Upwardly Mobile: Attitudes Toward the Class Transition Among First-Generation College Students

Abstract

First-generation, working-class college students are on the path to upward mobility and may have social and psychological problems related to cultural differences between the working class and the middle class. In her study, Hurst (2007, 2010) reports that students of working-class origin often choose loyalty to one class. However, I revise Hurst's model after finding that, while upwardly mobile students identify more with either the working class or middle class, they can do so without rejecting the other. The findings also indicate that colleges can encourage a healthy class transition by providing support with student organizations, role models, and coursework.