Suchergebnisse

An ethnographic description of teaching and learning in schools where pupils from low social classes study is presented in this article. It explains how pupils in Goa who reach the end of secondary school are not assimilated in the school's middle-class ethos but modify, negotiate and, to an extent interpret and accommodate it in their own way. Students' social lives, scholastic careers, future aspirations and orientations in school are analysed. But this article is not just about social origins and destinations. Sociological studies that establish correlations between working class positions and low scholastic achievement and low aspirations are well known. This submission attempts to take the argument forward. Prolonged exposure to the lives they lead and poor scholastic achievements in school reinforce each other to abbreviate a students' school career. There is a continuous interplay between subjective experiences and objective class futures. The inclusion of a pupils' perspective and orientation in school enriches this sociological analysis.

In India, vide Right to Education Act, 2009, elementary school education has been made a fundamental right of children between the ages of 6 and 14 years. The objective is to achieve the goal of universal elementary education for all. The Right to Education Act, 2009, has also allocated 25 per cent places in private schools for socially disadvantaged children. In the course of assessing the social effect of Right to Education Act, 2009, existing literature has been analysed. Although India has measured great strides in enlisting school enrolment, some problems exist. An attempt has been made to elicit the state of school education in India by analysing the growth of private schools and the facts in state schools. Some suggestions have been made to improve the educational situation in schools in the given social circumstances.

Jayati Bhattacharya and Coonoor Kripalani (Eds), Indian and Chinese Immigrant Communities: Comparative Perspective. UK and USA: ISES/Anthem Books, 2015, 328 pages, £60.00/$99.00. ISBN: 978-1-78308-362-6.

Omita Goyal (Ed.), Interrogating Women's Leadership & Empowerment. New Delhi and Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, 2015, 296 pages, ₹950, ISBN 9789351500797.