AWARENESS
ABOUT POPULATION PROBLEM AMONG SCIENCE AND ARTS STUDENT TEACHERS
Ranu Joshi
INTRODUCTION
Population education is broadly defined as an educational
intervention aimed at helping individuals in understanding the
interrelationship between population and development, in appreciating the
determinants and consequences of population processes and changes, and in assessing the possible actions that they
and their respective families and communities can take to modify these
processes and in carrying out selected
actions. It is the educational process in which a basic awareness about
population problems and favourable attitudes towards a small family size are
developed. The teacher educators, the teachers who are already in the schools
and the future teachers need to be oriented to the population problem that the
country is facing today and which is likely to become even more critical within
next few decades. The student teachers are the pivots of social structure, so
it becomes utmost important to analyse their level of awareness first. Further
it is generally accepted that the students with science background are better
aware regarding the population explosion problems as compared to the students
with arts background. Hence ithe need to study the difference in the level
of awareness regarding population problem between the science and arts student
teachers.
OBJECTIVES
1. To study the level of awareness regarding population
problem among science student teachers;
2. To study the level of awareness regarding population problem among arts
student teachers;
3. To compare the level of awareness regarding population
problem between science and arts student teachers.
HYPOTHESES
1. There is general population problem awareness among
student teachers;
2. There exists a difference of the population problem
awareness between science and arts
student teachers.
METHOD
Tools
The tool of research for this study was a self-made
questionnaire. The questions were related to different problems that have
emerged due to increase in population. There were items to analyse the
awareness about different problems that have emerged due to rapid population
growth, such as poverty, unemployment, shortage of food articles, pollution,
deforestation, urbanization, illiteracy, depleting natural resources, migration
of youth, declining values and quality of life. Few items dealt with measures
to control population growth like, small family norms, late marriage of girls
and boys, birth control measures, population education, and raising the status
of women. .
Sample
A sample of 160 student teachers had been contacted - 80
student teachers were of science stream and 80 were of arts stream. For this
purpose, the investigator visited four Colleges of Education.
RESULTS
AND DISCUSSION
It was found that the percentage score in case of all the
variables was more than 50%. Hence, it can be concluded that the respondents
possessed at least average population problem awareness. Hence, hypothesis 1
that there is general population problem among student teachers was accepted.
Critical Ratio (C.R.) obtained was 3.19. The value of C.R. at 0.01 level of
significance is 2.58. As the value of C.R. exceeded the C.R. at
0.01 level of significance, it can be concluded that the mean difference
of population problem awareness between science and arts student teachers was
significant. Hence, the second
hypothesis, “There exists a significant difference of the population problem
awareness between science and arts student teachers” was accepted. An average level of awareness was found among
student teachers. The level of awareness regarding population problem in
student teachers of science stream was found to be higher than the level of
awareness in student teachers of arts stream. A significant difference was
found regarding population problem awareness between science and arts student
teachers. The mean score of science student teachers was more than mean score
of arts student teachers.
CONCLUSION
Population growth in