CHAPTER - 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Importance of Radio in

Education, both for quantity
and quality
1.2 Strategies of Utilisation of
Educational Radio Programmes
1 . INTRODUCTION

1*1 Importance of Radio in Education

both for quantity and quality*

Radio has been playing a vital role in the

field of communication since its origin. After the

growth of the printed word as an instrument for

the dissemination of idea, message, information and

knowledge, the spoken word appeared with fresh

tonal values as the vehicle of communication. Radio

works with sound only and as such it has got

immense potentiality. It has the power to stimulate

values, to stir imagination and to increase know­

ledge and understanding. Several studies conducted

from time to time around the world have established

that education through radio is as effective as

classroom teaching and even in many cases has exce­

lled the latter. It has been revealed from the

research studies that in almost all the curricular

subjects including music, radio has worked miracle.

Radio is regarded as an extension of personal

communication, an effective communication with the

individual as well as the groups. At one time radio

can arrest the attention of thousands of people

irrespective of its clientele of various educational

attainments.

Radio being one of the new technologies is

in vogue in education now-a-days. Since teaching

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and learning involve communication between the

teacher and learner through one of the media, the

radio facilitates the process in the field of edu­

cation. with regard to the advent of the new tech­

nology, Faure et al. (1973) have got a positive

view in respect of simplified technology,

"... it would be useful, at the same time as

advance technology is developed, to use sim­
plified technologies, adopted to a country's
particular needs and possibilities, we should
encourage use of new technologies which do
not require massive investment, and intermedi­
ate technologies able to help the regeneration
of education in developing countries. We
should not delay moving ahead while waiting
for new principles to be deduced from advanced
educational technology, the significance of
which is far greater than that of mere tech­
niques " (p. 132).

Radio is one of the mass communication media

which has got a greater advantage over other media

in operation. In this connection Hachten (1974, p.

99) has remarked, "Radio easily overcomes great

distance. The availability of cheap transistors has

made this medium more popular. When Africans cling

to their oral traditions, the spoken word gives the

best results."

Taking into consideration the potentiality

of Educational Technology in which radio is a part.

 3

it has been enunciated by the Government of India

in the National Policy on Education (1986),

" Educational Technology will be employed

in the spread of useful information, the
training and retraining of teachers, to im­
prove quality, sharpen awareness of art and
culture, inculcate abiding values etc. both
in the formal and non-formal sectors. Maxi­
mum use will be made of the available infra­
structure. In villages without electricity,
batteries or solar packs will be used to
run the programme " (p. 22).

The radio has got a distinctive role to

play in the field of education due to the follow­

ing reasons :

1• Radio extends the area of acquaintance

The child gains knowledge only coming in

contact with the physical world around him with

which he is acquainted. This area of acquaintance

is limited. He does not get the scope to enhance

his knowledge and experience about the world out­

side. But radio does this. It brings the world into

the classroom by means of different formats like

description, narration, dramatisation, story tell­

ing, featurisation along with on-the-spot recorded

materials accompanied with the original voice and

natural sounds. In this way radio extends the

area of acquaintance. Corroborating the above valu­

es of radio, Willey and Young (1948) have said.

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" As the scope and range of his experience

expands, the child no longer is limited by
geographical boundaries. Without his being
conscious of the process, radio becomes an
integral, vital part of his life, linking
his immediately and Inevitably with a world
beyond him " (p.5).

As has been rightly remarked by Levenson

and Stasheff (1958, p. 8} that, "the most isola­

ted classroom can get the world geography over

radio. It is translated in such terras which is

becoming meaningful to the child."

In the words of Forsythe (1971, p. 355),

"Radio has the ability to transport listeners

around the world or backward or forward in time."

2• It brings people of rare contributions

Radio brings the people, dead or alive, to

the classroom who have rare contributions to the

society. Even normally it is not possible on the

part of the pupils to hear the voice of such people.

In this connection it may be cited that the voice

of a great scientist, inventor, and/or outstanding

writer, poet, musician, explorer can be heard over

radio giving direct experience to the child.

