Category: Education
How Organize Panel Discussion directed instructional sessions choosing appropriate topics from Social Studies curriculum.
Posted by davidson on Oct.09, 2011, under Education, Teaching No Comments
How Organize Panel Discussion:
1. Identify, or help participants identify, an issue or topic that involves an important conflict in values and/or interests. The issue or topic may be set forth as a topical question, a hypothetical incident, a student experience, an actual case, etc.
2. Select panelists who are well informed about and have specific points of view regarding the issue or topic. A panel discussion that includes three to five panelists is usually most workable. Select a leader or moderator.
3. Indicate to panelists the objectives the panel discussion is designed to promote and allow-time for panel members to prepare for the discussion. In some situations ten or fifteen minutes may be sufficient time for preparation while in other situations, panel members may need to prepare several weeks in advance of the scheduled discussion.
4. Decide upon the format the panel discussion will follow. Various formats are appropriate. The following procedures have been used effectively:
a. The leader or moderator introduces the topic and the panelists present their views and opinions regarding the issue or topic for a set amount of time.
b. The panelists discuss the issue or topic with each other by asking questions or reacting to the views and opinions of other panel members. A specific amount of time should be established.
c. The leader or moderator closes the discussion and provides a summary of panel presentations and discussion.
d. The leader or moderator calls for a forum period during which the members of the class may participate by addressing questions to various panel members or by voicing their views and opinions. The forum period should be conducted by the panel leader or moderator.
Principal Responsibilities of the Instructor
1. Identify, or help participants identify, issues or topics upon which to base a panel discussion.
2. Insure that all panelists and the moderator are familiar with the procedures for panel discussion in advance of the discussion itself so that they will be able to fulfill the responsibilities of their roles.
3. Assist panelists and participants (when necessary) in preparation for the discussion by directing them to various source materials, authorities in the field, etc.
4. Help participants understand the need for fair procedures in discussing an issue or topic, e.g., the freedom to discuss an issue, the obligation to listen to other points of view, the need for orderly, courteous discussion, etc.
Organise on Debate and Pannel Discussion directed instructional sessions choosing appropriate topics from Social Studies curriculum.
Posted by davidson on Sep.20, 2011, under Education, Teaching No Comments
planning, organization, and instructional benefits:
Debate or debating is a formal method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn’t the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion. Though logical consistency, factual accuracy and some degree of emotional appeal to the audience are important elements of the art of persuasion, in debating, one side often prevails over the other side by presenting a superior “context” and/or framework of the issue, which is far more subtle and strategic.
In a formal debating contest, there are rules for people to discuss and decide on differences, within a framework defining how they will interact. Informal debate is a common occurrence, the quality and depth of a debate improves with knowledge and skill of its participants as debaters. Deliberative bodies such as parliaments, legislative assemblies, and meetings of all sorts engage in debates. The outcome of a debate may be decided by audience vote, by judges, or by some combination of the two. Although this implies that facts are based on consensus, which is not factual. Formal debates between candidates for elected office, such as the leaders debates and the U.S. presidential election debates, are common in democracies.
The major goal of the study of debate as a method or art is to develop one’s ability to play from either position with equal ease. To inexperienced debaters, some propositions appear easier to defend or to destroy; to experienced debaters, any proposition can be defended or destroyed after the same amount of preparation time, usually quite short. Lawyers argue forcefully on behalf of their client, even if the facts appear against them. However one large misconception about debate is that it is all about strong beliefs; it is not.
Panel discussion planning, organization, and instructional benefits:
Panel discussion for example, if an issue is too complex for one person to handle, a panel may be covered so a group of specialists can speak. Or perhaps the audience need to introduced or exposed to various people or viewpoints at the same session.Panel discussions, however, differ from team presentations. Their purpose is different. In a team presentation, the group presents agreed-upon views; in a panel discussion, the purpose is to present different views. Also in a team presentations, usually speakers stand as they speak; in panel discussions, usually speakers sit the whole time. In panel discussion each speaker prepares separately, the other speakers here one another for the time at the session itself.
