Thesis (doctoral)--Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Michigan, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of Michigan, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence that social class identity has on the emerging professional identities of novice teachers. The study argues that schooling in the UK is classed in terms of its history, outcomes and processes, and as a result, situates teaching as a form of ‘class work’. Given the strong arguments for situating teaching in this way, this thesis seeks to increase our understanding about the way class actually works in relation to teachers’ identities and the impact this has on their work as teachers. This study was qualitative and longitudinal in nature and used semi-structured interviews as the main method of data collection. A group of eleven novice teachers were followed over a two year period as they both learnt to become teachers on a postgraduate initial teacher education programme and then one year later after most had started teaching in secondary schools. The thesis begins by examining the complexities of the heightened, emotive and fiercely debated issue of class and draws strongly on understandings that locate class in contemporary Britain as being about culture as well as social structures. It recognises that whilst the emerging professional identities of teachers are heavily shaped by life experiences prior to becoming a teacher, new and varied teaching experiences have the capacity to impact on the way teachers see themselves and their understandings of their work in schools. Using data rich stories of six of the novice teachers to exemplify the wider sample, this thesis illustrates the ways in which classed identity shapes novice teachers’ early understandings of schooling and becoming a teacher. It demonstrates that class really does matter for novice teachers but that it plays out in complex and sometimes contradictory ways. In particular, the thesis draws on the notion of social class boundaries and the way in which teaching often involves the crossing of these. The crossing of class boundaries is identified as being a central feature of the novice teacher experience. It is argued that class boundary crossing creates tensions for novice teachers not least because their own class identities are called into question and troubled by this process. One feature of this process is that many novice teachers recognise teaching as ‘class work’ and additionally understand that the cultural capital they bring to this context may not be equally valued in all educational settings. This can result in a class identity acting in restrictive and constraining ways. Whilst some novice teachers are bound by their class identities, others are able to play strategically with their class minimising the disadvantages of a perceived lack of appropriate cultural capital. This study suggests that the ability to know how and when to strategise is itself classed, a coping mechanism employed by middle rather than working class novice teachers. The study concludes by examining the implications of these findings for novice teachers and their preparation for work in schools. It argues that the classed identities of teachers need to be explicitly examined in a supportive and reflexive manner within initial teacher education.

This research examines variation in the relationships between college expectations, planfulness, and intense adolescent work by socioeconomic factors using data from Add Health (n = 8,836). Results show that higher college expectations are related to higher odds of intense school-year work among lower social class youth, but lower odds of intense work among youth from higher social class backgrounds. Moreover, planful adolescents are more likely to work intensely during the school year among youth from disadvantaged neighborhoods, but less likely to work intensely among those from advantaged neighborhoods. Results also show less variability in these relationships when considering summer work.

This qualitative study was designed to produce a theoretical model to illustrate disadvantaged clients' social class-related experiences in therapy. Clients' perceptions of therapist behaviors that positively and negatively influenced the quality of their therapy were also explored. Individual interviews were conducted with 18 adult clients (13 females, 5 males; age range: 18 to 64 years) at urban and rural community agencies primarily serving individuals who are considered economically disadvantaged. Participant-clients' disadvantaged status was based on their income below the cutoff for Medicaid eligibility in the state of Illinois and need for reduced fees or reliance on Medicaid coverage to pay for therapy services. Participants reported diverse ethnic backgrounds, including European American (n = 8), Hispanic American (n = 5), African American (n = 3), Jewish American (n = 1), and biracial (European and Native American; n = 1). Most participants reported a yearly household income less than $10,000 (n = 11), and that they were either unemployed or not in the labor force due to disability (n = 16). They reported varied religious/spiritual affiliations, educational levels, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The grounded theory method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1998; Charmaz, 2000) was utilized to collect and analyze the data. The emergent theory, categories, and direct quotes from the participants are presented in order to illustrate clients' social class-related experiences in therapy. Results are consistent with existing empirical and theoretical literature on social class and therapy, and identify ways that disadvantaged social class affects individuals' therapy experiences. Implications for clinicians working with this population and public policies are discussed.

No description available.

No description available.

No / Higher education is welcoming students from diverse educational, social, and economic backgrounds, and yet it predominantly employs middle-class academics. Conceptually, there appears, on at least these grounds alone, to be a cultural and class mismatch. This work discusses empirical interviews with tenured academics from a working-class heritage employed in one UK university. Interviewees talk candidly about their childhood backgrounds, their school experiences, and what happened to them after leaving compulsory education. They also reveal their experiences of university, both as students and academics from their early careers to the present day. This book will be of interest to an international audience that includes new and aspiring academics who come from a working-class background themselves. The multifaceted findings will also be relevant to established academics and students of sociology, education studies and social class.

Habilitation - Universität, Passau, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [571]-689) and index.