An Institutional Level Case Study of Teaching and Learning Approaches and Underlying Motivations in Indian Context

Abstract

The paper deals with the impact of motivation of faculty and students, on effectiveness of teaching and learning processes respectively. The motivation for choosing engineering as career by the students, and for joining teaching and pursuing it as career by faculty;was probed by a survey of both these stakeholders in the institution. It was found that only half of the students were self- motivated to pursue engineering education. Considerable level of correlation emerged between reasons for pursuit of higher studies and aspirations of type of jobs the students prefer after their studies. Nearly a quarter of the student population in the survey wanted to be entrepreneurs after five years of work experience and beyond. The motivation of faculty to learn and deliver effectively was correlated to their aspirations to pursue research. On the flip side, a quarter of the faculty who didn't get any suitable job before joining teaching, exhibited low motivation to learn and teach, and also considered the authority they wield on students and respect they get from parents as motivating factors to continue in the job. The survey also revealed their wide differences in perceptions of the effectiveness of the pedagogy. The understanding of these factors and creating enabling environment in institutions would enhance quality of engineering education in the Indian context.