Chapter 8: “Class” Discussion: Social Class, Communication And The Classroom Environment

—Amy, elementary education major and first-generation college student

Inspired by this quote from an undergraduate student in an elementary education program, this paper seeks to examine some of the constraints on classroom participation experienced by college students. Of particular interest, are the ways students, teachers, and the larger university and social/economic environments shape or influence the ways discussion is approached in the college classroom. Framed around the idea of social class positioning, class consciousness, and identity this discussion explores the constraints around, and opportunities for, using classroom spaces for democratic discussion.

The discussion in this chapter is informed by interviews collected as part of an interview-based research project exploring the experiences of first-generation college students. The interviews were collected at a campus of approximately 4,000 students, which attracts many students from the local region. Located in a de-industrialized town, the campus attracts young adults who might have pursued agriculture, railroad, or factory employment when these options were more readily available in the area, but now find that college seems to be a more promising option. As part of a larger study pursing questions around the complexities of the college experience for first-generation students, interviews were conducted with fifteen first-generation, working-class college students. Participants were recruited from introductory-level education courses at the campus.