NEW DIRECTIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH IN INDIA M.B. BUCH
BACKDROP Educational research in India can no longer be considered to be in its infancy. It has grown over a period of about five decades since the first thesis in education was accepted by Bombay University. It has undergone careful nurturing during the last four decades. If, in spite of this, it has not made an impact on the educational and social system, there is a strong case for looking afresh at the programme and practice of educational research in the country, which, it would appear, despite its longstanding has not shown evidence of maturity.
Looking back, it is seen that education made its first entry into the university portals in 1917 when a department of education was established in the University of Calcutta as had been recommended by the Calcutta University Commission. It was envisaged that the de- partment would develop into a centre for studying the problems of education in a systematic way and in close. collaboration with allied areas of study.
A second landmark in the development of education in the university set-up was in 1936 when the Bombay University instituted an M.Ed. course. In 1943, the first Ph.D. degree in education was. awarded by Bombay University. The first attempt at providing facilities for educational research at the national level was made in 1947 when the Central Institute of education (CIE) was established by the Government of India mainly to conduct research on educational problems and to offer advanced-level training to teachers and other educational personnel. It was envisaged that the institute would provide leadership to other institutions and would also collaborate with their staff to undertake research at all levels so as to enable decision-makers to modify educational programmes to suit the needs of a newly independent developing nation.
The establishment of the CIE in 1947 was followed in 1954 by the establishment of the Central Bureau of Textbook Research and the Central Bureau of Educational and Vocational Guidance in the same year. In 1956, the National Institute of Basic Education and the National Fundamental Education Centre were established-the latter was to work mainly in the area of adult education, In 1959, the National Institute of Audio-Visual Education was established. Thus, in the course of twelve years (1947-59), six institutes with built-in infrastructures to undertake education-related research were established. However, it was soon realized that these institutions functioned more or less in isolation. Though there was a need to look at education in a holistic way, it was being examined in fragments. The need was also felt to look at the three major dimensions of education, viz. research, training and extension, in an integrated way. As a result of this thinking, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) was established on I September, 1961 as an autonomous organization incorporating within its fold the six institutes established earlier. The NCERT soon became the premier institution for educational research in the country. With its establishment as a central institution, it served as a model for the states and Training (SCERT)/State Institutes of Education and, gradually, State Councils of Educational Research came to be established in states and Union territories.
Besides the NCERT, there are several other national institutions devoted to educational research. Important among these Are the National Institute of Educational
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Planning and administration (NIEPA), New Delhi, Indian Institute of Education (IIE), Pune, and Centre of advanced Study in Education (CASE), BARODA. The IIE was set up entirely through voluntary effort and it is engaged in studying education in an interdisciplinary context. CASE is a university department engaged in teaching, research and extension.
STRENGTHENING THE KNOWLEDGE BASE OF EDUCATION The document, `points out that periodical reviews of progress, programmes and shortcomings of the system are not enough; minor modifications of the educational frame-work are not adequate. `The country now stands on the threshold of the twenty-first century', the document says. `Those who are being born now will finish their elementary schooling at the turn of the century and enter into a world which will, it is already clear, offer opportunities unprecedented in the history of mankind to those who are equipped to cope with the future challenges and the accelerating pace of change. `Whether education can prepare the citizens to face this challenge will depend upon the quality of education the system generates.
The societal expectations of education are varied and many. Only a sound system with a strong knowledge base can meet the challenges that will be posed in the last decades of this century. an educational system with a weak knowledge base would be puerile and unfit to accomplish what is expected of it. Therefore, before any specific tasks are assigned to education, it is necessary to build and strengthen its knowledge base. Research results in the areas of education, philosophy, sociology, history, psychology and other social sciences provide the wherewithal to do so. Therefore, educational research has to be interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary.
Educational research in the country includes cross-area studies which provide a knowledge base for education. The three previous NCERT surveys of research in education provide ample evidence of such researches, though on a modest scale.
