'Bettering Yourself'? Discourses of risk, cost and benefit in ethnically diverse, young working-class non-participants' constructions of higher education

“The developing research literature on the learning experiences of groups traditionally excluded from higher education (HE) in the UK largely confirms this model of the learner (Archer & Hutchings, 2000; Archer et al, 2003).”

“Having placed emphasis on the individual experience, the stories can also be read as indicative of more collective dimensions of experience for under-represented groups (Archer and Hutchings, 2000; Hutchings and Archer, 2001; Metcalfe, 1993; Murphy and Fleming, 2000; Reay, 1998; Tett, 1999; Woodrow, 1996).”

“High-achieving young women are seen as using their academic success in school to invest in university and graduate careers for their own ‘self-betterment’ and appear to be paving their ways to bright and ambitious futures (Archer and Hutchings, 2000).”

“Furthermore, while there continues to be research documenting how working-class males access and experience higher education generally (see Archer and Hutchings 2000; Warin and Dempster 2007), there is substantially less research on how working-class males access and navigate elite forms of higher…”

“…to social mobility (Blanden and Machin 2013; Boliver 2011; Britton, Drayton, and van der Erve 2021; Shiner and Noden 2015) makes widening participation a continuing goal of educational policy (Archer and Hutchings 2000; Dilnot and Boliver 2018; Greenbank 2006; Harrison 2011; Younger et al. 2019).”

“Di ff erent positionings in relation to risks and costs Archer and Hutchings (2000) critiqued the assumption that higher education is a guaranteed means of ‘ bettering yourself ’ more than two decades ago.”

“…to explain differences in levels of participation, various commentators discuss ‘participation decisions’ in terms of the ‘price’ of participation and (Jones 2016, 286), the ‘costs’ associated with the educational engagement (Voigt 2007, 89), as well non-participation (Archer and Hutchinson 2000).”

“A case in point is the fact that it is through promoting expanded access to higher education that countries like South Africa can address inequality and thereby spread the benefits of higher education at the national, community and individual level (Archer & Hutchings, 2000: 557).”

“This aligns with Archer and Hutchings (2000) who, in an earlier study, identify risk as the barrier to participation.”

“At this point, continued increases in student numbers created a need for a new educational paradigm (Apple, 2004; Apple, 2004; Archer and Hutchings, 2000).”

“Such students are likely to be guided by risk aversion and awareness of socio-economic constraint (Archer and Hutchings 2000; Archer et al. 2003; Reay et al. 2005).”

“Class, ethnicity and educational achievement The risks and benefits associated with higher education are unequally distributed across social class, and access to higher education remains a more difficult and costly choice for working-class students (Archer and Hutchings 2000).”

“Accordingly, this market of singularities is linked to the broader economy of self—an example of the neoliberal practice of selling the self as a commodity (Anteby and Occhiuto 2020; Archer and Hutchings 2000; Hochschild 2012).”

“They can mitigate the effects of socioeconomic inequality on student engagement and performance (Archer & Hutchings, 2000).”

“Relevant policies have focused on promoting inclusion and equity (Reay, 2017; Shavit, Arum & Gamoran, 2007), but they also stress access to opportunities once at university (Crozier, Reay & Clayton, 2019; Archer & Hutchings, 2000) and student success (Τroxel, 2010; Thomas, 2002).”

“…students entering HE is pinpointed because according to literature and key statistics, they appear to face hurdles in their transition (Archer and Hutchings, 2000; Kember, 2001; Leathwood and O’Connell, 2003; Read et al., 2003; Reay, 2003; Brine and Waller, 2004; Krause and Coates,…”

“…hand, the number of minority students has increased and diversity on campus has become a common topic for discussion in higher education research (Archer & Hutchings, 2010; Dowd, Cheslock, & Melguizo, 2008; Gonzalez-Clarke & Lising-Antonio, 2012; Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, & Gurin, 2009; Hurtado,…”

“Furthermore, there is a large body of research evidence that supports their findings (see, for example, Archer and Hutchings 2000 ; Reay et al.”

“Tacit knowledge and the hidden curriculum Wfis (1986, p241) defines the hidden curriculum as ̀ the day to day interactions and regularities of classrooms and schools that tacitly teach important norms and values'. Snyder (1970) cited in Anderson (2002, p3) defines the hidden curriculum in higher education as `the way…”