8/3/2022

Assignment No 1 Semester 2nd Spring, 2022

Subject: Elementary Education

Course code: 8623

Programme: B. Ed (1.5 year)

Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad

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Submitted by:

Roll no:
Question No1. Elucidate the role of public and private sector in
Elementary Education. Discuss the initiative of government of Pakistan
in this context.
 DEFINITION, CONCEPT AND SCOPE OF Elementary
EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN:
Education is believed to be an important condition for development. The difference
between developed and under developed countries is of education. According to the
Declaration of 1990; education for all, education is a fundamental right for all people,
Women and men, of all ages, throughout the world. Education is the most powerful tool
to help improve the quality of life and eradicate poverty.
Elementary education, in Pakistan is considered from pre-school level to grade
8th.Elementary education is the most important tier in the educational system which
provides Base for the next or future education. This stage of education has always been
given the Prime importance and that the reason this has been given the priority in all the
Educational conferences and policies. It was set as a target in millennium development
Goals to be completed in 2015 which unfortunately could not be achieved due to flaws of
Administrative nature. Elementary education in Pakistan still demands a very serious
Effort to reach at the desired level of performance compatible to the competitive level in
the world. Therefore, re-formulation of objectives, policies, curriculum, infrastructure,
Teacher training, and implementation system is of paramount importance and need to be
Handled at the top most priority to pace with the world.
There has been much talk and debate regarding quality education in Pakistan.
Ironically, they all revolve around mostly the types, sources and content of education
Instead of stages, particularly the most crucial and decisive stage i.e., elementary
Education.
There has been little progress in recent years in developing new and existing
Programmes for adolescent learners in government schools at elementary level.
Exploratory programmes, counseling programmes, health and physical education
Programmes are being cut back in government schools. The education has been narrowed
down to teaching of rote-skills and transmission of knowledge. This mere imitation and
Content-centered elementary education has shortchanged the area of personnel
Development of the learners. This fact of failure of government elementary education has
been put in the back burner in the face of doing what is easier and less costly, but the
Negation of various ongoing sustained social changes experienced by the emerging
Learners has become the practice of the day. These social changes are:
 The family pattern of a mother at home and a father working is increasingly
changing.
 The suicide rate in teenagers is increasing due to different types of pressures.
 It is estimated that pre and early adolescents spend one third of their waking Hours in
watching television, surfing social websites on internet and playing Online games.
 75 percent of all advertising is aimed at promoting mobile brands, mobile Networks
and mobile packages.
 Lack of a stable home is a big contributor to delinquency.
The elementary level is comprised of the students with most impressionable age
Group where various social changes make indelible prints on their minds. These years
represent the last chance for the students to master basic skills, lasting attitude towards
Learning and assertion of self and individualistic differences. Success at elementary
School, or the future life, can be determined and predicted for this age group.
The associations such as The National Middle School Association, Pakistan
Montessori Council, and Pakistan Elementary Teachers Association are striving for a
balanced elementary curriculum by organizing frequent conferences and workshops for
the educators who are engaged in imparting basic education. However, the government
should patronize the associations and educational organizations by allocating a large part
of budget. Moreover, the government educationist and administrative authorities should
make sure that the content is cognitive learning oriented.
It must be diversified and exploratory based on real life situations and indigenous
Experiences. Consequently, it could enhance the development of problem solving skills
and reflective thinking process among the students. This would also help the students to
Acknowledge and appraise their own interests and talents. The areas of curriculum
Concerned with basic skills — logical, sequential and analytical — should be taught
through an entertaining pedagogy. Other areas of curriculum like social, moral,
Emotional, and physical should be developed through integrative approach towards
prevalent social issues and factors.
In short the elementary level education and knowledge must mirror the immediate
Culture, ethnicity, ideology and local socio-economic groups so that the students can
relate themselves and consolidate their knowledge coupled with critical sense. Besides,
this will assist the student to comprehend what he is and help him realize his concepts,
Responsibilities, identities, abstractions and attitude towards society. Instead of
Departmentalization of subjects there should be coordination and inter-disciplinary trend
among them.
Doubtlessly the teacher’s role is indispensable in modern pedagogy where the teacher
is more a personal guide, a facilitator of learning, and a coordinator. The teachers should
be trained to practice the methods of instruction which involve open and individual
Directed learning by accentuating modernly designed arrangements, collaborative work,
and respecting individual differences among the students. The list of do’s and don’ts is
long. However, the ground reality demands more implementation than mere suggestions,
Planning, revising, and updating the aspects of elementary education.
For implementation the primary parameter is the following statement: “The
Elementary education should be projective.” To have insightful understanding of this
Projective learning, some factors are inevitable”.
1. The very first is involvement. In Pakistan the planning regarding elementary
Education takes place without involving those who will be most directly affected by
its activation: students, teachers, parents, and the community. Unluckily, the
Assumption which resists this involvement is that the member/actors of education are
Unaccustomed to the jargons related to educational policies and are unfamiliar with
the trends in educational programs. But the fact is that the elementary education
cannot be affectively implemented and maintained unless it involves the above
Mentioned strata. Their involvement in initial analysis of student’s needs (social,
Financial, emotional, physical), in drafting the documents and in providing rationale
for effective elementary education is a must.
2. The second factor for ensuring implementation is commitment and dedication on the
Part of the teachers. Commitment can be interpreted as the tendency to adjust new
Roles (multirole) in the teachers instead of traditional designs. In this regard teachers’
Sufficient and moral support should be maintained by the higher authorities. A
Problem witnessed in many schools is that teachers’ behaviors are prone to return to
Traditional patterns if sufficient attention from every perspective not maintained.
Teachers’ enthusiasm and energy will remain understandably high if they receive
such attention.
3. Thirdly, other important factors are budgeting/funding and resources. The observable
Phenomenon in elementary education is its failure due to absence of substantial
Finances. This stage of education, owning to the foundation, requires more energy
and money to implement productively. For the low budget schools, the private school
System could be the inspiration which partially run on funding by the rich families. If
the community has the chance of involvement in the planning process, it definitely is
going to participate in funding process.
Moreover, by doing this the allocation of vast resources could be ensured as the
Common pitfall in realizing the implementation is exclusively relying upon the teacher
Made material, overlooking a consumable material budget and less updated material
Acquisition. Making no provision in this regard is in fact to doom the elementary
Education. These major factors if operated well can eliminate the causes of the failure of
the Elementary School.
 ROLE OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR EDUCATION IN
PAKISTAN:
Over the past decade, private sector has emerged as a key provider of education
Services in Pakistan both in absolute terms and relative to the public sector. One piece of
Evidence relates to the number of private schools, which increased by 69%, as compared
To mere 8% increase of government schools between 1999-2000 and 2007-08. In 2000,
the private sector was catering to the educational needs of about 6 million children. This
Number increased to 12 million in 2007-08 – equivalent to 34 percent of total enrolment.
The number of teachers also doubled in private educational institutions during this
Period. This massive growth has thrown up many important questions. What has caused
the private education institutions to grow so rapidly? How is public schooling affected by
this growth? Should the government strictly regulate the private providers of education?
To what extent are public-private partnerships effective for meeting the growing demand
For education? Are the private schools providing better quality of learning than the
Government schools? To answer such questions and the like is crucial for identifying the
Emerging challenges and formulating effective responses and strategies at the
Policymaking and implementation levels.
The growth of private schools, especially of the low-fee schools, has forced
Education policymakers and analysts to take cognizance of the promises as well as
Challenges emanating from this development. While many see the role of the state as the
Traditional provider of educational services as natural and irreplaceable, a growing
Number of commentators, both within Pakistan and internationally, favor a laissez faire
Policy for the private sector to emerge as a key provider of education and argue that the
State should not compete with private schools. While the role of the state as the financer
and provider of education remains a matter of debate and controversy, the growth of
Private provision of education is widely interpreted by many as evidence of the parents’
Lack of faith in the capacity of public sector to deliver quality education to all children.
Some also argue that it is unwise to rely on market-based solutions for massive education
while others believe that regulation and public-private partnerships can be effective
Strategies to spot and rectify the market failures.
The milieu outlined above indicates that private education has become a significant
phenomenon in Pakistan and yet little is known about key dynamics of this Phenomenon.
A study done to examine the state and growth of private education in the Country
between 1999-2000 and 2007-08 and some data up to 2010, highlighted the Issues and
challenges that emanate from its size and growth, diversity in the private Provision of
education, financing, quality of teaching and learning, public-private Partnerships and
regulation. It further identified some areas which require in-depth research to highlight
important existing and emerging issues in the private education which call for an
informed debate and policy response.
The evidence was based on desk- based research which was undertaken by Institute
for Social and Policy Sciences (I- SAPS) for Pakistan Education Task Force (PETF) with
the support of Department for International Development (DFID) UK. Preliminary
findings and inferences from the research were shared with PETF in March 2010. It
presented a fuller analysis with a view to facilitate an informed policy debate, Suggest
