Assignment - 01
Answer the following questions:
i) Discuss the socio-cultural and economic issues related to the education of girls in our country.
(250 words)
Introduction :
Education is basic right of each individual. Provision of educational facilities to all its masses is the obligation of society. In social perspective of the society, education is directly related to the development of the society. Females are the half population of the country. If we can not educate this youth part of our population, we can not develop our country on sound bases.Education is a process through which a nation develops its self-consciousness by developing the selfconscious of individuals who compose it. It is not a mere public instruction rather it is social institution, which provides mental, physical, ideological and moral training to the individuals of the nation so that to enable them to have full consciousness of their mission, of their purpose in the life and then to achieve that purpose (Saeed, 1987).
The socio-cultural and economic issues related to the education of girls :
Our social barriers, economic conditions and political hurdles do not promote education of the females particularly in rural areas. The girls who are educated have very limited job opportunities; resultantly most of them can not do much of economically productive work. When parents find that time and money spent in school is only a wastage and girls as a result of it do not becoming earning hands in the family,“ The find little attraction in education. Rural women spend more or less 13 to 17 hours daily domestic work including field work while the men,unless it is sowing or harvesting seasons, take rest during the day (Jatoi, 1987).
One of the principal reasons which keeps many girls out of the school system especially in the rural areas is that they are required to work at a very young age in various domestic chores they collect firewood, fetch water from near and far, take food and water to parents in their places of work, look after their younger siblings besides being responsible for many other activities. In addition, many are compelled to work, either as paid or unpaid workers. A substantial number of girls, in fact more girls than body’s are employed at an early age. Research on child labour has revealed that the survival of poor families after depends upon the work of their women and children. Therefore, being in school implies foregoing the opportunity to earn or foregoing opportunity to earn or help in the home. For the purpose, the immediate costs of income lost as a result are often too high (Kumar, 2000).Women are more deprived in areas with large landholding and feudal and tribal influence. For example the status of education, measured in terms of enrolment and literacy rates, shows that districts in northern Punjab have a higher educational status then districts in southern Punjab, which has larger and agriculturally richer landholdings and consequently a much stronger feudal stronghold. In KPK, women in the tribal and more conservative districts in the north of the province have a lower status than women from other districts. Similarly, in Balochistan, district under strong tribal arrangements have a lower status as compared with others districts . In each of these districts the overall educational status is low and the status of females is lower than males (Qureshi, 2007).
Statement of the Problem.
The problem under study was to find out the Community attitude towards female education in India
Objectives of the study.
The major purpose of the study was to investigate the Community attitude towards female education in
India . The main objectives of the study were:
- To know the views of parents about the education of girls.
- To investigate the attitude of community about female education.
- To explore the reason of girls drop out from schools.
- To suggest some measures for the promotion of female education.
This study has great importance for social workers, political leaders and parents to understand the problem about female education. Moreover, recent data regarding female education was collected in this study.This study investigated the major reasons of dropout; which is very crucial issue and needs to be addressed in policy making for the future.
Delimitation of the study.
Due to some financial resources and time constraints the study was delimited to only 200 parents of district Bannu.
Method and procedure
The major purpose of the study was to investigate the Community attitude towards female education. The study was descriptive in nature. All the parents (both male and female) of the district Bannu were treated as population of the study. Two hundred parents were selected as sample of the study using convenient sampling technique from district Bannu. A questionnaire was developed for the collection of necessary data. The questionnaire was validated through pilot testing before it was administered on the sample. Data was collected through administering the questionnaires validated through the pilot testing. For that purpose, the researcher himself visited homes, mohallahas and villages for the collection of data from parents (both male, female) and girl’s dropouts. Data collected through the above-mentioned research instruments was tabulated, analyzed and interpreted by using simple percentage in the light of the objectives of the study. The data collected on five point scales was tabulated, analyzed and interpreted in the light of objectives of the study.
2. DATA ANALYSIS.
Table 1. Reasons for not sending their daughters to school.
their daughters to school. This was stated by 34% respondents. The other major factors were family pressure 26%, religious constraints 22%, school distance 10% and school atmosphere is 8%.
Table 2. Causes of dropout of girls
Table No. 2 reflects that major reason for girls dropping out be poverty. This was stated by 40% respondents. The other factors were early marriages 35%, religious reasons 20%, and irrelevant curriculum 5%.
