Unpacking the Experiences of a Teacher as a Professional Through the Framework of Capability Approach

Abstract

The chapter presents the portrayal of a teacher’s life in order to understand the reality of the contexts in which she lives and functions. Sen’s (Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 1999) capability approach is used as a framework to understand and produce conceptualizations of professional capabilities of teachers. Case studies of two temporary teachers of the University of Delhi are presented to understand the vulnerabilities that restrict the professional capabilities. The chapter shows that the growing casualization of teachers may restrict the professional capabilities of teachers so far as the future of higher education in India is concerned. It has been indicated that there are certain factors that enhance or obstruct capabilities, mainly the personal factors that include intelligence, physical ability and skill sets; environmental factors such as infrastructure, geographical location and logistics; and more importantly the social factors that include social norms, gender relations, roles and identities (Robeyns 2005 in Tao, Using the Capability Approach to improve the sustainability of teacher in-service training. UKFIET Conference, Cambridge Education: 2015). The capability approach offers a new way to look at well-being of teachers’ by understanding their well-being as a product of enhanced or constrained opportunities.