The Communications

Directorate of Distance Education

University of Kashmir

ISSN: 0975-6558

In this paper the developmental significance of play in children’s life has been explored. The paper explores how play facilitates physical, cognitive and social-emotional development in children. It also explores how development in children leads to progression in play. Further in the paper the therapeutic significance of play has been explored, how play develops out of a healthy psychological development through ‘good enough mothering’ and its failure to develop signifies psychological pathology. In the paper an attempt has been made to integrate the developmental perspective on play with the psychoanalytic perspective paving a way to explore the continuum between play in childhood and creativity and innovation in adulthood. In the end the impact of various factors like geography, mass media, technology, social, cultural and economic factors on the expression and experience of play in a childhood have also been explored in it.

The study was conducted to find out adjustment pattern among the children of working and nonworking mothers. The sample of the study comprised of 800 children of working mothers and nonworking mothers (N=400 each group) selected randomly from elementary schools of Budgam and Srinagar district. Bells Adjustment Inventory translated in Urdu by Qadri (1964) was employed for the collection of data and t-test was used for the analysis of data. Bar diagram and line graph were drawn to make the results transparent. It has been found that children of working and non-working mothers differ significantly so far as their adjustment is concerned. It has also been found that children of non - working mothers possess better social, emotional and home adjustment than children of working mothers. It has also been found that children of working mothers have better financial adjustment than children of non-working mothers. The study further revealed that there is a significant difference between children of working and non-working mothers on composite score of adjustment.

As always dedicated teachers are notable by their promise to accomplishment of the learner. Assurance and accountability are important aspects of successful teaching. Devoted teachers are alarmed for the development of the learner and they put efforts to keep learners’ learning. They nurture curiosity of the learner and promote interest in learning. Showing dedication for and motivating learners’ learning are important factors of teacher education. Passionate teacher recognises and makes an effort to fulfill his responsibility to the learner. The extent of fidelity of faithful teachers have in the direction of their work, is one of their well-known characters. Teacher education institutions, which are dedicated to their line of work and, devoted to learners and their learning, are playing an important role in development of teachers. The famous proverb in Bible indicates that where there is no vision, the people perish. This research article emphasises on the visions of teacher education towards achieving standards.

The study was conducted with the objective to work on the captioned title, “Vocational Maturity of the Vocational Education Stream Subjects in Kashmir”. The objective in general is to compare the Vocational maturity of vocational stream subjects (ITI, Polytechnic and NIT courses). The N- 1502 subjects were drawn randomly and the Manju Mehta’s Vocational Attitude Maturity Scale was used. The comparison was made among the various vocational courses on Vocational maturity at ITI, Polytechnic and NIT levels. The results of the said study revealed that there is significant difference on Vocational maturity among vocational stream subjects on dimension wise (V1- V8) and at all the three levels of vocational education (ITI, Polytechnic and NIT level courses

The present study was examined to find out job satisfaction of teacher educators with respect to their gender working at secondary level. The sample for the study consisted of Secondary Teacher Educators working in SIE’s and Govt. Colleges of Education in Jammu and Kashmir respectively. Out of 100 total samples, 50 were selected as Male secondary Teacher Educators and 50 were selected as Female secondary Teacher Educators. The sample was drawn through purposive random sampling. For measuring Job Satisfaction of Male and Female Secondary Teacher Educators, Amar singh and T.R Sharma’s scale was administered. The findings of the study revealed that female teacher educators were found highly satisfied as compare to male teacher educators.

Human resource development is very significant for the growth and development of North Western region including Jammu and Kashmir in which health constitutes an important dimension. Gender based health discrimination against girl child is very pervasive across the region. Evidence from literature suggests that girl child receive less health care than boys and therefore have lower health status. The same is true for girl child health status in Kashmir. The study is based on a sample of 150 respondents and has been carried out in the rural and urban areas of Srinagar district of the Kashmir valley. The objective of the study has been to analyse the social implications of gender health status of children (6-16 years) like frequency of illness, recovery time, doctor consultations, anaemia, mental health and nutritional intake. The socio-economic background of children is of pivotal importance; though there are numerous indicators of socio economic status yet household income and mothers’ education were found to be important indicators of socio economic status which have a serious impact on health of girl child. This is evidenced from statistics released by Census 2011 which shows that overall sex ratio of 889 females per 1000 males in Kashmir as compared to 940 at the national level.

