TWO \NDMDUAUSTIC APPROACHES TO

AN ANALYSB 0F
" DEVELOPMENT \N \ND\A

Dissertation for the Degree of Ph. D.
MlCH\GAN STATE UNNERSH‘Y
MASUMA DOWME
1976

 

This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

AN ANALYSIS OF TWO INDIVIDUALISTIC
APPROACHES TO DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

presented by

Masuma Downie

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Ph. D. degree in Secondary Education ‘
and Curriculum

NNNNNN

\Majg professor WV

 

 

Date //- /.2 '72

07639

ABSTRACT

AN ANALYSIS OF TWO INDIVIDUALISTIC
APPROACHES TO DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

by

Masuma Downie

This study examined two educational programs in which social
change and development were explained as the result of changes in
particular individual propensities, motives and values. The major
purpose in presenting the two case studies was their status as
individualistic psychological approaches within social science. A
survey of individualistic psychological approaches in the context
of social change theories was also provided.

Nithin social science the adoption of individualistic
approaches in explanation of development and social change was a
reaction to extreme forms of positivism in which the collective and
the normative served as the focus of analysis. In the use of
positivistic approaches the general concern of writers has been to
show the variety of ways in which institutions fit together to main-
tain Society in a state of equilibrium. The positivist emphasis is
on a smoothly functioning social system in which individuals perform

roles prescribed by the social system. The survival of society is

Masuma Downie

taken as a given and the ultimate end of behavior and the function
of institutions is to contribute to the maintenance of the system.

To correct the over-emphasis on institutions and institu-
tionalized role behavior, social scientists using individualistic
psychological approaches attempted to bring men back into the
analysis of social change. Factors which were perceived to determine
action were not rules nor social laws but the exercise of individual
choice and motives in action. Specific individual propensities,
dispositions, values, desires, and motives became the focus of
analysis.

Within the literature on change and development theoretical
priority was assigned to psychological configurations and individual
attributes. The concern was to determine the effect of Specific
motives and values on particular goals of development--to isolate
and identify motives and values as the causative elements which
either enhance or retard social change.

Two educational programs from India were described, then
analyzed for theoretical pre-suppositions, the adequacy of empirical
data, and policy consequences. One was a program of psychological
education undertaken by David C. McClelland and his colleagues to
motivate economic achievement in a group of businessmen and thereby
guarantee economic growth in society. .The other was the Scheme of
Basic Education devised by Mahatma Gandhi to transform individual
values and reconstruct Indian society.

In the analysis of the two cases a number of points of con-

vergence and divergence became evident. Both programs provide

Masuma Downie

illustrations of individualistic approaches in explanation of social
change by first advocating change at the individual level. Particular
individual values, interests, and motives were credited with
inhibiting or enhancing change. Through specific educational inputs
individual commitment to a particular set of values was sought.

Change on the part of the individual from one value set to another

was perceived to guarantee social change.

However, in spite of certain similarities in pre-suppositions,
analysis revealed a number of points of divergence between McClelland
and Gandhi--in the types of values emphasized, the kinds of education
used, in the focus on different groups of individuals. Most impor-
tantly, they differed markedly in their perceptions of the goals of
social change.

McClelland's educational program for social change incorporated
Western assumptions and orientations concerning the nature of change,
its direction, and the ways it could be achieved. Moreover, he held
that individual self-interest in the pursuit of greater entrepre-
neurial success and the ends of economic development coalesce.
McClelland's theory assumes a harmony of interest between individual
self-interest and the common good.

Gandhi's perceptions of social change were diametrically
opposed to McClelland's. The difference was not just in degree and
rate of change, or levels of development, but in the kind of develop-
ment he perceived. The indicators were neither growth, modernization,
nor industrialization. Gandhi's concerns were with divising ways and

means for solving the overriding and urgent problems facing Indian

Masuma Downie

society. Gandhi sought to create a non-violent and non-exploitative
society--a society in which each man would seek Truth through the
ideal means of Non-violence and Love. These values were viewed as
inherent in human nature and could be realized through training. It
was their pursuit which could lead to the all-round development of
individual personality. Through determined persuasion and conver-
sion and by changing men's inner environment exploitation and
violence could be overcome. Social change could be obtained through
the transformation of values, since the highest values required
service of society. Inner progress and service of society were con-
ceived to be the same. Both in his private and public life, Gandhi
maintained a drive toward consistency between the ideal and the real
and a similar commonality of interests between individual values and
the common good was at the core of Basic Education.

At the level of theoretical abstraction and generalization,
however, both educational programs show similarity in certain assump—
tions concerning the individual and society. Implicit in both, at
the individual level, was a denial of variation in action--that is,
all individuals could be brought to value ends advocated by the pro-
tagonists. Furthermore, through specific educational programs, indi-
vidual conformity to specific goals could be achieved. At the
societal level, the multiplicity of processes involved in social
change were considered to be directed toward the attainment of common,
uniting ends and conflicting or contradictory ends were ignored. In
both cases, education was identified as the means by which individuals

would be transformed and social change guaranteed.

AN ANALYSIS OF TWO INDIVIDUALISTIC
APPROACHES TO DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

By

Masuma Downie

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

College of Education

1976

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The ritual of acknowledgment of debts of gratitude to
individuals who have contributed in their own special way to the
completion of this study is a useful and important devise and I
endorse it wholeheartedly.

I have always admired Marvin Grandstaff's perceptive analysis
and understanding of his own culture and above all his objectivity
mixed with a talent to enjoy it aesthetically. As the chairman of
my committee, I could not have asked for nor received greater
support and advice always laced with candor.

Ted Hard's persistent and incisive questionings and
probings required that I be prepared to defend every aspect of an
issue; and he kept me busy in the search for better ones.

My debts to Joe Spielberg will continue to grow the longer
I am associated with him. A number of terms and concepts used in
this study are drawn from unpublished lectures of Professor Spielberg,
and I must offer my appreciation to him on this and many other
points. His critical analysis and not quite total satisfaction
with a piece of writing leaves me with the realization that it is
still an unfinished task.

Thanks are also due to Dr. Cole Brembeck for his helpful

and timely suggestions through the course of my writing, and to

ii

Dr. Keith Anderson for his willingness to serve on my doctoral
committee in Dr. Brembeck's absence.

Final thanks to my husband Richard, who has provided a
source of strength in letting me pursue my own intellectual

development.

iii

Chapter
I.

II.

III.

I\I.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Statement of the Problem . .
Significance and Purpose of the Study.
Methodological Limitations .
Organization of the Dissertation

INDIVIDUALISTIC PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES IN THE
CONTEXT OF SOCIAL CHANGE THEORY. . .

Introduction

Positivistic Approaches Within Social Science

Individualistic Psychological Approaches in
Explanation of Social Change . .

Analysis of Individualistic Psychological Approaches .

MCCLELLAND'S TRAINING PROGRAM TO MODIFY INDIVIDUAL
ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION AND GUARANTEE SOCIAL CHANGE

General Characteristics of McClelland's Theoretical
Model . .

The Experimental Context .

Implementation of Educational Program for
n Achievement . .

Assessment and Outcome of the Training in Motivation
Program . . . . . . .

ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF MCCLELLAND' S TRAINING
PROGRAM IN NEED ACHIEVEMENT . .

Analysis of Theoretical Presuppositions . . . .
Adequacy of Data and Its Empirical Validity. . . .
Policy Implications . . . . .

GANDHIAN SCHEME OF BASIC EDUCATION TO TRANSFORM
INDIVIDUALS AND RECONSTRUCT SOCIETY .

Introduction

-Goals, ObjectiVes, and Principles of Basic Education :

Implementation of Basic Education .
Assessment and Outcomes of Basic Education

iv

23

23
24

29
33
43
43
47
49
54

62

62
71
78

Chapter Page

VI. ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF THE GANDHIAN PHILOSOPHY
OF SOCIAL CHANGE IN ACTION . . . . . . . 104

Some General Characteristics of Gandhian Ideology . . 104
Nature of Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Nature of Society. . . . 110
Some Outcomes and Results of the Gandhian Ideas
in Practice . . . . . ll4

Secular Aspects of Gandhian Ideas and the Social
and Economic Realities . . . . . . . . . . 125

VII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . I30

Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . l4l

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Chapter Page

VI. ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF THE GANDHIAN PHILOSOPHY
OF SOCIAL CHANGE IN ACTION . . . . . . 104

Some General Characteristics of Gandhian Ideology . . 104
Nature of Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Nature of Society. . . . 110
Some Outcomes and Results of the Gandhian Ideas
in Practice . . . . . 114

Secular Aspects of Gandhian Ideas and the Social
and Economic Realities . . . . . . . . . . 125

VII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . I30

Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . l4l

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Statement of the Problem

A persistent problem in the literature on social theory and
social policy is that of change--how does it come about, how can it
be fostered, how can it be understood, and so on. Generally, social
scientists and educationists attempting to understand, explain and
implement social change adopt one of several approaches. Depending
upon research interest, ideology and the theoretical leanings of the
writers, relative importance has been given to one or another order
of variables--economic, cultural, political, ecological, or psycho-
logical--as elements that produce social change.

In this study an attempt will be made to examine one such
approach--one which, on a theoretical and empirical level, undertakes
to explain social change and development by reference to individual
psychological states. The focus of what is here termed as the
"psychological" or "individualistic" approach is on the individual
actor in a particular context: his needs, knowledge, motivation,

values, and desires.1 Writers using the psychological approach are

 

1The theories to be discussed here are those that take the
psychology of individuals as main determinants of change. This
appranh will be termed either "psychological" or "individualistic."
(See Brodbeck, 1954, 1958, 1968; Beattie, 1964; Frank, 1967; and
White, 1949, 1973. Further explanation of the concept will be given
in Chapter II.)

 

 

I

concerned to identify psychological states (or external influences
upon psychological states) to which cause of, or functional correla-
tion to, behavior can be ascribed.

Although all theorists recognize that the full range of
identifiable variables is interactive--individual psychology inter-
acts with economic structures, etc.--most theories of change can be
seen to give priority to some particular set of variables. This is
especially so when the problems of initiating change or of describing
ultimate change outcomes are examined. The difficult problem of
laying out a taxonomy of theories will not be undertaken other than a
stipulative identification of psychological theories as one major and
influential theoretical position. Whether there are stable motives in
individuals, or whether individual motives, desires and attitudes can
be manipulated is not the subject of this study. Those issues are the
specific concern of experimental psychologists, and their resolution
is open to controversy as evidenced in the literature in that special
branch of social science.

The concern here is with programs of social change and the
explanations provided for change which are based upon psychological

presuppositions concerning individual behaviors and action.2

 

2This is in contrast to explanations that give priority to
material conditions and those which emphasize social and political
structures. This study will not compare individual psychological
(ideological) approaches with structural and materialist perspectives,
although any analysis and critique is, in a sense, an implicit com-
parison. To suggest inadequacies in one line of explanation contains
the supposition that some other line is more powerful or parsimonious.
It is the general view of the author that materialist explanations of
social change are (usually) superior to ideological ones (see Harris:
1968) but the present work attempts only the analysis and criticism
of two individual psychological cases.

The specific concern in this study is to examine, through
literature on educational programs and practices of development,
the psychological and individualistic presuppositions of change
programs, and the strengths and weaknesses of such programs in
obtaining and explaining social change. Such programs can be
loosely divided into two general types.

One, the individualistic psychological perspective to social
change implies that change on the conative, affective, and cognative
dimensions of the personality of the actor is necessary. The premise
is that individual attributes-~motives, desires, and values--are the
critical variables, and unless these psychological attributes are
changed the possibility of social, economic, and cultural change is
remote. Another assumption is that underdevelopment is the result
of certain traditional attitudes and beliefs, and only by first
changing individual attitudes, motives and desires can development
occur. Both premises rest upon the view that individual motives,
desires, and values can be manipulated and are vulnerable to every
kind of external influence. Changes in motives require personal
commitment on the part of each individual. For example, Gandhi,
according to Gupta,

sought to operationalize his vision of the ideal society

essentially through personal virtues. The sources of his
collective action (e.g., non-cooperation movement) were
derived from the personal commitment of the participants,

not by the institutional norms of systemic conformity. In
his definition, swaraj comes when one learns to rule oneself.

Such swaraj has to be experienced by each man for himself

(Gupta, [971:86).

 

Large scale programs of social change and development have been under-
taken in India premised on the transformation of individual attitudes,
values, and motives. Gandhi visualized a country of "selfless and
non-political community service," and Jayaprakash Narayan formulated
utopian proposals for the "reconstruction of Indian polity" based on
transformation of individual values (Hanson, 1966:260-61).

The strategy adopted is to design and implement programs
aimed at "the masses," often in the rural areas. The community
development program, for example, was "launched with a view to chang-
ing the very philosophical basis of rural reconstruction." It
attempts:

. . . to create a psychological change in the villagers

. it aims at inculcating in the villagers new desires,

new incentives, new techniques, and a new confidence so that
this vast reservoir of human resources may be used for the
graying economic development of the country (Desai, 1969:
General social uplift and reform at the individual level through the
internalizing of specific norms (Gupta, 1971) is the overriding
concern and attempts are made to directly try and "prod, inform,
teach, exhort, and otherwise manipulate" the individual (Lewis, 1964:
160).

The strategy adopted by another group of social scientists is
to deduce consequences from some previously established ideal-typical
set of attitudes, values, and motives, such as the profit motive or
the need for achievement (Singer, 1966). The specific concern of

investigators using this approach is to identify individuals who have

these characteristics, or who display these latent attributes, in

order that such "innovative" or entrepreneurial individuals can
become the agents of social change. The assumption made here is
that a particular configuration of motives, needs, and desires stand
for all time. For example, the notion of profit motive assumes
uniformity in individual behaviors. Consequently, in order to bring
about social change, certain specific motives within individuals
most be fulfilled or permitted to find expression.

As a result, some programs of social change undertaken are
explicitly based on explaining social change by recourse to individual
motives, needs and desires. McClelland suggests, for example, that
the need for achievement, one aspect of man's internal state, is
responsible for economic development.

A society with a generally high level of g_Achievement

will produce more energetic entrepreneurs who, in turn

produce more rapid economic development (McClelland, 1961:

205).
The notion of individual achievement presupposes that given "the will
and ability" an individual can rise to any station in life (Turner,
1972:65). Attempts may be made to identify individuals who do not
display the particular motives, and programs of change undertaken to
overcome these deficiencies, but such programs place "the burden of
change? on the individual (Turner, 1972:208). .However, in the context
of developing countries, the focus is on individual entrepreneurs and
innovators, that is, individuals who display characteristics which are
considered "modern" and these are the prerequisites for social change
and development (Inkeles, 1966; Lerner, 1958; Rogers, 1968).

The strategy followed in this case is first to devise, under

controlled situations, tests and measures to identify particular

motives and desires; achievement is measured by means of thematic
apperception tests, or in the case of country comparisons, by levels
of "achievement imagery" in children's stories, plays, novels, etc.
Such variables are, in turn, related to economic growth measured by
"electricity consumption" (Blaugh, 1972:85-87) or some other economic
indicator.

In the educational program undertaken by McClelland, for
example, focus is on an identifiable group of businessmen and inno-
vators who are considered potential agents of economic development
and social change, and attempt is made to promote in such individuals
a striving for success and a strong desire to excel, which will then
contribute to the goals of economic development and growth.

The orientation of the individualistic and psychological
approach is to assign theoretical priority to psychological configura-
tions--needs, knbwledge, motivation, values, and desires--of those
involved in implementing and furthering social change.

In this study the concern is with examining the extent to
WhTCIl psychological and individualistic assumptions underlie programs

and [oractices in education and development.

Significance and Purpose of the Study
The role and function of education as an instrument and tool
for-'thersocial good of the whole society and for the development and
creation of desirable traits and characteristics and habits in
ind-i Vi dual personality has always been a recognized fact of human

SOCIBI life. (One needs only to note the role of education in Plato's

Republic.) Education has often been viewed as an instrument for
cultural continuity, through personality development, accumulation
and transmission of knowledge, and maintenance of social solidarity.
The functions of education were considered to be conservation of
values, social institutions, traditions, and morality. In brief
education was for conformity.

The combination of technological breakthroughs, de-
colonization, the two world wars, plus the growth in the sciences,
however, led to a growing interest in progress and change. On the
one hand science was utilized for industrial growth and development,
and on the other hand attempts to change institutions and individual
personality, attitudes and values, and, consequently, to create
changes in the social and cultural realms, were undertaken by social
scientists and educationists interested in social change.

The balance of attention shifted from the conservative func-
tion of education to its capacity for the change and transformation
of individuals and society through education (Aran, Eisenstadt and
Adler, 1972; Gezi, 1971). Social scientists were called in to
assist policy makers in implementing directed change. Discussing
the role of social science in policy, Myrdal states that historically,
knowledge and the uses of knowledge have been Opportunistically
distorted (Myrdal, 1970).

In the colonial era, approaches to, and conceptions of,
underdeveloped countries were from Western views of man. These were
undergirded by concepts and theories of social science which sup-

posedly provided scientific validity to explanations of change or

lack of it. What seemed most important about other countries were
the ways in which they differed from Western society. Depending upon
the particular program of change--educationa1, agricultural, or
industria1--people in colonized countries were seen to be idle,
inefficient, lacking in ambition and in a competitive enterprising
spirit, fatalistic and lacking in rationality. Social relations,
beliefs, values, and attitudes of people were seen as static and a
hinderance to social change. According to Myrdal, these were
rationalizations for lack of policy for instituting change in the
conditions of life. The lack of response to poverty was apologetic
and explained away by pointing to the system of beliefs, social
structure, low economic productivity, and climate. It was to some
extent a justification for the superior status of Western society
and culture backed by ideas of the survival of the fittest (Myrdal,
1970). Colonial policy, at least in one country, as one writer
sums it up, was directed by “benevolent paternalism" (Nair, 1973:
123).

In fact Myrdal states that the interests and concerns of
Western leaders and interventionists in developing countries were not
(ariented toward. either awakening the masses of people to their
interests, instituting radical reforms, or toward making "genuine
democracy" possible.

All their sympathies were with the privileged classes in
the underdeveloped countries and not with the impoverished
masses. They were readily prepared to condone the absence
of reforms in underdeveloped countries, or the perversion of

reforms, preferring stability--in fact, a sort of continuation
of colonial practices (Myrdal, 1970:435-36).

With the movement toward de-colonization, however, many of the
Western assumptions concerning change and progress became suspect
and were rejected, not only by the indigenous people, but also by
Westerners interested in these countries. According to Myrdal,
colonial theory was given up and a "protest ideology" adopted. All
the offensive elements in the old colonial theory were dropped.

But a new kind of bias set in which did away with a rigorous
analysisof social reality.

Economic development and growth as the basis of development
and change became the new concern, and the "spread effect" was adopted.
But the model of economics did not take social conditions and social
forces into account. The "non-economic factors" were either totally
ignored or, if their existence was acknowledged, they did not enter
into the economic equations that were charted. In either case, they
failed "to explain what the neglect of these factors implied for the
validity of their research" (Myrdal, 1970:11-12). This was partly
the result of over-optimism concerning change and development via
industrialization and education. Development was viewed as a linear
process in which countries pass through stages of growth similar to
the developed countries. Colonial theory which had earlier emphasized
the influence of climate, secial structure, institutions, attitudes,
and values as causes of poverty was ignored or abandoned (Myrdal, 1970;
Frank, 1967; Grandstaff, 1974).

This led to another form of status quo somewhat similar to the
one practiced in the colonial period, but now under the guise of

"change." This was the diffusion of liberalism in economics, education

IO

and social sciences. In the context of India, for example, the views
of both British and Indian reformers were that:

Progress . . . must emanate from forces within the

society, generated by education and enlightenment. They
were content to leave matters "in the hands of the school-
master . . . ." This faith in education by the "school-
master" was shared alike by British and Indian opinion
(Nair, 1973:136-37).

The general reactions to colonial government rules were
essentially political, that is, desiring self-rule and the elimination
of the British presence. In the Indian context, only Gandhi was con-
cerned with both the immediate goals, and the long-term future. He
had a realistic appraisal of Indian reality and problems and he
sought to relate means and ends which were intrinsically indigenous
both in conception and in the solutions he devised. However, inde-
pendence and the rejection of colonialism led, ironically, to a
greater adoption of western patterns of development. This was
facilitated by the expansion of education, industrialization, and
ideas concerning development from the West. With respect to the
idea of change through education,

. . both the leadership of these countries and the
international agencies gave unquestioned priority to the
setting up of "modern" systems rather than to theoretical
research into the development-linked factors in education.
However, at the same time, the classical conception of
education, as concerned mainly with the promotion of
cultural continuity, was revised. The dimension of change
not only entered into the conception of the objectives of
education but came to the forefront in both practical and
theoretical preoccupation with education by educators and
social scientists (Aran, Adler, and Eisenstadt, 1972:30).

And, as with other areas that came under the rubric of the diffusion

of innovation, "a rather one-sided and somewhat over-optimistic

II

expectation as to the ability of the modern, i.e., western-type,
education to produce change," set in (Aran, Adler, and Eisenstadt,
1972:30).

Some educationists and social scientists have refined their
tools in order to explain more efficiently the causes of change.
Educational economists, for instance, have attempted through inter-
national comparisons to establish the economic value of education,
and by the use of quantitative indicators to determine its contribu-
tion to economic growth. This, as one writer states, is the "technique
of 'keeping up with the Joneses'" (Blaugh, l969:7). The ”stages of
educational growth" (Harbison and Myers, 1964; 1969) represents well
the linear progression into which countries are arranged in a
hierarchy of proximity and distance from the "Joneses" whoever they
are and however they are defined.

More recently, some have reformulated their stand, both on
theoretical and practical levels concerning education as instrument
of development and change. They now acknowledge that aggregate
expansion and growth of education may perhaps contribute to disequi-
librium in society, that it has somehow failed to lead to social and
egalitarian reforms, and this has led to rethinking on the role of
education in social change. The model which stated that "development
could be achieved in very large part through economic growth," has
"lost its attraction," for at least one writer (Curle, 1973:114).
Another phase in the cycle of the relationship of education to change
has set in. The focus is on the "human factor" in development,

defined in a variety of ways.

12

According to some, change must now occur first at the level
of individual "consciousness," by "raising of the individuals' general
level of awareness" (Curle, 1973:134). In analyzing the factors
which prevent man from creating and providing for his own and
others well-being, attention has shifted to the individual. Curle
posits a "counter-system" to the system of exploitation, competition,
and materialism, which he considers wrong. The "counter-system" he
states is psychologically based, and is to be achieved through the
"efforts" of individuals.

Individ'uals' characteristics and traits posited by other social
scientists as necessary for change are: empathy (Lerner, 1958);
"openness to innovation," "disposition to form and hold opinions,"
time orientation which is present and future, rather than past
oriented, and a whole "complex of attitudes and values that we con-
sider important in defining modern man" (Inkeles, 1966:138-50). Such
criteria are considered desirable as opposed to others which presumably
describe the personality of traditional man: fatalism, particularism,
ascribed status, etc. In short, it is from the vantage point of the
criteria of being "modern" that others are seen to be lacking (Frank,
1972; Rudolph and Rudolph, 1967).

While some writers have done speculative work on the role of
individuals in social change, others have set about to verify it by
drawing on empirical data. Of the many social scientists who have
focused their attention on the individual and have advocated a change
in individual motives, desires, attitudes and values in order that

social change can be guaranteed, few have spelled out their position

13

as explicitly as David C. McClelland (1969). Armed with the "need
for Achievement" hypothesis, McClelland has done comparative studies
of several countries in order to show the impact of achievement on
economic growth, and where growth is slow the motive to achieve is
shown to be low. He has, moreover, devised and implemented programs
whereby the "impulse" to achieve could be infused in a population by
education.

From a somewhat relativistic perspective on education, by
which social scientists and educationists were content to describe
educational phenomena and the maintenance of cultures and traditions
to which education, in a variety of forms, contributed; there has
been a shift toward an overriding concern with changing institutions
and customs through education, with establishing a functional
relationship between education and other social, cultural and economic
institutions. A third general concern has been with the beliefs,
attitudes and values of individuals (Gezi, 1971), and how these
hinder social change and development. A variety of methods has
been devised to change individual attitudes, values, and motives in
order to establish and guarantee modernization and development.

In the literature on the "human factor" there are variations
in emphasis put upon particular traits and characteristics considered
important for social change. The particular individual attributes
which function as essential ingredients for change may vary, as also
the type of change envisaged may differ. But the overriding and

encompassing concern is with determining the influence of the presence

14

or lack of particular individual attributes and characteristics
and their relationship to change or lack of it.

In this study I will explore two educational programs from
India. One is a program of psychological education undertaken by
David C. McClelland to motivate economic achievement in individuals.
Another is the Scheme of Basic Education devised by Mahatma Gandhi
to transform individuals and reconstruct Indian society.

First the general characteristics and objectives of the two
educational programs, their implementation, and outcomes and results
will be discussed; secondly, a critical analysis and evaluation of
the premises and assumptions of the two programs and some of the
limitations in undertaking and explaining social change by advocating
changes in individual effort, awareness, consciousness, achievement,
and individual transformation of values will be presented.

One program is essentially western in conception and execu-
tion, and the goals sought are also dictated by certain western
biases concerning social change and development. There is the
recognition or acceptance of the view that funderdeveloped" countries
require directed and rapid change, at the same time is the acknowledge-
ment of the difficulties its entails. Furthermore, there is implicit
a belief that:

. . . the increase in the production of material goods

is necessary not only as a means of attaining a more
satisfactory state of society, but even as a condition of
economic health (Dumont, 1964:10).

An educational program which exemplifies this orientation was under-

‘taken by David C. McClelland in India.

15

The Scheme of Basic Education conceived by Mahatma Gandhi
for inducing social change in India was intrinsically Indian in origin,
both in the ends which Basic Education was devised to achieve and the
means utilized for their accomplishment. Gandhi, according to
Singer, "brought elements of Indian religious traditions into service
of political, social, and economic reforms." He harnessed "his
'spirituality' to a philosophy and program of social reform . . ."
(Singer, 1972:34). Gandhi was not opposed to change. In fact, as
several writers point out, he broke away from "orthodox interpreta-
tions of Hinduism" by identifying the essential normative system with
a social and altruistic ethic (Gupta, 1971; Rudolph and Rudolph, 1967;
and Singer, 1972). Nor was Gandhi against change in the material
conditions of life. He was not only concerned with problems of
poverty, of unemployment, of the urban-rural diachotomies, but was
the only Indian leader who attempted to make them central issues in
programs of development and change. He sought to devise ways and
means which would help solve these problems, and Basic Education was
A one of them. Gandhi was, however, against development which meant
material growth, induStrial production, in short development for the
sake of development. His one concern was, to use a subtitle to a
recent book, Small is Beautiful, to devise "Economics As If People
Mattered" (Schumacher, 1973).

