‘We’re as good as anybody else’: a comparative study of working-class university students’ experiences in England and Ireland

Abstract

This article is based on a comparative study of working-class students' experiences in English and Irish higher education. It highlights the lack of comparative studies on this topic based on qualitative research and why filling this gap is important in understanding access and widening participation. Drawing on biographical interviews with 139 people in a range of elite and non-elite institutions, the article discusses similarities as well as some differences between the data from the two countries in terms of class, identity and how working-class students view and value higher education. It maps out how the research relates to recent debates over social class and outlines the theoretical implications of these findings.

Ireland's Working-Class Literature: Neglected Themes, Amphibian Academics, and the Challenges Ahead

“…A high proportion had, at university, experienced 'a feeling of dislocation, or at least a sense of social distance, from the dominant culture in universities', one of the Irish students describing university as 'a foreign country'. 47 Those attending elite institutions were particularly alienated:…”

‘You got into Oxbridge?’ Under‐represented students’ experiences of an elite university in the south of England

“…Students from middle-class backgrounds consequently perceive entering higher education to be something that 'people like us do' in contrast to students from working-class backgrounds for whom higher education can often be characterised as a risk-laden effort of going 'against the grain'. Where higher education is perceived foremost as a risk, it only becomes conceivable once an appreciable amount of academic success, as well as encouragement, has been experienced (Bathmaker et al, 2016;Finnegen & Merrill, 2017;Lareau, 2011;O'Sullivan et al, 2018;Perez-Adamson & Mercer, 2016;Reay, Crozier, & Clayton, 2009, 2010. What we might expect then is a differentiation between students' education in schools feeding a large proportion versus a low proportion of students to higher education in terms of a tailored strategic path that starts earlier or later-and orientates students towards more or less prestigious universitieswhich implicates a 'when' and 'how' element to application timings (Gaztambide-Fernández, 2011; Montacute & Cullinane, 2018;Reay et al, 2005).…”

“…Prior studies have demonstrated that undergraduates from under-represented backgrounds can find it difficult to fit in and experience a sense of belonging in university settings (Bathmaker et al, 2016;Finnegen & Merrill, 2017;Perez-Adamson & Mercer, 2016;Read, Burke, & Crozier, 2018;Reay, Crozier, & Clayton, 2009;Reay et al, 2010).…”

“…The sensation of being 'out of place' can detrimentally affect undergraduates' well-being, as well as their social and academic experiences, partly because it can lead them to question their capabilities (Finnegen & Merrill, 2017;Mallman, 2017;Perez-Adamson & Mercer, 2016). Mallman (2017), for example, interviewed Australian adults who had been socially mobile over the course of their lifetimes, and found that most had interpreted their academic struggles during HE as a result of personal inadequacy rather than structural disadvantage.…”

“…This finding contributes to an evidence base which suggests that undergraduates from 'under-represented' backgrounds can experience difficulties pertaining to their idea of familiarity: fitting in and experiencing a sense of belonging in prestigious universities. This can in turn lead them to become excluded from the accumulation and exchange of cultural, social and economic capital that undergraduates from middle-class backgrounds (continue to) engage in during higher education (Bathmaker et al, 2016;Finnegen & Merrill, 2017;Perez-Adamson & Mercer, 2016). Perhaps more concerning, however, is the finding that all of the participants who had attempted to participate in performance arts-based clubs and societies reported feeling excluded from them-where those from working-class backgrounds remain poorly represented in the creative industries, these participants' experiences suggest it begins with student panels feeding into job panels (Friedman & Laurison, 2018;O'Brian et al, 2016).…”