Technically, a panel discussion consists of questions and answers only, and a symposium consists of a series of prepared speeches, followed by questions and answers. The compare must monitor time and manage questions. If each participant is making a speech for a set period of time, he should signal the speakers at the one minute to go mark and at the stop mark. If a speakers goes more than one or two minute he can stop them to gave the equal rights to each speakers. The compare must be a biased person; he is neither in nor against the topic.At the end the compare should summarize the discussion and thank the panel members
A panel discussion is designed to provide an opportunity for a group to hear several people knowledgeable about a specific issue or topic present information and discuss personal views. A panel discussion may help the audience further clarify and evaluate their positions regarding specific issues or topics being discussed and increase their understanding of the positions of others
Major types of climate of India. Develop an instructional strategy for this content which should include instructional objectives, main teaching points, teaching-learning activities,
Posted by davidson on Sep.06, 2011, under Education, Teaching No Comments
Types of Indian climate varied due to India’s unique geography and geology that strongly influenced its climate. This is particularly true of the Himalayas in the north and the Thar Desert in the northwest. The Himalayas act as a barrier to the frigid katabatic winds coming down from Central Asia. Although the Tropic of Cancer is the boundary between the tropics and subtropics and passes through the middle of India, the whole country is considered to be tropical one.
India is home to extraordinary types of Indian climate, ranging from tropical in the south to temperate and alpine in the Himalayan north, where eminent regions receive sustained winter snowfall. The climate of India is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert. The Himalayas, along with the Hindu Kush mountains in Pakistan, prohibit cold Central Asian katabatic winds from blowing in, thus keeping the volume of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar latitudes.
The Thar Desert plays a role in attracting moisture-laden southwest summer monsoon winds between June and October that provide the majority of India`s rainfall. Four major climatic groupings rule over, into which seven climatic zones as designated by experts, are included on the basis of such features as temperature and precipitation.
The types of Indian climate are as follows -
Tropical wet – A tropical rainy climate covers regions experiencing constant warm or high temperatures, which usually do not fall below 18 °C (64 °F). The most humid is the tropical wet monsoon climate that encompasses a strip of southwestern lowlands adjoining the Malabar Coast, the Western Ghats, and southern Assam. India`s two island territories, Lakshwadeep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands also witness this climate.
Tropical dry – A tropical arid and semi-arid climate in India dominates regions where the rate of moisture loss through evapotranspiration exceeds than that from precipitation; it is subdivided into three climatic subtypes. The first, a tropical semi-arid steppe climate, predominates over the south of Tropic of Cancer and east of the Western Ghats and the Cardamom Hills. Most of western Rajasthan experiences a parched climatic regime. Rainfall is responsible for virtually all of the region`s annual precipitation, which counts upto less than 300 millimeters. Such bursts happen when monsoon winds sweep into the region during July, August, and September. East of the Thar Desert, the region running from Punjab and Haryana to Kathiawar experiences a tropical and sub-tropical steppe climate.
Subtropical humid – Most of Northeast India and much of North India are subject to a humid sub-tropical climate. They experience hot summers, temperatures during the coldest months may fall as low as 0 °C (32 °F). In most of this region, there is very little precipitation during the winter, high wind speed and summer rainfall with powerful thunderstorms associated with the southwest summer monsoon; occasional tropical cyclones also occur.
Montane – India`s northernmost lands are subject to a montane, or alpine, climate. Climates ranging from nearly tropical in the foothills to tundra above the snow line can co-exist within several dozen miles of each other. Sharp temperature contrasts between sunny and shady slopes, high diurnal temperature variability, temperature inversions, and altitude-dependent variability in rainfall are also common. The northern side of the western Himalayas, also known as the trans-Himalayan belt, is a section of barren, arid, frosty, and wind-blown wastelands.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) designates four official seasons in India, namely the winter, summer, monsoon and post monsoon. Winter occurs between January and March. The year`s coldest months are December and January, when temperatures average around 10-15 °C (50-59 °F) in the northwest. Summer or pre-monsoon season, lasts from March to June (April to July in northwestern India). In western and southern regions, the hottest month is April; for northern regions, May is the hottest month.
Monsoon or rainy season lasts from June to September. The season is dominated by the humid southwest summer monsoon, which slowly swaps across the country starting in late May or early June. Post-monsoon season lasts from October to December. South India usually receives more precipitation. Monsoon rains begin to withdraw from North India at the beginning of October. The types of Indian climate are responsible for the variation of weather in different parts of the Indian subcontinent.