Table 3. Views of respondents on Co-education
Conclusion :
Economic and social disparities also plague the fundamentals of the education system. Rural children are less able to receive education because of greater opportunity costs, since rural children have to work to contribute to the family’s income. According to the Annual Status of Education in 2009, the average attendance rate of students in the rural states is about 75%. Though this rate varies significantly, states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar had more than 40% absentees during a random visit to their schools. In the urban states, more than 90% of the students were present in their schools during a visit.
References :
- Statistics from the District Information System for Education (DISE)
- Country Studies of India
- Statistics from the District Information System for Education (DISE)
- India Education Report 2009
- ^ "Constitution of India as of 29 July 2008". The Constitution Of India. Ministry of Law & Justice. http://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
ii) Describe the role of a counsellor in a school and the different viewpoints prevalent in the practice of counselling.
School counselors develop confidential relationships with students to help them resolve and/or cope with problems and developmental concerns. System support consists of management activities establishing, maintaining, and enhancing the total school counseling program. These activities include professional development, consultation, collaboration, supervision, program management and operations. School counselors are committed to continual personal and professional development and are proactively involved in professional organizations promoting school counseling at the local, state and national levels.
DEFINITION :
Some attempts have been made to define and itline counselor functioning. Nwoye (1983) found out from a national survey that school counsellors were responsible to the principals, teachers, students, parents, and the community in certain ways. Some counsellors responsibilities he listed are that they:
(i) Organise orientation to help new students from primary to secondary school adjust to
the new environment;
(ii) Define and interpret the objectives of the guidance programme to the principal,
teachers, students, parents and members of the community;
(iii) Identify guidance needs of students and keep teachers informed of developments
which may have bearing on classroom situations;
(iv) Assist teachers in providing group guidance experiences to students through talks,
club and classroom activities;
(v) Coordinate the accumulation, development and effective use of meaningful data through interviews etc.for the effective implementation of the continuous assessment procedures;
(vi) Help principal to provide information to parents about school policies etc;
(vii) Assist parents to have a realistic perception of their children's attitudes, aptitude,interests etc;
(viii) Collect and disseminate to parents information concerning careers and opportunities for further education, training and curricular offerings etc.
THE DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS PREVALENT IN THE PRACTICE OF COUNSELLING.:
The following are different viewpoints prevalent in the practice of counseling :
- The school counsellor plays the role of a professional and
- Specialist in counselling
- The counsellor plays the role of a curriculum planner
- The counsellor plays the role of a test and measurement expert.
- The counsellor plays the role of a career developer
- The counsellor plays the role of a consultant
- The counsellor plays the role of a community change agent
The School Counsellor Plays The Role Of A Professional And Specialist In Counselling
Counselling is the main domain of the school counsellor and anything that has to do with this service must be performed by the counsellor. The counsellor is expected to devote a great deal of his/her time to counselling. Just in the same way that a teacher in a school is employed to guide and stimulate students' learning, so also is a school counsellor employed to use his/her skills to assist students, to resolve their everyday problems or conflicts which have been, or may be, obstructing their search for learning. In individual counselling, the school counsellor seeks to assist students on a one-to-one basis to resolve problems and concerns of an educational vocational, social, emotional or moral nature under optimal conditions of confidentiality and mutual trust. In essence, helping students to become more fully aware of themselves and the ways in which they respond to the influences of the environment is basically the sole responsibility of the counsellor. It is known that students enter into schools with various problems emanating from their homes, within the community or at school and counsellors should be able, to use the: wealth of skills and resources to help them gain insight into these concerns. It may be prudent for school counsellors to use the group approach to an advantage when it may be impossible to reach all students because of the large size of most schools. Group counseling also has the advantage of use because the group climate conforms to our strong Indian traditional background of groupness which helps to make students feel more at home. That several students with varying backgrounds and experiences are assembled together may help to indicate to them (students) that they are not alone with their problems (universality) and this helps to quicken their recovery. Under no circumstances should counselling with students and/or staff be left to paraprofessionals or other auxiliary staff members. All professional counsellors are assumed to have undergone sound train! in the use of various skills and they should learn to put such skills into use in their roles as counsellors.
