This book delves into the socialisation process in the distinctive spheres of the family, community and school, highlighting its unfavourable impact on girls’ schooling and their ‘school life expectancy’ in India. Through extensive fieldwork in selected tribal and rural areas in the Indian State of Odisha, it carefully explores various dimensions of the disempowering process of socialisation in relation to schooling and dropping out among tribal, other backward classes and scheduled caste girls.

This volume makes an important intervention in gender and education by focusing on the sociological implications of how education is gendered for girls. It aims to explore the complexity of societal factors contributing to girls leaving formal education prematurely. It examines the societal, cultural and systemic barriers they face and how girls enrolled in a particular community construct their educational goals. It also assesses the feasibility of those goals and addresses or overcomes the obstacles to completing their education, especially in rural settings.

This book will make a significant contribution to the field by offering valuable insights to scholars in education, gender studies, sociology, anthropology, development studies, policymakers and anyone else interested in promoting gender equality in education. It will also be crucial as it comprehensively explains the complexities surrounding girls’ education, contextualised within the India’s social and cultural context.

“Here is an insightful sociological study enriched by theoretical explorations, critical enquiry, and, above all, rigorous fieldwork in select rural and tribal areas in Odisha. It reveals that the prevalent culture of school education and family socialisation practices often disempowers and discourages tribal and rural girls from continuing their education and altering their life trajectories. Beneath this dropout phenomenon, or the reproduction of social inequality, as Das's work demonstrates quite convincingly, lies the nuanced interplay of caste, gender, family and education.”

Avijit Pathak, Former Professor of Sociology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India.

“This book is a timely contribution to the discourse on gender and education, particularly in the context of school education. It offers a deeper understanding of the gendered socialisation process within families, communities, and among teachers, as well as its contribution to disadvantages and disparities. This book will be an essential reading for scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and educators committed to achieving gender equality in education.”

Madhumita Bandyopadhyay, Professor & Head, Department of School & Non-Formal Education, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), India.

Pankaj Das is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at the University of Allahabad, India. He has completed a Master's in Sociology from the Delhi School of Economics and a PhD in Education from the Central Institute of Education, University of Delhi. Additionally, he has received training in educational policy and planning during his M.Phil at the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) in New Delhi. Prior to joining the University of Allahabad, he has also rich experience teaching the B.Ed. and B.El.Ed. Programmes at the University of Delhi. His research area spans the sociology of education, gendered education, child rights, tribal education, and educational policies in India.