Abstract
One of the central contexts of childhood apart from family is the school. That is, if the child does attend school. A staggering 1.4 million children between 6 and 11 years of age are out of school in India, among the top five nations in this category (Gohain, 2014). For these children , the fact of being out of school places several important limitations on what can be accomplished during a lifetime. For those that do attend school, the experience as a learner repositions their understanding of themselves and others, their own family, society and country to which they belong. In this chapter, we do not evaluate children for being out of school, since the circumstances that lead to such an outcome are often unavoidable, such as not having access to a school nearby. Yet, it is important to mention that Indian families universally believe in the institution of school and education as favourable for a better future for their children. No one sees the child out of school as a ‘better’ option, it is most often, a compromise made on account of circumstances. Thus, if a child is not in school, somewhere it is the system that has failed, either to reach the child, or has pushed the child out of school on account of unfavourable attitudes.
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Notes
- 1.
Usually, only boys were sent to Gurukuls.
- 2.
Sacred scriptures.
- 3.
Gandhi was well-known for his promotion for spinning cotton yarn and making fabric from that. He promoted this and other skills for children at school.
- 4.
Public report on basic education in India.
- 5.
An implement.
- 6.
Western Educated Industrialized Rich and Democratic.
- 7.
- 8.
Campaign to save childhood.
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Chaudhary, N., Kapoor, S., Negi, B. (2018). Individual Achievement and Social Progress: Mending the Broken Alliance Between School and the Community in India. In: Branco, A., Lopes-de-Oliveira, M. (eds) Alterity, Values, and Socialization. Cultural Psychology of Education, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70506-4_4
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