Schools less important than parents in determining higher education aspirations

NEWS RELEASE 17-NOV-2019

Schools less important than parents in determining higher education aspirations

TAYLOR & FRANCIS GROUP

    

A new study shows that the elementary school a child attends has almost no influence on their desire to progress to higher education - as factors including parental aspirations, academic support from their mother and having a desk to work on are much more important.

Published in the journal Educational Studies, the findings of the research looking at 1,000 pupils showed that school and class size, the grade point average of the school and property prices, had little influence on the desire to continue to higher education.

The research was carried out by Josip Šabi? and Boris Joki? at the Centre for Educational Research and Development of the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Croatia, and was supported by the Croatian Science Foundation. The authors wanted to discover the main factors affecting pupils' intention to continue to higher education as they reach the end of elementary school.

In Croatia, children attend elementary schools up to age 14-15, at which point they move on to a secondary school. Here, they can either study for a four-year diploma, after which they have the option of applying for university, or a three-year diploma, which prepares pupils for work but does not permit them to apply for university.

To find out children's aspirations, they asked just over 1,000 pupils at 23 elementary schools in Zagreb to complete three separate questionnaires during their last two years at elementary school. These questionnaires asked them whether they would like to continue to higher education, as well as about their parents and home life. There were questions about their parents' aspirations for them, the level of academic support they received from each of their parents, whether they had their own room, computer and desk, and whether they enjoyed school.

The researchers also obtained information on the pupils' academic grades, as well as on the size of each school and its classes, the grade point average for each school, and property prices in the area around each school as a measure of socioeconomic status. Finally, they performed statistical analyses on these responses to determine which factors were most closely related with a desire to continue on to higher education.

This revealed that none of the school-level factors, including school and class size, grade point average of the school and property prices, had any influence on the desire to continue to higher education. In contrast, several factors related to parents and home life, such as parental educational aspirations, maternal academic support and having a desk to work on, did have an influence. As did gender, with girls more likely than boys to want to continue to higher education. And while school-level factors didn't have any influence, performance at school did: high academic grades were the single strongest predictor of a pupil's desire to continue to higher education, while enjoying school was also an important factor.

"The major finding arising from the present study is that none of the school level variables used in our analysis contributes to the explanation of pupils' aspirations for higher education," said Šabi?. "In other words, pupils who have similar individual characteristics but attend different schools will likely hold similar aspirations for higher education.

"Another important finding is that parents can influence their child's aspirations by expressing their expectations regarding the child's educational path and by providing the basic conditions for completing homework and learning (i.e. a desk to work on)."

This is the first study to investigate the influence of such a large number of factors on the desire to progress to higher education, and while it focused on pupils in Croatia, Šabi? and Joki? think their findings could apply to other similar educational systems.

(Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.)

Source : https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-11/tfg-sli111419.php

Why homeschooling is growing exponentially

Why homeschooling is growing exponentially

A far cry from the ‘one size fits all formula’ of learning, homeschooling liberates children from the chalk and talk method and homework after school, reports Rajlakshmi Ghosh

For Tanmay Bakshi (15) who has never stepped into a conventional school, homeschooling has been a liberating experience. Away from the routine of a fixed curriculum, Bakshi developed an iOS app at the age of nine, aspiring to study at Stanford University and MIT while pursuing Machine Learning on his own. Homeschooled by his coder father, for Canada-based Tanmay, the liberating factor is the flexibility associated with it. “I can get deep into subjects that I find fascinating without having to wait for the right grade/age,” he says.

Tanmay’s education may appear unconventional in a country where formal schooling is a must to gain entry to college. “In the past decade however, the homeschooling movement has grown exponentially,” says Urmila Samson, co-founder of Swashikshan - Indian Association of Homeschoolers.

“Dissatisfaction with the prevalent school structure is the prime reason for this. Often, the schools are unable to respond to individual needs and pace due to exam constraints,” says Sonnal Pardiwala, homeschooling mother of Shahen (18) and Shahaan (13). While Shahen is pursuing correspondence degree in Psychology from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Shahaan aspires to become a canine behaviourist.

