Educational Expansion and the Promise of Social Mobility in a Post-colonial Context

'This book is a brilliant example of the multi-modal scholarship that is required to truly excavate the complex relationship between education and social mobility. It offers a groundbreaking methodology to examine intergenerational social mobility in rural Pakistan, by listening deeply to the educational values, aspirations, experiences and strategies of families and households. These contextualised, polyvocal accounts are brought into conversation with policy histories and statistical evidence – creating a completely new approach to assess the ‘promise’ of education in relation to rural social structures in Pakistan. This book is essential reading to researchers and policy professionals who are looking to break from simplistic explanations of education’s social role.'

Arathi Sriprakash, Professor of Sociology and Education, University of Oxford, UK

'Arif Naveed was deeply committed to understanding the lives of Pakistan’s poorest citizens and the structures that shape their opportunities and aspirations. This posthumous volume reflects the full depth and maturity of his commitment, examining. the promise of educational expansion with intellectual rigour, empirical precision and genuine compassion. Schooling is not treated as a simple ladder out of poverty. Instead, land, caste, gender, patronage, household relations and local power structures are shown to shape the relationship between education and social mobility in rural Pakistan. Combining policy history, quantitative analysis and the lived experiences of families pursuing taraqqi, this book makes a significant contribution to development scholarship.'

Dr. Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Chairman of National Disaster Management Fund, Pakistan.

'Educational expansion promises social mobility, even for the poor. But, does it fulfil this promise? This book makes a compelling case for rethinking modern society’s case for education – that it will lead to greater social mobility, even for the poor. The book offers a gripping reconceptualization of how educational expansion reshapes social structures within the complex realities of the Global South. A major contribution of this excellent read is its challenge to dominant frameworks and consideration of new analytical pathways to understand education’s transformative and sometimes contradictory effects in Pakistan. The book is ambitious in scope but grounded in empirical depth; it is an essential read for students, scholars, policy-makers and anyone who wish to understand if and how education can shape social transformation in postcolonial societies.'

Dr. Monazza Aslam, Managing Partner, Oxford Partnership for Education Research and Analysis (OPERA),UK