IN-PERSON New Schools of Thought
Abstract
India, the world’s most populous nation accommodates people from different caste, economic status, religion, language etc. The flip side to this diversity is social and economic disparities. Though the Constitution of India embodies the commitment to equity as evident from the preamble, however much remains to be done on the ground. Since it is the people of India (as the preamble states) who adopt and enact the constitution, any failing in the values enshrined therein, are the failings of the people, especially the ones with power. There have been reformative and affirmative initiatives to minimise the inequalities. However, this reformative spirit hasn’t been fully embodied structurally, systemically or practically to the desired direction and dimension. State Equity Analysis (UNICEF, 2022) reported that despite India making progress in some areas of SDGs, inequities continue. India Human Development Survey indicated towards economic inequality with a fistful people holding more than half of Indian wealth. Recent General Election in India evidenced a divide over heritage and progress, without much or any meaningful unification of these or the more pertinent issues of wide spread unemployment, paper leaks, unrest among youth etc. Why does this happen? The answer may lie in the civic reasoning among the people of India, especially the youth. This paper explores the civic reasoning among youth (high school, early college and college pass outs) for the social and educational equity by employing cross sectional approach. The paper presents their views on the importance of equity, their concerns, the challenges they perceive, and their own role. The impact of pedagogical transactions on perceptions of youth about their situation, their human and constitutional rights and responsibilities are also discussed.
Kuldeep Kaur is Professor of Education at Department of Education, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. She has 20+ years’ teaching and research experience. In her career span she has taught varied courses in the M.Ed., B.Ed., M.A. Education and Ph.D. programs. She has organised many conferences & workshops and had been delivering invited lectures on diverse topics. She has completed funded research projects; supervised doctoral theses & master’s dissertations. Her research interests are: inclusive ed., mindfulness in ed., pedagogy of language, and other contemporary issues.
Mamta Garg is a professor in Education at Panjab University with teaching and research experience of more than two decades. Dr Garg obtained her doctoral degree in Teacher Education in 2008. Her research interests include student learning and behaviour at school level, teacher education and quality aspects. She has guided thirteen doctoral researches and completed three sponsored research projects.
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Wednesday 8th January, 2025