Rebooting Pedagogy and Education systems for the Twenty-first Century: Why we need course-corrections immediately

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Copyright © Sujay Rao Mandavilli All rights reserved
Rebooting Pedagogy and
Education systems for the
Twenty-first Century: Why
we need course-corrections
immediately
Sujay Rao Mandavilli
Publsihed in Google books, 2024

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Introduction

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Education is the fundamental pillar upon which any human civilization rests. As a matter of fact, no
civilization in any meaningful form or degree has been possible in human history that has not been
built on the bulwark and edifice of education. While literacy may have been limited to the privileged
few in early ancient civilizations, it was these privileged few who controlled the masses and set the
tempo for meaningful progress in such civilizations; educational systems have proven to be the
bedrock and foundational pillar upon which much of human accomplishment and achievement have
rested, too. In spite of the naysayers, the cynics and the pessimists, education has expanded greatly in
the twentieth century; while the worlds’ earliest civilizations were not western in the canonical sense
of the term, there is no denying that western civilizations have pulled away strongly since then. Riding
on the shoulders on ancient Greece, western intellectualism has been the bulwark upon which the
superstructure of modern civilization has been built. Even as recently as the middle of the twentieth
century, the rest of the world (as opposed to the west) had a lot of catching up to do.
Thankfully and mercifully, a lot has changed since then. India in the 1950’s and 1960’s emphasized
higher education but neglected universal primary education as evidenced by low primary school
enrollments, and a high rate of dropouts. Since then, programs and schemes such as the Sarva Siksha
Abhiyan or education for all programs have increased primary school enrollment considerably; India
now comfortably stands on the threshold of universal adult literacy. While the quantity of education
has been augmented, quality has often failed to keep pace. The tenets and the essential doctrines
forming a part and parcel of the foundational pillars of pedagogy and education are antiquated and
are still steeped in the western experience. What is worse is that is very little awareness on the issue
of the need for change; this must be the foundation of all meaningful change, but alas, that foundation
has yet to be built. In this book, we draw upon our long list of papers on the social science, particularly
anthropological pedagogy and the sociology of science, and propose the direction we believe
pedagogy must take in the twenty first century. This can be no one man army; we invite other scholars
to contribute in eminent measure. We also believe that this i.e., a foundational assessment of the
concepts of pedagogy must become one of the more important and vital movements of the twenty-
first century.
This work is also at the heart of our globalization of science movement as many, if not most concepts
in various fields of the social science are based on old and archaic western-centric paradigms. There is
also an unnatural gap between various fields of social sciences and the non-social sciences too, just as
careerism is rampant across disciplines and what we called “institutional coherentism” is lacking.
Scientists say “however, recent research has shown that…”. Does that mean that old research was
wrong? Why was it wrong? Was it due to the absence of data, or was it methodological error? Why do
we go round and round without a meaningful long-term direction? Very little scholarship is driven by
the absolute desire to do good to society. As Thomas Paine once famously stated, “ A body of men
holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody”. We have theories,
theories and only theories all driven by old-fashioned careerism or academic rivalry, and with limited
explanatory power. All this needs to change in the twenty-first century, and practical application of
knowledge emphasized. To quote C.S Lewis, “Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you
learn, my God do you learn.”
Anand Mahindra and several other individuals have repeatedly called for a new world-class education
system in India and elsewhere, but there is very little conceptual clarity on how we should go about
creating one. Let a million scholars bloom! Let a million intellectuals bloom! Let a million scientists

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(social scientists included) bloom in different parts of the world, all in the twenty-first century! Why
should we hold our tongue, and suffer in silence? Let intellectuals drive meaningful and productive
change. Let better education systems form the backbone of better societies! Let there be a healthy
rivalry among nations to develop better and better education systems! There is no need for only
western nations to take the lead here. Those who have better ideas can indeed leapfrog everyone else.
Those who think better and do better, win.

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Chapter 1
Precursors to education:
Language and literacy

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Let us get to the root of everything, to the heart of everything, to the bottom of everything. As a
matter of fact, let us get right down to brass tacks. Literacy and education as dictated by pedagogy and
pedagogical theory are the fountain head of human civilization, the cornerstone of meaningful
progress in the present day world, and the foundation of virtually every type of endeavour conceivable
under the sun from mass literacy to artificial intelligence or AI. But literacy has had a long and a
checkered history. Literacy is tightly bound to writing, and that has had a long and checkered history
too. Literacy is in turn, tightly bound to oral language, and that in turn has had a long and checkered
history too. Won’t it therefore make eminent sense to begin with the history of oral language and oral
linguistic traditions? But, how just do we define language? In simple terms, a language may be defined
as a mode of communication which is intrinsic to all human societies around the globe regardless of
their social or intellectual advancement or accomplishments. A language is usually specific to a
community and is a mode of communication with a set of rules which are formalized or ossified over
a period in time. A language even eventually becomes an integral part of its culture, and even defines
it substantively. 1 2
However, the level of sophistication of language may vary from human society to human society right
from modern English to the yet unknown and probably primitive language of the Sentinelese tribe of
the Andamans who live off the coast of India to its southeast. Most experts today believe that language
is innate and intrinsic to human beings, and that human beings are born with the natural capacity for
language. According to a definition provided by the eminent American linguist and intellectual Noam
Chomsky, “A language is a either a finite or infinite set of sentences, each finite in length and
constructed out of a finite set of elements.” According to the famed American anthropologist and
linguist Edward Sapir, a language may be defined as “A purely human and non-instinctive method of
communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.” (Sapir 1921)
According to the American linguists Bernard Bloch and Geroge L. Trager, “A language is a system of
arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a social group co-operates.” (Bloch and Trager 1942)
However, according to the American Anthropologist and linguist Edward T. Hall, “Language is an
institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually and
oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.” (Hall 1968) 3
Languages have beenknown and attested from atleast the dawn of humanhistory, although ina rather
crude and in a primitive form, they are likely to be much, much older. There are believed to be between
five to seven thousand languages in the world today, some of which are unlikely to be full-blown or
independent languages in their own right, and some of which are unaccompanied by scripts or literary
traditions. The count of languages, of course varies widely from source to source, and depending in
part on the methodology adopted for considering languages as full-fledged ones. According to one
survey carried out by the leading French institution L’Academie francaise, there were only 2,796 full-
blown languages in the world towards the end of the twentieth century, though other sources and
surveys suggest a larger number of full-fledged languages. At the other end of the spectrum, The
Ethnologue, which is an annual reference publication on languages, listed the total number of
languages in the world as 6,809 a couple of years ago.
Unlike written languages, the date of origin of spoken languages cannot also be pinpointed with a fair
degree of precision or accuracy in the absence of direct or indirect evidence, despite the fact that some
work has been done by researchers such as L.C Alello and R.I.M Dunbar, among others and estimates
of the date of origin of spoken language vary very widely between 75,000 years before the present to
1 Crystal, David (1997). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
2 Fitch, W. Tecumseh (2010). The Evolution of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3 Chomsky, Noam (1991). Kasher, Asa (ed.). Linguistics and Cognitive Science: Problems and Mysteries. Oxford: Blackwell.

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over a million years before the present. Some anthropologists believe today that Neanderthal man
possessed the capacity for speech but this is still hotly contested and debated. In all probability, Homo
sapiens acquired the capability for speech very early in their anatomical evolution. Continuity theorists
argue that languages could not have sprung suddenly but must have evolved from the pre-linguistic
systems of advanced primates including grunts and groans. On the other hand, discontinuity theorists
argue for a much more sudden emergence of language. Most researchers also believe that the FOXP2
gene which produces a protein called forkhead box P2 is responsible for the development of speech
and language. There are less that well-conceived theories in the market; some “experts” even argue
that all languages on earth sprung from an IE source, though this assertion is in all probability highly
fallacious. We then also have Darwinian models of origin of language, and non-Darwinian models. In
the case of the former, languages evolve through descent with modification. Most scholars such as
Mario Alinei and Steven Pinker support Darwinian models, while a few scholars such as Noam Chomsky
support Non-Darwinian models, and an example of the latter is the Emergent Phenomenon theory.
Likewise, Stephen Jay Gould too has on occasion has stated that he does not support Darwinian models
fully, and states instead that language is a by-product of many complex forces.
Needless to say, languages may be primarily classified into two very basic and foundational forms i.e.
spoken and written. Written languages typically comprise of a formal dictionary of symbols or lexemes,
while spoken language itself is comprised of a formal grammar and relies on patterns or combinations
of sounds to express ideas and thoughts, and combinations of such ideas or thoughts, to express
extremely complex ideas and thoughts. All languages spoken around the world today demonstrate
some level of standardization and complexity, although this may not necessarily have been the case
during the dawn of spoken language. Language is typically acquired by humans early in childhood by
imitation, and language is typically formal or structured with a set of codified or uncodified rules.
Language is the basis of much of human accomplishment in the fields of science, arts, music or
literature, and human civilization as we know it, would most certainly not have been possible without
language. Language also plays a critical role in the transmission of knowledge, and therefore augments
civilizational complexity. Language is also inseparably associated with culture and human emotion as
the ability to communicate is seen as a very vital tool and is deep-rooted in the human psyche. Some
cultures are even linguicultures, and language plays a major role in shaping cultural identity. As Henry
Bretton (1976, p. 447) points out: “Language may be the most explosive issue universally and over
time. This is mainly because language alone, unlike all other concerns associated with nationalism and
ethnocentrism … is so closely tied to the individual self. Fear of being deprived of communicating skills
seems to raise political passion to a fever pitch.” 4 5 6
The philosophy of language or the ability of language to express the breadth of human experience, has
been debated since ancient times, particularly since the times of the Greeks in the first millennium
before the Christian era. Other branches of linguistics such as semantics or the relationship between
language and meaning were also formalized since the times of the Greeks. Languages are also typically
classified into language groups, (an idea first proposed by August Schleicher, an early believer in
Darwinian ideas of evolution) even though some such classifications may now be archaic or
questionable in the face of newer research. The number of languages spoken may have gradually
declined since historic times, and the rate of decline has accelerated in modern times due to the
onslaught of globalization. Language was once believed to have been unique to the species Homo
Sapiens, and it was thought that other species have only possessed relatively more primitive forms of
communication. Anthropologists once thought that other species such as Neanderthal man did not
4 Narrative: A critical linguistic introduction: Michael J. Toolan Routledge, 1988
5 2 Semantics: A course book J. R Hurford and Brendon Heasley, Cambridge University Press, 1983
6 Fighting Words: Language Policy and Ethnic Relations in Asia Edited by Michael E. Brown and Sumit Ganguly

