed

courses and research activities are carried out. The report is contextualized in the teaching of the

course on Learning and Teaching in a B.Ed. semester II class with over 40 students including

both male and female students from different streams of graduation. The instructional strategy

routinely followed in the class was lecture and discussion with blackboard and power point

projector to display powerpoint presentations as the only teaching aid used in the

classroom.Majority of the students were convenient at internet browsing using smart phone and

coincidentally all the students involved in the study possessed their personal smartphones with

internet connectivity.

Focus of Study:

The following question was devised to guide the action research:

How do the students react to the new instructional strategy in their class?

Method:



The action research method was employed in the present study.

Problem Focus:

The authors felt the need for a shift in the instructional approach based on their interaction

with the students’ right from semester I and the need to provide hands on experience for the

students on innovative instructional approaches. Further, the authors were willing to explore

certain of the innovative practices recommended in the contemporary literature applicable for

higher education as well. The problem identified as the need to adapt new instructional practices

was justified by the authors observational data supported by advocacy for student centred learning

in higher education (NCF, 2005). With a felt need for change and with a background knowledge

related to pedagogical shifts, the teacher as a researcher decided to use the co-operative learning

strategy for a section of Unit in the course Teaching and Learning for students of semester II in

the session 2019.

Hypothesis Framing

The need for incorporating new learning perspectives into the classroom was felt and

based on the authors expertise in the field of teaching and learning and evidence from the

literature (particularly relying on NCF, 2005) and was thus convinced at using cooperative

learning as the needed intervention in the existing situation.

Cooperative learning is defined as an instructional tool that is used to facilitate students learning

in small groups through cooperation rather than competition and in which shared learning goals

are achieved by students individually as well as in group (Johnson, et., al., 1993). According to

Slavin ( ), cooperative learning instructional programs in which students work in small groups to

help each other master academic content.” (p. ). Students in small groups are accountable for their

own as well as for the group learning in a cooperative way. Cooperative learning provides a non-

competitive environment for learning in which the learners are self motivated and hence they are

able to sustain their interest and involvement in learning task (Tripathy, 2004). This broad

learning strategy was considered as congruent with the new slogan that teacher is not merely ‘the

sage on the stage’ but ‘the guide on the side’ or the facilitator of learning. It is in accordance with

the constructivist perspective on learning (NCF, 2005) that provides the students opportunity to

construct knowledge for themselves.

Embedded in the theoretical inputs from the field of action research and cooperative

learning strategies the following hypothesis was framed to be tested through action based

intervention:



Action Hypothesis: Teaching students by cooperative learning method will be positively accepted

by the student where students’ active engagement in the learning and their overt acceptance of

the method were interpreted as indicators of positive acceptance.

Hypothesis Testing:

The hypothesis in action research is tested through actions rather than following statistical

operations on survey data. The general approach followed is that of designing and implementing

of an action based intervention, the consequences of which determines the acceptance or

rejection/modification of the action hypothesis or its rejection.

Intervention

The intervening action plan was as follows:

● Thirty (30) students were divided into six small groups with five (05) students in each

group .

● a section of one of the units in the course “Learning and Teaching” that included five

topics (Teaching Skills, Teaching Techniques, Teaching Approach, Teaching strategy and

Teaching Maxims) were framed as assignment and initially given to each group.

● Thereafter the day-wise schedule of activities were shared with all the students with the

instruction to adhere with the plan for the prescribed time period ( days of one hour

activities per day spanning over two weeks). The plan of activities to be carried out day

wise was as:

Day 1: The five topics were divided into the members of a group. The

members in each group discussed the topics in their respective

groups. The group as whole developed an initial understanding of

the topic.

Teacher assisted

by one of his

research scholar

observed and

facilitated

students on each

day through

their physical

presence in the

class and

continuous

interaction with

Day 2 The experts for a given topic from each group were clubbed

together. Thus five expert groups created wiht one member from

each of the parent/original group.

Members in the expert group thoroughly searched the related

topic (keeping their search to a maximum of three sources

available in google search), reviewed them, discussed with each

other and shared their insights till a till a common understanding

is developed.



Day3:

The original groups were re-stored. The members in each group

shared and discussed their experiences gained during expert

group activity. This way each member in the group developed an

understanding of the five topics.

Each group was asked to prepare a report on the topics thus

learned as home assignment and one of them were instructed to

prepare for presentation of their report.

the students

Day4 A student seminar was organized in which each group presented

their understanding of one specific topic. The teacher duplicated

their understanding with cross questions and additional

information.

Data Source:

Data was obtained in two forms. First of all the observational data in the form of journal writing

by the teacher and the student for the four days intervention was compiled. Second source of data

was obtained in the form of student feedback on a five point rating scale comprising 20 items with

the options of ‘strongly agree’ to and ‘strongly disagree’ against each item. The scale thus

presented a minimum possible score of 20 and the maximum possible score of 10. The scoring

was such that the lower the score the more positive is the students’ acceptance of the intervention.

