Achievement and Attitude of Students and Teachers Towards B.Ed. Course

National Policy on Education (1986) stressed the urgent need for the total reconstruction of Indian education system and in doing so it expressed faith in teachers and shouldered them with great responsibility by saying, “Teachers will continue to play a crucial role in the formulation and implementation of education programmes... nothing is more important than securing a sufficient supply of high quality of recruits to the teaching profession...” So the whole edifice of education revolves around the teacher. It indicates the need of well trained, competent and effective teachers. The basic and the most important factor which affects the quality of teacher is the selection of candidates for admission to the education collages. These student- teachers if are selected carefully can lead the education system in right direction. Unless the authorities are unable to select and attract teachers of high potential to run their institutes with mission and zeal, there cannot be any improvement in the quality of education. Furthermore, howsoever many new educational policies may be framed or education commissions may be appointed the desirable results will be elusive. So, it is important to strengthen teacher education by selecting right persons to teacher education programmes. It is important that any admission procedure must include the assessment of very essential traits and abilities of the candidates who are going to enter teaching profession. The student-teacher hardly can become an affective teacher if he does not have reasonable subject knowledge, required level of intelligence, teaching aptitude and interest and of course some participation in co-curricular and social activities. Many of the studies have reported a substantial or high relationship between academic marks and the teaching success of prospective teachers and also of teachers and concluded that collage grade points are the best predictors of student teacher success and suggested past performance as an important variable for selection of student teachers. Many of the researchers have asserted that intelligence is an important and higher single factor in determining the teaching success of student-teachers. Academic achievement and intelligence are closely related to each other and generally high achievers tend to possess high level of intelligence. There can be a little doubt that the attitudes a teacher has towards himself, towards his pupils and towards teaching profession influence his behaviour in the classroom and also his effectiveness in teaching. The results of many researches clearly indicate that teaching attitude and teaching success are significantly related to each other. Positive or favorable attitude makes the work not only easier but also more satisfactory and professionally rewarding. A negative or unfavorable attitude makes the teaching task harder, more tedious and unpleasant. So, intelligence, teaching attitude, achievement and attitude in B.Ed. Education is a lifelong process. Educational objectives have seen a paradigm shift from three R‟s (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic) to four E‟s (Economy, Efficiency, Effectiveness and Equality). In this continuously evolving knowledge society, with ever expanding frontiers of knowledge, knowledge is continuously changing its meaning. One therefore needs to develop new skills, open up new paths, create new knowledge and explore new dimensions. These days, one must run fast not only for going ahead, but even for staying where one is. Education is now a process of partnership between learners, administrators, and teachersandparents. Each of the four has to play not only as per rule but also as per role. This era of knowledge demands a shift in the role of educational institutions, as also of teachers from mere transmitters to generators and facilitators of knowledge. This will demand a subsequent shift in the instructional system as also the pattern of evaluation because in this tangible world even the intangible asset like knowledge is quantified in terms of marks and grades. This even constitutes a vital component of educational system. It is probably inconvincible to have any instruction at any level without some sort of evaluation. In fact evaluation is an integral part of the teaching learning process. It provides feedback to the teachers and students and helps in systematizing the instructional process. An evaluation result brings sincerity in students and increases concentration of mind, which enhances learning. Evaluation results form the basis for grading and certification of students‟ performance. It is used for admissions, promotions and selection of students for various jobs. As evaluation serves such important purpose, The Bachelor of Education program of this institution undergoes a regular course of study for one academic year. The performance of students is assessed in two periodical tests and one comprehensive test in each semester and assessment is done on an eleven-point scale. The performance of the students is judged in each semester, in the courses A501 to A508 (compulsory subjects), B501 to B516 (one subject has tobe selected), C501 to C525 (two subjects have to be selected), D501 to D504 (Practice teaching), E501 to E504 (Practical work and Assignments). Apart from these there is Internal and External Viva Voce Test. Thus continuous internal assessment system has been followed at the graduate level. (Except the external viva-voce test and the external assessment in the final test lessons during practice teaching) Thus different recommendations on examination reforms got implemented differently in different parts of the country with a motive to make education more meaningful. Education is not about knowing all that you do not know but its meaningfulness is in behaving the way you do not behave. It is a disgrace that current and can be patented by select few for the market price. Education which is supposed to be joyful activity and achievement in which needs to be mapped in terms of one‟s contribution to society, humbleness, humanitarian values and satisfaction of one‟s honest investment of both material and mental resources is mapped in terms of marks and grades leading to a lopsided development of mind alone leaving the heart and hand aspect. The administrators, teachers, learners and the society all have an equal share of blame for handicapping education. The society needs to change its materialistic outlook, which forces quantification in all aspects. The administrators need to formulate changes accordingly and facilitate them, the teachers need to honestly implement the changes and foster creativity while learners with utmost dedication need to work for satisfaction, then would education be meaningful and examination a mirror. Every university, the researchers believe, has a component of continuous internal assessment. A teacher can use this component to test the students in an unconventional manner. The emphasis should be on the ability of student to raise good questions, to come up with new ideas, suggest new approaches and to examine an argument critically. It is obvious that a teacher‟s role is very important in making education meaningful and this role performance will to an extent depends upon the attitude of the teacher towards the system, towards the profession, towards the students, towards the evaluation system or any other component of the education as awhile. Infect, a research has shown that the success or failure of any system, business, firm or institute depends upon the attitude, feeling, faith, or perception of all involved in the system. Therefore, the researchers here has considered attitude as a construct.