“Since exams/degrees as a means of achieving livelihood is losing validity, schooling as a necessary component of life is no longer acceptable,” Pardiwala says.

FLEXI STRUCTURE

“What works for homeschooled children is the freedom from homework after school hours and the flexibility to mix with a wide range of people across all ages and socio-economic strata,” says Samson. Parents of such children may either advocate a curriculum-free philosophy, also called ‘unschooling’, or they may customise the curriculum to suit the child’s interests, often seeking out tutors or online mentoring.

FORMAL RECOGNITION

While home schooling does not have regulatory bodies in India, students seeking degrees and certificates can take their exams as private candidates. Among the favoured boards, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) offers Open Basic Education (OBE) for children up to 14 years of age at A, B and C levels that are equivalent to Class III, V and VII of the formal school system, Secondary Education Course (class X) and Senior Secondary Course (class XII) apart from vocational and life enrichment programmes. Homeschoolers may also take the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) exam, which is a part of the Cambridge Assessment International Examination (CAIE). Currently, homeschoolers are not eligible to take ICSE and ISC exams; nor can they take CBSE or International Baccalaureate (IB) exams as private candidates.

HOW IT WORKS

Homeschooling may take place right through a child’s education or parents may view it as a stop-gap arrangement before the child is transferred back into the mainstream school system.

“Several parents do it as a reaction to the dysfunctional schooling system. A few chose this after identifying their child’s specific learning needs that the schools fail to address. This is true in case the child has Asperger’s, dysgraphia etc,” says Archana Neginhal, president, The Education Trust India, who ‘deschooled’ her daughter Madhur during the first 12 years before enrolling her at The Blue Mountains School, Ooty, and later, UWC Dilijan College, Armenia, for IB diploma. She is now all set to graduate from Wellesley College, Massachusetts.

Source : https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/#

Teachers in the learners’ seat

Teachers in the learners’ seat

TRAINING Schools conduct workshops to train teachers in new modules, raise standards and connect with children; promote teacher communities

15/11/2019 | Shreya Bhandary | shreya.bhandary@hindustantimes.com

Read More at : https://epaper.hindustantimes.com/Home/ShareArticle?OrgId=0c92bab7&imageview=0

CBSE Class 10th, 12th date sheet 2020

CBSE Class 10th, 12th date sheet 2020: Date and time confirmed by CBSE officials

CBSE has recently released the date sheet for the class 10, 12 practical examinations.

India Today Web Desk | November 14, 2019

CBSE Board Exams 2020: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has come up will the Class 10, 12 board exam date sheet. CBSE board will be releasing the CBSE Class 10, 12 date sheet 2020 in the month of January.

CBSE exam date sheet 2020

The news has been confirmed by the CBSE officials that the board will release the CBSE Board exams date sheet in the first week of January.

The CBSE class 10, 12 exams will be commenced from February, the chairman said. From last year, the board had preponed the exams from the first week of March to February 21, 2019, The Indian Express quotes.

CBSE Marking scheme

The Central Board of Secondary Education or CBSE has released a new circular detailing the Class 10 and Class 12 pass marks criteria.

CBSE official circular

"For subjects having Internal Assessment component, the same shall be examined internally by the schools," the Board circular said.

CBSE Practical exams date sheet

CBSE has recently released the date sheet for the class 10, 12 practical examinations. The practical examinations are scheduled to be conducted from January 1 to February 7, 2020. The date sheet of practical examination is available at the website- cbse.nic.in.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/notification/story/cbse-class-10th-12th-date-sheet-2020-date-and-time-divd-1618833-2019-11-14

Incentivising innovation in teaching the key to improving learning outcomes

Incentivising innovation in teaching the key to improving learning outcomes

According to many experts one of the reasons for this is the quality of teaching. The biggest reason for the poor teaching is that they are being paid only to teach and cover the syllabus.

