Development of contemplative education programme for enhancing select life habits among D.El.Ed. students

Abstract

Education based on self-awareness faces challenges in practical implementation due to its subjective nature and limited evidence-based research outputs. Contemplative education is a research area that opens a new path for including such efforts in academia, especially in education. The present study focuses on developing a contemplative education programme to enhance life habits mentioned by Stephen R. Covey among prospective primary school teachers. Definition of Key terms Development: In the present study, development involves the construction and implementation of a contemplative education programme with a view to enhancing select life habits among D.El.Ed. students and updating it based on student feedback. Contemplative Education Programme: Roeser and Peck (2009) defined Contemplative Education as “a set of practices that may foster particular forms of awareness in students, forms conducive to the conscious motivation and regulations of learning and also to freedom and transcendence in life more generally”. In this study, Contemplative Education Programme refers to a set of modules designed from the perspective of Contemplative Education, conceptualised around four foundational frameworks: Integrative Education, the Satipatthana (Mindfulness) Framework, Introspection, and Socio-emotional Learning Theory, with the aim of facilitating the learning of select life habits. Enhancement: In the present study, the term enhancement refers to the strengthening of selected life habits following the implementation of the contemplative education programme. Select life habits: In the present study, the term Select life habits refers to the habits described by Stephen R. Covey. Namely, the habits are Be Proactive, Begin with the end in Mind, Put First Things First, Think Win-Win, Seek First to understand Then to be understood, Synergise, Sharpen the Saw and Find your voice and Inspire others to Find theirs. D.El.Ed. Students: D.El.Ed. Students referred to in this study are those undertaking the Diploma in Elementary Education, which prepares prospective primary school teachers in accordance with the SCERT Kerala curriculum. Objectives Objective: To design and validate the proposed programme Phase-wise Objectives:(a)To derive insights into the awareness of contemplative education practices among primary school teachers, in order to integrate them into the proposed programme. (b)To identify key focus areas based on the experiences of primary school teachers regarding selected life habits, in order to integrate them into the proposed programme. (c)To compare the mean pre test scores and the mean post test scores of Test and Eight Rating Scales on Select Life Habits of students of various groups (d)To compare the mean pre test scores, mean post test scores and mean gain scores of Test and Eight Rating Scales on Select Life Habits between students of: (i)First year and Second year (ii) Institute I and II(iii) Execution Type I and II classrooms(iv)Female and male category.(e) To understand the gender wise impact and overall impact of the contemplative education programme for enhancing select life habits. Methodology Methods & Design:The proposed study adopts a three-phase Mixed Method Intervention (Experimental) Design.Sample:(a) Thirty six primary school teachers of various government and aided primary schools in Kerala(Phase I) (b)One hundred and tweleve D.El.Ed. students belong to two government Institutes at Kozhikode District,Kerala(Phase II &III). Tools and Materials: (i)Semi Structured Interview Schedules for primary school teachers (iii)Module of the Programme (v)Test and Eight Rating Scales (vi) Q Sort Ranking Schedules and Observation Schedule Qualitative Techniques for data analysis: Thematic analysis of three types, Inductive, Deductive and Reflective, is used. Quantitative techniques for data analysis: (i)Descriptive statistics, (ii)Test of significance of difference between means Findings (1)Seven subthemes were identified under the theme Information on Contemplative Education, namely (i) Self awareness practices through social experiences and individual efforts, (ii) Practices and information through psychology (iii) Media effects (iv) Information through workshops on motivation (v) Insightful individuals (vi) Books and (vii) Inservice and preservice teacher training programmes. Five subthemes were identified under the theme Experiences, reflections and suggestions, namely (i) Practices part of religion and family, (ii) Practices as own experiment (iii) Practices learned from Inservice and preservice teacher training programmes, (iv) Practices done under the guidance of experts and (v) Practices learned from workshops on psychology, motivation and self development practices.(2)Six subthemes were identified under the theme Private victory, namely (i)Awareness of self, (ii)The role of a teacher, (iii)Individual teacher in a system, (iv)Individual teacher with students, (v)Teacher facing society and (vi)Skills and competencies at individual level. Four subthemes were identified under the theme Public Victory, namely (i) Teamwork for Curricular objectives, (ii)School as a whole, (iii)Teamwork with higher educational officials, stakeholders and society and (iv)Teamwork for personal and professional life synergy. Three subthemes were identified under the theme Self-renewal, habit implementation and life purpose namely (i) Initiation of new habits, practising a new habit and updating a present habit, (ii)Balancing habits and life style and (iii)Life Purpose.(3)There exist significant differences in the mean pre-test scores and the mean post-test scores of (i)Test on Select Life Habits and (ii) Rating scales on Select Life Habits across all groups. Hence, these results suggest participants reported improved knowledge and practice of Select Life Habits following the experiment.(4)The comparison of mean scores of rating scales demonstrated that following the programme’s implimentation:(a) First-Year students showed significant positive change in practising Habits Be Proactive, Put first Things First, Seek to Understand first then to be understood, Sharpen the Saw, and Listen to your voice and inspire others to find theirs compared to Second-Year students.(b)Students of Institute I showed significant positive change in practising Put First Things First, Think Win-Win, and Sharpen the Saw compared to Institute II (which includes language D.El.Ed. students).(c)Students of Execution Type I (weekly mode) classrooms showed significant positive change in practising the habit Synergise compared to students of Execution Type II.(d)Female participants showed significant positive change in practising Habits Be Proactive, Seek First to Understand Then to Be Understood, and Sharpen the Saw compared to male participants.(5) Overall impact of the programme is represented through the six themes, namely (i)Mindful living, (ii)Writing as healing, (iii)Self-transformation, (iv)Team spirit, (v)Family life patterns and (vi)D.El.Ed. life.