NITTTR, Bhopal Module-2 Professional Ethics and Sustainability

RATIONALE
Professionals are required to practice value-based ethical behaviour in their professional and
personal lives to achieve perpetual prosperity and happiness for maximum possible number of
people. However, appropriate professional behaviour is possible only when professionals have a
clear understanding of self and appreciation of importance of working with harmony at various level
of existence. Professionals are also supposed to take care of social issues and environmental
protection while working for economic development and well being of their clients. This module
therefore, attempts to develop understanding that for achieving sustainable prosperity and
happiness in life, it is important to accept the concept of co-existence and need of harmony at
different levels of existence such as self, family, society and nature. This understanding is more
required for professionals as compared to other occupations and therefore this module strives to
explain that what makes ‘Professions’ different from other occupations.

In this context it is important that appreciation for values, professional ethics and sustainability
should become necessary component of any professional education. For this to happen, it is essential
that teachers in professional education system themselves first understand the importance of
universally accepted values and the need of self-exploration3 as the process for value education and
for appreciation of ethics. It is also important for teachers to show value-based and ethical
professional behaviour so that they may become role models for the students and hence expected
behaviour from a teacher as professional is also discussed in this module.

Environment Conservation is also one of the essential conditions for perpetual prosperity and
happiness of not only future generations but even of this generation. Therefore, the foremost
professional responsibility of teachers is that they should develop desired knowledge, skills and
attitudes for environment protection in the UG students who would be professionals on graduation.
It is in this regard that the concept of sustainable development with reference to importance of
development for poverty alleviation and its side effects on environment is explained in this module.
Special approaches to be adopted for sustainable development to ensure environment protection
and energy conservation are also emphasized. Since the professionals are at the top of their
professions, they are expected to self-regulate themselves, for which the role of professional
societies is also highlighted in this module.

The learning effort required by the teachers for this module is 40 hours, which will include studying
the e-content and related videos, completing activities and assignments. The process of completing
activities and assignments, participating in discussion forums and taking the tests will further clarify
the concepts.

MODULE OUTCOMES
After completing the learning tasks in this module, the teacher trainee will be able to:
a) Practice the roles of ‘Technical Teachers as Professionals’ in establishing the 'Guru-Shisya
Parampara’ (गुरु शिष्य परं परा) in the present context.
b) Establish the interdependence of the ‘Harmony at Different Levels', 'coexistence' and ‘Sarve
Bhavantu Sukhinah’ (सर्वे भर्वन्तु सुखिनः)
c) Suggest with justification, ways and means for ensuring ethical behaviour by teachers.

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 NITTTR, Bhopal Module-2 Professional Ethics and Sustainability
d) Interpret the concept of ‘sustainable development’ with reference to ‘need of development
for poverty alleviation’ and ‘impact of development on ‘Panch-Tatva’ (पंच-तत्र्व)
e) Adapt the appropriate approaches and techniques for sustainable development.

CONTENTS
Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals
L 1. Professions and Professionalism
L 2. Technical Teacher as a Professional: 'Guru-Shisya Parampara (गुरु शिष्य परं परा)
L 3. Professional Excellence
L 4. Mentoring and Counselling of University Students
L 5. Social Responsibility.

Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills

L 6. Human Aspirations: Sustainable Happiness and Prosperity
L 7. Harmony with Oneself
L 8. Harmony with Family, Society and Nature for Co-existence: ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah’ (सर्वे
भर्वन्तु सखु िनः)

Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics

L 9. Understanding of Values, Attitudes and Ethics
L 10. Value Education: Need for Self-Exploration
L 11. Professional Values and Ethics for Technical Teachers
L 12. Ethical Conflict: Case Studies of Professionals
L 13. Code of Conduct: Academic Ethics and its Implementation
L 14. Role of Professional Societies.

Unit 4: Sustainable Development

L 15. Development and Poverty Alleviation
L 16. Impact of Development on Ecosystem: Panch-tatva - (पंच-तत्र्व)’
L 17. Sustainable Development: Concept and Environmental Ethics

Unit 5: Approaches for Sustainable Development

L 18. Sustainability: Cradle to Cradle Approach
L 19. Role of 5Rs for Sustainable Development
L 20. Development of Organisation Culture in Institutions for Sustainable Development
and Values.

Coordinator: Prof.(Mrs.). Asmita A Khajanchee, NITTTR, Bhopal

Co-coordinator: Prof.(Mrs.) Chanchal Mehra, NITTTR Bhopal
Contributors: Dr. Shashikant Gupta, Prof. Joshua Earnest, Prof.(Mrs.) Asmita A. Khajanchee,
Prof.(Mrs.) Susan S. Mathew, Prof. Sandip S. Kedar, Prof.(Mrs.) Chanchal Mehra, Prof. B.L. Gupta,
Prof. A.K. Jain, Prof. A.K. Sarathe, Prof. Aashish Deshpande, Prof. G. Janardhanan, Prof. P.W.
Dandekar, Prof. N.V. Deshpande, Mrs. V. Deshpande

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 MODULE 2
Professional Ethics and Sustainability

Unit 1
Technical Teachers as Professionals

L1 Professions and Professionalism

L2 Technical Teacher as a Professional: 'Guru-Shisya

Parampara'

L3 Professional Excellence

L4 Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

L5 Social Responsibility
L–1: Professions and Professionalism

Contributors

Dr. Shashi Kant Gupta

Professor of Assessment and Evaluation

Prof. (Mrs.) Susan S. Mathew

Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462002
Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L1: Professions and Professionalism

L–1: Professions and Professionalism

Learning outcomes: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
LO 1. Describe the role of a professional in his/her occupation.
LO 2. Distinguish between profession and professionalism.
LO 3. Justify the need of professionals for creating new knowledge.
LO 4. Describe the concept of self-regulation with reference to a profession.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 CHARACTERISTICS OF PROFESSIONALS ...................................................................................................... 3

3.0 PROFESSIONALS DEAL WITH A VAST BODY OF COMPLEX KNOWLEDGE ................................................... 4

4.0 PROFESSIONALS CONTINUE TO CREATE ‘NEW KNOWLEDGE’ IN THEIR PROFESSION ............................... 5

5.0 PROFESSIONALS DEAL WITH HIGH STAKE ACTIVITIES................................................................................ 6

6.0 PROFESSIONALS WORK BASED ON TRUST WITH CLIENTS ......................................................................... 8

7.0 PROFESSIONALS ARE SELF-REGULATING ................................................................................................. 12

8.0 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................ 14

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................................... 15

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L1: Professions and Professionalism

Lesson –1
Professions and Professionalism

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Teachers of higher education institutions are regarded as professionals in the same way as
doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants, engineers and architects. This brings along with it
special responsibility on the shoulders of faculty members of higher-education institutions.
Therefore, every faculty member need to understand what makes professionals different
compared to other occupations such as administrators or executive officers (IAS, Income Tax
commissioners, Revenue officers, Managers and other government officers) defence
(military, police and such others), traders (businessmen and marketing executives) and crafts
persons (technicians, plumber, carpenters, clerks and such others). The faculty members
should also contemplate what the society expects from them as professionals. In other
words, ‘what are their responsibilities or privileges as professionals’? These issues are
discussed in this lesson.

2.0 CHARACTERISTICS OF PROFESSIONALS

The concept of ‘Professionalism’ is closely related to professions. Professionalism is such an
abstract and complex concept that it is difficult to define it absolutely. For understanding the
concept of ‘professionalism’, it is essential to discuss the characteristics of professionals.
However, if you can identify the necessary and sufficient conditions of professionals or the
characteristics/attributes of professionals, then you can understand professionalism in a
better way. In other words, you can give a normative definition of professionals or
professionalism by listing the essential and sufficient conditions for it. Bayles (1989) defines
the term ‘profession’ as ‘Professions are those form of works, which involves advanced
expertise, self-regulation and concerted service to the public good’. From this definition it is
obvious that:
i. Professionals deal with vast and complex knowledge.
ii. Professionals continue to create new knowledge in their profession
iii. Professionals deal with high stake activities
iv. Professionals work based on trust with clients.
v. Professionals are self-regulating.

Professionals of any class i.e. whether Doctors, Lawyers, Professors, Scientists, Chartered
Accountants, Architects or Engineers are supposed to possess the following five essential
characteristics discussed in the following sections. For any occupation to be declared as a
profession that particular occupation need to possess all of these FIVE characteristics and
absence of even one of these will render that occupation not as a profession.

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L1: Professions and Professionalism

3.0 PROFESSIONALS DEAL WITH A VAST BODY OF COMPLEX KNOWLEDGE

All occupations require some kind of specialized knowledge for performing the jobs related
to that profession. Even occupations or vocations such as that of a carpenter, welder,
plumber or electrician, the person is required to possess some special knowledge/skills
related to that vocation for performing their duties. But for most of the vocations, training of
one or two years after schooling (up to the secondary, i.e. grade/class tenth) is sufficient.
However, this condition is not so with respect to professional knowledge.

However, first and foremost is that the special knowledge required to be possessed by
professionals of that ‘body of knowledge’ has to be quite vast and complex. The profession
related knowledge is so vast that it requires many years of study at higher levels of thinking
to acquire that level of knowledge. Secondly, this specialized knowledge is so complex that
for its proper use, it must be understood in its totality, which means that understanding of
the relationship between different components of that body of knowledge which is equally
important.

For example, acquiring professional qualifications in the areas of engineering, medicine and
law, five to seven years of academic study is required after successfully taking the secondary
school leaving certificate. This includes two years of higher secondary (i.e. class/grade
eleventh and twelfth) and minimum four years of UG education. For mastery in any of these
professions, two more years of PG education is required. For becoming a leader in the same
profession, a research degree such as Ph.D. or super-specialization is also required. This will
again entail a minimum of three more years of hard work after their PG education. Thus, it
works out to making it a minimum total eleven years of very hard work or ‘tapasya’ after
class 10th or lower secondary education.

Application of professional knowledge also calls for more complex decision making, that too
in a given context (engineering situation, medical/legal case). The context of application of
knowledge in most cases is a social context, directly related with the human beings and
makes each case a unique one. Some examples of complex situations are given below:

ACTIVITY- 1
State two areas of your expertise which fall under the category of 'vast and complex body
of knowledge'. For each of your identified areas, specify the depth of knowledge you
have attained and what more need to be attained in those areas of your profession and
post them in your E-portfolio.

a) A student of medicine might have studied treatment for blood pressure, diabetes
and some contagious disease such as typhoid during his/her college days, but in real
life s/he may face patients, who are having all the three ailments simultaneously, the
of case becomes more complex. In some situations, if the patient is an infant baby or
very elderly person or a pregnant lady it becomes still more complex.

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b) Each student is different from one another since different students have different
IQ,EQ, aptitude, attitudes, learning styles, social background, financial background,
interests and aspirations, which reveals that each student is unique. Therefore,
professors need to understand these differences for dealing with students.

4.0 PROFESSIONALS CONTINUE TO CREATE ‘NEW KNOWLEDGE’ IN THEIR PROFESSION

Professional knowledge is continuously growing in most professions due to the continual
researches. New innovations/inventions and discoveries are happening continuously.
Innovations in procedures, techniques and materials used are very common. These
discoveries and innovations are being made by the professionals to meet the changing needs
of the society and to take the advantage of scientific discoveries made in other bodies of
knowledge. Therefore, the professionals are to engage in small and big researches to create
new knowledge. Further, professionals are also supposed to learn the new knowledge
developed by other fellow professionals. This makes it necessary for professionals to keep
updating their knowledge till they are active in their profession. Professionals are therefore
required to read the journals related to their field of specialization in order to keep
themselves abreast. They are supposed to attend different conferences and training
programmes to learn new developments taking place all over world in their field of work. In
some countries such as UK, the professionals especially the doctors are required to obtain
re-certification periodically, say, after every 10 or 15 years to prove that they have learned
new techniques/new procedures. Some examples of the need for updating knowledge is
given here:
a) In the field of medicine, many doctors are doing researches to develop new
diagnostic methods, new medicines, use of new procedures for surgeries and such
others. Other doctors are supposed to learn from these developments for improving
their medical practice and better treatment of patients.
b) Parliament and legislative assemblies pass new laws, regulations and acts every year
depending upon the changing needs of the society. Lawyers are supposed to learn
not only about these laws, but also to debate and criticize these laws which are
passed and not in line with natural justice and create an opinion against such laws.
Thus, lawyers must keep on studying and learning throughout their professional life.
c) In this age of technological advancements, new materials and technologies are being
developed in different disciplines of engineering, which all practicing engineers are
not only supposed to learn and keep abreast, but also are have to contribute in such
developments by engaging in research at their end.
d) For teachers in higher education and scientists, it is their regular duty to engage in
research and guide researches conducted by their students.

Thus, for all professionals it is essential to contribute in creating new knowledge, as well as,
learn new knowledge developed by other fellow professionals.

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ACTIVITY- 2
List down at least two ‘new chunks of knowledge’ that you have created in the past
years and post them in your E-portfolio.

5.0 PROFESSIONALS DEAL WITH HIGH STAKE ACTIVITIES

Some decisions and activities involve high stakes of users, while some are not so important.
When somebody purchases a television or refrigerator, s/he pays for it and wants the best
product. But, if the purchased product does not perform as guaranteed by the trader, then
the peace of the customer is lost due to the lack of desired satisfaction for the money paid.
In most cases, the consumers do not attach much value to the loss as certain time lapses.
However, in case of education, health and legal issues, if results are not as expected due to
some complacency or mistake of professionals who gave them service, then such deficiency
in outcomes may lead to lifelong or long-term loss or sufferings to the clients and society.
Some examples given below can provide greater clarification:
a) It is reported that some students lose interest in some key courses or become fearful
even about an easy courses, because a particular teacher do not taught that subject
in a proper way. Such a lack of interest in a key subject may force the students to
choose some other career option, where they can avoid that subject. Therefore, the
insincerity of such teachers may affect the career choices of many students.
b) Mistakes, incompetence or complacency of a doctor or a surgeon may render the
person disabled for life, or in some extreme cases may lead to death.
c) The incompetence or mistakes of a lawyer, the petitioners may get deprived of their
jobs or their property rights or may even end up in jails for no crime committed by
them.

Thus, the activities of the teachers, doctors and lawyers can brighten or tarnish any persons’
life/lifetime chances. The decisions or activities of engineers may also affect the individuals
directly. However, but their collective actions can affect the lives of many to a great extent.
Engineers build infrastructure such as roads, dams, bridges, telecommunication system,
power generation and distribution system, surface/water/air transportation system, defense
equipment and such others that are used for benefit of common public. If engineers design
these systems well, then they work as a boon for society. On the other hand, if these
systems are not designed or maintained well then, they may result in a great harm to the
society involving considerable number of people. Such examples of accidents of great
engineering failures are:
 Indonesian airline Boeing 737 MAX crash tragedy in 2019
 Fukushima (Japan) nuclear reactor leakage related tragedy
 Chernobyl (Russia) Nuclear reactor leakage related tragedy
 Bhopal (India) Gas leakage related tragedy in December 1984
 Mine Collapses, Mine Fires, Mine Flooding Related Tragedies in Bihar

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 Dam breaches
 Titanic ship sinking several decades ago.

Often, the engineering mistakes of large scale may not be so apparent as above-mentioned
examples, but some others do affect millions of lives over a long period of time. For
example, a poorly designed road network increases chances of accidents on roads.
Inappropriate use of technology and materials may lead to more consumption of energy and
other natural resources affecting environment adversely and so on. Thus, engineering and
architectural activities are also high stake as they affect safety of human being, energy and
environment conservation to a large extent.

Similarly, the chartered accountants (CA) are entrusted with the responsibilities of certifying
the accounts of large companies where pension funds and savings of millions of common
people are invested. Whatever CAs certify in their report about the companies’ financial
health, investors believe it blindly, which may affect many people good or bad.

In some cases, such as ENRON Power Company of USA, Satyam Computers of India, IL& FS
companies CAs wrongly reported that these companies are in profit, and millions continued
to deposit their savings in these companies and one day the bubble burst and it came to
public knowledge that these companies were running in loss and investor’s money was being
used to pay interests on borrowings and losses. The companies were not only bankrupt, but
were already under huge debt burdens, which were no more sustainable. Millions of people
lost their lifetime savings and pension funds in these companies and their retired life must
have become miserable. If CAs had acted with true professionalism i.e. honestly and had
reported correct financial position, loss of life time savings of such a huge number of people
might have been averted.

Thus, the actions of some Professors, Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers and Charted Accountants
are high-stake as their actions have the potential to affect millions of lives people positively
or negatively. Whereas, the actions of the people in other occupations such as plumbers,
carpenters, welders or shopkeepers are not of high-stake. Therefore, the mistakes
committed by people such in such occupations may affect only a few, and not large number
as seen earlier. Moreover, activities of these people are supervised by other type of
professionals such as activities of plumber, carpenter, welder and such trades are supervised
by Engineers, while activities of restaurants are supervised by foods and drug department to
ensure the quality of the food and edibles.

ACTIVITY - 3
List down at least two mistakes that you as a professional teacher have committed during
the past years that may have affected your students or the society and post in your E-
portfolio.

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L1: Professions and Professionalism

6.0 PROFESSIONALS WORK BASED ON TRUST WITH CLIENTS

In most of the occupations, the quality of goods and services provided to the customers may
be well specified in advance. For example, when you purchase a house, a car or a television
set you can fix or choose the specifications of these products in advance and if a product is
not as per specifications or does not perform as guaranteed, then you can return the
product and claim your money back. Similarly, in case of services provided by travel and
hospitality industries also, the quality of services can be well specified in advance and if the
services provided are not as specified, then the customers may ask the service providers to
return their money back. In such cases, people can decide about quality of goods and
services by common sense or general knowledge.

However, in case of education, medicine and legal and such professions, it is very difficult to
define the quality of services provided, as they are complex and specialized fields. The clients
do not possess the sufficient knowledge to appreciate what good quality means. Often, the
effects of such services provided by such professions are seen only after considerable time
has elapsed. Some examples given below in support these arguments.
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Example Set-1
a) In the case of professional education, often the students do not know what content is
supposed to be learnt and what competencies and skills are to be attained through
the course or programme. What are the best methods that a teacher should adopt
for teaching the subject matter is also not known by the student.
b) A particular institute/university may award good marks to undeserving students, and
parents may feel that teaching-learning process is going on well. But after some time,
such students may fail to get jobs. If they are not able to perform well, even after
they have got the jobs, they would be subsequently fired.
c) In some other cases, the examination system of the institute/university may seem to
be trustworthy and due to best efforts of teachers, students may also genuinely get
good marks by doing hard work. It may appear to the society that the quality of
education is quite good, but when students get the job, they are not be able to
perform to the industry expectation, since the curriculum itself was obsolete or
irrelevant.
d) Patients generally do not know ‘what is the right medicine required?’ The doctor may
prescribe very strong medicine to heal the patients quickly and patients may feel
happy. However, it may result in severe side effects which may be evident only after
some years have gone by.
e) Clients of an advocate/lawyer may not know the different provisions of law which
may help them. Similarly, a lawyer may argue the case in the court of law very
strongly, but s/he may not know the different provisions of the law which may help
his/her client. In such cases, the client may feel that his/her advocate is quite good,
although the advocate is only a mediocre one who is not able to extract maximum
possible benefits for the client.

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6.1 Responsibility of the Professionals and Clients

Apart from the complexity of educational, medicinal or legal services, there is one more
important dimension related to the professional, and that is ‘responsibility’. The clients are
equally responsible for the outcome of the services received from the professionals and this
makes it difficult to say that who is responsible for poor quality of outcomes. Some examples
are given here in support this argument.
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Example Set-2
a) Despite the best of teaching efforts by the teachers, students may not score good
marks, if they do not study hard.
b) Despite appropriate medicines prescribed by the doctors, patients may not heal if
they do not take the medicines regularly or do not follow the dosage or precautions
suggested by doctors.
c) If petitioners do not inform all the relevant information to their advocates, how can
advocates prepare unchallengeable argument and they may face embracing situation
in the court of law if some issue is raised by the opponents’ advocates based on the
facts hidden by the petitioners.
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Therefore, the outcome of the services provided by the professionals depend on the efforts
and contributions of the clients as well. It means that, if the outcomes do not come out as
expected, it may be difficult to identify whether it is due toa mistake of the professional or of
the client. The services provided by the professions such as medicine, education and law are
not only very complex, but also, these services provided are also in a very uncertain social
and human context. Therefore, despite best efforts of both professionals and the clients, the
outcomes may not match the expectations. Some examples are given here to support this
argument.
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Example Set-3
d) Doctors must take decisions based on clinical examinations of the patients and
pathological tests, but unfortunately most of these are not fully reliable because, for
the same parameters, different methods of tests may reveal different findings. Even
the timing of test or factors such as, whether the test sample was taken before or
after meals, which may affect the measurement of parameters. The quality of
medicine may not be as expected; the medicine may have different effects if taken
with different kind of foods or with other medicines. If some medicines are not
stored at particular temperature at pharmacy store, its effectiveness may reduce.
Even it is reported that the effectiveness of good quality medicines get reduced after
some years, as the bacteria or viruses have developed immunity against such
medicines. All these factors add up to the uncertainty about effectiveness of the
medical treatment. Thus, despite best efforts by the all concerned, the expected

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results may not be obtained and it becomes practically impossible to identify the
actual cause of ineffective treatment.
e) Similarly, in case of education, the performance of students in a particular
examination may depend on many factors other than their own and their teachers'
efforts. It may depend on students' health and mood on the day and time of
examination, the tendency of question paper designer may set a very difficult or
moderate or easy question paper. The assessor may be liberal, moderate or stringent
in giving marks and depends on luck of the students. If student is very lucky, then
s/he may get questions in the examination for which s/he may have rote learned, if
not rote learned, the student may even fail.
f) In case of legal profession, the situation is more subjective. It is often in the news
that in a particular case, the decision of Trial Court was reversed by the High Court
and in some cases; the decision of High Court was again reversed by the Supreme
Court. In such cases, it is difficult to blame anyone. It is the nature of the human and
social situations that same situation may be interpreted differently by different
judges. Therefore, in cases of national and social importance, a bench of judges is
constituted so that the merit of the case may be judged in different perspectives. The
point here is that, despite best efforts of a capable lawyer, the client may not get
justice in a particular court because the view of judge may be different and it may be
right in its own way. Thus, it is difficult to make the advocate or lawyer responsible
for unfavorable decision. It depends on many factors such as, perspective of judge,
performance of witnesses in the court, sincerity of investigating agency such as police
and forensic department and other such agencies.
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6.2 Reasons for Uncertainty
From above discussions, it is obvious that it is difficult to ascertain that whether
professionals have performed to match the expectations of the client or not. Following are
some reasons that are mainly responsible for such situations.
a) For clients it is difficult to define or specify, what is good quality education, good
quality medical treatment or good quality legal services. This is because these
services are very complex in nature and depend on several factors as seen above. In
many situations, good or bad effects of the education or medical treatment are
known only after long time has elapsed.
b) The outcome or result of the services provided by professionals do not depend only
on their capabilities and efforts but also depend to a great extent on the
contributions of their clients for example hard work of students in case of education,
sincerity of patients in following instructions of doctors and petitioners in informing
all relevant facts to the advocate.
c) The social and human situation is so uncertain that outcomes of education, medical
treatment or legal services not only depend on the capabilities and efforts of

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professionals and clients but also depends on many other factors which are neither in
control of professionals no rof clients.
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Therefore, the relationship between professionals and clients cannot be same as between
traders and customers. In case of goods, customers demand what they want from the
traders and the traders supply the goods of the specified quality. In fact, there are specified
procedures by which the quality of the goods can be tested before delivery to the customer.
In such cases, the quality of goods can be ensured mainly by the providers irrespective of the
way the product or service is used by the customer. Hence, even if the quality of product is
not as specified, then customers may get their money back. If customers do not get the
money back, then they may go to the consumer forum or court for justice.

However, in the case of professionals, their clients may not know exactly what is required by
them. Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of the professional to suggest what will suit
the client according to their situations and then both professionals and clients jointly decide
what is required and both work together to achieve the desired aim. This relationship is
more personal, more intense and lasts long. Since clients do not know what is exactly
needed by them and the professionals suggest what is appropriate for them, this makes
clients completely dependent on the professional. Hence, the relationship of professional
and client is not based on equal terms as in the case of trader and customer. It is a kind of
power relationship where the professionals have the upper hand. This power relationship is
not the same as between 'administrators' and 'administered' which is based on fear, but the
relationship between professionals and their clients is based on faith or trust.

In fact, when students develop faith in a teacher they surrender their mind to teacher -
whatever teacher teaches the students believe and learn. When patients develop faith in a
doctor they surrender their bodies to doctor - patients takes the medicines that the doctor
prescribes, becomes ready for surgery under general anesthesia where the whole body is
under doctor's control. In the legal profession, when the petitioner develops faith in an
advocate, s/he surrenders their fate to the advocate. However, if the advocate does not
offer work properly, the petitioner may lose the case in the court of law, which may affect
his/her entire life prospects. Thus, the relationship is based on trust and faith. Hence, to
develop this faith in clients, professionals must first develop the trust in their clients by
depicting an honest and sincere behaviour consistently. Although the clients pay the fees to
the professionals for their services, the relationship has human touch and is only based on
trust.

ACTIVITY 4
List down at least two incidents of how you could/can build up the trust between you
and the client and submit them in the E-portfolio.

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L1: Professions and Professionalism

6.3 How Trust Can Be Built Between Professional and Client

It is essential that the relationship between professionals and their clients is based on trust
which should not be breached. It is the responsibility of the professionals to build this trust
with the client for effective and smooth services. Building this trust is not an easy task and it
requires a great amount of effort and sometimes even sacrifices on the part of the
professionals. How to build this trust is discussed in detail in the lesson related to
‘Professional Excellence’.

7.0 PROFESSIONALS ARE SELF-REGULATING

Since professionals are experts and are at the top of their professions and possess mastery
on a complex body of knowledge, it is difficult for a common man to identify mistakes of
professionals and even if a client is able to notice the intentional malpractice or
unintentional mistakes committed by professionals, the power relationship between client
and professionals is such that it is difficult for the client to highlight those mistakes or
malpractices in front of the professionals. Some professionals misuse this situation for their
short-term gains. Since it is a matter of expertise, even courts of law find it difficult to punish
a professional for his/her wrong doings. The following example will help to clarify this:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 4
If a student complains in the court of law that due to some prejudices, his/her teacher of a
particular course has given him/her less marks as compared to what s/he deserves, then the
judge will not be able to decide whether concerned teacher has given appropriate marks or
not, the Judge may be forced to appoint a committee of three other professors of that
subject to examine the concerned students and find out the facts. Thus, only professionals
can identify mistakes or malpractices of their fellow professionals.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If more professionals become complacent and do not do their duty sincerely, or, due to
some kind of greed, commit intentional malpractices; then it brings disrepute to that
profession. Trust of the client in that profession erodes. In the long run it may become
difficult for the professionals to function effectively. An example can illustrate this further.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 5
In developed countries, where medical practitioners started to charge high fees from their
patients. In pursuit of earning more money, they started treating more patients and giving
them lesser time to each patient and in this process eroded the trust between doctors and
patients. If this trust deficit exists and something goes wrong in the medical treatment and
the doctor is not able to cure the patients, then the patients may not hesitate in taking legal
action and claim compensation from doctors who will be forced to pay. However, it may be
very difficult to say with guarantee that it is because of the negligence of the doctor only.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L1: Professions and Professionalism

As discussed earlier, the treatment of illness involves high degree of uncertainty, as many
factors are responsible for successful treatment and out of these factors, considerable
numbers of factors are not in the control of the doctors. Just because of the greed and
malpractice of some doctors, people have started to see all doctors with suspicion.
Therefore, of late doctors are getting their practice insured, to avoid paying the huge
compensation so that, in case something goes wrong the insurance company pays the
compensation. Ultimately, the cost of insurance premium is collected from patients as part
of consultation fee and this further increases the cost of treatment.

Similarly, misuse of autonomy by some teachers in giving marks to students based on their
liking or disliking due to personal reasons rather than academic reasons have reduced the
trust in teaching community and society felt the need of external examinations by the
‘Examination Boards’ or affiliating universities. This has increased the cost of examinations,
as students have to spend extra time and money in external examinations, which in turn
reduces the time and resources available for stress free teaching-learning process.

Therefore, for a smooth functioning of every profession, it is mandatory that the behaviour
of every professional remains high in the eyes of the society. For this to happen, the
professionals must maintain the highest standards of integrity in their practice and conduct,
so that society continues to trust them. Unfortunately, due to a few individuals in every
profession who misuse this relationship of trust to satisfy their ever-increasing greed, has
brought disrepute to the professions and has made the society suspicious of even honest
professionals. Therefore, if professionals want that prestige of their profession to remain
intact, then it becomes the duty of the conscious professionals not only to self-regulate
themselves but also, to prevent their fellow professionals from engaging in malpractices.

Leaders amongst the professionals need to form professional societies or councils and make
it mandatory for their fellow professionals to become members of these societies/councils.
These societies/councils ensure that professionals maintain at least, some minimum
standards of expertise and exhibit honest and ethical behavior in their practice.
Governments also give some regulating power to these councils by act of parliament. Some
examples of councils and societies are-
a) All India Council of Technical Education
b) Council of Architecture
c) Medical Council of India
d) Nursing Council of India
e) Pharmacy Council of India
f) Bar Council of India
g) Indian Society for Technical Education.

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L1: Professions and Professionalism

Some of these societies or councils are entrusted with the powers of issuing licenses to
practice to its members. These councils also make code of conduct and every member is
supposed to follow it. In case, a member breaches this code of conduct, even after
reprimanding a member for mending his/her ways, then the professional body/council may
punish him/her and in extreme cases, the council may revoke the license of practice issued
to such members.

Thus, professions have to be ‘self-regulating’ to maintain their prestige and relationship of

trust they enjoy with society. In case of other occupations, public at large can ensure quality
of goods and services just based on their common sense and general knowledge. For
example, if politicians do not work up to expectations then the public votes them out. If
administrators do not work up to their expectations, then the politicians (ministers) can
control or punish them. If businessmen do not deliver, then market forces throw them out.
Thus, self-regulation is a necessity for professions, as compared to other occupations. This is
because, the working of professions is so complex that, only the members of that profession
can understand which member is engaged in malpractice.

ACTIVITY 5
List down at least two steps that you have decided to take for 'self-regulation' of
yourself and submit them in the E-portfolio.

8.0 SUMMARY
If you want to determine whether any occupation may be termed as a profession or not, you
must check the presence of the five essential characteristics mentioned in this lesson. Even if
one of the five characteristics is missing, then that occupation cannot be termed as a
profession. If the practitioners of any occupation say administrators follow above five
characteristics, then it may help them to excel and look different from others in their
occupation. The corollary of this proposition is that, if the so-called ‘professionals’ do not
follow these five characteristics in their profession, then they no more remain true
professionals. For example, if a faculty member of an higher education institute do not do
make any efforts to create new knowledge in his/her field of specialization (by reading
journals/attending conferences and so on) and do not contribute to the creation of new
knowledge by engaging in research or guiding student’s researches, then s/he is not fulfilling
the condition number (ii) and hence s/he is not a true professional.

It is obvious from the discussions thus far, that all occupations such as administrators and
executives (IAS, Income Tax commissioners, Revenue officers and other Govt. Officers,
Managers) Armed Forces (Military, Police, and such others), Traders (Businessmen and
Marketing Executives), Workers (technicians, plumber, carpenters, clerks and such others)
work for the benefit of the society and require some knowledge, skills and a great degree of
honesty and sincerity. Although, all these occupations are very important for the society, but

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L1: Professions and Professionalism

they generally do not fall under the category of professions as in all of these occupations,
the five characteristics as discussed in the beginning of this lesson.

****
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Gaur, R.R, Sangal, R, [Link] (2010) – A foundation course in Human Values and Professional
Professional Ethics; Excel Books, New Delhi
[2] Chopra, Deepak – ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’, Hay House, New Delhi, (2008) Reprint 28 th
2020.
[1] Altekar, A.S. ‘Education in Ancient India’ Delhi: Isha Books, 2009
[2] Chitkara, M.G., ‘Education and Human values’ Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation, 2003
[3] Sahu, B., ‘The New Educational Philosophy’ Delhi: Sarup and Sons, 2002
[4] Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. , A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching and Assessing - Á revision of
Bloom's taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Pearson Education. 2001.

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L1: Professions and Professionalism

L–1 DISCUSSION FORUM

Start a discussion on social media on any one or more of the five characteristics of your
profession.

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 L–2: Technical Teacher as
Professionals – ‘Guru-Shishya Parampara’
(गुरु शिष्य परं परा)

Contributors

Dr. Joshua Earnest

(Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)

Prof. (Mrs.) Asmita A. Khajanchee

(Associate Professor, Department of Electronic Media

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462002
Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L2: Technical Teacher as Professional -Guru-Shishya Parampara’

Lesson–2
Technical Teacher as Professionals
‘Guru-Shishya Parampara (गुरु शिष्य परं परा)

Learning Outcome: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to rejuvenate the Guru-
Shishya Parampara in the context of modern education system.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 3
2.0 GURU-SHISHYA’ PARAMPARA ..................................................................................................... 3
3.0 HOLISTIC LEARNING IN THREE DOMAINS.................................................................................... 4
4.0 GURU-SHISHYA PARAMPARA IN THE PRESENT TECHNICAL EDUCATION CONTEXT ................... 4
5.0 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TECHNICAL TEACHER ..................................................... 5
6.0 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 9
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................................... 9

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L2: Technical Teacher as Professional -Guru-Shishya Parampara’

Lesson – 2
Technical Teacher as Professionals - ‘Guru-Shishya Parampara’

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Due to the knowledge and technological explosions and the digital world entering into every
sphere of life, the traditional value systems and relationships between teachers and
students have also faded quite a bit. Before, these relations vanish into oblivion, it is high
time to revive them and find ways of how best the good
value system of the ‘Guru-Shishya Parampara’ (गुरु शिष्य
can be [Link] 1 depicts the basic concept of
परं परा)
Guru-Shishya Parampara where the figure represents the
professional level of ‘Guru’, the acceptance and respect
that is to be given the ‘Shishya’. The gesture of Guru
represents the goodwill that he offers and his assurance to
satisfy the needs of ‘Shishya’ whenever s/he approaches
him. The basic essence of this depiction could be adapted
in the present context so that a technical teacher is
respected as a professional by the society. This lesson
therefore endeavors to help the technical teacher to
understand his/her role in this perspective and earn back
the honour due to him/her as in the yester years. Figure 1. Representation of
Guru - Shishya Parampara

2.0 GURU-SHISHYA’ PARAMPARA

The ‘Guru-Shishya Parampara’ (गुरु शिष्य परं परा)(Teacher-Disciple tradition) is the age-old
Indian education and culture. In Sanskrit, ‘Shishya’ means, ‘a Student of a Guru’. Whereas,
Parampara means ‘an uninterrupted succession’ or tradition. It is the lineage of passing
knowledge from a succession of Gurus to students through oral tradition. The ‘Shishya’ stays
with his Guru as a family member in the Gurukul and gets holistic education through various
ways and means from his Guru. A ‘Guru’ means a knowledgeable person acknowledged for
his mastery in a particular area/field having good attitudes. He transfers knowledge and
guidance to anyone; be it a teacher at school, or a master in arts/skills/spirituality. It is the
Guru’s responsibility to help his disciples’ progress and build a strong Guru-Shishya’
relationship. The ‘Shishya’ is expected to be obedient and has to prove his worthiness to
acquire the Gurus teachings. Some common characteristics of this Guru Shishya’ Parampara:
a) The establishment of a teacher/student relationship. It requires mutual trust,
Shishya’s respect in the Guru and the Guru’s perspective of importance of holistic
education
b) This relationship is not a loose one, but formalized by the society by the Guru taking
up the initiation ceremony when the Guru accepts the ‘Shishya’ in a formal function
and accepts the responsibility of developing the new ‘Shishya’ into maturity in all
respects.

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c) Generally, the ‘Shishya’ stayed full time with the Guru in the ‘Gurukul’. The preaching
of the Guru was unique to establish the identity or ‘School of Thought’ of that
Gurukul. The ‘Shishya’ had to be a very attentive disciple who had to listen to the
teachings and experiences of his Guru. He had to assimilate them and then was
supposed to briefly systematically record them in the form of unique scriptures called
‘Upanishads (उपशिषद)’, which means to ‘sit near and listen’ to absorb.
d) The Gurukul system was founded on Experiential Learning. Problem solving and
inquiry-based teaching were some of the main strategies followed to impart
education. Educational tours (भ्रमण) were common to Gurukul.
e) Consultations with other Gurus or Schools of Thought were held in the form of
intellectual debates and discourses (िास्त्रार्थ).
f) ‘Guru-dakshina’ (गुरु दशिणा) was a custom, where the ‘Shishya’ would give a gift to the
Guru as a mark of gratitude; it could be monetary or could also be in the form of
performance of learned skill. Well known examples of ‘Gurudakshina’ are available in
ancient literature.

3.0 HOLISTIC LEARNING IN THREE DOMAINS

The ‘Shishya’ (student) typically lives with the Guru (teacher). The relationship requires the
student to be obedient and devoted to the teacher. As the student is with the Guru 24x7
hours and 365 days in a year, the knowledge in all respects and in all the three domains of
learning is passed on from the teacher to the student through the spiritual, intellectual and
emotional bonding between them. The student can see the Guru through and through
considering the Guru as a role model. The Guru's level of authority varies based on the
tradition.

However, this system of education vanished with the disappearance of Gurukuls and with
the advent of more advanced institutional system of education. Having understood this
concept; can one think of imbibing such good values into the present education, especially
technical education system? It is a million-dollar question that will make every teacher start
thinking. As the saying goes, ‘if there is a will, there is a way’. But the onus lies on the
teacher to have the will and find the way.

4.0 GURU-SHISHYA PARAMPARA IN THE PRESENT TECHNICAL EDUCATION CONTEXT

For this concept to happen, everyone should maintain the intention of being a student or a
disciple in every situation, in tune with the T.J. Watson President of IBM Corporation who
said ‘there is no saturation point in education’. In other words, every teacher and student
should have perspective to remain a life-long learner. Presently, it is much easier than thirty
years ago, because of the onslaught of the digital and information technology and the smart
mobile phones that almost every student and teacher have at hand and the freely available
different types of mobile applications.

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In earlier days, the Guru and ‘Shishya’ had to be physically nearby for the knowledge and
skills to be passed on to the ‘Shishya’. Today also this philosophy could materialise if
designed accordingly. Especially, with the internet age, the one-to-one relationship can still
be maintained to develop the requisite skills
(see figure 2). Rather than spoon feeding, the
teacher as a facilitator can be showing the
direction where the students should go. Some
of the teachers may already be doing it to
some extent. But it is high time that every
teacher starts using the modern technology.
The sooner this can happen, still better, if the Figure 2. Teacher leading the way
roles and responsibilities of the present-day
technical teachers are also well known, which are discussed in the following sections in the
context of Guru-Shishya Parampara.

Every technical teacher needs to be fully aware of the requirements of the industry. The
term ‘industry’ here means ‘any enterprise in the community or corporate sector (wage
employed or self-employed), which helps to earn one’s livelihood’ [Earnest, 2016]. This could
happen by developing close linkages with them through effective liaisoning work. It could
begin with a visit, brief internships in the industry, solving small and large problems for the
industry. It is the duty of the teacher that the student which s/he is grooming develops the
following capabilities:
a) Acquisitive i.e. the capability to acquire the relevant knowledge by different means,
in other words ‘learns to learn’
b) Adaptive i.e. the capability to adapt to different situations so that s/he is not a failure
in the new jobs, tasks or projects that s/he will be required to take up during his/her
career)
c) Innovative i.e. the capability to bring out changes which may be at the micro, minor
or major levels related to the processes and/or products on which s/he may working.

5.0 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TECHNICAL TEACHER

When it comes to the Guru-Shishya Parampara, roles and responsibilities of technical
teachers need to be seen much more differently and seriously. The major roles of a teacher
could be categorised as:
 Instruction related
 Research and documentation
 Management and institution development related
 Consultancy related.

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5.1 Instruction Related Roles

It is told that in those days the Gurus used to teach the students with so much sincerity and
enthusiasm that it used to leave lasting impressions on the student:
a) The primary duty of today’s teacher is also to teach with all sincerity, earnestness so
that it will leave indelible impressions on the minds of the students and lead to
holistic development of student. However, many of the technical teachers today are
deficient in domain specific knowledge, practical skills, industrial experience and
even the understanding of basic educational technology principles. You as a technical
teacher is required to update yourself with the advances in technology in your
domain area and also analyse the curricula of the various courses that you are to
teach. This will bring a clearer understanding of the different types of learning
outcomes and thereby manage the teaching-learning (T-L) process by providing
varied learning experiences to the students to develop hard and soft skills in them for
gainful employment.
b) You a professional teacher need to develop various types of (T-L) material such as
handouts, ‘starters’ (stories, pictures real things, video clips and others) to hook the
attention of the students, bank of different types of questions and projects, small
video clips and also develop one-to-one relationship for understanding individual
student’s potential and develop the outcomes including affective domain outcomes
and learning-to-learn skills.
c) Remember, that you as professional teacher are to prepare the ‘student to earn
his/her ‘bread and butter’ (i.e. career of each student). When that realization is
there, naturally every teacher has to accept the responsibility of preparing well to
deliver the instruction in classroom, laboratory or field work to achieve learning
outcomes.
d) Students have to be taught in such a way that you can continuously undertake
formative assessment of the students through different means. Provide constructive
feedback to the students so that positive learning occurs in every classroom and
laboratory situation.
e) Assessing the students and certifying them is also an instructional activity that
teachers have to undertake. It has to be borne in mind that in the field of technical
education, often, the teachers assess the lower order thinking skills (LOTS), whereas
the industry needs only higher order thinking skills (HOTS). The focus should be to
prepare students for the world of work.
f) More student-centred methods of instructional delivery should be used, where
problem solving and discovery learning has to occur. In the industry all work given to
the graduates are in the form of small and large projects. Therefore, it is high time,
that the students are accustomed with project works and hence from the first
semester itself use of micro projects will go a long way to incrementally develop the
various skills to undertake larger projects and capstone projects as required by the
industry. This requires that the teachers to provide the right type of guidance so that

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the students do all the micro-projects on their own and not get them done from
external sources to get high grades/marks. It is not the quality of the project report
that is important, but the process of doing the project work which is more important
so that the various competencies and skills are demonstrated in the process of doing
the project. Therefore, progressive assessment has to be given greater weightage in
project work. In those days the Guru was interested in seeing the process of learning
to integrate various skills by the student, rather than the finished product given by
the student.

5.2 Research and Documentation Role

Development takes place only with research. Research generates new knowledge which gets
added to the existing ‘body of knowledge’. Any organization that does not undertake
research may soon cease to exist and there are umpteen such examples. Therefore, after
teaching, the first major role, of a technical teacher is to undertake small and large
researches. For the research to be more relevant, the teacher needs to be in close touch
with the society/industry from where the problems that require solutions emerge out. This
can at the individual level or by teaming up with peers and/or with the students. But, every
teacher should take the initiative to find the problems which require research.

