Reproductive Health Education on Disadvantaged Adolescents in Thailand and India (case Study in Northern)
NEED AND CONTEXT
It has been observed that the recent economic growth in the Asian cities indicate that there has been a breakdown of traditional support systems such as the family because of rapid urbanization and modernization. Moreover, a large number of people are living below the poverty line in impoverished environment in urban and rural communities. Their acute needs for housing, food, health, education, and incomes are the very forces that push adolescents to look for a means of livelihood on the streets, engage in prostitution, be hooked up with crime/drug syndicates, or become victims of sexual and physical abuse. It is a battle of bare struggle for daily survival and contributes in every ways they can. Any measure to penalize parents of such children will only result in further abuse and oppression of people who are already disadvantaged. Such children struggle hard in getting the most essential requirements to meet the basic needs of life and such children need special attention and educational intervention. These disadvantaged adolescents are generally malnourished and often anemic; many of them physically stunted, suffer psychologically from undue family pressures and abuses and are neglected at home. They tend to develop low self-esteem from broken families, single-headed households because of the death, separation, or labor migration of one of their parents. Moreover, they live in slums and squatter communities, sub-human conditions and are susceptible to crime syndicates and gang conflicts, substance/drug abuse, and gambling.
In the developing and under developed countries like India and Thailand a large percentage of population live below the poverty line and adolescents from such environment face difficulties in getting access to good education. It is therefore felt that in both the surround adolescents are of in the process of development and failure to meet their developmental need have lend to safe and serial destructions behaviors. Adolescents lack necessary life skills for cape up in to the realities and challenges of life. Adolescents accords for the largest portion of the world’s population and have been on an increasing trend and there are “230 million Indian adolescent in the age of group of 4 to 19” that (Population and Health IndoShare, 2006). Moreover, it is expected that this age group will continue to grow reaching over “214 million by 2020” (United Nations (UN) 2000) due to has traditionally been a male dominated society and has a strong son preference in most part of but Indian girls tend to be discriminated against by their families and also demographic trends indicate deep-rooted gender discrimination. In India, the condition of disadvantaged adolescents resembled that of their centers pail Thailand. Indian Young adolescents are facings serious problem of lack of access to reliable knowledge on the process of growing up reproductive health practices and value system. There has been a need to provide education on the developmental changes and needs during teenagers. This may reduce the risk of future.
Today, almost every Indian and Thai whether rich or poor, young or old, is exposed to much that is foreign, largely because in the last two decades India and Thailand has become one of the region’s most popular tourists destinations. At times, the growing economy and favorable investment opportunities have also attracted many foreign multinationals, which continue to add to the already fair large expatriate community. However, despite the intensity of their exposure to “foreign” influences, particularly western cultures and lifestyles, Indian and Thai culture remains a solid influence within family life and early childhood. From birth, Indian and Thai adolescents are still much more deeply immersed in culture than they are exposed to foreign influences despite the fast-paced changes that have been affecting Indian and Thai adolescents. The adolescents of deferred families are emotionally disturbed and driven adrift as wanderers, delinquent children with im-permissive behaviors such as loitering, gambling, drug addiction, crime, truancy, prostitution, and begging, illegal dealings. As the consequence of these adverse behaviors, cases of illegal pregnancy, baby abandonment, and HIV/AIDS infection are becoming more and more severe.
