Katha

research

Katha's research projects go back to 1989 when we first field-tested our magazine for children from non-literate families. Tamasha! was the basis of our learning on how children read and how they remembered what they had read. We found, for instance, from this survey, that children were not comfortable with the comic format; nor could they perceive on their own how to read a two-column text. They went from line 1 of first column to line 1 of second column, thus coming up with strong reservations about reading!

We subsequently, with funding from UNICEF, carried out a larger survey on Print Communication & The Rural Child. The survey was done in Rajasthan and Bihar, in five districts where we chose five constituencies, and five schools in each of these constituencies. When we went back six months later, we found that children remembered stories for reasons different from that which their teachers had commended! For instance, students all remembered the name Tobakacchi - which teachers said should not have been used for it was a difficult word for children!

This was followed, in 1994-5 by a study of the oral traditions in 6 languages -- Bangla, Bhojpuri, Chattisgarhi, Mythili, Tamil, Telugu. The project, KATHALOK, collected stories, riddles and songs from each of these languages for use in adult literacy and in the education of children. Thus started the whole idea of culturelinking at Katha, and the importance of exposing children to the rich linguistic and storytelling diversity that is India! The study was supported by the Government of India.

From 1996-2004, studies in curriculum development with story as the fulcrum and the search for excellence in the many languages of India was supported by the Ford Foundation. The story, from 21 Indian languages, forms the strong backbone of the Katha Language Arts Programme [KLAP!]. This year it will lend its tensile strength of storytelling to the Baby Books that Katha is in the process of making.

During these years, Katha's research team also helped other research and studies during these years, done by private research groups for Action Aid, UNICEF etc.

2008-2010: The research unit at Katha will be focusing on Early Childhood Education and its impact on the performance, retention an attendance of students coming from underserved communities of Delhi. Funded by the Bernard van Leer Foundation, the study will be seminal, we hope. It will closely study the students in the Katha Community Schools and track their performance through their years in clauses 1-3 of government schools. And in tandem, the team will analyze their performance vis-a-vis that of students who have not been able to have an introduction to pre-reading and pre-writing skills in a quality preschool.

The research team will also support teacher education through these three years. Regular daily interactions will introduce and deepen deeper knowledge of the Indian educationists like Gandhiji, Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, The Mother of the Ashram, Gijubai Badeka and others. At the same time, it will also help teachers understand the main ideas put forth by people like Bertrand Russell, Gramsci, Vygotsky, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Paulo Friere, Bruno Bettleheim, Ivan Illich and John Holt, Henri Giroux, through small-group discussions.

The teacher training institute at Katha is part of KALPANA VILASAM, the centre for creativity in education that was set up in 1990. Besides teacher training, it also assists teachers in making teaching/learning materials and classroom lesson plans.

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Three-Braided Curriculum

Scholastic Training: Formal traditional and non-traditional subject skills.
Academic Diploma - NOS Certification Vocational & Entrepreneurial Training: Management, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills. Katha School of Entrepreneurship Diploma) IT Training (Katha IT & Ecommerce Diploma)
All curriculums including life skills to prepare the child for employment and becoming a productive member of family and society.

Key Frameworks

Teacher training: Intensive training of teachers each year, aided by a Faculty Club programme to maintain excellence.
Honing student excellence: Katha's FINGA Principle finds, initiates, nurtures growth and applauds excellence in our students.
Leveraging reading: Developing taste or RUCHI is at the bottom of Katha's reading initiative. RUCHI increases a child's ability to read, use, comprehend holistically and intuit meaning for greater language power.
L.I.F.E. Skills: Lifelong Learning. Income generation. Family wellbeing. Empowerment
C9 Habits: Lifeskils training that excites children to curiosity, creativity and critical thinking.
TAQeED: Teachers Alliance for Quality eEducation

Support Programs

Katha Student Support Center: Supports Katha children who have transitioned into government schools
Maha-Mandal: Mothers association; parental and community involvement
Women's Income Generation Program: Combination of self-help and formal training to empower women. There are more than 70 women's Self Help Groups which work towards their family's upward mobility.
Shop-Keepers Guild: Several hundred shopkeepers participate in personal and community economic revivals. [The last two groups function only from the Katha Lab School.]

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katha learning system
A powerful tool that has, since 1990, situated the child in the community of carers and brings this community into the curriculum and the school, making learning relevant as well as cooperative..

early childhood education

With 50 community schools that focus on early childhood learning, Katha helps children living in poverty to link formal education with career pathways.

katha lab school
To impact 80% of the urban disadvantaged communities, starting with Delhi,the lab school hones Katha's well-defined recipe that enables children and youth to reach their potential..

professional schools
The Katha School of Entrepreneurship. The Katha Info Tech School. The Social Work Institute help youth get out of poverty..

schools on wheels
1000 street children come into our IT schools on wheels! Since 2001, the Tamasha Roadshows have brought the joy of reading and formal education to urban child workers

katha reading campaign
An exciting and innovative way of bring large numbers of urban children into assured reading skill: The Delhi Government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi have invited us to work in 300 of their schools.

teacher education
With a 160 hour annual training and regular twice-a-month faculty club meets, Katha's teachers are an excited lot!

the school & poverty alleviation
Kath, since 1990, has been the centre of community action and economic resurgence. Today, the movement thrives in 71 slum and street communities.

research
This year's focus is on early childhood education. And equitable education for our youth.

katha translation for equity network

There are 100 million youth in our country, stymied by lack of English and hence unable to perform well in college. K.TEN addresses this obdurate problem.