Course 521 Assignment

PDPET (DElEd Bridge Course), NIOS,                                                                 ~  Vijay Singh Rajput

Course 521 Assignment I

1. What are the constitutional provisions for Elementary Education in India? Do you think these are being utilised in today’s education? Explain with reasons.

There are several provisions for elementary education in the constitution of India.

It is clearly directed in Article 45 that free and compulsory elementary education is to be provided to all children under the age of 14 years and it is the joint responsibility of the centre and the states.

Article 30 lays down that all religious and linguistic minorities have a right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice and that no discrimination shall be done against them by the government.

Article 15 allows the state to make special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes.

Under Article 46, the central government is responsible for the economic and educational development of the SC and ST.

Article 29 (1) provides that no citizen shall be denied admission into any government educational institution on grounds of religion, race, caste or language.

Article 350 (A) directs the government to provide education to the children in their mother tongue.

Article 51 A (k) states that it is the duty of parents or guardians to provide elementary education to their child or ward between 6 and 14 years of age.

There is no doubt that these provisions of the constitution are been being utilised in today’s education. It is because of these provisions that the governments have launched several school based programmes for the development of education in India and to achieve the goal of universalisation of elementary education. Some of such programmes are Operation Blackboard, District Primary Education Programme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, KGBV, Mid Day Meal, Right to Education Act, 2009 etc. Because of these the total enrolment ratio of students of all classes and genders and their mean achievement score is increasing every year. Though there is still much to achieve further.  

2. What are the major expectations of RTE Act, 2009? Do you feel that these are being fulfilled? Discuss with reasons.

The major expectations of the RTE Act, 2009 are as listed below:

1. It will ensure free & compulsory education to all children within the age group of 6 to 14. It includes free books and stationery.
2. There will be no school fees, capitation fees, charges or expenses
3. Remedial teaching will be provided to the children who did not study earlier or if they fail an examination. All the students will complete their elementary education successfully.
4. Government will provide a school within 1 km walking distance for children in classes I to V and within 3 km for those in classes VI to VIII. These schools are termed as ‘neighbourhood schools’.
5. 25 percent of the seats in private schools will be reserved for RTE students.
6. There will be enough number of teaching staff and headmaster in schools and the quality of education will improve through continuous studies.
7. The school will ensure all round development of the child and practice inclusion without denying admission to any child on any grounds.

I think all of these expectations are being fulfilled to a large extent. It is because of the RTE Act that a majority of the young children have got enrolled in a neighbourhood school. Enrolment of the boys and girls alike is increasing year after year.

Number of Out-of-school children has declined considerably. Every year about 3 percent of Out-of-school children are decreasing.

The educational level of children is improving due to better quality of education being provided.

In spite of all these progresses, there are still some classes of people who are out of the reach of the benefits of the RTE Act.

3. Present a flow diagram of current status of Elementary Education in your state showings:

No. of school, infrastructure, Teacher’s No. student enrolment, dropout, retention and transition rates, achievement levels & pupil teacher ratio; on the basis of the above data draw your conclusions.

Status of Elementary Education in Rajasthan

                                      

No. of Schools (Elementary):  1,05,436

         

Student Enrolment 1,21,52,105

No. Of Teachers 6,62,891

Infrastructure Schools Approachable by All Weather Road: 80.20 % Schools with Playground Facility: 53.60 % Schools with Girls' Toilet: 99.00 % Schools with Boys' Toilet: 99.30 % Schools with Drinking Water: 97.50 % Schools with Midday Meal: 97.80 % Schools with Electricity: 58.30 % Schools with Computer: 32.00 % Schools with Ramp: 30.30 %

                                                                                          

	Dropout: 12.02 % after Class 1                 7.78 % after Class 5                 5.86% after Class 8 Retention: 0.97 % in Class 1                   0.62 % in Class 5                   0.42 % in Class 8 Transition rate: Pri to UP: 91.60 % Pupil Teacher ratio: 18

 

                                             

Conclusion:

