Conclusion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica McCrory Calarco
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Teacher Bias ◽  
Teacher Authority ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Institutional Expectations ◽  
Working Class Students ◽  
One Step ◽  
Middle Class Families ◽  
Student Problem

This chapter argues that the middle-class advantage is, at least in part, a negotiated advantage. That argument has implications for research on cultural capital, teacher bias, student resistance, and teacher authority. It also supports recommendations for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers interested in reducing class-based inequalities in school. First, I urge teachers to be sensitive to social class differences in student problem-solving. Second, I encourage schools to alleviate the challenges teachers face in assessing and responding to students’ individual needs. Third, I call on policymakers to avoid deficit-oriented programs that teach working-class students to act like their middle-class peers. Those programs ignore the fact that working-class families are often the ones complying with institutional expectations and the fact that middle-class families are the ones demanding support in excess of what is fair or required. Thus, unless educators are willing to deny such requests, middle-class children will always stay one step ahead.

Negotiating Opportunities

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica McCrory Calarco
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Seventh Grade ◽  
Working Class Students ◽  
One Step ◽  
Middle Class Families ◽  
At Home

Negotiating Opportunities reveals that the middle-class advantage in school is, at least in part, a negotiated advantage. Essentially, this means that middle-class students secure advantages not only by complying with teachers’ expectations but also by requesting (and successfully securing) support in excess of what is fair or required. This book traces that negotiated advantage from its origins at home to its consequences at school. It follows a group of middle-class and working-class students from third to seventh grade and draws on observations and interviews with children, parents, and teachers. The middle-class students learned to negotiate advantages from their parents’ coaching at home. Teachers tended to grant those requests, even when they wanted to say “no.” As a result, middle-class students received the bulk of teachers’ assistance, accommodations, and positive attention. That extra support gave middle-class students advantages over their working-class peers, including more correct answers on tests, more time to complete assignments, more opportunities for creativity, and more recognition for their ideas. The book concludes with a discussion of these findings and their implications for scholars, educators, parents, and policymakers. It argues that teaching working-class students to act like their middle-class peers will not be enough to alleviate inequalities because middle-class families will find new ways to negotiate advantages that keep them one step ahead.

scholarly journals Time and money explain social class differences in students’ social integration at university.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Rubin
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Working Class Students ◽  
Exclusion Effect

Working-class students tend to be less socially integrated at university than middle-class students (Rubin, 2012a). The present research investigated two potential reasons for this working-class social exclusion effect. First, working-class students may have fewer finances available to participate in social activities. Second, working-class students tend to be older than middle-class students and, consequently, they are likely to have more work and/or childcare commitments. These additional commitments may prevent them from attending campus which, in turn, reduces their opportunity for social integration. These predictions were confirmed among undergraduate students at an Australian university (N = 433) and a USA university (N = 416). Strategies for increasing working-class students’ social integration at university are discussed.

scholarly journals Age differences explain social class differences in students’ friendship at university: Implications for transition and retention.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Rubin
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Working Class Students ◽  
Social Class Difference

The present research tested the hypotheses that (a) working-class students have fewer friends at university than middle-class students, and (b) this social class difference occurs because working-class students tend to be older than middle-class students. A sample of 376 first-year undergraduate students from an Australian university completed an online survey that contained measures of social class and age as well as quality and quantity of actual and desired friendship at university. Consistent with predictions, age differences significantly mediated social class differences in friendship. The Discussion focuses on potential policy implications for improving working-class students’ friendships at university in order to improve their transition and retention.

scholarly journals Social class differences in social integration at university: Implications for academic outcomes and mental health

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Rubin ◽  
Olivia Evans ◽  
Romany McGuffog
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Academic Outcomes ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Class Environment ◽  
Working Class Students

University represents a pathway to upward social mobility for many working-class people. However, this distinctly middle-class environment also provides a number of unique social psychological challenges for working-class students. Working-class university students are often in the minority group at university, they are often the first in their families to attend university, and they often feel out of place at university. They also lack the time and money required to engage with other students on campus. Consequently, they are less likely to be as integrated into social life at university as their middle-class peers. In this chapter, we consider the potential implications of this lack of social integration for working-class students’ academic outcomes and mental health. In particular, we review recent research that shows that working-class students’ lack of integration at university is associated with poorer academic outcomes and poorer mental health. We conclude with a discussion of potential interventions to increase working-class students’ social integration at university.

