2023 publications on teachers use of action research in Bhutan (a few more to be released)

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/11356405.2023.2255798?needAccess=true

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09650792.2023.2230593

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44217-023-00077-4

https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/thesis/Action_Research_in_Bhutan_Factors_Influencing_Bhutanese_Secondary_Science_Teachers_Collaborative_Efforts/16920709

Cycles Within Cycles: Three Minutes Thesis Presenatation

Three years ago, I presented the first findings of my PhD research in a Three Minutes Thesis competition at the Faculty of Education, Monash University. 

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “research” in education? Well! Most research in education is done on teachers, students and schools by experienced outside researchers. However, the kind of research carried out by teachers on themselves to improve their teaching practices is called action research. Action research is a cyclical process that begins with identifying an area of focus, planning an action for change, implementing the action, observing, and recording data, and reflecting on the effect of the action. This process continues until the teacher is satisfied with the results. Most teachers in western countries follow this cyclical and forward-moving process.

Recently, there has been a growing interest in action research in Bhutan, a small developing, Buddhist country in South Asia, as a tool to raise teaching quality and the quality of education. However, the questions are: Is action research relevant for Bhutanese teachers? How would Bhutanese teachers conduct the process of action research? What factors influence the way they conduct action research? My study aimed at answering these questions. To answer the questions, I focused on two case study schools where three secondary science teachers conducted their first-ever action research. I observed how they followed the process and recorded their experience through interviews and reflective diaries. 

After that, I had some answers. I discovered that the teachers faced several challenges within their school such as time constraints, the burden of covering the heavy science curriculum and unsupportive school leaders. Hence, I concluded that both school contexts were not favourable for conducting action research. In addition, I noticed that unlike the cyclical and forward-moving pathway of action research, Bhutanese teachers moved back and forth between the stages and travelled deep within each stage, creating circles within the circles pattern of a pathway or what I call action research within action research. 

Such findings suggested a need to improve the school context and put a new model in place. Therefore, my study will be proposing a new action research model for Bhutanese science teachers. I am hopeful that the model will help the science teachers in Bhutan to conduct action research confidently, enhance their teaching quality, raise the quality of science education and, more broadly, contribute towards achieving the UN sustainable development goal of providing quality education for all.

With Professor Stephen Kemmis

Action research is relatively new in Bhutan. Emeritus Professor Stephen Kemmis' (1988) well-known spiral action research model is advocated for teachers in Bhutan to use it to improve their teaching practices. In my doctoral study, I explore the relevance of this model to the Bhutanese Secondary Science teachers. I was fortunate to meet Professor Stephen at Monash last year at a masterclass. In the brief chat, I let him know of my project. He expressed his interest to read my final work. I would like to thank him for sharing some of his recent works on action research. It has helped to take my project forward. 

Teachers' Pedagogical Practices in Bhutan: Transcription of V-TOB Edutalk

Upon V-TOB's (Volunteer Teachers of Bhutan) invitation to participate in a discussion on "Quality Teachers for Quality Learning" on 6th February 2021, I spoke on "Teachers Pedagogical Practices in Bhutan" drawing on my experience as a teacher. I watched the recorded video and the following is a verbatim transcription of my talk on the subject. 

1. Introduction

Kuzu Zangpola everyone. I am Tshewang Rabgay and I am a PhD student in Education at Monash University in Australia la. Firstly, I would like to thank sir Sonam for having me this evening on V-TOB’s Edutalk. Secondly, it is an honour to be sharing the panel with Sir KC Jose who is a renowned teacher and had a long teaching career in Bhutan and with Sir Tshedrup Dorji, the founder of YAN Bhutan la.

2. Body

Well! The theme for today’s Edutalk is quality teacher for quality learning, a very important subject but it is a broad area to talk about in ten minutes, so I needed to narrow it down la. I looked at some frameworks around teacher quality and found that there are several components that make a great teacher. 

I decided to focus on one component instead of going all over. So I will talk on a single component of teacher quality la. I have chosen teaching practices or teachers’ pedagogical practices. And I will be talking on this subject by drawing on some studies and my experience la. I think I have quite a lot to share in ten minutes and I will try to be as fast as possible.

Well, this is a subject which most of us are familiar with because it has been an area of focus in many public and academic discourses for quite a while and I might sound a bit cliché today and may have nothing much to offer but I will just share my ideas la. But it is a subject that has persistently remained stagnant or had a very slow progress in practice la. Even in an earlier Edutalk I remember Dr. Adrian mentioning “pedagogical poverty”, hence, I believe that it still needs further discussion and debate and more so in the context of current education reform la.

Well! It is common knowledge that teachers’ pedagogical practices determine the quality of teaching and learning. However, the narrative that all of us familiar around teachers’ pedagogical practice in Bhutan is that there is a need for a shift from the predominant teacher-centered teaching to more child-centered or constructivist-based teaching to raise the quality of education. I gathered some studies on this area and I found that there is a large body of literature suggesting the need for a shift la. 

