Article Maternal Involvement in Everyday Schooling: A Micro Study

The crucial role of mothers in cultural reproduction has been widely debated since the seminal work of Basil Bernstein (1997). School educa-tion which stands as the foundation of a child’s further education and future professional career relies to a great extent on the mother’s role along with other important factors. The article attempts to explore micro-mothering activities contributing to children’s schooling processes. This exploratory study, conducted in a village in the state of Odisha looks at the factors that influence several nuanced mothering activities in the context of mothers ’ differential educational qualifications and their varied locations in the caste/community and class hierarchy. The nature and extent of mothers ’ involvement in children’s schooling was captured through interviews with 75 mothers. The study found significant instances of maternal involvement in children’s schooling; the higher the level of the mother’s education, the more proficient did the mothers grow, irrespec-tive of their social origin. Educated mothers took a keen interest in their child’s progress and provided concrete guidance. This does not happen in the case of the poorly educated or non-literate mothers although their love and care continues to be unquestionable! Keywords Micro-mothering activities, mothers ’ educational qualification, location in caste–class hierarchy, schooling process, mother-educator, children’s attainmen