How Social Class Differences Affect Students' Experience of University

Abstract

The present paper outlines the experiences reported by students from different social class backgrounds who have recently graduated from university. Students from manual skilled and partly skilled backgrounds were classed as disadvantaged, while students from professional or intermediate backgrounds were classed as advantaged. Data were collected from the same cohort of students on seven occasions across their university career. Students completed questions about their family background, paid employment, financial concerns, participation in recreational activities, perceptions of academic quality and perceptions of social support. Results showed that students from disadvantaged backgrounds were less likely to have parents that attended university, more likely to have been in paid employment, less likely to have participated in non‐academic activities and spent fewer evenings per week socializing compared with students from advantaged backgrounds. Also, there was some evidence of less positive perceptions of social support among disadvantaged students. However, there were no social class differences in ratings of teaching quality and all students reported high levels of financial concern. These findings are discussed in relation to proposed changes to the way higher education is funded in Britain and the implications these changes will have on recruiting students from disadvantaged backgrounds.