Reclaiming the Classroom: Applying Sociological Interventions to Reduce Educational Inequality through Community Tutoring Networks in Semi-Urban India

Educational inequality in India persists despite extensive policy reforms, owing to entrenched cultural hierarchies, linguistic divides, and uneven access to social capital. This paper presents an application-oriented sociological intervention—Learning Together—conducted in semi-urban West Bengal to address educational disparities among first-generation learners. The initiative mobilized community networks by engaging college students, retired teachers, and mothers’ collectives to co-create inclusive neighborhood tutoring spaces. Using Participatory Action Research (PAR), the study explored how social capital, cultural capital, and critical pedagogy intersect to improve learning motivation, attendance, and community cohesion. The project operationalised Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of habitus and cultural capital alongside Robert Putnam’s bonding and bridging social capital, integrating Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy. The findings show that community-based interventions can foster emotional safety, gender inclusion, and learning engagement, thereby transforming educational participation from a passive process to a collective social act. The study argues that applied sociology, when enacted through participatory frameworks, can shift education from an institutional privilege to a shared social responsibility.