recommendations and implement strategies for living up to the challenges Associated
with the growth of private education.
At this stage, it is pertinent to point out that the analysis presented in the study draws
on the existing statistical data and research studies. Description of the expansion in
Number of institutions, enrollment and teachers is made by combining data from the
Census of Private Educational Institutions 1999-2000, National Education Census 2005
and published data from National Education Management Information System (NEMIS)
for 2006-07 and 2007-08. These two sets of databases (censuses and NEMIS reports) are
not strictly comparable due to some differences in scope and methodology. For example,
the census conducted in 2000 does not cover madrassahs because they were excluded
from the definition of private schools but subsequently they were covered in 2005 census.
Moreover, the data of private education in NEMIS reports is based on estimates derived
from the past trends, contrary to the public sector data which is based on annual census.
While these differences do not allow an apple-to-apple comparison, there is no other
Database on which one could rely for drawing a national-level holistic scenario over a
longer period. Despite the differences in their scope and methodology, they provide fairly
reliable estimates of growth in institutions, teachers and enrolment.
 The Rise of Private Education:
Historically, private provision of education is not new in Pakistan. At the time of its
inception in 1947, the state promised universal primary education as well as sought ‘other
actors’ to participate in realizing it. It justified the need for participation of the Extra-state
actors in view of lack of resources. Since then, the private schools have existed in the
form of madrassahs, Christian missionary schools as well as schools run by Business
entrepreneurs and non-governmental organizations. The growth of private Schools
received a serious setback due to government’s drive for nationalization in 1972. Their
role was revived after denationalization in late 1980s but little is known about the
Dynamics of revival and pre- and post-denationalization differences due to absence of
Data. Minimal research was carried out on the role of the private sector in education after
denationalization. This deficiency was partly due to lack of a population census in
Pakistan between 1981 and 1998.
Until the late 1990s, it was believed that the private schools were largely serving the
elite segments of Pakistani population. After denationalization, growth of private Schools
was no more an urban elite phenomenon. The schools started spreading in rural Areas
rapidly and were affordable to middle and even low income groups. Parents could infer
quality variation between schools from the fees which responded in predictable Ways to
measured school inputs. Some view the rise of private schooling as Complementary to
the governmental efforts for achieving “Education for All”, others Consider it as an
inevitable change associated with the processes leading to the emergence Of market
places and shrinking role of the state in the provision of public good.
Over the past few years, data has shown that private provision of education has
become a significant phenomenon in Pakistan both in urban as well as rural areas. This is
Evident from the growing share of private sector in number of educational institutions,
National workforce of teachers and enrolment especially since 2000. This year is
Important in the sense that international community began to exert great pressure on
Developing countries for achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This
Pressure was one of the most important forces which moved the Pakistani government to
accelerate its efforts for achieving universal primary education and as a result it
supported the emergence of private sector education in a liberal policy framework.
As far as the number of institutions is concerned, 30% of all educational Institutions
in Pakistan were private in 2007-08. This size has grown considerably since 1999-2000
when the share of private institutions was mere 19%. Comparative to the Public sector,
the percentage share of private sector in all educational institutions is very high at middle
level (61%) and high level (59%). At the primary level, public sector is still dominant
provider of education as 89% of all educational institutions are owned by the
government. An important trend evident from the data is that private institutions are
Expanding at a much faster rate than those in the public sector. Between 1999-2000 and
2007-08, the number of private educational institutions increased by 69%, as compared to
Mere 8% increase in government institutions i.e. more than 8 times faster than the public
Sector .
 By level of education, the number of private education institutions is the highest at
the middle level followed by primary, high and Deeni Madaris. Out of total private
Educational institutions in 2007-08, the percentage of institutions at these four levels was
33%, 23%, 19% and 16% respectively. Although private provision of higher education
and technical and vocational education is expanding fast, the number of such institutions
is small in proportional terms.
In terms of the distribution by gender, 95% of private educational institutions were
mixed in 1999-2000. Analysis of statistical data indicates a significant trend in the
Growth of single-sex private educational institutions, as the percentage of mixed
Institutions has decreased rapidly since 1999-2000. This becomes evident when growth
of Boys, girls and mixed schools is considered. Between 1999-2000 and 2005, private
Educational institutions for boys increased by 200% and for girls by 237%, as compared
To mixed educational institutions which grew by mere 59% during this period. Even if
the Change is measured over a relatively longer period between 1999-2000 and 2007-08,
the same trend continues. Moreover, single-sex schools for girls have grown faster than
both Boys and mixed private educational institutions.
It is commonly believed that parents in rural areas prefer to educate their Children,
especially girls, in single-sex schools. This partly explains the faster growth of Single-sex
private schools, given that the number of private educational institutions has increased
manifold in rural areas between 1999-2000 and 2007-08. Even in absolute Terms, the
number of primary schools in rural areas has exceeded those in the urban areas (rural
8,920; urban 8,330) in 2007-08. This pattern underlines the response of private Sector to
increasing interest of parents in rural areas to educate their children in private Schools.
In terms of geographical spread, the largest percentage of all private educational
Institutions is found in the Punjab (65%) followed by Sindh (16%), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
(KPK) (11%), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (3%), Gilgit-Baltistan (2%) and Balochistan,
Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) (1%
Each) (Figure 1.4). If combined growth of primary, middle and high schools is
considered Between 1999-2000 and 2007-08, Balochistan province is at the top where the
private Primary, middle and high schools increased by 90% followed by ICT (76%),
Punjab (71%), Sindh (66%), KPK (64%) and FATA (33%). The data for comparison of
growth Rates in Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK is not available for 1999-2000.
Overall, three in every ten educational institutions in Pakistan are private. However,
the public-private mix varies in each region. ICT is an outlier as more than half of its total
educational institutions are private. In Gilgit-Baltistan, the percentage of Private
institutions is also very high and stands at 41%. In Balochistan and FATA, private Sector
has not been able to emerge as a key provider of education as mere 7% educational
Institutions were private in 2007-08.
The state of teachers in private educational institutions is considerably large due To
sheer size of the sector. In 1999-2000, the total number of teachers in private Educational
institutions was 0.3 million. By 2007-08, the workforce of teachers was doubled. Out of
total 1.4 million teachers in Pakistan, 44% were working in private educational
institutions in 2007-08. In private educational institutions, the number of Female teachers
is twice the number of male teachers. The growth in their number between 1999-2000
and 2007-08 is commensurate with this pattern in primary, middle and high schools.
However, the growth in number of male teachers was considerably higher than females
for private higher secondary and technical and vocational Institutions.
Out of total enrolment in educational institutions in Pakistan, private sector
Accounted for 32% in 2007-08. This percentage is the highest in Gilgit-Baltistan (43%)
Followed by Punjab and AJK (35% each), Sindh and ICT (31% each), KPK (23%) and
Balochistan (16%). The share of private sector in total enrolment is the lowest in FATA
(14%).
Overall, the number of boys in total enrolment of private educational institutions is
higher up to higher secondary level. The difference is not as high as in the public Sector.
In 2007-08, boys accounted for 55% out of total private sector primary, 54% Middle,
53% high and 51% at higher secondary level. The enrolment of girls is higher than boys
only at degree level (Class XIII-XIV) and stands at 64% compared with boys (36%).
However, the growth trend shows that enrolment of girls in private sector Institutions is
growing at a faster rate than that of boy at primary, middle and high levels. The largest
proportion of enrolment in private educational institutions was in urban areas and stood at
68% in 1999-2000. In rural areas, enrolment increased from 32% in 1999-2000 to 36% in
2005 but it has not further increased as a percentage of total private sector Enrolment.
While the number of private educational institutions has increased at a much faster rate in
rural areas than in urban areas, corresponding change in enrolment has not been
witnessed. This implies that most of the recently established rural private schools are
smaller in size.
Diversity of private education in Pakistan is a characteristic feature and has
tremendous implications for policy research but this aspect remains largely under
Explored in the literature. As a result, private sector as the provider of education has
generally been treated as a homogenous category, though to a lesser degree than the
Public education sector. Ordinarily, differentiation is made between low- and high-fee
Schools, Urdu- and English-medium schools with different syllabi and between boys,
Girls and mixed schools. However, in reality the private educational institutions can be
classified along a much broader range of categories and characteristics which
Differentiate one from the other type. There are, for example, faith-based schools which
are established along ideological lines to promote certain kind of religious or secular
Education. Then, within the religious institutions, there are some which are believed to be
Conservative while others are considered to be in sync with requirements of the modern
age. In addition, there are not-for-profit private educational institutions set up by non-
Governmental organizations or charities for welfare of the poor which co-exist with
purely profit-oriented commercial institutions.
It is important to understand that unlike the government schools, different types of
private schools entail different implications in terms of their impact on policy and Socio-
economic milieu. As such each type needs different policy response which cannot be
formulated unless sufficient data exists about each type for informed policy debate and
Discussion. At present, the Education Management Information System (EMIS) and
Independent research initiatives provide little information for proper categorization of
Private schools. Therefore, the challenge is to generate sufficient data and research to
Assess the actual implications associated with different types of private schools and then
to formulate and provide an appropriate policy response accordingly.
 Reference:

Siddiqui, S. (2016), Education policies in Pakistan, Karachi, Oxford University

presswww.i-SAP.org Waqar, S. (2000), Allied material Elementary Education,
Islamabad, Allama Iqbal Open University press.
Question No 2. Describe in the light of Piaget’s theory the cognitive and
intellectual development of a child at different levels.
 Cognitive and Intellectual Development:
Children not only grow physically but also mentally during early childhood
Children’s abilities to observe, understand, produce language and interact with the world
Flourish in an amazing way. From birth to 4 weeks, children glance at mother’s face.
From 1 to 3 months, they smile and their attention span increases. Between 3 and 6
Months, vocalize some sounds, and start saying “mama” or “dada” between 6 and 9
months. From 9 to 12 months, understand basic commands and imitates sounds. During
Second year children begin sorting things by shape and color. They use several words by
18 months and several phrases by 2 years and recognize the name for many people and
Objects.
Over the first three years of life, children develop a spoken vocabulary of Between
300 and 1,000 words and start using sentences of up to four words. Between 3 And 4
years children understand what counting is and know some numbers. They can Name few
colors and remember some parts of stories that are read to them. Their Vocabulary
reaches about 1,500 words. By the age 5 years children speak about 2,000 Words, and
use hundreds of words in five-to seven-word sentences, learn to use the past Tense, and
tell familiar stories using pictures as cues. They start to learn and understand Grammar
rules. All English-speaking children follow a regular sequence when using these Rules.
They start developing a feeling for time, have more questions than ever; enjoy Rhymes
and silly sounds. According to Piaget, children in the early childhood build on Skills
learned and mastered before infancy stage. Their play becomes increasingly imaginary
filled with fantasies, involving more characters and scenarios, games with sophisticated
rule. In early childhood, children master the Symbolic thought ability to Picture,
remember, understand, and replicate objects in their minds. They can talk about Or draw
places they visited, create new scenes and creatures from their imagination.
 Conservation is a person’s ability to understand that certain physical characteristics of
Objects remain the same, even if their appearance has changed. Children’s ability of
Conservation in early childhood is not accurate in case of volume or number. For
example a child will not understand that rearranging six keys to make a different
formation (e.g., spreading them out or moving them closer together) change the
number of items present.
 Transformation is a person’s ability to understand how certain physical characteristics
Change while others remain the same in a logical, cause and effect sequence. In early
Childhood children do not readily understand how things can change from one form
to another. For example first children are shown two 1-inch round balls of clay. Then,
they are presented with one 1-inch round ball of clay and one 1-inch ball of clay
squished flat. They do not understand that the flat ball had been round before and was
squished to make its new shape.
 Egocentrism is the inability to see the world by someone else’s point of view. In early
Childhood children have egocentrism, they explain situations from their own
perspective and understanding. They have a hard time understanding why banging on
pots and pans or playing with a musical toy could increase their mother’s headache
when they’re having so much fun.
Children in early childhood are unable to group items in larger sub-groups and
smaller sub-groups based on similarities and differences. They don’t have the ability to
organize things into hierarchical categories.
I. Piaget’s stages of cognitive development:
There are four important stages of cognitive development:
(i) Sensorimotor: (birth to about age 2):
This is the first stage in Piaget’s theory, where infants have the following basic
Senses: vision, hearing, and motor skills. In this stage, knowledge of the world is limited
but is constantly developing due to the child’s experiences and interactions. According to
Piaget, when an infant reaches about 7–9 months of age they begin to develop object
Permanence, this means the child now has the ability to understand that objects keep
Existing even when they cannot be seen. An example of this would be hiding the child’s
Favorite toy under a blanket, although the child cannot physically see it they still know to
look under the blanket.