ATTITUDE

Attitudes have been defined in a number of the ways. The simplest definition is that it is a feeling for or against something. (Remmers et.al. 1960)Allport (1935) defines it as a mental and neural state of readiness, organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individuals responsive to all objects and situation with which it is related. Thurston (1946) defines attitude as the degree of positive and negative effects associated to some psychological object. By psychological object he means any symbol, phrase, slogan, person, institution or idea towards which the people can differ with respect to positive or negative effect. An individual who has associated positive affect or feeling with some psychological object is said to be like that object or to have a favorable attitude towards the object. An individual who has associated negative feeling with the same psychological object would be said to dislike that

English and English (1958) defines attitude as an enduring learned predisposition to behave in a consistent manner towards an object or class of objects, then it can be assumed that attitudes are reflection of need states. Most definitions seem to agree that an attitude is a state of readiness, a tendency toact/react in a certain manner when confronted with certain stimuli. Attitude is reinforced by beliefs (the cognitive component) and often attracts strong feeling (the emotional component) that will lead to particular forms of behavior (the action tendency component). Attitude have many attributes (positive and negative), some attitude are more enduring the others. For ease of understanding, social psychologist make a rough distinction among these different levels, calling the most superficial one beliefs, the next one attitudes, a deeper level values and a still deeper level personality. These levels must not be thought as different layers of cake, there are relationships and patterns of connections among these layers. A study of several definitions of attitude provide certain general characteristics of attitude that not only differentiate it from other constructs but also provide basic rationale useful for the study of attitude,

• Attitudes are socially formed, cultural experience and training of an individual will affect the nature of attitude towards objects or situations hence they are relational.

• Attitudes serve as predispositions to respond overtly. As in the case of any mediating variable it is necessary to measure them indirectly.

• Attitudes are orientations towards other object. Individual holding the attitudebases this evaluative nature of attitude upon the conception of the object.

• Attitudes vary in quality and intensity on a continuum from positive through neutral to negative (Krech et.al, 1962: McGrath, 1964: New Comb et.al, 1965)

• Attitudes are purely learnt, rather than being innate or a result of constitutional developmental and maturation (Sheriff & Sherib, 1950; McGrath, 1964; Shawand Wright, 1967).

• Attitudes have specific references (Sherly and Sherib, 1956; New comb et.al,1965) According to this view an attitude is a characteristic which

• Attitudes possess varying degrees of interrelatedness to one another (Krechet.al 1962, McGrath, 1964)

The review of literature is designed to identify related research and to set the current research within a conceptual and theoretical context. The review of related literature aims to review the critical points of current knowledge including substantive findings as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic. The word attitude (from Latin aptus) is defined within the framework of social psychology as a subjective or mental preparation for action. It defines outward and visible postures and human beliefs. Attitudes determine what each individual will see, hear, think and do. They are rooted in experience and do not become automatic routine conduct.

