ERIC Number: ED534175
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Dec
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Social Inclusion among Prospective Teachers at Secondary Level
Mumthas, N. S.
Online Submission, Paper presented at the International Conference on Higher Education (Kottayam, Kerala, India, Dec 8-10, 2010)
Quality education aims at the full participation by all learners. This requires identifying the strategies for overcoming the barriers to full participation for individuals and groups, which experience discrimination and marginalisation. Social inclusion is strengthened when hitherto uncovered and excluded population is brought into the mainstream of the social structure. National Curriculum Framework 2005 called for a different model for teacher education in order to make teacher education setting more inclusive. To be ready for future, we must prepare teachers who are inclusive, who are inclusive in their mental set up and who can meet the needs of all students. But, "do inclusion rather than exclusivity characterize the teachers of future?" This paper reports a study which employed sociometric technique to probe the affiliations among classmates on a representative sample of 214 future-teachers, belonging to seven classroom groups who have nearly completed their B.Ed degree. Results show that, in all the seven groups irrespective of their subjects of study, socially and economically backward students tend to be excluded from the inner core of the classroom group. Social acceptance of the socially and economically backward members is weaker among prospective teachers. Teachers themselves have not learned to practice inclusive philosophy. The findings calls for a new curriculum model consisting of collaborative planning, co-operative learning, group process skills and collaborative evaluation that helps teachers in developing and implementing education in more inclusive settings. (Contains 2 tables.)
Descriptors: Sociometric Techniques, Social Structure, Group Dynamics, Preservice Teachers, Student Teacher Attitudes, Peer Relationship, Undergraduate Students, Peer Acceptance, Social Status, Rejection (Psychology), Low Income Groups, Cooperation, Secondary School Teachers, Foreign Countries, Inclusion
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: Higher Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: India
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A