Massachusetts Community College Teaching, Learning & Student Development 2013 Conference

Middlesex Community College

The Effects of a Working-Class Background on Community College

Faculty: A Critical Ethnography Dr. Susan McLaughlin Dole

Bunker Hill Community College

The Research Problem

Conceptual Framework

The Findings

Synthesis of Select Findings

Conclusion

Overview of the Presentation

The Research Problem

Other forms of diversity, however, including SOCIAL CLASS have begun to figure more prominently in the discourse on diversity in higher education (Bren-

Michaels, 2008; Lubrano, 2004; Moody, 2004).

Colleges and universities are making efforts to increase diversity in the faculty ranks by recruiting individuals who share the racial, gender, and cultural backgrounds of an increasingly diverse student population.

Diversity in the faculty ranks is important because….

Women faculty and faculty of color are more likely

to foster critical thinking and reflection (Hurtado, 2001, Umbach & Kuh, 2006),

to devote significant attention to interacting with students, and

to build mentoring relationships with students from similar backgrounds (McGrath & Van Buskirk, 1999; Pope, 2002).

Faculty from working-class backgrounds can also

explore questions of power and privilege,

critically examine policies and practices that may limit class mobility, and

bring different perspectives to their academic disciplines (Christopher, 2005; Dews & Law, 1995; Giroux, 1992; Ryan & Sackrey, 1996; Vander Putten, 1999).

I

Their contributions may be marginalized because… They must conform to the behavioral expectations of the academic role (Dews & Law, 1995; Ryan & Sackrey, 1996).

They may not understand the social nuances of the academic culture (Giroux, 1992, 1994; hooks, 1994, Lubrano, 2004).

In response, they may:

change their speech patterns and hide regional dialects,

drop any habits or behaviors that may reveal them as non-privileged, and

conceal any trace of their class of origin. (Dews & Law, 1996; Ryan & Sackrey, 1996; Vander Putten, 1999, 2001).

This reaction is well document in the literature,

“ border-crossers” (Giroux, 1992), “working-class silence” (Law, 1995), “theoretical silence” (Leeb, 2004), or “straddlers” (Lubrano, 2004).

This is problematic because…..Rather than employing their knowledge and experiences related to social class for the betterment of educating students, working-class faculty members may feel a need to retreat into the social class “closet” (Casey, 2006) and hide any trace of their class of origin.

Ample evidence suggests that higher education institutions fail to provide equitable educational opportunities for working-class and low- income students ( Bailey, Jenkins, & Leinbach, 2005; Dowd, Cheslock, & Melguizo, 2008; Roy, 2005, 2007; Sacks, 2007).

Researchers have uncovered disturbing data related to social class. The most persistent obstacles to college entrance may stem from social class background, rather than race, ethnicity, or gender

( Fischer, 2007; Hearn, 1984, 1990, 1991; Karen, 1998).

The Purpose

The study seeks to understand how their class background

affected their decision to enter the professorate, shaped their pedagogical approach with students, and their experiences in the academic workplace.

At the core of this investigation is an interest in understanding how faculty members have experienced the transition from member of the working-class to member of the academic/professional class.

Conceptual Framework

Bourdieu’s Social Capital Theory

Key Concepts of Social Capital

•Habitus/Class

Habitus(cognitive)Language/Voice

(expressive) Border Crossing

(behavioral)Power , Politics, and Positionality

(larger social issues)

Class of Origin

Identity

Implications.

Career ChoiceTeaching

Academic Workplace

Research Method

Critical Ethnography

thought is fundamentally mediated by socially and historically constituted power relationships;

facts can never be removed from ideology, nor isolated from dominant values;

social relationships are not stable and fixed;

and language is central to the formation of subjectivity (Carspecken, 1996).

Basic assumptions of this method are:

Definition of faculty from working-class backgrounds : high school or less as the educational attainment level of

both parents, parent(s) in blue-collar occupations,

and/or grew up in low-income households. (Vander Putten , 1999)

Research Design

This study asked fifteen full-time doctoral trained liberal arts faculty from working-class backgrounds to reflect on their experiences in higher education.