Then there has also been efforts from the MoE and the teacher education colleges to educate both in-service and pre-service on child-centered teaching techniques. The prominent one is the introduction of CL method in 2016 through the Transformative Pedagogy program. And there are others such as placed based education, etc. And the Government puts a lot of financial investment, for example, I got this statistics that in 2010 and 2011 alone, the Government spend Nu. 24.9 millions on pedagogy-related training for some 2,554 teachers.

Moreover, the teacher education colleges provide opportunities for pre-service teacher to learn several child centered teaching methods such as: activity method, field learning, inquiry method, cooperative learning, role play and simulation. Most teachers would remember the micro-teaching we did at the colleges to practice these techniques. Therefore, it is clear that teachers have the knowledge and skills to apply constructivist teaching techniques. 

Despite these efforts, studies continue to show that teacher-centered teaching is still the most widely used method, indicating stagnation or a slow progress. Now the question is: Why is there a visible stagnation? Or why has there been a slow progress? I attribute it to five constraining factors la. However, the reasons that I am going to be sharing are not founded on any research, they are based on my experience and observations and I stand corrected if they are inappropriate la. 

2.1 Lack of teacher generated pedagogical knowledge

The first reason I would like to propose is that there is a lack of teacher-generated pedagogical knowledge to inform their practices in Bhutan la. There is an absence of teacher voices on issues related to their teaching practices from a truly emic perspective and the teaching profession suffers, from “a shaky theoretical ground.’ This has resulted in three consequences:

1. Firstly, teachers rely on out-of-school professionals in higher authorities or foreign experts to inquire into their teaching practices. Teachers are knowledge consumers and not knowledge generators and the knowledge generated by outsiders may not be all the time relevant to address the context specific issues they face in the classroom.

2. Secondly, teachers rely on out of-school PD activities such as workshops and trainings to gain knowledge related to their teaching. Again, knowledge obtained through such means may not be relevant to the contextual realities of their classroom teaching.

3. Thirdly, the everyday classroom decisions that teachers make are based on their intuitions, assumptions, hearsay, verbal advice, and latest fads which do not guarantee success.

Therefore, there is a need for teachers to inquire into their practices to generate knowledge on what works and what do not work in their classrooms.  Teachers need to explore whether the foreign constructivist teaching models works in their classrooms or not, instead of just accepting it. And find solid reasons for why these approaches work or do not work. And think of what adjustments are required to make the foreign model relevant.

One of the ways to do this is by empowering teachers to carry out action research or conventional teacher research which is a self-reflective tool that allows teachers to systematically inquire into their practices. It is encouraging to note that the MoE and the teacher education colleges are promoting action research. However, I have observed that most teachers are not confident to follow the process of action research. This could partly be because we have a foreign model and there is a question of the relevance of the model. A part of my current research concerns this area la and I am hoping that the findings will have implications in assisting Bhutanese teachers to carry out action research confidently.

However, my suggestion at this point is, for the school leaders and the MoE to create and foster a sound research culture in schools which I believe is lacking at the moment la. There is a need to strengthen action research courses in the teacher education colleges. There is a need for teacher to take the role as reflective practitioners and gear towards transforming teaching into a research-based profession la.

In carrying out classroom research, teachers have a distinct advantage over out-of-school researchers. Their position as insiders who know their classroom culture and their students give them the upper hand in finding specific and relevant solutions to their pedagogical issues, over outsiders who would not be as much familiar with the classroom realities. The other advantage I see in Bhutan is that teachers make up a large proportion of the total civil servants, I guess, 34.9%. If most teachers engage in action research, a rich and diverse pedagogical knowledge base would be generated in a short period, thereby laying a solid theoretical foundation to underpin the teaching profession in Bhutan la. 

I will give you an example of UK. In the 1970s, that’s some five decades ago, there was a movement called the “Teachers as Researchers” movement initiated by Professor Lawrence Stenhouse that called for teachers to research into their practices. This movement had a remarkable impact on raising teacher quality. Teachers were able to base their classroom decisions on data and evidence and raise their teaching quality. They could also play active roles in curriculum development.

2.2 Curriculum as a barrier

The second reason is an obvious one. The existing school curriculum is inappropriate for teachers to apply their constructivist pedagogical knowledge and skills. I have been listening to practically all previous EDUTALKs and most speakers generally agreed that Bhutan’s school curriculum is content-overloaded. And the other day, Sir Sancha Rai and madam Ambika also described the school curriculum as bulky, thick, prescriptive, rigid and centralized.

The thick curriculum hardly provides time and space for the teachers to apply their constructivist pedagogical knowledge. It rather forces them to use teacher-centered teaching to fulfil the mandate of completing the syllabus.