There are 1,05,436 elementary schools in Rajasthan. Out of that 19.80 % i.e. 20876 schools are located at a hard to reach place where they are not linked with a proper road. Only about half the schools have playground facility. That is, children in many schools do not get facility to play games in school. Almost all the schools have separate boys’ and girls’ toilets. Approximately 2635 schools have difficulty in providing drinking water to the students. This can make their stay at school difficult and adversely affect their learning outcome. And about an equal number schools are not able to provide their students midday meal which is very necessary for the proper health of the students. 43966 schools do not have electricity supply. This too can adversely affect the education of the students. Because without electricity, computers and other modern gadgets cannot be used. In this age of digitalisation and internet, only 32 % of the schools have computers. Only 30.30 % of the schools have ramp for the disabled students. This means that most of the schools do not have proper facilities for the children with special needs. Dropout ratio after Class 5 is 7.78 % and the retention rate is 0.62 %. More than 91 % students from Class 5 continue their education to upper primary section. Pupil teacher ratio is 18:1 which seems quite comfortable.

Course 521 Assignment II

What is the emerging role of teachers in the present educational scenario in India? What will you do for quality assurance in the classroom? Discuss with examples.

The world has changed too much, so it is very important for the teachers to change themselves and bring innovations in their teaching methods as per the current need of the

society to maximise the outcome of teaching efforts. Technology can help teachers to make their teaching more appropriate and their assessment more accurate. The education system has changed completely. The teacher needs to be creative, innovative and a talented guide.

First and foremost role of the teacher is to construct knowledge and improve the personality of students. A teacher has to play many roles such as:

Facilitator: Though a teacher may be a source of all knowledge for the students, yet he has to impart that knowledge through a self motivation, self help basis on the part of the students. So he has to be a facilitator for learning instead of being a ready reference for the students. The teacher has to motivate and encourage them to discuss their view point so that the teaching process is meaningful.

Researcher: The teacher faces challenges during teaching to provide an effective learning environment for all the students in the classroom. He has to overcome them to improve his professional practice. The approach of action research is to encourage the teachers, administrator and other practitioners to do research in order to improve them

Leader: A teacher must necessarily be a good leader. He has to monitor the system, plan, organise and lead the activities in the classroom and outside. A teacher is a great inspiration for his students. He has to generate interest in the studies. A teacher therefore has to see himself as a leader and lead his students for the excellence in the learning process.

Reflective Practitioner:  A teacher has a professional responsibility to be reflective and evaluative about their practice. As a result of the reflection they can decide to do something in a different way, or they may just decide that what they are doing is the best way.

I will do the following for quality assurance in my classroom:

·         I will try to provide learner friendly classroom infrastructure with inclusive psycho-social environment and equal opportunities to all learners. For example, I will motivate children of marginalised sections and weak students to learn well.

·         I will ensure that quality content is provided to the students for learning. For example, I will provide them a good quality text or audio-video for better understanding of concepts.

·         I will provide student-centred curriculum which is planned around child’s experiences. I will give due preference to child’s perception and vision while organizing teaching learning in classroom.

·         There will be opportunities to construct knowledge as children learn from their own interpretation and experiences. For example, instead of solving their problems, I will help them to learn how to solve them by themselves.

·         Assessments in my classroom will be diverse and flexible. I will use a variety of techniques for a assessments so that Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) is implemented in its true spirit.

·         I will maintain a congenial teacher-student relationship in classroom to ensure quality learning. I will act as a facilitator, mentor and guide.

Course 522 Assignment

PDPET (DElEd Bridge Course), NIOS,                                                                 ~  Vijay Singh Rajput

Course 522 Assignment I

1. Explain the various changes in early childhood and later childhood. Discuss the role of family, neighbourhood, school and teacher in the all round development of a child.

Changes in Early Childhood:

·         Physical development- There is change in body shape, weight, teeth, musical development etc.

·         Language Development: At this stage, child is eager to learn to speak.

·         Emotional development: Some emotions like anger, fear, jealousy, curiosity, happiness, sadness, love, affection etc.

