RESEARCH IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION A TREND REPORT : J.S. GREWAL, I.D. GUPTA
In India, efforts towards universalization of elementary education were stepped up especially after independence when the education of children in the age-group of 6-14 years was accepted as their constitutional right. This obligation remained unfulfilled as resources were inadequate during the early years of independence. Other sectors of education, especially higher education. received more attention than the universalization of elementary education. A shift in policy. however, appeared after 1976, when more resources were made formal. This shift in emphasis gained further momentum with the launching of the launching of the National Policy on Education (NPE)- 1986 which has underlined the importance of elementary education. The NPE has been elaborated in the Programme of Action, paving the way for programmes like Operation Blackboard.
Research related to elementary education is a phenomenon of the post-independence period. The first study in the field was a doctoral thesis on compulsory education by Desai (1951). In all, 208 researches on this subject have been located to date. Of these, nine belong to the 50s; 25 to the 60s; 68 to the 70s; and 106 to the 80s. One-third of the studies appeared during the 70s and one-sixth prior to the 70s. Evidently, a little more than half of the work done has appeared during the last eight years only.
The research studies conducted fall in several categories: history, developmental surveys, universalization, pupil-assessment, curriculum development, evaluation, school systems, teacher characteristics and training, educational costs, and research needs. An analysis of the studies is detailed in Table 25.1.
Table 25.1
RESEARCH IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION ACROSS THE DECADES
Theme/Decade 50s 60s 70s 80s Total %
I. History 1 1 2 7 11 5.3
II. Development .. 3 15 10 28 13.4
III. Universalization 6 8 20 29 63 30.2
IV. Pupil Achievement .. 7 10 17 34 16.4
and Development
V. Curriculum
Development 1 2 8 32 43 20.6
VI. Evaluation .. .. 2 1 3 1.5
VII. School Systems 1 1 6 4 12 5.8
VIII. Teachers and .. 3 4 4 11 5.3
Teacher training
IX. Economics .. .. 1 1 3 1.0
X. Reacher Needs .. .. .. 1 1 0.5
Total: 9 25 68 106 208* 100.0
% 4.4 12.2 32.7 50.7 - 100.0
* This number includes studies from other areas having some rele-
vance to elementary education.
It is evident from Table 25.1 that the maximum number of studies. around 30 per cent, have been in the area of universalization. The next prominent area is that of curriculum development, around 21 per cent of the investigations. Pupil assessment studies contribute nearly 16 per cent and developmental surveys 13 per cent of the
1250 J.S.GREWAL I.D.GUPTA
studies. Studies of history, school systems and teachers contribute 5-6 per cent each; 1.5 per cent of them relate to evaluation; two (1.0 per cent) study costs; and one is devoted to research needs (0.5 per cent).
The studies reviewed include individual doctoral dissertations approved by various universities and studies approved or undertaken by institutional agencies. The latter include the universities, the NCERT, NIEPA, SIEs/SCERTs and other agencies. The analysis presented in 'Table 25.2 indicates that around 36 per cent of the studies are doctoral dissertations, around 20 per cent are by the NCERT and SCERT/SIEs, and the remaining 44 per cent by other agencies. Among the other agencies, specific contributions have been made by NIEPA on the administrative aspects and development of elementary education, by the Bombay Municipal Corporation in the area of universalization and curriculum development and by CASE in the area of pupil assessment and programme evaluation. The Demographic Research Unit (DRU), Calcutta, has contributed in the area of development surveys and the tribal de- velopment authorities in the area of tribal, education.
Table 25.2
RESEARCH IN VARIOUS THEMES OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION ACROSS AGENCIES
Theme/Agency Univer- NCERT- SIE/ Others: Total %
sities: Project SCERT Develo-
Doctoral Studies Project pment
Studies Studies Projects
I. History 11 .. .. .. 11 5.3
II. Development 11 .. 2 15 28 13.4
III. Universa- 10 3 16 34 63 30.2
lization
IV. Pupil Achieve-
ment and 19 2 1 12 34 16.4
Development
V. Curriculum 21 5 6 11 43 20.6
Development
VI. Evaluation .. .. 2 1 3 1.5
VII. School Systems 3 .. 3 6 12 5.8
VIII. Teachers and .. .. .. 11 11 5.3
Teacher
Training
IX. Economics .. 1 .. 1 2 1.0
X. Research Needs .. .. .. 1 1 0.5
Total 75 11 30 92 208 100.0
% 36 5 20 44 - 100.0
An analysis of research trends in various aspects of elementary education is presented in the following pages. But before it is presented it is necessary to mention that this is the first time that a separate trend analysis of research in elementary education has been included in the series of surveys of educational research in India. The first three surveys did not deal with elementary education as a separate area of research. In view of this all studies of elementary education distributed over the three previous surveys under different heads have been collated with the studies undertaken during the studies conducted in the period covered in the present (fourth) survey. In all, 31 studies have been identified from the first survey, 23 from the second, and 63 from the third. It is, of course, possible that some studies have, escaped our attention. Ninety studies belong exclusively to the fourth survey. Of these, 43 studies are included in the present section and 47 appear in other sections.
