Professional Documents
Culture Documents
INTRODUCTION
1.1. INTRODUCTION
pyramid and helps developing the cream of the society, a select group of individuals,
education expressed by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru (First Prime Minister of India) in his
A University stands for humanism, tolerance, for reason for the adventure of
ideas and for the search of truth. It stands for the onward march of the human race
towards even higher objectives. If the universities discharge their duties adequately,
Society's expectations from higher education, however, have not remained the
same always, but have kept changing with differing social concerns, economic
situations and political conditions. India has a long history of organized education.
The British introduced the current system of education with its Western style and
opportunities for higher education in terms of the number of places in universities are
1
Nehru Jawaharlal, (1958). Speeches: 1946-49. New Delhi Government of India vol.1, 333
1
The proportion of our population, in the relevant age group, that enters
the world of higher education is about 7 per cent. Large segments of our population
just do not have access to higher education. The Central Government thus had to
revise some of its policies and has permitted Distance Education courses to operate;
To understand the system one has to delve into the past. In the ancient times,
students lived with their teachers in Gurukuls and Ashrams, and received higher
called Shaakha, Charana and Kshetra existed. The essential characteristic of this
system is learner motivation. Later on during the Buddhist period, higher education
was imparted in Viharas and Sangharamas. The first millennium saw the flourishing
monasteries. Nalanda University, the biggest among these universities, handled all
branches of knowledge and housed up to 10000 students at its peak. Some of the
subjects taught, included law, warfare, theology, art, literature, arithmetic, astronomy,
metaphysics, medical science and logic and students represented all classes of society.
Madarasas. The Pathasalas, and Gurukulas were informal schools where the students
would stay in the homes of teacher or the Ashrams of Guru and learn from them. The
Madarasas were informal schools established by the Muslim rulers. They basically
William Adam in 1830, nearly one million such schools existed in Bengal and Bihar
alone. For formal school system, a survey conducted by the government of the
2
Madras Presidency in 1823-24 indicated that there were 13,000 schools and 740
India inherited a system with great educational disparities between males and
groups, and urban and rural population. Tremendous expansion had taken place since
State. The State referred to each of the 28 administrative regions of India with people
who shared similar culture, language and habits. The State has a different level of
elected by the people of various states, and which manage the important portfolios of
the country. The Central Government is based in Delhi, the capital of India, and has
the responsibility to coordinate and specify standards for education. In this regard, the
received grants from the Central Government and allocated and dispersed it.
This state of affairs continued until 1976 when the Kothari Commission was
both the State and Central government and so the State planned and formulated the
educational policy and the Center represented by the Ministry of Human Resources,
Department of Education.
In the current system, all the Universities offer four principal levels of
3
India accounts for a quarter of the developing worlds population and has the
third largest higher education system in the world. As a small proportion of the
relevant age group around 13% is enrolled in higher education in India, compared to
the developed countries about 54.6% (as per enrollment in higher education by
regions 2001-02 in %)2. While the world average of the Gross enrolment Ratio in
approximately 57.7% but Indias gross enrolment ratio in higher education is 12.4 %
(as per 2006-07 data)3. A fairly reasonable number of the students are highly
motivated and academically talented, but could not pursue higher education mainly
due to various geographic, social and economic reasons. There are an ever increasing
number of mature learners, including working people, who are looking for
opportunities for higher education and all indications, are that the demand for initial
couldnt full fill above purpose. The Open learning system was initiated mainly to
cater to higher education needs of large number of clientele who could not take
advantage in the formal system of education due to different reasons like employment,
marital status, family responsibilities, distance, and expenses incurred with traditional
education. It has been initiated in order to augment opportunities for higher education,
2
University Grant Commission, New Delhi (2006) Higher education in India. Emerging issues related to access,
inclusiveness and quality www.ugc.ac.in/oldpdf/chair_sdt/chairman_nehru_lecture.pdf
3
Government of India , Report to the people on education Ministry of Human Resources Development (2009 -
10) mhrd.gov.in Documents & Reports
4
emerged as a new system to meet the new demands of education in Open and
community. The scope of distance education is very wide. It has not only proved cost-
effective but also has the right potential to reach out the large segment of the
Open and distance learning has grown within a more general expansion of
education. Since 1960 there has been rapid expansion of social and educational
sectors in both the developed and developing countries. Distance education and open
learning presents a different picture of endurance and sustenance which proves that it
has been enriching human life since its emergence. Commonwealth of Learning,
(2007) studied the development of the Indian state open universities and concluded
that
ODL (open and distance learning) has vast potential in a country like India
with millions of young aspirants eager to receive higher education and with
them. The infrastructure for the expansion of open universities is fairly good in the
country, especially the mega open University, Indira Gandhi National Open
4
Rajagopalan, T. A Study of the Development of the State Open Universities in India: Consultants Report.
