Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Ph.D

Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Former Principal

K.L.D.A.V(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

The aim of higher learning is to develop the capacity to respect the ideas and feelings of others; healthy criticism, appreciation, and present own ideas and seek clarification. The learner should be able to present his own views on the theme. His potentialities can only be developed by employing higher technique of teaching and instruction at higher level. A workshop is one of the main techniques used for higher learning.

There are significant differences in the teaching methodologies employed by educators in various disciplines. This method relies heavily on the involvement of the learner in formulating or constructing knowledge through hands-on, small-group and individual explorations, using concrete objects or technology.

Teaching method is defined as a learning outcome oriented set of activities to be performed by learners and learning supporters. Teaching methods are related to learning patterns, learning designs, and pedagogical scenarios, which represent similar concepts that other projects are working on. Within teaching methods, proven approaches/ techniques to teaching are captured so that other educators may (re)use these successful approaches in their own teaching. Teaching method is the set of elements that are external to and give meaning to a teaching pedagogy. For instance, subject domain or target groups are elements of the teaching method context.

The workshop explicitly focuses on the context because the successful implementation of generically described teaching methods in units of learning heavily depends on the context

Workshop is defined as assembled group of ten to twenty five persons who share a common interest or problem. They meet together to improve their individual skill of a subject through intensive study, research, practice and discussion

Teaching is a continuum from conditioning to indoctrination and training is also inclusive in it. The new innovations and practices of education are introduced by organizing workshop in which persons are trained to use new practices in their teaching learning process. The workshops are organized to develop the psychomotor aspects of the learner regarding practices of new innovations in area of education. Participants are expected   to do some practical work to produce instructional teaching and testing material.

The term workshop has been borrowed from engineering… In these workshops persons have to do some task with their hand to produce something. Question Bank Workshops are organized in education to prepare questions on the subject. The designers are given knowledge and training for preparing questions in the workshop.

Objectives of Workshop

Cognitive Objectives.

The workshop is organized to achieve the following cognitive objectives:

(i) To solve the problem in teaching profession.

(ii) To provide the philosophical and sociological background for instructional and teaching situation.

(iii) To identify the educational objectives in the present context.

(iv) To develop an understanding regarding the use of a theme and problem.

Psychomotor Objectives.

The following objectives are achieved by this method under psychomotor domain:

(i) To develop the proficiency for planning and organizing teaching and instructional activities.

(ii) To develop the skills to perform a task independently.

(iii) To determine and use of teaching strategies effectively.

(iv) To train the persons for using different approaches of teaching.

Generally objective related with Affective domain are not supposed to be achieved through Work shop.

Functions of workshop

The workshop takes a closer look at the factors that influence the successful adaptation of teaching technique to create specific learning arrangements. The “context” created by the specific learning situation is seen as the defining influence of teaching method selection and adaptation. Workshop participants will use generically described teaching method for (supposed) application to a specific learning/teaching situation. The workshop will look at the triangle built by the three concepts teaching method, unit of learning, and context with the goal to determine the relevant elements that influence the (successful) adaptation of teaching methods to a specific context in order to create a unit of learning that is targeted towards a specific implementation. The workshop’s goal is to work out a practitioner-oriented set of elements that make up the context of teaching methods as well as the barriers and uncertainties that arise when using generic teaching methods.

1. The workshop method is used to seek, explore and identify the solutions to a problem; to permit the extensive study of a situation, its background and its social and philosophical implications.

2. It is used for teachers for giving awareness and training of new practices and innovation in Education.

3. It provides an opportunity to prepare specific professional, vocational or community, service functions. A high degree of individual participation is encouraged. It permits group determination of goal and method.

Procedure of Workshop Method

There’s no doubt that planning a workshop is a lot of work. But if enough time is spent in thinking through the details, everyone will get full value from the event.

The workshop will mainly incorporate interactive elements. To kick-off the workshop, the organizers will shortly outline the strengths and weaknesses of generic teaching method descriptions, and show the importance of providing context information to facilitate real implementation. After the introduction, the participants will split up into groups and take an example generic teaching method, which they will exemplarily adapt to a supposed teaching context. While going through this process, the participants will identify and record context elements that they find relevant as well as questions that arise. Each group will agree among the group members what context elements represent the core when adapting teaching methods.

The workshop’s goal should be at the center of all planning. Creative exercises will get everyone relaxed and involved, and don’t forget to follow up afterward: Although it can be scary to hear what people really thought of all the hard work, it’s the only way to improve the future event.

The organization of the workshop can be divided in two phases;

Pre- active phase and Active phase.

The Pre-active phase

Follow these steps to make workshop a valuable experience:

Step 1: Define the Goals

Every workshop must have a goal. Many workshops are a waste of time because there’s no clear goal kept at the center of the discussion. Without the clear goal, there’s really no point in getting people together.

Step 2: Decide the Target Group

Knowing who will participate directly relates to the objective .Make a list of people who needs to be there. Try to be as specific as possible, but leave a few openings for last-minute additions.

The target audience for the workshop includes instructors and instructional designers interested in the application of proven teaching methods, learning patterns, or pedagogical scenarios. The target group benefits from this workshop by gaining experience in exemplary transferring a generic teaching method to a unit of learning, and by identifying what relevant context elements reinforce this process. The participants’ awareness of needed elements is thus sharpened and ability to use generic teaching methods in future applications is enhanced. Furthermore, participants will support the scientific understanding of the context of teaching methods through the contribution of their own teaching and learning design experience. Participants are expected to contribute actively to the workshop. Participants do not have to write an article for this workshop. It is expected that workshop participants contribute actively to the workshop’s discussions and tasks.

Step 3: Select the Right Location

Think about the logistics and practical details of the workshop for the selection of the location. Make sure that everyone be able to see the visual aids. If a certain technology, like teleconferencing is used, see will the location support it? Also make sure about the appropriate facilities for breakout sessions. Will everyone be able to reach the venue? Will there is a need to organize accommodation for people who are coming from a long way away? And what catering facilities does the venue provide?

Step 4: Prepare an Agenda

As the primary objective is decided and who will participate is confirmed, start to develop an outline of how to achieve the workshop’s goal.

• Main points – Create a list of main points to discuss, and then break down each larger point into details
• Visual aids – List the visual aids, if any, to be used for each point. If need technical support provide expert help, this helps the people to determine where they need to focus their efforts.
• Discussions and activities – Take time to list exactly which group discussions and activities will be used at which point, in the workshop. How much time will be allowed for each exercise? Make sure the activities are appropriate for the size of the group, and ensure that the venue has the resources (for example, seminar rooms) needed to run sessions.

Remember, the more detailed the plan be, more the workshop will run to                                schedule – and be successful.

Step 5: Develop a Follow-up Plan

The only way to find out if the workshop was a success is to have an effective follow-up plan. Create a questionnaire to give to all participants at the end of the event, and give them plenty of opportunity to share their opinions on how well it went.  It’s the only way to learn – and improve – for the next time.

It’s also important to have a plan to communicate the decisions that were reached during the workshop. Plan to send out a mass email to everyone with the details. Plan to put it on your college internet. People need to know that their hard work actually resulted in a decision or action, so plan to keep them informed about what’s happening after the workshop has ended.

The Active phase

Generally workshops are organized for three to ten days. In special cases the period of workshop may be extended. It depends on the nature of task assigned to the workshop participants. It can be organized in three stages:

First Stage.

Presentation of the theme for providing awareness. resource persons or experts are invited to provide the awareness and understanding of the topic. Paper reading is done to discuss the different aspects of the theme. The trainees or participants are given opportunities to seek clarification. The experts provide the suitable illustration and steps for using it in classroom teaching or education. . In the first stage theoretical background is provided to the participants.

Second stage.

Practice the method for its applicability. In the second stage the group is divided into small groups e.g., a workshop for lesson planning or writing objectives in behavioral term or a Question Bank workshop. The groups are formed on the basis of subjects (Language, Science, Math’s, Social Studies). A resource person or expert is assigned to provide the guidance for the work to be performed. The expert provides guidance and supervises the work of each trainee of his group. Every participant has to work individually and independently. Every trainee has to complete has task within the given period. At the end they meet in their groups and discuss and present their task to be completed.

Third Stage.

At the round-up of the workshop A representative of each group will then be asked to present the findings. Following all groups’ presentations, workshop participants discuss the findings, conceivably adding or eliminating elements. The result of this first phase will be an unordered set of context elements accumulated from all workshop groups as well as questions that remain unresolved.

In a second stage, the participants are required to elaborate a meaningful ordering scheme for the thus far collected context elements. This is achieved by illustrating an example for each context element that is derived from teaching practice. The groups then prioritize the context elements, assigning, for instance, first and second priorities based on teaching requirements. The groups will also each choose one of the unresolved questions, which they will discuss in further detail. This discussion serves to either provide a solution to the question, or to provide a more detailed description of what makes up the problem. Outcomes of this group work are again presented to the workshop auditorium. Comparative discussion can take place to arrive at a final result for the context elements of teaching methods.

The round-up  will be a reflective discussion with all workshop participants, where the experience of using teaching methods is put into personal perspective, e.g. what value participants see in the use of teaching methods, or what elements regarding the context cause uncertainties with participants.

Evaluate the material prepared by the participants as follow up. As this groups meet at one place and present their reports of work done at second stage. The participants are given opportunists to comment and give suggestions of different aspects of the reports; Formalities are observed at the end of the workshop.

Follow up:

A follow up is an important part of a good workshop. The effectiveness of a workshop is ascertained by an objective follow up. The trainees are asked to continue their task and examine its work ability and usability in their institutions. Participants will take away from the workshop a set of structured teaching methods for use in their own teaching, as well as the ability to adapt a teaching method to their teaching context. This includes a refined understanding and awareness of the elements that play a defining role when performing this task.

The workshop will provide a set of practitioner-defined context elements for generic teaching methods that are prioritized and illustrated in examples. Last but not least, problems of generic teaching method use are collected. These inputs will be used to further refine the research on optimizing the provision and use of teaching methods.

The participants are invited to meet again and present their institutions feedback. The participants are invited to meet again and present their experiences regarding applicability of the topic or new practices. They may give some practical suggestion in this context. A report of the workshop is prepared.

Suggested Areas of Education for Workshop Method

• New format of lesson planning.
• Writing objective in behavioral terms.
• Preparing objective type tests which are objective centered.
• Action research projects for classroom problems.
• Preparing instructional material or teaching model.
• Workshop on Micro teaching.
• Workshop on Interaction analysis technique.
• Workshop on test construction.
• Workshop on preparing research synopsis or proposals.
• Workshop on non formal education.
• Workshop on designing course for teacher education.

Roles in Workshop Method

Role of Organizer of the Workshop Technique. The program   and schedule is prepared by the organizer. He has to arrange for boarding and lodging facilities for participants as well as for the experts.

Role of Convener in First Stage. At first stage of the workshop, the theoretical aspects are discussed by the experts on the theme of the workshop. Therefore, a convener is nominated or invited who is well acquaint with the theme or the workshop. He has to conduct workshop at this stage and he has to observe the formalities and key note of the workshop.

Role of Experts or Resource persons. In organizing a workshop, resources persons play an important role in providing theoretical and practical aspects of the theme. They provide guidance to participants at every stage and train them to perform the task effectively

Role of Participants or Trainees. The participants should be keen or interested in the theme of the workshop. At the first stage, they have to acquire understanding of the theme. At second stage, they have to practice and perform the task with great interest and seek proper guidance from the experts. They should try to carry the concept to their classroom to evaluate its workability in actual situation. They effectiveness of any workshop technique depends upon the involvement of the participants in the task.

Overall Workshop Tips-

Here are some more ideas for running a successful workshop

• Ø Getting everyone involved is the key to a successful workshop. If one stands up and talks for three hours, he is just giving a lecture – not facilitating a workshop. Everyone needs to participate

• Ø Many people are nervous about speaking up in an unfamiliar group.  Plan group exercises; keep the size of each group small, so people are more comfortable in talking and interacting.

• Ø Determine how to record the ideas from each group.

• Ø Remember; spend as much time as possible in creating fun and interest in group exercises. These will likely keep everyone interested and participating.

• Ø Start the meeting with a few icebreakers to get everyone relaxed and comfortable.

• Ø If the workshop’s goal is to address a difficult or sensitive topic, It is especially important to get the group comfortable before starting. One way is to tell a story that’s loosely related to the topic before beginning discussion on the difficult issue.

• Ø Sometimes, not everyone has to stay for the entire workshop… Identify which sections the busiest participants need to attend, and suggest in advance when they might want to arrive and leave. They’ll appreciate this consideration.

• Ø Where possible, avoid holding the workshop after lunch, between 2:00 and 3:00 in the afternoon. For many people, this is their slowest, most unproductive time of day. The group will probably be more energetic if schedule the event in the morning or late afternoon. (If the workshop in the early afternoon makes sure there’s plenty of strong coffee is available)

Advantages of Workshop Method

• It can be use to realize the higher cognitive and psychomotor objectives. The workshop method enables the learner to explore or master relatively abstract ideas by first encountering them in concrete, physical embodiments, then as pictorial representations, and finally in symbolic (letter, number, sentence) form…
• It can be effectively used for developing understanding and proficiency for the approaches and practices in education.  It is used for developing and improving professional efficiency.  The teaching proficiency can be developed by using it.
• It provides the opportunities and situations to develop the individual capacities of a teacher.
• .The workshop method enables instructors to function as the “guide on the side,” rather than as a “sage on the stage.”  Those using the workshop method do not focus on telling students information.  Instead, they essentially create learning experiences that guide, direct, and facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge by the learner
• It develops the feeling cooperation and group work or team work. . The workshop method helps the instructor create an environment in which the learner is more likely to be involved and motivated. The workshop method focuses on participatory, hands-on learning; small-group activity and problem solving; pair and small-group discussions; etc. As a result, because of the “active” rather than “passive” nature of the experience, larger numbers of learners are motivated to participate and learn.
• It provides the situation to study the vocational problems.
• It introduces new practices and innovations in Education.

Limitations of Workshop Method

• Workshops in education are usually seminar cum workshop on any theme of problem.
• The teachers do not take interest to understand and use the new practices in their classrooms.
• The workshop cannot be organized for large group so that large number of persons is not trained.
• Participants do not take interest in practical work or to do something in productive form.
• Generally follow up are not organized in workshop technique.
• It requires a lot of time for participant and staff.
• A large number of staff members are needed to handle participation.
• It demands special facilities or materials.

Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Former Principal

K.L.D.A.V(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

O you shaggy-headed banyan tree standing on the bank of the pond,

“From the solemn gloom of the temple children run out to sit in the dust, God watches them and forget the priest”   – R.N.Tagore

Rabindra Nath Tagore was an icon of Indian culture. He was a poet, philosopher, musician, writer, and educationist. Rabindra Nath Tagore became the first Asian to become Nobel laureate when he won Nobel Prize for his collection of poems, Gitanjali, in 1913. He was popularly called as Gurudev and his songs were popularly known as Rabindra Sangeet. Two songs from his Rabindra Sangit canon are now the national anthems of India and Bangladesh: the Jana Gana Mana and the Amar Shonar Bangla.

Rabindra Nath in general, envisioned an education that was deeply rooted in one’s immediate surroundings He felt that a curriculum should revolve organically around nature with classes held in the open air under the trees to provide for a spontaneous appreciation of the fluidity of the plant and animal kingdoms, and seasonal changes. Children sat on hand-woven mats beneath the trees, which they were allowed to climb and run beneath between classes. Nature walks and excursions were a part of the curriculum and students were encouraged to follow the life cycles of insects, birds and plants. Class schedules were made flexible to allow for shifts in the weather or special attention to natural phenomena, and seasonal festivals were created for the children by Tagore.

Although there were times spent swimming in the Ganges River and hiking, Tagore’s childhood days were mostly confined to the family estate under the watchful eye of, sometimes abusive, servants. He rarely saw his father and his mother died when he was thirteen. After failing to flourish in the conventional school system, Rabindra Nath obtained his early education with tutors at home

His experiences at his childhood provided him with a lifelong conviction concerning the importance of freedom in education. He realized in a profound manner the necessity for an intimate relationship with one’s cultural and natural environment. In participating in the cosmopolitan activities of the family, he came to reject narrowness in general, and in particular, any form of narrowness that separated human being from human being. He saw education as a vehicle for appreciating the richest aspects of other cultures, while maintaining one’s own cultural specificity and uniqueness.

Acquisition of experience through freedom and joy being the essence of Tagore’s conception of an ideal education, naturally he was entirely opposed to any form of rigid and harsh discipline. He firmly believe that, the unrealistic curriculum and formalistic teaching methods rendered the prevailing system of education lifeless, the heartless and even brutal, and repulsive. Harsh discipline, Tagore pointed out, betrays a lack of insight on the part of the teacher into the delicate the intricate mechanism of the human mind. It is especially true in dealing with adolescence, which, being a transition period in the life of man, is marked by acute sensitiveness and self-consciousness. The atmosphere of rigid order and strict obedience enforces “a cruel slavery” and is “demoralizing” for children. “It exacts perfect obedience at the cost of individual responsibly and initiative of mind.” It kills “that sprit of liberty” “the spirit of adventure” which are essential for new experiences and fresh achievements. The suppression of the child’s natural impulses for physical activity and emotional experience leads to “all kinds of aberration and real wickedness”. Tagore stoutly proclaimed his utter distrust in external imposition of order and good behaviour and stated that the discipline of the army or the prison had no place in an educational institution. Rough discipline, Tagore contented, is not only demoralizing for children; it degrades the teacher also. The mute subjection of his pupils adds to his autocratic propensities. Moreover, their passive, silent contempt, which he himself provokes, hurts him secretly; and “none can discharge his duties in an atmosphere of contempt.” Tagore had very strong words to use for teachers who are addicted to repressive methods of dealing with children. They should better be jail-wardens or drill-sergeants, he said, rather than take the charge of bringing up students. He criticized “the inherent love of power” and “the lust for tyranny” of these “born tyrants” and stated emphatically that their misguided conduct “cause the greatest mischief possible in the human world.”

Tagore believes that “compulsion is not indeed the final appeal to man, but joy is. Any joy is everywhere; it is in the earth’s green covering of grass; in the blue serenity of the sky; in the reckless exuberance of spring; in the severe abstinence of grey winter; in the living flesh that animates our bodily frame; in the perfect poise of the human figure, noble and upright; in living; in the exercise of all our powers; in the acquisition of knowledge; in fighting evils; in dying for gains we never can share. Joy is there everywhere; it is superfluous, unnecessary; nay, it very often contradicts the most peremptory behests of necessity. It exists to show that the bonds of law can only be explained by love; they are like body and soul. Joy is the realization of the truth of oneness, the oneness of our soul with the world and of the world-soul with the supreme lover.”

Tagore’s faith in the principles of freedom and joy as the fundamental principles of life naturally inspired him to apply them as much to the problem of discipline as to other educational problems. The negation of freedom was, to his mind, the negation of life and growth. It obstructs the child’s natural urge for self-expression through body and mind, which is of vital significance for his physical and mental development.

Freedom of thought and expression, according to Tagore, is necessary for the children not only for their intellectual development and training of character, but also for a free and happy relationship with their teachers and other inmates of the institution, which cannot be achieved in an atmosphere of artificial restraint and unnatural reserve.

The degree of freedom that Tagore personally allowed in these respects, either in or outside the class or in the general life at the institution, is at times incredible. Instances are on record as to how he freely tolerated-nay, encouraged-even impertinent utterance in his classes which should very much annoy an average teacher. He even went to the extent of allowing his students openly and publicly to criticize the cherished fundamental ideals of the institution and proudly congratulating then as well as himself on their demonstration of courage and condors… “This Shantiniketan will fail” he declared on one such occasion, “if it fetters your minds or makes you fear….Today is the day of my victory, because my students have said today freely and bravely that I am hopelessly in the wrong. I do not admit that I am wrong, but I want you to have the courage to say so, if that is your conviction. May Shantiniketan always give you that freedom and courage.”

