Abstract
On the basis of interviews of a total of 75 mothers belonging to varied socio-economic backgrounds in a village in Odisha, this article argues that educated mothers play an active role in family decision-making processes that relate to daughters’ education and future career paths. From the early school years of their children, educated mothers use their informed experiences to sketch future career paths. The views of mothers on children’s present schooling and their ideas about further education and occupation plans are discussed. The present exploratory empirical village study finds that irrespective of their caste origins, the educational attainment of mothers brings a change in their outlook, gives them confidence to guide children’s schooling and participate in the family decision-making processes on education and career goals.
Keywords
Introduction
A homemaker from the Kandara-Scheduled Caste origin, Renu Mallik who had studied till Class VII, takes pride in educating all her six daughters. She regularly cautions her daughters against neglecting education, as being educated will help them to manage their future after marriage, protect them against any kind of untoward situation by being employed and being economically independent. Renu Mallik was happy about her eldest daughter, a graduate who was recently married appropriately to a school teacher. While the second daughter has failed the Matric Board examination, the other four girls are attending school at present. She says,
People will remember us for educating all our daughters. I feel a girl’s education is more crucial not just for finding a preferable match for marriage but, also managing their future roles in the in-laws’ home. I often warn my daughters to study and become independent. Otherwise, they will be more vulnerable to any mishap or torture in their future homes. Moreover, if they are educated, they will be able to take up a job in the future.
Girls’ education is imbued with new meanings in the present changing scenario. In contrast to a son’s education, which has been taken for granted, a daughter’s education has been increasingly valued only in recent times. The village has five schools catering up to X standard, and there is awareness about increasing employment opportunities for educated aspirants; and, in case of girls, their marriage prospects are adversely affected if they do not have school education. Parents or particularly mothers seem to be particularly zealous about girls’ schooling and further education. Some sociological research argues that parenting is a gendered process where mothers are deeply involved with the daily life of children, from waking them up to getting them ready for school on time, while fathers do not figure in these mundane activities (Bernstein, 1997; Kothari, 2011; Kumar, 2007; Lareau, 2003; Reay, 1998a; Vincent, 2010; Vincent & Menon, 2011).
Context and Objective of the Study
Mothers play a pivotal role in shaping the home environment and garnering socio-cultural resources in order to access educational benefits for their children. Academic research has highlighted the contribution of mothers with certain educational orientation and experience in activating and passing on familial resources (Kothari, 2011; Kumar, 2007; Lareau, 2003; Panda, 2015; Reay, 1998a; Vincent, 2010; Vincent & Menon, 2011). Mothers’ roles get intensified if they are educated and capable of taking the role of a mother-educator to teach and guide children in several curricular and extra-curricular activities. This article emphasizes Basil Bernstein’s view (1997) regarding mothers as crucial agents of cultural reproduction and aims to study their role in inspiring girls to explore the possibilities of education at the school level.
Methodology
This article is based on responses from a total sample of 75 mothers from varied socio-economic groups in a multi-caste, coastal Odisha village. Mothers with (a) no schooling, (b) up to matriculation and (c) intermediate and higher levels of education (Table 1) were interviewed. From a universe of 288 households, a stratified proportionate random sampling was drawn to derive a representative sample of 75 households from the 197 that had children going to school. In-depth interviews of the 75 mothers were conducted using a semi-structured interview schedule with both closed- and open-ended questions.
Distribution of Mothers by Caste and Education
*Class XII and above.
Aspirations for Daughters’ Future Education and Career
In the village being studied, mothers belonging to different castes/communities and class backgrounds were concerned about education and engaged in ensuring that their children go to school every day. Moreover, educated mothers provided children with the added advantage of personal guidance in their studies. In essence, mothers with schooling and higher education are more capable of contributing in tangible ways that can positively influence a child’s school performance (Bernstein, 1997; Kumar, 2007; Panda, 2015; Reay, 1998a, 1998b; Vincent, 2010; Vincent & Menon, 2011). Mothers’ own educational levels are also likely to influence expectations and aspirations for children’s future course of education and occupational choices.
About half of the mothers (49%) wanted only completion of schooling for their daughters, while a little more than one-fifth (21.6%) of mothers hoped that daughters would go to college (Table 2). Examining mothers’ aspirations for their daughters’ level of education, it is found that the majority (66.7%) of mothers with college education look forward to the same for their daughters. A far smaller proportion of school-educated mothers (29.2%) hoped that their daughters would go to college. Mothers with school education and above who desire graduation for their daughters are more prominent among the Brahmins and Karans and OBCs, with very few from the Scheduled Castes and none from the Muslim community hoping for the same. Not many mothers across socio-economic and educational backgrounds aspire for professional education for their daughters. However, Tiki Nayak who is a Khandayat (OBC) having studied up to the intermediate level was fairly pleased with her daughter’s school performance. She looks forward to her daughter going in for some kind of professional education.
Mothers’ Aspirations for Daughter’s Highest Level of Education
# Comprises the responses for which ‘Further education depends on the respective child’s performance in the Matriculation examination’.
*Class XII and above.
My daughter who is in Class VII comes within the top three students in her class. We wish her to pursue engineering in her higher studies and are planning for it.
More than a third of the school-educated mothers want their daughters to complete schooling, although another one-third appeared unsure about their daughters’ highest level of education. In contrast, none of the school-educated mothers from the Brahmin and Karan castes either appeared uncertain or wanted less than a college education for their daughters. It is important to note that the majority (76.2%) of mothers with no schooling who belonged mainly to the Scheduled Castes (13/15) aspire for a school education for their daughters (Table 2). It is significant that mothers with intermediate and higher levels of education have higher educational expectations from their daughters, irrespective of their social backgrounds.
