The pursuit of higher education at foreign universities has emerged as a compelling aspiration for students across the globe. Indian Women students are aspiring to develop skill sets and often look at cross-border mobility as a tool to challenge patriarchal mindset existing in universities and at their homes. Needless to say, internationalization has further paved the way for educational capitalism and market-oriented discourse amidst neoliberalism. The available data presents that the USA, UK, Canada and Australia are still the priority destinations for Indian students. However, there is a significant rise in the enrollment of Indian students in European countries like Germany, France, Spain and Italy. Engaging in debates of social stratification in education and social transformation, this paper enquires how the networks of Indian women students belonging to the new middle class impact their chances of securing admission abroad in universities of global North countries. It also quests to look at how far is the cultural discourse accommodative for Indian women students in universities at destination countries? Theoretically, it builds upon Weber’s idea of social class and utilizes phenomenological approach for mapping out the lived experiences of respondents. It then moves onto theories of Bourdieu and Putnam. To substantiate my theoretical arguments, the paper presents the data analysis from secondary sources collected from Indian government websites, UIS data from UNESCO and surveys from government and non-government organizations. The sample is Indian Students in European countries. It also includes a section of primary data collected from my Pilot Study of Phd.

Authors:
Siddhi Singh, National Institute of Educational Planning and Admininstration, India

About the Presenter(s)
Siddhi Singh is a PhD Scholar at National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), New Delhi, India. With Sociology background, her research includes cross-cultural exchange, social stratification & equity in higher education.

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http://linkedin.com/in/siddhi-singh-1640a711b

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