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possess the attributes of speech, but recent research and evidence seems to contest this view, and
speech capabilities must have evolved only gradually in primates and humans. Research on language,
evolutionary biology and human instinct (a field of study wholly outside the purview of this
engagement) is also rapidly evolving and linguists such as Steven Pinker have made many contributions
to this field in recent times. Fields of study such as language dynamics are nascent, and we believe
that this is an area of study with a vast untapped potential. Linguistics on the other hand, may be
defined as a formal, a scientific and a structured study of all facets of language including its origin,
spread, transmutation and all other aspects such as grammar, phonology, orthography, semantics, and
semiotics and may alternatively be defined as the science of language.
The term linguistics can be traced to the Nineteenth century, even though a formal study of language
began long before this. Analyses of the spread of languages may also be classified into a diachronic
and synchronic analysis of language spread, the former being a temporal analysis and the latter being
a non-temporal analysis of language spread. Linguistics or linguistic anthropology is also a major sub-
discipline of anthropology, and comprises historical linguistics, descriptive linguistics and
sociolinguistics. Linguistics may also be classified into theoretical and applied linguistics. Applied
linguistics applies the principles of linguistics to practical and real-world situations including language
policy and planning. Curiosity about language has aroused the human mind and attracted the attention
of great scholars and thinkers since aeons leading to rampant speculation and a plethora of competing
theories. While data on the early origins of language has proven to be hard to find, given the fact that
spoken language typically leaves no concrete and incontestable record for posterity, and evidence of
full-fledged written language represented by true logo-syllabic writing begins only from around 3200
BC in present-day Iraq. Theories, hypotheses and speculation on this topic have never been in short
supply throughout recorded human history, and this topic is probably as hotly debated and widely
discussed among scholars and intellectuals as discussions about the weather are in quotidian
conversation. 7 8
According to a story told to Herodotus, the Egyptian Pharaoh Psammetichus I had carried out an
experiment, known as the Psammetichus experiment in the 7th Century BC, and had concluded that
speech was innate to all humans. This is one of the earliest tests of linguistics known to man. Linguistics
developed independently in China and India before the dawn of the Christian era unaffected by the
concerns of the West and constraints imposed by work carried out elsewhere. Chinese linguistics
began around the fourth century BC. The Xiaoxue, the Erya (An ancient dictionary) and the Xiao Erya
were the early notable works from China. There were the two outstanding early works from India, too.
It is believed that the highly erudite scholar Panini wrote a grammar of Sanskrit (somewhere between
500 BC and 300 BC) called Astadhyayi (literally 'eight books'). Many scholars accredit him with having
played a crucial role in the formation of early linguistics, by whatever name called. Tolkappiyam was
an early grammar of the early Tamil language and was written around the second century BC according
to scholars such as Iravatham Mahadevan and TR Sesha Iyengar. This work consisted of three books
with nine chapters each, and was probably written by Tholkappiyar.
Greek scholars such as Herodotus (whom some consider and believe to be the world’s first
anthropologist), Plato, Protagoras of Adbera, Prodicus, Aristotle, Heraclitus, Sextus Empiricus, Hippias
and Apollonius made major contributions to various facets of the study of language, and set in motion
a process that continued well into later times and impacted the Romans as well. The Greeks also
7 Akmajian, Adrian; Demers, Richard; Farmer, Ann; Harnish, Robert (2010). Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication.
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
8 Aronoff, Mark; Rees-Miller, Janie, eds. (2000). The handbook of linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell.

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initiated philosophical studies on the origin of languages, and discussions on such topics can be found
in the works of Plato. Alexandrian grammarians also made important contributions to various fields of
linguistics such as the formal definition and study of various parts of speech. The Romans did not make
major changes to Roman ideas but modified them in the context of the Latin language. Aelius Donatus,
Honoratus and others compiled the Latin grammar Ars Grammatica in the early Christian era, and this
is considered to be a notable work of its time. Cross-cultural studies also took root in this period due
to the travels and narratives of Hiuen Tsang and Fa Hien both of whom had travelled from China to
India and produced copious narratives of their travels. 9
Alexander the Great’s conquest of India and Megasthenes’ accounts had also kindled interest in distant
lands. Most of the linguistic work from the Middle Ages was focused on grammar, and was merely an
extension of Latin and Greek analyses. Some notable scholars of the Middle ages were Isidore of Seville
of the 6th Century AD, Peter Helias, Thomas of Ertfurt, William of Ockham, Priscian and the Arabic
scholar Sibarwaih. Linguistic studies assumed added importance towards the end of the Middle Ages,
and a significant amount of scholarly output was observed in this era. Arabic and Hebrew literary
traditions had also reached a zenith during this period. An acute interest in exotic cultures was also
prompted by the travels and accounts of Marco Polo and Ibn Khaldun. During the Renaissance,
grammatical treatises were written for several European languages. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Manuel
Chrysoloras, Dante Alighieri and Pierre Ramee were notable scholars of this era. The Académie
française and the British Royal Society also did pioneering work on linguistics in this era. J. G Herder,
James Harris, James Burnett and Sir William Jones were the leading linguists of Eighteenth Century
Europe. The writings of the French philosopher Montesquieu in the Eighteenth Century also triggered
an interest in other cultures and languages, and indirectly contributed to linguistics. The Nineteenth
Century on the other hand, produced scholars such as Wilhelm von Humboldt, Friedrich von Schlegel,
Jakob Grimm, Franz Bopp, Ferdinand de Saussure and August Schleicher. 10
There are also many early theories on language, most of which are obsolete and redundant. They may
even come across to most scholars today as being puerile, childish, and infantile. Examples of such
antiquated theories have included the bow-wow theory or the sound mimicry theory, The pooh-pooh
theory (also known as the expressive theory, the interjectionist theory or the expressions of emotions
theory), The ding-dong theory, The yo-he-yo theory, the yo-heave-ho theory or the social Interaction
source, the ta-ta theory and the chew-chew theory, the la-la theory or the woo-woo hypothesis, the
ma-ma theory, the singing theory, the babbling theory, the hey-you theory, the eureka theory or the
invention theory, the uh-oh theory, the watch the birdie hypothesis, and the hocus pocus theory.
Researchers should not persist with such antiquated theories any more. They would evoke disgust and
condemnation from the general public who are now much better educated than ever before. We, on
the other hand, had proposed a theory known as the’ Epochal polygenesis approach’ which can be
found described in our paper on the origin of language published in 2016.
We also have oral traditions, and these have manifested themselves in many cultures and societies
throughout the world. These can be contrasted with written sources of information which are also
found in many different societies in the world. Given the fact that there are no formal memory aids
employed in oral traditions, the preservation of oral traditions depends solely and entirely on the
memory powers of successive generations of trained and specialized individuals. Examples of oral
traditions have included the Rig Veda of Ancient India, and the Beowulf which was probably passed on
9 Harold G. Coward (1990). The Philosophy of the Grammarians, in Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies Volume 5 (Editor: Karl Potter).
Princeton University Press
10 On the origin and spread of languages: Propositioning Twenty-first century axioms on the evolution and spread of languages with
concomitant views on language dynamics Sujay Rao Mandavilli ELK Asia Pacific Journal of Social Science Volume 3, Number 1 (2016)