Commonwealth of Learning, 2007. http://www.col.org/colweb/ site/pid/5100.
5
1.2. NEED OF THE STUDY
more to more students for national and international markets. Hence education should
pyramid so as to meet the goals of social justice. Education is an important ally in the
role of social and economic development. The formal classroom system alone is
unable to cope with the situation. Distance education will never replace the traditional
education affords to students helps for its rapidly growing enrollments. Research is
therefore needed to make distance education and open learning system an effective
cost and can study through the distance mode while in employment in any field. This
mode of education also helps in raising employment opportunities in many ways since
it helps to develop study habits and attitudes. It reaches the learners where they are
Education can satisfy the educational needs of learners with different social and
groups in particular and society in general can influence the planning and
management of distance education system with a view to making the system socially
6
learners as well as future target group keeping in view the general course of socio-
research: Opinions of experts and practitioners within common wealth and the study
have indicated that distance education experts around the Commonwealth countries
are of the opinion that they do not have anywhere near adequate level of information
from research, and need to embark on more research in all areas of distance
attitude and barriers and conclude that respondents were positively disposed towards
research in distance education, and believed in the need for more research, that is
sustaining their motivation to continue with courses till completion. They may be
having varied social and financial problems. Their learning activity being part time, it
takes place in leisure hours, in the evenings, and on holidays; they are irregular in
their studies (Sharma, 2008)7.The lack of learning skills is one of the major causes for
the Institution should be familiar with the students home and community
5
Jegede, O. J. (March, 1999). Priorities in open and distance education research: Opinions of experts and
practitioners within the Commonwealth. Paper prepared for the Pan Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning,
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. 1 6 March.
6
Nembiakkim Rose and Mishra Sanjaya (2010) Distance Education Research: Attitudes and Barriers .
Indian Journal of Open Learning, 2010, 19(3), 215-222
7
Sharma R.A (2008) Distance education, published by Interantional publishing house, Meeurt
8
Villi C. (1999) Learning Habits of Post graduate Learners in Distance Education Indian Journal of Open
Learning 8(2),197-199
7
academic assistance and a lot more other related issues (Nyondo 2003)9. Economic,
technological and social changes and the changes in the system of values entail a
from time to time. In distance education adult is able to return to education when
he/she feels the needs. Education is therefore changing from institution centered
Educational Planners, Policy Makers, Distance educators, should be fully aware of the
education, interest, motivation expectation, study habits, problem of the learners who
are studying in the Open University System (Biswas 1999) 10. More over Socio
economic status, Study habits and attitude towards distance learning play a very
receive information, directions and guidance through online dialogue with their
instructors and through instructional materials that allow modification to suit their
individual needs, learning style and pace (Moore 2003)11. Distance education has
many positive factors, such as flexibility and more personalized learning, but
students attitude, study habits and academic achievement play a crucial role in this
type of learning. Student who prefer independent study have a more favorable attitude
towards distant learning. They can work in their own time and their own place., In
view of the importance of Learner characteristics in the success of the system, the
9
Nyondo Andrew Chola (2003). Open and Distance Learning Practice at the Papua New Guinea University of
Technologywww.col.org
10
Biswas, P.K(1999) Freshers in IGNOU: A study of their awareness, interest and motivation, Indian journal of
open learning 8(3) 273-282
11
Moore G Michael & Anderson William (2003) Hand book of Distance education published by Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates books.google.com Education Distance & Online Education
8
researcher was inclined to study the learners characteristics by focusing on certain
variables like socio economic status, study habits, attitude towards distance learning
and academic progress of students from graduate level to post-graduate level through
Distance education with their S.E.S, Study habits and Attitude towards Distance
Education.
socio economic status, study habits and attitude towards distance education in
1. 4. TERMS DEFINED
Distance Learner: Distance learners are those who get enrolled in a distance
teaching institution, study independently at a distance with the help of the specially
prestige and influence in the social structure apart from his personal attributes
because of their material value (Spranger, 1928)14. In this study, Socio Economic
status means ranking of an individual by the society he lives in terms of his material
belongings and cultural possessions along with the degree of respect, power and
12
O Leary M (2000). Distance Learning and Libraries, online 24 (4), 94-97
13
Maclver, R.M C.H (1937). The text book of society. An introductory analysis. New York: Farrar and
Rinehart
14
Sparanger E (1928). Labensformen, Translated into English Under the Title-Types of man. Niemyer:
halle Germany
9
influence. Socio economic status is based on income education level, occupational
Study Habits: Study habit is a habit that is done on a scheduled regular and planned
manner. According to Crow and Crow (1992) 15, the effective habits of study include
plan/place, a definite time table and taking brief of well organized notes. Study habit
opportunity is given. In this study, study habits of the individual cover mainly the
reading habits, learning techniques, time schedule, memory, Physical conditions and
influence upon the individual response to all objects and situations with which he/she
learning i.e., achievement is reflected by the extent to which skill or knowledge has
15
Crow, R.D. and A. Crow, (1992) Educational Psychology. American Book Co., N.Y., USA.
