Although the Indian education system is probably the largest in the world, little is really known about what goes on in Indian educational institutions. The information that does exist can be grouped into four types: prescriptive, general description, widely statistical (based on government statistics), and specifically statistical (based on surveys). None of these approaches have been used effectively in developing a realistic picture of India's schools. What is needed is an anthropological approach, a methodology based either on the classic field work model or the use of ethnomethodology, which intersects with linguistics. The remainder of this paper presents an example of anthropological education research. It reports the results of field work, conducted at the village of Lilauli in the 1960s, on the relationship of the local school to the community. It describes: (1) the lack of school inspection; (2) the reliance of district authorities on the local school teacher for enrollment and attendance statistics; (3) the organizational goals of Lilauli for its school; and (4) the role of the school within the traditional village socialization process. (KH)