Ongoing Research Projects

I Connected Learning and Research on Inclusive Education, Phase II (CLeaR on IE)

Principal Investigators Dr Sonia Sawhney & Prof Mythili Ramchand.

A study of challenges in human resource development for inclusive education – supported by Cognizant Foundation, 

II Study on the status of vacancy of special education teachers by type of disabilities in Maharashtra 

Principal Investigators Dr Sonia Sawhney, Prof Mythili Ramchand & Dr Shamin Padalkar

The study aims to identify the number of Children with disabilities in each district of Maharashtra and map the Special Education Teachers in each district based on their employment status, distinguishing between contractual and ad hoc teachers, and specify their specialisations. The study will also estimate the supply of Special Education Teachers in Maharashtra based on the collected data and provide insights into the adequacy of special teachers to meet the educational needs of children with disabilities in the state. The project is commissioned by the Government of Maharashtra. 

III Community of Researchers in Design and Technology Education (CORDATE)

Faculty co-ordinator for CORDATE: Ritesh Khunyakari

The Community of Researchers in Design & Technology Education (CORDATE) is a collaborative network of TISS, Hyderabad faculty, alumni, professionals and others interested in engaging with designing and making as a means of enriching learning and impacting its use in society. The group is involved in network building, capacity development, taking design thinking into field practice as well as working with teachers and students at the school level. CORDATE also contributes to educational institutions by supporting activities related to curriculum development, pedagogy, and issues relating to assessment. Through its various activities with students and teachers, the CORDATE aims to widen its horizon and deepen its engagement in pragmatic and reflexive ways.

Click here for details of the various activities of CORDATE.

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Completed Research Projects

I Strengthening Teacher Education in Telangana. As part of a collaborative project, the School of Educational Studies (SES), TISS, Hyderabad and the Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education (CETE), TISS, Mumbai are supporting the Telangana Education Department by providing guidance and strategic support on multiple aspects of schools’ functioning & education delivery, including school quality benchmarking, transforming spaces within schools (like libraries, ICT laboratories, inclusive education, etc.) into sites of active learning, strengthening state, district & sub-district institutions for improved teacher education etc. The engagement with the Government of Telangana is expected to lead to a number of significant, at-scale outcomes in the aforementioned areas and is sought to be operationalised through a 4-pronged approach comprising: (i) capacity building of teachers, teacher educators, school leaders & educational officials; (ii) setting up and providing continual support to ICT/OER labs (iii) research-based policy advocacy; and (iv) implementation support.

As part of the MoU with the Telangana Government, the following projects were undertaken

1. Redesigning of Textbooks Developed by the Telangana State Council for Educational Research and Training (TSCERT):

Principal Investigators from SES - Prof Rekha Pappu & Dr Sonia Sawhney

Reviewed and redesigned the textbook content and covers for Classes VI to X to improve their aesthetic appeal, readability, and to make these more inclusive. 

2. Investigating the Functioning of District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) in Telangana State

Principal Investigators from SES - Dr Ritesh Khunyakari & Dr Sonia Sawhney

The project aimed at improving the quality of education delivery in DIET-BRCs-CRCs to strengthen and improve Pre-service teacher education, education policies etc.

3. Capacitating and Facilitating Schools to use Shaala Siddhi, a School Standards and Evaluation Framework:

Principal Investigators from SES - Prof Rekha Pappu & Dr Sonia Sawhney

The project aimed to capacitate school stakeholders across the state government schools of Telangana to engage in self-evaluatory processes and to understand the key domains and core standards of the framework for implementation of the framework.

4. Capacitating Teachers and Teacher Educators to Use Interactive Flat Panels (IFPs):

Principal Investigators from SES - Prof Rekha Pappu & Dr Sonia Sawhney

The project aimed to enable active learning through enhanced interactivity and inclusion in classrooms using education technology and IFPs. Students curated digital content in the form of OERs for grades 8th, 9th & 10th in various subjects. Investigators from SES - Prof Rekha Pappu & Dr Sonia Sawhney

II Action Research on Designing School-based Practicum at Scale. (2023)

Principal Investigators Dr Sonia Sawhney, Prof Mythili Ramchand & Dr Bindu Tirumalai.

As part of a collaborative project the School of Educational Studies (SES), TISS, Hyderabad, the Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education (CETE), TISS, Mumbai and the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai are aiming to design school-based practicum at scale that would enable on scale assessments of B.Ed practicums. As part of this project a Certificate course for Mathematics teachers titled “An Inquiry Approach to Inclusive Mathematics Teaching” is being offered on TISSx, the online platform of the Institute.

III Reimagining Research, Teaching and Learning During Times of Crisis (2021-2023)

Principal Investigators - Prof Rekha Pappu and Prof Padma Sarangapani

This joint project between the CPUT SARChI Teacher Education, the UJ SARChI Teaching and Learning, and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences sought to mobilise and exchange ideas of researchers and academics as well as postgraduate students about education during the pandemic. Project sponsored by the National Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS), South Africa. 

IV Social-Emotional Learning in Schools (2019-2023)

Principal Investigator – Dr Sonia Sawhney

The study aims to develop standardised data collection tools to ascertain students' social-emotional well-being and learning across low-income private schools in South India. The study is funded by Learning Curve Life Skills Foundation, Hyderabad.

