Effectiveness of Integrating Vedic Educational Principles on Learning Outcomes in Biology of Secondary School Students of Odisha

Abstract

Biology instruction in Indian schools is mostly based upon rote-learning, which hinders holistic learning and conceptual understanding among learners. National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 mandates incorporating Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) in a scientifically validated manner in school curricula. However, the pedagogical practices followed in classrooms still need exploration. Hence, the present study aimed to explore the effectiveness of integrating Vedic and Ayurvedic education in learning biology and then its effect on students’ academic achievement. A quasi-experimental single-group pretest-post-test design was used with 30 students, studying in class 8 in a Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) affiliated school in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. A biology achievement test (BAT), developed by the researcher containing 50 marks, was conducted before and after the intervention of six sessions (2 weeks). The sessions of 40 minutes each were conducted with the help of a 5E model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate) lesson plan prepared for a specific chapter which included Vedic pedagogical concepts like Shravana, Manana, Nidhidhyasana, Pratyakshya, Yukti, Shastrath, and Abhyas. A two-tailed paired-samples t-test (SPSS) was applied for analyzing the data. The result revealed that the student’s BAT scores improved significantly from pretest (M = 23.33, SD = 11.06) to post-test (M = 32.63, SD = 8.99), t(29) = -9.52, p < .001 with a very large effect size (Cohen’s d = 1.74). The reduction in the scores’ variability reflects that lower achieving students received more benefits from the intervention. Thus, the study concluded that there is a pedagogical, cultural, and policy-level significance in integrating IKS with the teaching of science. The study also provided a feasible model for effective implementation at the level of middle schools in accordance with NEP 2020.