Psychology's contribution to developing the science of pedagogy is considerable. The Third Survey of Research in Education (Buch, 1986 ) records that, out of 319 Ph. D thesis in the areas of Learning, Personality and Motivation more than 50 per cent (164) were completed outside the departments of education, mostly in departments of psychology of Indian universities. Within psychology, research ranges across familial and cultural influences, classroom practices and congnitiv psychology, and subject-matter learning. The researchers have sought to utilize advances in psychology for studying the developing human mind and the nature of effective environments for education. Learner differences have been studied by psychologists and the findings have thrown much light on individual differences in classrooms. The educationists have also benefited a lot from studies in differential psychology. The findings from studies on individual differences provide guidence to teachers in classroom teaching. Several decades of research on teaching document the distinctions that teachers can make in assessing the achievement of children. all process-product researches derive from the work of educational psychologists. Psychologists have explored the processes of thinking and problem solving. these researches have applications not only in classroom education but beyond classroom settings also. Consistent with the findings of research on subject-matter learning, educational psychologists document the development of problem-solving skills, both as an integral part of learning within specific domains and also as general skills that enable learners to function effectively in various contexts. Teacher effects and school effects have been studied in the context of pupils' achievements, as also the personality correlates of pupils' achievement. moreover, psychologists have studied intervention programmes in early childhood education in the education of disabled children and of economically, socially and culturally deprived children, and these studies provide a frame of reference for educationists in policy making. Lastly, it is worth mentioning that psychologists have greatly benefited the knowledge base of education through their researches on exceptional and handicapped children and in the field of congnitive psychology.
The kowledge base of education has also been enriched by research in the sociology of education by sociologists. A close scrutiny of researches in this field indicates that, out of 260 ph.D. theses on the sociology of education up to 1983, as many as 144 (about 55 per cent) have been completed outside the university departments of education, mostly by sociologists and psychologists. Sociologists have studied education in social and societal contexts and have helped in understanding society's role in shaping education and vice versa. They
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have examined the socializing influence of education by studying modernization in attitudes, values and behaviour of students, teachers and other adults in urban, rural and tribal areas. College and university students have been the target of these studies. The findings help educational administrators to plan education for rural and tribal areas and to take adequate steps for enrichment of educational programmes and for providing opportunities for the have- nots of the society. Education and polity, education and the stratification system, education of minority and backward groups, social factors behind educability, motivation, personality development and student activism have all been the subjects of study by sociologists.
The sociologists have further studied the issue of equality of educational opportunity and societal factors affecting the holding power of schools. Considerable work has been done to find out the sociological correlates of pupils' achievement. The department of psychology of Utkal University, the Centre of Social Studies at Surat and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Bombay, have studied the educational problems of culturally deprived groups. Their findings have been useful in planning educational programmes for disadvantaged children. As in the case of psychology, research findings in the sociology of education have enriched the knowledge base of education.
History, philosophy and economics are other social sciences which have strengthened education. The respective Indian Councils of Social Science, Historical and Philosophical Research (ICSSR, ICHR, ICPR) have contributed in the areas of the economics, history and philosophy of education.
The interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary nature of educational research necessitates the establishment of research institutes with multidisciplinary staff and an interdisciplinary programme of research. The beginning in this direction was made during the sixties through the establishment of such research institutes which, with a number of others, are now engaged in an interdisciplinary study of education.
Thanks to all these studies, there is today an adequate knowledge base to enable policy-makers to formulate educational policy on a firm base of research.
RESEARCH INSTITUTES Amongst the national institutes devoted to education, the NCERT is the largest. Its main function is to act as a national-level apex body providing leadership in the formulation of programmes and policy of school education. Through appropriate researches and surveys, it generates adequate data, and through careful study and analysis of these it makes it possible to take decisions regarding school programmes and practices on an informed basis. it performs the dual role of assisting the Government of India in formulating educational policy and, once the policy is adopted, gearing-up its organization for development, training and extension for smooth implementation of the policy in the states.
The NCERT has a number of departments, units and cells covering all aspects of education, from early childhood education to non-formal education, primary education to teacher education, vocational and technical education to special education. There are departments of humanities and social science education, science and mathematics education, women's education, departments of examination and evaluation and tests and measurement. To utilize the benefits of rapid advances in educational technology, the NCERT has established the Central Institute of Educational Technology which is devoted to preparing educational TV (ETV) software for elementary schools, teachers' in-service education, and other educational programmes. Some of the noteworthy projects of the NCERT are the National Integra- tion Project, Surveys of Education, Surveys of Research in Education, Comprehensive Access to Primary Education Project, Primary Education Curriculum Renewal Project, and National Talent Search. Every department/unit of the NCERT is engaged in research projects of smaller and larger magnitude. The council publishes research reports and provides financial assistance to researchers outside the council to publish their researches.