Tagore’s fervent, almost passionate, advocacy of the principle of freedom should not lead to the assumption that he was disposed to encourage unbridled license or attached little importance to disciplinary virtues. On the contrary, his writings are interspersed with numerous utterances upholding various ideals associated with a disciplined and well-integrated personality. According to him” The human soul is on its journey from the law to love, from discipline to liberation, from the moral plane to the spiritual. Buddha preached the discipline of self-restraint and moral life; it is a complete acceptance of law. But this bondage of law cannot be an end by itself; by mastering it thoroughly we acquire the means of getting beyond it. It is going back to Brahma, to the infinite love, which is manifesting itself through the finite forms of law.”.

On the seashore of endless worlds children meet.

The infinite sky is motionless overhead

And the restless water is boisterous.

On the seashore of endless worlds

The children meet with shouts and dances.

They build their houses with sand

And they play with empty shells.

With withered leaves they weave their boats

And smilingly float them on the vast deep.

Children have their play on the seashore of worlds.

They know not how to swim; they know not how to cast nets.

Pearl fishers dive for pearls, merchants sail in their ships,

While children gather pebbles and scatter them again.

They seek not for hidden treasures; they know not how to cast nets.

The sea surges up with laughter

And pale gleams the smile of the sea beach.

Death-dealing waves sing meaningless ballads to the children,

Even like a mother while rocking her baby’s cradle.

The sea plays with children,

And pale gleams the smile of the sea beach.

On the seashore of endless worlds children meet.

Tempest roams in the pathless sky,

Ships get wrecked in the trackless water,

Death is abroad and children play.

On the seashore of endless worlds is the

Great meeting of children.

Seashore – Rabindra Nath Tagore

Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Former Principal

K.L.D.A.V(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

“Om Asato maa sad-gamaya;        O Lord Lead me from the unreal to the real.

tamaso maa jyotir-ga-maya;           Lead me from the darkness to light.
mrtyor-maa amrutam gamaya.       Lead me from death to immortality.

Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih.  May there be peace, and perfect peace”

Swami Vivekananda strongly believe that a  nation is advanced in proportion as education and intelligence spread among the masses. The chief cause of India’s ruin has been the- monopolizing of the whole education and intelligence of the land among a handful of men. If we are to rise again, we shall have to do it by spreading education among the masses. The only service to be done for our lower classes is to give them education to develop their individuality. They are to be given ideas. Their eyes are to be opened to what is going on in the world around them, and then they will work out their own salvation.

Swamiji’s most unique contribution  for the creation of new India was to open the minds of Indians to their duty towords the downtrodden masses.  Long before the ideas of Karl Marx were known in India, Swamiji spoke about the role of the labouring classes in the production of the country’s wealth.  Swamiji was the first religious leader in India to speak for the welfare of  masses, formulate a definite philosophy of service, and organize large-scale social service

As a true patriot Swami Vivekananda  was too emotional about the condition of poor and down trodden masse of contemporary India, he once express his deep sorrow- My heart aches to think of the condition of the poor, the low in India. They sink lower each   day. They feel the blow  showered upon them by a cruel society, but they do not know when the blow comes. They have forgotten that they too are men. My heart is too full to express my feelings. So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who ,having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them. Our great national sin is the neglect of the masses and that is the cause of our downfall. No amount of politics would be of any avail until the masses in India are once more well educated, well fed and well cared for.

Vivekananda, however, was a genuine friend of the poor  and the weak, particularly the helpless masses of India, and he was the first Indian leader who sought a solution to their problems through education. He argued that a nation was advanced to the extent the education and culture reached the masses. Unless there is uniform circulation of national blood all over the body, the nation could not rise. He insisted that it was the duty of the upper classes, who had received their education at the expense of the poor, to come forward and uplift the poor through education and other means. In fact, the Swami’s mission was for the poor. He once said, ‘there must be equal chance for all – or if greater for some and for some less – the weaker should be given more chance than the strong’ .

Vivekananda felt that alienation of any kind from the masses of society, who are mostly poor – whether it be alienation through learning, through wealth or through force of arms – weakens the leadership of a country.

Therefore, for a sustainable regeneration of India, if not for anything else, top priority must be given to educating the masses and restoring to them their lost individuality. They should not only be given education to make them self-reliant, but also ideas, moral training and an understanding of their own historical situation so that they can work out their own salvation. Furthermore, they must be given culture, without which there can be no hope for their long-term progress

Vivekananda,  received from Ramakrishna an important teaching  that “Jiva is Shiva” (each individual is divinity itself). This became his Mantra, and he coined the concept of daridra narayana seva – the service of God in and through (poor) human beings. “If there truly is the unity of Brahman underlying all phenomena, then on what basis do we regard ourselves as better or worse, or even as better-off or worse-off, than others?” – This was the question he posed to himself. Ultimately, he concluded that these distinctions fade into nothingness in the light of the oneness that the devotee experiences in Moksha. What arises then is compassion for those “individuals” who remain unaware of this oneness and a determination to help them

Swami Vivekananda belonged to that branch of Vedanta that held that no one can be truly free until all of us are. Even the desire for personal salvation has to be given up, and only tireless work for the salvation of others is the true mark of the enlightened person. He founded the Sri Ramakrishna Math and Mission on the principle of Atmano Mokshartham Jagat-hitaya cha (आत्मनॊ मोक्षार्थम् जगद्धिताय च) (for one’s own salvation and for the welfare of the World).

Like Sri Ramakrishna  Vivekananda encourages  even those whom everyone  considered worthless and change the very course of their lives thereby ! He never destroyed a single man’s special inclinations. He gave words of hope and encouragement even to the most degraded of persons and lifted them up.

Vivekananda  considers Liberty is the first condition of growth.” Vivekanand once said “ It is wrong, a thousand times wrong, if any of us dares to say, ‘I will work out the salvation of this woman or child/Hands off! They will solve their own problems. Who are you to assume that you know everything ? How dare you think that you have the right over God? For, don’t you know that every soul is the Soul of God ? Look upon every one as God. You can only serve. Serve the children of the Lord if you have the privilege. If the Lord grants that you can help any one of His children, blessed you are. Blessed you are that that privilege was given to you when others had it not. Do it only as worship”

Vivekananda invites  , every man and every woman to work out their own salvation. According to him “ Give them ideas that is the only help they require and then the rest must follow as effect. Ours is to put the chemicals together, the crystallization comes in it is the law of nature”.

An ideal society, according to Vivekananda, should provide the resources as well as the opportunity for each of its members to develop his or her

potential to the maximum. Education must embrace the whole society, with special attention to those who are most in need of it and who, for one reason or another, are unable to avail themselves  the existing facilities

The education that does not help the common mass of people to equip themselves for the struggle for life ,which does not bring out strength of character, as spirit of philanthropy and the courage of a lion is it worth the name .

The trend in recent years has been to shift the responsibility for education from the family, religious institutions, private charities and so forth, to public authorities ,particularly the State. Yet, in spite of this shift to the State, education has hardly reached the most underprivileged. As they are often victims of malnutrition, poor hygienic conditions and overcrowded housing, they can hardly take advantage of any half hearted opportunity that is offered.

The right to education for everyone, guaranteed by the Constitution of India, was Vivekananda’s dream, but it is still a far cry from its goal. His idea of continual, or lifelong, education, however, has been adopted in many countries already. Moreover, because of the adoption of continuous education in these countries, our idea of what constitutes success and failure has altered, raising new hope for the weak, underprivileged section of these societies – the very people who for various reasons cannot complete their education when they are young. Vivekananda’s cry for the uplift ofthe downtrodden masses, particularly of the long-neglected women, has evoked a favorable response from different quarters, but societies tailor education to meet their own needs, thereby often robbing the weak of their freedom to determine their own destiny. Unless radical changes are made in all societies the poor will never be able to raise themselves. This was a major concern of the Swami.

It is remarkable the extent to which there are similarities between Vivekanada’s thoughts and actions taking place one century ago and the present concerns of UNESCO.

• His commitment towards universal values and tolerance, his active identification with humanity as a whole.

• The struggle in favor of the poor and destitute, to reduce poverty and to eliminate discrimination against women – reaching the unreached.

• His vision of education, science and culture as the essential instruments of human development.

• That education should be a lifelong process.

• And the need to move away from rote learning.

Himself a visionary and an original thinker, Vivekananda pointed out in his first public lecture in Asia, on 15 January 1897: ‘But education has yet to be in the world, and civilisation – civilisation has begun nowhere yet’ (CW, vol. III, p. 114). This is true. If we consider civilization to be the manifestation of the divine in human beings, as Vivekananda conceived it to be, no society has made much progress so far. This is why we find that mildness, gentleness, forbearance, tolerance, sympathy and so forth the signs of a healthy civilization – have not taken root in any society on an appreciable scale, although we prematurely boast of a global village. The lack of basic necessities among the underprivileged all over the world is no less striking than the lack of morality among the educated privileged ones. To squarely meet this great challenge, Vivekananda prescribed ‘man-making and character-building education’.

Vivekananda questions the lack of moral responsibility among the educated privileged ones .He ask the youth of contemporary India ‘.“Getting by heart the thoughts of others in a foreign language and stuffing your brain with them and taking some university degrees, education you consider yourself educated. Is this education ? What is the goal of your education ? Either a clerkship, or being a lawyer, or at the most a Deputy Magistrate, which is another form of clerkship isn’t that all ?What good will it do you or the country at large ?Open your eyes and see what a piteous cry for food is rising in the land of Bharata, proverbial for its food. Will your education fulfill this want ?

Vivekananda suggests the youth of India  “Only I want that numbers of our young men should pay a visit to Japan and China every year. Especially to the Japanese, India is still the dreamland of everything high and good. And you, what are you? … talking twaddle all your lives, vain talkers, what are you? Come, see these people, and then go and hide your faces in shame. A race of dotards, you lose your caste if you come out! Sitting down these hundreds of years with an ever-increasing load of crystallized superstition on your heads, for hundreds of years spending all your energy upon discussing the touchableness or untouchableness of this food or that, with all humanity crushed out of you by the continuous social tyranny of ages – what are you? And what are you doing now? … promenading the sea-shores with books in your hands – repeating undigested stray bits of European brainwork, and the whole soul bent upon getting a thirty rupee clerkship, or at best becoming a lawyer – the height of young India’s ambition – and every student with a whole brood of hungry children cackling at his heels and asking for bread! Is there not water enough in the sea to drown you, books, gowns, university diplomas, and all?

According to Swami Vivekananda ,Three things are necessary for great achievements. First, feel from the heart. What is in the intellect or reason ? It goes a few Requisites tor steps and there it stops. But through great achievements: Feeling, the heart comes inspiration. Love opens the most impossible gates. Feel, therefore, my would-be patriots. Do you feel ? Do you feel that millions and millions of the descendants of gods and of sages have become next-door neighbors to brutes ? Do you feel that millions are starving to-day, and millions have been starving for ages ? Do you feel that ignorance has come over the land as a dark cloud ? Does it make you restless ? Does it make you sleepless ? Has it gone into your blood, coursing through your veins, becoming consonant with your heart-beats ? Has it made you almost mad ? Are you seized with the one idea of the misery of ruin, and have you forgotten all about your name, your fame, your wives, your children, your property, even your own bodies ? Have you done that ? That is the very first step. You may feel then ; but instead of spending your energies in frothy talk, have you found any practical solution, to ‘the their miseries, to bring them out of this living death ? Yet that is not all. Have you got the will to surmount mountain-high obstructions ? If the whole world stands against you, sword in hand, would you still dare to do what you think is right? If your wives and children are against you, if all your name dies, your wealth ,vanishes, would you still stick to it  Would you still pursue it and go on steadily towards your own goal ? As the great king Bhartrihari says,  Let the sages blame or let them praise ; let the Goddess of Fortune come or let Her go wherever She likes, let death come to-day or let it come in hundreds of years, he indeed is the steady man who does not move one inch from the way of truth.’ Have you got that steadfastness ? If you have these three things, each one of you will work miracles.

Let us pray, ‘Lead, kindly Light ; a beam will come through the dark, and a hand will be stretched forth to lead us. Let each one of us pray day and night for the down-trodden millions of India who are hold fast by poverty, priest craft and tyranny ; pray day and night for them. I care more to preach to them than to the high and the rich. I am no metaphysician, no philosopher, nay, no saint. But I am poor. I love the poor. Who feels for the two hundred millions of men and women sunken for ever in poverty and ignorance ? Him I call a mahatman who feels for the poor. Who feels for them ? They cannot find light or education. Who will bring the light to them who will travel from door to door bringing education to them ? Let these people be your God think of them, work for them, pray for them incessantly the Lord will show you the way

Vivekananda suggests the importance and usage of ancient scripture for the upliftment of down trodden masses of India   “My idea is first of all to bring out the gems of spirituality that are stored up in our books and in the possession of a few only, hidden Bring the as it were in monasteries and forests 1 to brine them out ; to brines the  reach of all. knowledge out of them, not only from the hands where it is hidden, but from the still more inaccessible chest, the language in which it is preserved, the incrustation of centuries- of Sanskrit words. In one word, I want to make them popular. I want to bring out these ideas and let them be the common property of all, of every man in India, whether he knows the Sanskrit language or not. The great difficulty in the way is the Sanskrit language, this glorious language of ours, and this difficulty cannot be removed until, if it is possible, the whole of our nation are good Sanskrit scholars. You will understand the difficulty when I tell you that I have been studying this language all my life and yet every new book is new to me. How much more difficult would it then be for people who never had time to study it thoroughly !

Therefore the ideas must be taught in the language of the people. Teach the masses in the vernaculars. Give them ideas ; they will get information, but something more will be necessary. Give them culture.Until you can give them that, there can be no permanence in the raised condition of the masses.

At the same time Sanskrit education must go along with it, because the very sound of Sanskrit words gives a prestige, a power and a strength to the race- Even lhe great Buddha made one false step when he stopped the Sanskrit language from being studied by the masses. He wanted rapid and immediate results ; and translated and preached in the language of the day Pali. That was grand ; he spoke the language of the people and the people understood him. It spread the ideas quickly and made them reach far and wide. But along with that Sanskrit ought to have been spread. Knowledge came, but prestige was not there. Until you give them that, there will be another caste created, having the advantage of the Sanskrit language, which will quickly get above the rest.

There are thousands of single-minded, self-sacrificing sannyasins in our own country, going from village to village, teaching religion. If some of them can be organized as teachers of secular things also, they will go from place to place, from door to door, not only preaching but teaching also. Suppose two of these men go to a village in the evening with a camera, a globe, some maps etc., they can teach a great deal of astronomy and geography to the ignorant. By telling stories about different nations, they can give the poor a hundred times more information through the ear than they can get in a lifetime through books. Kindle their knowledge with the help of modern science. Teach them History, Geography, Science, Literature and .along with these the profound truths of Religion through these.

Remember that the nation lives in the cottage.  Your duty at present is to go from one part of the country to another, from village to village  and make the people  understand that mere sitting about idly won’t do any more. Make them understand their real condition and say,

‘ O ye Brothers, all arise ! awake ! How much longer would you remain asleep !’ Go and advise them how to improve their own condition and make them comprehend the sublime truths of the shastras, by presenting them in a lucid and popular way. Impress upon their minds that they have the .same right to religion as the Brahmanas. Initiate, even down to the Chandalas, in these fiery mantras. Also instruct them in simple words about the necessities of life, and in trade, commerce, agriculture, etc.

Centuries and centuries, a thousand years of crushing tyranny of castes, kings and foreigners Spiritualize all have taken out all their strength, walks , And the first step in gelling strength is to uphold the Upanishads and believe  I -am the Soul’, ‘Me the sword cannot cut; nor weapons pierce ; me the fire cannot burn ; me the air cannot dry; I am the Omnipotent. I am the Omniscient.’  These conceptions of the Vedanta must come out from the forest and the cave, they must come out to work at the bar and the bench, in the pulpit and in the cottage of the poor man, with the fishermen that are catching fish and with the students that are studying. They call to every man, woman and child, whatever their occupation, wherever they may be. How can the fishermen and all these carry out the ideas of the Upanishads ? The way has been shown. If the fisherman thinks that he is the spirit, he will be a better fisherman ; if a student thinks he is the spirit, he will be a better student.

The one thing that is at the root of all evils in India is the condition of the poor .Suppose you provide a free school in every village, reach everywhere  still it would do no good, for the me’ poverty in India is such that the poor boys would rather go to help their fathers in the fields or otherwise try to make a living than come to the school. Now if the mountain does not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain. If the poor boy cannot come to education, education must go to him .Engrossed in the struggle for existence, they had not the opportunity for the awakening of knowledge .They have worked so long like machines and the clever educated section have taken the substantial part of the fruits of their labor. But times have changed. The lower classes are gradually awakening to this fact, and making a united front against this. The upper classes will no longer be able to repress the lower, try they ever so much. The wellbeing of the higher classes now lies in helping the lower to get their legitimate rights. Therefore 1 say : set yourself to the task of spreading education among the masses. Tell them and make them understand, ‘You are our brothers, a part and parcel of our bodies.’ If they receive this sympathy from you, their enthusiasm for work will be increased a hundredfold.

There have been many changes in the field of education since Swami Vivekananda passed away one hundred years ago, but not as many changes as in other areas of society. One such noticeable change in education is that it is now engaged in preparing human beings for a new type of society, and it is trying to create a new type of human being for it. Interestingly, Swami Vivekananda had envisioned a society with a new type of human being in whom knowledge, action, work and concentration were harmoniously blended, and he proposed a new type of education for achieving this.

Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Former Principal

K.L.D.A.V(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

Those schools of thought who agree that careful attention to language is highly valuable in philosophy are variously called “Linguistic Analysis” “Analytical Philosophy” and “Linguistic empiricism”. Some thinkers in this group have felt a need to reform ordinary language since it is vague and imprecise others have held that our common stock of words is more to be trusted than anything’s philosophers might produce. Linguistic analysis has not produced the degree of agreement even among the adherents, that might be expected if they system “works”. On the other hand it needs more time to prove itself and for development of its application to Education.

The systems of philosophy like Naturalism, Idealism and the other great metaphysical foundations can be used only with some awkwardness as we turn towards the relatively new mode of philosophizing some time called Linguistic analysis. This is partly because the analysts do not take any positions as a group on most of these issues and partly because the issues themselves are called under suspicion.

Basically, the analytic view is that philosophy is a sickness which arose because me were sometimes heedless of the pitfalls of language, and which can be healed by translating abstruse questions into simple, testable ones.

Historical Retrospect of Analytic Philosophies

Logical positivism can be looked as the direct ancestor of Analytic philosophy. August Comte’s statements have meaning become the rallying cry among the scientists and former scientists who were interested in philosophy. The group grew out of a seminar conducted by Moritz Schlick in 1923 n Vienna. They often criticized philosophy of few like David Hume, were treated with scorn. Even the fundamental laws of Physics were rejected as meaningless by some, but Carnap insisted these laws were related to experience, albeit in a suitable way.

The earlier Analytic philosophers admitted that there are statements which are a PRIORI and yet dependable, but this they said is because such statements do not really asserts anything. The predicated simply spells out something implicitly contained in the subject, as in “Bulbs have filaments”. Synthetic statements (those in which the subject does not imply the predicate) which are not testable by observation may have a certain function but they are not, strictly speaking meaningful. Thus, the general statements like being and change good or bad and other staples of widely used traditional metaphysics and ethics are, literally make no sense.

