All PhDs are equal but … Institutional and social stratification in access to the doctorate

Pásztor, Adél; Wakeling, Paul

doi:10.1080/01425692.2018.1434407

Cited by 29 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Consequently, the fifty-six existing universities in Chile are not only differentiated by their institutional mission, accreditation, and their public and private nature, but also by the sociodemographic profile of their students (Muñoz & Blanco, 2013). Like the Ivy League universities in the USA (Mullen, 2009) and the Oxbridge and Russell Group in the UK (Pásztor & Wakeling, 2018), a handful of prestigious universities are primarily populated with students who attended private selective high schools.…”

Section: The Classism Nature Of the Educational System From Earliest ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking (un)conscious social class bias in faculty hiring processes in Chile: PhD prestige granting university and network

Chiappa

2023

Higher Education Quarterly

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Social class of origin is apparently an imperceptible attribute among doctorate holders seeking academic jobs. Yet, recent studies in different countries reveal that social class of origin may still be influencing the chances of PhD holders from low social class being hired at prestigious universities. Drawing from the theory of social and cultural reproduction, normative ‘fair’ academic hirings frameworks, and qualitative evidence collected in Chile, this research identifies the mechanisms that trigger (un)conscious social class bias in the stages of recruitment and selection of candidates in seven academic departments in economics and industrial engineering (46 interviews). Findings did not prove explicit classism manifestations, but practices of inclusion/exclusion of candidates based on the prestige of PhD‐granting universities, and networks. These reproduce the relationship between social class and unequal chances of being connected to prestigious universities. Recommendations to address (un)conscious social class bias in academic hiring are discussed.

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Section: The Classism Nature Of the Educational System From Earliest ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking (un)conscious social class bias in faculty hiring processes in Chile: PhD prestige granting university and network

Chiappa

2023

Higher Education Quarterly

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“…This lack of a Black presence in student bodies at the 'top' universities has significant knock-on effects, through doctoral study and into academia, not least because, firstly, students tend to stay in their university type (elite/nonelite) as they progress past undergraduate level (Pásztor and Wakeling, 2018). In other words, if they do not enter a high-status university from the outset, they are unlikely to undertake doctoral studies there -assuming they are able to score well enough and stay on the course.…”

Section: Top (White) Universitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Are Our Rankings So White?

Wankings

2021

Socially Responsible Higher Education

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“…A key challenge to postgraduate admissions reform is the difficulty of defining widening participation at postgraduate level, beyond the broad principle of equal opportunities to pursue research, regardless of social background, or first university (Pásztor and Wakeling 2018). Beyond postcodes or parental income, the relevant 'contexts' at PGR level include the very different academic opportunities offered to undergraduates by their universities.…”

Section: Pushing For Change In Postgraduate Admissions and Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Admitting otherwise: Diversity work, contextuality and the future of anthropology

Mills¹

2021

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The difficult work of decolonizing UK anthropology teaches us important lessons about our field. Rethinking the curriculum may be the easy part. Making university admissions fairer is a harder task. The biggest challenge of all is transforming the institutional cultures and demographic profile of anthropology’s students and faculty. The Covid-19 pandemic showed that rapid change is possible: its aftermath is an opportunity for more radical rethinking of this diversity work in anthropology. Many UK universities currently use ‘contextual’ information about undergraduate applicants to make admissions ‘fairer’. Would a more self-reflective understanding of ‘contextuality’ include the institutional contexts of universities themselves? Most social anthropology departments are found in ‘Russell group’ and ‘Sutton-30’ universities. Their student populations are more likely to be able-bodied, white, female and middle class than those in other universities: these students have a disproportionate opportunity to access PhD research funding. The growth in postgraduate education also exacerbates these differences. This paper combines institutional history and student data to reconceputalise and broaden debates around ‘contextual admissions’. Acknowledging the institutional racism within UK universities, a more encompassing definition of ‘contextuality’ would allow a critical attention to the academic cultures that create barriers to widening participation, retention and progression to postgraduate study.

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All PhDs are equal but … Institutional and social stratification in access to the doctorate

Abstract: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence Newcastle University ePrints -eprint.ncl.ac.uk

Cited by 29 publications

References 18 publications

Unpacking (un)conscious social class bias in faculty hiring processes in Chile: PhD prestige granting university and network

Unpacking (un)conscious social class bias in faculty hiring processes in Chile: PhD prestige granting university and network

Why Are Our Rankings So White?

Admitting otherwise: Diversity work, contextuality and the future of anthropology

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