The Counsellor Plays the Role of a Curriculum Planner
Counsellors should be active in the development, and implementation of school curriculum activities and programmes designed to facilitate students' development. Counsellors should be involved in, all stages of curriculum development and the professional body, e.g. CAN, should take a position regarding the operation of any curricular innovation. This is so because most of the curricular course offerings in our schools are designed to develop students'intellectual ability only without due consideration for their emotional and physical well-being.Counsellors' presence on such bodies will help to ensure that course offerings are broad-based and that their assessment procedures cover all the three domains of learning. It is gratifying to note that guidance and counselling programmes of Indian universities are housed in Education Faculties. So, it can .be reasonably assumed that counselling practitioners cannot be said to be totally ignorant of the processes involved in curriculum planning and implementation. Even so, counsellor education Programmes of Indian universities should design specific courses in curriculum planning and development for their trainees for the purpose of familiarising them with these skills. Counsellors should be more active in schools by suggesting to authorities innovative and more pragmatic ' activities that can make students' learning more rewarding. Extra-curricular activities are educative and they can be meaningfully structured to serve a complementary function to the school curriculum. The counsellor who takes an active part in the formation and running of clubs and associations is more likely to understand students better as he/she gains aninsight of 'the students' potentialities ±ir and outside the classroom.Class scheduling is an area in which counsellors can also help in schools. While subjects like Mathematics and English Language are offered daily to students in schools because of their importance in certification and their pre-requisite status into higher .institutions, it has been observed that periods of the day in which they are offered may contribute to students' lack of motivation in them and their subsequent failure. In also ensuring adequate scheduling) each school activity and/or subject should, as much as possible, be given equitable attention within the school programme so as to make their Impact felt by both staff and students. Subject teachers have been known to ignore individual students' motivation toward the subject and for the most part, topics are usually taught without bearing to its relationship with other subjects and to career patterning. Issues like these should form discussion topics that should be initiated by counsellors in staff meetings/seminars as part of their role in curriculum planning.
The Counsellor Plays the Role of a Test and Measurement Expert.
Tests are used in schools as a means of evaluation and of determining individual student's needs. When tests are seen only in the narrow perspective of examinations and quizzes, they become anxiety producing and they may tend to scare students and pa rents. The new 6-3-3-4 system of education places a lot of emphasis on testing (especially the continuous assessment component) and this aspect should be a major function of counsellors. Counsellors are expected to play a significant role in co-ordinations the accumulation, development and effective use of meaningful data through the use of tests and non-test devices for the
smooth implementation of the continuous assessment of students at all levels of secondary school.
Continuous assessment information provides a useful tool in helping to make transition decisions on students from JSS or from SSS to further education or employment. The ounsellor appraises students through diagnosis. All the vital information needed in helping students to understand their strengths and weaknesses - their abilities, interests, interpersonal relationships etc are derived through testing. Ipaye (1986) defined diagnosis as a measure that helps the counsellor to make certain conclusions, no matter how tentative about the client's characteristics, the extent/magnitude/type of his/her problems, probable causes of such
problems and probable alternative ways and means of offering help.The counsellor, because he/she is the expert, administers scores and interprets the various' psychological, tests. During training, counsellors are exposed to psychological testing which they implement on the field. Most psychological tests that have relevance in our schools fall within, the Interpretive competence of counsellors. However, counsellors should be cautious when using intelligence, tests and projective techniques as they are usually fraught with errors. It is quite heartening to note that the Federal Ministry of Education is currently validating some of its commissioned tests and it is hoped that a forum will be created in the future where practicing counsellors will be familiarised with their uses. It is known that in some states, career masters/mistresses are being trained on a short-term basis. It should be highlighted here that such trainees are only professionals whose roles are to assist counsellors in schools. They should not be made to serve in place of counsellors, and in testing they can only assist in administration and probably scoring of some psychological tests. They possess no competency in interpreting any psychological test; When certain attributes of students are to be gathered and standardised tests are not available, problems may arise. It is the responsibility of counsellors to construct local and standardised tests where necessary. Counsellors are expected to have been trained in test construction and instrument development and such knowledge should be put to practical use in schools.
