Chapter 23: Beyond the Ivory Tower: Transforming Academia for Working-Class People

Drawing upon insights from contributors to this book and the author’s research, this chapter analyses how working-class (WC) individuals experience and navigate challenges across different roles in Higher Education (HE). From students and graduates to academics, professional staff and ancillary workers, this chapter explores class-based barriers while proposing potential solutions. This chapter reveals common patterns across all WC groups in academia – including financial insecurity, cultural barriers and institutional invisibility – while acknowledging important differences. For instance, WC students tend to struggle with the hidden curriculum and belonging, while graduates with the same class heritage typically face geographic and networking constraints. Professional staff from WC backgrounds must navigate cultural conflicts and advancement barriers, and ancillary staff from the same background often contend with systemic invisibility. WC academics manage precarious contracts alongside persistent identity conflicts. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive response: embedding class awareness in equality, diversity and inclusion frameworks, developing targeted support systems and creating platforms for WC voices in institutional decision-making. True inclusivity in HE demands sustained commitment to dismantling class-based barriers at every level, creating a system that authentically represents and serves all.