more worthy of the higher education sector. If we are to achieve it, however, it is necessary to think beyond the presumed deficits of individual students to question more widely what it is that students from low SES backgrounds encounter when they do aspire to a university experience. It is in this context that we suggest that 'classism' might usefully be added to existing understandings of the discrimination and disadvantage which students face in higher education.
address classism and ensure that the institutions are welcoming places for those from low SES backgrounds.
Another example comes from Canadian scholar Brenda Beagan's study (2005) of the implications arising from the fact that Canadian medical students are predominantly drawn from high SES backgrounds. Her project explored the experiences of those 40 per cent of medical students in one medical school who self-identified as coming from poor, working class and lower middle class backgrounds, and it confirmed the normativity of middle and upper class values in that school. These values prompted some students to 'pass' as middle class in order to fit in, and others to feel disadvantaged because of not having the 'right' social networks, while others experienced a growing distance from their families and friends. Importantly for our argument, students also felt marginalised on hearing disparaging comments about patients and other workers in the hospital who were from similar backgrounds to their families and friends, as well as comments that they did not belong in the medical profession because of their low SES backgrounds (Beagan, 2005).
Drawing from this research, we want to suggest that if universities are to transition into spaces that are more welcoming of low SES students, 'classism' as a feature of society must be addressed. By this we are not suggesting that classism only exists in universities. Rather, our argument is that classism is a feature of contemporary society, and that as universities are social institutions, it is likely to be a factor of their institutional life. Indeed, in our view, to single out universities as somehow more 'classist' than other social institutions is problematic for two reasons. First, taking this narrow view reproduces the rather classist idea that low SES people do not excel at research and that they cannot flourish in universities.
While low SES students are under-represented at universities, research cited in the Bradley Review, noted above, finds that those who do attend perform just as well as their peers (Bradley et al., 2008: 30). The second reason why we consider taking a narrow view of universities as 'elitist' to be problematic is that it risks reproducing precisely the rationale that the Howard coalition government repeatedly deployed in justifying public funding cuts to the sector (e.g. Nelson, 2003). The Bradley Review (Bradley et al., 2008: xii) acknowledges that the pressures on universities brought about by inadequate funding have negatively impacted the student experience — and this would include the experience of low SES students. Thus,
in advocating the addition of 'classism' to the existing framework, we are very determinedly not suggesting that classism is restricted to, or uniquely a product of, university culture. Very precisely, we are claiming that classism is a feature of contemporary society, and as social institutions universities are not immune from it.
Additionally, in proposing further research into the experience of students on campus, we suggest that it is important that any such research investigates not only the negative experiences low SES students might have, but also the positive. Indeed, in order to fully examine the experience of students from low SES backgrounds, it is necessary to survey not only those students but the wider university community. This is required in order to move beyond the deficit model and to document not only instances of 'misfit' that the cultural capital researchers are concerned with, but to also be open to moments of connection: connection between students, between students and academics, and across social classes.
Those moments of connection do happen, and when they do they are likely to be transformative. They are not transformative in a narrow sense of providing private benefits to individuals, but transformative in the sense that Gale describes.
Moments of connection have the potential to transform the educational exchange from one that delivers individual benefits at a private cost to an exchange that pushes at the limits of the cultural logics which structure our lives. We believe that those moments are, therefore, worth exploring alongside instances where the cultural devaluation of low SES people makes them feel unwelcome on campus.
Conclusion
In this chapter we have demonstrated where and how social class is represented to be a problem of individual (student) deficit in the Bradley Review. We have also suggested that this conceptualisation of social class, as a problem of individual deficit, is a product of 'classism', where classism is defined as referring to pervasive cultural and institutional norms which construct individuals who are of a low SES as inherently deficient in a variety of ways. In line with Gale's analysis, we have argued that the increased representation of low SES students in higher education has the potential to transform this education for the benefit of all students, but that an important first step is to raise awareness of classism in the sector.
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4 from low socio-economic status backgrounds transitioning to university
Marcia Devlin and Jade McKay
Abstract
As higher education populations further diversify, new thinking and approaches are needed to ensure the successful transition to university of all students who are given access to higher education. This chapter challenges the notion of the student as 'the problem' when considering the transition to university of students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds. Based on an examination of key literature from Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and North America, this chapter argues that a deficit conception of students from low SES backgrounds is limited. It further argues that a deficit conception of the institutions into which these students transition is equally limited. Drawing on a recent national study (Devlin et al., 2012), this chapter examines a recently developed new conception, which positions successful transition to university for students from low SES backgrounds as a joint venture toward bridging socio-cultural incongruity (Devlin, 2011). This new conception privileges the agency, experience and contributions that these students bring to higher education, as well as institutional efforts to help students make the transition. The chapter proposes teaching and learning the discourse as a critical way to contribute to bridging socio-cultural incongruity and thereby assist students from low SES backgrounds to transition successfully to university.
Introduction
In an increasingly massified higher education system with greater numbers of students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds studying alongside more traditional cohorts of students, it is not only appropriate, but also essential, that institutions work towards successful experiences for all students (Devlin, 2010).1 This is particularly pertinent considering the federal policy changes in Australia following the 2008 Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education, which increased the diversity of higher education student cohorts as the sector worked to meet targets related to increased participation of students from low SES backgrounds (Bradley et al., 2008). Pointing to the International Association of Universities (2008: 1), who have adopted the principle that 'access without a reasonable chance of success is an empty phrase', Devlin (2011) argues that the increasing number of diverse students in the Australian context necessitates a focus not only on access to university but also on success and achievement for all students once they have gained access.
One critical component of both achievement and success in higher education is a successful transition into university. In their extensive research on the first- year experience, Yorke and Longden (2008) identify the proactive management of student transition as an institutional activity that radically improves the chances of student success overall. Pittman and Richmond (2008) explain that students experience multiple transitions upon entering higher education, including changes in their living situations, negotiating academic environments, developing new friendships and, for younger students at least, adapting to greater independence and responsibility in their academic lives. Many students struggle with the transition to university, experiencing loneliness, distress, academic disengagement and even depression (see Wintre and Bowers, 2007; Adlaf et al., 2001; Gall, Evans and Bellerose, 2000; Wintre and Yaffe, 2000). However, Rose-Krasnor et al.
(2010) claim that while the transition to university entails the adjustment to new roles and responsibilities, the transition can also present a positive opportunity for forging a new identity, forming new friendships and developing new interests (see also Lefkowitz, 2005). Christie et al. (2008) likewise refer to the excitement and exhilaration students can experience while making the transition to university.
1 Note that Marcia Devlin is a co-author of this chapter.
Based on a study of factors affecting the academic performance of Latino students in the United States (US), Cole and Espinoza (2008) raise the notion of cultural congruity and incongruity. This notion has resonance in relation to SES status and in particular to the level of socio-cultural congruence between students from low SES backgrounds and the higher education institutions in which they transition and study (Devlin, 2011). This chapter adopts a framework for conceptualising the transition of students from low SES backgrounds into higher education based on socio-cultural incongruence. It examines the notions of students from low SES backgrounds as 'the problem' and the institutions into which they move as 'the problem'. The chapter explores some of the characteristics associated with students from low SES backgrounds, providing a context for discussion about supporting their transition to university. Finally, it proposes teaching and learning the discourse as a critical way to contribute to bridging socio-cultural incongruity and thereby assist students from low SES backgrounds to transition successfully to university.