Seeking Attention

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica McCrory Calarco
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Personal Connections ◽  
Working Class Students

Chapter 5 examines social class differences in children’s efforts to seek attention from teachers. Regardless of social class, students wanted—even craved—attention. Middle-class and working-class students differed in the types of behaviors for which they sought attention and the strategies they used to get teachers’ attention. Middle-class students sought attention for their unique talents, skills, and experiences, and they did so in overt ways. Working-class students instead sought attention primarily for their commonalities with and helpfulness to others. They also did so in more oblique ways and only when it was clear that teachers had time to provide attention. Those class differences in attention-seeking had meaningful consequences. Through their more frequent and more difficult to ignore bids for attention, and through their success in persuading teachers to grant those requests, middle-class students had more opportunities to share stories with, receive validation from, and make personal connections with their teachers.

Seeking Assistance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica McCrory Calarco
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Working Class Students

Chapter 3 highlights social class differences in children’s efforts to seek assistance from teachers. When confronting challenges at school, most middle-class children readily sought assistance from teachers. They were also proactive and persistent in making requests. Working-class children instead tried to deal with problems on their own. Although they occasionally asked for help from teachers, they did so when it was apparent that requests were welcome and would not result in reprimand (e.g., when teachers approached them to offer assistance). Working-class students were also less insistent in making requests. They raised their hands rather than calling out or approaching teachers directly, and they rarely asked follow-up questions, even when they were still confused or struggling. Those differences in assistance-seeking also had real consequences. Middle-class students received more help than did their working-class peers. As a result, they were often able to complete their work more quickly and more accurately.

Seeking Accommodations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica McCrory Calarco
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Working Class Students ◽  
Individual Needs ◽  
Classroom Rules

Chapter 4 describes social class differences in children’s efforts to seek accommodations from teachers. Classroom rules, procedures, and expectations sometimes conflicted with students’ individual needs or desires. In those situations, middle-class children treated rules as flexible—trying to negotiate changes and exemptions. When middle-class children were caught breaking rules, they would offer excuses for their actions, and they were generally able to avoid punishment by doing so. Working-class children almost never tried to negotiate changes to or exemptions from rules, expectations, and procedures. They treated rules as fixed and adjusted their behavior accordingly. When working-class students were caught misbehaving, they rarely offered excuses; instead, they endured their punishment without complaint. Those contrasting approaches to rules and expectations also contributed to inequalities. Because teachers generally said “yes,” middle-class students had more opportunities to express their creativity, experienced less discomfort and fewer inconveniences at school, and even avoided consequences for misbehavior.

Coached for the Classroom

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica McCrory Calarco
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Character Development ◽  
Working Class Students

Chapter 1 explores how parents coach children to use class-based strategies for managing challenges at school and how children internalize those lessons. Middle-class parents felt a deep responsibility for their children’s academic success, and they taught children to secure that success using strategies of influence. Middle-class children thereby learned that when they encountered problems at school, they should use their teachers as resources, avoid consequences, and be assertive in seeking support. Working-class parents felt primarily responsible for their children’s character development. Reflecting on their own experience in school, they worried that teachers might punish students who complained or sought special favors. Thus, working-class parents taught their children to practice strategies of deference. As a result, working-class students learned to treat teachers with respect, take responsibility for their actions, and tackle problems on their own.

scholarly journals Social Class, Identity and the ‘Good’ Student: Negotiating University Culture

2008 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Pearce ◽  
Barry Down ◽  
Elizabeth Moore
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Class Identity ◽  
Participation Rates ◽  
University Culture ◽  
University Experiences ◽  
Working Class Students ◽  
The University

Through the use of narrative portraits this paper discusses social class and identity, as working-class university students perceive them. With government policy encouraging wider participation rates from under-represented groups of people within the university sector, working-class students have found themselves to be the objects of much research. Working-class students are, for the most part, studied as though they are docile bodies, unable to participate in the construction of who they are, and working-class accounts of university experiences are quite often compared to the middle-class norms. This paper explores how working-class students see themselves within the university culture. Working-class students' voices and stories form the focus of this paper, in which the language of ‘disadvantage’ is dealt with and the ideologies of class identity explored.

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