CONCEPT NOTE FOR
SETTING UP A EDUCATION RESOURCE CENTRE
Over the last few decades the true meaning of education, the kind of citizens it must produce, the process through they can be developed, the materials required and systems which would make it possible have been extensively tried. Many innovations have been tried and we have the benefit of experiments from all over the world, and they all add up to a wealth and depth of understanding and thought provoking suggestions. Recently several countries in Asia (including India), often with the support of external aid, have been trying to improve practices in schools. Part of the effort has been geared to move away from teaching to providing opportunity and help to learn. Instead of telling providing opportunities to struggle to discover and learn. However, there is no system by which these new ideas can be translated at the ground level. There is no way where the plethora of new material available over the third world countries can be systematically compiled and the persons engaged to analyse their own work for its optimum impact, share their experiences, ways of dealing with doubts and removing errors. We all agree that educating everyone is of utmost importance but there is no confident break achieved so far. The pressure to look for solutions is immense, it borders on search for miracles but the analysis falters on how and why our past failures bring out positive concrete terms and project strength and limitations of competitive ideas. It is through this process that education, its ultimate purpose and its pitfalls can be assessed and the way forward can provide a road map for the future.
It may be recalled that for almost about a century the challenge for education has been to make every human being capable of reading and writing and thinking purposefully and more rationally. Indeed a large number of people in this world have, as a result become capable of at least reading and writing. A great part has been by governments opening schools or and giving support to non-official initiatives to supplement these efforts. However, schools setup privately as institutions for the elite have been on the increase in the developing countries. The clientele of privately managed schools belong to a narrow background and exclude a large majority of citizenry. The steady shift of the influential and the powerful to such private schools has led to commercialization and the erosion of standards in schools which were meant for the vast bulk of people. The consequence is lesser learning and mounting dropouts. In turn this means many in the developing countries (including India) making a slower progress towards reading and writing and having functional handicaps and lower earning capacity. Researches have pointed to the difficulties facing oral societies in transforming themselves in to literate societies but research also shows that there is no difference in mental faculty and capability among different human beings. This points to strong and well planned efforts that that take these two hypothesis together; orient our schooling strategy and national programme to optimal beneficence for the vast majority which have non-elite clientele.
Vidya Bhawan was launched with emphasis on equity. It has always sought to provide good quality education to the comparatively poor. Two or three generations of children - boys and girls, have as a result had access to good education and citizen values and vast numbers moved up the ladder of academic achievement and distinction in social and public life. It is still geared to the aims that education in good schools does not remain a prerogative of the elite. The significance of institutions like Vidya Bhawan is that democracy, meritocracy and justice is not the prerogative of the affluent. While there are many educational institutions, which are partners in this task, an institution like Vidya Bhawan with its rich tradition and its abiding commitment can be converted into an institution which fulfils this need both at the regional and the national level.
There is thus a need at present to provide insights, good quality discourse forums, networking and dissemination structures as well as capacity building structures. To change the scenario of education, more than access, we need to address the issue of quality. The present concept note is an idea, for a step in that direction, through consolidation and strengthening of the existing Vidya Bhawan Education Centre in order to transform it into a educational resource centre. The Resource Centre would base itself upon the experience of Vidya Bhawan as an institution and also in particular on the experience of Vidya Bhawan Education Centre which over the last 6 years as worked towards developing insights into pedagogy and has helped programmes and State governments, while keeping its contact with schools and enriching its experience through constant interaction with children and thinking about it. In the appendix we have given a note on the Vidya Bhawan Education Centre and what it has done so far. We have also given in the appendix a note on the infrastructure available in Vidya Bhawan included in and a brochure on the Vidya Bhawan as an organisation. In the following section we briefly delineate what we think the Education Resource Centre is needed to do. If it is considered useful a more comprehensive proposal could be developed for it.