The Counsellor Plays the Role of a Career Developer
The school system provides a medium through which students can be trained toward a goal, which usually ends up in a career. The school counsellor with a developmental purpose, prepares students using their educational resources to attain a career choice. This is done through:
(a) Information — by providing useful and purposeful information by which students can make effective and sound educational and career decisions. Knowing the type of subjects that are available in the school, knowing which subjects to choose, combining the right subjects which can lead to a desired streaming in the SSS and gaining insight into institutions of higher
learning where training can be offered are some educational and career information that
school counsellors can provide.
(b) Orientation — by giving needed information with a guide as to the use of such information makes it relatively easy for students to adjust to new environments or situations. Newly admitted students are introduced to schools through orientation programmes designed to cover their adjustment to classrooms, the boarding house, the library etc. Counselling which is concerned with the understanding and adjustment of individuals within their environment for self growth underscores the need for counsellors to partake in orientation programmes.
(c) Vocational development and career education - by mounting activities such as career talks, career trips, symposia etc., students are able to learn to make meaning out of their educational pursuits. Counsellors should, apart from these activities, guide students on how to complete job forms and forms into higher institutions; they should teach students interviewing skills and keep a listing of job agencies and vacancies that exist within thecommunity.
(d) Placement - by assisting students who have completed educational requirements at prescribed school levels, counsellors are able to seek assistance from industries, governmental agencies or private employers in creating job opportunities or placing students according to their capabilities. In fulfilling the placement function, counsellors need to teach students various skills relating to employment - job-seeking and job-getting; staying on the job; writing application letters or filling application forms and interviewing.
The Counsellor plays the Role of a Consultant
Consultation is an expert advice rendered by a professional. In a guidance programme, it
is the process of providing technical assistance to teachers, parents, administrators and other
counsellors to identity and remedy problems that limit their effectiveness with students or that limit the school effectiveness. Consultation is the key descriptor of the counsellor's work especially since he/she is skilled and has .all the student-school related information in his/her care. Using the Cumulative Record Folder (CRF), the counsellor serves as consultant to parents, employers and the community on students. If there are ambiguities about students' behaviours in and out of school, the counsellor is able to provide clarifications on such matters and can also serve as referee to students when they apply for jobs, for admission to other institutions or for scholarships.The counsellor acts as staff consultant. Some school cases are unclear or controversial
and may involve disciplinary decisions; without being members of the disciplinary committee,counsellors can offer sound professional advice to staff. When teachers need advice as to know how they relate to students, other teachers, or administrators, counsellors can be very useful.Parents need advice as to how to deal with their adolescent children and how to make the home educationally rewarding. Some children have problems of communication and relationship with their parents at home. Some parents have need to resolve some of their own personal concerns. Counsellors can thus function in these various roles as parents' helper.
The Counsellor Plays the Role of a Community Change Agent
The counsellor is a helping professional who advances the personal development of individuals. When he/she does this in and out of the school for the benefit of students, staff, parents and the community, then he/she becomes an agent of change for the community. This the counsellor does by maintaining community contacts to be able to identify resources which are useful for individual student development and for effective change in behaviour. The counselor maintains a list of referral agencies and personnel within the community to which students can be referred. The counsellor acts as the public relations officer to the school by interpreting test results to interested parties, by .publishing school material that can be of benefit to both the school and the community and by helping to clarify issues on students matters which are of a developmental nature. Counsellors help the school to provide information to parents and other community members about school policies, procedures, course offerings, educational opportunities as well as requirements and resources which can contribute to the overall development of their wards. As a community change agent, counsellors are responsible for conducting local research studies to accumulate data on clientele needs and problems, as well as their characteristics. Also, follow-up studies should be conducted by counsellors on graduates of schools ad those who drop out so as to collect relevant data for its (the schools') improvement.
CONCLUSION
school counsellor must address concerns his/her role and functions. As stated in the National Policy on Education, does the school counsellor want only to play the role of a career expert and a behaviour modifier or does he/she want to add other responsibilities? Should the counsellor be an advice-giver? A teacher's helper? A disciplinarian? Should he/she play all these roles at the same time or at different times? There seems to be no simple or straight-forward answers to these questions. In seeking answers to these questions, a problem that counsellors may have to contend with has to do with their view of their role when it is in congruence or in conflict with that dictated by the school. There is usually no problem when the roles as perceived by the counsellor and the school are congruent. However, when for example, the principal wants the counsellor to be the disciplinarian, the secretary of the PTA, or the librarian, these duties may limit the time the counsellor has to do his/her real work. In such instances, it should be the responsibility of the counsellor to define his/her role or provide for scrutiny by the principal the general guidelines prescribed for the profession.
