Volume 4 Issue 1

IMPACT OF LABORATORY ACTIVITIES IN IMPROVING CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND SKILL OF SENIOR SECONDARYSTUDENTS
Animesh K. Mohapatra and Reena Mohapatra
Abstract
The word Lab or Laboratory in the minds of most people is synonymous with scientific investigation. If the laboratory is where scientists do their work, then it follows that much of science can best be learnt in the laboratory setting. The laboratory allows students to have experience that are consistent with the goal of scientific literacy. Laboratory activities are integral part of science teaching. Biology being the subject of living beings can be made lively and understood properly only with the help of practical experiments. Practical activity taking place in a Laboratory is not only associated with proper understanding of the subject but it has an important role in shaping the personality of a student. Laboratory activities when performed by the students gives a clear understanding of the theory already taught in the class. It develops skill and application ability among students. It develops a sense of responsibility, punctuality and grows team spirit. It makes the student more confident as his concept is clearer. It helps to grow workmanship in a student. A student performing practical experiments must be able to handle all the equipments utilized properly and systemically. The present study has been performed to assess whether the laboratory activity has developed conceptual understanding and laboratory skill among the students or not. Analysis of the result of the tests indicates there is certainly increase in the conceptual understanding in most of the practical activities. Although in some of the activities students didn't develop proper understanding. Regarding the development of laboratory skill it has been observed students have certainly developed skill. Although few basic skills like handling of microscope, staining methods and preparation of chemical solutions need to be improved more.


A STUDY ON THE PERCEPTION OF UNIVERSITY LECTURERS ON THE USE OF REFLECTIVE TEACHING PRACTICE AS PART OFPEER REVIEWPROCESS
Sony Jalarajan Raj
Abstract
Reflective practice has been used predominantly in teacher training programmes and medical education. Recently, reflection is becoming a vital component of professional development among university lecturers through peer review of teaching. This study examined university lecturers' perception about using reflective practices as part of peer review of their teaching. A sample of 122 lecturers from a multi-disciplinary background answered the Peer Review Questionnaires, which were designed for the reviewee and reviewer respectively. Through descriptive analysis, this study concluded that all the lecturers were aware of the importance of reflection after peer review and reflective practice is recommended to all reviewees. The reasons for engaging in reflection are for self-improvement and the opportunity for discussion, while some lecturers prefer not to engage in reflection because they perceive student feedback as a sufficient measure of teaching performance. Further recommendations for promoting and maintaining reflective practice were underlined.


ATTITUDE OF COLLEGE STUDENTS OF DIFFERENT NONPROFESSIONALCOURSES TOWARDS RAGGING : AN ANALYSIS
Laxmi Sharma and Khusboo
Abstract
Attitudes are enduring systems of positive or negative evaluations, emotional feelings and action tendencies with respect to an individual's social world (Ajzen, 2001; Krech, Crutchfield, and Ballachey, 1962). The objective of the study was, to know the attitude towards ragging among college students of non-professional courses (Art/Humanities, Social science and Science). Survey method was used in this study. A random sample of 300 students (18-26 years) was drawn from various non-professional courses from Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra College, St. John's College, and R.B.S College in Agra city only. Attitude towards Ragging Scale (ATRS) developed by Agarwala, Kumar and Sadhwani (2010) was administered to measure the favorable and unfavorable attitude of the students of various courses. Two - way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was computed to analyze the data and understand the level of significance. The results revealed that the main effect of factor A (gender) is insignificant (F = .322, p > 0.05), this indicates there is no significant effect in the attitude towards ragging between male and female. The main effect of factor B (non-professional courses) is insignificant (F = 2.362, p > 0.05), this indicates there is no significant effect in the attitude towards ragging among the non-professional courses viz.: humanities/arts, social science, and science. An interaction between gender (male and female) and different non-professional courses (humanities/arts, social science, and science) is insignificant (F = .793 P > 0.05), this shows that male and female college students of non-professional courses were not differ significantly with each other with regard to their attitude towards ragging. The recommendations are that Psychological counseling on anti-ragging act should be available in these courses. Issue of ragging should be received as an issue of human rights in education and Human right activists and NGOs should introduce appropriate initiatives in this regard.