Define ‘Social studies’. Exlain the significance of Social Studies n secondary School curriculum in India .
Posted by davidson on Aug.24, 2011, under Education No Comments
In 1992, the Board of Directors of National Council for the Social Studies, the primary membership organization for social studies educators, adopted the following definition:
Social studies are the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence. Within the school program, social studies provides coordinated, systematic study drawing upon such disciplines as anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology, as well as appropriate content from the humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences. The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.
Social studies is taught in kindergarten through grade 12 in schools across the nation. As a field of study, social studies may be more difficult to define than is a single discipline such as history or geography, precisely because it is multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary and because it is sometimes taught in one class (perhaps called “social studies”) and sometimes in separate discipline-based classes within a department of social studies.
The significance of Social Studies and secondary School curriculum.
Social studies programs have as a major purpose the promotion of civic competence-which is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required of students to be able to assume “the office of citizen” (as Thomas Jefferson called it) in our democratic republic. Although civic competence is not the only responsibility of social studies nor is it exclusive to the field, it is more central to social studies than any other subject area in the schools.
It is important for secondary students in social studies programs to begin to understand, appreciate, and apply knowledge, processes, and attitudes from academic disciplines. But even such discipline-based learning draws simultaneously from several disciplines in clarifying specific concepts. A study of the concept of “the common good,” for example, may draw upon some or all of the following:
* the discipline of history, to determine the concept’s origin, study primary source documents that define and address the concept, and analyze the concept’s development over time;
* the discipline of geography, to locate where the concept was first developed, map its movement from one continent or nation to another, and recognize the power of the diffusion of ideas as an example of global linkage;
* the discipline of _political science, _to determine the developing meaning of the concept as it is promoted or limited through existing political institutions, to study examples of actual practice related to the common good, and to acknowledge the need for citizen involvement in closing the distance between the ideal and reality;
* the discipline of sociology, to examine the role of individuals, groups, and institutions and their relationship and responsibility to the common good, and to develop an understanding of the complexities of those relationships resulting from the diversity of beliefs, values, and structures within and among them; and
* Communication abilities from language arts/English and the fine arts to enable students to express their understanding of the concept in a personally meaningful way.
* Social issues, such as poverty, crime, and public health, are increasingly understood to transcend the boundaries of disciplines, cultures, and nations. As these issues grow increasingly complex, the work to develop solutions demands an increasingly integrated view of scholarly domains and of the world itself.
Knowledge understanding and application.
Posted by davidson on Aug.15, 2011, under Education No Comments
Knowledge Objectives are the intended learning aims or goals of the Learning Element identified and grouped in terms of the primary focus of each aim or goal – so the teacher is prompted to identify Experiential, Conceptual, Analytical and Applied objectives. The Knowledge Objectives should be closely aligned to the learning activities-Knowledge Processes, which they preface and mirror, and echoed in the Knowledge Outcomes which are designed to indicate achievement of the Knowledge Objectives.
Why? Clearly identifying the Knowledge Objectives means the teacher is upfront and explicit about their purpose. The Knowledge Objectives serve to guide the rest of the design process – if an activity-Knowledge Process does not serve an objective, if it does not enable an objective to be met then the teacher is prompted to consider its need. Encouraging teachers to identify the focus of their objectives – experiential, conceptual, analytical or applied – scaffolds more complex considerations regarding the purpose or intent of their objectives.
The approach taken in this section of each chapter was developed as a part of our ‘Learning by Design’ project. It also a practical example of the approach to the New Learning we advocate in this book. The knowledge processes comprise different forms of knowledge-action, illustrated as follows:
This is what each knowledge process means:
Experiencing the known—or reflecting on our own experiences, interests and perspectives. Experiencing the new—or observation of the unfamiliar, immersion in new situations, reading and recording new facts and data. Conceptualising by naming—or developing categories and defining terms. Conceptualising with theory—or making generalisations and putting the key terms together into theories. Analysing functionally—or analysing logical connections, cause and effect, structure and function. Analysing critically—or evaluating critically your own and other people’s perspectives, interests and motives. Applying appropriately—or applying insights to real-world situations and testing their validity. Applying creatively—or making an intervention in the world that is truly innovative and creative and which to bear your life’s interests, experiences and aspirations.