1. HISTORY OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION In all, 11 studies are concerned with the history of elementary education.
As mentioned earlier, the first study by Desai (1951) traces the history of elementary education in the Indian context. It divides the whole period in six stages. The First stage starts in 1830 when the government accepted from 1882 to 1910 when the Indian Education Com- mission was appointed by the government. At the point of time, Indians showed their concern for compulsory schooling . The third stage, from 1910 to 1917, covers the heroic attempts made by G.K. Gokhale and others to get the principle of compulsory primary education accepted. The fourth stage, from 1917 to 1930, is stage of acceptance of statutory compulsory education by almost all the Indian provinces. The fifth stage from 1930 to 1950, can be called the stage of experimentation in compulsory education. The sixth stage, from 1950 onwards, can be described as the stage of meeting constitutional requirements. Desai study highlighted the problems related to compulsory at various stages.
Another important historical study is by Sapra (1980) who studied the evolution of policy as a result of the deliberations of Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) in the post-independence period. The CABE had pleaded, from time to time, for giving high priority to primary education and recorded its recommendations on all aspects of elementary education, But
RESEARCH IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION-A TREND REPORT 1251
it suffered from several weaknesses in that it did not follow any specific pattern for selecting problems; that its policy regarding the targets changed from time to time; that its attitude towards controversial issues, especially the teaching of English softened during the period; that its recommendations did not help decentralization and that the growing size of its membership tilted the balance in favour of the central government, thus diluting the federal character of the Board.
The history of elementary education at the state level is reflected in eight studies. Das (1968) studied the evolution of elementary education in Orissa during the period 1904-47; Gupta (1974) in the Haryana region of then Punjab state for the period 1935-69; Mandal (1976) dealt with the history of primary education organized by local authorities in Bengal; Purkait (1981) studied primary education in West Bengal under the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms and its impact in the post-independence period; Baruah (1981) studied the growth of primary education in Assam over 1874-1974; Kapadia (1984) studied the development of primary education in Gujarat after independence; Gogate (1984) traced the growth of primary education in the Marathwada region; Acharya (1984) analysed its history in Tripura and Kachar; and Jain (1985) traced the history of primary education under local bodies in Maharashtra.
Besides the history of primary education at the national or state level, a study by Singh (1981) conducted at micro level analysed the records of primary education in the Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh.
II. DEVELOPMENTAL SURVEYS Twenty-eight surveys have been conducted to trace and study the development of primary education. Of these one relates to primary education in Bangladesh, two to Calcutta and its surroundings, one to the district of Ghazipur, two to the regions of Telengana and Marathwada, and 22 to various states of India. Chronologically, the first three studies were conducted during the 60s, 15 during the 70s and 10 during the 80s. Evidently, survey studies began at the state level. The first study was by Tiwari (1964), surveying the situation in Uttar Pradesh through a perusal of the documents. Kamalamma (1969) studied the history and problems in Kerala State, Sharma (1973) in Punjab and the Finance and Planning Department of Andhra Pradesh (1974) those in the Telengana region.
During the early 70s, some studies were conducted in relation to the progress and problems of primary education under the panchayat raj system which was introduced around 1960. Joshi (1973) studied this aspect in South Gujarat; lqbal Narayan and others (1974) in Rajasthan; Patel (1975) in Mehsana district Gujrat; and Shinde (1975) in Panchmahal district of Gujarat. These studies indicate that the panchayat raj system was not able to improve the qualitative aspect of primary education. Even quantitative improvement did not make much headway. The local community groups could not be brought closer together as panchayat leadership was based on caste and political considerations. In some cases, scheduled caste students could not attend schools running in temples. Most of the single-teacher schools were manned by inexperienced teachers. Village panchayat committees were relatively more effective than taluka panchayat committees.
The National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) studied, the administration of elementary education in relation to the programme of universalization in nine states. Reports on all these brought out by the NIEPA (1979). The findings in general were that the annual census of school-age children was, by and large, incomplete or illconducted; the assessment of dropouts was also similar; planned efforts to enrol non-attending and dropout children were inadequate; school timings lacked flexibility and were not adjustable to suit local conditions; the majority of the teachers did not reside at the place of their posting; incentives to non-attending children were inadequate. However, midday meals and reading and writing materials were made available to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students, to some extent. There was very little monitoring and supervision by higher officials.
Studies of elementary education at the state level have continued into the 80s and include the survey by Das (1979) of the position in Assam; by Mandal (1980) for Bihar; and by Lyndem (1985) for Meghalaya Sachidanand (1982) analysed the statistics from the ports of Census and Planning Commission to study the expansion of elementary education in Bihar in the context of socio-economic, cultural and political factors.