16
Allport. W (1935) Attitude in C. Murchenson (Ed) Handbook of Social Psychology. Worcester Mess Clarke
University Press
17
Crow, L.D. and Crow., 1969, Adolescent development and adjustment, Mc Grow Hill Book Company, United
States
10
been imparted to him. In this study, Academic Achievement is the level of
The study will have immense importance for the educational planners and
findings, because the distance education sub sector has been a neglected area in India.
Learner and learning are the heart of distance education system. Scriven (1991) 18
analysed the articles in the first 10 years of distance education in Australia and found
21% articles focused on learner and learner support. Coldeway (1995) 19 analysed
Canada journal of distance education and found only 19.5%of the articles were
focused on learners and learning. Koble and Bunker (1997) 20 determined that only
17% of 117 articles published in American Journal of distance education in its first 8
years focused on learners, learning and leaner support. The analysis of research in
three journals illustrates several concerns that one relates to limited focus on learners
and learning in distance education. Zawachi Ritcher (2009)21 reviewed 695 articles
16.3% articles were focused on learners characteristics. The authors concluded that
18
Scriven, B. (1991). Ten years of Distance Education. Distance Education, 12, 137-145.
19
Coldeway, D. (1995, May). A research agenda for distance education: Setting targets for learners and learning.
Paper presented at the Third Research Symposium in Distance Education, University Park, PA
20
Koble, M. A., & Bunker, E. L. (1997). Trends in research and practice: An examination of the American Journal
of Distance Education 1987 to 1995. American Journal of Distance Education, 11(2), pp. 19-38.
21
Zawachi Olaf Ritcher (2009)Research areas in Distance education: A Delphi Study The International
Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vol 10, No 6 (2009)
11
the distance education research was strongly dominated by issues related to
instructional design and individual learning process whereas, other important areas
In India system of distance education is about four decades old. All the
research in distance Education was included in the Fifth Survey i.e. from 1974-92. In
the fifth survey of educational Research (1997)22 the studies in open Distance
Education dealt with enrolment trends and courses growth, development and social
education and evaluation of the system, covering period from 1971-1992. Eleven data
based studies covering the period of 1993 to 2000 has been covered in the Sixth
Survey of Education Research. In the last five decades very few researchers have been
carried out distance education and majority of researchers in are at project form. The
the country as whole or institution wise on its economy. Some researches conducted
related and perception related variables are associated with student persistence, and
drop out, this is obviously an area which DTIs will need to do lot more investigation
22
Koul Lokesh(1997) Fifth Survey of Educational Research, Open and Distance Learning, Trend Reports: New
Delhi, NCERT
23
Panda Santosh (2005) Higher education at a distance and National development: Reflections on the
Indian Experience, Distance education, Vol;26, No.2, Academic Research Library
12
success in distance learning system have been neglected with a few exceptions such
The above account reveals that very fragmentary work has been done on
learners characteristics in distance in education and hence present work has been
system when differences on sex and marital status are taken into
consideration?
economic status, study habits and attitude towards Distance learning of the
24
Koul Lokesh(2000) Sixth Survey of Educational Research, Open and Distance Learning Trend Reports: New
Delhi, NCERT
13
To get answers to the questions raised above with empirical evidence they
were broken down into the following specific objectives that this study proposed to
achieve:
status, study habits and attitude towards Distance learning of the students of
It is assumed that the possible answers of the above four objectives will
the academic progress of students from graduate level to post-graduate level through
Distance education has anything to do with their S.E.S, Study habits and Attitude
1.7. HYPOTHESIS
14
The Following null hypothesis is formed
and post graduate distance learners with certain back ground variables (sex
graduate distance learners with certain back ground variables (sex and Marital
status).
learning of graduate and post graduate distance learners with certain back
Tracing the genesis of distance education it was found that some early forms
of this innovative system of teaching and learning were the instructive letters in the
Old Testament i.e. (Significant role in Roman Catholic Church right from the Epistles
of St. Paul) and some other works in early Greek and Roman history. The history of
course for distance students through the Penny Post in the U.K. Some researchers
have argued that forerunners of distance education of today goes to private teacher of
15
Modern language was established by Langenscheidt and Toussaint in Germany started
correspondence instruction were made USA in 1873 and it has been more extensive
than in any other country. In Europe, pioneering work was done in Germany and
1890.
instruction schools were set up through out Europe. In Russia, in early 1960s more
colleges and universities as correspondence study became the main form of study at
the University level. In Japan, over a million students are studying through
came to be used in the compulsory school system to teach children who had never
promoted the wide spread acceptance of correspondence courses. In 1938, Mr. J.W.
