Giving Something Back? Sentiments of Privilege and Civic Duty Among Elite Graduates From Britain and France

• In Event: International Students, Geographic Mobility, and Global Postsecondary Education

Abstract

This paper explores the contrasting orientations of two cohorts of ‘elite graduates’ from Paris and Oxford. Despite claims of a ‘global elite’, their narratives display divergent approaches to social responsibility. Both cohorts are aware of their privileged status and share a commitment to ‘give something back’. However, their channels are very different. While our Oxford graduates seek to ‘give something back’ through volunteering and the third sector engagement, our Paris graduates will ‘give something back’ through public service. The paper discusses how the complex relationship between the state, civil society and the education system may shape these different dispositions.

Author

• Sally Anne Power, Cardiff University