Exploring the hopes and aspirations of British Pakistani and Bangladeshi families toward elite higher education.
In this special edition of the Oxford Education Deanery podcast, Dr Stephanie Nowack is joined by Mitu Khan and Sadaf Yasir to explore how hope towards higher education is collective, intergenerational, and relational.
The podcast draws on research from the Oxford Hope Project, led by Dr Aliya Khalid (PI), Dr Stephanie Nowack, Dr Md Sahariar Rahman, Nadia Talukder. It explores how British Pakistani and Bangladeshi students and their families hope and aspire towards higher education amidst precarity. In the podcast, the speakers explore how family, culture, and community shape aspirations towards elite universities like Oxford. Beginning with powerful personal stories of migration, sacrifice, and intergenerational hope, the conversation unfolds into a deeper examination of why highly capable British Pakistani and Bangladeshi students remain underrepresented in top universities. Challenging deficit narratives such as ‘hard to reach’, the episode reframes aspiration as collective, relational, and deeply rooted in family life. It also considers how universities can move beyond outreach to build genuine, reciprocal relationships with communities. Moving from personal testimony to institutional reflection, the episode offers a powerful and hopeful vision: one where universities listen more closely, engage more meaningfully, and create inclusive pathways.
To find out more about the Oxford Hope Project, please visit the following links:
Project Page: Developing a Socially Sensitive Research Approach to Higher Education Aspirations: Exploring the Hopes and Aspirations of British Sixth Form Students of Pakistani and Bangladeshi Heritage
The Daily Star (of Bangladesh) Newspaper – ‘Hope is like an art’
Project Video – Overview of the research project and its aims
Deanery Digest – Plain language summary of the research
Learn more about the Oxford Education Deanery: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/about-us/oxford-education-deanery/
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