Handbook of B.Ed. Entrance and Teacher Eligibility Competitive Examination

1

EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA

“The objectives of education in Vedic Period were worship of God, religiousness, spirituality, formation of character, development of personality, creation of an aptitude for the development of culture, fulfillment of public and civic duties, an increase in social efficiency or skill and the protection and propagation of national culture.”  

                                                                                                                        -Dr.Altekar                                                                                                                                                                             

INTRODUCTION

“Education is a liberating force, and in our age it is also a democratizing force, cutting across the barriers of caste and class smoothing out inequalities imposed by birth and other circumstances”

                                                                                                                 Indira Gandhi

Education is a process of human enlightment and progress to attain a better and

higher quality of life. Education is considered as a vital instrument in bringing about a peaceful and silent economic revolution for ushering in a era of harmony, peace, progress and prosperity. A value based and effective system of education results in manifold

potentialities and competencies. Education is as old as the human race.

  “Education is unfoldment of what is already enfolded, It is the process through which the child makers’ internal external.”

                                                                                        The most important contribution of ancient India not only for India but also for the world is in the field of education. The story of Indian education is as old as the story of Indian civilization. Ancient India is manifested in the cultural, individual, scientific, economic, & spiritual advancement. Development of education in ancient India can be studied in Vedic, Brahmanic, & Buddhist Period.

                                       Education provides a significant role to reach the goal.  Even after fifty-six years of independence the education system at all levels in our country has remained more or less static. Under Article 45 of the constitution elementary education was made free and compulsory in our country. But still others are unable to complete their elementary education due one another reasons.

                      To realise the objectives of education for all a number of programmes viz. evening classes for employed, semi-employed or adult, non-formal education programmes for children of 6 to 14 years of age, who are unable to complete their elementary education. Adult education programmes were launched in the country. A democratic society, which lays stress on egalitarianism and social justice, generates irresistible pressure for education.

IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

Education was considered as the greatest gift in ancient India. It is a function of society. The real goal of the education is to fit a person for his work in life. Ancient Indian education was primarily the education of the “Vedas”. In Vedic period India evolved different systems of education in accordance with the changing needs of the time.

According to Arnold Toynbee: “It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning will have an Indian ending. At this supremely dangerous moment in human history (Nuclear Age) the only way of salvation for mankind is the Indian way.”

According to F.W.Thomas: “There has been no country where the love of learning had so early an origin or has exercised so lasting and powerful an influence. From the simple poets of the Vedic Age to the Bengali philosopher of the present day, there has been an uninterrupted succession of teachers and scholars.” 

The importance of Education is;

·         All round development of personality.

·         Character building and moral development.

·         Control, redirection and sublimation of instincts.

·         Increase our fame.

·         Modify the behaviour of the child.

·         Achievement of vocational efficiency.

·         Development of individuality.

·         Preparation for life.

·         Promotion of social efficiency and happiness.

·         Developing the mind for the betterment of the individual and society.

PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE AND FEATURES OF EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA

 The Vedas are the original source of the Philosophy of life. The knowledge derived from the Vedas alone can give real happiness to an individual. India is known for its education, culture and philosophy. The educationists and philosophers are trying their best for organizing the system of education in a way which may help in continuous development and promotion of culture.  The “Veda” means ‘to know’, but it is the Veda which inspires to get the knowledge of god. The ancient seers of India, though not very much to affairs have not neglected ‘Karma’. Knowledge, Action and Devotion are the three means of realization of the Brahma. The doctrine of action (Karma) occupies a very significant place in the Indian System of life and of Education. ‘Purushartha’, ‘Dharma’, ‘Nishkam Karma’, ‘Vairagya’, ‘ Moksha’, are the important concepts on life and education.

• The Upanishads, the Smritis and the Puranas, all acknowledge the superiority of the Vedas.
• The Veda is found in the four roots;
1. Vid Sattayam.
2. Vidlri Labhe.
3. Vid Gyane.
4. Vid Vicharne.

The principal features of Education in Ancient India may be summarized as under;

• Education in ancient India was wide spread.
• India is the cradle of the human race.
• The Ancient Indian Education was developed by the Vedas and the Upanishads.
• Education in ancient India was free from external control like that of the state.
• Gravitation was known to the Hindus before the birth of Newton.
• Inculcation of the spirit of plain living and high thinking.
• Emphasis on knowledge and experience.
• Development of the sense of the constant omnipresence of Brahma.
• Conservation of culture.
• Development of spiritual and moral values.

