Unit III-UNDERSTANDING DISCIPLINES AND SUBJECTS -
HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCHOOOL SUBJECTS - BEd notes -Part 1
Prepared by
Sabarish P
Contents
- School subjects and their evolution as a Curricular Area at school.
- Evolution of school subjects before and after independence.
- Gurukulam, Kutippallikoodam, Patasala and formal schools.
School subjects and their evolution as a curricular area at school
From an international perspective, continents and countries differ in the way they develop and carry out curriculum work.
Until some years ago the European education history was focused on the political history and the times of struggle between the churches and the states.
However, at present, the education system focuses on the relationship between academic achievement and socio-cultural heritage, thereby seeking a new area of understanding.
School culture
In a school culture, interesting facts about the standards, codes and school conduct is studied to determine the approach of the institution.
Students benefit when the school culture aids them to understand the analysis of standard and purpose of the content of studies, professionally nurtured by the teachers.
Teaching practices are historically cultural in nature and are filled with relevant codes to be deciphered in the school subjects.
School subjects
School subjects are a cultural product, which transmit content and knowledge.
The history of school subjects has been presented in the scientific field as a new branch of education, thereby enhancing the act of teaching school subjects.
School subjects give visibility to the school trajectory of knowledge, its constitution and educational purposes to fulfill in different historical periods.
School discipline
School discipline is a means used for renewing the educational system to achieve new goals prescribed by either the educational system or the political situation.
School discipline sets the codes for the functioning of school subjects and helps to shape the school culture.
Evolution of school subjects before independence
The backbone of the education system in ancient India was the Gurukul system. In a gurukul, the students lived in the house of their guru or teacher and got educated.
The gurus taught the students about the religious texts like Vedas, Upanishads and other texts and also gave lessons about archery, sword fighting, gymnastics, etc. The main objective was to make a student fully prepared to face any kind of difficulties in life.
With the colonial rule in India, the Gurukul system started to lose its importance. The British rulers introduced schools that eventually replaced the Gurukuls. They established schools at primary, secondary levels and also established colleges to provide higher education.
The subjects taught in the schools were also different from those taught in the Gurukuls. Apart from Sanskrit and Vedic texts, the students started to learn other languages like English. Lessons about archery, sword fighting or gymnastics was demolished with due course of time.
Evolution of school subjects after independence
After the independence of India, the Government of India followed the education system set up by the British to a large extent.
India has made considerable progress in school education with reference to overall literacy, infrastructure and universal access and enrolment in schools.
According to the enrolment figures of the Indian government, out of 20 crore children of the 5-14 age group, 82 percent were in school and nearly 50 per cent of these children drop out before completing class eight.
Two recent developments form the reform in teacher education – the political recognition of Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) and the state commitment towards UEE in the form of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
Hurdles in the education system
Regional, social, and gender disparities pose a challenge in implementing the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act and, in particular, the role and place of the school teacher.
Given the problems of inadequate quality in most secondary schools due to poor infrastructure and insufficient number of teachers, the need for addressing the professional education of secondary teachers acquires great importance.
The continued decline in quality of the state school system and the proliferation of sub-standard unregulated private schools pose several challenges to the basic learning needs of all children in the 6-14 age groups through the elementary education system.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act
Section 29(2) of this act lays emphasis on the following areas while laying down the curriculum and evaluation procedures:
Conformity with the values of the Constitution.
All round development of the child.
Building up child’s knowledge, potentiality and talent.
Development of physical and mental abilities of the child to the fullest extent.
Making the child to learn through activities, discovery and exploration and express views freely.
Helping the child overcome fear and anxiety, if any.
Comprehensive and continuous evaluation of the child’s understanding of knowledge and the ability to apply the same.
The above mentioned areas are significant to the professional development of teachers at all stages of their training.
Curricular reforms
The teacher education curriculum framework needs to be in consonance with the curriculum framework for school education.
The expectations of the school system from a teacher change from time to time, responding to the broader social, economic and political changes taking place in the society.
Concurrently, the demand for quality secondary education is steadily increasing, with the aim to achieve the universal standard within a maximum of ten years.
The educational reforms would increase the demand for well qualified and professionally trained teachers in larger numbers.
Many factors like the status, remuneration, conditions of work and the academic and professional education of the teachers are to be considered.
Role of teachers in the education system
Teacher education has a major part to play as it imbibes the would-be teacher with the aspirations, knowledge-base, pedagogic capacities and humane attitudes.
A teacher functions within the broad framework of the school education system – its goals, curricula, materials, methods and expectations.
A teacher needs to be prepared in relation to the needs and demands arising in the school context, to engage with questions of apt knowledge, the learner and the learning process.
The teacher must be equipped not only to teach but also to understand the students and the community of parents so that children are regular in schools and learn.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act mandates that the teacher should refrain from inflicting corporal punishment, complete the entire curriculum within the given time, assess students, hold parent’s meetings and apprise them and as part of the school management committee, organise the overall running of the school.
Responsibilities of teachers
The National Curriculum Framework (NCF) requires a teacher to be a facilitator of children’s learning in a manner that helps children to construct knowledge and meaning.