Therefore, what is needed at the moment is a curriculum that is designed from constructivist point of view to match up with teachers’ constructivist pedagogical knowledge and a curriculum that provides time and space for teachers to use their constructivist pedagogical knowledge without any pressure of completion.

Last week, there was some news of the REC taking some steps towards this la. However, there are still questions around its flexibility or whether it was just a cutting-down exercise of the previous curriculum, questions around inadequate teacher consultation and information, but I will not dwell much on this la. 

2.3 Cultural barriers

The third reason could be due to cultural barriers. Child-centered teaching is mostly popular in Euro-American countries where the culture is different from our culture in Bhutan. And it is a teaching approach that has worked well when teachers create a learning environment of open, critical and two-way interaction between teachers and students or between the students.

This nature of child centered teaching approach contradicts some of the cultural values that we uphold. In particular Driglam Namzha or the Bhutanese code of etiquette which is an important part of our social lives. Driglam Namzha has its roots in Kangyur Dulwa, Buddha’s teaching on monastic discipline. We promote Driglam Namzha in our schools as a part of school discipline along with other values such as Tha-Damtshi and Ley Judrey. As a result, we foster a classroom culture where there is respect for teachers, where students are reticent to talk with teachers and ask questions, where there is a high power distance and where teachers prefer student to quietly listen to them. As Michael Rutland pointed out in an earlier EDUTALK, teachers in Bhutan often tell students to “keep quiet” or “maintain order”. These cultural elements contradicts the principles of constructivist teaching such as open and active classroom interaction and students taking control of their learning,

That is why it would have been hard for teachers to make the transition to the new pedagogical approach because it needs letting go off of our cultural values and embracing different kind of mindset and roles. And not only teachers la, it also needs students to make a radical shift in their roles and mindset from being passive to active.

My proposition to address this issue is for the teachers, to make a conscious effort to embrace a new set of Driglam Namzha values. We should know that Driglam Namzha is not limited to the etiquette of respecting seniors. It also concerns the etiquette of following the principles of Tha-dam-tshig, Ley-judrey, Jamba and Nyingjey. At the moment the predominant and lopsided value that plays out in the class is respect for teachers, which is also important but I suggest the teachers also emphasize on other Driglam Namzha values such as:

·     Tha-dam-tshig (which refers to a close or positive relationship between teachers and students

·      Jamba  or Kindness

·      Nying-Jey  or Compassion

·      Jam-Chong or Love and care

These values would enable teachers to create a warm and friendly classroom environment which is what is required for child-centered teaching. Along with this the teachers need to step out of their conventional role of being the dominant figure in the class to taking the role of a guide and supporter through carefully planned lessons and engage in active interaction with students.

2.4 Teacher pedagogical beliefs, conceptions and memory

The other possible reason could be teachers’ pedagogical conception and memory. Human experience shapes their conceptions and memories which in turn drives their actions.

Most of our teachers, including myself, have along experience of being taught in a teacher-fronted teaching environment when we were students, in schools and later in pre-service teacher education colleges and our pedagogical conceptions are largely around teacher-fronted teaching. It could be because of this deep rooted conception that most teachers find it hard to drop the old habit.

When we ask students, their ambitions in the class, some of them would say that they would want to be teachers. We think that teacher preparation and teacher education occurs only at teacher education colleges but I would say that it happens even at schools because there are students who want to be teachers and they observe the way their teachers teach them in their class. Then the question that teachers need to ask is: “Do we practice the right pedagogy so that future teachers have the right pedagogical conceptions?” At the moment most teacher practice teacher centred teaching and it is likely that the future teachers will continue the practice because their pedagogical conception might largely be around teacher-centred teaching. So, we need to break the chain. We need to stop passing the bug on to future teachers.

My recommendation on this is for the teachers to unlearn some of the ineffective pedagogical approaches and to embark on learning, designing and practicing new, effective and relevant pedagogical approaches, so that our future teachers develop the right pedagogical conceptions for right pedagogical practices. 

There are also other issues such as time constraints, class size, student number, and heavy workload but for now I will keep it here la.  And I am happy to take any questions and suggestions. Thank you la..

3. Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to draw your attention to the Bhutan Professional Standards for teachers (BPST), a document that has been launched to raise teachers' professional standards or in other words teacher quality. The Ministry of Education has specified seven standards for teachers to fulfil and I believe teachers will be assessed against these standards to determine their professional standard la. The third standard concerns demonstration and application of sound pedagogical and content knowledge to facilitate effective teaching and learning.

As mentioned earlier, the ground reality is that there are certain challenges that hinders teachers from making pedagogical progress. The curriculum needs revision, there is a need for creating sound research cultures, and there is a need for providing time flexibility and adequate resources in the school. I think it would be hard for teachers to fulfil these standards because at the moment the conditions in the schools are not right la. Because of these challenges, many teacher friends that talked to say that the BPST is an additional pressure rather than support from the MOE la. Most of them are worried about how to find the time to engage in innovative pedagogical practices within their heavy workloads of covering the heavy curriculum and carrying out co-curricular activities.