3• It places events of current nature

Radio presents national as well as inter­

national events of current nature and thus keeps

the pupils informative. The horizon of their

 5

knowledge expands. Radio carries the fresh infor­

mation earlier than the same is found in the news­

papers or magazines. Levenson and stasheff (1958)

have observed rightly,

" Radio presents and interprets the events

while it is still current and before it
becomes history, whereas text-books and even
magazines cannot do that. As pupils listen
to selected news broadcasts and discussions
of crucial issues, they become increasingly
aware of the complex problems they will meet
as citizens " (p. 5).

4• It helps inculcating values

Since radio works with voice and sound only,

it helps the students in their imagination when

exposed to broadcasting. It also acts in stimula­

ting interests of the children and extracting crea­

tivity in them. To cite the views of Mathews (1975),

" To give children a knowledge and command

of words and to train them in the art of list­
ening are educational objectives universally
recognized, in pursuing these objectives the
teacher will find in radio a resource of
special value. Radio images can be more vivid
than reality because they rely on personal
reminiscence, imagination and interpretation.
They can compel, at their most effective, a
greater involvement than some visual signals
but they demand an ability to listen and a
knowledge of words. By using programs that
demand these two requisites the teacher has a
 6

device well suited to help in the develop­

ment of the art of listening and the know­
ledge and command of language " (p. 17)♦

5. It helps the slow learners and the

pupils having poor sight **

The pupils listen to the teachers in the

classroom. They supplement the learning by going

through the books prescribed for the purpose.

Since all the children do not equally benefit from

the books, they need the assistance of broadcasting•

The learners having defective eye sight also get

trouble while reading. For them radio broadcasting

becomes more helpful in their learning. As

pointed out by Levenson and stasheff (1958),

" psychologists have noted that not all child­

ren learn equally well from the printed word;
to some sound is very helpful. To these child­
ren, as well as to those with poor sight whose
reading habits must be guarded, a school with­
out a radio receiver is indeed an educational
tragedy " (pp. 20-21).

6• It teaches all subjects particularly

language and music

Almost every subject can be taught through

radio. But the radio is more suitable for certain

subject areas such as language teaching music etc.

These subjects are best taught through radio even

than that of television. According to Shukla

(1979, p. 11), "Radio specifically can provide

 7

opportunities for developing listening comprehen­

sion as well as improvement of vocabulary, proper

intonation, pronunciation and formalities of speech".

7. It refreshes the knowledge of teadhers

A broadcast programme when presented carr­

ies the content more than what is found in the

text-books. The programme also does not cover

single subject. Various subject areas come into the

fold of broadcasting. Thereby it helps the teachers

refreshing their knowledge on various subjects.

Even they come in contact with the innovative

methods and techniques, change of curricula to

enrich their professional standards as well as the

quality of education. To quote Goyal (1985 , p.l),

"Radio as a medium is attractive and interesting.

Its proper provision and use can make teachers re­

sourceful, imaginative, knowledgeable and skillful.

It is likely to enhance their quality of teaching".

Other points which go in favour of the utili­

sation of radio in education are s

1• Wide Coverage

Radio covers a very wide geographical area.

Even the schools situated at the remote corner of

the country can listen to the radio programmes.

Mountains, hills, rivers, forests do not stand as

bar against its transmission to the pupils of such

 3

areas. It can extend education to a greater stu­

dent-population at one time which ultimately saves

time, energy, money and manpower. As viewed by

Nath (1978),

** Educational Broadcasting has immense po­

ssibility in developing country where con­
straints of finance, equipment, qualified
teachers and other inputs operate adversely.
Large coverage is an important point in its
favour * (p. 9).

According to Fossard (1984),

" Radio is a very effective medium for co­

mmunication. In some places of the world,
it is the only medium of education for child­
ren who live in very remote areas. In these
cases, radio must become the school; the
radio program must become the class." (p. 3.)

2. Cheap Medium

In comparison with other technologies which

are in vogue in the field of mass education, radio

is regarded as the cheapest medium now-a-.days .

Even the schools at the rural setting can have a

radio without much difficulty. In support of the

cheapness of the medium Jamison and McAnany (1978)

have said,

" Radio broadcasting is one medium of mass

communication that is proving to be essen­
tial for rural development. It has been used
in both formal and non-formal education.
 9

Evidence appears to show that radio broad­

casting is more popular than other mass co­
mmunication media such as television broad­
casting because of its cheapness " (p. 334).