The Analytic philosophic acquired their independent identity through the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein is a difficult thinker to summaries, for much of his techniques seems to consist in shaking the reader up somewhat after the manner of a Zen masters whacks and inscrutable aphorisms. His earlier positions later modified considerably are set forth in his work. “Tractus Logico-philosophies” in the year 1922. Later on Wittgenstein concerned himself more and more with detail of ordinary language, less and less with building a formal philosophical system.

Philosophical rationale of Analytic Philosophy

Comte created a kind of attitude which regards Laws and relation as fundamental rather than physical or spiritual substance of any kind. He holds that man pass through three levels of intellectual insight (Three stages of Progress) as their thinking develops and become more refined. These stages in the order of progression are the theological the metaphysical and the positive. In the theological stage man believes in supernatural powers as the foundation of existence. In the metaphysical, the next higher stage, he believe in some substances or power as root of existence, but does not think of these as supernatural. In the third and most refined phase of development he recognizes the Laws revealed by the exact science as constituting the final and ultimate structure of things. This level of intellectual insight proposed as the highest and most refined, it should be observed, is both against supernatural, it is also no substantial.

All the existence there is, is laws or relations such as are revealed by science.

Metaphysical Position of Analytic Philosophies

The metaphysical stage is not as well defined as the theological, because its function was less definite. Infect it was a transition between the theological and the Analytics, and as such provided not far reaching beliefs nor did it determine any social structures. It was a period whose coming and going were both gradual. The attempt in the metaphysical stage to provide substantial substitutes for the belief in the supernatural cushioned the shock of the conflict between the theological and the analytical a provided an intellectual medium in which positive philosophy gradually gained the ascendance and theological philosophy gradually declined.

Again, there is no formal “analytic position” although hardcore empiricism and supernaturalism are hard to reconcile. The analysis’s seems to take their naturalism for granted as much as their empiricism.

The philosophies of Analytics focus on means rather than on ends. Their designation covers a variety of different but related positions. What is common to all of them is their concern with questions of meaning in preference of question of truth. The total concern of this group is epistemological. The analytic philosophies generally reject ontology and axiology except in so far as they were analyse statements which may be viewed as either ontological or axiological in nature.

The Analytic philosopher points out that they are not concerned with questions inside a frame of reference as in traditional philosophy, but rather with questions about the frame of reference. Many of this group of philosophers deal with this problem of the nature of the frame of reference through an analysis of language and its meanings. A.J.Ayer of example is particularly concerned with the meaning of sentences as opposed to individual work. He rejects metaphysics on the grounds that there is no basis in sense experiences for the statements of metaphysicians. “Our charge against the metaphysician is not that he attempts to employ the understanding in a field where it cannot profitably venture, but that he produces sentence can be literally significant.

Thus they are involved in a discourse about discourse. They do not stop here however. They set up a criterion of verifiability to establish whether or not a statement has significance. For them verifiability is dependent upon whether or not a statement has meaning. They conclude they if it does, it is logically possible to make observations relevant to the probability of its truth or false hood.

Alfred Jules Ayer in his book “Language, truth and logic has rightly commented” we say that a sentence is factually significant to nay given person, if, any only if, he knows who to verify the proposition which it purports to express-that is, if he knows what observations would lead him, under certain conditions, to accept the proposition as being true or reject it as being false. If, on the other hand, the putative proposition is of such a character that the assumption of its truth or false hood is consistent with any assumption whatsoever concerning the nature of his future experience, then, as far as he is, if not a tautology, a mere pseudo- proposition. The sentence expressing it may be emotionally significant to him, but it is not literally significant”.

Some of the Analytic philosophers go even further indicating that verifiability is nothing more than a logical lack of self contradiction. Basically, then the criteria of verifiability simply imputes meaning to statements that can be either verified or falsified. It is than can be either verified or falsified. It is this criterion that leads to the denial of metaphysics.

Since they characteristically hold that we do not know “Laws of Nature”, the distinction between natural and supernatural tends to be obliterated.

As far as the concept of permanence and change is concerned here, for that the readers were forewarned. Our categories begin to fail us. There is no analytic position on the relative claims of being and becoming except that the whole debated is sterile. Wiggins castigates identity statements (“This is a banana”) as “primitive”. It is almost impossible to determine what any given analytic writer does, indeed, believe about identity and being. Such writers when they lapse into cosmological “poetry” are usually given a Heraclitean world of pure becoming jet their analysis of ordinary propositions tends to fall completely in a commonsense framework which assumes identity with a vengeance.

Epistemological Position of Analytic Philosophies

The connotations of analytic epistemology vary from one philosopher to another. A significant divergence is found in Karl Poper, who holds that in empirical matters, a judgment must be falsifiable, but is never, in the last analysis verifiable. That is, it is always possible that something will happen which will require abandonment of an idea found tenable until then, but it is never possible that “the last fact is in” so that a proposition has passed beyond question. Popper also finds other categories of judgments besides empirical one acceptable, but holds that they have a different type of meaning.

Analytic philosophy is, then, before all else, a theory of knowledge. While some analysis today denies a bit heatedly that they are positivists, the system is certainly competent in the repudiation of metaphysics. Ryle deals with the question what knowing is by asking what it is to. Know a tune. It is not, says he, being able to tell its name, nor describing it in words, now symbolizing it in musical notation, not being able to sing it, which presupposes talent one knows the tune holds Ryly, if he recognizes it when he hears it. Carnep says that animals that had sense-organs of a type we lack might provide us with new knowledge. Ayer says it is fruitless to try to transcend the limits of possible sense-experience. In short, the theory of knowledge is empiricism knowledge begins at and never transcends the sensory level. As a rule, the analysis philosophers do not argue their empiricism. They take it for granted as part of the Zeitgeist.

Contemporary analytic philosophy differs from the classical empiricism of Hobbes, Loeke and Hume chiefly in its focus on language. Bertrand Russell himself give to analytical learning complains that the traditional analysis’s take a proposition and “worry it like a dog with a bone”. Here we encounter are important point. The linguistic analysists work with sentences, propositions, premesses, statements. They typically ask what this or that declarative sentence might “mean”. But ‘sentences’ don’t ‘mean’ things, ‘people’ means things which they try to express in sentences on way to find out what a man means is to ask him.

Logic in Analytical philosophies

-considered most exclusively, the logic of analytic philosophy, as anticipated by the foregoing discussion of its epistemology, is the logic of science. Accordingly they makes critical use of both induction and deduction and goes beyond them to a language of mathematical and near mathematical symbols in an attempts at precision and exactness in making meanings explicit.

The another important pattern of Logic which the Analytic philosophers agree is REASONING. They believe that all of life saturations are filled full of meanings, and meanings commonly have symbols by which they are communicated from one person to another. These symbols also serve a single individual in a solitary way, by providing a means by which he can effectively transfer meanings from one situation to another.  Now, in coming to the solution of a problematic situation, possible solutions will oftem come to mind from similar or comparable situation, of which the present situation as through readymade for it. They must be modified and. adopted to meet the peculiar factors comprising the present situation. Even if they do happen to fit without any modification, and understanding of the relation of solution and problem will not result of the solution is applied blindly.

Axiological Position of Analytic Philosophies

Ethics in Analytic Philosophies

The analysists, like the positivists before them, stress that religion and logical deduction can not under write moral or aesthetic values. This can only be done by experience. Such concepts as beauty and goodness are urgently in need of reformulation. Values are not necessarily subjective, but they need to be brought into the sphere of the observable. Some of the concepts upon which moral judgments traditionally have depended, such as that of free will, are debunked as murdy. The analysis’s holds that the study of ethics is reducible to psychology and should act; C.L.Stevenson held that ethical terms have only emotive meanings. “Stealing is wrong” means, “The idea of stealing fills me with horror” ethics can only state that certain action usually have certain consequences one like these consequences or doesn’t.

Aesthetics in Analytic Philosophies –

The analyses use those art forms, especially literature, drama and painting, as media for communicating philosophical doctrines. The History of philosophy records no parallel of a school of thought which uses the arts as the avenue for putting their beliefs into the cultural stream of the age. It is true that Plato, St Augustine and others have produced works which are considered great literature. Also great artists such as Michelangelo, Dante, have reflected certain metaphysical beliefs in their masterpieces. But in both instances these great thinkers or artists were not attempting to be both professional artist and philosopher.

It is very feature of analytic philosophy that makes it difficult to understand, namely the use of poetic Language and other art forms express the ideas of technical philosophy. The neophyte, in his first attempt at reading the Analysis’s, is completely baffled by the terminology and the concepts. A good background in scholastic philosophy for example, seems to be of little help. It fact a student of modern literature is much more “at home” with Analysis’s philosophy than is the student of philosophy.

As far as the main characteristic of the Analytic theory of the art, First and foremost it must be noted that there are no rationalistic or empirical criteria for art. Nor can Social, political or religious norms be applied to the art forms. Art is purely subjective-it is its own master it is its own criterion, stated negatively, this view means that the artist is not bound by such criteria as Symmetry, unity, harmony or definiteness. Nor he is expected to portray the ‘Real World’, as it exists independent of his own perception of it. Also his art products need not promote socialism, democracy, religion, or a philosophy of life.

The themes of Analysis’s art are most interesting since they give live portrayal to the conditions of “existent man”. Their plays and novels depict anguish, abandonment, despair, nausea and death.

It might be worth noting that artistic expression is somehow tied in with the phenomenological method. What the Analysis artist seems to be doing is looking in upon his inner most desires and feelings and expressing these through the medium of arts.

Analytic Philosophy in Education

Analytic Philosophy has yet to be applied to question about education on a large scale; Articles are beginning to appear, however characterized more by their methodology and presupposition by consistent Pattern of conclusions.

Aim of Education-

As might be expected, the analysis’s deny that the goals of schooling can be reduced from any reduced from any mystical or rationalistic source. Some one captained that philosophy promises truth and delivers only some quibbles about its definition. Similarly, the linguist concentrate on asking us what we ‘mean’ when we talk about aims and objectives ‘ought to be’. Gotesky differentiates means, ends-in-view, anticipations, and outcomes. Perkinson argues that educational aims are hypothetical rather than categorical and that they are empirically testable when a sufficient context is supplied. Peters even holds that it is irrelevant for the teacher to have aims, since this concept does not apply to what happens in teaching, as the aims are not always in plain sight. Specific aims such as life adjustment equality, intellectual growth and mental health, have been analyse linguistically in articles, by Ballenger, Blackings ton, Broody, Cooing, Konica, Lieberman, O’Conner and others.

The Student-

The analysis’s have not had much to say yet about who is entitled to how much education and why. They have of course, suggested a mythology for resolving this and all questions, as shuffler points out. It seems probable that this methodology will lead at last to the conclusion suggested by Plato, and so often studiously ignored in the name of ‘democracy’ that each person should receive the amount and kind of schooling from which he proves able to profit.

The question that should be educated would appear to be a rather simple one for Analysis’s. One might accept him to answer that anyone who so desires should be given all the education he wants. This response is probably correct as far as education in general is concerned, since the broad meaning of education includes more than schooling. In other words, a person can educate himself in many ways such as by reading, by working, and perhaps most important, by living-by willing and acting.

However like existentialists some Analysis’s have been quite clear in advocating a culture an education for the elite. Nietzsche was very outspoken in his seorn of ‘equality of opportunity’ of all the children of all the people. He felt that public education, which attempted to educate the masses, was bound to fall short of the aim of true education simply because the masses were involved.

George Kneller does not object to universal education at least at lower level. But he does level. But he does point to the grave danger that compulsory public education might well engulf the individual in the sea of complete, depersonalized anonymity. Also the ‘compulsory’ aspect of public education seems to cause him concern since it removes completely the individual’s freedom of choice in education matters.

Role of Teacher-

The goal of education for an analytic philosopher is making individual aware of the meaning of homeless, of being at home, and of the ways of returning. In the strict sense the teacher is concerned principally with open ended education. Freedom to his students from his isolation and his anonymity, freeing him seeing his situations and powers. So much so that the role of teacher seems similar with psychiatric therapy. No educationist today is more concerned with education in this sense than an Analysis teacher. Every analysis philosopher is a doctor and its missionary… for the purpose of encouraging individuals of all kinds and conditions to understand their situations and themselves. And it is the starting pint of every analysis’s that no other modern philosophy has taken the self i.e. the student and its situation seriously enough to make the saturation the subject matter of its inquiry. All analysis’s star with the individual who chooses his course and who dies in disquietude. And all of them protect against the forces within man and his contemporary situation that discourage him from being at home, or, worse from seeing himself as both mortal and responsible.

According to analysis the teacher shows by his example that education is a concentration on personal freedom-one which encourages the student to accept the facts and beliefs which have relevance for him. Nietzsche for criticizing the role of teacher in relation to traditional method (historic-scholastic method) of teaching of mother tongue:

People deal with it as if it were a dead Language and as if the present and the future were under no obligation to it what so ever. The historical method had become so universal in our time that even the living body of language is sacrificed for the sake of anatomical study…The historical method may certainly be a considerable easier and more comfortable one for the teacher; it also seems to be compatible with a smaller display of energy and will a part. But we shall find that this observation hold good in every department Pedagogical life.

With equal Force Nietzsche criticizes the teaching of German Composition in the Public schools.

Owing to the very fact in this department it is an almost always the most gifted Pupils who display the greatest eagerness, it ought to have been made clear how dangerously stimulating, precisely here, the task of the teacher must be. German composition makes an appeal to the individual and the more strongly a pupil is conscious of his various qualities, the more personally will he do his German composition.

Nietzsche than goes on to tell what the typical teacher in the public school does with the pupil’s first attempt at expressing his individuality in composition.

What does he (The Teacher) hold most reprehensible in this class of work? What does he call pail’s attention to? To all excesses in form or characteristics of the individual…in short, their individuality is reproved a rejected by the teacher in favour of an unoriginal decent average. On the other hand, uniform mediocrity gets peevish Praise.

The Curriculum

Scattered efforts have been made Henderson has discerned diverse meaning of ‘subject-matter’ and proposed a classification system. Mc.-Clellan has claimed deficiencies in the concepts of knowledge in major curriculum theories. Parkinson and several other authors have questioned certain ambiguities in ‘needs’ as related to the curriculum. R.G.Jones has tried to show how a theory of philosophical analysis and a concept of unity can serve as a basis for liberal education. Nordberg has asked weather a curriculum is a Kilpatrick suggested “experience” Again however the bulk of the possibilities has not been developed. There are many equivocations and obscurities enveloped in the motion of subject curricular integration teaching units and the like.

Based on three of progress Comte’s concepts of curriculum is quite interesting comet was deeply enmeshed in the sciences he regarded mathematics as the basis of all sciences. The whole range of scientific discipline he broke down into six distinct sciences (Inorganic Science, astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Physiology and Sociology). The first four of these he grouped together as dealing with the organic. The order in which they are listed indicates a dependence between the sciences for example sociology the last named and in many ways the most significant Science for comet cannot be fully understand unless the student knows physiology depends on knowledge of Chemistry, chemistry depends on Physics, and so back work n regression.

Instructional Methodology –

Problems about instructional methodology have also been tackled by the analytic philosophers. Boxberger distinguished a performance sense of explaining from a text book sense. Brown has argued that a student can learn testing should concern both. Green has distinguished among a family intelligent performance. Of course some of those who in effect make linguistic analysis of educational problems do not accept the basic premises of Analytic philosophy.

Since the resolution of semantic differences is itself a method. One may presume that the analyst would recommend it to the classroom teacher. For example the elementary teacher whose charges readily understand the assignment? “Write a story with 500 words” might stimulate thought by asking them “What is a word?” Like most notions which seem plain and uncomplicated, this one dissolves into mistakes of obscurity at some point. Is a word a sound which means something? It so then why is not a scream a word, since it warns of danger? Also what about written language? It a word is a constituent part of a sentence, then why is not a subject together with an appositive (“Ram, my best friend”) a word. What about the “word from our sponsor” that lasts for five minutes.

Agencies of Education-

The analysts have done little work on this aspect of education. There is enough room for some. For example, if the right of the state to conduct schools be asserted, who for this purpose is the state? Do we means bye this the something’s as if we assert the right of the government to conduct schools? Again what determines whether a school is religious minority school? Is clerical control essential, or is the official purpose of the institution definitive? Still again we have not always distinguished between the obligation of church to teach and her obligation to conduct schools and colleges. The first pertains to her essence; the second depends upon circumstances. In some situations, the church could accomplish her educational responsibilities through state schools or perhaps even though some medium which human imagination has not yet conceived.

Critical Appraisal of Analytic Philosophy

In so far as the aim of linguist is simply clearly, it is difficult not to be sympathetic unfortunately, linguistic analysis as a school of thought has been historically intertwined with logical positivism, so that those who might like to by the former without the latter are nonplussed. It is to be hoped that a sophisticated system of linguistic analysis can be unfolded which is metaphysically noncommittal. By the same token, there should not be an advance commitment to radical emporium. In short language analysis as it has been practiced almost always begs the question. To philosophize is to discover one’s intimate assumptions, revise them and, where necessary into the interest of overall consistency, revise them. But the typical analytic philosopher has made his imperial and anti-metaphysical assumptions before the ‘game’ begins, what he calls philosoing is just the applications of these assumptions. Whitehead said that the philosophy of an age consists not in what its lading thinkers say or even what they ask, but in what they consider too obvious to wonder about. Empiricism seems to occupy that status today. Never the less, if the analytic philosophers can rid educational literature and rhetoric of the opaque, the vague, the obscure, the ambiguous, they will have done a majestic service.

It is too early for an objective and complete appraisal of this system of thought. It seems clear, however, that we are in its debt for providing sharpen, more explicit definition of Lazy concept, since educators, like politicians, preachers and advertising men, seem especially vulnerable to works cut loose from their moorings, we in Education should subject ourselves too much of this discipline. On the negative side it is equally clear that history will ensure the linguistic analysis’s for a patronizing and high handed stance toward all other thinkers. If we are to believe them the famous philosophers Prior to Carnep or Wittgenstein were badly deluded men. The average men thought more clearly than kant, Aquinas, Schopen harer and thus avoided become a philosopher.

Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Former Principal

K.L.D.A.V(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

Research is four things: brains with which to think, eyes with which to see, machines with which to measure and, fourth, money.

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

Experimental methods have been used extensively for many years to conduct research in education and psychology. However, applications of experiments to investigate technology and other instructional innovations in higher education settings have been relatively limited or disfavour usage of experimental designs relative to other methods.

Experimental research has had a long tradition in psychology and education. When psychology emerged as an infant science during the 1900s, it modelled its research methods on the established paradigms of the physical sciences, which for centuries relied on experimentation to derive principals and laws. Subsequent reliance on experimental approaches was strengthened by behavioral approaches to psychology and education that predominated during the first half of this century. Thus, usage of experimentation in educational technology has been influenced by developments in theory and research practices within its parent disciplines.

The experimental method formally surfaced in educational psychology around the turn of the century, with the classic studies by Thorndike and Woodworth on transfer .During the past century, the experimental method has remained immune to paradigm shifts in the psychology of learning, including behaviourism to cognitivism, objectivism to cognitivism, and instructivism to constructivism Clearly, the logical positivism of behaviourist theory created a fertile, inviting framework for attempts to establish causal relationships between variables, using experimental methods. The emergence of cognitive learning theory in the 1970s and 1980s initially did little to change this view, as researchers changed the locus of inquiry from behaviour to mental processing but maintained the experimental method as the basic way they searched for scientific truths. Today, the increasing influences of constructivist theories are making the fit between traditional scientific methods and current perspectives on learning more difficult, therefore, is to present experimental methods as continuing to provide valuable “tools” for research but ones whose uses may need to be altered or expanded relative to their traditional functions to accommodate the changing complexion of theory and scientific inquiry in instructional technology.