Attitude represents the way one feels, thinks, talks or acts in a particular situation. An attitude is a tendency of the individual to react favorably or unfavorably towards designated class of stimuli such as person, object, task, idea or an activity. An attitude is a point of view, which one holds towards a person, object, task or idea. The point of view can be positive, negative, hostile or indifferent. One‟s attitude can account for his behavior and/or performance. Vasanthi and Anandi (1997) conducted a study on 417 B.Ed.student-teachers of Madras City. It was found that intelligence; self-concept and attitude towards teaching of the female pupil teachers were significantly related to teaching effectiveness. Teaching attitude showed the highest correlation with teaching effectiveness as compared to self-concept, achievement, motivation, anxiety and intelligence of the B.Ed. students. Cornelius (2000) in a study on teacher competency of the B.Ed. trainees found that intelligence, attitude Budhisagar, Meena and Samsanwal, D N, in 2001, studied, the achievement of B.Ed. students : Effect of treatment, intelligence, attitude towards leaving profession and their interactions. Prasad (2001) measured the attitude of B.Ed. students towards the internal evaluation and found that the students had favorable attitude towards internal evaluation. The degree of favorableness was seen more in males and females of science stream and English medium students liked the system most. Also the students who studied through the annual system had more favorable attitude towards the continuous internal assessment compare to those who studied through the semester system. Devi (2004) in her study on student teachers undergoing the B.Ed. course during the academic year 2003-04 in Chennai, assessed the attitude of B.Ed. trainees towards teaching profession and found the relationship between the attitude towards teaching and performance in B.Ed. entrance examination. It was found that the high achievers in the entrance examination had favorable attitude towards teaching. A positive and significant relationship existed between the attitude towards teaching and performance in B.Ed. .entrance examination. Patil, G.G., in 2004 conducted, a differential study of Intelligence, Interest and Attitude of the B.Ed college students as contributory factors towards their achievements in the compulsory subjects. Selvaraj Gnanaguru, A & Suresh Kumar,M, in 2008, conducted a study on under achievement of B.Ed students in relation to their home environment and attitude towards teaching. Dr. Mrunalini, T. & B. Sankaraih, in 2010, studied the Attitudes and Reflections of Prospective Teachers on Environmental Concerns. R.Sahaya Mary, Dr. Manorama Samuel. in 2011, Relationship between Attitude of the B.Ed. Student- Teachers towards Teaching and Academic Achievement.”

The National Curriculum Framework-2005 states that teacher-education programmes today train teachers to adjust to a system in which education is seen as the transmission of information. Attempts at curricular reform have not been adequately supported by teacher -education. Largescale recruitment of para-teachers has diluted the identity of teaching as a profession. Existing teacher-education programmes neither accommodate the emerging ideas in context In a recent initiative, the MHRD has restructured the teacher training system by doubling the duration of teacher training courses i.e. qualitative improvement in school education. Teacher-education is a significant part of this school education programme. Along with many other functions, some of the important functions of NCERT in the area of teacher- education are to prepare the curriculum for teacher education, to revise the teacher-education curriculum in accordance with existing needs, to judge the suitability of some innovative curriculum for teacher education, to judge the suitability and effectiveness of some new teacher-training strategies etc. The supporters of one year B.Ed. say, the trainee-teachers possess the basic content knowledge before their admission into B.Ed. course and, therefore, after their admission into the B.Ed course, the trainee teachers are given more treatment in pedagogy of teaching/teaching learning, strategies along with a tinge of content tasks. And, for this purpose, one year B. Ed. is sufficient / sound time duration for developing pedagogical skills in teaching / developing knowledge on teaching-learning strategies among the trainee-teachers, say the supporters of one year B. Ed. course. The critics of one-year B.Ed. programme claims that the one-year course fails to answer many questions. The critics of One Year B.Ed. argue that, one year B.Ed is an in-sufficient time duration to provide adequate and stable knowledge in content areas, in pedagogy of teaching and at last in developing a sense of positive attitude towards teaching among the trainee-teachers. The changing reality of the school system and its emerging vision is another significant point to be kept in focus while reformulating teacher –education curriculum. Schools have evolved into a widespread network of institutions functioning at different stages of education. This network has grown into a full-fledged organizational arrangement replete with its interconnections and functional specifications. However, the explicit goal of value concerns are subdued due to the inevitable systemic features of its regulatory, streamlined functional details or „norms‟ which at best become restrictive. Towards this end the overall approach to reformulate a curriculum for teacher-education is demanded. Accordingly, the 2-Year B.Ed course aims at a complete development of the student teacher; particularly knowledge and skills, in individual care of the learner and also in the methods and evaluation designed to facilitate learning. Interactive processes, i.e, group reflection, critical thinking and meaning-making have been encouraged. The maturity of student teachers has been kept in mind while visualizing modes of learning engagements; instead of

the essence of student-teachers being active participants in the learning process and prepares the student-teachers for facing the emerging challenges resulting out of globalization and its consequences.