3. Infrastructure and experience

Radio has got a well-developed infrastructure

for production of programmes as well as transmission

of the same. This has been possible due to the well

organised system in the use of this medium over the

years.

The use of this medium is also backed by

long experience in the field manned by trained per­

sonnel. Among the newer technologies, radio ranks

first in respect to its use in education. As such,

experiences in this regard have been accumulated

over the years which assist in the smooth running

of the medium.

4• Inexpensive production and utilisation

The production of educational radio progra­

mmes is less expensive in comparison to that of

television programmes. Similarly, the cost involved

in the utilisation of the same is much less than

that of television. When there is no power supply

the television cannot function but radio can function

with the help of battery and as such no difficulty

is faced in the utilisation of educational radio

programmes.
 10

Mathur (1965) has also conformed the above

statement,

" In the present situation the radio has some

obvious advantages, production and transmiss­
ion arrangements are already much advanced and
the costs are not so high. Shortage of low
priced receiving sets is a serious challenge
and transistorised sets produced and distribu­
ted in large numbers will be a blessing to
villagers and towns people alike. Besides, no
medium can provide for the production and pre­
sentation of programmes of local and regional
culture to the extent that the radio can *
(pp. 12-13).

According to Cassirer (1971, p. 199), "The

recording of radio programmes is easy and relati­

vely inexpensive, and school system in Great

Britain maintain supplies of recordings for their

teachers to use in the classroom."

5• Easy repair and low maintenance

Another plus point in favour of radio is

that it can be repaired easily and the spare parts

do not cost more than that of television. The tech­

nical know-how is available even in the rural areas

whereas it does not hold good in case of television.

Maintenance of radio is within the easy reach of

any type of educational institutions. It does not

need more power to function when it operates in

electricity. In absence of power supply, radio can

be operated in battery, the cost of which is nominal.

 u
Considering the effectiveness of Radio in

education it has been advocated in the Report of

the Education Commission, 1964-66 (1971),

** We recommend that Education Departments

should work with the All India Radio for the
use of radio lessons, supplemented with pri­
nted material for the teachers, and, if
possible, for the pupils, we also recommend
the broadcasting of special radio talks, in
the early morning or late evening, specially
designed for teachers whicn will help to
deepen their subject knowledge and guide them
in lesson preparation." (p. 412).

In this connection the opinion given by

Faure et al, (1973) is timely and relevant, where in

they have very firmly stressed the use of radio in

education in developing countries which may be read

as,

" Radio is the only advanced communication

technique which has found its proper place
in developing countries. Where conditions have
permitted, it has become well established and
widespread; yet, it seems to us that insuffi­
cient educational use is made of this virtua­
lly universal method of distribution. People
often seem to have been deterred by the repu­
tedly greater efficiency of other media which,
however, have the major defect, compared with
radio of being unable to cope for such wide­
spread distribution - or anything like it -
for a long time to come. The very low cost and
adequate reliability in all climates of
 12

miniature transistor radios mean that radio

broadcasting should more and more be recog­
nised as a particularly suitable medium for
educational purposes. H (p. 122)

Realising the importance of Educational Broad­

casting, Mohanty (1984) very aptly has said,

" Importance of educational broadcasting

cannot be over emphasized for accelerating the
pace of national development in general and
for bringing about qualitative as well as quan
titative improvement of education in particu­
lar. This is felt more significant in develop­
ing countries like India where socio-economic
condition is yet to reach a take-off stage
and universalization of elementary education
is still to be realized as per the Constitu­
tional Directive " (p. 1).

Radio has gained reputation not only in for­

mal setting of education but in non-formal system

too. Non-formal system of education may be defined

as any organised educational activity outside the

established formal education system which provides

learning situations for various target groups com­

prising of children or adults or both.

1.2 Strategies of Utilisation of

Educational Radio programmes

Radio concerns with one sense organ i.e. ear.

It communicates message through sense of sound

only. The educational broadcasts help the students

in their imagination and formation of picture

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mentally. The canvas of Imagination is so vast

that the listener can paint on it pictures of rich

variety with full of life and colour. Radio broad­

cast gives more content matter than the textbook.

It supplements the classroom instruction to such

an extent that a student does not get normally.

