ABSTRACT
Globally, India makes up the second largest outward flow of international students after China. An examination of select sending countries reveals that the gender ratio of International Student Migration (ISM) flows has a strong relation to the rate of female participation in tertiary education. This chapter paints a broad demographic picture of Indian international students (IIS), their motivations to study abroad and the role of family in the decision to study abroad. It focuses on multiple data sources to review and analyses trends of Indian student migration into European countries specifically the UK, Germany and France. Data suggests that women who study abroad come from families of higher social class, where parents are highly educated and work in higher income positions, whereas men's family background stretches across the large and complex Indian class system. The chapter provides discussion on motivations to go abroad for education highlights macrolevel issues surrounding the Indian higher education system and the labour market.