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as an oral tradition for some time. Folktales and ballads are also sometimes associated with oral
traditions, as are also many religious texts.
The history of writing
We have a reason to believe based on our current knowledge and evidence that proto-writing
expanded greatly towards the end of the Pre-historic period or in the Neolithic period. The Vinca
symbols dated to around 6000 BC (These may never be deciphered in the traditional sense of the term
as they do not encode speech or language the way most modern writing systems do) exhibit several
properties which were way ahead of their time. Firstly, they exhibit standardization over a fairly large
area. Secondly, they were highly abstract. Thirdly, they appear to have demonstrated an early effort to
combine two signs to create new complex meanings, though this property was still in its infancy. We
also know that these symbols were purely non-linguistic and had no speech-encoding properties.
However, these appear to have served as semi-formal mnemonic aids. However, these demonstrate
both abstraction and standardization, and as a crude rule of thumb, we may infer that innovation in
spoken language predated innovation in proto-writing. Given the rather limited archaeological
evidence, we have every reason to adduce that the development of proto-writing has begun even
sometime before this. This may be a crude and a defective analogy, but we have no other way of
knowing the sequence of events for sure. The second reason we make this point rather emphatically
is the rapid evolution of proto-writing to full blown logo-syllabic writing by 2800 BC and early
alphabetic scripts (Proto-Sinaitic) by 2000 BC which would indirectly but rather strongly imply that
spoken language would have reached some stability before this. Other discoveries include the Dispilio
tablet dated to about 5000 BC and the Tartaria tablets dated to 5300 BC and these imply that the use
of proto-writing was widespread in the Fifth and the Sixth Millennium BC. Proto-writing and symbol
systems were also attested in Ancient China some six thousand years ago. 11
In pre-historic Mesopotamia, the Kish tablet, a limestone tablet from Kish, commonly dated to 3500
BC, symbolizes an example of Proto-Cuneiform, which later went on to become Cuneiform, a complex
writing system of the Ancient world, and probably the first full-blown example of full-fledged writing.
By the end of the fourth millennium before Christ, elaborate account keeping had crystallized in this
region, using styluses as writing instruments. The system was so highly complex, that scribes were
formally trained on it. The Egyptian hieroglyphs were an elegant and an elaborate form of writing
unique to ancient Egypt; these have enticed both scholars and non-scholars for aeons. Even though
these appear to be pictographic, they are actually true writing as acrophony and the rebus principle
were used. This script appears somewhat later than Cuneiform and may or may not have been
influenced by it. We had made out the case that the Indus script was true writing indeed; readers may
check out our two papers on this issue. We had also argued for a limited form of literacy in Post-
Harappan India or the Gangetic plains, and our paper was meticulously researched and reconciled with
our acculturation model as well, down to the last century.
11 Ankerl, Guy (2000) [2000]. Global communication without universal civilization. INU societal research. Vol. 1: Coexisting contemporary
civilizations: Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western. Geneva: INU Press. pp. 59–66, 235s.

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Chapter 2
Literacy and literary
traditions in the ancient
world

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Literacy rates may have never even exceeded a paltry one percent in Ancient Mesopotamia and writing
was arguably the sole prerogative of scribes there. Likewise, full-fledged literacy arising from the
upkeep of administrative records was known to perhaps an even smaller number of people in the Indus
Valley. In ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, writing was so complex, (it was a highly elaborate
and a painstaking job involving highly complex skills, and a large number of wedge like symbols had to
be mastered in the case of cuneiform) that more often than not, even kings could not read or write.
Writing may have been largely limited to business, commercial, administrative and political uses in the
ancient world. In spite of all these factors, oral language has been able to propagate from generation
to generation remarkably well, and across cultures, and the role of written language in influencing
transmission of language was perhaps limited in early times. We may even therefore be able to
categorize language into primarily two types: those which were transmitted from generation to
generation primarily through oral tradition, and those which were transmitted from generation to
generation through the medium of writing. But just what should we call these two groups? We leave
that for other scholars and intellectuals to decide at this point. Proto-language was never coupled with
speech and may have naturally constrained a free flow of ideas. When true writing appeared, it was
extremely limited in application, having been limited to royal records, decrees and administrative
records.
Similarly, the Rig Veda of Ancient India, which was compiled between 1650 BC and 1380 BC in the
Gangetic plains according to mainstream researchers and scholars, was not consigned to writing until
well after the Buddhist era in spite of limited literacy in the region. This is nothing short of miraculous,
and the role of writing in regulating the evolution of spoken language may have enlarged more
recently, and this may have been non-uniform across regions. The Rig Veda was followed by other texts
such as the Atharvaveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, and the Upanishads which were intense works
of ancient Indian philosophy. There were formal scribal schools in ancient Mesopotamia, and many
were associated with, and affiliated to temples. However, eventually, and in due course, secular
schools also began to be established in the region. As education was naturally very expensive, it was
mostly limited to the upper classes. There may, of course have been notable and significant exceptions.
Even slaves learnt to read and write at times, though this was more often the exception rather than
the norm. Some women learnt to read and write too. Sumerian writing schools also came to be known
as “edubba” which meant the “House of tablets”. In the ancient world and in the near east, literary
traditions such as the Epic of Gilgamesh commonly dated to around 2100 BC and the Instructions of
Shuruppak the monarch (which is among the world’ s oldest and most archaic surviving ancient texts,
dated to 2500 BC), were written.
The earliest ancient Egyptianliterature are considered to be the pyramid texts and these were funerary
texts that can be reliably dated or attested to around 2400 BC or so in the late old kingdom, and these
were followed by the coffin texts of 2100 BC or the first intermediate period, and the later ‘Book of
the dead’. Other Ancient Egyptian literature included the story of Sinuhe, and the instructions of
Amenemhaat. In Ancient Egypt, the hieroglyphs were used for inscriptions on the interiors of temples
and tombs; indeed, they stand out as exemplar and stellar works of art in their own right. In Ancient
Egypt, both schooling and literacy were limited to the privileged few; most of these were senior and
privileged officials of state. Literacy was sometimes an essential pre-requisites for official positions,
though at other times, officials were formally assisted by erudite scribes. In some cases, ancient
Egyptian literature is believed to have been read out to audiences who could not read. We have argued
that the Indus script based even on existing evidence had reached the syllabic stage; we therefore, call
Steve Farmer’s bluff. Evidence for this comes from the Dholavira signboard which has been a widely
circulated piece of evidence; there is plenty of other evidence for this which we have discussed in our
two papers on the Indus script, and Sproat’s smoking gun is no smoking gun. It would make eminent

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sense for any interested intellectual and research to read these two papers with the attention they
deserve. Seal writing is almost always extremely short, and merchants would not have produced
hieroglyphs in any case for the simple reason that they would have no reason to do so. There is also a
strong case for “pervasive, quasi-literacy” in the Indus valley, to use Steve Farmer’s term, and most
merchants who may have constituted a fairly large percentage of the populated may have possessed
functional literacy. Additionally, Harappans mass produced writing too from dies, in a way other
contemporary civilizations did not. In ancient India, (in other words, post-Harappan India) the Gurukula
system where students or shishyas learnt from gurus or preceptors after living with them for many
years, is believed to have been practiced; though all theory needs to be reconciled with practical and
uptodate historical models. From our perspective, these were in existence from around 1000 BC, as
they were attested in the Upanishads.
We now provide a brief historical overview of the terms intellectual and intellectualism. Even though
these terms were not widely used in ancient times in the modern sense of the term, intellectual
traditions did exist in some form or the other, and to varying degrees in different parts of the ancient
world, and in most early and ancient civilizations. Humans have let their creative juices flow since early
times; the invention of fire, proto-writing, pottery, arts and crafts, agriculture and metal-making would
bear ample testimony to this. Among early contributions to science and technology, the contributions
made by early Mesopotamians are highly impressive. They made stellar contributions to metal-
working, glass and lamp making, architecture, the production of textiles and weaving, flood control,
water storage and irrigation. They also invented the earliest form of true writing, namely Cuneiform in
the middle of the fourth millennium before Christ. Writing, which in a sense, constituted the pinnacle
of human achievement, was usually mastered by scribes who were small in number in relation to the
total population, and was composed on clay tablets which were subsequently baked. Libraries are also
believed to have existed in Ancient Mesopotamia. Mesopotamians made stellar contributions to
mathematics, map making, medicine and astronomy too, though true intellectualism in the modern
sense of the term probably did not exist then.
Egyptians made important contributions to new technologies and concepts such as mummification,
medicine, irrigation, agriculture, glass-making, engineering, astronomy and grand architecture. They
also invented paper, their own form of hieroglyphic writing, and built libraries, too. Indian science too
took off in a big way in early ancient times, and Indian innovation can be traced back to Mehrgarh, a
pre-Indus valley civilization site, now in Pakistan. Harappans developed metallurgy, irrigation,
agriculture, architecture, their own form of writing besides other inventions and innovations such as
weights and measures. Alphabetic scripts and iron-making took off in Post-Harappan cultures in the
Gangetic plains, where there was some continuity with Harappan cultures, and Ancient Indians made
contributions to mathematics, astronomy and medicine too. In the fifth century BC, the grammarian
Panini made important contributions to the study of Sanskrit grammar. An account of Ancient India is
provided by Megasthenes in his book Indica which is now considered to be lost. Indians also
contributed greatly to philosophy and intellectual thought as evidenced by the Upanishads and
Buddhism, and the term “intellectualism” in sometimes attributed to the Mahabharata period.
In sum, Indian philosophical traditions include both orthodox (or Astika) systems which include the
Nyaya,Samkhya, Vaisheshika, Purva-Mimamsa (or Mimamsa),Yoga and Vedanta schools of philosophy,
and unorthodox (or Nastika) systems, examples being Buddhist and Jaina traditions. Ancient Indian
scholars and intellectuals included Bhaskara, Varahamihira, Sushruta, Bramhagupta, Aryabhatta and
Bihana. The ancient Chinese too made significant technological advancements. Their innovations
included numerous advancements in the fields of mathematics, natural sciences, engineering,
medicine, military technology, geology and astronomy. Their important inventions include paper

