The Principal produced answers which accorded both with
the sentiments of the conventional wisdom of educational
literature and with the official statements of the
school's aims and objectives. This was an interview
which took place in the 'educationist' context and she
answered the questions by identifying the structures of
the school which supported them. Her responses about
educational disadvantage reflected a pupil-centred
perspective rather than a child-centred one.
The group interview with her staff was the most difficult
and longest (over two hours) group interview conducted
during the field study. It offered an opportunity to
explore the personal interests of these Anglo-Indian
women teachers which included autonomy, status, territory
and rewards.
The political interests of these teachers were combined
with their own professional interests of curriculum,
pedagogy and certain macro or party-political policies.
It provided revelations about micropolitics within the
staff room. There was ample evidence to support the
ambiguous relationship between personal and political
interests of these 12 Anglo-Indian women teachers.
488-504 Anglo-Indians 8 boys and 9 girls 13-16
Christian Madras 8 August
This group interview was also unsatisfactory, because it
was very "rushed", and had to be conducted in the
shortest time possible time of forty-five minutes. This
Anglo-Indian school operated a morning and afternoon
system for the secondary and primary sections. The
students did their best, but the girls were worried about
being late to go home to prepare meals. The boys wanted
to attend some extra curricular sporting activities.
It provided the researcher with evidence that there was
no guarantee of equality of access to extra-curricular
activities. The girls followed the same curriculum as
the boys, but it did not enable them to alter the course
of their lives. What emerged from this school was the
implicit understanding that the world is a man's world,
in which women can and should take second place.
505_______Indian man 50-60 Christian Madras 7 August
He was the Principal of the Anglo-Indian school for the
students 593-611. He said,
Although Anglo-Indians only pay Rs.20 towards
their fees of Rs.100, they are still unable
to produce good results. There is caste
system among Anglo-Indians, even though many
of them deny this. I am unaware of girls
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