The subjective experience of social class and upward mobility among African American men in graduate school.

Abstract

We used Consensual Qualitative Research Methodology to analyze responses from 14 African American men (MdnAge = 25 years-old) in graduate school at a predominantly-White university in the Midwestern region of the United Sates regarding how they acquired awareness of their social-class status; how social class was related to their sense of masculinity; how social class was related to race and skin tone; and the role that education and a romantic partner could play in upward mobility. School peers were the main source for their early awareness of social class. Many believed that discrimination maintains social class stratification that disadvantages racial minorities and that one's race will always trump any personal characteristics—including having light-complected skin and an advanced degree. Finally many overcame several obstacles during their educational career, and most believed that a romantic relationship with a woman from a privileged background could facilitate upward mobility. Psychological scientists and practitioners are encouraged to consider the role that social class plays when examining men's well-being.

Using the Social Class Worldview Model in Student Affairs

“…In a study by Brown, Fukunaga, Umemoto, and Wicker (), any or some combinations of such objective social class indicators do not accurately reflect one's social class identification which is an important factor informing one's sense of belonging (Ostrove & Long, ). On the other hand, an increasing number of quantitative and qualitative studies have reported that subjective social class are related to well‐being, perceptions on higher education, and quality of college experience (Ostrove & Long, ; Sánchez, Liu, Leathers, Goins, & Vilain, ; Singh‐Manoux, Marmot, & Adler, ; Tett, ).…”

“…These new environments provide reinforcing, conflicting, or alternative perspectives that dictate one's social class behavior (Liu, ) which make students feel a need to renegotiate their social class identity (Baxter & Britton, ). Moreover, social class is intertwined with students’ other identities (Constantine, ; Jones, ), such as race/ethnicity (Sánchez et al., ), gender (Ostrove, ; Sánchez et al., ; Tett, ), and/or veteran status (Wurster, Rinaldi, Woods, & Liu, ). These identity variables are likely to be related to social privilege and oppression based on students’ social identities.…”

A comparison of skin tone discrimination among African American men: 1995 and 2003.

“…Research has also found that darker-skinned African American men may receive less endorsement to advance their careers, earn significantly lower wages than light-skinned men (Goldsmith, Hamilton, & Darity, 2006) and consider their complexion as a barrier to career success (Sánchez, Liu, Leathers, Goins, & Vilain, 2011). For example, during the 2008 presidential election season, one study tracked skin tone perceptions of then-Senator Barack Obama (an African American Democratic candidate) and found that conservatives and persons that did not vote for Obama estimated his skin tone to be significantly darker than his true complexion (Caruso, Mead, & Balcetis, 2009); in contrast, liberals and persons that voted for Obama estimated that he was significantly more light-skinned than his true complexion.…”

Socioeconomic Status, Parental Involvement in Learning and Student’ Mathematics Achievement in Indonesian Senior High School

“…Students from such families often think there is no need to study hard in school because they believe that their needs and future livelihood is largely secure. On the contrary, students from low SES families are often more diligent compared to those from high SES families (Congeret al, 2010;Sánchez et al, 2011;Suyanto, 2001). They are strongly motivated to improve their family income andto self-support further education through scholarships.…”