His qualitative study focuses on interviews with doubly disadvantaged, privileged poor, and upper income students at elite colleges, primarily in the US North East. The stories he collected from his students show not only the disadvantages poor students bring to elite colleges but also, in stark contrast, the privilege and entitlement of upper income students who take pretty much everything for granted. He reminds us, in vivid stories, that "access is not inclusion" (24).
To see Dr. Jack in action, please check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXKKmPCZPDc
Here some of my key takeaways from the talk and his book that focus on how individual faculty and a higher institution as a whole can be significantly more supportive of poor students:
- Networking with faculty: If a student's background is that of a high school with significant problems, they will not know how to network with faculty as they do not recognize that working with others is important. Instead, they will insist to work on their own, quietly, as that was the way to get through high school. Better high schools, especially private ones, will have taught their students that working with faculty is necessary to be successful and also a student's right. Faculty should consider how they are inviting students to interact with them to foster such a network that is essential for later letters of recommendation.
- Hidden curriculum: A high school not focused on getting its students into colleges will not spend time preparing students. The hidden curriculum assumes knowledge of words (syllabus, blue book, fellowship, office hours). Faculty should reflect on the language they are using - this does not mean that the language needs to change, but that all students know what the words mean.
- Sense of belonging: To be successful as a student, it is important to feel a sense of belonging rather the sense of an outsider. What resources does a university need to show it cares about all students?
- Food insecurity: If a student does not have money to go home (may not have a home to go to), then they may not have funds for food - especially over breaks when many universities close the entire campus. Keeping dorms open may not be cost effective for an institution but a life-saver for its students, especially when there are also affordable food options available.
- Work programs and other programs to stigmatize poor students: Institutions that offer programs for 1st-year students need to consider what they messages they are sending with these programs, especially if only some of them are paid. Work programs on elite college campuses also send a clear message that only some students need to take advantage of these programs - and this can translate into entitled attitudes by upper income students.
As faculty, what can we do? Think about the language you use and what signals it might send - it does not take a lot of time to remind students what the purpose of office hours is or why they need to bring a blue book. Make a point to meet with all students (assuming the number of students you have makes this possible) and talk about the need of connecting with faculty for work, for scholarships, for letters of recommendation. Be mindful of your students - if you see them struggling or absent, take the time to reach out and discover what is going on. Maybe they are working full-time, maybe they have a family with small children, maybe they are hungry - and maybe they are homesick.
As institutions, what can we do? Making it as easy as possible for all students to know what resources are available for all students is a good starting point. Reviewing housing and food options over breaks and changing policies around this could be a game-changer for some students. Reviewing what kind of student work is available and considering whether any of these positions may be sending the wrong message about the value of student work should also be on the list.
As institutions, what can we do? Making it as easy as possible for all students to know what resources are available for all students is a good starting point. Reviewing housing and food options over breaks and changing policies around this could be a game-changer for some students. Reviewing what kind of student work is available and considering whether any of these positions may be sending the wrong message about the value of student work should also be on the list.
Take the time to read this book - what do you see at your institution possible to change?
