Participation in higher education across generational status in India

The discourses on inequality in education have largely been confined to the issue of social and economic segregation. Little attention is drawn on inequality in education from the perspective of first generation learners. So there is an urgent need to understand educational inequality beyond the traditional categorisation (social and economic segregation) and to pay attention on the issue how robust is the effect of first generation in causing educational inequality. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors which influence students¿ participation in higher education across generational status in Indian context. The present study intends to investigate what kinds of factors could influence students decision and participation in higher education across first and non first generation students. The present study provides information to institutional leaders and policy makers about the factors which influence the decision of first and non-first generation students regarding participation in higher education. Present study contributes to the body of research specifically in the Indian context where it is an unexplored area and needs worthy investigation.