Causes of exclusion in secondary schools of rural Punjab perception of students teachers and parents

Abstract

This study aims to explore the causes of exclusion as perceived by students, teachers and parents in secondary schools which act as determinants and influence the school success of the children or to compel them to be dropped out from school. The present study is dealing with one of the states of India i.e. Punjab. The descriptive survey method was used and this was carried out by knowing the views and perception of different target groups, school going children, dropped out children, parents of the school going children, parents of dropped out children and the school teachers with the help of questionnaire- cum- interview schedules. A survey was conducted from the sample size of 700 respondents at the various levels. For the research purpose, four districts Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Mansa from three regions of Punjab i.e. Majha, Malwa and Doaba were selected for study. Major findings of the study reveal that school going students have shown a favorable inclination towards the functioning of school, though the concerns of some students question the schools capability of retaining students and providing universal school education, the dropouts perception speaks of their helplessness and also a desire to come back to the fold of education. The parents of school going children also reveal positive feelings for school, though some inhibiting factors have also been reported that may be the basis of exclusion of students. The parents of dropout children relate discontinuity of schooling to home and school both, and have shown an inclination for return of children back to the fold of education. The school teachers have presented an objective view of on-going school practices for retention of all the children along with that of school community interaction for evolving school as a learning space for rural community of Punjab ensuring universal school education. newline