There also reported, “Thai Children are spending more time in talking and chatting on the phone and the trendiest models of mobile phones, love hanging out with their friends at night, the drugs problem and the loss of Thai identity and shopping for brand name products. The latest fashion among the hobbies of many of today’s Thai children is they are becoming increasingly violent and blaming society and their own families for their behavior and involve in premature sex, drugs and aggressiveness”. “The study found that despite the well-to-do family backgrounds of the teens surveyed, most of them shared a common problem of loneliness, depressive tendencies and a need for love”. The gap between parents and children is greater than ever before, arising from broken families or from families which faille to inculcate morals in their children because they havenless time for their children and had left them to the peril of sick and violent society in Thailand (Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, Thongbai Thongpao 2002), (Tong Thum Struggles, 2006)
With the best intention and efforts of the education as a social instrument, it is possible to promote the complete welfare of disadvantaged population. Among the several types of disadvantaged adolescents, Adolescents forced to enter the labour market, adolescents affected by HIV/AIDS and adolescents affected by narcotic drugs need special attention. They have trouble in getting proper guidance to overcome personal problems and require proper guidance and counseling to become aware of the ill effects narcotic drugs, labour market and HIV/AIDS. It may not be possible to develop awareness in the expected manner through normal school curriculums. Hence, a separate educational intervention, which is nothing but a planned programme of educational guidance, organized to meet the scientific and psychological needs of disadvantaged adolescents in the age group of 13-16. Hence, in this study, an attempt will be made to study the educational adjustment of disadvantaged adolescents and to find out the impact of a structured educational intervention programme in developing proper awareness and attitude towards reproductive health, drugs, sexuality and values.
Quality costs in higher education
Higher education is an important stage in the ladder- type continuum of education as a human development process and the necessity to focus on its quality can never be lost sight of. For it is at the level of higher education in this upward process that one’s shaping and sharpening into a quality human resource actually takes place. Quality is a problem in public higher education because student demands matter too little, and cost is a problem in private higher education because student demands matter too much. This proposition, however much it needs to be qualified and complicated, may provide useful starting point for exploring some issues about quality and cost in higher education.
Quality has been used as a tool to ensure some compliance with these concerns. However, the rationale and policy often tend to be worked out after the decision to undertake an audit, assessment or accreditation process has been made. Thus approaches to quality are predominantly about establishing quality monitoring procedures. The quality of education being offered in institutions of higher education is a question being debated widely. With the growing cost of higher education in India, the question has become especially pertinent for all its stakeholders – students to policymakers alike.
In the present scenario, when all stakeholders of Indian higher education system are concerned about the education offered in its Institutions of higher education, against the back drop of declining funds for higher education, it becomes pertinent to look for options which can make an impact on the existing system in a most cost effective and user friendly manner. Such options and tools must also be in keeping with the all round socio economic development of the country and must also be relevant in the present day knowledge based society. It is therefore that institutions of higher education in India, today are hard pressed to accept the modern management and computerized interventions into their systems in order to ensure value for money and superlative quality of services offered
Over the years, though the higher education system has been benefited by the examination and recommendations of a number of education committees and commissions, the system today is observed to be the one with lot of short comings viz.,
¨ Lack of focused planning at institutional level
¨ Variable quality of higher education in different institutions across the country
Innovations in Education – Knowledge Management
INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION – KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
ABSTRACT
This paper seeks to identify knowledge management concepts that relate to the implementation of Knowledge management Practices in education and also in collaborative arrangements. It also discusses about the challenges facing in higher education in India and the concept of Knowledge management in education and the new trends of education. It also explains about the Knowledge management and types of Knowledge management and their trends and new innovations of Knowledge management in current education scenario. Educational trends and tasks are towards more learner- centered materials. In response to these trends, colleges and universities are offering new courses at a distance and forms traditional delivery. The effort to share the most recent understandings about Knowledge management in education is the changing roles and challenges for higher education. The increased productivity required by faculty are driving forces for the development of more diverse and efficient teaching method.