The present study was conducted to find out the difficulties of teachers teaching English as a second language to the elementary students. The method adopted for this research was descriptive method and the sample comprised of 144 teachers and 288 students. It was found that 75.6% sample students of elementary level face difficulty while interacting in English with teachers and classmates. 67.3% students of elementary school admitted that they face difficulty while learning English as compared to other language. It was found that 71.8% agreed that their English teacher taught them English as a subject rather than language. 53.1% students mentioned that they do not know how to speak in English. It was found that 69.7% students felt that mother tongue is one of the barriers for learning English. 69.1% students were of the opinion that overcrowded classes hamper learning English effectively where as 30.9% were against it. It was found that 100% students agreed that their English teacher uses translation method while teaching English. Out of 288 student respondents, 70.5% were of the opinion that teachers use Kashmiri language and the rest 29.5% were of the opinion that their teacher uses Urdu language while teaching English. Out of 288 students of elementary schools, 60.1% were of the opinion that learning of English is tough as compared to other language.

Ironically India is having one of the largest elementary education system in the world and at the same time having a large number of economically weak populations. Every person is required to focus primarily on physical needs and then psychological, social, emotional etc. It is a matter of concern that students are being taught in the schools, attempting to fulfill the very important need of education, but on the other hand their physical need is at stake. Students attending the school empty stomach usually belong to the weakest sections of the society and those students are expected to be retained in schools without food. Classroom hunger is an emergent problem at elementary school education level in India. In this paper an attempt is made to unveil the reality of classroom problems in Indian context and effect of intervention programs on the very issue.

Digital technologies and Social networking sites (SNS) have increasingly become a natural part of students’ lives at home. Many academics and researchers are interested in finding out how these newer technologies are changing the way students live, work and play (Gemmill, & Peterson, 2006; Mohamed, & Sumitha, 2011; Roy, 2016; Shaheen, 2008). The current paper aims to understand the usage pattern of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) among the university students studying in Delhi-NCR region. The results reveal several findings viz. a viz. the sites they most frequently use, the device of access, average hours spent, personal information shared, general perceptions and experiences of university students studying in Delhi-NCR region. Furthermore, the paper also throws light upon the various reason/purposes for which these students are using several social networking sites.

This research paper is an attempt to find the levels of emotional intelligence and adjustment among adolescents. The present study consisted of 100 samples equally divided into two groups (boys and girls) further these two groups are divided into two subgroups Rural and Urban . The tool was used for data collection An Adjustment inventory for school students developed by A.K.P. Singh and R.P Singh (1983). Mangal Emotional intelligence inventory developed by Dr.S.K.Mangal and Mrs.Shubra Mangal (1971).. Mean, S.D, Correlation and t-test were applied for data analysis. The results reveal that there is a significant positive relationship between adjustments of adolescent students in relation to their emotional intelligence.

Loneliness and academic anxiety have become common problems for many college students. The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ loneliness levels and their academic anxiety at the college level. The descriptive survey research method was used for the study and the sample consisted of 210 college students (99 male and 111 female) which were selected randomly from Govt. Degree College Pulwama of J&K. Russell et al. (1980) revised Loneliness Scale and Academic Anxiety Scale by Singh and Gupta (2013) were used. The result of the study showed that: (1) there is a positive relationship between students’ loneliness and their academic anxiety; (2) there is no difference between male and female students’ loneliness; and (3) there is significant difference between academic anxiety of male and female students. Based on research findings, researchers suggest that the psychological counselling and guidance services of colleges must be functionalized and improved to moderate students’ academic anxiety and to decrease loneliness level.

