Caste-Based Discrimination at School: A Critical Ethnographic Study of Janakpur, Nepal

Abstract

This research is conducted in a semi-urban area of Janakpurdham Sub-Metropolitan City. It examines three research question that is how caste-based discrimination manifests in everyday school life, how discrimination is reproduced through the practices and behaviors of teachers, the School Management Committee (SMC), and the school as an institution, and how Dalit students respond to such experiences. The research is based on an ethnographic approach, and critical paradigm has been applied to challenge the existing inequality. The researcher spent one and a half months in the field, engaging closely with students, teachers and SMC. Different approaches were taken for the data collection that includes observation, informal conversations, in￾depth interviews, and regular interaction with students. The perspective of teachers and school management committee was also included while focusing on students’ lived experiences. The study has tried to capture routine practices, daily interactions, and institutional behaviors that shape caste-based discrimination. The findings show that factors like silence, normalization and denial of caste-related issues allow discrimination to continue. In many cases, discrimination is not overt or direct but appears through everyday activities, and informal behaviors. Therefore, the study argues that caste-based discrimination persists not only through visible practices but also through hidden curriculum. The research also contributes to a deeper understanding of how schools can unintentionally reproduce social inequality and emphasizes the need for more conscious and inclusive educational practices.