Gibson established the ICDE and who was for many years the Director of High school
16
The evolution of distance education in an organised form in India has been in
two stages. The first stage was correspondence education by conventional universities
(dual mode distance teaching universities) and the second, distance education by open
demand of higher education. During the third five year plan, the demand for higher
education was so high that the conventional university systems faced with a gigantic
The Third Plan larger facilities are being provided for diverting students to
dimensions and, even after taking into account these facilities. The number of those
seeking admissions to the courses of higher education in arts, science and commerce
will be large and suitable criteria for selection have to be adopted. In addition to the
provision in the Plan for expansion of facilities for higher education, proposals for
evening colleges, correspondence courses and the award of external degrees are at
29)25
25
Government of India, Third five Year Plan- New Delhi, Planning commission.nic.in(1960-65)
17
The Planning commission of India (1960) made a significant observation in
the 3rd five year plan that proposals for evening colleges, correspondence courses.
evening colleges in 1961 under the chairman ship of D.S Kothari. The committee
of Delhi started correspondence courses in 1962 as a pilot project. The third planning
commission took note of the success of the correspondence courses launched by the
level.
view that the program should be extended as widely as possible. It saw the
those who could not get access to it. It recommended the strengthening of this system.
The U.G.C set out guidelines for opening correspondence courses in Universities all
over India and came forward to offer liberal financial assistance to Universities
willing to adopt the UGC guidelines for opening correspondence courses. This led to
the strong demand in various quarters about the need for the establishment of a
University which could coordinate the work of all directorates of the country. After
correspondence courses and continuing education. Many State universities during the
In India, the effort of Open University was initiated in 1970; the UGC and the
18
Indian national commission for cooperation with UNESCO organized a seminar for
and draft bill was prepared but it was not pursued. However, at the state level on the
The first state level Open University was established in Andra Pradesh in 1982
to provide access to higher education to the adult population of the state, for
upgrading their functional capacities and improving quality of their life in the context
In 1982, a committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Mrs. Madhuri R shah the
then UGC Chairperson, recommended that steps should be taken for establishing an
September (1985) decided to set up Indira Gandhi National Open University at the
National level.
that The open university system has been initiated in order to augment opportunities
19
for higher education and as an instrument of democratizing education 26.
In the past few decades, the distance education has not only flourished in the
sense of growth of new institutions but has also broadened its scope by offering wide
variety of courses. The main objective in the tenth plan was to raise the enrollment in
higher education for the age group of 18-23 years from 6 per cent to 10 per cent by
the end of the plan period. The open and distance learning system has demonstrated a
growth rate of 20% during the 10th five year plan and accounted for 25 percent of the
total enrollment in the higher education sector. The strategies would focus on
increasing access, quality, and adoption of state specific strategies and liberization of
higher education system. Tenth plan would focus on distance education, convergence
of formal non formal distance and IT education institutions (Aggarwal J.C 2009,
p.17)27. The Planning Commission of India has set the target of 15% GER at the end
of the 11th Five Year Plan. In order to achieve this target, tremendous amount of
(ODL) may be a supplementary approach to fulfill the target through its more flexible
26
Government of India, National Policy on Education 1986, New Delhi: Ministry of Human Resources
Development, 1986
27
Aggarwal J.C. (2009) Recent Developments and Trends in Education published by Shipra Publications, Delhi
28
Government of India (2008) Report of The Committee to Advise on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher
Education Ministry of Human Resources Development
20
comprising One Mega University (Indira Gandhi Ntional Open University), 13 State
Level University and 183 Dual Mode Universities. At the state level, distance
Karnataka State Open University, Karnataka (KSOU); Madhya Pradesh Bhoj Open
Netaji Subhas Open University, Kolkata (NSOU); Pt. Sundarlal Sharma Open
The Distance Education Council (DEC), was established in 1991 under section
16(7) read with Section 5(2) of the IGNOU Act, 1985. As per Clause(2)(a) of the
Statute 28, the DEC is responsible for the promotion, coordination and maintenance of
standards in the Open and Distance Learning system in the country. In view of the
funding has been assigned to Distance Education Council. The DEC among its various
29
Distance Education Council, New Delhi www. Dec.ac.in
21
responsibilities has to take such measures as are necessary, consistent with the objects
Education, for the promotion including introduction and continuation, of courses and
programmes which conform to the standards prescribed by the DEC, to maintain such
courses and programmes which do not conform to the standards laid down by the
country, the distance Education council has initiated activity in credit transfers and
The distance education is defined by various authors in various ways. The first
study.