What all could it do:-
List of some possible Areas
- Potential of the learning child
- Concepts of science/maths etc
that children naturally learn
- Concepts that children acquire
naturally and are in conflict with
reality
- understanding language acquisition and learning to read
with comprehension
- Understanding development of Spatial abilities
b) Developing and sharing Ideas on training
Teacher training or teacher preparation is a very important and critical area. Not only have there been many views on pre-service training but many styles of in-service training have emerged. In the last couple of years sometime in interaction with teachers it has been felt that the whole idea of training needs to be overhauled and made more effective and efficient. Many teachers felt there is an over-dose of training and there is nothing that they learn by participating in them. It is imperative that the entire of issue teacher preparation be looked at holistically and also as bit-by -bit in order to make it better. We also need to share experience between different organisations particularly efforts towards different directions. We also need to develop more carefully mechanisms by which teacher training becomes less tutorial and telling and more empowering. One role of the Education Resource Centre would be to make this thinking possible and ensure that large and small project and institutions in different States begin to think about this while not giving up the idea of teacher training.
c) Documentation including monographs on
- Training
- Maths learning.
- Language learning.
- Science learning.
- Social Science learning.
- Social aspects.
- Curricular choices.
- Interesting TLM & activities.
- Evaluation
- Philosophy of education.
d) - Readings with notes and tasks for teachers and pedagogues on
1. Philosophy of education.
2. Nature of human beings.
3. Education and Society.
4. Why School?
5. Development of School as a system.
6. Classroom examples.
7. How children learn maths and aspects related to that
8. Language.
9. EVS
10. Classroom activities and learning tasks for children
11. etc.
e) i) Networking with other centers of research..
ii) Promoting research in mainstream institutes of education.
f) Periodic camps and workshops:
(i) Courses for people working with Elementary Education :
- To initiate a deeper level discourse on education. So that decisions are better informed.
- Teachers/DIET/...............
- SCERT/NGO's/SRG/
- Panchayat level decision makers.
(ii) Special Workshops :
(a) Analysing training.
(b) How to make better textbooks? What do stories do for children and writing stories.
(c) Developing tasks for teachers and children.
(d) On Evaluaton.
(e) Curricular of Science at secondary level.
(ii) Organize Seminars :
- Subject based Seminars on
Language
Maths
EVS and their Curriculum at the Elementary School.
- Issue - based Seminars on
Learner
Learning process/Theories of Learning
Role of Errors
Evaluation
Altitudes & Motivation
Political Agenda of Education
Education goals.
- International Seminars :
- Innovative practices in multilingual contexts.
- Macro-level initiates in Education.
- Constructivism, perception and abstraction: learning and the role of the adult.
- Theme Seminars:
(a) Nature and structure of learning of EVS/Maths/Language.
(b) State of the art workshops on understanding maths learning, what does mean and how to make children more capable readers.
(c) Construction implications for classroom.
(d) Do we have a maths/language device in our brains?
(e) How do children learn to abstract?
(f) What is common between and what is different between language and maths learning of JMLL, Competency, evalaution and learning.
g) Outputs
- Readings
- Monographs
- Activities
- Training/orientation tasks
- Research papers.
- Popular articles.
DETAILS OF POSSIBLE PROGRAMMES AND ACTIVITIES
(a) A five year Project for Teacher Trainings:
Start a process of intensive teacher training programme at the elementary school teachers : Train at least 300; resource teachers over - period of 5 years; create a network across states. These teachers; at least 20 trained teachers; SCERT/DIET members in each states.
- Solid foundation in the theory & practice of education.
- Conceptual clarity about the learning process & the potential of the learned.
- Sharpen the skills to raise questions & a not be dogmatic.
- Appreciate the importance of participatory & peer-group learning.
- Sensitization to issues of gender & disability & equity.
- Language, maths & EVS - acquisition, nature of the subject, reading with understanding, classroom transaction.
What can be do with our freedom?
- Organizing teacher-training programmes.
- Be aware of the socio-political aspects of education.
- Why education? Goals and purpose of education.
- Structure of knowledge.
(b) Two special workshops a year:
Participation of those looking for special inputs in defined areas seminars.
