 EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Teacher Education is a curricular input for improving school education. The programmes and activities in this area are generally focused on development of capabilities in the states to respond effectively to the training needs of the states, including training under the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) and Special Orientation Programme of Primary Teachers (SOPT).

12 EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Qualitative improvement of education, particularly at elementary, secondary and senior secondary levels, through the application of the disciplines of Educational Psychology and of Counselling and Guidance, is one of the major concerns of the NCERT. The outcomes of the programmes in this area have implications not only for the educational development of school students but also for their all-round development including their social, emotional and career development at elementary and secondary stages. Highlights of the programmes conducted in this area during 1996-97 are given below.

Development of National Library of Educational and Psychological Tests

A set of 21 Indian and foreign tests was procured for the Test Library. Manuscripts of two Indian Mental Measurement Handbooks one on 'Personality' and the other on 'Values, Attitudes and Interests - were finalised and sent for publication.

Guidance Research in India: An Indepth Study

Research studies in the field of Guidance at M. Phil and Ph.D. levels and those published in journals were collected. An indepth analysis has been planned to provide insight into the status of guidance research in India and guidelines for guidance practice in India.

Building Personal and Career Consciousness in Girls

The manuscript of the book has been finalised and sent for publication. The book aims to generate awareness among change agents regarding the need to facilitate personal and career orientation of girls to enable them develop a healthy life perspective.

Career Development in India: Resource Book for counsellors

The manuscript of the resource book consisting of 12 chapters dealing with theoretical and empirical aspects of the discipline has been designed to cater to the needs of Counsellor preparation in India.

Guidance Principles and Practices: A Resource Book

This resource book has been developed for the use of counsellor trainees, counsellor educators, teacher trainers and teachers. The book has been reviewed and revised and is being sent for publication.

Counselling Case Management: A Practical Guide

The project is aimed at developing a book of counselling cases successfully handled by counselling practitioners and counsellor trainees. The book in the form of illustrative counselling materials would depict problems and issues relevant to Indian situation and ways of handling them in our sociocultural setting. Cases have been identified for inclusion in the case book. These are being edited and reviewed.

Counsellor in the Making: Status and Development

The study aims to follow up the counsellors so far trained through the Diploma Course in Guidance and Counselling being run by the NCERT in order to assess the effectiveness of their training. The study would provide information on the employment status and job effectiveness of the trained counsellors and suggest changes for improvement of the programme. Data has been collected from counsellors through face-to- face interaction in three meetings called for the purpose. Data from principals, teachers, parents and students from the schools where these counsellors are working is being collected. Scoring and tabulation of data is also going on.

Career Information Corner

The DEPFE, NCERT has a Career Information Corner for the use of faculty and students of Diploma Course in Guidance and Couselling. Consultancy in the form of career information and guidance was given to organisations and institutions. Two monographs 'Careers in Biotechnology' and 'Computers' are nearing completion.

A Study of Predictive Potential of the Selection Procedure for Performance in the Counsellor Training Programme and On-the-Job Performance

The study aims to validate the selection procedure used for selection of candidates for the Diploma Course in Guidance and Counselling being run by the NCERT. Efforts were made to locate the sources of data, that is, the counsellors working in the school set-up and those who are working in non-school setting. Questionnaires have been prepared to assess the trained counsellors' performance on the job through counsellors' expressed job satisfaction and perception of principals, teachers and students about their work.

Research Trends and Indigenisation of Educational Psychology in India: Analysis of Journal Articles and Reports

The main objectives of the study are: (i) to present a critical review of published Indian studies and reports submitted to national organisations during the last 10 years with a view to delineate the trend of research in Educational Psychology, (ii) to analyse the structural characteristics, authorship pattern, methods, populations studied, foci/topics in the title proportion of empirical versus theo- retical articles, etc., and (iii) to assess the progress of indigenisation of educational researchers in India. Six hundred and seventyfive studies in the area of Educational Psychology have been collected. Four hundred and fifty studies have been analysed with re- spect to the research trends and development of indigenisation.

Schooling in Mirambika: A Case Study

The project on Mirambika School based on Sri Aurobindo's philosophy aims at making a comprehensive study of the school in relation to its transcendental and operative goals. The main objective of the study is to obtain a 'holistic' view of the school in terms of its organisation, culture (norms and values) and the teaching-learning processes. The draft report of the phase one of the study has been completed. Data collection for the phase two of the study is being undertaken.

A Study of Adolescent's Perception of Social Norms

The study aims to investigate the nature of contradiction between parental norms and expectations about certain specific behaviours and activities of adolescents and the adolescents' perception of parental expectations. Two questionnaires were prepared; one investigates the parental concept and expectations about good and bad behaviour in ado- lescents and the second questionnaire is designed to study the adolescents' perceptions of parental expectations.

Analysis of Science Textbooks of Secondary School Stage

An analysis plan was chosen to do the analysis of Science textbooks of the NCERT at the secondary school stage. The inter-rater reliability is being established by using two raters independently analysing the Science textbooks.

A Critical Study of Educational Psychology Curriculum of Elementary Teacher Education in India

The main objectives of the study are: (i) to analyse the nature and structure of educational psychology followed in different states of the country and judge the adequacy of the contents in terms of certain criteria, (ii) to investigate the methodology adopted in developing the course contents in different states, and (iii) to find out the perceptions of' teacher educators in transacting the curriculum. The content analysis of the existing courses from a variety of dimensions has been completed. Findings have been shared with a group of experts in a workshop to seek consensus on the relevance of the contents in the present course and to plan a curriculum framework for elementary teacher education with a new orientation.

Enrichment Course in Psychology for Teaching-Learning of DIETs Personnel

A two-week enrichment programme for DIETs personnel from seven DPEP states, namely Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala was organised. Course material in the form of 29 self-learning modules, developed in three areas of elementary education: (i) Indian Scenario, (ii) Understanding the Child, and (iii) The Teacher and the Teaching Process formed the basis of teaching in the enrichment course.

Post-Graduate Diploma in Guidance and Counselling 1996-97

Trainees from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi underwent training in a nine-month Diploma Course in Guidance and Counselling. The course content consists of theory and practical. Evaluation is also done of practical work in schools.

Reports and Other Materials Brought Out during 1996-97

1. Changing Perspectives on Understanding Intelligence: An Appraisal (published in the Indian Psychological Abstracts and Reviews, 1996, 3-31)

2. The Status of Intelligence Testing in In- dia: A Preliminary Analysis (Published in the Indian Educational Review, 1996, 1-11)

3. Educational Psychology in India: Challenges and Prospectus (submitted to School Psychology International for publication)

4. Enrichment Course in Psychology for Teaching-Learning of DIET Personnel: Self-learning Modules (xeroxed)

5. Handbook of Personality Measurement in India (under print)

6. Handbook of Measurement of Values, Attitudes, Interests in India (typed)

7. Building Personal and Career Consciousness in Girls (typed)

8. Career Development in India: A Resource Book for Counsellors (typed)

9. Guidance Needs of the School-going Students: A Review (submitted for publication)

10. How Valid are the Admission Criteria Used in Counsellors' Training Programme? (submitted for publication)

11. A Resource Book: Guidance Principles and Practices (typed)

12. Trend Report of Research in Guidance and Counselling for the Fifth Survey of Educational Research in (in press)