Upward Social Mobility and College: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Understanding Labor, Social Mobility, and Opportunity Outcomes in Higher Education (Table 29)

Abstract

Women are more likely to attend and graduate from college than are men and students from high-SES backgrounds are more likely to attend college and to graduate than their peers from lower-SES backgrounds. However, college is seen as a route to upward social mobility, yet little is known about the extent of or the process of upward mobility. This longitudinal qualitative study followed 16 women, half from higher-SES background and half from lower-SES backgrounds, over approximately 20 years following college graduation, and examined social mobility using a Bourdieuan framework. We found that the women were in similar social class positions 20 years after graduation. We additionally found that a dynamic cultural capital and transposable habitus could account for the similarities.

Authors

• MaryBeth Walpole, Rowan University

• Stephanie Lezotte, Rowan University

• Madeline P. Boehning, Rowan University