Abstract
Drawing on 12 months of fieldwork in Hyderabad, India, this paper describes the emergence of ‘international’ schools that are only accessible to upper-middle class and elite families and provide forms of cultural capital increasingly important for middle-class employment – ‘communication skills’, ‘open-mindedness’ and ‘exposure’. The role of these schools in the educational strategies of my informants reveals the limitations of education as a route to social mobility in the context of differential access to social, economic and cultural resources, as well as the ways in which local people engage with their position within a globalised economy as they make educational choices.
Notes
1. All currency conversion is based on the xe.com exchange rate on 5 July 2013.
2. See Donner and De Neve (Citation2011) and Dickey (Citation2012) for more on defining ‘middle-classness’ in India.
3. Dowry is a sum of money or other valuables given by the bride's family to the groom's family at the time of marriage.
4. Churidaar are tightly fitting trousers worn with a kurta (long shirt) and chuni or dupatta (scarf or shawl). Salwaar kameez refers to a similar outfit but with looser trousers. In Hyderabad people often use the words churidaar and salwaar to refer to the whole outfit including the kurta and chuni/dupatta.