Profile - Shajimon Peter 

Shajimon Peter

Doctoral Candidate
The University of Newcastle
Callaghan, NSW 2308 Australia
Fax: + 61 2 492 17818
Email: Shajimon.Peter@studentmail.newcastle.edu.au

Profile:

Shajimon is a PhD candidate supervised by Professor Stephen Webb and Professor Terry Lovat

Thesis Abstract

A Critical Examination of Values Education Perspectives in Non-Formal Education (NFE) in India

Addressing Key Theme: What kind of a values education framework could best serve the needs of service providers and other stake holders in Non-Formal Education in India and bring about more productive outcomes for the marginalized children?

Background: The background for the proposal centres around three main problems identified in the NFE practices in India – Illiteracy, poverty and social exclusion of the most marginalised children. The children’s dire social and economic situation engenders their exclusion from the mainstream society and deprives them of any chances of uplift and reduces their life to a mere struggle for existence and survival. Consequently, children are not motivated to attend school and their education continues to suffer.  The constitution of India through its 86th Amendment Act has recognized education as a right of all the children in the age group of six to fourteen and the Supreme Court of India too has recognized education as a fundamental right of the children of the same age group. The government of India has implemented several schemes to achieve universal elementary education. The efforts did succeed in educating some children. However, a vast number of children remain uneducated. Unofficial estimates point out that there are more than 10 million out-of-school children in India. NFE, the most flexible and viable scheme to reach out to the hardest to reach group of children, also failed to achieve its international commitment to impart universal elementary education.

Aim: The research aims to construct a values education based framework for the NFE practices in India. Values education needs to be an essential part of NFE practices. It has the potential to make changes happen in the inner worlds of children – their motives, traits and dispositions. Enabling the children to develop correct motives, traits and dispositions early on in their lives must be central to the NFE practices and no agency whether governmental or non-governmental can ignore it. NFE practice, which is properly informed by a values education framework, can be an effective pedagogical paradigm for the education of the children, who do not have access to formal and other forms of education.