‘They know nothing about university – neither of them went’: the effect of parents’ level of education on their involvement in their daughters’ higher education choices

Abstract

This article attempts to explore how parents are involved in their daughters’ decision‐making around their higher education path. It draws on qualitative research that investigated the process through which young women from the UK and Saudi Arabia reached a decision about a subject or an institution for higher educational study. The paper demonstrates different forms of parents’ involvement (emotional, financial, providing information) in their daughters’ higher educational choices in relation to parents’ prior level of education. It concludes that parents’ involvement differs according to the gender of the parent. It suggests little relationship between the parents’ educational background and the nature of their involvement in their daughters’ educational choices. The article shows some similarities in the nature of parents’ involvement in young women’s decision‐making process between the UK groups and the Saudi groups, though decisions were made within two different cultural contexts.

Keywords:

• higher education
• young women
• parents
• involvement
• Saudi Arabia
• UK