Documentation has been a weak area in the Indian research scenario. Researches big or
small in the area of engineering education, or industry will throw up a number of new
models and new methods that can be adapted for which the research is undertaken. Much
of the knowledge during the Guru-Shishya Parampara days was often verbal as it was passed
on to the ‘Shishya’ that got lost after their lifetimes due to the poor documentation.
Therefore, proper documentation both in hard copy and digital form (which can be done
better now due to the technology advancements) is necessary for all types of projects – big
or small. Therefore, technical teachers need to continuously scan and identify new and
emerging areas to undertake small and large researches, which could also form part of
M.E./[Link]. or Ph.D. projects.

ACTIVITY 1
Prepare a write up on the role of the guru in a Gurukul-based system of education and
post it in the E-portfolio.

5.3 Management and Institutional Development Role

It is true that the strength of the institute is the faculty. Therefore, the managing the various
other activities for institutional development is also a role that you have to play and it can be
done in several ways. In today’s scenario, the first and fore most priority of the engineering
institute is to get NBA and NAAC accreditation for survival whereby the corporate reputation
of the institute is enhanced. This is an opportunity for the teacher to get involved in the
institute development activities.

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Connected to the accreditation process are the various extra-curricular and co-curricular
activities which create opportunities in which the teacher can involve the students too. The
teacher can give his/her inputs in the various types of ‘staff development plans’ for
developing human resources at all levels that the management should take up for the
progress of the institute. The teacher should also provide inputs to the administrative
authorities regarding the procurement of various types of equipment and other materials,
developing Learning Resource Utilization Center as well as allocation of other resources to
various departments and centres. The teacher should also get involved in providing
assistance in the preparation of institutional budget and conduction of audits.

Planning and organizing the NSS and NCC activities, cultural and sports related activities are
also good platforms where the student’s exposure to the aspects needed by the society also
get developed in the students. Organising ‘Tech-Fests’, debates, seminars, workshops,
national and international conferences, job fairs and the like where the students’
involvement can lead to their all-round development, is also very much needed by the
society and industry.

ACTIVITY 2
Prepare a write up of about 250 words about ethical practices of teacher for
development of the student in the light of ‘Guru Shishya Parampara’ and post it in the E-
portfolio.

5.4 Consultancy Related Role

In the Guru-Shishya Parampara, the other major role of the teacher is the consultancy.
Consultancy and industry-institute interaction go together. The interaction with the industry
will be effective, when it is a win-win situation. The industry will be benefitted when the
institute will take up its small and large problems as consultancy to undertake researches to
find solutions to these problems. This exercise will not only benefit the teachers both
technologically and financially, but will also establish stronger ties with the collaborating
industry. In these transactions, the students also get benefitted by way of additional
industrial exposure which may lead to enhanced employability.

Another form of consultancy could be, offering continuing education programmes for
different categories of their workforce, both in the contact and/or online mode which can
help the vertical and horizontal mobility of the industry workforce. Tailor-made education/
training programmes to suit the industry needs are to be designed and offered. Such
offerings can also result in national and international conferences and thereby increase the
areas of outreach. All these activities lead to development of different types of
competencies and skills in the students raising the chances of enhanced job opportunities
for students.

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Even another form of consultancy is taking part in rural upliftment by taking up rural-based
projects where the students can be actively involved. Through such consultancies, the
teacher is sensitizing the students of the societal needs of the under-privileged and deprived
masses, and thereby creating opportunities for the students to develop virtues of empathy
and sympathy. Conferences on concurrent themes should be organized to give an exposure
to students with respect to emerging trends.

ACTIVITY 3
Prepare a plan and the related activities with the timelines to organize consultations
with neighbouring industries and institutions and post it in the E-portfolio.

6.0 SUMMARY
If some of the activities discussed so far are considered in ‘letter and spirit’, and the
teachers’ take an active role, not only in teaching (which is their primary duty), but also in
planning and organising with the active involvement of the students, following the paths of
empathy and sympathy, to some extent, the Guru-Shishya Parampara could be practiced in
the present technical education context as well. Therefore, each teacher should individually
start practicing the above mentioned activities systematically, in all possible ways. So, do not
wait. Get started at the earliest.

*******
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Chopra, Deepak (2008) – ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’, Hay House, New
Delhi, Reprint 28th 2020.
[2] Banthiya, N. K. (1999) – Modle 7 Development of Curriculum for a Subject/
Programme. UK-REC Project on Development of Competency-based Self Learning
Module. Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India: TTTI, Bhopal.
[3] Gupta, S.K. and Earnest Joshua (2017) –
[Link] accessed on 2
October 2019
[4] Kashalkar, S. (2013) – Comparative Study of Ancient Gurukul System and the New
Trends of GURU-SHISHYA’ PARAMPARA[Link] American International
Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, 2(1), March-May, 2013,
pp. 81-84
[5] Mittal, L.N. ( 2016) – Improving Engineering Education - Some Suggestions;
Cognifront Publishers, Nashik.
[6] [Link] › Guru Shisya Parampara accessed on 2 October 2019
[7] [Link] › journal-article-file
[8] [Link] › AIJRHASSpapers › AIJRHASS13-140
[9] [Link]

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DISCUSSION FORUM

a) Start a discussion on the social media on some societal issues involving the students
b) Which qualities the teachers should strive to imbibe in their students in the light of ‘Guru
Shishya’Parampara’? Discuss with your peers and prioritise them.

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L2: Technical Teacher as Professional -Guru-Shishya Parampara’

ASSIGNMENT

Develop a plan to organise a one-day rural activity involving the students.

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 L–3: Professional Excellence

Contributors

Dr. Shashi Kant Gupta

Professor (Assessment and Evaluation)

Dr. Joshua Earnest

Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462002
Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L3: Professional Excellence

Lesson – 3
Professional Excellence

Learning Outcome: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to plan to attain to excel
in the five essential characteristics, which is the hallmark of professional.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 3
2.0 EXCEL IN DOMAIN SPECIFIC COMPLEX KNOWLEDGE ................................................................. 3
3.0 EXCEL IN CREATING NEW KNOWLEDGE ...................................................................................... 5
4.0 EXCEL IN DEALING WITH HIGH-STAKE ACTIVITIES ...................................................................... 6
5.0 EXCEL IN BUILDING TRUST WITH CLIENTS................................................................................... 7
6.0 EXCEL IN SELF-REGULATION ........................................................................................................ 8
7.0 GUIDELINES TO ACHIEVE THE PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE ....................................................... 9
8.0 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................. 11
BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................................... 11

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L3: Professional Excellence

Lesson – 3
Professional Excellence

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Donald Schon, the MIT professor, in his pioneering book, ‘Reflective Practitioner’ states that
a ‘professional is one who is able to excel in his/her profession’. In lesson-1 titled
‘Profession and Professionalism’, you have already seen that teachers in higher education
are professionals and the five cardinal characteristics of professionals (reiterated below)
which make them distinctly different from the other occupations:
i. Professionals deal with vast and complex knowledge.
ii. Professionals continue to create new knowledge in their profession
iii. Professionals deal with high stake activities
iv. Professionals work based on trust with clients.
v. Professionals are self-regulating.

If professionals want to excel in their field of work, they have to work for improving their
capabilities to strengthen all these five characteristics. For a professional to follow universal
moral values and engage in ethical practice, requires that s/he should possess strength in all
of these characteristics. Excelling becomes difficult if a professional lacks even one of these
five, then it becomes difficult for him/her to perform ethically and that will lead to his/her
downfall and moral degradation. If professionals want to excel, it is very important for them
to realise this fact.

An illustration of the human body will throw more light of this cardinal feature. In a human
body, malfunctioning of any one of the internal organs, say the lungs or the kidney, affects
the functioning of other organs too. If the lungs are not able to supply enough oxygen
through the blood, then the heart will need to circulate more blood and this will load the
heart and affect its functioning in the long run. Similarly, the malfunctioning of the heart i.e.
imbalance in blood pressure will affect the functioning of the kidneys. Similarly, for overall
professional excellence it is essential to excel in all the above five professional
characteristics. If you look around, you will see many cases where upcoming and promising
professionals could not excel, as they lacked one or more of these five characteristics. In this
backdrop, the need to professionally excel in each of these five cardinal characteristics are
discussed at length.

2.0 EXCEL IN DOMAIN SPECIFIC COMPLEX KNOWLEDGE

As mentioned in Lesson 1 that professionals need to master a vast and complex body of
knowledge related to their chosen field for which they have studied for a long period after
grade/class X or XII. This period of higher studies ranges from 6-10 years for different

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L3: Professional Excellence

professions. For academics or professors, it is at least 7-8 years, if they are postgraduates. It
will be 10 to 11 years of study, if they have acquired Ph.D.

For becoming a good citizen and live life with dignity by wage employment or self-
employment, the education up to class/grade ten is sufficient. However, for becoming a
good professional around 10 more years of proper and rigorous education is required.
However, present education and examination system in India is such that in most
universities, learning different courses related to the chosen discipline for graduating UG
and PG programmes with high grades/marks is easy. However, developing mastery and
depth in the subject matter related to your domain area is relatively difficult.

Of late, after completion of formal education in engineering/architecture/pharmacy many of

the young graduates rather than going in for technical jobs, they opt for generic jobs, such as
general banking, software development administration, management and the like. For such
jobs, only logical thinking is required, as they are not related to the courses of their UG and
PG programmes and do not require an in-depth knowledge of the technology/professional
courses. Therefore, they somehow scrape through the days, weeks, months and years of
professional education, without making efforts to develop an in-depth knowledge of the
professional courses.

If any graduate of a UG or PG professional, wants to work as scientist, pharmacist, engineer,

architect or professor, then s/he must develop an in-depth knowledge of the various chosen
professional courses without which s/he will not possess enough and pertinent knowledge
required to do justice to his/her professional practice. As mentioned earlier, professionals
work in such a complex and specialized field, that even if they provide services of inferior
quality, the people taking services from them i.e. the clients/students will not be able to
detect their inferior quality services. The following two examples further illustrate this issue.
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Example 1
A graduate civil engineer, who does not have enough knowledge about structural design, will
use more steel in the structure, although the actual steel requirement may be much less.
The client will never come to know in his lifetime, that s/he has spent more money due to
excess use of steel. Thus, the engineer did not act ethically, because of incomplete or
insufficient knowledge and such engineers would continue such unethical practices
throughout their career, affecting many clients and in turn harming ecology and economy of
the country due to inefficient or excess use of materials and other resources.

Example 2
A teacher in higher education employed in an engineering education institute who has not
mastered some difficult concepts and principles during his/her UG/PG studies will avoid
teaching such courses, as s/he is weak and not thorough with such courses. Further, if such a

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L3: Professional Excellence

teacher happens to be part of autonomous education institute where the same teacher who
teaches the course designs the question paper, then s/he will also not formulate questions
from that portion of the course, which s/he has not taught. Therefore, the students of this
teacher may pass the engineering examinations, but end up without learning the critical or
important portions of that course or programme. When such teachers avoid teaching
difficult and complex portions of the courses, then it is an unethical practice to the ‘complex
and vast body of knowledge’. In other words, incompetence and unethical practice of a
teacher will result in incompetent engineers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hence, if anyone decides to join the profession of teaching, s/he should again study in depth
the courses, which s/he has to teach, even if s/he may not have been taught that well by
his/her teachers. Therefore, it is an ethical duty of all teachers to master the knowledge of
all the topics (not just few) and sub-topics of the courses of the curricula, which they are
called upon to teach.

Further, it is the ethical duty of all professionals to also correct the mistakes if any, of their
predecessors. When professionals during their practice, apply the knowledge learnt from
books related to the profession into real life situations, they come across many doubts. To
clear these doubts they need to re-visit/review the books, journals, work manuals, internet,
or learn from some experienced senior teachers. Thus, mastery in the related field requires
lifelong learning of not only new knowledge, but also developing in-depth understanding of
the basics of the facts/concepts/principles/procedures and applications thereof.

ACTIVITY1
As a sincere professional, make a list of the areas where you need to undertake mastery-
learning, actions you will take and in how much time to achieve the mastery and post it
in the E-portfolio.

3.0 EXCEL IN CREATING NEW KNOWLEDGE

Some professionals who have completed their formal education sincerely and scored good
marks in UG and PG programmes may think that they know everything well. Based on this
assumption they neither read any journal, nor engage in research, with the result that their
knowledge becomes obsolete within a few years. In this era of knowledge explosion, new
knowledge is being created very fast in most of the disciplines and professionals who do not
continuously update their knowledge may soon find their knowledge is becoming obsolete/
outdated and they themselves are becoming unfit to remain in the profession. It will be
unethical for them to continue to work in the system, because they may take some wrong
decisions, which may be harmful for their clients.

Therefore, it is the ethical duty of every professional to continue to learn in his/her entire
lifetime about the developments taking place in his/her field of specialisation or domain

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L3: Professional Excellence

area not only in their country, but also, throughout the world. Hence, you need to keep your
‘eyes and ears open’ by regularly and periodically listening to expert talks, taking part in
conferences/webinars, visiting the websites, working in that particular area and also reading
reputed journals being published related to your domain area. You should not stop there. It
is your ethical duty as a professional to also contribute to the creation of new knowledge by
engaging yourself in small and big researches. The following two examples will throw more
light on this.
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Example 3
A professor of higher education, who is not engaged in creating and learning new
knowledge, is asked to be a member of curriculum revision committee. If that professor
does not know the advances that have taken place in his/her domain area, how can s/he
design a state-of-the-art curriculum? More specifically, if the curriculum has been designed
and developed by some eminent professors from reputed institutes, then it may contain the
latest developments taking place in that branch of engineering. In such cases, the teachers
who have not updated themselves will find it difficult to teach the new subject matter
included in the revised curriculum, which is an unethical practice. This will adversely affect
the students, as they will miss the learning of the newly introduced curricular topics/sub T
topics.

Example 4
The philosophy of the curriculum provided the direction to the design of the question
papers. However, if the answer sheets of the students are sent for assessment to the
professors who have not yet updated themselves in that area, how can such professors
assess the answer sheets and grade them correctly. In such situations, they give good
grades/marks to all students, irrespective of the correct answers. In such situations, students
who have learnt the new subject matter through hard work would be disadvantaged as
compared to students who have not answered correctly the questions related to the new
subject matter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Therefore, if you do not acquire new knowledge, then it is an unethical practice. In some
good universities, teachers have to maintain portfolios of their work and training
experiences to prove that they have continually kept abreast about the new
technologies/new methods and such others as an evidence. Based on such portfolios the
teachers’ contracts are renewed for further terms/periods.

4.0 EXCEL IN DEALING WITH HIGH-STAKE ACTIVITIES

Since professionals deal with the high-stake activities, it is imperative for them to be
successful. If they are not successful, then it may affect the life and career of many people
adversely. It goes without saying, that for being successful, professionals should have the
ability to understand the context of every case, diagnose the problem, identify the most

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L3: Professional Excellence

suitable solution and apply/execute it effectively and efficiently according to the context of
the problem to get the desired outcome. This ability to work successfully across a full range
and different types of activities is professional excellence. In other words, if professionals do
not develop excellence, then they are liable to take some wrong decisions in these high
stake activities with which they are associated with, which may adversely affect the society
on a large scale on several counts. Therefore, it is not a matter of personal choice for
professionals to excel, but it is mandatory for them to excel is their ethical responsibility.
This issue is discussed further in lesson 5, which is related to social responsibility of the
professionals.

ACTIVITY 2
As a sincere professional teacher in a higher educational system, make a list of the
following and post it in the E-portfolio:
1. New knowledge that you have acquired.
2. Mode through which you have acquired above knowledge.
3. State the year(s) in which the new knowledge was acquired.
4. State the year(s) in which the new knowledge was created.

5.0 EXCEL IN BUILDING TRUST WITH CLIENTS

As mentioned in Lesson 1, the services provided by professionals are so complex and
specialized that it is difficult for a common man to judge the quality of service rendered to
him/her. The following example can throw further light.
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Example 5
A student does not know the type of courses that should form part of a state-of-the-art
curriculum and the topics and sub-topics in each course and the proper methods of teaching
and assessment of the course. In this situation, students trust the university/institute and its
teachers with the hope that they will do their best to enhance their employability. This
situation puts more responsibility on the shoulders of the professional teacher to continue
to update their knowledge, which means that professionals need to be experts in their work
so that they provide the best services.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the professionals do not provide the best services, then it may affect the life and the
career prospects of their students (or clients). In such cases, the students (or clients) come to
know about the damage to their quite late, after some years have passed. This will result in
same type of anger, as when some close relative of yours whom you fully trust, has cheated
you. Hence, professional excellence is an essential condition rather than a desired or
optional condition for professionals for maintaining the trust bestowed or reposed in them
by their clients.

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L3: Professional Excellence

Now the above-mentioned condition raises a question as to how can an individual

professional always provide excellent services. The solution to this problem is that, all
professionals should strive to develop excellence in all the aspects of their professions.
However, if some professionals are not able to develop themselves in all the aspects of their
profession, then they should be ethically ready to accept that they are not excellent enough
in that particular aspect and should ask clients to take the help or services from some other
professionals who are better than them in that particular aspect of consultancy.
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Example 6
The principal of an engineering institute asks a professor of Electrical Engineering, who
teaches ‘Electric Power Generation’ to develop a curriculum urgently for a course on
‘Renewable Energy Power Generation’ with greater focus on wind and solar technologies.
The updated curriculum has to be submitted to the University within a week. Although the
professor has an expertise in teaching ‘Electric Power Generation’ and done research in the
area of Thermal, Nuclear and Hydro Power Plants, he does not have in-depth knowledge in
wind and solar power technologies. The ethical question is what should be the stand taken
by this professor. He can enrich his credentials/resume for further promotion prospects if he
the re-designing this curriculum for the University. If this professor accepts the above-
mentioned task, then s/he may re-design the curriculum in a week’s time after undertaking
some superficial study of the renewable energy sources even though s/he does not possess
in-depth knowledge of all the aspects of wind and solar technologies. Undertaking such a
kind of task is unethical as s/he will not be able to design a good curriculum. This will lead to
inadequate and incomplete learning for thousands of students and affect their career and
life in the years to come. Therefore, in this situation he should withdraw from this
prestigious task and if possible should suggest the name of some other professor who is an
expert in renewable energy.
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In the long term, such a situation will result in the erosion of the trust bestowed by society
on higher education teachers (who are professionals). This may be considered as an
example of unethical practice with far reaching consequences affecting the students and
graduates and the development of the country at large. Therefore, if some professionals are
not having excellence in one particular area, then they should refrain from taking tasks
related to that area independently, till they develop some expertise in that area by studying
or working with some other experts. Nevertheless, professional excellence is an essential
requirement for working in the profession with dignity and lack of professional excellence
may lead to breach of trust. Hence, excellence in all aspects of the profession related to
your area of expertise must be maintained at all costs.

6.0 EXCEL IN SELF-REGULATION

The professionals are generally at the top rung of their profession (seen in Lesson 1). The
power relations and equations are such that their subordinates dare not point out their

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L3: Professional Excellence

mistakes. Similarly, the nature of work of professionals is so complex that, it is difficult for
their clients to detect their mistakes. In this situation, it becomes imperative for the
professionals to self-regulate themselves. In this context, the professional societies have a
great role to play which is discussed in Lesson 14. However, for managing the professional
societies the leaders in that profession are required to identify the mistakes committed in
complex situations by their fellow professionals and give honest and constructive feedback
to them. For becoming such leaders, professional excellence and conduct is essential.
Therefore, professional excellence is a necessary condition also for self-regulation.

7.0 GUIDELINES TO ACHIEVE THE PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE

Donald Schon, the MIT professor suggested that normally education systems produce only
competent professionals, i.e. professionals who can work only in the routine situations and
can solve the known type of problems. In other words, no education system can produce
expert professionals but, it is the long-term experience that can develop expert
professionals. Schon (1984) continues to say that the theoretical knowledge given in the
books is normally of general nature and when that knowledge is to be applied in real life
complex situations, then knowledge has to be applied differently according to differences in
the contexts. The expertise lies in understanding the subtle differences of the different
contexts and applying the knowledge according to these subtle differences. To develop this
expertise, the professionals have to ponder over their experiences reflectively and learn
from that.

You call some professionals as experts in their field as they are able to solve the complex
problems. The experts are able to analyse the complex problem to arrive at the basic cause
of it, and then search the proper solution from the available options. Such professionals are
known as experts because they are able to choose the right solution from the repertoire of
the possible options available to them.

However, the key question is how can the professionals acquire such level of expertise or
possess that exhaustive repertoire of solutions? The answer to this question lies in the origin
of the word ‘expertise’. The origin of word ‘expertise’ is in the word ‘experience’. In other
words, only experience can convert an ordinary professional into an expert. However, some
professionals are not able to become expert even after 20 or even 30 years of experience.
This means that experience alone is not enough for transforming an ordinary professional
into an expert, but the capability to learn-to-learn from the experiences is necessary. Such
learning from experiences in turn requires, continuous and reflective thinking about those
experiences.

Experts are those individuals who have the habit of reflecting on their experiences. These
professionals when they face a new type of problems and try to solve it by applying one of

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L3: Professional Excellence

the possible solutions. After the problem is solved, they ask some questions to themselves
such as:
a) Whether they could solve the problem as expected? If not,
b) What could be possible reasons? Even if they could solve the problem
c) Whether they could solve it in an efficient manner? If not,
d) What other alternative solution could they have tried? and so on.

These professionals thus, should continue to learn on their own and that of others
experiences, by reflecting on those experiences and make their own rules for solving
different problems.

When teachers give feedback to students based on their performance, this feedback does
not only depend on expected level of performance of the student, but also, on the existing
knowledge level of the student. The following example illustrates this aspect still further.
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Example 7
Consider a case of a student who normally gets ‘C’ grade in most of his/her assignments and
this student once again gets ‘C’ in the current assignment. Now the issue is what type of
feedback the teacher should give this student. Suppose, in a particular case of student
assignment, the student is expected to write 10 important features of a process. Out of
these, 5 features are easy to explain, and the remaining 5 features are relatively difficult.
Normally and ideally, a teacher should try to bring every student to ‘A’ level. However, to
expect a student, who has consistently scored ‘C’, to suddenly jump to score ‘A’ level would
be expecting too much in one go. If the teacher informs the student how to incorporate all
the 10 features into his/her assignment to make it to ‘A’ level, then student may get
overstressed and may abandon all the efforts to improve the grades. In such cases an expert
teacher will help the student to attain only the first 5 relatively easy features so that s/he
can first incorporate those features into his/her assignment to make it ‘B’ grade level
without getting over-stressed. After the student starts scoring ‘B’ grade in the assignments,
s/he may be given feedback on the remaining5complex features to bring his/her
assignments up to ‘A’ level.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Similarly, the theoretical knowledge given in books on education, suggests that, while giving
feedback about shortcomings in the students’ assignments, it should be given in an
encouraging and positive way. However, this guideline cannot be applied in case of all the
students. Some students are so insensitive or thick skinned that if feedback for improvement
is given in positive and encouraging words, they may take it as appreciation and may ignore
the message hidden in it for improvement. The expert teacher knows that such students
need to be given feedback in clear and direct language that they are having these short
comings and they urgently need to improve upon these shortcomings else they may suffer

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L3: Professional Excellence

drastically. Thus, an expert teacher will be able to bring the required changes in the students
by teaching and dealing with different students differently according to their characteristics
while inexperienced teachers will not be able to bring the desired change in the students
because they will treat all the students in the same manner.

Thus, an expert professional has the capability to understand the situation and apply the
solution according to the context. To develop this ability, they have to deal with different
types of cases and learn to solve the cases in an efficiently and effectively. By assessing the
self-performance in each case, you can find out what went well, and what did not, what
could have been better, what s/he should try, even if s/he has to face a similar case in
future, and so on. Thus, reflecting on different types of professional experiences as possible
and meditating on them to learn from mistakes/shortfalls is the only way upward for
becoming an expert professional from a level of competent professional.

ACTIVITY 3
Prepare a table with three columns. In the first column, list the different experiences
related to the 5 characteristics of a professional. In the second column, specify the
mistakes/shortfalls. In the third column mentions the ways and means to overcome the
mistakes/shortfalls.

8.0 SUMMARY
From the discussions in this lesson, it is obvious that professional excellence is not an option
but it is mandatory and essential for professionals to excel in their field and practice
ethically. If a professional is not able to excel, then his/her performance is affected and s/he
may be tempted to engage in unethical behaviour. Professional excellence requires lifelong
learning, which can be formal, non-formal or informal. Professionals continue to study
throughout their professional lives by updating the developments in their domain area by
reading reputed journals, presenting papers in conferences, participating in webinars/face-
to-face discussions, conferences or by attending some short-term training programmes
related to their domain area. Professionals should also learn informally from their
experiences by reflecting upon them. Only by continual learning through different means
throughout his/her professional life, can a professional move towards excellence to be
transformed from a ‘competent’ person to an ‘expert’. Hence, to ensure ethical behaviour
in professionals, there is no other alternative solution, but to excel in all the five
characteristics.

*******
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Chopra, Deepak (2020)– ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’, Hay House, New Delhi,
(2008) Reprint 28th 2020.

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L3: Professional Excellence

[2] Schon, Donald A. (1984)–The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think In

Action, Basic Books, USA, ISBN: 978-0465068784
[3] Kashalkar,S. (2013)–Comparitive study of ancient gurukul system and the new trends
of guru-shishya parampara [Link] American International Journal of
Research in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, 2(1), March-May, 2013, pp. 81-84
[4] Shodhganga;
[Link]
accessed on 10 September 2019

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L3: Professional Excellence

DISCUSSION FORUM
 Start a discussion on the ‘social media’ on some issues involving professional
excellence

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L3: Professional Excellence

ASSIGNMENT

Develop a plan to organise a one-day seminar on professional excellence.

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L– 4: Mentoring and Counselling of
University Students

Contributor

Dr. B. L. Gupta
(Professor, Department of Education, Research and Management)

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462002
Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L4: Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

Lesson – 4
Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

Learning outcomes: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
LO 1. Justify the need of counseling and mentoring.
LO 2. Describe the types and levels of counseling
LO 3. Explain the paradigm shift required in counseling.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 CHARACTERISTICS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ........................................................................................... 3

3.0 CONCEPT OF COUNSELLING AND MENTORING ......................................................................................... 4

4.0 PURPOSES OF COUNSELLING AND MENTORING ....................................................................................... 5

5.0 CHARACTERISTICS OF COUNSELLING ......................................................................................................... 7

6.0 PRINCIPLES OF COUNSELLING .................................................................................................................... 8

7.0 TYPES OF COUNSELLING ............................................................................................................................ 8

8.0 LEVELS OF COUNSELLING ........................................................................................................................... 9

9.0 TRADITIONAL COUNSELLING ..................................................................................................................... 9

10.0 FACTORS AFFECTING COUNSELLING AND MENTORING SERVICES .......................................................... 10

11.0 PARADIGM SHIFT REQUIRED IN COUNSELLING PROCESS ........................................................................ 10

12.0 SUMMARY ................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................................... 12

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L4: Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

Lesson – 4
Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

1.0 INTRODUCTION
The students from different background take admission in universities. They belong to
different social, cultural, geographic, religious and family background. They belong to rural
and urban areas having wide difference in living conditions. They belong to poor, middle and
rich family. They belong to educated and uneducated family. They join university education
with different ambitions and aspirations. Their educational level is different although they
achieve almost same marks in the qualifying examinations. Apart from the wide dissimilarity
in the background they go tremendous changes biologically, socially, physically, emotionally
and spiritually. Their life style changes significantly in the university as compared to school.
They come out from the controlled and disciplined environment of the family, schools and
society. They experience a fairly good degree of freedom in the world of glamorous life of
the city and university. They compare themselves with the fellow students and seniors and
want to place themselves in a respectable position. In the light of background of students, it
is difficult for them to cope up with the academic and non-academic activities in the
university. They are confused and face dilemma about their career, life and future. They face
severe problems and fail to take right decisions. Failure on significant fronts creates de-
motivation, frustrations, anxiety, tension and stress. This lesson is therefore designed to help
you to handle counselling and mentoring sessions with university students wisely.

2.0 CHARACTERISTICS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The university students of today are quite different than their predecessors so far as learning
maturity is concerned. In some areas they are far ahead than their teachers because of
access to television, computers and internet connecting the whole world. They have access
to all types of latest information within no time. They have wide variety of expectations from
teachers and other stakeholders. Some of the indicative characteristics of university
students are listed below:
a) Many students have crafted their vision, ambitions and missions of life. They want to
pursue and achieve it.
b) They are more conscious to their career and want to enjoy the life. They want to
learn career related competencies and not outdated theory.
c) They have passion for innovation, change and development.
d) They want to explore their potential under the guidance of able teachers.
e) They have competitive spirit.
f) They are ready to accept challenges.
g) They have interest in purposeful learning rather than copy of the old book on Black
Board or on Power point.
h) They want experiential learning through challenging learning projects.

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L4: Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

i) They want to learn learning. They want to have a deeper feel of it.
j) They want respect and recognition for their achievements.
k) Their needs of the learning are varied and strong. They want to satisfy learning needs
in flexible way.
l) They are ready to develop competencies of their interest at any time and at any cost.
They want an expert who can make them learn joyfully.
m) They have different styles of learning. So, they want flexibility in learning process and
learning methods matching to their learning styles.
n) They explore opportunities for learning and not for getting bored listening for hours
and hours without relevance to their needs.
o) They want psychological, emotional and social support during the process of learning.
p) They want to share learning, feelings and learning problems openly with their true
friends may be teachers.
q) They want to spend their precious time for fruitful activities may be learning
activities. They want to become mover of the learning process. They want to do
concrete and significant things. They do not want to kill their time in irrelevant
activities.
r) They want to develop their personality. They want to develop competencies related
to personality, entrepreneurship, communication, leadership, software development.
s) They want to pursue learning to satisfy hobbies and career needs. They want to
develop competencies such as facing competition and crisis.
t) They learn uniquely. There are differences in individuals that affect the learning
process. They want that individual differences should be recognized by the teacher
and design the learning process to suit them.
u) They want to enjoy university life because they will not get same opportunity in their
life time.

3.0 CONCEPT OF COUNSELLING AND MENTORING

In the backdrop of the discussion in above points, counselling has a wider and deeper scope
for understanding, analyzing and helping the students to solve their problems. The university
plays a vital role to prevent, reduce and eliminate anxiety, tension and stress in students. It
enables them to take better decisions for the future.

For university students, Gupta (2009) defines counselling as a process of enabling the
students to identify, chart and recognize their needs, potential, ambitions, aspirations and
vision and articulate the same in terms of professional life. It is a guiding process that helps
the students to explore the self, identify the potential and harness it. The trained teachers
and counselors help the students in exploring the self. The students select a course of study
in order to pursue their vision and satisfy their needs. The universities create all reasonable
opportunities for students to pursue variety of visions and immediate goals of life at
appropriate cost and time.

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L4: Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

Gupta (2009) defines mentoring as a process of development of individuals and teams to

their full potential level using collective, collaborative and cooperative learning methods.
The traditional counselling services focus on solving behavioural problems of the students
whereas mentoring focuses on harnessing potential of students for their development. It is a
process of creating learning environment in which students learn with joy, gain energy for
learning from the learning process and experience thrill of learning. At the same time, they
learn to manage emotions, anxiety, tension and stress. The counselors empower the
students to manage their behaviour. The mentoring automatically prevents the behavioural
and discipline problems in the university.

The university articulates the vision statement considering the external and internal
environment in general and industrial environment in particular. The university creates
ample opportunities for students to achieve their vision. At the same time, it guides and
shapes the behaviour of the students, staff members, faculty members, and stakeholders to
achieve the vision of the university. The culture and climate of the university is aligned to
vision reach strategies of the university. The university takes all guiding and controlling
measures to shape the behaviour of the students, staff and faculty members. The behaviour
of all institutional members is guided through professional counselling and mentoring
services. The university appoints professional counselors and mentors to manage and guide
counselling and mentoring services. It also develops selected governors, faculty and staff
members as counselors and mentors to guide day-to-day behavioural activities of the
students and staff. The counselling and mentoring arethe processes that contain one or
more sub processes considering the requirements of specific situation. The sub processes
are awareness building, education about life, exploring self, encouraging the students for
achieving goals, helping, guiding, influencing, controlling behavior, problem solving,
coaching, training and the like.

4.0 PURPOSES OF COUNSELLING AND MENTORING

The purposes of counselling and mentoring are varied and many. It depends on the type,
size, performance, climate, culture, vision, location and level of the university. The right
counselling and mentoring opportunity to university students can change their view about
the professional and social life. It helps students to select the area of occupation and opt for
a particular profession by design and not by chance. Defining the purpose of the counselling
and mentoring helps the counselors and the students to fix the problem and develop
effective strategies for changing the behaviour or fixing the goals for development. There
can be one or more than one goals of counselling and mentoring. The counselling and
mentoring can focus individuals, groups, whole class and institution. An indicative list of
purposes of counselling and mentoring is stated below:
a) Identify Potential: The students are encouraged to draw the profile of their
potential, talent, personality and ambitions on various aspects of development. They
are guided, helped and assisted by counselors using various tools and techniques to

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L4: Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

explore the self. They are helped to draw the profile on various parameters of
personality to realize that they can grow and develop in a particular area of their
interest or discipline or profession.

b) Diagnose the Problems: The students are motivated to identify the behaviour related
problems which are detrimental to their student life and professional life. They are
assisted to appreciate their weaknesses coming in way of their development. They
are encouraged to identify the problems they are likely to face in near future in their
career. The counselors warn the students about their weaknesses and problems and
guide them in removing weaknesses and problems using appropriate strategies.

c) Craft Vision: The counselors and mentors help students to craft the vision for the life
and professional life. Students analyze their strengths, weaknesses and
developmental opportunities available in the environment. They craft the vision for
their life on their own under the guidance of the counselors and mentors, which is
enduring, challenging, enjoying, compelling, attractive, achievable and credible. The
counselors and mentors encourage the students to develop strategies to achieve the
vision with minimum barriers and in joyful way.

d) Develop Self-image: Students are encouraged by the counselors and mentors to

explore the inner self and self-image in order to develop and increase their
confidence for achieving the vision and goals in life. They are encouraged to develop
greater level of maturity for the life in decision-making and problem solving. The
counselors and mentors develop can do attitude in students through counselling
process. They encourage students to explore the self-concept and help them to
thrive on their strengths. Students are encouraged to explore set of questions such
as; who am I? Where I have come from? Where am I going? What is stopping me?
How will I get there? What will I need to get there? What will it be like when I get
there? The answers of these questions tell them about their inner self.
Understanding inner self, they use appropriate methods to improve their self-
concept.

e) Learn the Secrets of Success: Students are equipped with tested theories, models
and principles to ensure success in their life in long run. They internalize the secretes
of the success using variety of modes recommended by the counselors and mentors
such as selecting and imitating the role model, designing and observing systematic
and scientific approach, dealing with emotions, following principle centered habits
and values, taking initiatives, being proactive and the like.

f) Observe Norms of the university: Students are encouraged to observe the norms of
the university in order to promote healthy academic culture. The counselors and

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L4: Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

mentors take proactive approach to shape the behaviour of the students right from
the beginning of their university life to prevent behavioural problems and promote
self-discipline. They develop skills in students to appreciate their own limitations.
They develop skills to have patience and wait for favorable conditions to remove
weaknesses and strive for desired goals.

g) Adjust with Culture and New Situations: There is a big transition in the life of the
students when they join university. They undergo tremendous changes physically,
socially, intellectually, culturally, emotionally and spiritually. They find themselves in
a totally different environment than school environment of caring, supporting,
playing and enjoying. They find difficult to adopt, adjust and adapt in entirely difficult
environment. They need someone to help and guide them in transition phase of
physical, social, academic, cultural and glamorous life.

h) Solve Academic Problems: The main purpose of counselling and mentors for majority
of students is to develop competencies to grab best available jobs in national and
multinational companies. During the course of study, they find variety of problems
related to learning such as non-availability of appropriate literature, relevance of
subject matter with the current practices, complex and abstract concepts, repetition
of contents, paucity of time, selection of stream of specialization, unawareness of
effective method of learning, sources of literature, and so on. Students certainly need
guidance in solving their day-to-day problems.

i) Observe Exceptionally Undesirable Behaviour: Students are at the threshold of the

turbulent life in the university. The institution is expected to observe the behaviour
of the students and identify the students indulged in undesirable, unsocial, unlawful
and unethical activities. Their negative behaviour needs to be sincerely diagnosed
and modified under the observation of professional counselor otherwise one rotten
apple in the basket may spoil the apples of entire basket.

j) Opportunities of development: The institution creates adequate opportunities and

flexibilities for the development of the students so that they are placed with high
salary in area of their own interest. It means the counselling is directly linked to the
needs of industry and students. The university can design need based curricular and
co-curricular interventions to help the students to grab the opportunity.

5.0 CHARACTERISTICS OF COUNSELLING

The counselling process of university students is totally different than school students in the
sense that they are conscious and clear about their career to a large extent. The students are
more interested in latest information about the companies, technology and job trends. To be

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L4: Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

effective, the counsellingand mentoring process should be interactive, natural, supported by

scientific tools and techniques, continuous, unbiased, and empower the students.

6.0 PRINCIPLES OF COUNSELLING

The counselors and mentors use principles of counselling and mentoring to make the
counselling and mentoring effective and efficient. These principles are evolved over the
years in different contexts and based on various theories, models, concepts and practices.
The indicative principles of counselling and mentoring applicable in universities are stated
below:
a) Create adequate opportunities for empowering the students for learning
b) Promote team learning and collaborative learning
c) Respect the potential of young students
d) Unbiased approach in teaching learning and assessment
e) Encourage best practices
f) Create learning organization.

7.0 TYPES OF COUNSELLING

The counselling in university has been an area of low concern in the past. The counselling
was conducted to maintain the discipline in the university. In most of the counselling
situations punitive actions were taken using rules and regulations. Management and
teachers who were not trained in counselling techniques did the counselling in past. It was
purely reactive approach. It had nothing to do with development of the students and the
university. It emphasized on maintaining the status quo in the performance of the students
and university.

Now considering the competition and demands of graduates with professional competence
there is a dire need to provide counselling and mentoring services at different levels by
professional counselors and mentors. There is a need to explore the potential of faculty
members, staff members and students and use it for the development of the self and
university. There is a need to identify the intelligence, abilities, aptitude, interest, needs and
personality of the students. There is a need to have vision of the university and at the same
time opportunities for the staff and students to develop up to their self-actualization level
through individual vision. This is promoted through mentoring services in the university.

It focuses on the development of one and all in the university as per their needs and desire.
It helps the university to plan its services to satisfy the internal and external customers. It
provides sense of purpose to the life of individuals and purpose to university functioning. It
enables the institution to set benchmarks and achieve them. The counselling and mentoring
for students, faculty members and staff members can be classified in two categories viz
reactive and proactive. Reactive counselling is further classified as solving behavioural and
career related problems. Mentoring is further classified as exploring the potential, crafting

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L4: Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

the vision, modifying behaviour to achieve vision, developing life skills and achieving vision
for the self and institution

8.0 LEVELS OF COUNSELLING

The university campus has wide spectrum of behaviours of students ranging from bright to
problematic. The university has a challenge to channelize the energy and synergy of the
students for common purpose i.e. their development to all heights to pursue vision. The
university requires three types of counselors to provide proactive and reactive counselling to
students. The types of counselors are professional counselor, teacher counselor and trained
counselors.

The professional counselors are drawn from the education system and trained to assume the
full-time role of counselling in institution. Teacher counselors are trained to conduct routine
proactive as well as reactive counselling activities in the university. Trained counselors are
persons drawn from various positions and trained to conduct counselling services or support
counselling services in the university. They offer counselling services which are not related to
academic activities of the students but other activities in the campus. The counselling in the
campus of institution is carried out by professional and trained counselors at different levels
such as individual, small group, whole class, and whole university.

9.0 TRADITIONAL COUNSELLING

Many universities have created services for the development of the students but they have
offered the services on adhoc basis. These services may improve the performance of the
students in a particular area but may not satisfy varied needs of the students. The
universities have experimented a lot to improve the quality of performance of the institution
and students. Some of the significant efforts made in universities are placement services,
conflict management, incentives and reward giving programmes, activities of professional
bodies, educational tours, awareness programmes, complaints handling, problem solving,
crisis management, entrepreneurship development programmes, discipline maintenance
etc. These services do not focus on roots of development of students and institutions. These
services are good for short term results but cannot give long term impact on the
performance of the students.

Types of Problems Faced by University Students

University students face variety of problems which are addressed by traditional counselling.
Large numbers of universities are involved in reactive counselling and they face variety of
problems. Some of the broad problem areas are related to career, occupation, language,
communication and presentation, coping skills, professional skills, personality, biological
problems, drugs habits, adjustment, harassment, and examination.

