“Figuring Out a Plan”: Exploring Social Class Differences in Undergraduate Major Selection

• In Event: Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: Social Class in Higher Education

Abstract

Higher education is a critical pathway for social mobility in American society, yet significant disparities in college completion rates raise questions about the promise of this opportunity. Existing research fails to explain what actually happens in college to promote or hinder social mobility. This ethnographic study explores the persistent relationship between social class and academic achievement by examining one aspect of the undergraduate experience: the process of choosing a major. Evidence suggests that social class differences in selecting a major affected the ways students navigated the university curriculum, engaged with faculty and staff, and felt about their purpose in college, which ultimately resulted in different educational outcomes.

Author

• April Yee, University of Pennsylvania