Types of Experimental Designs

In experimental research, the researcher manipulates or varies an independent variable and measures its effects on one or more dependent variables. In a true experimental design, the researcher randomly assigns the participants who are being studied (also called the subjects) to two or more comparison groups. Sometimes the comparison groups are referred to as treatment and control groups. Participants in the treatment group receive some type of treatment, such as a special reading program. Participants in the control group do not receive the treatment internal validity and external validity , and generally are not useful for making policy decisions.

Alternative experimental designs

They are also “core” designs in the sense of including basic components of the more complex or related designs not covered.

True Experiments. The ideal design for maximizing internal validity is the true experiment, as diagrammed below. The R means that subjects were randomly assigned, X represents the treatment (in this case, alternative treatments 1 and 2), and O means observation (or outcome), for example, a dependent measure of learning or attitude. What distinguishes the true experiment from less powerful designs is the random assignment of subjects to treatments, thereby eliminating any systematic error that might be associated with using intact groups. The two (or more) groups are then subjected to identical environmental conditions, while being exposed to different treatments. In educational technology research, such treatments frequently consist of different instructional methods

Repeated Measures. A variation of the above experimental design is the situation where all treatments (X1, X2, etc.) are administered to all subjects. Thus, each individual (S1, S2, etc.), in essence, serves as his or her own control and is tested or “observed” (O), as diagrammed below for an experiment using n subjects and k treatments. Note that the diagram shows each subject receiving the same sequence of treatments; a stronger design, where feasible, would involve randomly ordering the treatments to eliminate a sequence effect.

S1: X10-X20 . . . XkO.

S2: X10-X20 . . . XkO.

Sn: X10-X20 . . . XkO.

Suppose that an experimenter is interested in whether learners are more likely to remember words that are italicized or words that are underlined in a computer text presentation. Twenty subjects read a paragraph containing five words in each form. They are then asked to list as many italicized words and as many underlined words as they can remember. (To reduce bias, the forms in which the 10 words are represented are randomly varied for different subjects.) Note that this design has the advantage of using only one group, thereby effectively doubling the number of subjects per treatment relative to a two-group (italics only vs. underline only) design. It also ensures that the ability level of subjects receiving the two treatments will be the same. But there is a possible disadvantage that may distort results. The observations are not independent. Recalling an italicized word may help or hinder the recall of an underlined word, or vice versa.

Quasi-experimental Designs.

In a quasi-experimental design, the researcher does not randomly assign participants to comparison groups, usually because random assignment is not feasible. To improve a quasi-experimental design, the researcher can match the comparison groups on characteristics that relate to the dependent variable. For example, a researcher selects from a school district 10 classes to have low student-teacher ratios and 10 classes to maintain their current high student-teacher ratios. The researcher selects the high-ratio classes based on their similarity to the low-ratio classes in terms of student socioeconomic status, a variable that is related to student achievement.

Oftentimes in educational studies, it is neither practical nor feasible to assign subjects randomly to treatments. Such is especially likely to occur in school-based research, where classes are formed at the start of the year. These circumstances preclude true-experimental designs, while allowing the quasi-experiment as an option. A common application in educational technology would be to expose two similar classes of students to alternative instructional strategies and compare them on designated dependent measures (e.g., learning, attitude, classroom behaviour) during the year. An important component of the quasi-experimental study is the use of pretesting or analysis of prior achievement to establish group equivalence. Whereas in the true experiment, randomization makes it improbable that one group will be significantly superior in ability to another, in the quasi-experiment, systematic bias can easily (but often unnoticeably) be introduced..

Quasi- experimental approach is time series designs.

This family of designs involves repeated measurement of a group, with the experimental treatment induced between two of the measures, thus a quasi-experiment is opposed to a true experiment

The absence of randomly composed, separate experimental and control groups makes it impossible to attribute changes in the dependent measure directly to the effects of the experimental treatment. That is, the individual group participating in the time series design may improve its performances from pretesting to post testing, but is it the treatment or some other event that produced the change. There is a variety of time series designs, some of which provide a higher internal validity than others.

Deceptive Appearances: The Ex Post Facto Design.

Despite the appearances of a treatment comparison and random assignment, this research is not an experiment but rather an ex post facto study. No variables are manipulated. Existing groups that are essentially self-selected are being compare, those who chose the word processor vs. those who chose paper and pencil. The random selection merely reduced the number of possible participants to more manageable numbers; it did not assign students to particular treatments. Given these properties, the ex post facto study may look sometimes like an experiment but is closer in design to a co- relational study.

Validity Threats in Experimental Research

By validity “threat,” we mean only that a factor has the potential to bias results.In 1963, Campbell and Stanley identified different classes of such threats.

• Instrumentation. Inconsistent use is made of testing instruments or testing conditions, or the pre-test and post- test are uneven in difficulty, suggesting a gain or decline in performance that is not real.
• Testing. Exposure to a pre-test or intervening assessment influences performance on a post-test.
• History. This validity threat is present when events, other than the treatments, occurring during the experimental period can influence results.
• Maturation. During the experimental period, physical or psychological changes take place within the subjects.
• Selection. There is a systematic difference in subjects’ abilities or characteristics between the treatment groups being compared.
• Diffusion of Treatments. The implementation of a particular treatment influences subjects in the comparison treatment
• Experimental Mortality. The loss of subjects from one or more treatments during the period of the study may bias the results.

In many instances, validity threats cannot be avoided. The presence of a validity threat should not be taken to mean that experimental findings are inaccurate or misleading. Knowing about validity threats gives the experimenter a framework for evaluating the particular situation and making a judgment about its severity. Such knowledge may also permit actions to be taken to limit the influences of the validity threat in question

Experimental Research in Educational Technology

Here is a sequence of logical steps for planning and conducting research

Step 1. Select a Topic. This step is self-explanatory and usually not a problem, except for those who are “required” to do research  as opposed to initiating it on their own. The step simply involves identifying a general area that is of personal interest and then narrowing the focus to a researchable problem

Step 2. Identify the Research Problem. Given the general topic area, what specific problems are of interest? In many cases, the researcher already knows the problems. In others, a trip to the library to read background literature and examine previous studies is probably needed. A key concern is the importance of the problem to the field. Conducting research requires too much time and effort to be examining trivial questions that do not expand existing knowledge. Experienced researchers will usually be attuned to important topics, based on their knowledge of the literature and current research activities. Novices, however, need to be more careful about establishing support for their idea from recent research and issues-oriented publications (see step 3). For experts and novices alike, it is always a good practice to use other researchers as a sounding board for a research focus before getting too far into the study design .

Step 3. Conduct a Literature Search. With the research topic and problem identified, it is now time to conduct a more intensive literature search. Of importance is determining what relevant studies have been performed; the designs, instruments, and procedures employed in those studies; and, most critically, the findings. Based on the review, direction will be provided for (a) how to extend or complement the existing literature base, (b) possible research orientations to use, and (c) specific research questions to address.

Step 4. State the Research Questions (or Hypotheses). This step is probably the most critical part of the planning process. Once stated, the research questions or hypotheses provide the basis for planning all other parts of the study: design, materials, and data analysis. In particular, this step will guide the researcher’s decision as to whether an experimental design or some other orientation is the best choice.

Step 5. Determine the Research Design. The next consideration is whether an experimental design is feasible. If not, the researcher will need to consider alternative approaches, recognizing that the original research question may not be answerable as a result.

Step 6. Determine Methods. Methods of the study include (a) subjects, (b) materials and data collection instruments, and (c) procedures. In determining these components, the researcher must continually use the research questions and/or hypotheses as reference points. A good place to start is with subjects or participants. What kind and how many participants does the research design require?

Next consider materials and instrumentation. When the needed resources are not obvious, a good strategy is to construct a listing of data collection instruments needed to answer each question (e.g., attitude survey, achievement test, observation form).

An experiment does not require having access to instruments that are already developed. Particularly in research with new technologies, the creation of novel measures of affect or performance may be implied. From an efficiency standpoint, however, the researcher’s first step should be to conduct a thorough search of existing instruments to determine if any can be used in their original form or adapted to present needs. If none is found, it would usually be far more advisable to construct a new instrument rather than “force fit” an existing one. New instruments will need to be pilot tested and validated. Standard test and measurement texts provide useful guidance for this requirement The experimental procedure, then, will be dictated by the research questions and the available resources. Piloting the methodology is essential to ensure that materials and methods work as planned.

Step 7. Determine Data Analysis Techniques.

Whereas statistical analysis procedures vary widely in complexity, the appropriate options for a particular experiment will be defined by two factors: the research questions and the type of data

Reporting and Publishing Experimental Studies

Obviously, for experimental studies to have impact on theory and practice in educational technology, their findings need to be disseminated to the field.

Introduction. The introduction to reports of experimental studies accomplishes several functions: (a) identifying the general area of the problem , (b) creating a rationale to learn more about the problem , (c) reviewing relevant literature, and (d) stating the specific purposes of the study. Hypotheses and/or research questions should directly follow from the preceding discussion and generally be stated explicitly, even though they may be obvious from the

literature review. In basic research experiments, usage of hypotheses is usually expected, as a theory or principle is typically being tested. In applied research experiments, hypotheses would be used where there is a logical or empirical basis for expecting a certain result

Method. The Method section of an experiment describes the participants or subjects, materials, and procedures. The usual convention is to start with subjects (or participants) by clearly describing the population concerned (e.g., age or grade level, background) and the sampling procedure. In reading about an experiment, it is extremely important to know if subjects were randomly assigned to treatments or if intact groups were employed. It is also important to know if participation was voluntary or required and whether the level of performance on the experimental task was consequential to the subjects. Learner motivation and task investment are critical in educational technology research, because such variables are likely to impact directly on subjects’ usage of media attributes and instructional strategies

Results. This major section describes the analyses and the findings. Typically, it should be organized such that the most important dependent measures are reported first. Tables and/or figures should be used judiciously to supplement (not repeat) the text. Statistical significance vs. practical importance. Traditionally, researchers followed the convention of determining the “importance” of findings based on statistical significance. Simply put, if the experimental group’s mean of 85% on the post test was found to be significantly higher (say, at p < .01) than the control group’s mean of 80%, then the “effect” was regarded as having theoretical or practical value. If the result was not significant (i.e., the null hypothesis could not be rejected), the effect was dismissed as not reliable or important.

In recent years, however, considerable attention has been given to the benefits of distinguishing between “statistical significance” and “practical importance” . Statistical significance indicates whether an effect can be considered attributable to factors other than chance. But a significant effect does not necessary mean a “large” effect.

Discussion. To conclude the report, the discussion section explains and interprets the findings relative to the hypotheses or research questions, previous studies, and relevant theory and practice. Where appropriate, weaknesses in procedures that may have impacted results should be identified. Other conventional features of a discussion may include suggestions for further research and conclusions regarding the research hypotheses/ questions. For educational technology experiments, drawing implications for practice in the area concerned is highly desirable.

Criteria for Rejection for Publication

Here are few reasons that makes an experimental study “publishable or perishable” in professional research journals.

Poor writing: Writing style is unclear, weak in quality (syntax, construction), and/or does not use appropriate (APA) style.

Invalid testing: Outcomes are not measured in a controlled and scientific way (e.g., observations are done by the author without validation of the system or reliability checks of the data).

Inappropriate analyses: Quantitative or qualitative analyses needed to address research objectives are not properly used or sufficiently described

Low internal validity of conditions: Treatment and comparison groups are not uniformly implemented. One or more groups have an advantage on aparticular condition(time,materials,encouragement)otherthantheindependent(treatment)variable.

Low internal validity of subject selection/assignment:

Groups assigned to treatment and comparison conditions are not comparable (e.g., a more experienced group receives the treatment strategy)

Low external validity: Application or importance of topic or findings is weak.

Trivial/inappropriate outcome measures: Outcomes are assessed using irrelevant, trivial, or insubstantial measures.

Promotion and tenure criteria at colleges and universities have been strongly biased toward experimental studies. If this bias occurs, it is probably attributable mainly to the more respected journals having been more likely to publish experimental designs.

The research journals have published proportionately more experimental studies than alternative types. This factor also creates a self-perpetuating situation in which increased exposure to experimental studies increases the likelihood that beginning researchers will also favour the experimental method in their research.

Contemporary areas in Educational Research Experimentation

Randomized Field Experiments. Given the importance of balancing external validity (application) and internal validity (control) in educational technology research, an especially appropriate design is the randomized field experiment , in which instructional programs are evaluated over relatively long periods of time under realistic conditions.

In contrast to descriptive or quasi-experimental designs, the randomized field experiment requires random assignment of subjects to treatment groups, thus eliminating differential selection as a validity threat.

Basic– Applied Design Replications. Basic research designs demand a high degree of control to provide valid tests of principles of instruction and learning. Once a principle has been thoroughly tested with consistent results, the natural progression is to evaluate its use in a real-world application. For educational technologists interested in how learners are affected by new technologies, the question of which route to take, basic vs. applied, may pose a real dilemma. Typically, existing theory and prior research on related interventions will be sufficient to raise the possibility that further basic research may not be necessary.To avoid the limitations of addressing one perspective only, a potentially advantageous approach is to look at both using a replication design. Consistency of findings across experiments would provide strong convergent evidence supporting the obtained effects and underlying theoretical principles. Inconsistency of findings, however, would suggest influences of intervening variables that alter the effects of the variables of interest when converted from their “pure” form to realistic applications.

The next implied step of a replication design would be further experimentation on the nature and locus of the altered effects in the applied situation

Assessing Multiple Outcomes in Educational Technology Experiments

In educational technology research,  research questions are not likely to be resolved in  straightforward a manner. Merely knowing that one instructional strategy produced better achievement than another provides little insight into how those effects occurred or about other possible effects of the strategies. Earlier educational technology experiments, influenced by behaviouristic approaches to learning, were often subject to this limitation.

Released from the rigidity of behaviouristic approaches, contemporary educational technology experimenters are likely to employ more and richer outcome measures than did their predecessors. Two factors have been influential in promoting this development. One is the predominance of cognitive learning perspectives in the past two decades the other has been the growing influence of qualitative research methods.

Cognitive Applications. One key contribution has been the expansion of conventional assessment instruments so as to describe more fully the “cognitive character” of the target. Among the newer, cognitively derived measurement applications that are receiving greater usage in research are tests of declarative and procedural knowledge, componential analysis, computer simulations, faceted tests, and coaching methods, to name only a few. Whereas behavioural theory stressed learning products, such as accuracy and rate, cognitive approaches also emphasize learning processes . The underlying assumption is that learners may appear to reach similar destinations in terms of observable outcomes but take qualitatively different routes to arrive at those points. Importantly, the routes or “processes” used determine the durability and transferability of what is learned . Process measures may include such variables as the problem-solving approach employed, level of task interest, resources selected, learning strategies used, and responses made on the task. At the same time, the cognitive approach expands the measurement of products to include varied, multiple learning outcomes such as declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, long-term retention, and transfer .

Qualitative Research. In recent years, educational researchers have shown increasing interest in qualitative research approaches. Such research involves naturalistic inquiries using techniques such as in-depth interviews, direct observation, and document analysis .  Presently, in educational technology research, experimentalists have been slow to incorporate qualitative measures as part of their overall research methodology. Item Responses vs. Aggregate Scores as Dependent Variables Consistent with the “expanded assessment” trend, educational technology experiments are likely to include dependent variables consisting of one or more achievement (learning) measures, attitude measures, or a combination of both types. In the typical case, the achievement or attitude measure will be a test comprised of multiple items. By summing item scores across items, a total or “aggregate” score is derived. To support the validity of this score, the experimenter may report the test’s internal-consistency reliability   or some other reliability index. Internal consistency represents “equivalence reliability”— the extent to which parts of a test are equivalent Depending on the situation, these procedures could prove limiting or even misleading with regard to answering the experimental research questions. A fundamental question to consider is whether the test is designed to measure a unitary construct or multiple constructs

In the latter cases, internal consistency reliability might well be low, because students vary in how they perform or how they feel across the separate measures. Specifically, there may be no logical reason why good performances on, say, the “math facts” portion of the test should be highly correlated with those on the problem-solving portion

It may even be the case that the treatments being investigated are geared to affect one type of performance or attitude more than another. Accordingly, one caution is that, where multiple constructs are being assessed by design, internal-consistency reliability may be a poor indicator of construct validity. More appropriate indexes would assess the degree to which (a) items within the separate subscales inter-correlate (subscale internal consistency), (b) the makeup of the instruments conforms with measurement objectives (content validity), (c) students answer particular questions in the same way on repeated administrations (test–retest reliability), and (d) subscale scores correlate with measures of similar constructs or identified criteria (construct or predictive validity). Separate from the test validation issue is the concern that aggregate scores may mask revealing patterns that occur across different subscales and items. We explore this issue further by examining some negative and positive examples from actual studies.

Aggregating Attitude Results. More commonly, educational technology experimenters commit comparable oversights in analyzing attitude data. When attitude questions concern different properties of the learning experience or instructional context, it may make little sense to compute a total score, unless there is an interest in an overall attitude score.

Media Studies vs. Media Comparisons

As confirmed by our analysis of trends in educational technology experimentation, a popular focus of the past was comparing different types of media-based instruction to one another or to teacher-based instruction to determine which approach was “best.” The fallacy or, at least, unreasonableness of this orientation, now known as “media comparison studies,”

For present purposes, these considerations present a strong case against experimentation that simply compares media. Specifically, two types of experimental designs seem particularly unproductive in this regard. One of these represents treatments as amorphous or “generic” media applications, such as CBI, interactive video, and Web-based instruction. The focus of the experiment then becomes which medium “produces” the highest achievement More recently, this type of study has been used to “prove” the effectiveness of distance education courses. A second type of inappropriate media comparison experiment is to create artificially comparable alternative media presentations, such that both variations contain identical attributes but use different modes of delivery.

Similarly, to learn about television’s “effects” as a medium, it seems to make more sense to use an actual television program, , than a simulation done with a home videocamera.

Deductive Approach: Testing Hypotheses About Media Differences. In this first approach, the purpose of the experiment is to test a priori hypotheses of differences between the two media presentations based directly on analyses of their different attributes

The rationale for these hypotheses would be based directly on analyses of the special capabilities (embedded attributes or instructional strategies) of each medium in relation to the type of material taught. Findings would be used to support or refute these assumptions.

Inductive Approach: Replicating Findings Across Media. The second type of study, which we have called media replications , examines the consistency of effects of given instructional strategies delivered by alternative media. Consistent findings, if obtained, are treated as corroborative evidence to strengthen the theoretical understanding of the instructional variables in question as well as claims concerning the associated strategy’s effectiveness for learning. If inconsistent outcomes are obtained, methods and theoretical assumptions are re-examined and the target strategy subjected to further empirical tests using diverse learners and conditions. Key interests are why results were better or worse with a particular medium and how the strategy might be more powerfully represented by the alternative media. Subsequent developmental research might then explore ways of incorporating the suggested refinements in actual systems and evaluating those applications. In this manner, media replication experiments use an inductive, post hoc procedure to identify media attributes that differentially impact learning

For experimental studies to have an impact on theory and practice in educational technology, their findings need to be disseminated to other researchers and practitioners. Getting a research article published in a good journal requires careful attention to writing quality and style conventions. Typical write-ups of experiments include as major sections an introduction (problem area, literature review, rationale, and hypotheses), method (subjects, design, materials, instruments, and procedure), results (analyses and findings), and discussion. Today, there is increasing emphasis by the research community and professional journals on reporting effects sizes (showing the magnitude or “importance” of experimental effects) in addition to statistical significance. Given their long tradition and prevalence in educational research, experiments are sometimes criticized as being overemphasized and conflicting with the improvement of instruction. However, experiments are not intrinsically problematic as a research approach but have sometimes been used in very strict, formal ways that have blinded educational researchers from looking past results to gain understanding about learning processes. To increase their utility to the field, experiments should be used in conjunction with other research approaches and with non-traditional, supplementary ways of collecting and analyzing results.

Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Former Principal

K.L.D.A.V(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

With special reference to Herbartian approach

A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on a cold iron.

Horace Mann

Teaching is a complex activity. it needs proper preparation and planning. lesson plan is the blue print of those teaching activities that are to be done in the class-room. Every teacher tries to plan the content in his own style so that he can teach systematically and effectively at the right moment.

MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF LESSON PLANNING

Teaching is a process which  involves those teaching activities which a teacher performs in the class-room. It is based on planning  and specifically lesson planning. Thus, a lesson plan is a detailed plan prepared by the teacher in advance for the daily teaching. It helps  the teacher in systematic, and effective teaching.

Lesson plan is a teaching outline of the important point of a lesson arranged in order  in which they are to be presented; It may include objectives, points to be made, questions to be asked, reference to materials, assignments etc..

Lesson planning is a special skill that is learned in much the same way as other skills.. When the teacher is able to create his own lesson plans, it means he has taken a giant step toward “owning” the content the  teach and the methods he  use, and that is a good thing. Acquiring this skill is far more valuable than being able to use lesson plans developed by others. It takes thinking and practice to hone this skill, and it won’t happen overnight, but it is a skill that will help to define one  as a teacher. Knowing “how to” is far more important than knowing “about” when it comes to lesson plans, and is one of the important markers along the way to becoming a professional teacher. It is also in keeping with a central theme of this site that one should learn to plan lessons in more than one way. The corollary is, of course, that there is no one “best way” to plan lessons. Regardless of the form or template, there are fundamental components of all lesson plans that one should learn to write, revise, and improve. The old adage, “Practice doesn’t make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect” is at the core of learning this skill. .

The teacher regularly achieves the teaching objectives and processes in the form of lesson planning.. It develops the possibilities of adjustment in the class-room situations which makes the teaching effective.It helps in recalling every step of curriculum unit

It also help in planning the process of teaching on the basis of class control, motivation and individual differences .Lesson plan is;

• Based on Previous Knowledge. As the teacher presents new knowledge on the basis of previous knowledge of the pupils, the lesson plan enables the pupils to gain knowledge conveniently while the teacher succeeds in acquiring his objectives.
• Psychological Teaching. In preparing lesson plans, the teacher uses teaching strategies, techniques, tactics and instruments keeping in mind the interests, aptitudes needs capacities and abilities of the pupils . This makes teaching more psychological.
• Suitable Environment. Objectives are fixed and the teaching strategies, tactics, techniques and material aid etc. are decided before hand in a lesson plan. This creates interest of the pupils in the lesson. It helps in creating proper environment. Teaching task goes in a very planned way.
• Determination of Activities. Activities of the teacher and pupils are pre-decided in a lesson plan according to the class level. The teacher decided what he and his pupils aresuppose to do in the class. This makes the teaching activities meaningful an purposeful. Both the pupil and the teacher become active in developing the lesson.
• Preparation of Material Aids. While preparing a lesson-plan, the teacher decides strategies, tactics, techniques instruments and aids to be used. He prepares the necessary and effective aids before starting the teaching task.
• Limitation of Subject-Matter. Limited subject-matter enables the teacher to give up irrelevant material. As he remembers only definite and limited matter its presentation becomes easy.
• Management of Teaching-Learning. Davis has rightly said “Lesson must be prepared as there is nothing so fatal to a teacher’s progress as unpreparedness”. A lesson-plan is the concept of management of teaching-learning. The teaching objectives are successfully achieved by making the teaching impressive. A well organized lesson-plan  occupiesan important  place in the success of teaching.
• Orderliness and Development in Thinking. Lesson plan creates orderliness and development in the thinking of the pupils enabling the teacher to achieve the teaching objectives while  presenting  the contents in an orderly way.
• Use of Theoretical Knowledge in Teaching. Theoretical knowledge attained by pupil teachers during their training period, is applied in the class with the help of lesson-plan. It helps in providing practical shape to the theoretical knowledge.
• Means for developing Teaching Skills. The lesson plan acts as an important means for developing teaching skill in the pupil teachers.
• Discipline in the Class. By preparing lesson plan, the teacher is aware of what, when  and how much is to be done in the class. He absorbs all the pupils in their respective tasks. it results in appreciable class-room discipline.
• Evaluation Possible. A lesson plan has the provision of the evaluation, which makes the teacher aware of how his teaching has affected the pupils. It also evaluates the strategies, tactics techniques and aids used by the teacher and he can modify them accordingly.
• Teaching with Confidence. The preparation of a lesson plan makes the subject of teaching more clear to the teacher. This arouses self-confidence in him. Now he presents the new knowledge to the pupils with more enthusiasm and pleasure. This make the class lively.
• Revision of Knowledge. The teacher writes summary of the lesson, the reading of which helps pupils in the revision of the lesson.
• Economy of Energy and Time. By preparation of lesson plan the teacher can present the new knowledge in a proper sequence before the pupils and can successfully remove their doubts

TYPES OF LESSON PLANS

Based on the B.S.Bloom taxonomy of Educational objectives ,lesson plans can be classified in the following types;

Knowledge Lesson. Here the learner’s cognitive aspect of his mental activity is more active which result an increase in his knowledge. Knowledge lesson are those which cause an increase in the knowledge of various facts and events through the knowledge lesson such as the lessons of History, Geography, Economics, Civics, Mathematics, Science and Grammar.

Appreciation Lesson. These are based on the affective aspect of learner’s activity. These give aesthetic inspiration to the pupils and develop their appreciation. They take interest in studying these lessons. Poetry lessons are good example of this type.

Skill Lesson. In skill lessons, the psycho-motor aspect of the learner’s mental activity is more active. Skill lessons make the pupils efficient in doing some task, while the teacher provides some guidance to the pupils in the beginning. Following the teacher’s or guidelines all the pupils get involved in accomplishing the task. This provides man opportunities  for experimenting and practice. The creative power of the pupils is more active in  skill lessons. Painting, handicraft, gardening and agriculture etc. are examples of skill lesson.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN IDEAL LESSON PLAN

Good lesson plans do not ensure students will learn what is intended, but they certainly contribute to it. Think of a lesson plan as a way of communicating, and without doubt, effective communication skills are fundamental to all teaching. Lesson plans also help new or inexperienced teachers in organizing content, materials, and methods. Developing  own lesson plans also helps one “own” the subject matter content one is  teaching, and that is central to everything good teachers do.

Psychological Base of the Lesson Plan is Gestalt learning theory of the Psychology. It follows the maxim of ‘whole to part’ teaching. It is considered that these units (parts) help in the understanding of the whole concept.

Teachers create lesson plans to communicate their instructional activities regarding specific subject-matter, effective lesson plans communicate, ineffective ones don’t. Almost all lesson plans developed by teachers contain student learning objectives, instructional procedures, the required materials, and some written description of how the students will be evaluated. Many experienced teachers often reduce lesson plans to a mental map or short outline. New teachers, however, usually find detailed lesson plans to be indispensable.

An ideal lesson plan should be-

• Divided  into Units. All the relevant steps of  (i) knowledge lessons (ii) skill lesson. (iii) Appreciation lessons should find a place in an ideal lesson plan. Each lesson should be divided into suitable units so that the pupils may understand them gradually.

• Objective based. It must be based on one or the other objective. Objective should be written and define clearly.
• Contain appropriate teaching aids. Correct decision regarding the charts, graphs, pictures, diagrams and maps should be taken. These should be marked at proper place, which a teacher issuppose to use while teaching.
• Based on Previous Knowledge. To avoid any difficulty in acquiring new knowledge by the pupils, an ideal lesson plan should be based on their previous knowledge.
• Simplicity of Language. The simplicity of the lesson plan and clarity of thoughts should be according to the mental level of the pupils. The lesson plan should be subject-oriented, not language-oriented.
• Time-sense. An ideal lesson plan is prepared according to the mental level of the pupil and the duration of periods. The adequate time should be  assigned for every teaching step ..
• Use of Black-board. The black-board summary of each and every unit is written on the black-board immediately after teaching  in small but complete sentences.
• Use of Illustrations. Examples are used having relevance with the daily life of the pupils. This depends upon the comprehensive knowledge and experience of the teacher.
• Individual Guidance. The technique and occasion of providing individual guidance to the pupils is indicated .
• Use of Strategies, Tactics, Techniques . To use appropriate strategies or methods, tactics, techniques and aids in order to classify the events and facts which occur in different situations the teacher has to gain the knowledge of maxims of teaching and general principles of teaching.
• Correlation. A possible correlation occurs to enable the pupils to acquire the knowledge as a whole.
• Teaching from Memory level to Reflective Level. Developmental and thought provoking question are asked in an effort to stretch the teaching from memory level to the reflective level.
• Determination of Activities. An ideal lesson plan should make clear what activities a teacher and the pupils are suppose to perform. They should be determined before-hand in an ideal lesson plan.
• Evaluation. There is a mention of the method of knowing the influence on the pupils. This involves evaluation of the methods used by the teacher.
• Home Work. There is a provision of home work to enable the pupils to learn the application of the acquired knowledge.

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS IN PREPARING LESSON PLAN

1. According to Bining and Bining “Daily lesson planning involves defining the objective, selecting and arranging the subject matter and determining the method and procedure.”

The following flow chart provides a bird’s eye view of the entire planning procedures-

As shown above an ideal lesson plan must have the following essential elements;

• Knowledge of Student’s Entering behavior-. The teaching method will be advantageous only when the nature of the pupils is known along with knowledge of the subject matter.
• Knowledge of the Subject. The teacher should know his subject well. If he has no clarity about his subject he will fail to clarify various facts and events of the lesson. He should read the whole lesson plan which he has prepared. He should not read the text-book only, but also read other supplementary books and the available material concerning the topic.
• General Knowledge of other related  Subjects. The pupil teacher should possess general knowledge of all the subjects, because the knowledge is a complete unit and it cannot be divided into different water tight compartments;.
• Clarity of Objectives. There should be clarity of objectives to make the both pupils and the teachers active to achieve them.
• Division in Units. While preparing the lesson plan, the teacher should divide the topic in units. this simplifies the preparation of the lesson plan. it is acquired easily by both the pupils and the teachers.
• Flexibility. The lesson plan is a slave not the master of the teacher. Hence, the teacher  is free to make changes in the lesson plan in order to create attraction and interest in the lesson.
• Knowledge of the Principles and Strategies of Teaching. The teacher must know the principles of teaching, maxims of teaching, teaching methods and techniques so that he may use the teaching methods and techniques in the lesson plan.
• Time duration Sense. The teacher should have time sense. He should clearly know how much time he will take to present the lesson before the pupils and how many activities can be performed in the prescribed durations.
• Clarity about Previous Knowledge. While preparing the lesson plan, the teacher should know the previous knowledge of the pupils because the new knowledge imparted on the basis of previous knowledge is easily stabilized.
• Knowledge of Class Level. He should know the class-level for which he is to prepare the lesson plan.
• Use of Instructional material . While preparing the lesson plan the teacher should decide at what step the material aid is to be used and what is to be clarified with that aid. This maintains the neutrality and interesting feature of the lesson plan.

HERBARTIAN  APPROACH OF LESSON PLANNING

John Fredric Herbart was a great European educationist and philosopher of 19^th century he advocated that teaching should be planned actively if we intend to make it efficient He applied the knowledge of psychology regarding the Learning process.

Herbartian approach is based on apperceptive mass theory of learning. The main thing in that theory is that the learner is like a clean slate and all the knowledge is given to him from outside. If new knowledge is imparted by linking with old knowledge of the student it is acquired easily and is retained for a longer period. The contents should be presented into units and those units should be arranged in a logical sequence.

Based upon Educational psychology Herbart’s educational ideology advocated the following four elements for a successful teaching.

1. Interest. The teaching process should be interesting. When the interest of pupils is crated in some subject, their attention is attracted towards it. They acquire the new knowledge very easily.
2. Apperception. The entire knowledge is provided to the pupils from outside. Apperception of this external knowledge occurs in the unconscious mind of the pupils. By relating new knowledge  to the previous knowledge of the pupils, their learning is simplified. Hence, in order to make the learning process effective, the teacher should move from known to unknown.
3. General Method. Learning activity occurs in a definite sequence. Hence, the activities of the unit should be edited in a definite sequence and in a logical order.
4. Correlation. Knowledge is one unit. All the subjects should be studied after correlating each other in the form of one unit. All the subject of the curriculum should be taught by correlating them with History.

Steps of Teaching Approach

1. Clarity. The teacher should present the subject-matter with clarity. The subject-matter to be taught is broken into various facts so that pupils pay attention to each fact or element.
2. Association. The new knowledge of the pupils is related to their previous knowledge.
3. System. New knowledge or thought should be organized in sequence on the basis of logic. The specific are separated from the generals which may enable the pupils to view the mutual relations between various fact or elements so that they may gain the knowledge of ‘whole’.
4. Method. The pupils apply the gained knowledge to the new situations.

HERBARTIAN FIVE STEPS TEACHING

While Herbart emphasized only four steps his followers modified the above four steps. Ziller , a disciple of Herbart, divided the first step i.e., clarity into two introduction and presentation. Ryan incorporated one more step termed as ‘Statement of Aim’ in between these two. Still other disciples of Herbart changed the names of other three steps. The term comparison was used in place of association, generalization in place of system and application in place of method. Thus, resulted five steps in place of four. These five steps are termed as Herbartian five steps of teaching.

Preparation/ Introduction-. Some question are asked from the pupils in order to test their previous knowledge so that curiosity may arouse in them for  learning of new knowledge. By testing their previous experiences the pupils are prepared for acquiring new knowledge.

1. • Statement of Aim

   -. Here, the topic becomes clear to the pupils and the teacher himself is supposed to write the topic on the black-board in clear words.

   • Presentation. The lesson is developed with the cooperation of the pupils. Opportunities are provided to pupils to learn themselves by stimulating their mental activity. The teacher tries to receive most of the points from the pupils by questioning so that the new knowledge may get related to the previous knowledge.
   • Comparison and Association-. In this, the facts, events and application taught are related mutually by comparison to enable the pupils to understand the taught material. The teacher establishes a relationship between two subjects and also between the facts and events of one subject and the facts and events of the other subject. He compares them so that the new knowledge may get stabilized and clarified in the minds of the pupils.
   • Generalization-. Herbart termed this step as ‘system’ After explaining the main lesson, the pupils are provided with opportunities to think. They formulate such principles and rules which may be used in various situations of the future life.
   • Application-. In Application it is observed whether the acquired knowledge may be applied to the new situations. The teacher verifies this by asking recapitulate questions or by providing opportunities to apply the acquired knowledge in the new saturations. This stabilizes the new knowledge and validity of the rules may also be proved.

HERBARTIAN LESSON PLAN MODEL

Date……….               Class……………                    Period………………..

Subject……………….                       Topic………………

1. 1. General Objectives. These objectives are formulated by the teacher in his subject keeping in view the entering behaviors of the learners. For example: 1. To develop the knowledge of grammar among the students…
2. Specific Objective. These objectives are formulated on the basis of general objectives and considering the nature of the topic and level of students. These are specified in terms of knowledge, skill or appreciation. These objectives are written in behavioral terms. For Example: (i) Students will be able to recall the definition of noun. (ii) Students will be able to enumerate the examples of noun….
3. Introduction. Here, the teacher employs his insight and experiences for liking new knowledge with the previous knowledge of the students. The topic is not introduced directly but it is usually emitted by the student’s responses by asking introductory questions.
4. Teaching Aids. Audio-visual aids are selected according to the proposed topic.
5. Previous knowledge. Students’ previous knowledge is mentioned. For example: Students are familiar with figure of speech. They know that nouns are naming words.
6. Statement of Aim. The teacher gives his statement of teaching topic by incorporating the student’s responses. For Example: “Today, we will study about the noun and its kinds.”
7. Presentation. The teacher prepares the developing questions after introducing the topic. The question are arranged in logical sequence, i.e., from simple to complex, considering the structure of the topic.
8. Explanation. The teacher is supposed to explain the answers of the given developing question. as whole of the content-matter is in the question-answer form.
9. Black –board Summary. The teacher has to prepare the black-board summary of his teaching point and explanations.
10. Review Questions. The purpose of these questions is to practice the student’s learning and to evaluate their performance whether they have comprehended the teaching unit or not. These review questions are asked only after rubbing the black-board summary. For example: Q.1. What is the definition of ‘Noun’? Q.2. Give some examples of Noun…..
11. Home assignments. At the end of the lesson plan, home assignment is given to the students on the same teaching unit. The purpose of home work is to practice, to organize and to study the topic for better understanding and retention.

Advantages

1. Organized Teaching. Each step has been organized in a logical order  which provides an opportunity to  the fresh teacher to  become aware of future mistakes. Originality is never affected and the teaching goes on in a very organized way.
2. Acquiring thoughts as apperception . Herbart believed that when the new thought related to the thoughts lying in unconscious mind of the pupils are presented, the thoughts of unconscious mind come to the conscious mind, establish relationship with the new thought and again go to the unconscious mind. Herbart termed this material process of acquiring thoughts as apperception.
3. Use of Inductive and Deductive Methods. While presenting the new knowledge, help of various examples is sought through ‘generalization’ and rules are derived. it is an inductive method. In the step application, these rules are to be executed, this is a deductive method. Thus, both indicative and deductive methods are used in this  five steps approach.
4. Recapitulation. Such question are asked while recapitulating which, on answering, result in the learning and  application of  the acquired knowledge in new situations.
5. Correlation Possible. Herbart considered entire knowledge as a single unit. The  knowledge of the pupils is acquired in   a single unit. This allows to establish a correlation between previous and new knowledge and between all subject of the curriculum.

Limitations

1. Mechanical Method of Teaching. The use of the these steps takes away the freedom of the teacher as he cannot incorporate his independent thought in any step. This reduces his originality. Hence, Herbartian approach is a mechanical method of teaching.
2. No Place for Individual Differences. While using Herbartian approach. Similar questions are asked to the entire . This overlooks individual differences.
3. Useful in Knowledge Lesson only. Herbartian approach is useful in the knowledge lesson only, not in appreciation and skill lessons.
4. Teacher More Active. In Herbartian approach, the teacher has to be more active. It is more desirable if the pupils remain more active than the teachers. As this teaching method is not activity-centered, pupils don’t’ get any motivation for learning.
5. No need of Generalization. Generalization is not needed while teaching language, geography, history, music and arts etc. Thus, all the five steps are not needed while teaching.
6. Uninteresting. This approach stresses upon the teaching of all the subjects of curriculum in a similar sequence overlooking the interests, attitudes, abilities, and capacities of the pupils according to their mental development. The entire teaching become monotonous. The pupil does not show any interest in acquiring new knowledge . Thus, Herbart’s teaching method is not interesting
7. Difficulty of Correlation. Considering the knowledge as a complete unit, Herbart emphasized correlation between different subjects for the unity in the mental life of the pupils, But following these five steps teachers impart the knowledge of different subjects to the pupils differently. They seek to establish a correlation between various subjects in order to bring integration in the mental life of the pupils which is essentially difficult, if not impossible.