As this study will document, the types of social change
envisaged differ radically in the positions of McClelland and Gandhi,
and there are variations also in the methods of implementing it. For

example, McClelland is concerned with educational training of

16

innovators and entrepreneurs, and Gandhi's concern is with reaching
the masses and providing education to improve the conditions of all
people. However, the ways in which social change is to be obtained
are similar-~through changing individuals, individual effort, aware-
ness, consciousness, achievement, and individual transformation of
values. Each advocates a particular type of education to unfold
particular qualities in individuals. Each in his own way attempts to
explain social change by recourse to the individual.

In the shift of attention to the individual as an agent of
social change, factors which are external and which impinge upon and
constrain action are either recognized as a hinderance to individual
self-realization and viewed in moral terms as being evil and there-
fore bad; or the social conditions are narrowed down to the level of
the individuals' situational environment which the researcher or the
agent of social change is able to manipulate and control. ,In both
cases, individual self-realization and social well-being are to be
obtained through proper education and training.

The major purpose in presenting the two cases is to discuss
them within the framework of the individualistic psychological
approaches in social science. At a level of abstraction and general-
ization both provide explanations of social change which can be sub-

sumed under individualistic psychological approaches.

Methodological Limitations
Programs of development and social change which focus on

individual needs, desires, attitudes, values, and motives as crucial

17

determinants of change constitute the basic data for this research.
The content of the programs and the forms they take may, however,
vary. For example, some are pilot projects undertaken in a particu-
lar village or community (Fraser, 1968); others are experimental
programs to induce in specific groups of individuals the need for
achievement (McClelland, 1969); still others are descriptions and
explanations of national schemes of social change, such as the com-
munity development or Basic Education efforts undertaken in India.
Available also are some evaluative studies of such programs but
these too are premised on psychological presuppositions concerning
individual beliefs, attitudes, and values in social change.

This research will focus on a fairly restricted body of data,
selected for its usefulness in demonstrating the uses of the psycho-
logical approach to social change. In the case of India several
possibilities present themselves, for example, Basic Education,
Community Development, diffusion of innovation, training in need
Achievement, and other specific projects of individual attitude and
value changes undertaken by social scientists and educationists.
From a survey of these bodies of literature the Scheme of Basic
Education and the need Achievement training programs were selected.
These two programs appear potentially most fruitful for exploring
the uses of the "psychological" and "individualistic" approaches in
undertaking and explaining social change.

The selection of these two programs out of numerous other
studies available from India was made because: (1) these two educa-

tional programs have been documented extensively, (2) more literature

18

is available on them than on others at the present time, (3) both
encompass training and education as important elements in social
change, (4) both types of education programs have been implemented:
one on an experimental basis, and the other on a mass scale, and
(5) both can be described as part of recorded history, although
both are extant in one form or another, and continue to be studied
and researched.

In order to analyze and evaluate the two educational programs
certain parameters will be outlined. These arise partly from the
study and examination of the two educational programs themselves, and
from a study of the theoretical literature on the subject of indi-
vidualistic psychological approaches. An attempt is made to provide
a framework for the discussion and analysis of the cases. The dis-
cussion of each educational program will be circumscribed by the
framework provided here.

McClelland's educational program for changing motivations is
based on theories in psychology. learning theory, behavioristic
psychology and economic theory (McClelland, 1969). He focuses on
specific motives which are considered important in explaining social
change. By the use of social science methods--standard test instru-
ments, pre- and post tests, controlled comparison, rigorous evalua-
tion and presentation of data--he attempts to establish relationships
between particular properties of individuals--need to achieve and
certain external criteria--increase and expansion of business enter-
prise, for example. He selects a small and limited group of indi-

viduals identified by a set of dominant characteristics and attributes

19

which then function as important variables within the framework of
explanation. The training program in psychological education itself
serves as an intervening variable whose effects on individual
motivation and in turn on business enterprise the authors wish to
test.

Consequently, McClelland's program is very much in the main-
stream of social science research. It is based upon a set of
theories; he attempts to establish relationships between specified
properties, and he utilizes social science methods to evaluate his
findings.

The Gandhian Scheme of Basic Education did not have its
origins in a particular social science thedry or model of change and
development. But it was embedded in an ideology or philosophy, or a
combination thereof. Gandhi's concern was not to test a hypothesis
or prove a theory, or to focus on any specific, identifiable group
of individuals, but to advocate through the program a total trans-
formation of individual consciousness. His concern was with the
viability of one set of ideas over another. By formulating ideas
into programs of constructive action--for example, through Basic
Education--he attempted to convince and persuade pe0ple of the
necessity for change. Social change would result from the transforma-
tion of individual attitudes, values and desires and by their commit-
ment to an alternative set of values.

Since Gandhi's program of change is broad-based it is some-
what difficult to evaluate the application of his ideas in action:

(1) the application of his ideas was not rigorous, consequently the

20

form the ideas took in Basic Education was merely an imagery or a
shadow of the ideas as expressed by him, and (2) there was no built
in system of evaluation, as a result evaluations of Basic Education
that are available are in the nature of aposteriori studies. Most
of these are descriptive, a few examine the internal workings of
the schools. Consequently, it is somewhat of a more difficult
enterprise to conduct an inquiry into the aims and objectives of
Basic Education and to evaluate their success vis-a-vis their con-
sistency and conformity with Gandhian ideals without at the same
time doing an injustice to those ideals.

A further complication that arises with respect to the
analysis of Gandhian ideas in practice is that in the process of
formulation of his ideas in action, the ideas were eventually
identified with the person. The powerful force his ideas exercised
on the Indian intelligensia, on the common man, and the whole course
of Indian history, are now part of recorded fact; but the idolatry
of the ideas of Gandhi became inseparable from the person. Although
the institutionalization of these ideas did take place, it was more
a form of ritual observance.

Within the workings of Basic Education itself, those of his
ideas which related to personal and civic virtues were of dominant
concern. Whether Basic Education transforms individual attitudes,
values and desires in a particular direction rather than another is
open to question. There are no comparative studies of children from
different types of schools, for instance, to verify the claims of

transformation of values through Basic Education.

21

Organization of the Dissertation

 

In Chapter I, a statement of the problem, the purpose and
significance of the study, some methodological limitations and the
organization of the dissertation are presented.

In Chapter II, a survey of theoretical literature on
individualistic psychological approaches in the context of social
change theory is presented. Also, literature that provides a
framework for analyzing such approaches to social change is
reviewed.

In Chapter III, McClelland's training program to modify
individual achievement motivation and guarantee social change is
described. This includes a presentation of the stated goals and
purpose; the implementation of the program, and the assessment and
outcomes of the program in achievement training.

In Chapter IV, a critical analysis of the premises and
assumptions of McClelland's education program is provided. Some
of the limitations of explaining social change by advocating
changes in particular individual psychological states, and the
implications and consequences of such an undertaking for policy are
discussed.

In Chapter V, the Gandhian Scheme of Basic Education to
transform individuals and reconstruct society is described. The
implementation of Gandhi's ideas on education, and the outcomes and
results of the Basic Education program are discussed.

In Chapter VI, an analysis of the Gandhian philosophy of

social change is presented; the strengths and weaknesses of the

22

philosophy are discussed; and the limitations of programs of change
based upon his particular approach are examined.

Chapter VII includes a summary and conclusion of the dis-
sertation. In this chapter also, a discussion of the relationship
between individualistic psychological approaches and education is

presented.

CHAPTER II

INDIVIDUALISTIC PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES
IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL CHANGE THEORY

Introduction

 

In this chapter a survey of the literature on individualistic
psychological approaches in explanation of social change isprovided.
In both the presentation of this literature and in the discussion of
alternative approaches, I shall rely heavily on certain epistemo-
logical and methodological issues within social science itself. The
issue of explanation within social science is a very complex and
historically a long standing one. It is not my purpose to cover all
aspects of the epistemological and methodological points of the
debate, but to outline only those aspects of social science approaches
which are directly relevant to the present study. This will be done
by first placing the psychological approaches in historical perspec-
tive by describing other approaches within social science to which
the psychological approaches were a response. Secondly, an outline
of the conceptual framework and methodology as they obtain in the
various approaches concerned with explaining social change and
development will be provided.

For purposes of clarity, the various approaches are arranged
in different sections, not necessarily in chronological order, as
these ideas have been held simultaneously. In fact, they were used

23

24

over the same time period in the past and both co-exist today.
Moreover, no attempt is made here to legislate the adequacy of one
approach over another. Within social science, as one writer points
out, all that obtains are empirical generalizations which state
relationships of properties based on observations. Social science
has few theoretical hypotheses, and empirical generalizations do
produce useful explanations whether or not these explanations are

considered to be ultimate (Brown, 1964).

Positivistic Approaches Within Social Science

 

In this section some limitations of the positivistic
approaches in social science are examined from the point of view of
the human factor exclusively. The purpose here is to provide the
historical setting which gave rise to the development of the individ-
ualistic psychological approaches as a reSponse to extreme forms of
positivism in social science.

Positivism in social science, as expressed especially in
the writings of Durkheim, exercised a powerful influence and con-
tinues to do so on present practitioners. Durkheim's contribution
lay in attaching importance to the primacy of social facts in the
study of social behavior. "Social facts" as crystallization of human
activity are observable because they are collective, widespread, and
diffused within a group. While emerging from human activity, they
exercise a coercive force upon individuals. Social facts consist
"of ways of acting, thinking, and feeling, external to the individual,
and endowed with a power of coercion, by reason of which they control

him" (Durkheim, 1966z3).

25

In general, the collective and the normative become the
focus of analysis. The study of norms, especially those exemplified
in roles and clusters of roles that are embodied in institutions
serve as the unit of analysis. The arena of investigation, then,
is institutionalized behavior (see also Murphy, 1971:86).

The concern is with system maintenance--the interrelations
of roles, the interrelations of institutions, i.e., how institutions
fit together. The survival of society is taken as a given, the
ultimate end of behavior and the function of institutions is to
contribute to its maintenance. The conceptualization of "ends" or
"purposes," then, stops with a notion of the survival of society
which operates theoretically in much the same way as do homeostasis
and species survival in the biological sciences. Analysis tends to
be synchronic and static, and concerned with equilibrium, with a
smoothly functioning social system in which individuals perform
roles as actors on stage (Beattie, 1964; Homans, 1964; Murphy, 1971;
Alavi, n.d.; Wilhelm, 1967).

Durkheim's dictum that social facts should be treated as
things became an axiom (Murphy, 1971). Within social science,
general propositions are about the interactions of institutions,
about social structures, and characteristics of societies, and not
about the behavior of "individual consciousness" (Homans, 1964:810).
The assumptions of structural-functionalists, according to another
writer are:

. . . given the division of labour is society, social

roles which individuals occupy are reciprocally and collec-

tively "functional" so that society as a whole constitutes
a harmoniously integrated system (Alavi, n.d.).

26

The concept of roles is central. Individuals play out their pre-
scribed roles in accordance to rules laid out by the social structure
(Alavi, n.d.). There is the tendency in this approach to reify
institutions and social structure and ignore the individual as an
active, willing agent, who thinks, chooses, and acts.

This model, according to Alavi, does not

. . . allow for activities which undermine the structure

itself, nor that men may contend with other men about the
nature of their society and aspire to alter the structure
itself (Alavi, n.d.).

Since the concern is with showing how the institutions fit
together to maintain society as an "organic whole," this approach is
unable to tackle change within and of institutions. Its focus is on
"processes which are involved in equilibrium and stability" (Nisbet,
1969:283). In order to confront the issue of change, contemporary
functionalists, according to Nisbet, seek "to account for the sources
of change through exploration of the properties of abstract social
systems . . ." (Nisbet, 1969:275).

With the trend toward comparison of societies and cultures,
sources of change are posited as exogenous. Concern, consequently,
is with the institutional processes for the orderly transfer and
transition of norms, ideas, and values, since these are perceived
as the determinants of action. In order for change to occur it is
considered necessary that a diffusion of norms, values and institu-
tions take place. Within social science, the analysis and juxta-
position of divergent types of social institutions, norms, and

values is achieved or legitimized by the use of ideal-types which,

27

presumably, are neutral, value-free, and objective descriptions of
empirical phenomena.

For example, in the study of modernization assumptions are
made which represent examples of an ideal-typical approach.
Modernization is viewed as an inexorable force. For modernization
to occur, a breakdown of the traditional social and cultural forms
is necessary, and if this does not happen "then the forces of tra-
ditionalism must have been too strong and we should expect a failure
of modernization and a persistence of the traditional forms" (Singer,
1968:431). In the Indian context, as Singer elaborates:

These assumptions have led to sweeping generalizations

about the incompatibility between the joint family, the

caste system, and Hinduism, on the one hand, and the forces

of modern industry, urbanization, science, technology, and

education, on the other (1968:431-32).
The consequences of these assumptions in research is either to
demonstrate "the breakdown of these 'traditional' institutions under
the influence of the forces of modernization," or else to show how
"the persistence of the 'traditional' institutions is a major
obstacle to modernization" (1968:432). And when it is found that
both tend to coexist, then the tendency is to consider the society
to be in a state of transition. This tends not only to abstract
institutions and groups but also fails to provide an explanation of
the processes of adaptive change (Singer, 1968:432).

The ideal-type as a construct conceived by Weber was not a
hypothesis or an average, nor was it a model of "what ought to be."

Just as with institutions, norms and values, the ideal-type was

viewed as a "thing" often confused with actual reality. The

28

ideal-type is regarded "as a procrustean bed into which to force the
data and ideal-types have been hypostisized, so that they assume the
character of real forces" (Zeitlin, 1969:120).

Institutional or group concepts are characteristically "open—
ended" and as such take on ambiguity in meaning. The tendency in the
use of such concepts is to attribute "non-observable properties . . .
to equally non-observable group identities" (Brodbeck, 1958:6). The
use of group or macroscopic concepts embodying "properties over and
above the individuals making up the group" is described as meta-
physical holism. It is a view which "maintains that there are so-
called wholes, group identities which have undefinable properties of
their own" (Brodbeck, l958:3). Whole group, institutional, or
holistic concepts, such as those defining attitudes of
authoritarianism-non-authoritarianism tend to be open concepts, and,
as such, imprecise and vague in definition. “The more macroscopic
the concept, the wider its penumbra of vagueness is apt to be"
(Brodbeck, l958:5). The use of ideal-type concepts in comparative
investigations presents several difficulties.

They screen out perceptions of the particular and the

exceptional that contradict dominant trends and motifs.
Such theoretical screening is especially inimical to the
analysis of social change because it eliminates from con-
sideration latent, deviant, and minority alternatives
(Rudolph and Rudolph, 1967:7).
Conflict and deviance within an equilibrium model are dysfunctional,
since the concern, as before, is with providing individuals with

appropriate roles in order that the changed institutions can function

for the maintenance of society.

29

In an attempt to reduce "phenomena to facts," in the prac-
tice of positivism the tendency has been ". . . to assume a homology,
if not a unity, between the phenomenology of the mind and that of
the world external to it" (Murphy, 1971:84).

Individualistic P§ychological Approaches in
Explanation of SociaT'Change

 

 

Reactions to the positivistic trends in social science have
preoccupied philosophers and social scientists concerned with
questions of epistemology and methodology in the study of man and
society. The general rubric of "individualistic" and "psychological"
approaches encompasses a variety of different models, subcategories,
and variations in emphasis and interpretations depending upon the
research interests of the writers and the particular problem of
social change that is explored. But the focus of analysis is the
individual and his characteristics, attributes and particular
psychological states.

Some of the types of individualistic psychological approaches
which obtain in social science are quite wide-ranging and cover a
variety of complex frameworks and positions. The focus of some
studies is on national character (for a critique see Harris, 1968;
Pocock, 1961); others examine child-raising practices and their
effect on personality (for a critique see Harris, 1968; Aberle,
1961). Some are concerned with particular individual attitudes,
values, motives, and desires and the relationship of these to
external change or lack of it (for a critique see Durkheim, 1964;

Singer, 1966; Goheen et al., 1958; and White, 1949). Even more

30

sophisticated models of the psychological approaches are embodied

in such ideas as the "image of limited goods" (Foster, 1968), and
the "culture of poverty" (Lewis, 1970). (For a critique of this
model see Valentine, 1968; and for the psychodynamic model of social
change see Kunkel, 1970.)

A general response to positivism in social science is that
what "really exist are 'individuals and their actions and reactions'"
(Novak, 1968:149). Action is determined not by rules or social
laws, but by the exercise of individual will and choice.

The historical and philOSOphical antecedents to this view
are found in a particular view of man and society which is viewed
as self-sufficient, independent, autonomous, and as a "non-social
moral being" (Dumont, 1965:15). This is essentially a western con-
ception, according to Dumont, who traces the genesis of "man as an
individual" through religious and secular texts in the history of
western thought. He distinguishes this view of man from man as
"the empirical subject of speech, thought and will, indivisible
sample of mankind," which he calls the “particular man" found in all
societies and cultures (1965:15).

At issue here is the analytical distinction between the
holistic view that men are parts of a social whole and "socially
determined" beings, which Dumont claims belongs to the traditional

conception of society as "universitas". This gave way to the

 

notion of "societas" in which individual men come together to form

association.

31

The notion of the individual as a "whplg_being, a private
individual" (Dumont, 1965:19), however, led to a widespread tendency
in social science "which takes society to consist of individuals
prior to groups or relationships that they constitute or 'make' by
combination, more or less of their own accord" (1965:30).

Society is "deduced, from inherent properties or qualities
of man taken as an autonomous being independently or any social or
political attachment" (1965:29). Isolated, independent individuals
come together to form a social whole via a contract (1965:32).

In explanation and analysis of reality the "social facts" of
Durkheim are reduced to "individual facts" (Alavi, n.d.) which in
turn are narrowed down to psychological states or patterns of
behavior (Geertz, 1973).

Social scientists who are interested in understanding and
explaining individual psychology and the contributions that individ-
uals make to social change tend to emphasize the following elements:

1. Social science methods must focus on understanding
the subjective factor in social change.

2. Individual behavior is the result of motives, values,
attitudes, and propensities.

3. Individual attitudes, verbal and non-verbal, are
the locus of social science enterprise.

Inquiry consequently is narrowed down to a specific activity
and analysis similarly bound by a concern with specific individual
propensities, dispositions, values, desires, and interests which
motivate action. The concern in analysis is not with exploring
sources of change and explanation of change of "abstract social

systems," but "with the nature of social change considered as an

32

empirical process in social behavior through historical time"
(Nisbet, 1969:279).

Within the arena of social science, the explanation of
social action, according to Homans, "is given not by any distinc-
tively sociological proposition but by the propositions of learning
theory in psychology" (Homans, 1964:814). Psychological proposi-
tions concerning the behavior of individuals are all that obtain
in social science, according to Homans, and psychological proposi-
tions are sufficient for explanation of social phenomena. Psycho-
logical propositions are general, they constitute deductive systems
that explain human behavior (Homans, 1964).

"The laws of human behavior do not change." If they cannot
explain everything social it is due to a lack of "factual informa-
Ition . . . and not to the propositions themselves." All attempts to
explain social phenomenon which are deductive, are essentially
psychological explanations. "The general propositions of sociology
are in fact psychological" (Homans, 1964:817).

In order to correct the structural-functional view that began
with the Durkheimian axiom that behavior conforms to norms and roles,
and which consequently denied or ignored individual initiative in
action, those who adopt a psychological approach focus on the
individual as the source of norms and values. The positivistic
view of the social system and the normative structure in which the
individual plays his role and to which he conforms is construed to be
embedded in, and can be reduced to, psychological elements. The

psychological attributes which constitute human nature are also

33

viewed as pr0positions which "account for" it (Nisbet, 1969:
296).

The psychological framework, furthermore, assumes that the
behaviors of all individuals in a group "can be explained within
the context of a theory of psychology . . ." (Brodbeck, 1958:16).
Or alternatively, the explanation of the behavior of an individual
can be generalized to the behaviors of all individuals in a group.

Analysis of Individualistic
Psychological—Appppaches

 

 

The emphasis on individual attributes, to the exclusion of
institutional settings in explanation of social change produces a
one-sided picture. Explanation of social phenomena by reference to
psychological states tends "to root values and norms in the supposed
needs of the individuals pgp_§gf (Mills, 1959:160). But the needs
themselves require an understanding of the social reality in which
they find fulfillment. This does not imply a denial of reality to
individuals, but only that the life of an individual cannot be
understood minUs his institutions, within which his life is enacted.

The life of an individual is made up of an "external
biography" of roles which can be understood only in a context of
institutions. Along with the "external biography" one must consider
the "internal and 'psychological' features of man"--his conscience,
emotions, feelings, self-image, and his mind. But beyond the
parameters of physiological imperatives or limits, individual likes
and dislikes, perceptions of self and others are also socially

patterned.

34

The motivations of men, . . . are to be understood

in terms of the vocabularies of motive that prevail in

a society and of social changes and confusions among such

vocabularies (Mills, 1969:162).
Social scientists who adopt the position that it is possible to
explain human behavior by definition of a specific set of subjective
states as expressed in attitudes, opinions, and values, tend to
assume a degree of rational self-consciousness and self-knowledge
on the part of individuals. But there are few individuals who can
be expected to know and understand the causes of their conduct and
feelings, and most individuals tend to reconsider "conduct in the
light of different motives" (Grunbaum, 1953:774).

Although behavior is determined by peoples' motives,
expectations and values, a social scientist cannot ignore the dif-
ference between what people "actually do“ and what they "believe
they 'ought to do'" (Beattie, 1964:37-38), otherwise, the social
scientist is likely to confuse motives and values with overt acts
of behavior or to assume a perfect fit between attitudes, values and
beliefs on the one hand and action on the other (Wicker, 1969).
Although individuals do have beliefs and values and may act on them,
a social scientist cannot "with impunity, wholly ignore the differ-

ence between what people think of the world and what the world is

like" (Brodbeck, 1954:143).1

 

1Recently, "Structuralism" as expounded by several well-
known social scientists is an attempt to understand and explain the
"deep structures" of the mind and "the possibility of innate knowl-
edge not derived from experience" (Stent, 1975:1053). But since
this is an area which at the moment, to my knowledge, is not con-
cerned with the relationship between social change and "deep
structures" I will not explore it further.

35

This is not a denial of the importance of motives in human
action. In fact, the nature and functioning of the individual
characteristics, and individual mind can be grasped and understood
only by the use of psychological terms and concepts (Brodbeck, 1954,
1958; Beattie, 1964; Harris, 1968).

Psychology has an important contribution to make to “an

understanding of individual health and disease" (Harris, 1968:458).

 

And psychological interests both in the physiological factors in
human behavior and also the conditioning factors that lead an indi-
vidual to act in a specific way do provide important explanatory
grounds for individual behavior. It is perfectly legitimate to try
to find out what is going on "inside peoples' heads," to find out
how people think, and feel. But, as Harris contends, in explanation
of socio-cultural change, it is "less risky" to undertake other types
of cultural and social investigations.
. . psychological studies are especially vulnerable to

criticisms which challenge their evidential foundations.

This difficulty increases in direct proportion to the size

and socio-cultural complexity of the population from which

the typical impressionistic vignettes are derived (Harris,

1968:414).
It is a form of idealism, according to Harris, to advocate that a
particular type of personality is both necessary and sufficient con-
dition for certain types of institutions to surface. Although
institutional transformations required "appropriate personality
types" they are themselves not sufficient. Besides, the creation
of "appropriate personality types" itself requires institutional

changes. Moreover, Harris cautions, "Human personalities, like

ideas, are potentially infinite in variety." The issues within

36

social science have to do with "why specific cultures manifest
regular differences and similarities. Explanations by reduction
to individual personality would be impossible" (Harris, 1968:457).
Other writers point to the limitations of the terms and con-
cepts and to the assumptions within psychology, not just in terms of
their application to individuals in unfamiliar cultures. Terms and
concepts "derived from psychological researches in Western society
may lead--and indeed have 1ed--to gross distortions" (Beattie,
1964:28). Concepts which define attitudes and clinical states
require that a choice be made "from an almost infinite variety of
symptoms those which can be used reliably to define the term in
question.” Consequently, the explicit definition of concepts, in
order that they can enter into laws is a problem which psychologists
must address. Problems remain, however, even if the problem of
definition could be overcome, in that "the fittingness of a
behavioristic definition varies from culture to culture" (Brodbeck,
l958:5). To put it differently,
In all societies, concrete manifestations of behavior,
verbal or nonverbal, result from complicated interactions
of specific personalities whose repertoires of rules,-
especially when it comes to the rules for interpreting or
breaking rules, often seem to have little in common (Harris,
1968:591).
There are limitations both with respect to definition on psychological
terms and concepts, and their explanatory scope.
The dilemma is that both psychologists and social scientists

are concerned with the same subject matter--"people in society"--

but the questions each asks differ (Beattie, 1964:26). Psychology

37

focuses on the individual, and other social scientists, such as
anthropologists and sociologists, on the "society and culture the
individual is jpf (Beattie, 1964:26).

Each is a legitimate and autonomous enterprise, they do not
mutually exclude each other. Society does not exist apart from its
members. Each, however, calls for a different "level of analysis"
and "different methods." Psychological explanations cannot suffi-
ciently explain social phenomena. All explanation is a way of
accounting for reality, and as such it abstracts, but the abstraction
occurs at different levels and requires different sets of premises
(Beattie, 1964).

The difficulty is that social scientists do use terms and
concepts drawn from psychology. Even writers who are not at all
psychologically oriented tend to use psychological terms and con-
cepts. The use of psychological terms and concepts to describe
whole cultures was a common practice among the culture and personality
and the historical-particularistic schools of anthropology (e.g.,
Harris, 1968:395). But while the "psychological idiom“ is appro-
priate for describing individual characteristics it is not adequate
in explaining socio-cultural change (Harris, 1968:404).

