The Paradox of College Preparatory School Programs: Mitigating and Exacerbating Habitus Clivé in Upwardly Mobile Youth

• In Event: 20880 - Historical Foundations and New Directions: 21st Century Sociology of Education

Abstract

Educational mobility is often framed as an unequivocal success, yet for marginalized students, transitioning into elite academic spaces can be deeply disorienting. This paper examines the paradoxical role of College Preparatory School Programs (CPSPs), which seek to mitigate culture shock (hysteresis) but inadvertently exacerbate internal division (habitus clivé). Using Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical framework, this study explores how CPSPs equip students with cultural, social, and human capital to navigate elite independent schools while simultaneously fostering long-term dislocation from their communities of origin.

Drawing from a year-long ethnographic study of Uplift Academy (UA), a CPSP in the U.S., this research analyzes 150 semi-structured interviews and over 500 hours of participant observation to uncover the nuanced effects of these programs. Findings reveal that while UA effectively reduces the immediate culture shock of elite schooling through exposure to affluent social networks and elite cultural norms, students often internalize deficit narratives about their backgrounds, leading to a fragmented sense of self. The emphasis on assimilation creates tensions between newly acquired elite social competencies and students’ existing cultural identities, fostering an enduring psychological and emotional rupture.

This study contributes to sociological debates on mobility, education, and inequality by complicating dominant narratives of educational access. While CPSPs provide critical pathways to elite institutions, they also generate unintended consequences that reinforce feelings of imposter syndrome, alienation, and social indebtedness. These findings highlight the need for more holistic mobility interventions that acknowledge and address the long-term emotional and social costs of educational uplift.

Author

• Garry Mitchell, Duke University