Introduction
The first school of IGNOU to be established, the School of Education (SOE), undertakes academic activities pertaining to two major areas:
- The various aspects of the practice of education as a profession, and
- The various branches of education as an academic discipline viz Education, Educational Management, Educational Technology and Adult Education.
SOE is mandated to organise academic programmes in education as an area of knowledge and a field of professional practice. The academic council has assigned four disciplines to the School, namely, Education, Distance Education, Educational Technology and Adult Education. The School has been undertaking three types of activities: Development and offer of academic programmes, research and documentation activities and extension activities.
The academic programmes on offer are: (i) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education (Phase - I) (ii) Post-Graduate Diploma in Higher Education (PGDHE) (iii) Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Education (BEd), and (v) Diploma in Primary Education (DPE) - Module-1. In addition to the maintenance of ongoing programmes, the School is engaged in developing courses for the programmes already initiated. It also plans new programmes.
The School prepares scholars to be engaged in educational discourses and knowledge generation. It also provides for the professional development of teachers and educational managers at different levels of education. It functions as a centre for documentation of education materials for teachers in the form of print and non-print media, and is engaged in the promotion of technology-enabled learning.
The functions of the School of Education, within the broad framework of the objectives of IGNOU, are to undertake academic activities addressing education as a field of knowledge and an area of practice.
