Abstract
A nonresidential gifted program for economically disadvantaged students in India (Grades 6 through 12) uses a continuum of services for social emotional learning (SEL) support to prepare students for college admission. The program stands in contrast to the residential gifted schools in India, which have minimal SEL considerations. SEL is deeply integrated with the Sitare Foundation program's design and evaluation by using emotional intelligence assessments and action plans to customize support for its students and staff. During the coronavirus pandemic, SEL training and mentoring of the city coordinators provided resilience models to encourage continued commitment to the program, especially for female gifted students. Three specific examples (student, leader, and coordinators) are presented as illustrations of growth and transformation. Continuous gathering of both qualitative and quantitative SEL data, combined with traditional academic records, is recommended for effective program iterations.
TopBackground
The landscape of the education system in India has been riddled with opportunity and complexity. A major challenge has been the population size of 1.37 billion (Chandrashekhar, 2019), with approximately 65% residing in rural villages (World Bank, 2018). Language diversity further intensifies the problem, with 23 official languages and at least 1,000 dialects (New World Encyclopedia, 2020). As of 2019, literacy levels were higher for men (81.5% for men, 64.6% for women) and varied by state and geographic location (Chandra, 2019). The free government schools are not the first choice for families due to teacher absenteeism and lack of infrastructure and resources, including technology. Reports on the government schools estimated that between 15% and 42% of teachers did not report for duty at their specified class time (Davies, 2018; Kremer et al., 2005; Muralidharan et al., 2014).
There is no national definition, identification, or recommended advanced program for gifted and/or talented students across India (Roy, 2017). Only one public program exists for low-income students to access gifted educational opportunities. In 1986, the central government started Jawahar Navodaya Vidhyalaya (JNV), a network of residential schools for gifted students in grades 6-12. The JNV schools, which complied with the National Policy of Education (Singh & Kumar, 2012), received accolades for allowing local communities access to libraries and the Internet.
Selection for admission to a JNV is determined by a Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) test. The 100 multiple-choice question test requires primarily memorized learning (Wright, 2008). Traditional courses include math, physics, chemistry, biology, technology, political science, and accounting. In addition, students have health education and work experience. Students learn English for participation in their math and science classes and Hindi for social studies classes. There are approximately 636 JNV schools serving 0.06% (or 265,000) students across India (Mishra, 2020). This number is considerably lower than the estimated 2% to 4% (or 950,000 to 1,900,000) of the youth population that could be identified as gifted. This range has been used as a minimum threshold for identification in other countries (Bélanger & Gagné, 2006). The current JNV enrollment numbers reveal a major gap in identification and services across India, one of the world’s most populous nations.
Key Terms in this Chapter
City Coordinators: A network of nonacademic staff who serve as liaisons between the school, students, and their families, offering a range of operational and emotional support.
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV): A national system of residential schools for gifted rural students in India (Grades 6-12).
Government Schools: Primary and secondary educational institutions funded and maintained by the public sector in India.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL): Process of acquiring the individual and collective skills of emotional intelligence for personal, professional, and humanitarian success.
Unbundling Educational Practices: Process by which a school system retains its primary functions while outsourcing remaining services to third parties. This effort questions traditional practices and experiments with novel implementation.
Emotional Intelligence (EQ): An individual’s capacity to interpret, navigate, and transform emotions to solve problems.
Self-Efficacy: A belief in one’s ability to learn and complete tasks.