The Findings

Graduate School and Career PathsHabitus /Class Habitus

Hard work is expected and valued, no sense of entitlement, everything has to be earned, acceptance of the system of merit (working-class acquiesce), no career searches, luck or happenstance, job security is importantA science faculty member comments, “I had this work ethic. I was always on top of my class, because I studied very hard.”

Language/Voice Changed language, behavior, expressiveness, and were silent about

their backgrounds or anything that may reveal them as the “other”An English faculty member says she learned, “ to play the academic game”

Border –CrossingFamilies had limited social capital, mentors/advisors were critically

important, no networking or personal connections were used in the job search A science faculty member recalls, “My family didn’t know what a Ph.D. was…I just didn’t know how to get one.”

Power, Politics and PositionalityAcademic problems were viewed as personal issues, academically

and/or socially underprepared for graduate work they bought into meritocracy

A science faculty member recalls, “I worked very hard to conceal the fact that I didn’t know something.

Teaching and Pedagogical Approaches

Habitus/Class HabitusLoyalty to and solidarity with students, engage in student-

centered pedagogy fostering critical thinking and problem solving skills A psychology faculty member stated, “to defend my students is to defend myself.”

Language and VoiceDemystify the text

An English faculty member comments, "They [students] have to know the language [of higher education and of the field] and play the game.” A music faculty member comments, “ I teach them the academic work ethic. How were they to know- I didn’t know either.”

Border –CrossingDiscussions of social class, mentoring students based on mutual understanding , and transformation

A philosophy faculty member points out “ how [social] class is so important in an individuals life in a class-structured and in a class-based society.”

Power , Politics and Positionality Sensitivity to the marginalized positionA psychology faculty member notes, “Those of us who are teaching

students in a community college are valuable, because if we don’t help our students, who will?”

Habitus/Class HabitusTend to view administrators from a hierarchical vantage point,

mistrust of bosses (administrators), open and honest communication are important.

A philosophy faculty member observes, “Decisions are made in the dark of night without consultation with the community. We’re really going to have to push back at the administration.”

Language and VoiceStrong, emotionally charged work-class terms are used to describe

the perceived threats to faculty governance.Another philosophy faculty member argues, “curriculum decisions are sacrosanct and rest with the faculty.”

Border-CrossingConcerns with centralization of decision making and increased work-

load leading to increased activism. A sociology faculty member observed, “I have found a disconnect with this new wave of administrators…not in a hostile way…it’s more fundamental. They are not talking the same language.”

Power, Politics, and PositionalityDecreasing budgets and increasing faculty workloads, involvement of

political and educational reformers in curriculum and program decisions. A math faculty member’s concern, “Students at an Ivy League college are going to be fine. If we don’t help our students [and protect the community colleges], who will?”

The Academic Workplace

Synthesis of Select Findings

Socio-cultural barriers – class structure that identifies the working-class as less important and perhaps even inferior to their middle-class counterparts. Participants altered themselves to assimilate the requisite habits of the dominant culture of higher education. Examples of changing their voice, language, expressions, body language, and eliminating regional dialects were common.

Linguistic barriers - participants recognized the need for developing a new vocabulary. This is an are a of tension for many working-class individuals as they recognize that they alter themselves to fit the standards of another class if they want to find success in higher education.

Structural barriers – inadequate institutional support and resources available for working-class students, for example, financial advice beyond financial aid, lack of personal, career, and transfer counseling. A few of the participants talked about not even being aware, at the time, that they needed help. Very often this was because they believed they just had to work harder than other students to accomplish their goals.

Barriers for the Border Crosser

The mission statements and other materials published by the three colleges coupled with the responses and other supporting documents provided by the participants indicate that both the institutions and the faculty members believe in student transformation.