(ii) Preoperational Stage: (begins about the time the child starts to
talk about):
During this stage of development, young children begin analyzing their
Environment using mental symbols. These symbols often include words and images and
the child will begin to apply these various symbols in their everyday lives as they come
across different objects, events, and situations. However, Piaget named it
“preoperational” stage because children at this point are not able to apply specific
Cognitive operations, such as mental math. In addition to symbolism, children start to
Engage in pretend play in which they pretend to be people they are not (teachers,
Superheroes). Some deficiencies in this stage of development are that children who are
about 3–4 years old often display what is called egocentrism. However, at about 7 years,
thought processes of children are no longer egocentric and are more intuitive, meaning
they now think about the way something looks instead of rational thinking.
(iii) Concrete: (about first grade to early adolescence):
During this stage, children between the age of 7 and 11 use appropriate logic to
develop cognitive operations and begin applying this new thinking to different events
they may encounter. Children in this stage incorporate inductive reasoning, which
Involves drawing conclusions from other observations in order to make a generalization.
Unlike the preoperational stage, children can now change and rearrange mental images
and symbols to form a logical thought; an example of this is reversibility in which the
Child now has the ability to reverse an action just by doing the opposite.
(iv) Formal operations: (about early adolescence to mid/late
adolescence):
The final stage of Piaget’s cognitive development defines a child as now having
the ability to “think more rationally and systematically about abstract concepts and
hypothetical events”. Some positive aspects during this time is that child or adolescent
Begins forming their identity and begin understanding why people behave the way they
Behave. However, there are also some negative aspects which include the child or
Adolescent developing some egocentric thoughts which include the imaginary audience
And the personal fable. An imaginary audience is when an adolescent feels that the world
Is just as concerned and judgmental of anything the adolescent does as they are, an
Adolescent may feel as is they are “on stage” and everyone is a critique and they are the
Ones being critiqued. A personal fable is when the adolescent feels that he or she is a
unique person and everything they do is unique. They feel as if they are the only ones that
Have ever experienced what they are experiencing and that they are invincible and
Nothing bad will happen to them it will only happen to others.
II. Information processing:
The Information Processing model is a way of examining and understanding the
Cognitive development of children. This model, conceptualizes children’s mental
Processes through the metaphor of a computer processing, encoding, storing, and
decoding data. By 2 to 5 years of age, nearly all children have developed the skills to
Focus attention for extended periods, recall old information, recognize previously
Encountered information and recreate it in the present.
Memory: most children cannot remember anything in their childhood prior to
age 2 or 4-year-old child can remember what he wore at Birthday party and tell his friend
About it when he returns to school. Between the ages of 2 and 5, long-term memory
Begins to form. Part of long-term memory involves storing information about the
Sequence of events during familiar situations as “scripts”. Scripts help children
Understand, interpret, and predict what will happen in future scenarios. For example,
Children understand that a visit to the grocery store involves a series of steps: mom enters
the store, gets a grocery cart, selects items from the shelves, waits in the check-out line,
Pays for the groceries, and then loads them into the car.
Attention: Between the ages of 5 and 7, children learn how to focus and use
their Cognitive abilities for paying attention and memorizing lists of words or facts. This
skill is obviously crucial for children starting school who need to learn new information,
retain it and produce it for tests and other academic activities. They also develop the
capacity to Process information. This capacity allows them to make connections between
old and new information. For example, children can use their knowledge of the alphabet
and Letter sounds (phonics) to start sounding out and reading words. During this age,
Children’s knowledge base also continues to grow and become better organized.
Language: children’s use of language also becomes more mature and
complicated with Age. Between ages 4 -5-children’s ability to understand language at a
more complicated level also develops. Children develop the ability to understand that a
sentence may have Meaning beyond the exact words being spoken. They start to
understand the use of basic Metaphors based on very concrete ideas, tailor their speech to
the social situation; for Example, children will talk more maturely to adults than to same-
age peers.
III. Factors that Affect Children Cognitive Development:
(1) Biological factors:
(a) Sense organs: Sense organs are important as they receive stimuli from the
environment. Their proper development helps in receiving correct Stimuli.
Defective sense organs collect defective stimuli and as a result Wrong concepts
can be formed and the cognitive development will not be perfect.
(b)Intelligence: Children with low Intelligence Quotient are unable to Receive
stimuli properly thus their cognitive development lags behind.
(c) Heredity: Cognitive development is also influenced by the hereditary Traits; one
gets from his parents.
(d)Maturation: with the maturation child gets more interaction with his
Environment that is necessary for a good cognitive development
(2) Environment factors: External influences that affect cognitive development and
Are mostly controllable. They include:
(a) Learning opportunities: The opportunity a child gets to learn affects the
Cognitive development. The more opportunities he gets the better is the Cognition.
(b)Economic status: Economic state of the family also helps in the Development
of cognition. Children from better economic status get more Opportunities and
 better training and it helps in cognitive development. These children also have
better nutritional diets as compared to those who come from poor backgrounds.
(c) Play: Play is very important in developing cognition. Through play Activities, the
child interacts with the environment, receives stimuli and Responds to them. Child
playing with toys learns many new experiences, Becomes imaginative and does
drama.
(d)Various types of stimuli (TV, books, and toys): As child grows, he gets
various stimuli from environment through his senses. Stimuli such as Books,
television, mobile, computer and learning toys are important in developing
cognitive abilities. These stimuli form concepts and symbols. Experts recommend
that children be exposed to books at an early age and little amounts of television
and computer as this tends to reduce cognitive development.
(e) Family and society: Children who interact frequently with other people Tend
to become brighter and gain confidence as compared to those who relate with less
people. It is important for children to interact with others as this helps them to
build their language and speaking skills. They are also likely to be read to which
makes them learn faster.

 Reference:

 Piaget, J. (1983). Piaget’s theory. In P. Mussen (ed). Handbook of Child

Psychology. 4th Edition. Vol#1. New York: Wiley

 Rathus, S. A. (2008). Children and adolescence: Voyages in Development

Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Question No 3. Personality Development occurs early in life but later
years provide an opportunity for the modification of previously
developed trends. Discuss.
 Introduction:
Personality development is the development of the organized pattern of behaviors and
attitudes that makes a person distinctive. Personality development occurs by the ongoing
interaction of temperament, character, and environment.
 Description:
Personality is what makes a person a unique person, and it is recognizable soon after
birth. A child’s personality has several components: temperament, environment, and
character. Temperament is the set of genetically determined traits that determine the
child’s approach to the world and how the child learns about the world. There are no
genes that specify personality traits, but some genes do control the development of the
nervous system, which in turn controls behavior. A second component of personality
comes from adaptive patterns related to a child’s specific environment. Most
psychologists agree that these two factors—temperament and environment—influence
the development of a person’s personality the most. Temperament, with its dependence
on genetic factors, is sometimes referred to as “nature,” while the environmental factors
are called “nurture.”
While there is still controversy as to which factor ranks higher in affecting personality
development, all experts agree that high-quality parenting plays a critical role in the
development of a child’s personality. When parents understand how their child responds
to certain situations, they can anticipate issues that might be problematic for their child.
They can prepare the child for the situation or in some cases they may avoid a potentially
difficult situation altogether. Parents who know how to adapt their parenting approach to
the particular temperament of their child can best provide guidance and ensure the
successful development of their child’s personality.
 Finally, the third component of personality is character—the set of emotional,
cognitive, and behavioral patterns learned from experience that determines how a person
thinks, feels, and behaves. A person’s character continues to evolve throughout life,
although much depends on inborn traits and early experiences. Character is also
dependent on a person’s moral development.
In 1956, psychiatrist Erik Erikson provided an insightful description as to how
personality develops based on his extensive experience in psychotherapy with children
and adolescents from low, upper, and middle-class backgrounds. According to Erikson,
the socialization process of an individual consists of eight phases, each one accompanied
by a “psychosocial crisis” that must be solved if the person is to manage the next and
subsequent phases satisfactorily. The stages significantly influence personality
development, with five of them occurring during infancy, childhood, and adolescence.
 Stages of personality Development:
1. Infancy:
During the first two years of life, an infant goes through the first stage: Learning
Basic Trust or Mistrust (Hope). Well-nurtured and loved, the infant develops trust and
security and a basic optimism. Badly handled, the infant becomes insecure and learns
“basic mistrust.”
2. Toddlerhood:
The second stage occurs during early childhood, between about 18 months to two
years and three to four years of age. It deals with Learning Autonomy or Shame (Will) .
Well-parented, the child emerges from this stage with self-confidence, elated with his or
her newly found control. The early part of this stage can also include stormy tantrums,
stubbornness, and negativism, depending on the child’s temperament.
3. Preschool:
The third stage occurs during the “play age,” or the later preschool years from about
three to entry into formal school. The developing child goes through Learning Initiative
or Guilt (Purpose). The child learns to use imagination; to broaden skills through active
play and fantasy; to cooperate with others; and to lead as well as to follow. If
unsuccessful, the child becomes fearful, is unable to join groups, and harbors guilty
feelings. The child depends excessively on adults and is restricted both in the
development of play skills and in imagination.
4. School age:
The fourth stage, Learning Industry or Inferiority (Competence) , occurs during
school age, up to and possibly including junior high school. The child learns to master
more formal skills:
Relating with peers according to rules progressing from free play to play that is
structured by rules and requires teamwork (team sports) learning basic intellectual skills
(reading, arithmetic)
At this stage, the need for self-discipline increases every year. The child who, because
of his or her successful passage through earlier stages, is trusting, autonomous, and full of
initiative, will quickly learn to be industrious. However, the mistrusting child will doubt
the future and will feel inferior.
5. Adolescence:
The fifth stage, Learning Identity or Identity Diffusion (Fidelity) , occurs during
adolescence from age 13 or 14. Maturity starts developing during this time; the young
person acquires self-certainty as opposed to self-doubt and experiments with different
constructive roles rather than adopting a negative identity, such as delinquency. The well-
adjusted adolescent actually looks forward to achievement, and, in later adolescence,
clear sexual identity is established. The adolescent seeks leadership (someone to inspire
him or her), and gradually develops a set of ideals to live by.
 Aspects of Personality Development:
The Big 5 theory is quite broad and they have a range of other specific traits. They
were derived from statistical analysis of the traits which tend to occur when people
describe themselves or other people. Sometimes, researchers refer to them as the five-
factor theory or five-factor model.
1. Extraversion:
This trait describes an individual’s outgoing or social attitude. They are sometimes
seen as the life of the party and enjoy hanging out with people, going out for social events
and are generally full of life and energy. Those who are low in extraversion are less
outgoing and prefer to stay by themselves. The introverts have less energy and love to be
quiet. The ones who score high in it enjoy relating with people and are enthusiastic about
life and very action-oriented. These are extroverts. Various types of jobs require different
levels of extraversion and it will be useful in jobs that are related to teaching, sales and
general interaction with people.
Each of the Big 5 personality traits is also made up of at least 6 sub traits. Under
extraversion, we have: cheerfulness, excited, activity level, assertiveness, gregariousness
and friendliness.
2. Agreeableness:
This manifests itself in an individual’s behavior that shows kindness, sympathy,
warmness and consideration for others. Those who score high here are very empathetic
with others and accommodate them. They are also positive minded. The ones that score
low are selfish and lack empathy. They seem to always be in competition with others and
try to manipulate their way through situations instead of co-operating with others. Those
with a high score here tend to desire harmonious living and put aside their own interests
in order to please others. They believe that people are honest and trustworthy. These
individuals will enjoy team building activities and working harmoniously while those that
score low would be good scientists, critics or soldiers. The sub-traits here include:
sympathy, modesty, co-operation and trust.
3. Openness:
This describes the open mindedness of an individual. A person who scores high here
will enjoy trying new things. They tend to be imaginative and generally open minded
about everything. Others who score low would be close minded and prefer routine. They
are resistant to change and would be very analytical. Those with an open mind will also
tend to love the arts and think deeply too. An individual with this trait may fit in
advertising, research while those who score low would enjoy jobs that require routine
work. The sub traits here include: imagination, adventurousness, emotionality, artistic
interests, intellect and liberalism.
4. Conscientiousness:
This trait describes how an individual controls, regulates and directs their impulses.
Individuals who score high with this personality trait tend to have a high level of self
discipline. They always follow a plan instead of acting on the spur of the moment. This
makes them successful in their endeavors and able to achieve their goals. They are seen
as responsible and reliable. They may also be workaholics and perfectionists which may
make them boring and inflexible. The sub traits of this aspect include: achievement-
driven, dutifulness, orderliness, self-efficacy, self-discipline and cautiousness. Individuals
with this trait will always stay focused on their goals regardless of challenges and
obstacles because they believe they will always succeed if they follow their plan. They
will be able to fit in across different occupations. Their need for achievement is the
constant driving force.
5. Neuroticism:
This also means emotional stability. It describes an individual’s ability to stay
balanced and stable when faced with tough challenges. One who scores high in
neuroticism has the tendency to experience negative emotions. On the other hand, those
who score high in emotional stability react less emotionally and don’t get upset easily.
They are usually calm and stable, though it does not mean they experience a lot of
positive feelings. Those who are high in neuroticism are emotionally reactive and feel
threatened or get into bad moods even in a normal situation. They may also find it
difficult to think clearly when they are stressed. Those with high emotional stability are
preferred in most professions as they have control over their emotions while those with
low stability can be distracted by deadlines, personal situations and pressure. The sub
traits here include: anxiety, anger, depression, self-consciousness, vulnerability and
immoderation.
 Conclusion:
The Child Development Institute (CDI) rightfully points out that very little
knowledge is available on the type of specific environment that will result, for example,
in traits of trust being more developed in a person’s personality. Helping the child
through the various stages of emotional and personality development is a complex and
difficult task. Searching for the best ways of accomplishing this task accounts for most of
the research carried out in the field of child development today. Renowned psychologist
Carl Rogers emphasized how childhood experiences affect personality development.
Many psychologists believe that there are certain critical periods in personality
development—periods when the child will be more sensitive to certain environmental
factors. Most experts believe that a child’s experiences in the family are important for his
or her personality development, although not exactly as described by Erikson’s stages,
but in good agreement with the importance of how a child’s needs should to be met in the
family environment. For example, children who are toilet trained too early or have their
toilet training carried out too strictly may become rebellious. Another example is shown
by children who learn appropriate behavior to their sex lives when there is a good
relationship with their same-sex parent. Another environmental factor of importance is
culture. Researchers comparing cultural groups for specific personality types have found
some important differences. For example, Northern European countries and the United
States have individualistic cultures that put more emphasis on individual needs and
accomplishments. In contrast, Asian, African, Central American, and South American
countries are characterized more by community-centered cultures that focus on belonging
to a larger group, such as a family, or nation. In these cultures, cooperation is considered
a more important value than competitiveness, which will necessarily affect personality
development.

 Reference:

Rathus, S. A. (2008). Children and adolescence: Voyages in Development Belmont,

CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Question No 4. Explain the inter-relationship of language skills. How

does the classroom environment affect them?
 LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE SKILLS:
 The teaching of language is now one of the most important subjects in most of
Primary schools. The implementation of English and Urdu has brought along the need to
establish clear objectives that are different to the ones traditionally assigned to secondary
Schools. While in secondary schools we still find, in many cases, a teaching based in the
Formal aspects of the language, i.e. grammar; primary school teachers have had to adopt
a Different approach as the age of the children make the teaching of formal aspects not
Advisable. As a result of this point of view, the different Educational Departments have
decided to establish, as the main purpose of the language teaching, the development of
the four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. However, the implementation of
this approach has not been trouble-free as many teachers insist on asking their children to
understand every single word they listen to or read, or expect their pupils to write or
speak without making the mistakes normally found in the process of acquiring any
Language.
1. Listening:
Listening is the language skill which learners usually find the most difficult. This
Often is because they feel under unnecessary pressure to understand every word. To
achieve the aims related to this skill, the teacher plays an important role that is defined in
the following steps.
1. It is important to help pupils prepare for the listening task well before they hear the
text itself. First of all the teacher must ensure that the pupils understand the
Language they need to complete the task and are fully aware of exactly what is
Expected of them. Reassure the pupils that they do not need to understand every
Word they hear.
2. The next important step is to encourage pupils to anticipate what they are going to
hear. In everyday life, the situation, the speaker, and visual clues all help us to
decode oral messages. A way to make things a bit easier to the pupils is to present
the listening activity within the context of the topic of a teaching unit. This in itself
will help pupils to predict what the answers might be. The teacher can help them
further by asking questions and using the illustrations to encourage Pupils to guess
the answers even before they hear the text.
 3. During listening, the pupils should be able to concentrate on understanding the
Message so make sure they are not trying to read, draw, and write at the same
Time. Always give a second chance to listen to the text to provide a new
Opportunity to those who were not able to do the task.