The issue, according to Brodbeck, who approaches it on an
analytical level, is between the relationship of group concepts and
those referring to individuals. She distinguishes between "the
nature of tgpm§_or concepts of social science," and "the nature of
its law§_and theories and their relationship in turn to those in

other areas." Terms and concepts refer to meaning and hence matters

38

of definition; laws and theories require reduction and therefore
explanation (Brodbeck, 1958:1).,

According to Brodbeck, psychological terms and concepts in
description of social phenomena can be legitimately used. This
statement is based on the premise that all group characteristics,
attributes, and properties are definable in terms of individual
behaviors. To do otherwise--that is, to hold to the view that group
characteristics are undefinable, that they are not reducible to
"descriptive relations"--is to attribute to the group the property
of a "superentity" having its own aims and purpose. I

The use of a psychological theory of individual behavior,
on the other hand, in explanation of social phenomena is a form of
"reductive explanation," that is, it attempts to explain the phenomena
in a given field in terms of another field that is microscopic to it.
The problem in the use of such an approach is the inability "to
generalize from the pattern of interaction between two individuals
to the pattern of interaction among many individuals" (Holt and
Turner, 1966:27-28). While it is appropriate for psychologists to
analyze individual behavior by examining motives and desires that
activate individuals, questions that can be asked concerning inten-
tions and motivations of individuals "have little relevance to
institutional analysis" (Beattie, 1964:55). Beattie further dis-

tinguishes between the two types of analysis:

39

. . . questions which may usefully be asked about social
institutions are often quite inappropriate in regard to
individual people. It is entirely sensible to ask what
are the social functions of an institution like marriage:
it is very much less so to ask what are the social functions
of particular husbands or wives (1964:55; see also Brodbeck,
1968).

It is very easy to confuse the two frames of reference, but as
Nisbet points out, somewhat bluntly, social scientists “dare not
confuse a proposition by which we account for an aspect of reality
with the nature of reality" (Nisbet, 1969:294).

At the level of empirical generalizations,2 however, in

sociological explanations,
psychological involvement may be seen as intervening variables
in the functional relationship between two sociological
elements. Similarly, from the standpoint of individual
psychology. the sociocultural element may be seen as the
intervening variable in the functional whole of the human
personality (Goldschmidt, 1966:134).

Brodbeck describes the characteristic features of all social
sciences which point to a lack of closure, completeness, and per-
fection in comparison with the physical sciences. The separation
of variables into stimulus and response variables, for example, is
artificial and points to imperfection. The same holds for all
social sciences. The use of statistics to overcome some of the
shortcomings simply points to "how much can be ignored, particularly
of the individual variance, and prediction still be possible"

(Brodbeck, 1958:22).

 

2These are defined as statements of regular relationship of
properties based on observations. Empirical generalizations appeal
to further empirical generalizations. They lead to successive
puzzles with no clear end in sight. Social science has a few
theoretical hypotheses, and empirical generalizations produce useful
explanations whether or not they are ultimate. (Robert Brown,
,Explanations in Social Science, 1963.)

40

The general implications are: (1) that no individual social
science can attempt to explain everything; (2) that each social
science is dependent upon the findings of other social sciences;
and (3) that there is dependence upon terms and concepts from one
social science to another. While the subject matter is the same,
the approach taken, the questions asked, and the level of analysis
differ. "Explanation in any field is not absolute, but relative to
a set of premises" (Brodbeck, 1954:155).

It is "a matter of empirical determination," according to
Brodbeck, whether group behavior can be reduced to laws about
individual behavior. It is a "matter of fact. And matters of fact
cannot be legislated into existence," they have to be empirically
determined (Brodbeck, 1958:20).

The "group sciences" according to Brodbeck, are here to stay,
although the likelihood of "a set of macroscopic laws permitting the
prediction of the 'state' of society (i.e., the values of the group
variables) at all time from its state at any given time," is remote
(1958:21). Yet, on the other hand, there are limitations in the use
of reductive explanations that can be applied to "complex macro-
social phenomena" (Holt and Turner, 1966:27).

For the purposes of analysis, in the studies which focus on
psychological factors as elements in social change, two dominant
trends can be identified. One holds that there are certain stable
motives in individuals. Social change is viewed to be the result of
individual pursuit of self-interest and desires and maximization of

values, therefore social change can be furthered: (a) by individual

41

expression and realization of preferences and interests, (b) by
steering these through the use of the right kind of education, and
(c) by providing individuals with incentives and rewards.

Individual self-realization occurs through pursuit of self-
interest "in the form of acquisition, accumulation, and maximization"
(Weisskoph, 1951:199). Social change follows once this is
guaranteed to all individuals, and a "harmony of interests" will
come to prevail. This, as Weisskoph points out, is essentially a
lpsychocultural device "to justify economic egoism by asserting that
it is at least socially beneficial" (1951:199).

Another dominant trend evident in the literature which falls
in the domain of individual psychological approaches is the view
that social change is caused by changes in peoples' attitudes,
motives, values, and desires, and can be furthered: (a) by replacing
one set or type of motives, values and desires by another; (b) by
advocating a commitment to personal and social virtues through con-
sciousness raising and proper education; and (c) creating a sense of
community spirit and c00peration.

The goal sought is the good of the whole. The social welfare
of all is of predominant concern. Individual satisfaction and self-
realization can be achieved only through "altruistic unselfishness"
(Joshi, 1971:78). In the Gandhian cosmology, society is essentially
"non-acquisitive," and “non-technocratic" (1971:79). In both cases,
the focus of analysis is individual and particular psychological
states. And, in both cases, education is the means for bringing

about individual and social change.

42

In this chapter a summary of individual psychological
approaches in the context of social change theories is provided.
This serves as a basis of an inquiry and analysis of the two cases
from India. That inquiry will begin with an inspection of, first,
a Western model of development undertaken as an experimental educa-
tion program known as "N_[need] Achievement training," whose advocate
is David C. McClelland; and second, an indigenous model of develop-
ment exemplified in the ideas and experiments of Mahatma Gandhi and

expressed in and through the program of Basic Education.

CHAPTER III

McCLELLAND'S TRAINING PROGRAM TO MODIFY
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION
AND GUARANTEE SOCIAL CHANGE

General Characteristics of McClelland's
Theoretical Framework

 

 

David C. McClelland is one of a number of social scientists
to apply a theory in behavioral science to problems of development.
He essentially views problems of social change to be those requiring
changes in motivation and personality, that is, the creation of _r_1_
Achievement in each individual. At the societal level, change is
viewed as the result of an ethic or ideology (McClelland, 1961,
1963, and 1969).

McClelland is interested in "the motivational concerns which
favor economic and social modernization" and his views are that
certain "psychological preconditions for a 'modern' technical and
social order" are imperative (1963:17). McClelland suggests that:

. ideas are in fact more important in shaping
history than purely materialistic arrangements . . . it
is values, motives, or psychological forces that determine
ultimately the rate of economic and social development
(1963:18).
The issue is one of changing Phuman valuesi (1963:28). It is inade-

quate, according to McClelland, to hold to the view that changes in

the economic, technical, and environmental factors will lead to

43

44

changes in human responses, which then will support the altered
arrangements. Furthermore, he opposed the view that as people are
exposed to modernizing factors in their environment--that is,
urbanization, mass media, political participation, education, the
use of money--they will inevitably be led to change their attitudes,
beliefs, and values (Inkeles, 1966; Lerner, 1958; Rogers, 1969).
These factors, according to McClelland, have failed to lead to
desired responses in individuals.

Over and over again technical assistance has failed

to evoke automatically attitudes it should if it is to be
considered a really effective source of attitude change
(1969:30).

‘The provision of government aid, guarantees, and incentives
in the form of opportunities to succeed and thus further economic
development have not worked (1969:19). Re-arranging institutional
and social conditions in order to change men's behaviors, by
providing rewards and incentives for appropriate change in the
desired direction, are not sufficient. Such programs are based on
the "rational model" of economics which states that men will maximize
their personal utility. This model, according to McClelland, is
unable to specify the conditions under which change does or does not
occur.

McClelland sets out to discover those specific conditions or
elements which account for variation in response to similar condi-
tions. It is by using the psychological concept of achievement
motivation, or p_Achievement, to account for the differences in

response to similar conditions that an adequate explanation can be

45

considered. It is one specific motive that interests McClelland

from the hierarchy of motives found in individuals (1969:43). And

it is the association between this particular psychological character-
,istic (which he labels p_[need for] Achievement) and the entre-
preneurial spirit which leads to social change.

N Achievement is a characteristic found to varying degrees
in all individuals. Need to achieve is a "relatively stable person-
ality characteristic" (l969z2). But it is possible to manipulate
disposition, motivation, personality--the structure of responses in
individuals--to bring about desired economic change; "development
of motivation" can lead to other types of development (1969:xii).
While all individuals have a need to achieve, some are more endowed
than others and this has important implications for development.

The theory of motivation predicts that it is precisely

those with high p_Achievement who are sensitive to changes
in economic opportunities; whereas those with low p_Achieve-
ment are not (l969z6).
And, since motives are learned or acquired, they can be changed
(1969:43).

McClelland's theoretical framework includes two elements:

one economic and the other psychological. Central to the economic

model is the axiom: "Men act so as to maximize their interest(s)

or return(s) over some time period, given the perceived constraints

 

 

of the situation" (1969:21). But not all individuals are motivated

 

to achieve economic gains and growth, as economists assume; they
may also be motivated to achieve other things. McClelland explains
the concepts of the rational economic model in order to describe the

variations in the ways the model finds expression.

46

All individuals are maximizers, but not of the same
things; some pursue life, others leisure, the Good.

A man's behavior is rational in that he maximizes some
thing (interests). Men have a variety of interests.
To say "men get what they want," says little about
"which things they come to want" (1969z9).

- In maximization of the expected value of the outcome
of an act, an individual pursues a particular strategy,
and he has a certain perception of success or failure
in investing or not investing.

 

- The time period required also involves a perception of
immediate or short term gain.

 

- The way in which an individual perceives the constraints
of the situation, and evaluates the situation and
processes it, affect the maximization of interest over
time (1969: 22).

 

 

Because of the ambiguities embedded in the concepts of the rational
economic model, in different contexts, the model takes different
forms and is unable to explain economic development. "Certain
patterns of terms lead to economic development, and certain patterns
do not" (1969:23). Variations in the ways the model finds expression
is the result of p_Achievement, according to McClelland.

A second element of McClelland's theoretical framework is
that it is only people with strong achievement motivation who display
the attributes necessary for economic development: "concern for
improvement, maximization of gains, minimization of time and effort,
weighing difficulties realistically" (1969:338). It is this motive
which leads to "vigorous economic activity."

. . various aspects of p.Achievement behavior syndrome

are precisely those that are necessary to make the rational
model work in a way that promotes economic development
(1969:23).

A combination of psychological terms and concepts and economic

terms and concepts constitute his framework.

47

The provision of incentives and opportunities or the alloca-
tion of resources, which the economic framework permits, is not
enough. In other words, the re-structuring of the situation is
insufficient to bring about development. The structure of response
to the situation of specific populations--their interests,
strategies, time perspectives, and perceptions (1969:25). "In
psychological language, it becomes important to increase p_Achieve-
ment"(l969:26).

Involved is an assumption that both these criteria--economic
and psychological are imperative for economic development, but
“not all people possess the characteristics of achievement motiva-
tion in a sufficient degree to respond to economic incentives"

(1969:339).

The Experimental Context

 

In order to test his theoretical framework, McClelland and
his colleagues undertook a program to teach need achievement to a
group of Indian businessmen, on the assumption that they would
"take better advantage of existing economic opportunities,“ once
they were trained (1969:338).

To formulate the experiment, the authors drew upon a variety
of experimental and clinical literature. From learning theory they
took such variables as frequency of rewards, the meaningfulness of
material learned, and recitation, as factors important to
behavior change. From psychotherapy came the idea that warmth and

empathy on the part of the therapist promotes more rapid improvement,

48

And, from the literature on attitude change were drawn the notions
that "using reason or prestige to support an argument and affiliat-
ing with a new reference group are variables that are crucial for
developing new attitudes . . ." (1969:44). Motives are "clusters
of expectancies" that grow up around affective experiences.
"Motives are affectively toned associative networks arranged in a
hierarchy of strength or importance within a given individual"
(1969:43). The p_Achievement motive is embedded in the network,
and is coded and measured through fantasy references, which a sub-
ject makes in stories that he is asked to write or interpret. If
a subject makes references to "doing something well, doing things
better than someone else, or overcoming obstacles to achieve his
goal, he is recorded as having a high p_Achievement score . . ."
(1969:43). The point is to move the p_Achievement higher up in an
individual's hierarchy of needs; how? By a specific type of educa-
tional input.

The basic concepts in the p_Achievement syndrome which is
viewed as an "associative network" (1969:43) are "self-study,"
"goal-setting," and "interpersonal supports." These are also
viewed as "inputs" or "themes" which are provided in the motiva-
tional training course to the participants.

Motives are "arranged in a hierarchy of strength or
importance within a given individual." The function of the achieve-

ment training was to move p_achievement upward in the individual's

value hierarchy (1969:43).

49

"After the course, participants should think more often in
terms of improving their business activities, take more successful
moderate risks, use feedback, explore the environment, and so on"
(1969:79). The results of these ventures would become visible in
both changed behavior, and concrete outcomes, "such as unusual
pay raises, promotions to jobs of higher entrepreneurial responsi-
bility, increased profits, decreased costs, larger sales volume,
and the like" (1969:79).

Implementation of Educational Program
for n Achievement

 

 

In the education program undertaken by McClelland and his
colleagues, the attempt was made to directly influence people in a
community and to increase their p Achievement. "The ultimate test
that p_Achievement is a key ingredient in economic growth must be
an experiment aimed at altering it to see what the effects would
be" (1969:36). The purpose of the study was to increase p_Achieve-
ment in a group of businessmen by a specific type of education.
The population chosen was not general but quite specific. The
rationale for selecting businessmen was based on prior research
that stated that the socio-economic background and p_Achievement
of individuals are related--"individuals with a moderate level of
education in the middle classes have the highest p_Achievement"
(1969:31). It is people who have "certain dispositions, chiefly a
high p_Ach," who are "likely to take advantage of economic oppor-

tunities" (1969:5). People are differentially motivated and those

50

who are more motivated are more likely to be achievement oriented
and consequently more likely to take advantage of opportunities and
succeed.

After a survey to obtain comparative statistics on several
small cities in India three cities--Kakinada, Rajamundry, and
Vellore--which fulfilled the researcher's criteria for the measure-
ment of effectiveness of p_Achievement training were selected.
Three groups of businessmen totalling 150 in number from the three
cities were identified. One was the group provided training,
another group from the same city did not receive any training, and
a third group of businessmen from another city also served as a
control group. From the third city, a similar control and experi-
mental groups constituted part of the study. The rationale was
that the first group would show significant increases in "entre-
preneurial spirit" which would "help create a more 'go ahead'
atmosphere for all businessmen in the city," and lead to a fall-out
effect on the control group in the same city, while the third
control group would show no changes at all either in p_Achievement
or in economic growth, as they would not have received either
training nor fall-out effect.

Because of the withdrawal of substantial financial support
of the project, the study took the form of a pilot project, and
the assessment of the impact of the training on the general economy
of the community was not feasible. They were able to obtain
answers only to "what happens to the business activities of men
after they have been exposed to achievement motivation training"

(1969:107).

51

Men involved in industry, commerce and some professionals
were the participants in the courses in achievement training. They
were by the writers own account, quite well-to-do. The range at
one end for several men totalled assets of "at least a million
dollars in land, bank deposits, or cash. At the other extremes
were several who earned as little as 1,500 rupees a year." But
the latter had "sources from which they could raise capital if
necessary" (1969:127).

The study was conducted under the aegis of Small Industries
Extension Training Institute in Hyderabad (SIET), an institute set
up to help develop small industries and provide training (1969:98).

The course content included a variety of inputs. They were
described by the writers as constituting elements of the management
training seminars conducted in the United States. The basic ele-
ments were: the achievement syndrome, self-study, goal-setting,
and interpersonal supports (1969:45). These themes were woven
into the courses. Each was further sub-divided into separate terms
and concepts and together they constituted the training inputs.

For examples: the achievement syndrome included "fantasy,"
described as the ability "to recognize and produce achievement-
related fantasies" (1969:45); "goal-setting," attempts to help the
trainees "to define more precisely what goals they will set for
themselves and how they will go about measuring progress toward
these goals" (1969:66); "interpersonal supports" recognized the

need for providing "warmth," the need for an appropriate "retreat

52

setting," and the need for group association was recognized as an
important ingredient.

The training lasted about 10-15 days, and the businessmen
were provided training in groups averaging thirteen in number.

The participants had to reside at SIET for the duration of the
course.

The educational program of psychological change in order
to be effective had "to create a climate in which what is supposed
to happen will happen" (1969:153). After the first course, a
"Manual for Instructors" was written in which the ideal character-
istics of the faculty member were described and his role vis-a-vis
the trainee outlined. The attitude of the instructor toward the
trainee is summarized as follows:

You are a strong person, worthy of respect. You can

make your own decisions, having obtained help and guidance
from others. You can change and redirect your life if you
want to badly enough. Don't believe those philosophers
who say that you never can be anything but what you are.
All we can do is give you some new techniques, discovered
by psychological science, which will help you define your
goals and find ways of achieving them (p. 160).
On a personal, emotional, and social basis, the course was
described as having a strong positive impact on the participants, —
according to the evaluations provided by participants (p. 175).

To examine the impact of the training program upon the
business activity of the participants, a longterm assessment and
evaluation had to be carried out. After completion of the course

each participant was visited about every six months to see how he

was progressing toward the goals he had set in the course. The aim

53

in fbllowing up on the business activity was to remind "the
participants that they were being watched," that they were to con-
sider themselves to be still "in training" and that they were
responsible for comparing "their actual progress with the goals
they had set for themselves" (p. 177).

The businessmen formed an Entrepreneurs Association, but it
functioned only as a place where people socialized. Immediate
impact of the course was insignificant. Several months later, the
major author visited the city to meet with the businessmen who had
participated in the training course. By his own account, this visit
functioned as an important morale booster. Besides creating
"interest and curiosity" since they had never met the major author,
but only heard about him, the visit, it was thought, "would
strengthen individuals' faith that they could and should change"
(p. 179). (The follow-up visits were to help reinforce the motiva-
tion of participants.

"Factual information" on business activity was obtained from
the participants, but according to the authors,

As the amount of factual information increased from
successive visits, it became more and more evident
that it did not provide a solid basis for evidence of
changes in business activity levels (p. 196).
Nevertheless, progress did occur. Frequent visits by several out-

siders to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program were

undertaken.

54

Assessment and Outcome of the Training
in Motivation Program

 

 

Follow-up visits, interviews with some of the participants,
and statistical data measuring increased economic activity were
obtained periodically after the completion of the training program.
The aim was to discover the effects of p_AChievement on economic
development of the various businesmen. Did training in need for
achievement produce the appropriate values and attitudes necessary
to produce economic development? At the individual level, some of
the changes in attitudes, values and behaviors as a result of p_
Achievement training inputs described by the writers are:

1. More individuals stated that they were involved in
planning new activities. (This finding had to be disregarded in
evaluation, as it was difficult to separate out how much the
individuals wanted "to tell the visitor that he was living up to
his obligation to become active" [l969:l82]);

2. McClelland's visit several months after courses were
conducted did much to "recommit individuals, both publicly and
privately, to the goals they had set for themselves" (1969:180).

It was considered a great reinforcer for the individuals as for
the group of participants as a whole;

3. Some of the changes perceived by one evaluator were
(a) there was a greater "perception of risk" on the individual's
part, but without, however, "any change in the objective situation";
(b) the ability to view things in achievement terms was recognized.

Achievement imagery that seemed to have some effect was one defined

55

as "proving oneself to oneself," but none of the other aspects of
achievement imagery--"competition with others," "unique accomplish-
ment," "long-term involvement," however, had any relevance for the
participants; (c) nonetheless, they are perceived as having become
"more imaginative" with respect to thinking about achievement and
planning; (d) others who were enthusiastic during the training were
less so later (1969:193-95).

4. A separate detailed sampling of businessmen was under-
taken and the summary was that the men sampled worked harder after
the course, some made new plans for starting businesses, but for
many these did not work out, and they continued to expand their old
business. The interviewer states that some of these undertakings
involved "complex business and family, but these are not explored."

5. Impressive statistics are provided that display the
effect of the training on the economic performance and entrepre-
neurial activity of the businessmen. The measures of entrepre-
neurial activity reported document "changes in activity, labor,
capital, and output" (1969:214). In all these areas, the partici-
pants in the courses showed significant improvements compared to
two years before as well as to the control groups.

However, there are differences in economy activities of the
participants. The writers attempt to identify factors that con-
tribute to change and those which do not in order to identify
obstacles to change. In examining the social and cultural back-
grounds of the "Changers" and the "Inactives,i such as caSte, age,

education, religious beliefs, the conclusions drawn are that there

56

seem to be few consistent patterns of difference between the
practices of the Changers and those of the Inactives in the areas
of "Subordination, Dependence, Cast Rules, Religious Behavior, and
Feminism" (1969:262).

While "the Changers had made significant economic improve-
ments . . . they do not appear to be different in their verbally
expressed values." The conclusion reached is that

For every highly modernized, sephisticated Changer who

spoke to us in fluent English, there seemed to be a devout

Hindu wearing a kurta or lungi, who spoke broken English

haltingly, but who nevertheless had made observable and

important improvements in his business after the course.

Moreover, just as there were traditional, orthodox men

who did not change, so also were there highly educated,

Westernized men who made eloquent excuses for their

inactivity (1969:263).
Comparison of those who changed after the course and those who did
not are therefore not related to traditional beliefs, values, and
attitudes on the part of one or the other group. These do not
inhibit people from entrepreneurial activity. Yet, in spite of
the "negative results" the writers "feel that the Changers must be
different, psychologically, from the Inactives . . . in deeper and
more subtle ways than can be detected by value questionnaires
(1969:268).

The subtleties were obtained by administering a variety of
clinical tests, such as the Semantic Differential Test, TAT,
answers to "Who Am I?" The conclusions reached were that the dif-

ferences between the changers and the inactives were in terms of

"a styfle of describing" the goals." The former envisioned

57

"autonomous action," while the latter contemplated a "goal state"
in their responses (1969:271-72).

In order to evaluate individual differences in response to
achievement motivation training, four in-depth cases of participants
were conducted. Of these, three are considered "Changers," and one
"Inactive." Some of the conclusions from the analysis of the life
histories are:

1. There was no single aspect of achievement motivation
training to which all favorable responses could be attributed.
"Individuals seem to have responded positively to the training
courses for different reasons" (1969:305).

2. The changes that did result cannot be described as
having effected the "deep-seated transformation of the motivation
of the participants. Rather, it appears that the courses affected
individuals by accentuating, building upon, or focusing potential
for entrepreneurial activity which was already there" (305).

3. The initial p_Achievement score obtained on each
individual cannot "predict which men will become active after the
course" (307). However, the conclusion is that there is "a good
deal of latent entrepreneurial talent that is never put to use."
But, a training program by providing "practical assistance,
prestigious inspiration, and the increasing of a businessman's
perceived probability of business success," can convert latent
capacities and channel them into economic activity (1969:308).

A more significant conclusion concerning the impact of

achievement motivation training was that its effectiveness depends

58

not on the training or the educational input, but "in the partici-
pant's situation." '"Men who changed after the course were those who
had the most scope and opportunity to change--those who could con-
trol their activities and thus realize their plans" (1969:250).
Consequently, the achievement motivation training is most likely

to succeed with those who are independent--owners or managers or
their own business. With such men "with an opportunity to initiate
changes in life--the effect of p_Achievement training are large and
highly significant" (1969:311). It is also effective with those
who are initially dissatisfied with a situation and feel that they
can do something to solve a particular problem. Beyond these two
differences, there were no significant differences in individual
behaviors noted between the Changers and the Inactives as a result
of the training.

The influence of the situational elements is an obvious
fact, but it did not occur to the researchers to include it within
their explanatory framework, partly because as psychologists they
were more interested in "the extent to which a man with increased
motivation could make opportunities for himself" (312). They found
that unless there is opportunity available into which an individual
can channel his energies--p_Ach--it is futile to attempt to raise
levels of p_Ach. In fact, they suggest "that increasing p_Ach
when no opportunities exist will actually lead to less activity"
(334).

Nevertheless, in discussing the general role 0f psycho-

logical education in development the authors state that the

59

constraints to economic development are neither external nor are
they internal-~that is, there are neither institutional constraints
operating to prevent men from achieving, nor are the attitudes and
beliefs a hinderance to economic development. What is important,
however, is that:
. man develop a strong faith in himself as an origin

or agent of change, as someone who can solve problems

efficaciously on his own. If he believes in himself, if

he is motivated to change things, then in: is undoubtedly

an expert on how to carry out change within his social

framework and within his traditional beliefs. The most

effective strateQY. in other words, appears to be to change

the man's self-image by direct instruction on this key

point, and then to leave the rest to him (p. 349).
Indirect methods in the form of better ways, advice and assistance
neither strengthen "self-confidence" nor the individual's "con-
viction" that he can solve problems.

It seems far more effective to convince a man directly

that he can accomplish what he wants, that he can become

a change agent, and then trust him to find ways within his

traditional culture of accomplishing his aims (p. 350).
Transformation of adult self-image is an essential factor in
development, and unlike traditional psychological thinking, adult
motivation can be changed, through "achievement motivation training"
(p. 350).

The effectiveness of psychological education with adults

(yields quicker results. unlike education of children, because
"reason and understanding help a person change" (p. 356). "Adults
are in a position to be agents, to test out new behaviors, to demon-

strate to themselves that they are no longer pawns" (p. 256).

60

Adults have the freedom to act, and "they are also in a better
position to put the changes into effect immediately" (p. 356).
Mobilization of resources (in this case, motivation), is

the best way to get plans implemented, to obtain results, to achieve
targets (p. 369). Macroeconomic theory dealing with the behavior
of firms specify only the optimum way for allocating resources
between various factors in order to obtain optimal growth in
profits and is not concerned with problems of resource mobiliza-
tion. At most they specify what institutions and manpower, or
human resources are needed to implement plans, and set targets for
training. "Plans often fall far short of being realized because
the motivational mechanisms necessary to implement them are not
understood" (p. 370). McClelland argues against social determinism
in social science which states that the individual "is a creature
of tradition and economic and environmental circumstances beyond
his control" (p. 377). The "unintended consequences" of
deterministic analysis is "that they convince the people described
that in fact they can do nothing to change their condition, that
the environment must change first" (p. 377).

