The Great Socializer: Social Benefits of Higher Education From the Perspective of Higher Education Staff

• In Event: Labor, Socioeconomics, and Class Dynamics in Higher Education Practice

Abstract

This study critically examines higher education's evolving role as a pathway for upward mobility, focusing on perspectives of frontline support staff. The aims of this study are to inform policy and institutional practices to better align higher education with its foundational promise of fostering widespread social mobility. Through interviews with thirty full-time student services professionals, we explore the tension between their enduring belief in higher education's transformative power and their personal experiences with financial strain. Analyzing the interplay of socioeconomic factors, rising costs, and personal debt, we uncover a paradox where higher education may inadvertently reinforce existing social disparities.

Authors

• Allison Maldonado, Stanford University

• Zach Taylor, John Burton Advocates for Youth

• Elizabeth A. Rainey, Loyola University New Orleans

• Patrick Ziegler, Earnest Financial

• Debra Carter, University of Kansas

• Dana George, University of Alabama

• Karla A. Weber Wandel, University of Wisconsin - Madison