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Papers by Mathangi Subramanian
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recently reported that the world's population is shifting... more United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recently reported that the world's population is shifting to its cities. India is no exception. Throughout the country, an increasing number of migrants are leaving agricultural lifestyles in search of economic and educational opportunities, often relocating to non-notified slums. Despite the fact that many families move in search of better schools, in reality, children living in nonnotified slums lack access to high-quality early childhood educational opportunities, a situation that can disadvantage them throughout their lives. This paper describes an intervention implemented in an Indian non-notified slum in which local residents were recruited to run preschools. The authors reflect upon initial data that both elucidate the challenges associated with serving transitory early childhood populations and suggest that the programme shows promise as a scalable model appropriate for addressing them.
Gossip, defined as evaluative talk about a third party, is a powerful tool for establishing in-an... more Gossip, defined as evaluative talk about a third party, is a powerful tool for establishing in-and out-group norms and determining belonging. Drama, a form of gossip that is evolving in online spaces, is the process of fighting back against gossip and rumors designed to isolate and ostracise. While literature commonly portrays women as victims or perpetrators of gossip and drama, it rarely examines the potential for evaluative talk as a form of resistance. This article presents a case study of how one young Bangladeshi-American woman uses both gossip and drama to both resist oppressive gender norms and to reinforce her ideas about gender, faith, and culture. Drawing on ethnographic interview data, the paper seeks to elucidate how young women use social network sites like Facebook to negotiate gendered norms associated with individual and collective identity in immigrant communities.
This article is a narrative of one educator’s reflections on her journey toward becoming a “progr... more This article is a narrative of one educator’s reflections on her journey toward becoming a “progressive pedagogue.” The author believes that progressive pedagogy requires the complete equalization of power between teachers and students in the classroom, which is often hindered by historical constructs built into the public education system and the unconscious recesses of the middle class mind. The author identifies three historically constructed “myths” of American education and uses these myths as a lens for her reflections on her teaching practice and beliefs.
In India, policymakers are interested in improving the quality of services in government run earl... more In India, policymakers are interested in improving the quality of services in government run early childhood education and care centers, known as anganwadis, run by India’s Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). One measurement of program quality is the presence of play, which experts construct as a valuable tool for individualized cognitive development. Drawing on ethnographic data from a 13 month study of anganwadis in three southern Indian states, the author uses a postcolonial feminist lens to argue that, contrary to the expectations outlined in cognition-based approaches to quality evaluation, in India, play often functions as a tool for the collective good rather than for individual social progress. Consequently, in anganwadis, early childhood education programs may be falsely judged as poorly run because they do not conform to standards based on inappropriate, decontextualized notions of play’s form and function. The author argues that broadening ideas about what play looks like and what it is for can lead to more accurate pictures of program quality and, by extension, more specific and effective recommendations for improvement.
Current Issues in Comparative Education, 2008
Unless otherwise noted, copyrights for the texts which comprise all issues of Current Issues in C... more Unless otherwise noted, copyrights for the texts which comprise all issues of Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE) are held by the journal. The compilation as a whole is Copyright© by Current Issues in Comparative Education, all rights reserved. Items published by CICE may be freely shared among individuals, but they may not be republished in any medium without express written consent from the author (s) and advance notification of the CICE editorial board.
Books by Mathangi Subramanian
Given the protracted, varied, and geographically expansive changes in migration over time, it is ... more Given the protracted, varied, and geographically expansive changes in migration over time, it is difficult to establish an overarching theory that adequately analyzes the school experiences of immigrant youth in the United States. This volume extends the scholarly work on these experiences by exploring how immigrants carve out new identities, construct meanings, and negotiate spaces for themselves within social structures created or mediated by education policy and practice. It highlights immigrants that position themselves within global movements while experiencing the everyday effects of federal, state, and local education policy, a phenomenon referred to as glocal (global-local) or localized global phenomena.
Chapter authors acknowledge and honor the agency that immigrants wield, and combine social theories and qualitative methods to empirically document the ways in which immigrants take active roles in enacting education policy. Surveying immigrants from China, Bangladesh, India, Haiti, Japan, Colombia, and Liberia, this volume offers a broad spectrum of immigrant experiences that problematize policy narratives that narrowly define notions of "immigrant," "citizenship," and "student."
This young adult nonfiction book takes a peace education approach to analyzing the causes and eff... more This young adult nonfiction book takes a peace education approach to analyzing the causes and effects of bullying.
Twelve-year-old Sarojini’s best friend, Amir, might not be her best friend any more. Ever since A... more Twelve-year-old Sarojini’s best friend, Amir, might not be her best friend any more. Ever since Amir moved out of the slum
and started going to a posh private school, it seems like he and Sarojini have nothing in common.
Then Sarojini finds out about the Right to Education, a law that might help her get a free seat at Amir’s school – or,
better yet, convince him to come back to a new and improved version of the government school they went to together.
As she struggles to keep her best friend, Sarojini gets help from some unexpected characters, including Deepti, a feisty
classmate who lives at a construction site; Vimala Madam, a human rights lawyer who might also be an evil genius; and
Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, a long-dead freedom fighter who becomes Sarojini’s secret pen pal. Told through letters to Mrs. Naidu,
this is the story of how Sarojini learns to fight – for her friendship, her family, and her future.
