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Paper Short Abstract:

The paper is about an action research project which explored how an everyday classroom in a conventional school in India can become a space for counter-socialisation.

Paper Abstract:

Based on a paper written about an action research project, this presentation explores how an everyday classroom in a conventional school can become a space for counter-socialisation.

The project was set in a 'mainstream' school in a semi-urban town in India where the researcher assumed the role of a social-studies teacher, and employed critical-feminist pedagogy to teach. By participating in the everyday learning of the students, the researcher explored various approaches to talk about social issues with a focus on gender. These included conversations, within and outside the classroom, engaging with concepts on power and society beyond the textbook and analysing issues of social relevance through critical lenses, among other practices.

Some initial findings revealed the role of the hidden curriculum, resulting in differential participation in the classroom. On the nature of knowledge and learning, it was found that a strong preoccupation with examinations limits and greatly challenges possibilities of critical thinking which is vital for any conversation on power structures, including gender.

However, on employing critical and feminist pedagogy in the classroom, it was found that creating alternative environments, apart from the rigid time-space-discipline defined classroom, helped generate interest and conversations among the students on issues.

Initial evaluation of the framework indicated that the teacher-student relationship plays a positive role in learning to build and critique structures of power that learners witness. An environment fostering criticality and repeated conversations on society and societal power structures enabled the learners to also question norms and practices they did not fully understand.