A STUDY ON STRESS AND JOB SATISFACTION AMONG SECONDARYSCHOOLTEACHERS
Sarah Basu
Abstract
The present study was aimed at studying the occupational stress and job satisfaction among secondary school teachers. A sample of 110 secondary school teachers (60 M, 50 F) from 11 secondary schools (5 government-aided, 6 private) of Bareilly district affiliated to U.P. Board, Allahabad was chosen, using stratified random sampling technique. Occupational Stress Index (OSI) by Dr. A.K. Srivastava and Dr. A.P. Singh and Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (JSQ) by Dr. Pramod Kumar and D. N. Mutha were employed to collect the requisite data. The data so collected was analyzed using mean, S.D., t-test and Pearson's product moment correlation. The findings of the study revealed that the occupational stress among secondary school teachers working in government-aided and private schools differs significantly as does the occupational stress among male and female teachers. It was also found that the job satisfaction among secondary school teachers working in government-aided and private schools differs significantly as does the job satisfaction among the male and female teachers. The study also revealed a strong negative correlation between the occupational stress and job satisfaction of secondary school teachers.


PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE TEACHERS: AN ANALYSIS
Gitanjali Mohanty
Abstract
Teacher plays the most pivotal role in achieving quality in an educational system. The current science education reform movement emphasizes the importance of professional development as a means of student's science achievement. Every Science teacher needs to be aware of the rapid advancements in educational theories, methodologies and practices, increase in students' enrolment, range in interest and abilities of students and the ramification of role of education due to change and advancements in science and technology. Continuous learning is essential in order to improve the quality of teachers and educational system. Basing on data collected from thirty-one science teachers of secondary schools of Orissa, the study analyses status of the professional development of secondary school science teachers. It is found that 48.38 percent sample science teachers attended seminar, 32.25 percent workshops, 29.03 percent attended refresher course, 3.2 percent summer institute and continuing education centre. Six percent teachers attended conferences and no teacher symposia. Almost 58.06 percent of the sample teachers were used to consult college teachers, 41.94 percent other science teachers of the school, 25.80 percent teacher educators, 32.25 percent agricultural scientists and only 16.12 percent university teachers regarding various aspects of teaching science. It is also found that moderate number of sample teachers discussed with other science teachers regarding method of teaching, problem of experimentation and problem of evaluation etc. In-service teacher training should be made mandatory and compulsory for all science teachers. There should be a vigorous follow up programme with a view to helping the teacher to continuously apply the new knowledge in the class room. In order to keep the teachers aware about new developments, concepts and problems in their areas they should be provided opportunity to attend/participate in seminar, workshop, conference, refresher course, summer institute etc.


JOB INVOLVEMENT AND TEACHING EXPERIENCE OF SCHOOLTEACHERS : ASTUDY
S. K. PaneerSelvam
Abstract
Job involvement is the degree to "which one is cognitively pre occupied with, engaged in and concerned with one's present job". It is the intensity of a person's psychological identification with the job usually, the higher one's identification or involvement withe job, the greater the job. Having low job involvement contributes to employees' feeling of alienation of purpose, alienation the organization or feeling of separation between what the employees see as their 'life' and the job they do. People who are successful today define their success on the level of satisfaction. True enough, you might be earning in thousands of dollars, but if you are not satisfied with your job you won't be able to rise. Total dedication to your work is required and theat equals job involvement. It is about how serious about your work and getting it done. Money is no doubt a motivational factor but money is not everything. For most of the successful people, job involvement defines the satisfaction they get from work and vice-versa. Older workers are usually more involved with their jobs, perhaps because they have more responsibility and challenge and more opportunity to satisfy their growth needs. Older workers are also more likely to believe in the value of hard work.


INTELLECTUALS' EXPECTATIONS FROM A UNIVERSITY: AN EXPLORATORYSTUDY
Rashmi Soni
Abstract
The university is facing new challenges, new tasks as well as new competitors in the field of higher education. Is the university to survive all these challenges? Today society has high expectations from the universities. By assigning to them a variety of functions it has reposed great faith in our academic institutions. This faith is based more on expectations than on firm evidence of the capabilities of the universities. The present study intends to explore the expectations of selected intellectuals from a university institution. In the vastly changing national and international, techno-economic and sociopolitical scenario, it has become imperative to redefine the role of the universities, so the study of expectations of intellectuals from diverse fields with regard to universities is the need of the hour. The sample of this study consisted of some purposively selected university professors from various disciplines, faculties, universities and academia. Inductive content analysis of the interview proceedings and transcripts yielded several similar and dissimilar pictures of the University.