(c) Two seminars a year:
Participants to come with background readings circulated and apart from invited papers, there would be papers from the participants. Those papers that bring up significant points or raise difficult issues would be presented and discussed.
(d) One theme based seminar every year:
These would be more focussed and would be expected to be more obviously and more pragmatically related to the concerns of practioners. Would be structured as presentations from the practioners with discussion and analysis from analysers, researchers and theory formulators.
(e) There is a need to widen the interaction with the outside world and share with them what we have learnt along with bringing from them what has been learnt outside also in our discourse. The local invitees would include the conventional mainstream institutions of education as well as those who are trying to be path finders. One such international seminar would be held every alternate year.
(f) Publish Monographs and readings:
i) One two monographs every year including those seminar proceedings that can be converted into monographs.
Apart from this;
ii) Prepare & publish annotated bibiliographies on specific issues (also tie up with seminars).
iii) Undertake translations into Indian languages, particular Hindi.
iv) Extract after scanning recent work in education from all over the world and convert it into readable texts in different languages. Help to make access of these ideas and work simpler on the Web.
(g) Setup small study groups
i) Small study groups through network at different places. The groups who could participate include Eklavya, Digantar, MACE, Zakir Hissain Center, IGNOU, TSG, Center for Science Education and institutions like Nalanda, Devnet, Center for learning resources, Samuha, Uttrakhand Seva Nidhi, Seva Mandir.
ii) Invite international scholars who happen to be in India; prepare groups for meaningful interactions with them.
(h) Carry out research projects
i) Action research by setting up experimental school programmes.
ii) On our own
iii) In collaboration with local institutions and in collaboration with mainstream institutions and other groups engaged in such tasks.
The above is a sketchy outline of the idea. This can all be made more elaborate and specific priorities for the next couple of years can be decided based on interaction with state government and with institutions in different states. Specially designed programmes and studies can be taken up in collaboration with and keeping in mind the needs of different programmes.
Why Vidya Bhwan:
As we have said that this is a proposal for an institution which will fulfill a national and regional need. There are already existing institutions at the national and regional levels so there are two questions that are important in this connection. The first question is why do we need another such institutions and the second is why Vidya Bhawan should be chosen for it. Education is a democratic process and it needs to constantly evolve and change according to the needs and understanding of time. Some of the structures that are available today have become fixed and we need the structure outside of the government fold which deal with issues at the same level as some of the other structures do. Any change in discourse on pedagogy would involve pluralism of such structures and raising the level of discourse and debate in the country while bringing it and keeping it closure to the ground and to rural schools.
Vidya Bhawan is a 70 year old institutions with a lot of experience of education on different levels and in different dimensions. The institutions have a large infrastructure and the capability to take up to motivate and orient others. Keeping in mind the human beings available, the infrastructure, the long experience, the structure of administration and its flexibility imply that Vidya Bhawan can be an ideal institution for this.
Note about the Centre
Education Centre was established in 1995. At the time of conceptualization of the idea of education centre there were two main objectives -
- provide opportunities for the cross fertilization of ideas as well as sharing of mutual learning among Vidya Bhawan institutions
- work as a forum for interaction between teachers of different schools, students and parents and enable them to share their ideas, discuss common educational problems and learn about efforts from each other.
What has it done so far?
Vidya Bhawan Education Centre has by now developed as a resource centre. The centre has developed educational sharing contacts with other organizations doing work in the field of education such as Sewa Mandir, Lok Jumbish, Digantar, Bodh, Eklavya, Sandhan, IGNOU, DPEP efforts of different States, SPEED Bihar, Nalanda U.P. etc. The centre has tried to bring in recent innovations and experiences across the country to Vidya Bhawan. Initiate processes of learning here as well as share that also with other organisations and individuals.
