“My child will be respected”: Parental perspectives on computers and education in Rural India

Abstract

Public spending on computer centers in rural Indian public schools raise questions about the value of expensive modern technology in extremely resource-strapped environments. Arguments for or against providing computers in low-income schools have appeared in policy circles, academia, teacher conferences, and philanthropic discussions, with passionate rhetoric from all sides. We present the results of a qualitative study of computer-aided learning centers in schools catering primarily to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in four districts of rural Karnataka, South India. Here, we held a series of open-and close-ended discussions with parents of children from these schools on issues such as aspirations, quality of schooling, and the perception of computers more generally. The research reveals a range of voices on hopes for the next generation, perceived value of computer courses and higher education, and the perceived changes in villages after the arrival of computers in their local schools. It emerges that for many parents, the computer has an immense symbolic value--separate from its functional value--that is tied to social and economic ascendancy. We find that this symbolic value derives from associations that parents imbibe from their various interactions with people using computers in a range of situations. We find in our interviews a heightened sense of mystique over the technology and its potential, across people with varying levels of first-hand experience and understanding of computers. We find that notions of change and hope are situated within an environment of great fear about the future of agriculture. We argue here that this, alongside a widespread existing discourse about computers in media and public life in India, mostly emerging from urban middle-classes ideas around technology, help spur a strong sense of expectation that the computers can dramatically change social prospects even among the poorest and most excluded. From competing with English as the gateway to power, to impacting dowry costs for female youth, interviews show a myriad of expectations from technology, creating what we see as a strong case for a nuanced look at the discourse and mythology of computers and technology in developing regions.