Abstract

This paper documents the difficult contexts and challenges of implementing a mentoring model in Bihar, one of the most backwards states, both educationally and economically, in India. The purpose of the mentoring model is to develop critical thinking skills among socially disadvantaged children and to provide them with tools and resources so that they are aware and thoughtfully engage with their own identities, their beliefs system and social norms. Through the detailed documentation of the contexts and challenges of the implementation, the paper elucidates the various social and structural restrictions placed upon young girls, and the manner in which schools, families and communities engage with ideas of autonomy and agency of young girls. The paper uses the preliminary field observations made during the implementation of the first and the second module of the model, in addition to results from a baseline survey conducted of 700 respondents from the 10 sites of intervention.

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Ghatak, N., Menon, N., & Jha, J. (2022). Developing mentoring approaches for transformative education: context and challenges. Transformative Education: Meaning and Policy Implications, 74-89. Johannesburg, South Africa: Global Campaign for Education.