The teacher need to participate in the construction of syllabi, textbooks and teaching-learning materials.
Teachers should be thinking professionals, able to recognise and value what children learn from their home, social and cultural environment and help them discover and develop. The recommendations of the NCF on school curriculum are built on this basis.
Teachers act as crucial mediating agents through whom curriculum is transacted and knowledge is co-constructed along with learners.
Teachers need to be equipped with an adequate understanding of curriculum, subject-content and pedagogy, on the one hand, and the community and school structures and management, on the other.
The launch of the massive Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in 2002 and the financial commitment and education cess to augment the UEE mission have underscored the need to prepare the teachers adequately to address the growing demand for quality education.
Effects of curriculum structure
The pressures of globalisation in all sectors including education and increasing competition are forcing children into unprecedented situations that they have to cope with.
It is expected that the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act will play a major role in arresting some of these trends dictated by the market forces.
The current system of schooling imposes tremendous burden on children, which is the result of an incoherent curriculum structure.
Such curriculum structure is often dissociated from the personal and social environment of children as also from the inadequate preparation of teachers who are unable to make connections with children and respond to their needs in imaginative ways.
Textbooks by themselves do not help in developing knowledge and understanding. There is a need to connect knowledge to life outside the school and enrich the curriculum by making it less centred on the textbook.
Gurukulam, Pathashala and formal schools
Gurukulam
Gurukulam or gurukul is a type of school in India, residential in nature, with shishya (pupils) living near the guru (teacher), often within the same house. Prior to British rule, gurukulams served as south Asia's primary educational institutions. The word gurukul is a contraction of the Sanskrit guru (teacher or master) and kul (extended family).
In a gurukul, all shishya stay together away from their family, learn from the guru and help the guru in his day-to-day activities including the household chores. Typically, a guru does not receive any fees from the shishya studying with him.
At the end of his studies, a shishya offers the guru dakshina before leaving the gurukul or ashram. The gurudakshina is a traditional gesture of acknowledgment, respect and thanks to the guru, which may be monetary, but may also be a special task the teacher wants the student to accomplish.
Pathashala
A pathashala is an Indian village school which offers rudimentary education. Such pathashalas are usually governed either by the village panchayats or the government.
The children attending the pathashalas are taught various subjects including the languages, mathematics, science subjects, arts subjects, agricultural subjects, housekeeping subjects, etc.
The elementary education of eight years has also been made compulsory and free for the children in the villages of India. Apart from that, the government authorities have taken many more steps to further improve the status of education in Indian villages as well.
Formal schooling
Formal schooling in India is provided by the public sector as well as the private sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: central, state, and local. Under various articles of the Indian Constitution, free and compulsory education is provided as a fundamental right to children between the ages of 6 and 14.
Structure of the Indian education system
The formal Indian education system is structured as follows:
Pre-school: This is the school where a child gets accustomed to the daily routine of attending the school.
Kindergarten: This is divided into lower kindergarten for 4 year old children and upper kindergarten for 5 year old children.
Primary school: First to fifth standard for 6 to 10 year old children.
Middle school: Sixth to eighth standard for 11 to 14 year old children.
Secondary school: Ninth and tenth standard for 14 to 16 year old children.
Higher secondary or pre-university: 11th and 12th standard for 16 to 17 year old children.
Undergraduate: A bachelor’s degree is a three year course. Specialised courses such as medicine and engineering can be of longer duration.
Postgraduate: One-year course.
The central and most state boards uniformly follow a pattern, in which study of 12 years is done in schools or in colleges and then a study of 3 years of graduation is done for a bachelor's degree. The first 10 years is further subdivided into 5 years of primary school education, 3 years of middle school education, followed by 2 years of high school education.
Governing bodies
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is the apex body for curriculum related matters for school education in India.
The NCERT provides support and technical assistance to a number of schools in India and oversees many aspects of enforcement of education policies.
Other curriculum bodies governing school education system are the state government boards, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the Council of Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE), etc.
The CBSE is a board of education for public and private schools, under the Union Government of India. The CBSE conducts the final examinations for Class 10 and Class 12 every year.
The CISCE conducts three examinations, namely, the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE - Class 10); The Indian School Certificate (ISC – Class 12) and the Certificate in Vocational Education (CVE – Class 12).
Other educational bodies
Various international schools offer 10th and 12th standard examinations under the International Baccalaureate (IB), or the Cambridge Senior Secondary Examination systems.
However IB qualification is not recognised as a pre-degree examination in a number of universities and is therefore only suitable for children who are likely to complete their studies outside India.
In addition, National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) and National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) are responsible for the management of the education system and teacher accreditation.
Types of schools
There are many types of schools which provide formal education to students. They are as follows:
Public/government schools: Most schools in India are funded and run by the government.
Private schools: Private schools are very crucial as they provide adequate education to the children, as the government schools are scarce.
International schools: International schools provide education to children in all major cities.
Other schools
National open schools: These schools provide education up to the higher secondary level for children whose schooling has been interrupted and have been unable to complete formal education
Special-needs schools: These schools provide non-formal education and vocational training to children with disabilities.
Prepared by
Sabarish P