4. Finally, when pupils have completed the activity, invite answers from the whole
class. Try not to put individual pupils under undue pressure. Rather than
confirming whether an answer is correct or not, play the cassette again and allow
Pupils to listen again for confirmation. You may be given a variety of answers, in
Which case list them all on the board and play the text again, so that the class can
Listen and choose the correct one. Even if the pupils all appear to have completed
the task successfully, always encourage them to listen to the text once more and
Check their answers for themselves.
2. Speaking:
First of all, we must take into account that the level of language input (listening) must
be higher than the level of language production expected of the pupils. So we have many
speaking activities used in the first levels that enable pupils to participate with a Minimal
verbal response. However in the last levels, pupils are encouraged to begin to manipulate
language and express themselves in a much more personal way.
In primary schools two main types of speaking activities are used. The first type,
songs, Chants, and poems, encourages pupils to mimic the model they hear on the
cassette. This Helps pupils to master the sounds, rhythms, and intonation of the English
language through simple reproduction. The games and pair work activities on the other
hand, Although always based on a given model, encourage the pupils to begin to
manipulate the Language by presenting them with a certain amount of choice, albeit
within a fairly Controlled situation.
In order for any speaking activity to be successful children need to acknowledge that
there is a real reason for asking a question or giving a piece of information. Therefore,
make sure the activities you present to the pupils, provide a reason for Speaking, whether
this is to play a game or to find out real information about friends in the class.
 Once the activity begins, make sure that the children are speaking as much English as
possible without interfering to correct the mistakes that they will probably make. Try to
treat errors casually by praising the utterance and simply repeating it correctly without
necessarily highlighting the errors. And finally, always offer praise for Effort regardless
of the accuracy of the English produced.
3. Reading:
In order to make reading an interesting challenge as opposed to a tedious chore, it Is
important that pupils do not labor over every word, whether they are skimming the text
For general meaning or scanning it to pick out specific information. Other things to keep
in mind are:
1. When choosing texts consider not only their difficulty level, but also their interest
or their humor so that children will want to read for the same reasons they read in
their own language: to be entertained or to find out something they do not already
know.
2. As with listening activities, it is important to spend time preparing for the task by
using the illustrations (a usual feature in reading activities for children), pupils’ own
knowledge about the subject matter, and key Vocabulary to help the pupils to
predict the general content of the text. Discuss the subject and ask questions to elicit
language and to stimulate the pupils’ interest in the text before they begin reading.
Also make sure that the pupils understand the essential vocabulary they need to
complete the task before they begin to read.
3. While the children are reading the text, move around the class providing Support if
pupils need it. Where possible, encourage pupils to work out the meaning of
vocabulary as they come across it, using the context and the supporting illustrations.
4. Do not encourage pupils to read texts aloud unless this is to learn a play or recite a
poem. Reading aloud inhibits most pupils and forces them to concentrate on what
they are saying as opposed to what they are reading and the meaning is very often
lost.
4. Writing:
 In primary schools, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pupils progress from
Writing isolated words and phrases, to short paragraphs about themselves or about very
Familiar topics (family, home, hobbies, friends, food, etc.)
Since many pupils at this level are not yet capable either linguistically or
Intellectually of creating a piece of written text from scratch, it is important that time is
Spent building up the language they will need and providing a model on which they can
Then base their own efforts. The writing activities should therefore be based on a parallel
Text and guide the pupils, using simple cues. These writing activities generally appear
towards the end of a unit so that pupils have had plenty of exposure to the language and
Practice of the main structures and vocabulary they need.
At this stage, the pupils’ work will invariably contain mistakes. Again, the Teacher
should try to be sensitive in his/her correction and not necessarily insist on every Error
being highlighted. A piece of written work covered in red pen is demoralizing and
generally counter-productive. Where possible, encourage pupils to correct their own
Mistakes as they work. If there is time, encourage pupils to decorate their written work
and where feasible display their efforts in the classroom.
 Factors Affecting Language Learning Development:
There are many factors that affect the language learning process, and here we will
classify factors into two factors. That is internal factors and external factors.
1. Internal Factors:
In this case we will talk about physical, psychology, and exhaustion.
A. Physical
B. Health
C. Exhaustion
Learning process can go well with good health. Health means that someone is in
Good condition. If someone wants to learn well, he/she must try to keep his body in good
Condition such as, can share his time to get rest, eat, relaxation, pray, and sport.
(a) Physical Defect:
Someone in physical defect must try harder than others. For them, they can choose a
special school with special rolls.
 1) Gender
2) Psychology
3) Intelligence
 The ability to meet and adapt to novel situations quickly and effectively.
 The ability to utilize abstract concepts effectively.
 The ability to grasp relationship and to learn quickly.
The great intelligence gives more progress to the learning process

.
(b)Attention:
Attention is concentration (mental focus, serious consideration). To get the good
Mark in the subject, the student must pay attention at the lesson; if he/she bored he
probably will fail in that lesson.
(c) Interest:
Interest is persisting tendency to pay attention to and enjoy some activity or Content.
If the lesson is not interesting to the student, the student can’t learn well.
(d) Aptitude:
Aptitude is the capacity to learn. Everyone has different aptitude. So, it is time for us
to use that aptitude the maximum for our best. The good way is to use the aptitude by
study and practice as much as we can do.
(e) Motive:
Motive is an effective-co native factor which operates in determining the Direction of
an individual’s behavior towards an end or goal, consciously apprehended or
unconsciously. The teacher must have good motive to get attention from the students.
More motivated students tend to use more strategies than less motivated students, and the
particular reason for studying the language (motivational orientation, especially as related
to career field) is important in the choice of strategies.
2. External Factors:
 External factors can be categorized into three groups, i.e. family factor, school Factor
and social factor.
(I) Family factors:
(a) The way parents educate the way parents have been educated has a big influence
on their children. Because, family is the first and prominent educator.
(b) Relations within family Relations within family mean relations between parent
and their children, Children with their brother and sister, etc. If the family has
harmonious relations it will create successful students.
(c) The Home Atmosphere The best atmosphere is quiet and peaceful. In that
situation children will stay at Home and study well.
(d) Family’s Economy Children must get the basic requirements such as food,
clothes, books and many other things. All of these requirements can be fulfilled
if his/her family has enough money.
(e) Parents Understanding sometimes the children have a lot of interest in some
subjects, at that time the Parent must support them.
(f) Cultural Background Rote memorization and other forms of memorization were
more prevalent among Some Asian students than among students from other
cultural backgrounds. Certain other cultures also appeared to encourage this
strategy among learners.
(ii) School Factors:
(a) Teaching Method
Teachers must have training relevant to their own instructional situations in three
Areas: identifying students’ current learning strategies through surveys,
interviews, or other means; helping individual students discern which strategies
are most relevant to their learning styles, tasks, and goals; and aiding students in
Developing orchestrated strategy use rather than a scattered approach.
(b)Curriculum:
Students of different ages and stages of language learning used different
Strategies, with certain strategies often being employed by older or more
advanced students.
(c) Learning Style:
Learning style (general approach to language learning) often determined the
Choice of English learning strategies. For example, analytic-style students
Preferred strategies such as contrastive analysis, rule-learning, and dissecting
Words and phrases, while global students used strategies to find meaning
(guessing, scanning, predicting) and to converse without knowing all the words
(paraphrasing, gesturing).
(d) The Relations between Students and Teacher
Teaching learning process happened between teacher and students. The teacher
Must cooperative in his/her class.
Building upon a foundation of integrity, teaching as an ethical profession requires
the interaction of six essential behaviors:
 Caring
 Setting high standards
 Providing intellectually challenging learning experiences
 Organizing and managing classes to facilitate learning
 Student centered
 Reflecting
(e) The Relations among Students:
Create good relations with each other is necessary because it can give positive
Influence to their study.
(f) Discipline:
Discipline at school is not only for the teacher and the students, but also for
everyone in that area. All the people at school must obey the rule. If nobody ever
breaks the rules the situation will always be under control.
(g) Schedule:
Good management of time will have positive impact on teaching-learning
Process.
(h) The School Building:
 The size of school should be according to the strength of the students studying
there.
(i) Type of Task:
The nature of the task help determine the strategies naturally employed to carry
out the task.
(j) Attitudes and Beliefs:
These are reported to have a profound effect on the strategies learners choose,
with negative attitudes and beliefs often causing poor strategy use or lack of
Orchestration of strategies.
(k) Tolerance of Ambiguity:
Students who are more tolerant of ambiguity use significantly different learning
Strategies in some instances than did students who are less tolerant of ambiguity.
(2) Social Factor:
a) Students Activity in their Society:
We need to limit their society, so it does not disturb their study. We can choose
Activities that help promote their learning, like course, group discussion, etc.
b) Mass Media:
The examples of mass media are movies, theater, radio, television, newspaper,
Magazine, etc. We need to give wise guidance and control as parents and
Educators, in family, school and society.
c) Companionship:
Friends have greater influence at this age. The students make relation with good
Friends. It will have more positive impact than negative.
d) Social Interaction:
Social interaction also impact their study. Many kinds of people are around them
and they need to choose the right ones.

