Language, Education, and Empowerment: Voices of Kumauni Young Women in Multilingual India

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dc.contributor.advisorNancy H. Hornberger
dc.contributor.advisorKathryn Howard
dc.contributor.advisorDaniel Wagner
dc.contributor.authorGroff, Cynthia
dc.contributor.authorGroff, Cynthia
dc.date2023-05-17T03:41:42.000
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-22T16:25:29Z
dc.date.available2010-04-28T00:00:00Z
dc.date.issued2010-05-17
dc.date.submitted2010-04-28T16:51:48-07:00
dc.description.abstractMy research explores the language and education situation in the Kumaun region of North India from the perspectives of rural Kumauni young women and in light of their views on empowerment and their aims for the future. My questions address language and education issues in the Kumaun 1) in relation to national policies and local ideologies, 2) as experienced and negotiated by young women, and 3) as applied in a unique Gandhian educational context. Based at Lakshmi Ashram, a Gandhian boarding school serving disadvantaged girls, I used ethnographic methods, focusing on a group of Kumauni young women. National-level language planning through the Indian Census, Constitution, and educational policies minimize some diversity. Locally, discourses about language and dialect, or bhasha and boli, and mother tongue allow for flexible categories and identities. Medium of instruction also takes new meaning through informal multilingual classroom practices. Each language – English, Hindi, Kumauni, and Sanskrit – is valued in its place or environment and in relationship with the other languages. Meanwhile educational opportunities vary in quality and reputation, including a push for English education. While constrained by social and economic realities, Kumauni young women look for ways to improve their lives. Alternative values advocated at the Ashram, and negotiated by the young women, point to empowerment as involving high thinking, self-confidence, and progress within community. I conclude using the ecology of language and continua of biliteracy to highlight significant themes and exploring the issues of collaboration, community, and ecology in relation to language and education.
dc.description.degreeDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)
dc.identifier.urihttps://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/27932
dc.legacy.articleid1196
dc.legacy.fulltexturlhttps://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1196&context=edissertations&unstamped=1
dc.source.issue115
dc.source.journalPublicly Accessible Penn Dissertations
dc.source.statuspublished
dc.subject.otherlanguage planning
dc.subject.otherlanguage ideology
dc.subject.othermultilingualism
dc.subject.otheralternative education
dc.subject.otheryouth
dc.subject.otherIndia
dc.subject.otherAnthropological Linguistics and Sociolinguistics
dc.subject.otherBilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education
dc.titleLanguage, Education, and Empowerment: Voices of Kumauni Young Women in Multilingual India
dc.typeDissertation/Thesis
digcom.contributor.authorisAuthorOfPublication|email:cgroff@dolphin.upenn.edu|institution:University of Pennsylvania|Groff, Cynthia
digcom.date.embargo2010-04-28T00:00:00-07:00
digcom.identifieredissertations/115
digcom.identifier.contextkey1291212
digcom.identifier.submissionpathedissertations/115
digcom.typedissertation
dspace.entity.typePublication
relation.isAuthorOfPublication13371a4d-c9cc-40ee-929a-268aff490c53
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery13371a4d-c9cc-40ee-929a-268aff490c53
upenn.graduate.groupEducation
upenn.schoolDepartmentCenterGraduate School of Education Dissertations
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