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Learning through a language: The unresolved question of mother tongue in a multi-ethnic society

By: Gayan, Gargi.
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: Sociological Bulletin Description: 74(2), Apr, 2025: p.191-207.Subject(s): Language, Learning outcome, Everyday life In: Sociological BulletinSummary: With the emergence of the concepts like democracy and equality, the idea of imparting mass education emerged. It advocated the principle of imparting a common curriculum to all through a standard language. Standardised language as a medium of education thus does not necessarily have democratic potential. In this article, I draw from an ethnographic study of a multi-ethnic government school in Assam to argue that (a) the idea of mother tongue as a taken-for-granted category in a culturally diverse and socio-economically unequal context needs to be questioned; (b) the gap between the social and cultural world of teachers and students is a major obstacle for learning; and (c) a centralised understanding of teacher’s training and assessment of student’s quality does little to improve learning.- Reproduced https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00380229241313451
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Articles Articles Indian Institute of Public Administration
74(2), Apr, 2025: p.191-207 Available AR136513

With the emergence of the concepts like democracy and equality, the idea of imparting mass education emerged. It advocated the principle of imparting a common curriculum to all through a standard language. Standardised language as a medium of education thus does not necessarily have democratic potential. In this article, I draw from an ethnographic study of a multi-ethnic government school in Assam to argue that (a) the idea of mother tongue as a taken-for-granted category in a culturally diverse and socio-economically unequal context needs to be questioned; (b) the gap between the social and cultural world of teachers and students is a major obstacle for learning; and (c) a centralised understanding of teacher’s training and assessment of student’s quality does little to improve learning.- Reproduced

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00380229241313451

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