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L4: Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

10.0 FACTORS AFFECTING COUNSELLING AND MENTORING SERVICES

The effectiveness and efficiency of the counseling and mentoring services depend on
numerous facilitating and restraining factors as stated below:

Facilitating Factors
a) High employment opportunity
b) Curriculum addresses the current and future needs of the industry and student
c) Healthy relationship between the counselor and students
d) Healthy climate and culture of the institution for learning and developing
competencies
e) Presence of hygienic and motivating factors in the institution
f) Competent and experienced counselors and mentors
g) Autonomy to work
h) Active problem solving and grievance handling mechanism in the institution
i) Expert, experienced and trained teachers
j) Adequate teachers, staff members, counselors and mentors
k) Awareness, education and training of faculty members, staff members and students
on counselling and mentoring
l) Mutual trust between counselors and counselee
m) Adequate physical resources
n) Institution and students believe in excellence

Restraining Factors
a) Financial conditions of the students
b) Adhoc curricular decisions
c) Content based curriculum
d) Outdated curriculum
e) Vague policy and rules of the institute
f) No policy for counselling at institution level
g) Favoritism, biased approaches and politics
h) Formality in the name of counselling and mentoring
i) Lack of transparency, objectivity, direction, autonomy and systems
j) Problem solving and crisis management techniques
k) Lack of focus on academic activities
l) Too much politics, dominance, buttering and lobbying
m) Everybody is concerned for short term gains
n) Unwilling and seasoned faculty and staff members

11.0 PARADIGM SHIFT REQUIRED IN COUNSELLING PROCESS

The universities are facing high level of competition and challenges in their functioning. They
need to work professionally without conflict, confrontation and decline in performance. The

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L4: Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

students, staff and faculty members should be satisfied in the institution. There should not
be any frustration, tension, stress, depression, revelry, quarrel, fight, harassment and crime
in the university. At the same time all human beings should get an opportunity to develop up
to their self-actualization level. It demands for paradigm shift in counselling services
provided by the university for students, staff and faculty members. The significant
parameters of counselling and mentoring, current status and paradigm shift are stated in
Exhibit 1.
Exhibit 1
Paradigm Shift in Counselling to Mentoring

Parameters Current Practices Paradigm Shift Required

Objective  Solve behavioral  Helping the students, staff and
problems faculty members to explore the self
 Manage conflict and self-potential
 Enforce discipline  Helping to craft vision for the life
 Prevent revelry  Design and implement behavioural
 Remove frustration strategies to achieve the vision
 Demonstrate behaviour aligned to
institutional vision
Approach  Purely reactive  Purely proactive
 Bureaucratic  Autonomy
Mechanism Problem solving Decision making and development
Focus Problematic person Whole institution
Foundation Punishment Rewards, growth and development
Resource Management Professional counselors and trained
person faculty members
Methods Controlling Empowering
Consequences Problem solved  Culture and image of the institution
enhanced
 Best placement
After Management feel tension  High level of satisfaction
counselling released  Win - win situation
Long term Discipline maintained  Culture to thrive success and
impact excellence
 Graduates do miracle in their life

12.0 SUMMARY
The students in universities join from different and varied social, cultural, religious,
educational, spiritual and geographic background. They have a wide range of expectations
from universities. They also face variety of academic and non-academic problems. They have

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L4: Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

tremendous unexplored potential that can be tapped for their development. They have
interest, ambitions, aspirations and vision to achieve. They need guidance and counseling
related to their personality, career and future. They want to solve their problems in the
university. They are at the age of transition and enter from controlled to uncontrolled
environment. This calls for counselling and mentoring. Counselling is a process carried out by
trained and professional counselors in order to help the students to craft the vision of their
life considering their strengths and limitations. At the same time the counselors enable the
students to know their undesirable behaviour and behavioural problems. They help the
students to design strategies to modify the behaviour to match with the culture and climate
of the institute. They help the students to develop maturity, self-discipline and
professionalism in their day-to-day activities. The effective counselling process is carried out
following various characteristics such as interactive, natural, use of scientific tools and
techniques, unbiased approach, continuous process and empowerment. Considering the
need of the situation counselling is carried out at five levels i.e. individual, group, whole
class, institution level and outside the campus. There are numerous factors that affect the
process of counselling and mentoring. These factors are classified as facilitating factors and
restraining factors. There is a need of paradigm shift in current counselling practices which
are based on reactive approaches of counselling. The university should create opportunities
to develop variety of competencies in students considering their individual preferences to
make them satisfied professionals.

*****

BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Gupta B. L. (2009) Proactive Counselling, Mahamaya Publishing House, New Delhi

[2] Gupta B. L. (2008) Excellence Through Performance Appraisal, Mahamaya Publishing House,
New Delhi

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L4: Mentoring and Counselling of University Students

L - 4 DISCUSSION FORUM

Start a discussion on social media on any aspect of counselling and mentoring.

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 L–5: Social Responsibility

Contributor

Prof. (Mrs.) Asmita A. Khajanchee

Associate Professor and Head, Department of Electronic Media

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462002
Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L5: Social Responsibility

Lesson – 5
Social Responsibility

Learning outcome: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to plan to
contribute to the social responsibilities that every professional is morally bound
to do in the larger interest of the society to make the world a better living place.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE TEACHER ........................................................................................................... 3

3.0 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN THE CONTEXT OF EDUCATION SYSTEM ....................... 4

4.0 SENSITISING STUDENTS FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE ................................................................................. 5

5.0 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................. 5

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................................ 5

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L5: Social Responsibility

Lesson – 5
Social Responsibility

1.0 INTRODUCTION
A teacher in India is considered as an icon of ethics, sincerity and honesty. The teacher’s role
is not only confined to academics, but also to other social responsibilities, which is the need
of the hour for the country. Therefore, the teacher should not only be fair in his/her work,
but should be sensitive social issues as well and to imbibe them in the students through
various activities. As discussed in earlier lessons, the professionals are the most respected
segment of the society. There are many professionals who are practicing to use their
knowledge for the benefit of society. Every profession brings some responsibilities to
contribute as a knowledgeable, authentic and acceptable source of information, inspiration
and ambassador of goodwill and practice. One of them is when a doctor is called upon to
talk about importance of basic vaccination of infants. Similarly, a teacher is a source of
authentic information and his views and actions are generally regarded with esteem by the
society. A teacher being the one of the key persons in grooming citizen of the future has a
big share to play concerning social responsibility which is discussed in this lesson.

2.0 ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE TEACHER

It is very important to realize that the main responsibility of sensitization of human beings to
good habits and values is with parents and teachers. The teacher’s main role is to make the
student realize that the world keeps changing, knowledge is ever-changing or dynamic and
process of learning and unlearning are a lifelong activity. Mainly, the development of good
values in the student is very much necessary for building a good nation.

The key social responsibility principles are accountability and transparency, which is the
responsibility of every professional in his conduct. In the context of quality of life, the term
social responsibility is a means of achieving sustainability in one’s own environment.
Adopting these principles can help a person to ensure the long-term viability and success of
any process or system of which he is a part.

The teacher working in higher education system is expected to deliver the knowledge and
skills in such a way that the students develop abilities to earn their living. The role of teacher
is to guide the student in overall development of his personality and also to choose right
path for career. S/he is supposed to impart a body of knowledge and skills that are recent
and relevant. The accountability which is part of the social responsibility of a teacher
considerably held high by the society is considered to be a very valued profession by default.
Considering this aspect of accountability, the teacher performance is judged and in many
developed countries, the teaching contracts are reviewed annually.

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L5: Social Responsibility

ACTIVITY–1
Describe how accountability can be ensured in classroom teaching-learning process.
Discuss the description and share your experiences with peers in your organization and
post in the E-portfolio.

3.0 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN THE CONTEXT OF EDUCATION

SYSTEM
Social Responsibility in the context of education has been considered by educationists and
philosophers as well. Forbes, has given the concept of ‘socially responsible education’. ‘To
begin to answer the question of what ‘socially responsible education’ means, you may ask
whether the term ‘socially responsible education’ describes the contents of an education (i.e.,
what is hoped that the students will learn, or whether it describes the way in which the
education is conducted, or both. Although many people may assume the term ‘socially
responsible’ will predominantly refer to the contents of an education, some thoughts about
the way education conducts itself in regards to social responsibility merit consideration. In
fact, the social responsibility of the way education conducts itself is a principal argument for
the existence of public education. It is seen as socially responsible that quality education is
freely available to all children; and that argument has remained unchanged despite many
changes in the contents of public education.

The teacher has to be very clear about his/her role in the development of a student as a
citizen of future years. S/he should not be silent on burning issues which threaten the
peaceful life of citizens of today and tomorrow in our society. Corporate social responsibility
(CSR) is one of the Government of India mandated activities that every organisation is bound
to do. Every educational institutional can also take this up. Such issues may include
sustainability, unity, literacy, poverty, health and hygiene, blood donation, adopting a village
for all round development, development. Activities to reduce of social evils such as dowry,
bribes, corruption, female feticide, unfair wages, not caring the aged parents, and such other
illegal activities.

Transparency in operations is a much-wanted qualitative characteristic of any process

including teaching-learning (T–L). The ultimate quality of output can be judged easily when
the process is transparent and it is possible to identify the factors responsible for poor
quality. The (T–L) process also can be made transparent with the help of proper policy
guidelines and implementation of the same in an institution. Frequent and relevant
communication between the administrators of educational institutions and teachers,
teachers and student, the parents and administrators and that of administrators with other
agencies and stakeholders is very important. IT tools such as web portal, websites facilitate
open access to student’s performance and (T–L) process in an educational institution will
help maintain accountability and transparency in society.

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L5: Social Responsibility

4.0 SENSITISING STUDENTS FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE

Community service is one of the effective tools towards the effort to develop good values,
attitudes and other aspects with respect to the ‘Affective Domain’ of learning. It is the duty
of the teacher to inculcate sense of service and self-sustenance in students, through the
various courses that s/he will teach and provide opportunities to develop them in the
classroom, laboratory and other places. Opportunities should be created for the students to
take part in activities like NSS, NCC and the like so that they can see the world in practice
with discipline. Internships also offer such opportunities.

The institutions could adopt some villages; guide the students of how to help the community
in different ways such as tree plantation, ‘biogas plants’, and the like. The students could
also be encouraged to take part in schemes like ‘Unnat Bharat’, ‘Community Radio Station’
activities of the Government of India (you could even initiate yourself for the institute, for
which you could refer to the websites [Link]
radio-stations-0, [Link] in different ways (see example in Appendix-1).

Further, the students may be encouraged to visit the field organizations, places of heritage,
villages, old age homes, orphanages, places affected by natural disasters and such other
places. Since each student have their unique learning styles, many of the activities may not
impact all students, but some students or the other.

5.0 SUMMARY
The purpose of education system is not only to give academic knowledge to the students,
but also to be responsive in making the students responsible to needs of society. Only the
teacher and parents can be considered accountable and responsible for grooming
responsible citizens of next generation. The sense of responsiveness and responsibility can be
transferred with ease through a good teacher. If that spirit is lost in a teacher such as you,
the world can never be at peace, as disparities will remain unattended. Only the teachers
and parents can create a peaceful, worthy and prospering society. Therefore, understanding
of social responsibilities is very important for a new teacher as discussed in this lesson.
****
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Gaur, R.R, Sangal, R, [Link] (2010) – A foundation course in Human Values and
Professional Professional Ethics; Excel Books, New Delhi
[2] Chopra, Deepak (2008) – ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’, Hay House, New
Delhi, Reprint 28th 2020.
[3] FORBES, S. H. (2003) – Holistic Education: An analysis of its ideas and nature,
Foundation for Educational Renewal.; Vermont, Holistic Education Press, USA
[4] Learn About Quality. Retrieved from [Link]: [Link]
resources/social-responsibility
[5] [Link] [Link]

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L5: Social Responsibility

Appendix – 1

Community Radio Station (CRS): A Case of Social Responsibility

[Courtesy: Dr. Balwinder Singh, Associate Professor, Electronics and Communication Engineering ECE
Department, NITTTR Chandigarh]

FM Community Radio Station (CRS) is such a platform which can be used to reach to masses
in a very effective way which can be taken up as social responsibility especially as a technical
teacher. There is a policy by the government of India to grant licenses for setting up of CRSs
to well established educational institutions and ‘Non-profit’ organizations like civil society,
voluntary organizations and such others. Technical teachers can use CRS to disseminate
technical and other knowledge to the people around them.

I got a chance to set-up and operate a CRS for almost 5 years. To operate a CRS is really a
satisfying and challenging task as you interact with local population listen to their problems
and then find right type of experts to address the same. It brings you very close to the
society and the real issues which they deal with. We used to broadcast a diverse range of
programs based on various themes like technology advancements, health, career guidance,
agriculture, social problems, public affairs, interviews of renowned personalities and such
others to address social issues. The CRS was operated by the faculty and staff only on
volunteer basis. A core team of five members consisting of teachers and staff members was
involved in recording, editing and broadcasting the programmes. The other teachers of the
institution used to act as experts in their field of expertise and provided technical knowledge
to the people to get maximum advantage of the latest technology. For example, faculty
members from Electrical Engineering department provided knowledge of ‘Star Rating’ of
electrical appliances, electricity saving tips, importance of renewable energy resources and
so on. Similarly, faculty members from Civil Engineering recorded their programmes on solid
waste management techniques, issues during house construction and so on. Similarly,
faculty from all departments participated to record their expertise for the benefit of
community. In addition to recording their own programmes, faculty and staff members
arranged experts from different fields to provide knowledge on areas other than technical
and this contributed to the success of CRS.

A team of students was also constituted for the support of core team to perform various
activities. Students used to act as radio jockey (RJ) and provided help in field based activities
like interaction with locals to find out their problems. This provided them a chance to get in
touch with the society and the same time it also helped them in their career. The students
who were actively involved in the CRS activities had greater advantage in placement
interviews when the industry was told about their experiences of the involvement in CRS
activities. So, being a part of CRS brought a great a sense of satisfaction that I had
contributed to the society in a novel and noble way and to some extent fulfil the cause of
social responsibility; [Link]

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Unit 1: Technical Teachers as Professionals L5: Social Responsibility

L–5 DISCUSSION FORUM

Start a discussion on the social media on some of the social responsibilities of yourself as
a professional teacher.

AICTE–NITTT Module 02: Professional Ethics and Sustainability NITTTR, Bhopal Page 7
L– 6: Human Aspirations: Sustainable
Happiness and Prosperity

Contributors

Dr. Shashi Kant Gupta

Professor of Assessment and Evaluation

Dr. [Link]
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462002
Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L6: Human Aspirations: Sustainable Happiness and Prosperity

Lesson – 6
Human Aspirations: Sustainable Happiness and Prosperity

Learning outcomes: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to take adequate
decisions/measures to attain sustainable happiness and prosperity for a satisfied
and successful personal and professional life.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 WHY SOME PROFESSIONALS ARE NOT HAPPY? ......................................................................................... 3

3.0 PURPOSE OF LIFE OF A PROFESSIONAL ...................................................................................................... 4

4.0 SUSTAINABLE HAPPINESSFOR THE PROFESSIONAL ................................................................................... 5

5.0 PROSPERITY (SAMRUDDHEE) FOR THE PROFESSIONAL ............................................................................. 6

6.0 NEED FOR SUSTAINABLE HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY ............................................................................ 7

7.0 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................. 9

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................................... 10

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L6: Human Aspirations: Sustainable Happiness and Prosperity

Lesson – 6
Human Aspirations: Sustainable Happiness and Prosperity

1.0 INTRODUCTION
As discussed in earlier lessons, the professionals (such as teachers of higher education
institutions) are regarded as the most respected segment of the society and their
relationship with society is based on trust between them. Generally, professionals need to
sacrifice considerably, including some pleasures of life and devote sufficient time of their life
to achieve the mastery on the vast and complex body of knowledge they have acquired. They
also take pains to use this knowledge for the service of the mankind. Nevertheless, society
also gives them a substantial amount of money and respect, name and fame in recognition
of their services. Because of these privileges associated with the professional life, a large
number of youths aspire to become a ‘professional’. Currently, there are ample
opportunities for the people to choose a career from the various available choices. For
becoming a professional, students have to study hard for a long number of years to acquire
the desired higher level of qualifications and competence. Students become professionals on
their own choice and it is a hard-earned position for them. However, it is often seen that
they do not seem to be happy with their professional life. This lesson is an attempt to help
you to understand and take adequate steps to attain sustainable happiness and prosperity
for a satisfied and successful professional life.

2.0 WHY SOME PROFESSIONALS ARE NOT HAPPY?

If you look around, you may notice many professionals who are not satisfied with their
professional and personal lives. Some professionals engage themselves in some unethical
practices, although they very well know that whatever they are doing is harmful to the
society. In a way they cheat those clients who have faith in them, and this act of them may
be considered as a sin. For example, some doctors undertake illegal sex determination test
of the foetus and perform illegal abortions to earn more money. Some professors misuse
their powers to award [Link]. to undeserving research scholars just to get undue favours or
oblige their colleagues of their fraternity who keep referring them for adjudication of [Link].
Both these types of behaviours are unethical and lead to deterioration in the quality of
education and research. If the causes of such unethical behaviours of the professionals are
analysed, the following probable reasons emerge out:
a) Earn more quick and easy money for getting more comforts
b) Get support of other professionals for own survival because of the market conditions.

There are many professionals, who earn enough money from their ethical practices to lead a
comfortable life. Even then they indulge in other unethical practices. This situation forces
you to think about the reasons behind such behaviour. The most common reason may be
‘misplaced notion about the purpose of life’ or in other words, their understanding about life

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L6: Human Aspirations: Sustainable Happiness and Prosperity

and their expectations from life. Socrates has said ‘Ignorance is the cause of all evils’, and
therefore, first of all you should ‘know yourself’ i.e. everyone should first know what s/he
really wants to be and based on his/her own strengths and weaknesses, choose the relevant
occupation. The mismatch between what you really want to be (according to your choice)
and what you are forced to be (due to your greed or social pressure or lack of opportunity) is
the root cause of most problems of ‘unhappiness’ discussed in the following paragraphs.

3.0 PURPOSE OF LIFE OF A PROFESSIONAL

Every person, irrespective of profession/occupation wants to live a ‘fulfilling life’ or an
‘abundant life’. Now, this assertion raises a fundamental question, as to what do you mean
by fulfilling life or an abundant life. There is a general consensus that most of the people in
life aspire for ‘prosperity’ and ‘happiness’. Most of the greeting cards which carry messages
for different occasions like those for birthday, anniversary, promotion and other cards
mention these two words. Methods for achieving happiness and prosperity are different for
different people. A philanthropist may get happiness in donating to poor people in cash
and/or kind, while a thief may get happiness in stealing things even from poor people. So, it
is the mindset, which decides the ways of getting happiness. But the intrinsic desire remains
the same i.e. to be happy.

Even when you become a professional of your choice, this problem of mismatch between
your desires and your actions continues in your professional life. Argyris, C. (1974) has given
the concept of ‘Espoused Theories‘ and ‘Theories in Use’. He expounds that the real problem
with most of the professionals is that they unknowingly or subconsciously oscillate between
these two types of theories. One is idealistic theory according to which all actions should be
based on moral values and ethics so that they should serve the larger good and general
interest of the mankind, and are called ‘Espoused Theories’. In other words, these theories
are held in high esteem by professionals and they glorify and promote these theories in
social and academic circles.

However, when it comes to real life practices, some professionals take decisions based on
practical considerations and justify their ethically wrong decisions based on excuses such as:
‘it has to be done for survival in the present system’, ‘one professional alone cannot reform
the whole system’, ‘you cannot grow, if you do not follow the ‘tricks of the trade’ and so on.
All these reasons or justifications can be said to emerge from the ‘Theories in Use’. Thus,
there is a conflict between what professionals should do and what they actually do. The
main reason for such conflicts may be that professionals have not clearly resolved in their
mind as to what they want in their professional and personal lives. In other words, such
professionals are not clear about the purpose of life. Therefore, it is better to discuss what
is meant by ‘prosperity’ and ‘happiness’.

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L6: Human Aspirations: Sustainable Happiness and Prosperity

4.0 SUSTAINABLE HAPPINESSFOR THE PROFESSIONAL

When are you happy? One of the answers to this question is generally given as ‘you are
happy when you are able to get what you want’. In other words, you feel happy when you
are in a situation of your liking or state of your liking. An example can illustrate this further.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 1
You like to be in an office room where temperature is maintained at a comfortable 24oC by
an air conditioner. Then you feel comfortable to work in that room and this makes you
happy. But, if for some reason, the air-conditioner in that room stops working and the
temperature of the room shoots up to 40oC, then you do not feel comfortable. If the air-
conditioner in not repaired at the earliest, then you will start feeling unhappy. In another
instance, you feel comfortable in the office room where temperature is maintained at 24oC,
but you have to share the same room with a colleague who always creates problems for you.
Then again this will be a state of disliking or unhappiness for you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, happiness here means, ‘to be in a state of liking’. However, human beings want ‘state of
liking’ in many aspects of life simultaneously. It may be not only be about physical comforts
but also of good relationships with friends, social recognition and such others.

Generally, human beings are not only satisfied with physical comforts in their lives. Rather,
they also want to have many other things, such as to remain healthy, look beautiful/
handsome, be liked, loved and respected by others. Some ambitious people also wish to do
something great, so that they can get some ‘name’ and ‘fame’. However, if you think about
what are the driving forces for all these actions in human beings, then you will realize that
people wish to derive happiness by fulfilling their desires. So happiness is the most basic
desire which everyone longs for.

For being happy as a professional, you need to be in harmony with people around you. For
example, if you love some people, you wish that, those people should appreciate your love.
If you respect the seniors, you wish to be respected by your juniors. Moreover, any person
cannot remain happy in the company of people who dislike him/her. Naturally, nobody
would like to do this, because being with someone who is not of your liking will result in
disharmony as everyone wants to live in harmony. So, to be happy requires that you are in
harmonious relationship with the people around you.

Sometimes, you are not happy because you have contradictions within yourself. There is a
conflict between ‘what you are’ and ‘what you really want to be’? The reasons for this
situation is that, often you as professional live a life according to choices of others such as
parents, spouses or children. You wanted to get some type of job you liked, but you could
not get it due to lack of opportunities or lack of your capability. Maybe, your superiors in the

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L6: Human Aspirations: Sustainable Happiness and Prosperity

organization might have given you some work, which is not of your liking. All these situations
create conflicts within you and this results in the state of unhappiness.

From the above discussions, it may be concluded that for you to be happy, you should not
only have physical comforts, but be in harmony with persons who matter in your life, but
also should not have any contradictions within oneself. It is also defined as ‘happiness is due
to the happenings around you’, and the happenings around you is dynamic. This means that
whenever, the happenings around you change, your happiness also changes.

Another term closely related is happiness (‘Anand’ in Sanskrit), is the term ‘joy’ (‘Sadanand’
in Sanskrit) also called as sustained happiness. Your ‘joy’ is something which will not be
disturbed by the happenings around you, because it wells up from deep within yourself, as it
is rooted in the right value system and priorities that you have chosen, adapted and practice
yourself (i.e. oneself) all the time. Therefore, joy (sustained happiness) is defined as ‘the
state of being conflict free within oneself’. Three conditions arise out of this definition:
a) Being in harmony oneself, which is the calmness that wells up from deep within.
b) Being in harmony with family and persons who matter to you. In other words, being
in harmony with the family and colleagues who matter most in anyone’s life, it can
be said that sustained happiness is also ‘Being in harmony with family and society’
c) Being in harmony with nature/surroundings. In other words, being in the physical
situation of your liking.

If you summarise the above conditions, then you can re-define ‘joy’ (Sustainable Happiness)
is, ‘Being in harmony with oneself, family/society and nature’. Practicing this state of
harmony for most of the people is easy said than done. How to establish this harmony will
be discussed in the following lessons.

ACTIVITY - 1
List down some purposes of your own life for introspection to check whether it is
affecting the attainment of sustained happiness in your life and post it in the E-portfolio.

5.0 PROSPERITY (SAMRUDDHEE) FOR THE PROFESSIONAL

‘Prosperity’ is related with abundance of physical resources required for living a comfortable
life. The meaning of prosperity in Sanskrit is ‘Samruddhee’. This includes basic things such as
food, clothing, and shelter. In these modern times, it also includes: resources for education,
medical treatment, communication, transportation and entertainment. These resources are
required basically to take care of the needs of human body i.e. to sustain human body in a
decent and comfortable manner. In addition, these physical resources are required for
getting good education, good medical treatment and good entertainment, such as, money
required for site seeing in the country and in other parts of the world. So, when people are
able to accumulate enough physical resources they feel prosperous.

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L6: Human Aspirations: Sustainable Happiness and Prosperity

‘Prosperity’ may also be defined as ‘a feeling of possessing required physical resources in

abundance’. In this definition, two words are critical, the first one is ‘abundance’, which
indicates that the physical resources in possession is more than that which is required by you
to live. In other words the physical resources with you ‘are in excess’. The second term is
‘feeling’, i.e. it is a feeling of having physical resources in abundance. This term ‘feeling‘ is
very critical, because people who have physical resources many times more than require still
feel that they do not have sufficient resources and continue to strive for more of it, even at
the cost of their health and time. There are many instances where people spend their whole
life in amassing resources and they do not have time to use these resources for enjoyment
or some other useful activity. Such people confuse between ‘prosperity’ by ‘wealth’.

‘Prosperity’ is ‘Samruddhee’ in Sanskrit and ‘wealth’ is called ‘Sampatti’. So ‘wealth’ is

physical resources and ‘prosperity’ is a feeling of having ‘enough physical resources’. Socially
also, when you send greetings to your relatives and friends during festivals, then it is
common to wish them for ‘prosperity’ and not for ‘wealth’. Because what is essential in life,
is ‘prosperity’ and which is achievable in normal circumstances. Nevertheless, adequate skills
related to your profession for earning sufficiently enough is also required to be acquired.

Thus, there is no limit to acquire the wealth, as it is endless. But a person can decide that
how much wealth s/he requires for fulfilling his/her essential needs and desires. However, if
desires are unlimited and unrealistic, then the wealth required to fulfill those desires will be
also unrealistic and/or unlimited. So, if needs and desires are limited, a person can earn
enough wealth to satisfy those needs and desires. After the required wealth has been
accumulated by you, you may feel that you are now ‘prosperous’.

6.0 NEED FOR SUSTAINABLE HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY

If you are asked “whether you would like to be unhappy even for an hour”? The answer will
be a definite ‘NO’, which means that all human beings always want to remain happy. Hence,
the concept of Sustained Happiness (or joy) and Prosperity is discussed.

6.1 Sustained Happiness (Joy)

It will be better to discuss about happiness first, as most people confuse ‘pleasure’ or
‘enjoyment’ with happiness. You may derive pleasure or enjoy things through your sensory
(organs) interactions, but sensory interactions cannot be continuous and it is limited by the
capacity of the human body. The following example can throw more light.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 2
You may enjoy tasty food and derive pleasure from it, but there is limit to which you can eat
tasty food. Pleasures could be enjoying tasty food, seeing an interesting movie or smelling a
pleasant fragrance is short-lived and their continuity cannot be ensured. Rather too much
enjoyment may harm the body and it may lead to diseases. Similarly, indulging in too much

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L6: Human Aspirations: Sustainable Happiness and Prosperity

tasty food may also affect the heart, kidneys, digestive system and insulin system of the
body and so on. Another example is when people who watch too much television or internet
may develop many physical problems.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thus, to experience joy (sustained happiness) or sadanand in your personal and professional
life, you need to have the right values and set the right priorities. In other words, too much
pursuit of body pleasures may lead to sufferings instead of happiness. So, joy can be
achieved only by controlling the desires related to pleasures. However, if there are no
pleasures in life, it may become a boring life. Whereas, too much of pleasures may create
problems for the body itself. Therefore, for a joyful or sustainable happiness, there is a need
to strike a correct balance.

Essentially, the common cause of unhappiness is found to be conflict with oneself i.e.
conflict of what you wish to be and what you are actually doing. In other words, ‘joy’ or
‘Sadanand’ state can only be achieved when an individual is in harmony with oneself,
family/society and nature. So, if you really want to have sustained happiness, you have to
not only think about pleasures, but also, work for having harmony with oneself, family/
society and nature. How to achieve this state of mind is discussed in the following lessons.

6.2 Prosperity
Similarly, nobody would like to remain without prosperity in his/her life. You need prosperity
during childhood for good nourishment and education, during adulthood for good care of
your children and family and during old age, prosperity is required for you for good medical
treatment and maybe to follow religious/social pursuits. In Indian culture also the most
common blessing given by the elders is ‘Sada Khush Raho’ (always be happy) or ‘Sada Sukhi
Raho’ (always be prosperous).Thus, it is a natural desire for human beings to aspire for
happiness and prosperity throughout their life. This desire is termed as being in the state of
‘sadanand’ in Sanskrit. There is nothing wrong to aspire for this state as even the religious
scriptures suggest ways and means for attaining this state. However, often due to
misunderstanding and internal conflicts, many people unable to achieve this state of mind.
The reasons for this is discussed in the next lesson ‘Harmony with oneself’.

Not achieving the sustainable state of ‘prosperity’ is often due to not possessing the right
notions of the term ‘prosperity’, as many still confuse between ‘prosperity’ with ‘wealth’.
The actual meaning of the word ‘prosperity’ is ‘the feeling that you have more than the
required physical resources for yourselves’. This definition means that you accumulate
sufficient physical resources which is required to live your personal life with comfort and
also the manage professional work. However, large number of people have developed a
mindset, where they want to accumulate ‘unlimited wealth’ to indicate prosperity in their
lives. This pursuit for accumulating unlimited wealth has the following consequences:

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L6: Human Aspirations: Sustainable Happiness and Prosperity

a) It is a never-ending process, as there is no limit to wealth accumulation. Since the

person will be always busy acquiring the wealth, s/he may not find time to enjoy this
wealth and essentially, the person may be working more than the capacity of his/her
body and in the long run s/he may develop some disease, which may lead to his/her
unhappiness.
b) Since the person will become so busy in accumulating wealth, s/he may not have
time for oneself. This person may not even find time to establish harmonious
relationships with oneself, family and society. This situation will disturb the harmony
and ultimately lead to his/her unhappiness.
c) If everyone on this earth starts accumulating wealth, it may lead to ecological and
social problems, since the earth also has limited resources. ‘Mahatma Gandhi’, father
of the nation, rightly said that the mother earth can satisfy every one’s need, but not
a single person’s greed.

6.3 Wealth and Businessperson

Wealth can be an ‘aim’ or means for achievement for the businessman or woman, because
s/he is able to put the wealth for productive use by investing it in manufacturing,
production, job creation and others. However, for professionals some wealth may be
required for smooth running of their profession, but it cannot be the main focus of their
profession. If professionals start focusing on wealth creation and management of wealth,
then they are left with very less time for developing professional excellence. As discussed in
a previous lesson, lack of professional excellence forces a professional to indulge in unethical
practices and that ultimately leads to conflict with self and disturbance of harmony with
society.

Joy (sustainable happiness) and prosperity is possible, only when the professional keeps in
mind that his/her requirement of physical resources is to be limited to his/her essential
needs and the aim of his/her personal life is not to accumulate excess wealth other than
his/her bodily needs. If you as a professional teacher like to continuously acquire much
wealth, then you should leave the teaching profession and become a business person.

ACTIVITY 2
List some aspects in your own life for introspection to check whether it is affecting the
attainment of sustained happiness and prosperity in your life and post in the E-Portfolio.

7.0 SUMMARY
Most people wish to have a happy and prosperous applicable for professionals and
professionals of higher education. However, for achieving prosperity, professionals need to
develop the adequate skills related to profession for earning enough. Excelling in the
profession and serving the society should be the aim of professional life and professionals
should derive happiness from it. In return, they can expect respect, name and fame.

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L6: Human Aspirations: Sustainable Happiness and Prosperity

Therefore, true meaning of prosperity and joy (sustainable happiness or sadanand) and the
difference between prosperity and wealth has been discussed in this lesson.

Professionals, who mainly focus on acquiring ‘wealth’ should prefer to be businessperson,

rather than becoming a professional. Otherwise, they will continue to live with inner
conflicts and may indulge in unethical practices and never be able to experience the joy and
happiness in their lives. To achieve joy (sustainable happiness or sadanand), professionals
are required have the right values, set the right priorities and follow ethical practices for
which s/he is required to live in harmony with oneself, family, society and nature. For
achieving harmony with oneself, the most important condition is that a professional should
be in the profession of his/her own choice ands/he should like the chosen profession.
However, if professionals are more interested in accumulating wealth, then it will create
conflict within oneself leading to disharmony, which requires that you to re-set to the right
value systems and priorities.

****
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Chopra, Deepak (2008) – ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’, Hay House, New
Delhi, Reprint 28th 2020.
[2] Altekar, A.S. (2009) – ‘Education in Ancient India’ Delhi: Isha Books
[3] Argyris, C. and Schon, D. (1974) – Theory in practice: Increasing Professional
[Link] – Bass Publishers, San Francisco, CA
[4] Argyris, C. and Schon, D. (1978) – Organizational Learning: A theory of Action
[Link] Welsley Publishers, Reading, MA, USA

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L6: Human Aspirations: Sustainable Happiness and Prosperity

L-6 DISCUSSION FORUM

Start a discussion on the social media about the difference between happiness (‘Khushi’
in Hindi) and joy (‘Sadanand’ in Hindi)

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 L–7: Harmony with Oneself

Contributors

Dr. Shashi Kant Gupta

(Professor of Assessment and Evaluation)

Dr. [Link]
(Associate Professor, Department of Electronic Media)

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462002
Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L7: Harmony with Oneself

Lesson – 7
Harmony with Oneself

Learning Outcome: At the end of this lesson, you as a professional will be able to
take necessary steps to live in harmony with oneself and also benefit the students.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 HARMONY WITH ONESELF REQUIRED IN A PROFESSIONAL ...................................................................... 3

3.0 NEEDS OF THE MIND AND BODY ............................................................................................................... 4

4.0 SUPERIMPOSING NEEDS ............................................................................................................................ 5

5.0 PROBLEM OF SUPER-IMPOSING NEEDS ..................................................................................................... 6

6.0 REAL NEEDS OF THE MIND ......................................................................................................................... 7

7.0 CHOICE OF PROFESSION ............................................................................................................................ 9

8.0 CONCEPT OF ‘NATURAL ACCEPTANCE’ FOR PROFESSIONALS ................................................................. 10

9.0 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................ 11

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................................... 11

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L7: Harmony with Oneself

Lesson – 7
Harmony with Oneself

1.0 INTRODUCTION
As discussed in previous lessons, professionals often have to take high-stake decisions, and
work in complex uncertain environment. The professionals’ mind should be free from worries
for taking good decisions to tackle complex problems. This requires that they should be free
from mental tensions and conflicts and have peace of mind. If they are facing some tensions
or worries due to any issue in their personal or professional life, it will affect their
performance. In other words, peace of mind is more important for professionals as compared
to other occupations such as administrators, businessman/women or workers. Nevertheless,
professionals are also human beings and they also have aspirations as they also have families,
live in the society and with nature. If they are not able to adjust with family, society and nature,
they will be stressed which may hamper their professional growth and their right decision
taking capabilities, even in routine works. Some professionals are not able to withstand
pressures from their family and society to satisfy the ever increasing desire for material things
which they think will maintain status, comforts and luxuries. Under such pressure or influence,
they may start indulging in unethical practices to earn more money as quickly as possible. it is
therefore essential for professionals to learn to live in harmony with oneself, family, society
and nature, without getting unduly influenced from them. Essentially, for peace of mind, they
are required to be conflict-free from within and this lesson discussed who it can be done.

2.0 HARMONY WITH ONESELF REQUIRED IN A PROFESSIONAL

Harmony with oneself is most basic and essential part for peaceful and meaningful living. The
most common reason for lack of harmony within oneself is that your focus often remains only
on the needs of the body. Animals also have needs of body such as food and shelter (see figure
1). However, contrary to animals, human beings are complex entities having needs of both the
body and the mind.

Dalai Lama said “People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason
why the world is in chaos, is because things are being loved and people are being used”. Needs
of human body are physical things like food, clothes, shelter, transportation, energy and
others. Needs of mind are different from needs of body and they are psychological in nature
such as respect, love, recognition, companionship, friendship and others. “To develop from
animal consciousness to human consciousness is a distinct transformation. It is a qualitative
improvement in consciousness. Value education is about enabling this transformation in the
human beings” [Gaur, 2016].

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L7: Harmony with Oneself

Human Consciousness
Food & shelter required but
NOT complete without the
mind

Transform to

Animal Consciousness
Limited to food & shelter

Need of Body
Food & shelter for
Animal
(Necessary & complete)

Figure 1 Transformation Required in a Professional

3.0 NEEDS OF THE MIND AND BODY

Mind resides in the body and hence for mind it is necessary that needs of the body are
satisfied. At the same time, the body acts on the instructions of the mind. Thus body and mind
are separate but at the same time highly dependent on each other and can have synergic
relationship if in harmony with each other. The real needs of mind do exist and a time will
come when lack of fulfillment of the real needs of the mind create the stress and disharmony
in the human beings. It is therefore necessary to understand the real needs of the body and
that of the mind. You should try to achieve both kinds of needs in a balanced manner. If this
balance is not maintained, then the harmony is disturbed. So for harmonious living with
oneself, you have to try to keep both the body and the mind satisfied.

Table 1 indicates that the basic needs of body are materialistic/physical facilities such as (food,
shelter, clothing and such others). These needs are concrete in nature and hence can be
measured or quantified. It differentiates well between needs of the body and mind and nature
of those needs. Moreover, there is a limit to which a person can enjoy these physical facilities
such as food, house, car or clothes. There is a difference in possessing the physical things and
enjoying them. There could be no limit to possess these things, but there is a limit to enjoy
them. The happiness that the physical things provide you is temporary, because after a period
of time, you again feel the need for a change.

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L7: Harmony with Oneself

Table -1
Needs of the Body and Mind for Human Consciousness

Particulars Body Mind

Needs are: Food, Clothing and such others Trust, Respect
Physical Facilities (suvidha) Happiness
Temporary In time, needs are Continuous
Needs are Qualitative (limited in quantity) Qualitative (no quantity)
in Quantity: Food, clothing and such others Needs are fulfilled by right understanding
and right thinking
Activities are: Breathing, Heart beats and such others Desiring, thinking, and such others
Recognizing, Fulfilling Knowing, Assuming, Recognizing, Fulfilling
It is a type of: Physio-Chemical/ physiological (material) Conscious/Psychological (non-material)

As far as qualities of these things/facilities are concerned, there are two components of quality
- one needed by body and the other for the mind. An example will highlight this.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 1
If you wish to visit a high altitude hill station during winter season, then you will need warm
clothes, say a woolen coat. The amount of warmth this will provide depends on the quality of
the material it is made of and the quality of warmth required by the body. However, the style
of stitching the coat, and some embroidery work over it are only embellishments so that this
coat looks more attractive and this is the quality needed by the mind, and not the body.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.0 SUPERIMPOSING NEEDS

Over a period of time, humans have mixed the needs of body with needs of mind. For example,
clothes are a need of the body, but clothes with embellishments are need of mind super-
imposed over needs of the body. Nutritious food is need of the body, but tasty food is need
of the mind super-imposed over need of the body. Desire of having a vehicle to travel may be
considered as need of body. But desire of having a luxurious and fancy car is definitely need
of the mind super-imposed over the need of the body. In this way, human needs of the body
have been made so complex, that often people exhaust most of their time, energy and
resources in fulfilling the needs of the body, at the cost of the real needs of the mind which
are i.e. respect, love, friendship, peace and such others.

The most important is in being harmony with oneself. Harmony with oneself is normally at
two levels, first at individual level and other at professional level. At individual level you have
to understand that for human beings the needs of body as well as needs of the mind, both are
equally important. Needs of the body such as food, clothing and shelter are limited and it is
possible to satisfy them with reasonable efforts. However, you will face problems when you
wish to satisfy the needs of the mind by superimposing them on the needs of the body.

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L7: Harmony with Oneself

5.0 PROBLEM OF SUPER-IMPOSING NEEDS

The problem with some professionals is that they try to satisfy the needs of the mind by
additionally attaching the quality features to the physical things, with the hope that real needs
of the mind such as respect, love, recognition will be achieved through this. It is true that when
some people see you living in a big bungalow, moving around in a luxurious car, wearing
designer clothes, they may look at you with awe and liking. But this liking is not for you, it is
for your house, your clothes or your car. These things are not able to generate love or respect
for you. Love or respect comes only when you give some things to people without expecting
anything in return. It should be understood that professionals can gain respect only by
providing good and quality services. You as a teaching professional, gain the respect of the
students by your effective teaching and devotion. If a teacher wears trendy and branded
clothes and uses a luxury SUV car, but is not able to teach well, then s/he will NOT get love
and respect of the students.

Table 1 shows that needs of the mind such as respect and love are different from the needs
of the body. They are abstract and qualitative things and cannot be quantified. Since they
cannot be quantified, there is no limit to these things. A person can get unlimited respect. For
example, the respect, love and reverence offered to Mahatma Gandhi can be termed as
infinite. Moreover, these abstract things are not temporary or periodic. Respect, name, fame
can be forever. Thus, the needs of the mind are associated with feelings, while that of body is
associated with physiological aspect of the body. In other words, body is mainly a physiological
entity and mind is mainly a psychological entity or consciousness.

The needs of mind are more diverse and complex. If needs of mind are not clearly understood,
then these needs may create more stress as compared to the needs of the body. Suppose, you
desire to buy a house, car, mobile phone, clothes and such others for your requirements, then
these things can be acquired with reasonable efforts by which you can live a stress-free life.
However, if you go beyond this necessary requirement, and buy designer clothes, expensive
mobile phones, luxurious expensive cars, palatial houses and such others to enhance your
status, then you will fall in the vicious trap of purchasing the latest and the most luxurious
things every time they are introduced in the market and in this process you will forget the
most basic needs of your body i.e. health, and when you develop the health problems your
life will become problematic and stressful. Moreover, this wrong intention of maintaining the
status will divert the attention from your professional duties and real needs of the mind.

This discussion can be summarised by saying that one of the main causes of lack of harmony
with oneself is the wrong amalgamation of the needs of the body with needs of the mind. It is
totally a misplaced expectation to derive respect, love, recognition and such others by
possession of large amount of expensive, beautiful and glamorous things such as big house,
luxury car, fancy mobile phones and others. It should be well understood that the real need

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L7: Harmony with Oneself

of the body is quite limited, and it is not expensive items, and therefore, you should dissociate
these needs of the body from need of the mind, for maintaining the wrong notion of ‘status’.

ACTIVITY 1
List out some of the physical things that you have acquired beyond your required
necessity with an intention to maintain your status for introspection and self-correction.

6.0 REAL NEEDS OF THE MIND

There are a wide range of jobs/occupations/professions available in this world and a person
has to choose one of his/her liking if s/he wants to enjoy and excel in that profession. The
basic need of the mind is to have a job/livelihood of one’s own liking, since human beings
spend most part of their life in their job or occupation. If a person is forced to take up an
occupation, which is not of his/her liking, then even if s/he is earning considerable amount of
money, s/he may not enjoy the work and this will lead to stress and disharmony.

Sometimes, people are forced to do a job which is not of their choice, because of some
compulsions, but often, when opportunities to choose jobs of their liking are available, even
then, people take wrong decisions as their criteria of choosing jobs is something else, rather
than the job of their liking. The other reason is that there is such a wide range and variety of
jobs, that a student between the age of 16 to 18 years get confused to choose a proper
programme of study leading to a job, which can satisfy his/her mental needs. After a student
has chosen a particular UG programme of study then it becomes difficult for him/her to
change at a later stage. For better understanding and choice of jobs it is important that
students are informed about the basic features of every job/occupation. Based on the basic
features of the jobs/occupations, all the jobs can be clubbed in four major categories:
a) Knowledge based jobs
b) Power/position based jobs
c) Capital or money based jobs
d) Skill based jobs.

It is true that for all the jobs is required some basic related knowledge, some capital (money),
electric power and some related skills. But out of these four categories (see figure 2), any one
category would be the most basic and dominant in that particular type of job. In fact, the
requirement of any one out of four attributes/strengths i.e. ‘knowledge’, ‘power’, ‘capital’ and
‘skill’ is very central to a job and a person needs to acquire that strength to undertake that job
for the livelihood and respect. Moreover, when the person does a job using that strength, s/he
further enhances it with experience and time. This increases his/her ability to earn more. This
further increases his/her earnings/reputation in the society till s/he retires. For example,
knowledge of a Doctor/Professor/Engineer increases with experience. Similarly, power of a
Politician/Administrator grows with seniority. Business persons also increase their capital with
time if they have not suffered losses. Skills of craftsman also improve with time and practice.