Mothers were also asked about the most suitable career for their daughters. Their aspirations for daughters’ future occupational options oscillated between not wanting them to work to a range of varied occupations. Mothers’ choices include nursing/anganwadi jobs (27.5%), followed by teaching (25.5%). Over a third (37.3%) of mothers said that they did not aspire for jobs for their daughters (Table 3).
Mothers’ Aspirations for the Most Suitable Career for the Daughter
*Class XII and above.
Aspirations for daughters’ future career were evident in a few cases where mothers themselves are college or school educated. These enthusiastic mothers desired that their daughters go on to higher education prospects and then get into certain modern employment. Asima Mohanty, a graduate from the Karan caste, wished that she herself had had the opportunity for a professional career. She is deeply involved with her daughter’s everyday schooling process; she is about to appear in the matric board examination in a few months. Asima is proud of the fact that they have actually practiced the one-child principle as they have only one daughter. She takes a keen interest in her daughter’s future career plans and hopes that her daughter will go in for a professional career. She says,
I hope my daughter can take up a teaching career at the college level. I am personally very keen for this career because at one point of time, I had also wished for such a career for myself. My daughter can also look for other professional careers, if she wishes so.
In another similar instance, Buli Behera, a homemaker who belongs to the OBC category and has studied up to Class VII is usually involved with her daughters’ curricular and extra-curricular activities. She hopes that all her three daughters become economically independent particularly, as there are several occupational options available in the present time. She says,
We want our daughters to go in for jobs like teaching and nursing as other girls do these days. For the youngest daughter, we hope that if she does well in dance, then she could make her future career in Odissi dance.
Among the relatively fewer instances of educated mothers from the socially economically marginalized sections aspiring for higher educational and occupational choices for daughters is Amita Nayak (SC), who is also a homemaker says,
I hope my daughter who is studying in class VII in a private school goes in for higher education like you [the author]. My wish is to see my daughter in some high-end profession like medicine or the police. Or else, she can also become a school teacher. Thus, she would become economically independent. I love to see those girls speaking in English on the television. I would also like to see my daughter to be someone like that.
Mothers’ aspirations for their daughters’ future occupational choices reflect the impact of their own educational attainments. Majority (66.7%) of mothers with intermediate and higher level of education want teaching jobs, followed by a larger proportion (33.3%) who would like professional career for their daughters.
These mothers were mainly Brahmins or Karans and OBCs. Among the school-educated mothers, a third (37.5%) of the mothers aspire for teaching, followed by one-fourth who wish for nursing/anganwadi jobs for their daughters. Well over a third (38.1%) of the non-literate mothers aspired for nursing/anganwadi occupations for their daughters in future. However, a majority (57.1%) of non-literate mothers and near about one-third (29.2%) of school-educated mothers remain indifferent towards any future occupational choices for their daughters (Table 3).
Educational Decision-making
Among socially economically well-off households, a child’s education is one of the most important issues affecting everyday life. Frequent discussions and consultations regarding a child’s education are part of the daily routine. Educated parents, siblings, close family friends and relatives along with school teachers, private tutors and the school going child himself/herself are all involved in finding out the best possible choices. Among disadvantaged families where parents are not highly educated or have never been to school, a relative who is educated, school teachers, private tutors or those from the peer group who are considered well-informed are approached for advice. Mothers in such families said that they are not consulted, although they are deeply concerned about a child’s education and devote time to facilitate their child’s everyday schooling process. They appear to be regarded as incapable of taking decisions in this important area. The future education and occupation of children is mainly decided by fathers in a majority (64%) of families. Both parents together decide about the future education and career options for their children in about one-third (29.3%) of families. Among the upper castes from middle class homes, both parents decide about their child’s future career paths in over 75 per cent of cases. It is seen that these mothers are fairly educated, hence, capable of providing resourceful inputs. On the other hand, the middle-class or lower-class father is usually the final decision maker among varied caste/community (Table 4).
Person Taking Final Decision About the Future Course of Education and Career
*Includes siblings and extended family members who play a lead role to take the final decision about child’s future course of education and career.
Thus, it was the father who primarily takes the final decision about a child’s future education and career, though he may consult his spouse and other informed persons. At the same time, it is interesting to find the increasing participation of educated mothers in the educational decision-making process. Educated mothers have a relatively greater say in the decision-making process along with fathers, as compared to the lesser educated mothers. Lalita Samantaray, a Brahmin school teacher, consults her husband and they together decide about their son’s education. She says,
We both discuss among ourselves—and, we also have arguments and counter-arguments. But, finally we reach a meeting point to decide about the future course of action for our son’s well-being.
Conclusion
In the present village setting, educated mothers from diverse socio-economic backgrounds extend their resources and experiences to benefit children in the everyday schooling process. Irrespective of gender, they bring their own experiences to bear on aspirations for the future education and occupational achievements of their children (Kothari, 2011; Kumar, 2007; Panda, 2015; Reay, 1998a; Vincent, 2010). The mothers’ own educational attainments appear to provide them with the confidence to demand higher educational achievements for and from their children. Educated mothers were found to be more certain about the educational expectations from their daughters as compared to non-literate mothers, who appear unsure about the career paths of their children. It was significant that mothers with school and higher level of educational experiences want their daughters to complete graduation. Here, girls’ education clearly benefitted from a mother’s educational accomplishments.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.