EDUCATION FOR GREEN CONSUMERISM: PRIME CONCERN TO MEET THE PRESENT CHALLENGES FOR A QUALITY FUTURE
M. N. Mohamedunni Alias Musthafa and Sajila. K. M.
Abstract
Education for Green Consumerism is a significant strategy for reforming the perceptions and attitudes of students for benefitting the environment and society. The present study was an attempt to find out the awareness level of Green Consumerism of undergraduate students attending colleges under the University of Calicut. The tool used for the study was Green Consumerism Assessment Scale (Musthafa & Sajila, 2011) which is a three point rating scale consisting of 45 statements indicating different behaviours and perceptions of consumers like eco-friendly buying behavior, conservation behavior, recycling, environmental concern, environmental activisms and skepticism towards environmental claims. The study revealed that there exists significant differences in Green Consumerism based on gender, type of management of colleges and locality of institution. It is a matter of concern that majority of students showed only an average level of Green Consumerism. This affirms the essentiality of enhancing education to facilitate sustainable living through Green Consumerism for maintaining the quality of life of the society


INFLUENCE OF GENDER AND PARENTAL INCOME TOWARDS EFFECTIVENESS OF CIA ON ACHIEVEMENT IN LEARNING ENGLISH ECTIN PRIMARYSCHOOLSTUDENTS
M. Brindhamani and T. Manichander
Abstract
The present study was aimed to analyse the effectiveness on achievement in English through CAI software with regards to gender and parental income. A random sample of 42 students of class third standard was selected. Researchers used experimental method for this study. CAI software was used as a tool for this study. The findings of the study were that (i) the mean scores of the achievement in English in total in the post-test value is 97.22 which is higher than mean achievement Scores in total of pre-test value 24.34 among the primary students towards gender and parental income. This implies that the effectiveness of CAI software have an impact on the achievement in English with regard to the gender and parental income (ii) it is found that there is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of pre-test with respect to gender and parents income. This implies that two categories are similar (iii) there is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of post-test scores among the primary school students with respect to gender and parents income. This reveals that both categories are similar and (iv) there is no significant difference has been found in the gain scores of the mean achievements in English with respect to gender and parental income.


BARRIERS OF INCLUSION OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: AVOICE FROM REGULAR CLASS ROOMS
Muhammed K.V. and Mohamedunni Alias Musthafa M.N.
Abstract
Higher education policies of our country always raises the deep need and concern for including physically mentally and socially deprived sections of the society. Nothing could be fostered without analyzing the practical constraints that hinders this endeavor. This paper is intended specially to highlight the contradicting perceptions regarding the inclusion of differentially able children. Inclusion is noteworthy as it is highly beneficial for developing the selfesteem of students with learning disabilities but, still it is problematic due to the garden variety of confusions associated with it. Investigators analyzed various hindrances on the way of implementing inclusion programs like lack of training of general teacher to handle disables, unaware of behavioral problems, negative attitude of educators and administrators, inaccessibility of students assistive technology devices,, reluctance of teachers to handle disable learners, lack of proper communication.


ADOLESCENTS' PERCEPTIONS ON PSYCHO-SOCIAL CLIMATE ATHOME : AN ANALYSIS
Nisha K. P.
Abstract
Home is the child's preliminary platform for socialization and subsequent behaviour and personality formation. Perceived parent child relationships are significant proxy indicators of the psycho-social climate at home. As the perception of a child towards his parents is in fact the reflection of their attitude towards him, it becomes an essential probe to analyze these perceptions in order to depict the actual psycho -social scenario at home. It becomes significantly relevant to analyze the perceptions of adolescents as they are at a stage when their perceptions get reflected in all their life events. Major objective of the investigation was to analyze the perceptions of adolescents regarding the psycho-social climate of their home. Also, the research aimed to achieve a measure of the cognitive, emotional and social support available to the adolescent at home. The sample was X standard students of public schools in Bengaluru. Sample size was 120. Required sample was drawn by employing the simple random sampling procedure. The study was primarily a survey type descriptive with a non experimental research design. The research instrument employed to collect the data was the Home Environment Inventory by Dr. Karuna Shankar Mishra (1989).The tool measured the perceptions of the students on parental behaviour related to ten dimensions of home environment. The data was analyzed strictly adhering to the tool manual. Attempts were made to provide qualitative interpretation to the data, wherever applicable


TRENDS IN GENDER INEQUALITY: A STUDY OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION IN INDIA
Prabina KumarPadhi
Abstract
As the engine of growth, education helps in the progress of the country. It increases the economic returns and also has a significant effect on poverty, income distribution, health, and overall quality of human life. In India the National Policy on Education (NPE) was set up in 1986 for the eradication of illiteracy and to obtain universalisation of elementary education. This is achieved with the help of District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). Educational indicators like literacy rate, gross enrolment ratio, net enrolment ratio, dropout rate, gender disparities etc. results in growing awareness and government efforts. So, literacy rate in India has an upward slope. This paper attempts to examine the enrolment and dropout of the elementary education in India. Admitting that providing resources for educating the masses is the biggest challenge, the study emphasizes the need for better access through improved quality and providing incentives for enrolment and attendance.


