Marginality, Educational Opportunity and Access to Higher Education: Experiences of Scheduled Caste and Tribe Students in India

Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
This paper is based on the empirical data of the marginal section students who have come under the purview of the National Fellowship system at higher education level in India. The objective of the study is to find out their experiences with respect to the national fellowship system as a public policy measure and their educational attainment, participation and achievements within public policy discourse. Also, the study explores the educational opportunity, cultural capital and the socio-economic and political attainment of the marginal section students. Where, the study is based on both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The data are analysed through descriptive and thematic analysis methods. It addresses the major questions like: does the state become cultural capital for the marginal section students? How do the students from marginal backgrounds capitalize the public policy meant for them for higher education and what are their difficulties to avail this public policy?

Governance and public policies: Support for women entrepreneurs in France and England?

International Review of Administrative Sciences, Ahead of Print.
We extend the current literature on barriers to women’s entrepreneurship by providing the perspectives of women entrepreneurs’ lived experience of governance and public policies designed to support entrepreneurship, in France and England. The research draws on primary data comprising interviews with 75 French and English women entrepreneurs as well as secondary data. The research suggests that in France the system of governance is relatively more supportive, whereas in England there are less favourable views of bureaucracy and the conditionality of financial policy instruments, which in turn create unintended outcomes. We extend current understandings of gendered public policies and governance.Points for practitionersThe public policy and governance context in France offers relatively more support for women entrepreneurs than in England. There is a potential for policy learning in how to support women entrepreneurs.Financial policy instruments such as social welfare payments may affect women entrepreneurship.Bureaucracy creates time and opportunity costs for women entrepreneurs, which have a gendered impact if they are single parents and have dependents.