 RESEARCH AT M. PHIL. LEVEL IN INDIAN
 UNIVERSITIES  A REVIEW : LOKESH
 KOUL

BACKGROUND

The M.Phil. programme in India does not have a very long history, its seeds having been sown in Indian Universities only in the early 70s. Historically, its roots can be traced to as far back as 1969 when, in Meerut University, its first Vice-Chancellor, Dr. R.K. Singh, started M.Phil. courses in Education, Psychology, Agriculture Botany, Sociology, Mathematics, Botany and Physics in the Institute of Advanced Studies of the university. A couple of years later, in 1973, the Himachal Pradesh University also launched M.Phil. programme in the faculties of Science, Arts, and Commerce and Business Administration, after giving the programme a trial in 1972 with an M.Phil. programme in Education. Here again it was Dr. R. K. Singh,. as its first Vice- Chancellor, who was the guiding spirit behind the experiment. In both the universities, Meerut and Himachal Pradesh, the course was primarily meant for professing and prospective college teachers. The minimum requirement for admission was a first or second class postgraduate degree in the subject concerned. In the case of second class postgraduate degree holders, candidates were required to have an overall second class academic career, taking into consideration high school, intermediate and graduate degree examinations.

Since there is a considerable influence of soceital systems on education, the pioneers of the M.Phil. programme in Education felt that candidates with postgraduate degree in other disciplines would have a better understanding of the growth of social systems, how other factors have influenced them, an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the problems of education would be fruitful for arriving at their solutions. In view of this, for the M.Phil. degree in Education candidates with a postgraduate degree in any discipline was admitted and no previous degree or diploma in education was a pre-requisite. However, students desirous of working towards an M.Phil. in Education without taking a previous degree in education were required to pass three core courses: (i) Logic and Philosophy of Social Sciences, (ii) Methodology of Research in Behavioural Sciences, and (iii) Measurement and Testing. In addition, these students had to offer four required courses: (i) Psychology of Learning, Teaching and Motivation, (ii) Social Foundations of Education, (iii) Comparative Study of Edu- cational Systems, with special reference to India, the UK, USA, and USSR, and (v) Educational Technology; and three electives out of each of six groups: (i) Languages (Teaching of English, Hindi or Sanskrit); (ii) Social Sciences (Teaching of History, Geography, Economics or Civics); (iii) Sciences (Biological or Physical); (iv) Mathematics; (v) Programme Learning; and (vi) Teacher Behaviour. Though there was no provision for dissertation work, the students were required to develop a 'Research Proposal'. The latter was more or less a review exercise in the form of a running course. Its aim was to stimulate a questioning mind; promote an understanding and appreciation of the role of research in developing the theory and practice of education; develop an ability to identify problems from research source material; and competence to apply research findings in

1466 LOKESH KOUL

educational practice. The M-Phil. degree was to be obtained in 12-18 months (12 months for regular students and 18 months for college teachers), mainly through course work and development of a research proposal followed by a written examination. The evaluation of the research proposal took the form of 'approved' or 'rejected', after an open, comprehensive viva voce test.

It appears that M.Phil. programmes in various disciplines in Indian universities, including those in the field of education, were started directly under Western influence.. However, instead of copying any existing Western model, an attempt was made to develop our own. In this experiment, the M.Phil. degree in Education, as that in other disciplines, was intended to be a terminal degree for the vast majority of students and an intermediate one between the postgraduate and doctorate degrees for a very small minority. Its main objectives were to: (i) afford students an extra year in university after getting a postgraduate degree in education (M.Ed. or M.A.) for removing possible deficiencies in their previous training through wide-ranging but intensive and depth study; (ii) offer enriched and refresher courses to teachers working in degree and teacher-training colleges; (iii) encourage research talent and potential amongst university students as a majority of them were often just not equipped to cope with a research situation immediately after taking a postgraduate degree in Education; (v) develop original' and reflective thinking among college teachers and teacher-educators in the teacher training colleges, as their earlier education did not demand reflective and original thinking so essential for Ph.D. work; (vi) provide training and orientation in understanding and appreciation of the role of research in the theory and practice of education; (vii) narrow the qualitative gap between colleges and universities; and (viii) provide a challenge to teachers, in the university teaching departments, generally engaged in teaching stereotyped courses in the traditional manner.