Use of these knowledge processes turns knowledge-making over to you, the learner. Labels such as these allow you to name what you are doing as a social scientist—in one moment, conducting investigations of the empirical world, in another developing theoretical positions, and in yet another creating knowledge through the process of its application.
These knowledge processes are not linear. You can start where the particular learning situation and your own preferences suggest is most appropriate. You may prefer one approach to knowledge or learning style over another, in which case you may start there, or even spend a good deal of your time approaching the subject matter from this perspective, because that’s where you are most comfortable and where you feel your knowledge-making is most effective. We would suggest, however, that a rounded view of an issue, and one where you have thoroughly made your own knowledge, will consist of a relatively balanced mix of these different knowledge processes.
Understanding:
o explain provide thorough and justifiable accounts of phenomena, facts, and data
• interpret — tell meaningful stories, offer apt translations, provide a revealing historical or personal dimension to ideas and events; make subjects personal or accessible through images, anecdotes, analogies, and models
apply — effectively use and adapt what they know in diverse contexts
• have perspective — see and hear points of view through critical eyes and ears; see the big picture
• empathize — find value in what others might find odd, alien, or implausible; perceive sensitively on the basis of prior indirect experience
• have self-knowledge — perceive the personal style, prejudices, projections, and habits of mind that both shape and impede our own understanding; they are aware of what they do not understand and why understanding is so hard
Concept, need and essential aspects of Continuous comprehensive evaluation.
Posted by davidson on Jul.17, 2011, under Education No Comments
Continuous comprehensive Evaluation should be carried out in relation to learners’ cognitive, affective and psycho-motor growth. Cognitive growth refers to the intellectual development of learners (such as learners’ knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation). Affective growth emphasizes learners’ attitude, interest and personal development. Psycho-motor growth deals with learners’ ability to perform some activity or do some practical work. Therefore, if you want the teaching-learning process to be really effective, you should evaluate the learners continuously and comprehensively
Hence to bring about the improvement in the quality of education and the holistic development of the child who is tomorrow’s global citizen, evaluation process should focus adequately on both scholastic and non-scholastic areas of development. Hence the focus needs to shift to comprehensive evaluation. The comprehensive evaluation also needs to have continuity at regular intervals through out the academic year. This thought is further gets support from the fact that the National Progressive Schools Association has also recommended the scrapping of class X board exams
This module focuses upon the various evaluation tools and techniques which can be used for decision making with reference to learners scholastic and non scholastic needs.
By comprehensive evaluation, we mean that evaluation should not concern itself only with knowledge but it shall also take into account the factors that are inherent in students’ growth such as skills, understanding, appreciation, interest, attitude and habits. In other words, evaluation should cover all the learning experiences of the learner in curricular as well as non-cognitive areas.
Need of Continuous comprehensive evaluation.
Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation is intended to provide a holistic profile of the learner through assessment of both scholastic and non-scholastic aspects of education spread over the total span of instructional time in schools.
It helps to identify those positive attributes of the learner which are not usually assessed during the examinations conducted by the Board
As it is spread over a period of two years in class IX and X it provides several opportunities for the school to identify the latent talents of the learners in different contexts.
This document is supportive to the statement of marks issued by the Board after the examinations conducted by it.
Essential aspects of Continuous comprehensive evaluation.
1. To provide a holistic profile of the learner through assessment of both scholastic and non-scholastic aspects of education
2. To identify the latent talents of the learners in different contexts.
3. to identity strategies for raising Student Achievement
4. To plan a Comprehensive Evaluation Program to Improving Schools
5. To suggest suitable tools and techniques for achieving continuous comprehensive evaluation.
6. Use Evaluation for Continuous School Improvement
7. Using evaluation as a tool for continuous improvement of the school and the students.
8. To suggest ways of strategies of sensitizing school administrators, parents and the community about CCE.
HIV/AIDS laws in the Asia – Pacific regions.
Posted by davidson on Jun.08, 2011, under Community Education No Comments
Several countries have made legal provision to deal with issues arising out of HIV.
