Effect of Counselling on the Need-Achievement, Study Habits and Academic Achievement of Underachievers

nderachievement continues to be a concern for teachers, planners and administrators throughout most states in India. Most students have the desire to be successful in school; yet many do not know how (Heacox, 1991). Moreover, among children, many fail to reach the academic level of which they are capable and quite often their school performance is constantly lower than that of their ability peers (Terman and Oden, 1947; Burt, 1962; Pringle, 1970; Whitemore, 1980; Gallagher,1985). Underachievement appears to be a common phenomenon in the India’s educational system. In spite of an increased focus on education, a large proportion of people in many countries are still being denied its full benefits. In developing countries it is essential that all its resources are fully utilized because a large number of pupils suffer from poor achievement. It is the responsibility of every country to take the necessary steps to ensure their students maximize their academic potential. Many empirical studies based on scientific investigation have shown that pupils of superior intelligence can be underachievers, while some people with average intelligence achieve more than what is expected of them. In the achievement Abstract (ii) related areas, need for achievement and study habits have been found to be the significant variables, which contributes to better performances in people. McClelland et.al, 1953: have found significant correlation between academic performance and need achievement; Jain (1967), has found that bright achievers were characterized by better study habits and higher achievement motivation than dull achievers; Shivappa (1980) has found that study habits and educational aspiration are the positive correlates of academic achievement; Singh (1984), has found that high achieving adolescents had significantly better study habits than middle and low achievers; Kapoor (1987) has found that high achievers had better study habits as compared to the average and the low achievers; Davanesan and Paul (1990), have found that there is a significant and positive relationship between the achievement-motivation and scholastic achievement of higher secondary students; Harikrishnan, (1992), has found that academic achievement is positively related with achievement-motivation and socio-economic status of students; Alam (2006) has find out that positive relationship exists between achievement motivation and academic achievement of Muslims and non-Muslim children. Sarwar et al (2009) showed that students who have better scores on studyorientation tend to have better academic achievement. Research shows that school counselling intervention has a substantial impact on students’ educational and personal Abstract (iii) development. Classroom guidance along with individual and small-group counselling, may contribute directly to student success in the classroom and beyond. There may be significant value in further experimental studies testing the effect of counselling intervention on underachievers. In the light of previous studies conducted on counselling, the investigator sought to identify underachievers and their problems, assist them through counselling and analyze the effect of counselling on their scholastic achievement

Psychological Case Record

DIAGNOSTIC CLARIFICATION: PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA, CONTINUOUS COURSE: SCHIZOID PERSONALITY DISORDER: He was apparently normal until two years back when his mother noted that he was becoming more aloof, distant, withdrawn and preoccupied. His academic performance gradually declined. He would not socialize with his family members as well as his friends. He would not take any interest in doing any sort of work. She also noticed some peculiar mannerisms like grinding his teeth and twisting his hands. Over the last four months mother has observed him smiling and talking to self. There was no history suggestive of organicity, substance abuse, first rank symptoms, mood symptoms, obsessive-compulsive symptoms or anxiety symptoms. DIAGNOSTIC CLARIFICATION: DELUSIONAL DISORDER: PARANOID PERSONALITY DISORDER: He was apparently well until 6 years back when he got married. According to the patient there were severe problems since the beginning of their marital life; and once he found his wife along with his friend in their house at odd time. He also was suspecting that she is having relationship with other males at different times. He even compelled his wife to abort their first child believing that the child may not be his. Because of these reasons, his wife separated from him last year. Since then he became suspicious of each and every woman who is talking to males. He often reports about their behaviour to the girl’s parents or goes and advice them. Because of this those girls are angry and accuses of being simply suspicious. But according to him he is just being cautious to prevent any future difficulties. He does not believe that those girls are truly in love. He would be feeling sad occasionally about not being settled in life. There was no history suggestive of organicity, substance abuse, first rank symptoms, mood or OC symptoms. NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT: ORGANIC AMNESTIC DISORDER: Patient met with a road traffic accident in 2004.He had closed head injury and was admitted in a hospital in Chennai. At that time he had weakness of lower limbs and difficulty of speech, which gradually improved significantly. He was on tracheotomy and later weaned off. There was no history of seizures. There is no history of substance abuse, psychotic symptoms and mood or OC symptoms. He was searching for a job to lead an independent life and wanted to know how much he could function. Therefore he came for a psychiatric evaluation and was subsequently referred for neuropsychological assessment. PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT: Patient was premorbidly described to be very sensitive and emotional, used to get angry even for trivial matters. Following marriage four months back she has difficulties in coping with day-to-day problems. She also reports feeling of loneliness and chronic feeling of emptiness. She is noted by her husband as very sensitive and describes her as a short-tempered lady. She used to quarrel with her husband very often and following that she would loss her consciousness for some brief period of time. There is no history of any seizure phenomena during this episode. I.Q. ASSESSMENT: LOW AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE: Parents gave a history of progressively deteriorating scholastic performance after the 2nd standard. They reported decrease in the marks and having decreased attention and concentration. They also reported impairment in her memory. She was able to do all the activities of daily living independently. There was no history suggestive of organicity, substance abuse, psychotic, mood symptoms or obsessive-compulsive symptoms

Exploring the promotion of creative thinking among secondary school students in India

In India, research on creativity has focused on the construction of tests of creativity and correlational studies of creativity with self-concept, intelligence, personality etc.,. There have been no studies considering the effects of schooling on creativity, teachers' perceptions of creativity or how they could to promote it. This research focused on teachers' views of creativity and their classroom practices, and on students' performance on Tests of Creative Thinking by Baqer Mehdi, their attitude towards curriculum subjects, their occupational choices and their experiences at school. \ud The sample for the survey included 373 students and 88 teachers drawn from nine Government schools in Andhra Pradesh, India. All the instruments were developed by the researcher and data was collected by means of questionnaires for students and teachers, an scale for assessing teachers encouragement of pupils in the classroom, interviews with teachers and a check-list for head teachers regarding out-of- school activities. To analyse the data, various quantitative and qualitative techniques were applied. \ud The findings showed that teachers valued creativity, had established criteria for its definition and for identifying creative children. They believed that the development of creativity depended on good teacher-pupil relationships, encouraging experimentation and building self-confidence among the students. Obstacles to the development of creativity included inadequate resources, lack of instructional materials, lack of funds, passive unmotivated students with a tendency to rote learning, pressure to complete the syllabus, preparing students for examinations and teachers' teaching load. They felt that the curriculum was overloaded, inflexible and not suitable to cater for the needs of the wide range of learners. They preferred a child centred curriculum based on activities. \ud The findings from the student data contributed to the development of a model linking parental factors, the medium of instruction and teacher encouragement. Path analysis showed that out-of- school activities, mother's education, teacher encouragement and mother's income had causal relationships with students' creative thinking. On the basis of the findings practical recommendations have been made for the promotion of creativity among school students. \u