Intersectionality of Caste on Perceptions of Student Behavior and Academic Ability in India

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Disability-Centered Systemic Change in the Global Research Community (Table 16)

Abstract

Using a disability studies lens and based on a qualitative study of classroom observations and interviews with teachers and parents, this presentation examines caste as an intersectional social construct that affects the quality of education for academically struggling children in India. Teachers reflected the social hierarchies of caste within the larger national context. In low-fee-paying schools, where most students’ families were migrant workers and had received no education, the teachers attributed their students’ academic challenges to their socioeconomic background. In high-fee schools, where families’ backgrounds and English-speaking skills paralleled their own, teachers tended to develop equitable and respectful relationships and provided additional support to students. The researcher also analyzes her own positionality as a caste-privileged Indian.

Author

• Maya Kalyanpur, University of San Diego