Bhubaneswar: The Regional Institute of Education (RIE), NCERT, Bhubaneswar in partnership with UNESCO is organising workshops to review exisiting pre-service teacher education curriculum (Integrated B.Sc.B.Ed., B.A.B.Ed., and B.Ed.) and develop curricular contents on health and well being. The health and wellness of school-going students is of paramount significance as it affects their learning and development. Education develops the skills, values and attitudes that enable learners to lead healthy and fulfilled lives, make informed decisions, and engage in positive relationships with everyone around them. Poor health can have a detrimental effect on school attendance and academic performance.
The National Education Policy (NEP )2020 states: “Concerted curricular and pedagogical initiatives, including the introduction of contemporary subjects such as Holistic Health, Organic Living, at relevant stages will be undertaken to develop these various important skills in students at all levels.” [NEP 2020, 4.24]. The NEP 2020 also focuses on curricular integration of essential subjects, skills, and capacities. Many of the areas and skills mentioned in the NEP 2020 are also the concerns of School Health and Wellbeing Programme such as scientific temper and evidence-based thinking; creativity communication; health and nutrition; physical education ,disabilities, fitness, wellness, and sports; collaboration and teamwork; problem solving and logical reasoning; ethical and moral reasoning; knowledge and practice of human and Constitutional values; gender sensitivity; environmental awareness including water and resource conservation, sanitation and hygiene and holistic health. All these will be an integral part of teacher education programmes.
Pre-service teacher education programme prepares the teachers for school education. Integrating content on health and well being in the curriculum of the pre-service teacher education would prepare the prospective teachers to develop an enhanced understanding of children’s health and wellbeing, proficiency in selecting and incorporating relevant ideas related to health and well-being in teaching learning, and professional competency to plan learning opportunities that would provide meaningful learning experiences relevant for developing values and life skills on health and well-being. Furthermore, it would contribute in creating health-pomoting education syatems and enable learners to thrive to learn and to build healthy, peaacepul and sustainable future for all. There is an urgent need to review the existing curriculum to explore how health and well being contents are included in different components i.e., Perspectives in Education (PE), Curriculum and Pedagogic Studies (CPS), Enhacing Professional Capabilities (EPC) and Field Enagagement (FE) acticities.
In this context, Regional Institute of Education (RIE), NCERT, Bhubaneswar in partnership with UNESCO is organising workshops to review exisiting pre-service teacher education curriculum (Integrated B.Sc.B.Ed., B.A.B.Ed., and B.Ed.) and develop curricular contents on health and well being.
The Objecives of the workshop are:
To review the existing curriculum of pre-service teacher education programme (Integrated B.Sc.B.Ed., B.A.B.Ed., and B.Ed.) of RIE, Bhubaneswar and identify entry points for inclusion of content on health and well-being in different papers, transactional strategies and field based activities.
To develop exemplar curricular content on health and well being for the pre-service teacher education programme (Integrated B.Sc.B.Ed., B.A.B.Ed., and B.Ed.).
Methodology:The existing pre-service teacher education curriculum of RIE, Bhubaneswar will be reviewed in workshop mode by resource persons from NCERT, UNESCO, Universities and D.M School. During the three-day workshop, the resource persons will work in group and review the curriculum in tune with NEP 2020, SDGs and recent policies, guidelines of UGC, NCTE, and affiliated University. The curriculum will be analysed to find out whether (i) school health and wellbeing education are adequlately reflected in objectives/learning outcomes; (ii) the school health and wellbeing education contents are incorporated in the papers included and (iii) the transactional methodologies reflect the required methods of transaction of school health and well-being education.
Expected Outcomes:At the end of the three-day workshop, it is expected that the existing pre-service teacher education curriculum of RIE, NCERT, Bhubaneswar is analysed and draft document covering the health and well being curriculum and guidelines/strategies for inclusion of health and well being in different courses i.e., Perspectives in Education (PE), Curriculum and Pedagogic Studies (CPS), Enhancing Professional Capabilities (EPC) and Filed Engagement (FE) is developed. The curricula contents and guidelines developed will be reviewed in another workshop during June 2023.
