‘The school of our dreams’: engaging with children’s experiences and hopes at a remote school in India

Abstract

Schools are one of the most important social-geographic sites where children’s lives play out. Although researchers have sought to understand children’s school experiences in India, very few have considered marginalised children’s opinions regarding what they value and the alternatives to their current school experiences. Consequently, this article draws on the voices of 10 marginalised children (11-13 years) as co-researchers from a remote public school in Uttarakhand, India. The co-researchers generated qualitative data with the help of participatory tools based on the Mosaic Approach to identify ways in which their experiences at school could be improved. Children expressed three critical aspects where their school experiences can be enriched: 1) better school and classroom conditions to enhance learning spaces, 2) enhancing school accessibility, classroom pedagogy, and curriculum, and 3) space to act and effect change by learning and becoming. Last, we provide implications for policymakers, educators, and researchers with a call to reimagine schooling and children’s agency within the rural and remote school context.