1. THE VEDIC EDUCATION

“No Doubt countries like china Egypt and Babylonia rank with India as being the cradles of ancient Civilizations, but no other country has left behind such enduring marks of heritage as India.”

 According to Manusmriti, “This body is made godly by a through study of Vedas.”         

                   Vedic Period is the most significant period of India’s Cultural heritage. Vedas occupy a very important place in Indian Life. Vedic literature includes the Vedic Samhitas, Brahmanas and Aryakyakas (Upanishads) but while considering the Vedic Education, it is proper to think over the Vedas only.

MEANING OF ‘VEDAS’

            The Literal meaning of ‘Vedas’ is the knowledge of various types and the ‘Vedas’ derived from ‘vid’ root meaning ‘to know’ or ‘Veda’ means the knowledge of various types.

• The Veda contains 20,358 verses.
• Education is centred on religion.
• Expression of the inner light for the benefit of mankind.
• The subject matter of Veda is Dharma and Brahma.

“Veda is a symbol of that thing through which one attains his objective and protects one self against bad traits, undesirable things and behaviour.”

The Vedic Education represents the most important and intrinsic part of life of the Indian people. The Vedic Education consists of the following;

• Four Vedas.
• Four Up-Vedas.
• Six Vedangas.
• Four Brahmanas.
• Six Systems of Philosophy.
• Bhagwad Gita.
• Three Smritis.
• 108 Upanishads.

On the basis of Indian Culture Vedas, are four in number;

• Rig-Veda          : Oldest Veda, 10,522 Verses.
• Sama Veda       : Holy Songs, hymns of the devotion, 1,875 Verses.                        
• Yajurveda         : 1,984 Verses.  
• Atharvaveda     : Science of Medicine, 5,977 Verses.

According to Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru : “The Rig-Veda, the first of the Vedas is probably the earliest book that humanity possesses.”

CONTENTS OF THE VEDAS

• The ‘Jnana’ or knowledge and wisdom.
• The ‘Karma’ or actions or code of conduct.
• The ‘Upasana’ or dedication and devotion to God.

AIMS OF VEDIC EDUCATION

• Education for other world lines.
• Character formation.
• All round development for Personality.
• Intellectual Development
• Spiritual Development
• Preparation for living
• Preserving and Transmitting Culture
• Education only a means and not an end in itself.
• Identical aim of education.
• Attainment of salvation.
• Education has an idealistic form.
• Laid stress on civil responsibilities.
• Promotion of social efficiency and welfare.
• Harmonious development of body, mind and sprit.

IDEALS OF EDUCATION

According to Dr. A.S.Altekar: “Ancient Indians were convinced that no good results would follow if education is begun late in life.”

• Liberation.
• Control of mind.----------------------------------------------------
• 
  
• Chapter 1
  
  
  Child Development and Pedagogy
  
  

  Learning is inseparable from its social and cultural context. Students learn best when they feel accepted, when they enjoy positive relationships with their fellow students and teachers, and when they are able to be active, visible members of the learning community. Effective teachers foster positive relationships within environments that are caring, inclusive, non-discriminatory, and cohesive. They also build good relationships with the wider school community, working with parents and caregivers as key partners who have unique knowledge of their children and countless opportunities to advance their children’s learning. Effective teachers attend to the cultural and linguistic diversity of all their students. The classroom culture exists within and alongside many other cultures, including the cultures of the wider school and the local community, the students’ peer culture, and the teacher’s professional culture.                                                                                  Creating a supportive learning environment

  Brief Summary
  ·         Child psychology is one of the many branches of psychology and one of the most frequently studied specialty areas.
  ·         Create a supportive learning environment
  • Encourage reflective thought and action
  • Enhance the relevance of new learning
  • Facilitate shared learning
  • Make connections to prior learning and experience
  • Provide sufficient opportunities to learn
  ·         Inquire into the teaching–learning relationship. Good teaching is about caring, nurturing, and developing minds and talents.
  ·         Good teaching is supported by strong and visionary leadership, and very tangible institutional support -- resources, personnel, and funds.
  ·         Pedagogy is also occasionally referred to as the correct use of instructive strategies.
  ·          Good teaching is about mentoring between senior and junior faculty, teamwork, and being recognized and promoted by one's peers.
  ·         Effective teaching should also be rewarded, and poor teaching needs to be remediated through training and development programs.
  ·         Teaching may be carried out informally, within the family which is called home schooling or the wider community.
  ·          Formal teaching may be carried out by paid professionals. Such professionals enjoy a status in some societies on a par with physicians, lawyers, engineers, and accountants. 
  