 Reference:
  Siddiqui, S. (2016) Education policies in Pakistan, Karachi, Oxford University
Presswww.i-SAP.org

 Waqar, S. (2000), Allied material Elementary Education, Islamabad, Allama

Iqbal Open University Press
http://yayoi.senri.ed.jp/ois/curriculum/pe_aims_objs.htm

Question No 5. Differentiate between role-play and Simulation. Discuss

the use of each for making teaching learning process effective at
Elementary Level.
 ROLE-PLAYING AND SIMULATIONS:
 Purpose of Role-Playing:
Role play involves imagination, and …“Imagination is more important than
knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while
imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and
understand.” (Albert Einstein)
When children do role plays, they naturally become someone or something else. Role
play stimulates their imagination and “enhances their social development, Encourages
friendship through cooperation, listening and turn taking”. Therefore, role Play is a vital
activity for our children.
Our children can learn many skills and attitudes during role play, and learn how to be
co-operative (teamwork) and be empathetic with others. They can learn to express all
their feelings. They also can learn about other cultures and improve their language and
Movement skills.
During role plays children can experience school activities like literacy and
Numeracy. In the playing shop, children can “encompass all the aspects of the
Curriculum”. They can learn about money, about politeness and the right way to ask
Questions and respond etc. Role play can help children to make sense of their world.
“Imaginative play not only aids intellectual development but also improves children’s
Social skills and their creativity. In addition it gives children a chance to play out events
that they have observed or experienced in real life.”
And this means also situations they Might have some problems to deal with. In fact,
role plays can help to “explore moral Issues and problems safely”.
It is very interesting to see and hear children when having role plays that imitate A
grown up, saying the things we use to tell them. By interiorizing our roles they become
little adults, and by playing, they get to understand us better.
Also, by getting into the future or the past, the role play permits to visit or re-visit places
and moments our children need to handle. They can travel anywhere, in the real world or
in a very fictional one, where people have special powers or things which are not normal.
 Role play: with adults and children:
When teachers are involved in the play, they have the opportunity to understand
Different points of view simply by acting.
If you play the role of a baby or a child and one of your children plays a parent or a
teacher, you relive how it feels to be the “little one”. And sometimes we adults get to
know what our children retain from what we teach them, how they feel about the way we
talk to them. During these role plays, when our children play our part, it’s like we were
looking in a mirror. These role plays are very helpful as you get to know what bothers
your children, what they are afraid of or what they are particularly proud of. They have
the opportunity to express their fears and needs without being judged. Role play gives us
the unique chance to meet our children in an imaginary world.
 Principles for Effective Role Playing:
As a teaching technique, role playing is based on the philosophy that meanings are in
people, not in words or symbols. If that philosophy is accurate, we must first of All share
the meanings, then clarify our understandings of each other’s meanings, and finally, if
necessary, change our meanings.
In the language of phenomenological psychology, this has to do with changing the
self-concept. The self-concept is best changed through direct involvement in a Realistic
and life-related problem situation rather than through hearing about such Situations from
others.
Creating a teaching situation which can lead to the change of self-concepts requires a
distinct organizational pattern. One helpful structure for role playing follows:
1. Preparation:
a. Define the problem
b. Create a readiness for the role(s)
c. Establish the situation
d. Cast the character
e. Brief and warm up
f. Consider the training
2. Playing:
a. Acting
b. Stopping
c. Involving the audience
d. Analyzing the discussion
e. Evaluating
It is important to note that all of them focus on group experiences rather than on
unilateral behavior of the teacher. The group should share in the defining of the problem,
carrying out the role playing situation, discussing the results, and evaluating the whole
Experience.
The teacher must identify the situation clearly so that both the characters and the
Audience understand the problem at hand. In casting the characters, the wise teacher will
try to accept volunteers rather than assign roles. Students must realize that acting ability
is not at stake here but rather the spontaneous discharge of how one thinks the character
of his role would react in the defined situation.
It is important to evaluate role playing in the light of the prescribed goals.
Categorizing behavior is often overdone and gets in the way of the learning process.
Evaluation should proceed on both group and personal levels, raising questions
concerning the validity of the original purpose.
Throughout the entire process it will be necessary to deal with certain problems
which arise in role playing situations. The backward, silent member must be encouraged
to contribute. Create an atmosphere in which he is unafraid to share ideas, confident that
No one will laugh at his contributions or harshly criticize his conclusions.
The overbearing monopolizer must be curtailed in the discussion phase of role
Playing lest he dominate the group and thereby quash the dynamic, Solving this problem
May require some personal counseling outside of class. Tension and conflict in the group
May not always be bad. Sometimes these elements act as a stimulant to thinking. There is
such a thing as “creative tension,” and it is frequently found in a role playing situation as
Group dynamic emerges.
At the end of the discussion time the group should collectively measure its
Effectiveness in reaching solutions to the role problem posed at the beginning. The
Techniques of role playing afford another approach to involving students in their own
Learning process toward the clarification of self-concepts, evaluation of behavior, and
Aligning of that behavior with reality.
 Basic Role-Playing Procedures:
Procedure of the Role Play
1. Prepare class for role-play:
 Present an artificial problem, situation or event that represents some aspect of
Reality.
 Define the problem, situation and roles clearly.
2. Give clear instructions:
 Determine whether role-plays will be carried out using student volunteers in front
Of the class (the teacher may or may not play a role), in partnerships/small groups
with every student playing a role, or in small groups with role-players and
Observers.
 Divide students into groups, if appropriate.
 Model the skill with a scripted role-play.
3. Act out role-plays:
 Students follow the procedure outlined by the teacher to act out role-plays.
 Unless the teacher is playing a role, it is helpful to walk around the room and
Observe how students are experiencing the role-play and offer coaching to
Students who are stuck. Discussion (small group and whole class)
 Begin by allowing players to communicate feelings experienced during the role-
Play.
 Have students identify sexual health skills that were demonstrated during the Role-
play.
 Determine actions that strengthen or weaken these skills (i.e. body language).
 Discuss how this role-play is or isn’t similar to real life.
 Identify ways of using identified sexual health skills in real life situations.
4. Alternatives to Traditional Procedure:
 Have students write role-plays as scripts.
 Have students write down responses and then role-play in front of the class.
 Have students generate a list of challenging “lines”, then have a student read the
Lines to the class and have each student give a response.
 Have students develop and act out plays.
 Tips for Using Role-Play:
 Begin with fairly easy situations and work up to more challenging ones.
 Be aware that some students may feel threatened or self-conscious. Using humor
can help dispel embarrassment. Using role-plays that exaggerate weak responses
Might break the ice.
 Reduce the level of abstraction or complexity so that the students may become
directly involved with underlying concepts.
 If students find it difficult to determine skills which model sexual health, they
could observe successful role models or ask experts to suggest approaches.
 Benefits of Role-play Strategy:
1. Student interest in the topic is raised.
2. Active Participation.
3. Long-term retention.
4. It enhances communication and interpersonal skills.
5. It can be used with individuals or in group situations.
6. It teaches empathy and understanding of different perspectives.
7. It help individuals to learn to accept both their own feelings and those of others.
8. It develops confidence and self-efficacy.
9. Provides teacher immediate feedback about the learner’s understanding and ability
to apply concepts.
10. It develops competence.