Therefore, I propose the MoE to take a closer look at teachers' professional lives in the schools first, determine the feasibility of the plan, create the enabling conditions and then introduce the standards la. In fact, I believe that this is how it should be for any education reform initiative la. I will make a simple analogy la.

If parking police want the public to strictly follow the rule of having their cars parked properly in the parking lots, first they have to work on making sure that there are enough parking spaces. If there are limited parking spaces then the rule will just be too much pressure for the public la. This is a simple example la.

In a nut shell, I believe that placing a flexible curriculum, creating supportive condition in the school and fostering a culture of teacher inquiry, would open up the opportunity for teachers to raise their pedagogical practices which would raise teacher quality and then eventually raise the quality of learning.

Thank you for listening la and thank you Sir Sonam for the opportunity la.

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PS: Here is the link to the video 

https://www.facebook.com/volunteers.strength/videos/714250052579270/

Action Research

Action research can be done by focusing on pedagogy, assessment, curriculum, classroom environment, leadership practices, learners' behaviour, etc. (Identify an area of focus to improve, explore or develop; plan an action; implement, observe and collect data; and reflect on the results and the process. 

"In practice, action research begins with an Imperfectly understood felt concern and a desire to take action - a general idea that some kind of improvement or change is desirable." McTaggart (1994, p.316)

Action Research is a fancy way of saying let’s study what’s happening at our school and decide how to make it a better place. Emily Calhoun (1994) AR stems from a family of research methodologies which aim to pursue action and research outcomes simultaneously (Susman and Evered, 1978; Holter and Schwartz-Barcott, 1993; Reason and Bradbury, 2001; Coughlan and Coghlan, 2002; Coghlan and Brannick, 2010). As Jean McNiff (2013) notes, “I do not see action research as about problem- identification or problem-solving, but as about realizing human potential” (p. 35). The authors whose action research efforts appear in this section of the Handbook encounter a multitude of challenges, tensions, and issues but never cease to keep trying to realize the immense human potential unleashed through their individual and collective actions. (from: bOOK) Elliott’s claim that: “The fundamental aim of action research is to improve practice rather than to produce knowledge”

Action researchers “see the development of theory or understanding as a by-product of the improvement of real situations, rather than application as a by-product of advances in ‘pure’ theory.” (Carr and Kemmis, 1986, p. 28, cited also in Wikiversity Action Learning article). This is a means to generate ideas (theory) that are relevant locally – to the people who are involved in the research, and to the environment in which it has taken place. (Wikiversity, en.wikiversity.org)

The view of action research as contributing to the professional development of those directly involved is sometimes contrasted with the picture of educational research having the potential for contributing to the 'production of knowledge'. Carr and Kemmis (1986) view the latter as an inappropriate aim for action research which should be centrally concerned with `the development of practitioners' own practices' (p 202). Johnston and Proudford (1994) suggest this may produce a significant tension within a project, and imply that it may not be possible to meet both aims. Within this radiography curriculum development project it is argued that both these purposes for research were met to some degree, although the nature of the contribution to knowledge was necessarily tentative, given the group's task of developing, trialling and evaluating new assessment procedures within a timeframe of approximately one year.

https://www.proquest.com/docview/210672367?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals

Picture 1: Ary, D., Jacobs. L. C., & Sorensen, C. (2010). Introduction to Research in Education (8th ed). California: Wadsworth.

Picture 2: Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (1988). The action research planner (3rd ed.). Victoria, Australia: Deakin University Press.

Picture 3: Hendricks, C. (2017). Improving schools through action research: A reflective practice approach (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Picture 4: McKernan, J. (1996, p.31). Curriculum action research: A handbook of methods and resources for the reflective practitioner. London: Kogan Page.

Robin McTaggart (1994) Participatory Action Research: issues in theory and practice, Educational Action Research, 2:3, 313-337, DOI: 10.1080/0965079940020302

McNiff, J. (2013). Action research: Principles and practices (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.

Carr, W., & Kemmis, S. (1986). Becoming critical: Education, knowledge and action research. Falmer Press.

The Effects of Using Cooperative Learning Method on Tenth Grade Students’ Learning Achievement and Attitude towards Biology

Entrepreneurship Education in Bhutan: Perception, Culture and Challenges

Curriculum and Instruction Should Sync

In education, curriculum and instruction are two faces of a same coin. Curriculum is ‘What to teach’ and Instruction is ‘how to teach’. They are inextricably linked and influence each other and they must be compatible at all cost. If the instruction does not suit the curriculum or if the curriculum does not favor the instruction, learning process is bound to see some setbacks. When a change is underway, both must be considered. Leaving any one of them behind or taking any one of them ahead could create an incongruity between the two which could have negative backwash on teaching and learning process.

