UNIT 6: RESEARCH IN EDUCATION PART -A
Nature and Scope of Education Research
George G. Moutay, has defined Educational Research as the systematic and scholarly application of the scientific method, to the solution of educational problems, a systematic study designed to promote the development of education as a science. The aim of current and prevailing educational system is to give better education to our pupils. Thus better education always follows better development and formation of instructional aim, better motivation of pupils, better teaching methods, better education and better administration and supervision.
Educational Research is that activity which is directed towards development of a science of behavior at educational institutions. The ultimate aim of such a science is to provide knowledge that would permit the educator to achieve the goals by the most effective methods.
Meaning and Nature
"Research', itself is an important activity of human beings. Any significant research can lead to progress in some or fields of life. From the very creation of human habitation on the earth man is curious to know more and more. So the mysteries of nature could not be left back. He tried his best to make those mysteries into notice. He wanted to establish truths by applying his cause and effect method. Advancement is the sole nature of human activity. Hence he devoted his time in Education to make his research progressive.
At this age of science and technology, thanks to the advancement in the field of education, each year new products, new facts, new concepts, new ways of doing things have come into our lives.
Research, actually means :
1. In fact, research is an attitude of inquiry. It is not a mere theorising but an attempt to elicit
facts.
2. Research is a systematic and scholarly application of the scientific method. As we use tools
and techniques and follow steps in scientific method we must also follow the same steps and procedures in research.
3. Essentially research is a state of mind. It is a friendly, welcoming attitude towards change.
For the modification of traditional steps and procedures research helps in proving new ideas, news techniques for new evolutions. It is a refined and systematic technique for obtaining a much more adequate solution of a problem.
Analysis of the Word 'Research', letter by letter, can be explained as given below :
Research is classified as explained below:
1. Fundamental Research.
Fundamental research helps in developing theories by discovering broad generalisations and principles. It is organised through various procedures of research like sampling, hypothesizing facts, etc. It can be experimented in a psychological laboratory. Thus, in a general meaning - It is more systematic activity directed towards discovery and the development of an organised body of scientific knowledge.
2.Applied Research.
Fundamental research sets principles while applied research utilizes those principles to know the problems with best possible manner. In practice, the researcher applies laws during his field study to draw more and more clear ideas about the problems. It is undertaken to solve an immediate problem.
3. Action Research.
The aim of action research is immediate application but not any development of theory. If the researcher finds any problem at the time of his field investigation and observation he applies it.
Educational Research may be classified as follows:
1. Historical Research
2. Descriptive Research to
3. Experimental Research
Historical Research describes what was. The process involves investigating, recording, analyzing and interpreting the events of the past for the purpose of discovering generalisations. They are helpful in understanding the past, understanding the present and to a limited extent in anticipating the future.
Descriptive Research describes 'what is'. It involves the description, recording, analysis and interpretation of conditions that now exist.
Experimental Research describes what will be and when certain variables are to be carefully controlled and manipulated. The focus is on variable relationships. Deliberate manipulation is always a part of the experimental research.
Educational Research is considered to be a prominent key that is essential to the opening of new doors in the field of education. It brings vividness, completeness and comprehensiveness to a many complex problems in education. It makes our generalisation more weighty, fruitful and effective. It enables us to study the uniqueness of the child and adopts appropriate curriculum, methods of teaching, and disciplinary techniques. In recent time the researchers have taken different types of projects for analysing the actual problems in scientific manner and sets the remedies for it. It brings a great control on social life to understand it properly, in educational reforms, and also control social behaviour. As it is the age of science and technology research has not only been developed in physical science but also in social science as well. The, many, rapid technology changes have brought about an increase in educational problems. It is possible only through research projects to meet the teething educational challenges of a highly technical and rapidly changing society.
To put in brief, Educational Research is that activity which is directed towards development of a science of behaviour in any educational institution. The ultimate aim of such a science is to provide knowledge that well permit the educator to achieve the goods by the most effective method. For its progress the researcher should not only take the present situation in one hand but also should form new hypothesis for the future.
Research in education is very much needed. That is why Educational Research is the 'sovereign solvent of educational problems. Thanks to research projects in education we get better children, better curriculum, beter methods of teaching, better school administration, organisation and supervision and above all a better understanding of the world in which we live. A well-planned and well-executed educational research programme saves time, money, energy. It avoids a lot of frustration and leads us to the path of progress.
The Major Functions of Research are as given below:
1. It obtains the scientific knowledge about all educational problems. It also helps in obtaining specific knowledge about the subjects involved in the study.
2. In action research, the researchers are teachers, curriculum workers, principals, supervisors or others whose main task is to help, provide good learning experiences for pupils.
3. In it, a person tries to enable him to realise his purposes more effectively. For example: A teacher conducts his teaching more effectively. An administrator, in the education department performs his action to improve his administrative behaviour.