11. It is useful for a range of topics, including interviewing, counseling Skills, personal
relationships, and team working.
12. They require mental and physical activity e.g. gesturing to put forward a Point.
13. Reduces discipline problems which often arise from boredom and lack of
Motivation.
 Limitations of Role-play Strategy:
1. Role play may awaken previously subdued or suppressed emotions.
2. Less effective in large groups (Chaos).
3. Teacher must accept her new role where she/he does not dominate the Class
anymore.
4. Embarrassment for some students.
5. Can lack focus unless well planned and monitored.
6. Can be unpredictable in terms of outcomes.
7. Can be time-consuming.
 Games and Simulations:
 Games and simulations are often referred to as experimental exercises because they
provide unique opportunities for students to interact with a knowledge domain.
Game: A competitive activity that involves certain skills and it is played under a set
of Rules for the amusement of the players, which compete for points or other
Advancements that indicate that they are outperforming other players.
Simulation: A conscious attempt to represent a real life situation in which
participants take on roles that would enable them to see how a particular situation might
unfold. Educational games and simulations, unlike direct forms of instruction, are
experiential Exercises. That is, student teams may be racing each other to reach a pot of
gold (game), Sifting through an archeological site and analyzing the artifacts
(simulation), or managing a financial institution for several months (simulation).
Currently, the increased power and flexibility of computer technology is contributing
to renewed interest in games and simulations. This development coincides with the
current Perspective of effective instruction in which meaningful learning depends on the
Construction of knowledge by the learner. Games and simulations, which can provide an
Environment for the learner’s construction of new knowledge, have the potential to
become a major component of this focus.
The technology, however, faces two major problems at present. One is that
Comprehensive design paradigms derived from learning principles have not been
Available. Coupled with the variety of disciplines attempting to develop games and
Simulations, the result is a variety of abridged exercises often mislabeled as simulations.
These mislabeled exercises indicated the need for effective design models for games and
Simulations. Design models are the “soft technologies” that influence and activate the
Thought processes of the learners rather than the “hard technology” of the computer.
(Jonassen, 1988). Also, poorly developed exercises are not effective in achieving the
Objectives for which simulations are most appropriate-that of developing students’
Problem-solving skills.
 Difference between role-play and Simulations:
There is a difference between simulations (where students act out real-life situations,
for example the student checks in at “the airport”, but students do play themselves) and
role plays where students take on different characters. In a role play, for example, one
student may be asked to take on the role of “an angry landowner” in a role play which is
concerned with discussing the possible construction of a new road. Another may be asked
to play the role of the “road company representative”. Role plays will thus require more
“imagination” on the part of the student to be able to get “into” the role.
Some students will find being asked to play a different person in a role play quite
liberating. Some students who are normally quite shy can open up considerably in a role
play lesson. The teacher, though, must attempt to maintain the “pretend” part of the
simulations and role plays: i.e. the students ARE in an airport and not the classroom.
Teachers can aid this process by use of realia and other props. Students who don’t enter
into the ‘fantasy world’ can ruin it for everyone else.
Teacher intrusion must be kept to an absolute minimum during role plays and
simulations….preferably, zero. We use role plays to allow students to test out learnt
language in as realistic a situation as possible. They are, in a sense, a halfway house
between a sterile classroom practice activity and the often frightening reality of the real
world for students. Students can thus feel free to experiment with their language in a safe
environment. Teacher intrusion is possible if the participating students, for example, are
not understanding at all what they should be doing. Otherwise, teacher input should be
left for the post-activity feedback session.
Feedback on what students have just done is vital. The role-play or simulation could
be videotaped or recorded for example, which would allow a more detailed and thus
useful analysis of their performances. Students need to see this as an important part of
self evaluation. If students can learn to appreciate the weaknesses of their performance,
they will only benefit. A student who says “he asked me about the ticket prices and I
tripped up over the numbers again – I need to focus on that” is one who is well aware of
where future performance needs to improve. The priority in the mind of the teacher,
though, should remain communicative efficacy. Long feedback sessions of the mistaken
use of the present perfect during the role play can be left for another time.
The more natural setting of a well set-up role play can also be used to introduce the
unpredictability which makes communicating in the real world so daunting for many
foreign language learners. This can be done either with the teacher playing “rogue”
characters or handing out a couple of unusual role cards to other students. Teachers
should seek to mix things up if you feel the simulations and role-plays are becoming too
predictable for the class. As we said before, the safe environment offered by role plays
means a few surprises can quite safely be thrown at students to see how they cope.
 The Role of the Teacher:
The teacher must first of all be convinced of what she is doing. She must have the
conviction that drama can be an effective tool in language teaching. She must have clear
objectives as to her role and the use of dramatic activities in achieving her goals. She is
the one who sets the mood of the class. She must change her attitude towards her role in
the classroom. In the drama classroom she needs to be less domineering and gradually
withdraw. Her main function should be that of an initiator controlling but not directing
the situation. Her rapport with the students is important. The students should feel at ease
and relaxed in the classroom. Certain warming activities can help to achieve this. This
will be discussed later.
Although the teacher is to slowly withdraw from the main scene, she still needs to be
in control of all that is going on in class. She can still do this without appearing
domineering if she has clear objectives and has prepared herself thoroughly. She must
give clear instructions to the students to carry out their various tasks. She must also have
close control of time so that her plans can be carried out accordingly. Thus do not be over
ambitious in the aims of the lessons.
For lower level or weaker classes, there is a need for language preparation before the
class. Lists of words, phrases, functions and sentence types, which are relevant to the
activities to be carried out, have to be prepared before hand. These have to be presented
to the students before the activities so that they can use them as aids/tools in their tasks.
 Role of the Learner:
In recent years there has been a move towards the “whole-person approach. The
learner thus becomes the center of focus and at the center of the language learning
process. This is influenced by the “effective humanistic approach” to language teaching.
With this in mind, language learning must therefore appeal to the language learner
intellectually and emotionally. Stevick (1980), states that language learning must appeal
to the creative, intuitive aspect of personality as well as the conscious and the rational
part.
 Drama activities provide opportunities for active student participation. The activities
involve the student’s whole personality and not merely his mental process. Effective
learning takes place as the student involves himself in the tasks and is motivated to use
the target language. As he uses the language, he becomes more aware of his ability to use
the language and this will hopefully increase his motivation to learn.
In drama activities, the student is encouraged to discuss, evaluate and describe the
activities. He has to explain, interpret and make decisions. The student thus has little time
to be idle or daydream for he is an active participant in the lesson. Students may take
some time to get used to this active role and the teacher may have to slowly but firmly
initiate this change in the role and even attitudes.

 Reference:

 Role-Playing https://expatsincebirth.com/2013/02/03/the-importance-of-role-
plays-for-Children-and-us/ Retrieved 9th February 2017

 Role-Playing
http://www.thelearningkey.com/pdf/PurposeofRolePlayingAug08.pdf Retrieved
9th February 2017

 Role-Playing http://eprogressiveportfolio.blogspot.com/2012/06/normal-0-false-
false-False-en-us-x-none.html Retrieved 9th February 2017