Wedmeyer (1977)30 has used the terms Open learning, distance education and
30
Wedmayer C.A (1977). Independent study. In A.S Knowles (Ed), The International Encyclopedia of
Higher Education, Boston 5,2114-2132
22
learners carry out their essential tasks and responsibilities apart from one another,
external learners with the opportunity to continue learning in their own environments,
and developing in all learners the capacity to carry on self directed learning, the
form of self study in which student counseling, the presentation of learning material
and securing and supervising of students success in carried out by a term of teachers,
media, specially for the purpose of reproducing high quality teaching material which
makes it possible to instruct great numbers of students at the same time wherever they
33
Moore (1973) defined distance education as the family of instructional
methods in which the teaching behaviors are performed apart from learning behaviors,
31
Dohmen, G. (1977). Quoted Keegan, D. (1991). Foundations of distance education 2 nd (ed). London: Routledge
Limited.
32
Peters, O. (1973). Distance teaching and industrial production. A comparative interpretation in outline. in
Sewart, d; Keegan, D.; and Holmberg, B. (eds). Distance education: international perspectives, London: Croom
Helm.
33
Moore, M. G. (1973). Towards a theory of independent learning. Journal of Higher Education, 44 (12), 661679.
23
presence, so that communication between the teacher and learner must be facilitated
Distance study is self-study, but the student is not alone. As Holmberg (1989) 34
describes it, "A kind of conversation in the form of two-way traffic occurs through the
written or otherwise mediated interaction between the students and the tutors and
with themselves".
and Moore Law of France (1973). From these analyses of theories Keegan (1986) 35
of teacher and Learner through out the period of the learning process.
24
3. Use of technical media: Distance education makes use of print and
various technical media like radio, audio, television, video, telephone, email,
computer etc to carry out the content and bridge the distance between teacher
and learners.
television, therefore can receive feedback. The students thus enter into a
throughout the period of the learning process. Learners are usually taught as
individuals not in groups, with the possibility of occasional meeting for both
need. It is developed industrial society that has created a need for a more
system takes the student from the learning group and places him/her a more
private situation.
The researchers see the adult learning process as far more complex than a
simple relationship of certain sensory functions to learning ability. For example, Knox
25
(1977)36 cites seven modifiers of adult learning performance:
forth)
3. Relevance learning occurs more readily when learning tasks are meaningful
to the learner
4. Speed learning is enhanced when adult learners can proceed at their own
pace
5. Status socio economic level and formal education are associated with adult
6. Age older and younger adults may learn differently because of generational
7. Out look degree of open or closed mindedness and personal outlook affect
36
Knox, A. B. (1977). Adult development and learning: A handbook on individual growth and competence in the
adult years. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishing.
26
1.14. CHARACTERISTICS OF DISTANCE LEARNERS
37
Kaye and Rumble (1981) reviewed student characteristics at distance
were an age range of 20-40 years; majority studying on a part-time basis; men
generally outnumber women; study is primarily carried out at home; high levels of
motivation; the majority of students are from less privileged social groups; Students
Age: The most important characteristic of distance learner is age. Most of the research
indicates that distance learner student are adults, or adulthood ranges from 18 years to
80 year or more. The different age groups of distance learners would pose serious
Social Status: The diversity of distance learners in India would include social
differences in both class and caste. Caste system in India has been playing a negative
37
Kaye A R, Rumble G (eds.) 1981 Distance Teaching for Higher and Adult Education. Croom Helm, London
,pp 35-38
27
equalitarian view among people. Distance learning in order to attain its goal has to
break the educational barrier of the people along with their social barriers. The
thinking of the people has to change with a dignity for all the courses in education
private sector should demolish the social prejudices and promote learning in socially
backward classes, particularly in women then only we can achieve social status.
Economic Status: The economic diversification is also a major factor which causes
hindrance in the education system; although distance education has brought down the
cost of education and financial assistance, scholarships and loans help the
facility for doing courses should be provided for further enhancement of education.
Educational Status: Social status and economic status will lead to a better
educational status of an individual and family. India has all the recourses for a Hi tech
marketing and counseling of target population for distance learning. Once they
religion.
Geographical location: Geographical location was a hindrance in the part but with
the growth of transportation it has become easy for leaner to visit the study centers for
support system.
