Parental school choice in rural India

Shikha Pathak

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.87319

Parental school choice in rural India

Author(s)	Shikha Pathak
Country	India
Abstract	With the changing face of India's school education system, which sees government, government-aided and private schools operating in most settings, the issue of parental school choice has become a topic of great interest. This paper summarizes the literature on parental school choice in rural and rural-adjacent contexts in India, particularly regarding the definition of “school quality,” as well as parents’ educational aspirations, socioeconomic resources, social networks, and available choices. The paper adopts a focused sociological review approach and brings together empirical studies, theories and relevant institutional evidence pertaining to the subject. The literature suggests that parents select schools based on several factors, including quality of teaching, reliability of teachers, discipline, safety, school infrastructure, medium of instruction, reputation, proximity to home, and implications for their child’s future. Private schooling becomes more appealing when parents associate it with future employment opportunities, higher education and English fluency. However, aspirations do not always translate into actual choices because low income, limited parental education, transport constraints and lack of information can restrict families’ options. The literature also reveals that parents’ perceptions of school quality do not always correspond with measurable school characteristics. Drawing on Bourdieu’s concepts of cultural capital, social capital and social reproduction, the paper interprets school choice as a socially structured process in which parental agency operates within unequal resources and local opportunity structures. The paper proposes a conceptual framework linking socioeconomic position and cultural capital with educational aspirations, perceived school quality, realistic choice sets and actual school choices. It concludes by identifying the need for context-sensitive empirical research on these dynamics in rural Madhya Pradesh.
Keywords	Parental School Choice, Rural India, Educational Aspirations, Perceived School Quality, Government Schools, Private Schools, Cultural Capital, Social Reproduction, Social Mobility, Sociology of Education
Field	Sociology > Education
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On	2026-09-08
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.87319

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Parental school choice in rural India

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