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L7: Harmony with Oneself

Occupations

Professionals Administrators/ Business Crafts

(based on Defence personnel (based on person/artists
knowledge) (based on position/power) capital) (based on skills)
predominantly)
 Professionals-  Politicians  Manufacturers  Carpenters
Arts/language  Administrators  Traders  Plumbers
- Science (IAS and other officers)  Bankers  Masons
-Engineering  Army  Farmers  Welders
-Medicine  Police  Travel Agencies  Pilots
 Engineers/Architects  Sports  Service  Drivers
 Doctors Officers/Coaches providers  Sculptors
 Judges/Lawyers (Wrestling, Athletics,  Insurance  Singers
 Chartered Accountants and such others) companies  Dancers
 Journalists  Film producers  Musicians
 Artists  Actors
- Poets/Writers  Sports persons
- Music composers
- Drama Directors

Figure 2. Occupations Categories

Now it is required to inform the students about the basic features/nature of these jobs and
ask them liking - knowledge-based, power-based, capital (money)-based or skill-based jobs.
However, it is to be informed that through every type of job, they can earn their livelihood,
reputation, name and fame depending upon the level at which they work. There are plenty of
examples of persons in each category who have earned enough money/reputation/fame.
However, there are also uncountable persons in each category of jobs, who could earn enough
only to sustain. So earning money/reputation/fame alone should not be the criteria of
choosing the job, the criterion for choosing the job should be liking of the job.

It is obvious to students that no job is superior or inferior. All jobs are equally important for
the society and all jobs can give enough money/dignity/reputation to live a respectable life in
the society. Further, the knowledge/money/power/skills required for living as a good citizen
is sufficient in all types of jobs. The only difference is that more knowledge is used for earning
livelihood and mental satisfaction by professionals/knowledge workers, as they feel that they
are doing something for the common good. Similarly, more power is used for earning
livelihood and mental satisfaction by politicians/administrators. Same is true for business
persons in capital (money) related jobs. Thus, money is a means for businesspersons for doing
business and not the end outcome of business. Similarly, knowledge is a means for
professional workers, as power is for politicians to serve the society. A performer like actor/
singer/sculpture serves the society by using his/her skills. So, knowledge/power/capital
(money)/skills are not to be enjoyed just by possessing them, rather they have to be enjoyed
by using them for serving the society. Students have to choose only what they like most out

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L7: Harmony with Oneself

of these four and choose their job accordingly. Livelihood/satisfaction/fame will come
automatically if you do the job of your liking.

7.0 CHOICE OF PROFESSION

The choice of a profession should be based on two basic criteria; first based on the liking
(interests) and secondly, based on your capability. If choice of profession is not based on
these two criteria, a professional will always a conflict within oneself and it will with great
difficulty to remain in harmony with oneself. Further, it will lead to ineffective services being
provided by that professional to the clients, which will be harmful to the society. Therefore, it
is unethical to work in a profession, if it is not based on these two criteria. The following
example will help to understand it better
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 2
If you want to become a famous actor in Bollywood and you are very much like it, then you
should also have talent to learn it and also act well. If you do not have the acting talent or
aptitude, you may not become a good actor, despite your extreme liking for this occupation.
If you are still adamant about staying on in this occupation and somehow manage to be
famous actor, it may make your life miserable.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Every profession and each of its specialties are important. In each specialisation (see figure 1)
there is sub-specialisation. For example, Civil engineers can have sub-specialisation in
structures or water resources or public health engineering or transportation and so on. Such
large variety creates the problem for selection. All these varieties and variations create
confusion in the minds of students and they are not able to fix their mind on one profession
and this creates problem in development of professional excellence. This has been a big cause
of stress and disharmony in many professionals. The solution is that professionals should
choose the profession and the specialties mainly based on their own liking.

Different specialisations have their merits and limitations. Similarly, different professions have
their own privileges and protocols. The employability and earning opportunities are cyclic in
nature and in every person’s life time every profession sees the ups and down in earning. At
different points of time, different specialisation provides different prospects for employment
or earning money. The following example throws more light.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 3
About two decades ago, a professional Radiologist (specialisation in medicine) used to earn
relatively less as compared to other specialties. But after advent of ultra-sonography, CAT and
MRI, radiologists earn more money as compared to other specialties.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hence, earning money should not only be the criterion for choosing a profession, if you want
to be at harmony with oneself.

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L7: Harmony with Oneself

8.0 CONCEPT OF ‘NATURAL ACCEPTANCE’ FOR PROFESSIONALS

Gaur et al. (2016) defines ‘Realization’ as the ability to see the reality ‘as it is’. The term
‘Understanding’ means to understand the ‘self-organization’ in all entities of nature/existence
and their ‘inter-connected’ organization ‘as it is’. If you can appreciate the inter-connectedness
of different entities such as oneself, family, society and nature, then it will be possible for you
to be at peace, content and harmony with every entity including yourself. Gaur et al. [2016]
suggests that to overcome this problem, you should identify your own natural acceptance i.e.
you should continue to observe yourselves and keep asking yourselves the question,
“Whether this is naturally acceptable to me”? If you keep asking this question to yourselves,
you will be able to access your natural acceptance and this will lead you to the right realization
and understanding. If you are able to appreciate your natural acceptance, then it will lead to
the right realisation (ability to see the reality or the world as it is) and understanding i.e. your
interconnectedness, with the reality.

Since people are not aware of their own ‘natural acceptances’ and they take decisions based
on pre-conditioned views (created by society/media and others) or based on sensations
(pleasures associated with jobs) leading to desires which are incompatible to ‘natural
acceptances’. Most of the times, you do not look within and never try to appreciate your
‘natural acceptance’. Often, people plan (think and analyse) their actions based on those
desires which are incompatible to their natural acceptance. Most of the times those desires
do not get achieved (since they were incompatible to ‘natural acceptance’) and therefore, it
creates stress and disharmony.

Thus, for harmony you have to activate your thinking for realisation (appreciation of reality)
and understanding (appreciation your role/responsibility in that reality based on our natural
acceptance). If you do not do it, your desires arise from external environment and since
external environment keeps changing, your desires will also keep changing or shifting and this
indefiniteness will get reflected in your thoughts, your choices and finally in your behaviour
and work.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 4
You talk about protecting the environment, but your actions are such that they consume more
energy/material and also create more pollution. However, if you had identified your natural
acceptance and kept your mind active for ‘Realisation’ and ‘Understanding’, then there will
be a ‘certainty’ in your behaviour and conduct. This will lead to a kind of definiteness or
stability in your professional life. There will be stability in your direction and purpose new
techniques which are more effective and efficient are continually adopted to achieve the
desired purposes. When you are certain about your purposes and direction, then your desires
will be according to your interests and capabilities in place of short term trends in the
society/economy/profession and such others. Once your desires are compatible with your
natural acceptance, your thinking for protecting the environment will be in harmony with core

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L7: Harmony with Oneself

values of your mind and this will result into proper actions which in turn will lead to success
and more peace and harmony within yourself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.1. Natural Acceptance and Disharmony
The modern world presents so many opportunities, so many varieties in every aspect of life
and that too in such a way that a considerable number of people start following a fashion
trend and this creates an attraction about that particular fashion trend in others also. Hence
more young people go for this fashion trend and the people start thinking that ‘How to do it?’,
without thinking ‘why to do?’. Before following a new trend (whether it is fashion, cars,
mobiles or some professional practice), you ask yourself that whether it is naturally acceptable
to you, then you may save yourself from falling in unnecessary traps. Such traps reduce your
efficiency and effectiveness, leading to deteriorations in your professional practice and
disharmony within yourself. Once you are certain and definite in your aim, you will not be
distracted by irrelevant changes or trends in the society/market/professional practices. This
will create a harmony within you, and this will make your professional practice more effective
and which are more ethical.

9.0 SUMMARY
It is essential for professionals to have peace of mind for working efficiently and effectively.
This peace of mind is possible only when professionals are in harmony with oneself. To face
the life, you have to choose one virtue out of four virtues (i.e. based on knowledge, power,
capital (money) and skills) which matches with your natural acceptance as discussed in this
lesson. This will help you not only, to earn enough to satisfy the needs of the body, but also,
earn respect and reputation that satisfies the needs of the mind as well, as you will be
providing the best products/services to the society through your chosen occupation. A
professional who mainly uses the virtue of ‘knowledge’ for his/her profession, it is essential
that you choose an occupation of your liking (based on your natural acceptance) and then you
remain firm to that choice over a period of time. As a professional, if you get tempted by the
fluctuations in financial returns due to market conditions and frequently change your
specialization then you would not be able to grow and would not be able to remain in harmony
with yourself. So, as a professional, you need to remain firm on your choice of your profession
for professional excellence and growth as well as harmony within yourself.

****
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Gaur, R.R, Sangal, R, [Link] (2016) – A foundation course in Human Values and
Professional Professional Ethics; Excel Books, New Delhi
[2] Altekar, A.S. (2009) – ‘Education in Ancient India’ Isha Books: Delhi
[3] Chopra, Deepak (2008) – ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’, Hay House, New Delhi,
Reprint 28th 2020.

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L7: Harmony with Oneself

[4] Argyris, C. and Schon, D. (1978) – Organizational Learning: A theory of Action

[Link] Welsley Publishers, Reading, MA
[5] Argyris, C. and Schon, D. (1974) – Theory in practice: Increasing Professional
[Link] – Bass Publishers, San Francisco, CA

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L7: Harmony with Oneself

L–7 DISCUSSION FORUM

Start a discussion on the social media on any one or more four virtues (i.e. knowledge,
power, capital (money) and skills).

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L–8: Harmony with Family, Society and
Nature for Co-existence: ‘Sarve
Bhavantu Sukhinah’ (सर्वे भर्वन्तु सुखिन)

Contributors

Dr. Shashi Kant Gupta

Professor of Assessment and Evaluation

Dr. A. K. Jain
Professor of Civil Engineering

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462 002
Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L8: Harmony with Family, Society and Nature for Co-existence

Lesson – 8

Harmony with Family, Society and Nature for Co-existence: ‘Sarve

Bhavantu Sukhinah’ (सर्वे भर्वन्तु सुखिनः)

Learning outcomes: At the end of this lesson, you as professional will be able to
plan to live in harmony with family, society and nature for peaceful co-existence.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 PROFESSIONAL’S HARMONY WITH FAMILY ............................................................................................... 3

2.1 Misunderstanding Among Family Members ................................................................................ 4

2.2 Mitigating Misunderstandings ..................................................................................................... 4

2.3 Abuse of Trust .............................................................................................................................. 5

3.0 PROFESSIONAL’S HARMONY WITH SOCIETY .............................................................................................. 6

3.1 Conflict of Interests ...................................................................................................................... 7

4.0 PROFESSIONAL’S HARMONY WITH NATURE .............................................................................................. 8

5.0 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................ 10

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................................... 11

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L8: Harmony with Family, Society and Nature for Co-existence

Lesson – 8
Harmony with Family, Society and Nature for Co-existence: ‘Sarve
Bhavantu Sukhinah’ (सर्वे भर्वन्तु सुखिनः)

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Professionals are supposed to work as leaders (not as a political leader) to show and guide the
right way of doing things to society on different aspects of life, such as education, health,
ethics, lawful conduct, aesthetics, arts and culture. In other words, professionals show the
path to the society as to how to live a proper life. However, for this to happen satisfactorily,
professionals have to first show that they themselves live in harmony with their family, society
and nature. The present day definition of healthy person is ‘when that person is physically,
mentally and socially fit’. That is why you as professional teacher say to your students that
they must develop healthy habits. That is why, when a student tells a ‘lie’, the teacher tells
him/her that it is wrong habit. In other words, a person to be healthy has to be in harmony
with oneself, family, society and nature. This harmony with oneself is possible only when a
person is able to discover his/her ‘natural acceptance’ (discussed in preceding lesson) and
chooses a profession according to that natural acceptance. This identification of natural
acceptance is possible though the process of realization (knowing what the reality is) and
understanding (knowing ones’ own role in this reality). If a person has identified his/her
natural acceptance and leads the professional and personal life accordingly, then s/he will be
able to show a definiteness in his/her life and the behaviour will not be affected by some small
variations in the economic or social environment around him/her. When a person shows a
consistency or definiteness in his/her personal and professional behaviour, s/he will not only
be able to, develop his/her professional skills, but also, be able to gain the trust of the people
around him/her. Trust is a basic or fundamental condition for a stress free, smooth and
harmonious relationship between two individuals. Hence, for establishing a relationship of
trust with family, people around in his/her profession and nature, these are the aspects
discussed in this lesson.

2.0 PROFESSIONAL’S HARMONY WITH FAMILY

Every professional normally lives in a family, which may be a nuclear family of life partners
with children or extended family where members of three generations may be living together.
For an effective professional life, it is essential for them to have a harmonious relationship
within the family. Otherwise, it will lead to stress in the members which in turn will affect
his/her professional performance. Normally, every member in the family takes care of each
other and thinks of welfare and well-being of other members although there may be
exceptions to this statement. In few cases, some particular member of the family may be
exploiting the situation by taking advantage and enjoying privileges of being the family
member, but not contributing his/her own bit. Sometimes, it may also happen that, although
every family member is trying to do his/her best with full honesty in the common interest of

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L8: Harmony with Family, Society and Nature for Co-existence

the family, some kind of misunderstanding may crop up between some family members,
which may require some introspection and reflection.

2.1 Misunderstanding Among Family Members

Gaur (2016) states that the main cause of such misunderstanding is that people are not able
to distinguish the ‘intentions’ of the person with his/her ‘competence/capability’ and this
creates the problem. It is agreed that harmony with family and society also depends upon
how other members of family and society respond. However, in most cases with the genuine
efforts of an individual, it is possible to establish harmony with most of the members of the
family and society (barring some exceptionally bad members). This can be better explained
with the following examples.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 1
A father wants to earn enough money so that he could provide necessary facilities to his kids.
But, due to some ill-health, he feels tired quickly and is not able to work as much as he wants
to do and hence, earns lesser money. Since he is not able to fulfill the demands of his kids due
to lack of money, his kids think that their father does not work hard enough to earn money
for them, because he is not much bothered about them. In this case, the father has good
intentions about providing needed facilities to the kids, but due to his ill-health (in other words
lack of competence to earn sufficient money) he is not able to earn enough. This creates a
misunderstanding.

Example 2
A man is not very efficient in his official work and hence he requires more time in the office to
complete the task given by his boss. Moreover, his boss is a tough task master and is very
particular that deadlines should be met. Due to this work pressure, the man spends more time
in office to meet the targets. His wife observes that his colleagues return from office in time,
but her husband is always late. So, she thinks that her husband is not bothered about family
and likes to spend more time in office, rather than at home. In this case also, the wife is
mistakenly confusing ‘intentions’ with ‘competency’ to work.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you reflect and look around, you will find many such examples where people confuse
intentions with capacity/competence and this creates the misunderstanding and problems in
relationships.

2.2 Mitigating Misunderstandings

For removing misunderstandings between family members, you have to consciously work to
mitigate it and everyone has to start with oneself. If you explore your natural acceptances in
family relationships, then you will find that first you wish to be happy and live stress free in
family and you desire the same state of mind for every member of your family too. It is also
natural that as a family member each one of them also desires the same for you too. If you

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L8: Harmony with Family, Society and Nature for Co-existence

assume that your family members are like you and they are your well-wishers, as you are for
them, then it will result in unwavering confidence in you, and your behaviour towards every
family member will be very natural and free from any kind of suspicion. This type of behaviour
will induce same feelings in your family members and their behaviour will also become natural
and they will also stop seeing your intentions with any suspicion. This mutual behaviour will
develop trust amongst every family member. This is further explained by the following
examples.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 3
When there is a feeling of trust amongst family members and you notice that the behaviour
of one family member ‘A’ is not as expected. Even then you continue to trust that ‘A’, and not
doubt ‘A’s intentions. Rather, you try to understand the problems or weakness in ‘A’ and try
to remove the cause, so that capability of ‘A’ improves and s/he starts working and behaving
as before with other family members.

Example 4
Sometimes, a family member ‘B’ is having some ill feelings against some other family member
‘C’. If family member ‘C’ continues to behave normally with family member ‘B’, then in the
long run, the ill feeling of the family member ‘B’ will gradually diminish.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the saying goes trust begets trust, the only condition is that it requires patience and time,
which should be continually nurtured. Thus, if a family member shows trust for a long time
towards every other member, then every other family member also develops the trust
towards others and sustainable peace and harmony will set-in/prevail in the family.

2.3 Abuse of Trust

Now you may ask a question, that if you go on trusting people without doubting their
intentions, then some family member can take advantage of this situation and exploit others.
This is a genuine question because, such cases have happened in many places. The concepts
discussed in the above paragraphs is not that you trust everybody blindly. Rather, you should
start the relationship based on mutual trust and give that family member a chance to
reciprocate that trust. Moreover, if you find that family member is not able to perform up to
the expectations, then you should help him/her to build his/her capability to perform up to
the expectations. In this way, an environment of trust will develop and capacity of family
members will also develop with the help of each other.

However, if some family member due to some bad habits or some bad intentions continues
to exploit that trust, then you should try to counsel that family member and if that family
member does not change his/her attitude/habit, then you can withdraw or minimise the
relationship depending upon the kind of biological (i.e. blood relationship) relationship you
have with that family member. The point here is that you should not mistrust family members

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and should not start every relationship on mistrust because, if you start relationship based on
mistrust, then positive relationship will not get developed and there will not be any harmony.
It will create more stress and will reduce the capacity to help each other leading to more
mistrust. However, if relationships are established based on trust then, it will lead to greater
harmony, stress free life and promote capacity building of each member leading to more trust
development and synergic relationships. Nevertheless, if someone misuses this relationship
of trust then you always have the choice to come out of that relationship or minimise the
intensity of the relationship.

For harmonious relationship within family, it is essential that professionals develop the culture
of trust within every family. They should educate the family member that in case a family
member’s behaviour/working is not up to the required expectations and you have doubts
about his/her intentions, you should check whether he/she is facing some problem. If so, you
should try to help to improve his/her capacity/competence levels in order to build up the
confidence to come up to the expectations.

3.0 PROFESSIONAL’S HARMONY WITH SOCIETY

It is evident from the previous sections that initially, it is difficult to achieve the harmony with
oneself and within family as it requires considerable efforts. However, after the harmony is
established, life becomes more peaceful and fruitful in the family. It is now obvious that the
basis of a harmonious relationship between any two individuals is trust. Therefore, for
establishing the harmonious relationship with society also, you as a professional have to
develop the trust with the individuals of the society. In the family, every member has almost
equal importance. Sometimes, some power relationships does exist. But, in these power
relationships, there is also an element of love and belongingness. The importance of every
member and feeling of love and belongingness for and by every member cannot be generally
expected in society. In this situation it is more difficult to develop a relationship of trust with
society.

However, as discussed in lesson 1, professionals can work smoothly only when they have a
relationship of trust with their clients. So on one extreme it is difficult to develop trust with
members of society (many of whom professionals even do not know) and on the other
extreme trust is an essential component for smooth functioning of the professions. Hence, it
is a challenging task for professionals to harmoniously carry on their profession. Moreover, it
is more important for professionals to develop that trust as compared to that of the clients.
Power relationship between clients and professionals is also such that it becomes the
responsibility of the professionals to develop that trust. Now it is a million-dollar question as
to how can professionals develop trust with society.

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3.1 Conflict of Interests

If you analyse the reasons of not developing trust by one individual or group of individuals,
then the conflict of interest emerges as most common cause. Following examples can throw
more light on this.
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Example 5
Suppose a company secretary of a large company holds a large number of stocks or shares of
that same company. If that company secretary suggests that it will be in the interest of the
company to grant bonus share free of cost against each share held by the shareholder, then
this suggestion of company secretary may be taken with suspicion by other stakeholders of
the company.

Example 6
Some lawyers are seen with mistrust by their clients, as they think that lawyer is trying to
prolong the case, so that the lawyer continues to extract more money.

Example 7
Similarly, when a gynecologist doctor, who is also the owner of the hospital suggests that for
smooth delivery of the baby, a caesarian operation of the pregnant lady is necessary, then it
is natural for relatives of pregnant lady to doubt that doctor is suggesting this because s/he
owns the hospital and wants to make more money by performing the caesarian delivery.

Example 8
If a professor offers the paid coaching classes to students of his/her college at his/her home
or some coaching centre is also an example of conflict of interest. As most of the students who
do not attend his/her paid coaching classes fail in the examination, then it is natural for
stakeholders to think that professor is intentionally not teaching well in the college regular
classes, so that the students fail in the examinations and are forced to attend his/her paid
coaching classes.

Example 9
Similarly, if a teacher of higher education (as s/he is a professional) of a public sector/
government institution draws salary (i.e. tax payer’s money) from the government and
simultaneously earns a second income after office hours by teaching at home or coaching
centre (as it is illegal by law) secretly, is also another example of conflict of interest as a
government officer is on duty for 24 x7 hours.
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If you try to find out the root cause of the conflict of interest in all of the above viz. company
secretary, lawyer, doctor and professor, then the root cause of the problem seems to be the
desire for excess money. This ‘desire for excessive money’ is the root cause of trust deficit. If

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you examine the life style of professionals in ancient India, it is a well-documented that
professionals in ancient India viz. Teacher (guru), Doctor (Vaidya), Judges (Raj Guru) and
others were not allowed to accumulate wealth, and the society at that time used to guarantee
to take care of their basic needs. Since professionals never accumulated wealth in ancient
India, they lived a very simple life and there was no reason to doubt their decisions and
actions. Moreover, as discussed in previous lessons, professionals should think of
accumulating knowledge and use that knowledge for the betterment of the community.

Now the big question as to why professionals need not have more money. If they have more
money, then they will also need time to invest and manage it and this process will take their
time and attention away from the knowledge acquisition. They will fall in the trap of
multiplying their wealth and there is no limit to wealth accumulation. This accumulation of
wealth will make professionals more of business person, rather than lover of knowledge, with
professionals losing the trust of the society. As discussed in lesson 1, professionals work in
highly uncertain, complex and high-stake situations and it is possible that despite of their
best intentions and efforts, the outcome of the decisions/actions may be negative. If a
professional is viewed as a money-minded person, then the clients may think that such a
professional has taken decisions based on his/her interest for earning more money, rather
than based on the interest of the clients.

The present day situations have created big problems for sincere professionals. The Indian
media have brought to light several incidents where the relatives of patients have beaten up
the doctors because something went wrong with the patients. Such incidents are indicators
of loss of trust due to general perceptions in the public mind that professionals have become
lethargic and money minded. In ancient India, professionals were always respected by the
general public at large, because the general public was aware of the fact that, although the
professionals had so much knowledge and could use that knowledge to earn excessive money,
they did not do that. Instead, the professionals lived modest lives and used that knowledge to
serve the society. From these discussions, it can be concluded that to gain the trust of the
society and to develop a harmonious relationship, professionals need to develop an image
that they are the seekers of knowledge and not of money as was in ancient India.

4.0 PROFESSIONAL’S HARMONY WITH NATURE

The most difficult task that mankind is facing in the 21st century is to re-establish the
harmonious relation between human beings and nature. The unprecedented scientific and
technological developments of the last two hundred years have given tremendous impetus to
humans to exploit the nature for their own pleasures. The mute nature could not raise its
voice against such exploitation, but this exploitation has disturbed the balance of nature so
much so, that now survival of mankind seems under threat, the indications of which are quite
evident. Everybody agrees that the relationship of nature and mankind cannot be termed
harmonious and fault for this situation lies with human beings. If there is no harmony between

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nature and mankind then it will very adversely affect all aspects of human life. Despite all
scientific developments you still basically depend on nature which is made of five tatvas i.e.
basic elements viz. earth, water, air, fire (energy) and space.

If you analyse this world, it can be classified in four orders, the most fundamental order is
‘material order’ (i.e. land, soil, mountains, rivers, seas, minerals, gases and such others) which
is made of these five traditional elements or tatvas mentioned above. This material order
supports ‘plant order’ on earth grow all type of plants, fruits, vegetables, cereals and others
with the help of space, water, air, and energy. This plant order in turn supports ‘animal order’
‘since all kind of bacteria, insects, land animals, birds, fishes and other sea animals require
food from plants.

The most outer order is that of ‘human beings’ who are using their knowledge to harness all
three orders i.e. material order, plant order and animal order for their own pleasures. If you
analyse closely, it becomes clearly visible that plant order is dependent on material order, but
plant order has not disturbed the material order, similarly animal order is dependent on plant
and material order, but animal order has not disturbed either plant order or material order. It
is because all the three orders behave according to the basic principle of nature i.e. to
maintain the balance by following the cycle of taking and giving.

Water cycle, Nitrogen Cycle, soil-plant-soil cycle are such examples which show that how
different orders interact with each other and at the same time maintain a balance so that this
beautiful earth continues to exist with all its diversity of flora and fauna. However, human
order is taking so much and so quickly from all other three orders and returning it in such a
distorted form that it is not able to become natural part of the nature.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 10
You are returning so much plastic waste every year to nature, that it is not able to absorb even
one percentage of it and hence plastic is contaminating the earth and water both. This
contamination is so intensive that it has poisoned the animals, birds and the water creatures.
When these poisoned animals, birds and water creatures are eaten by human beings, they
poison the humans which has led to emergence of unheard diseases such as corona virus
COVID-19, which originated in China and became a pandemic across the world in early 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, the present life style of humans is neither suitable for these three orders nor even for you.
In this scenario it is the duty of all professionals (such as you) to selflessly and truthfully work
to continue to create new knowledge, in their respective areas for preserving the planet earth
from further deterioration.

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Example 11
Engineers should develop renewable energy technologies, energy and environment friendly
materials and processes, recyclable goods or their parts. Professors should teach relevant
energy and environment friendly technologies, lawyers should force parliament to make
relevant acts or laws such as on ban on single use plastics and so on.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thus, for harmonious relation between mother earth and human beings it is absolutely
essential that all professionals work in unison and take environmentally-sustainable decisions.
You have to understand that for sustainable happiness, it is essential to have conducive and
sustainable environment. How professionals can work for sustainable development is
discussed in later lessons.

5.0 SUMMARY
This is an over-arching concluding section binding together even the previous lessons of this
unit as they are also interlinked. For co-existence of individuals with each other and nature,
and happiness of every individual (especially you as a professional). Since professionals are
leaders or role models in the society, they are supposed to first show to the society, how to
live in harmony first with oneself, family, society and nature. It is not a very difficult task, but
it requires a proper realization and understanding leading to identification/discovery of the
‘natural acceptance’ of oneself, the following steps need to be followed:
a) To live in harmony with oneself a person should identify his/her profession according
to his/her liking and capability. If someone likes and is capable in some kind of
profession, it is highly possible that s/he will excel in that profession and will be able
to earn sufficient money and reputation in the long run, although initially it may not
seem to be a lucrative one. However, if a person chooses a profession which is not of
his/her liking and capabilities but prospects of earning more money in that profession,
even then it is highly possible that after sometime s/he may not enjoy the profession
and may feel stressed and dis-interested. The criterion of earning money should not
be the sole deciding factor,
b) To live in harmony with family, every member of the family should start treating each
other with trust. The relationships should start with trust and even if behaviour of a
family member is not up to the mark. Instead of doubting his/her ‘intentions’ one
should try to find out the level of his/her ‘capability/competence’ to work and help
him/her to come up to the expectations. If you could identify such weakness, then you
should develop that individual to overcome that weakness and help him/her to come
up to the desired expectations.
c) To live in harmony with society, the same condition as for family is applicable. You have
to treat the society as family i.e. the concept of Indian wisdom of ‘vasudhaiva
kutumbakam’. In addition to this, the most important thing is that you should NOT
start accumulating wealth, but aspire for prosperity and not for wealth, as discussed in

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lesson 1. Professionals should aspire to accumulate knowledge and not wealth. A

classic example of an outstanding professional is the living legend, Prof. Goodenough
of Texas State University, Texas, USA who got the Nobel Prize for Physics at the age of
97 years in the year 2019 for his contribution to the world with Lithium-Ion battery and
which was the trigger for Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4) revolutionising the entire
lifestyle of human beings.

If professionals start accumulating wealth, it will create conflict of interests and their
relationship with society, which is based on trust, will deteriorate. Professionals should
use their knowledge to serve the society. If they start accumulating wealth, their time
and focus will shift from pursuit of knowledge to pursuit of wealth and this will affect
their harmony with oneself and the society. Similarly, administrators should
accumulate power, and not wealth. Only business persons can accumulate wealth
since they use wealth for creating jobs by expanding the business.

d) To live in harmony with nature, human beings should learn from the plant order and
the animal order that their consumption pattern should be such that they return back
to the nature as much as they take from nature. This requires multi-pronged strategies
which are discussed in lessons 3 to 15 and lesson 20. But it is worth mentioning that as
professionals are most knowledgeable and most respected individuals in the society,
it is their onerous duty to not only suggest ways and means to protect nature, but also,
to live their own lives according to those suggested principles.

You should not forget that sustainable happiness is best possible in a sustainable
environment. If every individual (especially you as a professional) works for establishing
harmony with the oneself, family, society and nature based on these principles automatically
happiness set in for all and you as a professional would be able to achieve the mission of Indian
civilization i.e. ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah’.

****
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Gaur, R.R, Sangal, R, [Link] (2016) – A foundation course in Human Values and
Professional Professional Ethics; Excel Books, New Delhi
[2] Altekar, A.S. (2009) – ‘Education in Ancient India’ Isha Books: Delhi
[3] Chopra, Deepak (2008) – ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’, Hay House, New Delhi,
Reprint 28th 2020.
[4] Argyris, C. and Schon, D. (1978) – Organizational Learning: A theory of Action
[Link] Welsley Publishers, Reading, MA
[5] Argyris, C. and Schon, D. (1974) – Theory in practice: Increasing Professional
[Link] – Bass Publishers, San Francisco, CA

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Unit 2: Human Realities and Essentialities of Values and Skills L8: Harmony with Family, Society and Nature for Co-existence

L– 8 DISCUSSION FORUM

Start a discussion on social media about the steps that may help you in achieving harmony
with family, society and nature.

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 L–9: Understanding Values, Attitudes
and Ethics

Contributors

Prof. Prakash W. Dandekar

(Evangelist & Visiting Professor, IIT Gandhinagar & Bombay, Member, Heartfulness Institute)

Prof. Asmita A. Khajanchee

Associate Professor, Department of Electronic Media, NITTTR Bhopal

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462 002
Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L9: Understanding Values, Attitudes and Ethics

Lesson – 9

Understanding of Values, Attitudes and Ethics

Learning outcomes: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
LO 1. Describe the role of values in personal life.
LO 2. Explain importance of positive attitudes.
LO 3. Justify the need to follow ethics.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 VALUES ....................................................................................................................................................... 3

2.1 More about Values ...................................................................................................................... 3

2.2 Attributes Related to Values ........................................................................................................ 4

3.0 ATTITUDES ................................................................................................................................................. 5

3.1 Positive attitude ........................................................................................................................... 5

3.2 Negative attitude ......................................................................................................................... 6

3.3 Neutral Attitude ........................................................................................................................... 7

3.4 Sikken Attitude............................................................................................................................. 7

4.0 ETHICS ........................................................................................................................................................ 7

4.1 Ethical Violation ........................................................................................................................... 8

4.2 Academic Ethics ........................................................................................................................... 8

4.3 Business Ethics ............................................................................................................................. 9

5.0 DISTINTICTIVE FEATURES OF VALUES, ATTITUDES AND ETHICS ................................................................ 9

6.0 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................ 10

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................................... 10

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L9: Understanding Values, Attitudes and Ethics

Lesson – 9
Understanding Values, Attitudes and Ethics

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Values, attitudes and ethics are like the lubricant that is instrumental in running the
mechanism of human social life smoothly. Without it, a purposeful life cannot be lived, since
they affect the credibility of the activities being carried out by any human being. In a way,
they depict the individual qualities a person chooses to represent; to guide one’s actions; the
sort of person one wants to be; the manner in which a person treats himself/herself and also
others, and the interactions one carries with the society. They are very important in every
aspect of life, and a teacher needs to be conscious about it and ought to demonstrate his or
her commitment by being a role model and intends to develop the core ethical values and
positive attitudes in the students. On the face of it, generally for a new teacher it is difficult
to differentiate all these terms as this has not been their area of study or work. In this
lesson, the concepts of values, attitudes and ethics are discussed and their importance in the
life of every human being and civilized society.

2.0 VALUES
Values refer to the beliefs for which a person has an enduring preference. Values are defined
as the principles and ideals, which helps a person in making the judgment of what is more
important. Values exist in the mind and are independent of public affirmation. Following are
some examples.
a) Respect to parents
b) Helping the needy
c) Simplicity
d) Charity
e) Integrity
f) Rejecting bribe
g) Respecting purity of material and thoughts
h) Respect Purity of Environment
i) Use of only handmade clothes such as Khadi.

2.1 More about Values

Values are the principles and ideals that help a person in making judgment of what is more
important in one’s life. Values are not feelings, but they are preferences. Although values are
expressed as feelings, but they are more than feelings. One need not have an agreement or
consent or acceptance from others for valuing something in his actions or life. Some other
aspects with respect to values are given below:
a) Values are stimuli for thinking.
b) They differ from person to person.

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c) Advise/ guide what we wish to achieve

d) Determine or discriminate between choices based on level of importance.
e) Motivate people to do better in life
f) Some values are inborn; some are inculcated later in life.
g) Values are taught by a teacher only through demonstration. A student learns the
most by teacher's actions rather than lectures alone.

2.2 Attributes Related to Values

The values inculcate several good human attributes. This section discusses how good
attributes can be developed or created in a teacher due to sound values. Basic or most
fundamental attribute of a good teacher is abundance of universal and selfless ‘love’
towards his/her students, fellow teachers and his institution. Every other good quality or
value emerges from this one source. Sage Patanjali in his epic work, ‘Ashtang yog, shat-
sampatti and saadhan chatushtya’ specifies many good attributes related to values that
students expect to see in their teacher:
a) Be impartial. Should not favour anybody due to caste, religion, region or gender.
b) Be truthful and honest about his readings of himself and about evaluating the
students. Whatever he promises, he must fulfil diligently and happily.
c) Not copy material from any source without due acknowledgement or should not
steal credit for students’ achievements or work done.
d) Carry out basic teaching craft with great care. Be punctual, plan lessons ahead of
time, be very concise and precise.
e) Be open- hearted and not greedy.
f) Be transparent in academic matters and while dealing with all. Maintain cleanliness
in all transactions. What he thinks, what he speaks and how he acts must all be
aligned and harmonious.
g) Be contended and satisfied with self-achievements, his student's performance, and
facilities provided by the management.
h) Make a thorough preparation for classroom presentations and rehearse well so that
maximum output can be delivered to students, effectively.
i) Read and study regularly technical literature and teaching material inside and outside
the syllabus.
j) Have a calm and balanced mind to face the adverse situation and must not have
revengeful attitude.
k) Have excellent discriminatory mind - what to retain and what to discard as useless
material.
l) After doing all the hard work and labour and the desired result is not achieved, he
should be ready to let it go and accept it.

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3.0 ATTITUDES
Attitudes are often the result of experience or upbringing, and they can have a powerful
influence over behaviours. In simple terms, ‘attitude’ is a way of looking at a particular
object, person, thing, or event. It indicates the approach taken by the observer to deal with a
situation, person or object. In psychology, an attitude refers to a set of emotions, beliefs,
and behaviours toward a particular object, person, thing, or event. While attitudes are long
lasting, they can also change. The change can happen due to circumstances or it can be
induced by repeated exposure like demonstration, positive reinforcement and so on. The
Krathwohl’s taxonomy of affective domain describes five levels of attitude development-
Receiving, Responding, Valuing, Organization and Characterization. The associated video
describes these levels in more detail.

"Attitude is a small thing that makes a big difference."

-Winston Churchill, Former British leader & PM

Attitudes are the ‘glasses’ through which one sees oneself, others, events, experiences, the
future, and the world around him. Everyone wears ‘attitude glasses’ and each one's glass is
unique to him/her. What a person sees - light vs. dark, rosy vs. gloomy, clear vs. distorted, all
depends upon a person's attitude. The way s/he sees things appear very real to him/her,
even if it’s not the truth. A person’s attitude affects his/her behaviour. S/he thinks and
behaves in a way consistent with his/her attitude, which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Attitude comprises basically of mind-set, viewpoint, beliefs, preferences and such others.
These elements add to the personality of a person. His/her skill in facing the challenges of
life and moving ahead is often shaped by the attitude s/he holds. Following are some of the
good attitudes:
a) Compliance with rules promptly
b) Honestly paying taxes
c) Teaching the students with necessary preparation
d) Friendliness
e) Sympathy
f) Sincerity.

Attitudes are generally classified as positive and negative attitude. However, two more types
of attitudes about which a teacher needs to be aware of are Neutral attitude and Sikken
attitude. All these types are discussed briefly in the following sections.

3.1 Positive attitude

Persons with positive attitude generally don’t care about the hurdles in life. They nurture
their skills daily and overcome daily hurdles in life. In addition, they avoid negative thoughts
and persons with negativity. They recognize their mistakes, own them, take responsibility

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about them and instead of being ashamed of them, they vow not to repeat the same thing.
For the beginners, the best way to maintain a positive attitude is to believe in oneself, avoid
negative thoughts and persons with negativity.

A person with positive attitude will look for the good in other person’s acts and nature, no
matter how bad they behave or how bad is their attitude. In a workplace, positive attitude
keeps the work moving and progressing, smoothly and fosters team spirit and co-operation.
Four important positive attitudes are briefly described here:
a) Confidence: This attitude is necessary to approach life with zest. A confident person
looks at the challenges and says "I can overcome this". Confidence will start with
being confident with self.
b) Happiness: A happy mind is an abode for all the good things in life. Confident people
are quite happy as they are not worried about results, interviews and other similar
things in life. Persons with this attitude are happy within themselves.
c) Sincerity: A person with positive attitude is generally sincere. Sincerity is one trait
that you should never let go off or compromise with. S/he is aware of the work to be
done and know that the only way out of a situation is through it.
d) Determination: A person who is driven by strong will overcome all impossibilities. A
right dose of hard work, effort and determination are essential to achieve the desired
goal.

3.2 Negative attitude

“A bad attitude is like a flat tire. You cannot go anywhere, until you change it!’
- An American proverb

Persons with negative attitude ignore the good things in life and only think about whether
they will fail. They often find a way out of tough situation by running away from it. They
mostly compare themselves with other persons and find the worse in others. In other
words, they are exactly the opposite of those with a positive mind-set. Here are a few
important negative attitudes which should be avoided:
a) Anger: A person with a negative mind-set is often found to be angry most of the
time. Many times, there is no specific reason behind their anger. Anger is the root
cause of self-destruction. While some amount of anger is good to get things going,
extreme cases of anger only lead to all around destruction.
b) Doubt: A person can question oneself. But, s/he should never doubt himself/herself.
Unfortunately, those who have a negative mind-set, often doubt themselves. Self-
doubt leads to no progress and often leads to low confidence.
c) Frustration: This attitude leads to all round dissatisfaction with self, others and
environment, at all times. If a person is frustrated that can be seen on his/her face,
may confront some serious difficulties. Frustration is the biggest roadblock in one's

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career advancement. It is an irritant and it keeps preventing a person from taking any
positive step forward.

3.3 Neutral Attitude

A third type of attitude which is quite common is the Neutral Attitude. In a neutral attitude
person, there is neither any doubt nor there is any kind of hope. Such a person generally
tends to ignore the problems in life and waits for some other individual to take care of their
problems. Such persons generally have a lazy life and they are often un-emotional and
insensitive about others. They never feel the need to change themselves as they can simply
live with the way they are. Another example is when a common person shows lack of
interest in serious national matters such as politics, finance, debt, legislation and such others
leave everything to rulers and administrators.

3.4 Sikken Attitude

A fourth type of attitude is the Sikken Attitude. A person with Sikken attitude tends to
destroy every image that comes in connection with a positive image. This type of attitude is
more of a negative attitude and is very destructive and dangerous. For example, assume that
a person with such attitude hates spiders and openly says, “I hate spiders!". Whenever he
will see a spider, he will proceed to kill it first, without giving it a single thought. It is difficult
to change a person with this type of attitude as it is deep rooted within their personality .

4.0 ETHICS
‘Ethics’ is a branch of moral philosophy – which depicts a sense of rightness or wrongness of
actions. Ethics are well-defined standards that a person should comply with, concerning
rights, obligations, fairness, and benefits to society and so on. Ethics refer to the guidelines
for conduct, that address question about morality. In other words, it is a discipline that
identifies human conduct about, good or evil, just or unjust, fair or unfair practices. The
ethical standard puts a reasonable obligation to stop crime like stealing, assault, rape,
murder, fraud and so on.

Ethics is a system of moral principles decided by a group of persons, an organization, culture

or society and every member of that profession is expected to abide by those. The ethics
control and govern the behaviour of a person according to the norms set by others. Ethics
attempts to answer the basic questions of the human morality such as:
a) What should be a standard way for people to live?
b) What are the appropriate actions in the given situations?
c) What should be an ideal human conduct? and so on.

Ethics describes what is morally correct or incorrect, in the given situation and prescribes
dos and don'ts. It also determines extent of rightness or wrongness of your options, as

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L9: Understanding Values, Attitudes and Ethics

required by a jurisprudence or law. Ethics are a guide to person for making the right option
or choice. Therefore, teachers should:
a) Be well informed about subject matter
b) Provide excellent instruction with a deep obligation to help students learn
c) Stimulate the spirit of inquiry in students for thoughtful formulation of worthy goals
d) Not to deliberately suppress/distort subject matter relevant to the student's progress
e) Regularly review and update instructional practices
f) Refrain from plagiarism.
g) Come to work regularly and on time
h) Not use professional relationships with students for private advantage.
i) Not to disclose information about students obtained in the course of professional
service unless disclosure serves a compelling professional purpose or is required by
the court of law
j) Not to allow students to cheat in examinations
k) Cooperate with colleagues to observe institution policies so the whole institution
works effectively
l) Criticise unsatisfactory institution policies tactfully, but firmly, to propose
constructive solutions.

4.1 Ethical Violation

Any violation of ethics may affect the value and credibility of the activities which are done as
a part of that teaching learning activity or business/service profession. Some examples of
violation are:
a) Overlook standard norms in practical examination
b) Casual evaluation of answer books.
c) Teaching from guides and refreshers
d) Liberal marking the answer books to avoid efforts of teacher in taking retest and so
on.

There can be academic ethics, business ethics, and others.

4.2 Academic Ethics

Mahatma Gandhi is known to follow principles of ethics some of which are very relevant for
a higher education teacher as a professional:
a) Truth
b) Right Means and Right Ends
c) Primacy of Duties over Right
d) The Deed, not the Doer
e) True Religion (Universality and Brotherhood)
f) Service and Sacrifice (Yajna).

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L9: Understanding Values, Attitudes and Ethics

4.3 Business Ethics

In the sphere of business and services, the sellers and buyers follow some basic ethics, which
are accepted as a baseline by every stakeholder in that activity. Following are some
examples of business:
a) Give the full amount in quantity and quality as agreed
b) Provide timely after sales service
c) Take care in handling customer material
d) Use only genuine parts in a vehicle service centre
e) Promptly address customer complaint.

5.0 DISTINTICTIVE FEATURES OF VALUES, ATTITUDES AND ETHICS

Values, attitudes and ethics are important in every aspect of life. When you have to make a
choice between two things, wherein ethics determine what is right, values determine what is
more important amongst the available choices.

