Science education is an interdisciplinary field of enquiry with conceptual frameworks drawing from the foundational disciplines of education, besides the multiple sub-disciplines of science. An interdisciplinary understanding has been critical to postgraduate courses in science education. However, students continue to have a conventional understanding of the nature and practices of science, based on predominant experiences at school and undergraduate education. This article analyses two assignments which draw upon philosophical and sociological perspectives in science. It discusses the development of hybrid spaces for students in understanding and navigating the disciplines and their interests. Conceptual and rhetorical elements, particularly emphasising students’ extension of inferences and projection of personae, are illustrated as elements of the forward and backward search strategies. Such assignments are essential to develop a richer understanding of the nature of science and its complex interpretation compared to typical deifications in textbooks and pedagogic approaches. They also support students with diverse interests and backgrounds to navigate different disciplines and unique interests through the development of ​‘hybrid spaces’. Such spaces, at the boundaries of disciplines, writing conventions and students’ interests develop and reshape conventional understanding.

Youth in the Labour Market: Pathways from Learning to Earning

India is nearing the peak of its demographic dividend, with the share of the working-age population expected to begin declining after 2030. On the one hand, higher education in the country has become increasingly democratised with a rapid increase in the number of institutions. Graduate salaried earnings exceed non-graduates both at the time of entry into employment and over their lifetime. On the other hand, financial barriers continue to restrict access, particularly in professional fields such as engineering and medicine. The transition from education to employment remains a major challenge. The rise in the number of graduates has not been matched by commensurate growth in graduate employment. This year’s State of Working India report traces the arc of a young worker’s transition from school or college into employment, and how this has changed in the last forty years.

Report Files

Full Report — download PDF file

Executive Summary (PDF)

Tables (spreadsheet)

Results Appendix (PDF)

All Figures (Figures 1.1−4.7, Figures 4.8−7.10 ) 

Figures Data(spreadsheet)

Press Release (English | Hindi | Kannada)

Media Coverage (spreadsheet)

पाठशाला भीतर और बाहर का मार्च अंक शिक्षण के लिए उपयोगी अनुभवजन्य सामग्री को समेटे है। इस अंक में आप पढ़ेंगे कि विद्यार्थी उच्च कक्षाओं में तो पहुँच जाते हैं, लेकिन बहुत सारे विद्यार्थियों की दक्षता का स्तर पिछली कक्षाओं के अनुरूप नहीं बन पाता है। ऐसे में शिक्षकों के सम्मुख जो चुनौती होती है, उसका समाधान कैसे करें? शिक्षण योजना बनाकर शिक्षण करने के अनुभव और इससे बच्चों के सीखने में आए अन्तर को समझना हो या इबारती सवालों की इबारत में उलझे बच्चों की उलझन को सुलझाना, या ऐसे ही अन्य विविध विषयों पर बात करते लेख, सब इस अंक का हिस्सा हैं। हमेशा की तरह शिक्षकों की डायरी, इनसे मिलिए सहित, किताबों से दोस्ती और आइए, करके देखें जैसे सभी स्थाई स्तम्भ भी अंक में शामिल हैं। 

Childhood malnutrition is a significant challenge for India. Literature exploring the determinants of malnutrition has emphasised the importance of the local context. Malnutrition is an outcome of the various socio-economic forces that are entwined in local specificities. This makes it very important to keep the context in mind for designing policy and avoid ​“one-size-fits-all” solutions. In this context, this chapter takes a different route by exploring the spatial heterogeneity in the associations between variables known to impact childhood malnutrition. The variations in associations can be learnt from the data instead of being specified in an ad hoc a priori manner. This can give better insights into the spatiality of the context within which socio-economic processes interact to produce malnutrition. This analysis is performed in the context of rural Maharashtra using Mission Antyodaya and several other databases.