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recently reported that the world's population is shifting... more United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recently reported that the world's population is shifting to its cities. India is no exception. Throughout the country, an increasing number of migrants are leaving agricultural lifestyles in search of economic and educational opportunities, often relocating to non-notified slums. Despite the fact that many families move in search of better schools, in reality, children living in nonnotified slums lack access to high-quality early childhood educational opportunities, a situation that can disadvantage them throughout their lives. This paper describes an intervention implemented in an Indian non-notified slum in which local residents were recruited to run preschools. The authors reflect upon initial data that both elucidate the challenges associated with serving transitory early childhood populations and suggest that the programme shows promise as a scalable model appropriate for addressing them.
Gossip, defined as evaluative talk about a third party, is a powerful tool for establishing in-an... more Gossip, defined as evaluative talk about a third party, is a powerful tool for establishing in-and out-group norms and determining belonging. Drama, a form of gossip that is evolving in online spaces, is the process of fighting back against gossip and rumors designed to isolate and ostracise. While literature commonly portrays women as victims or perpetrators of gossip and drama, it rarely examines the potential for evaluative talk as a form of resistance. This article presents a case study of how one young Bangladeshi-American woman uses both gossip and drama to both resist oppressive gender norms and to reinforce her ideas about gender, faith, and culture. Drawing on ethnographic interview data, the paper seeks to elucidate how young women use social network sites like Facebook to negotiate gendered norms associated with individual and collective identity in immigrant communities.
This article is a narrative of one educator’s reflections on her journey toward becoming a “progr... more This article is a narrative of one educator’s reflections on her journey toward becoming a “progressive pedagogue.” The author believes that progressive pedagogy requires the complete equalization of power between teachers and students in the classroom, which is often hindered by historical constructs built into the public education system and the unconscious recesses of the middle class mind. The author identifies three historically constructed “myths” of American education and uses these myths as a lens for her reflections on her teaching practice and beliefs.
In India, policymakers are interested in improving the quality of services in government run earl... more In India, policymakers are interested in improving the quality of services in government run early childhood education and care centers, known as anganwadis, run by India’s Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). One measurement of program quality is the presence of play, which experts construct as a valuable tool for individualized cognitive development. Drawing on ethnographic data from a 13 month study of anganwadis in three southern Indian states, the author uses a postcolonial feminist lens to argue that, contrary to the expectations outlined in cognition-based approaches to quality evaluation, in India, play often functions as a tool for the collective good rather than for individual social progress. Consequently, in anganwadis, early childhood education programs may be falsely judged as poorly run because they do not conform to standards based on inappropriate, decontextualized notions of play’s form and function. The author argues that broadening ideas about what play looks like and what it is for can lead to more accurate pictures of program quality and, by extension, more specific and effective recommendations for improvement.
Current Issues in Comparative Education, 2008
Unless otherwise noted, copyrights for the texts which comprise all issues of Current Issues in C... more Unless otherwise noted, copyrights for the texts which comprise all issues of Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE) are held by the journal. The compilation as a whole is Copyright© by Current Issues in Comparative Education, all rights reserved. Items published by CICE may be freely shared among individuals, but they may not be republished in any medium without express written consent from the author (s) and advance notification of the CICE editorial board.
Given the protracted, varied, and geographically expansive changes in migration over time, it is ... more Given the protracted, varied, and geographically expansive changes in migration over time, it is difficult to establish an overarching theory that adequately analyzes the school experiences of immigrant youth in the United States. This volume extends the scholarly work on these experiences by exploring how immigrants carve out new identities, construct meanings, and negotiate spaces for themselves within social structures created or mediated by education policy and practice. It highlights immigrants that position themselves within global movements while experiencing the everyday effects of federal, state, and local education policy, a phenomenon referred to as glocal (global-local) or localized global phenomena.
Chapter authors acknowledge and honor the agency that immigrants wield, and combine social theories and qualitative methods to empirically document the ways in which immigrants take active roles in enacting education policy. Surveying immigrants from China, Bangladesh, India, Haiti, Japan, Colombia, and Liberia, this volume offers a broad spectrum of immigrant experiences that problematize policy narratives that narrowly define notions of "immigrant," "citizenship," and "student."
This young adult nonfiction book takes a peace education approach to analyzing the causes and eff... more This young adult nonfiction book takes a peace education approach to analyzing the causes and effects of bullying.
Twelve-year-old Sarojini’s best friend, Amir, might not be her best friend any more. Ever since A... more Twelve-year-old Sarojini’s best friend, Amir, might not be her best friend any more. Ever since Amir moved out of the slum
and started going to a posh private school, it seems like he and Sarojini have nothing in common.
Then Sarojini finds out about the Right to Education, a law that might help her get a free seat at Amir’s school – or,
better yet, convince him to come back to a new and improved version of the government school they went to together.
As she struggles to keep her best friend, Sarojini gets help from some unexpected characters, including Deepti, a feisty
classmate who lives at a construction site; Vimala Madam, a human rights lawyer who might also be an evil genius; and
Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, a long-dead freedom fighter who becomes Sarojini’s secret pen pal. Told through letters to Mrs. Naidu,
this is the story of how Sarojini learns to fight – for her friendship, her family, and her future.