. . man is not as predetermined in what he can do as

social scientists and historians sometimes think. He has

greater freedom to act, to change the structure of his

response, and find opportunities in his environment than

the traditional forms of social analysis would lead him

to believe (p. 378).

It is by gaining knowledge of oneself and from science that

one can act and become the prime mover. "Knowledge is the new source

of power. Somehow, by thoroughly understanding how we are determined,

we gain the confidence to act so as to transcend determinism" (p. 378).

61

It is through confidence, conviction and understanding of oneself,
and one's goals, and knowledge of one's competence that men acquire

the power to shape their destiny (p. 378).

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF McCLELLAND'S
TRAINING PROGRAM IN NEED ACHIEVEMENT

Analysis of Theoretical Presuppositions

 

First, some clarification of the use of psychological
definitions of terms and concepts is in order. The concept of
need as symbolized by the letter "pf creates a false "aura of the
exact sciences" (Andreski, 1972:63). Further, the use of a single
concept leads to confusing need as an objective criterion necessary
for survival with subjective states of desire--likes, dislikes,
inclinations. This particular dimension of the term "need" is
left unspecified. For instance, an individual may desire something
without necessarily needing it, or need something and yet have no
desire for it. People may desire to consume food or accumulate
wealth, or they may need clean air or pure drinking water. Beyond
certain biologically determined needs--need for survival, protection,
positive affect--most needs are objectively determined (Goldschmidt,
1959).

Need for achievement as conceived by McClelland purports to
provide for differences in economic activities of individuals by
treating need as a particular inclination to achieve economically.
However, the achievement motive, as a basic human urge or impulse,
can be directed to a variety of ends--it should not be equated with

62

63

economic success alone. As Lalit Sen points out,

It is more realistic to define achievement motivation in
terms of specific dimensions such as ocpppational achieve-
ment, religious achievement, commercial achievement,
familial achievement, and so on (Lalit K. Sen, 1973:98).

 

 

 

The real issue is not the presence or absence of desire to
achieve, "but the problem of why, in a given society, this desire is
canalized towards one goal rather than another" (Andreski, 1972:69).
To say that Indians lack a desire to achieve and that the causes of
poverty or slow economic progress is this lack, is to express ethno-
centrism. 0n the other hand, to admit that Indians do have a desire
to achieve but that they are pursuing other goals, embodies a value
premise about the adequacy of one goal over another. This requires
clarification.

This is not to deny the relevance of psychological terms and
concepts, since certain psychological factors may be crucial for
understanding and explaining behavior. However, a single psychologi-
cal denominator is difficult to come by, and inadequate for account-
ing for differences in change between groups. Psychological terms
may help explain differences between individuals. For example, the
effect of child-rearing practices upon high and low motivation in
individuals can be hypothesized and investigated by the use of
biographical and cultural and historical accounts. McClelland
attempts just such an enterprise in The Achieving Society_(1961).
But McClelland does more than examine the influence of child-rearing
practices on individual motive to achieve, he extrapolates on the
"general place of psychological forces on social processes"

(Eisenstadt, 1963:425).

64

There is an implicit assumption that the level of develop—
ment (of non—stagnation) of a society in all spheres is
connected both with the existence of p_achievement and,
presumably, with economic advancement (1963:427).
Sociological constraints on psychological motivation are left
unexplored, except to be defined as child rearing or socialization
practices (Aberle, 1961).

The goal of p_Achievement training is economic development.
While economists take the psychological characteristics necessary
for development for granted, McClelland set out to educate indi-
viduals to consciously modify their behaviors, to re-orient their
"structure of responses," to develop "appropriate interests,
strategies, time perspective and perceptions" (1969:25). in order to
further economic success. The psychological ingredients in the
rational economic model constitute his p_Achievement syndrome and
through education he attempts to move these higher up in an
individual's hierarchy of needs.

McClelland argues that, while all people have the propensity
to achieve, some people do not display it. Those who do not can be
made to do so through training. The incentive to change, however,'
has to come out of the individual's own desires. McClelland
rejects external incentives and allocation of resources as inadequate.
One is not sure of the role of the researcher and the training program
devised by him. Is he manipulating the environment or the individual,
or both, or is he teaching the individual to manipulate himself?

The findings of the individual case studies were that no two

individuals responded alike to the educational input. Those indi-

viduals who responded positively to the training did so for different

65

reasons and it could not be determined if the change resulted in the
"deep-seated transformation of the motivation of the participants"
(1969:305).

To move on from this quagmire of indeterminism, one is
relieved to find that the differences in responses to p_Achievement
training as measured by various economic indicators of growth in
business enterprises two years later are the result of the partici-
pants' "situation." If a man is the owner, or manager of his own
business, "with an opportunity to initiate changes in life-~the
effect of p_Ach training are large and highly significant" (1969:
311).

Differential opportunities are an important factor in the
levels of p_Achievement displayed. But, nonetheless, a strong sense
of efficacy, faith in oneself, belief that one can change things, are
considered crucial elements. McClelland reduces structural con-
straints to differential opportunities and the problem is one of
individual perception of opportunities. Perceptions can be trans-
formed by means of education and training.

It seems far more effective to convince a man directly

that he can accomplish what he wants, that he can become a
change agent, and then trust him to find ways within his
traditional culture of accomplishing his aims (1969:350).

Once men's awareness has been changed, it is assumed that
changes in opportunities will follow. Differences in ownership,
wealth, control over resources and the instruments of production,

the realities of authority, power and control are all subsumed under

differential opportunities.

66

John Kunkel attempts to correct McClelland's approach by
using a behavioristic methodology (Kunkel, 1963; 1965; 1970). The
problem of economic development, and the efforts to explain them
"can be substantially reduced by the employment of a behavioral model
of man" (1970:101). It does not require, theoretically, the manipula-
tion of individuals or their internal states and it by-passes the
issue of inferring internal states from overt behavior which is a
major methodological difficulty in McClelland's framework (1970:97).

McClelland postulates a variety of needs as components

of a person's 'internal state', but this method of analysis
involves inferences from behavior (e.g., the writing of
stories based on TAT pictures) which are difficult to
validate, in order to explain the data collected by
McClelland and his associates. The striving for excellence,
like any other behavior, is shaped through differential
reinforcement and punishment (Kunkel, QSI, 1961:82).

Behaviorist psychology based on "an operant conditioning
approach" relys "neither on inferences concerning an 'internal
state' that cannot be validated nor on causal inferences which cannot
be checked through objective, replicable procedures" (Kunkel, 1963:
74). The basic premise of the behaviorist model is that behavior is
learned and acquired and can be changed. The prerequisites of social
and economic change are not changes in attitudes, values and person-
ality of actors, according to Kunkel, but changes in behavior.

Since even the psychological approach infers the former states from
observation of behaviors, attempts at change must focus on behavior.

The behavioral model of man leads to the conclusion

that, if behavior is to be changed, changes must first occur

in the reinforcing stimuli, in their presentation and
schedule, and in the discriminative stimuli (Kunkel, 1965:267).

67

It is the social structure which affects behavior, and it is viewed
by Kunkel as "the continuously operating determination of reinforcing
and discriminative stimuli . . ." (1965:276). Behavior is shaped by
the arrangements of rewards and punishments.

The terms and concepts used in a behaviorist model are those
which are taken from a laboratory situation. While these are
acceptable for describing and changing the behavior of an individual,
to apply them as characteristics of the social structure of the
environment is to narrow them to that of a laboratory situation.

‘Still, Kunkel holds to a somewhat mechanistic conception of
the components of social structure. The most important proposition

of the behavioral perspective, according to Kunkel is: "behavior is

 

replicated when contingencies remain the same, and behavior is
changed when contingencies are altered" (1970:285). Once again,
issues of political power, control over resources, decisions con-
cerning allocation are narrowed down and reduced to a re-arrangement
of contingencies.

There is the admission that action oriented programs based on
operant principles cannot work as they lack control over existing
reinforcers and the less control of the environment a planner or
change agent has, the less is the likelihood of behavior change
(Kunkel, 1965:276). Furthermore, behavior modification cannot be
generalized from the individual to large scale programs of change.

Although Kunkel recognizes that in the analysis of social
change a number of variables need to be considered, economic develop-

ment requires certain "behavioral prerequisites" on the part of the

68

individual. Those prerequisites include:
The saving of money, the investment of savings, risk-

taking, economic innovation, the ability to wait for

returns on investments, abandoning the land, selling one's

labour, working in factories, buying food products,

hiring people on the basis of competence rather than

affinity, etc. (Kunkel, 1965:275).
The societal counterparts are: "rationality, functional specificity,
a stable government" (1965:276). Structural factors are defined
either by the use of terminology of the experimental laboratory
situation, or by the use of abstract, ideal-typical terms and con-
cepts. Underlying the "prerequisites" is an ethnocentric valuation
of what is desirable. The list of behavioral and institutional pre-
requisites that social scientists advocating a transformation of
individual personality consider necessary for social change are
usually:

Drawn on the basis of the Protestant experience.

Since the Protestant case is the only 'successful' example,

the necessity of replicating this model has its own

temptation as well as its own limits (Gupta, 1971:81).
The tendency is to dichotomize developed and underdeveloped
societies along a number of variables which are abstract, scientific,
and presumably neutral, and supposedly devoid of value judgments.
Far from being neutral, there is an acceptance of "the ultimate life
goals of industrial civilization: work and acquisition of wealth as
ends in themselves" (Weisskopf, 1950:329). These are justified, on
the one hand, by the use of the rational economic model, and on the
other, as a "natural" result of man's own needs and desires (1950:

319). "The value-attitudes of industrial society are included in the

basic psychological assumptions of economic theory" (Weisskopf, 1950:

69

329). Within the individualistic and psychological framework that
McClelland utilizes in his training program for p_Achievement there
is an attempt to harmonize the motives, intentions, desires and
interests of individuals to those of an industrial society.

Another problem becomes evident in McClelland's attempt to
reconcile the ends of economic development with those of individual
self-interest. Within economics, a harmony between self-interest
on the one hand and the common good on the other is assumed.
Inherent in economic thought is a ". . . psychocultural attempt to
bridge the gap between the requirements of the economic value complex
and an altruistic, socially co-operative ethic" (Weisskopf, 1951:
199). The rational economic model functions under an aura of
scientific neutrality, based on the assumption that individuals are
by nature acquisitive--that "people just follow the pleasure principle
or their egoistic instincts" (Weisskopf, 1951:199). Although "the
secularization of economics resulted in its conscious emancipation
from ethics" (Weisskopf, 1951:197), the necessity for a social ethic
and altruism had to be justified by the introduction of a new
economic value complex. Morally, it was considered reprehensible to
pursue one's self-interest, consequently, it had to be demonstrated
that self-interest leads to social welfare.

. . . although it was felt to be immoral for the indi-
vidual, it is moral from the view-point of the whole. The
conflict between the aims of the individual and of society
has been implicitly and explicitly a central theme of
economic thought . . . attempts were made to eliminate it

. the idea of the harmony of interests, the idea of
maximization of total utility, social welfare, total

satisfaction, the concept of equilibrium, etc., have been
used for this purpose (Weisskopf, 1951:198).

70

The psychological individualistic approach utilized by
McClelland is an attempt to propogate and bolster the rational
economic model. While he accepts the axiom of the rational economic
model and endeavours to make it causally more effective by the intro-
duction of g_Achievement factor as a variable in furthering economic
ends, he recognizes the peeg_for a social and altruistic ethic.
Consequently, while g_Achievement is conceived as an individual
virtue, an individual must learn to "do a better job and get more
satisfaction out of life," and he must "find a better way of getting
a job done" (McClelland, 1966:32-33). g Achievement is also seen as a
social virtue; it must help further the cause of "larger social
significance," to do something for the common good. In "ideal
psychological terms" p_Achievement is a "personal" and a "social
virtue? (1966:36). "The psychological elements essential to economic
success are . . . the gegjre_to prove oneself better than others and
the peeg_to promote the common good" (McClelland, 1966:38; emphasis
added). The training in p_Achievement must lead to socially useful
activities or projects. What is required is to develop in individuals
the desire ". . . to do something not just for themselves but for
Kakinada, for India, and possibly even for the whole world of stagnant
communities like theirs (1966:35). N_Achievement is the key element
in this conversion. The solution to lack of p_Achievement in a popula-
tion is training. "By direct training, we can apparently infect the
people who need it with both 9 Ach and a sense of public responsi;'

bility" (1966:39).

71

The extrapolation from the individual to society, from self-
interest to the social good, in McClelland's analysis, occurs through
psychological education, by gaining knowledge of oneself one can
shape one's destiny (see Chapter II).

From an educational technique for motivating individuals for
economic growth, the p_Achievement syndrome takes on the character of
social-cultural transformation. This is done through the introduction
of an altruistic ethic into the rational economic model which pro-
fesses ethical neutrality. Economists view the harmony of interests
as maintained by an "invisible hand"; although some have begun to
argue that "the free play of market forces will pg; maximize social
welfare," and that the State must "intervene repeatedly before we can
feel even reasonably sure that the profit makers promote society's
good as well as their own" (Rivett, 1959:7; see also Galbraith, 1973;
Weisskopf, 1950, 1951).

McClelland, on the other hand, not only assumes a unity of
purpose between individual and society, but is confident that it can
be guaranteed through psychological education. Economic behavior
which is good for the individual is considered good for society. A
consistency between "private calculus" and the "social calculus" is

assumed (Blaugh, 1970).

Adequacy_of Data and Its Empirical Validity
According to McClelland "a minor economic revolution" was in
the making in the town from which the businessmen were recruited for
training in g_Achievement, the result of "an idea, the motive, the

spark, the impulse, that seems to be necessary to set such a process

72

in motion" (1966:35). He hypothesizes that these businessmen can have
a far-reaching effect on the economy of the town ". . . because these
businessmen control most of the institutions that matter in the town:
the banks, the cinemas, the shops, the foundaries, the mills" (1966:
35). He does not appear to recognize the significance of this control,
except to state that the availability of opportunities is essential if
g_Achievement training is to be effective.

It may be possible to measure p_Achievement of individuals,
although McClelland and his colleagues doubt if they were able to
measure or change "deep-seated motivations." They have not, however,
established the case that it is high levels of measured "need achieve-
ment" which lead to economic growth; nor that the proVision of need
achievement training increases the economic capabilities and partici-
pation of individuals and leads to general economic development.

In the training provided to the businessmen a variety of other
devices were used. Well-known business leaders were invited to
participate. Government officials who had authority to grant
licenses became familiar with the group of businessmen and prestige
and status appeals were used to boost morale and reinforce motivation.
The effect of these factors on the economic growth of the groups is
not measured.

Another study of need achievement undertaken by Ashis Nandy,
in a Calcutta suburb, adds some other dimensions to the study of this
psychological characteristic of individuals (Singer, 1973). Mandy
examined the distribution of p_Achievement between entrepreneurs and

non-entrepreneurs. But, instead of adopting the approach that "high

73

entrepreneurial performance is mainly a function of high p_Achievement
level," a la McClelland, Nandy examined the link between entrepre-
neurial activity and the community support system (1973:168). There
are four elements involved in his analysis:

The psychological prerequisites which the economy sets

for entrepreneurial success, the cultural grid which tends

to screen persons fulfilling these prerequisites for entre-

preneurship, the status and meaning which the community

gives to those gravitating towards entrepreneurship because

of their 'inner push,‘ and the community's structurally and

psychologically determined threshold of motivation for entry

into enterprise . . . (1973:169).
This was a case study of a group of entrepreneurs belonging to the
Mahisya caste which is historically and traditionally an agricultural
caste ”relatively less educated, less urbanized, low-status . . .
they constitute a traditional business community and apparently have
little group experience in trade or commerce" (1973:170). They are,
however, the only Bengali community who have entered into entrepre-
neurial activity and made a success of it since the post-Independence
period (1973:170). A comparable group of entrepreneurs and non-
entrepreneurs belonging to the Mahisya caste and the upper castes
were drawn for analysis and comparison.

The type of data obtained were p_Achievement scores, and a
scale of entrepreneurial competence (1973:171). The findings indi-
cated that the Mahisyas had a lower level of p_Achievement than the
upper caste groups. This might have been due to the fact that
Mahisyas had been in entrepreneurial activities longer. They have
"highly institutionalized channels through which the ambitions and

skilled workers among them could enter and survive in business with

the help of other Mahisyas," whereas the upper caste entrepreneurs

74

are deviants from their community. Nandy's conclusion was that "there
is no one-to-one relationship between higher achievement motive and
community success in enterprise" (1973:174). A finding which is con-
tradictory to McClelland's own was that the more enterprising

Mahisyas community "depends less on p_achievement to push its members
into enterprise."

It was the upper caste individual who, lacking community
support, had to "depend more on the internal incentive of achievement
need" (1973:174). For Nandy, "there is no significant relationship
between entrepreneurial performance and need in either of the caste
groups." While entry and survival into business may depend on such
a need, "greater success and competence within it" do not require
high p_Achievement (1973:175).

The notion of p_Achievement as used by McClelland tends to
compress or coalesce assignment of rewards and recruitment into
entrepreneurial roles with individual motivation (Frank, 1967:46-47).
A separation of each of the concepts points to the variability of the
achievement motive relative to rewards and recruitment. To obtain
rewards within roles, as the Nandy study shows, it may or may not be
necessary to display high achievement motivation, as McClelland would
have us believe. Individual achievement motivation is confused with
"social role assignment and reward" (Frank, 1967:7). In McClelland's
view, it is not the social structure, nor is it "reward in sbcial
roles based on achievement . . . but only a high degree of individual
motivation or need for achievement" which is the source of develop-

ment (Frank, 1967:47).

75

The criteria of expansion and growth of entrepreneurial
activity, which is said to co-vary with p_Achievement, in the Nandy
study is shown to be complicated as a result of other factors, which
in themselves may vary from area to area. These factors include "the
state of the economy at a particular point in time," labour laws and
trade union activities, in other words, "the entrepreneurial environ-
ment" (Nandy, 1973:176-177). Both psychological and non-psychological
factors have to be considered. In fact, as Singer in his intro-
ductory remarks states, Nandy's conclusions point to:

. . . social and cultural psychology rather than individual
psychology. The functional equivalents of the "spirit of
capitalism" and a "Protestant ethic" in Howrah may be a ppm?
mgpjty_"spirit" and "ethos" among the Mahisyas, and an

individualistic ethos among the members of upper castes who go
into business and industry (Singer, l973:7).

 

It becomes clear from McClelland's work that abstract, rigid
criteria drawn from the Western context not only are inadequate,
theoretically, but begin to lose whatever validity they have as
empirical concepts. It should not be supposed, either, that achieve-
ment motivation is a particular outgrowth of the Protestant ethic,
nor that only individuals who belong to such cultures are socialized
to display it. There is enough evidence to the contrary to disprove
that (Singer, 1972, 1972, 1966; Goheen, Srinivas, Karve, and Singer,
1958). Although McClelland states that in order to have moderniza-
tion and economic growth it is not necessary to overthrow all of
traditional culture, he does base social change on the flowering of
a particular personality type. But, as Singer points out, "it
requires much more than a personality type or a social ethic to

develop industrial capitalism . . ." (1973:286). Secondly, it is an

76

expression of an ethnocentric bias to state that achievement motiva-
tion leads to economic achievement. But, McClelland's concern is only
with establishing a relationship between p_Achievement as a psycho-
logical characteristic and economic development. In attempting to
provide empirical studies of economic development and social change
which have been undertaken with some success, McClelland refers to

the People's Republic of China (McClelland, 1963).

Examining popular children's literature for achievement
imagery, McClelland found that children's tales from Mainland China
showed greater motivational concern as compared to China-Taiwan. The
influence of the United States on the latter, according to McClelland,
although great, has been more directed toward material and techno-
logical change rather than to ideology. The Communists, on the other
hand, are considered to be more ideologically oriented and they have
been "more successful in moving the Chinese toward the psychological
preconditions for a 'modern' technical and social order than Western
democratic ideology," although McClelland recognizes that the
former has a strong authoritarian climate "which can scarcely be
called 'modern'" (1963:17).

McClelland's conclusions are that it is pgt_the material
arrangements or the environment which leads to changes in men's ideas
and throughts, but is the other way around: "Ideas which succeed in
capturing the minds of men shape institutions which in turn change the
material environment" (1963:18). American social scientists, he
argues, must "stress the importance of changing values or motiva-

tional concerns" (1963:18).

77

The shortcomings of McClelland's analysis are cogently
summed up by Frank:
They (the Chinese) receive no credit for following the
teachings of Marx or other social scientists, the validity
of whose theory McClelland denies; no credit for changing
any economic, social or political structure, the need for
which change McClelland denies; nor any credit for making
a revolution, which McClelland does not deem worthy of
mention. Instead, they receive credit for realizing and
putting into practice the truth that ideas and p_Achieve-
ment promote economic development: The Chinese are
achieving faster economic development than the Indians,
McClelland points out. On the basis of what economic,
social, and political structure, he doesn't say . . .
(Frank, 1967: 52).
The view that social and economic changes in China are caused by a
particular ideology is simplistic, according to another writer,
because it fails to take into consideration the socio-cultural
system-~the dialectics of Chinese traditions as it interacts with
patterns of change--and the concrete and specific conditions which
lead to individual and institutional modernization (Gupta, 1971).
The issues in social change that confront all societies are
more than "internal transformations" of individuals. The problems
that societies face and have to solve involve both a reworking of
ideas and a reconstruction of on-going social life. The process of
social change and modernization should be examined as strategies
which different societies have worked out in order to cope with
change (Singer, 1972: 406). The notion that choice is between
change and modernization, on the one hand, and remaining static
and tradition-bound on the other, is merely an abstract construction
of ideal-types, although writers have tended to assume that they are

equivalent to reality.

78

Policy Implications

 

What are some of the conclusions that can be extrapolated
for policy-makers and planners from McClelland's specific educational
strategy, and the general development program that he offers? There
are two issues here. One has to do with the relationship between
p_Achievement training and general, formal education. The other
involves the focus on entrepreneurs and innovators, and the implica-
tions for social change.

By extrapolating from McClelland's study of a particular
educational approach to development, some implications for the
general educational situation can be drawn, providing it can be
assumed that formal education aims at inculcating similar types of
changes--behavioral and psychological and motivational--as are
expressed in McClelland's notion of the "achievement syndrome."

That is, "doing something well," or "doing something better“ with
some standard of excellence, by means of "self-study," "goal
setting," and "interpersonal support," may be considered standard
criteria of any educational enterprise. N_Achievement can be
measured, according to McClelland. So can educational inputs and
learning by means of IQ and intelligence and other types of tests.

The concern in drawing a parallel between formal education
and McClelland's p_Achievement training is not simply to emphasize
points of similarities, but to raise a question concerning the
purpose of'gpy_educational input.

The educational input that McClelland provided to the group

of businessmen was tailored to their needs. In fact, McClelland

79

states that although the technique was used with "unmotivated high
school boys," g_Achievement training is particularly suited to those
in business, or in a position to plan to go into business (1969:351).

One side effect of the training program in India was that
"achievement motivation for underachieving high-school students" is
being undertaken on an extensive scale in India (1969:451). If this
means introducing such techniques of the achievement syndrome as
goal setting, self study, and interpersonal support into the class-
room environment, from an intrinsically educational point of view,
.this can be looked upon as an improvement in practice. But the leap
from training in motivation to its contribution to economic develop-
ment is laden with impediments which are more than psychological.

As McClelland himself indicates, differential opportunity and
individual perception of one's situation determine the extent to
which p_Achievement training can be effective.

It follows, therefore, that for social change and economic
development to occur, either individuals have to be dissatisfied
with their present situation or else they have to have control and
management over their own productive activities. To take McClelland's
conclusions that the analysis of the structure of available oppor-
tunities and personal dissatisfaction are important criteria before
g_Achievement can make a difference in the individual achievement,
one brief example from India will suffice to highlight both issues.

Kerala is the state in India with the highest rate of
literacy. The all-India literacy rate is 29 per cent; Kerala has

66 per cent of its male and 53 per cent of its female population

80

literate (Apte, 1975:1041), but Kerala also faces an acute problem
of educated unemployed.

Unemployment among professionally and technically
qualified persons has reached serious proportions. As on
December 31, 1972 there were 654 medical graduates and
2,014 engineering graduates seeking employment through
employment exchanges. In addition, there were 4,163
engineering diploma-holders and 11,540 ITI certificate-
holders among the job-seekers . . . . The seriousness
of the situation is brought out by the fact that when
applications were invited for 14,000 jobs under the
special employment programme in June 1973, the office of
Kerala Public Service Commission was flooded with nearly
6 lakh applications in a matter of days (Apte, 1975:1041).

This problem is further aggravated by the fact that as more and
more individuals migrate to other states in search of jobs, the
state of Kerala loses the social and economic benefits from its
investment in education. If this unemployed group of educated
persons were also to receive a psychological education in p_
Achievement without institutional channels for their absorption,
their high motivation potential might be directed into disruptive
and "revolutionary activities" (Eisenstadt, 1963:429).

McClelland, however, is not interested in providing p_
Achievement training to the masses of educated or uneducated. His
concern is to mobilize the scarce high p_Achievement resources of
the developing countries, especially the entrepreneurial cadres.
The implications of his study are that business entrepreneurs and
their contribution to economic development is significant enough to
have an effect on the total economy. But, as Frank points out,
there is increasing evidence to the contrary concerning the suppOSed

role played by the entrepreneur, not only in the underdeveloped

81

countries, but in the developed countries as well (Frank, 1967:48).
Besides, entrepreneurs of the type examined by McClelland constitute
only a small percent of the total population. Indian workers
employed in modern industry constitute only three percent of the
population (Lipton, 1968:130).

