Exploratory appraisal of the educational well-being of the rural children

Pages: 484-488
Vandana Kanwar, Sarita Saini and Sumandeep Kaur (Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana)

The present study was undertaken with the objective to explore the educational well-being and the quality of school life of the school going children aged 6 to 12 years studying in classes 3rd, 4th and 5th of a rural private primary school. The study is based on the sample of 102 children (N=102) drawn from the private primary school located in the village Dehlon of Ludhiana District. These children assessed for their educational performance on the basis of their class performance as reported by their teachers and were further explored for inequality in their achievement around these scores. Only the twenty academically weak children (n=20) and the five teachers associated with these children were retained in the final sample for the further in depth investigations as per the purpose of the study. The ‘Teaching Aptitude Test Battery’ developed by Karim (1986) and the ‘Educational Adjustment Inventory’ developed by Rani and Singh (2010) along with self observation and structured interview were used to collect relevant information from the sampled children and the concerned teachers. The results revealed that majority of the children (n=82; 80%) were academically good and only a small percentage (n=20; 20%) were found to be academically weak. However, among the components of the educational adjustment of the sampled children it was observed that academically weak children were forgetful and found studies burdensome. They reported to be unable to take notes and found their teachers to be negligent of their difficulties in the school. Further they were found to be hesitant in participating in the school activities freely. However, majority of them reported to be unsure of whether they found studies burdensome or not sufficiently praised by their teacher or often scolded by the teacher for poor performance or their interest in academics. Regarding the quality of their school life they expressed a dislike for the school, wished for more holidays as well as some appreciation and positive attention from their teachers. However, the respondents still reported to have the respectful feelings for their teachers and owed the responsibility for their poor performance and being negligent. The teaching aptitude of all the sampled teachers was found to be in the category of ‘the most efficient teachers’. The study concluded that the educational well-being and the quality of school environment are associated with the future well-being of children. Thus, to avoid the risk behaviours of the children in the following years such hazards should be identified and appropriate policies, programmes as well as remedial interventions planned accordingly.