This volume examines how the public and private domains in school education in India are informed and mediated by current market realities. It moves beyond the simplistic dichotomy of pro-state versus promarket factors that define most current debates in the formulations of educational reform agendas to underline how they need to be interpreted in the larger context. The chapters in the volume present a series of conceptual and empirical investigations to understand the growth of private schools in India; investigate the largely uncontested claims made by the private sector regarding provision of superior quality of education; and their ability to address the educational needs of the poor. Further, the book looks at how the private-public dichotomy has been extended to professional identity of teachers and teaching practices as well.

Introduction: Education in India between the state and market - Concepts framing the new discourse: Quality, efficiency, accountability Part I: Conceptual Papers 1. Public, Private and Education in India: A historical overview 2. Markets, State and Quality in Education: Reflections on genuine educational markets 3. Normative Articulations of the Aims of Education: An exploratory analysis 4. Regulatory State and the Diversified Private 5. Recovering the Practice and Profession of Teaching 6. Notes on Quality in Education Part II: Empirical studies 7. Hyderabad's Education Market 8. Schools, Market and Citizenship in Delhi 9. Curriculum as a Dimension of Quality: Its production and management in schools in Hyderabad 10. Management of Home-School Relationship: Role of school principals in low-fee private schools 11. School Quality: Parent perspectives and schooling choices 12. Teaching Because It Matters: Beliefs and practices of government school teachers