14
making, the abacus, the sundial, and the Kongming lantern. Their four great inventions are compass,
gunpowder, paper making and printing. The Chinese also developed their own writing system, and
contributed to literature in a big way. In imperial China, intellectuals were termed as scholar officials
or scholar gentlemen who made important contributions to society. They had to pass examinations
conducted by the king, and were then granted academic degrees.
Ancient Greece was a major centre of analytical thought and intellectualism, and intellectualism
particularly flourished there between the fifth century before Christ to around the second century
after Christ. Greek intellectual traditions were even superior to, and easily eclipsed later Roman
traditions. Inventions that are often attributed to the ancient Greeks include the gear, screw, the
watermill, metal casting techniques, the water clock etc. Greeks also made contributions to
historiography, geography, and cartography. Greek thinkers have included Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus,
Archimedes, Epicurus, Thales of Miletus, and many, many others. Roman intellectualism was not as
sophisticated as that of the Greeks, though they made some important contributions to military
technology and the art and the science of warfare.
Sometime before the rise of contemporary Western civilization, the Islamic golden age was a golden
age of science and culture when polymath such as Ibn Khaldun and Ibn Sina were born. Baghdad was
then the centre of Islamic scientific traditions. Many ancient works particularly from Greek, were
translated into Arabic and Persian during this period. Algebra, geometry, and calculus were developed
during this period. This age is also characterized by moderate Islam, government sponsorship of
intellectualism, the adoption of new technology, and an openness to diverse influences. The modern
glorious Western age of science, technology and intellectualism began with the renaissance and the
enlightenment. “Renaissance” is a French word which means “rebirth.” This term refers to a period in
European civilization typically covering the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and following the dark
middle ages that was characterized by a revival of classical learning and wisdom, and the desire to
revive and surpass a golden past. The renaissance is believed to have begun in Florence, Italy, and then
spread across Europe. The intellectual basis of the Renaissance movement was an early version of
humanism, derived from the Roman concept “humanitas” and the rediscovery of Ancient Greek
philosophy and values. This period is marked by a flourishing of art, architecture, literature, science
and politics. The extended renaissance period saw great scientists and thinkers such as Galileo Galilei,
Isaac Newton, Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, and Tycho Brahe emerge. Leornado Da Vinci and
Michelangelo were also important polymaths of this era.
The Age of Enlightenment also commonly known as “the Age of reason”, was an important intellectual
and philosophical movement that began in Europe, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and
had far-reaching implications worldwide. This period saw the emergence of contemporary values such
as liberty, equality, fraternity, religious tolerance, individual rights, progress, scientific temper and a
separation of the church from the state. This period was preceded by the scientific revolution, and the
works of important philosophers such ad Francis Bacon, Montesquieu, Baruch Spinoza, Immanuel
Kant, Rene Descartes, Adam Smith and John Locke. These were the important intellectuals of the
period who also made several important contributions to human advancement. Important published
works during this era were the “Esquisse d'un tableau historique des progres de l'esprit humain”,
“L’encyclopedie”, “Letters on the English”, “The wealth of nations”, “A treatise of human nature”, and
the “spirit of the laws”. Since then, most important intellectuals have tended to be Western-based
(intellectualism has also been western-centric, and most important technological advancements have
occurred there) even though the East has already partly risen. This trend may be either fortunate or
unfortunate; it depends on how one wishes to look at it.

15
Western intellectuals like Karl Marx and Noam Chomsky have exhibited decidedly Eurocentric
approaches and tendencies, and this may partly stem from a lack of understanding or appreciation of
other cultures. Countries like Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have taken off in a big way beginning
from the end of the twentieth century particularly in varied fields of technology. They have however
lagged behind in true science and true intellectualism. Non-western scholars and thinkers have blindly
copied western concepts and paradigms in their own contexts without modification or alteration, and
this holds true even for relatively much less intellectual pursuits such as the development of new local-
specific economic models. Thus, for example, even Chandrababu Naidu (The ex-Chief Minister of the
Indian state of Andhra Pradesh) slavishly and mindlessly copied imported economic development
models regardless of local conditions, or without understanding the fundamental character of the local
economy; this may explain his defeat at the hustings. There is however, some change now; China
overtook the USA in the number of scientific publications in 2020; India emerged from nowhere in the
1990’s to number three position in 2022.
We need a new intellectualism in developing countries and the non-western world, (and a rebooting
and reimagination of several fields of sciences, particularly social sciences) and one that can shape,
influence, and take into consideration global influences as well, and productively and fruitfully serve
the needs of the present time. This is the crying need of the hour and day well over three quarters of
a century after colonialism formally and officially ended in most parts of the world. The only interesting
exception appears to be demographics and population studies where countries such as India, China
and South Korea have charted their own trajectories, but here too, there have been calls for pro-
natalism. Some people in India and elsewhere have often probably in frustration or despair,
complained of western elitism in intellectualism, but have done very little to generate or produce their
own unique paradigms. We can’t wait to see new schools of intellectual thought emerge in different
parts of the unrepresented world. The creation of a new generation of thought leaders in Asia, Africa
and South America is of paramount importance, and will change the contours and dynamics of science
completely; we have always been working towards that singular objective for close to two decades
now. In a paper we had published in 2023, we had argued that there are no substantive differences in
intellectual capabilities in individuals across the world; we had based this on the certainty uncertainty
principle. While every work is open to criticism, people from all parts of the world must prove their
mettle intellectually, and lay the ghost of racism to rest. But hope is still barely a blip on the radar.
Even as recently as the 1980’s, a knowledge of English was the be all and end all of everything, the
only sign of intelligence and talent, and the only passport to knowledge. What is this, if not
reductionism?
Thus, the Indian right wing and the Indian public in general, must abandon their religion-inspired and
religion-derived constructs, and must embrace (and endorse) a scientific temper The most recent
major schools of intellectual thought have been postmodernism and poststructuralism, and these have
been Eurocentric too, (These schools of thought and practice first emerged in the 1970’s which we
may call the heyday of western-centric intellectualism) and have valued subjectivity and interpretation
over objectivity. They have interestingly never spoken about service to society. Is this a form of pseudo-
science as well? There is however a faint glimmer of hope as evidenced by the anti-religious and anti-
dogma movements now rising from the Middle East. This is however probably just the beginning as a
lot more work needs to be done. Modern intellectuals of the public kind have included Richard
Dawkins, Sam Harris, Steven Pinker, Noam Chomsky, Abhijit Banerjee, Jared Diamond, Al Gore,
Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Kahneman, and others, though they have subscribed to some form of an
ideology such as an unconscious or subconscious Eurocentrism, and are as such not ideal role models
to emulate in other parts of the world. We now need an intellectual awakening not just in India, but
also elsewhere in the developing world; this movement is, as a matter of fact, long overdue.

16
There is one more aspect we would like to highlight; people from less dominant cultures, particularly
those who have been dominated by people from assertive or dominant cultures, are able to perform
cross-cultural comparisons naturally and easily; this is a gift western centric intellectuals may not
possess. Likewise, non-western cultures may also, admit to their weaknesses if required. For example,
intellectual traditions in ancient India may have been esoteric, and may have been limited to the
privileged few. The Caste system which is mostly not endorsed today by anybody in India including the
right wing, (even Veer Savarkar fought against the caste system early in the twentieth century, and
promoted inter-caste dining; likewise, even the present RSS chief has called the caste system outdated)
may be to blame for this; however, people from all walks of life, and people inhabiting all parts of the
world must have the courage to admit to their own weaknesses. This will as a matter of fact, boost
progress. 12 13 14 15
12 Assis, Arthur Alfaix (2021). "History of Ideas and Its Surroundings". In: Bloomsbury History: Theory and Method. London: Bloomsbury
Publishing
13 Gros, Frederic (ed.)(2005) Michel Foucault: The Hermeneutics of the Subject, Lectures at the College de France 1981–1982. Picador: New
York
14 Grafton, Anthony. "The History of Ideas: Precept and Practice, 1950–2000 and Beyond", Journal of the History of Ideas 67#1 (2006):
15 Lander, Brian (2021). The King's Harvest: A Political Ecology of China from the First Farmers to the First Empire. Yale University Press

17
Chapter 3
Pedagogy and pedagogical
theory
The origins of literacy are in some ways tied to the origins of artistic and non-utilitarian behaviour.
Some primitive forms of social learning were exhibited across various taxa and some octopuses and

18
rodents even learnt to use tools. (Laland, Atton and Webster, 2011) other types of socially-transmitted
learning were found in the Galapagos Finch and the Sea Otter. (Millikan and Bowman, 1967) Even
though it is widely believed that lower Palaeolithic tools such as cleavers and Acheulean handaxes
exhibited some non-utilitarian features as pointed out by Thomas Wynn, a specialist in Cognitive
Archaeology, and others, artistic creativity first blossomed in the Middle Palaeolithic period with
definite evidence of reversibility of parts and whole part synthesis and increased cognitive and artistic
ability and personal ornamentation particularly in Neanderthal Man, and then manifested itself in
more complex forms in the Upper Palaeolithic age. Palaeolithic art which includes Art Parietal
(Petrographs and Petroglyphs) and Art Mobilier (Home art) have been found in different parts of the
world. Some of the most impressive examples of polychrome cave art were Altmira in Spain which was
discovered by Don Marcelino de Sautola, Lascaux in France which was discovered by a teenager in the
1940’s, Bhimbetka, Adamgarh and Panchmarhi all in Central India. 16 17 18
Home art dates back to 300000 YBP and a discovery of an engraved rib was made at Pech de L’Aze in
France. Gravettian figurines, Venus figurines such as the Venus of Willendorf, the Venus of Hohlefels
and the Venus of Neuchatel, and other Anthropomorphic and Zoomorphic figurines have been
discovered in the Middle and the Upper Palaeolithic periods. Perhaps one of the most complex finds
till date is the Hohlenstein-Stadel Lion-man figurine, dating to about 40,000 years ago. Unlike older
finds, this figurine represents cognitive abilities such as metaphorizing, or the ability to convey ideas
metaphorically and may have represented a step forward in non-utilitarian technology. One of the
earliest traces of formal communications were the symbol systems of the Early Neolithic period. These
may have evolved from even earlier potter’s marks and non-standardized pneumonic aids such as
symbols found on tortoise shells in Henan province in China. More advanced symbol systems were
characterized by standardization, abstraction and use over a relatively large area, and symbol systems
were ideographic and language-independent. Examples of such symbols were the Vinca Symbols of
Central and South Eastern Europe, Tartaria symbols of Romania, the Gradeshnitsa tablets of Bulgaria
and the Dispilio tablets of Greece.
True writing using speech-recording began in the 4th Millenium BC was tied to political structures, and
the need to maintain administrative and financial records. Examples of true writing were Cuneiform,
and Egyptian Hieroglyphs and these scripts used different techniques to encode sound such as the
Rebus principle and acrophony. These evolved into logo-syllabic scripts and alphabets by around 2200
BC and 2000 BC respectively. The early history of formal education remains fairly nebulous to this day.
Early humans apparently were imparted no formal education at all, and a formal structured education
is a relatively recent entrant in the history of human civilizations. Early humans may have imbibed the
world through their own senses or may have been taught basic life skills by their parents and peers,
though informally and in a rather ad hoc and an unstructured fashion. Training on tool making may
have been imparted from the Lower Palaeolithic age and training on agricultural practices from the
Neolithic age. The earliest formal school was probably launched in Egypt’s middle kingdom under the
direction of Kheti, treasurer to Mentuhotep II. Formal training was also imparted to a small number of
scribes in Mesopotamia and Egypt given that literacy was the prerogative of a small section of the
society which was the offspring of the privileged, and that early writing systems were clumsy to use
and hard to master. For centuries, there was no education for women who were assigned more
mundane chores, and given secondary status. There may have been some formal training for Indus
16 Bailey, Douglass (2005). Prehistoric Figurines: Representation and Corporeality in the Neolithic. Routledge Publishers. ISBN 0-415-33152-
8.
17 An Introduction to Cognitive Archaeology Frederick L. Coolidge and Thomas Wynn, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2016
18 Peter T. Daniels and William Bright. 1996. “The World’s Writing Systems”. Published by Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-507993-0

