Book: Education in India

Education in India: A Globian Perspective

Contents:

Introduction

Section I: Understanding the Present Context

1.    Education in India: The Big Picture 

This article presents a bird’s eye view at the Indian education system in brief. We look at some important statistics and major systemic challenges.

2.    Para-Teacher Policy: Neither Child nor Learning, but Money Centred 

Instead of focusing on improving the learning outcomes, the Indian states have adopted a policy of hiring teachers on contract basis at extremely low wages. This article explores the rationale and presents a critique of this money-centred policy.

3.    What is stopping India from Quality Mass Education?

We look at some of the major factors that hinder the improvement of quality of India’s mass- education system.

4.    “Unscientific”Assessment Practices of Educational Boards 

The results of the board examinations greatly influence students’ careers. However, these assessments  remain  unstandardized  and  there  is  hardly  any  psychometric  analyses performed. I discuss why these are unscientific practices and what measures need to be taken.

5.    What is the Way Out from the Current Mess? 

Looking into the high performing educational systems across the world, I present a mechanism for developing a system that self-corrects and improves the educational outcomes over time.

  6.      Indian Education: Macro-level Systemic Problems

         While micro-level (i.e., school or teacher-level) reforms are essential for qualitative improvement, there are some systematic macro-level problems which are more critical yet they remain unaddressed. This article discusses macro-level problems: a) lack of policy-level knowledge, b) arbitrary approach to policy formulation, c) absence of valid & reliable academic outcomes, and d) lack of understanding of human resource required in educational sector.

7.      Mechanism for Educational Excellence in India: Toward Solution
        India needs a mechanism that connects national educational objectives with policy formulation, educational field practices and their continuous evaluation for course correction in policies. In this post, a mechanism which may help establish such linkages while gradually decentralizing policy making is presented.

8.     How Politicians can Improve Educational Outcomes? 

This article discusses the role of politicians in improving educational quality. It explores if they are part of the problem and what their limitations are; and how they can be part of the solution. 

Section II: Education and Knowledge Economy

9.    Higher Education in Science: Challenges for India in 21st Century 

This article explores some of the major problems faced by the university-level pure science programs, and how these problems explain India’s poor research output. I also discuss policy implications.

10.  The Indian Conundrum:Copy-paste Culture vs. Knowledge Production 

There are some major hurdles for knowledge production: rampant copy-paste culture, poor incentives for research, poor intellectual property rights protection, and lack of appreciation for creative intellect. Until India addresses that the increased public spending may not produce any public good. In this article, I discuss these major threats to knowledge production.

11.  Teaching Research Skills Need of the Hour 

In this era of knowledge economy, it is imperative that we teach our students research skills in schools. I discuss the rationale and instructional practices for teaching research skills and present a model lesson-plan in brief.

12.  How can we have intrinsically motivated students like Rancho? 

Intrinsically motivated learners are ideally suited for inquiry-based instructional practices and often have potential for becoming knowledge creators in the future. Using an example of one of the finest educational movies – ‘3idiots’, I share my perspective on how we can encourage intrinsically motivated learning in classrooms.

Section III: Education for Social Cohesion and Global Citizenship

13. Education and Social Cohesion 

This article presents various axes of conflict in the Indian-society and the challenges that the education system has to deal with for strengthening social cohesion. I share a perspective on what more can educational policymakers do in this regard.

14. Education and Global Citizenship 

I present the rationale for considering citizenship in global perspective and define global citizenship. The article further discusses implications for curriculum and instructional practices.

15. Being a Global Being – Personal Challenge 

This is a personal note on the challenge of being a Global Being.

*****

“This  book  addresses  important  issues  facing  educators  globally,  and  situates  the  conversation within the context of the Indian system. Readers are provided a treatment of some of the major hurdles that currently impede the education of youth and adolescents. Specific examples and potential solutions are offered by the author that is likely to raise the level of discourse among educators and policy-makers”.

Tim Konold, Ph.D., Professor of Education, University of Virginia

“Constructive reform in any socially relevant issue requires a deeper understanding of the topic as well as a broader outlook, and the field of education is no exception. The author provides both perspectives of depth and breadth in his book, not only discussing some of the issues in the field that are very relevant, but also providing recommendations  that will certainly go a long way in ensuring a better, all-inclusive educational system. In a country as large and diverse as India where there is no dearth of intelligence or talent,  fixing  the  leaks  in the  system  will  go  a long  way  in empowering  its citizens,  especially  those belonging to underprivileged sections. The author provides an in-depth understanding of the holes in the system,  and ways to fix them. This is a very useful read for educators,  policymakers,  reformers  and researchers in the field”.

Devasmita Chakraverty, Ph.D., Post-Doctoral Research Associate, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

“The book gives a concise but comprehensive  and critical examination  of India's  education.  The author analyses the problems that exist in India’s education as well as its great potential. The book serves as a good reference for educational researchers interested in International Comparative Education”.

Shi Zhu, Ph.D., Nanjing University, China

“Indian education system was designed to produce clerks and is still doing the same to a certain extent. In this 21st century the students will face different challenges to what our generation has faced and hence need to be taught how to be global citizens, they would have to learn how to adapt to change, need to learn different skills, be motivated and be independent thinkers. Kathan, in his book has explained very well, some of the challenges of Indian education system and changes that can be brought about”.

Ritika Thadani, Compliance Manager/Industry Training Consultant (Training & Assessment), Education Training & Employment Australia Pty Ltd.

“This is a well thought out book on India’s educational status in a globalized world by focusing on some of the major structural impeding factors in a succinct manner. It presents a wide variety of issues and challenges that India faces to cater quality education to its population of middle and working class to be

competitive in the global workforce”.

Navin Kumar Singh, Ed.D., Northern Arizona University

Book can be bought from: 
1): https://www.morebooks.de/store/gb/book/education-in-india:-a-globian-perspective/isbn/978-3-8417-7123-0
2): http://www.amazon.com/Education-India-Globian-Perspective-Educational/dp/3841771238/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375286124&sr=1-12