The faculty members of centre have been working with the trainers, researchers and resource persons of several states and organizations. In the last 6 years centre has developed a rich library which contains documents on pedagogy, curriculum, training, research, resource materials, dissemination, methods etc. Some of the main activities of centre have been:-
- Working with the schools of Vidya Bhawan:- Changes in the Vidya Bhawan Sec. School, Jhamarkotra and Basic School Ramgiri by introducing areas of learning that involve working with hands and also involve children by being active, thinking and exploring. The centre has organized workshops, orientation programmes, training and brain storming sessions of teachers in the context of mathematics, science & social science teaching and learning. Studying the response of parents and teachers to the practices being adopted in the nursery school, open air sessions etc., observing the functioning and attitude of children during the open air session and studying its impact developing classroom assignments, interesting home work, activities sheets, school activities participation etc.
- Interacting with and effecting institutions of teachers training:- The effort of relating to the teacher training institution has been one of the important components of the work of resource centre. The teachers college interact with a lot of potential teachers through their pre-service programmes and many more teachers through their in-service programmes. Since Vidya Bhawan Teachers training college is old and renowned institution. It is also a deemed education faculty of Sukhadia University. Vidya Bhawan Teacher College has also been identified as an IASE and a centre for holding developing ideas by the NCTE and NCERT. The Rajashtan Board of Secondary Education has also organised state level workshops in collaboration with this teachers training college (IASE). The relationship of the Centre with this institution has encouraged the faculty to learn from classroom as well as to take up research issue that are directed to primary schools and classroom processes. Their faculty are a part of the research forum and have not only help the forum that provide input on research methodologies but have themselves being held by the discussions of basics of pedagogy. There is an increasing realisation that the B.Ed. program used to be altered and the nature of lesson planning made more effective. This has lead to initial discussions with other principals and to the committee of the education specialists and make some time need on change in the curriculum. The in-service training has become more participatory and has a larger space for participants to contribute to the discussions.
- Workshops on trends in Environmental Studies:- Education Centre in 1995 organized a National Level workshop with support from the Lok Jumbish Parishad and in collaboration with it a workshop on environmental studies in which around 100 participants from all over India took participation. This was its first big program.
What is an Alternative School:-
In 1996 the Centre was host to a workshop on developing an understanding regarding the idea of alternate schooling and evolving the concept and approach to the need. Critical appraisal of the NFE scheme and recognition of the need for a variety of interventions was brought out. A subsequent workshop was held in Gurgaon, co-ordinated by one of the team members of the Centre and the draft report for and on behalf of MHRD (DPEP bureau) and the TGS of EDCil prepared.
- Support to Lok Jumbish:- An innovative education effort being made in Rajasthan with financial support of GOR, GOI & international funding. Vidya Bhawan Education Centre was asked to provide academic input and act as resource centre in the following two components:-
(1) Upper Primary Science Programme in collaboration with Eklavya.
(2) Capacity building for Dungarpur Diet.
The Centre organized a number of material development, conceptualisation, orientation and training workshops involving as facilitators education centre faculty members, teachers from leading universities, colleges & schools.
Science textbook & teacher manual for class VI & VII were developed based on Bal Vagyanik developed by Eklavya. A package for improvement of Science teaching in Upper Primary classes was evolved and implemented. The package includes periodic teachers' training, kit supply system so that children can conduct experiments, follow up, feed back and continuous sharing and support mechanism, evaluation system etc.
In the DIET capacity building process the centre initiated a number of processes including interaction programmes among the faculty itself as also with faculty members of education centre. The faculty of the Centre regularly visited DIET and worked as resource person in various activities of DIET. Workshops, meetings were regularly organized with DIET Faculty both at Dungarpur and at Udaipur. In some of these representatives from other DIETs also participated. These meetings and workshops were for planning and implementation of various programmes including those of reading and for sharing the material read, for research (methodology, tool development, data collection, organisation and analysis). Role and function of the DIET, analysing classroom practices in DIET's and in schools etc. Orientation programs both in-service and pre-service which was a part of DIET's work has also reviewed and analysed and scope to make them more meaningful identified.
Support to IGNOU :- Faculty members of Education Centre are continuously interacting with IGNOU, New Delhi and in association with group of resource persons have helped organize workshops/seminars to develop course strategies and then the course outlines and finally to develop modules and materials for courses on Maths teaching and learning as well as on learning process.
