Schools In Kolkata Research Articles

A Comparative Study of the nature of Special Schools for the Blind in Kolkata and Tokyo

Educationally defined, the blind child is one whose visual loss indicates that he/she should be educated chiefly through the use of Braille and other tactile and auditory materials. Special Schools for the Blind are meant to teach these students self–help skills, daily living skills, vocational skills, and to assist them to manage their own affairs independently during adulthood. Through this study an attempt was made to compare the nature of the Special Schools for the Blind in Kolkata and Tokyo and the facilities provided by these schools. Purposive Sampling technique was used and three Special Schools for the Blind were chosen from both Kolkata and Tokyo. A survey was conducted in these schools and Interview Schedule was used to collect data from the Principal/Teacher-in-Charge. The obtained data were analyzed qualitatively only. Regarding the nature of the Special Schools for the Blind in Kolkata and Tokyo, the data revealed incidences of both similarities and dissimilarities. One striking feature was the lack of uniformity between the schools of Kolkata regarding the availability of facilities. It was observed that quite a few facilities provided in the special schools of Tokyo could be implemented in the schools of Kolkata. The study helped in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of these schools along with determining the scope of their improvement.

The Method of Teaching and Examination for Individuals with Visual Impairments: the System in India and Japan

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)...AbstractIntroduction: Education of children with special needs is an important field of study. Children with special needs deserve to be educated like any other human being. Over the years, several provisions have been made and laws have been passed to ensure education of children with special needs. A visually impaired child's needs and goals for learning are not different from that of his sighted peers. Only the means of achieving those goals are different.Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalent method of teaching and the system of examination for students with Visual Impairment studying in the special schools for the blind in India and Japan.Methodology: The study was delimited to i) blind students only and ii) the special schools for the blind in Kolkata and Tokyo. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 50 teachers (25 each from the special schools for the blind in Kolkata and Tokyo). The researcher interviewed the teachers. Semi-structured information schedules were used to collect data and the data were analyzed only qualitatively.Findings: The method of teaching the blind students was similar in both Kolkata and Tokyo. Differences were observed mainly in the type of teaching equipments used. Regarding the system of examination, differences were observed within the special schools in Kolkata. In Tokyo, however, all the special schools followed a uniform system. The study revealed that in Kolkata a strict pass/fail criterion existed. In Tokyo, on the other hand, there was no strict pass/fail criterion.Conclusion: This study is important because not many comparative studies have been done between India and Japan. Most of the comparative research work is either between Japan and the U.S.A or between Japan and the U.K. This study was conducted mainly to find out the differences between a Developing and a Developed nation. Being a developed country, it is always assumed that there will be a lot to learn from Japan. Through this research study an attempt has been made to find out whether this assumption is true and if it is true then, to what extent the system can be implemented and practiced in the Indian scenario.Keywords: Method of teaching, system of examination, special schools for the blind, Kolkata, TokyoIntroductionEducation in its broadest sense aims to develop and enrich total personality of an individual by providing a well-rounded programme of academic excellence, vocational orientation and cultural fulfillment. Education has to be organized on grounds of utility. It is education which helps a person in realizing his/her potentials and nurturing them (1). A person who is different from the average is entitled to education which would be suited to his unique needs. Education and proper training enables a person to overcome his/her disability and establish himself/herself as a contributing and an independent member of the society.Vision refers to a person's ability to see finer details or clearly distinguish forms at varying distances. The Rehabilitation Council of India Act (1992) stipulated that a Visually Handicapped person means a person who suffers from any of the following conditions, namely:1. Total absence of light;2. Visual acuity not exceeding 20/200 (Snellen Chart) in the better eye with the correcting lenses; or3. Limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of 20 degree or worse. (2)According to the Law for the Welfare of Physically Disabled Persons in Japan, visual impairment is defined clinically in terms of:1. Visual acuity (as measured in accordance with the International Vision Chart and measured degree of correctness; hereafter the same) of both eyes being 0.1 or less;2. Visual acuity of one eye at 0.02 or less and the other at 0.6 or less;3. Visual field diameter 10 degree or less of both eyes;4. …

A study on smoking and associated psychosocial factors among adolescent students in Kolkata, India.