Programs of social change and development which focus on
groups of entrepreneurs and innovators have been encouraged and
undertaken by economists and development planners who are concerned
with rapid economic growth. Within the area of education itself,
this has led to an emphasis on formal education, especially higher
education, to the neglect of free, compulsory, universal primary
education (Laska, 1968); and in the area of economic development,

especially agriculture, the pages of Economic and Political Weekly_

 

are replete with statistics, data, and information on the second
generation problems of the Green Revolution as they become visible
in skewed employment wages, and income distribution, as both inputs
and profits flow to the "innovators." The masses of small farmers,
tenants, and landless labourers are caught in a cycle of unredeeming
poverty. To apply McClelland's framework to the situation of the
poor, the following explanation becomes apparent: if attempts to
change the "structure of responses" of the poor were made they

would most likely be ineffective since the people lack opportunities
to put the newly gained p_Achievement to useful purpose, and besides,
"increasing p_Ach when no opportunities exist will actually lead to

less activity" (1969:334).

82

A psychological explanation provided by some social scientists
for the paradoxical situation of the poor is described as a "cycle
of poverty" syndrome. The notion of "poverty cycle" is explained as
follows:

Limited income results in poverty; poverty somehow

creates a physical and cultural environment that suppresses

the poor's aspirations, motivation, and capacity to achieve;

without these, the poor do not acquire sufficient education,

resulting in limited earning potential; and with little

earning potential, there are limited earning opportunities,

hence poverty is inevitable (Turner, 1972:81).
The tendency in such an analysis is to ignore and "underemphasize
the broader cultural and institutional forces within which this
cycle operates" (1972:81; Valentine, 1968) and to blame the poor for
the situation they happen to be in. Moreover, by providing a
"scientific explanation" for the problem, the situation becomes
acceptable and the responsibility for it conveniently narrowed down
to the individual.

McClelland's solution to the problems of development is to
center official encouragement and support on the more enterprising
classes or groups both in industry and agriculture. Psychological
education can be effective only with the "haves," and not with the
"have-nots."

The effects of a development strategy that by design or by
default provides benefits to the "haves" in the hope that they will
in turn contribute to the common good is to create further imbalances
and inequalities.

McClelland ostensibly attempts to take the human factor into

account in considerations of social change and development. He

83

rejects models of development that focus on capital and resource
allocation or those which advocate a restructuring of environmental
factors as inadequate. However, in the last analysis, the goals
which McClelland's high achievers are supposedly trained to pursue
are those dictated by such models of development. Over and above
his concerns with the individual in social change is a vulgarized
form of positivism (see Murphy, 1971, for a discussion of psycho-
logical assumptions underlying structural functionalism; Wrong,
1961, for the "oversocialized view of man").

Recently, several social scientists from India have begun
to point out the limitations of the models of development that have
been adopted in India. These models "are more suited to countries
faced not by large backlogs of unemployment but rather a scarcity of
hands" (Kothari, 1972:1543). Another writer indicates that the one-
dimensional policy of production and economic growth based on the
assumption that production and distribution are separate and that the
former would guarantee the latter has not been substantiated by
reality. Not only has there been no equalization of income--"4O
per cent in rural and 50 per cent in urban areas are living below
the 'poverty line,'" unemployment, which the rapid growth model
hoped to solve, continues to grow. The modern sector cannot
adequately employ the growing population (Kothari, 1972:1542).

The consequences of the use of the model of modernization
based on techno-economic transformation have been that there is an
overriding concern to keep up with the affluent countries. It has

led to a neglect of the real and immediate problems facing Indian

84

society. It has created socioeconomic cleavages between urban and
rural areas. The model has produced distorted priorities in alloca-
tion of resources and choice of technologies (Kothari, 1972:1545).

The "new model" that Kothari outlines is in essence an old
one. In fact he states:

Gandhi put his finger on the most crucial dimension of
moving towards a just social order when he called for a
limitation of wants on the part of affluent sections of the
people and warned his countrymen against falling prey to
an industrial machine . . . . Today his insights are even
more relevant than when he lived. If we are to remove
garabi [poverty], have justice among our pe0ple and put an
end to exploitation, the present norm of a high consumption
ethic must give place to one that limits the needless
expansion of wants . . . (Kothari, 1972:1549).

The next chapter explores the Gandhian approach in detail.

CHAPTER V

GANDHIAN SCHEME OF BASIC EDUCATION
T0 TRANSFORM INDIVIDUALS
AND RECONSTRUCT SOCIETY

Introduction

 

A major problem of social science in general and the Indian
social scientists in particular--one that has been the source of
much criticism 1ately--has been their Western orientation (Joshi,
1970; Srinivas, 1975). According to Joshi, the growth of social
science in the developing countries ". . . has occurred not in
response to endogenous compulsions but as a result of exogenous
implantation" (1970:139). Srinivas, in an article on social science
research in India, says that there is in India a deep division
between the "theoretician-analyst" and the "fact-gatherer." This
division is further exacerbated by the use of Western "models,
concepts, and even empirical experience from Europe, USA, USSR or
China" (1975:1389). This has contributed to biases in perception
concerning the direction, rate, and type of change that India should
take. Social science cannot but be relativistic and consequently
it must be integral to the social, political, and economic realities
in which it is conducted. A social scientist in India must gain an
understanding of the Indian social situation first, before he can
"contribute to the greater universalism" of his discipline

(Srinivas, 1975:1389).
85

86

Indian social scientists, according to Joshi and Srinivas,
have neglected Gandhi's perceptions and analysis of Indian society,
and the solutions that he sought to problems facing Indian society.
Srinivas comments that:

One wonders whether Gandhi's stressing of the

importance of living in the villages to understand the

conditions and problems of villagers had had any effect

on the elite (Srinivas, 1975:1387).
It is the indigenous nature of Gandhi's thought and ideas which
distinguishes him. He provided an alternative perception of the
Indian situation in the realms of politics, economics and culture.

I shall discuss Gandhi's educational program as one
indigenous alternative, examine its implementation in the form of
Basic Education, and outline the outcomes and results which ensued.
In the next chapter an analysis ofthe ideological foundations of
his approach and the individualistic and psychological prescriptions
that were embedded in it will be explored. A discussion of his
perceptions and insights into the social, cultural, and economic
problems of India will be presented.

Goals, Objectives, and Principles
Of Basic EdUcation

 

Gandhi's ideas encompass politics, religion, economics,
and social concerns. He visualized a world free from exploitation
and violence. The dilemma of present-day societies, both democratic
and socialist, is that exploitation in one form or another--social,
political, economic--exists in both. In the context of India,

Gandhi sought to overcome exploitation by "a new synthesis."

87

Exploitation of the poor by the rich cannot be overcome, according
to Gandhi, "as long as it reigns supreme in the human mind." Gandhi
sought "to liquidate it at the very source, through proper educa-
tion“ (Gupta, 1970:52).

It was a non-violent and non-exploitative society that
Gandhi sought to create, a society in which each man would seek

13g h through the ideal means of Non-violence and Love. These

 

values are viewed as inherent in human nature but can be realized
through training. It is their pursuit which can lead to the all-
around development of individual personality (Gupta, 1970:53).
Gandhi's vision of India was that of a "nation with a special
'spiritual' vocation" (Rudolph and Rudolph, 1967:216). His secular
views on Indian society parallel the other-wordly aspects of high
thought. He visualized an India of self-sufficient autonomous
village communities, in which "each would work for all and all for
each," and service would be the "motive force" (Salamatullah, 1970:
21-22). Gandhi's ideal was
. . . to revitalize the village community economically
and morally, transforming it into a viable and attractive
alternative to urban and machine civilization. By freeing
men from the dehumanizing tyranny of artificial wants and
the production required to satisfy them . . . (Rudolph and
Rudolph, 1967:217).
The ideals which Gandhi sought to achieve also involved a
realistic appreciation of the problems of Indian society. By call-
ing for a restructuring of the goals of education he sought not

only to transform education, but to highlight the evils in the

general social, cultural, and economic arrangements, and to attempt

88

to harness education to solve socio-economic problems of rural
poverty, urban-rural imbalances and mass unemployment.

It is difficult to separate Gandhi's views concerning educa-
tion and develOpment of individual personality from his views con-
cerning the direction in which Indian society should move. More-
over, education is assigned a significant function in this
development. It is an instrument for furthering individual and
social goals. At the individual level, the aim of education is to
draw out the best in man, to create suitable conditions for the
realization of potentialities in man (Salamatullah, 1970; Gupta,
1970).

By education, I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in

child and man--body, mind, and spirit. Literacy is not the

end of education, not even the beginning. It is only one of

the means whereby men and women can be educated. Literacy

in itself is no education. I would therefore begin the

child's education by teaching it a useful handicraft . . .

I hold that the highest development of the mind and soul is

possible under such a system of education. Only handi-

crafts have to be taught, nor merely mechanically as is

done today, but scientifically, i.e., the child should know

the why and wherefore of every process (Gandhi, 1962:263-64).
Gandhi was for free compulsory education at the primary level, but
emphasized the integration of vocations into education. Social
reconstruction, both rural and urban, could occur only when educa-
tion was integrated with the needs and requirements of the villages.
Education was to be imparted through village crafts. Such an educa-
tional medium would be:

. . the spearhead of a silent social revolution fraught

with the most far-reaching consequences . . . . It will

check the progressive decay of our villages and lay the

foundation of a juster social order in which there is no
unnatural division between the "haves" and the "have-nots"

89

and everybody is assured of a living wage and the right to

freedom. And all this would be accomplished without the

horrors of a bloody class-war or a colossal capital

expenditure such as would be involved in the mechanization

of a vast continent like India (Gandhi, 1962:275).
The aim of education—-"the all round development of the individual"--
could be achieved by imparting it through a village craft. If all
education were woven around a craft, it would provide work which
was simple and easily available and would require little training.
The craft would be closer to the needs of the masses and yet be pro-
ductive. The product would be "economically remunerative so as to
defray the recurring cost of education; and it would lead to self-
sufficiency of education (Kripalani, 1957:4-7). "To Gandhiji, it
was not a matter of expediency but a matter of conviction that
education must be self-sufficient“ (Salamatullah, 1970:22). The
rural self-sufficiency to be obtained through craft-centered work
was viewed as a solution to the socio-economic problems of migration,
rural poverty, and mass unemployment.

The concept and idea of work was an integral element in the
develOpment of Gandhi's thoughts on education.
The disease of the masses is not want of money so much
as want of work. Labour is money. He who provides
dignified labour for the millions in their cottages, pro-

vides food and clothing (Avinashlingam, 1964:50 [quote of
Gandhi's from Economics of Khadi:129]).

 

The recognition of financial constraints on the provision of universal
education led Gandhi to formulate work as an important element of
education. Work which could be

utilized in the learning and doing of a continuous craft

which, in its turn, is capable of creating wealth, capable
of being measured in terms of money . . . the only practical

90

and possible way of making education available to all is to
make students earn through their work and help maintain the
school (Avinashlingam, 1964:61).

The introduction of economic calculations into education Gandhi
viewed to be neither out of place nor "sordid."

True economics never militates against the highest
ethical standard, just as all true ethics to be worth its
name must at the same time be also good economics. An
economics that inculcates Mammon worship and enables the
strong to amass wealth at the expense of the weak, is a
false and dismal science . . . . True economics, on the
other hand, stands for social justice, it promotes the
good of all equally including the weakest and is indis-
pensable for decent life (Gandhi, 1962:273).

Service and uplift of the community were the important aims of educa-
tion. These were to be achieved through the commitment of people to
those aims, by sticking to them “with undivided loyalty." Failures
arise only when "the workers are not loyal to their aims or only
half-hearted in carrying them out“ (Gandhi, 1962:152). Teachers
are admonished to "have faith and the spirit of sacrifice" and to
communicate this to the students:
Our students should be men who will work for the

stabilization and revitalization of our rural civilization.

They would study the needs of the villagers, try to remove

the defects they may discover in them and train their

children to become good farmers and good villagers . . . .

Thus, as long as we do not set about to make a radical

change in the form and content of the education now going

on in the cities, we cannot fulfill one of the important

aims . . . (1962:150).

Gandhi conceived the eradication of untouchability and the

 

introduction of charka (spinning wheel) as two of "the most essential
ingredients" of education (1962:96). The removal of untouchability
would lead to social and cultural transformation, and the learning

of handicrafts, such as spinning, was viewed as an economic

91

necessity. As Beteille points out, Harijans (the name given to
untouchable castes by Gandhi; meaning literally children of Hari or
God) generally perform manual work, and in the popular mind manual
occupations and low-caste status are associated (Beteille, 1969:91).
Gandhi was attempting to break down age old occupational and social
barriers through the schools. The argument he used was that work
and intellectual knowledge should not be separated. It is for the
schools to demonstrate that "there is no conflict between the two"
(Gandhi, 1962:196).

Gandhi's educational philosophy held that the introduction
of manual work into education would give it dignity and respect-
ability. Education would inculcate values of dignity of labor.

The causes of poverty were considered to be a "want of faith in
ourselves," and "due partly to our laziness and want of application
and partly to labelling manual work inferior and relegating it to
the lower castes" (Avinashlingam, 1964:59). The underlying emphasis
was on "sacrifice, simplicity, and identification with the masses"
(Kripalani, l957z9).

A combination of economic necessity and moral reformation
underlay the scheme of Basic Education devised by Gandhi. On the
one hand was the idea of economic self-sufficiency, the need for
education to pay for itself, while at the same time providing and
developing the productive and social capacities of individuals.
Through learning craft work, students would acquire both technical
skills of production, and intellectual growth through mastering the

scientific processes of production. Knowledge would be functional

92

and useful. The "educative value of manual work" became a funda-
mental principle (Avinashilingam, 1964:76). Education would fulfill
both the needs of society and those of individuals, by cultivating
"virtues like cooperation, mutual understanding, service, freedom
and discipline . . ." (Salamatullah, 1970:23). Gandhi's educational
ideas are interrelated with his economic, social, political, and
religious ideas. There is not only an

intimate relation between the creed and the programmes but

the programmes are organically interrelated and inter-

connected. . . . They cannot be dissected or subdivided

arbitrarily and one part accepted and the other part

rejected. The programmes are to be accepted in their

interrelation and are not to be cut off from their roots

in basic principles of the creed (Kriplani, 1957:84-58;
see also Joshi, 1970 and Rivett, 1959).

Implementation of Basic Education

 

Gandhi's ideas on education were presented formally at a
conference of well-known Indian educators and political leaders in
1937. A committee was formed and his ideas endorsed in the form of
resolutions. Briefly stated these were: free compulsory education
for seven years, through the mother-tongue, centering around some
form of manual, productive work which took into account both the
abilities of the child and the surrounding environment, with the
process of education to be self-supporting (Avinashilingam, 1964:61;
and Ganchi, 1962:26).

Basic Education as set forth by Gandhi, was modified--
especially his ideas concerning economic self-sufficiency of educa-
tion underwent some change. Even so, Basic Education was implemented

both by government and private institutions, some specifically set up

93

for the purpose. During the implementation, a reformulation and
reinterpretation of both theory and practice of Basic Education con-
tinued. The controversy and discussion it generated was carried
forward on one side by the true believers and on the other by the
skeptics.

The elements of Basic Education which were accepted as
viable for universal practice were the moral values of education,
and ideas concerning the ideal personality; as well as the concept
of education and transformation of the individual through inculcation
of specific social values--dignity of labour, social awareness,
responsibility, cleanliness, c00peration, community spirit as
desirable values--and the creation of individual personal character-
istics of fearlessness, truth, non-violence, detachment, self-
control, non-possession, humility, cheerfulness, calmness, non-self
seeking (Ramji, 1970:26-27). While the concept of self is an
integral part of Gandhi's thought, educationists and social
scientists and those assigned the task of implementation of Basic
Education have given the development and growth of attitudes and
values and other components of personality an important place in
Basic Education. The techniques of teaching advocated were con-
sonant with the best of the education theory existing at the time--
activity learning, learning through doing, skills that required
both mental and physical manipulation. Orientation around a craft
was thought to provide self-expression, and the use of all faculties

(Avinashilingam, 1964:69).

94

The economic value of education, that is, self-sufficiency
as a criteria inherent in education, however, was modified. Some of
the views on the subject ranged from concerns that it would lead to
commercialization of education, to visions of abuses of child labour.
It is somewhat of an enigma that Gandhi , who advocated the inculca-
tion of altruistic values through education, should have been con-
cerned with the economic values of education—~its efficiency and
cost-benefits. As one writer points out, "The self-supporting part
should be the logical corollary of the fact that the pupil has
learnt the use of everyone of his faculties“ (Avinashilingam, 1964:
69). Besides, there are two integral elements in his thought which
help explain the emphasis on the economic value of education.

First, Gandhi's moral and social philosophy were integrated
and organically conceived, the neglect of one or the other provides
only a partial answer. Second, the answers that Gandhi sought were
to some very basic and fundamental problems facing Indian society.
These were poverty of the masses, the rural-urban dichotomies, and“
endemic unemployment (Joshi, 1970; and Rivett, 1959). In this con-
text, the economic criteria had to be an integral element of moral
education if education was to help solve some of the problems. The
revolutionary implications of economic self-sufficiency of education
and through education of rural society were perhaps not fully compre-
hended by the educational and political elite; in any case, they
were not realized. Consequently, Basic Education became one of'a
number of alternative educational institutions; one, moreover,

suited to the needs of agrarian society.

95

The contradictions embedded in a one-sided acceptance of
policy became evident as it was implemented. The philosophical and
moral principles of Basic Education were quite broad and general and
not unique to Gandhi, but whatever uniqueness and specificity they
had was lost in implementation, as emphasis was placed on the moral
and philosophical imperatives for individual change in values.
Elements which were distinctive and also radical in Gandhi's
philosophy of education were toned down.

The process of institutionalization of Basic Education under-
went familiar phases common to any other educational enterprise and
its mass expansion: training of teachers, administration, curriculum,
the integration of craft orientation into regular school-type
intellectual activities; research into various aspects of Basic
Education. These became major concerns of implementatidn.

Committees were appointed to examine the functioning of Basic
Education, and give their evaluation and recommendations.1

The re-organization and re-orientation of formal, tradi-

tional schools along the lines of Basic Schools became a key program

 

1Zakir Hussain Committee, which brought out a report known as
Basic National Education (1939); The Central Advisory Board of Educa-
tion appointedia committee of two officers for inspection of Basic
Schools in various parts of India, their findings published under
the name The Pires-Lakhani Report; Committee on the Productive
Aspects of Basic Education appointed an Assessment Committee which
gave its findings in The Report of the Assessment Committee on
Basic Education (1956). The wEFk ofialT’these committees was to
evaluate the progress of Basic Education and offer recommendations.
The Zakir Hussain Report provided a detailed syllabus for Basic
Schools; Pires-Lakhani Report examined the productive and economic
value of Basic Education, and while approving it, provided a guide-
line for making it more effective. The Assessment Committee in its
report advocated the orientation of all elementary schools to the
basic pattern.

 

 

 

 

96

since the inception of the First Five Year Plan. Since the early
19505 there has been a continuous expansion of Basic Schools. More
teacher training institutes have been created. Attempts have been
made to incorporate elements of Basic Education into primary schools.
But all these efforts have been oriented toward the rural areas,
with the result that Basic Education has made few inroads into the

urban setting (Avinashlingam, 1964; Zachariah, 1970).

Assessment and Outcomes of Basic Education

 

With respect to the quantative aspects of Basic Education,
some progress was made, especially in the area of teacher training.
From 114 training institutes the number (estimated) was up to 1,424
institutes of Basic Teacher Training in 1965-66. By the end of the
Third Plan Period (1965-66) it was hoped to convert all teacher
training institutions for elementary education teachers to the
Basic pattern (Avinashilingam, 1964; Salamatullah, 1964).

The teacher is the pivot of any system of education and

the more so in basic education which is a radical departure,

both in theory and in practice, from the traditional pattern

of schooling (Avinashilingam, 1964:67).
There is a recognition, however, that this quantitative growth has
to be accompanied by qualitative changes in the training provided.
A number of reports and studies have pointed to the shortcomings of
training institutions, the facilities, the curriculum content,
training techniques, and a host of other related problems have been
discussed (Salamatullah, 1964:310).

The number of Basic Schools has grown tremendously. Between

1950-51 to 1965-66, the number of schools multiplied five times,

97

although the proportion of increase in Basic Schools has been less
than that of elementary schools (Salamatullah, 1964).

In 1944, there were 261 Basic Schools, with eight training
centers. In 1950-51, the number increased considerably to 33,767
junior and senior Basic Schools (primary and middle schools), with
114 training centers. By 1965-66, the estimate of number of schools
went up five times, to 169,700 junior and senior Basic Schools, with
a targeted rise in training schools to 1,424 (Avinashilingam, 1964;
Salamatullah, 1964).

But compared to the existence and expansion of traditional,
academic type elementary schools, the enrollments in Basic Schools
were not considered to be very encouraging, even though they
increased substantially. "The trend in the expansion of basic educa-
tion does not warrant the hope that it will, in fact, become the
universal system of education at the elementary stage in the near
future" (Salamatullah, 1964:310).

Qualitative evaluations of Basic Education generally take
two forms. They are either an assessment of the internal constraints
and shortcomings found in Basic Schools, or they are external,
relating to the community's attitudes, opinions, and beliefs concern-
ing Basic Schools.

Much has been written on the internal weaknesses of Basic
Education. These include the training of administrative personnel,
production of books, training of teachers, and financial conStraints
faced by Basic Schools (Avinashilingam, 1964; Salamatullah, 1964;
Koshy, 1968).

98

The idea of Gandhi that Basic Education should be self-
supporting through the production and sale of crafts and thus provide
a creative education and take the financial burden off the state has
not been realized. Consequently, the expenditure on Basic Education
continues to increase substantially.

With respect to teacher education, in spite of the expansion
of teaching schools, a statement of Salamatullah's sums up the
picture:

A type of sub-standard education is doled out to the

prospective teachers of basic schools. Such teachers

cannot, therefore, be expected to handle the problems of

basic education imaginatively and with a reasonable

degree of success, especially when no arrangement worth

the name is made for their in-service education (1964:314).
Since most elementary and Basic Schools are located in rural areas,
a number of problems have been ennumerated by writers on the subject
(see Balwabtrai Metha Committee, "Democratic Decentralization,“ in
Elementary Education, pp. 452—470). There has been a gradual
absorption of some Basic Education into elementary schools, but this
has occurred without the latter being transformed into the former.
It has been pointed out by many writers that to date elementary
education has benefitted from some of the ideas of Basic Education,
but their argument is from the side of the theory and practice of
education.

A number of non-basic schools appear to give regular
citizenship training. Many have already introduced one or
another aspect of citizenship. Many of them devote at
least some time for school cleaning (Avinashilingam, 1964:81

[quote from unpublished report of the study bpramakrishna
Mission Vidyalaya Teachers College, Coinbatorel).

99

The influence of Basic Schools on elementary schools often means the
introduction of craft-orientation, physical and manual work,
activities such as health, social service, and cultural activities
(Salamatullah, 1964:324).

The Report of the Assessment Committee on Basic Education

 

laid important emphasis on the orientation of elementary education to
the basic pattern. In the opinion of the assessors, Basic Education
schools were spotty and had not multiplied fast enough; the result
being that elementary schools had not been transformed. This had
caused Basic Education to appear "artificial." As a result the
report recommends the ”replacement of the vertical process of 'con-
verting' non-basic schools to the basic pattern by the horizontal
process of 'orienting' non-basic schools to the basic pattern"
(Avinashilingam, 1964:77). Some suggestions for inclusion in the
traditional curriculum were: activity should be natural and pur-
posive; should involve learning with doing; and lead to emotional
and intellectual growth; involvement must be such that the learner
engages in the process and understands and accepts the activity and
is able to evaluate the outcomes (Avinashilingam, 1964:78). The
teaching of cleanliness, introduction of crafts, social and cultural
activities, community self-government, and the involvement of youth
in useful community activities were some of the elements of Basic
Schools.

However, as one writer points out, in order that elementary
schools be oriented to the Basic School pattern, and commitment of

administrative personnel and teachers to Basic Education as an ideal

100

and achievable goal is necessary. But often, under the guise of
"academic standards" the "life-centered curriculum in basic education
may be virtually shifted to the subject matter" emphasis of elementary
schools (Salamatullah, 1964:325). As the Assessment Report also
indicates, '

If basic schools do not generally furnish a better

picture, it is largely due to the fact that educational
administration still remains unimaginative and unable to
keep pace with the fresh demands of a new situation
(Avinashilingam, 1964:77).

The issue of external constraints on the expansion of Basic
Education has to do with community attitudes and perceptions con-
cerning Basic Education. An opinion survey conducted by the Sri
Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya Teachers College, Coimbatore on the
causes of resistance to Basic Education found a general belief among
the people that academic standards are lower in the basic schools.
Another factor which met with resistance from parents was the craft
orientation, and the fact that children had difficulty finding
admission to high schools.

The view that standards are low was held by school adminis-
trators as well as parents. The lack of books, the emphasis on
activity, the lack of homework and examinations were cited as
weaknesses.

By and large, people seem to have developed an attitude of
apathy, if not hostility, towards basic education. This
may be due to the very nature of the social system pre-
vailing in the country rather than to any defect inherent
in basic education itself. After all, ours is a class-
society in which dominant classes by tradition want to
keep themselves aloof from all kinds of productive work--

a factor which is regarded as the very life-breath of basic
education . . . . And to make matters worse, Government

101

policy regarding recruitment_to positions of prestige

and power still puts a premium on the academic content

of education (Salamatullah, 1964:315).
Another constraint has been the aspirations of the people, as a
result of the achievement of political democracy. Formal schooling
is viewed as an important means to economic mobility. Consequently,
public pressure has been brought to bear in a number of cases to
transform Basic Schools into the academic types.

The lack of success of Basic Schools may be due to the
existence of two types or alternatives available to the people to
choose from. The status quo that formal education stands for and
encourages has very formidable, strong and deep roots. Gandhi was
highly conscious of the strengths of this status quo and while his
ideas to undercut it were revolutionary, the institutional settings
in which they were formulated were not sufficiently radical--
witness the existence of the status quo!

Given the educational options that exist and the perceptions
of the future rewards to be obtained--via education, individuals
will choose that type of education which maximizes the future
attainment of those rewards. If this is described as a status quo
by some, by others it is perceived as a realistic appraisal of the
situation as it exists.

