Education for All:Hearing Minority Parent Voice about Public Education in India

Authors

Barbara R. Wilson, Minnesota State University MankatoFollow

Abstract

This research article explores minority parents’ unique hopes, challenges and fears concerning public education in India. Global efforts to provide Education for All have fallen short of achieving educational equity. Lack of educational equity persists due to a variety of conditions, including the failure to take into account local peculiarities. To inform programming of one local school project, the perspectives of minority parents were collected during a focus group held in Aurangabad, India in 2013. Focus group comments were coded and analyzed to identify significant themes. The findings identified factors explaining why minority students are not successful attending public schools or participating in national exams in India. Results and recommendations from this focus group are shared to promote dialogue among school leaders, government organizations and parents to better understand the local public school context and implement practices and policies to reach international education targets and make progress towards Education for All.

Keywords

Educational Equity, Parent Involvement, Minority Parent Perspective, Preschool and Early School Programming, Global Education, Focus Group Methodology

Author Bio(s)

Dr. Wilson has worked in public education for over 25 years. After more than a decade of work as a public school teacher, Dr. Wilson became a public school administrator, working in a variety of settings including first- tier suburban and rural schools. In 2011, Dr. Wilson joined a local state university as an assistant professor in Educational Leadership. A passion for equity and a dedication to quality education for all children have influenced all of her professional work in education. Dr. Wilson is currently an educational consultant working with school districts and educational leaders promoting the development of quality school systems and cultural competence to improve educational opportunities for all children. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: Dr. Barbara R. Wilson, Educational Consultant, Burnsville, MN 55306; e-mail: barbarawilson1017@gmail.com.

Publication Date

7-20-2015

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2015.2200

Recommended APA Citation

Wilson, B. R. (2015). Education for All:Hearing Minority Parent Voice about Public Education in India. The Qualitative Report, 20(7), 1062-1082. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2015.2200