Why is it important to emphasise the different ways in which pupils and their families value education in South Asia? An anthropological perspective

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Abstract

Recent ethnographies of South Asia are increasingly concerned with the question of how students and their families value education. A closer look at these anthropological works reveals that the formulation of this new research question arose from the double observation that on the one hand education in South Asia is especially valued by the middle class as a powerful tool for upward mobility in society, while on the other hand ethnographic descriptions of people’s experiences with education unveil a striking discrepancy between people’s expectations and actual outcomes of education. This observation also encourages a critical rethinking of the frequent association between education and development, and urges a closer scrutiny of restraining factors, which have a negative effect on education outcomes.