INTRODUCTION:
Knowledge management in education is the collection of processes that govern the creation, dissemination and utilization of knowledge. In one form or another, knowledge management has been around for a very long time. Practitioners have included philosophers, priests, teachers, politicians, scribes, Liberians etc., Knowledge management is not “A technology thing” or a “Computer thing” if we accept the premise that Knowledge management is concerned with the entire process of discovery and creation of knowledge then we are strongly driven to accept that Knowledge management is much more than a “Technology thing” and that elements of it exist in each of one Jobs. Knowledge management comprises a range of practices used by organizations to identify, create, represent and distribute knowledge. It has been an established discipline since 1995 with a body of university courses and both professional and academic journals dedicated to it. Knowledge management is frequently linked to the idea of the learning organization .Knowledge management refers to a range of practices used by organizations to identify the higher levels of innovations in education. The sharing of knowledge in industry, colleges , universities and, almost any institution in this country will make reference to the capturing of knowledge.
importance of education ,definition of education,articles on education,education quotes
Education is a concept, referring to the process in which students can learn something:
Instruction refers to the intentional facilitating of learning toward identified objectives, delivered either by an instructor or other forms. Teaching refers to the actions of a real live instructor designed to impart learning to the student. Teaching refers to learning with a view toward preparing learners with specific knowledge, skills, or abilities that can be applied immediately upon completion.
from the outskirts of Bucharest, around 1842.
Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first few years of formal, structured education. In general, main education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 70% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising.[1] Under the Education for All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior schoo Secondary education
Main article: Secondary education
In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education consists of the second years of formal education that occur during adolescence.[citation needed] It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, “post-secondary”, or “higher” education (e.g., university, vocational school) for adults.[citation needed] Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States and Canada primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1-13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession.
The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (i.e. emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created and the curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved to be beneficial for both the employer and the employee, because this improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment.
In Europe the grammar school or academy existed from as early as the 1500s, public schools or fee paying schools, or charitable educational foundations have an even longer history.
Women and Education: A Critical Review
Women and Education: A Critical Review
*Dr.P.Shanmukha Rao **Dr.N.V.S.Suryanarayana
Empowerment of the women is an essential component of the political and social development of society. The growth and development of a community or civil society depends upon the growth and development of its individuals in general and the women in particular. There is no doubt about the fact that men and women are equal, but women have a vital role in the over-all development of the society and the nation. Women are equal partners in the over all growth and development of the family, community and society. Women have been given a position of pride in every religion. In Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and other religions they are respected and due importance is given to their role and rights. In the Holy Quran a complete Sura, “Sura-i-Nisa” is devoted for the role, welfare, rights and duties of the women. No student of the comparative religious philosophy can fail to observe that at the fountain of every spiritual faith and at the basic fabric of every civilized society, stands a woman whose sympathy blesses the work of infusing a new life into humanity.
Women are the foundation of a family, society and finally the Nation. In this paper an attempt has been made to discuss the importance of education for women and role and status of a women in the present scenario.
Women constitute an important segment of the society and shapes the entire future of the humanity and nation. It has been rightly said that behind every successful man there is a woman. This clearly indicates that women as an integral part of our society have a vital role not only for rearing and bearing the children, but also for the personality development of our future generation and development of the Nation as whole.1 Role and status of a woman by any standard is related to various variable factors which among others include the upbringing of the women, personality development, education of the women, family environment, social outlook, surrounding circumstances, political scenario, religious commands and their interpretation. Nevertheless, the biological and social status of a women along with her distinct roles as a mother or sister or daughter on one hand and wife or mother-in-law, sister-in-law or daughter-in-law on the other hand can not be ignored.
Women with good health and positive leadership qualities are very important in every family and society. Role of women in the traditional societies no doubt was confined to the household management based on the traditional values, attitudes and customs, but the family culture in the context of which early socialization takes place is very important factor which later on encourages or discourages her participation in the socio-economic activities of the family and subsequently in the organizational, social and political matters of the society.
Women almost in every social set-up plays an important role in the economic welfare of the family. She as a mother cares, bothers, loves, showers affection and takes all the pains for the entire family and thereby plays an important role not only as a home maker, home manager but also in maintaining social ties with the relations, friends and neighbours.
