SCOPE AND FUNCTIONS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

SCOPE AND FUNCTIONS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Educational research refers to a systematic attempt to gain a better understanding of the educational process, generally with a view to improving it’s efficiency. It is an application of scientific methods to the study of educational problems. The purpose of educational research is progress and good life.

According to J.W. Best

“Educational Research is that activity which is directed towards development of a science of behavior in educational situations. The ultimate aim of such a science is to provide knowledge that will permit the educator to achieve his goals by the most effective methods’

According to Lazarsfeld and Sieber,

“By Educational research is meant here the whole of the efforts carried out by the public or private bodies in order to improve educational methods and educational activity in general, whether involving scientific research at a high level or more modest experiments concerning the school system and educational methods’

According to Monroe “The final purpose of educational research is to ascertain principle and develop procedures in the field of education”.

SCOPE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

The scope of a subject can usually be discussed under two heads:

1.                 The branches, topics and the subject matter it deals with

2.                 The limits of it’s operations and applications

The fields of educational research can be classified in terms of following content areas.

1.                 Educational Psychology

2.                 Philosophy of Education

3.                 Sociology of Education

4.                 Economics of Education

5.                 Educational Administration

6.                 Comparative Education

7.                 Curriculum construction and Textbooks

8.                 Educational Measurement and Test development

9.                 Teacher education and teaching behavior

10.            Guidance and counselling

11.            Educational Technology

1.                 Educational Psychology

Research in Educational Psychology has great significance for a teacher. The usefulness of various theories of learning for designing conditions that produce effective learning in school has been the central theme of researches in the recent years. Conditions conductive to effective learning, factors helpful in promoting memory and concept formation need attention by the researchers. Promising fields of research in Educational Psychology include. Cognitive, non-cognitive factors such as intelligence, aptitudes, creativity, attitudes, interest, motivation, personality traits, needs and adjustment of pupils various influences of home, neighbourhood, peer relationships and other social relationships that affect child development, growth and learning are worth investigating. The fundamental process of perception, learning and motivation and their applications, the exceptional children, the adolescent problems, achievement etc. should be studied.

2.                 Philosophy of Education

Education is the dynamic side of philosophy. Unless based on the sound footing of a systematic philosophy, it’s theory and practice can never attain perfection. Promising field of research in philosophy of education include the following areas.

The aims of education, the motivation of learning the measurements it’s reslts, the construction of curriculum. A study of the utterances of Vyasa and Valmiki, Budha Sankaracharya, Swami Vivekananda, Sri. Aurobindo, Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi, a

philosophical analysis of the problems of idiscipline, unrest, strikes, disobedience of authority etc.

P.S. Naidu to has listed following area of philosophy of education in which research may be undertaken.

1.        Need for philosophy of Education

2.        Special features of Indian Philosophy

3.        Indian Philosophy and Indian Education

4.        Indian Philosophical thoughts

5.        The teacher, the learner, Teacher – learner inter relation and interaction

6.        Some Ancient Educational institutions

7.        The abiding elements in Indian philosophy of education

8.        Re-organization of Education to make it Indian on the basis of the exposition attempted so far.

3.                 Sociology of Education

With the increasing emphasis on sociological foundations of education, the interaction of the two disciplines of education and sociology is getting attention of Indian researchers more and more.

The important problems of research related to sociology of education include the study of population explosion and changes, demographic trends, the impact of political and social pressures on an educational system, educational aims, curriculum contents, methods and techniques in teaching-learning process, conductive to socio economic and politico cultural situations prevailing in the country from time to time.

The role and function of the school may be determined in the light of the needs of the specific community background. In the problem of delinquency, the study of social factors and cultural background of the community important. Problems relating to tribal cultures, rural community, community development, industrialization, urbanization crime and family should be investigated.

The problems like the teacher’s role as an agent of social change and modernization, teacher’s admissions and accademic achievement in schools need to be investigated on the priority basis.

4.                 Economic and Education

Studies in Economics and Education include attitude studies and achievement test. Very few studies have been made in educational finance. Some researchers have recently studied the five – year plan allocations and their utilization. A recent study relates to unit institutional costs in Higher Education.

5.                 Educational Administration

Much of the work in this area is more or less of survey type. It would be worthwhile to undertake research in the areas of Staff personnel administration, educational legislation, educational planning, school plant planning, school organization, business administration, evaluation of institutions, administrative theory and supervision. Researches may study the place and scope of collective bargaining in education, the impact of compulsory education laws, legal status of voluntary organizations in the administration and control of education.

6.  Comparative Education

This includes analyzing the educational organization and administrative machinery of two or more countries. Problems like education and national development in terms of economic growth, educational control and reorganization of curriculum, the role of universities, social education, and so on may be subjects of purposeful research. The innovative ideas of work experiences in the country and granting autonomous status to some colleges etc need a comparative probe in to them. Odd has suggested that interstate study in grant in aid system and administrative patterns would be fruitful. It will be worthwhile to make a  comparative study of the procedures, problems of textbook production, the quality of textbooks production and teacher’s reaction to them.

7.  Curriculum construction and textbooks

A school curriculum will be effective in so far as it is based on adequate knowledge  of how children grow and learn and of the needs of the modern society. The latter is a matter of public relations and the former of research. The research in curriculum needs to be focused on the following issues.

