The Tyranny of the Universal

• In Event: 47.095 - MTCC Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: 47.095-13 - Universal Principles and Practices in Education: Models to Follow or Tyranny?

Abstract

The assumption of a universality of educational systems has resulted in a transfer of concepts of schooling ranging from the overarching, in terms of entire educational systems, to the minute, such as seating arrangements in class. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the inappropriateness of 4 educational policies and practices that were incompatible with the economic and cultural context of a low-income neighborhood in Mumbai, India; specifically, private exploitative schools, English language instruction, inclusion, and a “no-fail” policy.

Six primary schoolteachers in a low-fee paying, private English medium school were interviewed on their perspectives on inclusive education, a concept that has gained universal acceptance. The school was established in response to the liberalization of economic policies in India in the early 1990s that sought to provide alternatives to the existing government-run public education system, which had proven unable to meet the demand for schooling for all. English medium private schools catered primarily to affluent families, whose children benefitted from access to the colonial legacy of an English-based higher education system. By charging low fees and offering instruction in English, this school attracted parents from the neighborhood who wanted their children to learn English as a passport to success, but could not afford a more expensive private school. All the children spoke a language other than English at home and were being introduced to English for the first time in school. The findings of the study contribute to the current debate on low-fee paying schools in low-resource developing nations. Some scholars assert that the government being unable to meet the demand for quality education, private schools are better than nothing at all (Tooley, 2009), while others argue that private schools exploit low-income parents’ aspirations for their child to access top tier higher education by offering poor quality education (e.g., Nambissan, 2012; Sarangapani & Winch, 2010).

A case study approach (Yin, 2009), using Bourdieu’s theory of linguistic cultural capital as a means of perpetuating social inequalities (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990), was applied. Based on ethnographic interviews and classroom observations conducted over a four-month period as well as an analysis of policy documents, the study focused on what inclusive education meant to six teachers within the context of the national “no fail” policy, which requires that students be promoted regardless of their academic performance until the eighth grade. Three themes emerged: (a) despite an awareness of the benefits of child-centered learning, teachers focused on teacher-led instruction, emphasizing rote memorization; (b) teachers engaged minimally with students who struggled to learn and held largely negative views of them and their home backgrounds; and (c) teachers did not perceive themselves as responsible for ensuring that students learn or creating an inclusive learning environment.

The study concludes that, despite efforts towards education for all, the poorest of the poor continue to be the most disadvantaged in terms of access to quality education. The cultural hegemony institutionalized by the colonial legacy of the English language furthers this inequality, offering teachers little agency to change the system.

Author

• Maya Kalyanpur, University of San Diego