Disability and Schooling in India
This small scale qualitative study is being undertaken in government schools in rural Karnataka. It is investigating the processes entailed, and the impact of mainstream schools and other educational provisions, on the learning experiences and outcomes of children with disabilities. Using a community based approach; this research is focusing on how children with disabilities experience school and its impact on their learning. It also explores the perceptions and experiences of their parents in relation to the child’s education. Finally, it focuses on the school and the larger community to understand how they are supporting the educational and social well-being of children with disabilities and their family.
Drawing on data collected using a range of qualitative methods to capture the lived realities of children with disabilities, their parents, and teachers and heads working in mainstream government schools; professionals, such as Inclusive Education Resource Teachers etc., and members of the broader community, this project provides some particularly illuminative insights into the classroom processes, particularly the preparedness of teaches to undertake the task of addressing classroom diversity in meaningful ways. It also highlights the central role of parents in shaping the educational journeys of their children.
At a time when India has made significant progress in the policy arena, by instituting a range of important educational initiatives and programmes and school enrolment figures have begun to show an increase in the number of children with disabilities in school, it is even more crucial to understand how equipped are our schools and teachers are in preparing the citizens of tomorrow.
The research team
PI:
Dr Nidhi Singal, sn241@cam.ac.uk
Research Assistant:
Ms Aanchal Jain
Research outputs
Presentation at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine:
8th May 2014 Disability and Education in the South: Repositioning the debates
Additional outputs will be available at the end of June 2014