1.                   Testing experimentally all principles of curriculum construction

2.                   Curriculum in education that will produce better results in morals

3.                   To investigate into the sources of curriculum content

4.                   What is the bearing of psychology on the curriculum

5.                   What are the future needs of pupils as far as curriculum is concerned?

6.                   What should be the methods in curriculum making etc.

8.  Educational measurement and test development

This includes the following areas like construction and standardization of achievement tests. Problems relating to pupil

placement, diagnosis, remedial  programmes, norms,

psychological tests, observational techniques, rating scales, groups tests of intelligence and aptitude, personality tests etc. 9. Teacher education and teaching behavior.

Teacher education has received notable attention of educational researchers.

These studies relate the areas historical development of teacher

– education, curriculum and training programmes co-curriculum and practical work, assessment, evaluation, and prediction of teaching. Some studies have been concerned with attitudes of teachers and student teachers towards various parts of the pre-service and in service programmes. Personal, economic and socio economic conditions of teachers have also been studied.

10.            Guidance and counselling

The areas are,

Vocational adjustment of Indian youth, vocational choice and Adjustment, long term manpower needs, future needs, the study of aptitudes, socio-economic status, interest patterns and other personality dimension, tests of intelligence, special aptitudes like art, science and music, special skills and scholastic aptitudes etc.

11.            Educational Technology

The software approach, hardware approach and systems approached and their impact on the learning of students, programmed instruction, use of science and technology to improve the teaching learning process, communication and media, audio visual aids, teaching machines, projectors and computers are some areas which can be included in research studies. The relative benefits of face to face instruction and televised instruction in teaching of different subjects may be included in the field of research studies.

We can also do research works by dividing the educational field under some main headings ie, pre-prinmary, primary, secondary Higher education, Agricultureal and Techinical education, formal, non formal education, adult’s education, correspondence and distance education etc.

Thus the area of educational  research is very wide and not ending. As the education is dynamic and changing in nature it’s related problems are also increasing and changing in nature. We can do study in every field that related to education.

Priority Areas in Research

1.                          Education of Backward persons.

2.                          Free and compulsory education

3.                          Drop out rate

4.                          Equal opportunities.

5.                          Vocationalisation

6.                          Population Education

7.                          Education and handicapped

8.                          Universalisation

9.                          Education of Talented persons

10.                     Education for economic growth

11.                     Co-ordination of al agencies in Education

12.                     Organisation of school meals

13.                     Follow up studies of old students

14.                     Home work and study habits

15.                     Student’s welfare schemes. Etc

LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

1.  Complexity of Subject matter

The researcher in the field of education deals with the complex nature of human subjects. To understand the complex nature of human subjects, he has to deal with a number of variables, acting independently and in interaction. Each individual  is unique in the way he grows, in his mental, social and emotional hebaviour and in his total  personality. The researcher in the field of education therefore has to study the individual in groups, and the impact of the behavior of group members on an individual.

2.                 Difficulties in observation

Observation of human hehaviour is more subjective than the observation of physical or biological phenomena. The subjectivity on the part of the observer has a direct impact on the interpretation and findings on which he bases his conclusion.

3.                 Difficulties in replication

Educational phenomena are singular events and can hardly replicated for the purposes of observation with the same degree of precision and objectivity.

4.                 Interaction of observer and subjects.

The researcher in the field of education is also human being. His presence as an observer in a situation may change the behavior of his human subjects.

5.                 Difficulties in control

The rigid control of experimental conditions is possible in the laboratory of physical or biological sciences. It is not possible in educational studies in which the researcher has to deal with the human subjects and many variables simultaneously.

6.                 Measurement problems

The tools used for measurement and data collection in the educational studies are much less valid and reliable than the tool of the natural scientist.

FUNCTIONS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

The definitions and interpretations of educational research agree in their common assertion that educational research involves and application of the main principles of scientific research to the solution of educational problems. In the words of S.M. Corey “Better Education means better development and formulation of instructional aims,  better motivation of pupils, better teaching methods, better evaluation and better supervisions and administration”

1.                 Basic Research or Fundamental Research

Educational research is basic research. Basic or fundamental means that it is not concerned so much day to day matters and scientific phenomena and the problems It leads to broad generalization. Fundamental educational research has led to discovery of such useful concepts as those of motivation, reinforcement, concept of formation and social environment in learning. Research concerning some natural phenomenon or relating to pure mathematics are eg. of fundamental research.

2.                 Applied Research

Education is applied science. Therefore, research in Education is applied research. In the words of Eric Hylla, the primary functions of research in education as in medicine both to be understood as fields of human actions not as field of knowledge.” Research aimed at certain conclusions facing a concreate social or business problem is an eg: of applied research.

3.                 Action Research

Educational research is action research. In the words of S.M. Corey, “A useful definition of action research is the research a person conducts in order to enable him to achieve his purpose more effectively” Action research is focused on immediate application, not on the development of theory or on generalization of applications. It has placed it’s emphasis on a problem here and now in a local setting. It’s findings are to be evaluated in terms of local applicability, not universal validity. It’s purpose is to improve school practices and at the same time to improve those who try to improve the practices to combine the research process, habits of thinking, ability to work harmoniously with others and with professional spirit.

It is important to realize that research may be carried on at various levels of complexity. Respectable research studies may be the simple descriptive fact – finding variety that lead to useful generalizations. Actually many of the early studies in the behavior sciences were useful in providing needed generalization about the behaviour or characteristics of individual and group. Although these studies did not explain the factors underlying in various aspects of educational fields, they did provide many hypotheses investigated later by more sophisticated experimental methods.