British-Bangladeshi Women in Higher Education: Aspirations, Inequities and Identities

Description

Drawing on primary qualitative research, this book explores the experiences and identities of a group of British-born women of Bangladeshi background attending university in London through a Bourdieusian theoretical framework. It demonstrates the inequities that these women experience in UK higher education and employment as well as how they challenge them. This book presents stories that illuminate the diversity of views and experiences marked by dynamics of class, race, ethnicity, religion and gender. These stories reveal family projects of social mobility and discourses of aspiration, the multiple resources and constraints that influence decisions, experiences and pathways, and the mutual construction of different dimensions of identification and tensions between them. Through participants' narratives, the book tackles wider questions around fair access to education and employment, social mobility and the (re)production and transformation of social inequities. The book will be of interest to scholars and students in the fields of Youth, Education, Race/Ethnicity and Migration Sociology, as well as community and education practitioners and anyone with an interest in multi-ethnic societies and young people's histories. Cover Endorsement Half Title Series Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgements 1 Introduction Scope and aims of the book Bangladeshi migration to the UK Inequities in employment and education Research methods Chapters outline References 2 Bourdieu, social change and intersectionality Introduction Bourdieu’s theory of practice as sociological method Field Capitals Habitus A relational understanding of practice Understanding social change Accounting for intersecting inequities Conclusions References 3 Career aspirations, expectations and pathways Introduction Aspirations, social identities and access to capital ‘Known routes’ Aspirations and self-identification Actualising aspirations Social mobility and the negotiation of gendered expectations Conclusions References 4 ‘It’s one of the norms of our culture’: Diasporic discourses of valuing education Introduction Going to university as a norm and valuing education Discourses and practices sustaining participation in HE The dynamism of practices and norms Conclusions References 5 University decision-making and experiences Introduction University decision-making Considerations informing decisions The impact of symbolic violence on decisions and self-perceptions Experiences of university Perceptions of fitting in Academic experience Social experience Conclusions References 6 Social class and ethnic identification Introduction Class conceptions and positionings Formations of class and ethnic identification The role of family practices and middle-class capital in shaping ethnic identity Hierarchies of value and processes of ‘self-distancing’ Participation in HE and the ‘re-claiming’ of minority ethnic identities Conclusions References 7 Conclusions Introduction Research overview Aims and rationale Strengths and limitations Working with Bourdieu to understand intersecting inequities and identities Summary of findings Implications for policy, practice and further research References Index