A survey of research studies on Basic Education shows that
the output has been meagre. Slightly over twenty studies have been
done by individuals, professional organizations and institutions.
Masters and doctoral dissertations on the subject of Basic Education

number about 90 out of a total of 3,000 dissertations submitted for

102

degrees in education in Indian. institutions. This was computed over
a 22 year period from 1939 to 1961 (Koshy, 1968:275).

There is in the research an implicit or unquestioned
acceptance of the ideals to be achieved through education.

The whole scheme [of Basic Education] is based on the

belief that education alone can bring social change.

Therefore, the educational reconstruction of India was

an g_ riori condition for social rejuvenation (Koshy,

1968: 76 .
Breaking down the research studies into subject-matter areas, Koshy
describes some of the positive and negative findings of the researches
into Basic Education. For instance, that it is psychologically sound
and that sociological studies show that it leads to the formation of
favorable attitudes among children, although there are no comparative
studies done in these areas. Other studies show neutral or negative
findings. For example, in the area of evaluations and measurements
of subject matter learning, comparative findings varying populations
of Basic School students and traditional school students vary from
positive, to neutral to negative. Small scale surveys of parent-
teacher attitudes to Basic Education show favorable views, but again
no comparative data is available.

The concept of Basic Education has undergone modification
over time within the framework of official reports and commissions.
The Education Commission Report (1964-66) viewed Basic Education and
work experience to be similar. This redefinition was considered to
be more in keeping with a society oriented toward industrialization,

with consequent demands upon education. There has been a "shift of

emphasis in terms of a new science-oriented society“ (Biswas and

103

Agrawal, 1971:285). The term "work-experience" is gradually replacing

Basic Education in official use. Another report, Resolution of the

 

National Policy on Education (1968) does not even mention Basic

Education, although it views work-experience as integral to education

(Biswas and Agrawal, 1971).

CHAPTER VI

ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF THE GANDHIAN
PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL CHANGE IN ACTION

Some General Characteristics
offiGandhian Ideology

 

 

"Gandhi was a man of action, not a social and political
theorist" (Ostergaard and Currell, 1971:27). Gandhi's perceptions
and insights of reality and his ideas concerning social, political,
economic conditions were based as much on his personal experiences,
as on the confrontation of those experiences with the Indian
reality (Ostergaard and Currell, 1971; Joshi, 1970). The philosophy
that he evolved, if his ideas can be described as such, were
"Experiments With Truth."

Joshi describes his quest as a search for a new identity
for India "at once non-traditional and non-western" (1970:141).
Joshi warns though that it would be difficult to conceive his ideas
as a theory or a model of development. They are to be considered
more in the nature of "perceptions" rather than "prescriptions" for
the problems Indian society faced and faces still. In that respect
his insights are just as relevant today (Joshi, 1970:141).

Joshi summarily dismisses Gandhi's ideas which were presented
in "metaphysical and universalistic terms" as obscurantist and sets

out to discuss the relevance of his economic and social ideas (p. 142).

104

105

It is difficult, however, to strip the spiritual and meta-
physical elements in a discussion of his secular ideas. There are
paradoxically strengths and weaknesses in both which require elucida-
tion. Besides, as Gandhi himself put it, ". . . all my activities,
whatever their outer form, are fundamentally religious" (Gandhi,
1962:165-66). An attempt in India at social change, which is
typically Indian in origin, is "social reconstruction.“ At the
highest level of abstraction, it encompasses ideas "for the revitali-
zation and transformation of Indian values, norms, and institutions"
(Ostergaard and Currell, 1971:1). Its historical antecedents date
back to early nineteenth century. It has been described variously
as the "Hindu Renaissance," "cultural renaissance," and the "Indian
renaissance" (Agehananda and Bharti, 1970; Gupta, 1971; Mackenzie
Brown, 1959; Ostergaard and Currell, 1971). It is mentioned in
connection with the social reform efforts of such well-known leaders
as Ram Mohan Roy, Vivekananda, Ranade and Tilak.

Most of the social reform efforts, however, were initiated
by the urban elite, for the urban classes, and they were expressed
and formulated through "legal and institutional changes" (Ostergaard
and Currell, 1971:1). But, even so, as Gupta argues, "The locus of
change was still the individual heart." In the case of Ram Mohan
Roy it was "the authority of private judgment." For Devendra Nath
Tagore, it was "human reason," and for Keshav Chandra Sen, it was
"individual conscience" (Gupta, 1971:73).

But social reconstruction was, from its very beginnings,

rurally oriented. It found expression in Tagore's project in

106

agricultural change (Elmhurst, 1968); but it was Gandhi who trans-
formed it into a national movement--"through the exercise of
philosophy of action, satyagraha" (Ostergaard and Currell, 1971:2).
The historical roots of social reconstruction, according to
Gupta, were laid by Vivekananda. It was by Vivekananda and later
Gandhi that the "ethical principle for the self-realization of the

individual" was converted to a "principle of social ethics . . .

 

(Ostergaard and Currell, 1971:30; also Gupta, 1971 and Rudolph and
Rudolph, 1967).

By separating "religious principles and religious practices,"
Vivekananda made the first an effective instrument for social change.
The evils were in the practices not in the principles of religion.
"This was accompanied by a normative upgrading of ultimate goals and
immediate behavior patterns, relevant to Hindu metaphysics" (Gupta,
1971:76). This included a reformulation of the man-God relationship.
Mgkti;-self—realization--was extroverted in the "worship of God
through man" (1971:77). Religion was moved from an other-worldly to
a this-worldly orientation. "The subjective pursuit of mgkti_was
transformed into an other-directed activity which could predispose
personal commitment towards collective goal-attainment" (1971:79).
The essentially individualistic, asocial attitudes were to be
replaced by "altruistic unselfishness." The notion of caste purity
and "ascribed privilege" replaced by "the ideals of equality and
universal freedom" (1971:78). Vivekananda modernized Hinduism while

"hinduising India's modernity" (1971:79). (This is similar, according

 

107

to Gupta, to the way in which Calvin, in Weber's thesis, appears to
have "christianized modernization in the west," 1971:213.)

Gandhi represents a second major normative transformation of
traditional ideas and values. According to Gupta, his "reformulation
is a logical extension of Vivekanandian breakthrough. Renunciation
and service are fused to spiritualize politics and evolve a new model
of socio-economic reconstruction" (1971:79).-

Both start with a distinctively Indian perception of human
nature and social order. To both of them, stability
signifies a restoration of transcendent reality, while
change occurs in the process of realizing the latent
divinity of individuals (1971:79).
A general understanding of Gandhi's views of man and society

are relevant to the discussion that will follow. Ennumerated below

are some of his ideas concerning the nature of both.

Nature of Man

 

In the Gandhian philosophy each individual is unique and has
a distinct personality, which is not static, but dynamic. Men,
irrespective of outward differences, are fundamentally the same
and, ultimately, good. The potential for good is inherent in man,
consequently men are perfectable.

Gandhi had faith in the technique of conversion; he believed
in the "possibility of improving man" (Prasad, 1964:207). Gandhi
posited an "evolutionary process by which men, as they gained
increasing insight into spiritual Truth, would become progressively
less violent" (Ostergaard and Currell, 1971:30). Individual self-

realization is an important element in Gandhi's philosophy.

 

108

Individual transformation begins as he learns to practice the values
of Truth and non—violence.

The transformation of society and mankind were to be achieved
through "Constructive work and Nonviolent Non-cooperation" (Bose,
1967:410). The former was to be a new mode of production, in which
all men would be toilers, and wealth would be distributed equitably

if not equally. Nonviolent non-cooperation meant not the ouster of

‘

the present rulers by use of force,

.I!‘ ' ‘ lLZim‘"
lg...

. . . but to convert them by determined, yet civilized
refusal to subscribe to proved wrongs. The aim of conver-
sion is to secure their cooperation in helping their erst-
while victims in building up a new social and economic
order based on justice, equality and freedom (Bose, 1967:
410-11).
Social change is to occur "not through punishment but by conver-
sion . . ." (1967:411). Gandhi, like many well-known thinkers and
leaders in India "cared more for man's inner environment than his
outer . . ." (Rudolphs, 1967:160).

The ideal individual is one who is free from constraints '”
and coercion from above and without, mindful of the rights and
welfare of others, one who identifies with the community, is governed
by internal and external discipline, practices an altruistic and
public ethic, lives in harmony with the group, provides disinterested
service to the community, displays a cooperative spirit, and is not
competitive.

The terminology Gandhi uses for defining problems, both at
the individual and social levels, is drawn from Hindu Sanskritic

texts and Hindu cosmology. He undertakes, as several writers point

out, a "normative upgrading" of the traditional ethic, utilizing

109

concepts of satyagraha, ahimsa, makti, and dharma (truth in action,

 

non-violence, self-realization, and duty).
Gandhi completely turned around the "unsystematic theory of
British imperialism" by which they stereotyped Hindu character and
personality. By drawing upon traditional cultural concepts
. .he revived the traditional view of courage, a view
that carried with it commitments to non- -violence, self-
suffering, and self-restraint, qualities Englishmen had
perceived differently and identified as cowardice. The
path to courage that Gandhi showed his countrymen had
fallen into disrepute among those affected by British p.
power and ideas. He now gave it new life and meaning by
making clear the exacting discipline it required in
action and the kind of sacrifice and self-control it
involved (Rudolph and Rudolph, 1967:248).
But, as Gupta points out, the institutional correlates of the reform
efforts have not been worked out. "The supreme ethical achievement
does not denote a new world order, but merely a new world view"
(1971:86). All reform efforts are directed at individual transfbrma-
tion. A homology between desired norms and individual action is
assumed and the institutionalization of norms and action goes apace
with the upgrading of the religious norms of good conduct. Reality
however shows otherwise: "The prophet is deified, and in this
process an imaginary distance is created between his supra-human
virtues and one's own human shortcomings" (1971:87). It is only
through isolated and committed individuals that change is initiated,
not through institutional transformation. Joshi goes so far as to
say that "Even the slogan of the socialist pattern of society seeks

to induce change in the hearts of the individuals . . . . The

110

modernization of India presupposes extra and intense initiative on

the part of selected individuals" (1971:90-91).

Nature of Society

 

"Society cannot be good unless individual men are good"
(Prasad, 1964:98). A good society is possible when there is coopera-
tion, self-discipline, and a sense of responsibility. Self-
government, self-management, mutual cooperation and sharing,
equality, freedom and brotherhood, are necessary ingredients if men
are to create a viable society.

Ours is a movement of self-purification . . . . If Swaraj
was not meant to civilize us and to purify and stabilize
our civilization, it would be nothing worth. The very
essence of our civilization is that we give a paramount
place to morality in all our affairs, public and private
(Gandhi, 1962:184).

Gandhi advocated a partyless, decentralized democracy.
Society is not viewed in terms of classes, although concern is with
the masses of underprivileged and poor. Gandhi was aware of the
exploitation of the masses. He knew that society was divided "into
those who toiled, and the rest who lived on the toils of others"
(Bose, 1967:234). But social change, he envisaged "through construc-
tive work and satyagraha" (1967:241).

Because of his commitment to the principle of non-violence,
he did not advocate the overthrow of government or the state
authority. His was a gradualist approach toward a stateless society.
He advocated not confrontation and conflict, but consensual politics.

Social change was to be both "efficient and economical," without at

the same time leading to "concentration of power" (1967:305).

 

III

Gandhi drew an analogy of satyagraha with war. Just as war
requires a period of preparation, so too does satyagraha require an
intense period of preparation which is non-violent. This is
described as constructive work.

The central object of constructive work is to build up

a democratic and equalitarian social and economic order by

decentralization of the production of the vital necessities

of life. The means of production of those needs are

ultimately to vest in public bodies and not in private

hands. Gandhi held that when man's responsibilities are

related to the needs of a small manageable area, they

function much better than when very large organizations

are run from a distance through personally little known

representatives (Bose, 1967:306).
Swaraj, self government, meant more than political independence--
it means a society committed to the welfare of all. Swaraj is
defined as ". . . freedom of the masses from all forms of exploita-
tion or inequality, achieved through the promotion and organization
of their non-violent strength" (Bose, 1967:197).

The ideal society is one in which there is no need for
government. Gandhi envisioned a stateless society, fully decentral-
ized, constituting organic and democratic communities. It would be
based on values of equality, brotherhood, freedom, organized on the
idea of power of the people. Self-government would be through self-
discipline, and all would participate in their own governance. The
concern is not so much with programs of development, but self-
government.

But, for the politically motivated who sought independence
Vivekananda and Gandhi--and their metaphysics--symbolized a radical

change, not only in the area of social transformation, but for the

 

 

112

ouster of the British as well. Vivekananda was “hailed as a socialist
by a devoted band of revolutionaries" (Gupta, 1971:78). And Gandhi's
program of constructive non-violence, which aimed at building up mass
support, also "provided a training ground for independence fighters"
(Ostergaard and Currell, l971:3). Although both were committed to
the raising of the welfare of all, neither of them desired political
confrontation (Gupta, 1971; Ostergaard and Currell, 1971). Gandhi,
however, conceived the weapons of freedom and liberation to be
spiritual ones. The backgrounds and sources of all activities were
to be spiritual ones. "Hence the necessity for the strictest purity
of conduct and character" (Gandhi, 1962:197). His advice to the
workers was that this was not a difficult task, nor an impossible
one. That it had not been attained did not mean that it should not
be tried. "Do not fight shy of the experiment. The experiment will
itself provide the momentum for more and more effort" (Gandhi, 1962:
197). Truth and non-violence were not only to be a principle and
creed but they should become "part and parcel" of one's being.
Gandhi, both in his public and private life, attempted to

negate the dualism of "inner progress" and "the service of society."
The distinction, according to him, was "due to an error of thought."

I believe, and it is also my experience, that all that is

against the progress of the soul is also against the true

interest of society in general. The progress of the soul

can best be achieved, according to me, through the service

of society . . . (Gandhi, 1962:242).

The evolution of Gandhian ideas concerning individual and

society, as they found expression in the Sarvodaya Movement spear-

headed by Vinobha Bhave and J. P. Narayan, are similarly committed

 

113

to the ideals of Truth and Non-violence. No attempt is made, accord-
ing to Joshi, to "challenge the Establishment and the economic and
political status quo” (Joshi, 1970:150). In the Sarvodaya philosophy:
"There is thus to be no direct frontal attack on the state, but a
progression from free central government through the decentralized
self-governing state to the condition of pure anarchy"(Ostergaard and
Currell, 1971:41). This utopian condition is far from being

realized, and Joshi goes so far as to state that "post independence

Gandhism has been denuded of its commitment to radical social change,
and therefore, of its revolutionary potential“ (1970:150). The
ideal society is to be established by transforming ”individual
character." This was the philosophy of Gandhi, and later Vinobha
Bhave and J. P. Narayan, who eschew "the pursuit of power in their
efforts to change society by changing men" (Rudolph, 1961:391).
Gandhi's political philosophy was essentially individual,

radiated through mind and action and not at all through an

ideological programme, still less through a political party

or political institutions. Hence, it is peculiarly

vulnerable to the passing of time. Gandhi attempted to work

through his immediate disciples, and through the Indian

masses as his followers, with virtually no fixed organiza-

tion and with something like indifference to the normal end

of politics, that is, power (Tinker, 1964:262-63; see also

Rudolph, 1961).
Following Gandhi, both Vinobha Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan portray
similar ideals. and are attempting to bring about change outside the
political processes. For them, as for Gandhi, social change--the
betterment of human and social life--is essentially a moral problem

(Prasad, 1966).

114

Some Outcomes and Results of the
Gandhian Ideas in Practice

 

 

The reconstruction of Indian society that Gandhi envisioned
was rural and mass oriented. In attempting to mobilize the
peasants in India, Gandhi advocated a "populist ideology"

. . . put forward a doctrine of 'trusteeship', advocating

class peace, and designating the landlords as 'trustees'

for the exploited peasant! When Gandhi led peasant

'struggles', they were those that were not directed

against the landlords but against the British Raj . . .

nevertheless, that involvement with the peasantry was

one which infused many of the Congress leaders and

cadres with a populist ideology . . . (Alavi, 1975:1237).
In fact, in what is now regarded as his "last will and testament"
Gandhi stated that if India is to develop, the first step that must
be taken is for the present Congress Party to disband itself and
create a totally new cadre devoted to development work. This cadre
would be known as the Lok Sevak Sangh--"an apolitical people's
service association" (Rudolph, 1961:385).

The introduction of land reform legislation, coupled with
Community Development, and later Panchayati Raj, the National
Extension Service, and Basic Education to improve rural social life,
agriculture and rural based industry were initially founded on
certain Gandhian ideals. These development efforts were based on the
notion that "the 'felt needs' of the people and the demands of the
national economy were coincident (Hanson, 1966:407). As Hanson
explains it, the tendency in policy, especially from the time of
Gandhi, has been to assume that somehow the multitude of divisive

forces in Indian society can be overcome or eliminated and consensus

and cooperation achieved. There is a "Rousseauan” hope that

 

115

consensus can be achieved by the discovery of "a unique general will
which must then become the 'real self' of every individual partici-
pant" (Hanson, 1966:259; see also Rudolph, 1961).

Conflict, interest-adjustment, and limited consensus were
some of the characteristics of democratic institutions that were
looked down upon (1966:259). The concept of selfless and non-
political community service, which Gandhi formulated has been a [3
dominant motive in Indian society and politics (see Tinker, 1964;
Rudolph, 1961; Hanson, 1966:260).

Carried to an extreme and combined with a Gandhi-

inspired enthusiasm for social service, this attitude can
lead to complete withdrawal from ordinary political life
and to the devotion of a great man's intellectual talents
to the formulation of utopian proposals for the 'recon-
struction of the Indian polity', such as those advanced by
Jayaprakash Narayan, who appears to think that the faction-
ridden village can provide the foundation of a pyramidal
democracy without parties, in which decisions are taken by
unanimous consent (Hanson, 1966:261).
Indian village society has been romanticized as a harmonious and
homogenous community by Indian social reformers. The reality of
social, political, and economic stratifications are overlooked.
There is an assumption that unanimity of interests pervades village
life (Hanson, 1966; Rudolph, 1961).

In the implementation of development programs two types of
orientations become evident. One, already alluded to, is the vision
of harmonious Indian village society. Jayaprakash Narayan, for
instance, looks to the past to find the "lost soul" of an "ancient
country." He asks for a revival of the concept of dharma, not by a

legislative act but in an organic manner. "Dharma must arise from

116

life itself--1ife that is vital enough, real enough, organic enough
to be able to throw up codes and laws for its internal regulation“
(Prasad, 1964:207).

W. H. Morris-Jones, in a cogent critique of Narayan's
reconstituted polity based on the ideas of ancient communities, says
that the latter are uncertain, ordinary and remote. Uncertain in
time and place, ordinary in that they were not peculiar to India,
and remote because, while some aspects may be found even today, "it
is in its fullness another world" (Morris-Jones, 1960).

The appeal for the transformation of Indian society is
directed at the individual "by disciplining of the bodily appetites
. . by sharing together the good things, by keeping wants under
control . . ." (Prasad, 1964:156). On a societal level, decentrali-
zation and de-institutionalization cannot be legislated into being,

according to Narayan. Reform "always implies a total removal of
institutional restraints. The prophet always blames the system . . .
but reforms the individual" (Gupta, 1971:86). The other orientation
in planned social change, found especially among program planners
and implementers, is to pay "lip service . . . to the concept of
planning according to felt needs . . ." (Dube, 1958:150). Urban
intellectuals and professionals consider the village to be

backward and conservative, a place where higher castes and

classes dominate lower and new ideas and technology

advance at a snail's pace, the place least rather than most

likely to provide the inspiration and the means for

tomorrow's utopia (Rudolph, 1967:217).

An important function or role assigned to education by those

who consider it an important element in social change is to change

117

these very perceptions of people concerning both means and ends

which they must seek. But education, of whatever type of character

or uniqueness, cannot function in iSolation from the ongoing network

of perceptions and values and desires. The "vocabularies of motive

that prevail in a society" are socially patterned (Mills, 1959:162).

And it is a form of idealism to hope that individual attitudes,

motives and values can be transformed simply by providing a specific 11
type of education, while other institutions of society are allowed

to function unchecked.

Cultural and economic and material concerns are woven into
people's perceptions of benefits and rewards and gains from educa-
tion or any development effort that require change on their part.
Social scientists who adopt a psychological and individualistic
point of view would state that it is precisely these misguided per-
ceptions on the part of individuals that need to be changed.

People's perceptions, their cognition and motivation, and also
values, success, self-interest and rewards are assumed to be
psychological states (Homans, 1964:816-17). While these elements

are integral to a definition of a situation or problem they are weak
as explanations, for example, in the proposition that Basic Educa-
tion failed because people did not adopt it. This is an insufficient
and incomplete explanation. Psychological properties explain
behaviors of individuals, but they cannot explain the conditions
operating in society which contributed to the failure of Basic
Education. For example, Gandhi's major concern was with revitalizing

village economy and harnessing education toward this attempt. On the

118

other hand, government plans and policy were oriented toward rapid
economic and industrial growth. Not only were the goals divergent
and incompatible, so were the educational means. Given a variety of
educational institutions, individuals can be expected to choose those
which they perceive to be most responsive to their own needs,
inclinations, and desires. Appeals to individuals to choose one

over the other were made on moral grounds requiring persuasion and

. .‘ 9y
4.

conversion. It may work with some individuals, but to expect all

iifir. m9 '

individuals to respond alike is to assume an unlikely uniformity of -‘
behavior.

There is no assumption here that social conditions or
institutions or norms exert coercive power over individuals, that
they force individuals to act one way or the other, or that indi-
viduals are merely puppets governed by the system. Norms, defined
by Wilhelm as "social conditions," and "means"

. . . are standards jgp_social conduct; they are guides that
direct the expression of social behavior. As such, norms
are not equivalent to conduct; norms are constructs for
analyzing social action rather than facets of social
behavior (Wilhelm, 1967:24).

To further clarify the Gandhian attempt at individual and
social transformation, I shall draw upon Ostergaard and Currell's
classification of "norm-oriented" and "value-oriented" movements.
On a conceptual level, the former expresses "certain regulatory
principles" identified as necessary for action. The movement then
attempts ‘

to restore, protect, modify, or create norms in the name of

a generalized (norm-oriented belief. People subscribing to
such beliefs may demand a law or a regulatory agency to

119

control behavior. Political pressure groups of all kinds
are typical norm-oriented movements (Ostergaard and Currell,
1971:21).

Values are more generalized and diffused than norms. "They
state in general terms the desirable ends which serve as a guide to
human endeavour." A value-oriented movement is "a collective
attempt to restore, protect, modify, or create values in the name
of a generalized (value-oriented) beliéf." Values call for a total
reconstruction of self and society; and are concerned with the moral
basis of life.

Its adherents envisage a new world and not merely an

improvement of individuals or a reform of institutions,
even though the latter are aspects of regeneration. Such
beliefs contain a vision of future harmony and stability
which is in direct contrast with the decay and instability
of the present (1971:21).
Examples of value-oriented movements, according to the authors are
"messianic religious movements," and "utopian socialist movements"
(1971:21).

Movements that aim at changing institutions usually focus on
gaining power over the institutions of society. Those which focus
on changing individuals tend "to emphasize the satisfactions to be
derived from participation" (1971:20). Although Gandhi saw the
necessity of changing both, the belief was that individual change
would "inevitably produce institutional change" (1971:20; see also
Gupta, 1971).

The ideas of Gandhi as they became institutionalized in Basic
Education did not lead to transformation of the existing institutions

of education, nor did they lead to a change in the environment, or

the re-structuring of other institutions through which individuals

 

 

120

were to find fulfillment. Persuasion and conversion of individuals
to a particular value system through education was enshrined in the
system of education. Consequently, a particular ideology of what was
desirable for the masses was propagated (Freire, 1972:83).

A common pattern of shortcomings and weaknesses found in
Basic Education are evident also in the implementation of other
types of development programs, such as Community Development.)
Panchayati Raj, and Extension Services. Most reasons that are
advanced for the lack of expansion and popularity of Basic Education
pertain to its internal workings--lack of proper teacher education,
problems of introducing handicrafts into the school curriculum,
lack of administrative know-how, inadequate resources and facilities,
costs of financing, and inadequate research-~or to the fact that
there were weaknesses in the relationship between Basic Schools and
other levels of education. There are, however, some external
explanations that need to be considered in order to put the failure
of Basic Education in a proper perspective.

Integral to Basic Education was the concept of manual labour.
Gandhi hoped to use education as a means for transforming other
institutions. He hoped to transform people's attitudes toward work.
by dignifying labour by integrating it with intellectual pursuits.
In the process he envisioned an economic and social transformation.
Gandhi was not unaware that caste hierarchy assigns low status to
manual labour. He hoped to change that by personal example. He
took up spinning and leather work, and within Basic Education

itself handicrafts became a symbol of manual labour.

121

But Basic Education was rejected by both high and low status
groups--by the former because it was considered demeaning and because
for cultural and economic reasons the local village elite can hardly
be expected to usher in a classless, and casteless society. The
poor and the lower castes opposed Basic Education because they looked
upon it as an attempt to prevent their children from acquiring a
“lottery ticket" for rising on the social and economic ladder
(Zachariah, 1970:99). They viewed Basic Education as an attempt to
maintain them in their low economic and social status.

Another impediment to the success of Basic Education resided
in the fact that almost all Basic Schools were established in rural
areas. Moreover, the modernizing elite responsible for implementing
Basic Education were themselves Western-oriented in their education
and in their world view. while the local elites were interested in
maintaining the status quo (Zachariah, 1970).

After Gandhi, a dedicated band of followers committed to the
aims of Basic Education took over the cause, but they lacked the
appeal that Gandhi's charismatic leadership provided to mobilize the
masses. As Zachariah points out, "Gandhi had unfortunately made no
attempt to institutionalize this contact" (1970:103; see also Gupta,
1971); ". . . the inability of the government to mobilize the
ordinary people is perhaps the crucial reason for the failure of
efforts such as basic education .. ." (1970:104-05). But, in order
to do that, the government would have "to bypass the established
elite at the state and local level to organize the ordinary villages"

(1970:104). To do so would require revolutionary action.

122

The modernizing elite which is represented at the
federal level, be it remembered, also come from the upper
strata of Indian society. Although it differs from the
established elite in that it desires social and economic
development, it wants such development in an evolutionary
and not in a revolutionary fashion (Zachariah, 1970:104).