EDUCATION Amita Chitroda | Nov 13, 2019

Education has always been a powerful agency in any society. It is considered as an indispensable instrument for bringing positive change in the social, political, economic and cultural life of people. The whole process is shaped by many important agents, and teacher is the most significant amongst all of them. Every good school is as good as its teachers; few would contest that teachers are a very important determinant of how much students learn in school. In fact, research shows that, among school-related factors, teachers play the most critical role in student achievement. According to Economist Eric Hanushek a child taught by a good teacher gains 1.5 grade-level equivalents, while a child taught by a not-so-good teacher only gets half an academic year’s worth. And hence how to improve teacher performance has been the focus of lively policy debate.

According to many experts one of the reasons for this is the quality of teaching. The biggest reason for the poor teaching is that they are being paid only to teach and cover the syllabus. They are not really being appreciated and incentivized for providing education to develop critical thinking. The other aspects that contribute was teacher absenteeism, misbehaviour and attrition. In fact, teacher absenteeism is a big concern in India, especially in government primary schools. It is one of the crucial obstacles to overcome, to improve education. Researchers found teacher absenteeism to be at a disconcerting rate of 25 percent in government primary schools and reported that at the time of unannounced visits, only 50 percent of the teachers present were teaching.

Further, teacher motivation is also seen as an obstacle in improving learning outcomes. As mentioned earlier, some studies suggest that teacher absenteeism, misbehaviour and attrition reflect low teacher motivation, whereas other studies are based on data from interviews and focus group discussions, in which teachers are asked directly about their motivation. Nonetheless, there are some general trends in the levels of teacher motivation across the developing world. Better incentives for teachers, investments through stronger training programmes and fundamentally addressing the issues at stake in the teaching-learning process are some of them.

According to, Duflo et al.(2012), monitoring combined with financial incentives can witness a reduction in teacher absenteeism by 21 percentage points in rural India and increased student test scores by 0.17 standard deviations. Muralidharan and Sundararaman (2011) had used a structural modelling approach to analyse teacher response to incentive pay, found that performance-based pay for government teachers in India led to an increase in student math and language scores by 0.27 and 0.17 standard deviations respectively.

Apart from incentivizing, it will be important to think of a culture of meritocracy and incentivize professional development of faculty. Teachers will need to be trained on use of technology, the evolving methods of teaching, the new pedagogy and the evolving realities of business, so that they can prepare students for the future of work!

Learning is a changing process since knowledge is not something static. For this reason, teaching should be boosted and should move beyond traditional and theory-based foundations; it should also be research-based and should have data-driven-evidence to provide more knowledge. Given the central importance that education has in any society, teachers are expected not only to be competent but also to be professional in their related fields and subject matters.

Good quality teacher training and professional development programs alongside motivating environments will have positive impacts on the teaching and learning improvement.

Let’s create a motivating environment for our teachers - for a good and motivated teacher can inspire hope, ignite imagination and also instill love for learning!

(The author is Amita Chitroda of Schoolguru Eduserve)

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/incentivising-innovation-in-teaching-the-key-to-improving-learning-outcomes/story-vQrMdcqeaLCENR7C6pfWAN.html

JEE Mains 2020:

JEE Mains 2020: Preparation strategy for last two months

The admit card will be released by NTA on its official site. The candidates who have applied for the JEE Main 2020 can download their JEE Main 2020 admit card for the January session from 6th December 2019 onwards.

Navin C Joshi | EDUCATION |Nov 13, 2019

The JEE (joint entrance examination) is conducted for the purpose of providing admissions to students in undergraduate engineering programs such as B.E/B. Tech and B.Arch/B.Plan courses at NITs, IIITs and other engineering colleges across India. This national level competitive exam, which is now conducted by the National Test Agency (NTA) is held twice a year in January and April; the upcoming dates for the exam are 6th-11th January 2020 and 3rd-9th April 2020.

The admit card will be released by NTA on its official site. The candidates who have applied for the JEE Main 2020 can download their JEE Main 2020 admit card for the January session from 6th December 2019 onwards. The exam is conducted in Online mode (Computer Based Test) and its duration is 3 hours. The JEE Main January result will be declared by NTA on 31st January 2020. Since, JEE is only two months away, now is the time for students to start planning their revision strategy. A good revision strategy helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses, improves speed and accuracy; and also helps in time management. Here are a few pointers to help you come up with an ideal strategy for JEE.

