Culture and Classroom Reform: The case of the District Primary Education Project, India

Resource type
Journal Article
Author/contributor
Title
Culture and Classroom Reform: The case of the District Primary Education Project, India
Abstract
Reform in teaching and learning forms one of the basic dimensions of educational reform. This study explores the impact of the reform process on teacher thinking and classroom practice in the multi-donor supported District Primary Education Project in Karnataka, India. Using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, a variety of aspects dealing with teaching and learning are examined in order to understand the extent to which changes are taking place in the classroom. The study analyses the impact of four cultural constructs, which frame teaching and learning in India: holism as a shared worldview that encourages openness to regulation; the hierarchical structure as a regulative social framework; knowledge as discovered and attested collectively; and the ‘sense of duty’ that defines the role of the teacher (and student). The conclusion of the study is that while there are observable changes in the classroom in the use of instructional aids and activities during instruction, the essential characteristics of traditional practice, namely rote and repetition has not changed. Both teachers’ openness and resistance to reform are portrayed as embedded in the cultural construction of teaching and learning.
Publication
Comparative Education
Volume
39
Issue
1
Pages
27-44
Date
02/2003
Journal Abbr
Comparative Education
Language
en
ISSN
0305-0068, 1360-0486
Short Title
Culture and Classroom Reform
Accessed
16/05/2020, 16:12
Library Catalogue
DOI.org (Crossref)
Extra
shortDOI: 10/dj6jdc
Citation
Clarke, P. (2003). Culture and Classroom Reform: The case of the District Primary Education Project, India. Comparative Education, 39(1), 27–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050060302562