FOREWORD
 

One of the important functions of the National Council of Educational Research and Training is dissemination of research findings in education. The Council does this through its journals and many other publications. In fact, each department of the NCERT has a programme of research, training and extension. Through extension activities, efforts are made to disseminate new knowledge generated through research in each department. This modality of dissemination has been going on for the last three decades. With increasing volume of research, new avenues for dissemination need exploration. For a vast country like India, planned efforts at documentation of research and dissemination of the same to the field cannot be overemphasized. In the early sixties, the NCERT had published titles of M.Ed. dissertations and Ph.D. theses completed in Indian universities. In 1968, the NCERT published the Third Yearbook of Education-Educational Research. This book reviewed researches in education-mostly at the M.Ed. level. In the same decade, all available tests of mental measurements were documented and the first Indian Yearbook on Mental Measurement was published. In the later years of sixties, the NCERT through, the erstwhile Department of Field Services started the project of identifying innovative practices in schools and disseminated the same through the network of Extension Services Departments.

The Third Yearbook suggests a model of documenting research, preparing trend reports in different areas and identifying gaps and, indicating the direction for future research. This pioneering work of the NCERT was taken up by national agencies like ICSSR, NIEPA, Indian Institute of Education, Pune, and thus, documentation and dissemination of research in education, social sciences, and natural sciences came to be recognised as an important activity in addition to research. In early seventies, the Centre of Advanced Study in Education (CASE), M.S. University of Baroda. initiated the project of abstracting all Ph.D. theses and post-doctoral research, classifying the same and developing trend reports in each area. The project was financed by the UGC and the ICSSR. This work came out as "A Survey of Research in Education" under the editorship of Prof. M.B.Buch, the then head of the CASE, in the year 1974. The survey made a break- through in the efforts to prepare abstracts from the original works, classify them and prepare the trend report. This was an improvement over the earlier surveys where only the titles and not the abstracts were published. In this project a large number of leaders in education and other allied disciplines were involved.

In 1979 the "Second Survey of Research in Education" was published by the Society for Educational Research and Development, Baroda. In 1981, the NCERT initiated work on the "Third Survey of Research in Education" inviting Prof. Buch to be the Chief Editor. An editorial board of academics drawn from education and allied disciplines was

vi

universities. The Third Survey of Research in Education surveyed 1481 research studies as against 731 studies in the first survey and 839 in the second survey. In 1985, the NCERT started work on the "Fourth Survey of Research in Education". This survey completed in 1988 reviews 1652 studies. A special feature of this volume is that the editorial board has made some important additions to the areas of research. New areas have been added. Some of the areas added in this volume are early childhood education, elementary education, vocational and technical education, higher education, women's education, education of disadvantaged sections of the society, social science education, mathematics education, science education, creative functioning, etc.

When one looks at the researches and the institutions where these researches were completed, one is dismayed to see that with certain exceptions, no institution has made sustained-studies in depth in any educational area. The result is that the discipline of education does not get enriched significantly by new knowledge generated through research.

The present volume shows the lopsided development of educational research in the country. There are a few universities having a sizeable output of educational studies, whereas a large number of institutions do not have significant research activities. The quality of research output is disturbing. In spite of national efforts to have quality control in educational research, improvement in this direction is not easily visible.

It is seen that most of the research in education is undertaken by individuals towards their doctoral requirement. There are very few studies which are undertaken to generate knowledge rather than earn degrees. But these studies are mostly trivial. One does not find senior academics working as a team on any research problem of national significance.

If team research is conspicuous by its absence, so also one sees absence of interdisciplinary research on an organised base. From more than 4700 studies, it is difficult Lo find studies undertaken by senior academics of education and allied disciplines working as a team. This is so in spite of efforts to stimulate inter-disciplinary research for more than two decades in the country.

The surveys of research in education are useful not only to the educational researchers, but also to the schools. A careful study of the implications of research findings and their application to the classroom practices would help them to modify their teaching behaviour and make it more effective. The Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti has studied the implications of research findings given in the four surveys and prepared reading materials for their teachers under the title of "What research tells to the classroom teachers." The Educational Research and Innovations Committee (ERIC) of the NCERT has also initiated work in this direction. These developments indicate that the research findings will start influencing educational practices in the near future.

To the educational researchers, this publication will be of immense use. It will provide them with guidelines to select research problems on a priority basis and also provide them with the much needed reference work. I am sure it will be a useful publication to all those who are interested in Indian education. I cannot help suggesting that abstracts of researches may be documented and published with greater frequency and trend reports published atleast once in five years. After all, it will not be fair to the researchers to keep the abstracts of research away from them for five years. Some mechanism has to be devised for the speedy dissemination of research findings. Suggestions in this direction and also for the improvement of this exercise are welcome. They will go a longway in the improvement of the usability of subsequent surveys.

I would Lake this opportunity to acknowledge the initiative taken by the former Director of the NCERT, Dr.P.L. Malhotra, in quickly deciding the planning of the Fourth

vii

Survey and with the assistance of the colleagues in the NCERT and Prof.M.B.Buch, appointing the editorial board of an inter-disciplinary nature to steer the work. I am thankful to Prof.A.K.Jalaluddin, the then Joint Director of the NCERT, for giving far reaching suggestions to make the survey as comprehensive as possible. I should acknowledge the contributions of Prof. P.N.Dave and Prof. Snehlata Shukla who, as true professionals, helped the work of the survey willingly. Prof. A.N.Sharma and Prof. C.H.K. Misra steered the proposal of the Fourth Survey very deftly and provided the infrastructural facilities of ERIC office for the smooth running of the project. I acknowledge the work of all these colleagues.

Prof. Buch, who was formerly head of the Centre of Advanced Study in Education, has been mainly responsible for initiating the work on surveys of research in education. Beginning from 1971, he has worked continuously on four surveys-of educational research as the chief editor. Because of his foresight and dedication, the programme of documentation and dissemination of educational research has finally been institutionalised. I am highly obliged to him for all that he has done to lay the foundation of compiling and publishing educational research surveys. The Head, Publication Department and his colleagues deserve special mention for putting in extra efforts to bring out this technical work. My thanks are also due to the heads of departments of education of universities in the country for extending their helping hand to this project.

                                                     DR. K. GOPALAN
                                                          Director
                                                National Council of
        New Delhi                Educational Research and Training
        
        
                                          

GANDHIJI'S TALISMAN

"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test :

Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen and ask yourself if the step You Contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it ? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny ? In other words, will it lead to Swaraj for the hungry and spiritually starving millions ?

Then you will find your doubts and your self melting away. "

ix