School Education in India ― Market, State and Quality

This volume examines how the public and private domains in school education in India are informed and mediated by current market realities. It moves beyond the simplistic dichotomy of pro-state vs pro-market factors that define most current debates in the formulations of educational reform agendas to underline how they need to be interpreted in the larger context. The essays in the volume present a series of conceptual and empirical investigations to understand the growth of private schools in India; investigate the largely uncontested claims made by the private sector regarding provision of superior quality of education; and their ability to address the educational needs of the poor. Further, the book looks at how the private–public dichotomy has been extended to professional identity of teachers and teaching practices as well.

Rich in primary data and supported by detailed case studies, this volume will be of interest to teachers, scholars and researchers dealing with education, educational policy, school education and public policy. It will also interest policy makers, think tanks and civil society organizations.

Manish Jain is Associate Professor at the School of Education Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi, India. He has been school teacher prior to this for ten years. His teaching and research interests lie at the intersections of history, politics and sociology of education.

Archana Mehendale is Professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India, and leads the research programme of the Connected Learning Initiative. She has researched and published in the area of child rights, but more specifically on, education law and policy, inclusive education and early childhood education.

Rahul Mukhopadhyay is Visiting Faculty with the School of Education, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India. His research interests are sociology of education, educational policy, sociology of organisations, and anthropology of the state.

Padma M. Sarangapani is Professor of Education, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. Her current areas of work and research include teacher education, quality in education, elementary education and the use of ICTs in curriculum and teacher professional development and education and culture/indigenous education.

Christopher Winch is Professor of Educational Philosophy and Policy in the Department of Educational Studies at King’s College London. He researches in the areas of philosophy of education, professional knowledge and qualifications and European VET policy tools. He has a longstanding interest in policy issues in education in India.