ABSTRACT
An ideological baggage of colonialism, modernist concerns and neo-liberal compulsions has shaped education policies, provisions and practices in varying ways in India. An empirical analysis of the policy discourse of socio-historical narratives and learning ecologies of marginalized learners illuminates their positioning in relation to teachers, peers and curricular practices; how meanings are produced and negotiated within and through a nested system of structures and processes of formal education; and how these in turn frame learners’ experiences and self-definition. An informed perspective on traditionally subordinated identities can restructure political, social and educational practices for social transformation, critical consciousness and social justice.