Policy concerning rural development is not only made by the
towns but it is also to some extent made for the towns. This is
further aggravated by alliances between urban elites and big farmers,
the benefits flowing from the one to the other (Lipton, 1968:141).

A number of social scientists have also examined rural
development strategy over the same time period, that is, the first
two decades of development since Indian Independence. They have
documented the impact of Community Development, Panchayati Raj,
National Extension Service, and other inputs into rural development;
and the effects of these on the rural masses in terms of solving
problems of poverty, unemployment and rural-urban dichotomies.

An authoritative treatise on "Poverty in India: Policies
and Programmes" published in 1971, has attempted to quantify poverty
in India. The findings are that 42 per cent of the population of
India is so poor that they cannot afford a daily minimum Caloric
intake. And this after two decades of development (Dandekar and
Rath, 1971).

Innumerable case studies are available which document that
the peasant landed elite is the group that has done well as a result
of government assistance to rural areas. They are

the main beneficiaries of the new system of democratic
decentralization known as panchayati raj . . . they have

absorbed the lion's share othhe'beneths accruing to the
countryside from the Community Projects and National

 

 

123

Extension Services . . . . Their power derives from the
inability of the administration to do anything effective
in the countryside without their cooperation and from the
fact that they possess an electoral influence which can
make and unmake governments, particularly at the state
level (Hanson, 1966:241).

Like the businessmen, they play an ambiguous role in
the process of economic development. In so far as they are
content to establish themselves as local elites, they con-
tribute to the ossification of rural society, thereby
restricting the initiatives and throttling the responses
of others (Hanson, 1966:242).

Paradoxically, the "business class" in urban areas, and the "kulak

class" from the rural areas are the main beneficiaries of socialism.
The former has benefitted from the opening up of new markets, and
the limitations on competition, and the latter from the introduction
of new seeds, water, fertilizer, credit, and other related services.
Can we conclude from the lack of success of various programs
and practices of development that were imbued with Gandhian ideals
that the ideals were inconsequential, that they embody an inadequate
understanding and comprehension of Indian reality, or that the extent
to which events have veered away from Gandhian vision of the future
of Indian society indicates how outdated his ideas are today?
According to some writers, Gandhian ideals have found expression in
Indian foreign policy in and through the philosophy of non-alignment,
and non—violence itself, as a political weapon, has gained popularity
in the West (Tinker, 1964; Rudolph, 1967). Those ideals, as
embodied in the Sarvodaya Movement carried on by Vinobha Bhave and
Jayaprakash Narayan, constitute "the repository of the Indian

conscience" (Ostergaard and Currell, 1971:15).

124

To document from just one study concerning the influence of
Cahdhism: Harijans have been attempting to break away from age-old
social, cultural and economic disabilities. Although they are
facilitated in this by new laws and legislations, they nonetheless
come into conflict with the dominant castes. Over more than two
decades of independence they have become sufficiently politicized
and organized to make their demands felt:

. . . the Harijans have forged rapidly ahead in their bid
for civic equality. But this journey has been by no means
smooth or easy; the price of every significant advance has
been a measure of violence . . . today they are no longer
in a mood to have their houses burnt or their property
destroyed without retaliation (Beteille, 1969:186).
Does the fact that the Harijans are seeking self-determination,
whether the rest of society is willing to grant it to them or not,
reflect well or forbode ill for the future of Gandhism? The
answer depends upon which particular elements of Gandhian ideology
one professes.

Swamy provides three reasons why the ideas of decentraliza-
tion, labour intensive rural works and village self-sufficiency
receded into the background in development planning. (1) The Congress
Party after independence, was transformed into a political electoral
machine. Gandhi foresaw this and called for the transformation of
the political machinery into a totally new cadre devoted to develop-
ment projects. But the political system as it now exists is not
accountable to any one. (2) The bureaucratic system was simply a
"law and order" maintenance body. (3) The educational system

inherited from the British was geared to producing clerks and white-

collar workers. Neither the educational system nor the bureaucracy

125

were suited to development work. And each moved away from the
principles and ideas of Gandhi. The first casualty, according to
Swamy, was the "Swadeshi principle"--the principle of self-reliance
that Gandhi advocated (Swamy, 1976).

Secular Aspects of Gandhian Ideas and the
Social and’Economic Realities

 

 

The relevance of Gandhi's ideas can be grasped only by
demythologizing the religious and metaphysical elements of his
thought. Gandhian "transcendental morality and appeal to traditional
ideas," are meaningless to the post-independence generations. But
what is still relevant are ". . . those aspects of Gandhi's leader-
ship that relate to middle-level norms of conduct and to instru-
mental rather than ideological effectiveness" (Rudolph, 1967:219).

In discussions of the indigeneous nature of some of Gandhian ideas
often it is those elements which are least relevant that are
emphasized. These can be summed up in the common phrase "the West

is materialistic, the East is spiritual" (Bharati, 1968). But it is
simplistic to say that Gandhi was against Western ideals and values.
His reaction was to some forms of Westernism. The ideas involved in
the concept are themselves complex and easily misunderstood. Three
distinct elements can be identified within the concept of Westernism:
(1) Ideas and values of Westernism mean values of commitment to work,
to equality, to humanism, methodical regulation of life as reflected
in punctuality, discipline and awareness of obligations to total
society; (2) Westernism also means the specific institutions of

private enterprise which are organized around the principle of profit

 

126

making; and ideas embodied in individualism, both of which are found
in a particular Western model of economic and social development;
and (3) Westernism also means the attitudes, value-preferences,
orientation, and way of life of the Westernized elite in one's own
society, and these groups may not possess any of the characteristics
of modernizing elites in the West (Joshi, 1970:140).
It was the first type of Westernism which Gandhi professed E”

and practiced. His contributions in the areas of political moderni-

,_
i-

zation are significant; his ideas bearing upon "the conduct of
politics, a work ethic and economizing behavior with respect to time
and resources, and making India's political structures more rational,
democratic, and professional," in essence his 'this-worldly
asceticism' constitute his greatest contribution (Rudolph, 1967:219).
Some ideas from the West he considered totally alien to the Indian
way of life-~the ideas of individualism and profit, specifically
capital value as a measure of success in any enterprise. Gandhi's
objection was to "the allocation of all productive resources on the
basis of capital values" (Rivett, 1959:4). The success 0f any
enterprise according to him is to be adduced only by the extent to
which it satisfied personal needs and the demands of institutions
(Rivett, 1959).

Gandhi assessed the value of change by its observable

impact on the countryside. His essential protest was

directed, not against industrialism as such, but against

the social disruption that may accompany it (Rivett, 1959:4).

He was against the over-emphasis on the use of Western models of

deve10pment. The very identification of these as debatable issues

127

is of enormous significance, according to Joshi (1970:146). They
remain extremely meaningful and relevant even in the contemporary
context (see Schumacher, 1975; Illich, 1973). The conditions of
poverty, unemployment, and rural-urban dichotomies were central
to his social and economic analysis, and his perceptions and

insights reveal that he was a rebel not only against Westernism

_ 'l
J

but also traditionalism. Gandhi's was the only realistic appraisal

of the Indian situation and problems.

:—
11.

His basic merit lay in the fact that he questioned the
relevance of the Western model of development to Indian
conditions from a non-traditionalist standpoint. . . .

This simultaneous criticism of Westernism as well as
traditionalism enabled Gandhi to view the problem of
Indian development neither as a process of return to the
past (i.e., preservation of traditional identity) nor as
a process of implantation of Western institutions and
values (i.e., Westernization) but as a process of organic
evolution and growth (Joshi, 1970:141).

But the idiom in which Gandhi spoke was traditional rather
than scientific. In this sense his quest for an indigenous model,
according to Joshi, represents a beginning and cannot be viewed as a
perfected model. "It would be futile, therefore, to look for a
mature model of development in Gandhi's ideas" (141). But the basic
ingredients are all there: his perceptions of problems facing
Indian society are of enduring value, although his prescriptions for
solutions to these problems may not be. But in spite of these limita-
tions the core of his thought is just as relevant today, and perhaps
more so, as the second generation problems of development arise.

Gandhi did not hold to an anti-industrialization position as

is commonly believed, but he was for minimum-industrialization. As

128

he is said to have reiterated more than once to clear this misunder-
standing: "What I am against is large-scale production of things
villages can produce without difficulty" (Joshi, 1970:145). Accord-
ing to Joshi, the minimum-industrialization views of Gandhi
expressed one of the first doubts and questioning "of a universal
model of economic and social develOpment valid for all countries and
all times" (Joshi, 1970:146). *3
Gandhi's perceptions of rural-urban imbalances, the large

number of small landowners, tenants, and landless peasants, and the
tradition of handicrafts, and the implications of all these limiting
factors for the type of planning for development that should be
undertaken remain significant. Moreover, Gandhi was not unaware
that the solutions to these problems required

changes in property and power structure, attitudes, beliefs,

and social organization coupled with institution-building on

a vast scale. He was also not oblivious of the tremendous

resistance from the vested interests to the implementation

of this program. His emphasis on arousing among the toiling

masses the consciousness of their own "power“ was a recogni-

tion of the basic truth that the task of reconstruction was

inseparable from the factor of "power" (Joshi, 1970:149-150).

The secular aspects of Gandhi's ideas were overshadowed and

"obscured by other ingredients of his thought which had a secondary
significance. They did not become the basis of any operational model
of Indian development" (Joshi, 1970:150). Gandhi's perceptive
analysis of the social, political, and economic realities were over-

laid by his religious and ideological doctrines. It is his meta-

physical, religious, and spiritual ideas which are kept alive.

129

Today, some of the ideological, religious, and psychological
elements of Gandhi's thought have been further idealized and
eulogized by some social scientists and educationists and in the
social and political contexts his ideas have been ritualized and
have undergone a "process of vulgarization" (Joshi, 1970:150). While
Gandhi's views and vision of a mass-oriented development, that is
"the uncompromising commitment to the interests of the vast masses

of small producers," have been taken over by the Sarvodaya workers:

 

Sarvodaya, the Welfare of All, a casteless, classless,
stateless, free society of equals being the ultimate social
objective, the grand strategy to achieve it is revaluation
of values on the part of individuals and groups, leading to
progressive changes in social structure and social institu-
tions (Ostergaard and Currell, 1971:227).
However, as Hoshi points out, "none of the existing interpretations
of Gandhian thought and practice seem to challenge the Establishment
and the economic and political status quo" (1970:150). If there is
an awakening on the part of the masses, Joshi speculates that it
will most likely "proceed in opposition to all status qua-oriented
or 'gradualist' ideologies including the ossified Gandhism of the
post-independence era" (1970:150-51). Whether its realization will
follow a path "in conformity with Gandhi's value commitments," that
is, his two fundamental precepts of Truth and Non-violence, remains
to be seen. If, however, the awakening of the masses
. . transcends the bounds of Gandhi's value commitments,
it will only conform his prophesy regarding the price that
may have to be paid by the privileged classes if they con-

tinued to disregard the interests and as irations of the
village-dwelling masses (Joshi, 1970:152 .

 

CHAPTER VII

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The major purpose in presenting the two case studies was to
discuss them within the framework of the individualistic psycho-
logical approaches in social science. The description of the two
case studies, the presuppositions of its mentors, and the analysis
of both cases provide sufficient evidence to show that at a level of
abstraction and generalization both provide explanations of social
change which may be subsumed under individualistic psychological
approaches.

It must be reiterated, however, that there are a number of
points of divergence between McClelland and Gandhi, in spite of
certain similarities in presuppositions. In order to avoid any
invidious comparison between the two a brief recounting of the
similarities and differences at the level of explanation will be
provided.

Two education programs from India were examined. One was
Western in its orientation and assumptions concerning social change,
and the other was indigeneous in the type of social change envisioned,
and the solutions sought. One program of psychological education was
undertaken by David C. McClelland to motivate economic achievement in
individuals. The other is the Scheme of Basic Education devised by
Gandhi to transform individuals and reconstruct Indian society.

130

 

131

The issue of major concern to McClelland was economic growth
and modernization and ways by which those precesses might be acceler-
ated. In searching for the causes of both modernization and economic
growth he argued that psychologists have provided the answer, sum-
marized by the notion of "need for achievement." Within the
hierarchy of motives, the motive to achieve is identified as the
most important one in economic growth and development. Through the ~"
right type of education, need for achievement could be moved higher
up in a person's hierarchy of needs, then exploited as the basis for
productive activity.

The notion of "need for achievement" leads to focus on the
personality of the individual. The barriers to growth and moderniza-
tion are seen to be internal to the individual. By the proviSion
of a specific type of educational input, a re-orientation in the
responses of individuals can be obtained.

McClelland selected a group of Indian businessmen for study.
The rationale for the selection assumed that individuals from the
middle classes have moderately high levels of need for achievement;
they are likely to benefit most from the training and, in turn,
contribute most to economic growth.

Some of the findings of McClelland and his colleagues who
undertook to provide psychological training to a group of business-
men were the following:

1. The cultural and religious attitudes and beliefs of
individuals do not hinder business and entrepreneurial activities.

Moreover, those who showed increased business activity after the

 

!: ‘-

.
-. ii
‘ s’ - airvgvt m—;"(o“ql‘n

 

 

I32

training were no different from those who did not in the areas of
"Subordination, Dependence, Caste rules, Religious behavior, and
Feminism" (McClelland, 1969:262).

2. An important finding of the authors was that the
effectiveness of g_Achievement training is determined by the
participant's situation. "A man cannot convert increased motivation
into increased activity unless he has a real opportunity to do so"
(McClelland, 1969:311).

3. In examining factors internal to the individual which
retard economic growth the attempt was made to tap the "deeper and
more subtle" differences between the Changers and Hon-Changers
(1969:268). The difference is defined as involving a "style of
describing" goals and actions, and a sense of "efficacy" as opposed
to "contemplation of a goal state" and "vague global fantasies"
(1969:271-72).

4. Another conclusion from the in-depth analysis of four
case studies was that "the training courses did not achieve their
effectiveness by deep seated transformation of the motivation of
participants. Rather, it appears the courses affected individuals
by accenting, building upon, or focusing potential for entre-
preneurial activity which was already there (1969:305).

5. The difference between the Changers and Non-Changers
after the courses, was due to the fact that the former controlled
and ran their own businesses and had the scope and independence to

carry out new ideas and plans (1969:272).

 

133

Some general conclusions that become apparent from
McClelland's study of motivating economic achievement in individuals
are stated below:

1. Although the motive to achieve is a universal human
characteristic, according to McClelland, not all individuals express
it. Some are more achievement-oriented than others. How is the
initial threshold to be determined? By administering a series of
tests a person's perception of success or failure at a task, and the
tendency to approach or avoid it can be determined (1969:16-17).
But, why is there a variation in the performance of the task? More
than an individual's high value of success and fear of failure are
involved. Besides, are these spontaneous, full-blown attributes of
individual personality? McClelland's concern is to search for the
causes of economic development--and g_Achievement is discussed as
an important variable in this. He is not concerned with how p_
Achievement itself is caused, but only with boosting it by providing
training in psychological education. _

2. The danger in searching for antecedents is narrowing
the search to socialization child-rearing practices, or in positing
motivational differences as the result of the "status mobility
systems" of various groups (LeVine, 1966), or as due to authoritarian
structures, and religious ideologies (McClelland, 1961). Inherent
in this approach is the problem of reification of ideal-types, as
well as that of the "chicken-and-egg," in which the antecedent and
consequent pursue each other in a small circle . . ." (Aberle, 1961:

382).

 

I34

3. McClelland views p_Achievement to be directed only to
one specific end--economic development. He does not conceive of any
other goal of a non-economic nature which individuals may desire to
achieve, or that the desire may itself require community support.
Achievement is uni-directional, and highly individualistic, the goal
is economic growth. Nor does he consider that economic and entre-
preneurial activity may co-vary and be complicated by a number of
other factors, such as the state of the economy, labor laws, trade
union activities, in short the "entrepreneurial environment."

4. The businessmen who were provided the training inputs
controlled most of the institutions of any importance in the town.
They were selected because they belong to the middleclass and are
presumed to have a threshold of motivation to succeed. The fact
that they were also provided with other inputs, involving exposure
and familiarity with prestigious and influential individuals who
have the power to grant trade licenses, for example, is not
acknowledged.

5. It seems, finally, that McClelland's attempt to
accelerate economic development by the use of a special psychological
training program, was limited to those individuals who combine in
themselves all the necessary and sufficient criteria for improvement--
both internal and external. _This circular arrangement caters to the
chosen few who received the training in order to convert their
potential into productive economic activity.

The issues that concerned Gandhi entailed a total reconstruc-

tion of Indian society. He was concerned with economic, social and

 

135

cultural hinderances to social change--problems of unemployment,
rural-urban dichotomies, the over-emphasis on mechanization and
,industrialization--and on the cultural plane, he was concerned with
the problem of untouchability and with a normative upgrading of
religious principles by providing religion with a this-worldly
orientation.

“ Social good is to be guaranteed by the transfbrmation of
values, desires, and motives. Through a process of self-purifica-
tion, renunciation, and service, men's hearts can be changed.
Gandhi considered "inner progress" and the "service of society" as
analogous. On a secular plane both of these goals were to be
guaranteed by the integration of the concepts of work and education.
Both were integral aspects of his educational philosophy. Educa-
tion was to be woven around a craft. This would help revitalize
village industries and village economy, create mass employment, and
in the process, break down cultural barriers, revitalizing the
villages morally and economically.

Goals that were to be achieved through Basic Education
included the following:

1. At the individual level education was to transform the
body, mind, and spirit of the child by applying all three to the
learning and doing needed in craft-work. This would create economic
self-sufficiency for education, while providing jobs for the unem-
ployed. In implementation, Gandhi's ideas concerning personality
development and child-centered, activity-oriented education

relevant to the needs and interests of the child were accepted,

136

while his ideas concerning economic self-sufficiency through the
introduction of craft work in schools were modified.1 The value of
Gandhian education for the development of personality and character
of the individual were acceptable to educationists, but the conse-
quences of work and productive activity within the school and its
economic and social implications were viewed as adulterating the
goals of education. Consequently, the concepts of work and produc-
tive activity which Gandhi sought to integrate with intellectual
activity were merely ritualized, especially in the symbol of the
spinning wheel.

2. On the societal level, the aims of education were to be
service and social uplift of the community. The teachers were to
communicate a "spirit of sacrifice," faith, and commitment to the
students. The introduction of productive work would break down
barriers between traditional occupational groups and create dignity
and respectability for manual labor. While these ideas of Gandhi
were accepted in principle and also implemented, a number of contra-
dictions became evident. The Basic School was one of a number of
alternative institutions--one, moreover, suited to the needs of the
rural masses. Although Basic Education had its own group of com-
mitted individuals, bound by a common ideology, supplied by separate
government finances and resources and concerned with expanding the
institutions of Basic Schools and teacher training institutes, they
had a formidable competitor in the traditional formal schools. Both
in principle and in practice, elements of Basic Education were contra-

dictory to the dominant trends of most government private schools.

 

137

Each alternative held out promises and potential of different rewards
for the individual seeking to fulfill needs and desires from educa-
tion.

3. A combination of economic necessity and moral reforma-
tion underlay Gandhi's ideas concerning education. Education should
pay for itself, while providing and developing the productive and
social capacities of individuals. Knowledge would be useful and
functional. Through learning craftwork, students would acquire both
technical skills of production and intellectual growth through
mastering the scientific processes of production. The debate in
the implementation of Basic Education was in essence over goals.

The issue concerned the desirability and value of education for the
individual and society. The type of education Gandhi envisioned,
however, did not separate its value for the individual from its
value to society. Individual transformation and social change were
to occur simultaneously by individual commitment and dedication to

specific goals.

Discussion

 

While on an intellectual level a debate concerning the pros
and cons of Basic Education continues to this day, the implementation
of Basic Education made evident the limits of mass societal trans-
formation through education. Furthermore, some ambiguities in the
relationship between individual change and social change through
education became obvious. On the one hand were the goals of societal
transformation to be achieved through Basic Education and on the

other were the needs, desired, and inclinations of all people. For

 

138

the program to be a success it required a commonality of interest
and purpose between all people and the government-sponsored Basic
Schools. The concerns and priorities of irradicating poverty,
untouchability, and economic disparaties, and doing so by dispensing
the right kind of education required the dedication and commitment
of the government and the leadership. Competing goals and the
availability of options, however, rendered Basic Education non-
viable.

The main obstacles to the success of Basic Education in
obtaining the goals sought of individual and social transformation
are generally viewed to be the following: apathy, lack of commit-
ment of teachers and administrators; distrust on the part of people
concerning the goals of Basic Education, and other traditional and
cultural factors such as community attitudes and perceptions con-
cerning Basic Schools. Other shortcomings are described as
administrative--poor curriculum planning, teacher education and
lack of sufficient research.

In addition to the internal reasons for the lack of success
of Basic Education, a number of incongruities became evident between
the goals and values sought from Basic Education, and the leaders'
perceptions and goals for Indian society generally. Gandhian
ideals of communitarian, self-sufficient village society were opposed
to national goals of industrialization and Westernization. Gandhi's
ideas of casteless, classless, cooperative, homogeneous society met
with opposition and resistance from local, traditional elites.

While Basic Education had its own band of committed followers, many

139

of those in charge of instituting the program were themselves
elites: administrative, intellectual, and political. They were
Westernized or harbored plans of Westernization for their own
children. Even committed administrative elites had to reach masses
of people through local elites who exercised economic, political,
and cultural controls over the landless, rural poor, and they
undermined any effort to change the status quo radically. Once
the political realities had redefined Basic Education and emasculated
it of its economic and cultural dimensions, what remained was nothing
more than an attempt to pursue development through the educational
transformation of individual psyches.

There are some obvious divergences between McClelland and
Gandhi and in the type of educational programs devised. McClelland
focuses on specific groups and ignores the masses while Gandhi
concentrates on the masses of rural poor. McClelland is concerned
with a specific psychological propensity and its effect on develop-
ment and growth, and Gandhi is concerned with the total existential
situation of man and his relationship to God, society, and other men.
They do, however, converge with respect to the notion of individual
transformation, by advocating that the transformation of the rural
masses on the one hand, and urban entrepreneurs on the other will
eventually lead to further social change. Nevertheless, there are a
number of significant divergent points of view which become evident
when one examines the type of social change envisioned and the goals

each hoped to achieve through individual transformation.

F I”: 9

5 1
i. .
u.’ '1
\

e1

 

140

Manifest in McClelland's educational program for instituting
social change are some Western assumptions and orientations concerning
the kind of change, the direction of change, and how it can be
delivered. In spite of the obvious individualistic psychological
orientation he professes, the concepts of modernity, growth, and
development occupy a central place. Change in psychological states
of individuals, as viewed in the McClelland perspective occurs
gfitpjp_the framework of growth and development. It implies that
growth is good, especially if it is reflected in and through
industrial production, and ideally within the framework of private
enterprise, wrapped in the ideology of individualism.

It is exactly in the area of assumptions of social change
that Gandhi's views are diametrically opposed to McClelland's. The
difference is not just in degree and rate of change, or levels of
development, but it is a difference in the kjpg_of development to be
pursued. The indicators for Gandhi, are neither growth, moderniza-
tion nor industrialization, nor are they universalism as opposed to
ascription, modernity opposed to tradition, or similar pattern
variables of attitudes, values, and behaviors that define the per-
sonality of the traditional man as opposed to modern man.

Gandhi's concerns lay with devising ways and means for
solving the overriding and urgent problems facing Indian society.
His aim was to obtain equality for all, and in the case of India this
meant the village-dwelling masses. Both in the analysis of the
problems and their solutions he assigned primary position to indi-

viduals. It was the condition of people that was of immediate

I41

concern, and it was through them and by them that solutions were to
be implemented. The people who mattered were not a select few--
entrepreneurs or businessmen.

It was violence and the exploitation of man by man which
distressed Gandhi. He sought to overcome both by advocating
individual transformation of attitudes, values, and motives, by the
use of determined persuasion, and conversion to the principles of
non-violence and truth and love, by changing men's inner environment.
Society could not be considered good unless individual men were good.
It was through a process of self-purification that social change
occurred. Moreover, the progress of the soul could be achieved only
through service of society. There is a strain toward consistency
between the ideal and the real, with the real submerged in the ideal.

At a fundamental level, social change for Gandhi meant the
creation of a better society, and for McClelland it meant a more
modern one. Both considered that education would transform indi-
viduals toward following the right direction in guaranteeing social

change.

Concluding_Remarks
The major concern in this study has been to explicate a
particular perspective within social science-~described as the
individualistic approach--in explanation of social change; and by
drawing upon two educational programs from the Indian context to
analyze the psychological individualistic orientations embedded in

them.

 

142

Within social science there have been two diametrically
opposed views concerning the causal relationship between individual
and society. Explanation in the case of one proceeds from the
perspective of individual psychological states--needs, knowledge,
values, motives, desires, and interests; and in the other case by
reference to society as embodied in particular institutions and
expressed in and through particular norms and rules for conduct
that constrain and, in turn, are viewed as determining individual
action. One is described as "methodological individualism" and the
other as "holism" (see Chapter II). It is the former approach which
has been the subject Of this study.

Within social science both approaches have been profitably
used to explore and explain social phenomena, and continue to be so
used, but in their extreme forms both perspectives express a
mechanistic logic of causation: one implies that the individual
acting as a social being determines society, and the other, society
constituting the structural conditions of social action determines
the behavior of individuals. Formal logic demands that one be the
subject and the other the predicate of causal statements. Both can-
not be subject and object at the same time. But formal logic is
inadequate, because neither the individual nor society is prior to
the other. Both exist simultaneously in the dialectical unity of
the human situation, each affecting the other (Alavi). Social life
is the outcome of "a dialectical process of externalization,
objectivation, and internalization" (Zijderveld, 1971:159). There

are "three dialectical moments" in the social construction of

 

143

reality. These are: "Society is a human product. Society is an
. objective reality. Man is a social product" (Berger and Luckmann,
1967:61). An analysis of the social world must take all three into
consideration. To disregard any gpe_is to distort reality and
present only a partial and one-sided picture.