19
Valley administrators, and other non-administrators in the use of Indus symbols, but there is no easy
way to attest this. In the Vedic period, Vedic knowledge along with some kind of medical knowledge
was taught. 19
A Gurukul system of education also existed but was limited to small groups of people. During the Zhou
dynasty of Ancient China, there were national schools which taught rites, music, archery, chariot riding,
calligraphy and mathematics. In other early civilizations such as Greece, education was mostly private,
and the nature of the education was decided by the parents. Aristotle also tried to bridge the gap
between theory and practice, and introduced terms such as craftsmanship, reasoning and practice.
The forerunners of modern universities were established in Italy, France and England in the 11th and
the 12th centuries, teaching theology, arts, law and medicine. These were midway between monastic
schools and modern universities. Islamic centres of learning were also established after the 8th
century, and Islam also had its own golden age between the Eighth and the Fourteenth Centuries. Most
modern systems of education around the world are derived from Middle Age schools. For example,
the University of Bologna in Italy and the University of Paris, founded in 1088 and 1160, had a Secular
and a Christian basis respectively. There were other private schools though even these mostly had a
religious basis. Most serious teaching was conducted in Latin, and courses were conducted on topics
such as the liberal arts. Meanwhile, countries like Japanwere isolated from the rest of the world. While
literacy levels there were abysmally low in the 1600’s, they increased gradually in the 1700’s and the
1800’s. The Japanese education system merged with the Western Education system after the Meiji
reforms of 1868. Likewise, a Western style education was introduced in India in the 1830’s based on
recommendations by Lord Macaulay. Education was made compulsory in most European countries in
the 1800’s and the teaching of subjects like science and arithmetic was made compulsory.
Most states in the USA too made education mandatory in the late 1800’s, and literacy rates hovered
at around 90%. However, most other countries in the world lagged badly behind. In India, for example,
it was believed that no more that 20% of children attended school in 1900. Today, most countries in
the world have made education compulsory, even though the quality of education varies widely. More
children are going to school than ever before. The percentage of population without any schooling
decreased from 36% in 1960 to 25% in 2000. This percentage however varies widely from context to
context, and female literacy trails behind male literacy in most regions. Developing countries are
making rapid strides too: illiteracy rates in developing countries halved between 1970 and 2000, and
are still falling. Since the dawn of globalization and the emergence of the internet economy towards
the end of the Twentieth century, the pace of percolation of technology has quickened considerably.
Its effects on the job market, and on the demands on the educational system, have been great.
Governments and specialists have undertaken various initiatives to identify key skills and
implementation strategies to help students and workers towards meeting the demands of the rapidly
changing workplace and economy. Twenty-first century skills are a series of higher-order skills, abilities,
and learning dispositions that have been identified as a concomitant for success in 21st century society
and workplaces by academicians, educationalists, business leaders, and governments. Many of these
skills also encompass deeper learning as opposed to superficial or rote learning, analytic reasoning,
complex problem solving, practical learning and teamwork, opposed to knowledge-based academic
skills. Albert Einstein is once believed to have remarked. “Education is what remains after one has
19 The History of Education, Patricia Rosof, Routledge 1982

20
forgotten what one has learnt in school”. This statementappears to be an exaggeration, but is a sombre
reflection on the sad state of affairs nonetheless. 20 21
In education, the techniques of which are formally known as pedagogy, (Pedagogy may be defined as
the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject) a learned individual, often
worthy of emulation, acts as a preceptor, and seeks to create an impression in the minds of a naive
observer. In teaching, (1) the knowledgeable individual must modify his behaviour in the presence of
a naïve observer, (2) incurring a cost (or at least gaining no immediate benefit) from doing so, and (3)
the observer must acquire knowledge or skills more efficiently than it otherwise would. (Caro and
Hauser, 1992) These characteristics are predominantly available in human teaching, and set the state
for a scientific and a structured approach to teaching. There was an increasing interest in educational
methods and techniques throughout the Eighteenth and the Nineteenth centuries and attempts were
also made to evaluate, compare and rank different teaching methods and create academic rationales
for teaching methods. However, it is only from the second half of the twentieth century that pedagogy
has begun to show irrefutable signs of morphing into a true science as it is admitted by the German
philosopher Woftdeitrich Schmied-Kowarzik, Italian educationalist Franco Frabboni and Giovanni
Genovesi. Indeed the term pedagogy is now an all-encompassing term covering a breadth of topics
such as content, teacher training and motivation, learning psychology and student motivation. It is
both a theoretical and an applied science. 22
According to Giovanni Genovesi: “Pedagogy is an autonomous science because it has its own language
and is aware of how to use it according to its own method and its own ends and, by this language,
pedagogy generates a body of knowledge, a series of experiments and techniques without which any
construction of education models would be impossible.” Different learning theories and models have
been applied during various periods in the history of pedagogy, according varying importance to theory
and practice, often subordinating one of the two to the other. Learning theories may be defined as
conceptual frameworks that seek to understand how students absorb, retain and process knowledge
during learning. Classical theorists have included Plato of Ancient Greece and John Locke –the later
proposed the idea of tabula rasa or blank slate. The theory of Behaviorism was developed by John
Watson, B F Skinner (Skinner’s theory was known as Operant Conditioning), Clark L. Hull (Systematic
Behaviour Theory or Drive Theory), Edward C. Tolman (Purposive Behaviourism and Sign Learning) and
others. According to the Social Learning theory, new behaviour can be acquired by observing and
imitating others. This was based on work by Albert Bandura and Vygotsky. Constructivists believe that
learners interpret new knowledge on the basis of what they already know or understand, and that new
knowledge was built over existing knowledge. 23
The Transfer of Learning Approach and Connectionism (Connection between sense impulses and
impulses to action) were likewise proposed by Edward Lee Thorndike and others. The Theory of
Psychodynamics and psychodynamic psychology was proposed by Sigmund Freud who also touched
on topics such as psychoanalysis and hedonism. Other leading figures in the history of education have
included Thomas Jefferson, who, in 1781 published his views on education in ‘Notes on the state of
Virginia’. His views included a local flavour to education, mandatory public funded education for three
years and state support for deserving students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. John Dewey
20 The Origins of Pedagogy: Developmental and Evolutionary Perspectives Amy E. Skerry, Department of Psychology, Harvard University,
Cambridge, USA.
21 The History of Pedagogy: Gabriel Compayre D C Heath and Company 1886
22
Theories of Learning Ernest R. Hilgard Surjeet Publications, 2011
23
Kennington, Richard., (1985). The Philosophy of Immanuel Kant. The Catholic University of
America Press, Washington DC

