Psychology in India, Volume 2

5

Dynamics of Schooling*

Ashok K. Srivastava

INTRODUCTION

Schooling is a social phenomenon reciprocally related to societal demands. Thus, while society, which embodies a value system and culture, determines what is expected of schools, the institution of schooling shapes the social order by selectively nurturing certain skills and talents. Embedded within these contemporaneous concerns, schools are also assigned the role of making of minds and creating rational human beings. It is, therefore, not surprising to observe ‘schooling’ as an accepted developmental task—a natural move in the life course in the civilized world. In today’s world, certain linguistic, arithmetic, and perhaps technological knowledge and skills have become essential for ...