Nurturing Critical Consciousness of Caste Oppression in the Early Years of Primary School in India

由于种姓压迫，估计有8000万儿童被剥夺了实现其发展和教育潜力的机会。这包括剥夺儿童获得水和保健等基本人权以及接受优质教育的权利。COVID-19加剧了社会不平等，进一步使达利特人蒙羞。来自种姓特权背景的孩子很少有机会了解种姓压迫，因为孩子之间基于种姓的差异经常被教育工作者忽视，以避免“不舒服的现实”。正是在早年，孩子们学会了将不公正正常化或挑战它。早期小学教育可以提高儿童对压迫的意识，促进社会包容。这项研究将让印度勒克瑙的课堂教师参与设计和开发与文化相关的扫盲教育工具，培养儿童对种姓压迫的认识，以期为结束种姓压迫和支持社会包容做出贡献。-在印度勒克瑙的一所学校，孩子和老师对小学早期课堂上的种姓压迫的看法是什么？-在印度勒克瑙一所学校的小学早期课堂上，教师如何支持孩子们培养对种姓压迫的批判意识？研究借鉴了批判教育学理论，该理论强调学校不是中立的场所。解释了学校如何再现压迫或挑战压迫。使用批判教学法的研究表明，参与式方法对于支持教育工作者和儿童认识到压迫问题并共同制定包容方法是必要的。研究将利用解释主义范式，采用参与式行动研究方法和马赛克方法的元素，让儿童和教师参与审查印度勒克瑙一所小学的种姓压迫问题。提高批判性意识的方法将与教育工作者共同设计，以最好地配合学习环境和现有的课堂实践。这项研究将由一个咨询委员会的专业知识指导，该委员会包括非政府组织工作人员、年轻的达利特活动家、儿童书籍作家、学术专家、导师和同龄人，他们将在研究中敏感地代表种姓问题。一项参与性行动研究将分三个阶段（规划、行动和反思）进行，为期8-9个月，由小学课堂教育工作者和儿童参与。研究将在一所印度学校的小学早期教室中与大约7名教育工作者和30名儿童一起进行。为了确保工具的真实性、敏感性和实用性，将开展深入的小规模参与性研究，以支持开发有意义的教学工具，然后在更广泛的背景下进行调整和传播。录像观察、访谈/对话、绘画、照片和文物收藏。这项研究将采用一种迭代的方法，在与教育工作者和咨询委员会协商的情况下，将开发参与性研究的工具。收集的数据将同时进行分析，并与参与者一起验证结果，以支持正在进行的反思和行动。将在不同阶段对收集的数据进行专题分析。数据将被组织成主题，总结关于提高批判性意识的方法的发现。研究将是解决国际人权问题的第一步，通过制定一个框架来建立反种姓的教师和儿童社区。它将开发一系列与文化相关的教学工具，适用于各种环境，以促进达利特儿童和其他边缘化群体的包容。这项研究将为课程开发者、出版商、政策制定者和教师提供建议——如何让学生成为见多识广的变革推动者，以促进学校和社会的包容和公平。

An estimated 80m children are denied opportunities to meet their developmental and educational potential as a result of caste oppression. This includes children being denied access to basic human rights such as water and healthcare and rights to quality education. COVID-19 has exacerbated social inequalities, further stigmatising Dalits.Children from caste-privileged backgrounds have few educational opportunities to learn about caste oppression as caste-based differences among children are often ignored by educators to avoid 'uncomfortable realities'. It is in the early years that children learn to normalise injustice or to challenge it.Early primary programs can raise children's awareness of oppression and promote social inclusion. This research will engage classroom-teachers in Lucknow, India in co-designing and developing culturally relevant literacy-based educational tools that can nurture children's awareness of caste-oppression in the hopes of making contribution to ending caste-oppression and supporting social inclusion.-What are children's and teachers' perceptions on caste oppression in early-primary classrooms at a school in Lucknow, India? -How can teachers support children to develop critical consciousness of caste oppression in early-primary classrooms at a school in Lucknow, India?Research draws on the theory of critical pedagogy which emphasises that schools are not neutral sites. Explains how schools can either reproduce oppression or challenge it. Research using critical pedagogy shows that participatory approaches are necessary for supporting educators and children to recognise issues of oppression and collectively developing approaches for inclusion. Study will utilise an interpretivist paradigm, with participatory action research methods and elements of the Mosaic approach to engage children and teachers in examining issues of caste oppression in a primary school in Lucknow, India. The critical consciousness raising approaches will be co-designed with educators to best align with learning environments and existing classroom practices. The study will be guided by the expertise of an advisory board including NGO workers, young Dalit activists, children's books writers, academic experts, mentors and peers to sensitively represent caste issues in the research.A participatory action research will be conducted in three phases (planning, acting and reflecting) spanning 8-9 months with primary classroom educators and children.Study will be conducted with a group of approximately 7 educators and 30 children across early-primary classrooms in 1 Indian school. To ensure tools are authentic, sensitive, and practical, in-depth small-scale participatory research will be conducted to support the development of meaningful teaching tools, which can then be adapted and disseminated across wider contexts. Video observations, interviews/dialogue, drawings, photographs, and collection of artefacts. The research will take an iterative approach where tools for the participatory research will be developed in negotiation with the educators and the advisory board. Data collected will be simultaneously analysed and results validated with participants to support on-going reflection and action.A thematic analysis of data collected will occur across different phases. Data will be organised into themes that summarise findings on ways to raise critical awareness.Study will be an initial step in addressing an international human rights issue by working out a framework to establish anti-caste communities of teachers and children. It will develop a repertoire of culturally relevant teaching tools adaptable for use across settings to foster inclusion of Dalit children and other marginalised groups. The research will provide suggestions for curriculum developers, publishers, policy-makers and teachers - on how to engage students as well-informed agents of change for greater inclusion and equity in schools and society.