21
was another influential educationalist who also proposed the idea of functionalism. He was also
associated withthe philosophy of pragmatism. Dewey's ideas were presented in “My PedagogicCreed”
(1897), “The School and Society” (1900), “The Child and the Curriculum” (1902), “Democracy and
Education” (1916), “Schools of Tomorrow” (1915) and “Experience and Education” (1938). Dewey
believed that education and learning were social and interactive processes, and students needed to
interact with the curriculum, and participate in their own learning. 24
Margaret Haley was another famous educator who focussed on a child-centred pedagogical approach
and teacher training and development in the early Twentieth century. Other influential figures in
education were Alexander Crummell, Mary McLeod Bethune, WEB DuBois, Daniel Payne, Inez Beverley
Prosser and Booker T Washington. Oppressed themselves, they played a major role in promoting
education among Blacks. Other interesting figures were Benjamin W. Arnett, legislator who fought or
Black education, Jean Wesley Gilbert, the first Black Archaeologist and Daniel Hale Williams founder
of the first school for Black nurses. Various learning theories have also been developed, since their
early theorists such as Jean Jacques Rousseau (He proposed that humans went through different
stages, and different types of learning were appropriate for each stage), John Amos Comenius (often
considered to be the father of modern education- he supported equal education and learning in the
local language), Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (formulated several modern principles in education), Otto
Friedrich Theodor Heinsius25
, Friedrich Froebel (who proposed the idea of Kindergartens), to Soren
Kierkegaard, Max Stirner, Friedrich Nietzsche, Johann Friedrich Herbart (played a major role in
constituting Pedagogy as a separate discipline), Immanuel Kant (who emphasized value, knowledge,
human nature, learning, transmission, society and opportunity), Henri Bergson (perception and
memory), Edwin R. Guthrie (Contiguous conditioning), and Stanko Gogala (Cultural Pedagogy)
(Suchodolski, 1978).
These were followed by the New School or the Alternative schools movement (which included Paul
Goodman, Edgar Z. Friedenberg, Herb Kohl, Jonathan Kozol, and James Herndon), George Snyder’s
nondirective pedagogies (Snyders, 1974), Fernand Oury and Institutional pedagogy which focuses on
the complexity of the learner and the unconscious factors which the learner brings to the classroom
(Lobrot, 1967; Oury, Vasquez, 1967) and constructivism and contextual learning (This philosophy
proposed by Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky and others proposes an ontological perspective of how humans
make an interaction in relation between their experiences and their ideas). Contextual learning also
places importance of cognition and problem solving. There also have been calls for a shift from a
teacher-centric approach (with an emphasis on content and perceptions of teacher superiority) to a
learner-centric approach (These include experiential learning or learning through experience
(Proposed by David A. Kolb in the 1970’s), hands on leaning and applied learning) (Brown, 2003; Crick
& McCombs, 2006; Harris & Cullen, 2008) but progress and implementation have been somewhat
tardy. Other more controversial approaches to pedagogy have included Critical Pedagogy which is
based on works by Paulo Freire. This links learning with oppression and social justice and does not
distance learning from political realities and contexts. 26 27
Another emerging area is Dialogic learning which draws its power from egalitarian dialogue where
validity of arguments and not association with power play a critical role. Educational Psychology is an
interface between education and psychology, and this is a branch of applied psychology dealing with
the problems, processes and products of education. It also tries to apply the psychological principles,
24 4 Passion, Fusion, Tension: New Education and Educational Sciences by Rita Hofstetter (Editor), Bernard Schneuwly (Editor) ISBN-13: 978-
3039109838
25
26 Advanced Educational Psychology S K Mangal Prentice Hall India 2014
27 A Textbook of Educational Psychology Hans Raj Bhatia Macmillan Publishers India Limited, 1977

22
theories and techniques of human behaviour in educational situations. The first chair of pedagogy was
established at the University of Halle in Germany in the 1770’s. Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi of
Switzerland and Joseph Lancaster of Britain also contributed to the study of pedagogical techniques.
Under the guidance of Wilhelm von Humboldt a new university was founded in Berlin (University of
Berlin) in 1809 and this university, which was later named Humboldt University, became the model for
many other research universities in Europe. In the 20th century, new trends in education have included
Montessori schools developed by Maria Montessori based on a child-centric approach and
development of Waldorf education first proposed by Rudolf Steiner. This approach seeks to stimulate
intellectual and artistic creativity. Pedagogy must provide a consistent and a seamless framework
across sub-disciplines providing a cogent experience to the learner, but alas, well into the Twenty-first
century, this appears to be nowhere close to fruition: the blame for this must probably be laid squarely
on both inadequacies in theory and frameworks and gaps in implementation. According to work by
Hofstetter and Schneuwly, pulls and pressures of, and the nonconvergence of ideas and attitudes of
theorists, professionals and policy makers may be responsible for some of the mess. The German
philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer also laments the fact that sound theorization and the development
of new and relevant frameworks have lagged behind praxis in recent times. (Gadamer, 2000).
We have always emphasized the need for a pro-active approach to Anthropology, and one that is
geared to inducing meaningful change or cultural remediation in societies, but one that is sensitive
towards, and does not trample upon the sensitivities of peoples in different cultures and societies
however big or small. We believe that pedagogy will come to play a significant and a meaningful role
in the fulfilment and attainment of these objectives, and that the Twenty-first century will see a
convergence of these two fields to the extent this is needed to achieve the necessary synergies to
channelize human endeavour for long-term welfare maximization. Whilst the Author is not a
pedagogist, he believes that Anthropological Pedagogy will constitute one of the core and important
sub-fields of Anthropology, and must be utilized to the hilt to channelize human creativity for long-
term human welfare maximization. Some proactivity is inevitable as purely laissez-faire approaches
are fraught with disastrous consequences. This has been witnessed across a gamut of disciplines such
as economics (The replacement of Laissez-faire economics with Keynesian economics) during the
Great Depression and Environmentalism.
For those who are interested, our doctrine of Neo-centrism states that short term and local interests
must be preferably always subordinated to long-term and global interests but the two must be
carefully merged such that short-term considerations are never misaligned with long-term
considerations. At times, it may be justified to formulate exceptions based on exigencies and local
considerations but these must eventually be subordinated to long-term considerations. The principles
of Anthropological Pedagogy, we believe, would be based on similar principles. Anthropological
Pedagogy also goes far ahead of Educational Psychology in integrating pedagogy with Anthropological
Objectives. Educational Psychology has been variously defined as the science of education (Peel
(1956)), as a branch of psychology which deals with teaching and learning (Skinner(1958)) or as a
branch of science dealing with learning right through the human lifecycle (Crow and Crow(1973)) and
is based on well-accepted psychological principles.
Educational psychology also deals with issues such as the individuality and personality of the learner,
personality traits and characteristics of a good teacher, duties and responsibilities of a teacher, conflict
resolution, teacher motivation, selection of syllabus content, nature, laws and theories of learning,
classroom climate, rewards and punishment, group behaviour and group dynamics, guidance and
counselling etc. Educational Psychology also employs tried and tested methods such as the method of
introspection, naturalistic observation, experimentation, field survey method, case history or

23
psychoanalytic method, clinical method and psycho-physical method, most of which are outside the
scope of our work, despite an overlap. Educational Anthropology, sometimes referred to as the
anthropology of education, is a sub-field of anthropology and is based on work carried out by Margaret
Mead and later, George Spindler, Solon Kimball, and Dell Hymes. It gained popularity during the 1970s,
particularly due to work by professors at Teachers College, Columbia University. The primary focus of
educational anthropology is cultural aspects of education straddling the worlds of both informal and
formal education, including aspects such Cultural or learning transmission or enculturation and
acculturation. Of course, Anthropological Pedagogy purports to be much wider in scope than
Educational Anthropology itself, and deals with a study of appropriate learning and teaching practices,
including course content designed for long-term human welfare, progress and survival.
Anthropological Pedagogy must also be differentiated and distanced from the relatively less-known
field of Pedagogical Anthropology.
The latter was commented upon extensively by Maria Montessori and others, and involves among
other things, the study of man from a naturalistic point of view without regard to topics such as the
origins of man, the theories of monism or polygenism, or migration or classification according to race.
On the other hand, it does concern itself with body measurement, anthropometry, craniometry,
osteology and the like. Even though this may sound like a trifle or a bagatelle, the need for a field such
as Anthropological Pedagogy resonates louder than ever before. Religious fanaticism is on the rise in
different parts of the world, often aided by a literalist interpretation of texts, and cases of religious
violence have been rising year on year since 2001. Persecution against religious minorities in some
form was witnessed in over 120 countries in 2016. Many religious communities are being routinely
and systematically persecuted against, a case in point being the Rohingya of Myanmar. The
unspeakable depravity of organizations such as the ISIS has left the world shocked, and its ability to
recruit people among the relatively better educated sections of society must call for introspection.
According to the website ‘The Religion of Peace’, Islamic terrorists have carried out 33409 terror attacks
between 11.09.2001 and 04.07.2018. It claims that 151 terror attacks were carried out in June 2018
alone, killing 976 people and injuring 835. The world remains vulnerable to acts of religious extremism,
and education and learning have done little to stem the rot. Just as science has barely been able shake
off the yoke of Eurocentrism, insular interpretations have been the norm elsewhere in the world
rendering the globalization of science a cruel parody. In 2018, the Chief Minister of the Indian state of
Tripura Mr Biplab Dev’s assertion that the Internet was in use in India over 2000 years ago raised many
eyebrows and a lot of ire. Much more paradoxically, India’s minster for higher education Satyapal Singh
condemned Charles Darwin’s theory of Evolution at a time when each and every piece of fossil
evidence is being discussed threadbare. According to another widely circulated report, Turkey had
decided to stop teaching evolution to school children in 2017, to make way for Islamic learning.
All this only goes to prove that while scientific discoveries are being made with unfailing regularity, a
system to disseminate this knowledge in a manner that will eventually make obscurantism redundant
is the crying need of the hour. To date, we have failed very badly here. In India, as elsewhere, politicians
retain a penchant for dragging education systems in wholly undesirable directions, in keeping with
their narrow and unscientific worldviews. Yoga and Ayurveda are over-emphasized to a fault, (and false
narratives of Pushpak Vimanas taught) but scientific method is ignored. We may proceed to ask who
the unfortunate victims of such tendencies could be: it is undoubtedly the students and society whose
very interests politicians and planners seek to protect, bear the whole brunt of such ill-conceived and
poorly-structured systems. The role of people and individuals in the change process must also be
emphasized. Max Stirner in his work ‘The false principle of our education’ (1842) rightly remarked "It
is very important to bear in mind that a society cannot become new, as long as those who constitute

24
and constitute it remain the old ones." His observations remain highly pertinent and relevant to this
day.
There are however, several new promising trends in the field of pedagogy; these include concepts such
as socio-emotional learning which includes self-awareness, self-management, adaptivity, social
awareness, relationship building and responsible decision making, adaptive learning which includes
tailor-making education to suit the needs of each individual, nanolearning including brief and crystal
clear instruction, open education, digital education, online education, practical education through field
visits or industry visits including preparation of dissertations and project reports, and gamification or
game-based learning including role play and focus group discussion. While these trends are extremely
promising andstand to benefita wide array and assortmentof individuals across the cultural spectrum,
(this is a small sample of the vast portfolio of new promising trends, too) there is a serious dearth of
intellctuals from the non-western world; hence, the needs of people of non-western societies may not
be fully or completely addressed other than though chance or coincidence.