The MOE’s recent training of teachers on transformative pedagogy is a positive move towards bringing shift in the teaching trend from the teacher-fronted teaching to child-cantered teaching. The new teaching technique has its roots in the constructivist and social learning theory which are based on the premise that children learn by constructing their own knowledge by adding onto his previous knowledge through positive interactions with teachers, parents, friends and other social agents. This approach places children at the heart of learning process and allow them to take control of their learning as opposed to teacher-centric learning where teacher takes the centre stage.

While the initiative has come as a positive change, it has sharpened just one blade of a scissor. The present curriculum to a large extent is content-overloaded and it gives little or practically no room for teachers to practice any innovative teaching technique. The mandate to cover the vast syllabus in an academic year puts teachers to race against time for syllabus completion. It exerts pressure on teachers to move with undue pace through the curriculum and encouraging a ‘tick list’ approach to teaching. It has led to less flexibility and creativity and to a more slavish and often frantic gallop through the curriculum. It exerts a dominant influence on teaching and learning that other important areas such as children’s development of higher order thinking skills, nurturing pupils’ creativity, character, communication skills, problem solving and exploration could not be emphasized.

Given the difference in the nature of curriculum and instruction, there is a need to make alterations in the existing curriculum so as to measure up with the new instructional method. Like the instruction, the curriculum needs to be viewed and designed from the constructivist point of view. It needs to be grounded in the principles of constructivism and social learning theory. The current textbooks are crammed with information making the overall curriculum congested and difficult for both teachers and students. A constructivist based curriculum should provide space, time and opportunity for both teacher and students for meaningful learning. It should allow enough time for teachers and students for positive and meaningful interaction to dig below the superficial level of understanding of concepts. It should also provide adequate opportunities for students to apply what they have learnt in their day to day lives. Students should engage in mini-research projects to experience authentic inquiry and discovery. Basically the change should aim for a light content which does not exert any pressure of completion on teachers and students to allow teachers to effectively use innovative teaching techniques to facilitate meaningful learning.  

Content overloaded curriculum should not stand as a militating factor against the use of innovative teaching technique.

Entrepreneurship Education in Bhutan: Perception, Culture and Challenges

Sonam Rinchen , Karma Utha, Bhupen Gurung, Ganeshman Gurung & Tshewang Rabgay

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine Bhutanese students' perception towards entrepreneurship and the influence of entrepreneurship on their career choice by a team of lecturers from Samtse College of Education and a teacher from Samtse Higher Secondary School. It was a multifaceted research involving survey, interviews, focus group interviews and document analysis. The samples included 921 students [19 diploma students, 248 undergraduate students, 654 school students (460=HSS & 194=MSS)], currently studying in the schools, colleges and VTIs in Samtse, Chhukha and Thimphu  Dzongkhags. Students perception analysis revealed that their perceptions on career choice are inclined more towards entrepreneurship second to government jobs. The study also found that students and parents are aware of the increasing unemployment scenario in Bhutan. It was also found that  there is a minimal focus on entrepreneurship education in both school and the university curriculum and the pedagogical practices which are teacher centered to a large extent are not favorable for entrepreneurship skill development. Some of the recommendations included a need to include entrepreneurship education in the curriculum of all levels of school and a need to disseminate information related to entrepreneurship among students in schools and colleges.

  

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Bhutan; Career; Curriculum; Perception

SAMTSE HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Grounded in the importance of school environment as an important factor influencing teachers’ performance, this study explores Samtse Higher Secondary School teachers’ perception of the level of the eight dimensions of school environment-student support, affiliation, professional interest, staff freedom, participatory decision making, innovation, resource adequacy, work pressure.  A survey questionnaire, School Level Environment Questionnaire built on a five point scale was administered to 29 teachers in the school. The data obtained was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as means and standard deviations to indicate the levels of perception on the scale. The results revealed that out of the eight dimensions, teachers had average level of opinion towards student support, affiliation, professional interest, staff freedom, participatory decision making, innovation, low level of opinion towards resource adequacy and high level of opinion towards work pressure. The study found the need to improve all eight dimensions of the school environment. Recommendations were suggested to improve the school environment. The study was significant because feedback information based on teacher perceptions can be good basis for reflection upon, discussion of and systematic attempts to improve school environments.

