Abstract
This article decries the normative projection of education as a means of only securing livelihood for the poor. Applying Honneth’s idea on the struggle for recognition, it develops an understanding of whether and in what way education contributes to the intersubjective recognition of the abilities and achievements of the poor. The premise is that the notion of the self is constitutive of the interaction with others. Drawing upon interviews with the poor and ethnographic fieldnotes, it shows that the poor associate education with intersubjective recognition, that is, with a sense of being recognised, of being counted as an asset in society. It establishes that education inspires self-respect as also the potential and boldness to relate oneself as an equal participant in the exchange of opinions and discussions regarding public affairs.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
