India’s education system: challenges of policy into practice

Elton-Chalcraft, Sally ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3064-7249 (2018) India’s education system: challenges of policy into practice. In: University of Limerick Education and Professional Studies Winter School, February 2018, Limerick, Republic of Ireland. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

India’s education system is one of the largest and most complex in the world with more than 1.4 million schools and more than 230 million enrolments (British Council 2014:6). Recent policies have sought to reform India’s education system but some have argued with variable success. This presentation offers some insights into how policies are worked out in practice in a sample of Christian foundation schools in India with a particular emphasis on provision for special educational needs children. In different countries attitudes vary towards inclusion or segregation of children with special educational needs. Educating special educational needs (SEN) children in special schools is the norm in India but there is a growing trend towards inclusive practice since the introduction of the Right to Education Act 2009. This keynotes draws on findings from a research project undertaken in Banagalore, India. Perspectives were sought from children, their parents and teachers to investigate perceptions of effective provision for SEN children using an interpretative approach to provide ‘thick descriptions’. Findings suggest that integration of SEN children in mainstream schools was not the preferred model for both the children and adults in the study, despite this being the aim of the Right to Education Act. Separate schooling was cited by the majority of respondents as the most appropriate model for reasons of unsuitable pedagogy and curriculum, a lack of individualised attention for children and difficulties of social interaction. The study reveals that teacher dedication, passion and care for the SEN children in their classes is juxtaposed with an acknowledgement of their professional training and development needs. These findings provide teachers and policy makers with an in depth insight from this sample case study into the perspectives of children, their parents and teachers on appropriate SEN provision and the challenges of implementing inclusive practice.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Keynote)
Departments:	Academic Departments > Institute of Education (IOE)
Depositing User:	Anna Lupton
Date Deposited:	11 Jul 2018 14:21
Last Modified:	12 Jan 2024 19:19
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/3982

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