Reflections from the Field: Critical Partnership and Participation in India

Cross-national research partnerships require careful consideration if they are to be equitable, generative, and sustainable. This field reflection focuses on the collaborative work between the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai, India and the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE) in the United States by presenting excerpts from an interview with Dr. Venkatesh Kumar (TISS) and Dr. Sharon Ravitch (Penn GSE). Kumar and Ravitch reflect on the participatory approaches to research, practice, and partnership that guide their applied work in India. Furthermore, Kumar and Ravitch consider their own processes of learning and unlearning as well as the ways that their partnership is enhanced through deliberately centralizing multiple perspectives.