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Chin, M.Y., Jeffries, J., & Thompson, M.N. (2024). The Impact of Downward Classism on Social Class Concealment Among College Students Who Are Low-Income. Journal of College Student Development 65(3), 316-320. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/csd.2024.a929245.

Abstract: Given the privileging of white, middle-class norms in higher education, students who are low-income encounter classism in college (e.g., Cattaneo et al., 2019). Specifically, these students experience downward classism as posited by the social class worldview model (SCWM) in the form of discrimination or prejudice for deviating from the economic and sociocultural norms in their institutions (Liu et al., 2004). The model describes people’s beliefs and experiences as shaped by their economic cultures and classism. College can thus be considered a type of economic culture for students. Downward classism has been shown to negatively impact low-income students’ academic and social outcomes, including their social connectedness and perceived stigmatization (Allan et al., 2016; Nguyen & Herron, 2021).

Results from a growing body of correlational and qualitative research have illustrated the ways in which students who are poor or working class manage their social class identities in higher education. Strategies of class code-switching (e.g., altering language) and disassociation (e.g., hiding status) were commonly used by students to manage the stigma associated with their lower social class statuses as well as pressures toward upward mobility in college settings (Elkins & Hanke, 2018; Radmacher & Azmitia, 2013). Poor and working-class college students were more likely to hide or conceal their social class backgrounds when they interacted with those of higher status (Aries & Seider, 2005; Radmacher & Azmitia, 2013). These findings suggest that for low-income students, social class concealment may function as a response to maintain their social status when faced with downward classism per SCWM (Liu et al., 2004). However, concealment may exacerbate negative emotions and hinder students from gaining social support, which can reinforce their disconnection from others (Aries & Seider, 2005).

Despite the well-documented links between social class and other social identities (e.g., first-generation student status, race/ethnicity) that have critical implications for college students’ experiences (Hinz, 2016; Radmacher & Azitia, 2013), limited research has examined how students’ other identities are connected to experiences with classism. Further, existing results have yielded mixed findings. In one study at a public university, students’ financial stress, but not their social class, significantly predicted their exposure to classism. This relationship did not differ between students of color and white [End Page 316] students (Cattaneo et al., 2019). In a different study, Allan et al. (2016) found that both students’ social class and first-generation college student (FCGS) status significantly predicted more experiences with classism.

This study built upon previous research to examine the daily phenomenon of social class concealment among low-income college students attending a large public land grant university in the US and to explore how students’ identities contribute to concealment. Using data from a mixed-methods daily diary study (Chin, 2020), we tested whether students concealed their social class more frequently among interaction partners (i.e., person or people with whom students interact) with higher status (H1) and whether more effort was used to conceal their status among partners with higher status (H2). Next, we explored differences in the overall concealment frequency reported among subgroups of low-income students based on their FGCS status, race/ethnicity, transfer student status, and their own perceived social status.

Keywords: Higher Education · Low-Income Students · Classism · Financial Stress · First-Generation College Students · Academic Outcomes · Upward Mobility · Stigmatization

Fetter, A. K., & Thompson, M. N. (2023). The impact of historical loss on Native American college students’ mental health: The protective role of ethnic identity. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 70(5), 486–497. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000686

Abstract: Culturally relevant stressors and protective factors are vital to understanding and effectively supporting Native American/Alaska Native (NA/AN) college students’ mental health and well-being. This study examined the theorized pathways among historical loss, well-being, psychological distress, and the proposed cultural buffer of ethnic identity in the indigenist stress-coping model (ISCM). Cross-sectional data were collected via online survey and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Participants were a national sample of 242 NA/AN college students. Participants were predominantly women (n = 185; 76%) and median age was 21 years. Partial support was found for the ISCM. Participants reported frequent thoughts of historical loss, which were associated with lower well-being and higher levels of psychological distress. Ethnic identity moderated the relationship between historical loss and well-being such that those with stronger ethnic identities reported a weaker relationship between historical loss and lower well-being. Results underscore the importance of culturally specific risk and protective factors in NA/AN college students’ resiliency and inform needed interventions and systemic change in higher education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Impact Statement: Native American (NA) and Alaska Native (AN) college students experience some of the most significant educational inequities in the United States but little research focuses on specific and unique pathways for resilience within this population. Evidence suggests that historical loss is a relevant stressor for NA/AN college students and having a strong ethnic identity protects students’ well-being. Creating greater educational equity requires higher education institutions to address this stressor and explicitly support students’ ethnic identities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Keywords: Native American · Alaska Native · Mental Health · Higher Education · Well-being · Historical Loss · Ethnic Identity

