The DOI matches its Crossref record; 37 of the 37 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Becoming Middle Class: How Working-class University Students Draw and Transgress Moral Class Boundaries
Abstract
This article analyses the expectations and experiences of a group of Canadian working-class, first-generation university students. I outline the structural disadvantages, in terms of economic, social, and cultural capital, these young people encounter. Rather than viewing working-class status exclusively as a barrier, I show how these students draw on their working-class backgrounds to construct uniquely working-class moral advantages, such as those associated with a strong work ethic, maturity, responsibility, and real-life experiences, to overcome structural disadvantages.Their narratives of moral class advantages, however, lack class consciousness.They can be interpreted as individualistic strategies that draw on collective values. Ultimately, these working-class students hope to transcend their class position. Drawing on working-class moralities supports their claim for recognition as educated middle-class subjects, but with moral dispositions rooted in their social background and upbringing.
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Citations
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The psychology of social class: How socioeconomic status impacts thought, feelings, and behaviour
Manstead, A. S. R. (2018) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12251 · Cited by 831
“A similar picture emerges from research in Canada by Lehmann (2009, 2013), who interviewedworking-class students attending a research-intensive university, and found that the students experienced uncomfortable conflicts between their new identities as university students and the ties they had with…”
BackgroundHigher education, social class and the mobilisation of capitals: recognising and playing the game
Bathmaker, A., Ingram, N., & Waller, R. D. (2013) · British Journal of Sociology of Education · doi:10.1080/01425692.2013.816041 · Cited by 460
Habitus Transformation and Hidden Injuries
Lehmann, W. (2013) · Sociology of Education · doi:10.1177/0038040713498777 · Cited by 287
Self-citationOut with the Old, In with the New? Habitus and Social Mobility at Selective Colleges
Lee, E., & Kramer, R. A. (2012) · Sociology of Education · doi:10.1177/0038040712445519 · Cited by 228
Spiegler, T., & Bednarek, A. (2013) · International Studies in Sociology of Education · doi:10.1080/09620214.2013.815441 · Cited by 232
Metadata
- Authors
- Lehmann, W.
- Affiliations
- Western University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Lehmann, Wolfgang
- ORCID
- Lehmann, Wolfgang
- Venue
- Sociology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2009-08
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 631-647
- ISSN
- 0038-0385 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-8684
- OpenAlex
- W2058465735
- Cited by
- 208
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 23.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Sociology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Cultural Capital and Social Class
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Educational Theory and Curriculum Studies
- Keywords
- working-class students, first-generation college students, middle-class identity, class consciousness, cultural capital, social capital, economic capital, work ethic, social mobility, recognition, individualism, Canadian higher education
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