STRENGTHENING MATHEMATICAL LEARNING WITH CLASS ATMOSPHERE AND DESIGN IN ELEMENTARYSCHOOL
Reza Nazeri, Kamran JafarpourGhalehteimouri and Nooraini Othman
Abstract
Engagement in mathematics should be expected of all students, and the learning environment should be one where students are actively involved in doing mathematics. Challenging problems should be posed and students should be expected to work on them individually and in groups, sometimes for extended periods of time, and sometimes on unfamiliar topics. They should be encouraged to develop traits and strategies— such as perseverance, cooperative work skills, self-assessment, selfconfidence, decision-making, and risk-taking — which will be key to their success in mathematics. No need to say that class atmosphere plays important role for students and encourage and discourage them for study, in particular mathematics. Children are naturally curious about themselves and their environment. A natural way with which they try to satisfy their curiosity is to ask questions. The main theme of this regular lecture is to argue that student questioning should be made a stronger part of classroom teaching and learning of mathematics than is currently practiced in many countries. It is not very easy for teachers just with the talking gain the student attractions in mathematic classes. Mathematic is science, literature, geography or history that teacher be able to create a story. This research shows ideally, to promote student engagement in learning, two sets of factors must align. The first set of factors include that the students have the requisite prior knowledge, the curriculum is relevant to them, the classroom tasks interest them, and the pedagogies and assessment regimes match their expectations. The second set of factors relate to their goals for learning, their willingness to persist, and the extent to which they see participation in schooling as creating opportunities.


EFFECT OF IN-SERVICE TRAINING ON ATTITUDE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS TOWARDS TEACHING PROFESSION
C.V. Satyaprakasha and Gururaj
Abstract
Teaching is a noble profession. The teachers are the heart of the matter and core of whole educational process. The strength of education system largely depends upon the quality of teachers who sustain it. They are the experts of arouse enthusiasm and be a source of inspiration for the students, No doubt, the teacher is the real architecture of nation and the maker of the humanity. The knowledge, the competencies, skills, and attitude that teacher possesses plays a very important role in bringing about alround development of the child. There is a need to equip the teachers in terms of the above so as to enable them to become better and effective classroom teachers. Pre service and In service training programmes would help in this regard. In the present study an attempt has been made to find out the effect of in-service training on attitude of primary school teachers towards teaching profession. The objectives of the study are to find out the effectiveness of in-service training on the attitude of 1. male primary school language, mathematics, general science and social science teachers towards teaching profession and 2. male primary school language, mathematics, general science and social science teachers towards teaching profession. The hypothesis of the study were 1. There is no significant difference in the attitude of male primary school language, mathematics, general science and social science teachers towards teaching profession from pretest to posttest and 2. female primary school language, mathematics, general science and social science teachers towards teaching profession from pretest to posttest. The sample of the present study consisted of 200 primary school teachers (70 male and 130 female) from government schools of Bangalore Rural District. Attitude Scale towards Teaching Profession (2001) was the tool used. This tool selected for the study was administered to the sample before and after the execution of in-service programme. and 't'-test was the statistical technique used for the analysis of the data. Results revealed that in-service training programme had its positive effect on attitude of language, mathematics, and general science and social science male and female teachers towards teaching profession.


ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS OF STUDENTS IN RELATION TO THE DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES
Sonal Chabra, Taruna Malhotra and Vimmy Aggarwal
Abstract
The quality of teaching and learning mathematics has been one of the major challenges and concerns of educators as well as parents. Though Indians are generally regarded for their mathematical skills, it becomes necessary to identify factors contributing to achievement in the subject. The present study aimed to investigate the mathematics achievement of class 7th students in relation to the demographic variables i.e. Gender, Location and Parental Education. A sample of 400 was randomly selected from 20 schools of Rohtak district in Haryana. For obtaining the data, Mathematics Achievement was recorded by self made Achievement Test. The findings of the study suggest that there is a significant difference in the mathematics achievement of boys and girls of class 7th school students and those with differing parental education levels but location of the school does not bring in any significant difference in mathematics achievement of class 7th students.