25
Chapter 4
Current limitations of the
field of pedagogy

26
But just what is a theory? A standard definition of a theory is as follows, “A theory may be defined as
an ordered set of assertions about a generic behaviour or structure assumed to hold good throughout
a significantly broad range of specific instances” it is a set of concepts or constructs, definitions of
variables, a domain, suspected relationships and predictive claims. It is also a proposition that can be
empirically tested. On the whole, four basic components are common to most standard definition of
theories, and these are definitions, domain, relationships, and predictive claims. Theories are
important because they provide a rational foundation to explain phenomena that are observed and
are widely prevalent in the real world. (Wacker, 1998) (Gelso 2006) (Guy and Weaver 2011).28
The scientific method is a method for acquiring knowledge that is characterized by empiricism. It has
greatly moulded and guided progress in science directly for some four hundred years, and indirectly,
for much longer. (Though the Ancient Greeks, particularly Aristotle, and to a lesser extent, Socrates
and Plato, contributed greatly to scientific method and reasoning, (Socrates even famously stated,”
there is only one good in the world, namely knowledge, and one evil, ignorance”). further
development is often attributed to later philosophers such as Rene Descartes, Francis Bacon, Sir Isaac
Newton, and others who developed concepts such as rationalism, inductivism and empiricism. Middle
East thinkers also contributed to the Scientific method during the Islamic golden age). Scientific
method is also related to, and guided by Epistemology, which is the science and the philosophy of
knowledge and knowledge-building, and to a much smaller extent to Ontology which is the science of
being. It is also related to the philosophy of science which decides what constitutes genuine science,
and what does not; it also contains a discourse on the aims and objectives of science. Scientific method
involves careful observation, gathering of evidence, data modelling and sampling, exhaustive and
extensive literature review including publications in peer-reviewed journals in order to understand the
current body of knowledge, the application of rigorous skepticism and the elimination of personal
biases and prejudices of various kinds through the openness to consider all kinds of evidence, either
for or against, and the usage of techniques such as dialectical approaches or reflective equilibrium.
This is easier said than done, for it is often said that it is easier to smash an atom than a prejudice.
Scientific method also involves the formulation of hypotheses, via inductive approaches, based on
observations and minimal evidence or proof rather than mere hunches or conjectures, (initial
hypotheses are also known as working hypotheses) and the further refinement and testing of such
hypotheses, through statistical or any other techniques, towards the formulationof theories,principles
and laws; it may also involve in certain cases, the discarding of hypotheses which are shown to be false
or erroneous. Scientific method consists of a series of steps, which can be somewhat similar to each
other, though processes may vary more widely either within or across disciplines.
It is very obvious that the scientific method is a powerful tool, but it does have its own set of inherent
limitations. These limitations exist because a hypothesis must be testable and falsifiable and that
experiments and observations be repeatable, and internally and externally consistent at all times; this
means that scientific method may not offer bullet-proof reliability. It may be somewhat less reliable
for analysing social and cultural phenomena; while scientific method and scientific techniques are
often applied to social sciences research; common and popular examples being field surveys, case
studies research, interviews, focus group discussion, ethnographic research, action research, literature
study, review or survey, archival analysis, so on and so forth, these are not infallible as human
judgement is often involved. Scientific method does not encompass moral and value judgment;
indeed, these are vital in social sciences research. Research is also constrained by current human
knowledge, and is open to human bias and prejudice. Sometimes, research is overly mathematical or
28 Research Design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches, John W. Creswell, Sage Publications, 2014

27
statistical, and this is a temptation we must avoid in social sciences research. Cultural factors are
seldom taken into account, and cross-cultural research design is not instituted. Deductive methods are
slavishly and mechanically followed where inductive approaches and grounds up research should be.
Thus, science does not always lead to the truth, and these can be a margin of error. (Mehta 2001)
Even though science has greatly shaped society since the days of the steam engine, the role played by
pedagogy in this regard has apparently been quite limited.
Thus, knowledge may be situated according to Bhavani Kumkum; people have their own thought
worlds and world views to use our own terms, and these are dependant on enculturation processes;
the Azande tribal people hold witch craft to be dear to their hearts, and the mental make up of the
Sentinelese people is not known as yet. There are fault lines everywhere. Some Indians consider India
to be the oldest civilization in the world, and hold the Vedas to be the fountainhead of all knowledge;
it is difficult to map the transition of pre-civilizations to proto-civilizations and proto-civilizations to
full-fledged civilizations clearly and without any margin of subjectivity; as a matter of fact, these
transitions are complex, and took place at varying speeds everywhere. Most mainstream researchers
consider Mesopotamia as the first fully-developed civilization as it was the geographical epicenter of
old-world civilizations, though in general, terms such as “oldest” are misnomers, and may lack
epistemological validity. Self-glorification apart, there is scant respect for science and scientific
knowledge. Sportsman and cine actors are glorified and glamorized, but not scientists. Why? There are
so many achievers awards in India for other professionals, but not scientists. Why? Maybe our entire
culture needs an overhaul.
Ideologies which are strong beliefs based on untestable assumptions can be said to be the antithesis
of science. They are tied to dogma and untestability of hypotheses and assumptions. They are found
within the ambit and the power of the sciences as well, the latter is known as scientific dogma. The
word “Ideology” is said to have originated from the French word “idéologie” which is tracable to the
time of the French Revolution, when it was introduced by a philosopher, A.-L.-C. Destutt de Tracy. In
crude terms, it may be referred to a collection of beliefs that are not fully and completely tested or
lack universal applicability. David W. Minar describes six different ways in which the word "ideology"
has been used in different periods in time, these being: 1. As a collection of ideas with rigid content,
usually normative, prescriptive and non-changing; 2. As the form or internal logical structure that ideas
have within a set and may not be compatible with external principles; 3. By the role in which ideas play
in human-social interaction; 4. By the role that ideas play in the structure of an organization without
currency outside the organization; 5. As meaning, whose purpose is persuasion; and 6. As the locus of
social interaction.
According to Willard A. Mullins an ideology is composed of four basic characteristics: 1. It must have
power over cognition and must seek to control or influence individuals 2. It must be capable of guiding
and altering one's evaluations and patterns of thinking 3. It must provide guidance towards action or
goad people towards committing actions; and 4. It must be comprised of logically coherent beliefs that
hold within an entity. Terry Eagleton provides some further definitions of ideology as follows:1. A body
of ideas characteristic of a particular social group or class; 2. Ideas which help to legitimate a dominant
political power; 3. False ideas which help to legitimate a dominant political power; 4. Systematically
distorted communication; 5. That which offers a position for a subject; 6. Forms of thought motivated
by social interests; 7. Identity thinking; 8. Socially necessary illusion; 9. The conjuncture of discourse
and power; 10. The medium in which conscious social actors make sense of their world; 11. Action-
oriented sets of beliefs; 12. The confusion of linguistic and phenomenal reality; 13. Semiotic closure;
14. The indispensable medium in which individuals live out their relations to a social structure; 15. The
process whereby social life is converted to a natural reality. Ideology is harmful and detrimental to the