Preparation of Instructional Strategies for Early Childhood Educators in Punjab,Pakistan
INTRODUCTION
Early Childhood
Early Childhood is an age, which is denoted differently by different educationists, psychologists, scholars and scientists. To some, it consists of the age three to six (Sahu &Wikipedia) and to some, it spans the human life from birth to age eight (NAEYC). Whatever the duration may be, these are the years, in which all aspects of one’s personality are developed, i.e. physical, mental, emotional, social, linguistic, analytical and creative. Over eighty percent of the human personality, including its attitude and aptitude is shaped before the age of six (Sahu, 2004). Fifty percent of the intelligence measured at age seventeen, is achieved by age four (Bloom).
Early childhood education (ECE)
ECE prepares children for the primary. It lays the foundation for the development of reading, writing and number work. It encourages interaction with the environment, participation in-group activities and enhances creativity and problem solving in children. ECE is a combination of moral, intellectual and social lessons for physical, mental, social, emotional and linguistic growth and development of early childhood age children.
Characteristics of early childhood age children and role of educators
The role of the teacher in ECE is significant, as he is responsible to make the children ready for schooling and providing base for the child’s complete development. Froebel compared the child to a seed and likened the teachers or caregivers to gardeners. The teachers have two functions according to Harlen, i.e. encouraging the child’s curiosity and provide real learning activities.
1. At this stage, there is coordination between what the children want to do and what he is able to do. The role of early childhood educators is to encourage each child’s development by accepting their prior experiences. They need to observe constantly the children’s growth patterns and development of the motor skills in them and employ different kinds of plays.
2. According to Piaget’s description, the children during the age level of 2 to 6 are pre-operational. His approach Social Constructivism emphasizes the active role of the children in constructing their own understanding. According to Vygotsky, the role of the adults in cognitive development of the children is much more important rather the activities of the children chosen by themselves. Early childhood educators should lead children’s learning by giving them chance to learn what they may not be able to learn by themselves.
3. During these years, the children’s interactions within themselves and with the elders, as well as teachers take on new dimensions. Much of the play is decided through interaction and negotiation. They need to have solitary as well as cooperative play. Many educators emphasize the provision of playing opportunities for social and emotional development of the children. They should be given open ended experiences, choices at mealtimes and flexibility in indoor / outdoor experiences (Arthur et all, 1998). Educators should be aware of the development of the concepts in the children. Individual differences and diversity should be positively handled.
4. The language is taught from the time the first the child enters the class room in the morning until the last child goes home. The teacher teaches both directly, through activities and experiences and indirectly through her own speech, language and behavior. (Preface, Mathew, 2005).
5. Much of the understanding of moral values during this age level is based on the notion of fairness. Meaning that what is considered to be fair and good is morally acceptable. Negotiation not only enhances children’s ability to solve problems but also encourages them to adopt the perspectives of others.
Objectives of Early childhood education
Pakistan’s Education System – Problems and Reasons for Policy Failure
After more than a half century of independence, nearly half of Pakistan’s population is still illiterate. According toHathaway (2005), Pakistan’s education system is regularly cited as one of the most serious impediments preventing the country from achieving its potential.
Poorly produced and inadequately implemented educational policies and plans have been major hurdles in the development of the education sector in Pakistan. Throughout our history, new policies and plans have often been prepared without giving due consideration to the causes of failure of previous policies and plans.
In order to address these problems, there is a need for the formulation of rational policies and plans as well as an adequate system for their implementation. The objective of this paper is to scrutinize the problems being faced by the education sector in Pakistan. It also seeks to highlight the reasons for the failure of the national education policy.