Support to DPEP Programmes:- Vidya Bhawan Education Centre is working with the DPEP programme as a resource support unit. Apart from the support for the Alternative School Conceptual program the education centre faculty has been involved in working with States of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana, Orissa, Tamil Nadu etc. The support provided to these is varied. While with Andhra Pradesh the Centre has been involved along with other resource persons in a variety of tasks starting with evolving a teachers' training module. The teachers training programme here and in Kolcatta for West Bengal was worked out with a lot of care and sufficient numbers of master trainers were prepared. The focus areas in these were identified and developed as a model. Apart from this a manual was prepared giving the approach, the purpose of training and the direction in which the training should move. The modules were flexible and to be used by the trainers.
Concepts like learning from the children, the capabilities of children that help them to learn, what does an activity mean, how do you make an activity etc were shared. In these the studies made by Centre faculties in homes and in classrooms were shared and similar tasks created for the participants.
The Centre has also hosted workshops for the Andhra Pradesh DPEP in connection with language textbooks for classes 3,4,5. Our faculty members have helped them in development of their other books, in setting up a resource library in the office, development of a state resource group as well as define with them the need for changes in textbooks, the direction in which the change should move and identify the basic procedures in modifying a textbook. We have also focussed with them on nature of subject to be taught, content, load, methodology such that we are helping the child learn rather than teach ourselves. We are right now working with them to help them develop their maths textbooks subsequently was may also work with them on the EVS books as well. A workshop for this is scheduled to be held from the 26th April at Udaipur.
West Bengal DPEP:- The collaboration with W.B. DPEP has been on two fronts. One was in helping them develop a programme for teachers training which has been used all over the State. Workshops to develop this module as well as sets of readings were held in Udaipur. Planning meetings to prepare for the training of key resource persons were held in Udaipur. The camp for training these key resource persons was held in Kolcatta. These key resource persons then provided training to other colleagues. The faculty members of the Centre have also participated in workshops on looking for alternative textbooks directions in West Bengal on the invitation of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education and more recently helping in the preparation of worksheets for children along with a team of resource teachers earlier trained. A workshop for this has been held last month and another workshop is planned in Calcutta on the 16th to 18th of this month. The finalization workshop will be held in the next months and would probably be hosted in Education Resource Centre at Udaipur.
Haryana DPEP:- Teams from Haryana have had workshops at the Education Centre Udaipur for preparation the manuscript of their class V books, for preparation of teachers guide and supplementary activities material for children in the area of environmental studies. Faculty members from the center have also been involved in workshops held in Gurgaon and Chandigarh to help the DPEP in its task of preparing textbooks and teacher guide for its schools. The faculty members of Resource Centre were also involved in training the State resource group in two workshops held in and near Chandigarh (Mansi Devi Complex).
Tamil Nadu & Orissa DPEP:- The interaction with both Tamil Nadu DPEP as well as Orissa DPEP was in the context of helping them develop a programme for capacity building of their DIET faculty. The faculty members from the resource centre participated in workshops at both the places. The idea of these workshops was to draw up ideas for developing capacities of the DPEP as well as possible role of the DIETs in their states.
Support to TSG (Co-ordinated by DPEP Bureau MHRD):- The centre has hosted many workshops and meetings for the TSG. Starting from the workshop for development of an approach to the concept of alternative schooling, development of research possibilities, resource enhancement programme for the Hindi speaking States, conceptualizing and developing the periodical, "Issues of primary education." The support to issue of primary education includes to write for it as well as transliterate the issue prepared. The centre has also helped them develop a resource library and sent copies of material and identified documents useful for specific purpose.
Teachers Training for Railway Board:- Centre has organized orientation programmes for Railway Board PG/TG teachers/principals of North East Zone of Railway Schools and N. Railways.
Support to Seva Mandir in NFE Programme :- The education centre was part of a nonformal education research conducted by Seva Mandir in collaboration with Prof. Abhijeet Banerjee of MIT. This research helped the organization to closely look at problems associated with NFE's. Education Centre is now a resource centre for Seva Mandir NFE quality improvement.
