Vol. 7 No. 2 (2019): Voices of Teachers and Teacher Educators
Articles

A Humane Approach to Designing a School in and for Tribal Communities

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  • Sriranjani Ranganathan,
  • Sudha Premnath

Published 2019-02-28

Keywords

  • Kaigal Education and Environment,
  • Tribal Education

How to Cite

Ranganathan, S. ., & Premnath, S. . (2019). A Humane Approach to Designing a School in and for Tribal Communities. Voices of Teachers and Teacher Educators, 7(2), p. 39-49. http://ejournals.ncert.gov.in/index.php/vtte/article/view/731

Abstract

This paper is based on the experiences of 5 schools run by the Kaigal Education and Environment (KEEP) program (Krishnamurti Foundation India), in Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, and will frame it in the context of education for marginalized communities in India. The schools studied as part of this paper are from 5 remote tribal villages. The paper explores an approach to developing a school that is accommodating to, and enriched by the cultural and knowledge diversity of the communities. This is analyzed along the dimensions of curriculum, teacher development programs and community engagement. Autonomy for the schools to develop a learning program, contextualized to the local environment and sensitive to the community needs is critical to creating an inclusive, empathetic learning environment. Formalizing local knowledge into the curriculum means that the schools become natural places for learning, relevant to the community.

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