What can we learn from patterns? Read on to find out more and send us your feedback at AtRightAngles.​editor@​apu.​edu.​in

The COVID-19 crisis created a period when an otherwise globalised world witnessed the rapid closure of local, national and international borders. Migrants, whose everyday lives, with or without the pandemic, are disrupted and defined by borders and their liminalities, were the most certain victims of these closures. All media platforms around the world reported on migrant workers, either villainising them as carriers of the virus or sympathising with them as victims of continued racist assaults and ruthless state policies. But what discourses dominated these media representations of migrants? Analysing over one thousand news reports on migrant precarity in India and the USA during the first two years of COVID, we see some patterns of gendered inclusion and exclusion. We find that even the seemingly pro-immigrant media discourses continued to emphasise migrants’ vulnerability, turning them into feminised props for larger political debates. In the process, the economic contributions of migrants across skill categories and often as ​‘essential workers’ remained invisible. The discourses also reproduced intersectional stereotypes, sometimes completely removing women, and often selectively magnifying or erasing their racial, ethnic and caste identities.

Authors:

Bandana Purkayastha, Rianka Roy, S. Anandhi, Deepa Ebenezer

पाठशाला भीतर और बाहर का 23वाँ अंक मार्च, अप्रैल और मई के दौरान स्कूल की ज़रूरतों को ध्यान में रखकर सँजोने का प्रयास किया है। इस अंक में आप पढ़ेंगे कुछ लेख जिनसे आकलन को कैसे देखा जाए, इसकी स्पष्टता मिलेगी। आकलन का उपयोग किस तरह शिक्षण प्रक्रियाओं में किया जाए,समर कैम्प किस तरह आनन्ददायक तरीक़े से बच्चों के सीखने के रूप में आयोजित हों,बच्चे जो वार्षिक परीक्षाओं के दौरान तय किए गए सीखने के प्रतिफलों से थोड़ा दूर रह गए हैं किस तरह उनके साथ अप्रैल और मई के महीनों में काम हो, क्या योजना हो, आदि के बारे में कुछ अनुभवजन्य आलेख इस अंक में शामिल हैं। इसके अलावा गणित, हिन्दी, विज्ञान, ईसीई पर भी अनुभव-आधारित लेख इस अंक में हैं। साथ ही हैं सभी स्थाई स्तम्भ।

The nature and extent of the under-representation of marginalised caste groups in enterprise ownership in India are examined. It is found that exclusion takes place in three distinct stages. First, the share of Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) or Other Backward Class (OBC) individuals in ownership of any enterprise is less than their share in the workforce. Second, among those who do engage in entrepreneurial activities, a disproportionately higher share of entrepreneurs from the marginalised identity groups are engaged in enterprises, which are not purely commercial and are likely to be subsistence-oriented. And finally, even within the owners of purely commercial enterprises, those from marginalised groups tend to be concentrated in the smaller enterprises and are severely under-represented in the larger and more productive ones. 

Explore the Point of Mathematics and send in your feedback to AtRightAngles.​editor@​apu.​edu.​in.

Fifty years ago this week, Gaura Devi, an ordinary woman from a nondescript village in India, hugged a tree, using her body as a shield to stop the tree from being cut down. Little did she know that this simple act of defiance would be a seminal moment in the history of India and the world. Or that Reni village, where she lived, would come to be recognised as the fountainhead of the Chipko environmental movement. What the foot soldiers of Chipko wanted was an acknowledgement of their Indigenous rights to access forest resources that were crucial for their survival. What they got instead was a national law and a ministry populated by a new breed of power brokers — who, in the years to come, would decide at times that habitat preservation is possible only by keeping local communities out.

Background: Care provision received renewed attention during the COVID-19 pandemic as several healthcare providers vied for the coveted title of ​“frontline warrior” while they struggled to provide care efficiently under varying health system constraints. While several studies on the health workforce during the pandemic highlighted their difficulties, there is little reflection on what ​“care” or ​“caring” itself meant specifically for community health workers (CHWs) as they navigated different community and health systems settings. The study aimed to examine CHWs’ caregiving experiences during the pandemic.

