Breaking barriers or locked out? Class-based perceptions and experiences of postsecondary education

Abstract

This article provides an overview of objective and subjective class differences in experiences of postsecondary education. Using the metaphor of a funnel, it argues that cumulative disadvantage results when first-generation and low-income college students are disproportionately filtered out at each stage of the postsecondary education process. Subjective class differences largely serve to reproduce existing inequalities, although the potential for transformation exists. This article considers inequalities during childhood and the transition to adulthood, stratification within institutions, and class differences in postsecondary educational enrollment, attendance, college life, work, financial aid, and attainment. Directions for future research and program and policy interventions are outlined.