The Mindset of Teachers towards Choice Based Credit System as Evaluation System for Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Evaluation is an intrinsic process of the education system. It helps in achieving the aims and objectives of education. It is a process of assessment of the design, implementing or results of an initiative for the purpose of learning or decision making. In order to achieve the new paradigm that transforms higher education along the axis of quality with relevance Dibrugarh University brought reforms in the evaluation system. As a result, grading system i.e. The Choice Based Credit system was introduced for undergraduate level in 2018. Any reforms in educational sectors demand the acceptance of teachers because the attitudes of teachers towards that particular reform play an important role in implementation and success of the reforms. As a main stockholder of the educational system, teachers must have a clear understanding about the grading system and its implementation. Therefore, the present study was based on to find out the mindset of teachers of Don Bosco College towards the grading system.

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

Education is the most important thing in everyone’s life. The educational system plays a vital role in the development of an individual as well as societies. It helps to bring changes in all spheres of the society. Only an educated society can achieve better success in every field within a short period of time with limited resources. But, achievement of success in other fields depends on the success of the education system. The success of an education system depends on its curriculum, aims and objectives, methods of teaching, teacher, evaluation system etc.. The strength of an educational system mainly depends on its evaluation system. Evaluation system can assess the student’s performance and effectiveness of acquired knowledge about the subject matter. It not only assesses the student’s performance but also assesses the teachers and their methods of teaching. 

Evaluation is a continuous process of judgment of a student's achievement in the education system. It helps to achieve the target of the education system. It helps to measure both scholastic and non scholastic performance of the students. For the measurement of student’s achievement both continuous and comprehensive evaluation is used. It helps to measure the all round development of students. According to Hanna, “Evaluation is the process of gathering and interpreting evidence on changes in the behaviour of all students as they progress through school”.

Grading is a type of evaluation where teachers assess students’ learning and achievement through class tests, assignments etc.. It is the process by which teachers evaluate the performance of the learners in exams on the standard scales which is based on the points entirely and consist of the range like 1-10 or grades like A-F; generally, numbers and letters are used to describe the grades of the students. Grading system is popularly used in CBCS schools. In Assam, except Dibrugarh University other universities use the grading system for evaluation of undergraduate level. But, recently Dibrugarh University implemented the grading system which is known as CBCS for evaluation of undergraduate level also. The definition of undergraduate refers to the students who are studying B.A., B.Sc., B.Com, for their bachelor degree at a college. Dibrugarh University introduced the CBCS under the regulations for the Undergraduate Academic Programmes in the Choice Based Credit System, 2018. These Regulations were effective for the Courses of Study leading to the Bachelor Degree(s) in Arts (BA), Science (B.Sc.) and Commerce (B.Com), which is of three years duration comprising six semesters. Hereinafter, it is referred to as DU-UGCBCS Regulations, 2018. The Regulations came into effect from the Academic Session, 2019-2020. The Regulation is applicable to the students enrolled in the aforementioned Academic Programmes under CBCS conducted by the Colleges/ Institutes affiliated to/ permitted by Dibrugarh University from the Academic session 2019-2020.

Here, Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) is a flexible system of learning. ‘Credit’ defines the quantum of contents/ syllabus prescribed for a course and determines the number of hours of instruction required. This system permits students to- learn at their own pace, they can choose electives from a wide range of Elective Courses offered for the programme , undergo additional courses and acquire more than the required number of credits , students can  adopt an inter-disciplinary approach in learning  and make best use of the expertise of available faculty.

Here, ‘Credit’ defines the quantum of contents/ syllabus prescribed for a course and determines the number of hours of instruction required per week. Thus, normally in each of the course, credits will be assigned on the basis of the number of lectures/ tutorials/ laboratory work and other forms of learning required to complete the course contents in a 14-15 week schedule:

1. 1 Lecture per week = 1 Hour duration per week =1 Credit
2. 1Tutorial per week = 1 Hour duration per week =1 Credit
3. 1 Practical per week = 2 Hours duration per week =1 Credit

Course structure of CBCS is

A Course may also take the form of a Dissertation/ Project work/ Practical training/ Field work/ Seminar, etc. In the system examination and evaluation is done on a continuous basis, at least three times during each semester. There are 20% marks for internal assessment and 80% marks for End-semester examination in each course during every semester.

Grading system: The absolute grading system is applied in evaluating performance of the students in CBCS.  It is calculated in Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) in per semester and Average Cumulative Grade Point (CGPA) at the end of the course. The following scale of grading system is applied to indicate the performances of students in terms of letter grade and grade points as given below:

 Attitude is a mental process which can be a positive or negative evaluation of people, objects, events, activities etc. Attitude towards the grading system is more satisfactory than the marking system. Here, students are motivated to earn good credits on their course. Teachers are elaborated about the CBCS to the students.  The success of any educational system depends on the teacher's attitude because how the teachers motivated the learners or students to adjust with the new system and achieve the target of the system with co-operation. So, the study tries to examine the mindset of teachers towards Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) as an Evaluation System for Undergraduate Students.

