Catalysing Learning

India is a cultural riot. Pervaded with different languages, cultures and ethnicities, the diversity between communities and tribes is spectacular. Education is the unifying bond that enables people speaking different languages to interact with each other. Before attempting to transform schools in India, we must understand that education is developed not by individuals but by a collective social consciousness.

Education in India is not restricted to the relationship between the student and the teacher and learning is not restricted to the classroom. A child is constantly learning - at home, in the community, with friends.

In India, over 15 lakh schools provide K-12 education to about 15 crore students. A significant part of these 15 crore students rely on public education systems. With limited time and the constraints that come with working in government schools, it may often feel that the system is not lean enough to accept transformative change. However, these resource deficient schools can become inspiring learning experiments by bringing different stakeholders together and having a common vision for localised solutions. The story of Kalaunjar is one such story of change.

Catalysing Learning aims to explain how Kalaunjar’s school and community was transformed over a period of three years—and to identify the vast opportunities for conducting similar interventions. Our findings reveal the state of the village before the transformation and the changes brought about by different interventions with a critical look at the challenges faced in the process.

Funded by Mr Sanjeev Prasad and designed and implemented by Quest Alliance over three years, this repository is the compilation of a field visit, existing documents and reflections from various people involved in the changemaking process.

Over the course of one month, the project team traversed Kalaunjar, visiting villages, interviewing dozens of students, teachers and community members—the people whose voices are often excluded from change narratives. By collecting evidence, stories, and photographs, we aimed to:

• Capture the transformative story of Kalaunjar
• Develop a narrative around whole school transformation for government schools in India

While the repository has a linear structure, the digital resource is dynamic and we encourage looking at narratives parallely. Capturing an experience of three years of driving change is no easy feat - you’ll find the repository often linking to documents and presentations which let you dig deeper into various interventions, challenges and times.

As the understanding around education increases in Kalaunjar, the drive for change is now, more than ever. This report presents a snapshot of Kalaunjar’s local landscape and the changes it has undergone from a qualitative, behavioural and cultural perspective.

This is an invitation to experiment with whole school transformation processes. Let it inspire you to approach change differently and experience how looking at the learning ecosystem holistically adds a new perspective to your work.