Transnationella utbildningsstrategier vid svenska lärosäten och bland svenska studenter i Paris och New York

Sammanfattning: Education is a neglected area within globalisation research, and, within educational research, very few studies have been devoted to transnational phenomena. In this study, transnational educational strategies are analysed as ingredients in social groups’ strategies, while the transnational investments of higher education institutions are understood primarily as resources in national educational field struggles.Three investigations are presented, two on Swedish students studying abroad – Paris and north-eastern USA – and one on transnational investments at educational establishments in Stockholm.The material consists of two surveys, interviews with Swedish students abroad and administrators at Swedish educational institutions, and analyses of statistics and documents. Central methods include those of geometrical data analysis, such as correspondence analysis and Euclidean classification, and interviews. The most significant concepts – field, capital and strategies – have been taken from Bourdieu’s sociological toolbox.The studies show that those who study in Paris constitute both a social and meritocratic elite, while the students in north-eastern USA have more social than meritocratic resources. Three types of transnational educational strategies appear. For one group of students, studies at prestigious higher education institutions constitute a complement to their main studies at leading Swedish counterparts. Another group has chosen to make nation-specific or international investments rather than invest in Swedish higher education. A third group comprises students lacking access to the Swedish system, and for whom studies abroad provide a second chance.One of the main results is that the most sought-after positions at foreign educational institutions are often attained through substantial investment in the Swedish educational system. The leading institutions have sufficient resources to ensure viability in a transnational educational market and take their place in exclusive networks. Those students who reach the top of the national hierarchies thus gain access to the most sought-after positions in a global educational market.