A significant twist to the programme was witnessed from 1976 to 1980 when the majority of Indian universities running M.Phil. programmes in Education made a postgraduate degree in education (M.A. or M.Ed.) a prerequisite for admission to an M.Phil. course in Edu- cation. This requirement was introduced because students who had completed their M.Phil. in Education without a postgraduate degree in education could not get employment either in colleges, teacher- training institutions, or departments of education of various uni- versities. The volume of course work was also reduced considerably by eliminating some courses which the students usually pursued at the under-graduate and postgraduate levels. Moreover, a full-fledged dissertation, in place of a mere research proposal, was introduced. The universities were persuaded to award marks for dissertation writing and its comprehension through a viva voce test. The argument which was advanced in favour of this shift is a convincing one, the mere development of a research proposal being considered a purely theoretical exercise. It was thought that the introduction of full- fledged dissertation work would provide practical orientation in terms of: (i) selecting and identifying problems from the priority areas of educational research by developing an ability to comprehend the es- sentials of reported research; (ii) collecting and analysing evidence and data for the solution of problems with the help of appropriate tools and techniques; (iii) descriptive reporting of findings based on rigorous application of reasoned criticism, (iv) develping an ability to apply research findings in educational practices.

PRESENT POSITION

Presently, an M.Phil. programme in Education with an emphasis on some core and specialized courses and research work in the form of a dissertation is being offered by some 18 Indian Universities in the country. However, the practice of developing a research proposal rather than a full-fledged dissertation is still prevalent in Meerut University.

It may be observed from the brief report in the Commonwealth Universities Year Book I that there is considerable competition for entry to M.Phil. courses in various disciplines, including Education, in the Indian Universities. There are two main reasons for this. First the UGC made an M.Phil. or Ph.D. an essential qualification for persons seeking appointment as lecturers in colleges. Secondly, many in service college teachers seek admission to M.Phil. courses either for earning future increments or for getting selection grades. But it is worth noting that a large majority of Indian universities have not so far started M.Phil. programmes. This may be due to the fact that provision of M.Phil. instruction depends upon a number of factors related to facilities in terms of adequate teaching staff, space and equipment in the teaching departments. Moreover, the most

1 Commonwealth Universities Year Book, 1986, Vol., 3, p. 1438.

RESEARCH AT M.PHIL. LEVEL IN INDIAN UNIVERSITIES-ABSTRACTS 1467

fervent advocates of M.Phil. courses have not been able to differentiate this programme distinctly from postgraduate degree programmes in terms of quality and excellence of courses and dissertation work.

CLASSIFICATION OF RESEARCH STUDIES IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF EDUCATION

Education derives its content from well-established disciplines of philosophy, psychology, sociology, economics and other social sciences, and the physical and biological sciences. In view of this, it is difficult to demarcate its boundaries and define its content areas distinctly and, hence, the classification of research studies into different areas is bound to entail some overlapping, vagueness and controversy. However, in order to minimize confusion for the purpose of this review, the research studies have been classified in the following fifteen areas: philosophy of education; sociology of education; history of education; comparative education; economics of education; learning, motivation and personality; guidance and counselling; evaluation, tests and examinations; curriculum, methods and textbooks; educational technology; correlates of achievement; teacher education; educational management and administration; non- formal education; and education of the exceptional. The area-wise distribution of the studies is presented in Table 31.1 provides an overall picture of the M.Phil. research completed across different areas of education from 1973 to 1987.

In order to provide a comprehensive picture, a complete list of research studies approved for the M. Phil. in Education in different universities has been drawn and is appended to this chapter. Out of the total 853 M. Phil. research studies, 252 are only 'research proposals', and 601 are full-fledged dissertations. As mentioned earlier, it is only under the M.Phil. programme of the Meerut University that students are required to submit only a research proposal. This practice was also prevalent in Himachal Pradesh University from 1973 to 1977 and was discontinued there from 1978. The present survey does not envisage a detailed review of all the 602 dissertations. As such, only some studies have been reported to indicate the nature, scope and trend of research in different classified areas.

Table 31.1

AREA-WISE DISTRIBUTION OF STUDIES AT M.PHIL. LEVEL FROM 1973 TO 1987

        
                                          
        
        Area                       Number of Studies Completed during   Total
        
                                       1973-77    1978-82    1983-87
        
                                          
        
        1. Philosophy of Education        -          13         14        27
                                                                         (20)
        
        2. Sociology of Education         7          24         43        74
                                                                         (56)
        
        3. History of Education           1           6         17        24
                                                                         (21)
        
        4. Comparative Education          1           4          3         8
                                                                          (7)
        
        5. Economics of Education         1           9          9        19
                                                                         (16)
        
        6. Learning, Motivation and      10          75         76       161
           Personality                                                  (117)
        
        7. Guidance and Counselling       4          13         18        35
                                                                         (24)
        
        8. Evaluation, Tests and          2          15         23        40
           Examinations                                                  (30)
        
        9. Curriculum, Methods and        -          13         51        64
           Textbooks                                                     (52)
        
        10.Educational Technology        18          12         21        51
                                                                         (30)
        
        11.Correlates of Achievement      6          15         43        64
                                                                         (48)
        
        12.Teacher Education             13          45         79       137
                                                                         (78)
        
        13.Educational Management         6          35         51        92
           and Administration                                            (61)
        
        14.Non-formal Education           -           8         21        29
                                                                         (24)
        
        15.Education of the               4           7         17        28
           Exceptional                                                   (18)
        
                                          
        
           Total                         73         294        486       853
                                                                        (601)

Note: Of the total number of studies undertaken in the concerned area, the number in parentheses indicates the number of the dissertations, the rest are only research proposals.