1)Focus on Regular Practice:

For conceptual clarity of any topic, it’s important that you spend time practicing questions rather than building concepts. Solve at least 20 relevant questions a day (previous year questions and advanced questions discussed on our platform). Since, the NTA has introduced numerical type questions, so make sure you practice according to the new exam pattern.

2)Prioritise and Plan:

Set yourself small targets such as revising a certain number of topics in a day and number of relevant questions to be solved on a daily basis. For Physics, chapters such as Mechanics, Electrostatics, Wave Optics and Magnetism are the most important chapters to focus on. For Chemistry, relevant chapters are Atomic Structure, Electro-Chemistry, Kinetics and Chemical Equilibrium, General Organic Chemistry and Coordination Compound along with Chemical Bonding. For Maths, students should focus on Trigonometry, Calculus, Vectors and 3D.

3)Follow a Study Schedule:

By following a time table, you’ll utilise your time efficiently. Your schedule should help you decide how much time to devote to each chapter. Prepare short notes or make use of flash cards while revising for the first time. This will help in knowledge retention and reduce time during second revision.

4)Importance of Mock Tests:

For real time exam preparation, you should attempt 2 mock tests in a week. This will help you develop the skill of remaining calm under pressure. Just like cricketers practice in the nets before the match to get familiar with the pitch, you also need to experience real-time exam environment to prepare yourself for the actual exam. Mock tests help you, identify your weak areas. You should make note of these topics and specially focus on them.

5) Exam-day Strategy:

Scoring good marks is all about identifying which questions to attempt first and which questions to attempt later. In first round, attempt questions you are certain that you will get right. Round one should take around 1 hour. In the second round, attempt questions that you are 70% sure of, you can do this by eliminating the wrong options. Round two should take around 60-90 minutes. In the third round, it’s all about taking a risk, identify questions that you think are worth taking a risk and then attempt them carefully so that you avoid negative marking. Such questions are a multi-conceptual problems. Then, if you have time left, make sure to revise al round one questions again.

Remember, that the cornerstone to score better is smart preparation and a calm temperament. Consistency and motivation only comes if you have a positive mindset. Try to limit your use of social media. Avoid meeting friends who make you doubt yourself. In this stage of preparation, your focus should only be on clearing JEE exam. If at any point you feel stressed, then don’t hesitate in getting in touch with counsellors or take support from your family members. So, incorporate these points while devising your two-month exam strategy, and give your best.

(Navin C Joshi, Academic head and VP (JEE and NEET) at Gradeup)

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/jee-mains-2020-preparation-strategy-for-last-two-months/story-TGGkQqC89R33RbFgLPs7wO.html

Children’s Day 2019: Tips on how to keep your kids safe online

Children’s Day 2019: Tips on how to keep your kids safe online

Along with the myriad benefits associated with the internet, it also comes with its set of risks such as inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and risk of online predators.

EDUCATION | Sunil Sharma  : Nov 14, 2019 10:06 IST

Don’t you love celebrating your kid’s achievements and boasting about it on social media? Well, you are no exception. As per a recent survey, about 55% of urban Indian parents said they are unsure and ill-prepared in terms of surfing the internet securely. Yet, 61% of these parents claim to have prepared their children in this area. In fact, they are so sure about having taught their kids right that 60% of them don’t even monitor the content their children are exposed to.

Along with the myriad benefits associated with the internet, it also comes with its set of risks such as inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and risk of online predators. Using apps or websites that children frequent, predators may pose as a child or teen looking to make friends. They might prod the child to exchange personal information, such as their home address, phone number, or encourage kids to call them. In such a scenario, informed parents will make for informed kids. Therefore, it is critical that parents start early on in their digital education as this can save them heartache and nasty surprises down the line as their young ones grow up.

As with most cybersecurity issues, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to protecting kids online - there needs to be layers of protection in place to address the complexities at hand. Let’s start by empowering our kids with the right cybersecurity tips to stay secure in the virtual world.

