Drawing upon quantitative data gathered from the U.S. Census and U.S. Department of Education, as well as interviews with students from a variety of socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds, Low-Income Students and the Perpetuation of Inequality examines the question of who really benefits from public higher education. It engages with questions of social capital, opportunity, funding and access to education, presenting a rich discussion of social mobility, the value of college education and the impact of education upon the redistribution of income. A thorough exploration of the real impact of college on American society, this volume will appeal to social scientists with interests in education, social capital, social stratification, class and social mobility.
This contributed volume uncovers the biases that prevent post-secondary institutions from serving low-income students and offers guidance for adopting policies and practices to help these students thrive.
Winner of NAGC's 2021 Book of the Year Award This edited book, written by authors with extensive experience in working with gifted students from low-income households, focuses on ways to translate the latest research and theory into evidence-supported practices that impact how schools identify and serve these students. Readers will: Learn about evidence-supported identification systems, tools, and strategies for finding students from low-income households. Discover curriculum models, resources, and instructional strategies found effective from projects focused on supporting these students. Understand the important role that intra- and interpersonal skills, ethnicity/race, families, school systems, and communities play. Consider the perceptions of gifted students who grew up in low-income households. Learn how educators can use their experiences to strengthen current services. Unlocking Potential is the go-to resource for an up-to-date overview of best practices in identification, curriculum, instruction, community support, and program design for gifted learners from low-income households.
Written for administrators, faculty, and staff in Higher Education who are working with low income and first-generation college students, Recognizing and Serving Low-Income Students in Higher Education uncovers organizational biases that prevent post-secondary institutions from adequately serving these students. This volume offers practical guidance for adopting new or revised policies and practices that have the potential to help these students thrive. This contributed volume is based on empirical studies that specifically examine the policies and practices of postsecondary institutions in the United States, England, and Canada. The contributing authors argue that discussions of diversity will be enriched by a better understanding of how institutional policies and practices affect low-income students. Unlike most studies on this topic, this volume focuses on institutional rather than federal, state and public policy. Institutional policies and practices have been largely ignored and this volume lifts the veil on processes that have remained hidden.
An NPR Favorite Book of the Year “Breaks new ground on social and educational questions of great import.” —Washington Post “An essential work, humane and candid, that challenges and expands our understanding of the lives of contemporary college students.” —Paul Tough, author of Helping Children Succeed “Eye-opening...Brings home the pain and reality of on-campus poverty and puts the blame squarely on elite institutions.” —Washington Post “Jack’s investigation redirects attention from the matter of access to the matter of inclusion...His book challenges universities to support the diversity they indulge in advertising.” —New Yorker The Ivy League looks different than it used to. College presidents and deans of admission have opened their doors—and their coffers—to support a more diverse student body. But is it enough just to admit these students? In this bracing exposé, Anthony Jack shows that many students’ struggles continue long after they’ve settled in their dorms. Admission, they quickly learn, is not the same as acceptance. This powerfully argued book documents how university policies and campus culture can exacerbate preexisting inequalities and reveals why some students are harder hit than others.
Price signals received by lower income students, as well as educational decisions those price signals are prompting, have potentially serious consequences. Heller asserts that increased access to higher education institutions for lower income students must be established as a national priority--as an implicit promise to lower income families. This book clearly outlines the gap in college participation between rich and poor, stimulating discussion of barriers to postsecondary education for the most needy students. A group of expert researchers, led by Donald Heller, use the most recent research available to discuss the state of access to America's higher education institutions for lower income students. They examine the postsecondary education patterns of lower income students in the U.S. Also considered is the status of student aid programs. Academic and social factors that help prepare a student to remain in the higher education system are considered, along with demographic trends facing the nation and recommendations for moving the country toward the ideals of the Truman Commission of the mid-twentieth century.
A revealing look at the experiences of first generation students on elite campuses and the hidden curriculum they must master in order to succeed College has long been viewed as an opportunity for advancement and mobility for talented students regardless of background. Yet for first generation students, elite universities can often seem like bastions of privilege, with unspoken academic norms and social rules. The Hidden Curriculum draws on more than one hundred in-depth interviews with students at Harvard and Georgetown to offer vital lessons about the challenges of being the first in the family to go to college, while also providing invaluable insights into the hurdles that all undergraduates face. As Rachel Gable follows two cohorts of first generation students and their continuing generation peers, she discovers surprising similarities as well as striking differences in their college experiences. She reveals how the hidden curriculum at legacy universities often catches first generation students off guard, and poignantly describes the disorienting encounters on campus that confound them and threaten to derail their success. Gable shows how first-gens are as varied as any other demographic group, and urges universities to make the most of the diverse perspectives and insights these talented students have to offer. The Hidden Curriculum gives essential guidance on the critical questions that university leaders need to consider as they strive to support first generation students on campus, and demonstrates how universities can balance historical legacies and elite status with practices and policies that are equitable and inclusive for all students.
Historically, higher education was designed for a narrow pool of privileged students. Despite national, state and institutional policies developed over time to improve access, higher education has only lately begun to address how its unexamined assumptions, practices and climate create barriers for poor and working class populations and lead to significant disparities in degree completion across social classes.The data shows that higher education substantially fails to provide poor and working class students with the necessary support to achieve the social mobility and success comparable to the attainments of their middle and upper class peers. This book presents a comprehensive range of strategies that provide the fundamental supports that poor and working-class students need to succeed while at the same time dismantling the inequitable barriers that make college difficult to navigate.Drawing on the concept of the student-ready college, and on emerging research and practices that colleges and universities can use to explore campus-specific social class issues and identify barriers, this book provides examples of support programs and services across the field of higher education – at both two- and four-year, public and private institutions – that cover:·Access supports. Examples and recommendations for how institutions can assist students as they make decisions about applications and admission.·Basic needs supports. Covering housing and food security, necessary clothing, sense of belonging through co-curricular engagement, and mental health resources.·Academic and learning supports. Describes courses and academic programs to promote full engagement among poor and working class students.·Advising supports. Illustrates advising that acknowledges poor and working class students’ identities, and recommends continued training for both staff and faculty advisors.·Supports for specific populations at the intersection of social class with other identities, such as Students of Color, foster youth, LGBTQ, and doctoral students.·Gaining support through external partnerships with social services, business entities, and fundraising.This book is addressed to administrators, educators and student affairs personnel, urging them to make the institutional commitment to enhance the college experience for poor and working class students who not only represent a substantial proportion of college students today, but constitute a significant future demographic.