REFERENCES
- Lapan, R. T., Gysbers, N. C., & Kayson, M. A. (2007).
- Lee, C. (2001). Culturally responsive school counselors and programs: Addressing the needs of all students.
- Sandhu, D. S. (2000). Alienated students: Counseling strategies to curb school violence.
- Stone, C. B. & Dahir, C. A. (2006). The transformed school counselor.
iii) Discuss the role of motivation in learning process. Illustrate motivational strategies you employ in classroom practices.
INTRODUCTION :
Teachers have studied student motivation and have learned a great deal about:
• What moves students to learn and the quantity and quality of the effort they invest;
• What choices students make;
• What makes them persist in the face of hardship;
• How student motivation is affected by teacher practices and peer behaviour;
• How motivation develops;
• How the school environment affects it.
Most of the motivation focused on well-adjusted students who are successful in school. However, successful students differ from their less-successful peers in many ways.For example, they often have clear ideas of what they want and do not want to achieve in life. Moreover, they perceive many learning settings as supportive of their own wishes, goals and needs, and react positively to the teacher’s motivational practices.
MOTIVATION IN LEARNING PROCESS :
In the classroom the content covered and the social context vary continuously. Hence, children are frequently involved in unfamiliar learning situations. This may create ambiguity and uncertainty for some students and challenge for other students. Students try to make sense of novel learning situations by referring to their motivational beliefs. Motivational beliefs refer to the opinions, judgements and values that students hold about objects, events or subject-matter domains. Researchers have described the beliefs that students use to assign meaning to learning situations. A specific set of motivational beliefs pertains to the value students attach to a domain. Motivational beliefs act as a frame of reference that guides students’ thinking, feelings and actions in a subject area. For example, motivational beliefs about mathematics determine which strategies students think are appropriate to do specific tasks. It is noteworthy that a student’s beliefs about a domain may be ominantly favourable (optimistic) or unfavourable (pessimistic), thus providing a positive or negative context for learning. Once formed, favourable and unfavourable motivational beliefs are very resistant to change.
FACILITATING MOTIVATION WITHIN THE CLASSROOM :
At the entry point, students cannot know the full extent or implications of their chosen path. It is up to the instructors to delineate this path by establishing the policies, boundaries, expectations, standards, and agreements of the classroom. This information is delivered within the context of what actions are necessary on the part of students to arrive successfully at graduation day. Viewing the policies as a support for academic and them. The practical implementation of commitment, mission and motivations happens through a number of different activities in the classroom.
• At the beginning of the program, and at the beginning of each course, define the requirements, expectations, standards, and policies in the context of how these are designed to support a student’s progress through the program. Highlight the benefits that students will receive through their participation and how these requirements support them in developing the professional skills needed as a massage therapist. Let students know that there are standards of practice that they will be required to uphold as massage therapists.
• Discuss the teamwork between administrative staff, instructors, and students so that the students know how they will be supported through the program. Introduce all those who will be interfacing with students and delineate their job descriptions so that students know where to go with their questions and concerns. State the office hours for faculty and staff.
• Make certain that students understand the concept and practice of selfresponsibility in adult learning and connect this with the value of their mission.Include a discussion of what behaviors and practices develop and demonstrate selfresponsibility. Describe how the program will provide opportunities to bring a higher level of mastery to these skills. Discuss the value of integrity, keeping one’s word, and how integrity builds trust in oneself and others.
• Explain the instructor’s commitment to the learning process and the success of each student. For example, instructors will arrive on time, be prepared, observe students, give feedback, offer strategies for greater success, encourage, evaluate progress, communicate clearly, and model professionalism.
• List the skills that students will be developing and why they would be interested in developing these skills. Highlight the “pay-off” in the real world of their goals and mission.
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• Request a commitment or agreement from students to uphold the policies that exist in order to ensure their successful navigation of the program. This written and verbal agreement aligns students’ actions with the integrity of their word.
• Within the first few weeks of the program, lead students through the motivation exercise outlined in the Teaching in Action box.
