How do families participate in schooling? An examination of educational relations and home-school disconnects in India

• In Event: Public-Private Dynamics in Education: A South Asia Exchange

Proposal

Primary schooling in India is often considered to be a physical and discursive space which is largely disconnected from children’s families and communities. At the same time, India has a long history of education policy which calls upon families to participate actively in schooling, which the 2009 Right to Education Act frames as a ‘responsibility’.
This paper examines and analyses the nature of family connections with a variety of schools serving poor and socially disadvantaged communities in rural and urban settings. It draws on qualitative and quantitative data from two field sites (Rajasthan and Bihar), collected over two years in a mixed methods research project. The project aims to advance understanding of accountability and social responsibilities for improved learning outcomes for disadvantaged children by conceptualising accountability as systemic and relational. It investigates the norms and interests of multiple actors and how these intersect to shape learning outcomes for these children.
The paper describes home-school relations through the eyes of families, community members, teachers, principals, and education administrators. The analysis focuses on how the connections and disconnections that we find are shaped by social relations, such as parents’ self-perceptions of capacity and (un)worthiness, teacher perceptions of relative roles and abilities, and social hierarchies such as caste and class – alongside systemic (dis)incentives to participate.
We find that, overwhelmingly, there are disconnects. These disconnects have roots in policy discourses and mandates that often overlook situated social relations which mediate conditions of responsibility, and are manifest at the levels of family, school and community. Yet, within this overall landscape of disconnect, there are notable variations. Some NGO-run schools are able to integrate school with community; individual head teachers show leadership that creates connections; pressures of school competition - especially in urban contexts – can have positive effects on making connections. These variations help to better understand the underlying reasons for the dominance of disconnect. The paper concludes by discussing implications for equitable education access and participation, particularly among first generation learners and the urban and rural poor, and conceptualising relations of social responsibility.

Authors

• Caroline Dyer, University of Leeds

• Suraj Jacob, Azim Premji University, Bangalore, India

• Indira Patil, Vidya Bhawan Society