MEASUREMENT OF INTEREST

MEASUREMENT OF INTEREST

 Introduction

                   The nature and strength of one’s interests and attitudes represents an important aspect of personality. These charecteristics materially affect educational and occupational achievement ,interpersonal relations ,etc. The greatest aid to attention is interest. Interest is

A feeling both painful or pleasure and is generally accompanied by attention . Without interest however the attention cannot hold for a long time. To secure attention among students an effort has to be made to evoke their interest in the classroom. One of the cardinal aims of education is fostering many sided interests of students .Broadly speaking interests are our likes and dislikes. We are not  born with specific interests we acquire them  due to environmental stimulation. Healthy interests are called ‘hobbies’. Achievement is a resultant of aptitude and interest . The large majority of interests inventories are designed to assess the individual’s interest in different fields of work.

Meaning And Definition

                         Interests is a  disposition in its dynamic aspect. It is a feeling of liking associated with a reaction . It is the motivating force that impels one for activity . If an individual is interested in a job he will probably like the job .As interests are subjective experiences the direct way to measure them is to ask the individual to report his likes and dislikes .We measure interests from the responses we get from the individual by administering interest inventories .

                          In the words of Cronbach [1949], interest is ” A tendency to seek out an activity or a tendency to choose it rather than some alternatives”

                          Qualitatively interests could be classified under  various headings such as social interests, vocational interests intellectual  interests ,scientific interests ,literacy and musical interests, business interests ,etc. Many researcher studied about the phenomenon of interests interms of their duration their extensity, and their intensity .Duration would denote the temporal aspects of interests , extensity would denote the temporal  aspects of interests extensity would be described as the number of interests which the individual is showing and the intensity would denote the strength in the interests.

Classification  Of Interests.

                                Interest in an object or in an activity reveals itself a heightening of attention to it . Mainly three types of interests are their they are ;

[A] Expressed Interests : Expressed interest are identified by asking a pupil to tell or write about the activities , vocational and avocational interests which a person most and least enjoys.

[B]Manifested Interests : Manifested interest may be identified by directing and observing the pupil or by finding out about his hobbies and other activities .

[C] Interests inferred from tests : From tests also interests can be inferred . Inventories are interests that are  measured with standardized instruments which require a person to choose  from a large number of activities.

Interest Inventories 

  In the year 1920, the Carnegie Institute of Technology USA organized a Graduate seminar on “Interest”

 Interest at a time is considered as a verbal expression of one’s aptitude. The interest  inventories are those which are designed to assess the individual’s interest in different fields of work . It is generally observed that what a person may say about his interest. Interest inventories have stimulative value and they have also informative value.

                           The stimulative value of it is seen from the fact that it encourages the person to have a thoughtful self-scrutiny in depth. The informative function of it is availed of due to the fact that these are specially constructed to obtain various informations regarding person’s likes and dislikes . Interest inventories must be able to identify not only a person’s specific likes and dislikes but also the major trends of interest.

                         Researches have shown that the measurement of a person’s present interests is a means to provide symptoms indicative of what his interests are likely to be in the future . Such an assessment throws light on four possibilities of the person;

1) It will indicate the probability of the actual work of the occupation that the person is considering well enough to identify himself with to follow it.

2) It will indicate the probability of finding himself among congenial associates with similar interest  patterns as his own .

3) It will indicate the symptoms of his future abilities .

4) It will suggest alternative fields of occupation which may not yet have been seriously considered.

Measurement of Interest

                        Interest has been pointed to be more amenable to measurement than the measurement of personality . E.K.Strong ,Jr. developed the first Interest Inventory known as Strong’s Vocational Interest Blank. Many instruments have been instructed to measure different interests among individuals. Tests and scales with a real psychological meaning have been produced . Some of the instruments employed in the measurement of interest are given below;

[A] Interest Questionnaire for high school students :

                                 In this questionnaire  there are 68 items indicating liking, indifference or dislike . The questionnaire can predict  success in the  curriculum of the subject’s choice more accurately than it is predicted by a general intelligence test. The instruments carefully and completely constructed.

B] Strong’s Vocational Interest Blank :

                             This blank lists 100 occupations ,38 amusements 36 school subjects and contains 46 items having to do with types and peculiarities of people. Responses are scored in terms of ‘L’[for likes] and ‘D’ [for dislikes ], ‘I’ [for indifference]. Self rating  of preferences , habits and traits are also solicited. Generally this blank has been found useful  when combined with other criteria.

 C] Vocational interest for women :

                            This has been  constructed particularly for women and follows the same technique of construction and same general organization as are embodied in the Vocational  Interest Blank for men. It includes references to ‘17’ occupations and the traits of masculinity-feminity. The blanks has been standardized on mature women. Its applicability is therefore,limited.

D] Kurdar Preference Record:

                              It consist of 14 sets of ‘3’ choice items. There is no limits but the time required is usually about 40 minutes .Scores are classifiable into nine areas mechanical , computational, scientific , persuasive , artistic , literary, musical ,social service and the clerical .The Preference records  has been shown to be reliable enough  for councelling.

EDUCATIONAL  IMPORTANCE

                        Teacher in his teaching prosess, is primarly concerned with motivating his pupils and stimulating  them to hard work . The presentation of the material before  the pupils in an interesting  manner  and of making it timely are the problems of a teacher . The value of the treat of  failure as a motivate may create disinterest among student. Qualities  and charecteristics of incentives and motive may  boost or want the interest among the students. Intrinsic motive ,economic motives and eagerness to reach goal also affect interest.

                         Use of audio-visual aids in teaching also arouses interest and attention of students . In classrooms where children are young play develops interests. Interests autobiographies emphasizes the fact  that interests are perhaps the most modifiable of human traits. They change grow according as they achieve success and approval or are blighted by frustration and loss of status.

                         Teacher should endeavour  to present the material to be learnt in an interesting and some times novel context .The material should be meaningful to the child and should be goal directed . Learning situation should be one in which there is simply opportunity for active participation of all pupils and the atmosphere in the class room  should be friendly and permissive .Pedagogies  would degenerate if subject becomes interest- centred.

CONCLUTION

                                                   Interest is a very helpful factor in securing  attention of childrens in the classroom. Pupils attend to objects in which they interested and they do not attend to those in which they have no interest. A wise teacher is able to draw the attention of his students if he tries to make his lesson interesting by connecting it with their basic needs drives and interests.