Table – 1 Features of Values, Attitudes and Ethics

Criteria Values Attitudes Ethics

Key words Principles and ideals, The way of looking at System of moral principles
in which help a person in a particular object, decided by a group of
Definition making the judgment of person, thing, or persons, an organization,
what is more important. event. It indicates the culture or society and
approach taken by every member of that set
observer to deal with is expected to abide by
a situation, person or those.
object.

Effect of Not governed by Related only to These are situation

given situation. specific situations. specific. The person may
situation behave other way in a
different situation

How it is The manifestation of it By thinking, by By the way of informing

manifested differs from person to feeling, by sensing, by to the person and
person, by the way of intuition monitoring; may not be
thinking by an individual. personal preference/
It is inherent part of choice; same for persons
thought process; due to belonging to the same
personal preference. business/ teaching
fraternity

To Guide What is more important; Action or expression What is right/ wrong,

based on values an (Verbal or non-verbal) good/bad, fair/unfair for
individual makes society as whole; related

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L9: Understanding Values, Attitudes and Ethics

Criteria Values Attitudes Ethics

decisions such as how to to morals; impose
live life; provides boundaries.
motivation, inspiration
and decides emotional
state

6.0 SUMMARY
Values help a person decide what is important in various choices and options before him.
Attitude is like a pair of tinted eye-glasses through which s/he looks at the world and decides
his/her further action. Ethics tells a person what to do and what not to do in that particular
profession. Values, attitudes and ethics help a person to determine what is important and
provide the general guidelines for any person’s conduct. They help him/her to navigate
through life successfully under all conditions.

ACTIVITY
List at least three examples for each of the values, ethics and attitudes from
your daily life, which you may discuss with peers and mentors which is to be
posted on the E-portfolio.

******

BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching and Assessing
- Á revision of Bloom's taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Pearson Education.
[2] Understanding The Power Of Attitude: Is Yours Worth Catching?
[Link]
yours-worth-catching/
[3] [Link]

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L9: Understanding Values, Attitudes and Ethics

DISCUSSION FORUM
Start a discussion on social media about the ethical and unethical behaviour of a technical
teacher related to use of online resources for teaching students?

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L9: Understanding Values, Attitudes and Ethics

ASSIGNMENT
1. List three values for a teacher to carry out teaching learning activities smoothly.
2. List three points describing ethical behaviour of a teacher towards a poor learner.
3. List three points describing to good attitude of a teacher towards laboratory work.

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 L–10: Value Education: Need for Self-
Exploration

Contributors

Prof. Prakash W. Dandekar

(Evangelist & Visiting Professor, IIT Gandhinagar & Bombay, Member, Heartfulness Institute)

Prof. N. V. Deshpande
(Former Professor, Devi Ahilya University, Indore)

Mrs. V. Deshpande
(Member, Heartfulness Institute, Indore)

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462 002
Unit 3 Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L10: Value Education: Need for Self-Exploration

Lesson – 10
Value Education: Need for Self-Exploration

Learning outcomes: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain the
process of self-exploration to also help the students to practice it.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 VALUE EDUCATION .................................................................................................................................... 3

4.0 OUTCOME OF SELF-EXPLORATION ............................................................................................................ 4

5.0 BENEFITS TO TEACHER FROM VALUE EDUCATION AND SELF-EXPLORATION ............................................ 5

6.0 REGULATION OF ENERGY BY ADOPTING GOOD VALUES ........................................................................... 5

7.0 A MODEL FOR CONDUCTING SELF-EXPLORATION USING VALUE EDUCATION .......................................... 6

A CASE-STUDY ............................................................................................................................................ 7

8.0 PROCESS OF SELF-EXPLORATION ............................................................................................................... 8

9.0 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................. 9

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................................ 9

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Unit 3 Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L10: Value Education: Need for Self-Exploration

Lesson – 10
Value Education: Need for Self-Exploration

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Personal 'values' play a big role in one’s life as they guide the person as to what is more
important and help him/her to make better choices in various situations. Good values also
motivate a person to do better in his/her life. A person with good values can play a
significant role in bringing about positive changes at workplace and will be able to perform
the role of a good citizen. Values can be developed through consistent efforts. Therefore,
value education becomes more important so as to appreciate inherent values in oneself and
also realise the need to imbibe them. A person usually faces situations in life where s/he is
in dilemma and struggles with questions such as, ‘What can give me peace and happiness? It
is known that s/he cannot derive satisfaction, happiness and peace from the external
materialistic world. This is moment, when s/he needs introspect, explore choices by self-
exploration which can lead to happiness, peace and satisfaction from his/her actions or
decisions. Self-exploration is very important because it very much helps in one’s happiness.
However, such an exploration is seldom done by persons while making decisions affecting
one’s life. This lesson therefore discusses the need of value education which is needed for
self- exploration and derive the benefit out of these aspects affecting himself/herself and
pass on these benefits to the students as well.

2.0 VALUE EDUCATION

All the human beings continuously aspire for a happy, fulfilling and successful life. One of the
purposes of education is to provide adequate competence to actualise this aspiration. The
subject which enables you to understand ‘What is Valuable` for human happiness is called
Value Education. Value education is the process by which importance of moral values is
instilled into the learner. The process adopted for doing this may comprise of different types
of experiences such as listening to the teacher or by undergoing simulated experience or by
practical experience in real situation and reflection thereafter. It can be said that Value
Education enables one to:
a) Rationalise one’s needs and priorities
b) Visualize one’s life goals correctly and
c) Indicate right direction for making efforts to fulfill them.

Explicit value education is associated with different pedagogies and the methods that the
teachers or educators adopt in order to create learning experiences for students especially
when it comes to value-based questions and situations.

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Unit 3 Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L10: Value Education: Need for Self-Exploration

3.0 SELF-EXPLORATION
Often, there a conflict between the outside world, and personal preferences in this
materialistic world. Such situations give rise to dissatisfaction or unhappiness. The person is
faced with the dilemma as to which path to follow, e.g. whether to remain an honest
teacher at the cost of losing a bribe offered by a student or, how to maintain work-life
balance or, whether to demonstrate strong ethical behaviour versus quick money by
unethical professional practices or, whether to avoid to pay extra for environment friendly
articles thereby saving money for personal entertainment and so on. This is the point where
the need of self- exploration becomes evident. The process of self-exploration helps the
teacher to be in harmony within oneself and in harmony with everything around. It is the
process of finding out ‘what is valuable to me’ by investigating within oneself.

While the word ‘exploration’ refers to observing what is outside the self, the word ‘self-
exploration’ talks about observing what is inside the self. The purposes of self-exploration
can be described as:
a) A dialogue between ‘what you are’ and ‘what you really like to be.’
b) A process of self-evolution through self-investigation.
c) Knowing oneself and through that knowing the entire existence.
d) Recognizing one’s relationship with every unit in existence and fulfilling it.
e) Being in harmony with oneself and in harmony with entire existence.
f) Appreciating human conduct, human character and living appropriately.
g) Identifying human innateness (svatva or स्वत्व)and moving towards self-organization
(swashasan or स्वशासन), swavyavashtha or स्वव्यवस्था)and self-expression (swa-
prakatikaran स्वप्रकटिकरण).

ACTIVITY 1
State ten to fifteen sentences which includes the answers to questions such as:`
a) Who are you? What are your priorities?
b) What are your ambitions?
c) What is the supreme source of your energy and motivation?
d) Is there any conflict in your personal and professional life?
e) How do you handle it?
f) How do you handle the problems at your workplace?

4.0 OUTCOME OF SELF-EXPLORATION

The end-result or outcome of the process of self-exploration is the ‘Realisation’ and
‘Understanding’ of what are the strengths that are truly within you that you should harness.
It will transform you to a level of perfection where you are free to behave or act accordingly
to the needs of that moment. This is the ultimate freedom that everyone aspires for.

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Unit 3 Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L10: Value Education: Need for Self-Exploration

5.0 BENEFITS TO TEACHER FROM VALUE EDUCATION AND SELF-EXPLORATION

A teacher can do self-exploration in the context of the verbal and non-verbal feedback
received from his/her students and fellow teachers. A set of commonly observed ailing
symptoms or conditions applicable to a teacher are given in the table 1. These can be
mitigated by adopting correct values. There is no strict one-to-one correspondence but this
gives reasonable number ideas.
Table 1
BENEFITS FROM VALUE EDUCATION

S. Common Symptoms or Value to be Comments About Outcome

No. Shortcoming of a Inculcated or
Teacher Enhanced
1 Lack of patience for slow LOVE Love of teacher empowers slow learners to
learners overcome their hurdles and excel.
2 Intolerance towards COMPASSION Compassion of teacher enables changes in
miscreants feelings of students, make them obedient and
grateful, helps to make effort for achieving
desired academic performance.
3 Lack of self-control; COMMITMENT Strong commitment of teacher leads to fulfill
uncontrolled anger promises and obligations by winning over self-
weaknesses.
4 Incomplete preparation BEING FOCUSSED, The teacher accepts folly, prepares better
of classroom or HONEST, next time and shines.
laboratory session HUMBLE
5 Lack of conviction or TRANSPARENT The teacher should practice what is preached
firmness in speeches or and walks-the-talk. This will produce a moral
teaching force behind the assertions and arguments.

6 Does not enjoy student's TRUSTWORTHY Teacher should maintain confidentiality;

trust or confidence never abuse or divulge student information.
7 Worried due to non- FORTITUDE Teacher’s strength of mind that enables one
academic issues - family, to endure adversity with courage.
society tensions
8 Depressed due to lack of FORBEARANCE, Despite shortages, teacher should focus on
desired facilities, support, FORGIVING excelling and achieving very high proficiency
encouragement in in his/her work overcoming lack of amenities
workplace and negativity.

6.0 REGULATION OF ENERGY BY ADOPTING GOOD VALUES

Normally, a human being starts learning basic values at his home at first and then in school
followed by learning in the society. This process involves learning through discipline and
relatively harsh environment where one's desires are made subservient to priority decided
by the trainer.

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Unit 3 Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L10: Value Education: Need for Self-Exploration

Slowly s/he learns the advantages of following the path of discipline by enjoying the new
found skills and fruits of accomplishments. Thus a virtuous (Morally Good) cycle begins. Over
a period of time, after schooling, s/he has learnt enough to earn a livelihood and live a
respectful life. Now begins his/her most productive part of life where s/he bears many
positive and negative aspects of life.

As s/he comes across a variety of trying circumstances, s/he notices that s/he is able to
regulate energy flow only under certain conditions and can produce excellent results. But,
under certain another set of circumstances, s/he fails miserably. This is the time when it is
worthwhile to re-examine the values needed to empower him/her to be a good regulator of
energy or so to say, the master of his own destiny.

7.0 A MODEL FOR CONDUCTING SELF-EXPLORATION USING VALUE EDUCATION

The urge to conduct self-exploration with the help of value education can be explained with
a model:
a) Every human being is a reservoir of finite amount of energy which is channeled into
our mental, physical and emotional processes, depending upon our aspirations,
desire and needs.
b) Your intellect enables this energy flow into various paths for the desires to come
through. When a desire is fulfilled, the you become happy. On the other hand an
unfulfilled desire leads to not only pain and misery but also, to other mental and
physical illnesses.
c) Usually a person does not know how to control the amount of energy channeled into
a particular activity. Sometimes, s/he may over-indulge into something which s/he
likes. Some other time, s/he may shirk from an important tasks (which requires
his/her urgent attention) by not feeding enough energy into that activity. Thus, the
entire problem is mismanagement or misappropriation of human energy into less
efficient, less productive and many times in more detrimental enterprises. It should
be remembered that every human being is endowed with a finite amount of energy
each day. If that energy is spent on less important matters; then the important
matters get stacked up in pending queue. This causes stress, anxiety, fear of failure
and loss of prestige and earnings. Therefore, there is a need for a perfect ‘valve’ to
'regulate' or 'discipline' the flow of energy. There is also a need for a method or
algorithm or discrimination (Vivek टववेक) to decide when to operate this ‘valve’ to
regulate energy and by how much amount. This is where; value education empowers
a person’s intellect to do this job precisely.
d) Value education teaches him/her to regulate the flow of energy by advising him/her:
i. Where to apply?
ii. When to apply?
iii. How much to apply? and
iv. When to stop?

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Unit 3 Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L10: Value Education: Need for Self-Exploration

Therefore, by following the path of great values, a person escapes the traps of destruction
laid in the path by uncontrolled, over-indulgent, wasteful and untimely dissipation of
precious human energy. Here is a very important aspect to note: ‘Most of the human issues
including the destiny of human being are created by timely and perfect management of
channeling this energy in requisite amounts into essential tasks and stopping its flow when it
is no longer required. Mostly, human beings are trained to apply their mind to a particular
task and immerse fully in that. What they are not taught is how to make free the mind from
that task, once it is over. Unless the mind is made free, it cannot be applied elsewhere.

ACTIVITY 2
Close your eyes. Take deep breaths for five minutes. Try to feel energy within you. Try
to focus on your supreme source of energy. Think of tasks that you have to do. Which
are the priority level tasks? Open your eyes, write on paper the tasks that are your
priority.

Again close your eyes for five minutes. Take deep breaths. Think of first two tasks in
your list. Ignore any other thoughts that come to your mind. Open your eyes. Make an
action plan to complete the first task. Discuss with a person/mentor of your choice.

A CASE-STUDY
Mr.‘A’ is a teacher who is afflicted by one or more of the symptoms mentioned in the
section 5. The students recognize the weaknesses of the teacher and neither respect him nor
interested to learn anything from him. That makes his life difficult and the students also
suffer in the process. There is heartburn all around the campus including management and
the consequences may be disastrous.

Now the teacher Mr. ‘A’ picks up a 'value' corresponding to that 'symptom', understands its
utility and worth and starts inculcating, absorbing and imbibing it. The discipline required in
learning process will help the teacher shed some of the symptoms, develop confidence and
rectify his teaching mistakes and make everybody happy. Mr. ‘A’ will soon be able to
regulate his energies away from bad habits and move towards what is desirable and
productive. This is the process of self-exploration in action where the teacher goes from
'what he is' to 'what he should be' level. Absorbing and practicing right values in real life,
enforces a discipline which prevents a person from going emotional over-board, or saves
him/her from any kind of excesses and develop rectitude (moral correct behaviour).

One-by-one, the teacher Mr. ‘A’ goes on adopting values, named against his symptoms and
wins over his weaknesses. Thus, a virtuous circle of adopting a value and elimination of
corresponding bad symptom will further strengthen his moral fiber. His surroundings will

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Unit 3 Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L10: Value Education: Need for Self-Exploration

encourage him to further shed his/her undesirable traits by embracing newer values. The
values cause tremendous changes in his personality.

Questions for Reflection

What is the limit up to which such a virtuous cycle can be taken by Mr.‘A’? The limit is ….the
sky and the maximum improvement level is perfection. A teacher who has nearly reached
perfection can be identified by his goals, objectives and working style:
a) He shows a harmonious behaviour and existence to all around him - all mankind and
nature.
b) He takes care of emotions of living beings and ecology of the planet.
c) He appreciates the value of others and their contributions, however insignificant that
may seem.
d) He is not perturbed by setbacks nor gets elated by successes.
e) He does not feel jealous or covet other's property or achievements.
f) He is happily contented in his worth and his contribution.

It can be concluded that his behaviour has now become appropriate to the need of the
moment. He will do an intellectual level work or a mental work (low level and boring work)
equally well, equally cheerfully without ever seeking credit for it. In such a situation, it can
be said that he has completed the process of self-exploration or self-realization, by
conquering himself. Now there is nothing left in the world for him to conquer.

8.0 PROCESS OF SELF-EXPLORATION

The process of self-exploration begins with a tiny step and it can be listed as:

Step 1 Examine the stated (given) proposal

Don’t start by making any assumptions whether the proposal is true or false, but verify it
yourself. Don’t just accept or reject it on the basis of scriptures, instruments or on other's
advice.

Step 2 Use your Natural Acceptance to verify the proposal

Natural Acceptance is the process of seeing and observing attentively and then using your
inner conscience to get the answer from within. It is a way to bring out the goodness in
everything naturally.

Step 3 Live according to the proposal to validate it experientially

You may like to know more about Natural Acceptance. It is a faculty in a human being, which
has the following attributes:
a) It does not change with time/age.
b) It does not depend on place.
c) It does not depend on our beliefs or our past conditioning.

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Unit 3 Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L10: Value Education: Need for Self-Exploration

d) It is omnipresent or always there within us.

e) It is commonly available and applicable to all.

ACTIVITY 3
Sit quietly at a clean and peaceful place.
a) Take deep breaths and close your eyes. Let the thoughts freely flow. Keep
breathing deeply at least for five minutes.
b) Just watch your thoughts with deep breathing and eyes closed. You may like to
increase the time for deep breathing and concentration.
c) Then open your eyes slowly.
d) Try to feel that you are out of your body and observing the body. You are
observing your energy and your thoughts.
e) Try to imagine your supreme source of energy. Think, how will you like to use
your energy for a good cause.
f) Share your experience with a person of your choice or write it down maybe in a
notebook or diary for discussion with mentor.
Repeat this activity once every day.

9.0 SUMMARY
In this lesson, the model for self-exploration by value education is discussed. Whenever
conflicting situations arise in one’s life, appropriate values help the person to resolve the
conflicting situations by adopting right approach. Self-exploration helps a person to make
right choices and follow a path of self-discipline which helps him/her achieve happiness in
life by channelising energy to his/her priorities thereby achieving his goals. A person can
relate his existence and its purpose to the overall or entire existence through self-
exploration and realize the importance of staying in harmony with the entire existence or
universe and also decide the priorities. Excellence can be attained in life by continuous self-
exploration and adopting right values.

*****

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] Bajpai B. L. (2008) – Indian Ethos and Modern Management, New Royal Book Co.,
Lucknow. Reprinted, Page no.: 2-10. CHAPTER II: Self- Exploration as The Process of Value
Education, Understanding The Need, Basic Guideline, Content, Process For Value Education
[2] Dhar P. L., Gaur R. R., –Textbook of Science and Humanism, Commonwealth
Publishers, page no.: 15-25.
[3] [Link]
[4] [Link]
guidelinecontent-process-for-value-education

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Unit 3 Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L10: Value Education: Need for Self-Exploration

DISCUSSION FORUM

 Start a discussion on social media on Need for Self-Exploration

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 L–11: Professional Values and Ethics
for Technical Teachers

Contributors

Prof. Prakash W. Dandekar

(Evangelist & Visiting Professor, IIT Gandhinagar & Bombay, Member, Heartfulness Institute)

Prof. (Mrs) Susan S. Mathew

(Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, NITTTR Bhopal)

Dr. [Link] Mathai

(Associate Professor, Department of Electronic Media, NITTTR Bhopal)

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462 002
Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L11: Professional Values and Ethics for Technical Teachers

Lesson – 11
Professional Values and Ethics for Technical Teachers

Learning Outcomes: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
LO 1. Explain values expected of a technical teacher.
LO 2. Describe the process of developing values in students.
LO 3. Justify the importance to follow professional ethics by a teacher.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 VALUES EXPECTED FROM TEACHERS OF TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS ......................................................... 3

2.1 Development of Values ................................................................................................................ 5

3.0 ACADEMIC ETHICS IN TECHNICAL TEACHERS ............................................................................................ 6

3.1 Ethical Conduct towards Students ............................................................................................... 6

3.2 Ethical Conduct towards Colleagues ............................................................................................ 6

3.3 Ethical Conduct towards Professional Practice ............................................................................ 7

4.0 NETIQUETTES FOR TECHNICAL TEACHERS ................................................................................................ 7

4.1 Plagiarism ..................................................................................................................................... 8

4.2 Intellectual Property and Copyright ............................................................................................. 9

4.3 Legal Use of Software .................................................................................................................. 9

4.4 Code of Conduct on Internet ..................................................................................................... 10

5.0 ROLES OF TECHNICAL TEACHER VIS-À-VIS VALUES AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS .................................... 10

6.0 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................ 10

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................................... 11

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L11: Professional Values and Ethics for Technical Teachers

Lesson – 11
Professional Values and Ethics for Technical Teachers

1.0 INTRODUCTION
A professional person like technical teacher has to fulfil many roles namely - a good teacher,
a good engineer, an ethical professional and above all, an ethically correct person. Values
are important in life for any person to be successful in his/her endeavours. It is doubly true
for teachers, since they are the architects of tomorrow's generation. For technical teachers,
it becomes even more important as they create tomorrow's engineers and technocrats. They
create nation's future wealth and intellectual property, through their students. Technical
teachers are indirectly responsible for a generation's growth, prosperity and development. A
teacher might be required to train student in order to develop teaching skills to prepare
them to serve as educators, so a positive attitude and a team-centred mind-set can make all
the difference. Therefore, this lesson discusses about the desired values and ethics in a
professional person, especially one who is teaching in a technical educational institution.

2.0 VALUES EXPECTED FROM TEACHERS OF TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS

It is quite obvious that whatever values a technical teacher desires to inculcate in their
students to make them good engineers, those must first be practiced by the teachers
themselves. To be a successful technical teacher it is expected to adhere to and inculcate
following values in his/her daily life and teachings:
a) Role model: The teacher must practice best values in his/her own life and become
the role model for students. They learn from his/her behaviour, actions and thought
process much more than what they learn from the classroom teaching. A good
teacher keeps a dignified demeanor commensurate with their expectations, uses
moderate and modest language and chooses mild adjectives in adverse comments.
The students learn far more from teacher's practiced values rather than empty
preaching in class.
b) Compassion: This value increases the tolerance of the teacher towards weaker and
unwilling students. It makes teacher empathetic to student's difficulties or challenges
in learning what is taught in class. The issues could be language barrier, cultural
barrier, backwardness, financial condition, emotional distress or even health related.
These issues cause students to be inattentive in class-room study or in laboratories.
This value brings out some students from their shell of timidity, disinterest and
general lack of interest in learning. This value refrains the teacher from subjecting
any child to fear, trauma, anxiety, physical punishment, sexual abuse and mental and
emotional harassment.
c) Unprejudiced and even-handed: The teacher must treat all students in an even-
handed manner. He must not discriminate based on their background, language
caste, creed, religion, sex, economic status, disability, language and place of birth.

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This is especially applicable while evaluating their answer sheets or conducting

laboratory-based oral tests
d) Encouraging: A teacher with positive attitude will encourage students to do better
than they did before, to give their best and to bring out their potential completely.
S/he would help weak students to overcome their difficulties and extend the limits of
testing for very bright students.
e) Trustworthy: The teacher must be able to keep information pertaining to students,
colleagues and administration confidential. The students must feel encouraged to
share their innermost thoughts, their aspirations, and their mental blockages with
their teacher, with confidence that their privacy will be maintained.
f) Respectful: Respect begets respect. Each student must be respected as an individual.
In most colleges, the students are already grownup persons and legally adults. Even
though their behaviour might be childish and immature, sometimes bordering on
insult to teacher, s/he should not lose his/her habit of treating them as a ‘person’
whose individuality and rights are to be respected. The student recognizes this value
and respect teacher in return. A teacher who is derisive in class to students or
environment or management, quickly loses student's respect. Teacher should also
teach students to respect diversity of languages, religions, outlook and viewpoints
and right to dissent with others.
g) Focused: His/her endeavor must be focused on student’s physical, social, intellectual,
emotional and moral development. The atmosphere in his/her classroom, should
promote safety, security and acceptance, always avoiding any form of bullying,
hostility, dishonesty, neglect or offensive conduct.
h) Honest: A teacher must fulfil all his/her promises and contracts. He must accurately
describe his/her qualifications, credentials and achievements to all those enquire.
He/she must account for all funds and resources at his/her disposal and be thrifty
with expenses.
i) Humility: A secure and contented teacher also shows humility to accept his/her
mistakes and vows to improve. If s/he is unable to answer a question asked by a
student in the class, s/he must accept his/her ignorance and promise to try for giving
the answer in next class. Humility is an excellent protection against getting over-
confidence and hubris (Excessive pride).
j) Lifelong learner: Teacher must upgrade and refurbish his/her learning abilities, skills,
academic knowledge and new technology, very frequently. S/he should cite his/her
latest experiences and learning to students to impress upon them the advantages of
staying up-to-date with new developments. It's his/her duty to ensure that teaching
methods used are relevant and comprehensive.
k) Research: Teachers must engage in educational research to continuously improve
their teaching strategies, be attentive to continuing education requirements and
career development. S/he must research new teaching methods, attend classes to

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maintain certifications, consult colleagues for professional advice, participate in

curriculum improvements and stay up-to-date on technical advancements.
l) Team player: This value creates a trust between teacher and his/her colleagues and
parents. A teacher realizes that s/he can do greater good of more students by joining
hands with others, and that s/he is not the sole factor of influence on student's
growth and others have equal role to play in shaping their future. Thus, a teacher
must create a culture that encourages purposeful collaboration and dialogue among
colleagues and stakeholders. In addition to fostering healthy relationships with
students, a teacher must build strong relationships with parents, staff and colleagues
in the college, guidance counsellors and administrators.
m) Nationalist: A deep sense of gratitude for being a citizen of a free and democratic
nation should be deeply imbibed in a teacher. S/he should keep the country
uppermost in mind and refrain from taking part in any activities that may spread
feelings of hatred or enmity among different communities, religious and linguistic
groups. The teacher should transact the curriculum in conformity with the values
enshrined in the Constitution of India.

2.1 Development of Values

Values are adopted and cultivated by a teacher himself or herself. Many persons, when they
join as teacher, are bereft of many desired values. So, it is of paramount importance that
development of these values is undertaken, its process is understood and emphatic training
is imparted to them, to bring them up to the pre-determined expectations. Since the
learning about all desired values may be a long and tedious process, but the learning path
may be broken down into simple sub-groups as:
a) Values related to daily practice and those that affect daily performance such as
punctuality, lesson pre-preparation, revising what is discussed in class and asking
simple questions to refresh memory. These helps create a wonderful teaching /
learning atmosphere in class.
b) Values related to important activities undertaken over a medium term such as a
semester or a year. These include planning rigorously for introduction of a new
course or a new laboratory practical, preparing lesson plan or designing practicals for
these and so on. It also includes planning for weak students' remedial classes.
c) Values pertaining to teacher's character building and setting standards for students.
Most of the ethics-oriented behaviour and values fall in this category. Many of these
values will help students to become a better engineer, a better co-worker and a
better all-round person, when they start a job in their career. These values can be
imparted through out-of-curriculum coaching, such as in inter-semester vacation.

The development of the above values can be undertaken sequentially or simultaneously. In

addition to classical method of one-to-many lecture approach, teachers must be given topics
in value development and asked to address the group about them, their importance, and

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their impact on others and cite case studies where their application yields in positive
outcome. Importance should be attached to estimate the effect on students due to ‘absence
of each value’. Mentoring by senior teachers can be done for inculcation of values.

ACTIVITY 1
List at least three examples of professional values to discuss with peers and mentors.

3.0 ACADEMIC ETHICS IN TECHNICAL TEACHERS

Ethics are set by government agencies, society, culture, professional bodies, teacher
associations and college organizations. Teachers help students learn the academic basics,
but they also teach valuable life lessons by setting a positive example. As role models,
teachers should follow a professional code of ethics. This ensures that students receive a
fair, honest and uncompromising wholesome education. A professional code of ethics
outlines teachers' main responsibilities to their students and defines their role in students'
lives. Above all, teachers must demonstrate integrity, impartiality and ethical behaviour in
and outside the classroom the classroom in their conduct with students, parents and co-
workers.

3.1 Ethical Conduct towards Students

A professional technical teacher having ethical conduct towards students can do the
following:
a) Treat all students with love and affection.
b) Respect the value of being just and impartial to all students irrespective of their
background, gender and cultural differences.
c) Respect basic human dignity of the student in all aspects of college life
d) Make planned and systematic efforts to facilitate the student to actualize his/her
potential and talent.
e) Will neither intentionally expose the student to negative criticism, nor look down
upon him for student's failings.
f) Will not reveal confidential information concerning students, unless required by rules
and law.
g) Make a constructive effort to protect the students from conditions detrimental to
learning, health, or safety.
h) Present facts without distortion, bias, or personal prejudices.

3.2 Ethical Conduct towards Colleagues

A teacher's ethical conduct toward his/her professional colleagues is equally important. A
teacher having ethical conduct may do the following:
a) Cooperate with fellow teachers, parents and administrators to create an atmosphere
that's conducive to learning.

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b) Refrain from making unsubstantiated allegations against colleagues and higher

authorities
c) Avoid making derogatory statements about colleagues, especially in the presence of
pupils, other teachers, officials or parents.
d) Never make wilfully false statements about a colleague or the college education
system.
e) Never discuss private information about colleagues unless disclosure is required by
law.
f) Never interfere with a colleague's freedom of choice, and work to eliminate coercion
that forces educators to support actions and ideologies that violate individual
professional integrity.
g) Avoid gossip, including false or mean-spirited comments about co-workers.

3.3 Ethical Conduct towards Professional Practice

A teacher having ethical conduct may conform to the following professional practices and
performance:
a) Refrain from engaging himself/herself in private tuition or private teaching activity.
b) Refrain from accepting any gift or favor that might impair or appear to influence
professional decisions or actions
c) Not intentionally misrepresenting official policies of the college or University, and
clearly distinguishing the management’s views from his or her own personal
opinions.
d) Account honestly for all funds committed to his or her charge.
e) Not using institutional or professional privileges for personal or partisan advantage.
f) Update himself from time to time and transfer current knowledge, skills and
practices to student.
g) Will follow Intellectual Property related fair practices.
h) Do fair assessment of students.

ACTIVITY 2
List at least three examples of professional ethics that require to be discussed
with your peers and mentors.

4.0 NETIQUETTES FOR TECHNICAL TEACHERS

Due to growing use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the use of
internet widely using the cell phones and computers by millions of people of every age has
brought in the term netizens, which derived from the words ‘Internet’ and ‘citizen’
‘netizen’. The code of conduct to be followed by netizens is called by the term netiquette
from two words ‘Internet etiquette’. Netiquette is required for communication on Internet

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in both online verbal and non-verbal forms for email, social media, online chat, web forums,
website comments and many more.

Due to growing use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by individuals and
society of this digital age, there arouse a need for formulation of polices by educational
institution globally for the ethical use of such technologies including software’s and E-
contents. These ethical polices constantly change with changing Information Communication
Technology (ICT). Four characteristics are necessary netiquettes for all netizens.
 Plagiarism
 Intellectual property and Copyright
 Legal use of Software
 Code of conduct on Internet.

4.1 Plagiarism
Today, the condition of education system is deteriorating due to plagiarism. Plagiarism is
considered as an academic sin. It is unethical. The word ‘Plagiarism’ has been derived from
the Latin word ‘Plagiare’ means ‘to kidnap or abduct’. Plagiarize means stealing ideas or
words of another person as one’s own without proper citation. This may happen by
incorporating someone else’s work as your own work with or without the consent or full
acknowledgement. The plagiarism could be intentional and unintentional. It is important
that an ethical teacher or student should not plagiarize content that s/he prepares such as
handouts, course materials, writing papers, preparing web-pages on websites and so on,
which can even lead to litigation problems.

The regulatory body ‘All India Council of Technical Education’ (AICTE) and ‘University Grant
Commission’ (UGC) have seriously taken up this issue in higher education and have provided
guidelines. Refer to levels of plagiarism and penalties at [Link]
ugc_notices.aspx?id=2079 for UGC letter and Gazette Regulations (UGC Gazette Notification,
2018 [2]. The Government of India is planning to make strict law for prevision of plagiarism
in academics.

a) Plagiarism Detection Software

Today educational institutions, use plagiarism detection software to uncover potential
plagiarism because manually it is impossible to detect them. This software also helps to
deter students from plagiarizing content. There are many free Plagiarism Checker - Free
Online Plagiarism Detector available on Internet. One of them is [Link]
plagiarism-checker/. The free online software has limited database against with it checks the
documents for plagiarism and are not much dependable. Some of them are restricted to
1000 words at a time.

There are other propriety plagiarism software’s which checks submitted document

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automatically and generates reports too. These software’s are much better and can be
purchased for number of license users and now are being used by many educational
institutions. These propriety plagiarism software’s’ check submitted documents against
billion(s) of web pages, database of million student papers, publications, scholarly journals
and articles etc. The pricing of such software’s depends on its feature and collection of
repository or database.

4.2 Intellectual Property and Copyright

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), intellectual property
‘….refers to creations of minds, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, designs and
symbols, names and images used in commerce’. It is an overarching term for a variety of
assets created by the human mind otherwise classified as intangible prosperity. The rights to
the intellectual property can be claimed exclusively by the creator or recipient of ownership
transfer and covers the expression of an idea rather than the idea itself. [WIPO Headquarters
Switzerland, Accessed on 27/02/2020[3]]. Further, IPR and Copyright aspect can be
learnered from In order to protect from website [Link]
To avoide Intellectual Properity and Copyright issues; you are suggested either to purchase
the licence to use the IPR or use appropriate Creative Commons (CC) Licensed knowledge or
software. Today there are large ‘Open Educational Resources (OER)’ and courses with CC
Licencing which an teacher can use for academics without legal hurdles.

a) Creative Commons (CC) Licensing

Creative Commons [Creative Commons,Mountain View, CA 94042. (2017)] [4] helps to
legally share your knowledge and creativity to build a more equitable, accessible, and
innovative world. Creative Common work spans a variety of different areas like Arts and
culture; Legal; Open Access; Open Science; Education and OER; Policy and advocacy; Open
data; Technology. With the internet the universal access to education has become possible.
But its potential is hindered by increasingly restrictive copyright laws and incompatible
technologies. The Open Education program with Creative Commons Licensing works to
minimize these barriers, supporting the CC mission through education, advocacy and
outreach on using the right licenses and open policies to maximize the benefits of open
educational resources (OER) and the return on investment in publicly funded education
resources. Further, the use of CC Licensing E-content can be learned from their website
[Link]

4.3 Legal Use of Software

It is unethical to use of un-licenced or pirate software in technical institution. The use of
license software and open source software’s in educational institution is necessary to avoid
legal problems from proprietary software developers. One of the important aspects to be
pursued is to either purchase license software’s or should use open source solutions for

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educational purposes. Otherwise this will call for litigations against educational institution
for using software’s without license.

4.4 Code of Conduct on Internet

Netiquette in simple words mean the use of good manners in online verbal- textual
communication such as e-mail, chats, forums, blogs, and social networking sites to name a
few. Following are some ‘Core Rules of Netiquette on Cyberspace/Internet’
Rule 1: Respect People’s Privacy
Rule 2: Do not abuse, hack or hurt online community
Rule 3: Respectful Communication- remember the human element
Rule 4: Adhere to the same standards of behaviour online that you follow in real life.
Rule 5: Do not hurt sentiments on Cyberspace where people of different cast, creed, and
religion are available.
Rule 6: Respect others time and bandwidth.
Rule 7: Make yourself look good online with content and engagement.
Rule 8: Share expert knowledge online community for the information that you post
remains forever.
Rule9:Do not use metaphorically speaking or double meaning language.

ACTIVITY 3
State any three examples of non-netiquettes as an ethical teacher you have
experienced.

5.0 ROLES OF TECHNICAL TEACHER VIS-À-VIS VALUES AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

With respect to values and educational ethics, a professional teacher recognizes that quality
education is the common goal of the public, parents, technical administrators and educators,
and that a cooperative effort is essential among these groups to attain that goal. Towards
achieving this goal, s/he promises to adhere to:
a) Making concerted efforts to communicate to parents all information that should be
revealed in the interest of the student.
b) Respect the values and traditions of the diverse cultures represented in the
community and in his or her classroom.
c) Pledge to protect public sovereignty over public education and private control of
private education.
d) Manifest a positive and active role in college/community relations.

6.0 SUMMARY
This lesson has discussed the desired values required in a profession to fulfil the multiple
roles of being a good teacher, a good engineer/an ethical professional and above all, an
ethically correct person. The teacher ought to be a role model and should be able to exhibit

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the values in his or her own life in an acceptable and responsible manner. He or she should
also exhibit the values and educational ethics as a professional during the interactions
undertaken with the students and other stake holders of technical education system.

****
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Code of Professional Ethics for School Teachers by National Council for Teacher
Education] [Link]
[2] [Link]/treaties/en/ip/wct/ accessed on 27 Feb 2020
[3] [Link] accessed on 27 Feb 2020
[4] [Link] plagiarism-checker/ accessed on 27 Feb 2020
[5] [Link] ugc_notices.aspx?id=2079 accessed on 27 Feb 2020

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DISCUSSION FORUM

 Start a discussion on social media on some values and ethics to be followed by

technical teachers

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 L– 12: Ethical Conflict: Case Studies of
Professionals

Contributors

Prof. Prakash Dandekar

(Evangelist & Visiting Professor, IIT Gandhinagar & Bombay, Member, Heartfulness Institute)

Dr. Joshua Earnest

(Professor of Electrical Engineering, NITTTR Bhopal)

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462002
Unit 3 Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L12: Ethical Conflict: Case Studies of Professionals

Lesson–12
Ethical Conflict: Some Case Studies for Professionals

Learning outcomes: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to resolve ethical
conflicts according to moral values and ethics.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICAL CONFLICT IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION ................................................ 3

3.0 Case 1 ......................................................................................................................................................... 4

4.0 Case 2 ......................................................................................................................................................... 4

5.0 Case 3 ......................................................................................................................................................... 4

6.0 Case 4 ......................................................................................................................................................... 5

7.0 Case 5 ......................................................................................................................................................... 5

8.0 Case 6 ......................................................................................................................................................... 5

9.0 Case 7 ......................................................................................................................................................... 5

10.0 Case 8 ......................................................................................................................................................... 6

11.0 Case 9 ......................................................................................................................................................... 6

12.0 Case 10 ....................................................................................................................................................... 6

13.0 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................. 7

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................................ 7

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Lesson –12
Ethical Conflict: Some Case Studies for Professionals

1.0 INTRODUCTION
The personality of a person, his/her actions and choices made by him/her reflect his/her
values. On the other hand, the 'ethics' control and govern the behaviour of a person
according to norms set by others. In the sphere of business and services, the sellers and
buyers follow some basic ethics which are accepted as a baseline by every stakeholder in
that activity. In professional situations, such as teaching, medical, legal or hospitality and
such others, the persons involved may experience ethical conflicts. This lesson presents
some case studies based on some real incidents that have happened (or maybe happening
now) in the Indian University system. The intention is to open up your minds of how to
relate the situations in day-to-day life, how such ethical issues have to be handled without
any compromise when striving towards excellence in your profession. Criticism and gossip
over these 10 case studies presented in this lesson will not help much and will not help to
achieve anything good. Therefore, the cases given in this lesson are the ones which will help
in introspection and learning. Good values can also be inculcated by regular exposure to
good behavior by teachers, seniors.

2.0 CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICAL CONFLICT IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Ethics are taught to everybody right from school days and generally students and teachers
are fully aware of what ought to be done and what not to be done. All teaching institutions
frame their code of conduct and everybody signs on the dotted line promising to conform to
them. Something which is both morally and legally correct is not worth mentioning over
here since it meets the expectations of all human beings. However, there are many
infringements and rule breaking instances which are common in educational campuses all
over the world.

Following are some cases where the persons who broke the rule of ethics knowing fully well
what they were doing and had given one or the other moral justification for doing so. These
cases for simplicity can be categorised as the following:
a) Cases which are morally correct but legally incorrect (punishable)
b) Cases which are morally incorrect but cannot be legally challenged
c) Cases which are both morally and legally incorrect.

Both morally and legally incorrect behaviour is easy to spot. It is the other two categories
where the teachers get confused and undertake them willingly or unwillingly and suffer from
the consequences. The readers are encouraged to categorise the cases given here into these

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two categories and judge which become the moral and legal traps for an unexpecting or
unsuspecting sincere teacher.

The case studies given below are more or less black and white cases and there is no reason
for giving any benefit of doubt to the perpetrator. These are discussed here to highlight the
fact that whatever may be the reason, the person concerned must follow the rules in letter
and spirit. That may make him/her suffer the consequences including collateral damage to
relationships with the teaching fraternity. These are stark reminders to teachers of what the
profession and the rest of society expects from them to conduct.

3.0 Case 1
A theft has occurred in the laboratory and a meter is found missing. Students have been
asked about it and they have denied taking it. After a few days, a bright and hardworking
student confesses to a teacher that he had taken it for study at home and to conduct some
experiments. Now he wishes to return it and he is seeking teacher's assistance in putting
back the meter in its place in the lab, without anybody knowing about it.

Question for Reflection: Should the teacher condone this action in the light of the excellent
academic record of the student or bring it to the notice of the head of the institution?

4.0 Case 2
The teacher ‘A' finds that one of his colleagues, teacher 'B’ is tutoring a few students at
home and charging a fee for that. Teacher B openly advises weak students to visit his home
and get personally tutored. Those students who attends his tuition are given undue benefits
like more marks than they deserve. Those who do not attend tuition class are failed in the
examination. An important point to note is Teacher ‘B‘ has been very helpful to Teacher ‘A‘
and teacher ‘A‘ owes some money to ‘B‘.

Question for Reflection: Should teacher ‘A’ keep quiet about ‘B’'s action due to a gratitude
or friendship, or report it to the management about the malpractice.

5.0 Case 3
A student is exceptionally gifted in a game such as football and represents national team.
Since he is most of the time travelling or practicing, he is not able to attend classes and is
very weak in studies. Teacher has made all efforts to teach him, even teaching in extra time,
yet in the final examination, the student has performed dismally and deserves to be failed. If
the student fails, he would lose financial support from the college and will become ineligible
to play for national team. So, his passing in all courses is most essential for his future.

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Question for Reflection: Should the teacher bend the rules for this student, give him
unearned marks and pass him or go by ethical standards and give him only the marks earned
and if required, fail him?

6.0 Case 4
A teacher is lazy in checking examination answer sheets. He cursorily glances at the answer
book, leaves pen marks on each page but does not read the text. Then based on the general
impression, gives almost similar marks to all questions. He does not check the quality of
content written by the students, but looks at the total volume or length of the answer,
neatness, quality and handwriting. He never fails any student, so nobody complains about
his lack of efforts in a checking the paper properly. One of his colleagues has come to know
about this malpractice and has collected enough evidence against him.

Question for Reflection: Should this colleague keep quiet, since nobody is complaining and
nobody suffers any loss or bring it to the notice of the administration?

7.0 Case 5
A teacher has two bright students ‘A‘ and ‘B‘. ‘A‘ is topper in the class and ‘B’'s rank in the
class is between5thand 10th. Student ‘B‘ belongs to teacher's community and even distantly
related to the teacher. When the final examination is conducted, the teacher gives undue
extra marks to ‘B‘ and reduces ‘A‘'s score to enable ‘B‘ to get the 1stposition. On the
complaint to head of institution, who asks for answer sheets are shocked by the blatant
partiality. The teacher otherwise is a normal efficient person. A strong disciplinary action
against him may upset the regular teaching operations.

Question for Reflection: Should head of institution look at teacher's usefulness and condone
the act?