KEY WORDS: School environment, Student support, Affiliation, Professional interest, Staff Freedom

A Study Of Factors Influencing Students’ Academic Performance In A Higher Secondary School In Bhutan: Published in the 16th Volume of RABSEL

Tshewang Rabgay

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting academic performance of the students of a higher secondary school in Bhutan. The dependent variable considered for the study was students’ academic performance, which was indicated by students’ test scores and the independent variables were students’ demographic characteristics, parents’ socio-economic status, parenting style and students’ learning and study strategy. The data were collected from 241 students of the school using two questionnaires­–Learning And Study Strategy Inventory and Baumrind’s Parenting Style’s Questionnaire. Correlation analysis, independent samples t-test and descriptive analysis were used to analyze data. The findings revealed that socio-economic factors such as parents’ education, income and occupation resulted in difference in academic performance but there was no difference in students’ academic performance based on students’ demographic variables like gender, age and living arrangements. Of the three parenting styles, namely authoritative, authoritarian and permissive, it was found that authoritative parenting results in better academic performance. The findings also revealed that students had average level learning and study skills. Recommendations were suggested to improve students’ academic performance.

KEY WORDS: Academic Performance, Socio-economic Status, Learning and Study Strategy, Parenting Style

Socio-cultural Factors Influencing Adolescent Girls’ Body Image

A Paper Presented at the 3rd Research Convention at SCE. 
Theme: Gender and Education
Abstract

Adolescence is associated with an increased concern for body image. Past studies have shown that body image concern is more in girls than boys which suggests that adolescent girls are more likely to be dissatisfied with their body than boys. Body image is influenced by many factors. This study aimed to explore the influence of socio-cultural factors-media, parents and peers on Samtse Higher Secondary School girls’ body image; and to determine the most influential factor among the three. The study also sought to find the level of body satisfaction of Samtse Higher Secondary School girls. A survey was conducted with 150 girls of the school. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired samples t-test and regression analysis. The results suggested that media and peers had significantly dominant influence on girls’ body image than parents. It was also found that most girls (50.6%) were dissatisfied with their body which was further confirmed by the significant difference (p-0.000) between girls’ perceived actual body image and ideal body image. The study recommended media literacy programs for both parents and adolescents to deal with the social and cultural pressures to conform to unrealistic body ideals. The study also recommended teachers and school counselor to conduct psycho-educational initiatives in the school such as body image sessions and group discussions to teach students to accept and appreciate their body as they are and to decrease their preoccupation with appearance. 

KEY WORDS: Adolescent girls, Body image, Sociocultural factors, Media, Parents,

Kamal: A Talent In My School

Kamal is like any other eleventh grade science student in my school. He is a shy and a timid young boy. Because of his silent and calm nature, he is not an easily noticeable student in the school. He is a member of the school vocational club.

Recently the school conducted 'Club Exhibition'. The school has twenty one clubs. Kamal occupied a small space in the vocational club corner. He sat quietly with some mobile repairing equipment displayed before him. The crowd concentration shifted from one club to another but not many were interested in Kamal. The few that came thought that what was before him was merely a display of disassembled mobile phone. 

All during the program Kamal remained inconspicuous to the audience. It was only towards the end of the program that Kamal came to the limelight. Actually it was my encounter with him that caught the crowd's eye.

Kamal in the vocational club corner

The guests had already left and there was a very thin audience left. I thought we had called it an exhibition and I was walking out of the hall. As I neared the exit door I saw Kamal sitting quietly with two other friends.

"What have you got here?" I asked him.

"Mobile repair sir"

"Can you repair my mobile? Its sound doesn't work" I asked .

I thought he would not dare accept to work on a teacher's mobile. But the response was a confident "Yes sir"

I handed him my mobile and others around me started to laugh taking Kamal for granted. But Kamal started getting busy on the mobile. I told him in jest 'I hope you will not return my mobile in pieces like Mr. Bean returning a solid radio in several pieces to a customer' following which there was a huge laughter from students who thronged around to watch Kamal.

The students who were watching Kamal were anxious over what Kamal was doing. They thought he was on a risky venture of handling a teacher's phone.

Just then a lady teacher walked past and asked me "What's going on here?"

"He is repairing my mobile" I said.

"He will only get your mobile spoiled" she remarked and walked away giving a fleeting glance at Kamal.

Kamal heard the comment and he blushed but his hands never ceased to be confident.

Kamal working on my mobile

At one moment I was skeptical of his ability. I wished I had not given him the mobile. By then he had dismantled the phone completely and I could only watch him.

But his hands were deft and he exuded confidence over what he was doing

Still skeptical, I asked the other two boys sitting next to him who were equally quite. "Do you think he can really repair my mobile?"

"Yes sir. He can. He is really good at it sir." That gave me some reassurance.

Kamal had identified a problem with my phone. He said "sir, there is a disconnection here" He pointed to something very tiny which I couldn't make a thing. He  worked meticulously on it and got it fixed. 

Watching among the crowd was another teacher who also had problem with his mobile phone. He stepped forward and handed Kamal his phone. He had multiple problems - the camera, screen and dial pad. Kamal got all of them fixed just in few minutes. He won the crowd's heart.

Fascinated by his capability, I asked him "Did you do any formal training on repairing mobile phones?" 