Sri Lanka
There are no HIVIAIDS specific laws in Sri Lanka, The three prevailing laws under which the epidemic can be dealt wit11 are: Contagious Diseases, Ordinances No. 8 of 1996 Venereal Diseases Ordinance No. 27 of 1938, and Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance No. 3 of 1897 The Contagious Diseases Ordinance of 1966 requires every case of small pox, cholera or other disease which may from time to time be named to be notified to a police officer or other officials. AIDS related issues may be covered under the clause ‘other diseases’. Venereal Diseases Ordinance of 1938 permits only registered or authorised medical practitioners to treat venereal diseases. The most important one in the context is the Quarantine and Prevention respect of Diseases Ordinance of 1897. It gives powers to the health authority in respect of identification and control of contagious diseases. Under this law the doctor is to report a case of HIV infection with all particulars of the patient. Segregation of the infected person is authorized. There is no provision for confidentiality of the information provided.
Thailand
Thailand has a disproportionate number of HIV/AIDS patients and it has great socio-economic, political and legal consequences. Poverty discriminations, budgetary demand etc. indicated that HIVIAIDS is no more a medical disease but it is also a socio-economic and political disease. Form the angle of law; HIVIAIDS is equally a legal disease for Thailand. The National Plan for the Prevention and Control of AIDS (1992-96) established a more enlightened framework for action on HIV/AIDS.
Family and Law
AIDS is a contributing factor towards family break-up. As the number of infected persons goes up, pressure is building up on the families. There is no law to provide subsidies to families. There is also no provision for social security to help the poor. However such facilities are advocated under the National Plan on AIDS.
Employment
The National Plan for the Prevention of AIDS rejects compulsory testing for employment. But rejections of potential employees on the bases of HIV/AIDS and dismissals of actual employees due to the same are very common. Though there are a number of labour laws with implications for HIV/AIDS, the dismissed employees do not approach the courts due to the fear of exposure of their identity
Criminal Law
According to the criminal code liabilities arises from intentional acts, but negligence may also give rise to liability. A key concern in Thailand is the suppression of drugs trade. The provisions of the Dangerous Drug Act, 1979 can be used to detain those with HIV/AIDS where they are the Prostitution Suppression Act, 1960 and Entertainment Places Act, 1966. Prostitution is illegal in Thailand, but it is a rampant. There are also a men, women and children. Courts have powers to send prostitutes having HIV/AIDS to rehabilitation programmes. Prostitution is the most closely linked factor for the spread of AIDS in Thailand.
Malaysia
The Ministry of Health has prepared a Plan of Action that provides guidelines for the surveillance, prevention and control of HIVIAIDS in the country. The main statute in this area is the Prevention of Infectious Diseases Act, 1988. HIV is the only disease included in Part 2 or the Schedule; Section 2 of the Act deals with surveillance while section 3 provides for the confidentiality.
AIDS was first notified as an infectious disease in May 1985. Section 10 of the Act requires all those who come to know the existence of AIDS to notify the officer in charge. Doctors who treat AIDS patients are to notify the same. Persons running boarding houses are to inform if they come to h o w of any of the inmates infected with HIV. Failure to notify is an offence under section 10 (5) of the Act,
Indonesia
The first case of AIDS was recorded in 1987 as a foreign tourist died in Bali. Legal approach to AIDS is based on the Basic Constitution of 1945, Epidemic Law, Quarantine Law, the Health Law etc, Surveillance and notification of AIDS is being done. Testing and counselling are implemented voluntarily. Confidentiality of the HIV status is guaranteed. Compulsory treatment is not applied. Preventive measures like quarantine is not allowed for HIV/AIDS cases. There exist no brothel laws, as prostitution is illegal in Indonesia. Normally medical information is confidential unless asked for by patients or their families. There is no special law dealing with the right of people living with HIV/AIDS. Though there is no legal discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients; it exists for cultural and religious reasons. The duty to treat AIDS cases has been applied to all government hospitals. People living with HIV/AIDS have the same rights as other people in accommodation, employment, school etc.
