What Craft Teaches That the Textbook Cannot: Hands, Materials, and the Intelligence of Making

The cognitive demands of making something with your hands — planning, sequencing, problem-solving, refining — are substantial and largely invisible in a school system organised around written assessment. A contributing voice from policy analysis | Specialist in education equity, school improvement, and teacher professional development This essay addresses one of the most important but under-discussed […]

Vishal Jain

Articles Classroom Management Education and technology Parents Students Teachers

Music Education in Government Schools: The Case for a Subject That Was Never Fully Given a Chance

Music has been on the school curriculum in India for decades. It has rarely been staffed, funded, or taken seriously. The research on what high-quality music education does for all children makes this neglect particularly costly. A contributing voice from school practice | Specialist in child development, wellbeing, and community engagement This essay addresses one […]

Vishal Jain

Articles Behavioural Problems Classroom Management Guide and Manuals Students Teachers

The Teacher Who Has Given Up: Recognising and Responding to Burnout in Indian School Staff

Teacher burnout is common, consequential, and rarely discussed openly. The research on what causes it and what alleviates it has clear implications for school leaders — and for teachers themselves. A contributing voice from educational research | Specialist in curriculum, pedagogy, and school leadership This essay addresses one of the most important but under-discussed challenges […]

Vishal Jain

Articles Behavioural Problems Classroom Management Students Teachers

Parents as Partners, Not Problems: Rethinking the School-Community Relationship

Most Indian schools manage their relationships with parents rather than building them. The research on what happens when schools genuinely engage communities — particularly the most marginalised — is consistently positive and rarely replicated. A contributing voice from child development | Specialist in child development, wellbeing, and community engagement This essay addresses one of the […]

Vishal Jain

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Data That Improves Schools Versus Data That Buries Them: Making Sense of the Information Flood

Indian school headmasters spend increasing hours reporting data to higher authorities. Very little of this data ever returns in a form that helps the school improve. This is backwards — and it is fixable. A contributing voice from policy analysis | Specialist in curriculum, pedagogy, and school leadership This essay addresses one of the most […]

Vishal Jain

Articles Classroom Management Learning barriers Students Teachers

The Headmaster Who Teaches: Instructional Leadership and Why Administrative Management Is Not Enough

The evidence on school leadership is specific: headmasters who act as instructional leaders produce better outcomes than headmasters who manage efficiently but lead academically. A contributing voice from school practice | Specialist in education equity, school improvement, and teacher professional development This essay addresses one of the most important but under-discussed challenges in Indian school […]

Vishal Jain

Articles Classroom Management Students Teachers

Belonging as a Learning Condition: Why School Climate Matters More Than Most People Think

Children who feel they belong in their school — who feel known, safe, and valued — learn more, stay longer, and develop more fully. The conditions that produce belonging are specific and teachable. A contributing voice from educational research | Specialist in child development, wellbeing, and community engagement This essay addresses one of the most […]

Vishal Jain

Articles Learning barriers Students Teachers

When a Teacher Notices: Early Identification of Emotional Difficulty and the Non-Clinician’s Role

Teachers are not therapists. But they are with children for six hours a day, five days a week, for ten months a year. No one else in a child’s life has this vantage point — and research is clear that a noticing teacher changes outcomes. A contributing voice from teacher education | Specialist in curriculum, […]

Vishal Jain

Articles Classroom Management Students Teachers

The Weight of Examinations: Academic Pressure, Student Wellbeing, and the Schools That Are Finding a Better Balance

India’s board examinations are among the most high-stakes in the world. The pressure they generate is real, documented, and consequential — and most schools respond to it in ways that make it worse, not better. A contributing voice from child development | Specialist in education equity, school improvement, and teacher professional development This essay addresses […]

Vishal Jain

Articles Classroom Management Students Teachers

Bullying in Indian Schools: What the Research Shows and What Schools Can Do

Bullying in Indian schools is underreported, underdiscussed, and often addressed through the wrong interventions. The evidence on what actually reduces bullying is more specific — and more demanding — than most people realise. A contributing voice from policy analysis | Specialist in child development, wellbeing, and community engagement This essay addresses one of the most […]

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