Background of Pakistan’s Education System
According to several international assessments, Pakistan is far from achieving the goal of Education for All (henceforth, EFA). The EFA was set to be attained by all developing countries under the Dakar Framework decided at a meeting held in Senegal in 2000. UNESCO attributes Pakistan’s placement at a lower EFA development Index (EDI) category to low primary school participation, adult illiteracy, gender disparities, inequalities in education and poor quality of education. The adult literacy rate in Pakistan is under 50 percent, while less than one-third of adult women have a functional reading ability. Pakistan is unlikely to achieve the adult literacy target by 2015. Progress is slow, while gender parity goal is at risk of not being achieved in 2015. Moreover, more than 6 million children are out of school. (UNESCO 2007)
Key Performance Indicators for Education Systems
The frequently used indicators are adult literacy rates, male and female enrollment at different levels and in different areas of the country; the dropout rates, the amount of resources committed to education as a proportion of the GDP and, finally, some measure of the quality of education provided. To these indicators, one should also add the quality of data and information available about education. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s record is relatively poor on all these counts.
An Overview of Problems being faced by Pakistan’s Education Sector
Comparison of the Standards for Accreditation of Teacher Education Program Developed by ACTE & NCATE
Introduction
Standards refer to the systems and procedures developed by professional development practitioners to enhance the effectiveness of the system (CICA, 2007). Professional standards describe the important skills, knowledge, and attitudes that the professional is expected to demonstrate. Standards constitute the ‘critical knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to perform a specific role effectively’. They explain the primary components of performance rather than providing a comprehensive list of responsibilities. Furthermore, they serve to specify as to what performance or behaviours an institution is particularly looking for. The extent to which professional standards have been met can be assessed via performance indicators set by the authorities (MOE, 2009). They describe what teachers need to know and do to provide relevant and valuable learning experiences for learners and groups of individuals.
Standards are not only useful for the teachers in their profession but also for other relevant practitioners to enhance the credibility of the system (Khan 2004).
Mostly it is observed that teachers have invariably lagged behind in developing core competencies and knowledge, fundamental to their profession. These core competencies and knowledge are the pillars on which subsequent knowledge and skills are built upon. (UNESCO & USAID 2005). Though we are spending a lot of amount on teacher education system, according to a study conducted by the Academy of Educational Development (AED).Producing low-grade trained teachers at such a high cost should be a matter of concern. The National Education Census data and a number of studies indicate that professional preparation of teachers in Pakistan is neither standardized nor based on acceptable professional standards (Butt, 2008). We have introduced many new concepts but have failed to achieve the desired outcomes due to non-implementation of proper professional standards (AED 2006).007
Quality assurance requires professional development standards of teacher education and an effective mechanism and procedure of accreditation of teacher education programs and institutions. Various countries have developed standards according to their teacher education needs.
NCATE ( National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education)
Hungarian Higher Education: the transition towards creating prosperity
Hungarian Higher Education: the transition towards creating prosperity
Abstract
The central issue of this article is that of the impediments to creating prosperity within the context of Higher Education during the transition period in Hungary from a budget-commanded regime to market-oriented operations. Fairbanks (2000: 290) refers to prosperity not only as the means through which people can live a good life but also as ‘the enabling environment that improves productivity’ and considers the purchasing power of a country per person’. It is seen as important as it affects living standards (e.g. malnutrition and poverty) and productivity levels. Thus dealing with the issue of prosperity also means dealing with poverty.
Fairbanks (2000) declared that each nation has a set of beliefs or mental model for creating prosperity which can change and suggests a 10 stage process, which is as follows: Decode the current strategy for Prosperity; Create a sense of urgency; Understand the range of strategic choices and inform them with analyses; Create a compelling vision; Create new networks of relationships; Communicate the vision; Build productive coalitions; Develop and Communicate short-term wins; Institutionalize the changes; and Evaluate and affirm the changes.
It is concluded that prosperity, despite being acknowledged as a good thing, is hard to achieve and a choice that leaders have to make when bearing in mind what exactly the consequences would be of such a choice. The article ends with a message to the Western world that it has a responsibility to consider and develop a change process relevant to local beliefs in developing nations with a constructive approach as a means to creating prosperity foremost in countries experiencing poverty, which Fairbanks mentions is a serious and all-too-common issue.