Singapore
There are few laws, policies and regulations enacted specifically to deal with AIDS in Singapore. Amendment in Infectious Diseases Act, 1985 is meant to deal with epidemic. The Act calls for notification, testing, isolation and quarantine as well as penal provisions. Under the Act, the penal provisions would deter the infected persons from coming forward to be identified. Every blood donor is required to complete a statutory declaration before he donates blood about his practicing safe sex. This declaration also perpetuates the myth that homosexuals are more disposed to AIDS. Every work permit holder is required to undergo HIV tests to get the permit renewed. The Singapore national employer’s federation has declared HIV infection to be contracted outside the workplace and not their responsibility. Termination of an HIV infected employee is permissible if a number of other employees refuse to work with him. Singapore’s political culture based on Confucian ethics places community interests above all else. The tendency therefore is to curb the rights of the infected individuals and the politicians are accused of playing to popular ignorance.
Non formal Education and Women’s Empowerment
Posted by davidson on Feb.17, 2011, under Community Education, Education No Comments
Formal Education commonly aim at providing learners with skills, abilities and knowledge that make individuals capable of participating in society. The formal educational system focus primarily on individual change in the lives of the learners. Nonformal education and training may – like formal schooling – be used to maintain and reproduce stereotyped gender roles, but can also be used as strategies for promoting empowerment and transformation of oppressive social structures and relations. Nonformal education and training are perceived as particularly significant tools for the empowerment of women in the Third World (Monkman 1998; 500).
Education as a Means to Empower Women
Empowerment consists of various levels and dimensions. In order to be empowered it requires both changes at the individual level and the societal level. We believe that it is possible to empower women, at the individual level. Being able to read and write and gain new knowledge, are important factors that enhance self-esteem of the individual, and is a prerequisite for generating change and empowerment. Participating in education is an expression of psychological and cognitive components of the empowerment process. An educated woman is more likely to send her children to school. This is an illustration of cognitive empowerment because the woman becomes capable of making important decisions about health and educational matters on behalf of her chilren. This illustrates the woman as an active agent, being able to improve and change the life conditions of her children. But it is not enough to challenge structures of gender inequality at societal level. Collective action has a greater potential in creating more widespread change. It can exert more pressure, and being a group gives more visibility and a stronger voice and provide a stronger challenge to discriminatory factors. The collective awareness of their common subordination as women creates a “we”, – a collective identity. Non formal education programmes strive to create a critical awareness of the ideological mechanisms that construct the ideas of women’s subordination as natural. That is why non formal education programmes are particularly significant, because they are based on the active participation of the women. They focus primarily on the local experiences and concerns of the individuals, and thus enable women to formulate collective demands regarding their position as women. An illustration of collective participation and action was shown in the previous section, where a group of women succeeded in getting men prosecuted for wife beating. This case is an expression of political empowerment. The limitations of many non formal/popular education programmes are their inability to link local level concerns with broader policies and practices. They often fail to transfer their success into macro level efforts. Collaboration among organizations is vital to bridge the gap between the micro scale projects and macro scale programmes, in order to get resources from national governments and international organizations, and to exchange knowledge and experiences.But it is not only within the non bformal educational sector that programs exist which try to change status quo. Experimental and consciousness-raising programmes within the formal educational system also exist. The teacher training programme from Argentina mentioned in section eight, aimed at changing the attitudes of teachers, that is, their stereotyped perceptions of men and women. During the programme the teachers became aware of their discriminating behavior. Through the process, the attitudes changed, and participants were determined to change inequalities when returning to their schools. But they faced resistance in their efforts to introduce their new perspectives on gender. Although they faced difficulties, we believe that this is an indication of the individual teachers becoming empowered during the programme, because of their efforts to transmit the new knowledge. But although the individual teachers can become empowered, they can not fulfill their desires and wishes for change, because of the rigid patriarchal structure of the formal educational system. There are too few of these experimental teacher training programmes with the goal of changing the contemporary schooling system. We thus find it important to implement teacher training programmes, in the formal teaching training colleges, that aim at educating teachers at all levels in the educational system to have far-reaching effects. Teachers are essential agents in the socialization process of boys and girls in their function as role models. Already in primary school are girls influenced indirectly, by the teachers’ stereotyped expectations of girls. But if teachers participate in experimental training programmes where they become empowered, they can as important transmitters of knowledge, values and norms empower girls even in primary school. The empowerment of girls may become particularly visible when girls reach puberty (Bonder 1992; 243). Equally important are the effects that teachers have on boys. If boys early in school life are socialized into perceiving girls as equals, these attitudes and values might become naturalized and incorporated into the habitus of the boys. This was attempted in the school in New Delhi, India, as mentioned earlier. Thus, long-term change will only occur if boys and girls, men and women are incorporated and targeted in the change processes. Although teachers might be positive towards creating equal terms for boys and girls, some norms and values regarding gender roles are very hard to overcome. At the end of the teacher training programme in Argentina, teachers discussed, -on the basis of their new knowledge- norms and behavior relating to the labor market. They agreed that competition within professions between men and women is acceptable but women should avoid defeating men. In case of defeating them, women should seek to hide their Satisfaction, (ibid;246). This shows that although equal gender relations might be acknowledged, there are still some norms and values which are so deeply rooted in people’s habits that they are very difficult to transform. This is why it is necessary to start changing attitudes and perceptions early in life.
