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Teaching and Teacher Education pp 93–112Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

“What Can We Do If They Are Not Getting?”: Perspectives of Teachers on Inclusive Education in a Low-Fee Paying Private English-Medium School

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Part of the book series: South Asian Education Policy, Research, and Practice ((SAEPRP))

Abstract

Focusing on one private, low-fee paying English-medium school in India, which served students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, this study sought to understand teachers’ perspectives on inclusive education and student failure. Data included interviews with six teachers, classroom observations, and student work samples. The study found that the teachers believed they were not responsible for ensuring that students learn. This was illustrated by their largely negative views of their students’ background, minimal engagement with academically struggling students, and a focus on teacher-led instruction emphasizing rote memorization instead of conceptual and linguistic comprehension. Despite efforts toward Education For All, poor students continue to be the most disadvantaged in their access to quality education.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Teachers spoke in Indian English, a hybrid form of English, which often takes on the grammatical structure or maintains some words of the speaker’s native language. To maintain the integrity of their words and voice, no changes in structure have been made in the transcription.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the Fulbright Foundation research fellowship grant that made this study possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    Maya Kalyanpur

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  1. Maya Kalyanpur
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Correspondence to Maya Kalyanpur .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Setty & Associates International, Washington, DC, USA

    Rohit Setty

  2. Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Radhika Iyengar

  3. University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, USA

    Matthew A. Witenstein

  4. University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Erik Jon Byker

  5. Washington, DC, USA

    Huma Kidwai

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Kalyanpur, M. (2019). “What Can We Do If They Are Not Getting?”: Perspectives of Teachers on Inclusive Education in a Low-Fee Paying Private English-Medium School. In: Setty, R., Iyengar, R., Witenstein, M.A., Byker, E.J., Kidwai, H. (eds) Teaching and Teacher Education. South Asian Education Policy, Research, and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26879-4_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26879-4_5

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-26878-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-26879-4

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

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