Philosophy of Education

In the area of philosophy of education 27 research studies at the M.Phil. level were reported during the periods 1973-87. This number is not impressive, especially considering the close relationship between education and philosophy and the fact that philosophy of education is one of the foundation courses in the discipline of Education.

From an examination of Table 31.1, it is evident that hardly any study in the area of philosophy of education was undertaken during 1973-77. In the next quinquernium, 1978-82, about a dozen of studies in this area were conducted. However, most of these are devote mainly to the study of the philosophies of religious

1468 LOKESH KOUL

saints and social reformers and their impact on some aspects of education (Kainth, 1979; Kewal, 1979; Singh, 1981; Anwar, 1982; Singh, 1982). Other studies during this period pertain to the concept of nationalism in educational philosophy as advocated by Tagore and Iqbal (Bharti, 1978); philosophical analysis of the concept of equality (Mathur, 1979); epistemological enquiry into the methods of educational research (Tyagi, 1980); and implications of existentialism in the context of theory and practice of modern education (Nanda, 1981).

The emphasis on research in the study of philosophical thoughts of religious saints, poets, social reformers and political thinkers in the context of education remained almost unchanged during the period 1983-87 (Ahanger, 1986; Mathin, 1986; Sahoo, 1986; Powar, 1987; Sahoo, 1987). Studies relating to Kant's theory of education in the context of preparing children for a better life (Palshikar, 1985); a philosophical inquiry into environmental education (Bhol, 1986); the philosophy of higher education (Pradhan, 1986); the thoughts of Ta- gore and Gandhi (Jena, 1985); and that of Gandhi and Dewey (Kaur, 1986) in the comparative perspective were also conducted during this period.

The nature of the M.Phil. studies in the philosophy of education indicates that most of them either pertain to educational thought in the writings of Gandhi, Tagore, Iqbal, Sri Aurobindo, Dewey, etc., or to an historical survey of an idea or a set of educational ideas spread over a particular period, without any concern for a systematic and coherent account of educational philosophy, Generally, these studies have not contributed to the development of a theory of education from the Indian standpoint. Changing aims and values in education; philosophical issues of tradition and modernization; recent philosophical trends in curriculum construction and instructional strategies have been mostly neglected. Researches undertaking philosophical analysis of the problems of value-crises, indiscipline, unrest, disobediece of authority, national integration and inter- national understanding are practically absent.

Sociology of Education

Although the sociology of education is now recognised as an important area of research, yet, in all, only 74 studies in this area at M.Phil. level were approved during 1973-87. It will be seen from Table 31.1 that the total number of studies completed in sociology of education during 1973-77 is very small. However, it soon picked up momentum and registered a phenomenal increase during the decade 1978-87.

It is noteworthy that a large number of M.Phil. researching pertain to the study of various socio-psychology variables, including personality traits and adjustment, intelligence, creativity, socioeconomic status, sex, achievement motivation, level of aspi- ration, self-concept, morality, mental health, attitudes, values, needs, family size, academic achievement, educational facilities, etc. of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, women, and slum dwellers and other disadvantaged communities (Koijam, 1978; Lal, 1979; Krishnaraj, 1980; Dass, 1981; Negi, 1981; Sahu, 1982; Bhalwal, 1983; Narania, 1983; Jamila, 1984; Mishra, 1984; Ravikirti, 1984; Pradhan, 1984; Tripathi, 1985; Chawla, 1986; Kaur, 1986; Sahoo, 1986; Dash, 1987; Naik, 1987; Tickoo, 1987). Most- of these studies have either explored the relationship between various variables using a sample drawn from a particular disadvantaged community or made comparisons on some variables. among the advantaged and disadvantaged groups in formal school, college and university settings. However, there are two studies which have been conducted in non-formal settings. One pertains to the attitudes and adjustment of tribal students in an ashram school (Chitnis, 1987) and the other relates to the inmates of an Observation Home for boys and girls (Rohini, 1987). In one experimental study, Sethi (1984) has explored the effect of effective treatment on the cognitive development of a group of children drawn from economically deprived families.

A few studies deal with specific social problems and issues at school, college and university level. These pertain to career stresses on research scholars (Aggrawal, 1978); causes of student unrest (Verma, 1979; Farooq, 1981); Political awareness of college students (Sigamani, 1980); utilization of educational opportunities by scheduled castes (Garg, 1981); impact of development plans on Gojar and Non-Gojar students (Ganaie, 1981); attitude of students towards participation in politics, political democracy, etc. (Khatua, 1983; Premilae, 1987); incidence of drug taking among postgraduate resident girls (Tanwar 1985); and educational development of scheduled castes (Rajhans, 1985).