Conclusion: Education is widely acknowledged as an important means in development strategies to improve conditions and reduce poverty in Third World countries. Benefits of education have for long been obvious, but since the 1970s special attention has been paid to the education of women. Research has shown very crucial benefits of educating girls and women. Decrease in infant mortality- and fertility rates are among the most important results. Furthermore an educated women is more likely to send her children to school, and also acknowledge the special importance of educating her girls. Even though there has been focus on the education of women for decades, women still have unequal opportunities, in terms of less access to and less participation in, the educational system. As a consequence of the low enrollment in schools, many girls and women are deprived of capabilities such as, being able to read and write. The main course of their deprivation and marginalization is due to their gender. Male domination and female subordination is socialized into boys and girls at a very early age. The socialization conceals the ideological mechanisms that construct the gender inequality as natural given. In this way girls are contributing to their own subordination. The origin of gender inequality manifests itself in the family, but is also transmitted and reinforced in context such as the educational system. In many developing countries girls face unequal opportunities even before entering the school. Many constraints, such as the attitudes of their parents, deny their access to schooling. Entering primary school the girls are burdened with more housework and childcare compared to boys. Thus reducing their performance in school. In teenage years, pregnancy and marriage contribute to high dropout rates of girls. Along with these factors the educational system reproduces patriarchal values, norms and gender stereotypes. Thus gender inequality is maintained at all levels in the educational system. The reproduction of the gender stereotypes is transmitted through the curriculum content, which is textbooks and through teaching practices and expectations. Thus, to achieve gender equality in the educational systems various strategies are necessary in order to reform schooling. One of the crucial strategies is the training of teachers. Raising the awareness of teachers’ differential behavior towards girls and boys is important. Unequal relations between men and women are today widely recognized in development discourses. These development approaches to women are focused on changing the institutional basis of gender inequality, in contrast to previous approaches, as for example WID, which did not challenge the basis of female subordination. The key word today in many development approaches towards women is empowerment. One of the first elements in the empowerment process is raising the awareness of women of their own subordinate position. Empowering women is seen as a way to change gender roles and to enhance their capabilities of creating change and making decisions about crucial issues in their own lives. The outcome of empowering women also affects family relations and social relations within a community. This strategy is central in many non formal education and training programmes for women. Being more flexible and based on participation, focusing on women’s own experiences and interests, these programmes are particularly suited in bringing about change, first of all in the individual lives. But they also have the potential through collective action and organization to affect national policies and enable societal change. Though it requires long-term systematic strategies and collaboration between different organizations from various levels in order to generate a thorough and pervasive transformation of society.