TEACHING IN ACTION: MOTIVATION EXERCISE
Use this exercise early in the training program and come back to this activity throughout
the term to remind students of their commitment to their mission.
1. Give students 10 minutes to answer the following questions in writing:
• What is your mission and/or why did you come to massage therapy school?
• Why is this mission important to you?
• On a scale of 1-10 what is your level of commitment to your mission?
• If your commitment level is low, what do you need to do to shift that in order to be successful?
• What support do you need from your instructors to follow through and complete this mission?
• What past experiences and current resources will assist you in completion of the program?
• What new practices do you need to develop to fulfill your mission?
2. Upon completion of their journaling, set up the communication guidelines of how
students will be working together in small groups. There will be one speaker at a time and the others will be listeners. The speaker may choose to disclose only the parts of her writing that are appropriate to share in public. Encourage the speaker to be both courageous and discerning. Each person may be allotted three to five minutes for speaking without interruption or comment. Those who are listening can offer an expression of gratitude at the completion of each sharing but no feedback or suggestions. This provides an opportunity for students to share in a safe, non-judgmental setting.
3. Then have them break into small groups and share their answers with one another.
When the groups are complete, ask for anyone who would like to share his experience of either speaking or listening with the full class. A great question to ask is: “What did you learn and why is this important?”
.
INSPIRATION AS A KEY TO SUCCESS
The word inspiration comes from Latin inspirare meaning to breathe spirit. To inspire another or to be inspired means to infuse with life; to stimulate or impel some creative or effective effort; to give life or courage to; to cheer; to exhilarate. One of the primary teaching objectives for instructors is to inspire students and to encourage and stimulate them to engage with the learning in such a way that they begin to generate their own enthusiasm. Instructors need to arrive on time, prepared and excited about the subject to be covered. Opening a class with music, movement, quotes and poems that support the lesson set a tone of enthusiasm. Instructors create an experience of community and trust when they listen openly, embrace and celebrate diversity, make time to answer questions, and build relevance between the subject and the practice of massage therapy. An instructor who listens and speaks with an open mind and heart is a great source of inspiration for students.
Other students frequently serve as a catalyst for inspiration to fellow classmates. Meaningful stories of personal and professional experiences begin to build a sense of community. One student’s ability to move beyond doubt and fear can inspire and catalyze an entire classroom. Case studies and the recounting of sessions with practice clients foster an experience of shared mission that is expressed uniquely through the contribution of each individual student.
TEACHING IN ACTION: SIMPLE WAYS
These ideas can be incorporated in small and brief ways in any lesson plan of any course.
• Bring nature into the classroom with flowers, plants, objects such as shells or stones, and natural oddities.
• Start classes or activities with poetry, music, and literature that is moving and pertains to the theme of the lesson.
• Utilize art as decoration or as part of an activity that portrays the beauty, strength, resilience, and diversity of the human body.
• Look for and use designs in art or nature that illustrate an organizing pattern in the body.
• Plan moments of silence
• Begin or end classes with meditation, mindfulness exercises, or simply paying attention to the breath.
• Plan moments when movement and stretching are used.
• Organize group activities such as setting a learning intention as a class.
• Acknowledge student progress and demonstrate compassion and gratitude.
• Find the laughter, fun, spontaneity, and creative expression in massage.
• Hold discussion about what and who inspires and motivates students.
CONCLUSION :
Teachers, educators and parents are convinced that acquiring new knowledge and skills is the most important goal that students should strive for in a school context. The reality is different.Youngsters do not consider the learning goals set by the teacher as the most salient goals in their life. It is often stated that bad teaching kills motivation and that good teaching brings out the best in students of all ages. If we want to encourage our students to become their own teachers and develop independent learning skills, we need to know about the principles that guide motivated learning.
REFERENCES :
Elliot, A.J. 1999. Approach and avoidance motivation and achievement goals. Educational psychologist (Mahwah , NJ
Guthrie, J.T.; Solomon, A. 1997. Designing contexts to increase motivations for reading. Educational psychologist (Mahwah , NJ
Maehr, M.L. 1984. Meaning and motivation: toward a theory of personal investment. In: Ames , R.E.; Ames
motivation, p. 115–44. San Diego , CA