Introduction
Scs and Sts: Educational Realization
SCs and STs: Educational Realization
- Ramaiah Bheenaveni*
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The world of today, by and large, is comparatively a rapidly changing one and the changes have been in a variety of directions. Not long ago society was through of as a reality sub-generis far beyond the control of individuals to change it –and education as a process of inducting new entrants into society. The idea that societies can be changed and, that too, education can be vital instrument of social transformation is increasingly felt. Geared to the preservation and perpetuation of tradition in the past, education is now being used to bring about social transformation in a large scale. This represents a kind of dilemma in respect of the social role of education in traditional societies.
Ignoring this dilemma, many social scientists today re inclined to believe that education is a powerful instrument of social transformation. The prevailing opinion in circles of social science is that education is an agency of modernization. It is argued that education promotes modernity in many ways but chiefly in two: (i) by sharpening the “critical awareness” of the people about the social structure in which they are placed, and (ii) by changing the consciousness of the people in a direction congruent with the dominant value of our age-rationality-which is also the mainspring of modernity. Following this reasoning, there has come up an impressive body of literature in recent years of documenting the impact of schooling on individual modernity in developing societies. The profound social changes that India has witnessed in the last few decades or so have affected its entire population, yet in some sections of its society their impact has been much more marked than in others.
Education is the key to development of any community. It can broaden the world view of the people, equipping them to meet the present day challenges. Education can be an input to their development. It can also build up inner strength of the people. Almost all studies have emphasized the importance of education in the development of the people. Ignorance is the biggest reason for weakness and knowledge is power. In the development effort, education has a pride of place in the priorities of the people. This is particularly so when the two systems of unequal strength come in contact. Education brings knowledge to he community and keeps in acquiring a new strength to enable it to face the new challenges which naturally come by when the process of change unfold unforeseen forces.
The role of education as an investment in human resources has been increasingly recognized all over the underdeveloped and developed countries. Education has special significance for the weaker sections of society, which are facing a new situation in the development process to adjust themselves properly to the changing circumstances. For them, education is an input not only for their economic development, but also for promoting in them self-confidence and inner strength to face the new challenges.
This position SC/ST education critically examines the contemporary reality of schooling of children belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities who have been historically excluded from formal education – the former due to their oppression under caste feudal society and the latter due to their spatial isolation and cultural difference and subsequent marginalization by dominant society. There are thus sharp differences between these two categories of population in terms of socio-economic location and the nature of disabilities. However, there is also growing common ground today in terms of conditions of economic exploitation and social discrimination that arise out of the impact of iniquitous development process. Concomitantly, the categories themselves are far from homogenous in terms of class, region, religion and gender and what we face today is an intricately complex reality. Bearing this in mind this paper attempts to provide a contextualized understanding of the field situation of the education of SC/ST children and issues and problems that directly or indirectly have a bearing on their future educational prospects.
The educational effort so far as the SC and ST communities are concerned has to be somewhat different than for the general areas. In case of advanced groups and areas, demand for education is already there. Establishment of an educational institution itself is sufficient to attract the children from the advanced communities because their parents are interested in their education. This is not the case with the poorer section of the community. The message has as yet not reached the more backward rural and tribal areas where the citizen is still not very much aware about the practical utility of education. Thus, a number of socio-economic factors are coming in the way of members of SC and STs in sending their children to schools. In many cases, it is sheer economic hardship. Therefore, the universal educational programmes at the elementary stage in the case of these communities have to be much more than mere opening up of educational institutions. The students belonging to these communities may have to be provided with free textbooks, mid-day meals, and in the case of girls, even a pair of uniform. As the children grow, they become economic assets to the family. It may be necessary, therefore, that they are provided suitable scholarships and stipends in higher classes. It has to be ensured that if we cannot compensate the family, at least education should not be a burden on a poor family. In the case of tribal areas, it may be necessary that at middle school and high school levels adequate hostel facilities are also provided, as an institutional network itself will not be of much help. It is commonly observed that in some tribal areas much of the institutional capacity remains under-utilized.