Methods: Twenty narrative interviews with CHWs including ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists) and ANMs (Auxiliary Nurse Midwives) were conducted in different states between July and December 2020.

Results: Our findings highlight the moral, affectual, and relational dimensions of care in the CHWs’ engagement with their routine and Covid-19 related services, as well as the ​“technical” aspects of it. In this article, we argue that these two aspects are, in fact, enmeshed in complex ways. CHWs extend this moral understanding not just to their work, but also to their relationship with the health system and the government, as they express a deep sense of neglect and the lack of ​“being cared for” by the health system.

Conclusion: CHWs’ experiences demand a more nuanced understanding of the ethics of care or caring that challenges the binaries between the ​“technical” and moral aspects of care.

पाठशाला भीतर और बाहर  के उन्नीसवें अंक के ज़्यादातर लेख पुस्तकालय और भाषा की पढ़ाई के विविध पहलुओं पर केन्द्रित हैं। इन लेखों में, अच्छी किताबों से ही अच्छे स्कूल पुस्तकालय की कल्पना साकार होती है व पुस्तकालय को जीवन्त और सक्रिय कैसे बनाया जाए, जैसे विषयों को उठाया गया है। एक लेख लोकतंत्र में संवाद की संस्कृति बनाने व इसके महत्त्व के बारे में है। साक्षात्कार में चिन्तनशील शिक्षक और इनकी रचनात्मकता के विकास की प्रक्रिया पर चर्चा की गई है। संवाद में, संवैधानिक मूल्य बन्धुता के भाव को विकसित करने के लिए स्कूली स्तर पर किए जाने वाले प्रयासों के बारे में अनुभवपरक विचार रखे गए हैं।

The mental health discourse in India has been primarily viewed through a biomedical lens that often overlooks the cultural context and social inequalities. To ensure equitable access to preventive, promotive, curative, and rehabilitative mental healthcare, India needs practitioners who combine a social perspective with an empathetic approach. To address this need, we designed a course titled ​“Critical Perspectives on Mental Health” that aims to introduce the relevant perspectives and community-based approaches to mental health. In this article, we share our reflections on designing this course and facilitating it in the form of a post-graduation programme.

Biological invasions have profound impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and services, resulting in substantial economic and health costs estimated in the trillions of dollars. Preventing and managing biological invasions are vital for sustainable development, aligning with the goals of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference. However, some invasive species also offer occasional benefits, leading to divergent perceptions among stakeholders and sectors. Claims that invasion science overlooks positive contributions threaten to hinder proper impact assessment and undermine management. Quantitatively balancing benefits and costs is misleading, because they coexist without offsetting each other. Any benefits also come at a price, affecting communities and regions differently over time. An integrated approach considering both costs and benefits is necessary for understanding and effective management of biological invasions.

Authors: Laís Carneiro, Philip E Hulme, Ross N Cuthbert, Melina Kourantidou, Alok Bang, Phillip J Haubrock, Corey J A Bradshaw, Paride Balzani, Sven Bacher, Guillaume Latombe, Thomas W Bodey, Anna F Probert, Claudio S Quilodrán, Franck Courchamp

Azim Premji University, in collaboration with 9 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), conducted a survey of 3,000 households in 92 low-income settlements across 39 wards of Bengaluru. The survey was done to estimate the continuing impact of COVID-19 induced lockdowns and economic disruptions on employment and livelihoods. The survey also captured information on access to government support as well as coping mechanisms to deal with such a crisis. Workers in a wide range of occupations such as drivers (cab, auto, and others), daily wage workers (construction and others), domestic workers, and factory workers (garment and others) were surveyed. The survey was conducted in the month of November 2021 with the help of Action Aid, Association for Promoting Social Action (APSA), The Center for Advocacy and Research (CFAR), Hasiru Dala, Gubbachi, Reaching Hand, Sangama, Swabhimaan Trust, and Thamate.