According to first hand book published by IGNOU 38, the characteristics of distance
learners are:
38
IGNOU Nature and characteristics of distance education, webserver.ignou.ac.in/institute/handbook 1/section
%201.pdf
28
Those who could not opt (go) for higher education just after schooling, but
Those who have had higher education for some years but would like to
advancement in career.
Those who have discontinued their studies for one reason or the other and
Those who would like to pursue their studies without disturbing their normal
constraints
learning system. The first category is that of learners who have confidence in their
ability to work on their own. They are confident enough to think that they can succeed
without any guidance from the counselor. The second category of distance education
learners are the ones who actually need talking to. Having someone to help in solving
39
Koul B.N and Bhatt Anita (1989) IGNOU Handbook-3, Academic Counseling, New Delhi, Division
of Distance Education, IGNOU,6-7
29
their problems gives them reassurance about the system as well as builds a little more
confidence in them. The third categories of learners, who fall between the above two
types, are the ones who are really sitting on the wall. If only they run into intractable
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Act, 1985 was enacted with
It serves the educational aspirations of over 2.6 million students in India and
centres, around 3,000 learner support centres and 67 overseas centres. The University
offers about 445 certificate, diploma, degree and doctoral programmes, with a
strength of nearly 420 faculty members and academic staff at the headquarters and
regional centres and about 36,000 academic counselors from conventional institutions
Instructional System
30
The University provides multi-channel, multiple media, teaching/learning
packages for instruction and self-learning. The different components used for
interactive multimedia CD-ROM and Internet based learning, and the use of mobile
phones for instant messaging. For courses in streams like sciences, computer
centers. While the traditional distance education delivery through print and study
Evaluation System
through devices built into the course material; continuous evaluation, through any
conducted at more than 600 centres all over the country and overseas twice a year,in
given to the various components for calculation of the final grade. Also, regarding the
31
summative evaluation, IGNOU now offers the scheme of On-Demand Examination
examination when they feel they are ready for it. Learners who successfully complete
the University Campus, and at select regional centres simultaneously through the
Pradesh under Swami Vivekanand Subharti University Uttar Pradesh Act 2008. The
graduate levels with effect from the academic year 2009-10 in various disciplines. The
education to distance remote areas and up to weakest category of people and service
class persons, who are unable to join regular courses and want to pursue quality
higher education
Instructional System
Training class, Practical exposure class, Professional project work and Internship and
Evaluation
32
The SVSU University follows the following evaluation system:
submitted to DDE.
be submitted to DDE.(www.subhartidde.com)
under U.P Rajarshi Tandon Open University Uttar Pradesh Act No. 10, 1999. It is a
state University. The first academic session of the U.P Rajashri Tandon Open
University was inaugurated by the then Governor of Uttar Pradesh in 1999. The main
population and, in particular, disadvantaged groups such as those living in remote and
rural areas including working people, homemakers and other adults who wish to
continually offer opportunity for upgrading knowledge, training and skills in the
context or innovations, research and discovery in all fields of human endeavor. The
university is open to all irrespective of caste, creed or sex and its jurisdiction is all of
33
general diploma courses, certificate courses, computer courses and vocational courses.
The university has study centers spread all over Uttar Pradesh and in few parts of
Uttaranchal.
Instructional System
contains a lager volume of Books, Journals, News Papers and Magazines and it
opened for use of faculty members, supporting staff, researchers and students of the
university. It has five Regional Centers possess their own libraries with effective,
useful and comprehensive collection to serve the students and counselors mainly
through study centers falling under their authority. The Library is providing Internet
surfing facilities. E-documents collection and online journals are receiving special
emphasis. The library contains necessary infrastructure like Computer Lab etc. (www.
uprtou.ac.in)
in terms of his material belongings and cultural possessions along with the degree of
respect, power and influence. Socioeconomic status (SES) has long been known as a
(1966) 40was that family background accounted for the majority of the variation in
Many studies were conducted in relationship of Socio Economic Status and Academic
40
Coleman, James S., et.al. (1966), Equality of Educational Opportunity, Washington, DC: US
34
Achievement. There was significant relationship between SES and academic
achievement of school children. (Nuthana P.G. 2007, Parida Sucharita, 2003)41. Singh
(1996) found that high SES was positively related with achievement. But study
different categories of schools. Vince Diaz(2008) 43found that socio economic status is
in India reveal significant facts regarding Distance Education System in the country.
