Beginning in the 1970s, sociology of education in India has been marked more by debates and theories than field work. Ethnographies of Schooling in Contemporary India is an important contribution to this context. The essays presented in the volume under review are based on the study of everyday processes in different types of schools.
The volume explores the socio-political contexts which get formed inside the classrooms while students seemingly remain engaged in learning different school subjects. The book uses teachers and students as vantage points to offer insights about the social forces which shape the overall identity and everyday experience of students at school. An absolutely fresh thing about the volume is that it attributes agency to schools, teachers and students and offers the readers a nuanced description of the manifestations of this agency in different settings.
September 2015, volume 39, No 9