"No sir. I learnt by myself at home" he said still looking timid.

"Are all these repair kits yours?" I asked pointing at the kits.

"Yes sir"

"Do you do this at home?"

"Yes sir"

"Sir, he is well known in Daragaon, (the place where he stays)" said the other two boys near him."People give him different electrical appliances such as, rice cooker, curry cooker, water boiler, microoven, washing machine and fan to repair. Just anything sir-any electrical equipment. He fixes them all for free sir. His room looks like a electronics repair shop" 

The next day I got the following things repaired:

1. Water boiler

2. Two fans 

3. Micro oven 

4. Tubelight

5. Extension cord

6. My wife's watch

I was surprised at Kamal's unique skills. Unique because he didn't learn from any Guru but his skills are self-taught. However, Kamal admitted that he cannot repair computers and digital camera. He has plans to attend computer repair course this winter. 

When asked about his ambition, Kamal said he wants to become an electronic engineer. 

A STUDY OF FACTORS INFLUENCING STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN A HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL IN BHUTAN

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting academic performance of the students of a higher secondary school in Bhutan. The dependent variable considered for the study was students’ academic performance, which was indicated by students’ test scores and the independent variables were students’ demographic characteristics, parents’ socio-economic status, parenting style and students’ learning and study strategy. The data were collected from 241 students of the school using two questionnaires­–Learning And Study Strategy Inventory and Baumrind’s Parenting Style’s Questionnaire. Correlation analysis, independent samples t-test and descriptive analysis were used to analyze data. The findings revealed that socio-economic factors and parenting style are predictors of student’s academic performance but not students’ demographic variables like gender, age and living arrangements. The findings also revealed that students had average level learning and study skills. Recommendations are made to create awareness concerning parenting skills and to engage parents in adult education programs. Teachers, educationists and counselors are recommended to teach students learning and study strategies.

KEY WORDS: Academic Performance, Socio-economic Status, Learning and Study Strategy, Parenting Style

Dogs

I love dogs. Since time immemorial dogs have been men’s best friend. Even from religion point of view, we consider dogs to be near-to-human form of life. 

Nowadays, more and more dogs have come to live in our school campus. May be they are giving the school extra protection when everybody has gone out for winter break. This is absolutely what they have been doing for ages-sincerely guarding home and property when the owner is out. And it is fine to have dogs in the school at this time. I can hear them bark at night. I can see them bark at strangers. They are at their best in doing what they have been doing for ages.

But sadly, men grossly misunderstand dogs. We consider them to be a social menace. We condemn canine howling for disturbing our sleep. They are often beaten up or shooed away. That's exactly whats been done to the dogs in the school. And what worse! Most of them are infected with diseases. They are suffering from mange and recently an unexplained skin lesion is getting rampant. The infections are getting worse by the day. But no matter how bad their infections are, they never fail to carry out their duty for men. My heart simply aches to see them in pain. They need medical treatments.

Lesion

Lesion

Mange

Lesion

Earlier in August, I took three sick dogs to the veterinary hospital with the help of few students. Two made to normal lives while I lost one. Last Saturday I caught two more by setting up snare traps. They had lesions on their body. One had it on its butt and the other on its abdomen. Unfortunately the veterinary hospital was closed. So I tied them up to give my version of treatment. I had the leftover of the medicines I got from the veterinary earlier in august. They became anxious and skittish when I went near them. I had to maintain distance for safety. I sprayed the medicine on the infection and let them free.

But my little actions for these dogs are too insignificant. I am fighting a losing battle. The treatments I give them are not doing much good. The wounds are not healing. The infection is spreading on to more dogs. There is need for more significant intervention from responsible organization.

Dogs are by no means social menaces. They are social animals rather, and it's obvious to have them living among human population. And much like men they get sick and that's when they need our help. When they are rabid or suffer from other diseases it wouldn't be right to beat them or chase them. Their sense of friendship with men is unwavering. But men need to change their outlook on dogs. 

It is apt to bring in Carey Ford's quote-'Trained well, men can become dog's best friend'

PS: This is the last post for the year. I wish all the readers a very Happy New Year. May the new year shower you with bountiful peace, happiness, success, health and prosperity. Until next time with another post, its goodbye.

Abstract of My Paper Published in RABSEL: The CERD Educational Journal, Volume XV, Autumn 2014.

Patterns of Teacher-Student Verbal Interaction in the Tenth Grade

Biology Classes in Samtse District

Tshewang Rabgay

ABSTRACT

Grounded in the importance of classroom interaction in teaching and learning, this study examined the pattern of teacher-student verbal interaction in grade ten biology classes using Flanders Interaction Analysis System (FIAS). The sample of the study consisted of 8 teachers and 383 class 10 biology students from three higher secondary schools and a middle secondary school in Samtse district. Seventeen grade 10 biology classes were observed using a coding chart. The data obtained were analyzed using the decoding process prescribed in FIAS. The study was significant because its findings and conclusions may stimulate teachers to improve their interaction practices in order to maximize students learning.

