APPLICATIONS OF INDIAN COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL FRAMEWORKS IN UNDERSTANDING LEARNERS DIVERSITIES

Abstract

There is the basic fact of learner diversity in education. All learners are unique in terms of cognition, emotion, motivation, and behavior. The psychology of India is based on the ancient philosophical systems like the Sankhya, Yoga and Vedanta that offers a different way of understanding this diversity in terms of theories such as the Triguna Theory. Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are the three gunas that are dynamic qualities of the mind which determine personality, cognition and emotion of people. The paper examines the way in which the Triguna model and associated Indian cognitive-emotional theories can guide educators to view and respond to differences in learners in a more holistic manner. It holds that we can incorporate these understandings in inclusive education to have more personalized, value-driven, and culturally based pedagogies.