Support to other projects :- The center has also worked as capacity building and technical support center for other groups. Groups from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have sought support of the center to help them in teachers training as well as in their capacity building.
The centre hosted a resource capacity building camp for the UNICEF sponsored project in Bihar. For this camp teachers from 6 districts of Bihar along with local persons from resource agencies responsible for co-ordinating their local training participated in it. The attempt was to help strengthen the training and to improve its quality. Lucknow based support organization Nalanda has also asked the resource centre to take up a capacity building exercise for its workers as well. A series of workshops is being planned in collaboration with Digantar.
Interaction and Workshops with teachers of other schools:- Last two years the centre had initiated efforts to interact with and observe in nearby schools. Many teachers as well as resource persons from teachers training college institutions had interacted with teachers from other schools invited by the education centre. In these meetings possible changes were discussed and the teachers asked to examine their attitude to different subjects as well as their attitude to teaching-learning process and the child. In most of these interactions basic issues of teaching and learning, nature of subject were sought to be discussed and the teachers were given opportunities to work with their hands and discussed their own observations. They would also give opportunity to feel different kinds of classrooms and talk about while a change was needed. These teachers have also been involved in visits to other organizations so as to learn from them and develop their specific progress based on the ideas that have seen. This process has been slow down considerably because of lack of support and funds and just when we thought we could use our schools as major dissemination centres and help other schools over come their problems are providing them with ideas, materials and exposures, it has become impossible to carry this forward and follow up the possibilities that could have emerged.
Future Programmes:-
Most of these activities will continue in the next few years. Apart from research on topics that would help in development of a better school programme. The centre would act as a support to the NFE programme of Seva Mandir.
It would also provide training to the teachers and principals of schools run by the Railway Board. The training for groups in Pisangan and the first workshop for groups in but Lucknow are likely to be held in the next 3-4 months.
Workshops for helping development of textbooks and workbooks in collaboration with and for West Bengal Govt., Andhra Pradesth Govt. and Haryana Govt. are likely to be held in the next six months as well. Discussions with PLAN international are on in order for the centre to take up task of reviewing the functioning of the groups working with PLAN and help them to strengthen their educational programme.
It is likely with the work with Lok Jumbish Prishad and Rajasthan Council of Primary Education in Jaipur for the Upper Primary Programme as well as for DIET strengthening would also be started within the next 2-3 months and the centre would be one of the participants in it.
Through the linkage of the IASE with other institutions as well as through its in-service programme we plan to share the idea with a large number of teachers. The interaction between the centre and the IASE has grown and is likely to increase even more.
The centre faculty also helped in development of 'Khoji Pohti' along with 'Sandhan'. The materials were tried out by the centre in the schools of V.B. and nearby schools and the experiences used to modify and improve these books made for children of classes 3, 4, & 5.
Apart from assisting in Seva Mandir NFE research programme, education centre is involved in conducting research on many other aspects of education. This includes impact of V.B. programs, parents aspirations for children, comparison in learning and social sensitivity of basic school students vis-a-vis, students from other schools, learning patterns in children, impact of basic education, how do we move forward in the use of a more child friendly program in the Junior classes etc. We are also documenting these and the outcomes of it, if any. These are being done in collaboration with the two teachers training colleges. Vidya Bhawan Education Centre has developed a large and wide team to undertake research tool development, data collection, sharing and planning, involving in this its own faculty members & other researchers and institutions.
It is quite clear that the centre not only influences a small number of institutions within Vidya Bhawan and helps them to learn from each other as well as look at their own work more critically but it has also a wider impact. The textbooks developed with the Haryana and Andhra Pradesh Govts. would have a very wide reach and even though the impact may be very small given that textbooks is a very small component of the school and society structure, the fact that the books would be used by millions of children implies that even the small changes that happens in the text books would be important.
POSSIBLE BUDGET HEADS
Travel
Workshops Costs
Seminars Expenses
Publications