So in nutshell it can be concluded that Herbartain Five-Step Approach, is an impressive and psychological teaching method. It includes both inductive and deductive methods. A correlation  among all the subjects of the curriculum is possible by its use. There is a provision of recapitulation in the step under ‘application’. However, some educationists point out that this method is useful only for knowledge lessons. Generalization is not needed in every lesson. Herbart’s  method is mechanical. There is no place for individual differences. It does not motivate the pupils to learn by doing. The correlation between the different subjects is essentially difficult. Glower points out that in Herbartian approach; emphasis is laid on teaching only instead of learning. This reduces the freedom of the teacher. Pupils also become passive. Neither is their character formed nor do they reach their desired goals. However, the pupils-teachers should follow this approach with necessary changes keeping its merits in view.

Acknowledgement

To Arunima Maheshwari for being the scribe of this article.

Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Former Principal

K.L.D.A.V(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you. (Mahabharata 5:1517)

Ethical behavior is generally taken to mean behavior that conforms to some code of conduct which is held to be authoritative in matters of right and wrong. The set of principles that define what is right and wrong being called ‘morality’ or ‘ethics’.

Ethics  refers to the concept of human which pertain to matters of good and evil —also referred to as “right or wrong”, used within three contexts: individual conscience, systems of principles and judgments — sometimes called moral values —shared within a cultural, religious, secular, Humanist, or philosophical community; and codes of behavior or conduct derived from these systems.

Religion clearly plays an important part in many Hindu’s ethical decisions, and for those with a religious faith ethical behavior is often seen as being necessary, both as an act of obedience to God’s wishes and as a requirement for spiritual development

Ethics, which concerns itself with the study of conduct, is derived, in Hinduism, from certain spiritual concepts; it forms the steel-frame foundation of the spiritual life. Though right conduct is generally considered to belong to legalistic ethics, it has a spiritual value as well. . Hindu ethics prescribes the disciplines for a spiritual life, which are to be observed consciously or unconsciously as long as man lives.

Hindu ethics are taught by guidance from leaders and teachers ( guru), wandering holy men (sadhus), and sages (rishis). Some gurus are venerated, and may work miracles. Sacred scriptures also give guidance. Morality is taught through Hindu scriptures, for example the Ramayana. The scriptures prohibit murder, theft, adultery, and consuming alcohol, and promote kindness to others, respect for all life (ahimsa), vegetarianism, and respect for elders. There is no centralized religious authority, and the religion is held together by the duties of family and caste

Hindu ethics philosophy has been evolving 4000 years. it sources are the Vedas the oldest known literature in the world. Hindu Ethics differ from much of western ethics in perceiving a direct link between social and spiritual  life. Greek philosophy is a “persuit of truth for its own sake”. based on reason and intellect in which the wise, the law maker, direct people to create a moral socially. Hindu ethics is primarily concerned with the right action as a means to religious fulfillment.

Hindu ethics is mainly subjective or personal, its purpose being to eliminate such mental impurities as greed and egoism, for the ultimate attainment of the highest good.. Objective ethics, which deals with social welfare, has also been considered by Hindu thinkers. It is based upon the Hindu conception of Dharma, or duty, related to a man’s position in society and his stage in life. Objective ethics, according to the Hindu view, is a means to an end, its purpose being to help the members of society to rid themselves of self-centeredness, cruelty, greed, and other vices, and thus to create an environment helpful to the pursuit of the highest good, which transcends society. Hinduism further speaks of certain universal ethical principles which apply to all human beings irrespective of their position in society or stage in life.

Among the social virtues are included ‘hospitality, courtesy, and duties to wife, children, and grandchildren.’ In one of the Upanishads, a king, in answer to a question by a Rishi regarding the state of affairs in his country, says: “In my kingdom there is no thief, no miser, no drunkard, no man without an altar in his home, no ignorant person, no adulterer, much less an adulterous.”

Hindu ethics postulates that moral virtue is ultimately rewarded by libration from a cycle of repeated reincarnations and the achievement of a paradise beyond the mundane world. it sees personal and spiritual well being as fundamentally independent.

Hindu ethics is based on the premise that ethical life is the means to spiritual freedom. Hinduism has behind it a philosophy that is not only a religious doctrine but also a complex web of moral principles. For Hindus, there are four goals in life: love or pleasure (kama), material wealth (artha), the path (dharma), and release from reincarnation (moksha). Dharma is based on sympathy, fairness, and restraint. Sin is to act selfishly instead of following dharma. Hindus aspire to equanimity and a sense of calmness (shama). Asceticism, the renunciation of physical pleasure, is a path taken by only a very small minority of Hindus. Some Hindus make daily worship and offerings to humankind, the needy, and to guests. Unexpected guests must be welcomed and fed.

It offer practical guidance, rites, prayers, festival and social structure ,  all aimed at securing social harmony and God realization. Since God is the embodiment of truth and justice right action is the means to experience God realization.

The Vedas are  hymns and rites that glorify the Vedic gods, who are representative of the Devine power of the supreme God. They deal with personal issues universal concerns and theories of creation. Hinduism teaches the reading or listening to the Vedas enlivens the connection between individual and the creator Vedic writings  are fundamental to Hinduism

The Rg Veda and Atharva Veda, the hymns of the Vedas, are quite specific about action that can be seen as righteous and moral. Honesty, rectitude, friendship, charity, nonviolence, truthfulness, modesty, celibacy, religious worship and purity of heart are all listed as desirable and necessary virtues. The Rg- veda also cities bad intentions, swearing, falsehood, gambling, egoism, cruelty, adultery, theft and injury to life as sinful actions.

The Manuva-shastra (codes of Manu) gives details of social rules and practices. Kautilya’s Artha-shastra discusses economics and politics.

The Bhagwat Gita, a central text of Hinduism gives very specific ethical advise. Lord Krishna states that the correctness of the action should be the primary consideration when doing some thing. He advises Arjuna always to act in accordance with dharma (the ethical living). Further more he says, if Arjuna could experiences the Devine, his actions would spontaneously reflect absolute wisdom and purity and therefore all dilemmas would evaporable. In this instance the right course of action is to fight. A Hindu finds the ethics of Hinduism in the poems of Bhagavad-Gita. These were written at a time when there was attack on the establishment by reformers in order to maintain the order of the society. Gita teaches that by fulfilling his class function to the best of his ability, with devotion to God and without personal ambition, a man can find salvation, whatever his class. The teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita are summed up in the maxim ‘your business is with deed and not with the result’.

Other texts that that give insight into Hindu ethics also shaped the life of a Hindu. There is the Manasollasa written by 12th Century Deccan king Someshvara III Chalukya that illustrates Hindu morals. Hospitality, charity and honesty are extolled. Piety, performance of religious worship and pilgrimage are also important. Eight virtues of the soul were mentioned in the law book of Gautama, namely compassion, patience, contentedness, purity, earnest endeavor, pure thoughts, freedom from greed, and freedom from envy. Tamil texts of Tiukkural and Naladiyar also stress on the moral codes.

There are many stories in Hindu literature about morality and how best to behave. Deities advise and guide. in the Ramayana, Ram is embodiment of dharma teaching the values of obedience respect and duty. the later writings of the Purana specifies to Shiva and Vishnu, advocate worship and devotion as means to libration.

The Upanishads embrace the concept of God as the impersonal supreme being the ‘Braham’. the verse state the divinity is everywhere that individual is indeed  ’Brahma’ itself – Aham Brahmasmi (I ,am the totality ) the Upanishad reaffirm that Moksha (Libration) is the goal of life. to achieve libration, it is necessary to follow a strict code of ethical and spiritual discipline. austerity chastely silence, and solitude lead the soul forward while self restraint, self sacrifice and compassion free one from greed and anger.

According to Hinduism morality is a societal phenomenon and, since man creates societies, all morality is a concept created by man. It follows, that morality is relative to our environment and does not apply to all persons at all times. Morality can only be relative and subjective; instead of objective, universal and absolute.

A Hindu is advised to contain and restrain all the emotions that may lead to a sinful existence. Thus he is asked to control such emotions as Kama (lust), Krodha(anger), Mada (ego, pride) and Matsara (jealousy). The moral codes of various texts repeatedly emphasize the importance of being aware of these ordinary but strong human emotions that lead to the disruptions of a harmonious society.

Hinduism asserts that just as there is order in the universe, human life can be equally harmonious and orderly. Human society should express the Devine purpose. All people belong to social caste determined by character, natural inclination and function in society. these castes consists of brahman (the wise) Khastriy (the warrior) vaish (the merchant) sudre  ( the laborer) within each caste the individual can achieve perfection and the whole system promotes spiritual progress.

Elaboration of the social code is found in the Mahabharata. There are four great aims of human life (purusharthas), namely dharma or righteousness, artha or wealth,kama or enjoyment and moksha or spiritual liberation; the four stages of life, the student or brahmacharya, the householder or grahasthya, the forest-dweller orvanaprastha and the wandering ascetic or sanyasa:

Hindu thought divide life into 25 years stages, giving specific ethical advise for each. the first stage is for learning, the second is the time for the house holder, the third is a time for meditation and study of scriptures and the final stage is one of renunciation of the outer life. the sequence should ultimately end in libration, the goal of life. Members of family should always follow their duty children should respect and obey their parent wishes, husbands and wives ought to be loving and respectful advising their families and teaching moral values.

Many Hindu practices  derives from the belief the Brahma the Devine is all-pervading. If Divinity is  everywhere then everything must be respected. Nature is not separate  from Humanity  therefore animals are revered particularly  cows. Actually it is practical application of the belief of oneness and therefore the sacredness of life.

Hinduism asserts that all  living organisms, including bacteria, fish and human beings have developed from inanimate matter through the process of evolution. Evolution, and life itself, is due to the ability of a complex chemical compound to sense a threat to its continued existence and to react upon such impulse with an attempt to negate any incipient threat. We know this instinctive, automatic interaction with the environment as the survival instinct.

The importance given to spiritual life in India creates the interdependence between the mystical and the practical. Ethics is central to Hinduism, improving  the present and ultimately freeing the individual from the cycle of  birth and death. Hinduism with all its complexity has unity at the heart of its diversity. its goals are to raise the quality of life ensure spiritual awaking and fulfill humanity’s destiny.

The highest good is the perfection of the self, or self-realization. It may also have its social frame of reference, envisioning and ideal social order as the ultimate objective of society.  Thus  the purpose of Hindu ethics  appear to have  three answers :

1.       To lead people to behave in accordance with the wishes of a divine authority.

2.       To lead people to behave in a way that benefits society at large rather than their own narrow self interest.

3.       To lead people to control their desires and aversions in the belief that this will result in a more satisfying, rewarding and contented way of life.

Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Former Principal

K.L.D.A.V(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

“The curriculum is the tool in the hands of the artist (the teacher) to mould his material (the pupil) according to his ideal (objective) in his studio (the school).” Cunningham

Education is a tri-polar process, in which on the one end is the teacher ,on the second is the student and on the third is the curriculum .In fact ,the curriculum is the central point of the entire formal educational process. If education is accepted as the teaching-learning process, then both teaching and learning take place through the curriculum.

The Concept of Curriculum

Etymologically the term ‘curriculum ’has been derived from the Latin word ‘currere’ which means race course .Thus ,the term ‘curriculum’ has the  sense of competition and achievement of goal inherent in it.

Curriculum as total environment: The most comprehensive concept of curriculum is given by those who conceive it as  the total environment of the school. In the words of H.L. Caswell, “The curriculum is all that goes on in the lives of the children, their parents and their teachers. The curriculum is made up of everything that surrounds the learner in all his working hours.” In fact, the curriculum has been described as “the environment in motion.” Actually  the term must be  comprehended in  more liberal sense, because there is no questioning on  the fact that the child’s education is influenced,  not only by  books but the playground, library, laboratory, reading room, co-curricular programmes, the educational environment, and a host of other factors also. In the school, both the educator and the educand are integral  part of the curriculum because they are part of the same environment. In the words of Bent and Kronenburg , “Curriculum, in its broadest sense, includes the complete school environment, involving all the courses, activities, reading and associations furnished to the pupils in the school.”

Organized form of subject-matter: Curriculum is the organized form of subject-matter, specially prepared to experiences and activities which provide the student with the knowledge and the skill he will require in facing the various situations in real life. Obviously, the term ‘curriculum’ cannot be restricted to the  list of books only, as it also include other activities which provide the student  the knowledge and the skill he will require in facing the various situations of life. Hence, now curriculum includes numerous other elements not taught by books.

Curriculum as a comprehensive  experience: In the words of Munroe, “Curriculum embodies all the experiences which are utilized by the school to attain the aims of education.” Thus, the various subjects included for study in a curriculum are not intended merely for study or rote learning but to convey experiences- of various kinds .Curriculum does not mean only the academic subject traditionally taught it the school, but it includes the totality of experiences that a pupil receives through the manifold activities that go on in the school in the classroom, library, laboratory, workshop, playground and in  numerous informal contacts between teachers and  students.

The curriculum includes all the learner’s experiences in or outside school. The experiences which has been devised to help him develop mentally, physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually and morally.” it is obvious,  that, the aim of curriculum is to provide experience to the educand so that he may achieve complete development. By calling the curriculum an experience, the fact is made explicit that it includes not merely books, but all those activities and relationship which are indulged in by the educand, both inside and outside the school.

Curriculum is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. Curriculum is a means or tool. It is apparent from the above referred definitions that  it is created –  to achieve the aims of education. That is why, different educationists have suggested different kinds of curricula in accordance  to the aims and objectives ascribed to education; Explaining the concept of curriculum as a tool of education, Cunningham writes, “The curriculum is the tool in the hands of the artist (the teacher) to mould his material (the pupil) according to his ideal (objective) in his studio (the school).” Here the educator is compared to an artist and the curriculum as one of the instruments of tools used by him to develop the educand according to, and in conformity with the aims of education. It is evident that the curriculum will continue to  change with every change in the aims of education.

“The curriculum may be defined as the totality of subject ‘matter, activities, and experience which constitute a pupil’s school life.” Curriculum includes all activities Elaborating the same concept further, H.H. Horne says, “The curriculum is that which the pupil is taught. It involves more than the acts of learning and quiet study, it involves occupations, production, achievements, exercise, activity. “Pragmatists, too, have included the entire range of the educand’s activities in the curriculum because according to them, the child learns by doing.

In the light of the various definitions of curriculum given it is possible to arrive at a definition of the term which includes all the points mentioned in these definitions. Briefly, then, curriculum is the means of achieving the goals of education . It includes all those . experience activities and environments which the educand receives during his educational career. Such a definition of curriculum comprehends the educand’s entire life, a contention born out by all modern educationists who believe that .the child learns not only inside the school, but also outside it, on the playground, at home, in society, in fact, every where. That is why, there is  so much insistence on the participation of the parents in the child’s education and  not restricting  the curriculum to the school environment only, but taking it to every possible kind of environment encountered by the child. Besides, it includes all those activities which the child does, irrespective of the time and place of these activities. It also includes the entire range of experiences that the child has in the school, at home,and in the world at large. Considering from this liberal standpoint, one finds that in preparing the curriculum one has much wider background than would otherwise be possible.

The Purpose of Curriculum

Clarifying the  purpose of curriculum, it has been pointed out in the report of the Secondary Education Commission( 1952-53 India) that, “The starting point for curricular reconstruction must, therefore, be the device to bridge the gulf between the school subjects and to enrich the varied activities that make up the warp and woof of life.” Hence, the curricular should be so designed that it strains the educand to face the situations of real life, a curriculum can be said to have the following major purposes

Synthesis of subjects and life. The aim of the curriculum is to arrange and provide those subjects for an edueand’s study, which will enable the educand to destroy any gulf between school life and life  outside  the  school.

Harmony between individual and activity: In a democracy, such social qualities as social skills, cooperation, the desire to be of service, sympathy, etc, are very significant because without them, no society can continue to exist. On the other hand, development of the individual’s own character and personality are also very important. Hence, the curriculum must create an environment and provide those books which enable the individual to achieve his own development at the same time as he learns these social qualities.

Development of democratic values: In all democratic countries, the curriculum of education must aim to develop the democratic values of equality, liberty and fraternity, so that the educands may develop into a fine democratic citizens. But this development should not only aim at national benefit.In this age of globalization, the curriculum must also aim to introduce a spirit of internationalism in the educand.

Satisfaction of the educand’s need: In defining curriculum, many educationists have insisted that it must be designed to satisfy the needs and requirements of the educand. It is seen that one finds a great variety of interests, skills, abilities, attitudes, aptitudes,’ etc., among educands. A curriculum, should be so designed as to satisfy the general and specific requirements of the educands.

Realization of values: One aim of education is development of good ethical values, -and what is required for this is to create in the educand a faith in the various desirable values. Hence, one of the objectives of education is to create in the educand a definite realization for the prevailing system of values.

Development of knowledge and enrichment in knowledge: In its most common connotation, the term curriculum is taken as  a means for the development of knowledge or acquisition  of facts .This is the aspect which should be kept in mind while designing a curriculum. It is the most fundamental objective of a curriculum.

In the contemporary educational patterns that curriculum is believed to the suitable which can create a harmony between the various branches of knowledge so that the educand’s attitude should be comprehensive and complete, not one sided.

Creation of a useful environment: Another objective of curriculum is to create an environment suitable to the educand. Primarily the environment must assist the educand in achieving the maximum possible development of his faculties, abilities and capabilities.

Principles of Curriculum  Construction

Different educationists have expressed their own views about the fundamental principles of curriculum construction, the difference being created by their different philosophies of education. Briefly, the main principles of curriculum construction are as follows:

Principle of utility: T.P. Nunn, the educationist, believes that the principle of utility is the most important underlying principle for  the formation of a curriculum. He writes, “While the plain man generally likes his children to pick up some scraps of useless learning for purely decorative purpose, he requires, on the whole, that they shall be taught what will be useful to them in later life, and he is inclined to give ‘useful’ a raher strict interpretation.” As a general rule, parents are in favour of including all those subjects in the curriculum which are likely to prove useful for their child in his life, and by means of which he can be a responsible member of society.

Principle of Training in the proper patterns of conduct: According to Crow and Crow, the main principle underlying the construction of a curriculum is that, through education the educand should be able to adopt the behaviour patterns appropriate to different circumstances. Man is a social animal who has to adapt himself constantly  to the social environment. Therefore, education must aim at developing all these qualities in the educand which will facilitate this adaptation to the social milieu. The child is by nature self-centred, but education must teach him to attend the needs and requirements of others besides himself. One criterion of an educated individual is that he should be able to adapt himself to different situations with which he is comforted. In his context, the term conduct must be understood in its widest sense. “All our activities in social, economic, family and cultural environment constitute behaviour or conduct, and it is the function of education of teach us how he behaves in different situation.”

Principle of Synthesis of play and work. Of the various modern techniques of education, some try to educate through work and others through play. But a great majority of educationists agree that the curriculum should aim at achieving a balance between play and work. In other words, the work given to the educand should be performed in such a manner that the child may feel it as play. There is a difference between work and play. That is why, parents want to engage the child in work instead of allowing him to play all the time, but the child is naturally inclined to spend his time in playing. Keeping this in view, T.P. Nunn has written, “The school should be thought of not as a knowledge-monger’s shop, but a place where the young are disciplined in certain forms of activity. All subjects should be taught; in the ‘play way’ care being taken that the ‘way’ leads continuously from the irresponsible frolic of childhood to the disciplined labours of manhood.”

Principle of Synthesis of all activities of life. In framing a curriculum, attention should be paid to the inclusion, in it, of all the various activities of life, such as contemplation, learning, acquisition of various kinds of skill, etc. In the individual and social sphere of life, every individual has to perform a great variety of activities, and the success in life is determined by the success of all these activities. ‘Hence, the curriculum should not neglect any form of activity related to any aspect of life. A curriculum constructed on this basis will be both comprehensive and closely related to life. In other words, it should include all the activities that educand is likely to require in later life.

