"I Am Working-Class": Subjective Self-Definition as a Missing Measure of Social Class and Socioeconomic Status in Higher Education Research

Impact Factor:2.963 | Ranking:Education & Educational Research 7 out of 219Source:2013 Journal Citation Reports® (Thomson Reuters, 2014)
Mark Rubin1Nida Denson2Sue Kilpatrick3Kelly E. Matthews4Tom Stehlik5David Zyngier6

1The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia

2University of Western Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

3University of Tasmania, Launceton, New South Wales, Australia

4The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia

5University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

6Monash University, Frankston, Victoria, Australia This review provides a critical appraisal of the measurement of students’ social class and socioeconomic status (SES) in the context of widening higher education participation. Most assessments of social class and SES in higher education have focused on objective measurements based on the income, occupation, and education of students’ parents, and they have tended to overlook diversity among students based on factors such as age, ethnicity, indigeneity, and rurality. However, recent research in psychology and sociology has stressed the more subjective and intersectional nature of social class. The authors argue that it is important to consider subjective self-definitions of social class and SES alongside more traditional objective measures. The implications of this dual measurement approach for higher education research are discussed.

Received September 22, 2013. Revision received January 13, 2014. Revision received February 16, 2014. Accepted February 24, 2014.

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