‘Mugging up’ versus ‘exposure’: international schools and social mobility in Hyderabad, India

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.

Keywords:

• schooling choice
• social mobility
• class
• cultural capital
• globalisation
• India

Notes

1. All currency conversion is based on the xe.com exchange rate on 5 July 2013.

2. See Donner and De Neve (2011) and Dickey (2012) 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.