·         Social Development: At this stage, the child wants to establish social contacts. They learn to befriend children of their age.

·         Mental and Emotional Development: In early childhood, fast mental development can be seen in children and their cognitive ability also increases.

Changes in Later Childhood:

·         Physical Development- The height and weight of children increases further every year.

·         Language Development – At this stage, language development is fast. Vocabulary building occurs at this stage.

·         Emotional Development – Their emotional level becomes complex.

·         Social Development –Child loves to be a part of group and this leads to socialization. He learns many things from this group stage.

·         Mental and Emotional Development: 90% of mental development is complete at this stage. He can clearly distinguish between things and extract meaning in new ways.

The Role of Family, Neighbourhood, School and Teacher:

1. At childhood stage, the child is curious to know many things, therefore the family members, neighbours and teachers should try to answer these questions with patience.

2. They should give attention to language development in childhood by speaking with them and helping them in reading.

3. Child should be dealt with and taught with love, affection, sympathy and support instead of physical punishment.  

4. They should give them opportunities for group activities, game, cultural programme, drama, art and other competitions.

5. Childhood stage is a wonderful period of emotional development therefore family members and neighbour should provide suitable environment and opportunity to freely express their emotions.

6. Teachers should teach using methods according to the interest of children; so that they can study it with interest and concentration.

7. From time to time, parent teacher meetings should be organized. They should discuss the general and specific problems of their children.

8. The family and neighbours should behave in such a manner which can inculcate social qualities and develop them.

9. Parents and teachers should allot work to children according to the level of their intelligence. The child should be praised for any accomplishment or achievement by both parents and teachers. By doing, child develops confidence.

10. For special children, a suitable and entertaining curriculum should be developed according to their mental level.

11. School should arrange and invite language experts and others to volunteer for the betterment of students.

12. Parents should not discriminate between boy and girl and both should be given equal opportunity in all fields.

2. Discuss various developmental changes during adolescent stage and the problems faced by adolescents.

Developmental Changes during Adolescent Stage:

Cognitive Development: As the brain gets fully developed in them, there is rapid growth in intellectual activities like language skills, thinking, reasoning, concepts, analysis, synthesis etc. During the time of adolescence, child’s mental faculties are developed and matured.

Emotional Development: Both feeling and emotions are affective experiences. Emotions also bring physiological changes. Some of the changes which express themselves as overt behaviour are easily observable. The emotional development is due to both maturation and learning.

Social Development: There is a remarkable change in the way they interact and communicate with others. Many different factors affect social development during this phase that includes personal and environmental factors. Personal factors include bodily structure, health, intelligence, etc and environmental factors include family atmosphere of the child, school atmosphere, peer group and neighbourhood etc.

Problems Faced by Adolescents:

·         Adjustment problem because of physical, intellectual, emotional, social and moral aspects of development.

·         At this age boys and girls are too much concerned about their appearances.

·         Infatuation towards opposite sex is normal but the consequences may become problem.

·         Peer pressure and in order to accommodate oneself in a group leads to many vices and bad habits.

·         Feeling of anger or dissatisfaction for conservative society.

·         Too many ethical values sometimes develop feeling of revolt.

·         Emotional turbulence, aggression, hostility are often seen.

·         Struggle for identity and individuality in class, home and society.

·         Adamant to prove one’s point rational.

·         Have egocentricism i.e. tries to be centre of attraction.

·         Delinquency is seen wherein they show acts of vandalism

·         Emotional turmoil like tension, frustration, impatience etc. is seen.

3. What is the need of child rights? Describe various policies and legislations in this context in India.

In India, the responsibility for care and protection of children lies with the parents. The society has been providing welfare measures to the children. It is a need based approach to care of children and not rights based approach. Children in most sections of the Indian society are traditionally and conventionally not consulted in matters and decision affecting their lives. However, the intention is not to harm or oppress or hunt them. Culturally, children’s opinions are not heard or given importance.