Only to tune the radio at the time of school broad­

cast is not all on the part of a teacher. He has

certain other responsibility too. It has been

rightly observed by Whitehouse (1936),

M Let me anticipate one possible objection

by stating that I am not so foolish as to
think that a broadcast can replace a teacher.
That would be fatal fallacy. The presence of
the master or mistress would always be nece­
ssary. They would deal with points of diffi­
culty. They would correct notes, lead a dis­
cussion, and could help in many other ways.
Their influence would be increased " ( p.51).

For its effective utilisation certain points

are to be taken into account. They are physical con'

dition for listening, organisation of the class,

preparing students for broadcast,' listening activi­

ty, post-listening activity and follow-up activity.

These have been discussed in detail below :

(a) Physical condition for broadcast

Effective radio education begins with the

physical condition of the classroom which includes

advantages of ventilation, lighting, free from

outside noise and good seating arrangement of

students. Well ventilated rooms as well as the

rooms which have got the facility for getting ade­

quate light help the students to be mentally sound.

If the students are allowed to see the outward

scenery, their listening will be distracted and

hence the very purpose of radio education will be

lost. Hence the seating arrangements of the students

will be such that their listening will be perfect

without having any obstruction.

(b) Organisation of the class

Organisation of the class is also an import­

ant factor for radio listening. The teacher is

required to test the functioning of radio set before

it is utilised in the class. The set is to be kept

in such a place from which it will be audible clea­

rly to all the students.

(c) Preparing students for broadcast

After organisation of the class, the duty of

the teacher is to prepare the students to listen

to the broadcast programmes, prior to broadcast,

the teacher will initiate the topic by way of dis­

cussing with the students. This will help the stu­

dents to be prepared mentally to listen to the

broadcast topic. This has been corroborated by Mathur

(1965),
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H A lesson on the radio, for example, is not

an angel come to take over the teacher's
task. On the contrary, it makes heavy demands
on his time and energy. A teacher is expected
to prepare himself well in the content of the
lesson, to stimulate among his pupils a desire
to listen to the particular programme, and to
encourage them to cultivate the art of good
listening which can be described as an amalgam
of quiet behaviour sustained concentration and
an open and receptive frame of mind " (p. 31).

At this stage the teacher may take the help

of map chart, model and picture. The support

materials supplied earlier to the schools help the

teacher in conducting school broadcasts smoothly.

(d) Listening activity

During broadcast the teacher will present in

the class and will share listening with the students.

The teacher is to see that perfect silence is main­

tained in the class. He is required to do monitoring

during broadcast. He will watch and record the por­

tion of broadcast which the students appreciate.

Similarly the portion which the students do not like

will also be noted down by the teacher. The react­

ions of the students and the opinion of the teacher

with regard to realisation of educational objecti­

ves, form of presentation, content covered will help

the programme maker to make improvement in the pro­

grammes for adequate utilisation at the school level.

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With a view to giving support to the broad­

casts and for the easy understanding of the stu­

dents, the slides and filmstrips are being used

now-a-days in the name of radio vision* The teacher

may bake the help of such materials for the better

understanding of the topic by the students when

there is school broadcast*

(e) Post-listening activity

This stage comes after the broadcast is

over, since radio cannot talk back, the presence

of teacher is essential to clarify the doubts of

the students. Here the role of the teacher is to

extract answers from the students as to what extent

they have understood the broadcast lesson. Here

the teacher may ask a number of questions related

to the topic. As has been rightly remarked by

Mathur (1965, p. 31), "After the broadcast is over,

the teacher should lead the pupils into an anima­

ted discussion on the subject matter so that they

may question one another and the teacher, and in

the process assimilate the lesson more thoroughly

than mere listening would enable them to do." In

case of deficiency in their understanding, the tea­

cher may clarify the same with the help of audio­

visual materials.

(f) Follow-up activity

This is regarded as the last stage of school

broadcast. At this stage the teacher may motivate

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the students for reading further on the matter

related to broadcast# locating geographical re­

gions# collecting specimens# conducting scientific

experiments and so on. The teacher also gets scope

to pull out the creativity in the students. The

students may like to write poem# dialogue or they

may like to draw pictures depending on the area of

interest and the talent they have in them.

A log book is also required to be maintained

by the teacher on everyday broadcasts which can help

him giving feedback regularly.