4. Action research is a procedure which tries to keep problem solving in close contact with reality at every stage.
5. In educational system it conduits for the progress of the technique of teaching.
6. It strengthens and emphasizes the work of the teacher.
7. It has a great utility of creating new interest and new confidence in the ability of the individual teacher.
8. Action research provides practical utility. For class-room teacher, he applies his own observations into his class-room practices to make the observed problems solved. Minor problems in the class-room can be solved by applying the teachers intelligence.
9. Action research brings changes in the teachers. It makes them co-operative and active in facing the situation easily. It also happens to bring about changes in the behaviour, attitude and teaching performance.
10. Planning is the primary criteria in educational research as well action research. To go through the problems much in sight is needed. For solving all these problems the teacher goes on reading references, literatures and also research techniques. So theoretical learning becomes fruitful when it is practically applied in the proper situation to solve problems in action research.
11. In education, all kinds of professional workers are able to solve their practical problems to improve their own profession. Generally, action research helps the teacher to face day-to-day problems in the class-room. He makes himself mentally stable and active to confront the situation. He starts his lesson with full aspiration and hope. When he is failed to get the real response, he feels dissatisfied and further he makes new moves to draw more responses. He understands the real difficulty of the pupils and finds out the causes to make his lesson research, the teacher becomes specific, disciplined and caseful but not haphazard and general. In such attempts the teacher is able to know the individual differences and educational provisions for the students.
Analysis of Problems
Educational research is a very detailed analysis of the present educational problem. It is not a mere description of elementary and isolated facts of nature. It prepares operational activities for the further development of the pupils. Hence the people working in the administrative, supervisory and inspecting departments of education should desire to do things better.
Research, as we take in pure physical science, is not taken like in education. By applying common sense, intelligence, insight and guidance and training of the experts it is undertaken without an inexpensive material. So, research in the field of education should be taken in a highly order to meet the situation in a smooth and effective way.
Research is of following types :
1. Basic Research
2. Applied Research
3. Action Research
Basic Research is termed as 'pure' or 'fundamental research. It is aimed at the discovery of basic truth or principles. It is not immediately concerned with direct field application. Basic research emphasizes control and precision. To quote Travers, 'Basic research is designed to add to an organised body of scientific knowledge and does not produce results of immediate practical value. It is carried out in the laboratory. A good deal of equipment and apparatus is needed to carry out experiments.'
Applied research is called field research. Primarily, it is concerned with establishing relationships and testing theories in the field setting and applying to other samples of the population from which the research subjects are taken. It sacrifices controls and precision to some extent as compared with fundamental research.
Action research is similar to applied research in a lot of ways. In the present situations action research has a good deal of implications. The practitioners apply it practically at the time of their study. They do not follow the traditional experiences or the guidelines and recommendations of experts. In action research the teacher or the practitioner can take up and solve number of problems in a more systematic and scientific manner in the single class-room.
According to Dr. Corey “Action research, is the process by which practitioners attempt to study their problems scientifically in order to guide, correct and evaluate their decisions and actions". The following points show the role of action research in the field of education.
Demerits of Action Research
1. 'In action research the teachers are not well acquainted with the problems. They are not also trained in scientific way to solve the problems quite easily. Every teacher leader does not able to face problems at the time of their teaching. Hence the action research fails to a great extent
2. 'Action research deals with those problems, whose nature are not classified in a detailed way. The problems of a school is totally different from another school. So the teacher who transfers from one school to another school may face difficulties to solve them.'
Education a Science Subject
Now a days education is regarded as a science subject. It includes the all-round development of the child. So different educationists are interested to make the subject in a progressive way. Hence they give more emphasis on practical knowledge. Everything should be taught in a practical way that will help the child to make his concept clear. Generally in our educational system. there is the follow on o traditional methods of teaching. This type of teaching does not help more in learning faculties. To make the students acquainted with the clear conception and analysis of the problems the teacher resorts to many new steps and follows new techniques. This acts as real instrument in leading the students to face the learning situations in an active way.
Application of Action Research.
In our country, every state government has given emphasis and scope for its wider spread inside the state. It is not easy to make a developed field in the progressive education because of the individual differences. Educational research covers a wide range in field of psychological topics like retardation and elimination, transfer of training. individual differences, mental: measurement and psychology of the school subjects. It deals with the problems not only of individual cases but also in general field of education. In individual cases educational research studies academic achievements. It shows the teacher's attitudes in teaching, professional, competency, instructional techniques students interest, their responses, etc. Educational research, as such, is not more than Sex to seven decades old. Before hand, there was no systematic effort to study education in an integrated science. Modern thinkers like Pestalozzi, Froebel, Herbert and others protested against the traditional methods of teaching and learning process. In 19th century, psychologists pointed the actual difficulties in human learning........FOR MORE CLICK HERE