The age majority of correspondence students were between 16 and 35 years. (Anand
1979, Gomathi 1982, Khan 1982, Pillai and Mohan 1983, Sahoo 1985, and UGC
1986)44. While most of the lower age group (16-25years) candidates opted for
41
Nuthana p.g. 2007 Gender analysis of academic achievement among high school students, Dissertation,
Univeristy of Agricultural Science www.etd.uaed.edu
Parida, Sucharita 2003, Effect of Socio-Economic Status, School Environment and Medium of Instruction on the
Mental Abilities and Academic Achievement of School Children Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar, Research
abstracts www.edunet.nic.in
42
Panda, Manoranjan 1998, A Study of the relationship between socio- economic status and achievement of
class,IX students Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar, Research abstract, www.edunet.in
43
Vince Diaz (2008) Relationships between District Size, Socioeconomics, Expenditures, and Student
Achievement in Washington Spring 2008
44
Anand S (1979) University without walls, New Delhi, Vikas Publishing House PVT Ltd
Gomathi A (1982) A critical Study of the participants evaluation of selected post graduate courses of the
correspondence education programme of Madhurai Kamaraj University, Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Education,
University of Madras
KhanI (1982) Suitability of teaching English through correspondence courses as offered by some Indian
Universities at the first degree level, unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Dissertation, Utkal University
Pillai, J.K and Mohan S (1983) Impact and Performance of Correspondence Education Programme of M.K.
University, Mimie. Department of Education M.K University, Madhurai
Sahoo P.K (1985) A study of correspondence Education in an Indian Univeristy, Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, M.S
University of Baroda, Baroda
35
undergraduate courses (Khan 1982, Sahoo 1985, UGC 1986), and most candidates of
the upper age group (20-60 years) enrolled in post graduate courses (Sahoo 1985). A
majority of students were married, hailed from upper castes, with moderate economic
position and around one third of them were employed (Singh 1980, 1983 and Dewal
1982)45. Panda and Panda (1986) 46found that the socio-economic status of learners
Study habits refer to whether students study at the same time each day,
whether they shut off radio, television while reading and whether they paraphrase and
write down what they have read during the practical instructions. It is defined as the
Language, 2003)47.
The importance of study habits in students life plays a major role in their
habits typically denotes the degree to which the student engages in regular acts of
45
Singh J (1980) Researchers on Distance Education at School level, Unpublished research report, NCERT, New
Delhi
Singh J (1983) A study of the correspondence education programme of the Board of Secondary Education
Rajastjan, Unpublished research Report, NCERT, New Delhi
Dewal O.S (1982) Profile of Registrants- an Enquiry into Variables Relating to Students of Correspondence
Institutions at the secondary level, Open School, CBSE, New Delhi
46
Panda, S.K and Panda, B.N(1986) Distance Education, Social status and Personality adjustment, Indian
Educational Review,
47
Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus of English Language. (2003).Oxford: Oxford University Press
36
studying that are characterized by appropriate studying routines (e.g., reviews of
learning character is characterized by his study habits. Good (1973) 48define the term
study habits as: The students way of study whether systematic, efficient or
inefficient etc. Going by this definition it literally means that good study habit
academic failure. Khurshid F (2012)49 found that there was positive correlation
(2000)50 found that certain bad study habits result in poor academic performance
whereas certain good study habits result in high academic performance. Deb Madhu
(1990)51 found that there was significant relation ship between study habits and
University students keep a time schedule for learning (Raja and Rao, 1993) 52.
Srivastava et.al (2007)53 observed that most of the distance learners do not read the
48
Good, C.V. (ed). (1973). Dictionary of Education, (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill Book Company
49
Khurshid Fauzia (2012) Relationship between Study Habits and Academic Achievement among Hostel Living
and Day Scholars University Students British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 41 January 2012, Vol.
3 (2)
50
Robinson, H. H. (2000). Effective study. New York: Harper and Brothers.