The study aims at knowing the opinion of primary school teachers of government schools of district Srinagar regarding content, coverage, language, printing, durability and illustrations of primary school textbooks. The data was collected from 128 teachers working in 32 primary schools of 8 educational zones of district Srinagar at an average of four teachers from each primary school and 10 faculty members from DIET and SIE Srinagar. The data was collected through self constructed opinionnaire. Data was statistically analyzed by using percentages. The result shows that 59(46.09%) Primary School teachers were average satisfied with the content of Textbooks, 62 (48.44%) were average satisfied with the coverage of Textbooks and 58, 62(48.44%) Primary School teachers were average satisfied with the quality of Textbooks. Out of 10 faculty members of DIET, Srinagar and SIE, Srinagar, 6(60%) were highly satisfied with the content of Primary School Textbooks, 5(50%) were highly dissatisfied with the coverage of Primary School Textbooks and 5(50%) were highly dissatisfied with the quality of Textbooks.

Globalization is the process of transmission of ideas, meanings, values and cultures around the world in such a way as to extend and intensify social relations. In globalization, economic and cultural phenomena spread across the political and geographical boundaries. Among the aspects of globalization like economic, cultural, industrial, and many others, the globalization of language is an important aspect. Globalization of language means the spreading of a language to the societies which otherwise have languages of their own. In the present world scenario, the globalization of language means globalization of English language. This globalization of English language is a one way process wherein the English language has been gaining ground everywhere at the cost of other native languages and has therefore given rise to many issues. The present paper is an attempt to highlight the concerns and issues which have emerged because of the globalization of English. The paper also throws light on the effects of English on the languages of Jammu and Kashmir. The paper brings to fore the fact that English language has become global, while as other languages have remained local in their size and scope. This has resulted in the prestige differences among different languages in different world societies. English is considered as a dominant language in terms of prestige in almost all societies and this garners negative attitude, among the natives of different societies, towards their native languages. People tend to be inclined more towards English which has given rise to the serious issues like language shift, language endangerment, language loss and language planning. There are about 7,000 languages in the world and half of them have fewer than 7000 speakers, 80% of the world’s languages have fewer than 100,000 speakers. These smaller languages are increasingly thought of as endangered, since all over the worldthey are failing to be t aken up by young people. Closely associated with the problems of language endangerment and language loss is the problem of identity. The loss of language means the loss of identity and all this is encroaching upon the diversity in the world leading to a kind of homogeneity with respect to language.

Inclusion in Indian higher education means to provide access and opportunity to all groups of people irrespective of their social class, caste, gender, ethnicity to participate in higher education. The inclusiveness has two main dimensions including all sections of society and including all expected goals of education. Indian higher education is the third largest in the world in terms of enrollment, next to the United States and China. The sixth report on All India Survey on Higher Education for 2015-16 states that there are 799 universities, 39071 colleges and 7154 standalone institutions which provide only diploma level courses. Over the years higher education in India has gone through a phase of unprecedented expansion, marked by a huge increase in the volume of students and in the number of institutions .The increase, however has not been commensurate with the growth of population and its diverse needs. According to the Ministry of Human Resource Development’s Report on All Indian Survey on Higher Education, the Gross enrollment ratio (GER) which is calculated for 18-23 years of age group is 24.5% during 2015-16. In addition to very low access to higher education in general, there are disparities between various marginalized social groups like schedule castes (SC’s), schedule tribes (ST’s), other backward classes (OBC’s) and women whose Gross enrollment ratio is below than the national average. The present paper attempts to highlight the issues concerning equity and inclusion in higher education in Indian context. The paper attempts to highlight the extent and manifestation of non-inclusion or exclusion in Indian higher education with special reference to marginalized sections like schedule castes, schedule tribes and women.

This study examines divergent production abilities in a sample of 290 college students (145 female and 145 male). ‘t’ value indicated no significant gender differences in word, ideational fluency, expressional fluency, elaboration dimensions of divergent production abilities among college students in relation to different styles. But significant gender differences were found among college students in associational and spontaneous flexibility having integrated style. Significant gender differences were found in adaptive flexibility among college students having systematic and undifferentiated style. Significant gender differences were observed in originality among college students having undifferentiated style. In case of both male and female students significant as well insignificant correlation was found between the dimensions of divergent production ability. This study has lot of educational implications.

