Teacher education for early grade reading in Karnataka and Kerala: a comparative study

• In Event: Teacher Education: Investigating Lived Experiences, Pedagogy and Practices

Proposal

Global literature on improving early grade reading recognizes the central importance of teachers to student learning outcomes (Schwartz et al., 2019; McKenzie & Santiago, 2005; Wright et al., 1997), and calls for investing in teachers for “around 250 million children (who) are not learning basic skills, even though half of them have spent at least four years in school.” (EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2014). As teachers in low- and middle-income countries are insufficiently prepared to teach early grades (UNESCO, 2013), they need rigorous training to be able to impart reading skills (Graham & Kelly, 2019).

In India, policy documents such as the National Curriculum Framework of 2005 (NCF 2005) and the National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education of 2009 (NCFTE 2009) have tried to address teacher quality in India (Kumar and Wiseman, 2021). More recently, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 proposes to include “effective techniques in pedagogy on foundational literacy and numeracy, multi-level teaching and evaluation, teaching children with disabilities, with use of educational technology, and collaborative learning” (MHRD, 2020). The policy focuses on practical work during pre-service training and gives importance to continuous professional development (CPD). It recommends a modular approach where teachers choose at least 50 hours of CPD each year on a range of topics they can choose from. NEP 2020 pays attention to CPD opportunities that cover “pedagogies regarding foundational literacy and numeracy, formative and adaptive assessment of learning outcomes, competency-based learning, and other related pedagogies” (MHRD, 2020).

With these global and national influences in mind, this study looks comparatively at how two states in India, Karnataka and Kerala, translate these ideas into local policies and practice. The state of Kerala often ranks at the top of education rankings and indicators in India, including those focused on foundational learning and early grade reading (ASER, 2019; Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Index 2021; School Education Quality Index, 2019; Ray and Saini, 2015). This position of the state of Kerala is the primary reason for its inclusion in the study. Karnataka, on the other hand, while comparable on economic indicators to Kerala lags in terms of learning outcomes. This study conducts a contextualized comparison of teacher education for foundational skills in reading in Karnataka with that of Kerala to identify similarities and differences between education systems and inform possible improvements.

Afdal (2019) posits that studying teacher education comparatively widens the understanding of our own systems, others’ systems, and international trends. Comparative studies can help deepen our understanding of the relationship between education and its society and context. However, Afdal also argues that the structure and content of teacher education have deep roots in culture and cautions against uncritical use of such research. Comparative education studies should, therefore, contextualize findings for policy learning, rather than policy transfer. Building on this model, this study positions examines the relevance of early grade reading within the global and Indian national landscape, the role of teachers for early grade reading in India, and the policy framework governing this area. The context in each state, with emphasis on the historical trajectory of primary education informs the present-day scenario. The study then draws comparisons on eight aspects of the teacher education systems in the two states, including pre-service and in-service training systems, curricula, and pedagogies. The study then analyzes why patterns of difference and similarity exist and considers their implications.

Preliminary findings
The analysis finds more similarities than differences in the two states teacher education policies and practices relating to early grade literacy. Despite the global and national focus on foundational literacy and numeracy, neither Kerala nor Karnataka seem to have radically changed their approaches towards this end. However, changes will come over time as the principles of the NEP 2020 get incorporated into state policies, plans and budgets.

A comparison over the last two decades reveals that the two states’ early grade language policies are similar. Though teacher education structures and curricula are evolving gradually, both states face similar challenges on these fronts with the proliferation of poor-quality private teacher education institutions, a particularly troublesome aspect. Pedagogical reforms have been afoot in both states for years but are limited by the teachers’ sociocultural context. This is one area where Kerala differs from Karnataka, making the likelihood of constructivist and learner-centered approaches succeeding greater in its egalitarian social context.

The socio-cultural contextual differences place Kerala ahead of Karnataka. Kerala’s historical advantages in the education sector with an earlier start to formal education, social reform, and politics focused on social welfare permeate through education policies and practices. Kerala’s history of investing in education and social development of all sections of the population (Rathore and Das, 2021; Ray and Saini, 2015) has a bearing on how teachers, students, families access rights to education, and respond to interventions, whether relating to adoption of technology or activity-based learning. While many of Kerala’s policies specific to teacher education do not stand out in comparison with Karnataka’s, the contextual differences seem to contribute to the consistent gap in reading outcomes between the two states.

The responses of the two states to the central government’s NEP 2020 illustrate some of the differences. The Karnataka government has enthusiastically adopted the policy in whole and is participating in the development of curricular frameworks following the parameters set out by the central government. However, Kerala is launching its own participative process to develop a curricular framework for the state with public dialog planned for the panchayat, block, and district levels (Rampal, 2022).

Karnataka must proactively focus on early grade reading to catch up with Kerala, given its late start and comparative historical disadvantages. Areas of improvement include revising the policy framework in line with NEP 2020, building on strengths in preschool education, revising the Nali Kali curriculum to focus more on reading, and including a series of modules in Guru Chethana on reading. Ongoing support for teachers and bringing them together to discuss their issues and problem solve can make a difference to early grade reading outcomes, given social stratification and teachers’ initial deficit perspectives.

Author

• Amogh Basavaraj, Florida State University