Scores were interpreted as follows:20-36=Strongly positive acceptance; 36-52= Negative

acceptance; 52-48=Neutral; 68-84= Negative acceptance; >84 = Highly negative acceptance.

Third, an open ended question was appended to the scale for obtaining students specific

remarks in form of both the merits and demerits of the intervention. likert scale had a maximum

possible score of 100 and a minimum possible score of 20.

Findings

The data collection included three different data sources as is the ritual in action research

process. Accordingly the findings of the three data source analysis is presented.

➢ The observation data revealed that the students were engaged actively in the

process. They were found discussing, using the internet. Students looked quite

curious, enthusiastic in the activity. On the 2nd

day, some students were also

spotted with books or xerox content matter in the classroom to assist in their



discussions. The student seminar went quite well. Students presented the topic well

with keen interest, answered the questions at the end of their presentation and

looked quite satisfied in the whole activity. The observation data revealed the co-

operative learning was being accepted by the students and it was able to enrich

their effort to construct knowledge for themselves.

➢ The mean score for the students (n=30) who returned the completed questionnaire

was 36 that was found to be average rating of 30 students who responded on the

Likert Scale turned out to be 36 with a SD of 7.75. Thus assuming normalcy of

data it could be claimed that majority of the students (two third) scored between 23

and 43 which is well below the mid scale score of 60 and the neutral range of 48-

52. Thus the intervention was positively accepted by the students based on their

own rating of the intervention.

● Thirteen of the thirty students completed the open ended question appended to the scale. It

was content analyzed to find that

➔ Ten (10) of the thirteen students gave positive comments and the remaining three

(03) responded negatively.

➔ Of these ten positively responding students, three (03) students appreciated the

experience of working in a team, with one (01) student specifically pointing out



the benefit of the active energy of the team work among the participants. Five of

them (05) considered the intervention program as able to lead the students to a

better understanding and expression of the topic. Four students viewed the

intervention as an innovative approach in teaching. Five (05) students commented

the whole experience as good while four (04) of them agreed that the experience

should be repeated at least once in each semester in each course.

➔ On the negative side, two (02) students referred to it as “time consuming” while

one (01) student remarked that a few students of the team were lethargic or neutral

regarding the activity.

The summary of this section is presented in Table 1:

Table 1: Summary of the Students Remarks on the Instructional

Intervention

Remarks Specific Remarks n

Positive Remark (n = 10)

Appreciation of Team Work 03

Innovative Instructional

Approach

04

Good Experience 05

Need to repeat 04

Learning Enrichment 05

Negative remark (n=03)

Time Consuming Intervention 02

Inactive Group Members 01

Reflections:

Every way of doing things has their ups and downs. Reflection helps to identify them explicitly.

The research team found the evidence convincing to accept the action hypothesis. acceptance of



the action hypothesis in turn leads to the acceptance of the intervention as a successful one and

hence its inclusion in the repertoire of instructional activities to be repeated again. The three data

sources converged on the acknowledgement of the intervention as a success.

The entire inquiry was judged to be practically relevant as well as fruitful for both the

teacher as well as the students. WHile the author enriched himself professionally by developing

an insight into the pedagogical shift in terms of the hassles faced in implementing the shift, the

means to overcome them in his own teaching context and the way it materializes in the author’s

professional context. The students were enriched by the opportunity provided to them for self

learning and developing a sense of accountability and ownership of their own learning.

However, there were certain pitfalls as well that need to be addressed and such pitfalls are

not a disadvantage in action research. it paves the way for further improvement and further

enrichments, in accordance to the cyclic nature of action research. Particularly, there is need to

create some mechanism so that the irregular students during the sessions could be regularized and

even the few inactive students could be streamlined in accordance to the group behavior. The

experience was found to be encouraging and it establishes a context specific change in instruction

for betterment of the students. These reflections are food for thought and should be incorporated

in the next cycle of action research.

Acknowledgement: The action researcher was assisted by his research scholar Mrs. Jaya Mookherjee,

SRF at Faculty of Education, BHU

References:

Johnson, D. W. & Johnson, R. (2000). Teaching students to be peacemakers: Results of twelve

years of research, http://www.clcrc.com/pages/Meta-Analysis Of Peacemaker Studies.htm

Keemis, S. & McTaggart, R. (2000). Participatory Action Research. In N, K. Denzin, & Y. S.

Lincoln(Eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research, pp.567-607, Thousand Oaks, CA Sage.

Slavin, R.E. (1996). Cooperative learning in middle and secondary schools. The Clearing House,

69(4), p. 200

Tripathy, H.H. (2004). Cooperative Learning: A strategy for teaching science. Indian Journal of

Psychometry and Education, 35(1), 3-8.

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