As a parent, here are some questions you should ask yourself:

# Do you have protective measures in place on the technology your children use? If they have social media, are their profiles locked down from public view?

# Have you talked to your child about not sharing their accounts or passwords? (Passwords should stay secret, and accounts should never be shared with anyone else, not even your closest buddies.)

# Have you talked to your children about appropriate behaviour online, what kind of sharing is okay and what kind is not, and why?

# Do you know who your child is interacting with online? Are they only people they know in person?

# Do you and your children know what kinds of questions can be red flags? Not just obvious things like asking for their name and address, but also where they go to school, what kinds of landmarks they might live near, their parents’ names; even problems they’re having - predators use this kind of information to establish trust and try to meet in person.

# Do your children feel safe talking to you about what they’re experiencing online, and do they feel comfortable telling you if something feels wrong?

That said, it is incumbent upon parents to not only put protective measures in place and to establish trust with their children, but also to know how to spot the warning signs of exploitation, or bullying. For instance Sophos Home provides parental web filtering that allows you to control the content your children can view online. This can help you to keep a track of what your children are viewing online and also understand if the sites are malicious or not.

Tips to keep your kids safe online:

1. Location Permission: Think for a moment before you post something and remember that once it’s online it’s out there for everyone to see. If you wouldn’t be comfortable with your parents, a teacher, or future employer reading that post, perhaps it shouldn’t go online in the first place.

2. Share Wisely: Whether you’re talking to someone or using an app or a service, it’s crucial to protect your personal information (your full name, your birthdate, or where you go to school), and your location (like where you live, or where you frequently hang out with your friends).

3. Always Use Password Manager: It might seem like the easy thing to do - less typing and remembering, right? - but using the same password on every service and app is a really bad idea. The solution is really easy: Use unique, strong passwords on every site and app you use. You can use your browser or mobile device’s built-in password manager, or a third-party manager to do this.

4. Two Factor Authentication: Make sure you, password protect your phone or any other device you use. And lock it when you’re not using it. Use 2FA on your accounts to keep hackers out.

5. Check before you click: Don’t click on suspicious-looking links. If something looks strange to you, ask a parent or teacher if it’s ok to click on it.

6. Always log out: Make sure you don’t leave any account open when you go away from your computer, phone or other device.

7.And finally, if it doesn’t look right, speak up! If you think something is suspicious or if you see something upsetting online, tell a parent or teacher, or report it to the website you’re trying to use.

(Sunil Sharma is Managing Director Sales at Sophos India and SAARC. Views expressed here are personal.)

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/children-s-day-2019-tips-on-how-to-keep-your-kids-safe-online/story-XkEuLBjwhsay5NIL3DiwpL.html

JEE Mains 2020: Important topics to study, tips for time management

JEE Mains 2020: Important topics to study, tips for time management

JEE not only tests you on your memory of various concepts, formulae, and equations but lays down more stress on your understanding of these concepts. It tests how well can you apply them and interlink them with various other chapters. However, JEE has a very vast portion.

EDUCATION | Rajshekhar Ratrey | Nov 08, 2019

If you are a student who aspires to be in one of the IITs, then you’re probably gearing up for the upcoming JEE exam. Like last year, JEE Main will be held in the computer-based mode on multiple dates in January and April. This year, the first session will be held between 6th - 11th January.

JEE not only tests you on your memory of various concepts, formulae, and equations but lays down more stress on your understanding of these concepts. It tests how well can you apply them and interlink them with various other chapters. However, JEE has a very vast portion.

How time management works: Important things first, the rest later

Our objective is to make the most out of time. Start with topics that you are weak at and are given a lot of importance by JEE. Next, move on to topics that you know well, and are given importance by JEE as well. Practice plenty of numericals from all of these important topics. After this, start choosing topics as per the amount of weightage given, and work your way through the portion.

Prioritisation is one of the best ways to cover a large part of your syllabus in such a short span of time. It also helps you score higher. To help you prioritise, we have mapped out topics from each subject that are very important as per previous JEE papers.