In the twentieth century the concept of Child Rights emerged and the focus shifted from welfare to rights based approach and this is evolving with time and is mainly concerned with issues of social justice, non discrimination, equity and empowerment.

National Policies and Legislations:

(a) National Policies:

·         National Policy of Children 2013

It aims to safeguard, inform, include, support and empower all children within its territory and jurisdiction, both in their individual situation and as a national asset.

·         National Policy on Education,1986

The policy covers education from elementary education level to colleges in both rural and urban India.

·         National Policy on Child Labour, 1987

This Policy seeks to adopt a gradual and sequential approach with a focus on rehabilitation of children working in hazardous occupations and to eliminate child labour from India.

 Some of the other policies are National Nutrition Policy, 1993, National Policy on Health, 2002, National Charter for Children, 2004 and National Plan of Action for Children, 2005

These policies aim at ensuring all rights to children up to the age of 18 years.

(b) National legislations

·         Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994

This is an Act for the regulation of the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purpose of detecting genetic or metabolic disorders and to prevent sex determination leading to female foeticide.

·         Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000

It provides for proper care, protection and treatment of children in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection by catering to their development needs.

·         Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986

This Act was formulated to eliminate child labour and provides for punishments and penalties for employing children below the age of 14 years in various hazardous occupations and processes.

Some of the other legislations include the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006; Commissions for the Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005; Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 and the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act, 2012.

These legislations also aim at ensuring all rights to children up to the age of 18 years.

Course 522 Assignment II

What are the religious, cultural and social dimensions of learning? As a teacher, how will you use these for making conducive learning environment? Explain on the basis of your own classroom experiences.

Indian society comprises of people of different cultural and religious sects and they live together. Even within the same religion and culture there are different practices and beliefs. This diversity of pupils has great influence on the child learning. Every child belongs to a certain faith and culture and has values, beliefs, notions about acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and other socially constructed ideas. These are part of the socialization process of the child. Learning is embedded in culture, religion and social interactions. For example suppose a child of tribal society is part of the classroom. He will not only help the other child to assimilate the knowledge about the tribal world but he also will learn from other children. Learning of this kind allows social interactions, and respects for diversity encourage flexible thinking and social competence. In interactive and collaborative instructional contexts, individuals have an opportunity for perspective taking and reflective thinking that may lead to higher levels of cognitive, social and moral development. Social-cultural theory of learning explains how socio-culture has role to play in learning process.

Not only does our mental activity determine the nature of our social world, but this world of human relationships and artefacts also determines to a large extent how we regulate our mental processes.

Learning is developed through social interaction with more knowledgeable or more proficient others. This social process of interaction (through language, as well as other systems and tools such as gestures, narratives, technologies) mediates the construction of knowledge and leads to the individual’s development of a framework for making sense of experience that is congruent with the cultural system in which the child and learning are located. It is through this social and cultural process that students are socialized to act, communicate and ‘be’ in ways that are culturally appropriate to the groups in which they participate as members, and through which identities are formed. Focusing on the cultural dimension of learning Gee highlighted:

Socio-cultural approach places a premium on child’s experiences, social participation, use of mediating devices (tools and technologies), and position within various activity systems and communities of practice.  A socio-cultural perspective amounts to an argument that students learn new academic ‘cultures’ at school (new ways of acting, interacting, valuing and using language, objects and tools) and, as in the case of acquiring any new culture, the acquisition

of these new cultures interacts formidably with child’s initial cultures.

As a teacher, I can use these for making conducive learning environment in my classroom. For example, while teaching a chapter which has characters and practices of certain minority religion, for example, Muslim religion, I can discuss them with children from Muslim families. The children themselves will also discuss them with them.  

Similarly, while teaching about hygiene and medical procedures, children of medico families can help us to discuss about such topics since they are taught such things in their families by their parents. Students from villages or from ordinary families can benefit from such discussions.

In the same way, children speaking different regional languages like Gujarati, Malayalam etc and children following different cultures can help the other children learn more about them in the classroom and outside.