even academic authorities lack an underst<strong>and</strong>ingof CCE. In these circumstances, the work of ateacher is limited to that of mechanicallymaintaining different kinds of records <strong>and</strong>registers, instead of thinking about teachinglearning<strong>and</strong> assessment in a comprehensivefashion. Further, the limited infrastructure, thehigh pupil teacher ratios in many schools <strong>and</strong>the burden of covering the syllabus <strong>and</strong> compilingthese registers, constrain them from reflectingon CCE <strong>and</strong> realizing their pedagogicimaginations. As a result, there is a huge gapbetween how CCE (or for that matter anychange) has been conceptualised <strong>and</strong> how it isbeing implemented.These discussions were taken forward in thesecond session by identifying some of the broadconcerns CCE seeks to address – thepsychological burden, the increasing competitive<strong>and</strong> commercialised ethos in education, the lackof freedom <strong>and</strong> equity, <strong>and</strong> the contradictionsof ‘objective’ assessments. The assessmentsystems followed at the University levels <strong>and</strong> inother countries were also discussed, particularlyto highlight the overall educational experienceof a learner <strong>and</strong> its emotional <strong>and</strong> intellectualimpression on her personality. From the firstday’s sessions it emerged that although teachersappreciate the vision of CCE, the conditions inwhich they work do not allow them to be ableto ‘implement’ or practice it properly.The second day’s session began with a reflectionon some real life assessment situations to gaugehow they matched the concept of CCE. It wasstressed that the manner in which CCE is beingimplemented in schools at present, compromisesthe whole CCE approach. The changes thatCCE envisions were discussed through thespecific instance of the switch from report cardsto children’s cumulative records/portfolios.The following session pursued the idea of ‘shift’in some more detail. The participants reflectedon the ‘shifts’ they have experienced inteaching-learning at school over the past decadeor so. These discussions brought-out that inessence CCE is not a ‘new’ way of assessment– many teachers have been practicingassessment in the way CCE expects them to.However, the difference is that the teachers cannow formally use such assessment.Further in the session, through the sharing ofteachers’ everyday experiences, the groupengaged in debates which are central to the ethosof assessment practices, or rather the wholepedagogic environment in schools, but are oftenconsidered to be peripheral in discussions onCCE. These related to democracy, equity <strong>and</strong>agency of a child. As a particular instance, theparticipants deliberated extensively, on thepractice of corporal-punishment in schools. Thisdiscussion brought out the complicated relationalethos in schools, <strong>and</strong> how it is difficult to discuss<strong>and</strong> situate CCE ignoring this ethos. It was alsofelt that without underst<strong>and</strong>ing child as a partnerin learning <strong>and</strong> creating democratic teachinglearningspaces, the vision that a humaneassessment approach entails could not berealised.The session following these discussions,focussed on the various ways of underst<strong>and</strong>inga child’s learning <strong>and</strong> some possible tools thatcould facilitate these processes. These toolsincluded observations <strong>and</strong> teacher-madeschedules for observation, dialoguing with <strong>and</strong>listening to children, anecdotal records, peerappraisal, the teacher’s diary, writtenassessment <strong>and</strong> the child’s portfolio. Theparticular feature of these tools was that thesewere developed by researchers <strong>and</strong> teachers inactual classroom situations. The focus was notto present ‘model’ tools for replication, but toshare some real-life exemplars used forunderst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>and</strong> supporting learning. Thecontextual design, purpose <strong>and</strong> nature of thesetools were specific reference points in thesepresentations.<strong>Language</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Language</strong> <strong>Teaching</strong> Volume 1 Number 2 July 2012 62
The workshop, in general, created a space whereteachers along with some other stakeholders inschool education could collect their experiencesof evaluation <strong>and</strong> assessment practices <strong>and</strong>reflect on them as a community. It also engagedwith the basic philosophy of CCE <strong>and</strong> ways ofapproaching the goals of CCE. The workshopconcluded with the expectation that thesediscussions would be explored further. It wasproposed that the work on CCE would continuewith more specific focus on the ways ofassessing learning <strong>and</strong> practicing CCE. The hopewas expressed that Ahvaan <strong>and</strong> AUD willcontinue to deliberate on aspects of the qualityof education <strong>and</strong> engage with a largercommunity of teachers to take these issuesforward.*The Ahvaan Group consists of governmentschool teachers, academics <strong>and</strong> researcherswhich has been working over the past oneyear to underst<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> improve the qualityof education in the government schoolsystem.Call for Papers<strong>Language</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Language</strong> <strong>Teaching</strong><strong>Language</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Language</strong> <strong>Teaching</strong> (LLT) isa peer-reviewed periodical. It is not an ELTperiodical. It focuses on the theory <strong>and</strong> practiceof language-teaching <strong>and</strong> English is only one ofthe languages one might consider. Since thereare already many journals devoted to ELT, weparticularly welcome articles dealing with otherlanguages.Papers are invited for the forthcoming issues.Please follow the Guidelines given in the currentissue. The references must be complete in ALLrespects, <strong>and</strong> must follow the APA style sheet.Papers may address any aspect of language orlanguage-teaching. They MUST be written in astyle that is easily accessible to school teachers,who are the primary target audience of thisperiodical. The articles may focus on the learner,teacher, materials, teacher training, learningenvironment, evaluation, or policy issues.Activities focusing on different languages arealso invited. The article must be original <strong>and</strong>should not have been submitted for publicationanywhere else. A statement to this effect mustbe sent along with the article.No paper should exceed 2000 wordsincluding references <strong>and</strong> the bio-note of thecontributor. The bio-note should not exceed25 words.Last date for the submission of articles:January <strong>Issue</strong>: October 30July <strong>Issue</strong>: April 30Articles may be submitted online simultaneouslyto the following email IDs:agniirk@yahoo.comamrit.l.khanna@gmail.comjourllt@gmail.comThey may also be posted to:Vidya Bhawan SocietyFatehpura, Udaipur 313004Rajasthan, India<strong>Language</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Language</strong> <strong>Teaching</strong> Volume 1 Number 2 July 2012 63