Principle of individual differences.  Educational psychology has stressed the significance of individual differences that exist between one individual and another. It is discovered that people differ in respect of their mental processes, interests, aptitudes, attitudes, abilities, skills, etc., and these differences are innate. The entire education is peado- centric that is, it is centred around the ‘child. Psychologists insist that the curriculum should be so designed as to provide an opportunity for complete and comprehensive development to widely differing individuals. One of the basic qualities of such a curriculum is flexibility; for it must be flexible, in order to accommodate, educands of low,  average or high intelligence and ability, and to provide each one a chance to develop all his personality to the greatest possible extent.

Principle of Conteneous development.  Another basis for curriculum construction is the principle , based on the realization that no curriculum can prove adequate for all times and in all places. For this reason, the  should be flexible and changeable. This is all the more true in the modern context when new discoveries in the various branches of science are taking place everyday. Hence, it becomes necessary to reshape the curriculum fairly,and  frequently  to incorporate the latest developments.

Principle of Creative training. Another important principle of curriculum construction is that of creative training. Raymont has correctly stated that a curricuhm appropriate for the needs of today and of future must definitely have a positive bias towards creative subjects. as, one of the aim of education is to develop the creative faculty of the educand. All that is finest in human culture is the creation of man’s creative abilities. Children differ from other in respect of this ability. Hence, in framing the  curriculum, attention must be paid to this fact that it should encourage each educand to develop his creative ability as far as  possible.

Principle of Variety. Variety is another important principle of curriculum construction. The innate complexity make it necessary that the .curriculum should be varied, because no single type of curriculum can develop all the  facilities of an individual. Hence, at every level the curriculum must have variety, it will, on  one hand, provide an opportunity for the development of the different faculties of the educand, and on the other hand, opportunity to  retain his interest in education.

Principle of Education for leisure. One of the objective ascribed to education is training for  leisure, because it is believed that education is not merely for employment or work. Hence, it is desirable that the curriculum should also include a training in those activities which will make the individual’s leisure more pleasurable. A great variety of social, artistic and sporting activities can be included in this kind of training. Educands should be encouraged to foster some of the other  conative and psychomotor hobbies,  so that they can put their leisure to constructive and pleasant use.

Principle of Related to community life. Curriculum can also be based on the principle that school and community life must be intimately related to each there. One cannot forget that the school is only a miniature form of soctety. Thus, the school curriculum should include all those activate which are performed by members of larger community outside the boundaries of the school. This will help in evolving social qualities in the individual,and  in developing the social aspect of his personality  and finally, in helping his final adaptation to the social environment  into which he will ultimately go.

Principle of Evolution of democratic values. The construction of a curriculum in a democratic society is conditioned by the need to develop democratic qualities in the individual. The curriculum should be, so dogged that it develops a democratic feeling and creates a positive attitude in democratic values. The progrmmes devise in the college can provide opportunities  to the educand  that he may be able to participate usefully and successfully in democratic life. In all the democratic societies of the world, this is the chief consideration in shaping the curriculum for primary, secondary and higher education.

Curriculum Assessment

There are three forms of curriculum assessment , Formative Assessment, Summative Assessment and Developmental Assessment.

Formative Assessment and Summative Assessment.-Formative assessment made in a situation when the curriculum is answerable to the public. Assessment in such a situation must ensure objectivity, credibility and relevance. To ensure these, it follows the set standardized norms/ procedures of test construction, administration and interpretation. Informal assessment is applicable to situations where an individual or a voluntary body  assess the curriculum to obtain some information to fulfill some personal requirements. The informal assessment also needs to be objective and reliable, but the evaluator is not bound to satisfy about these qualities of his assessment. Hence, the process of assessment need not follow the set procedures of evaluation.

Formative assessment is concerned with identifying learner weaknesses in attainment. In order to help the learner and the teacher overcome/remedy, Summative assessment aims at certifying and grading the attainment of the learner at the end of a given course.

Tests for formative assessment are given at regular and frequent intervals during a course, while the tests for summative assessment are given at the end of a course or at the end of a fairly long period, say a term or a semester or a year. In a course that extends over six months, a test at the end of say, every fortnight will be a formative test, while the test at the end of the six months will be summative.

The level of generalisation sought by the items of a summative test will be more higher as compared to that sought by the items of a formative test. For instance, if the items of a formative test check the ability to apply a given rule or principle to a given unfamiliar situation, the items in a summative test may check the ability to apply one or more to the appropriate rules/principles from among the many given in a variety of situations.

The functions of formative and summative assessments are different. Formative assessment includes tests and other forms of measurement intended to give a measure or of success of the parts of a curriculum even when the curriculum is  in the process of development. Summative evaluation includes such forms of measurement that would give a measure of success of the course as a whole.

Developmental Assessment. Besides formative assessment and summative assessement in education, yet another term is also  in use. It is ‘Development assessment”. Used in the context of curriculum development, it refers to the evaluation of the preliminary versions of curriculum with representative sample of learners. It is generally treated as a part of the curriculum development schedule. Formative assessment in this context refers to the evaluation of a course made with larger group of learners. The purpose of such assessment is not to help the process of curriculum development but to help the activities of maintenance and revision of curriculum already developed.

Criteria for Curriculum Evaluation

The review of literature related to curriculum indicates that there are four major criteria for assessing the workability of the curriculum.

Subject-Content. Various subjects are included in the curriculum, such as-Hindi, English, Sanskrit, History, Geography, Social Science, Physical Sciences, Bio-science, Home science, Mathematics .Economics, Psychology, Sociology, Physical education, Art, and Drawing etc. The structure of content of these subjects is determined for the curriculum development.

Experiences. The curriculum provides the following type of experiences to the students, social, historical, geographical (time and place sense), physical, political, civics senses, religious, spiritual and reactive experiences, expression of ideas facts and events.

Skills. Curriculum provides the situations for developing skills or psychomotor actives-languages reading, writing, speaking, observations, perception, use of different type, instrument in the workshops and field works, communications skills, craft work, and verbal and non-verbal communication skills. It is related to psychomotor objectives.

Attitude and Values. Curriculum provides the experiences for developing affective domain of the learners. The feeling, beliefs, attitudes and values are developed. It develops self-confidence, honesty, sensitivity sincerity, morality, objectivity, character and adjustment.

Critical Appraisal of Existing Syllabus

The concept of curriculum is very wide and extensive. It includes all those experiences which a student gets in the aegis of the school. It includes all academic and co-curricular activities inside and outside the classroom. The curriculum can be understood in the form of activity and experience.

The term ‘syllabus’ is often used in the sense of the term ‘curriculum’. In fact, the subject  matter for an intellectual subject is called content. When this content is organized in view of teaching in the classroom, this is called syllabus.

Thus, the syllabus presents the definite knowledge regarding the amount of knowledge to be given to students during the course of teaching of different subjects; while the curriculum is totality of educational activities, the teacher would complete .

Teaching can be made more effective if a  teacher is fully satisfied with the curriculum which he has to teach. Also, he should know its utility. It can be possible only when he studies the prevalent syllabus critically. It should be fully clear to him that each subject has certain specific aims, which his  students have to achieve. A teacher should examine these aims and how they can be achieved on the basis of the present syllabus.

From this view, the prevalent syllabus following are the bases for its critical appraisal :

Syllabus in Relation to Objectives : The syllabus is a means to attain the objectives. If aims and means are not in consonance, then the desirable outcomes would only be a pipedream. The utility of the syllabus depends on the fact whether the topics included in it are helpful in the realization of the concerned teaching objectives. In this context, it would be necessary to evaluate the syllabus. The following table can be used

Selection of Organization of Syllabus : The selection of syllabus is the second most important test on the basis of which critical analysis should be conducted. The details of syllabus organisation has been given in the preceding chapters, which can be used in the following table beneficially:

Comprehensiveness of Syllabus : The selection of the syllabus should be as per the level of students. So, the subject matter included in the topics should be neither floating nor deep.

Comprehensiveness is a qualitative concept. So, it will have to be evaluated in a relative manner. For it, a rating scale will have to be used. If common analysis has to be conducted, then the three-point rating scale should be used, and if more intensive study has to be carried out, then five-point rating scale should be desirable.

Data in the above table can be given numerical value in order to calculate comprehensiveness of the syllabus, (for it, all tallies of most comprehensive should be multiplied by 5, very comprehensive by 4, comprehensive by 3, less comprehensive by 2 and not comprehensive by 1, and thus calculate relative comprehensiveness.

Theoretical, Practical or Both : Both theoretical and practical aspects of science are equally important. If the syllabus is only theoretical, it would make the syllabus bookish and abstract. Due to this, the content in different topics would have to be analysed to see how much theoretical aspect it contains and what practical possibilities exist in it. This can be analysed objectively as follows :

Examination-centered : For both students and teachers, the importance of a topic is determined on the basis of its importance in the examinations. The amount of emphasis of a topic varies with the value of the topic from examination viewpoint for both teachers and students. It has influenced to such extent that the number of marks allotted for each topic are given in the syllabus itself. The analysis of examination effect can be done by the following table :

Child-centered : The syllabus should not only be meant for common students, but it should have due provisions for talented and backward students also. The syllabus should be analyzed from this viewpoint also.

The focal point of the syllabus should be the student. The syllabus should be selected keeping in view the age, previous knowledge, interest, aptitude, needs etc. of students. It should be found out the importance given to these factors in the syllabus. It would only be possible to evaluate its utility for students.

Correlation: Because a student attains knowledge as a whole unit, so the importance of science being related with other subjects, its influence or other subjects and influence of other subjects on it cannot be ignored. Therefore, it should be known whether the form of syllabus is partial or not, which can be done on the basis of the following table:

For Future Education: The syllabuses for the secondary level and higher education should be inter-connected, so that continuity of knowledge can be maintained. The syllabus should be analyzed on this basis by which it can be ascertained which topics can form the basis for future higher education, so that the capability of the syllabus in view of can be evaluated.

Although no one, and no teacher, can predict the future with any certainty, people in leadership capacities such as teachers are required to make guesses about the probable future and plan appropriately. Teachers therefore need to plan their curriculum according to the more likely future their students face while at the same time acknowledging that the students have a future. The competent leader cannot plan according to past successes, as if doing so will force the past to remain with him. The most competent leader and manager, in fact, is not even satisfied with thoughts of the future, but is never satisfied, always sure that whatever is being done can be improved.

REFERANCES

Heineman. Tyler, R. W. (1949) Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. Chicago:    University of Chicago Press.

Barrow, R. (1984) Giving Teaching back to Teachers. A critical introduction to curriculum theory, Brighton: Wheatsheaf Books.

Blenkin, G. M. et al (1992) Change and the Curriculu,, London: Paul Chapman.

MifflinCornbleth, C. (1990) Curriculum in Context, Basingstoke: Falmer Press.

Curzon, L. B. (1985) Teaching in Further Education. An outline of principles and practice 3e, London: Cassell.

Dewey, J. (1902) The Child and the Curriculum, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Jeffs, T. J. and Smith, M. K. (1999) Informal Education. Conversation, democracy and learning, Ticknall: Education Now.

Kelly, A. V. (1983; 1999) The Curriculum. Theory and practice 4e, London: Paul Chapman.

Stenhouse, L. (1975) An introduction to Curriculum Research and Development, London: Heineman.

Tyler, R. W. (1949) Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Aknowledgements

To Mrs. Anuja Rathi for being the editor of this article.

Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Former Principal

K.L.D.A.V(P.G) College, Roorkee, India.

Unfortunately, the process of examination in Indian  schools and colleges has become a “contemporary shame” . This is because of the phenomenon of examination malpractice that has become endemic in the educational system.  Students are involved because they want to achieve success; parents are involved because they want good grades for their wards; teachers and others are involved because of the financial, material and other intangible gains derivable from involvement in examination malpractice.

The quality of education that we impart to our youth and the priority at which we rate it contribute largely to the formation of the attitudes they carry over into public life. So whatever kind of seed we sow in the classroom, the manner in which we nurture it and the strength which it imbibes in its various stages of growth will all determine the harvest that the nation will reap in the form of its educated youth coming out of the schools, colleges and universities. The imprints of these institutions of learning will become indelible marks clearly visible in all fields of our national life; this great impact of education on the national character is understandable once we recognize both the short term as well as long term power education wields over all who go through its process.

The value and functionality of any educational system lie in its ability to actualize the goals of education. In educational systems, world over, the examination  process makes the difference. The goals of national educational systems and indeed national development become like mirage if examination ethics is not encouraged and instituted . Till date, examinations still remain the best tool for an objective assessment and evaluation of what learners have achieved after a period of schooling. Hence, any situation that undermines examinations poses a great threat to the validity and reliability of educational system..

Examination is the pivotal point around which the whole system of education revolves and the success or failure of the system of examination is indeed an indicator of the success or failure of that particular system of education. It would be pertinent to examine the present system of examination with a view to determine as to whether it actually serves the purposes it purports to serve.

The two basic assumptions of any examination worth the name are that

(a) It should be valid and. An examination is said to be valid if it performs the functions which it is designed to perform.

(b) It should be reliable. The concept of reliability, of course, refers to consistency of measurement.

In  fact, the prevailing system of examination and its mode of conduct defy both these assumptions. The system has degenerated to an extent that its validity and reliability are questionable. Examination is no longer regarded as a test for evaluating the performance or judging the scholastic attainment of students. The reason being that there is a complete breakdown of the whole system of examination, almost all over the country, and at all level of education.

The Meaning of Examination Malpractices

Examination malpractice is defined as a deliberate wrong doing contrary to official examination rules designed to place a candidate at an unfair advantage or disadvantage. Examination malpractice is any illegal act committed by a student single handedly or in collaboration with others like fellow students, parents, teachers, supervisors, invigilators,  and anybody or group of people before, during or after examination in order to obtain undeserved marks or grades.

The Examination  malpractice is any act of omission or commission by a person who in anticipation of, before, during or after any examination fraudulently secure any unfair advantage for himself or any other person in such a manner that contravenes the rules and regulations to the extent of undermining the validity, reliability, authenticity of  the examination and ultimately the integrity of the certificates issued. Actually examination malpractice is any irregular behaviour exhibited by a candidate or anybody charged with the conduct of examination before, during or after the examination that contravenes the rules and regulations governing the conduct of such examination.

Factors Encouraging Malpractice in Examination

Examination malpractice, a variety of corruption is sustained by whatever sustains corruption in the country. Political activism has eroded the moral values of the Indian society. Social, economic, political, religious and educational vices are celebrated and rewarded in the country while virtue is punished. How can students, teachers and others shun examination malpractice when they “see criminals being set free through legalisms and court room gymnastics or worse, through wretched and criminal influence peddling?”

The phenomenon of examination malpractice is influenced by many factors. , lack of confidence as a result of inadequate preparation, peer influence, societal influence, parental support and poor facilities in schools are some of the factors responsible for examination malpractices. Writing in the same vein, many research scholars identified school programmes, teaching learning environment, the teacher, the student, over value of certificates, and parental support as some factors responsible for examination malpractice in the contemporary educational system

Contemporary  Indian  society places great emphasis on success goals without equivalent emphasis on institutional means of attaining these goals. The society  is characterized by a heavy emphasis on success and wealth without a corresponding emphasis on legitimate means and avenues to be used in achieving success. Everything in India  these days is driven by the desire for success irrespective of the means used in achieving success. The country has become a commercial venture and no longer a place for selfless service. Everyone is out to make quick money and patriotism is endangered. There is a disjunction between the culturally acclaimed goals and the institutional procedures for achieving these goals. The society, as it is constituted today, is founded on faulty/fragile education, political, economic, physical and social environment that cannot produce a better tomorrow . The country is bedevilled with social and economic ills such as castism ,provincialism, moral decadence, embezzlement, social injustice, corruption, and so on.Nowadays  It has become a society where the custom is to decorate miscreants, knaves, scam artists and violators of national trust with national honours and appoint them to exalted public offices

A society that places exceptionally strong emphasis on goal achievement without a corresponding emphasis on institutionalized means of achieving these goals is bound to exert pressures on some members of the society that may eventually resort to the use of any technically expedient means in achieving these goals irrespective of whether the means employed is legitimate or not. The process whereby exaltation of the end generates a de-institutionalization of the means to the end occurs in many societies where the two components of the social structure are not highly integrated.

Closely related to the moral decadence in the society is the greed for money. The monetary rewards accruing to participants of examination malpractice is enormous and unimaginable. If the police can openly accept bribe on the highways, why would those involved in the conduct of examinations not accept monetary incentives to subvert the conduct of examinations? Parents and guardians are ready to give encouragement and pay costs because they desperately want their children and wards to acquire certificates/ degrees. . The use of malpractices in examinations in certain areas has indeed become a thriving business for the examination mafia.

Furthermore, there is the issue of over-value of certificates. The problem of over value of certificates could be traced to the colonial past when the colonial masters issued certificates as testimonials to the natives who had undergone some form of instruction in administration. Such administrative certificates instantly catapulted the holders from life ordinary and transformed them into local economic and social superiors. Certificates or similar credentials became instant means of considerable social and economic leverage and opportunities for future political power. Ever since, the value system had placed emphasis on certificates because of their assumed transformational power. This inherited notion has dominated and suffused the Indian education system so much so that the product of the system preferred to flaunt certificates and credentials rather than knowledge, skill and competence. Consequently, students engage in short -cut means of acquiring these certificates during examinations.

In the same vein, parental indiscipline and abuse of wealth sustain the phenomenon of examination malpractice. Many parents believe that with their wealth they can catapult their children to any heights in the society even if it involves buying question papers and bribing teachers and invigilators to ensure that their children pass examinations. It has been widely reported that parents and teachers aid and abet examination malpractice directly or indirectly. Parents go to the extent of bribing their way through to ensure that their wards get unearned grades while teachers encourage examination malpractice because they lack the zeal to work but want to be praised for job not done

Impact of Examination Malpractices

The malady of examination malpractice  seems to be aggravated by the large scale and shameful involvement of all those who take part in examination administration .  Accusing fingers have been pointed at teachers, school heads, parents, students, examination officials and even security agents as those responsible for examination malpractice in the educational setup.

The incidences of examination malpractice are so widespread that every examination season witnesses the emergence of new and ingenious ways of cheating. The impact of malpractices in examination is so wide that, every aspect of our individual or social life is feeling its negative influence .It is directly or indirectly causing wide spread damage to our social ,psychological and moral personality structure

The following are few areas which seems to be most affected

Defeats the Very Purpose of Examination -The purpose of examination is to provide reliable feedback about the status of achievement of the candidate, use of malpractices seriously hampers the reliability of the test result. Directly hampering the very purpose of test.The use of malpractices this way erodes the faith in the very institution of the examination.

Discourage Good Candidates from Studying Hard Good candidates are tempted to believe ‘if you cannot beat them, join them’ especially as they see other candidates get away with their corrupt behaviors. This behavior may be contagious as more and more candidates tend to join in examination malpractice. They believe that even if they are caught, they will get away with it and the end will justify the means Denies good innocent students’ opportunity for admission Many good students have been denied admission in good and reputed institutions by the corrupt ones who through examination malpractice have better scores and grades. The best brains that could help in research and development are likely to be thrown out or frustrated while seeking admission.

Delays the Processing of Examination Scores and Grades Every year, many students are caught for engaging in various examinations malpractices which needs to be investigated before results are released. Though some results are withheld pending the determination of the cases, some are decided before results are released. This extends processing time.