• Download the full report here
• Press release: English | Kannada
• Key Findings: Short | Detailed
• YouTube video of the virtual event held on 4 April, 2022.
• Recording of the in-person event held on 29 March, 2022 in Bengaluru is available here.

Media coverage

– Print

• Bangalore Mirror: Inheritance of Covid losses (30 Mar 22 | Page 1, 8)
• Rajasthan Patrika: तीन फीसदी परिवारों को ही मिला नकद हस्तांतरण योजनाओं का कुछ लाभ : अध्ययन (30 Mar 22 | Page 1)
• The Hindu: Survey finds that Covid-19 impact on livelihoods continues (30 Mar 22 | Page 4)
• The New Indian Express: Urban poor still coping with job, income loss- Report (30 Mar 22 | Page 2)
• Udayavani: Kannada (30 Mar 22 | Page 8)

– Online

• ETV Bharat: ರಾಜಧಾನಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೋವಿಡ್ನಿಂದಾದ ದುಷ್ಪರಿಣಾಮ : ಸಮೀಕ್ಷೆಯ ವರದಿ ಬಿಚ್ಚಿಟ್ಟ ಅಜೀಂ ಪ್ರೇಮ್ಜಿ ವಿವಿ
• Hindustan Times: 3% benefitted from Karnataka govt’s cash scheme
• News9: Bengaluru COVID impact survey- Job, income losses hamper ability of households to recover
• Rajasthan Patrika: कोरोना महामारी : 40 फीसदी ने कम भोजन से किया गुजारा
• The Indian Express: Job and income losses persisted among low-income settlements well past 2020 lockdown- Study
• The News Minute: Job, income losses due to lockdowns continue to impact Bengaluru urban poor

The globally invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) possesses a venom lethal to some amphibian species in the invaded range. To test the novel weapons hypothesis (NWH), the effects of the toxin on the cohabiting amphibian species in the ant’s native range need to be investigated. The invader should benefit from the novel chemical in the invaded range, because the species are not adapted, but the venom should not be effective in the native range. The researchers explore the venom effects on juveniles of three amphibian species with different degrees of myrmecophagy inhabiting the ant’s native range: Rhinella arenarum, Odontophrynus americanus, and Boana pulchella. They exposed the amphibians to the ant venom, determined the toxic dose, and evaluated the short-(10 min to 24 h) and medium-term (14 days) effects. All amphibian species were affected by the venom independently of myrmecophagy. In addition to amphibian sensitivity, the researchers discuss how the differential Argentine ant abundance and density in the two ranges could be the key to the susceptibility of amphibians to the venom, resulting in the possibility of NWH. Their results confirm the potential magnitude of the impact of the Argentine ant in successfully invaded areas for the conservation of already threatened amphibians.

Author: Alok Bang

Mathematical Loops: The March 2023 issue of AtRiA takes on a (S)trip with a Twist! Enjoy the journey!

In India, as in many countries around the world, most government jobs are allocated through a system of merit-based exams. Over the past few decades, these exams have become incredibly competitive, at times receiving over 1,000 applications for each vacancy.

Against a backdrop of rising educational attainment, high aspirations, disappointment with private sector opportunities, and a deep unmet need for income security, it is understandable why the demand for public sector employment opportunities is so high.

Yet despite the large footprint that public sector recruitments have in our social, economic and political life, many basic questions about them remain shrouded in mystery. Who applies? Why do they apply? Are these intense levels of competition socially productive, or do they make people worse off? Why are people willing to invest so much in exam preparation? Why are people willing to gamble on such low odds of getting selected?

Our lack of understanding limits our ability to formulate sound labour market policy. As we will see, a large share of college graduates participate in public sector recruitment exams, and candidates for these exams make up a disproportionate share of the overall unemployed population. How can we improve employment outcomes if we do not understand who the unemployed are and how they invest their time?

