NEED AND CONTEXT
It has been observed that due to growing globalization commercialization and coy modification of essential requirements of life the young people in the age group of 10 to18 in the south East Asian countries. It especially in the countries like India and Thailand are facing worst problems of negligence and lack of awareness. Because of poverty and ignorance, children are becoming more prone to physical and psychological disorders “children growing up in chronic poverty. There are more likely than other children to experience physical impairments (e.g., low birth weight or “stunting”), cognitive delays and lower IQ, diminished school achievement and higher dropout rates, heightened risk of delinquency, and a greater likelihood of unintended teenage childbearing. The literature on adolescent development is both voluminous and troubling” quoted by (Amato & Booth, 1997 & J. Brian Brown, & Daniel T. Lichter, 2005). Moreover, many of them physically stunted, suffer psychologically from undue family pressures and abuses and are neglected at home, hence, “parenting factors have consistently been related to problematic adolescent behavior too” reported by (Frick, Christian, & Wootton, 1999; Rose, Glaser, Calhoun, & Bates, 2004).
Thus, as they tend to develop low self-esteem from poor families, broken families, and single-headed households, as a result by (Bianchi, 1999; Lichter, 1997), “that, a large share of young adults grew up in single-parent families, with step-parents, or with other co-residential adults”. Moreover, they live in slums and squatter communities, sub-human conditions. Some of there are susceptible to crime syndicates and gang conflicts, substance/drug abuse, and gambling, that is should given the importance of educational adjustment is widely considered an important goal, these experiences have often been linked to problematic adolescent development and a variety of negative adult outcomes”, (Duncan & Brooks-Gunn, 1999 and Guo & Harris, 2000).
Hence, a large number of young adolescents are showing the symptoms of physical and psychological deviation. Such adolescents who profess difficulties in educational and cultural adjustment are at a disadvantaged status and experience school adjustment problems. The individual experiences an upsurge of psychological changes, emotional upheavals and behavioral deviations. It has been reported, Levels of academic achievement during adolescence and educational attainment later in life are strong predictors of a variety of indicators of well-being in adulthood. Including, but not limited to, indicators of economic functioning such as socioeconomic status and income and for instance, adolescents who achieve academically are more likely to graduate from high school and to attend college. Further, academic and cognitive achievement, as indicated by test scores, is predictive of adult wages. Higher educated people are found to be healthier and report to have higher levels of socio-emotional well-being, family-level outcomes, such as marital disruption, and outcomes of children, such as academic and cognitive skills, are predicted by the level of education completed by individuals, (Blau and Kahn, 2000; Zakia Redd, Jennifer Brooks, Ayelish M. McGarvey, 2001).
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The study was conducted with the objective of investigating the extent of educational adjustment and problems associated with achievement of disadvantaged adolescents in India and Thailand. The purpose of the study was to identify the educational needs of disadvantaged students in the age group of 13 to 16. A specially designed package of activities was used to discover the impact of intervention on educational adjustment of the selected sample of disadvantaged students professing difficulties in school related activities.
METHODOLOGY
Sampling
The sample of the study consisted of 125 (68 boys and 57 girls) disadvantaged students from India and 125 (70 boys and 55 girls) from (Northernhenni of Teresa, Winag Pa Pow, Chiang Rai province and Yong People Develop, Doi Sa Kuat, Chiang Mai province.
The sample populations were drawn based on achievement scores on knowledge test. The selected students were subjected to an experimental design consisted of an intervention programme followed by guidance. The facilitators were selected and received training in identifying adjustment problems and arrange suitable programmes.
Design:
Questionnaires were administrated to the sample population to collect data on educational adjustment problems test. There were two groups of learner: both the groups were given Pre-Test as well as Post-Test, where experimental group were given intervention programme and control group was not be given any intervention programme. The intervention programme were conducted in two states: ten administrators conducted face-to-face interviews with disadvantaged adolescent in India and three administrators in Thailand by post in control group were as followed second state:
In India: A group of facilitators were called to develop rapport with the Indian disadvantaged adolescents from there house at Chennai Himmat Slum area in Jammu, (Jammu & Kashmir State, India). In addition, collect necessary data on educational adjustment by administering the selected tools meeting at the same time for data collected were an adjustment of the questionnaires in each of groups by Hindi (mother tongue of the respondent).
In Thailand: The questionnaires in Thai (mother tongue of the respondent) were administered to the Thai disadvantaged adolescents of two orphanages from Teresa Anusorn Foundation (Ban Teresa), and the investigator collected from Yong People Develop, and later the questionnaires.
Experimental group by intervention / Treatment Programme
Experts: all the facilitators who were willing to participate in the study were invited for receiving community sensitization, booklet distribution, and CD training;
Experimental group: 200 disadvantaged students who scored below averae scores in the knowledge test studies had got least scores were given one day training programme on intervention or treatment as follows: in the morning: the orientation and participants programme concentrated on basic issues such as: general framework of adolescent growth, and consisted of discussions and demonstrations. The training programme ncluded the activities so as to develop the psychological and social maturity and in-censoring self direction. The individual experiences an upsurge of psychological changes, emotional upheavals and behavioral conditions. The revised questionnaires were administered to the experimental group as to find out the effect of interventio
Analysis
The completed questionnaires were collated and entered into the computer. The data was entered and analyzed using SPSS. After verification and reduction of data, descriptive frequencies were completed. This was followed by uni-variate and multi-variety procedures to assess the impact of the interventions and to identify other predictors of change in the psychological and social maturity and in-censoring self direction. The individual experiences an upsurge of psychological changes, emotional upheavals and behavioral conduction. Analysis was stratified by sex shown how responded to the variables of psychological changes, differ boys, girls, age, and education. Descriptive statistics was used to profile the study population. The psychological changes were then used to explore the demographic variables associated with education adjustment. Following statistical techniques were applied in the present project: Paired Samples “T”-test and “F”-test.
FINDINGS
The profiles of the 250 Northern Indian and Thai respondent questionnaires are analyzed to find out the relationship between demographic characteristics of the sample population. It was found that Thai boys (56%) have scored more than Indian boys (54.40%) and Indian girls (45.60%) more than Thai girls (44%) have. In the same age group of 15 years old, and the same of Standard: 9 (India) and Thai from the secondary school (Grades 3), is shown in Table 1.
A significant difference between boys and girls in control group was reported after pretest in Indian adolescents. There was no significant difference in the pre and post-test scores of Indian and Thai in educational adjustment. Commonality in educational adjustment of both Indian and Thai groups was reported. Implications of the study for the awareness programmes were suggested, are shown in Table 2-9.
DISCUSSION
In many Northern states of India and Thailand, the educational adjustment and problems associated with achievement of Indian and Thai disadvantaged adolescents. There were neglect and need to improved the adjustment with understand by themselves, family, friends, and other people in there community and social, that, were suggested as; (1) both of them need become a good boys and girls, can thinks and can doing and can solve there problems in there future well-being of them. (2) There need to develop and include the adjustments education programme in the schools curriculums to improve them become a friendly relations to other people around of them. (3) Need to adjustment of developed, good attitude by themselves and other to being a good life in the future.
TABLE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thank to Dr. Y. N. Sridhar, Guide of Research for me. I would like too many helpful and thank the following students, Mr. Kasame Sakonllapap, Mr. Santi Jongkongka, Mr. Prasarn Ruansang and people for their supported. I thankfulness to Father Carlo Luzzi, Mother Elisa Cavana, Father Niphot Thiengwiharn and my family, for contributing to this study by providing funding.
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