Diversity, Discourse, and the Working-Class Student

Integrated, marginal, and resilient: race, class, and the diverse experiences of white first‐generation college students

“…The existing qualitative research on first-generation students has typically drawn on samples of students who face multiple barriers to higher education (Bergerson 2007;Casey 2005;Goodwin 2006;London 1989;Rendon 1992;Richardson and Skinner 1992;Tierney 1992;York-Anderson and Bowman 1991). Consequently, generalizations have been made about students who are on the margins not just in terms of social class and parental education but also in terms of race and ethnicity, age, and enrollment status (full or part-time).…”

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“…Although researchers agree that students from families with low incomes, whose parents did not attend college, or whose parents work at lower-status occupations are less likely to attend or graduate from college (Astin, 1993;Astin and Oseguera, 2004;Bedsworth et al, 2006;Cabrera et al, 2005;Hearn, 1984Hearn, , 1990Hearn, , 1991Karabel, 2005;Karabel and Astin, 1975;Karen, 1991;McDonough, 1997;Pascarella andTerenzini, 1991, 2005;Perna and Titus, 2004;Terenzini et al, 2001;Tinto, 2006;Titus, 2006aTitus, , 2006c, there has been little cohesiveness in defining and examining these students' experiences. Some researchers rely solely on family income (Akerhielm, Berger, Hooker, and Wise, 1998;Paulsen and St. John, 2002;Perna, 2005;Teranishi, Ceja, Antonio, Allen, and McDonough, 2004); others believe that parental education is the key (Choy, Horn, Nunez, and Chen, 2000;Ishitani, 2006;Nunez and Cuccaro-Alamin, 1998;Pascarella, Pierson, Wolniak, and Terenzini, 2004;Rodriguez, 2003;Terenzini, Springer, Yaeger, Pascarella, and Nora, 1996); and still others insist on using parental occupation to investigate this population (Casey, 2005;Goldstein, 1974;Littrell, 1999;Luzzo, 1992;O'Dair, 2003;Tett, 2004). Many believe a combination of these three, along with items in the home such as computers or books, define socioeconomic status …”

“…Several researchers have focused solely on parental or family income (Akerhielm et al, 1998;Paulsen and St. John, 2002;Perna, 2005;Teranishi et al, 2004), and others on parental education, which includes the study of first-generation students (Choy et al, 2000;Ishitani, 2006;Nunez and Cuccaro-Alamin, 1998;Pascarella et al, 2004;Rodriguez, 2003;Terenzini et al, 1996). Finally, scholars focusing on working-class students most often use parental occupation to define their participants, drawing solely on the third component of the SES variable (Casey, 2005;Goldstein, 1974;Littrell, 1999;Luzzo, 1992;O'Dair, 2003;Tett, 2004).…”

“…Luzzo (1992) defined social class using parents' occupational status on the Duncan Index; Slaney and Brown (1983) used the same scale but employed the term socioeconomic status. Three authors- Casey (2005), Littrell (1999), and O'Dair (2003)-did not explicitly define working class, and Casey used the terms first generation and working class interchangeably. Clearly these scholars operationalized students' class locations in multiple ways.…”

“…Based on her experiences as a professor, Casey (2005) believed that working-class students had less verbal acuity, were less inclined to join class discussions, and often experienced severe social dislocation. Littrell (1999) reported that working-class students were too often shunted into vocationally oriented majors and needed more courses in the liberal arts in order to promote true social mobility rather than credentialing.…”