Developmental surveys have also been attempted at district and lower levels to identify local-specific problems. The studies include those of progress and problems in the rural areas of districts adjoining Calcutta by Sarkar and Das (1980); in the Khasi and Nainital hill region by Saikia (1981); in the Marathwada region by
1252 J.S.GREWAL, I.D.GUPTA
Gogate (1984); in the Greater Calcutta region by Dutta (1985) and in the rural areas of Ghazipur district by Rai (1987). Besides these, a survey was conducted by the SIE, Gujarat (1965), to identify the problems of supervision and also the views of supervisors about the primary school curriculum. A study by Sharma (1984) collected the opinions of parents about the primary school system. Islam (1983), in his doctoral dissertation, investigated the factors affecting the growth of universal compulsory primary education in Bangladesh since 1947.
III. UNIVERSALIZATION OF PRIMARY EDUCATION Universalization of Primary Education is the single most crucial problem in education in developing countries. Wastage, stagnation, non-attendance and non-enrolment are the major problem areas. The causes of the problems are both area-specific and policy-specific. Measures are urgently required to improve the situation. Research in this regard has been on the increase. More than 30 per cent of the studies are related to the problem of universalization alone. An analysis of these studies is presented in Table 25.3.
Table 25.3
STUDIES ON UNIVERSALIZATION OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
Aspects 50s 60s 70s 80s Total
I. AREA SURVEYS
India .. 1 1 .. 2
States .. 2 3 6 11
Districts 1 .. 2 5 8
Total: 1 3 6 11 21
II. HABITAT SURVEYS
Urban 4 2 2 .. 8
Rural .. .. 2 6 8
Survey Errors 1 .. .. 1 2
Total: 5 2 4 7 18
III. POPULATION SURVEYS
Scheduled Castes .. .. 1 2 3
Scheduled Tribes .. 1 4 1 6
Girls .. .. 1 .. 1
Total : .. 1 6 3 10
IV. MEASURES
Ungraded Class .. 2 2 1 5
Enrolment Drive .. .. 2 1 3
Teachers & Training .. .. .. 2 2
Midday Meals .. .. 1 1 2
SITE Programmes .. .. .. 1 1
Community Involvement .. .. .. 1 1
Evaluation of Policy .. .. .. 1 1
Total .. 2 5 8 15
Grand Total: 6 8 21 29 64
The table indicates a growing trend as only six studies were conducted during the 50s; eight during 60s; 21 during the 70s and 29 during the current decade. Of these studies, 49 relate to surveys of the settings and 15 to the measures adopted for their improvement. Of the 49 survey reports, 21 made analyses on the basis of administrative divisions (India, states, districts), 16 were on the basis of residence of children (urban, rural), 12 on the basis of caste (SC, ST) and six on the basis of gender (male, female). Besides this, two reports presented a meta-analysis on these surveys, thus reporting the errors contained in the studies. Fourteen studies relating to the measures adopted for universalization are on themes like the impact of curriculm changes, enrolment drives, teacher characteristics, teaching methods, provision of midday meals and policy analyses.
3.1. Area Studies Among the surveys of wastage and stagnation, two were conducted at the national level. Sharma and Sapra (1969) studied the problem in depth through a sample from 92 schools of Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. Khan (1972) reviewed studies on wastage conducted in the country and analysed the available information applying the methodology suggested by UNESCO. He found that the dropout ratio was more in the four-year primary school than in the five-year school. Besides these dropouts, stagnation was also taken into consideration. The input-output ratio was 94 per cent for girls and 71 per cent for boys, with an average of 87 per cent.
Studies pertaining to wastage, stagnation and non-enrolment at the state level include those conducted in Haryana by the SIE (1969); in Assam by Dass (1969); in Andhra Pradesh by the Bureau of Economics and Statistics (1970); in Orissa by the SIE (1972); in Madhya Pradesh by the Government Collage of Education,
RESEARCH IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION-A TREND REPORT 1253
Jabalpur (1973); in Kerala by Pillai and others (1980); in Karnataka by Kashinath (1980); in Tamil Nadu by Vatsala (1981); in Rajasthan by Sharma (1982); in Manipur by Devi (1983); and in Uttar-Pradesh by the SIE (1986).
In order to understand the phenomena of wastage, stagnation and non-enrolment in local-specific situations, eight studies have been conducted at the district level. Dandekar (1955) investigated this phenomenon in Satara district; Dass (1970) in the district of Sibsagar; Barua (1971) in the subdivisions of Sibsagar and Goleghat; Srivastava and Gupta (1981) and the ISES (1981) in the Tumkur district; the A.N.S. Institute of Social Studies (1981) in the Hazari Bagh district; and Krishnamurthy (1985) in Renga Reddy district.