8.0 Case 6
A teacher is very competent, dynamic and is always arranging college festivals and events.
He has been given funds to purchase certain items needed for the stage. He gets the bills
inflated from shopkeeper and uses the extra amount obtained illegally to compensate
volunteer students' expenses of food and transportation, which, were otherwise, not
admissible under the college rules. The head of the institution comes to know about it.

Question for Reflection: Should the head of the institution take action against the teacher
for causing extra expenditure to the college? If he does that, will he cause a setback to the
teacher's career, and the teacher may not volunteer to work for similar tasks again, at least
not with the same willingness, zeal and initiative.

9.0 Case 7

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A group of four students ‘A‘, ‘B‘, ‘C‘ and ‘D‘ are a team which has been assigned a year-long
project. ‘C‘ is the only one who spends most of the time in researching about it, designing,
building and testing. ‘B‘ assists him but spends only 30% time as compared to ‘C‘. ‘A‘ spends
10% time and ‘D‘ is mostly non-participating. When the evaluation is done internally, ‘C‘ gets
high marks, while the rest of the 3 students get about 80% of what ‘C‘ got, though they
contributed very little compared to ‘C‘. When an external evaluation is done, the project is
adjudged the best and everybody gets very high, but equal marks. ‘C‘ is watching all this and
wondering why the other 3 batch mates have been given equal marks. When he complains,
his advisor tells him, why it should matter to him since ‘C‘ is adjudged correctly and has not
lost anything.

Question for Reflection: Should student ‘C‘ complain to higher authorities about it?

10.0 Case 8
Teacher ‘A‘ teaches his classes regularly and diligently. Another teacher ‘B‘ who teaches
another course to the same class, is sloppy, careless and disorganised and does not teach
well. ‘B‘ misses the classes many times on some pretext of administrative load. The students
confide in ‘A‘, that they are not being taught properly by ‘B‘ but they cannot muster courage
to go to higher authorities. They instead request A to intercede on their behalf. ‘A‘ talks to
‘B‘, informally but ‘B‘ does not mend his ways.

Question for Reflection: What should ‘A‘ do? Should he just be a passive onlooker or should
he take student's complaint to higher authorities such as Dean or Principal.

11.0 Case 9
Teacher A is quite lazy in designing question papers. He has about 40 questions from last 4-5
year's question papers and selects eight questions randomly and creates a new paper,
without changing anything in the questions. The student community too has access to old
question papers too and is fully aware of teacher's laziness so they prepare a set of probable
questions and not study the whole course. The students rote learn the answer and
reproduce them correctly in the examination and get higher marks without learning. So they
are not complaining. This is known to all of his colleagues but they do not complain because
it does not affect anybody adversely.

Question for Reflection: How can the head of institution be made aware of it and what
should be done to prevent it?

12.0 Case 10
On the practical examination day, a student broke his leg due to an accident and was
confined to his bed. His parents approached the professor whether the student could be
given another chance later when he is fit. The professor told them that student will have to

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be declared absent and will have to reappear for that exam 6 months down the line. The
father offered the examiner's panel to visit his home and take student's viva-voce exam over
there, as an alternative to save student's loss of 6 months. The professor asked the other
panel members and they all agreed after all other students are examined. At the end, they
will visit the ailing student and take his viva-voce exam over there. The examination at home
was duly carried out and student being good in studies, passed the exam easily. Another
teacher in the institute complained to the head of the institution that this is an undue favour
and illegal benefit given to a student which would set a wrong precedent and likely to be
misused in the future.

Question for Reflection: What should the head of institution to do in this case?

ACTIVITY-1
For each of the 10 cases mentioned above, from ethical point of view, justify the actions
that you will take.

13.0 SUMMARY
Personal 'values' guide a person as to what is more important and help him/her to make
better choices in various situations. On the other hand, the 'ethics' control and govern the
behaviour of a person according to norms set by others. In the sphere of teaching, the
persons such as teacher, students, administrators and supporting staff involved may
experience ethical conflicts. Counseling of persons can also be undertaken by appropriate
persons to help the students. Good values and display of ethical behavior in tune with good
practices by anyone should be brought to notice of persons involved as a matter of regular
practice. Discussion platforms and debate forums can be created by you in different groups
of students and teachers on different occasions in educational institutions, which can
motivate many people especially teachers in such situations to adopt good values and follow
ethics.

ACTIVITY-2
Prepare case on issues such as plagiarism in research papers, projects and assignments,
ethics in organising conferences, assessment of student projects, preparation for
teaching, interpersonal conflicts in faculty and staff that affect academics.

******

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] [Link]

AICTE–NITTT Module2: Professional Ethics and Sustainability NITTTR, Bhopal Page 7

Unit 3 Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L12: Ethical Conflict: Case Studies of Professionals

[2] [Link]

AICTE–NITTT Module2: Professional Ethics and Sustainability NITTTR, Bhopal Page 8

Unit 3 Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L12: Ethical Conflict: Case Studies of Professionals

Lesson – 12 DISCUSSION FORUM

Start a discussion on social media on some ethical conflict issues for you seek solutions.

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 L–13: Code of Conduct: Academic
Ethics and its Implementation

Contributors

Prof. Prakash W. Dandekar

(Evangelist & Visiting Professor, IIT Gandhinagar& Bombay, Member, Heartfulness Institute)

Prof. N. V. Deshpande
(Former Professor, Devi Ahilya University, Indore)

Mrs. V. Deshpande
(Member, Heartfulness Institute, Indore)

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462002
Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L13: Code of Conduct: Academic Ethics and its Implementation

Lesson–13

Code of Conduct: Academic Ethics and Its Implementation

Learning outcomes: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
LO 1. Plan for the implementation of the code of conduct for technical teachers.
LO 2. Interpret the code of conduct as applicable in your institution.
LO 3. Plan to implement code of conduct for the students.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 CODE OF CONDUCT FOR TEACHERS........................................................................................................... 3

2.1 Expected Conduct of Teachers..................................................................................................... 3

2.2 Improper Conduct of Teachers .................................................................................................... 4

2.3 Teachers’ Conduct with Administration ...................................................................................... 4

2.4 Teachers’ Conduct with Guardians .............................................................................................. 5

2.5 Teachers’ Conduct with the Community/Society ........................................................................ 5

3.0 CODE OF CONDUCT FOR PRINCIPAL/DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE .......................................................... 5

3.1 Code of Conduct of Principal/Director of Institute ...................................................................... 6

4.0 CODE OF CONDUCT FOR GOVERNING BODY MEMBERS OF THE INSTITUTE ............................................. 6

4.1 Code of Conduct Governing Body Members of the Institute ...................................................... 7

5.0 CODE OF ETHICS REGARDING PUBLISHING AND COPYRIGHT .................................................................... 7

6.0 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................. 8

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................................ 8

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L13: Code of Conduct: Academic Ethics and its Implementation

Lesson –13
Code of Conduct: Academic Ethics and its Implementation

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Academic ethics is an umbrella concept which encompasses many issues. The code of
conduct for ethical practice in teaching institutions is highly prevalent and most of them
publish it widely for the benefit of stakeholders. Many institute websites prominently display
the rules of conduct for the benefit of all incoming students and teachers. Based on some of
them, one can categorize rules for different group of personsengaged in different activities
in the institution. There are some basic guiding practices which are common to all groups
and there are some which are profession-specific. The code of conduct for teachers with
different types of transactions in each category is discussed in this lesson.

2.0 CODE OF CONDUCT FOR TEACHERS

The code of conduct for teachers normally addresses the matters to relate the conduct of
the teachers such as teaching, learning, evaluation, relationship with the students,
associated staff, management, parents, duties and responsibilities with moral and
professional ethics, human values, external services, devotion, dedication and integrity of
the teacher towards the college.

2.1 Expected Conduct of Teachers

The following are some of the code of conduct expected from faculty members as professionals in
higher education:
a) Seek to make professional growth continuous through study and research.
b) Express free and frank opinion by participation at professional meetings, seminars,
conference etc. towards the contribution of knowledge.
c) Maintain active membership of professional organizations and strive to improve
education and profession through them.
d) Perform their duties in the form of teaching, tutorial, practical, seminar and
research work conscientiously and with dedication.
e) Co-operate and assist in carrying out functions relating to the educational
responsibilities of the Institute and the university such as: assisting in appraising
applications for admission, advising and counseling students as well as assisting
the conduct of university and Institute examinations, including supervision,
invigilation and evaluation; and
f) Participate in extension, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities including
community service.
g) Manage their private affairs in a manner consistent with the dignity of the
profession.
h) Adhere to a responsible pattern of conduct and demeanor (outlook) expected of
them by the community.

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2.2 Improper Conduct of Teachers

The teacher shall perform all his/her duties faithfully and should not avoid responsibility.
However, following lapses would constitute improper conduct on the part of the teacher:
a) Failure to perform his/her academic duties such as lecturing, demonstration,
assessment, invigilation and others
b) Gross partiality assessment of students, deliberately over/under making an attempt
of victimization on flimsy grounds.
c) Inciting or instigating students against other students, colleagues, administration,
(This does not interfere with teacher’s right to express the differences on principles in
seminars other places where students are present.)
d) Raising questions of castes, creed or religion, race or sex in his relationship with the
students and his colleagues and trying to use the above considerations for
improvement of his prospects.
e) Refusal to carry out the decisions of competent authorities, officers, administrative
and academic bodies of the college. (This will not inhibit his right to express his
difference with their policies or decisions, provided that he will not use the facilities
or forum of the Institute to propagate his own ideas or beliefs for or against
particular party of alignment of political or religious activities.)
f) Involvement in the activities that are unethical to good academics directly or
indirectly, such as:
 Writing of questions-answers guides, keys, likely questions, and such others.
 Undertaking of any office of profit, agency. The teacher shall not avoid any work
related to the University/Institute examinations without reasonable grounds.
g) Immodest behaviour with male and female students and other employees.’
h) Anti-bigamy Act and Anti-dowry Act in any manner directly or indirectly
i) Drunken and substance abuse.

ACTIVITY 1
List any five acts of teaching that you follow as good conduct of teacher.

2.3 Teachers’ Conduct with Administration

Following are some of the code of conduct for the teachers of the institute/college with the
college administration personnel
a) Discharge their professional responsibilities according to the existing rules and
adhere to procedures and methods consistent with their profession in initiating steps
through their own institutional bodies and/or professional organizations for change
of any such rule detrimental to the professional interest
b) Refrain from undertaking any other employment and commitment including private
tuitions and coaching classes which are likely to interfere with their professional
responsibilities.

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L13: Code of Conduct: Academic Ethics and its Implementation

c) Co-operate in the formulation of policies or the institution by accepting various

offices and discharge responsibilities which such offices may demand.
d) Co-operate through their organizations in the formulation of policies of the other
institutions and accept offices.
e) Co-operate with the authorities for the betterment of the institutions keeping in view
the interest and in conformity with dignity of the profession.
f) Should adhere to the conditions of contract.
g) Refrain from availing themselves of leave except on unavoidable grounds and as far
as practicable with prior intimation, keeping in view their particular responsibility for
completion of academic schedule.

2.4 Teachers’ Conduct with Guardians

Try to see through teachers’ bodies and organizations, that institutions maintain contact
with the guardians. Their students send reports of their performance to the guardians.
Whenever they meet the guardians in meeting convened for the purpose, they mutually
exchange ideas for the benefit of the students and the Institution.

2.5 Teachers’ Conduct with the Community/Society

Following are some of the code of conduct for the teachers of the institute/college with the
community/society. The teacher should recognise that education is a public service which
decides their conduct.
a) Keep the public informed of the educational programmes which are being offered
b) Work to improve education in the community and strengthen the community’s moral
and intellectual life.
c) Address the social problems conducive to the progress of society and hence the
country as a whole.
d) Participate in community activities and shoulder responsibilities of public offices as
the duties of a citizen.
e) Refrain from taking part in or subscribing to or assisting in activities which tend to
promote feeling or hatred or enmity among different communities, religions or
linguistic groups, but actively work for National Integration.

ACTIVITY 2
Explain at least two examples of good conduct of a teacher in society.

3.0 CODE OF CONDUCT FOR PRINCIPAL/DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE

Principal/Director as the head of an Institute is solely responsible for addressing and
resolving all issues concerned with the stakeholders of education. This code of conduct
provides an explicit definition of the standards of professional conduct expected from the
Principal as a Head of the institution.

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L13: Code of Conduct: Academic Ethics and its Implementation

3.1 Code of Conduct of Principal/Director of Institute

Subject to the supervision and general control of the management, the Principals/Directors
as the Principal Executive and Academic Head of the Institute/college, is responsible for the
following:
a) Academic growth of the college/institute.
b) Provide equal opportunities to all employees/staff
c) Academic growth in spite of resistance to change
d) Must be unbiased and fair to all
e) Take decisions based on criteria
f) Transparency in admission of students
g) Administration, cultural activities using optimum resources
h) Fair conduction of university examinations
i) Teaching, research and training programmes of the college/institute.
j) Planning and implementation of academic programmes such as refresher/orientation
course, seminars, in-service and other training programmes organized by the
University/ Institute for academic competence of the faculty member.
k) Admission of students, maintenance of discipline in the Institute.
l) Receipts, expenditure and maintenance of true and correct accounts.
m) Overall administration of the Institute and Hostels.
n) Correspondence relating to the administration of the Institute.
o) Administration and supervision of curricular, co-curricular/extracurricular or extra-
mural, student’s welfare activities of the Institute and maintenance of records.
p) Observance of the Acts, Statutes, Ordinances, Regulations, Rules and other Orders
issued by the University authorities and bodies, from time-to-time.
q) Supervision of the examination, setting of question papers, moderation and
assessment of answer papers and such other work pertaining to the examination of
college/ recognized Institutions.
r) Overall supervision of the University Examinations.
s) Observance of provisions of Accounts Code.
t) Maintenance of Self –Assessment Reports of teachers and their Service Books.
u) Any other work pertaining to the Institute or recognized Institution relating to the
administration of the Institute as may be assigned to him/her by the Management
from time-to-time.

4.0 CODE OF CONDUCT FOR GOVERNING BODY MEMBERS OF THE INSTITUTE

The Institute may be managed by a regularly constituted Governing Body. The composition,
functions and other condition pertaining to the Governing Body shall be as prescribed in the
‘Directive of Principals’ made and accepted by the Management.

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4.1 Code of Conduct Governing Body Members of the Institute

Following are some of the code of conduct for the governing body members of the
institute/college:
a) Decisions and resolutions made by the Governing Body, Executive Body and all the
Trust Units are obligatory.
b) The members of Governing Body shall maintain their character, transparency,
mannerisms and good image.
c) No property of Trust will be used for personal benefits.
d) The members of the Governing Body can obtain service from the Trust employee as
and when required.
e) Any member of Governing Body will not express non-satisfaction with any decision
made by the Executive Body. It will be discussed or expressed in the meeting only.
One must respect majority taking the decisions.
f) If any member of Governing Body needs any primary information from the Institute,
s/he will communicate to the Principal and will not have any oral or written
communication with the employee.
g) If any misbehavior and action by the employee defames the Institute, it will be
communicated to the Secretary orally or in writing.
h) All shall mind that no person is greater than the Institute.
i) The Governing Body will receive all communication in writing only from the Principal.
In the same way the Governing Body will reciprocate their decision through principal.
j) Respect other member’s opinion and give them a chance to express, if necessary
permit to register their differences of opinion.

5.0 CODE OF ETHICS REGARDING PUBLISHING AND COPYRIGHT

No project report, dissertation or a thesis, should contain plagiarized work including third-
party copyright material without permission, or with insufficient acknowledgement, or
authorship of the document, whether intentional or unintentional.

5.1 Code of Ethics for Students Regarding Publishing and Copyright

Students shall not violate the trust of the teacher by:
a) Cheating
b) Fabricating information or citations
c) Falsifying documents
d) Falsifying information about test material
e) Forgery
f) Gaining unauthorized access to examinations
g) Making up or changing data for a research project
h) Plagiarizing
i) Submitting credentials that are false or altered in any way
j) Tampering with the academic work of other students

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L13: Code of Conduct: Academic Ethics and its Implementation

k) Using words or ideas from others without appropriate attribution

l) Facilitating another student’s academic misconduct
m) Submitting course work or taking an exam for another student
n) Buying or selling of course materials, including exams, test answers and course
papers.

6.0 SUMMARY
This lesson has discussed the desired values required in the teaching profession to fulfill the
multiple roles of being a good teacher, a good engineer/an ethical professional and above all
as a good citizen of the country. Even the students’ code of ethics is also highlighted and all
of which should be implemented in a judiciously, tactfully, strictly and lovingly.

********

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] [Link] Code of

Professional Ethics for School Teachers by National Council for Teacher Education]
[2] [Link] Code of Professional Ethics
for Engineers

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L13: Code of Conduct: Academic Ethics and its Implementation

Discussion Forum
a) Discuss examples of violation of code of conduct by teacher and principal.
b) Discuss the effect of such violations on students and employers.

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 L–14: Role of Professional Societies

Contributors

Prof. Prakash W. Dandekar

(Evangelist & Visiting Professor, IIT Gandhinagar& Bombay, Member, Heartfulness Institute)

Dr. Shashi Kant Gupta

(Professor of Assessment and Evaluation, NITTTR Bhopal)

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462002
Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L14: Role of Professional Societies

Lesson –14
Role of Professional Societies

Learning outcomes: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
LO 1. Describe role of professional societies.
LO 2. Describe code of conduct for professionals.
LO 3. Describe the role of professional teachers with respect to the professional
societies.
LO 4.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES .......................................................................................................................... 3

3.0 ATTRIBUTES AND ROLES OF PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES............................................................................. 3

4.0 COMMON CODE OF CONDUCT FOR ALL PROFESSIONS ............................................................................. 4

5.0 ETHICS FOR DOCTORS ................................................................................................................................ 5

6.0 ETHICS FOR LAWYERS ................................................................................................................................ 6

7.0 ETHICS FOR ACCOUNTANTS ....................................................................................................................... 7

8.0 ETHICS FOR ENGINEERS ............................................................................................................................. 7

9.0 ATTRIBUTES FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS ............................................................................................. 8

10.0 ETHICS FOR TEACHERS ............................................................................................................................... 8

11.0 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................. 9

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................................ 9

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L14: Role of Professional Societies

Lesson – 14
Role of Professional Societies

1.0 INTRODUCTION
In the career of a technical teacher, membership of a professional society is very important
as it is one of the main prime movers in his/her professional progress. Some teachers enter
the profession because they're eager to make a difference — their students tend to
remember their teachers for an entire lifetime, long after they have left the university/
institute. Other teachers are inspired by their own teachers earlier during their education
who had a positive impact on them. Although they are driven by a positive energy, many fail
to understand the true meaning of being a professional educator. Professional teachers
always recognize that change is the norm. They are growth-oriented and consider
themselves life-long learners and contributors. This lesson discusses about the roles of
different professional societies so that the technical teacher appreciates his/her role as a
professional technical teacher with respective to the professional society.

2.0 PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

A professional society (also called a professional body, professional organization,
or professional association) seeks to further the cause of that particular profession, the
interests of individuals engaged in that profession and the public interest. In most countries,
such societies are typically non-profit organisations for tax purposes. Many others are either
supported by national governments, or are enacted by a national law. All professional
societies define a code of conduct or ethics for their members. Though they are operate in
different professional spheres such as doctors, engineers, lawyers, accountants and so on,
there is still a common set of ethics which all of them expect their members to follow. In
addition, they have ethical rules that are specific to their respective professions.

3.0 ATTRIBUTES AND ROLES OF PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

Following are some of the attributes of professional societies:
a) Such a society is a group of people, in an occupation who are entrusted with
maintaining control or oversight of the legitimate practices of the occupation. It is
also a body acting to safeguard the public interest. Such organizations fully represent
the interest and well-being of the professional practitioners. They act to maintain
their own privileged and powerful position as a controlling body.
b) The Science Council, UK defines a professional society as 'an organization with
individual members practicing a profession or occupation in which the organisation
maintains an oversight (supervision or control) of the knowledge, skills, conduct and
practice of that profession or occupation'.
c) The mission of the professional societies is primarily educational and informational.
Their influence flows from their continuing and highly visible functions: to publish

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L14: Role of Professional Societies

professional journals, to develop professional excellence and to raise public

awareness. Through their work, they help to define and set standards for their
professional fields and to promote high standards of quality through awards and
other forms of recognition. In addition, there are statutory bodies and regulators that
guarantee quality assurance and 'have powers mandated by Parliament to regulate a
profession or group of professions and protect the use of professional titles'.
d) There are professional societies that 'are independent membership organizations
that oversee the activities of a particular profession and represent the interests of
their members' and which 'may offer registration or certification of unregulated
occupations on a voluntary basis.'
e) Many professional bodies are involved in accrediting degrees, defining and examining
the skills and competencies necessary to practice a person, and granting professional
certifications to indicate that a person is qualified in the subject area. Sometimes
membership of a professional body is synonymous with certification, though it may
not be so always. In some professions, membership of a professional body, as a legal
requirement, can form the primary formal basis for gaining entry to and setting up
practice within the profession such as medical council of India (MCI), Nursing Council
of India (NCI), Dental Council of India (DCI), Bar Council of India and such others.
f) Many professional bodies also act as learned societies for the academic disciplines
underlying their professions. Many professional, or disciplinary, societies were
founded to support the single disciplines for which they are named. In recent
decades, these societies, like many other organizations, have been increasingly called
on to expand their relationships to new fields of research. Such societies are common
in computer applications, bio-sciences, economic, statistics and applied mathematics.

Following sections highlight the different ethical code of conduct specified by different
professional societies for different professions. The details given below is neither
comprehensive nor exhaustive, but merely representative sample to show the basic
expectations from members. The ethics expected from engineers and technical teachers are
also included.

4.0 COMMON CODE OF CONDUCT FOR ALL PROFESSIONS

The professional ethics define how you agree to relate to one another and the codes of
professional conduct lay out a road map for professional relationships. Though many codes
may differ across the spectrum, few basic ethics stand out clearly. These are common to all
societies and they expect their members to be a good human being first, before being a
good professional. Same applies to technical teachers. First they are engineers, then they are
teachers but underlying all this veneer, they are expected to be first a good human being.
So, the common ethics are listed below for reconsideration and recapitulation:
a) You shall be honest in your profession towards the person whom you are providing
service (students).

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b) You shall be just and even-handed to all and show no favors or bias or prejudices.
c) You shall be compassionate in dealing with others.
d) You will take responsibility for all your actions.
e) You will perform your task diligently, meticulously, punctually and cheerfully at all
times.
f) You will foster an atmosphere of peace, brotherhood, mutual cooperation and will
never exploit others.
g) You will abide by the rules of community and country and present a role model to
others.
h) Your conduct should be so as to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of
the profession.
i) You shall be truthful and transparent.

ACTIVITY 1
a) Describe your own behavior in the light of one aspect of ethical conduct i.e.
b) ”You will take responsibility for all your actions”.

5.0 ETHICS FOR DOCTORS

In India the ethics for doctor's code of conduct was prepared or enforced by Medical Council
of India (MCI) which is likely to be replaced by National Medical Commission (NMC), soon.
The actual list for ethics is very long and only 4 guiding principles are given here:
a) Autonomy: The doctor must provide the patient complete autonomy and freedom of
thought, intention, and action when making decisions regarding health
care procedures. Therefore, the patient's decision-making process must be free of
coercion or coaxing. In order for a patient to make a fully informed decision, she/he
must understand all risks and benefits of the procedure and the likelihood
of success.
b) Justice: The idea is that the burdens and benefits of new or experimental treatments
must be distributed equally among all groups in society. The health care provider
must do these tasks in an even handed manner - fair distribution of scarce resources,
competing needs, rights and obligations, and potential conflicts with established
legislation.
c) Beneficence: Doctor must undertake a procedure with the intent of doing good for
the patient involved. S/he must develop and maintain skills and knowledge,
continually update training, consider individual circumstances of all patients, and
strive for patient’s benefit.
d) Non-malfeasance: Doctor must ensure that a procedure does not harm the patient
involved or others in society. In some cases, it is difficult for doctors to successfully
apply the do no harm principle.

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6.0 ETHICS FOR LAWYERS

The profession of law is a noble profession with reference to professional ethics, harbored in
compliance with the established set of rules and code of conduct for advocates. There is a
given code of conduct for lawyers in India that they are expected to follow while practicing
the profession. This code of conduct is laid down under legislation that governs the legal
profession in India. Rule for Code of conduct of lawyers is mandated to secure the
importance of legal profession in India as the lawyers are officers of the court who play an
important and critical part in securing the administration of justice.

The Bar Council of India is a statutory body that has been set-up to perform several
disciplinary, reformative and regulatory functions in the field of law and other related fields.
It recognizes Universities that award law degrees that act as a relevant qualification for the
registration of an advocate. It also safeguards the privileges, rights as well as interests of the
lawyer. So, in order to sustain his/her membership in the Indian bar, a lawyer has to follow
the prescribed bar council code of conduct, standards, ethics and regulations righteously.

The Advocates Act, 1961 was enacted to govern the law profession in India by making
provisions that regulate their registration, admission, methods of practice and education,
standardize the ethics of legal provision in India. Each lawyer who is a member of the State
Bar Council and Bar Council of India has to follow the provisions of this Act. In India,
advocate is a sub-set of lawyer but the act only applies to the Advocates as the Advocates
are the ones who are allowed to practice in the court because of their membership in the
Bar Council of India and State Bar Council whereas, lawyers are the persons who have
completed their bachelor’s degree in law. Thus, Bar Council code of conduct is applicable
only to the member lawyers i.e., advocates.

Here are a few ethical conducts expected by lawyer member:

a) A lawyer must accept bribes from their client in order to stand for them in the court.
b) A lawyer cannot pull out of a case without a reasonable and serious cause.
c) A lawyer has to be truthful and open to their clients and declare all details of the case
even if those details may cause harm to the client’s case in future.
d) A lawyer has to always protect and defend the well-being of his client. It is an ethical
responsibility of a lawyer to put his client’s interest before anyone else’s.
e) It is unethical for a lawyer to hide or conceal any material evidence or information if
that may lead to the unfair sentencing of a person who is innocent.
f) A lawyer must maintain confidentiality of exchanged information in a client-advocate
relationship. A lawyer must maintain trust and confidence of their client and must
not ill-treat or abuse any information shared for any other purposes than
representing the client.
g) A lawyer cannot misuse or mis-arrange any of client’s funds without informing them,
like converting them into loans or any other wrongful means. A lawyer has to be

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accountable to his client for any amount of money delivered by the client i.e. details
of the money spent, records of information gathered by that money, and others.
h) If a lawyer is representing one of the parties in a legal proceeding, he cannot
represent any other party in that suit.

7.0 ETHICS FOR ACCOUNTANTS

The professional society of accountants expects their members to adhere to following code
of conduct or ethics:
a) Integrity: A professional accountant should be straightforward and honest in all
professional and business relationships.
b) Objectivity: A professional accountant should not allow bias, conflict of interest or
undue influence of others to override professional or business judgments.
c) Professional Competence and Due Care: A professional accountant has a continuing
duty to maintain professional knowledge and skill at the level required to ensure that
a client or employer receives competent professional service based on current
developments in practice, legislation and techniques. A professional accountant
should act diligently and in accordance with applicable technical and professional
standards when providing professional services.∗
d) Confidentiality: A professional accountant should respect the confidentiality of
information acquired as a result of professional and business relationships and
should not disclose any such information to third parties without proper and specific
authority unless there is a legal or professional right or duty to disclose. Confidential
information acquired as a result of professional and business relationships should not
be used for the personal advantage of the professional accountant or third parties.
e) Professional Behavior: A professional accountant should comply with relevant laws
and regulations and should avoid any action that discredits the profession.

8.0 ETHICS FOR ENGINEERS

Engineers provide growth and sustenance of material wealth of a nation. Their efforts
improve living standards and well-being of the population. The tasks they perform involve
huge investment in manpower, money and national resources and their effort has gigantic
impact over their people. As professionals, engineers need to internalise their codes and to
realize that they have a personal stake in the application of codes as well as the process of
developing the codes. Yet, most engineers view professional codes as static statements
developed by 'others' with little (or no) input from the individual engineer. Complicating the
problem, questions of professionalism (such as ethics) are frequently viewed as topics
outside the normal realm of engineering analysis and design. In reality, professional
responsibility is an integral part of the engineering process. The professional societies,
expect that in the fulfillment of their professional duties, they shall:
a) Give high importance to safety, health, and welfare of the public.
b) Perform services only in the areas of their competence.

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L14: Role of Professional Societies

c) Avoid all conduct or practice that deceives the public.

d) Maintain confidentiality and not disclose, without consent, information concerning
the business affairs or technical processes of any present or former client or
employer, or public body which they serve.
e) Avoid to be influenced in the professional duties by conflicting interests.
f) Avoid attempting to obtain employment or advancement or professional
engagements by untruthfully criticising other engineers, or by other improper or
questionable methods.
g) Desist from attempting to injure, maliciously or falsely, directly or indirectly, the
professional reputation, prospects, practice, or employment of other engineers.
h) Present information to the competent authority for actions of others who are guilty
of unethical or illegal practice.
i) Accept personal responsibility for their professional activities while seeking
indemnification for services arising out of their practice for other than gross
negligence, where his/her interests cannot otherwise be protected.
j) Give credit for engineering work to those to whom credit is due, and will recognize
the proprietary and interests of others.

9.0 ATTRIBUTES FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS

Following are some of the attributes for professional teachers. They are:
a) Value-driven, guided by principles, passion, and a purpose bigger than themselves.
b) Need analysts – competent to diagnose and prescribe options for educational success
and significance.
c) Believers of their profession is their calling.
d) Growth-oriented and consider themselves life-long learners and contributors. They
recognize that change is the norm.
e) Climate creators, recognizing that the conditions that surround learning contribute to
learning.
f) Catalysts in promoting calculated risks that advance their profession and enable
everyone to access success.
g) Promoters of cohesiveness, collaboration, and team-building. They promote ‘we are
better together' philosophy.
h) Creators of a climate of ownership by ensuring that everyone involved in the
educational process is invited to participate.
i) Accountable to their clients, community, studentsand their parents providing a
quality educational program for all.
j) A class that promotes their profession above personal gain.

10.0 ETHICS FOR TEACHERS

The technical teacher is first and foremost an engineer and are therefore governed by the
ethics of engineering societies as well. It is very important that engineers need to observe an

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L14: Role of Professional Societies

honourable conduct towards other engineers, employers, clients, and toward the public. The
current education curriculum and professional societies pay inadequate attention to the
area. So, the burden of responsibility of technical teacher gets bigger because s/he has to
follow two sets of codes of conduct - first for being an engineer and second for being a
teacher. Indian Society for Technical education (ISTE) lists a few codes of ethical conduct for
technical teachers as follows:
a) Deal justly and impartially with students regardless of their social, economic, regional
and religious background.
b) Recognise the differences among students and seek to meet their individual needs.
c) Encourage students to work for higher individual goals. Aid students to develop an
understanding and appreciation not only of opportunities and benefits but also of
their responsibilities.
d) Inculcate in students respect for teachers, love towards fellow students and loyalty to
institution and the country.
e) Acquaint students with civic responsibilities and environmental protection.
f) Never use students to solve his/her personal problems.
g) Accept no remuneration for tutoring except in accordance with approved policies of
Government / Institutions.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), at Washington D.C., USA
expects its members and even participants to communicate professionally and
constructively, whether in person or virtually, handling dissent or disagreement with
courtesy, dignity and an open mind, being respectful when providing feedback, and being
open to alternate points of view.

ACTIVITY 2
Describe your own behavior in the light of one aspect of ethical conduct i.e. Deal justly
and impartially with students regardless of their social, economic, regional and religious
background.

11.0 SUMMARY
The professional societies play a very important role in the life of technical teachers as they
set up the expectations about the expectations from its members and prevent members
from any wrong actions which will negatively impact the lives of people and community. In
short, they seem to become similar to an arm of law in the country.

****

BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Ethics by professional bodies [Link]
profession-i-2b1ef000-d260-11e6-a244-93755fd0e51e

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L14: Role of Professional Societies

[2] Professional responsibility: The role of the engineer in society

[Link]
[3] What is a Professional Educator? [Link]
professional-educator

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Unit 3: Development of Professional Values, Attitudes and Ethics L14: Role of Professional Societies

DISCUSSION FORUM
Discuss the role of a teacher in dealing with students having extremely poor academic
background and also economic background. Assume that the institution in which the
situation is a government institution having a committed Principal and adequate
infrastructural and human resources.

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 L–15: Development and Poverty
Alleviation

Contributor

Dr. Aashish Deshpande

(Professor, Department of Education Research and Management)

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462 002
Unit 4: Sustainable Development L15: Development and Poverty Alleviation

Lesson – 15
Development and Poverty Alleviation
Learning outcomes: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
LO 1. Explain the concept of ‘development' and related terms in the national
context.
LO 2. Describe the role of technical teachers with regard to 'development'
LO 3. Distinguish the terms poverty and related terms.
LO 4. Describe the roles of technical teachers in poverty alleviation.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 4

2.0 UNDERSTANDING THE TERM 'DEVELOPMENT' .......................................................................................... 4

2.1 Economic Indicators (Change in Real GDP) .................................................................................. 5

2.2 National Income as an Index of Development ............................................................................. 6

2.3 Per Capita Income as an Index of Development .......................................................................... 6

2.4 Human Development Index (HDI) ................................................................................................ 6

3.0 UNDERSTANDING POVERTY ....................................................................................................................... 7

3.1 Poverty Concept........................................................................................................................... 7

3.2 Poverty Definitions ...................................................................................................................... 7

3.3 Poverty Measurement ................................................................................................................. 8

3.4 Human Poverty Index (HPI) .......................................................................................................... 9

3.6 Poverty Line ............................................................................................................................... 10

3.7 Absolute Poverty ........................................................................................................................ 10

3.8 Relative Poverty ......................................................................................................................... 10

3.9 Rural Poverty ............................................................................................................................. 11

3.10 Urban Poverty ............................................................................................................................ 11

4.0 NEED OF (SUSTAINABLE) DEVELOPMENT FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION ................................................... 12

4.1 From MDGs to SDGs .................................................................................................................. 12

5.0 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................ 14

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................................... 14

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L15: Development and Poverty Alleviation

Lesson – 15
Development and Poverty Alleviation

1.0 INTRODUCTION
During the industrialization process, the phenomenon of poverty in developing countries and
its relationship to the development process has been the subject matter of intense study. Two
decades ago, in the year 2001, 189 countries unanimously approved the Millennium
Declaration, culminated in eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Till 2015, these
MDGs were endorsed by United Nations as the international framework for planning and
monitoring progress on poverty alleviation. These have been primary objectives of
international development efforts and have been adopted in the policy statements and
declarations of many developing countries. This lesson intends to build a basic understanding
of the development and poverty alleviation relationship for MDGs and sustainable
development goals (SDGs) allowing students to develop a deeper understanding. Comparing
the measurement techniques of poverty and development would enable the technical
teachers to discuss and address the issues and implications at institute, state and national
levels. This lesson will help you to understand various aspects of ‘development’ and poverty
alleviation.

2.0 UNDERSTANDING THE TERM 'DEVELOPMENT'

Development means ‘improvement in country’s economic and social conditions’. The term
development has multitude of meanings and is complex, at times contested, or have different
meanings and to some an elusive concept. Development is a process in which economic
growth, progress in environmental conditions and positive changes in social and demographic
components takes place. In other words, development can be defined as bringing about social
change that allows people to achieve their human potential. It is to create wealth and improve
quality of life of the population in a manner to create or expand avenues for local income and
employment opportunities without damaging the natural resources.

Conventionally, development has been classified into first, second, third world countries and
at different development status, various countries occupy different positions in this
'development continuum’. The countries have been grouped as global north/south and also
grouped at different stages of development like BRICS, The Americas and so on. Through the
years, ‘development’ has been looked from different lenses and researchers have come out
with a number of definitions and emphases for the term.

Amartya Sen, the Nobel Laureate, looked development from ‘capability approach ’and defines
it as a tool enabling people to reach the highest level of their ability, through granting freedom
of action in terms of economic, social and other factors. Using this approach, development is
measured by the HDI (Human Development Index). This was developed by the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP) in 90s and development was defined as a process of economic

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and social advancement in terms of quality of human life. UN has standardized its
measurement in terms of culture, wealth, education, healthcare, opportunities and termed it
as HDI- human development index. It measures based on 3 factors viz. life expectancy,
literacy/education, and standard of living. To measure the standard of living, per capita gross
domestic product (GDP) is used. GDP is value of goods and services divided by the number of
people in the country.

The ‘development’ continuum involves natural environment and is considered as conversion

of natural resources into cultural resources. As it is known, the basic function of economy is
to use and convert natural resource into goods and services useful to humans. In this
conversion process some waste is also generated. This results in various forms of pollution
into the environment as the process in not totally efficient. Hence, in economic activity,
environment functions as a source as well as a sink. With growth of economic activities more
and more goods and services are produced. It is generally assumed that these goods and
services provide humans with higher standard of living. This approach of development aims
to increase the size of the economy by way of increasing the output of goods and services
produced, which inevitably would require rawer material and energy and will generate more
waste impacting the environment. To assess the extent to which a country has developed may
be assessed by considering a range of narrow and broad indicators, including per capita
income, life expectancy, education, and the extent of poverty.

2.1 Economic Indicators (Change in Real GDP)

The economic development is measured by Gross National Product (GNP) per capita. There
are many possible measures of development of a country viz.: income per head, the
percentage of resources unexploited, capital per head, saving per head and amount of social
capital. However, increase in national income, per capita real incomes are commonly used
criteria of economic development along with comparative concept, standard of living and
economic welfare of the society.

The national income is commonly measured as Gross domestic product (GDP). It is the value
of expenditures on final goods and services at market prices produced by domestic factors of
production (labor, capital, materials) during a year. The ‘Gross’ implies that no deduction for
the reduction in the stock of plant and equipment due to wear and tear has been applied to
the measurements and survey-based estimates.

‘Domestic’ broadly means that the GDP includes only production by factors located within a
country. GDP also includes the production and income of foreigners and foreign-owned
property in the home country and excludes the production and incomes of the non-residents
and their property located abroad.

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‘Product’ refers to the measurement of output at final prices or of the market value of factors
(inclusive of taxes less subsidies) used in their production and only newly produced goods are
counted in GDP. Sales of used goods and sales from inventories of goods produced in prior
years are excluded, but the services of dealers, agents, and brokers in implementing these
transactions are included.

2.2 National Income as an Index of Development

National income is the total market value of production of an economy during a year. It can
be measured alternatively and equivalently in three ways:
i. Value of expenditures method
ii. Value of inputs used in production method
iii. Sum of value added at each level of production method.

Various economists have shown preference for the national income as index of development
where in the net national product (NNP) is preferred to gross national product (GNP), as it
better depicts the progress of a nation.

2.3 Per Capita Income as an Index of Development

Per capita national product is the most widely used measure of the level of national economic
development. Per capita income estimates are drawn from dividing the ‘national income’ by
size of population. This measure is used to assess sector's average income and compare the
wealth of different populations and often used to measure standard of living in a nation. It is
useful as it is easily calculable from readily available national income statistics and population
estimates, and produces a useful statistic for comparison of wealth between different
countries and for calculating the human development index.

2.4 Human Development Index (HDI)

The Human Development Index (HDI) (United Nations Development Programme, 1994) is a
comprehensive measure of socio-economic development. To compare the level of
development of different nations HDI approach is most commonly used as the GDP and per
capita income approaches are narrower indicator of economic development and fail to indicate
other aspects of development. HDI is a summary measure of average achievement in three key
dimensions of human development and a composite index of these social indicator:
a) Longevity (life expectancy),
b) Educational Attainment (adult literacy) and
c) Decent standard of living.

HDI value of a country is calculated by taking three indicators Longevity, Educational

attainment and decent standard of living and considers real GDP per capita. However, it
ignores some indicators of human development such as infant mortality, nutrition and such
others. The HDI has two main features:

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L15: Development and Poverty Alleviation

 A scale from 0 (no development) to 1 (complete development).

 An index, which is based on three equally weighted components:
i. Longevity, measured by life expectancy at birth
ii. Knowledge, measured by adult literacy and number of years children are
enrolled at school
iii. Standard of living, measured by real GDP per capita at purchasing power parity

HDI ranges from 0.897 in high human development countries, while for low human
development countries it is 0.436. India has moved up to 130th position from 189 rank in year
2018. India's HDI value for 2017 was 0.640 (UN, 2018). The United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) comprehensively analyses the comparative status of socio-economic
development in different countries and publishes the annual assessment in the form of
Human Development Reports.

3.0 UNDERSTANDING POVERTY

Poverty is a state of an individual, a family or a society where people are unable to fulfill even
their basic necessities of life. Poverty is a social phenomenon in which, necessities of a large
section of the population are not fulfilled. It exists across nations. When a substantial segment
of a society is deprived of the minimum level of quality of living and continues to be a bare
subsistence level, that society is said to be plagued with mass poverty (Rao, 2005). The
problem of poverty and unemployment is considered as the biggest challenge to development
planning of a nation and India is no exception. High poverty levels are synonymous with poor
quality of life, deprivation, malnutrition, illiteracy and low human resource development. In
view of this, to design effective policies, programmes and strategies to avert poverty in a given
country or region, it is important to look at its characteristics.

3.1 Poverty Concept

The concept of poverty is multi-dimensional and covers not only the levels of income and
consumption, but also levels of health and education, elements of vulnerability and risk, and
marginalization and exclusion of the poor from the mainstream. The lower levels of income
which restricts a family from attaining the basic necessities of life, including a minimum of
food, clothing, shelter and water are associated with income poverty. Non-income poverty
elements include deprivation in relation to health, education, sanitation and others. The
poverty concept has two dimensions viz. relative and absolute, one measures the affordability
and the other is about relative deprivation. These are discussed in the following section.

3.2 Poverty Definitions

Poverty is easier to recognize than to define and compare. Generally, poverty is defined with
reference to certain basic amenities such as food, shelter or floor space per person and
medical care, etc. When a family lacks a certain proportion of basic amenities, it is considered
poor, regardless of income. The definition is broad enough to cover a miser who denies himself

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L15: Development and Poverty Alleviation

basic amenities even though he has the ability to purchase these, and a family who has zero
income but manages to fulfill the basic needs by borrowing, reducing saving, or living on the
charity of friends and relatives.

Poverty is defined as a lack of income to acquire minimum necessities of life; per capita
income, per capita consumption expenditure, per capita calorie intake and availability of the
size of land holding, are the main indicators of poverty in different definitions (Sinha & Sen,
2000). Poverty has been defined in various ways using different standards.

Definitions by United Nations (Gordon, 2005) and The World Bank, (2001)

UNITED NATIONS
“Fundamentally, poverty is denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of
human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It
means not having enough to feed and clothe to family, not having a school or clinic
to go to not having the land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s
living, and not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and
exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to
violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without
access to clean water or sanitation.”

