Awareness–Implementation Gap in Activity-Based Learning: Challenges Faced by Elementary School Teachers in Rural Odisha, India

Abstract

Activity-Based Learning (ABL) is a widely endorsed learner-centred pedagogical approach for elementary education in India, formally promoted through the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023. Despite high levels of teacher awareness, ABL implementation in rural elementary schools continues to face significant structural and contextual barriers. This study examined the awareness levels of elementary school teachers and headmasters regarding ABL and systematically documented the challenges they experienced in its classroom implementation. An exploratory survey method with a mixed-methods design was adopted. A sample of 20 respondents, comprising 10 headmasters and 10 teachers, was drawn from government elementary schools in Bheden Block, Bargarh District, Odisha, through simple random sampling. Two instruments were administered: a researcher-developed Awareness Scale (15 Likert-type items; maximum score = 75) and a Semi-Structured Interview Schedule (20 open-ended items). Quantitative data were analysed descriptively, and qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke's (2006) framework. Findings revealed a high awareness level (Total Mean = 66.05/75; Item Mean = 4.41/5.0). However, thematic analysis of interviews identified five major challenge themes: resource and material constraints (90%), time and curriculum pressure (85%), classroom management difficulties (80%), training and professional development gaps (75%), and assessment and evaluation challenges (65%). The study's central finding is an awareness–implementation gap: teachers and headmasters possess strong conceptual knowledge of ABL but face substantial systemic barriers to sustained classroom practice. Given the small, single-block sample, the findings are preliminary and context-specific; they may nonetheless offer useful exploratory insights for teacher educators, policymakers, and school administrators seeking to understand the structural prerequisites for effective ABL implementation, pending confirmation through larger-scale research.