Inequality, Education and the Social Sciences: the Historical Reproduction of Inequalities Through Secondary Education in India and Germany
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Inequality, Education and the Social Sciences: The Historical Reproduction of Inequalities through Secondary Education in India and Germany Dissertation Zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades doctor philosophiae (Dr. phil.) der Kultur-, Sozial- und Bildungswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin von Michael Robert Kinville Präsidentin der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Prof. Dr.–Ing. Dr. Sabine Kunst Dekanin der Kultur-, Sozial- und Bildungswissenschaftlichen Fakultät Prof. Dr. Julia von Blumenthal Gutachter: 1. Prof. Dr. Boike Rehbein 2. Prof. Dr. Gregor Bongaerts Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 24. Oktober 2016 Zusammenfassung Die konzeptionelle Verbindung zwischen Bildung und Gesellschaft, die im 19. Jahrhundert deutlich gemacht und wissenschaftlich begründet wurde, wird oft als selbstverständlich betrachtet. Diese veraltete Verbindung bildete aber die Basis für Bildungsreformen im Sekundärbereich in Deutschland und Indien in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Diese Arbeit unternimmt den Versuch, zum Verständnis dieser Verzögerung zwischen den Ideen und den Reformen, die sie einrahmten, beizutragen, indem sie eine geeignete Theorie der Verbindung zwischen Bildung und einer komplexen Gesellschaft aufstellt. Grundsätzliche Annäherungen an Gesellschaft und Bildung treten in Dialog mit post-kolonialen und kritischen Theorien. Universalistische Annahmen werden problematisiert, und eine offene Lösung für die Vorstellung zukünftiger Reformen wird präsentiert. Nationale Bildungsreformen in Indien und Deutschland nach ihren „Critical Junctures“ von 1947/1945 werden eingehend und chronologisch verglichen, um einen spezifischen Charakter historisch- und bildungs-bedingter Reproduktion beider Länder herauszuarbeiten sowie einen gemeinsamen Lernprozess zu ermöglichen. Abschließend wird eine Lösung des Problems in der Form offener Bildung präsentiert. Bildung als öffentliches Gut muss nicht zwangsläufig nur auf soziale Probleme reagieren, stattdessen kann sie verändert werden, um sozialen Wandel voran zu treiben. Schlagwörter: critical juncture, Deutschland, Indien, höhere Schulbildung, Reform, Geschichte, kritische Theorie Abstract The conceptual link between education and society, forged in the 19th Century, is often taken for granted. This seemingly outdated connection, however, has guided reforms in secondary education in India and Germany throughout the second half of the 20th Century. This study attempts to understand this lag between underlying ideas and the reforms they framed by synthesizing a viable theory for imagining the connection between education and a complex society. Foundational approaches to society and education are brought into dialogue with post-colonial and critical theories. Universalistic assumptions are problematized, and an open-ended solution for theorizing new connections is presented. National educational reforms in India and Germany subsequent to their critical junctures of 1947/1945 are exhaustively and chronologically compared in order to conceptualize a generic character of historical-educational reproduction for each country and to facilitate a process of mutual learning. Finally, a solution to the problems associated with educational reproduction is presented. Education as a public good does not need to simply be reactive to social problems. Instead, it can be reconfigured so as to drive social change. Keywords: critical juncture, Germany, India, secondary education, reform, history, critical theory Acknowledgments This work would not have been possible absent a tremendous amount of curiosity about the world and how it works. For the stoking of this curiosity, I’d like to thank all of the teachers I’ve ever had, even if I didn’t always behave like a model pupil. When it comes to the nurturing of my academic curiosity, I’m eternally grateful to my professors and instructors at the University of Minnesota. My indebtedness to my professors, instructors and classmates at Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Jawaharlal Nehru University, however, is even more pronounced, for they opened my eyes to new perspectives and possibilities. My colleagues and students at the Lower Rhine University of Applied Sciences and the University of Duisburg-Essen contributed mightily to my motivation and the development of my ideas during the course of writing this dissertation, and for that I thank them all. I’d also like to take this opportunity to express my personal and intellectual gratitude to Professor Boike Rehbein, who provided me with a rare opportunity to pursue my own ideas. His unique combination of erudition, diligence, empathy, well-timed brevity and scholarly adventurousness has been a source of inspiration to me throughout the years. Many thanks are due to Dr. Tamer Söyler, as well, for the invaluable feedback he provided and the seeds he planted. Any and all analytical or linguistic imperfections and mistakes that might appear in the course of what follows are mine and mine alone. Working, teaching, tending to family responsibilities and writing a dissertation at the same time makes for a hectic schedule. My family on both sides of the Atlantic has helped carry the burden. Specifically, however, I’d like to thank my wife and son for always being there for me and for showing me what life is all about. TABLE OF CONTENTS Inequality, Education and the Social Sciences: The Historical Reproduction of Inequalities through Secondary Education in India and Germany * 1.......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Identifying Critical Junctures .................................................................... 4 1.2. Learning from a Comparison .................................................................... 6 1.3. Studies Related to Comparative Education ............................................... 9 2. METHODS .................................................................................................... 19 2.1. Reflexivity ............................................................................................... 20 2.2. Comparative Methods ............................................................................. 24 2.3. Historical-Comparative Sociology .......................................................... 30 2.4. Conclusion ............................................................................................... 34 3. THE THEORETICAL LINK - SOCIETY AND EDUCATION .............. 35 3.1. Economy, Capitalism, Globalization and Inequality .............................. 37 3.2. Social Thought and Education ................................................................ 43 3.2.1. Durkheim’s Approach to Education and Reproduction ....................... 43 3.2.2. Weber, Rationalization, History and Education ................................... 48 3.2.3. Marx, History, Production and Reproduction ...................................... 53 3.2.4. Gandhi, Civilizational, Education and Society .................................... 57 3.2.5. Labels and Relations ............................................................................ 59 3.3. Misconnections ....................................................................................... 66 3.3.1. Notes on Epistemology ........................................................................ 66 3.3.2. Modernity ............................................................................................. 69 3.3.3. Modernization ...................................................................................... 73 3.3.4. Liberalism/Progressivism and Education ............................................. 76 3.4. Conclusion ............................................................................................... 82 4. THE CRITICAL TURN AND EDUCATION ............................................ 83 4.1. Post-Colonialism and Education ............................................................. 84 4.2. Critical Theoretical Approaches ............................................................. 88 4.2.1. Critical Theory ..................................................................................... 89 4.2.2. Critical Theory and Education ............................................................. 93 4.3. Notes on the Intersection of History and Critical Theory ..................... 106 4.4. Theory, History, Society and Education ............................................... 109 i 4.5. Toward an Appropriate Theory ............................................................. 111 4.6. Violence, Oppression, Economy and Education ................................... 114 4.7. Conclusion ............................................................................................. 116 5. COMPARISON - EDUCATION UNTIL 1947/1945 ............................... 119 5.1. Notes on the Sociologies of Education ................................................. 120 5.1.1. India .................................................................................................... 121 5.1.2. Germany ............................................................................................. 126 5.1.3. The Sociologies of Education in Germany and India ........................ 131 5.2. Brief History of German and Indian Education until 1945/1947 .......... 133 5.2.1. Indian Education System .................................................................... 133 5.2.2. The German Education System