In the light of the findings and conclusions of the study, the following recommendations are put forward for the betterment of student-teachers and teachers in future: The student-teachers of today are going to become the teachers of tomorrow. Most of the students had average attitude towards teaching. There is a little doubt that the attitude a teacher has towards himself, towards his pupils and towards teaching profession influence his behaviour in the classroom and also his effectiveness in teaching. Positive and favorable attitude makes the work not only easier but also more satisfactory and professionally rewarding. Attitudes are dynamic in nature, so could be changed. Hence the training programme and the training institutes should be entrusted with the responsibility of modifying and developing among students the desirable teaching attitude and teaching competencies. Teachers in our systems are prepared in hurry. The teacher educators in educational colleges are just passing through all the aspects and activities of the curriculum of the B.Ed. course. So, the teacher education programme should be reviewed in context to its length and its effective implementation.

Financial crunch has failed the nation to provide adequate food and shelter to the families so that their children attend schools, instead of selling goods on the roads, especially to the passengers of the vehicles stopping at road crossing signals in large cities, or acting child laborers and also has made the nation fail to have adequate number of crèches so that poor children can be free from the responsibility of taking care of their younger brothers and sisters in the absence of their parents engaged in work elsewhere. Since, rich nations as mentioned above do not go for two year B.Ed. courses and in India, Mudaliar Commission1953, Kothari Commission 1966, Chattopadhyaya Commission 1985 and Yash Pal Committee 1993 have not accepted the idea to increase the duration of B. Ed. course from one year to two years, the Government of India may not increase the duration of B. Ed. course from one year to two years, so that a large number of poor students trying to become school teachers can be helped and poor states can be saved from spending more money in funding their Ed. course from one year to two years, the Government of India, Value education should be given to teachers, so that they could educate young minds in the right direction, curriculum of teacher education programme should be revised from time to time according to changing needs of society, the quality of teacher education programme should be up graded, teacher education programme should be raised to a university level etc.

• Budhisagar, meena and samsanwal, D.N., 2001. Achievement of B.Ed. Students: Effect of treatment, intelligence, attitude towards teaching profession and their interactions. Buch.M.B. Fifth survey of research in education. NCERT : New Delhi, p. 1440.

• Cornelius.(2000). Teacher competence associated with intelligence, attitude towards teaching profession and academic achievement of teacher trainees. Unpublished M. Phil. Thesis, University of Kerala. University of Calicut. Retrieved Dec. 6, 2012

• Devi, N.S. (2004). Assessment of Attitude towards Teaching, Edutracks, Vol. 4, No.12, p. 29, August, Neelkamal Publications, New Delhi.

• Mohanty, S.B. (2015). Increase of Duration of Bachelor of Education Course from One Year to Two Years: Isn‟t it Superflous? University News. 53(23). Page no. 1-8.

• Mrunalini, T.& B.Sankariah. (2010). Attitude and Reflections of Prospective Teachers on Environmental Concerns. Edusearch, October, 2010, Vol.1-No.2, P.24 – 31.

• NCTE (n.d.). Curriculum Framework: Two Year B.Ed. Programme Retrieved July 7 2015.

• Panda B.N. (n.d.). Extending Bachelor of Education Programme From One Year to Two Years Retrieved July 7 2015

 PATIL,G.G., 2004. A Differential Study of Intelligence, Interest and Attitude of the B.Ed. College students as contributory Factors towards their Achievements in the compulsory subjects. Buch.M.B. Fourth

• Sahaya mary. R, Dr. Manorama Samuel.(2011). “ Relationship between Attitude of the B.Ed. Student-Teachers towards Teaching and Academic Achievement”, Edutracks, Neelkamal, Hyd, February,2011. Vol.10-No.6, p. 28 - 35.

• Selvaraj Gnanaguru, A and Suresh Kumar, M (2008), “A study of under achievement of B.Ed. students in relation to their home environment and attitude towards teaching, Edutracks, Aug 2008 Vol.7 (12) pp.No.20-22.

• Sunitha, K. (2008) Attitude of Student Teachers Towards Teacher Training at Secondary Level. Edutracks, Vol.7, No.6.