Democratizing Education from the Grassroots: A Social Work Framework for Digital Advocacy and Youth-Led Learning In Rural Bihar, India

Background and Purpose: Rural Bihar, India, currently faces a systemic "paradox of progress": while primary school enrollment is near-universal, the secondary school dropout rate remains high at 20.4%. These educational leakages are disproportionately concentrated among adolescents from marginalized jati (sub-caste) groups, where structural poverty, social stratification, and a lack of civic representation impede long-term academic success. Traditional "top-down" pedagogical models often fail to address the socio-cultural barriers inherent in these communities. Consequently, this study introduces an innovative social work framework that integrates youth-led peer learning with digital advocacy to challenge these entrenched inequities. The primary objective was to determine how peer-led digital storytelling and community-based "Learning Hub" interventions influence adolescent agency, self-efficacy, and school retention. We hypothesized that adolescents engaged in this decentralized social work framework would demonstrate significantly higher civic self-efficacy and lower dropout rates than those in traditional teacher-led environments.

Methods: The study employed a rigorous sequential explanatory mixed-methods design to capture both statistical trends and lived experiences. In the quantitative phase, data were gathered from a stratified random sample ($N=450$) of adolescents across 15 rural blocks in Bihar. Standardized measures included the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) and a specifically developed localized Digital Agency Index. Multivariate regression analysis was used to identify key predictors of school retention. The subsequent qualitative phase involved 12 focus group discussions with youth "Digital Ambassadors" and semi-structured interviews with social work practitioners. ($n=15$). These qualitative data were analyzed using thematic synthesis to evaluate the efficacy of the "Lay Counsellor" model and to understand the mechanisms of "democratized learning" within the community-based framework.

Results: Quantitative results indicated a significant intervention effect: adolescents in the youth-led digital program were 2.4 times more likely to remain in school compared to the control group ($p < .05$). Qualitative themes revealed that the social work framework acted as a vital "social equalizer." Digital literacy empowered youth from marginalized jatis to bypass traditional local gatekeepers and access information directly. Participants utilized mobile-based monitoring systems to report teacher absenteeism and created digital documentaries that successfully intervened in 14 cases of attempted child marriage. These findings suggest that when social work practice prioritizes digital agency, it effectively transforms education from a passive service into a dynamic tool for active democratic participation and community-led accountability.

Conclusions and Implications: This social work framework for youth-led digital advocacy serves as a vital catalyst for adolescent equity and is a prerequisite for a vibrant, inclusive democracy. By shifting the power dynamic from hierarchical instruction to peer-led digital advocacy, the framework provides social work practitioners with a scalable, evidence-based model to disrupt entrenched social hierarchies. Implications for policy include the integration of "Digital Social Work" roles and "Lay Counsellor" positions within national education and welfare frameworks. This research emphasizes that achieving the "Common Good" in modern India requires social work to prioritize digital agency as a fundamental pillar of democratic flourishing and inclusive social progress.