Tobacco use among school children and adolescents is an increasing problem world-wide, particularly in the developing countries. A cross-sectional observational study was carried out in six co-educational high schools in Kolkata, West Bengal among 526 students of 15-19 years to determine the prevalence of smoking and to find out any difference among the smokers and non-smokers regarding factors related to family relations, peer group and personal characteristics. The overall rate of smoking was found to be 29.6%, mean age of initiation of smoking was earlier in males. Among smokers 75% students started smoking by 15 years. Smoking of father and peer group, family conflict and pornography addiction were found to have significant association with smoking of students. Early school health based interventions addressing these factors might help in effectively tackling this problem.

Knowledge and Practices of Using Food Label Information Among Adolescents Attending Schools in Kolkata, India

To assess knowledge and use of label information among adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescents (N = 316) from 6 schools selected randomly using cluster sampling. A pre-coded questionnaire was used to assess frequently consumed packaged foods, whether label information was read, knowledge of symbols, and usefulness of nutrition information display. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests. Although 88% of adolescents read food labels, many read only date of manufacture (79%), expiration (74%) or best used before dates (65%). Fewer adolescents read ingredients (50%) and nutrition information (20%). Their knowledge about quality symbols was low. Many of them (over 60%) recognized the symbols but had no knowledge of what they indicated. About 66% believed that nutrition information on labels was too complex to understand. There is a need to provide education on different aspects of label information to promote label use. The effectiveness of alternative methods of nutrition information displayshould also be investigated.

Group Identity, Productivity and Well-being Policy Implications for Promoting Development

The role of a person's group identity and sense of integration into society as a determinant of the person's productivity and capability has been vastly underestimated in the literature. We talk of policies to subsidize the poor and give direct support to alleviate poverty. These are important but, in the long run, it is critical that we instill in people a sense of belonging and having certain basic rights as citizens. This paper tries to advance this perspective by building a new model where a person's community identity matters, ex post, in determining whether he or she will be poor, even though all persons are identical ex ante. The paper also draws on data collected from a non-governmental organization-run school in Kolkata to illustrate the role of a school child's sense of ‘belonging’ in determining how the child performs academically. The theory and the empirical work are inputs into the larger and more general idea that when people feel marginalized in a society they tend to ‘give up’. A substantial part of the paper is devoted to the policy implications of these analytical ideas and empirical results in the context of policy-making.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among the urban adolescent English Medium School girls of Kolkata, India

Background: the prevalence of child obesity is increasing rapidly worldwide. In developing countries such as India, especially in urban populations, childhood obesity is emerging as a major health problem. In view of these contexts, the present study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in an urban population of girl adolescent students attending the English Medium School in Kolkata, India. Methods: a total of 571 girl students, aged 12-18 years, were evaluated. Cole et al. (2000) recommended cut-off points were utilized to assess overweight and obesity. Results: the overall prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were 28.5% and 4.2% respectively. The rate of overweight was the highest when compared with that of different parts of India, including Kolkata, and also when compared to rates from the USA and Great Britain. Conclusions: in the context of the present study, it can be presumed that, the higher prevalence of overweight in these school children may be due to their eating habits, as well as to their lack of awareness on proper eating habits. In addition, low involvement in physical activities may also have influenced the rate of overweight and obesity. Thus, it can be concluded that the study definitely highlighted the existence of an obesity threat, which is likely to persist among Bengalee school children of wealthier families.