Dissatisfies Candidates Candidates who possess certificates they cannot defend are dissatisfied. They have psychological problems arising from the way they acquired their certificates. In some instances, they will not be bold to present the certificates because they can be presented with tasks that will require them to defend the certificates

Decreases Job Efficiency This has a serious implication on the gross domestic job management of the country. It also has effect on the general quality and standard. Imagine the havoc of a half backed medical doctor could wreck on human lives. What about teachers who cannot competently handle the subject they are trained to teach. There is a chain effect of examination malpractices on the educational system and the society as a whole.

leads to Irreversible Loss of Credibility. The examination process has become endangered to the extent that certification has almost lost its credibility . Certificates and degree  no longer seem to reflect skill and competence A country that becomes noted for examination malpractice losses international credibility. The implication is that documents emanating from such country will be treated with suspicion. Consequently, certificates awarded by such country’s educational institutions are disbelieved. Such country’s educational institutions are as good as dead as far as international cooperation in education is concerned.

Road to Black Future .The fight against corruption cannot succeed if examination malpractice continues to be endemic in the educational system. As leaders of tomorrow who have gone through a school system characterized by academic fraud and dishonesty, the youths of the country will sow and nurture this fraudulent behaviour in any organization they find themselves. They will be destined to a life of crime, fraud and corrupt practices.

Generally  used Malpractices in Examination

The malpractices are commonly committed in examination at the pre-conduct, conduct and evaluation stages. Range from leakage of question papers to copying, changing answer books, impersonation, misconduct in examination centre, approaching invigilators/examiners, making false entries in award list/ examination registers and issuing fake certificate/degrees etc. Such acts may be broadly categories

1-      Allotment of choice examination centres.

2-        Appointment of choice invigilating staff.

3-        Leaking information about question papers, identification of invigilating staff and paper setters/examiners.

4-       Bribing/influencing/terrorizing examination staff, invigilators and paper setters/examiners. Approaching  invigilating staff Provide bribe and gifts.

5-        Possessing cheating material (written/printed/electronic device etc) or copying from such material.

6-        Giving/receiving assistance to copy in examination centre.

7-       Changing/replacing roll numbers and answer books.

8-        Disclosing candidates’ identity in answer books.

9-        Misconduct, carrying offensive weapons, refusing/resisting the lawful orders of supervisory staff, creating disturbance, instigating other candidates, threatening or assaulting the invigilating staff, impeding the progress of examination, in or outside the examination.

10-     Smuggling answer books in or outside the examination centre.

11-     Addition to answer books after examination.

12-     Manipulating marks through fictitious entries in award list/examination register.

13-    Sale of examination centre to organized gangs where cheating/unfair means are arranged.

14-    Helping the candidates to use unfair means in any form and by any one in or outside the examination centre.

15-     Helping the candidates in viva voce, practical examination.

16-     Attempting or abetting the commission of any of the afore-said acts.

17-    - Any other act considered dishonest, unfair, corrupt etc

18-   Communicating in Codes- there are dozens of codes students have devised: hand position, foot position or foot tapping, test position, noises like clicking of pens, clothing positions, etc.

19-   Altering Records through – Hacking into the computer , Changing the grade book , Stealing the grade book , Stealing the exams before grades are entered

20-   Leaving Class- Leaving the test room and getting help (most often, under the pretence of a bathroom break).

21-     Misrepresentation/impersonation. Convincing  someone else to take the test

Examination malpractice in India has attained a frightening proportion, it is sophisticated and institutionalized. Efforts by government administration and stakeholders in the educational sector to curtail the ugly trend have not yielded any fruit. It is saddening to note that examination bodies, government functionaries, school authorities, invigilators, parents and students all participate in the iniquitous exam malpractice

The menace of malpractice usage in education is so widespread that it nearly impossible to identify one single culprit. Different agents are involved in examination malpractice

Here  are few  situations who indirectly encourages malpractice in examinations

• Examining body like boards/university etc Supervisory staff is unfairly selected on the basis of nepotism .
• Examination centres are without rules .There is no check who should be allowed and who should not be allowed.
• Poor paper setting: paper setters are mostly untrained and unaware of modern approaches to assessment. The exam papers are hardly representative of the entire curriculum.
• Scoring of papers: Examiners hardly receive any instructions for scoring the papers, they prefer to check the papers at home and that most markers mark one paper in only 5 to 10 minutes.
• Material publication There are model papers and, guess paper guides available in the market with readymade answers.
• Negligence of invigilators Teachers/supervisors are non-vigilant during supervision. They allow mobile, peon, chowkidar, watchman to provide cheating to students.
• High stakes of examination Students freely commit unfair means by the force of pistol, knife, oral and physical threats.
• Student’s personal factors Supported by parents High parental expectations Inadequate preparation and desire to pass at all cost.
• Poor preparation promotes poor performance. Affected by the previous experiences/ Friends provide them encouragement.
• Supported by society Lack of school resources No observational strategies, Overcrowded examination centers Not enough space Poor seating arrangement
• Defunct security Laxity in prosecuting offenders Lack of serious penalty for past offenders. Police also provide help and unable to ensure security Law enforcing agencies not dealt with impersonation act etc set the culprit free after taking bribe.
• Teacher’s role Lack of devotion to their profession Unawareness towards teaching learning objectives Not providing moral training to students · Gross inadequacy of qualified teachers in our schools·

The Remedial Suggestions

Establishing cause-effect relationship is the only way to solve any problem in a systematic manner. In order to avoid “blind search” one must analyze the entire structure. The process of examination can be analyzed in terms of cause responsible for examination malpracticess, then and then only the remedial management is possible. Like any other systematic effort the process of examination too should  be analyzed in the similar manner.

To fight effectively this war against exam malpractice, all the agents of socialization must participate actively in stemming the ugly scenario.

The actualization of the goals of education will continue to be a mirage if the scourge of examination malpractice is not eradicated from the system. The country will end up producing graduates who lack the knowledge, skill and competence to exploit the resources of the nation.

This problem is symptomatic of a disease in our educational system which is eating into the vitals of our society. This malaise is harmful for the moral and intellectual development of our youth. It is afflicting the ethical and social fabric of our society. This state of affairs must not last for long. There is a dire need for taking measures to put an end to this evil.

Examination malpractice, which started in India as a minor misdemeanour has not only assumed a frightening dimension, it seems to have become a permanent feature of India education system. Efforts by  governments, examining bodies, institutions, individuals and concerned groups towards eradicating it have not yielded meaningful results. Rather, the situation has become worse in recent times. The new trend involves an organized system of the supervisors, invigilators, teachers, and in some cases heads of schools. There is therefore the need for a team effort to stem this social malaise that has become inimical to educational development in the country. Since previous approaches aimed at curbing this hydra-headed problem seem to have yield no dividends, we suggest  few  strategies for curbing this menace :

Sincere Implementation of Legislation by Government and Other Agencies .Some sort of  Examination Malpractice Act (,like the one promulgated by U.P.. state in india ,some 25 years back and reversed due to political pressures) must be promulgated and enacted with sanctions and penalties spelt out for offenders and participants in examination malpractice ( Like Examination Malpractice Act No. 33 of 1999 in Nigeria , stipulates a minimum punishment of fifty thousand naira (#50,000.00) and a maximum of five years imprisonment, without option of fine, for violators of the offences stipulated in the Act. The offences are: cheating at examinations, stealing of question papers, impersonation, disturbances at examination, obstruction of supervision, forgery of result slip, breach of duty, conspiracy and aiding, etc  )Since earlier approaches have not curbed examination malpractices, we are of the view that a more pragmatic approach to the problem should be adopted. Experience in the fight against corruption in India has shown that only the creation of a special commission can address adequately this crisis facing the education sector. To this end, an Examination Malpractice Commission should be created to address this social malaise. such a body should be independent and empowered to have its team of investigators and prosecutors.

Quick and Effective Action.There is a old saying that” justice delayed is justice denied”. Government and its agencies should henceforth stop handling cases of examination malpractice with kid gloves. The law should not recognize sacred cows. Anyone caught cheating should be made to face the music of irrespective of status or connections.

No leniency will be shown to the students caught with cheating. The students can be detained for a year. This decision was taken by Bench of Delhi High Court. Previously the students were spared after a plea but that did not stop students from cheating. A strict and severe punishment is believed to lessen the amount of cheaters inside the examination hall. If students are caught within the examination hall with a chit that contains materials related to the exam, he will be accused of malpractice. It is not important whether he uses the chit for cheating or not

Invigilators, school authorities, police personnel and other exam officials should be put under surveillance as they are major stakeholders in the business of examination malpractice.

In order to facilitate its quick dispensation of justice, a schedule of rules should be made to side tract the prevailing procedural rules that often lead to inordinate delays. In addition, such a body should be independent, devoid of government interference, and provision for it’s funding backed by law.

Construction of a Valid and Reliable test-

First step in constructing an effective achievement test is to identify what you want students to learn from a unit of instruction. Consider the relative importance of the objectives and include more questions about the most important learning objectives. If, however, the test focuses on a few objectives to the exclusion of others, students will not have the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of other aspects of the material and you may not be able to make an accurate assessment of each student’s knowledge. The learning objectives that to be emphasize will determine not only what material to include on the test, but also the specific form the test will take. For example, if it is important that students be able to do long division problems rapidly, consider giving a speeded test. The types of questions to be used will also depend on the learning objectives. If it is important for students to understand how historical events affected one another, then short answer or essay questions might be appropriate. If it is important that students remember dates, then multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank questions might be appropriate.

Writing Good  Test Items. Once you have defined the important learning objectives and have, in the light of these objectives, determined which types of items and what form of test to use, you are ready to begin the second step in constructing an effective achievement test. This step is writing the test items. While the different types of questions–multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank or short answer, true-false, matching, and essay–are constructed differently, the following principles apply to constructing questions and tests in general.

1. Use simple and clear language in the questions. If the language is difficult, students who understand the material but who do not have strong language skills may find it difficult to demonstrate their knowledge. If the language is ambiguous, even a student with strong language skills may answer incorrectly if his or her interpretation of the question differs from the instructor’s intended meaning.

2. Make the instructions for each type of question simple and brief.

3. Write items that require specific understanding or ability developed in that course, not just general intelligence or test-wise.

4. Do not write questions in the negative. If you must use negatives, highlight them, as they may mislead students into answering incorrectly

5. Do not suggest the answer to one question in the body of another question. This makes the test less useful, as the test-wise student will have an advantage over the student who has an equal grasp of the material, but who has less skill at taking tests.

6.  Use Multiple-choice questions as they  are more easily and objectively graded than essay questions and are more difficult to answer correctly without the required knowledge The following are a few guidelines for multiple-choice question construction.

1. State clearly in the instructions whether you require the correct answer or the best answer to each item.

2.. The grammar or structure of the main part of the question must not contain clues to the correct response, however.

3. Make incorrect alternatives attractive to students who have not achieved the targeted learning objectives.

4. Vary randomly the placement of correct responses.

5. Make all choices exactly parallel. Novice test writers tend to make the correct answer longer and more carefully worded and, by doing so, may provide a clue to the correct answer.

6. Never offer “all of the above” or “none of the above” as an alternative in a best-response multiple-choice question. Whether “none of the above” is chosen as a better response than one of the other options may depend on what evidence the student considers rather than how well he or she understands the material.

8. Multiple sets of question paper may also be used to ensure that all the students do not get the same question paper.

Effective Administration of the Test. In a latest directive issued by the government it has been stated that the students appearing for the Tamil Nadu state board examinations will not be allowed to wear belts, shoes and even socks inside the examination hall. The directorate has issued an advisory for examination hall superintendents to instruct students to keep shoes, socks and belts outside the examination hall. Moreover, the students will not be permitted to wear hi-tech wristwatches and mobile phones and scraps of paper inside the hall. Justifying the decision taken by the Directorate, one of the officials stated that students commonly hide answers inside their shoes or socks. Some even hide scraps of paper inside their belts, which is difficult to spot. In order to save time of the hall superintendents and the invigilators such a step will prove effective. Give magisterial powers (including right to arrest) to examination board officials. Conduct frequent and unannounced visits to examination canters. Answer-sheets be collected in a systematic manner. The collected answer-sheets be properly packed, sealed, and stored Do not allow writing names on answer scripts. Write fictitious roll numbers that will be substituted later with the real candidate’s number. Adequate sitting arrangement should be provide during exams to discourage cheating.

Adoption of Objective Evaluation Procedure.This aspect is related with the final out-put it has direct impact on malpractice in examination, naturally greater care and emphasis is required for making this aspect more reliable.

The use of score key will definitely increase the reliability of a test. The test constructor should provide the procedure or scoring the answer script. Directions must be given wether the scoring will be made by a scoring key (when the answer is recorded on the test paper) or by scoring stensil (when the answer is recorded on separate sheet) and how marks will be awarded to the test items. In case of essay type items, it should be indicated whether to score with point method or with the rating method. In the point method each answer is compared with setup ideal answer in the scoring key. Then a given number of points are assigned. In the rating method the answer s are rated on the bases of degrees of quality and determine the credit assigned to each answer. When the students do not have sufficient time to answer or are not ready to take the test at particular time. They guess the correct answer. In that case to eliminate the effect of guessing some measures must be employed. But there is a lack of agreement among psychometrician about the value of correction formula. In the words Ebel; neither the instruction nor penalties will remedy the problem of guessing. Keeping in view the test constructor should give the enough time for answering the test items. In order to control the personal bias of the examiner there should be a provision for central evaluation. A particular question should be checked by the same examiner. A rule book should be prepared before the evaluation of the scripts.

Work Shop for Invigilators for Making them Aware about the use of Technology in Cheating.The emergence of technological devices has  spawned new and more sophisticated approaches to dishonest conduct during examinations. A lot of academic information is stored in handsets for direct use in examination halls or for onward transfer via SMS to other students any where in the country Students with personal digital assistants or cell phones can beam or call data silently from across a classroom, or with a cell phone from anywhere off the school environment.   Few of the Genrally used devices are Watch: “data bank” watches can hold  notes for cheatings.  Pager: Setting electronic pagers to store messages students can conveniently call up when the teacher’s not looking. Palm Pilots and other personal digital assistants (and some calculators, too) allow information to be beamed across a distance via infrared. A student can use a laser pointer (many look like pens) to “write” the answers or as part of a code.  Calculator: programmable calculators can hold text, formulas, even pictures.  Micro-recorder: used when the same test is delivered in multiple sections; questions are whispered into microphone for later transcription.  Wireless Monitor: ,  a body pack transmitter concealed under clothing combined with a small flesh-colored earpiece; . A cell phone plus a small earpiece are also used for the same purpose.

Empowerment of Teachers.Teacher empowerment should not be limited to professional development alone; it should cover his reward system and job environment. A special welfare scheme should be introduced for teachers at all levels. In fact, teachers should have a robust salary structure. In addition to this, his job environment should be enlarged and enriched to make his job interesting and worthwhile. These put together will enhance the teacher’s image and commitment to his job.

Teachers cannot provide experience and activities that guide students’ progress towards understanding of ideas if they themselves do not know what these ideas are; neither can they provide experiences that challenge students understanding if they themselves share the same misunderstanding. The implication of this is that greater emphasis should now be placed on teacher professional development within a whole school development or improvement strategy alongside a greater focus on curriculum, instruction and  performance standard of pupils Such programmes should be funded by government agencies and mounted by suitable learning units/centres. Teachers continuing education programme must be linked to curriculum change and practices that can influence learners’ achievement.

Less Emphasis on Certificates/Degrees and Paper Qualification.Our present  education system is largely certificate/ degree  oriented. Instead of knowledge, skills and competence too much value and emphasis are placed on certificates/degrees . The market place value and reward for the level and face value quality of certificates promote tendencies for and acts of cheating in the process of certification. Many school leavers and dropouts have certificates without knowledge and skills. Most of the social maladies like manufacture and sale of fake drugs by pharmacists, collapse of buildings, massive fraud in banks and miscarriage of justice are consequences of over emphasis and value on certificates. And if this trend is allowed to continue, the country will end up with doctors who cannot differentiate between vein and artery, lawyers who cannot differentiate between an accused person and the complainant and teachers who may not be able to spell the names of their schools correctly . It is high time the nation took certificates no more as passports to jobs or higher education; more emphasis should be placed on the competence and skill acquisition. The implication of this is that assessment of students should no longer be based on one Almighty examination.

Improved Funding of the Education Sector.The education sector  is grossly underfunded. The inadequate funding of the public school system is the cause of other problems that have undermined quality in the sector.  Funding efforts of education is low, and its budgetary priority for the education sector is even lower, Studies have shown that space facilities and equipment are in short supply at all levels of education

Teacher commitment was severely affected by their level of job satisfaction. Teachers were most dissatisfied by their workload, school facilities and services, professional development and reward system. In the same vein, graduates and other professionals from tertiary institutions reported poor study conditions in their institutions One of the consequences of this is involvement in academic fraud to cover the deficiency of under funding. With space facilities in short supply, examination halls will always be over crowded. An improvement on the current funding efforts will provide conducive teaching and learning environment.

Special  Economic Package for Examination Officials.In addition to the above measures,  a special welfare package should be put in place for examination officials to discourage them from financial and material inducements from  students, parents and others who may want to subvert examination process. These examination officials include teachers who invigilate examinations, supervisors who oversee the conduct of examinations in schools, officers of examination bodies who monitor the conduct of examinations and law enforcement agents who in charge of security in examination centres.

Remuneration for examination supervisors and invigilators should be reviewed and such remuneration should be promptly paid to prevent them from being tempted to involve in the rather lucrative ‘business’ of examination malpractice.

Actively Involve the Home Front.The home front must deliberately discourage their children and wards from further participation in the act by stopping the financing of exam malpractice for them. Encourage the children and ward to study harder.

Also parents have a lot to do by discouraging their children from partaking in examination fraud, examination passed through fraudulent act should not be encouraged, our parents must play their God-given role of breeding children with good morals that will be tomorrow’s leader, parents should know that they have the responsibility of inculcating in their children the right attitude that will help them in the future.

Campaigns to Develop Awareness about the Dangers of Examination Malpractice .Conduct a public awareness campaign to highlight the importance of integrity of the examination system.To be able to curb examination malpractices, there should be continuous grassroots campaigns and seminars organized by all related with the education sector on the dangers associated with examination malpractices. This will help to sensitize and conscientize the people. These campaigns will help the change in  people attitudes, external misbehaviours will also be positively affected. In addition, these seminars and campaigns will help restore the lost cherished moral values of honesty, hardwork, dedication and uprightness that hitherto characterized the Indian society. National and international examination board and organization should share information on new threats to examination security and procedures for counteracting malpractice.

The social vices Examination Malpractice of  bedevilling the society have permeated the entire segments of the education sector. It has very serious economic, political and social consequences The societal emphasis on success-goals, irrespective of the means employed in achieving these goals, has pressurized some participants in the education industry to strain toward societal apathy . Such participants have resorted to the use of illegitimate procedures in achieving success in examinations. The disjunction between culturally acclaimed goals and the institutionalized means of achieving these goals, coupled with the cultural context of great emphasis on success-goals, without equivalent emphasis upon institutional means of attaining these goals, have created an environment that predisposes some students, teachers, parents and others to examination malpractice.

Historical evidence proves that nations were made or unmade, battles lost and won, revolution wrought, so much so that entire empires collapsed or emerged due to the educational systems of various peoples of the World. Examination malpractice is a social evil that can damage society to the extent of possibly leading to a failed state.

References

Internet resources

• http:// feather project .wordpress.com/2008/07/16/
• http://www.commonlii.org/pk/other/PKLJC/report/20.html
• http://www.naere.org/journal/ • http://ezinearticles.com/
• European Journal of Educational Studies 1(3), 2009
• http://www.akuedu/AKUEB/pdfs/pubexam.pdf