Research Outputs
Dyer, C., Jacob, S., Patil, I., Gupta, S. and Thomas, N. (2020) How do families participate in schooling? Educational relations and home-school disconnects in rural India, ICY-CCPP Workshop, University of Leeds.
This paper was presented at a cross-centre workshop organised by the Inclusion, Childhood and Youth Research Centre, and the Centre for Curriculum, Pedagogy and Policy of University of Leeds, on 13th October, 2020. The paper drew on case studies from Udaipur site to argue that unless addressed, the family – school disconnect can perpetuate educational inequalities and injustices, particularly among highly disadvantaged groups such as tribal communities and socio-economically vulnerable families. Among these children, irregular and fragile attendance, low learning outcomes and higher dropping out rate are already a growing concern.
Patil, I. (2020) Teacher accountability: Non-teaching work over classroom engagement, Ideas for India.
Drawing on qualitative fieldwork and quantitative survey in Udaipur district of Rajasthan, the paper discusses why government-school teachers prioritise non-teaching work over classroom engagement, and how this impacts on the school choices that parents make.
RAISE (2020) Understanding how accountability relationships affect school participation and achievement in Research for Policy and Practice: Education Accountability Relationships between Schools, Communities and Government in India.
The RAISE research is featured in the ESRC-FCDO Impact Initiative's R4PP issue published in September 2020. Our contribution, Understanding how accountability relationships affect school participation and achievement, presents evidence from our research and argues that in order to improve learning outcomes for disadvantaged children, there must be a greater understanding of the role and influence of families, schools, communities, and government.
Jacob, S., Misra, P., Gupta, S. and Patil, I. (2020) Schooling as a system of relationships across scales (2020), National seminar on ‘Inclusive Education: Avenues and Challenges’, Vidya Bhawan Society, Udaipur
The RAISE researchers presented papers comprising school case studies at a national seminar on ‘Inclusive Education: Avenues and Challenges’ on 28th – 29th February, 2020. The seminar was organised by Vidya Bhawan, our civil society partner in India, in collaboration with the National Council of Teacher Education and All India Association of Private Colleges. Its main objective was to develop a clearer understanding of the concept of inclusive education among teachers and teacher educators, and other key stakeholders. The event generated awareness about the various policies and laws regarding inclusive education at the State and national levels, and the challenges involved in their implementation. It provided a platform for policy makers, practitioners and academic scholars to come together and explore the concept, needs and constrains, and has made significant contributions to guide evidence-led programme planning and policy making.
Gupta, S. and Patil, I. (2020) NFE Shiksha Kendras: Key findings and recommendations from RAISE, Seva Mandir, Udaipur
A research dissemination event was organised on 29th January, 2020, with Seva Mandir, one of the largest NGOs working in Rajasthan on livelihood and development issues, including education, focussing particularly on out-of-school children. The RAISE project includes one of Seva Mandir’s ‘Shikhsha Kendra’ (non-formal education centre) in Udaipur, as one of its case study schools. Key research findings of the RAISE project that specifically concerned NFE centres were discussed at length at the event, and recommendations and strategies collaboratively arrived at to improve learning experiences and outcomes for children attending NFE centres and transition to mainstream schools. The event also explored the possibilities of future action research projects with Seva Mandir and Vidya Bhavan on community and parental involvement in children’s education, as well as enhancing children’s participation in classroom learning.
ESRC-UK Aid Policy Brief (2019) for ‘Raising Learning Outcomes in Diverse Contexts in India’, ESRC-DFID Raising Learning Outcomes Programme (RLO).
The RAISE researchers led by Co-I, Dr. Suraj Jacob helped organise an Impact Initiative event on ‘Raising Learning Outcomes in Diverse Contexts in India’ on 9th December, 2019, in New Delhi, funded under the ESRC-DFID RLO Programme. This funding resulted from a successful bid to the Impact Initiative's 'Dragon's Den' competition, held within the two day RLO workshop in Oxford in February 2019, which Prof Caroline Dyer and Dr Suraj Jacob attended.
The aim of the programme was to present evidence and explore pathways to improving learning outcomes in different Indian contexts with policy makers, academic scholars working on education in India, and civil society organisations. The event brought together 24 RLO research team members, along with 39 academics, policy makers and other key stakeholders, and provided a platform to explore diverse understandings of Learning Outcomes and barriers that impede progress in tackling the challenges in Indian education system, and consider the role of evidence in creating a better system of education. The RAISE team presented recommendations around our core themes of access, participation and monitoring. The findings presented at the event are summarised in a policy brief prepared jointly by the India partners of the seven RLO teams, including RAISE research project.
Dyer, C., Thomas, N., Jacob, S., Mukhopadyay, R and Sriprakash, A (2019) Relational systems of inclusion and exclusion: a cross-scalar analysis of educational access and participation in India , The Education and Development Forum (UKFIET), Oxford.
The paper presented at the 2019 UKFIET Annual Conference held in Oxford in September, 2019 drew on empirical data collected through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews and focused group with teachers, school staff, school management committee members, local government officials, parents and family members, community members, and members of educational bureaucracy from Bihar in Patna. It demonstrates the importance of understanding inclusive education systems as relational, i.e., being always attentive to the interaction and reshaping of norms within specific political economies of education.