Jang-Tucci, K., Hora, M.T. & Zhang, J. Gatekeeping at work: a multi-dimensional analysis of student, institutional, and employer characteristics associated with unpaid internships. High Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-024-01254-6

Abstract:
Internships are recognized globally as a high-impact practice that substantially enhances students’ future prospects. However, concerns persist about their legality and potentially exclusionary nature. While prior research  indicates participation varies based on key variables, such as gender and major, empirical work remains limited and tends to focus on univariate or single-actor explanations. We employ multi-actor models from management studies to analyze survey data (n=1153) from 13 U.S. institutions, nine of which are minority-serving institutions (MSI). The data reveal that only 30.3% of the students participated in internships, of which 43.4% were unpaid. Linear probability analysis results indicate that contrary to expectations, individual demographic characteristics, such as gender, were not signifcant predictors of internship compensation on their own. Instead, academic,
institutional, and employer characteristics emerged as signifcant predictors. Interaction analysis results highlight the combined efects of race, gender, major, MSI status, and employer characteristics in predicting participation in unpaid internships. Further, the data suggest that gender efects are largely infuenced by academic major afliation, emphasizing that unpaid internships do not uniformly afect all students but are predominant in specifc sub-groups. We conclude by proposing a strategy to eliminate unpaid internships in the interest of transformative social justice work.

Keywords: Work-based learning · Access · Unpaid internships · Minority-serving institutions · Inequality · Student success · Multi-actor frameworks · Linear probability model

Hora, M. T., Wolfgram, M., Huerta, A. H., Lee, C., & Gopal, A. (2022). A multilevel, agent-centered analysis of intersectionality in a Hispanic-Serving Institution: The case of college internship access for Latinx students. AERA Open, 8, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/233285842211021 

Wolfgram, M. & Ahrens, V. (2022).  One internship, two internships, three internships … more!’: Exploring the culture of the multiple internship economy, Journal of Education and Work, https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2022.2036713

 

 

Hora, M.T., Benbow, R., & Lee, C. (2021). A sociocultural approach to communication instruction: How insights from communication teaching instruction can inform faculty development programs. Journal of the Learning Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2021.1936533

Thompson, M. N., Perez-Chavez, J., & Fetter, A. (2021). Internship experiences among college students attending an HBC: A longitudinal grounded theory exploration. Journal of Career Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072721992758

Smolarek, B.B., Wolfgram, M., Vang, M. N., Xiong, C. P., Lee, L., Lee, P., Thao, M., Vang, K., Xiong, P. K., Xiong, O., & Xiong, P. (2021). Our HMoob American college paj ntaub: Student-engaged community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) as counter-invisibility work. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2021.1888162

Wolfgram, M. (2020). Refugees and the audit culture of international higher education in the United States. New Directions for Higher Education, 2020, 55–66. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20382

Hora, M. T. (2020). Hiring as cultural gatekeeping into occupational communities: Implications for higher education and student employability. Higher Education, 79(2), 307-324.

Hora, M.T., Chen, Z., Parrott, E., & Her, P. (2020). Problematizing college internships: Exploring issues with access, program design, and developmental outcomes in three U.S. colleges. International Journal of Work Integrated Learning, 21 (3), 235-252.

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