  
  ·          Child psychology deals not only with how children grow physically, but with their mental, emotional and social development as well.
  ·          Psychologists recognize that child psychology is unique and complex, but many differ in terms of the unique perspective they take when approaching development.
  ·         Relationships with peers and adults have an effect on how children think, learn and develop.
  ·          Students learn most effectively when they develop the ability to stand back from the information or ideas that they have engaged with and think about these objectively.
  ·         Reflective learners assimilate new learning, relate it to what they already know, adapt it for their own purposes, and translate thought into action.
  ·          Over time, they develop their creativity, their ability to think critically about information and ideas, and their met cognitive ability (that is, their ability to think about their own thinking). 
  ·         Families, schools and peer groups all make up an important part of the social context.
  ·         Understanding what makes kids tick is an enormous task, so the study of child psychology is both wide and deep. 
  ·         Psychology is the study of the mental processes and behavior. The term psychology comes from the Greek word psyche meaning "breath, spirit, soul" and the logia meaning "study of."
  ·          Psychology emerged from biology and philosophy and is closely linked to other disciplines including sociology, medicine, linguistics and anthropology.
  ·         Students learn most effectively when they have time and opportunity to engage with, practise, and transfer new learning.
  ·         This means that they need to encounter new learning a number of times and in a variety of different tasks or contexts. With my frustration at teaching poorly, or at least not as well as I would have liked, rising, it seemed that using technology might help overcome my lack of success in the classroom. 
  ·          Using technology would offer alternative approaches to the classroom, and for helping students learn. Technology might allow for the presentation of information in alternative ways that would be useful to students.
  ·          It also means that when curriculum coverage and student understanding are in competition, the teacher may decide to cover less but cover it in greater depth. 
  ·         Developmental psychology is the relationship between innateness and environmental influence in regard to any particular aspect of development.
  ·         Developmental psychology is concerned not only with describing the characteristics of psychological change over time, but also seeks to explain the principles and internal workings underlying these changes.
  ·         So the use of technology as a panacea that might offer transformative experiences to students seemed like a viable way to make up for my own deficits in the classroom.  
  ·         The hypothesis was that the infusion of technology could make up for and extend the classroom and help students learn in ways that they appreciated. 
  ·          Weaknesses and shortcomings in my teaching might be circumvented by appropriate applications of technology.
  ·         Cognitive development is primarily concerned with the ways in which infants and children acquire, develop, and use internal mental capabilities such as problem solving, memory, and language.
  ·         Modern cognitive development has integrated the considerations of cognitive psychology and the psychology of individual differences into the interpretation and modelling of development.
  
