Abstract
This study looks at the Indian and Western positive approaches and compares their efficacy for students from semi urban schools in the National Capital Region, India. A need was felt for conducting the study due to the increasing discipline issues and diminishing moral values among the students in the area. A pre-post three-group quasi-experimental design was chosen and the students were tested for three positive constructs as variables, namely, Hope, Optimism, and Resilience. A sample size of 630 of the age group 13 to 16 year old students was divided into three groups of 210 students each. Group 1 was the control group that received the regular course of study followed by schools in the area. Group 2 was given an intervention based on Indian scriptures, mainly the Bhagavad Gita and Group 3 was given an intervention based on western Positive psychology. Results indicated that the increase in scores for all three variables for the Indian intervention was statistically significant (ANOVA F-Ratio = 61.11[Hope], 33.71[Optimism], 36.83[Resilience] at p < .05. This may be attributed to the fact that the Indian interventions consisted of profound thoughts and “Mantras” that the students could relate to and easily incorporate into most life situations, while it was felt that the Positive psychology interventions required more time and expertise for effective implementation. Recommendations for further research include longitudinal studies, studies on different ethnic groups, positive psychology based interventions of a duration of more than six months and studying effects of beginning interventions early.
Highlights
The results of this study have shown the “Bhagavad Gita” teachings to be effective for the students of semi- urban areas of the National Capital Region of India
The findings suggest that 25% of the age group 14 to 18 cannot read basic text fluently in their own language, 73% of young people had used a mobile phone within the previous week
Group 2 was given an intervention based on Indian scriptures and Group 3 was given an intervention based on western Positive psychology
Summary
Interviews with over fifty teachers and principals seem to suggest that there are growing concerns about the academic performance and behavior of children. Recent incidents include a class XII student gunning down his school Principal in Haryana’s Yamuna Nagar. He took the step in retaliation as the Principal had warned him about low attendance in school. According to the Twelfth Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2017: Beyond Basics), which was released in Delhi on 16th January 2018, more children in India are enrolled in schools but “many are not acquiring foundational skills like reading and basic Arithmetic that can help them progress in school and life.”. The lack of quality education, eroding family structures, and value systems coupled with unguided access to technology are increasingly becoming a cause for concern both for teachers and parents alike
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