Balancing Tradition And Transition: Ethical Education Vs. Formal Education In Livelihood Choices Of Indian Sundarbans

Abstract

This study investigates the dynamics of livelihood among communities in India's Sundarbans, with a particular emphasis on how fishing and farming practices alter in response to environmental issues and socioeconomic shifts. The project investigates how resilience and livelihood strategies are shaped by improving formal education and providing ethical environmental education, based on fieldwork done in both riverine and non-riverine villages. The study analyzes the relationship between environmental conditions, livelihood assets, and occupational vulnerability using a theoretical framework of livelihood dynamics. To evaluate changes in livelihood patterns over time, data analytic techniques include skewness assessments, frequency distributions, chi-square tests, and family-wise occupational index computations. The results show that during the past 20 years, there has been a notable shift in livelihood patterns, characterized by an increase in occupational mobility and diversification. Traditional jobs like farming and fishing continue to be important components of livelihood plans, but formal education is having an increasing impact on outmigration and the transition towards alternative livelihoods. It becomes clear that ethical environmental education is essential to preserving traditional ways of life and encouraging environmental stewardship. The widespread adoption of formal schooling poses a risk to the maintenance of indigenous cultural identity and occupations.