Educability in and Through Margins: Some Implications for Schooling in India

Educability is typically understood as the perceived capacity of individuals to benefit from educational experiences, particularly within school institutions. Historically, however, the concept has functioned as a classificatory device through which children have been differentiated and judged. This has often resulted in deficit framings of those from marginalised backgrounds. Drawing on conceptual debates and empirical studies in education and sociology of education, this article examines how educability has been understood, critiqued and operationalised within schooling. It points out that despite sustained challenges to biological determinism and deficit explanations of learning, educability continues to function as an exclusionary construct. Even the shift from ‘deficit’ to ‘difference’ frameworks has not fundamentally displaced the assumption that individuals and groups possess varying degrees of educational potential. The article further argues that educability cannot be understood merely as an intellectual concern about learning and ability. It is also a socio-political and ethical question that shapes how legitimate subjects of education are produced and reproduced within sites of schooling.