Based in Birmingham UK and with a history stretching back to 1909, the Fircroft College of Adult Education delivers a ‘Sociology of Education’ module as part of their Access to High Education programme .

On the 9^th April 2024, Dr Emily Henderson was invited by Fircroft to be a guest presenter delivering a “taster session” seminar for the ‘Sociology of Education’ module. Drawing on her project findings at the University of Warwick and time spent in India with project partners based in Delhi and the state of Haryana, Dr Henderson discussed with students the topic of ‘Indian Higher Education and Inequalities’.

The session introduced to students a background to the Indian higher education (HE) system, discussed inequalities within Indian society and the HE system, then linked to the broader themes contained in the 'Sociology of Education' module. With c. 20 students present, the presentation stimulated much discussion in the Q&A session afterwards.

Further information about Dr Henderson’s work on the 5 year Fair Chance for Education (Haryana, India) project can be found at www.warwick.ac.uk/haryana and if you are interested in reading further about HE in India, there is a new book co-authored by the project team which has recently been published. The book, Gendering the Massification Generation, looks at gendered higher education access and choice within the state of Haryana, India and explores in greater detail gender inequalities of higher education access and choice in the Indian context and connects this with the broader international phenomenon of widening participation.