Toward Equitable Systems: An Examination of Processes Shaping Advanced Degree Experiences by Family Background

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: Contemporary Issues Related to Student Success (San Diego)

Abstract

More than 25 million bachelor’s degree holders have also completed advanced degrees – master’s, professional, or doctoral – but we know relatively little about the connection to mobility. This study examines advanced degree attainment and how people socialized in working-class contexts navigate institutions. Using interviews of graduate and professional students from one research-intensive public institution, it finds variation in how students decide why and where to attend and also in how they navigate institutional structures and deploy capital. This has implications for programmatic and structural integration and collaboration when learning experiences and policies are being developed. Policies to close gaps and provide equitable opportunities, especially within more elite levels of education and professions, may narrow the class gap for advanced degree holders.

Author

• Michelle Rossi, University of California Davis