However, as Brodbeck points out, since social theory is still
in a rudimentary state, one can either advocate a particular theory

or approach, wait for further developments in sociology or psychology,

 

or act upon one's "own psychological hunches." The issue, however,
is "not to recommend methodological license, only methodological
liberty for the social scientist to find his laws and explanations
where he may" (Brodbeck, 1954:156).

Rather than entering into a metaphysical discourse on the
dialectical perspective, I shall attempt to incorporate the method
in a discussion of the relationship between individualistic psycho-
logical approaches and education.

Education conceptualized as an enterprise which is institu-
tionalized, can be viewed as involving the co-activity of a group
of individuals displaying specific relationships having their
activity aimed at specific goals and justified by a particular
rationale or ideology. Some of the functions of education as an
institutionalized process are socialization, enculturation and
identity formation of individuals. But these aims of education are
not unique to education as a formal institutional enterprise.

- Family, peer group, and other institutions to which individuals

belong, may perform similar functions. Moreover, the demands of

144

institutions may contradict one another. The basis of an individual's

actions is his subjective cognition of the objective reality. Indi-
vidual action will be affected by the degree of knowledge or
ignorance on his part and imperfections of foresight as well as the
simultaneous actions of others (Alavi; Wilhelm, 1967; Murphy, 1971).
It is not only idealistic to assume that all socializing
agents and institutions, including educational institutions, will
be synchronized in their efforts to create in individuals similar
values, desires, motives, and attitudes with respect to particular
ends, whether these are economic growth and development or the
promotion of a peaceful and non-violent society. It is also futile
to expect all individuals to respond alike to a particUlar educa-
tional input. Inherent in human interaction is a dualism. "This
dualism lies at the very roots of human action, and places in all
men, in all cultures, an internal conflict that is perduring and
inescapable" (Goldschmidt, 1966:42). Institutions provide codes for
behavior and constrain action, even though all individuals do not
necessarily conform to them. There are variations in the ways
people go about satisfying their needs. But the alternatives that
individuals choose from are not accidental or random in nature,
they are determined by the existing conditions in society (Alavi;
Wilhelm, 1967). Explanations for variation in individual behaviors
cannot be provided only by reference to individual psychological
states. Social life is the product of more than individual psycholo-
gies, it cannot be adequately understood by reference to individual

motivations and desires alone.

 

145

In the realm of education, as an institutional enterprise,
it is impossible to deny the importance of ideas, norms, and codes
for conduct, on the one hand, and individual motives, desires,
needs and interests on the other. Educators are in the very center
of the business of inculcating ideas and manipulating individuals
to conform to and internalize socially desirable ends, while at the
same time they are concerned with variations in needs--biological,
psychological and functional--of each child. First, educators have,

at least at an analytical level, the obligation and responsibility

 

to be aware of the range of capacities, and variations in the
ability to perform tasks from one individual to another. This is
not to be construed to mean that some are better than others. People
have varying traits and these are expressed in each to varying
degrees, and they do not necessarily run together in the same
individual (Goldschmidt, 1966). But certain biological and psycho-
logical needs do require fulfillment in all individuals--the need
for survival, protection, and positive affect--before learning can
take place. However, in the consideration of educational needs a
valuation of ends is involved. For example, a child may want some-
thing and go about getting it; he may need something and may not
know that the lack of it is desirable. Needs imply a lack of some-
thing, and that lack is determined by educational ends (Hirst and
Peters, 1970).

However, the explanation for the determination of educational
aims cannot be provided exclusively by individual needs. Similarly,

explanations for change or lack of it in individual behaviors cannot

I46

exclusively be by reference to innate capacities. The Intelligence
Quotient as a measure of individual capacities, for example, tends
to lump together "a variety of undefined traits" (Goldschmidt, 1966:
45). Differences in abilities may be the result of a number of
factors--1ack of skills, government action, laws, the associations
and groups individuals belong to. In any case, it is not solely
dependent upon individual capacities.

Second, the process of learning involves not only the learn-

ing of knowledge, skills, and training for occupation, but it also

 

requires an understanding of the culturally prescribed rewards and
punishments operating in a situation. A teacher cannot with
impunity ignore the institutional and normative constraints in the
form of "standards for social conduct" (Wilhelm, 1967), or the
application of dominant norms of achievement and success that impinge
upon individual action. To take external factors for granted is to
concede to them uncritically or accept them as good and desirable.
If institutional arrangements are taken as given, the problem
becomes one of changing individuals to conform to the goals and ends
of specific institutions, or a similar conformity is demanded to some
abstract and idealized goals of economic growth and development; or
a solution to basic social and economic problems is sought by seek-
ing individual conversion and commitment to abstract principles, for
example, truth and non-violence.

In either case, there is a denial of conflict or opposition
of interests; a natural harmony of interests is assumed. Individual

volition-~"deliberation in the sense of compliance or non-compliance"

I47

(Wilhelm, 1967) in action is denied. The assumption is that the
right type of education will harness individual volition to the good
of one and all. Implicit in this view is a static conception of
society in which everything is in a state of harmony and equilibrium
which contradicts the very notion of change that is being attempted.
While straining to recognize individual autonomy in action
there is capitulation in favor of societal correlates expressed to
particularly in an ideology which becomes embedded in an educational :

idiom. Not only are the multiplicity of social processes involved I '

 

in action ignored, but there may also be options in the ideals
people profess. Variations in the extent to which individuals
express commitment to ideals is denied. The gap between ideal
standards and actual conduct is viewed as deviant, and the problem
becomes one of bringing individual activity into conformity with the
standards.

If, however, the societal correlates which circumscribe
action are examined and their adequacy questioned--rules of authority
structure, power relations, institutional arrangements--the danger,
in the consideration 0f the social dimension within the framework of
the individualistic psychological approaches, is to label force,
authority, and power as bad and coercive. Analysis tends to be
normative without being empirical. The solution sought is that
authority, power, and force must be removed because they are bad.
The individual must be "liberated" from these external forces, and
permitted to seek self-realization. The search, then, is to seek

out an "ideal" environment, in which the child can be protected and

I48

insulated from the corrupting influences of the adult world
(Skidelsky, 1969).
The dilemma of the human situation is that men participate
in institutions created by other men, and although individuals leave,
the institutions continue. The "actualization of man's nature"
occurs "through the incorporation of the objects of the external
world," but no single person can assimilate all of it, with the
result that the external world "becomes oppressive, incomprehensible,
and estranged" (Murphy, 1971:132). Conflict and contradictions
between individual predilections and inclinations and institutional
demands are characteristic of the human situation. Ideology and
action coalesce only when a total revo1ution is envisioned which
replaces the old ideology:
. the basis of revolution is the self-consciousness of

a class, as such, and a consciousness of the true interests

of the members of a class. This grasp of Truth is not

realized mechanically but comes about through conscious

revolutionary activity--the attainment of true—EEIf:-——'

consciousness is predicated upon struggle . . . (Murphy,

1971:100).
Or change may be grindingly slow, as conflict and contradictions
are contained ". . . by enormous elasticity in the system of social
action, allowing the actors to thread their way through the
culture rather than conform to its norms . . . (1971:224). To narrow
the analysis to the relationship between education and change,
because the inherent focus of any educational enterprise is upon
direct manipulation and transformation of individuals, the tendency

in implementing change is to favor individual transformation. The

notion of change is based more on an "optimistic philosophy of human

149

nature" than on observed behavior and the multiplicity of the social
processes involved. Such attempts, however, are conservative since,
by default or because of the choice of the particular model of social
change, they take the existing conception of social order as
inevitably given. In any case, congruence between individual
motives and values and the desired ends from education is assumed.
Gandhi, for instance, attempted to merge the real and the
ideal. His own life was a symbol of conscious revolutionary
activity, a series of "Experiments with Truth." He sought self-
realization through active participation in the world. But the
supra-human efforts of one man not only to seek self-realization
but to institutionalize an ideology refracted into idolatry and

dogma, and become a new orthodoxy, as in the case of Basic Education.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

150

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABERLE, DAVID F.
1961 "Culture and Socialization." In Psychological
Anthropology. Edited by Francis L. K. Hsu. PP. 381-
399. Homewood, 111.: The Dorsey Press Inc.

 

 

ADAVAL, S. 8. (ed.)
1968 The Third Indian Yearbook of Education: Educational
Research. New Delhi: National’CounciT 6f Educational
Research and Training.

 

AGEHANANDA, BHARATI
1968 "Great Tradition" and "Little Tradition": An Anthro-
pological View of Eastern Societies. Anthropological
Backgrounds on Adult Education. Boston: CEhter fer
the Study of Liberal Education for Adults 57:72-94.

 

 

 

1970 "The Hindu Renaissance and its Apologetic Patterns."
The Journal of Asian Studies (February 29, 1970), 267-
2872

 

ALAVI , HAMZA
1975 "India and the Colonial Mode of Production." Economic
and Political Weekly, Special Number 10:33-35.

 

n.d. "Political Structures and Economic Development in
Rural West Pakistan." Mimeograph, p. 43.

ANDRESKI, STANISLAV
1972 Social Science as Sorcery. New York: St. Martin's
Press.

 

APTE. M. D.
1975 ”Education and Unemployment in Kerala." Economic and
Political Weekly lO(28):1040-1042.

 

 

ARAN, LYDIA: EISENSTADT, S. N.: and ADLER, CHAIM.
1972 "The Effectiveness of Educational Systems in the
Processes of Modernization." Comparative Education
Review, l6(l):30-43.

 

AVINASHILINGAM, CHETTIAR T. S.
1964 "Birth and Growth of Basic Education (1931-1961)."
The Second Indian Yearbook of Education: Elementagy
Education. New Delhi: NatibnalTCouncil of Educational
Research and Training.

151

Tau—WM}. L-A [Ir

 

152

BALWANTRAI MEHTA COMMITTEE
1964 "Democratic Decentralization." The Second Indian Year-
book of Education: Elementary Education. New’Delhi:
NationaT'Council of’EdUcationalTResearch and Training.

BEATTIE, JOHN
1964 Other Cultures: Aims, Methods and Achievements of
Social—Anthiopoifigy. Neinfirk: The Free Press.

 

 

BERGER, PETER, and LUCKMANN, THOMAS
1966 The Social Construction of Reality. New York: Anchor
Books.

 

BETEILLE, A.
1969 Castes, Old and New. Essays in Social Structure and
SociaT'Stratification. New—YORK: Asia—PUblishing
House. .

 

 

BISWAS, ARABINDA and AGRAWAL, SURESH (eds.)
1971 Indian Educational Documents Since Independence.
Committees, Commissions, Canerences. _New Delhi: The
Academic PubliShers.

 

BLAUGH, MARK
1970 An Introduction to the Economics of Education.
MiddTesex, England: Penguifi Books.

 

BOSE, NIRMAL KUMAR
1967 Culture and Society in India. Bombay: Asia Publishing
House.

BRODBECK. MAY
1954 "On the PhilOSOphy of the Social Sciences." Philosophy
of Science 21(2):l40-156.

 

1954 "Methodological Individualisms: Definition and
Reduction." Philosophy of Science 25(1):l-22.

 

1968 Readings in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences (ed.).
London: ‘MacmiTTan Co.

BRODBECK, MAY and FEIGL, HERBERT (eds.)
1953 Readings in the Philosophy of Science. New York:
AppTeton-Century-Crofts, Inc.

BROWN, ROBERT
1963 Explanation in Social Science. Chicago: Aldine
Publishing Company.

 

CURLE. ADAM
1973 Education for Liberation. London: Tavistock Publishers.

 

153

DANDEKAR, V. M. and RATH, N.
1971 "Poverty in India: Policies and Pro rammes. I and II."
Economic and Political Weekly, 6(1&ZI

 

DESAI, A. R. (ed.)
1969 Rural Sociology in India. Bombay: Popular Prakashan.

 

DUBE, S. C.
1958 India's Changinngillages. Human Factors in Community
Developmentli_London: RoutTedge and Kegan Paul, Ltd}

 

 

DUMONT, LOUIS -
1964 "Change, Interaction, and Comparison." Contributions
to Indian Sociology 7:7-17. -

 

 

1965 "The Modern Conception of the Individual. Notes on its
Genesis." Contributions to Indian Sociology_le3-6l.

1970 Homo Hierarchieus. The Caste System and Its Implications.

 

 

Trans. by Mark—Bainsbury. Chicago: *University of
Chicago Press.

DURKHEIM, EMILE
1964 The Rules of Sociological Method. New York: The Free
Press Edition.

 

EISENSTADT, S. N.
1963 "The Need for Achievement." Economic Development and
Cultural Change_11(4):420-431.

 

 

ELMHURST, LEONARD
1968 "Rabindranath Tagore and Sriniketan." In Evaluation of
Community Development Programmes in India. New Delhi:
Department of CommuhityTDevelopment, Ministry of Food,
Agriculture and Community Development and Cooperation.

 

 

FOSTER, GEORGE M. .
1965 "Peasant Society and the Ima e of Limited Good."
American Anthropologist 66(ZI:293-315.

 

FRANK, ANDRE G.

1972 "Sociology of Development and Underdevelopment of
Sociology." In Dependence and Underdevelopment. Edited
by J. Cockcroft, A. G. Frank and D. L. Johnson. New
York: Anchor Books.

FRASER, THOMAS M.
1968 Culture and Change in India. Amherst: 'University of
Massachusetts‘Press.

 

154

FREIRE, PAULO
1972 Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder.

 

GALBRAITH, JOHN K.
1973 Economics and the Public Purpose. Boston: Houghton
MiffTin Company.

 

GANDHI, M. K.
1962 The Problem of Education. Ahmedabad: The Navajivan
PublishingTHouse.

1962 Basic Education. Ahmedabad: The Navajivan Publishing
House.

 

1957 The Story of My Emperiments with Truth. An Autobiography.
Boston: BeaconTPress.

1941 Economics of Khadi. Ahmedabad: The Navajivan Publishing
House.

 

1939. Basic National Education. Report of the Zakir Husain
Committee and the Detailed Syllabus. Wardha:
Hindustani Talimi Sangh.

 

GEERTZ, CLIFFORD
1973 The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books,
Inc.

GEZI, KALIL I..(ed.)
1971 Education in Comphrative and International Perspectives.
New York} Holt, Rinehart andTWihston, Inc.

GOHEEN, JOHN; SRINIVAS, M. N., KARVE, D. G. and SINGER, MILTON
1958 "India's Cultural Values and Economic Development: A
Discussion." Economic Development and Cultural
Development 7(1):TL12.T7’

 

GOLDSCHMIDT, WALTER
1959 Man's Way; A Preface to the Understanding_of Human
Society. ‘nen—vbrk: *Holt,TRinehart and Winston, Inc.

1966 Comparative Functionalism. Los Angeles: University of
CaliforniaiPress.

 

GRANDSTAFF, MARVIN (ed.)
1974 Historical Perspectives on Non-formal Education. East
Lansing: MiEhigan State UniVersity Program Of'Studies
in Non-formal Education Team Reports.

 

I55

GRUNBAUM, ADOLF
1953 "Causality and the Science of Human Behavior." In
Readings in the Philosophy of Science, pp. 766-778.
Edited"by MT'BrodBeEk andTH. FeigT} New York: Appleton-
Century-Crofts, Inc.

 

GUPTA, K. P.
1971 "A Theoretical Approach to Hinduism and Modernization."
The Indian Journal of Sociology 2(1):59-91.

 

1971 "Socio-Cultural Determinants." Seminar: China Today
(September) 21-25.

 

HANSON, A. H.
1966 The Process of Planning; A Stugy_of India's Five-Year
Plans 1950;1965T’ Neinork: OxfordTUniversity Press.

 

 

HARBISON, F. H. and MYERS, C. A.
1969 "Strategies of Human Resource Development." In
Economics of Education. II. Selected Essays. Edited
by M. Gleugh. Middlesex, Englandii Penguin Books.

 

HARRIS, MARVIN
1968 The Rise of Anthropological Theohy. A History of
Theories of Culture. 'New"York: Thomas V. Crowéll Co.

 

 

HIRST, PAUL and PETERS, R. S.
1970 The Logic of Education. London: Routledge and Kegan
Paul.

 

HOMANS, GEORGE C.
1964 "Bringing Men Back In." American Sociological Review
29(5):809-818.

 

HOLT, ROBERT and TURNER, JOHN T.
1966 The Political Basis of Economic Development. New York:
o.*ven Nostrand Co.

 

INKELES, ALEX
1966 "The Modernization of Man." In Modernization: The
thamics of Growth. Edited by Myron Neiner. New
York: Basic BoOEE, Inc.

 

 

JOSHI, P. C.
1970 "The Relevance of Gandhi for Indian Development." Ihe_
Indian Journal of Sociology_l(2):l39-152.

 

KOSHY, T. A.
1968 "Research in Basic and Social Education." In The Third
Indian Yearbook of Education: Educational Research.
New DeThi?‘ National Council of Educational Research and
Training.

 

156

KOTHARI, RAJNI
1972 "Political Economy of Garibi Hatao." Economic and
Political Weekly 7(Specia1 Number):154l-1552.

 

 

KRIPALANI, J. B.
1938 The Latest Fad. Wardha: Hindustani Talimi Sangh.
Sevagram.

 

KUNKEL, JOHN
1963 "Psychological Factors in the Analysis of Economic
DevelOpment." Journal of Social Issues 19(1):68-87.

 

1965 "Values and Behavior in Economic Development." Economic
Develppment and Cultural Change 13(3):257-277.

 

1970 Society and Economic Growth: A Behavioral Perspective
ofTSociaT‘Change. ‘New York: Oxford University Press.

 

 

LASKA, JOHN A. -
1968 Planning and Educational Development in India.
New Yerk: ‘Columbia Teachers College Press.

 

LeVINE, ROBERT A.
1966 Dreams and Deeds Achievement Motivation in Nigeria.
Chicago: The University of Chieago'Press.

 

LERNER, DANIEL
1958 The Passing of Traditional Society. New York: The
Free—Press.

 

LEWIS. JOHN P.
1964 Quiet Crisis in India. Economic Development and
American Polity. New Yehk: TAnChor Books.

 

 

LEWIS, OSCAR
1970 Anthropological Essays. New York: Random House.

 

LIPTON, MICHAEL
1968 "Strategy for Agriculture: Urban Bias and Rural
Planning." In The Crisis of Indian Plannihg, Edited
by Paul Streeten and MiEhael'Lipton. TNew York: Oxford
University Press.

 

MACHENZIE-BROWN, o. '
1959 The White Umbrella: Indian Political Thought from Manu
to Gahdhi) Berkeley: Uhiversity of California Press.

1961 The Nationalist Movement: Indian Political Thogght from
Ranade to Bhave. Beerley: University of Califorhia
Press.

 

 

157

McCLELLAND, DAVID C.
1961 The Achieving Society. Princeton, N.J.: D. Van
Nostrahd‘Co.

 

1963 "Motivational Patterns in Southeast Asia with Special
Reference to the Chinese Case." Journal of Social
Issues 19:6-19.

 

1966 "The Impulse to Modernization." In Modernization the
Dynamics of Growth. Edited by Myron WEiher. New Yerk:
Basic Books, Inc.

 

 

McCLELLAND, DAVID C and WINTER, DAVID C. (eds.)
1969 Motivating Economic Achievement. New York: The Free
Press.

 

MBDA,J.S. ;
1964 "Democratic Decentralization." In The Second Indian
Yearbook of Education: Elementary Education. New
Delhi: ’National Council of’EducationaTTResearch and
Training.

 

 

MILLS, C. WRIGHT
1958 The Sociological Imagination. New York: Oxford
University Press.

 

MORRIS-JONES. W. H.
1960 "The Unhappy Utopia--J.P. in Wonderland." Economic
and Political Week1y_12(26).

MURPHY, ROBERT F.
1971 The Dialectics of Social Life: Alarms and Excursions
in Anthropoiogieal Theory. NewTYork: Basic Books,
Inc.

 

MYRDAL, GUNNAR
1970 The Challenge of World Poverty. New York: Vintage
Books.

NAIR, KUSUM
1969 The Lonely Furrow: Farming in the United States, Japan
and Thdie. Ann ArBBr: University of MiEhigan Press.

1973 Ihree Bowls of Rice. India and Japan: Century of
Effort. "East Lansihg: MiEhigan State University Press.

158

NANDY, ASHIS
1973 “Need Achievement in a Calcutta Suburb." In Entrepre-
neurship and Modernization of Occupational Cultures in
South”Asia.i‘EditedTby Milton Singer. DUFham, NlCi}
Duke University Program in Comparative Studies in
Southern Asia Monograph 12:167-178.

 

NISBET, ROBERT A.
1969 Social Change and History. Aspects of the Western
Theory_ef”Development. NeinorkE Oxford University
Press.

 

NOVAK, GEORGE ._,
1968 Empiricism and Its Evolution: A Marxist View. New '
YorkziiMerit’PubliShers.

OSTERGAARD, GEOFFREY and CURRELL, MELVILLE 4"
1971 The Gentle Anarchists. A Stqu of the Sarvodeya Move-
ment for NonJViolent_Rev61ution in India. iLondbn:
Oxford University‘Press.

POCOCK, DAVID F.
1961 "Psychological Approaches and Judgments of Reality."
Contributions to Indian Sociology_5:44-74.

PRASAD, BIMLA (ed.)
1964 Socialism, Sarvodaye, and Democracy. Selected Works of

JayaprakeehTNarayan. TBombay: ASia PubliShing House.

 

RAMJI, M. T.
1969 The Concept of Personality in the Educational Thought
of MEhatma Cahdhi. NewiDelhi: National Countil Dir
EdfieetibhET—Research and Training.

 

1970 "Promotion of Gandhian Values in Indian Education." In
International Education Yearbook: Seminar on Primagy»
and'WBrkJDriented'Education. New—Delhi: National
Council ofTEducationET Research and Training.

 

RIVETT, KENNETH
1959 "The Economic Thought of Mahatma Gandhi." The British

Journal of Sociology_lO(l):l-15.

ROGERS, EVERETT M.
1968 "Mass Media Exposure and Modernization Among Colombian
Peasants." In Mass Communication and the Development of
Nations. East Lan§ingz Mithigan State University
International Communications Institute 3:1-19.

1962 Diffusion of Innovations. New York: Free Press.

159

RUDOLPH, SUSANNE H.
1961 "Consensus and Conflict in Indian Politics." World
Politics 13(3):385-399.

RUDOLPH, LLOYD I. and RUDOLPH, SUSANNE H.
1967 The Modernity of Tradition. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.

 

SALAMATULLAH
1964 "Basic Education: Retrospect and Prospect." In [he-
Second Yearbook of Education: Elementary Education.
New Delhi: National Council oirEducationaTPResearch
and Training.

1970 “Relevance of Basic Education to Contemporary India."
In International Education Year Seminar on Primary and
Work-OrientedTEdUCation. “New DElhi: NationaTTCouncil
of EdUcationaT’Research‘and Training.

 

 

SAU, RANJIT
1972 "The 'New Economics.'" Economic and Political Weekly.
7(Special Number):157l-1580.

 

SCHUMACHER, S. C.
1973 Small is Beautiful: Economics As If Pe0p1e Mattered.

New Y6rk3’_HarperTTorch606ks.

SEN, LALIT K.
1973 "The Concepts of Tradition and Modernity: A Re-
Evaluation." Behavioral Sciences and Community Develop-
Ment 7(2):83-105.

 

SINGER, MILTON
1966 "Religion and Social Change in India: The Max Weber
Thesis Phase Three." hppnomic Development and Cultural
Change l4(4):497-505.

 

1972 When a Great Tradition Modernizes. An Anthropological
Approach to Indian'Civilization. New York: Praeger
Publishers.

1973 Entrepreneurship and Modernization of Occppational
Cultures in South Asia—Ted.) Durham, NYC}: Duke
UniVersity Program ih'Comparative Studies on Southern
Asia Monograph.

SINGH, S. MOHINDERA
1957 "The Ideology and Practice of Basic Education." In
ggucation and Philosophy: The Yearbook of Education.
Editediby G. Z.’Bereday and JI—A. [auwerys. New—YOFk:

Worldbook Company.

 

I60

SKIDELSKY, ROBERT
1969 English Progressive Schools. Middlesex, England:
Pengfiih_Bo6ks:TLtd.

 

SRINIVAS, M. N.
1975 "Village Studies, Participant Observation and Social
Research in India." Economic and Political Weekly
10(Specia1 Numberzl387-1394:

 

STENT, GUNTHER S.
1975 "Limits to the Scientific Understanding of Man."
Science 187(4181):1052-1057.

SWAMY, SUBRAMANIAN

1973 "Economic Growth in China and India, 1952-1970. A
Comparative Appraisal." Economic Development and

Cultural Change 21(4).

 

 

TINKER, HUGH
1964 "Magnificent Failure? The Gandhian Ideal in India
After Sixteen Years." International Affairs 40(2):
262—276.

 

TURNER, JONATHAN H.
1972 American Societerroblems of Structure. New York:
Harper and Row PUBTishers.

 

VALENTINE, CHARLES A.
1968 Culture and Poverry} Critiques and Counter-Proposals.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

WEISSKOPF, WALTER A.
1950 "Individualism and Economic Theory." The American
Journal of Economics and Sociology 9(3 : -

 

1949 "Psychological Aspects of Economic Thought.“ Journal
‘ of Political Economy 42:304.

 

WHITE. LESLIE
' 1949 The Science of Culture: A Study of Man and Civilization.
New York: "Grove—Press, Inc.

WICKER, ALLAN W.
1969 "Attitudes Versus Actions: The Relationship of Overt
Behavioral Responses to Attitude Objects." Journal of
Social Issues 25(4):41-78.

 

WILHELM, SIDNEY M.
1967 "A Reformulation of Social Action Theory." The American

Journal of Economics and Sociology 26(1):23-31.

161

WRONG, DENNIS
1961 "The Oversocialized Concept of Man." American

Sociological Review 26:183-193.

ZEITLIN, IRVING M.
1968 Ideology and the Development of Sociological Theory,

Englewdfid’CTiffEttN.J.: Prentice Hall}tInc.

ZIJDERVELD, ANTON
1970 The Abstract Sociery, New York: Doubleday and Company.

ZACHARIAH, MATHEW
1970 "Public Authority and Village Reconstruction: The Case

of Basic Education in India." The Journal of Educational
Thouoht 4(2):94-106.

 

 

. . .1...) 1!" I .I ul .,

ER

“11111111111111illiililliliillil“