| This project focuses on the relationship between education and inequality. Two distinct dimensions are investigated, namely a) the exclusion of underprivileged children from the educational system, and b) the reproduction of social inequalities in the class room through teacher-student interactions and pedagogic practices more generally. The main question addressed in this project is how different forms of decentralisation impact on a) access and exclusion , and b) the reproduction of inequalities in the schooling system.The study takes place in two Indian States, namely Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. Both States have a poor educational record, although both States have pockets which do better and some encouraging initiatives exist in both States. With regard to social conditions, agrarian relations, political history and decentralization experiments, these two States are very dissimilar. A comparison of decentralization practices in education could yield some important insights regarding the conditions under which decentralization could possibly have some positive impacts. The project involves fieldwork at the State, district and village levels. Among other things, it includes interviews with policy makers, focus group discussions with teacher-parents associations and village level committees, class-room observations, and the analysis of teaching material. An additional part of the project design is a short comparative study in the Netherlands.The social relevance of the project lies in its possible contribution to debates on the quality of education, educational reforms and the impact that decentralization (in its diverse ramifications) might have on educational content and outcome. Furthermore, by involving teachers, parents, local elected representatives, administrators and others in the research (through workshops and other joint activities) |