51
Madhu Deb and Grewal, Hridai Pal (1990) Relationship between study habits and academic achievement of
undergraduate home science final year students. Indian Educational Review, Vol.25(3):71-74
52
Raja Mouli,C and Rao P.K (1993). Study habis of distance learners, Kakatiya Journal of Distance
Education 2(2), 39-51
53
Srivastava Manjulika et.al (2007) How did they study at a distance ? Experiences of IGNOU
graduates, International journal of distance education technologies, Vol.5, issue 3
37
relevant study materials before attending counseling sessions and suggested that an
induction programme should therefore be made compulsory for all entrants. Goamthi
(1982) revealed that there existed a significant relationship between the achievment of
M.A, and M.Com. Distance learners and work on study materials, textbook studies;
centre activities and effective role of instructors. Morgans (1993)54 work exclusively
deals with two approaches of learning i.e. Surface and deep. The approaches are
context specific and directly relate to the quality of learning outcomes. Students with
surface approach to their learning are concerned with the intention of completing the
learning task requirements, students with deep approach to learning are more
concerned with the intention to understand the deeper meaning embedded in the
learning tasks and their relationship with their task. Macdonald and Scott (1997) 55
found that undergraduate students find it difficult to read academic texts and this
affect their success. Koymens (1992)56 study concluded that there are no important
system compared to an open learning system. Ahsan (2005)57 study habits of distance
learners reveals Students who do not have competent reading skills and study habits
may face problems in the DE system. Distance learners may have to countenance an
unfamiliar situation in the events of their lack of pre-joining awareness about the DE
54
Morgan A (1993) Improving your students Learning, London: Kogan Page
55
Macdonald-Ross, Michael and Scott Bernard. (1997) A postal survey of OU students reading skills,
Open learning Vol.12. No.2(29-40)
56
Koymen U.S. (1992) Comparison of learning and study stregies of traditional and open learning
system students in Tukey, Distance education, Vol.13, No1, (108-117)
57
Ahsan Q.M Galib , Miraj S.M Ahmood (2005) Analyzing study habits of Distance learners : A case study of
Bangladesh Open University. Indian Journal of Open learning 2005,59-69
38
58
system. Villi (1999) emphasized that the learning habits of the distance learners,
(1999)59 reveals that a low positive but significant relationship (r = 0.27) was exits
According to Chastain & Thurbor (1989) 60 there are many different types of
effective studying techniques. One popular study technique is called the SQ4R
method. The S and Q stand for Survey and Question, and the 4R stands for
Read, Recite, Relate and Review. This method is taught in many introductory
psychology courses and is a good way to prepare for tests in almost any course. There
exists little difference in outcomes when one considers level of satisfaction it also
reports that students are more satisfied with asynchronous distance learning
(Computer conference and voice mailing) and students perform better when the
structure of instruction matches their preferred learning style (Moore 2007, pp 153)61.
ACHIEVEMENT
react to learning in a class where members are separated by time and space. Attitude
58
Villi C. (1999) Learning Habits of Post graduate Learners in Distance Education Indian Journal of Open Learning
8(2),197-199
59
Kumar Anil (1999) Learner performance in Distance education Published by Common wealth
publishers, New Delhi
60
Chastain,G., & Thurber, S.(1989). The chameleon effect: The perception-behaviour link and social interaction.
Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 76(6), 893-910.
61
Moore G Michael (2007) Hand book of Distance Education, Google book online
39
usually defined as a disposition to respond favorably or unfavorably to an object,
person, institution or event. Attitude is a system which can either have positive or
negative involving emotions and feelings with reference to social objects and issues.
Distance education can be adult oriented if some of the principles of adult education
pedagogies are taken into account that place in the participants in the foreground from
the start. They can show the degree of activation, application, and empathy on the part
of teachers that is regarded as desirable, and the important part played by the
subjectivity, identity, and autonomy of adult students-who after all are the crucial
distance education, we would have achieved something (Otto peter 1998)62. There is
clear empirical support for the connection between attitude and performance. Bernt
63
and Bugbee (1993) reviewed the literature specifically to relate to attitude to
performance in distance courses and conclude that while ability is more critical factor
factors may contribute more differences in achievement among older students. Sarwar
(2004) 64found that there was direct relationship between study attitudes and academic
performance of students.
towards the system. In comparison with the male students, the female students had
62
Otto Peters (1998)Learning and Teaching in Distance Education: Pedagogical Analyses and interpretation in an
international perspective, published by Kogan page, Routledge falmer, Google book online
63
Bernt F.M and Bugbee AC (1993) Study practices and attitudes related to academic success in a
distance learning programme. Distance education,14, 97-113
64
Sarwar, Muhammad (2004) Relationship of study attitude and academic performance of students at
secondary level in Punjab. PhD thesis, University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi
40
expressed more favorable attitude towards it (Sahoo and Bhatt 1987) 65. Around half of
the teacher and student respondents in Khans (1982) study expressed positive opinion
towards DE, where as the remaining half were either neutral or negative about it.
Kumar (1999)66 reveals a low positive and significant relationship (r=0.24) existed
1. The study is limited to the learners in distance education of U.P state only.
2. The study has been conducted amongst the distance learners belonging to
3. As the size of the population of students is very large and scattered all over the
region, the investigator has taken 600 Students randomly from selected
universities
65
Sahoo P.K and Bhatt V.D.(1987) A Study of attitude of students towards correspondence
education Journal of Indian education
66
Kumar Anil (1999) Open University Distance Learners attitude towards distance education.
Perspectives in Education Vol.15 (3), 165-173.
41
1. The study is de limited to three universities, IGNOU (study centre under the
comprising the following areas only Meerut, Gautam Budh Nagar, Baghpat,
Ghaziabad, Modinagar
3. Among the Professional courses, only education and management stream are
42