WORLD BANK
“Poverty is pronounced as deprivation in well-being, and comprises many
dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and
services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses low levels of
health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate
physical security, lack of voice and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better
one’s life”

3.3 Poverty Measurement

The poverty measure is a statistical function which implies the comparison of the indicators
of household well-being and the chosen poverty line into one aggregate number for a
population. Here population can be considered as a whole or as a population sub-group. Many
methods of measurements exist, but broadly following three approaches of poverty
measurement are used (The World Bank, 2002):
a) Headcount index: the percentage of the population living in households with a
consumption per capita less than the poverty line, i.e. share of population living below
poverty line and is also known as incidence of poverty.

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b) Poverty gap index: the mean distance below the poverty line expressed as a proportion
of that line, where the mean is formed over the entire population, counting the non-
poor as having zero poverty gap, i.e. how far off households are from the poverty line
and known as depth of poverty.
c) Squared poverty gap index: it is similar to poverty gap index except that it is the mean
of the squared proportionate poverty gaps, such that the resulting measure penalizes
inequality amongst the poor, i.e. it takes into account the distance separating poor
from the poverty line and also the inequality amongst them.

3.4 Human Poverty Index (HPI)

The United Nations Development has created a measurement system based on what is lacking
in different areas of the world known as ‘Human Poverty Index’. First launched in 1990, to
complement the Human Development Index, United Nations uses Human Poverty Index to
signify the standard of living in a specific country. It measures the deprivation levels
experienced by people in different countries. It encapsulates the factors such as short life
expectancy, low literacy rates and overall living conditions. Recently, a new poverty index HPI-
2 has been introduced to measures poverty in industrial countries. This has been done to
better reflect socio-economic differences and also addressing widely different measures of
deprivation in two groups of countries. Since 2007, the HPI is derived separately for
developing countries (HPI-1) and a group of select high-income Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) countries (HPI-2).

3.5 2018 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (2018 MPI)

Addressing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 2018 MPI (Initiative, 2018) is
estimated for poverty eradication that goes beyond the economic deprivation and measures
acute multi-dimensional deprivations in 105 countries covering 77 percent of the global
population. Looking beyond the economic parameters of income the MPI measures how
people experience poverty in multiple and simultaneous ways. In this method dimensions of
poverty identifies how people are being left behind in terms of health, education and standard
of living and is assessed on ten weighted indicators:
i. Nutrition,
ii. Child mortality,
iii. Years of schooling,
iv. School attendance,
v. Cooking Fuel,
vi. Sanitation,
vii. Drinking Water,
viii. Electricity,
ix. Housing
x. Assets.

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People who experience deprivation in at least one third of these weighted indicators fall into
the category of multi-dimensionally poor.

3.6 Poverty Line

In estimation of poverty, generally the concept of the ‘poverty line’ is used. A common method
used to measure poverty is based on the income or consumption levels. A person is considered
poor if his or her income or consumption level falls below a given ‘minimum level’ necessary
to fulfill basic needs. What is necessary to satisfy basic needs is different at different times
and in different countries. Therefore, poverty line may vary with time and place. Each country
uses an imaginary line that is considered appropriate for its existing level of development and
its accepted minimum social norms. In the early 1950s, about 85% of the poor lived in rural
areas and depended on the rural economy for sustenance. It is thus not surprising to find that
it was rural growth that largely determined the magnitude of poverty reduction in the country.
This is borne out by a decomposition analysis of the total decline in poverty into three
components representing the contributions of:
a) rural growth
b) urban growth
c) a distributional component representing changes in inequality and the shift of
population from rural to urban areas.

3.7 Absolute Poverty

Absolute poverty, is measured in terms of the ability of the population to afford a minimum
standard of living typically specified as a minimum level of per capita consumption or income
for the household and the level varies from country to country depending on their economic
conditions. And absolute poverty line is fixed in terms of the standard indicator being used
and fixed over the entire domain of the poverty comparison. It is useful for analyzing impacts
of anti-poverty policies over time of a scheme or a project (for example, micro-credit) on
poverty (Haughton & Shahidur, 2009) . Estimating absolute poverty line, absolute standard
minimum physical quantities of agriculture produce used like cereals, pulses, milk, butter etc.
are determined for a sustenance level and then those physical quantities are converted using
price quotient into monetary terms (Datt, 2008).

3.8 Relative Poverty

Relative poverty is described as ‘relative deprivation’ because the people in this category are
not living in total poverty but are not able to get the same standard of life as everyone else in
the country. It views poverty as socially defined and dependent on social context, hence
relative poverty is a measure of income inequality. Usually, relative poverty is measured as
the percentage of population with income less than some fixed proportion of median income.
According to the relative standard, income distribution of the population in different fractile
groups is estimated and a comparison of the levels of living of the top 5 to10 percent with the
bottom 5 to 10 percent of the population reflects the relative standards of poverty. There

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L15: Development and Poverty Alleviation

exists a lacuna in this approach, it indicates the relative position of different segments of the
population in the income hierarchy. Even in affluent societies, such pockets of poverty exist,
but for underdeveloped countries, the existence of mass poverty that is alarming (Datt, 2008).

3.9 Rural Poverty

Poverty found in rural areas is considered as rural poverty. This includes the factors of rural
society, rural economy and rural political systems. India being agrarian in nature, maximum
population lives in rural areas. The rural poverty is a major concern in India. Many poverty
studies deal mostly with rural areas as the vast majority of poor are in African and Asian region
and live in rural settlements. These studies have tried to look at the reasons for rural poverty
and amongst the various reasons, the main reasons identified are;
a) Rapid population growth
b) Lack of capital
c) Excessive population pressure on agriculture
d) Illiteracy
e) Regional disparities
f) Lack of alternate employment opportunities other than agriculture
g) Lack of proper implementation of public distribution system.
h) Indifferent attitude towards investment

In India, rural poverty largely emanates from the semi–feudal relations of production in the
agriculture. It is attributed to rapid population growth that puts pressure on the limited land
base which leads to fall in real per capita income of labour and rural economy get crippled by
decline of labour productivity and employment as well as by the increases in food prices.

3.10 Urban Poverty

In last decade the global urban population has increased many folds. As per the recent UN
estimates nearly 48% of global population now lives in urban areas and the rapid growth in
city dwellers are developing countries including India. The number of towns and the absolute
urban population in India has risen during the last six decades. More than 25% of India’s
population now lives in urban settlements implying that poverty are no more a rural
phenomenon in India.

Urban poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon. The challenges faced by urban poor in

their daily life are many and are of many dimensions. The majority of them face the problems
of limited access to employment opportunities and gainful income, inadequacy of housing and
services and insecurity. The prevalence of violent and unhealthy environments and little or no
social protection mechanisms, including limited access to adequate health and education
opportunities are ever growing for urban poor. Therefore, urban poverty is not only collection
of characteristics but also ever evolving and changing conditions of vulnerability and
susceptibility to risk (Baker, 2008).

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L15: Development and Poverty Alleviation

4.0 NEED OF (SUSTAINABLE) DEVELOPMENT FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION

Poverty is a major cause and effect of global environmental problems as stated in the
influential Brundtland Commission in a sentence that captures widely held beliefs: Poor people
are often seen as compelled to exploit their surrounding for short-term survival and are
assumed to be the ones most exposed to natural resources degradation. With economic
development poverty alleviation became focal point of international development policies
and initiatives. In 1990, the World Development Report published with the title ‘Poverty’ and
in the same year the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its Human
Development Report emphasized on poverty reduction by way of access to social services like
health and education. The poverty alleviation and development remain a daunting task as
even in Rio+20 Conference (UNCSD) 2012 reported as ‘Eradicating poverty is the greatest
global challenge facing the world today and an indispensable requirement for sustainable
development. In this regard we are committed to freeing humanity from poverty and hunger
as a matter of urgency‟ (UN, 2012). The report highlighted the approach to sustainable
development by promoting policy measures of;
a) promoting sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth
b) creating greater opportunities for all
c) reducing inequalities
d) raising basic standards of living
e) fostering equitable social development and inclusion
f) promoting integrated and sustainable management of natural resources and
ecosystems.

These measures focus on ecosystem conservation, regeneration and restoration and resilience in the
face of new and emerging challenges. In developing countries, the poverty alleviation programmes
have been add-on measures of the development plan for overall economic growth. The international
development investments have largely focused on rural development in developing countries. The
development landscape is being addressed with emphasis on creation of infrastructure and the basic
amenities of electricity, water, sewerage and sanitation etc. continues to be the major problems of the
poor. In the global development agendas of sustainable development goals, the developmental
priorities of poor are crucial for poverty alleviation.

4.1 From MDGs to SDGs

In September 2000, at the UN Millennium Summit, the UN General Assembly adopted the
United Nations Millennium Declaration. The Declaration, which called for a global partnership
to reduce extreme poverty, was the first ever global strategy with quantifiable targets to be
agreed upon by all UN member states and the world’s leading development institutions. To
support the Declaration, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan established eight
accompanying objectives. These objectives (listed below in Table 1) were set with a deadline
of 2015 and became known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (Nations, 2011).

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L15: Development and Poverty Alleviation

Table 1: Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower
women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for
development

In the post-2015 development agenda, overcoming the MDGs focus, the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) were uniformly made applicable to all countries of the world. And
while there are similarities in regard to the format of the MDGs and the SDGs – e.g. each
framed the international development agenda for a 15-year period. The SDGs focuses on a
global development with an understanding that the environment is not an add-on and is not
against sustainable development. SDGs were structured as foundations of all goals. This
resulted in the SDGs included new themes which reflect an approach that sees the
environment, economy and society as embedded systems rather than separate competing
‘pillars’ in comparison to the MDGs which maintained a retrospectively narrow focus on
poverty reduction. In the SDGs, the urban areas, water and sanitation, energy, and climate
change are all prominent. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development consists of 17 SDGs
(SDGs, 2015) listed below in Table 2.

Table 2: The 17 Sustainable Development Goals

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable
agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning
opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment, and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and
foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L15: Development and Poverty Alleviation

12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (noting agreements made
by the UNFCCC forum)
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable
development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably
manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation, and halt
biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access
to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for
sustainable development.

To achieve the economic betterment of the poorer sections, it is important to augment the
social transformation involving structural changes, educational development, growth in
awareness, and change in out-look, motivation and attitudes. As mentioned in the roadmap
for SDGs ‘‘all of the SDGs have targets directly related to the responsibilities of local and
regional governments’. However, the SDGs are not legally binding, governments are expected
to establish national frameworks to achieve the goals.

5.0 SUMMARY
It is clear from the above discussions that sustainable development and poverty alleviation
are interdependent. Development is must for poverty alleviation. However, if development is
not sustainable then in the long run, it will lead to increased poverty rather than poverty
alleviation. For example, depletion of resources will lead to increase in scarcity and cost of
products and services which will affect the lower income group people leading to increase in
poverty. Similarly, poor people striving for survival will try to use, whatever resources are in
their reach, for example cutting trees for fuel or defecating in open. This will lead to
environmental degradation. Thus, sustainable development is required for poverty alleviation
and poverty alleviation is required for sustainable development. The close scrutiny of above
17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reveals that most of these goals have element of
poverty alleviation by making development more inclusive (in terms of gender, age, race and
geographical regions). Thus, it may be concluded that sustainable development and poverty
alleviation have synergic relationship and are inter-building and inter-dependent.

*****

BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Baker, J. L. (2008). Urban poverty: a global view.
[2] Datt, R. (2008). Growth, poverty, and equity: Story of India’s economic development.
Deep and Deep Publications.

AICTE–NITTT Module 2: Professional Ethics and Sustainability NITTTR, Bhopal Page 14

Unit 4: Sustainable Development L15: Development and Poverty Alleviation

[3] Gordon, D. (2005). Indicators of poverty & hunger. Expert Group Meeting on Youth
Development Indicators, 12–14. United Nations Headquarters New York.
[4] Haughton, J., & Shahidur, R. K. (2009). Handbook on Poverty + Inequality. The World
Bank. [Link]
[5] Initiative, O. P. and H. D. (2018). Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2018: The
Most Detailed Picture To Date of the World’s Poorest People. In Global
Multidimensional Poverty Index 2018: The Most Detailed Picture To Date of the
World’s Poorest People, University of Oxford, UK.
[6] Nations, U. (2011). Millenium Development Goals Background. Retrieved
11/01/2011, 2011, from [Link] un. org/millenniumgoals/bkgd. shtml.
[7] Rao, K. N. (2005). Poverty in India: Global and Regional Dimensions. Deep and Deep
Publications.
[8] SDGs, U. N. (2015). United Nations sustainable development goals. UN. Org.
[9] Sinha, A. K., & Sen, R. K. (2000). Economics of Amartya Sen. Deep and Deep
Publications.
[10] The World Bank. (2001). World Development Report 2000/2001: Attacking Poverty.
In World Development Report 2000/2001 - Attacking Poverty.
[Link]
[11] The World Bank. (2002). A sourcebook for Poverty Reduction Strategies. In
Macroeconomic and Sectoral Approaches.
[12] UN. (2012). United Nations. The Future We Want: Outcome document adopted at
Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development. Rio de Janeiro Meeting.
[Link]
[13] UN. (2018). Human Development Indices and Indicators. 2018 Statistical Update.
United Nations Development Programme.
[14] United Nations Development Programme. (1994). Human Development Report 1994
- Ch2 - New dimensions of human security. In United Nations Development
Programme.
[Link]
mplete_nostats.pdf

FURTHER READINGS
[15] C. Stevens and N. Kanie, The transformative potential of the sustainable development
goals (SDGs), Springer, 2016.
[16] J. Rapley, Understanding development: Theory and practice in third world, Routledge,
2013.
[17] Millennium Development Goals by the United Nations
[18] Potter, R. B., and E. McAlasan. 2000. Urban Poverty and Urban Development
Commission in Barbados, West Indies. Geography 85(3):263-267. (Read on JSTOR)
[19] R. K. Payne, ‘A framework for understanding poverty,’ 2005.
[20] Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations
Urban Poverty: An Overview by the World Bank

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L15: Development and Poverty Alleviation

DISCUSSION FORUM

a) Discuss influence of economic growth on poverty alleviation.

b) ‘Growth becomes more pro-poor’ Comment and supplement your opinion.
c) Discuss the role of rural and urban economic growth on poverty reduction.
d) Evaluate growth influence in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the
economy contributed to poverty alleviation.
e) Analyse the role of different poverty lines for different countries.

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 L–16: Impact of Development on
Ecosystem: Panch-tatva (पंच-तत्व)

Contributors

Dr. A. K. Jain
(Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering)

Dr. S. S. Kedar
(Associate Professor, Department of Electronic Media)

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462 002
Unit 4: Sustainable Development L16: Impact of Development on Ecosystems: Effect on Panch-tatva

Lesson – 16

Impact of Development on Ecosystem: Panch-tatva (पंच-तत्व)

Learning outcomes: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
LO 1. Describe the role of Panch-tatva in sustenance of human life.
LO 2. Describe the impact of development on the Panch-tatva.
LO 3. Describe role of technical teachers in managing Panch-tatva.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 ROLE OF PANCH-TATVA IN SUSTENANCE OF HUMAN LIFE........................................................................ 3

3.0 ROLE OF TECHNICAL TEACHERS IN MANAGING PANCH-TATVAS .............................................................. 5

4.0 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................. 8

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................................ 8

FURTHER READINGS ................................................................................................................................................ 8

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L16: Impact of Development on Ecosystems: Effect on Panch-tatva

Lesson – 16
Impact of Development on Ecosystem: Panch-tatva (पंच-तत्व (

1.0 INTRODUCTION
The word 'panch-tatva’ is a combination of two words from Sanskrit. 'Panch' stands for five
while 'tatva' means the basic ‘elements’ of the planet earth. One of the laws states that,
everything on this planet is composed of five basic elements (tatvas) viz: Earth (Prithvi),
Water (Jal), Fire (Agni), Air (Vayu), and Space/Sky (Akash). The widespread exploitation of
these five elements (Panch-tatva) in the guise of development is affecting the sustainability
and thereby have a negative impact on human life. The ‘ecological footprint’ is one way of
measuring sustainability, which refers to the ability of a population to support itself in the
present without compromising that ability for the future. [Link] defines
Ecological Footprint as: A measure of how much area of biologically productive land and
water an individual, population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes
and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing technology and resource management
practices. This lesson discusses the various dimensions of the delicate balance of the use of
panch-tatva with regard to ecological footprint.

2.0 ROLE OF PANCH-TATVA IN SUSTENANCE OF HUMAN LIFE

The 'panch-tatva' impact the human life in different ways. For a peaceful and healthy life,
human beings need to learn how to manage their life by living in harmony with the panch-
tatva. Therefore, this section discusses in brief some of the aspects of the 5 basic elements
which God has created for the sustenance of human life.

2.1 Earth
Humans live on this earth which is one of the 'panch-tatva', which houses the soil, landscape,
flora and fauna. With its tremendous magnetic fields and gravitational force, it keeps the
ecosystem i.e. every living and non-living thing grounded to the earth. Human not only live
on it, but also live because of it for sustenance and in this process exploit it. The earth
contains various natural resources which help in the sustenance and well-being of human
beings. They can be categorised as energy resources (such as petroleum, coal, uranium,
renewable energy sources such as wind, tidal, solar and others), metallic resources (such as
iron, copper, aluminium, gold and others) and non-metallic resources (such as soil for plant
life, sand, granite, gypsum and others). All these are used by human beings and the
unabated exploitation of the earth by the humans have created problems of sustainability
which need to be addressed urgently.

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L16: Impact of Development on Ecosystems: Effect on Panch-tatva

2.2 Water
Water another tatva of the 'panch-tatva' is an important component of any ecosystem. 70%
of the earth is water and the same goes for the human body. The role of water is to maintain
all ecosystems on the planet. In an ecosystem, water cycles through the atmosphere, soil,
rivers, lakes, and oceans. The main function of water is to propel plant growth; provide a
permanent dwelling for all species that live within it, or provide a temporary home or
breeding ground for multiple amphibians, insects and other water-borne organisms; and to
provide the nutrients and minerals necessary to sustain physical life.

As nature's most important nutrient, all human beings and living organisms need water to
grow and survive. Fresh water makes up only 1% of the Earth’s surface, but they provide a
home for a considerably large number of the world’s species. In many ways, human beings
depend on freshwater ecosystems for survival, but their impact on these waterways can be
devastating. However, the ecosystem of a freshwater lake or river can be extremely fragile.
History records that over the centuries, many of the fresh water rivers are no more, such as
the Sindhu and the others. Human activities can be detrimental to the health of the fresh
water lakes and rivers in a number of ways: such as developing structures, diverting their
flow, polluting them, and draining them of resources.

2.3 Fire
Fire is another tatva of the 'panch-tatva' and is the source of energy and light. Sun is source
of fire that gives light on earth. In the absence of Sun, there will be no light on earth.
Without the sun there would be no life on the earth. The fire emanating from the sun gives
energy and light to all. Fire is the major source of all kind of energies on earth. The need of
energy for human life is always a high priority. There are many energy sources available.
Some pollute the environment and others do not such as the renewable energy sources of
wind, solar, tidal and so on. It is the controlled use of fire that helps a sustainable
development. This energy could be from various sources - coal, uranium, wood, solar, wind,
waves, tidal power and so on. By understanding the characteristics of these, it will help in
the right use of this 'tatva'.

2.4 Air
Air is another one of the 'panch-tatva' which can also be linked to the atmosphere. Absence
of air means absence of life on earth or any other living thing for that matter. Air is
composed of gases and elements that are essential for the survival of all species. It is
another powerful life source that is important to sustain life in all its forms for the flora and
fauna as well. Human beings breathe in oxygen because of which they live and life goes on.
Further, it makes life comfortable. Although you cannot see it, you can feel it. The air thrown
by the fan or the blower of the air conditioner gives comfort to the human beings. It can also
be observed that without the air, neither the birds can fly nor can the aero planes move in
the sky. Air is generally constructive, but at times it can be destructive, especially when it

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L16: Impact of Development on Ecosystems: Effect on Panch-tatva

attains very high speeds uprooting trees and causing damage to everything that comes in its
way. Keeping the air pollution free is what has to be done by every human being.

2.5 Sky/Space
Sky/Space is another tatva of the 'panch-tatva'. Sky has been considered the free space of
the universe. Space is the only element which does not have any limit. The clear blue sky
above acts as a shelter to the earth in the day, while at night it serves as a gateway to the
starry galaxies that exist light years away from human beings. Throughout history human
beings have looked to the sky to navigate the vast oceans, to decide when to plant their
crops, manufacture various things and such other matters. The sky is the vast open space
that accommodates everything. When the activities in the space take place, then only the
earth is able to receive light, heat, gravity, magnetic fields and others. All these changes in
the natural phenomenon affects human life as well. Thus, the significance of space or sky
cannot be overlooked when you think of sustainable development or sustainability.

3.0 ROLE OF TECHNICAL TEACHERS IN MANAGING PANCH-TATVAS

Development is required for the sustenance of human beings. In the race for development,
knowingly and unknowingly, it is affecting the 'panch-tatvas', which in turn is affecting the
life of human beings on this planet earth. How technical teachers can manage the panch-
tatva, by involving the students is discussed in briefly in the following paragraphs.

3.1 Managing the Use of 'Earth'

The earth is responsible for the existence of human life and all species. Therefore,
consumption of the geological or natural resources has become part and parcel of everyday
life of human beings and has become essential for survival. However, you as a technical
teacher need to communicate the judicious use of the various resources of the earth for
sustainability through the various courses that you will be teaching.

Overuse or distorted use of the earth's resources without planning for remedial measures is
mismanagement of the use of 'Earth'. Landfills are present all over the country. If the items
before the land is filled are segregated, the soil and the groundwater will not be
contaminated due to seepages. Alternatively, biomass energy could be generated from
different types of wastes. For example, unless re-plantation of trees and vegetation are not
undertaken after the cutting of trees and vegetation, it can affect rainfall, flooding, and
related problems. The students need to be made aware of these through various types of
student projects and activities. Therefore, as a technical teacher, students could be taught
and encouraged to adapt various kinds of constructive techniques and technologies to utilise
the earth’s resources without polluting the environment.

Activity 1
As a technical teacher, describe what you will do to spread the message in the students
to manage the use of this 'tatva' i.e. Earth for sustainable development.

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L16: Impact of Development on Ecosystems: Effect on Panch-tatva

3.2 Managing the Use of 'Water'

A number of forces continue to seriously affect the natural water resources. Many of these
are primarily the result of human actions and include ecosystem and landscape changes,
sedimentation, pollution, over-abstraction and climate change. In the name of development,
human beings are over-exploiting water around the world. A decrease in water availability
can affect agriculture, farmland, livestock, and other living organisms (including humans) in
the area. Human beings can damage Earth's fragile freshwater ecosystems in a number of
ways. Industry can divert water away from other bodies of water

In many places, the humans are altering and even destroying fresh water ecosystems. When
consumption outstrips the natural regeneration of the waterways, it will greatly affect the
flora and fauna. Over-pumping of water from lakes and other reservoirs puts pressure on
aquatic populations, reducing the amount of living space available. Often, municipal waste
water and sewage water also contaminate the ground water. As a technical teacher it is your
duty to stir up young minds to come up with ways and means to avoid contamination of
water sources, ground water and ensure the judicious use of water bodies and waterways. .
So whatever development projects are undertaken, the use of water should be from
sustainability in view.

Activity 2
As a technical teacher, describe what will you do to spread the message in the students
to manage the use of 'tatva' of ‘water' for sustainability.

3.3 Managing the Use of 'Fire'

The use of the tatva 'fire' (energy) judiciously will help in sustainable development on the
planet earth. As the saying goes, ‘Fire is good servant, but a bad master’. Fire i.e. energy can
destroy or create many things. For example, for the first time in many centuries in early
September 2019 the uncontrolled fire destroyed several hundred acres of the Amazon rain
forests, that spans across several countries in the continent of South America, as well as the
Australian bush fires and the California fires creating a panic of the climate change that could
have been disastrous for the whole world. At the same time, it is known how the controlled
coal fired thermal power stations generate millions of units of energy for the comfortable
living of human beings. With the advancement of technology, renewable energy has become
techno-economically viable for sustainable development. Therefore, it is high time that the
students are continuously informed through the various courses and projects and through all
the various technology programmes which are being offered that the lesser use of energy
sources such as coal and others that pollute the environment is good for sustainable
development.

Activity 3
As a technical teacher, describe what you will do to spread the message in the students
to manage the judicious use the 'tatva' of 'fire' for sustainability.

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L16: Impact of Development on Ecosystems: Effect on Panch-tatva

3.4 Managing the Use of 'Air'

Pure air is very much essential for all humans and living things. However, in today’s villages,
towns and cities, atmospheric pollution happens due to agricultural activity, construction,
and mining. As days go by, the pollution level rises in various towns and cities, where
uncontrolled industrial activities take place continuously. The industrial revolution has led to
rapid increase in man-made air pollution. The fossil fuels burning pollute the atmosphere.
Use of fossil fuel produces 10 times more greenhouse gases compared to that goes in the
atmosphere through natural processes. This has created much discomfort and diseases in
human beings and living things. This type of pollution is much grave during winters when the
smog in the atmosphere even disrupts the landing and take-off of aero planes disrupting a
sustainable living.

In this backdrop, it is the duty of the technical teachers and the technical education system
to address these issues both in the teaching and curriculum. You can try out various types of
activities which could be curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular to help the students
become aware of this issue and come up with innovations, methods and lifestyles to
minimise air pollution.

Activity 4
As a technical teacher, list down some curricular, co-curricular and/or extra-curricular
activities to address the issue of minimizing air pollution for sustainable development.

3.5 Managing the Use of 'Sky/Space'

The sky is the unlimited space which can hold as many things as possible. Its blue colour
during the day, grey when the rains come and it is black when the sun ‘hides’ behind the
earth, once in every 24 hours. The sky’s capacity is limitless. It holds all the natural satellites
that God has created in the sky. It also holds the additional artificial satellites that humans
throw into it, through the various rocket launches. Many of the artificial satellites have been
put into space by various countries for various purposes. Some of them are weather
satellites for early warnings for the safety of human beings from the vagaries of the weather.
This will help human beings on earth so that remedial measures are taken and human and
animal lives are saved. Others are communication satellites in the sky and still others are
military satellites for defence purposes. But question is should the sky also be littered trash,
unless and until it is absolutely needed for a sustainable life. These are the questions to
ponder and could also be taken up as debates and panel discussions for the students, by the
students and of the students.

ACTIVITY 5
As a technical teacher, list the activities that will help the students to creatively manage
the sustainable use of the ‘sky’.

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L16: Impact of Development on Ecosystems: Effect on Panch-tatva

4.0 SUMMARY
‘Ecological footprints’ and ‘Carbon footprints’ are both ways of measuring something’s
impact on the environment. A carbon footprint measures the total amount of greenhouse
gas emissions caused by an individual, organization, or activity. The Ecological Footprint
definition is simply a way to measure how much you use and consume, in relation to the
environment’s capacity to provide and support your needs. It calculates your impact to the
environment. Therefore, the discussion thus far on the 'panch-tatva' makes it the
responsibility of the technical teachers as well to pass on and encourage the students whom
they teach to manage all the 5 ‘panch-tatva’ for the sustainable development on this planet
earth.

****
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Network, G. F. (2016). Earth Overshoot Day. [Link] zugegriffen am
28.01.2014 unter
[Link]
[2] O’Neill, D. W., Fanning, A. L., Lamb, W. F., & Steinberger, J. K. (2018). A good life for all within
planetary boundaries. Nature Sustainability, 1(2), 88–95. [Link]
018-0021-4
[3] UN. (2015). Global Sustainable Development Report: 2015 edition. Global Sustainable
Development Report: 2015 Edition.
[4] Wachernagel, M., & Rees, W. (1996). Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on
the Earth. In The New Catalyst Bioregional Series.
[5] Wackernagel, M., Monfreda, C., & Deumling, D. (2002). Ecological Footprint of Nations.
Sustainability Issue Brief.
[6] Zakari, R., Zolfagharian, S., Nourbakhsh, M., Mohammad Zin, R., & Gheisari, M. (2012).
Ecological Footprint of Different Nations. International Journal of Engineering and
Technology. [Link]

FURTHER READINGS
[7] [Link] accessed on
23September 2019
[8] [Link] accessed on 23
September 2019
[9] [Link] accessed on 23 September 2019
[10] [Link] accessed on 23
September 2019

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L16: Impact of Development on Ecosystems: Effect on Panch-tatva

Lesson -16 DISCUSSION FORUM

Start a discussion on social media on some methods/techniques/strategies of managing

one or more of the Panch-tatva.

AICTE–NITTT Module 2: Professional Ethics and Sustainability NITTTR, Bhopal L16 Page 9
 L–17: Sustainable Development:
Concept and Environmental Ethics

Contributors

Prof. (Mrs.) Chanchal Mehra

(Associate Professor, Department of Vocational Education &
Entrepreneurship Development)

Prof. (Mrs.) Asmita A. Khajanchee

(Associate Professor, Department of Electronic Media)

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462 002
Unit 4: Sustainable Development L17: Sustainable Development: Concept and Environmental Ethics

Lesson – 17

Sustainable Development: Concept and Environmental Ethics

Learning Outcome: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain the
concept of sustainable development and the impact of environmental ethics.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................................................... 3

3.0 INTEGRATING CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION ..................... 5

4.0 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS ....................................................................................................... 5

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS ......................................................................................................................... 6

6.0 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................. 8

BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................................................................................... 8

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L17: Sustainable Development: Concept and Environmental Ethics

Lesson – 17
Sustainable Development: Concept and Environmental Ethics

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Almost every sector of Indian Economy today is considering the concept of sustainable
development and sustainability whether it is education, construction, energy, transportation
textile and such others for all its future endeavours. The same is being done world over by
developed and developing economies in tune with the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) which were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September
2015, with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. National Board of
Accreditation (NBA), the accreditation agency for undergraduate engineering
programme has also included environment and sustainability as one of its Programme
Outcomes (POs). In this context, it is essential that all teachers should be trained in this
area so that they plan and implement the various courses integrating the concept of
sustainable development and environmental ethics. This will help in ach ieving the
programme outcome PO-7 of Engineering Undergraduate Programme i.e. ‘Environment
and sustainability’: Students should ‘understand the impact of the professional engineering
solutions in societal and environmental contexts, and demonstrate the knowledge of, and need
for sustainable development’. Although the term ‘Sustainable Development’ has become
popular yet fiercely queried by professionals due to its vagueness. Jonathon Porritt, past
Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission said, ‘Sustainable development is
a notoriously slippery term that can mean practically nothing to people, or practically
everything’. It therefore becomes imperative to go through various definitions to focus on that
is applicable in technical education system, as discussed in this lesson.

2.0 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The concept of sustainable development is on a high note the world over and is also on the
international development agenda, enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Since, September 2015, this concept has
entered into almost every sector of the economy and has now become ubiquitous. In one
form or the other sustainable development and sustainability is one of the themes in majority
of international conferences, country reports, company manuals and advertisements of
products and utilities such as cars, appliances, energy production, consumer goods and other
places.

The most quoted definition of ‘sustainable development’ is from Brundtland Report (WCED,
1987) which says ‘Sustainable development is that which meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. This
definition was commented by many authors due to its limitation towards the human needs
and wants mainly social and economic needs in nature. Moreover, it does not mention

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L17: Sustainable Development: Concept and Environmental Ethics

explicitly about the natural environment. However, the report as a whole makes it clear that
these ‘needs’ include the conservation of the natural environment (Daley).

According to Diesendorf, Sustainable development comprises types of economic and social

development which protect and enhance the natural environment and social equity. This
definition conveys explicitly about three aspects: economic, ecological, and social with
emphasis on ecological and social equity (Diesendorf, 2000). In other words, social and
economic development is sustainable, provided that it protects and enhances the
environment and social equity.

According to Ben Daley, sustainable development is the critical relationship between

environment and development, as well as the choices we make – collectively and individually
– about these things, and this is at the heart of what sustainable development is about. The
first definition quoted in Brundtland report does not explicitly mention about role of
economic, social and environmental factors towards sustainable development. Whereas,
these are mentioned explicitly in the other two. All the above three definitions emphasize on
two problems faced by humans viz. global poverty (social and economic) and global
environmental change. These two issues led to the emergence of the idea about sustainable
development. Thus, development that focuses on social and economic aspects together with
environment must be considered together for promoting sustainable development.

To summarise what has been discussed so far, it is essential that for Sustainable Development
in any sector of economy whether education, energy, housing, transport and others,
government and private planners and implementers, need to focus on the three
interconnected elements within their sector. These are economic growth, social inclusion and
environmental protection. Integrated actions taken in this direction will help in reducing
poverty, inequality and climate change.

1 • Economic Growth

2 • Social Inclusion

3 • Environmental Protection

Thus sustainable development may be defined as a process in which an organization, group of

organizations or individuals plan and implement their course of actions in all forms of work
for economic, social and environment development. Development in any one of these
whether positive or negative will usually have a knock-on effect on the other two elements.
So, for ‘sustainable development’, proper balance between social, economic and environment

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is essential. In real sense, it is difficult to achieve but, not impossible. Engineering education
can play a key role in promoting and understanding the issue of sustainable development
through its various courses being offered to students.

3.0 INTEGRATING CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ENGINEERING

EDUCATION
In order to make the engineering education meaningful and responsive, it is now necessary to
adopt a transformative learning approach together with an adaptive process that equips
students with new knowledge and also promotes new ways of thinking. This is essential, when
they are working on real life problems in laboratories, projects and during internship and
providing sustainable solutions that are economically viable, socially relevant and
environmentally friendly. It is therefore your responsibility to promote such learning skills
among your students which are resilient in the sense that they fulfil the demands of future as
well. Alvin Toffler says, ‘The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and
write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.’ So prepare your students for the
future, where they can apply the skills already learned, remain ready to learn the new skills
and unlearn the skills that are not relevant’.

4.0 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly
in September 2015, with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. There are 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an indivisible set of global priorities that
incorporate economic, social and environmental aspects and recognise their inter-linkages in
achieving sustainable development. Following is the list of 17 SDGs. Brief description about
these can be read by accessing :
[Link]
_En.pdf
GOAL 1: No Poverty
GOAL 2: Zero Hunger
GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being
GOAL 4: Quality Education
GOAL 5: Gender Equality
GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality
GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
GOAL 13: Climate Action
GOAL 14: Life Below Water

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GOAL 15: Life on Land

GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal.

The purpose of including 17 SDGs in this lesson is for identification of the course relevant
micro and major projects for engineering students that are in some way associated with these
17 integrated SDGs and 169 associated targets. A brief outline of these is given in Annexure A.
Make your students aware of these goals and associated targets so that they start thinking
and appreciate the need for sustainable development and contributing in this direction.

Activity - 1
A suggestive list of topics that has potential to address issue of sustainable development
in engineering education is given. Prepare a write up of maximum 600 words (on 3 topics)
covering economic, social and environment aspects for inclusion of these in the course
curriculum. You may even add new topics of your choice.
a) Sector specific design solutions
b) Ethical considerations
c) Transportation
d) Construction
e) Energy solutions
f) Recycling
g) Waste Management
h) Rainwater conservation.

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

The fast depletion of natural resources, extinction of species, habitat destruction, climate
change is the cumulative effect of impact of modern technology, population growth and
increased consumption. These are detrimental to humans having dependency on
environment. One of the major concerns of educationist today is that the young generation is
drifting away from nature and is willingly engrossed in non-human materialistic world. The
need for environmental ethics in engineering education has been felt so as to bring changes
in young minds in making decisions about interaction with the natural environment. Most of
the choices made by human have ecological repercussions like choice of food, mode of travel,
recreation practice, type of home, waste disposal practice, energy usage, family size (number
of children) and many more.

At this stage, you might be wondering why focus now is shifted to environmental ethics from
ethics, in general, which were discussed in preceding lessons. The purpose of including this is
‘Environmental Ethics’ to include non-human world as well, as they surpass the traditional
boundaries of ethics (which solely include humans). Holmes Rolston III pointed that
environmental ethics stretches Classical Ethics to its breaking point. By Classical Ethics Rolston

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L17: Sustainable Development: Concept and Environmental Ethics

means system of morality that apply only to humans and such ethical systems are
Anthropocentric. Environmental ethics go beyond humans (anthropocentric) to include the
moral concerns for other mammals, perhaps lower animals and plants (biocentric) and finally
even entire ecosystem (ecocentric) (Gudrof & Huchingson, 2010).

If you consider that only humans have intrinsic value, then it is known as anthropocentric
environmental ethics. If non-human animals and plants are considered to have intrinsic value,
then it is biocentric environmental ethics and when you consider that biological and ecological
entities have intrinsic value then this is eco-centric environmental ethics.

Environmental ethics thus broadly relates to value of nature and ecological relationship
covering ethical significance for non-living (e.g., landscape); living but not sentient, i.e. having
feelings (e.g., plant); sentient but not human (e.g., animal); and collectives (e.g., species and
ecosystems); [Sandler, 2018]. Thus, environmental ethics may be considered as a bigger
umbrella within which inter-personal ethics is one component.

It is the ethical belief, that humans alone possess intrinsic value. In contra-perspective, all
other beings hold value only in their ability to serve humans, or possess instrumental value.
This is not true in all circumstances. The instrumental value is the value of things as means to
further serve some other ends. Whereas, the intrinsic value is the value of things as ends in
themselves. Intrinsic value is a non-relational property i.e. its value depends on the existence
of nothing else. For example, a certain wild plant may have instrumental value because it
provides the ingredients for some medicine or as an aesthetic object for human. But if the
plant also has some value in itself then the plant also has intrinsic value. When something has
intrinsic value, then it is moral duty to protect it or at least refrain from damaging it.

Now think about the earth or other living forms. In your opinion whether these have intrinsic
value or instrumental value. If you consider that the earth also has intrinsic value, then you
have a moral duty and obligation towards it, independent of its usefulness. Philosopher
Richard Routley devised a ‘Thought Experiment’, which is referred to as the ‘Last Person
Experiment’. Now read the Last Person Experiment given in the Activity-2.

Activity – 2
Last Person Experiment
Select five colleagues, students or friends who can spare about thirty to forty-five minutes
for this activity. You read the activity to them:
Imagine an Earth where everyone has died except for one man. Before this man dies, he
goes on eliminating animals, plants and every living thing he can. In your opinion has he
done anything morally wrong or objectionable. If you were the last man, then how you
would have reacted in this situation.
Observe how the different persons react and answer differently. Discuss with peers.

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L17: Sustainable Development: Concept and Environmental Ethics

6.0 SUMMARY
In this lesson, brief description about the concept of sustainable development, outline of 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 169 associated targets and concept of environmental
ethics have been discussed. This will help you in identification of projects and tasks that need
to be given to students. Focus of tasks and projects should channelize the thinking of students
while working on these, towards sustainable development comprising of social, economic and
environment aspects. You can also plan for Thought Experiments which will help in
development of environmental ethics.

*****
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Daley, B. (n.d.). Understanding Sustainable Development. London: Centre for Development,
Environment and Policy, University of London.
[2] Diesendorf, M. (2000). Chapter 2 Sustainability and Sustainable Development. In The
Corporate Challenge of 21st Century (pp. 19-37). Epping NSW Australia: Sustainability Centre
Pty Ltd.
[3] Gudrof, C. E., & Huchingson, J. E. (2010). Boundaries - A Casebook in Environmental Ethics .
Washington D C: Georgetown University Press .
[4] Sandler, R. L. (2018). Environmental Ethics Theory in Practice. New York: Oxford University
Press.
[5] Sustainable Development Goal Knowledge Platform. (n.d.). Retrieved from Transforming our
world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:
[Link]

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Annexure A
17 GOALS IN TRANSFORMING OUR WORLD:
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Reference: [Link]

Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

1.1. By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as
people living on less than $1.25 a day
1.2. By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages
living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions
1.3. Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all,
including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.
1.4. By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have
equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and
control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate
new technology and financial services, including micro-finance.
1a. By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce
their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other
economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters.
1b. Ensure significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources, including
through enhanced development cooperation, in order to provide adequate and
predictable means for developing countries, in particular least developed countries,
to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions.
1c. Create sound policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels,
based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies, to support
accelerated investment in poverty eradication actions.

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Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable
agriculture
2.1. By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in
vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year
round.
2.2. By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally
agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the
nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons.
2.3. By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers,
in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers,
including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs,
knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm
employment.
2.4. By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural
practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that
strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought,
flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
2.5. By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and
domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed
and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and
promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization
of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed.
2a. Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural
infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development
and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity
in developing countries, in particular least developed countries.
2b. Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets,
including through the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies
and all export measures with equivalent effect, in accordance with the mandate of the
Doha Development Round.
2c. Adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity markets and
their derivatives and facilitate timely access to market information, including on food
reserves, in order to help limit extreme food price volatility

Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
3.1. By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.
3.2. By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all
countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births
and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births.
3.3. By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases
and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases.

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3.4. By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases
through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
3.5. Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug
abuse and harmful use of alcohol.
3.6. By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents.
3.7. By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services,
including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of
reproductive health into national strategies and programmes.
3.8. Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality
essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable
essential medicines and vaccines for all.
3.9. By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous
chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination
3a. Strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate.
3b. Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the
communicable and non-communicable diseases that primarily affect developing
countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines, in
accordance with the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health,
which affirms the right of developing countries to use to the full the provisions in the
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regarding
flexibilities to protect public health, and, in particular, provide access to medicines for
all.
3c. Substantially increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and
retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in least
developed countries and small island developing States.
3d. Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early
warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.

Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning
opportunities for all
4.1. By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and
secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
4.2. By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood
development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary
education.
4.3. By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical,
vocational and tertiary education, including university.
4.4. By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills,
including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and
entrepreneurship.

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4.5. By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of
education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities,
indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.
4.6. By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and
women, achieve literacy and numeracy.
4.7. By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote
sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable
development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a
culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity
and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.
4a. Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive
and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
4b. By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to
developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing
States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational
training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and
scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries.
4c. By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through
international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially
least developed countries and small island developing States.

Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
5.1. End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
5.2. Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private
spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
5.3. Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital
mutilation.
5.4. Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public
services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared
responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate.
5.5. Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at
all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
5a. Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as
agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference
on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome
documents of their review conferences.5.a Undertake reforms to give women equal
rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land
and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in
accordance with national laws.
5b. Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and
communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women.

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5c. Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion
of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels.

Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
6.1. By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for
all.
6.2. By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end
open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in
vulnerable situations.
6.3. By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and
minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of
untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.
6.4. By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure
sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and
substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity.
6.5. By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including
through transboundary cooperation as appropriate.
6.6. By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests,
wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes.
6a. By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to
developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes,
including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment,
recycling and reuse technologies.
6b. Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water
and sanitation management.

Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
7.1. By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services.
7.2. By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
7.3. By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
7a. By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy
research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and
advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy
infrastructure and clean energy technology.
7b. By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and
sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least
developed countries, small island developing States, and land-locked developing
countries, in accordance with their respective programmes of support.

