Higher Education And Social Stereotypes: Exploring The Perspectives Of Females Of Haryana

ABSTRACT

Education of females has been considered as one of the crucial agencies for bringing social development, changes, empowerment and subsequently social mobility. Higher education has been accorded a major position in such transformations, as at this stage, learners get the opportunity to engage with critical texts and this may also help in developing critical outlook amongst them on social stereotypes. This paper probes upon such concerns and possibilities in details in the context of educated females of one of the states of India, i.e., Haryana. It engages with critical question like- does higher education influence the perspectives of females towards social stereotypes? If yes, what are the new frames of thought?The mixed method research design was used for the execution of the study. Questionnaire and focus group discussion were used as tools for the data collection process. After the analysis, it was observed that there are significant variations in the perspective of females towards social stereotypes, specifically in the context of caste and gender in the public sphere. But socialization, familial ties and social pressure have more influence in the personal sphere of females. So, there is a scope for more agentic interventions in this arena.

Keywords: Social Mobility, Caste, Gender

https://doi.org/10.37948/ensemble-2020-0202-a011