Factory to Faculty: Socioeconomic Difference and the Educational Trajectories of University Professors

• In Event: 207 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 12. College Enrollment and Completion

Abstract

Numerous essays exist on the lived experiences of academics from working-class or poverty-class origins. Yet, to date, there exists no systematic analysis of the class origins of university faculty members. This study utilizes surveys from a random sample of full-time university professors from all 95 Canadian universities affiliated with the AUCC to analyze the ways in which socioeconomic background impacts experiences within university and graduate school. Findings indicate that several measures of socioeconomic background are indeed significant predictors of this experience. Qualitative data reveal that working-class faculty members are hyper-aware of the ways in which their class backgrounds affected their educational trajectories; while conversely, academics from middle-class backgrounds were also reflective about the ways in which they were privileged. The paper concludes with implications for developing public policy that shifts focus away from apolitical discussions of diversity, toward promoting inclusivity for those from working-class or lower-SES backgrounds.

Author

• Timothy James Haney, Mount Royal University