EMBRACING GREEN ENGINEERING
Vandita Sharma
Abstract
Since time immemorial, the Earth has been a benefactor & man the exploiter. But this imbalanced relationship has cost us our environment. The degradation is faced by nature, and ultimately by man himself. The industrial revolution of the late 17th Century initially passed a boulevard of development & human comfort, but slowly made way for grotesque environmental tragedies such as ozone depletion, reduced water tables etc. The impact of these natural crises only recently drew man's attention to itself, when man himself started paying the price of the development he himself introduced. Thus arose the need for the development that could be sustained, without having any backfiring effect on nature and man. This gave birth to the concept of sustainable development and the need to study it in the very minute detail of its trilateral relationship with technology, economy & nature and its components. The Pursuit of sustainable development and environmental conservation policies, objectives, and targets requires the public to sufficiently scrutinize about the multiple dimensions of environment and development. Awareness and understanding of environmental issues provide the basis and rationale for commitment and meaningful action towards environmentally sound and sustainable development. Thus on a global scale, can only be achieved through environmental education.


RELATIONSHIP OF BODY IMAGE WITH SELF ESTEEM AND DEPRESSION OFCOLLEGE STUDENTS
Shantanu Halder and Gopal Chandra Saha
Abstract
The Purpose of this research study was to investigate the relationship of body image with self esteem and depression of college students. Hundred male college students from north 24 Pargana District of West Bengal were selected as subjects for this study whose age range between 18 to 20 years. Body shape questionnaire (BSQ-8), Center for epidemiologic studies depression scale (CES-D) and Rosenberg self-esteem scale were used to find out the relationship of body image with self esteem and depression of male college students. To find out the relationship of body image with self esteem and depression, Pearson product moment correlation coefficient statistical method was applied at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study showed that significant relationship exist among these three variables. Improvement of body image is strongly recommended.


COMPARISON OF SELECTED ANTHROPOMETRICS VARIABLES OFINDIAN BASKETBALLPLAYERS
Dhirendra Tiwari and Usha Tiwari
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare the anthropometrics variables of Indian basketball players. The Subjects were ninety players from different universities/states those who have participated in basketball championships at various levels, were selected. The subjects were ranging from 17 -32 years of age. Depending upon the level of participation, subjects were divided into three groups such as -beginners, the intermediate and the advanced group. The selected anthropometrics variables were upper arm length, forearm length, sitting height, leg length, stature and percentage of fat. The data for selected anthropometrics variables were obtained by using the standard procedures. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to check the variability of selected groups. Post-hoc Least Significant Difference test was used to find out the significant difference between the means of various groups. The results indicated that at the 0.05 level of significance, the subjects of different groups differed significantly on the measures of upper arm length and sitting height.


EFFECT OF PLYOMETRIC TRAINING ON TAKE-OFF AND TOUCH-DOWN OFMALE HURDLERS IN 400 METERS RACE
Satish Sharma and ArwinderKaur
Abstract
The present study was conducted to investigate the “Effect of plyometric training on take-off and touch-down of male hurdlers in 400 meters hurdle race”. Fourteen male sports person between the age group of 25-28 were selected through purposive random sampling technique from Government Arts and Sports College, Jalandhar. Experimental design was applied in which the subjects were tested twice i.e. pre-test and post –test was conducted and recorded. Subjects were divided into two groups i.e. Experimental and Control group. Training of plyometric training was imparted for twelve weeks followed by post test data collection. Training program was not given to Control Group. Vertical jumps of plyometrics can change the values greatly, from 22 to 48 cm in female players and from 40 to 75 cm in male players. (Ziv G et al. 2010). John Shaji (2009) also studies to examine the effects of plyometric training following a four-week training program on vertical jump height, forty-yard dash and anaerobic power. The results of the study show that plyometric training significantly improves anaerobic power and single leg vertical jump height independent of one another. Distance from take-off to the hurdle, touch-down distance from the hurdle and timings from take-off to touch-down measured by standard measuring tape and stop watch. The results of the investigation showed insignificant difference in all variables except touch-down timings, suggesting that plyometric training can be used as effective tool for the hurdlers. Level of significance was tested at 0.05 level. By comparing the pre-test and post-test timings of the take-off till touch down signifies that plyometrics training is beneficial and effective tool to enhance the performance of the hurdlers.