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Learning and Freedom: policy, pedagogy and paradigms in Indian education and schooling JOHN ROBERT SHOTTON, 1998 New Delhi, Sage Publications 209 pp. ISBN 0-7619-9220-0
The starting point of this timely publication lies in the context of India's 50 years of independence. Whilst the private sector for elementary and secondary education has flourished since 1947, for those people not in a position to take up that opportunity, the situation has worsened. Against this background, the author argues that to understand why nothing good has emerged from the education system in India, there needs to be discussion about philosophy and practice, with respect to teaching and learning. In particular, he states that India persists to predominate in a paradigm of didactic pedagogy. The book aims to demonstrate how a curriculum centred on the learner's experience and participation, under teacher guidance, can provide the platform for successful learning in India. An indication of the variety of educational contexts that exist in India is given in the four following chapters.
Two questions set the first chapter in motion. First, it asks what the state has managed to deliver in terms of education, 50 years after independence. Second, set against the goal of equality of educational opportunity for all, what can be done to improve the situation? Recent statistical data highlight a disturbing level of non-enrolment into school, opportunities or achievement in terms of gender and low caste. The author raises a number of socio-cultural explanations, as well as those associated with economic conditions. He...