Exploring teacher quality through student-teacher interactions and classroom environment in India

Abstract

This thesis has been written as part of the M.Phil. programme in Comparative and International Education at the University of Oslo. The purpose of this research is to study student-teacher interactions and classroom environments in primary grades in the government and private schools in India and explore the quality of teachers in India. The study is qualitative in nature and the data has been collected through semi-structured interviews, observations, field notes and informal conversations during two months of field work. The frameworks used for this study are UNESCO quality framework, Teaching through Interactions framework and Constructivism. This is a comparative, multi-case study. The main findings of this study indicate similarities between the government schools and the low-income private schools and their differences with the high-income private school, highlighting segregation between the haves and the have nots. Teachers’ perceptions show a gap between the intended and the actual practices taking place in the classrooms. National and local context play an important role in influencing what takes place in a class. A holistic approach is required to ensure national policies and in-school practises are tackled simultaneously. Teachers need to be provided with appropriate support and guidance as they are the key to ensure healthy student-teacher interactions and positive classroom environment.