The cultures of the colleges and teaching practices of the faculty are geared toward transforming students into active, empowered participants in the educational process (Rhoads & Solórzano, 1995; Shaw, 1997, Shaw & London, 1995).

The faculty members are committed to assuring that all students have access to higher education, and in giving them the knowledge to succeed. They are acutely aware that for many disenfranchised people, community colleges are their only access points to such knowledge.

There are concerns about decreasing budgets, cuts in student and academic support services, increasing student enrollment, changes in the student demographics, and increasing reliance on part-time faculty. The faculty members are actively advocating for their students and their colleges. This advocacy is expressed in their academic publications, statements at public forums, and active participation in college governance, and most importantly, in working with their individual students.

This study found that the faculty members hold teaching and fostering a safe learning environment for their students to be their primary responsibility. As a result, they foster pedagogical conditions that allow students to understand their “otherness” in their own terms (Giroux, 1992). They engage in a student-centered pedagogy that creates an environment within which the student and faculty member engage in a dynamic relationship of teaching and learning.

Transformative Educators (Giroux, 1992).

The study participants noted that community college faculty are systematically losing control over academic issues and limited involvement in college governance and are becoming more like managed professionals.

The community colleges’ response to demands for efficiency, flexibility, and revenue generation causes a shift from a faculty-driven governance structure to one that is management centered. The interests of management (the market) are related to increasing productivity while keeping costs down.

Levin, Kater, and Wagoner (2006)argue that community college faculty members are becoming highly managed professionals.

The ramifications of community college faculty as managed professionals is far reaching and will have a profound impact on the community colleges, and directly impact social mobility though higher education for many. It is extremely important for more work to be done in this area before it’s to late.

Managed Professionals (Rhoades, 1998)

A class society protects itself by controlling the intellectual means of

production (Pelez, 1995)

Working–Class Faculty in the Community Colleges

Stratified System or Goodness of Fit

The socialization of the graduate student into or out of a faculty career track is one of the ways that the professoriate controls entrance into the profession.

The academic labor market for university faculty, therefore, is shaped by a “prestige game” (Conrad & Eagan, 1989).

Faculty from the research universities continue to be drawn from more privileged backgrounds. There is a strong correlation between the faculty members’ social class of origin and the prestige of the institution that employs them (Boatsman & Anthony, 1995; Schuster & Finkelstein, 2006).

Working-class faculty are more likely to be affiliated with less prestigious institutions, and are not considered by their colleges to be high-caliber researchers (Abel, 1984; Ryan & Sackrey, 1996).

A Stratified System

Goodness of Fit Goodness of fit suggests there is a self-selection may be based on the faculty members desire to align personal values with institutional mission, and to serve as role models for students from similar backgrounds. The more aligned the background of the faculty member and the type of institution where they teach the greater the career satisfaction (Vander Putten, 1999)

These fifteen community college faculty members from working-class backgrounds experience a high level of fit or congruence between their social class background and the mission and values of the colleges.

What is clear, they are highly satisfied with their professional lives. The goodness of fit argument holds. There is an alignment between their personal and professional values and the teaching mission of the community colleges.

In Closing…..

The participants have come to terms with the changes that were required in their identity as they moved from the working class to the professional class through higher education. All participants recognized that the base of their identities is firmly entrenched in their working class backgrounds. They also recognized and were able to articulate where the dimensions of their past and present class status intersect and impact each other. They are committed to assisting their students to demystify the text of higher education and t0 recognize and overcome the barriers to their success.

“The way I think about the world is in part offered to me or structured by my working class background. There have always been class structures that have impeded, to put it in as strong a language as possible, impeded my flourishing. I have been constantly aware of those structures. It informs everything that I do. In some sense it is flush with me because it is part of my identity and its part of the way I look at the world. I don’t avoid it ever. I live it.” A philosophy faculty member from Galway Community College

I am profoundly grateful to and proud of the 15 outstanding community college faculty who agreed to participate in this study.

Thank you.