Critical consciousness, social justice and resistance : the experiences of young children living on the streets in India / Zinnia Mevawalla.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mevawalla, Zinnia, 1988- author.

Contributor:

James Hosmer Penniman Book Fund.

Series:

Education and struggle : narrative, dialogue, and the political production of meaning ; vol. 21.

Education and struggle : narrative, dialogue, and the political production of meaning, 2168-6432 ; vol. 21

Standardized Title:

. Young thinkers without borders

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Street children--Education--India--Mumbai--Case studies.

Street children.

Street children--India--Mumbai--Psychology--Case studies.

Early childhood education--Social aspects--India--Mumbai--Case studies.

Early childhood education.

Child development--Social aspects--India--Mumbai--Case studies.

Child development.

Defense mechanisms (Psychology) in children--India--Mumbai--Case studies.

Defense mechanisms (Psychology) in children.

Social justice and education--India--Mumbai--Case studies.

Social justice and education.

Critical pedagogy--India--Mumbai--Case studies.

Critical pedagogy.

Child development--Social aspects.

Early childhood education--Social aspects.

Street children--Education.

Psychology.

India--Mumbai.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xviii, 294 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Peter Lang, [2019]

Summary:

"Critical Consciousness, Social Justice and Resistance: The Experiences of Young Children Living on the Streets in India reports on an investigation of critical consciousness and social justice conducted with young children living on the streets in Mumbai, India. The book explores how children-through complex, layered and diverse forms of resistant behaviours-struggled against, challenged, and at times, transformed the experiences of structural inequality, injustice and oppression they often faced in their everyday lives. Drawing on insights from critical pedagogy, the study argues that educators can work in solidarity with children, families and communities to transform-rather than simply adapt-to situations of oppression that exist both within and outside of educational contexts. It is argued that practitioners and policy makers, open genuine spaces for educational endeavours that value children's dignity, understand resistant behaviour as a form of communication, and focus on transformative resistance as a praxis of citizenship"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Critical Education for Critical Times

Education and Ideology

Education and Critical Consciousness

Dangerous Education for Dangerous Times: A Case for Critical Consciousness and Social Justice Education in the Early Years

Who Are the Children Living on the Street?

Why Research with Young Children Living on the Street?

Mumbai, India: The Research Context

India

Mumbai

Central Research Questions

Transparency: The Researcher as a Human Instrument

My Story

The Importance of a Book on Critical Consciousness and Social Justice in the Early Years

Book Structure

2. Theory for Knowing and Changing the System

Critical Pedagogy: What Is It? Where Did It Come From?

Critical Pedagogy and the Purpose of Education

Knowing the System

Characteristics of Critical Pedagogy

Education Is Political

Ideology

Hegemony

Historicity of Knowledge

Regimes of Truth

Micropractices of Power

Developmentally Appropriate Practices

Political Economy

Culture, Race and Gender

Changing the System

Resistance and Counter-hegemonic Discourses

Resistance Theory

Critiques of Resistance Theory

Ideological Critique

Critical Consciousness

Praxis

Dialogue and Problem-Posing Education

Repositioning

Critiques of Critical Pedagogy

Justifying the Use of Critical Pedagogy to the Research Reported on in This Book

Critical Pedagogy and the Indian Context

Conclusion

3. Critical Consciousness and Social Justice in Early Childhood

Literature Review Search Methods and Inclusion Criteria

Understanding Critical Consciousness

Understanding Social Justice

Critical Social Justice

Interconnected Understandings: Social Justice and Critical Consciousness

Education for Critical Consciousness

Community-Based Approaches to Developing Critical Consciousness

Adult Education for Critical Consciousness

Research with Pre-service Teachers

Research with Teachers

Critical Consciousness for Education with Children

Early Childhood Contexts

Gaps in the Literature and the Current Study

4. Researching with Young Children Living on the Streets

The Mosaic Approach

Pieces of the Mosaic

Critiques of the Mosaic Approach

Using the Mosaic Approach in this Study

Ethical Considerations

Informed Consent

Power Relations and Imbalances

Sensitive Information, Confidentiality and Privacy

Research Context: The Centre and the Streets

Participant Selection and Recruitment

Participants

Data Collection

Observations and Field Notes

Dialogue and Informal Conversation

Drawing and Storytelling

Child-Led Photography and Tours

Data Analysis

Rigour and Credibility

Triangulation

Reflexivity

Voice and Collaboration

Prolonged Engagement in the Field

Limitations

5. The Indian Context

Why Is a Chapter on the Indian Context Necessary?

Framing the Historical Analysis

Colonisation

Civil and Criminal Justice System

Slavery

Independence and the Partition

Modern Republic of India

Religion

Hinduism and the Caste System

Christianity in India

Muslims in India

Religious Riots and Terrorism

Political and Socio-economic Structures

Symbolic Violence and the Treatment of Women

Female Infanticide

Child Marriage

Educational Inequality and Exclusion on the Basis of Gender

Education Systems in India

Early Childhood Provisions

Primary School Systems

Children Living on the Streets in Mumbai

Prevalence

Causes

Education

Economic Activity

Challenges

Support Mechanisms

Re-meeting the Complex Interplay of History, Economics, Politics and Society: Educational Contexts, Children Living on the Streets and This Research

6. The Stories We Tell

Using Resistance Theory

Profile of Participants

Akbar, Male, 7.5 Years Old

Axav, Male, 4.5 Years Old

Bhijali, Female, 3.5 Years Old

Birbal, Male, 7 Years Old

Krish, Male, 4.5 Years Old

Payal, Female, 5 Years Old

Rani, Female, 7 Years Old

Rathore, Male, 8 Years Old

Sonakshi, Female, 4 Years Old

Tara, Female, 4.5 Years Old

Children's Lived Experiences and Perspectives

Conformist Resistance

Learning English

Belief in the System of Education

Care-Taking

Self-defeating Resistance

Apathy and Self-soothing

Self-deprecating and Destructive Behaviours

Systematic Understanding and Critique

Obedience and Underlife

Transformative Resistance

Aspirations and Plans to `Be Someone'

Creative Problem Solving

Ensuring Fairness

Speaking Out

Helping and Teaching Others Social Justice

Dignity Work

7. Resistance for Social Justice and Critical Consciousness

Language Hierarchies, Neoliberal and Developmental Discourses: Divide and Rule

Language Hierarchies and Neoliberal Discourses

Developmental Discourses and Micropractices of Power

Resistant Behaviour as Communication

Resistance as a Communication of Self-defence and Agency

Resistance as a Communication of the Desire for Social Justice and Listening

Underlife Resistance, Dignity and the Pedagogy of Indignation

Policy Implications

Research Implications

Practice Implications

Limitations and Further Research Suggestions

Conclusion.

Notes:

Revision of author's thesis (doctoral)--Macquarie University, 2016, titled Young thinkers without borders : critical consciousness, social justice and resistance : the experiences of young street children in Mumbai, India.

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the James Hosmer Penniman Book Fund.

ISBN:

9781433168437

143316843X

9781433168444

1433168448

OCLC:

1128889704

Publisher Number:

99984967628