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Cited by 69ICT in Developing CommunitiesEducation in Rural ContextsEducational Innovations and Technology

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

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Pal, Joyojeet, Lakshmanan, Meera, Toyama, Kentaro·2009·Information Systems Frontiers
DOI 10.1007/s10796-009-9172-1
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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.

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  • Any work with computers and the Internet is considered prestigious in many communities.

    “while in fact, any work with computers and the Internet is considered prestigious in many communities [62].”

    From RacketStore (2021) · cites this paper as [62]

    Section 4.1 (page unavailable) reports that parents associated computers with respect and higher social standing. But section 4.3 says factory-worker parents did not see everyday computer users as elevated in class. The paper therefore does not support the claim that any computer-related work is prestigious, and the cited passages do not establish the same claim for Internet work. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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3 of the 41 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 6

  1. Benjamin, S., Bhuvaneshwari, R., Rajan, P. (2006). 'E-Titling' or an "Anti-Politics Machine" necessary to globalize Bangalore? International Conference on Enhancing Land Registration and Cadastre for Economic Growth in India, New Delhi, Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS).
  2. Gandhi, R., Veeraraghavan, R. et al. (2007). Digital green: A participatory digital framework to deliver targeted agricultural information to small and marginal farmers. Second International Conference on Information Technologies and Development, Dec 2007, IEEE Conference Proceedings, Bangalore.
  3. Keniston, K. (2002). Grassroots ICT projects in India: Some preliminary hypotheses. ASCI Journal of Management, 31(1).
  4. Lengyel, G., Eranusz, E. et al. (2006). The Cserénfa experiment On the attempt to deploy computers and Internet in a small Hungarian village. The Journal of Community Informatics, 2(3 (Special Issue: Telecentres)).
  5. D. Schon, B. Sanyal and W. Mitchell. Cambridge, MA, MIT.
  6. Thamizoli, P., & Balasubramanian K. (2001). Information manage- ment and knowledge empowerment: MSSRF telecenters in South India. The Journal of Development Communication, 12 (2).

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Authors
Pal, J., Lakshmanan, M., & Toyama, K.
Affiliations
  • University of Washington (US)
  • Azim Premji University (IN)
  • Microsoft Research (India) (IN)
Corresponding author
Pal, Joyojeet
ORCID
Venue
Information Systems Frontiers
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2009-04
Volume
11
Issue
2
Pages
129-144
ISSN
  • 1387-3326 (ISSN-L)
  • 1572-9419
DOI
10.1007/s10796-009-9172-1
OpenAlex
W2035627871
Cited by
69
References
41
Citations by year
2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
FWCI
11.45
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
  • Information Systems Frontiers (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Science Foundation (0326582)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › ICT in Developing Communities
  • Social Sciences › Education › Education in Rural Contexts
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Educational Innovations and Technology
Keywords
parental attitudes, rural schools, social aspirations, higher education aspirations, rural Karnataka, agricultural decline, gender, technology discourse, educational technology policy, low-income schools

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