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Personality factors and caste affiliation in the education of Indian adolescents

Kunnel John, Roshin. Personality factors and caste affiliation in the education of Indian adolescents. 2020, Doctoral Thesis, University of Basel, Faculty of Psychology.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/diss/DissB_13537

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Abstract

Abstract
Facilitating human development through education is deemed as a major task of modern welfare states. In view of this, it is important to assess and evaluate predictors of academic performance with the aim of planning a suitable educational system, supporting and fostering known predictors. This is especially relevant for India’s unique context of the caste system, and regional-linguistic differences.
The emphasis of this dissertation is two-fold. As personality is a known predictor of academic performances, we first set out to assess the psychometric relevance and applicability of the five-factor model of personality which is acclaimed as universally applicable. To achieve this, two independent studies were conducted with the aim of psychometric evaluation of two widely used measures (BFI-10 and NEO-FFI-3) and both studies examined two socio-culturally distinct linguistic groups of Indian adolescent school students (N=1117). Secondly, we set out to examine adolescent education in the context of India’s complex fabric of social stratification, especially the governmental ranking of class, viz., scheduled castes/tribes (SC-ST), other backward classes (OBC) and general class (GC). This was done through two studies: 1) a detailed review study on the role of social stratification on the education of Indian adolescents; and 2) a study on the impact of the three governmental classes on the academic performance of Indian adolescents (N=858) from the same school environment, while controlling for family income, age, and gender, as well as self-esteem and life satisfaction.
The twin studies of psychometric evaluation provided very limited support for a five-factor solution for the two measures, pointing to the potential influence of socio-cultural factors on the personality consolidation of Indian adolescents. The review study found that social stratification, as well as caste-based reservation, is a severe impediment for education in India. The third study found a positive relationship between the governmental class and academic performance of adolescent students, wherein a higher level of class predicted better academic performance when controlled for family income, self-esteem, and life satisfaction.
These findings point to the urgent need for further research on the predictors of education of Indian adolescents as well as a strategic action to eliminate the impact of caste affiliation on their education.
Advisors:Nikitin, Jana and Gaab, Jens and Gloster, Andrew T.
Faculties and Departments:07 Faculty of Psychology > Departement Psychologie > Ehemalige Einheiten Psychologie > Entwicklungs- und Persönlichkeitspsychologie (Nikitin)
UniBasel Contributors:Kunnel John, Roshin and Nikitin, Jana and Gaab, Jens and Gloster, Andrew T.
Item Type:Thesis
Thesis Subtype:Doctoral Thesis
Thesis no:13537
Thesis status:Complete
Number of Pages:1 Online-Ressource (V, 67 Blätter)
Language:English
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Last Modified:11 Aug 2021 04:30
Deposited On:10 Jun 2020 13:04

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