Sociology of Education in India : Changing Contours and Emerging Concerns / edited by Geetha B. Nambissan, S. Srinivasa Rao.

Based on presentations at a seminar on March 9-10, 2006 at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Includes bibliographical references.

Description

The present volume offers one of the ?rst collective appraisals of the trajectory of Sociology of Education (SoE) in India since the 1960s. Despite massive expansion, the education system in contemporary India continues to be plagued by problems related to access, quality, equity, and relevance. The sociological study of education can play a crucial role by analysing education as a social institution and highlighting its linkages with economy, polity, and culture. However, sociologists have only more recently begun to seriously engage with the study of education. There have been few attempts to pool together researches to provide a comprehensive understanding of education in India. The contributions here critically examine the development of SoE in India over the past ?ve decades, the changing institutional domains, and the emerging theoretical and methodological concerns in the sociological study of education. They break new ground in theoretical and empirical engagement with themes of equality, identity, and exclusion, which are key concerns in education today. How do structural inequalities, cultural diversity, and identities of different social groups mediate institutional practices and in? uence learning? These are areas where SoE can make a substantial contribution. This volume is a step towards this goal.