Physics

In Physics, study chapters starting from grade 11, and move on to grade 12. If you are unsure about what to brush up from grade 11, start with Newton’s laws of motion, Work, Power, and Energy, and Circular Motion. When it comes to grade 12, JEE gives importance to Electrostatics, Oscillations and Waves, and Optics, and Modern Physics.

For all topics, focus on understanding the theorems and formulae instead of rote learning them. A trick to remembering them is to make flashcards or small notebooks which have an exhaustive list. You should go through this list as often as you can.

It is extremely important to focus on solving numericals by applying these formulae. Use learning apps like Toppr where the practice is personalised for your learning needs. You will start at a level that you are comfortable with. The difficulty of questions will increase until you meet your learning goal. Don’t forget to time yourself while you are practising these numericals and develop tricks to help you solve them faster.

Chemistry

Chemistry has three sections - Physical, Inorganic, and Organic. It is ideal to start with Physical and then move towards Organic Chemistry.

JEE gives importance to your understanding of all the formulae of Chemical Bonding, Equilibrium, Kinetics, and Radioactivity. Give special attention to d and f block elements, and coordination compounds. These are high scoring topics.

Moreover, it is extremely important to know the Periodic table well. You should put up a large copy of the table at your desk or a wall. Use mnemonics to remember various elements.

When it comes to various reactions, do not try to rote learn them, but understand its mechanism. This is one sure shot method to ensure that you don’t forget anything.

Maths

The trick to maths is practice. Most IITians recommend that you should start studying maths before any of the other subjects. This helps give you enough time for revision as the exam gets closer.

Usually, JEE paper setters prefer giving importance to Integration, Probability and Statistics, Complex Numbers, and 3D Geometry. Some other topics like Matrices and Circles are high scoring, simple, and given some importance too.

To get better at solving numericals, take timed mock tests early on to focus on time and stress management. Maintain an “Error book” so that you don’t repeat your mistakes. Apart from all of this, remain calm, be motivated, and give it your best shot. All the best!

(Rajshekhar Ratrey is the VP, Educational Content, Toppr)

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/jee-mains-2020-important-topics-to-study-tips-for-time-management/story-Yzy2UZX1244DGEg2s03FfK.html

CBSE releases handbooks for teachers and students

CBSE releases handbooks for teachers and students

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Friday issued a notification regarding the release of handbooks for students and teachers.

EDUCATION Nilesh Mathur | Hindustan Times | Nov 08, 2019

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Friday issued a notification regarding the release of handbooks for students and teachers. These handbooks aim to provide all important information required by students and teachers at one place.

These handbooks were released by the Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal on November 1. Both the handbooks are available at CBSE websites.

CBSE has, through this notification, requested all heads of schools to ensure that the information about these handbooks is given to all their teachers and students. They have also been asked to download these handbooks and arrange for a discussion on them.

“Discussions/ activities on the Chapters of the Handbook for Students can be planned for students. Participation in these discussions/ activities can be credited for the Portfolio for internal assessment. For any query in this regard, you may write to cbseapp1920@gmail.com,” reads the official notification.

The handbook for Students has tried to address all their queries related to pedagogy, subject choices, examination, CBSE activities, procedures etc. It contains details about the matters pertaining to academics, examination, personality enhancement activities, disaster management, cyber safety and other usual administrative procedures related to subject and date of birth change.

The handbook for teachers contains information required by them regarding their learners and related to their career improvement and advancement. It also informs teachers about the expectation CBSE has from them.

The handbook is a source of information to the teachers about the procedures, policies, roles, responsibilities, awards and resources related to their professional life.

“Beginning from basic information about appointment and qualification, this Handbook also contains a range of information, such as, teacher self-evaluation framework, details about the board examinations, subjects offered, use of technology, disaster management procedures to be followed, awards that teacher may apply for, and several other important and much-needed information about CBSE policies in the matters involving teachers. It is expected that this handbook will answer most of the queries pertaining to the professional lives of teachers with regard to their association with CBSE,” the notification said.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/cbse-releases-handbooks-for-teachers-and-students/story-yEGNrfJMUpJCvVZzNl7RrK.html