Like the USA and UK, Australia is currently
attempting to increase the number of working-class students at its universities.
I have
recently published a short piece in Higher
Education Research and Development in which I argue that Australia’s social and education
researchers need to focus their efforts on identifying the best approaches towards
facilitating these students’ success at uni (Rubin, 2012). In particular, we need to consider
how to increase the social integration of working-class students at uni.
In a recent review of American research, I’ve shown that working-class
students are significantly less integrated at uni than middle-class students
(for more, see here).
This is a problem because there’s clear evidence that social integration positively
predicts academic performance and persistence.
Social integration is likely to be particularly important for working-class
students because many of them are the first in their families to attend
university and, consequently, they are less likely to get helpful advice from
their parents about how to navigate university life. For example, when a
working-class student falls ill and asks their parents what to do about their
late coursework assignment, their parents may tell them to do the best they can
and submit on time. But middle-class parents, who've been at uni, are likely to
suggest applying for an extended due date. It’s for this sort of reason that I
think it's vital for working-class students to make friends at uni. Uni friends
can provide valuable informational and social support that helps fill the experience
gap of working-class students. In short, uni friends can help show
working-class students the ropes.
In my article, I argue
that we need more research in this area in order to figure out the main causes
of working-class students' social exclusion. The results of this research will
inform the best approaches towards increasing working-class students’ social
integration and give them a better
chance of succeeding at uni.
Rubin, M. (2012). Working-class students need more friends at university: a cautionary note for Australia's higher education equity initiative Higher Education Research & Development, 31 (3), 431-433 DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2012.689246 Free access available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/vfyypRnNZK27hiH5WDQ8/full
