A Framework for Understanding Diversity in Indian Education¹

Author: Joshee R.

Source: Race, Ethnicity and Education, Volume 6, Number 3, SEPTEMBER 2003 , pp. 283-297(15)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

Diversity is a term that is gaining currency in Western nations where it is used to talk about the concerns, issues, and needs of those groups constructed as outside the mainstream of society. While the term is foreign to India the ideas underlying it are not. An analysis of key educational policy documents since Indian independence shows that there is a diversity framework implicit in the Indian approach to education. This framework is based on three interrelated goals, identified in the policy documents as, national integration, equality, and development of a common culture. Articulating this framework is a first step in developing a new analytical lens through which to assess the differential impact of reforms in Indian education on students from various groups. It is also useful as a way to begin thinking about the difference between the meanings of diversity in India and Western nations.

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Department of Theory and Policy Studies, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6, Canada ( rjoshee@oise.utoronto.ca)

Publication date: 2003-09-01

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