ICT is a scientific, technological and engineering discipline and management technique used in handling information, its application and association with social, economic and cultural issues. ICT is one of the factors that is changing & shaping the world very rapidly. Teacher education institutions are facing with the challenge of preparing a new generation of teachers to effectively use the new learning tools in their teaching practices. Accordingly, teacher education institutions must consider the utilization & applications of ICT in their programmes. The curriculum must be restructured & must include the important components of ICT. Thus ICT is no substitute but a powerful tool for teachers & learners to use. ICT can become the vehicle for the journey on the path of excellence. The present paper aims on highlighting the significance of information and communication technologies in teachers training programmes.

Al-Ghazali is one of the most accomplished epistemologists in the history of world philosophy. In “Tahafut al-Falasifah”, he has powerfully brought-out the incoherence and un-tenability of the basic philosophical positions advanced by such philosophers as; Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Al- Farabi, Ibn-Sina etc. Before 17th century Descartes, Al-Ghazali originally launched his famous method of doubt and before 18th century David Hume, Al-Ghazali underlined the nonnecessitarian character of causal connection and inductive generalization. Al-Ghazali as an integral epistemologist accepts the role of sense experience or perception, reason and intuition in the origin and development of human knowledge. While perception furnishes us the knowledge of phenomenal world, reason makes an all-important contribution in the development of logicomathematical as well as natural sciences. However, reason or perception has no role to play in giving us any certainty with regard to Ultimate Metaphysical Reality or God. It is only intuition which provides us absolute certainty with regard to existence of God. The Revelation vouchsafed to the Prophets is the highest intuitive knowledge. Only Prophets, Mystics and Spiritual Seekers attain affirmative certainty. Philosophers, at best, can attain negative certainty. In view of the above considerations, the present paper will emphasize on re-visiting and re-appropriating the epistemological perspective of Al-Ghazali with the view to withstanding the skeptical, relativistic and nihilistic onslaught advanced by contemporary Euro-American postmodernists.

The IoT (Internet of Things) with a vast network area has created diverse number of opportunities for achieving desirable change by the people connected within a society and has made sustainable technological development in the present scenario. IoT technologies include the use of RFID’s, WSN, EPC, actuators and protocols such as IP protocol, bluetooth and zigbee. The main characteristic feature of IoT is support for heterogeneous and interoperability functions. In this paper, we lay emphasis on IoT technology highlighting its objectives and applications. The paper also presents IoT layered architecture with its main focus on privacy and security issues. Further, paper also presents challenges and open issues that need to be discussed including recommendations for future research in this area.

English is one of the most important languages which have played role in the process of globalization and knowledge explosion. It is the most common means of communication throughout the globe. ICTs in the language classroom has a lot to offer to both learners and teachers, with learners enhancing their vocabulary, improving their reading and speaking skills, and with teachers having to hold a double role; the role of the educator and that of the facilitator. Use of internet communication technology (ICT) in the English Language pedagogy is a novel tradition in India as a whole. The Computer Based Language Training (CBLT) can be employed in teaching a wide or vast range of subjects, including language based topics. CBLT is a software which was developed to train a wide range of students on the acquisition of skills in a target language without the tutor being present. We cannot think of better educational environment without a better teacher. In earlier times the teacher was the focal point of education, but now the role of teachers has changed a lot. He is considered as a guide and friend of students who helps in learning, does not provides knowledge. To teach better a teacher need to be update with the changes. For this ICT helps a lot

Distance Learning (DL) is an instructional delivery system that connects learners with educational resources. DL provides educational access to learners not enrolled in educational institutions and can augment the learning opportunities of current students (The California Distance Learning Project (CDLP). Although (Honeyman & Miller, 1993) defined it (Distance learning) as the field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom. Thus has been described as "a process to create and provide access to learning when the source of information and the learners are separated by time and distance or both. The development of information and communication technology has paved the way to the development of electronic devices and has changed the traditional libraries to digital libraries. In which digitization of library collection has become a common activity. Digitization has opened up new audiences and services for libraries, that needs to be integrated into the plans and policies of any institution to maximize its effectiveness. With the help of digital technology institutions can share their research output globally by access and disseminate research information. This paper aims to explore and identify the role of digitized collection of the top 20 universities in the world according to the “Times Higher Education” World Rankings 2015-16