The findings revealed that 75.71% of the time was used for ‘lecturing’ making it the most popular approach. The findings also revealed that teacher talk (85.23%) was much more than student talk time (11.38%) which indicated that classroom interaction was dominated by teachers. It was also found that teachers’ used more direct influence (77.27%) through lecturing and giving directions than indirect influence (7.96%) which include behaviors like accepting students’ feelings, praising, encouraging, accepting or using students ideas and asking questions. By and large the findings indicated that teacher dominated classroom interaction continues to be the dominant teaching trend in teaching tenth grade biology in Samtse district. The study confirmed previous studies done in Bhutan which reported similar findings.

Key words: Classroom Interaction, Flanders Interaction Analysis System (FIAS), Biology Class.
PS: Read the full paper in the 'Research and Publication' page on the left sidebar

An intruder in my house

This account was written on 26th august, the day after an intruder broke into my house but was retained from posting for some reason. But now I've decided to post it.

Sunday, 24th August 2018, in the dead of the night at around 12-1am. a stranger broke into my house and stole my laptop and some money. It all happened while my family and I were sleeping. It's shocking that someone came an inch close to me and presumably spent about five minutes yet I couldn't get a clue of his presence. Upon recalling the incident, I realise that it was a premeditated and strategically planned act. I also learnt that the stranger had spied on me for the past few weeks and waited for an ideal time to execute the plan. Scary! Isn't' it?

Sunday night was an unusual night for me. Normally I would go to bed at 9:30pm. but that night I wasn't sleepy until 11:45 pm as though God was hinting at me about the eminent theft. My wife and kids had already gone to bed after dinner. I watched the Manchester United-Sunderland football match on TV until 10:45 pm. Even after the match, I wasn't sleepy. Then I was worried about oversleeping the next morning and getting late to school. So I forced myself to sleep. I switched off the TV and checked the main door and the windows. I found them all securely closed. With a settled mind I went to bed. However, that night it was really difficult to beat my sleepless mind. I reached to my bookshelf and picked a book which eventually put me to sleep. Yet it wasn't a peaceful sleep. I could hear the sound of the spinning fan and feel the air from the fan. I could hear my little son breathing. Suddenly, there was a power outage. The room had become pitch dark. The fan stopped running and the air in the room was no longer cold. The heat and the pitch darkness finally won over my sleepless mind and put me to sleep.     

The next morning, my daughter was the first to wake up as she goes on the first shift of her school which starts at 6:30am. Suddenly she called out frantically from the living room "Apa! There is a hole in the  window!!!" I sprang out of my bed to check. I saw the plastic mesh I had put over the window a few months ago cut out to a size big enough for a man to slide into our house. The sliding window was open. The main door was also wide ajar. My wife woke up and she was terrified. We knew that a stranger had broken in. We promptly checked our things in the house. Everything was intact in the living room and alter-room. The last I checked was my bedroom because I least doubted anything to be taken from there. But to my bitter surprise, I found my laptop bag missing from under my study table. At first, I thought the intruder had taken just the laptop but later I realized that I had some money in the bag. That made my wife all the more frantic.      

The plastic net was cut out to a size big enough for a man to get through.

The cutout section of the net

I dialled 113 to inform the police. The man on the phone said that they were on their way. In the meantime, I walked out to check outside my house. I found a chair propped against the wall that had been used to reach the window. I also found the plastic nets had been cut in two more places. One in the bedroom window right above my head and the other one in the kitchen window. The intruder had used these windows to keep an eye on me. When I was in the living room watching TV, I was being looked at from the kitchen window and when I was in my bedroom reading, I was being looked at from the bedroom window. The person had been very tactical.

A chair was propped against the wall which was used for climbing 

One more cutting on my bedroom window 

Just then the police arrived and they examined the place and asked me some questions. Upon searching for further clues about the burglar, I found an amulet on the kitchen floor. I was not sure if it was left on purpose. It had an image of a Hindu God engraved on it. I speculated that the intruder could have been an Indian from the border town of Chamurchi. But the police and I couldn't be sure about it. We thought that the person might have left it intentionally to lure our minds to suspect an Indian. Friends and neighbours who came to see me that day speculated that the amulet string might have snapped when the person squeezed in through the window hence dropping the amulet.

The amulet

The incident has left my family traumatized. My kids do not sleep without me by their side. My wife says that she feels haunted. Nonetheless, my wife and I agree that we are lucky in a way. The intruder just took away the laptop without inflicting any physical harm on anyone in the family. My wife often tells me that if anyone of us noticed the intruder, we would have been hurt. Later that day, police were notified of two more incidents of theft in the college of education. That day, theft became the talk of the town making people in Samtse stay hyper-alert at home.