ABSTRACT

This book looks at education reforms, planning and policy through an exploration of the Yash Pal Committee report (1993) in India, which made recommendations to improve the quality of learning while reducing cognitive burden on students.

It analyses the wide-ranging impact the report had on curriculum, pedagogy, teacher education reforms and the national policy on education. The book examines the legacy of the report, tracing the various deliberations and critical engagements with issues around literacy, language and mathematics learning, curriculum reforms and classroom practices, assessment and evaluation. It reviews contemporary developments in research on learning in diverse disciplines and languages through the lens of the recommendations made by the Learning without Burden report while engaging with challenges and systemic issues which limit inclusivity and access to quality education.

Drawing on extensive research and first-hand academic and teaching experience, this book will attract attention and interest of students and researchers of educational policy and analysis, linguistics, sociology and South Asian studies. It will also be of interest to policy makers, think tanks and civil society organisations.

part I|174 pages

Systemic Perspectives

chapter Chapter 4|21 pages

Reforms in Curriculum and Textbooks

Challenges and Possibilities

chapter Chapter 5|16 pages

From the Tall Tower to a Lush Garden

chapter Chapter 6|24 pages

Assessment and Learning in Indian Context

Compelling Association, Invariance or an Educational Folly?

part II|142 pages

Perspectives from Domains

chapter Chapter 10|25 pages

Learning in the Arts and Aesthetic Development

chapter Chapter 11|15 pages

Growing into Literacy

Part 1: The Building Blocks of Literacy

chapter Chapter 12|17 pages

Growing into Literacy

Part 2: The Devanagari and Telugu scripts: Tools to Lighten the Burden of Learning Literacy

chapter Chapter 13|14 pages

Understand Language to Acquire It

The Burden Is Incomprehensibility

chapter Chapter 15|46 pages

Strengthening Learning through Visuospatial Experiences

Initiatives from the Indian Context

part III|76 pages

Looking Back to Look Forward

chapter Chapter 16|70 pages

Reflections on the Process and Impact of the Learning without Burden Report

Key Take-aways from the Interviews of Two Members of the National Advisory Committee

chapter |4 pages

Epilogue