The National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi formerly known as the National Staff College for Educational Planners and Administrators, was established by the Government of India as an autonomous institution in 1970, taking over the Asian Institute of Educational Planning and Administration which had been set up in 1962 under a ten-year agreement with UNESCO. The main functions of the institute include training of educational planners and administrators; research; providing consultancy and advisory services, and diffusion of innovations. The institute organises training programmes in the area of educational administration, planning, educational finance, management of non- formal and adult education, etc. at international, national and sub- national levels. In international programmes, a large number of coun- tries from Asia and Africa participate. During 1985-86,
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65 participants from 23 countries attended NIEPA training programmes. At the national level the institute organizes diploma courses in educational planning and administration for District Education Officers. In 1984-85 a course leading to an International Diploma in Educational Planning and Administration was started. The institute's research studies cover areas like micro-level planning, universal elementary education, adult and non-formal education, management of educational change, equity in education, and institutional planning. These research activities are directed towards investigating the empirical situation in the field of educational planning and administration, at macro and micro levels, for purposes of generating knowledge and relevant data, and for providing feedback for consider- ing policy issues and possible solutions to the field problems. The research themes are identified by experts committees constituted by the institute, national and state governments, academic and research organizations like the ICSSR and international organizations. Some of the studies completed during the last two years cover optimum teacher- pupil ratio in schools; educational policy and planning in India; the role of the Planning Commission-current status and future perspec- tives; impact of educational level on some dimensions of development; and rural households. The institute undertook a series of studies based on content-analysis of evidence, documents/communications of the reports of seminars as input in the formulation of the new education policy and core studies in the project, Indian Education in the Year 2000-a long-term perspective on primary education in India. Another project worth mentioning is the evaluation study on the non-formal education programme at the elementary stage in nine educationally backward states-Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajashthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. An action research project has been going on in twenty villages of the Punhana block of the Mewat area which is educationally one of the most backward. Another research project has been undertaken in the field of higher education in selected colleges in Haryana to analyse the problems of development and efficient functioning of colleges. Recently, a scheme has been established of commissioning research institutions and individual researchers to undertake specific projects as per the requirements of the institute. A scheme has also been in- stituted to provide financial assistance for research projects in the area of educational administration and planning.
The Indian Institute of Education is a voluntary organization started in Bombay by a band of devoted educationists as early as 1948. After a short spell of activity the institute became dormant, but it was revived in 1976. Some of its major aims and objectives are (i) to conduct research in education, especially the relationship between education and society and education and development; (ii) to carry on research (including action research) and extension work in relation to various educational problems within and outside the formal educational system, including general education of the masses through social action; (iii) to conduct advanced-level training programmes especially for M.Phil and Ph.D. degrees in education, with an emphasis on a social sciences input. The institute is supported by the Government of Maharashtra and the Indian Council of Social Science Research. Some of the projects completed or in progress are the action research project on universalization of primary education, educational reform in India 1921-80, a series of studies in the Marathwada region of the State of Maharashtra-Primary Education in Marathwada, Vocational Education in Marathwada, Educational Problems of Scheduled-caste Students in Marathwada, etc. and a project on the atrocities against dalits. The ICSSR has financed a project on social and economic factors in the family background of primary school children in the municipal school system in Pune. Some other completed projects include those on ashram schools in Maharashtra, the impact of technical education and industrial training on disadvantaged students, teaching of languages without the use of textbooks, learner evaluation in non-formal adult education, postgraduate employment experience, of weaker castes in Marathwada.
In 1963, the UGC introduced a scheme for developing a limited number of university departments for advanced research and training in certain selected fields. The Department of Education of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda was recognized by the UGC in November 1963 as a research institution in education at the all-India level. The Centre for Advanced Studies in Education (CASE) completed 25 years of its existence in 1988. In the earlier years, during seventies, CASE concentrated on research in selected areas like teaching, teacher behaviour, skill-based teacher education using a micro-teaching approach, educational technology and programmed learning, innovations and educational change processes, leadership behaviour of
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school principals, and organizational climates in schools, higher education, etc. Of late, CASE has taken up certain assigned projects, viz. evaluation of the UNICEF-assisted project-Comprehensive Access to Primary Education-of the NCERT; the Planning Commission financed project on Vocationalization of Secondary Education in Selected Regions, evaluation of the National Adult Education Programme (NAEP) in selected districts of Gujarat, etc. CASE has been organizing national seminars on crucial problems connected with education and educational research. Its most monumental contribution is its initiative in undertaking A Survey of Research in Education (1972) a project which has been subsequently taken over by the NCERT as a continuing activity. The research activities of CASE have resulted in placement of its alumni as senior academics at various universities and apex-level research institutes.