The main reason for the holes in our understanding is a lack of data. To date, neither private nor public household surveys include questions on whether individuals are preparing for competitive exams; and recruitment agencies have historically been cloistered institutions, understandably concerned about protecting the integrity of the recruitment process. As a result, the crores of candidates preparing for competitive exams around the country remain largely invisible in data, and by extension in policy.

This report attempts to shine a light on this dark corner of the labour market. To do so, the researcher uses several new sources of data. First, he draws on administrative data from a recruitment agency. This data allows us to observe the whole recruitment process for the entire universe of applicants — the first time such data has been made available in the Indian context. 

Second, the researcher uses data from a large-scale survey of over 3,000 candidates, which provides information about their investments in exam preparation, their access to resources, their constraints, and their beliefs. 

Third, the research collaborators and the researcher conducted interviews and focus groups with candidates to better understand them in their own words. These rich data sources provide new insights into the economic and social life of candidates preparing for competitive exams.

The goal of this report is to demonstrate how both labour market and recruitment policy can be informed by a better understanding of candidate application behaviour. This understanding can, in turn, help us tackle some of the key challenges in the modern Indian labour market — high levels of educated unemployment, a lack of skill development, low levels of female labour force participation, and more.

Download the report here

Summary Articles:

VoxDev: The costs of extreme competition for government jobs: Evidence from India

Ideas for India: The costs of extreme competition for government jobs

Further Reading:

Mangal, Kunal (2022a), ​“How much are government jobs in developing countries worth?.” Download here.
Mangal, Kunal (2022b), ​“The long-run costs of highly competitive exams for government jobs.” Download here.

FAQs:

Are the statistics in the report official?

Although the report uses official data, the statistics in the report were not computed by TNPSC. Therefore, none of these statistics are official, and any errors in processing the data are entirely my own.

Is the report written in affiliation with any coaching center?

No. We are academic researchers. No one who was involved in either collecting and analyzing the data had any affiliation with a coaching center.

Will the report be available in Tamil?

We hope to be able to provide a Tamil summary of the report in the near future.

पाठशाला का पन्द्रहवाँ अंक दो विषय क्षेत्रों- सामाजिक विज्ञान व इसका शिक्षण और स्कूल में भाषा सीखने की प्रक्रियाओं पर केन्द्रित है। अंक में कुछ लेख इस बारे में जागरूकता पैदा करने के लिए हैं कि सामाजिक संरचना हमें और हमारे काम को कैसे प्रभावित करती है। कक्षा अनुभवों पर आधारित लेख हमें यह समझने में मदद करते हैं कि बच्चे जटिल सामाजिक विचारों से कैसे जुड़ सकते हैं। बच्चों के साथ गहन अनुभवों पर आधारित लेख प्रारम्भिक भाषा शिक्षण और पढ़ना सीखने-सिखाने में मदद करते हैं। 

This Fifteenth issue Pathshala is focused on two areas; Social Sciences and its teaching and processes towards learning language in schools. Some articles included are to build awareness of how social structure affects us and our work. The articles focus on classroom experiences and help us understand how children can engage with complex social ideas. The articles based on rigorous experience of children also help them engage with early language teaching and reading.

This report examines the changes in the producer company landscape in the last two years by analysing data on producer companies registered in the country from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2021. The report examines changes in geographical spread and capitalization of producer companies in the last two years, in order to determine the extent to which the gaps in the previous promotion efforts have been addressed. It also analyses recent policies to understand their impact on the producer company ecosystem. The report identifies five focus areas to enable the sector to reach its full potential in enhancing the incomes and reducing the vulnerabilities of small producers.

