Attitude towards Schooling of Tribal children

Abstract

This study was designed to understand parents' attitude towards schooling and education of their children. With growing emphasis of Indian Government towards universalisation of primary education, it is imperative to examine the extent to which parents are willing to avail the opportunity of educating their children free of cost. The study analyzed data from 145 households randomly selected from tribal villages in the state of Odisha. Parents, who had one or more than one school going children, were included in the sample. They belonged to the age range of 25-35 years. Data were collected using the structured questionnaires and interview. Comparison was made between parents belonging to tribal and non-tribal communities, and gender difference was examined with regard to their attitude towards children’s schooling and education. To examine the future planning and aspirations of the parents with regard to their child’s education, personal interview with them was undertaken. The findings showed that, overall, the attitude of the respondents was moderately favorable and positive towards schooling and education of their children. Their attitude was influenced by governments’ programs, policies and awareness programmes. The result also indicated that there was no significant difference between attitude of tribal and non tribal parents. Gender difference was also found to be non-significant. Although the results were found to be favorable, the difference was found between tribal and non-tribal families in terms of providing scope for higher studies after school. Further, the study suggests that different types of school practices and government endeavors can result in different parental attitude. Results implied that socio-economic status continues to be the primary deterrent towards schooling and education of tribal children. Parents strongly recommended vocational education and training in schools for ensuring their child’s self sufficiency in future. Lack of enthusiasm for children’s education was found to stem from apparent inability to see education as a means of future well-being of the family. The study suggested that, although government endeavors at universalizing education has resulted in creating mass awareness and positive response towards schooling and education, there is a lot of scope for improvement in this regard.