  
  Introduction
  Pedagogy is the art (and science) of teaching. Effective teachers use an array of teaching strategies because there is no single, universal approach that suits all situations. Different strategies used in different combinations with different groupings of students will improve learning outcomes. Some strategies are better suited to teaching certain skills and fields of knowledge than are others. Some strategies are better suited to certain student backgrounds, learning styles and abilities.
                                  Effective pedagogy, incorporating an array of teaching strategies that support intellectual engagement, connectedness to the wider world, supportive classroom environments, and recognition of difference, should be implemented across all key learning and subject areas. Effective pedagogical practice promotes the wellbeing of students, teachers and the school community - it improves students' and teachers' confidence and contributes to their sense of purpose for being at school; it builds community confidence in the quality of learning and teaching in the school.
                                          Higher-order thinking by students involves the transformation of information and ideas. This transformation occurs  when students combine facts and ideas and synthesise, generalise, explain, hypothesise or arrive at some conclusion or  interpretation. Lower-order thinking occurs when students are asked to receive or recite factual information or to employ rules and  algorithms through repetitive routines. Students are given prespecified knowledge ranging from simple facts and  information to more complex concepts. Such knowledge is conveyed to students through a reading, work sheet, lecture  or other direct instructional medium. Knowledge is deep when it concerns the central ideas of a topic or discipline, which are judged to be crucial to it. Deep  knowledge involves establishing relatively complex connections to those central concepts. Pedagogy is also occasionally referred to as the correct use of instructive strategies (see instructional theory). For example, Paulo Freire , referred to his method of teaching adult humans as "critical pedagogy". In correlation with those instructive strategies the instructor's own philosophical beliefs of instruction are harbored and governed by the pupil's background knowledge and experience, situation, and environment, as well as learning goals set by the student and teacher. One example would be the Socratic schools of thought. Education is the point at which we decide whether we love the world enough to assume responsibility for it and by the same token to save it from that ruin, which, except for renewal, except for the coming of the new and the young, would be inevitable. An education, too, is where we decide whether we love our children enough not to expel them from our world and leave them to their own devices, nor to strike from their hands their choice of undertaking something new, something unforeseen by us, but to prepare them in advance for the task of renewing a common world. In psychology, habituation is an example of non-associative learning in which there is a progressive diminution of behavioral response probability with repetition stimulus. An animal first responds to a stimulus, but if it is neither rewarding nor harmful the animal reduces subsequent responses. The classic example is Pavlov and his dogs. Meat powder naturally will make a dog salivate when it is put into a dog's mouth; salivating is a reflexive response to the meat powder. Meat powder is the unconditioned stimulus (US) and the salivation is the unconditioned response (UR). Then Pavlov rang a bell before presenting the meat powder. The first time Pavlov rang the bell, the neutral stimulus, the dogs did not salivate, but once he put the meat powder in their mouths they began to salivate.  In other words, learning is approached as an outcome - the end product of some process. It can be recognized or seen.  This approach has the virtue of highlighting a crucial aspect of learning - change.  It's apparent clarity may also make some sense when conducting experiments. Learning as a quantitative increase in knowledge. Learning is acquiring information or ‘knowing a lot’. Learning as memorising. Learning is storing information that can be reproduced. Learning as acquiring facts, skills, and methods that can be retained and used as necessary.
  
  Child Development
  
  
   Child development refers to the biological and psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the end of adolescence, as the individual progresses from dependency to increasing autonomy. These developmental changes may be strongly influenced by genetic factors and events during prenatal life, genetics and prenatal development are usually included as part of the study of child development. Developmental psychology includes issues such as the extent to which development occurs through the gradual accumulation of knowledge versus stage-like development, or the extent to which children are born with innate mental structures versus learning. Child Development experts have taken the concept of scaffolding from the building trades.  Just as scaffolding is put up to support the structure of the building as it is being built and gradually taken down as the building is able to stand on its own, a parent needs to provide the necessary support for a child to allow them to safely and productively explore and learn from their environment.  As the child matures and develops mastery the scaffolding is removed or changed to allow the child to become more independent.  If the child is not quite ready, the support is reinstated and then gradually withdrawn once again.
                                                             Child development is not a matter of a single topic, but progresses somewhat differently for different aspects of the individual. Here are descriptions of the development of a number of physical and mental characteristics. Physical growth in stature and weight occurs over the 15–20 years following birth, as the individual changes from the average weight of 3.5 kg and length of 50 cm at full-term birth to full adult size. Individual differences in height and weight during childhood are considerable. Some of these differences are due to family genetic factors, others to environmental factors, but at some points in development they may be strongly influenced by individual differences in reproductive maturation. Good teaching is about listening, questioning, being responsive, and remembering that each student and class is different. It's about eliciting responses and developing the oral communication skills of the quiet students. It's about pushing students to excel; at the same time, it's about being human, respecting others, and being professional at all times.  Good teaching is about not always having a fixed agenda and being rigid, but being flexible, fluid, experimenting, and having the confidence to react and adjust to changing circumstances. It's about getting only 10 percent of what you wanted to do in a class done and still feeling good. It's about deviating from the course syllabus or lecture schedule easily when there is more and better learning elsewhere. Good teaching is about the creative balance between being an authoritarian dictator on the one hand and a pushover on the other. The teacher must remember that every child differs from every other child. He must know that children not only differ in bodily health but also in bodily powers. He should not forget that they have varying degrees of intelligence, abilities and temperaments. He must always remind himself the truth that the home environments of no two kids are the same. Even if the degree of intelligence of two kids may be more or less the same, they will differ widely in certain specific abilities. Even if we assume that two kids are more or less alike in specific abilities, they may have very different opportunities for developing that abilities. The emotional development, stability and moral qualities - all will differ greatly. The teacher's success in establishing a fruitful relationship will rely on his taking stock of them.
   