Eight essays in this compendium, written by experts with long years of experience in administration and academic research take a critical view of governance responses during the three waves of Covid-19 pandemic in India and recommend measures to address governance challenges that India is likely to face after the pandemic. The essays survey the institutional, procedural, legal, and socio-political implications of the Union and the State Governments’ responses to the pandemic-induced crisis in a range of areas such as public health, education, environmental regulation, urban planning, management of vital statistics and reliance on technology-based solutions. A series of policy recommendations have been made in each of these domains to address the problems that the pandemic has left behind, and to make the governance system and processes better equipped for any such future catastrophe.

The compendium has been brought out jointly by the School of Policy and Governance (SPG) at Azim Premji University, and the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), which is a is a group of retired officers of the All-India Services and Central Services.

पाठशाला भीतर और बाहर का ग्यारहवाँ अंक, गणित पढ़ाने और सीखने पर केन्द्रित है। इसमें, गणित और संस्कृति, प्रारम्भिक वर्षों में गणित पढ़ाना ​‚गणित के प्रति डर व इसकी उत्त्पति, गणित शिक्षण में ठोस सामग्री का उपयोग और गणितीय सोच विकसित करने के तरीकों और उनकी पड़ताल करते लेख शामिल हैं। हमेशा की तरह इस अंक में भी स्कूली शिक्षा के विविध आयामों पर कुछ और लेख शामिल हैं। 

The March issue of Pathshala is focused on Teaching and Learning Mathematics. There are article exploring mathematics & culture, teaching mathematics in early years, fear of mathematics & origin, concrete material and developing mathematical thinking. As always you also have articles on different dimensions of school education.

The Lens of Computational Thinking teaches us to look at the same things with fresh eyes, the July 2022 issue invites you to do just that!

पाठशाला भीतर और बाहर के 7वें अंक में आप पढ़ेंगे ​‘भाषा शिक्षण और भाषाई खेल’, ​‘ऑनलाइन शिक्षण जब समुदाय बना सहभागी’, ​‘शिक्षण अधिगम सामग्री की समझ एवं उपयोग’ जैसे कुछ महत्वपूर्ण मुद्दों पर अनुभव आधारित आलेख।

Isn’t mathematics simply divine? Not an unexpected line from the At Right Angles team but one that we will back up with our Features article from the March 2021 issue: Geometric Constructions from the Sulvasutras. It’s an incisive dive from there to the Utilitarian Math World but your disillusionment will be healed with delightful articles on understanding some of the whys of procedures and rules in mathematics such as the divisibility rules, the square root algorithm, the formula for the median and the folk method to find the height of a tree.

We bring you a new first with this issue: for the first time, AtRiA goes beyond its covers with three additional articles available only in the online mode. A big shout out to the numerous submissions which enable us to take this leap.

Do revert with your feedback on AtRiA.​editor@​apu.​edu.​in

This working paper develops an understanding of how learning outcomes are derived from aims of school education and their characteristics, and proposes an approach to designing an effective lesson plan. 

Eighty-seven percent of agricultural households in India are small and marginal producers, cultivating small plots which generate low returns. Their average monthly income is Rs 6426, making farming on small plots economically unviable (NSSO 2014). Therefore, policy makers and practitioners are turning to producer collectives as a means for improving the economic situation of small producers.

Vision 2020 – As we move into the 9^th year of AtRiA’s existence, we refocus for clarity. The March 2020 issue talks about Breaking Down Barriers: A Mathematical Approach. Launch right into the how and what with B. Sury’s article on Tiresome Paths, Water Gates and Euler’s Formula. But there’s more than networks and circuits here, starting with this issue, we will be focusing sharply on the challenges and difficulties of the average mathematics teacher and hoping to share and discuss strategies to help those who struggle with the nature and pedagogy of mathematics.

We have some wonderful material to draw you in- Conversations on the Greatest Common Divisor, Trials with Triangles, Impossible Triangles on Dot Sheets and some great Search Problems for the Middle School to mention a few. We start a new section called ViewPoint and continue with our photo series Captured Mathematics. TechSpace features the free dynamic geometry software Robocompass and our PullOut is on Angles. Our review this time is on the Mathematics of India.