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Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment and decent work for all
8.1. Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in
particular, at least 7 per cent gross domestic product growth per annum in the least
developed countries.
8.2. Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological
upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-
intensive sectors.
8.3. Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job
creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization
and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to
financial services.
8.4. Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and
production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental
degradation, in accordance with the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable
consumption and production, with developed countries taking the lead.
8.5. By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and
men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of
equal value.
8.6. By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or
training.
8.7. Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery
and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of
child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour
in all its forms.
8.8. Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers,
including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious
employment.
8.9. By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs
and promotes local culture and products.
8.10. Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand
access to banking, insurance and financial services for all.
8a. Increase Aid for Trade support for developing countries, in particular least developed
countries, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-Related
Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries.
8b. By 2020, develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment and
implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization.

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Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and
foster innovation
9.1. Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and
trans-border infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being,
with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.
9.2. Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise
industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national
circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries.
9.3. Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in
developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their
integration into value chains and markets.
9.4. By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with
increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally
sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in
accordance with their respective capabilities.
9.5. Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in
all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging
innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers
per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending.
9a. Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing
countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to African
countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small
island developing States.
9b. Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing
countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia,
industrial diversification and value addition to commodities.
9c. Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and
strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed
countries by 2020.

Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

10.1. By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of
the population at a rate higher than the national average.
10.2. By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all,
irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other
status.
10.3. Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating
discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation,
policies and action in this regard.
10.4. Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively
achieve greater equality.

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10.5. Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and
strengthen the implementation of such regulations.
10.6. Ensure enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decision-making
in global international economic and financial institutions in order to deliver more
effective, credible, accountable and legitimate institutions.
10.7. Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people,
including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies.
[Link] the principle of special and differential treatment for developing
countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade
Organization agreements.
10b. Encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign
direct investment, to States where the need is greatest, in particular least
developed countries, African countries, small island developing States and
landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their national plans and
programmes.
10c. By 2030, reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances
and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent.

Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
11.1. By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic
services and upgrade slums.
11.2. By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems
for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special
attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with
disabilities and older persons.
11.3. By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory,
integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all
countries.
11.4. Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage.
11.5. By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected
and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic
product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on
protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.
11.6. By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by
paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.
11.7. By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public
spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.
11a. Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-
urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development
planning.

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11b. By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements
adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion,
resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to
disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for
Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels.
11c. Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical
assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials.

Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

12.1. Implement the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and
production, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking
into account the development and capabilities of developing countries.
12.2. By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
12.3. By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce
food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.
12.4. By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes
throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and
significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse
impacts on human health and the environment.
12.5. By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling
and reuse.
12.6. Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt
sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting
cycle.
12.7. Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national
policies and priorities.
12.8. By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness
for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature.
12a. Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological
capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and
production.
12b. Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for
sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products.
12c. Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption
by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances,
including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies,
where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account
the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the
possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor
and the affected communities.

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Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*
13.1. Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural
disasters in all countries.
13.2. Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.
13.3. Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate
change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
13a. Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing
jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of
developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and
transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund
through its capitalization as soon as possible.
13b. Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related
planning and management in least developed countries and small island
developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and
marginalized communities
* Acknowledging that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the
primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to
climate change.

Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for
sustainable development
14.1. By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from
land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.
14.2. By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid
significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action
for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans.
14.3. Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced
scientific cooperation at all levels.
14.4. By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based
management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least
to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological
characteristics.
14.5. By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with
national and international law and based on the best available scientific information.
14.6. By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity
and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that
appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L17: Sustainable Development: Concept and Environmental Ethics

developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organization fisheries
subsidies negotiation.
14.7. By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least
developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through
sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism.
13a. Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine
technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in
order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine
biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island
developing States and least developed countries.
13b. Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets.
13c. Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by
implementing international law as reflected in UNCLOS, which provides the legal
framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources,
as recalled in paragraph 158 of The Future We Want.

Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably
manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and
halt biodiversity loss
15.1. By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and
inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands,
mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.
15.2. By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of
forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase
afforestation and reforestation globally.
15.3. By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected
by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral
world.
15.4. By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity,
in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable
development.
15.5. Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the
loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened
species.
15.6. Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic
resources and promote appropriate access to such resources, as internationally agreed.
15.7. Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and
fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products.

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L17: Sustainable Development: Concept and Environmental Ethics

15.8. By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the
impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate
the priority species.
15.9. By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning,
development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts.
15a. Mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve
and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems
15b. Mobilize significant resources from all sources and at all levels to finance
sustainable forest management and provide adequate incentives to developing
countries to advance such management, including for conservation and
reforestation.
15c. Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected
species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue
sustainable livelihood opportunities.

Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide
access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions
at all levels.
16.1. Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
16.2. End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of
children.
16.3. Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access
to justice for all.
16.4. By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and
return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime.
16.5. Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms.
16.6. Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
16.7. Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all
levels.
16.8. Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of
global governance.
16.9. By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration.
16.10. Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance
with national legislation and international agreements.
15a. Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international
cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing
countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime.
15b. Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable
development.

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Unit 4: Sustainable Development L17: Sustainable Development: Concept and Environmental Ethics

Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for
sustainable development Finance
17.1. Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to
developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue
collection.
17.2. Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance
commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the
target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of
ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider
setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed
countries.
17.3. Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources.
17.4. Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through
coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt
restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor
countries to reduce debt distress.
17.5. Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries.

Technology
17.6. Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international
cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance
knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination
among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a
global technology facilitation mechanism.
17.7. Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally
sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on
concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed.
17.8. Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation
capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the
use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology.

Capacity-building
17.9. Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-
building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the
sustainable development goals, including through North-South, South-South and
triangular cooperation.

Trade
17.10. Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral
trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion
of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda

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17.11. Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to
doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020
17.12. Realize timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting
basis for all least developed countries, consistent with World Trade Organization
decisions, including by ensuring that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports
from least developed countries are transparent and simple, and contribute to
facilitating market access.

Systemic issues
Policy and institutional coherence
17.13. Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and
policy coherence.
17.14. Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development.
17.15. Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies
for poverty eradication and sustainable development.

Multi-stakeholder partnerships
17.16. Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-
stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology
and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development
goals in all countries, in particular developing countries.
17.17. Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships,
building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.

Data, monitoring and accountability

17.18. By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least
developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the
availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender,
age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other
characteristics relevant in national contexts.
17.19. By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on
sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support
statistical capacity-building in developing countries.

+++++++

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 L–18: SUSTAINABILITY: CRADLE TO
CRADLE APPROACH

2
Contributors

Prof. (Mrs.) Chanchal Mehra

(Associate Professor, Department of Vocational Education &
Entrepreneurship Development)

Dr. Joshua Earnest

(Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering)

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462 002
 Unit 5: Approaches for Sustainable Development L18: Sustainability: Cradle to Cradle Approach

Lesson – 18
Sustainability: Cradle to Cradle Approach

Learning Outcome: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to plan activities
and projects for effective curriculum implementation adopting cradle-to-cradle
approach in all teaching-learning processes for promoting sustainability in design
and use of materials, products and systems.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 3
2.0 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABILITY ................................................................. 3
3.0 NEED FOR TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE APPROACH IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION .............................. 4
4.0 SUSTAINABILITY PRINCIPLES ................................................................................................... 4
5.0 PROMOTING SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH CRADLE–TO–CRADLE APPROACH ......................... 5
6.0 CRADLE–TO–CRADLE APPROACH VIS-À-VIS TECHNICAL EDUCATION SYSTEMS ..................... 7
7.0 SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................... 8
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................................... 8

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 Unit 5: Approaches for Sustainable Development L18: Sustainability: Cradle to Cradle Approach

Lesson – 18
Sustainability: Cradle to Cradle Approach

‘Cradle to Cradle’ means “Doing good” instead of “Doing less bad” in all human endeavours.

1.0 INTRODUCTION
The above slogan in black and white ecstatically reverberates what the ‘cradle-to-cradle’ is
all about and that a positive outlook is required for sustainability. The phrase ‘cradle-to-
cradle’ was coined by Walter R. Stahel in the 1970. Today ‘cradle-to-cradle’ is a registered
trademark of McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) consultants. ‘Cradle to
Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things is a 2002 non-fiction book by German chemist
Michael Braungart and U.S. architect William McDonough’. The book talks about how to
achieve ‘cradle-to-cradle’ (as against the conventional cradle-to-grave) Design model.
Therefore, this lesson is specifically written to link the sustainability aspects with the concept
of ‘cradle-to-cradle’ and how the technical education teachers could play a major role using
this concept in the design of curriculum and while implementing the curriculum. The teacher
is encouraged to think as to how to weave this concept in classroom teaching, laboratory
instruction and type of projects that can be given to the students during the entire tenure of
the engineering UG programme of 4 years duration.

2.0 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABILITY

A brief recap of the conceptual framework for sustainability is essential before introducing
the concept of ‘cradle-to-cradle’ approach. The conceptual framework commonly referred
regarding sustainability is Triple Bottom line (TBL) proposed by Elkington (1998). TBL is
succinctly described by 3Ps (profit, planet and people) or alternatively by economic,
environmental and societal components. These components are interrelated and inter
dependent. None of the two components alone can achieve sustainability. Thus, sustainable
development will be an integration of
these three dimensions with a relation
among all the components (TBL).
Bearable
Viable
As shown in Figure 1, environment
together with the economic component
provide viable options, economic and
societal together provide equitable option
for all creatures, societal and environment
Equitable Sustainability
together provide bearable options. The
region where all these three meet or have Figure 1: Triple Bottom Line Framework
their existence is referred as sustainability.

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 Unit 5: Approaches for Sustainable Development L18: Sustainability: Cradle to Cradle Approach

This concept is also mentioned in Programme Outcome PO7 for Engineering UG programme
which is on ‘Environment and sustainability: Understand the impact of the professional
engineering solutions in societal and environmental contexts, and demonstrate the
knowledge of, and need for sustainable development’. It is therefore essential that when
students are working on real life problems and projects, they need to analyse the problems
with respect to society, environment and economic consideration. Creative, innovative and
sustainable solutions proposed by them must be brought to the knowledge of masses for
discussion, further improvement and to spread the message that sustainable solutions to
engineering-based problems are the need of the hour.

3.0 NEED FOR TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE APPROACH IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Sustainable development philosophy revolves around re-organisation of a threatened and
fragile environment. Today, the planet earth faces the risks of irreversible damage to the
human environment for which the population growth, technological growth, rising living
standards and many more are responsible.

Here, it is pertinent to mention that profit is purely economic in nature and is the bottom
most line as shown in Figure 2. People and planet though non-economic as far as revenue
generation is concerned, but these have positive
impact on the value system of any organisation and
its sustainability. This concept needs to be percolated
down to the bottom most level in organisations for
sustainable development. The engineers and
technologists coming out of technical education
system need to be made brand ambassador for this.
This can be achieved when they try to integrate this
concept during their undergraduate and graduate
courses, where they create, innovate and propose
material, product and system based on this approach. Figure 2: 3Ps Sustainability Framework
As a teacher, your responsibility is to make all the
stakeholders aware of the TBL concept. This concept benefits the natural order as much as
possible with the sole purpose of saving the environment. The need to apply the concept of
TBL in all walks of life right from education, training to businesses is due to concern of all
stake holders for environmental regulations and associated legal costs, human rights, global
warming, sensitivity towards safe and healthy eco system and many more.

4.0 SUSTAINABILITY PRINCIPLES

For sustainable future, Anastas and Warner (1998) have introduced 12 principles and
methodologies which take care of environmentally friendly and cost‐effective design
considering TBL– environment, economy and society. List of these principles are given in
Appendix A. Understanding of these principles is essential for cradle-to-cradle design of

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 Unit 5: Approaches for Sustainable Development L18: Sustainability: Cradle to Cradle Approach

materials, products and systems for promoting sustainability. Focus of these principles is
mainly on use of non–hazardous and renewable material, preventing waste, minimising
energy consumption and maximising energy efficiency, disintegration under natural
condition, avoiding ‘one-size-fit-all’ solutions, promoting dismantle for cyclic use and
promoting after life for material products and systems.

5.0 PROMOTING SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH CRADLE–TO–CRADLE APPROACH

Before describing the cradle-to-cradle approach, you are requested to go through the
following famous quotes from William McDonough:
a) “The Stone Age did not end because humans ran out of stones. It ended because it
was time for a re-think about how we live.”
b) ‘‘Waste equal food, whether it’s food for earth or for closed industrial cycle. We
manufacture products that go from cradle to grave. We want to manufacture them
from cradle to cradle.”
c) “If we think about things having multiple lives, cradle to cradle, we could design
things that can go back to either nature or back to industry forever.”
These quotes compel the designer and professionals to favour design based on cradle to
cradle approach.

When a designer opts for cradle-to-grave approach, then the life span of material or product
starts with its birth/creation and ends up to the point of disposal. The problem faced with
this design is if the product is not biodegradable then heaps of disposable products are
created. Many of the Indian cities are facing disposable problem for such products.

"File:Electrical and electronic waste Cluj-Napoca "File:[Link]" by Txopi is licensed

[Link]" by FlickreviewR is licensed under CC BY 2.0 under CC0 1.0

Figure 3 Cradle-to-grave design

In contrast to this, cradle-to-cradle approach ensures environment sustainability. ‘cradle-to-

cradle’ design ensures that material flows cyclically in appropriate, continuous biological or
technical nutrient cycles. All waste materials are productively re-incorporated into new
production cycle, fulfilling the concept “waste = food” as proposed by McDonough &

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 Unit 5: Approaches for Sustainable Development L18: Sustainability: Cradle to Cradle Approach

Braungart [2002]. For better understanding about waste=food watch the video available on
YouTube at [Link]

Cradle-to-cradle design approach is depicted diagrammatically in Figure 4. The biological

nutrients return to the organic cycle and are consumed by micro-organisms and other
creatures in the soil, whereas technical nutrients referred to those materials that are
considered as waste after their use, also becomes food for new and better material/product,
which is the basic principle on which nature works. This means the material, product or
system after completing its useful life-cycle turn into new products the value of which is
equal, if not greater than the old product. In other words, waste does not exist when the
biological and technical components of a product are designed by intention to fit within a
biological or technical cycle for re–marketing, re–manufacture, dismantling or re–purposing.
This can be explained with the help of an example.

CC BY-SA 3.0, File: Biological and technical nutrients (C2C).jpg, Created: 21 August 2012
Figure 4 Cradle-to-Cradle Design Approach
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 1
Consider the product – the plastic bottle used for packaging of water, cold drinks, oils and
other liquids. Heaps and heaps of these used bottles are collected as waste material. This is
one of the major sources of environment pollution today. Instead of using one-time-use
plastics, there are other type of bottles that are made of bio-degradable materials that can

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 Unit 5: Approaches for Sustainable Development L18: Sustainability: Cradle to Cradle Approach

fully enter a new life cycle either back to nature or back into the design process as a new
product. These options need to be explored.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.0 CRADLE–TO–CRADLE APPROACH VIS-À-VIS TECHNICAL EDUCATION SYSTEMS
For the cause of sustainability, it is high time that curriculum designers and teachers in the
technical education systems start thinking and guiding students to develop attitudes and
habits that limit consumption, minimise materialistic purchase (buy less and spend less), and
share resources (as discussed in the next lesson on 5Rs), when they are working on variety of
tasks in classroom, laboratory, during ‘Tech-Fests’, while undertaking various types of
projects and internships. Such sacrifices save the planet earth and make available the
resources which otherwise may go extinct.

The students should be continuously reminded and motivated to incorporate the ‘cradle-to-
cradle’ approach in the small and large projects or have some flavour of it in everything that
they do, not only in the institute, but at home and everywhere they go in order to render the
earth a safe place to live for the future generations to come.

Case of Designtex
A fabric that helps strawberries grow, with production methods that clean water
(Courtesy [Link]
breakthroughs)

There is more concern lately about fashion and its impact on human health, the
environment and workers. Susan Lyons of the New York-based design firm Designtex
was ahead of the curve. In 1993, she decided to develop a collection of ecological
fabrics. At that time, no one knew exactly what a ‘green fabric’ should be.
A partnership then emerged among Designtex; William McDonough and his colleague,
Michael Braungart; and the Swiss textile mill Rohner to develop upholstery with
remnants that would not be considered hazardous waste. Braungart analysed more than
8,000 chemical formulations commonly used in textile production, then selected a mere
38 that he deemed safe for human and environmental health. These were the dyes and
process chemicals allowed to be used in the production of Climatex upholstery.
According to Designtex, optimising this chemistry changed the mill's water release,
which became cleaner than the incoming water. By producing new fabrics designed to
decompose safely, the mill saved scraps and turned them into felt, avoiding costly
disposal fees. Local strawberry farmers used this felt as ground cover for their crops.
Designtex has expanded its Climatex offering to some 20 styles and Climatex was
awarded Gold level C2C certification.

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 Unit 5: Approaches for Sustainable Development L18: Sustainability: Cradle to Cradle Approach

7.0 SUMMARY
It is seen in the above sections and also after watching the associated videos, that in the
‘cradle-to-cradle’ approach, the biological nutrients return to the organic cycle and are
consumed by microorganisms and other creatures in the soil, whereas technical nutrients
referred to those materials that are considered as waste after their use, also become food
for new and better material/products, which is the basic principle, on which nature works. In
educational and training institutions your role is to integrate the concept of sustainability
across courses and programmes in such a way that students are forced to think of
sustainable solutions, whenever they are involved in any activity related to curricular, co-
curricular or extra-curricular. This will help in changing the behaviour and attitudes of
individuals including those of colleagues, peers, teachers, staff and also that of producer and
consumer of products and services for exploring and accepting sustainable solutions.

ACTIVITY
View the video programme Cradle–to–Cradle by Michael Braungart and William
McDonough on YouTube link [Link] After
viewing the video programme list the ways in which as a technical teacher you can
promote ‘waste = food’ in your professional work and the variety of tasks/projects that
you may give your students in order to promote the concept of cradle-to-cradle in the
technical education system.

******

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] Gopichandran, R., Asolekar, S. R., Jani, O., & Kumar, D. (2016). Green energy and Climate
change. In An Integrated Approach to Environmental Management (p. 102). Hoboken, New
Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,.
[2] McDonough, W., & Braungart, M. (2002). Cradle to Cradle - Remaking the Way We Make
Things. New York: North Point Press.
[3] [Link]
[4] [Link]
breakthroughs

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 Unit 5: Approaches for Sustainable Development L18: Sustainability: Cradle to Cradle Approach

L 18 DISCUSSION FORUM

Start a discussion on social media on some examples of ‘cradle-to-cradle’ approach.

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 Unit 5: Approaches for Sustainable Development L18: Sustainability: Cradle to Cradle Approach

APPENDIX A
Sustainability Principles

Anastas and Warner (1998) articulated the following principles and methodologies to
accomplish the goals of environmentally friendly and cost‐effective designs. These principles
are powerful enablers for sustainable futures because on one‐hand they address
optimization at molecular level and on other‐hand the principles address system level
reengineering. In other words, the key to achieving sustainability lies in the design of
molecules, systems, processes and product levels through logical integration of the 12 green
engineering principles (Gopichandran, Asolekar, Jani, & Kumar, 2016).

Principle 1. Designers need to strive to ensure that all materials and energy inputs and
outputs are as inherently Non-hazardous as possible.
Principle 2. It is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it is formed.
Principle 3. Separation and purification operations should be designed to minimize
energy consumption and materials use.
Principle 4. Products, processes, and systems should be designed to maximize mass,
energy, space, and time efficiency.
Principle 5. Products, processes, and systems should be “output pulled” rather than
“input pushed” through the use of energy and materials.
Principle 6. Embedded entropy and complexity must be viewed as an investment when
making design choices on recycle, reuse, or beneficial disposition.
Principle 7. Targeted durability, not immortality, should be a design goal for products.
After useful use of a product to disintegrate under natural conditions.
Principle 8. Design for unnecessary capacity or capability (e.g., “one size fits all”)
solutions should be considered a design flaw.
Principle 9. Material diversity in multi component products should be minimized to
promote disassembly and value retention.
Principle 10. Design of products, processes, and systems must include integration and
interconnectivity with available energy and materials flows.
Principle 11. Products, processes, and systems should be designed for performance in a
commercial “afterlife”.
Principle 12. Material and energy inputs should be renewable rather than depleting.

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 L–19: Role of 5Rs for Sustainable
Development

Contributors

Dr. A.K. Sarathe

(Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering)

Dr. A.K. Jain

(Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering)

Editor: Dr. Joshua Earnest, Professor of Electrical Engineering

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462 002
Unit 5: Approaches for Sustainable Development L19: Role of 5Rs for Sustainable Development

Lesson – 19
Role of 5Rs for Sustainable Development

Learning Outcome: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to plan for the
management of the 5Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, and Recycle for
sustainable development to save this planet earth.

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 3
2.0 CONCEPT OF 5Rs ......................................................................................................................... 3
3.0 REFUSE......................................................................................................................................... 4
4.0 REDUCE ........................................................................................................................................ 5
5.0 REUSE ........................................................................................................................................... 5
6.0 REPAIR .......................................................................................................................................... 7
7.0 RECYCLE........................................................................................................................................ 7
8.0 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 8
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................................... 8

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Unit 5: Approaches for Sustainable Development L19: Role of 5Rs for Sustainable Development

Lesson – 19
Role of 5Rs for Sustainable Development

1.0 INTRODUCTION
It is quite alarming indeed to see how the different types of wastes are piling up across the
cities, towns and villages all over the world. In order to save this planet earth from
hazardous effects of these wastes, it is high time, all people join hands and come together to
take some concrete actions to address this issue. Cities and towns are expanding and space
is becoming scarce to dump the refuse. It is the youth of this country, who must be made
aware of this issue first. No other than the technical teachers is one such group of people
who can and has the opportunity to influence the students whom they are teaching for 4
years of their stay on the college and university campuses. Therefore, in order to encash this
opportunity, it becomes essential that the teachers first understand about these 5Rs are and
other related aspects of these and only then, will be able to decide how to manage them.
Once the teachers are convinced, then the message could be passed on to the young minds
enmass, who would join the bandwagon to lend their helping hands to this noble cause of
managing them.

2.0 CONCEPT OF 5Rs

Bea Johnson (Johnson, 2016) one of the successful activists has been practicing ‘zero to
waste’ and the promoter of the concept of 5Rs for sustainable environment. The 5Rs stand
for Refuse (also called ‘Reject’), Reduce, Reuse (also called ‘Repurpose’, or ‘Rethink’), Repair,
and Recycle (also called ‘Recover’). These 5Rs need to be addressed and managed well for
sustainability.

Every year, lakhs of tons of wastes generated in various forms such as waste plastics, food
waste, wrappings, bottles, boxes, cans, furniture, clothing and many more. Abella asks
‘Where does it all go? Some 85% of our garbage is sent to landfills, where it can take from
100 to 400 years for things like cloth and aluminium to decompose. Glass has been found in
perfect condition even after 4,000 years in the earth!’ (Abella, 2019). So, the question is,
what should be done? Table 1 shows the time required to decompose some of the daily use
items.

As a technical teacher what should be our next move to tackle this problem? Not taking
action is also a sin. Sensitise the engineering students about this issue by asking this question
to them. Organise group discussions, seminars, debates amongst the students about
solutions of this problem. Old and new ideas will come up that could make a change at least
in some of the students. Therefore, what actions are to be taken is attempted to be
explained in this lesson.

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Table 1
Time Required for Decomposition of Some Sample Items

S. Item Time S. No. Item Time

No.
1 Tissue paper 2- 4 weeks 8 Plywood 1-3 years
2 Banana peel 2- 4 weeks 9 Leather shoe 25-40 years
3 Paper bag 1 month 10 Thermocol cups 50 years
4 Newspaper 1.5 months 11 Rubber material 50-80 years
5 Cardboard 2 months 12 Plastic bottles 450 years
6 Cotton glove 3 months 13 Aluminium 200- 500 years
7 Orange peel 6 months

3.0 REFUSE
For environmental sustainability, the very first action to be taken regarding the use of
anything is Refuse (or Reject) or delay in procuring that thing which are not needed. If that is
not there in your life to start with, you’ll never have to worry about how to get rid of them,
or what to do when they are no longer fit for purpose. The best message that speaks louder
than words is ‘practice what you preach’. Therefore, the engineering teacher has to ‘walk-
your-talk’.

There is a difference between ‘want’ and ‘need’. Many things you may want but, it may not
be needed in your life, as it may finally end up in the trash bin. Always, ask the question to
yourself before buying anything, “Why am I purchasing this item?” or, “Do I want it or do I
really need it now?” or, ‘Can I delay it from buying as I already have an alternative for that
item’?

Refuse to buy or accept products that can harm you, your organisation and the environment.
For example, if you have a pen, do not buy a second pen till the current pen’s life is over.
Another example could be to stop using paper towels in the washrooms. Stop using plastic
bags and always have spare cotton bags. Following are some other examples:
a) Refuse chemical solvents and use alternatives that are water based.
b) Say no to plastics wherever you can avoid. Use paper bags or cloth bags.
c) Refuse to accept materials from your store with unnecessary packaging that you will
later have to pay for to dispose e.g. toothpaste inside a cardboard box and such
others.
d) Refuse the freebies that companies give away, if you do not need it.
e) Refuse to buy a second vehicle (scooter or car), if you can manage with one. Or, if the
public transportation is good, you can even avoid buying the first vehicle.

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Think about everything and REFUSE what isn’t necessary or defer their procurement for
some time which may not be required later at all.

ACTIVITY 1
List some examples related to Refuse at your workplace.

4.0 REDUCE
For the cause of sustainability, as a technical teacher, the next step that you should take is to
propagate the concept of Reduce. Reduce is to limit the amount of waste you create in the
first place. This includes buying products with less packaging. Always ask the question to
yourself, “What is the minimum amount necessary for anything?” Why would you wrap a
pallet with 100 feet of stretch wrap if 80 feet will do the job? “Can I drink tea with half a
teaspoon full, instead of one teaspoon full of sugar or drink tea without sugar at all”? And in
the process, save your health as well. Reduce the amount of electrical energy you use and
save MONEY in the process.

Consume less of everything. When you go to the market, buy your food with no plastic
packaging. Avoid fast fashion and food waste. The quantity of electronic waste (E-waste) is
increasing day-by-day. Before buying a new electronic gadget, stop and think. When an
upgrade or new cell phone is launched in the market, think if you can continue with the
current cell phone. Not buying extra new things is good for you, good for your family, good
for the environment and you save a lot of money. Think what you can use less?

As technical teacher, think how you can inculcate this habit of ‘reduce’ in your students. First
you need to ‘practice what you preach’. Following this plan at regular intervals organise
activity or the other to remind the students about it. You could put up some cartoons or
posters in the class, in the department and at several other places. Another strategy could
be to show some relevant video clips time-to-time. Some debates, seminars and the like
could also be organised.

ACTIVITY 2
List some examples related to managing Reduce at your workplace.

5.0 REUSE
Reuse (also known as ‘Re–purpose’ or ‘Re–think’) means to use something again either for
its original purpose or to fulfil a different function (creative reuse) that could have been
normally thrown away (e.g. Glass jars for food, plastic bags and so on). This requires a bit of
thinking and creativity, but may not be all the time beautiful, but the purpose may be
served. Often, reuse helps to save time, money, energy and resources. In broader economic

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terms, it could make quality products available to people and organisations with limited
means, while creating jobs and business activities that contribute to the progress of the
economy locally and or globally as well.

Avoid using 'one time use and throw' articles. Choose items that have a longer shelf life, that
can be repaired, and can be used again and again till its shelf life is over such as reusable
electric kettles, coffee cups, cutlery, water bottles, shopping bags and such others. Use your
tooth brush as a hair dye brush. Use torn clothes as foot mats, to clean shoes, as mops to
clean the floor and so on. Use coffee mugs with broken handles as vases for aloe-vera plants
and so on. Old bed sheets can be turned into small cotton shopping bags and handkerchiefs.
Wood crates would be used to make different types of wooden items, such as benches and
such others. Condensed water discharged by air conditioning units could be a good source of
distilled water. Old buckets could become flowerpots and so on. Use your imagination to
reuse before deciding at the end of product life.

Another way of reuse is to gift (Figure 1) to some

people or to some organisation who would gladly
continue to use it. For example, if you brought a
high-end computer for your work, you may gift your
still working old computer to some person or
organisation who will use it happily. Or you could
gift your old cell phone to some needy person and
so on. In this way, E-waste could also be reduced.
You may also donate your things to some school,
NGOs, non-profit organisations so that the under-
privileged are also benefitted. Figure 1 Example of Reuse. Small mobile
could be gifted

ACTIVITY 3
Organise some ‘reuse tech fests’ as a technical teacher every year in the college, to
spread the need and innovative techniques of reuse of various things.

Reuse has several advantages such as, reducing the same product being manufactured thus
saving energy and raw materials, less disposable things and also the cost to dispose them
off. Some old things may fetch more appreciable value because of better refurbishing.
Refurbished things are much cheaper leading to cost savings and hence it could become a
good business proposition creating jobs as well.

However, reuse has some demerits also such as sorting, cleaning and preparing of items take
time. Some special skills are required to establish the functional throughput of the things
when put to new uses. But when given to students, these demerits may even vanish
depending on the enthusiasm of the students.

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6.0 REPAIR
If the above mentioned 3Rs are not possible with the things that are required, then repair
(figure 2) is the next option that should be taken up for a sustainable environment
protection to continue. The only hitch is that it may take some time to get the things
repaired. In earlier years, repairing of things was
quite common. Repair shops were quite common
in all cities, towns and villages. Most of the
mechanical and electrical and electronic items
were repaired and re-used thus reducing waste
and saving the environment. But, currently, when
more of one-time use items are being produced
Figure 2: Repair Work
more and more, such repair shops are becoming
less and less. However, the flip side is that, in this internet age there are several ‘do-it-
yourself’ websites which if wisely tapped and if people are positively prodded (guided step
by step), more citizens would repair the faulty items on their own and continue to use the
things. This practice or habit if propagated is not only good for the environment, but also
empowers people, and often saves money as well.

Every engineering student could be encouraged to harness the repair skills to some extent
for the cause of sustainability. For this to happen, the teacher needs to take some extra
efforts. Different types of 3-5-day training workshops could be conducted in the institute
such as, ‘electronic gadget repair’, ‘electrical gadget repair’, ‘water pump repair’ and so on.
This will spread the ‘repair culture’ in the community/society.

ACTIVITY 4
List some examples related to managing Repair at your workplace.

7.0 RECYCLE
Recycle (recover also comes in this category) means the breaking down of those things from
which raw materials emerge out for the manufacture of new products. It means that such
products go through a mechanical or chemical process to change their form. Recover is to
convert waste into resources (such as electricity, heat, compost and fuel) through thermal,
biological or some other means. However, this ‘R’ should be taken up only when the above-
mentioned 4Rs have been attempted. Following are some of the things, which can be re-
cycled.
a) Paper can be recycled up to seven times, but after that the fibres lose their strength.
b) Plastic can only be recycled a few times before it is frequently broken down and must
be sent to landfill.
c) Metal and glass can be broken down and recycled indefinitely.
d) food wastes into composted soil or as a food for a local farm.

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e) All types of fabric dirty or otherwise.

f) All electronic items recover metals and other materials for reuse.

Recycling will help everyone to realise about all that you put into the trash bin and a chance
to rethink your future purchases.

ACTIVITY 5
List some examples related to managing Recycle at your workplace.

8.0 SUMMARY
The 5Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle, issues strictly in this sequence need to be
addressed and managed for sustainability. Earlier, there were only first 3Rs. Now the
remaining 2Rs are also considered for the cause of sustainability. The first 3Rs - refuse,
reduce, and reuse - are targeted for zero waste, which is all about limiting consumption in
order to stop exploiting the Earth’s resources. So, if the first 3Rs are not manageable, only
then you may go in for adapting the remaining 2Rs. ‘The remaining 2Rs- repair and recycle -
target the second goal, which is only consuming goods that can be fully recycled, either back
into the ecosystem itself, or back into the economy’(Johnson, 2016). If every citizen focuses
on taking limited things of everyday life, when things are purchased, keeping in mind this
hierarchy of the 5Rs, they will realise how much things that they really DID NOT need. This
way the waste produced can be drastically reduced. Making even a single change in your
life with regard to the ‘5Rs’ will make a big difference to the whole world.

ACTIVITY 6
Read the case given in Appendix A and justify to which of the 5Rs does the case belong
to.

*******

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] Tatiana Antonelli Abella (2013). Follow the Rs: Reduce, Replace, Reuse, Recycle, Recover,
Refuse and Reject, Rethink;
[Link] accessed on
27 August 2019
[2] Bea Johnson (2016) -Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life; Penguin
Publishers
[3] The 5 Rs of Sustainability (2018) [Link]
sustainability
[4] [Link]

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Appendix A
Case of ‘Buy Nothing Project’
[Courtesy: Dr. Samuel N. Mathew Ph.D. former Director of National Institute of Speech & Hearing (NISH),
Trivandrum, Kerala]
Buy Nothing Project–Giveaway what you have and ask for what you want with no strings
attached. Few days back I saw a large plastic box kept on the front steps of our home in
Delaware, USA. It had some baby Abby’s (my granddaughter) clothes too small for her now. I
asked Mary, my daughter-in-law, why was it kept outside. She said it was meant for someone
and they will come and pick it up soon. Again, two days later, I again saw another box on the
front steps of our home again with a different set of stuff. I asked Mary, what this is for and she
said it is meant for someone else and they will come and pick it up. Then she explained that she
is part of the local “Buy Nothing Project Facebook Group” and explained how it works. To say
the least, I just admired the idea behind and the greatness of the hearts who started this
movement!!This was a classic example of sustainability. Following are some links.
[Link] and their Facebook page,
[Link]

This venture started as a small Facebook group formed by two women from Washington in 2013
to give away what they have freely to their neighbourhood families. Just an act of unconditional
giving. This has become a movement and has spread to over 15 countries worldwide with
hundreds of local groups. It is catching on like wild fire. No selling, bartering – just giving
between individuals who live nearby within a short driving distance. Very fascinating concept.
Giving is an act that stimulates everything good in both the giver and the receiver. In world of
selfish grabbing and racing to overtake others, giving is about being considerate of others and
willingness to share what we have.

After Airbnb and Uber, where common people are involved in sharing what each has for a price,
this is just free giving from the abundance of what you have with no strings attached. On the
website it reads “Buy Nothing Groups = Random Acts of Kindness All Day Long”. In each of the
US states there are large number of groups. In Delaware USA where we live (which is the one of
the smallest states in the US) there are 16 groups and the local group where Mary is a member
there are 294 members. In India, currently there are only 4 groups currently in Bangalore
Electronic City (68), Vizag (19), Thane, Mumbai (78) and Navi Mumbai (15) with a total of 180
members.

Coming back to our situation, Mary was giving away stuff she was not using anymore. In
addition, she described how one could borrow stuff for short periods. She got some heavy
winter clothing for the Mammoth Mountain trip from a neighbour, which she returned as soon
as she came back. She showed a child’s football goal post she got from the group. This whole
idea makes sense. In a world of consumerism, we all have so many stuffs that we do not need
any more and we just keep it because we spent money on it. We do not want to throw it away
in trash. This is one good way of making good use of it.

They have guidelines for starting a new group [Link] The

rules are all laid out very well to facilitate interaction in a very regulated civilised manner

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DISCUSSION FORUM

Start a discussion on social media on some idea of yours to implement any one of 5Rs and ask
for suggestions from students/peers.

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L–20: Development of Organisational
Culture for Sustainable Development

Contributors

Dr. Joshua Earnest

Professor of Electrical Engineering, NITTTR Bhopal

Dr. Shashi Kant Gupta

Professor (Assessment and Evaluation), NITTTR Bhopal

Dr. G. Janardhanan
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, NITTTR Chennai

National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research

Shamla Hills, Bhopal M.P. - INDIA 462002
 Unit 5: Approaches for Sustainable Development L20: Development of Organisational Culture for Sustainable Development

Lesson –20

Development of Organisational Culture for Sustainable

Development

Learning Outcome: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to plan for the
developing a good organisation culture for sustainable development

Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 3
2.0 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND ITS IMPORTANCE................................................................... 3
3.0 INDICATORS OF GOOD ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE .................................................................. 4
4.0 PRINCIPLES TO BUILD GOOD ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE ......................................................... 5
5.0 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 6
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................................... 6

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Lesson – 20
Development of Organisational Culture for Sustainable
Development

1.0 INTRODUCTION
For sustainable development of the profession and society, there are several factors that
contribute to it, many of which have been discussed in the lessons that you must have
studied thus far. One more important factor contributing to the organisational culture is that
the culture at your workplace decides the way you interact with your employees. This
culture of the place where you work controls the way you behave with your colleagues, your
superiors, your subordinates, as well as with people outside the organisation. Organisation
culture refers to a group of values. Therefore, ‘the beliefs, ideologies, principles and value
systems that an organisation adopts in its policies and working can be defined as the
organisational culture’. Therefore, in this lesson you will see some of the aspects related to
the organisation that influence the sustainable development of any organisation.

2.0 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND ITS IMPORTANCE

Every organisation is known for its culture. Defining the values and goals, indicates the
organisational culture. The organisational culture impacts everything as how your
organisation is perceived by the society and media, because it affects both the internal and
external identity of the corporate body as well as every employee from the lowest to the
highest level, working within it. This also means how the society perceives you as an
individual employee.

A good and strong organisation culture also increases loyalty among the [Link] will
not only contribute to your organisation’s culture, but also, promote it and live it internally
and externally, if the core values of your organisation match with your good core values. In
such a case, you and your colleagues will be advocates of your organisation culture. The
organisation culture cultivates a sense of belonging and commitment towards the
organisation and develops a sense of unity at the workplace. ‘How do you achieve this? One
way is to recognize good work. A culture that celebrates individual and team successes, that
gives credit when it is due, is a culture that offers a sense of accomplishment’ (Moseley,
2019). A good organisational structure will always be ready to adopt changes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 1
Two classic examples of a good academic organisation culture are Gujarat Technological
University (GTU) and Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education (MSBTE) in the
Western region in India In 2012 GTU implemented the Gujarat model of the Competency-
focused Outcome based Curriculum across the whole state in around 130 institutions. In
2017 MSBTE implemented the Maharashtra model of the Competency-focused Outcome

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based Curriculum across the whole state in around 350 institutions. This happened when
others (and perhaps in the world) never thought of adopting such innovative experiments on
such a massive scale in one go. For further details you may visit their respective websites
provided in the bibliography.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Organisation culture builds the brand identity of the organisation. The more your clients
understand and identify with your brand, the more they'll want to take service from you.
Your clients would like to feel connected with your brand because it is your culture that will
forge this bond.

The strength of any educational institute is the faculty. Firstly, it is you as an individual
teacher who has to excel in a particular area as professional in your organisation. Suppose
your colleagues also excel in that area, then you as team can build a brand identity as a
cohesive group. This is a brand value that you have built and this could initiate a healthy
competition. Then it may happen that it will trigger the formation of more such constructive
cohesive groups because of you and your colleagues, thereby creating a brand image of your
organisation when seen by the society. Your institute will also start to excel to come up to
the brand value level as your cohesive group. This will naturally build a brand image of your
institute in the society which will not only benefit your institute, but also you as an
individual.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 2
ISRO, DRDO, RBI are some examples of brand identity in the government sector. In the
private sector, the TATAs, L & T, Infosys and WIPROs are some examples. IIMs is another
example of one such group of institutions that have a brand identity of an educational
organisation. Although the MBA programme curricula of various institutes in the country are
similar to that of the IIMs, still the topmost priority of many MBA aspirants seek admission in
the IIMs due to their brand identity.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.0 INDICATORS OF GOOD ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
Organisational culture is also about living the organisation’s core values (Moseley, 2019).
Therefore, if the organisation values and your values are similar, then your espoused values
will be matching with your good values. However, if the company’s core values doesn’t
match your own, then the your so-called ‘core values’ that you profess, become meaningless
buzzwords, and other colleagues who work with you also know about it.

The core values of companies play a great role in image building of the organisation and of
the employees as well. A good organisation structure will reverberate across all aspects of
your work and your organisation’s mandate. For example, if your organisation is not honest

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in its dealings as perceived by the society, it can also leave a question mark indirectly about
your truthfulness as an employee as well.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 3
Companies like ‘TATAs’ and the ‘Eicher’ of India are some examples of having some good
core values. Their organisational culture have vowed that they will never give any bribe, let
alone even talk about it. Therefore, all ‘TATA employees always work with their head held
high’. When the Taj Hotel in Mumbai was attacked by terrorists, every employee and their
families and all concerned were suitably compensated by the TATA group as reported by the
media.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.0 PRINCIPLES TO BUILD GOOD ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

There could be several principles to develop a good organisational culture. Some of them are
discussed over here.
a) Link behaviours to organisation’s mandate especially the critical ones
Employees will ignore from an organisational culture when the message is unrelated
to day-to-day work. Therefore, convert the message which is understandable to them
and also inform them of the benefits and the pitfalls that need to be avoided.
Secondly, identify a few critical behaviours that are likely to have a maximum impact
when implemented.

b) Choose change agents who are capable, sincere and can deliver the results
Change agents or leaders who are well informed about the mandate of the
organisation and sincere should be given the opportunity to lead and train other
employees and build a good organisational culture. The leader should be able to
demonstrate the results of the efforts when building the organisation culture as
quickly as possible, otherwise the employees would disengage and become cynical.

c) If any new cultural direction is being introduced, it should be aligned as much as

possible with the existing one(CONWAY, 2019)
The current culture of any organisation cannot be changed suddenly for a new one.
Based on the cultural situations, all the concerned people in the organisation have to
be oriented regarding new ones which need to be adopted.

d) Use modern technology to build organisational culture.

Research has shown that the use of the modern-day digital technology platforms and
social media play great role in changing the attitudes, behaviours and mind sets as far
as organisational culture is concerned. Therefore, maximum use of these need to be
strategized.

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ACTIVITY 1
List at least five attributes that best describe your organization’s culture. Spend a few
minutes thinking why each of those attributes are valuable to your people and the clients.

5.0 SUMMARY
In this lesson you have seen that an organisation culture with the right values will go a long
way for sustainable development not only of the organisation, but it will also positively help
every employee and other stakeholders who are connected to the organisation directly and
indirectly. The positive indicators and the principles of building a good organisation structure
have also been discussed.

*******

BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] CONWAY, B. (2019, August 7). Retrieved from [Link]
[Link]
organisational-culture/
[2] Moseley, C. (2019, May 03). 7 reasons why organisational culture is important. Retrieved
from [Link]: [Link]
[3] Engineering Diploma Curriculum NITTTR- MSBTE Model 2016
[Link]
_MSBTE_Model_2016
[4] [Link]
paper%5BMsbte%20study%20resources%[Link]
[5] Outcome-based_Engineering_Diploma_Curriculum_-_2012_Gujarat_Experiment
[Link]
_2012_Gujarat_Experiment
[6] [Link]

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