148 pages
244 x 170mm
August 2010


More Asian women are entering higher education in the UK than ever before, and the number looks likely to rise. Their engagement with higher education reflects widespread changes in the attitudes and cultural expectations of their various communities, as awareness grows of the greater long-term value associated with continuing in education. Today they face different challenges and share different ambitions from those of their mothers and grandmothers.

This book examines the experiences of young Asian women in higher education and the difficulties they face because they have no shared background of engagement with the British university system. It considers what motivates them to succeed and describes their strategies for building support networks that help them succeed with the university setting and actively shape their lives.

Taking a theoretical and empirical perspective Kalwant Bhopal examines the diversity of Asian women's experiences in higher education and provides original and valuable insights into their experience. She explores the friendship and support networks that women turn to whilst at university as well as familial support. Especially striking are her findings about the effect of higher education traditional practices such as arranged marriages and dowries, and about the empowerment generated by changing the economic status of women within British Asian society.

Asian Women in Higher Education: shared communities offers a new and original perspective on the educational experiences of Asian women at university. It will be invaluable to teachers, postgraduate and undergraduate students and academics interested in the study of gender, ethnicity, identity and higher education.