Respiratory muscle function in healthy school children from Kolkata, India

<h3>Aims</h3> Children in Eastern India suffer from high respiratory morbidity, and poorer lung function compared to Caucasian children. However, respiratory muscle strength has not been studied in this population. Our aim was to perform a cross-sectional study in healthy children in Eastern India to establish reference values for maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax), maximal expiratory pressure (PEmax) and sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP) and compare with established Caucasian standards. <h3>Methods</h3> Demographic, anthropometric and clinical information were collected from 408 children (age 6-12 years) attending primary schools in Kolkata in 2004-2005. The participants were not suffering from any acute illnesses at the time of the measurement of pulmonary function. The hand held respiratory pressure meter was used to measure the PEmax (maximum expiratory pressure), PImax (maximum inspiratory pressure) and the sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP). The Quantum II bioelectrical body composition analyser was used to directly measure the resistance and capacitative reactance. <h3>Results</h3> In boys the mean values were PEmax 65.3 ± 19.4 cm H₂O, PImax 65.6 ± 21.2 cm H₂O and SNIP 69.2 ± 25.2 cm H₂O. In girls the mean values obtained: PEmax 60.6 ± 22.8 cm H₂O, PImax 66.0 ± 24.0 cm H₂O, SNIP 63.7 ± 24.8 cm H₂O. These values were substantially (around 40%) below those reported for Caucasian children. In girls, the indices of respiratory muscle function showed significant correlation with height, body-mass index, mid-upper arm circumference, skin fold thickness, chest circumference, percentage of total body water and fat free mass. However, in boys all indices of respiratory muscle function correlated with weight and height only. <h3>Conclusions</h3> We derived reference values for respiratory muscle pressures for the first time in healthy Eastern Indian children. However, the values were found to be substantially lower than the healthy Caucasian children with a particularly strong influence of measures of nutrition in girls. It is thus important to investigate the role of diminished respiratory muscle strength in respiratory morbidity and poor quality-of-life in this population, as prevention of childhood lower respiratory tract infections such as tuberculosis, pneumonia in countries like India represents a global health priority.

Normal Blood Pressure and Different Factors Affecting it among Healthy School-Children

Objective: To find out the normal range of blood pressure among school-children (aged 5-15 years) and the relationship of blood pressure with variables such as age and weight. Material &amp; Methods: This is a school-based prospective cross-sectional study. Healthy school-children aged 5-15 years from primary and secondary schools in Kolkata were selected for the study. The individuals with any acute or chronic illnesses or the intersexes were excluded. Their age, weight, blood pressure and socioeconomic status were determined. Results: Blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic) showed almost upward linear relationship with age and weight in both boys and girls in the age group of 5-15 years. At 15 years, girls achieved higher blood pressure than boys did. The present study also showed that girls recorded higher blood pressure than boys in the weight range of 41-45 kg (For all “r” values, p &lt;0.05). Conclusion: Blood pressure in children rises with age as well as with weight. Girls achieve higher blood pressure than boys do at the age of 15 years. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v2i3.5241 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 2 (2011) 175-180

Personality And Behavioural Factors Associated With TestAnxiety Among Schools Students In Kolkata.

Test-anxiety is actually a type of performance anxiety- a feeling someone might have in a where performance really counts or when the pressure is on to do well. Test-anxiety is defined as the set of phenomenological, physiological, and behavioral responses that accompany concern about possible negative consequences or failure on an exam or similar evaluative situation (Zeidner, 1998). The present paper examined whether personality and behavioural factors were associated with test anxiety among school students. Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire, Test anxiety inventory, Self- Report Emotional Intelligence Scale and Junior Eyesenk Personality Questionnaire was used to assess reactive and proactive aggression, test anxiety, emotional intelligence and personality dimensions. The sample consisted of 143 school students of class 11 and 12 both males and females from different higher secondary schools in Kolkata. Students from all streams (science, humanities and commerce) were considered for the study. Results showed that reactive aggression, neuroticism and psychoticism were significantly positively correlated with test anxiety whereas emotional intelligence was significantly negatively correlated with it. Regression analysis revealed reactive aggression, emotional intelligence and neuroticism as possible predictors of test anxiety. Keywords - Aggression, Emotional intelligence, Personality, Test anxiety.

Empowering the Disabled Through Inclusive Education

This work aims at covering the various issues relating to inclusive education. Special education imparted in special schools for the disabled is beyond the scope of this project. The essay is divided into two sections. A succinct discussion on the international and national socio-legal perspectives on disability rights is made in the first section. The second section elaborately studies the project of inclusive education. It brings out the significant transmission from segregated to inclusive education to facilitate in the empowerment of the disabled and enabling their integration in mainstream society. Besides narrating the various legal provisions in India in this regard from a historical point of view, it analyzes some national and West Bengal specific quantitative literature to assess the impact of the new initiative. The section ends with the findings of ground research in a few schools in Kolkata to gauge their attitude towards disabled children and their education.