28
interests of science. Ideology produces highly prejudiced quasi-knowledge and pseudo-knowledge
too. We have for example, Eurocentrism, Afrocentrism, Indocentrism and Sinocentrism besides
Marxist historiography (The likes of hardliner dogmatist DN Jha, and to some extent KN Panikkar, have
even unfortunately practised vulgar Marxism) and Dravidian nationalism. We have discussed the
dangers posed by Marxists historians and other scholars to science, society and to the education
system elsewhere given the fact that they are, and very childishly and naively so, highly limited in their
approach.
They are also extremely dangerous to the education system in the sense that they preclude the
inculcation of a scientific temper, and a balanced, evidence-driven approach to issues, one that is so
essential to scientific and societal progress. It is perhaps so limited, illogical and irrational, that it is
even ignorance-perpetuating in many ways. Marxist historiography, we can argue, with its limited
approach is against article 51a(h) of the Indian constitution (just like Hindutva obviously is; refer the
horseshoe theory with states that the far two ends of the political spectrum share similarities) which
states that it shall be the fundamental duty of every citizen of India to develop the scientific temper,
humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform. People subscribing to various ideologies also seldom
talk straightforwardly; they have vague, pie in the sky ideas, and have nothing concrete to offer to
humanity. This sets them clearly apart from other people. Amartya Sen talks about the “Argumentative
Indian”, but this is all because ideologies reign supreme, and because people are highly disillusioned
with them. The kind of extreme bias exhibited by some Marxist historians of yore is another form of
communalism. Let us make no bones about it.
Emic and etic perspectives on issues need to be taken at all times; the former refers to an individual’s
own perspective, while an etic perspective refers to a third-party perspective. To remedy such
situations, cross-cultural research and sharing of perspectives must become more widely practiced
and commonplace through debate, discussion, mutual consensus and the setting up of cross-cultural
research teams. This kind of a research design can be used in virtually all kinds of sociological research,
and can be extended to other fields of research too. Cross-cultural research design involves the
participation of researchers, or subjects of study from various cultural backgrounds (The process of
selection must involve a careful consideration of various factors such as time and effort, and selection
process must be meticulous too) This can greatly override the dangers associated with ideologies (such
as nationalism, parochialism, or racism), ivory tower approaches (thereby mitigating esoteric pursuits
and intellectual nerdism). For this, all participants in scientific activity should be trained in ‘universals’
such as critical, logical, and rational thought, and ideologies of all hues and colours should be
systematically got rid of. The selection of participants must be structured, and must form a logical
process. Even though the world is becoming increasingly globalized, and even managements of
organizations are practicing culture-neutrality, ideology-free science has proven elusive. Scientific
research must also be targeted at cross-cultural audiences; this must become a mindset, and
techniques such as ‘Reflective equilibrium through role swapping’ must be consciously (and
conscientiously) practiced. Biases and prejudices must be systematically recorded and analyzed, and
differing perspectives taken into account and consideration (or at least the perspectives that are
pertinent to the research question). They must also be reconciled with cognitive thought processes.
Ideology also detests empiricism counter-evidence and must be got rid of rapidly in this age and day;
as a matter of fact, that would be a pre-requisite for progress.
One of the guiding principles of this approach is the psychic unity of mankind, a concept that we have
reiterated several times in our papers, and the universality of scientific and research goals too;
consequently, there must be bonhomie, camaraderie, and mutual respect for scientists across the
world, and criticism must be constructive or issue-based, and not ideology or vendetta-driven. The

29
term cross-cultural research design already exists, but our work attempts to take the concept to a much
higher level by introducing several new terms and concepts. Cross-cultural research may be defined as
a systematic study that investigates cultural differences in behaviour and phenomenon. It can also be
accompanied by an annotated approach, where opinions elicited are systematically recorded. Our
papers on Anthropological pedagogy and the sociology of science, along with Twenty-first century
historiography should do the trick here, though this should essentially be a continuous process driven
by better education and pedagogical methods designed for different contexts and settings. 29 30
Thus, revolutions in various social sciences such as economics, sociology, and social and cultural
anthropology must happen, and these subjects must be geared to produce emancipation of peoples
in various parts of the world, rather than providing a limited White man’s perspective on various states
of affairs. This is all the more important given the fact that only these sciences lend themselves to any
type of ‘centrism’. This would in turn facilitate better cross-cultural research design in the long term.
We would also look forward to the emergence of apposite social science research tools, techniques
and methods, and a better collaboration between social scientists and other scientists. Only this can
lay the foundations for a more rational society, and relegate dogmas and ideologies to the background.
But perhaps religion and belief in God will not die down entirely until theological issues remain
unresolved, and religion will remain important social and cultural symbols in most societies. Many of
the concepts we proposed in our two papers on social and cultural change can perhaps help model
future changes in different societies, and can also perhaps lead to a situation where religion plays a
less vital role in society.
Much of scientific endeavour particularly in the social sciences is still not entirely ideology-free, and
the bias is usually either conscious or unconscious. Consequently, much of scientific research in these
fields of science is still not of the desired or required quality. Much of scientific research in the social
sciences is still targeted at popular audiences or European or American scholars often, not at global
scholars and researchers, though ideally, only distilled and sanitized versions must be targeted at
popular audiences; thus polarization still persists to an extreme degree, with adherents of different
ideology seldom talking to each other in an atmosphere free of distrust or suspicion. We are still living
in a dark era of interdisciplinary research and cross-cultural research particularly in the social sciences.
As the adage goes, “one kind of bias legitimizes every other kind of bias” “Every ideology feeds on
other rival ideologies, and either directly or indirectly promotes or instigates them in the long run”.
This rings resoundingly and represents the sad state of affairs today. This is still the age of crooks,
knaves, ideology and dogma. This is akin to the 1970’s which were the dark ages of office automation.
The personal computer had not yet been invented; Microsoft’s office suite was still a decade away, and
so was email; the world wide web would not appear until two decades later. As quixotic as it may
sound today, ideologues many one day be called enemies of science, society and the education system,
or plainly “public enemies”, to recall a Franklin D. Roosevelt era term. Let us make them our enemies
then, and progressively attempt to eliminate them. Ideology is dangerous and counterproductive.
Giving the key to an ideologically drenched individual is like asking the wolf to guard the henhouse.
Let us now attempt to take another parallel from the field of psychology; psychology is the scientific
study of the human mind and its various and different functions, particularly those which affect human
behaviour in a particular or a specific context. We also have various different theories in psychology,
most of which took root in a narrow Eurocentric context. We also have the social convoy theory in
psychology and the convoy model. According to the Convoy Model, relationships with a spouse and
other close-knit family members, (in other words, people in the innermost circle of the convoy), usually
29 Research design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and mixed method approaches, John W. Cresswell, Fourth edition, Sage publishers
30 Research Methodology: Tools and techniques, CR Kothari, New Age Publishers, Second revised edition

30
remain stable throughout the human lifespan. On the other hand, coworkers, neighbours, and
acquaintances, people in the periphery of the convoy, are intrinsically much less stable. Does this
theory take data from all contexts and situations, and analyse exceptions? Maybe not. We also have
the concept of Oedipus complex proposed by Sigmund Freud. This complex refers to a son’s proximity
towards his mother, and his hostility towards his father. This is just a general observation, and has been
highly criticized by other thinkers as well who state it has been formulated with minimal evidence.
Critics also point that this complex may not apply to all cultures. Also, just what are the practical
applications of this postulate? Another idea is that of a self-fulfilling prophecy which was first
investigated by William Isaac Thomas and Dororthy Swain Thomas and later reworked upon by Robert
K Merton. The evidence for such a phenomenon is far from conclusive, and all theories we believe
must be internally and externally consistent, and self-correcting. Another weird example is Hume’s
guillotine which is somewhat abstract in orientation, and can have many potential exceptions. Theories
must also be reflective of human behaviour, and as far as possible, throw light on it. Social sciences
will blossom and flourish is data driven constructs are adopted, and data-driven theorization becomes
the norm. This will also raise the prestige of social sciences in the eyes of the common man, and do
away with pre-scientific constructs too. (Jennison 2011) These are just some illustrative examples; we
also then have Thematic apperception tests and Rorschach inkblot tests which are so abstract, they
are pretty much useless in solving real world problems. 31 32 33
Thus, we have over-theorization in most fields of social sciences; components of theory such as a social
cognition, scientific formulation of syllabi, theories of pedagogical content, and learning metrices
among people in different cultures, and hailing from different socio-cultural backgrounds are
neglected, including second language acquisition of course, and theorization advanced in fields where
it indeed may not even be necessary. Over-theorization also interferes with the ability to correlate
what is taught with practical, real-world applications, but this must be one of the essential pre-
requisites of twenty-first century pedagogy. (Aronson 1997) (Stone 1994) Other related and allied
fields such as social psychology are seldom used to solve real-world social problems leave alone in the
developing world, and the field essentially remains a white man’s beast of burden. Studies of facial
expressions, gesticulations, verbal and non-verbal communication, self-serving biases, and personality
theories must all follow the tenets of social sciences research as espoused in our previous papers, and
follow grounded research method, otherwise they would be compromised and flawed. This would
essentially also include aspects of educational psychology such as a study of human growth and
development, physical growth and personal development, mental development, emotional
development, social development, learning variables, aptitude and mental makeup, personality
development and character formation, a ratification of theories of learning such as conditioned
response, Hull’s theory of reinforcement, the Gestalt psychology of learning, Tolman’s theory of sign
learning, and a reconciliation between all these theories.
Theories in the field of sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and ethnolinguistics are also mostly based
on the limited western experience or esoteric considerations. In our papers, we have amply
demonstrated the practical direction that social sciences and research methodology can take.
Therefore, the various concepts proposed in our papers such as “Continuous zero-based reassessment
of assumptions, hypotheses and methods”, “irreducible simplicity” (if an individual cannot explain a
concept to a ten year old, he cannot understand it himself), and “institutional coherentism” must be
followed, and put to practical use in the field of pedagogy. The context and background of different
studies must also be brought out to students. Refer our papers for further details. Absolute equality
31 General psychology, consultant editor Naima Khatoon, 2012 Dorlin Kindersley (India) Pvt limited
32 General psychology, S K Mangal, Sterling, 1998
33 Behavioural science: Achieving behavioural science for success, Wiley, Dr Abha Singh, 2011

31
must be promoted in education, and old-fashioned methods and techniques such as corporal
punishment must be banned. If such lacunae and limitations are to be permanently overcome, the
only remedy is to promote high-quality intellectualism in other parts of the world, and promote
research that reflects global considerations, not a bad copy and paste from experiences culled from
the western part of the world. We now have countries like Saudi Arabia trying to modernize and bring
about religious reform. However, education is one of the chief pillars reform must be based on. 34 35 36
37
34 Social psychology eighth edition, Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert
35 A textbook of educational psychology by Hans Raj Bhatia, Revised edition, 1977
36 Essentials of educational psychology: Charles E. Skinner. Surjeet Publications, 2008
37 Educational psychology, SP Chaube, Lakshmi Narayan Agarwal, 1983

32
Chapter 5
The Indian education
system

Rebooting Pedagogy and Education systems for the Twenty-first Century: Why we need course-corrections immediately

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