  
  
  Pedagogy
  
  
  Pedagogy is also occasionally referred to as the correct use of instructive strategies .  it is the study of teaching methods, including the aims of education andthe ways in which such  goals may be achieved. The field reliesheavily on educational psychology  or theories about the way inwhich learning takes place. Pedagogy is the art (and science) of teaching. Effective teachers use an array of teaching strategies because there is no single, universal approach that suits all situations. Different strategies used in different combinations with different groupings of students will improve learning outcomes. Some strategies are better suited to teaching certain skills and fields of knowledge than are others. Some strategies are better suited to certain student backgrounds, learning styles and abilities.
  
  
                                                         Human learning may occur as part of education, personal development, school or training. It may be goal-oriented and may be aided by motivation.  Effective teachers display a wide range of skills and abilities that lead to creating a learning environment where all students feel comfortable and are sure that they can succeed both academically and personally. Learning is inseparable from its social and cultural context. Students learn best when they feel accepted, when they enjoy positive relationships with their fellow students and teachers, and when they are able to be active, visible members of the learning community. Effective teachers foster positive relationships within environments that are caring, inclusive, non-discriminatory, and cohesive. Responses of learners and teachers to active learning approaches in previous Teaching and Learning Programme resources provide overwhelming evidence of their success in motivating and engaging learners and supporting their learning. These come together in the pedagogy as process model according to the various contributions of the teacher and the learner to each 'step' in the process. It is too simplistic to treat the model as if the teacher did some steps and the learner did others. Indeed to a greater or lesser extent both teacher and learner contribute to each task.
  
  
  Psychology
  
  
  The word psychology is officially defined as : “the science that studies the behaviour of organisms“. The science that deals with mental processes and behavior.
   The emotional and behavioral characteristics of an individual, group, or activity. The scientific study of mental processes and behavior.  
    “Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes”.
  
  
                                             The behavioral and cognitive characteristics of a specific individual, group, activity, or circumstance.  The subject psychology has two aspects pure and applied.  Pure psychology  formulates techniques for the study of human behaviour, which finds the practical shape  in its applied aspects, i.e. branches of applied psychology like clinical psychology, crime psychology, industrial psychology, occupational psychology and educational psychology.
                 Clinical psychology  is the application of psychological knowledge to the diagnosis and treatment of patients.
      Educational Psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. 
  Educational psychology can in part be understood through its relationship with other disciplines. 
  It is an attempt to apply knowledge of pure psychology to the  field of  education.  It consists of application of psychological principles and techniques to human  behaviour in educational situations.  In other words, Educational Psychology is a study of  the experience and behaviour of the learner in relation to educational environment. 
  1. Crow and Crow: “Educational psychology describes and explains the learning experiences of an individual from birth through old age.”
  2. Trow: “Educational Psychology is the study of psychological aspects of educational situations.”
  3. Stephen: “Educational Psychology is the systematic study of the educational growth and development of a child.”
  4. Walter B. Kolesnik : “Educational Psychology is the study of those  facts and  principles of psychology which help to explain and improve the process of  education.”
  5. Judd : “Educational Psychology is the science which explains the changes that take  place in the individuals as they pass through the various stages of development.”
  
  
   Psychology had its formal beginning when Wilhelm Wundt established his psychological
  Laboratory in Leipzig Germany in 1879. But in real sense, interest in psychology as a
  discipline dates back to the work of Plato, Aristotle and other philosophers.
  Psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior, while also exploring the physiological and neurobiological processes that underlie certain functions and behaviors. Psychologists explore such concepts as perception, cognition, attention, emotion, phenomenology, motivation, brain functioning, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships.
  Psychology has been defined in different ways. Some people have defined psychology as an art. Other people have defined psychology as a science.
  An adequate psychological explanation is one that provides enough information for psychologists to predict and then manage behaviour.
  Basic psychology is the science of learning for the sake of knowledge. Basic science asks three questions: What happened?, How did it happen?, and Why did it happen? The goal of basic psychology is to control behavior.