Benefits of Education for Women
Posted by davidson on Feb.03, 2011, under Community Education No Comments
Education as a means to promote development in social, political, and economic spheres has been gender-blind, but in the late 1970s this perspective changed. In 1979 “Fertility and Education: What do we really know? “Was published by Cochrane. A large number of studies and research concerning this subject followed, and concluded the existence of a high correlation between increases in women’s schooling level and a decline in infant mortality and fertility rates. Women who had completed basic education were able to make use of health facilities and service for their children and had a higher interest in sending their children to school (Dighe 1998; 420,421). 1990 was proclaimed to be the International Literacy year, by the UN. The focus on education for women continued during the 1990s and results of different researches showed that investment in this area gave the highest “output” (compared to earlier development investments focusing primarily on production and industrial growth) both at socio-economic, cultural and political levels. Before the mid 1970s people occupied with development issues had paid little attention to the economic benefits which could be attributed from women (Fink 1992; 173). Educating women also results in economic benefits. In Africa, for example, 46 % of the agricultural workforce is female. Educating these women will increase productivity, enabling them to contribute to the protection of the environment and preservation of water and energy will increase economic growth markedly. Investment in education for girls and women has, according to Shultz, been one of the factors why fx Southeast Asia, East Asia and Latin America have had a significant progress in social and economic growth. Conversely, growth has for instance in the Middle East and North Africa been of limited scale which according to Schultz is one of the consequences of a lacking investment in the education of girls` and women (Schultz 2001; 208). Economic analysis on wage returns shows a lower fertility rate and infant mortality and a higher GNP per capita and life expectancy when a larger number of girls are enrolled in primary education. Furthermore does a study of countries with an equity of about 100 % enrolment rate at primary level, show higher GNP and lower fertility rates when more girls are enrolled in secondary education. This indicates the necessity of educating women at secondary level as well, since it not only gives a higher personal freedom as Dreze and Sen Mention. But it also affects children, as well as the rest of the society in a positive way. There are many obstacles to girls’ enrollment and further participation in the educational system, as will be discussed in part six. One of these are the lack of role models for girls and low expectations of girls. Despite the positive benefits of education, some implications within the educational system are relevant because it provides some of the explanations why girls achieve less and why they drop out before secondary level. This has to do with the educational system as a reproducer of values, sexual stereotypes and norms in a society (Sutton 1998; 391,393). Along with the increasing attention upon women’s education, the concept of empowerment emerged. In 1993 an issue paper for the panel on “ Girls and Women’s Education, Women’s Empowerment and Population issues” was prepared by UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). This paper put focus on the important issue of education as a means to women’s empowerment (Dighe 1998; 422). Before we discuss the concept of empowerment in section five we will pay attention to the issue of gender and inequality, gender roles, and different development approaches to women in The Third World.
Benefits of Education in general
Posted by davidson on Jan.30, 2011, under Community Education No Comments
The impact of education on society, both on social, health and economic relations, is widely recognized due to studies and research on this subject. Economic benefits of education did not figure on the development agenda to begin with. The reason is that it is not immediately mesureable. Even though this paper do not pay much attention to economic benefits it is still important to stress the value of presenting economic benefits, since it is one of the most persuasive arguments in the attempts to change attitudes of governments concerning their higher priorities on fx the military and less priority to education and health sectors. Different studies in the last decades have shown that an increase in education enhance the economic growth. But other benefits such as the expansion of human capabilities is recognized as equally important outcomes of education. Improving individuals social and personal opportunities enables change in a society with unequal opportunities for development caused by traditional patterns of class, ethnicity and gender. According to Dreze and Sen, education has five intrinsic values for improving social and economic conditions in Third World countries, both benefits for communities and societies, as well as individual social benefits. First of all education gives personal benefits for the individual in terms of self-confidence leading to motivation and interests in society. Social interactions are easier when persons are capable of reading a newspaper about social and political issues in the community and the rest of the World. Secondly, education gives access to a wider range of job opportunities and in general enables persons to take advantage of economic opportunities and fx participate in local politics. Thirdly, a higher literacy rate facilitates public debates and demands for health care, social security and other needs. Public discussions enable people to hold politicians accountable for their promises of fx improvements in the social service sector. Information on ones society provide better possibilities for utilizing the service system. Fourthly, education indirectly prevents child labour, to the extent that implementation of legislation of basic education for all children, force parents to send their children to school which again gives less time for labour. Entering school broadens horizons for young people. Which means that meeting other children and young people could result in new ideas of different opportunities in the future. The fifht effect of education and literacy enables oppressed groups in a society to become politically organized. Being a larger group makes it easier to insist on ones rights and demands concerning social and politically issues. An organized group achieves visibility in the society and is harder to oppress. The ability to resist oppression not only concerns disadvantaged groups in society, but education does also have positive effects within families when girls are being educated (Dreze & Sen 2002; 39). The expansion of the opportunity of education to include girls do not just enhance the capabilities of reading and writing, but is also a means to the promotion of gender equality, development and growth.we have to realize the benefits of education in general.