V Study of curricula and graduate competency for sustainable mountain futures in Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan (2021-2022)

Principal Investigators - Prof Rekha Pappu and Prof Padma Sarangapani

The collaborative research project involves researchers from Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan. It seeks to examine curricular features of mountain education and the graduate competencies that are developed through programmes in higher educational institutions located in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region of the four countries.  The study aims to provide a baseline and an understanding of the programmes and the curricular frameworks used by higher educational institutes (HEIs) for imparting education for sustainable mountain futures. It also seeks to develop a framework for assessing graduate competencies in relation to sustainable mountain futures and use the framework to provide a status report of the competencies presently produced by the HEIs.

The project is supported by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, an inter-governmental organisation involving eight member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.

VI Connected Learning and Research on Inclusive Education (CLeaR on IE) (2021-2022)

Persons Involved:

Research Team

Prof. Mythili Ramchand (Principal Investigator)
Dr. Sonia Sawhney (Co-Investigator)
Ms. Meenu Talasila (Research Coordinator)
Ms. Manvi Suyal (Research Assistant)
Ms. Tanya Mittal (Research Assistant)
Ms. Uchita Bakshani (Research Assistant)

Advisory Team

Prof. Archana Mehendale (Adjunct Faculty, CETE, TISS, Mumbai)
Dr. Radhika Misquitta (Co- Principal, The Gateway School of Mumbai, Mumbai)
Ms. Ruma Banerjee (Vice Chairperson, Seva in Action, Bengaluru)

The CleaR on IE report is an attempt towards contributing to strengthening teacher education for inclusion. This report documents the processes that were undertaken through The Connected Learning and Research on Inclusive Education (CLeaR) project. Prepared by the Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education (CETE), TISS-Mumbai and the project partners, the following report
encompasses all the major interventions that have been completed under the project so far. Beginning with the backdrop on issues in the field of inclusive education, the report elaborates on each of the components. The first section discusses the desk review of literature in the national and international domains around inclusive education, on the basis of which a teacher competency framework was developed.

The final report can be accessed at: https://tiss.edu/uploads/files/CLeaR_on_IE_Report_Final.pdf

VII Early Child Care and Education (2019)

Project Director - Prof Rekha Pappu

The importance of early child care and education in laying the foundation for the formal processes of education and for the long term well-being of children is well recognised at the national and international levels. Within such a context, the project focussed on the principles and approaches that inform the process of formulating a curriculum for early child care and education within India. Next Education supported the project and had as a key component the organisation of a conference on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) involving teachers and administrators of pre-schools.

VIII State of Inclusive Education in India (2018-2019)

Principal Investigators - Prof. Archana Mehendale, Ms Bhagyalaxmi Velugu, Prof. Mythili Ramchand, & Dr Sonia Sawhney

As part of the State of the Education Report for India initiative by UNESCO, a study was undertaken to review and consolidate existing literature on inclusive education at both the national and global levels. The main purpose of this study commissioned by UNESCO, New Delhi was to develop a report that would highlight the key dimensions of education of children with disabilities as evident in the present times. The report documents the state of education of children with disabilities in India, covering children below the age of 18, and is based on secondary data, published literature, and work commissioned by UNESCO New Delhi between 2016 and 2018. Extensive desk reviews and thematic analyses were conducted.

The report titled N for Nose: Status of the Education Report for India 2019; Children with Disabilities can be accessed at https://en.unesco.org/news/n-nose-state-education-report-india-2019-children-disabilities.

Additional collaterals prepared by funder: https://en.unesco.org/news/n-nose-state-education-report-india-2019-children-disabilities

IX Early Literacy Initiative (2017-2019)

Project Director - Prof Rekha Pappu

The primary aim of the Early Literacy Initiative was to impact the understanding and practice of early literacy in India. The 3-year project, executed between January 2017 and December 2019, received support from the Tata Trusts. The overall objective of the Initiative and the associated activities was to build the capabilities of individuals and institutions to work for early literacy in the country given the widely acknowledged and urgent need for an intervention in the area. Details of the various activities of the project as well as the resources developed as part of the project can be accessed at eli.tiss.edu

X Assessment of School Library Programme (2016-2017)

Principal Investigators - Prof Rekha Pappu & Dr Sonia Sawhney

At the invitation of Wipro Applying Thought in Schools (WATIS), a study was taken up by a 6-member team to assess the library programme of the organization Basic Research Education and Development (BREAD) Society in terms of its functioning and its effect on the children as well as the schools that participate in the programme. The findings from the study, which revealed the critical significance of having a vibrant library programme in schools, is expected to inform the library programme of BREAD Society as well as the government programmes supporting school libraries. The final report has been published on the official website of BREAD Society and can be accessed at http://www.breadsocietyindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/BREAD-Library-Report_TISS.pdf

XI Regulation in Education (2012-2013)

Project Director - Prof Rekha Pappu

The project involved collaboration between Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Hyderabad & Mumbai, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University (AUD) Delhi and Azim Premji University (APU) Bangalore to conduct a summer school on the theme of "Regulation in Education." The summer school was successfully held in December 2013. The Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi and Azim Premji Foundation, Bangalore provided the funding support.