Quality of Secondary Education in India

This book provides useful insights into quality issues in secondary education in India and addresses the important questions of why there is need to improve the quality of education; how one can measure the quality of education; and the ways to improve quality. The analysis in this book is conceptually designed at three levels: national level performance and linkages; state level progress, disparities and linkages; and determinants of quality education at school level for measuring students learning outcomes and efficient teaching practices. 

The authors have used both quantitative and qualitative methods to probe into the various issues related to the quality of secondary education at micro and macro levels. This book provides a methodological framework to scholars attempting to measure and evaluate the quality of secondary education under various settings. It provides interesting insights into the identification of factors determining quality outcomes. The chapters discuss issues related to quality concepts, research methodologies, comparative analysis, key challenges, socio-economic linkages of secondary education, quality of education from students' and teachers' perspectives, quality measurement and policy suggestions. This is a valuable resource for researchers and students in the area of economics of education, education planning and administration, development studies and economics. This book is also useful for educational administrators and policy makers. 

Charu Jain, PhD, is an Associate Fellow at the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi. Prior to this, she had worked at various other reputed organisations like TNS India and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Her areas of research interest include socio-economic studies, gender and educational studies, developmental changes and consumer studies. She has extensively worked in the area of large-scale consumer studies, industrial surveys, housing studies, agriculture and macro-economic policy issues. Her current research focuses on educational issues, the handloom sector and agricultural outlook. She has also contributed a few research papers and articles in reputed national journals and has also presented papers in international conferences. She has a gold medal from Guru Jambeshwar University in her post-graduation. She received a PhD from the School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi in the area of education, particularly looking at the quality issues of secondary education in India. Email: charujain13dec@gmail.com
Narayan Prasad, PhD, is Director, Research Unit and Professor of Economics at the School of Social Sciences, IGNOU. He has been associated with this institution since 1992. Prior to joining IGNOU, he has worked in several reputed organisations like Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Commission, Association of Indian Universities (AIU) etc. He was awarded post-doctoral fellowship by the University Grants Commission and visited France under the Indo-French Cultural Exchange Programme. He has completed three research projects and written three books, published by SAGE and Springer. Recently, he has completed another major research project entitled “Assessment of Human Well-being in India” financially sponsored by ICSSR. He has contributed 25 research papers and three review articles to reputed national and international journals. His areas of research interest are: human well-being, human development, spiritual economics and the philosophical foundation of economics. Email: nps20@rediffmail.com