IISER MOHALI

Abstract: Education is widely acknowledged as a field where theory and practice must go hand in hand. However, a persistent divide often exists: field practitioners are so engrossed in day-to-day activities that they remain disconnected from academic developments, while scholars in academia are perceived as distant from ground realities. Our unique position in the field bridges this gap. As academically trained practitioners, we are committed to creating spaces for praxis outside academia, where research and action inform each other. For the past three years, we have been working in an Adivasi block in Madhya Pradesh, exploring culturally relevant approaches to science and environmental education that resonate with the experiences of students in the region and are meaningful to them. In this talk, we will discuss the rationale behind our work, emphasizing its distinctive features, guiding principles, and the insights we have gained along the way. Our sustained presence in villages and the genial relations with the community members built over time have also enabled us to conduct an ethnographic study exploring Adivasi communities’ funds of knowledge in the context of forests and their conservation, and critically examining educational discourses on these topics from the standpoint of Adivasi communities. We will share the key findings of the study and our reflections on both the significance and the process of adopting a participatory approach in our research.