CHOICE BETWEEN OF PERSONAL LIFE AND EDUCATION & CAREER: AN INQUIRY ON THE QUESTION OF DOMESTIC DUTY VS SELF INTEREST OF LEARNING AND CAREER BASED FROM FEMALE POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY THAILAND

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine epistemological perception of women and reasons for women to choose between professional career development and confining to a housewife. Role of women in the process of human capital development is heavily discussed and researched and it is considered to be influential for economic growth. How socially constructed marriage has been institutionalized and interfaced with education and career development is explained and examined. Traditional responsibilities of a woman as a housewife are confronting with choices of women to continue with career development. Interpretive research design is used as it could produce in-depth explanations. Therefore, qualitative interviews based on a semi-structured questionnaire are conducted with 10 female postgraduate students of Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) representing China, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Pakistan. In addition to individual interviews, a focused group discussion is held with five different graduate students. Study finds that most participants prefer to choose marriage life over career and continuation of education though they are perceived as important aspects of life. However, a duality in women on marriage life and career development is seen. Biological, psychological and cultural reasons including tradition, fear of being ejected from society, religious beliefs, influence of family members, epistemolo