From Planning to Realization: Who Goes? Who Stops? What Matters?

Abstract

Indian higher education system is supposed to be the source of equal opportunities to all students irrespective of their life circumstances. Does it succeed in realizing this ideal? In fact, the system of higher education inadvertently plays a critical role in constructing and recreating the inequalities between groups. The prime victims of inequality are first-generation students, whose disadvantages are unseen, their voices ignored. In India, first-generation students are typically confronted with the dynamics of caste-based inequality in addition to their deficiency in cultural and social capital. In this context, the purpose of this study was to examine the difference between who goes and who stops for higher education across generational status. Field survey data of 930 senior secondary students was employed as the basis for analysis. Findings of this study highlight that the gap between realization and planning is more in first-generation students as compared to their counterparts. Results of logistic regression indicate location, category, family income, academic achievement, stream of education, and social and cultural capital are pertinent factors that influence educational attainment of first-generation students.

Citation

Wadhwa, R. (2018), "From Planning to Realization: Who Goes? Who Stops? What Matters?", Hoffman, J., Blessinger, P. and Makhanya, M. (Ed.) Perspectives on Diverse Student Identities in Higher Education: International Perspectives on Equity and Inclusion (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 14), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 147-164. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120180000014011