II. OBJECTIVES

1. To know the attitude of Male and Female teachers towards CBCS.
2. To know the attitude of teachers of Arts and Commerce stream.

III. HYPOTHESES

1. There is no significant difference between the attitudes of male and female teachers towards CBCS.
2. There is no significant difference between the attitude of Commerce and Arts stream teachers towards CBCS.

IV. METHODOLOGY

The research paper utilizes both primary and secondary data. The Primary data have been collected from 18 teachers of Don Bosco College, Golaghat with the help of a questionnaire in Google form. A self made questionnaire entitled CBCS Attitude Scale was used. The questionnaire was based on a five point Likert scale consisting of 20 questions related to choice based credit system and 1 question for overall experiences of CBCS. On the other hand secondary data have been collected from different journals, books and e-resources etc.

Background of the study

Don Bosco College, Golaghat, was established in 2015 and administered by the Salesians of Don Bosco, Dimapur Province. The college is affiliated to Dibrugarh University.  It offers a Degree Program in Arts and Commerce. There are a total 28 teachers in the college out of which 7 are in commerce stream and 22 are in arts stream.

V. ANALYSIS OF OBJECTIVES

1. There is no significant difference between the attitudes of male and female teachers towards CBCS.

Table 1 presents the attitude of male and female teachers towards CBCS as an evaluation system for Undergraduate students. The study was conducted on 18 teachers out of which 6 were male and 12 were female. The mean for male and female were found to be 30 and 23 respectively. Here, the size of the two samples was small, so, a single SD was calculated by pooling the sums of squares of the deviation taken around the means of the two groups. The calculated SD was 5.71. The calculated t-value was 2.45 which are found significant at 0.1 levels. Entering Table D with 16 df, got the table value 1.75 at the 0.1 levels. So, p > 0.1 levels. Hence, null hypothesis is rejected. The result shows that there is a difference between the attitudes of male and female teachers towards CBCS. It was found that male teachers have a more positive attitude than female teachers towards the Choice Based Credit Systems for evaluation system of undergraduate level of education. The result of attitude of male and female teachers is presented in the Fig.1.

2. There is no significant difference between the attitude of Commerce and Arts stream teachers towards CBCS.

Table 2 presents the attitude of teachers of Commerce and Arts stream towards CBCS as an evaluation system for Undergraduate students. The study was conducted on 18 teachers out of which 6 were from Commerce stream and 12 were from Arts stream. The mean for Commerce stream was 29 and Arts stream was 25. Here, the size of the two samples was small, so, a single SD was calculated by pooling the sums of squares of the deviation taken around the means of the two groups. The calculated SD was 5.71. The calculated t-value was 1.39. Entering Table D with 16 df, got the table value 1.75 at the 0.1 levels. So,p < 0.1 levels. Hence, null hypothesis is accepted. The result shows that there is no difference between the attitude of Commerce and Arts stream teachers towards CBCS.

From question no.21 of the questionnaire it was found that teachers are satisfied with the grading system. They stated that most of the students are not aware about the grading system. So, teachers have explained about the system. The teacher stated that giving marks is better for bright students. It was found that below average students also get good CGPA in this system.

VI. FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

From detailed discussion and result of testing hypotheses the study found the following findings-

1. The male teachers have a more positive attitude than female teachers towards the Choice Based Credit Systems for evaluation system of undergraduate level of education.
2. Both Commerce and Arts stream teachers have the same attitude teachers towards the Choice Based Credit Systems for evaluation system of undergraduate level of education.
3. It was found that teachers stated that the CBCS can eliminate misclassification of students on the basis of their marks. Sometimes, we have found that unhealthy competition grows among high achievers which can also be eliminated by the grading system.

In CBCS, students can choose courses according to their interest. Along with core they can be studied in some skill enhancement courses, Ability Enhancement Compulsory Course and discipline specific elective courses

Conclusion

The success of an educational system depends upon its examination or evaluation system. For effective implementation of any system depends on agreement of the stockholders. So, for effective implementation of CBCS at the undergraduate level for their evaluation, it should be fully agreed upon by the teachers. Teachers’ attitude should be positive towards the new system of education. From the present study, it can be concluded that the attitude of teachers towards CBCS is positive. The majority of the teachers have a moderate positive attitude in favour of Choice Based Credit System as an evaluation system for undergraduate level. They were of the opinion that the CBCS is good for both teachers and students to achieve the target of teaching-learning process.

References

[1] Bobby, G.M. & Nelson, J.S (2000), “The study of effect of implementation of Plus / Minus Grading System on Graduates Students Grades’. A paper presentation to the Midwestern Educational Research Association (MWERA) [2] Dhawan. S., (2016), “Mindset of Pupil Teachers towards Grading System”, International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (IJHSS), 5(2), 183-190 [3] Gus Key Thomas K. (2001), Helping Standards Make the Grade. Educational Ledership, 59(1), 20-27 [4] Resolution 24 UG CBCS Regulations 2018

Copyright

Copyright © 2022 Ms. Daisy Gogoi. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.