In this essay, Michael Satterfield recounts his experiences as a student in and outside of prison. His narrative exposes the challenges faced by one person in pursuit of an education, and recounts his early educational experiences as well as his participation in a college-in-prison program. He also describes his journey to a four-year college and…

The author argues that first-generation college students (FGS) have compounded challenges when they pursue graduate education. As a first-generation college student, he was not able to gather advice from family or his job supervisor, who had no experience with graduate school. Drawing from his experience and the existing FGS-related research, the…

The American educational system is no fairy tale. Students who think that it takes nothing more than a wish upon a star to make their educational dreams come true are sure to be disappointed. The authors agree with Professor Rosenbaum: In order to realize their educational dreams, students must invest considerable effort. Rather than encouraging…

This paper provides a critique of recent Bourdieusian research into the higher education (HE) choice process. Specifically, Ball et al. (2002) maintain that class-related differences in students' psycho-social dispositions in Years 12 and 13, the "landscape of choice", shape their intentions or "decisions" to participate in HE and their selection…

One of the outcomes of the "Bradley Report" (Bradley et al. 2008) is that Australian universities have a new incentive to enrol students from low socio-economic status. Consequently, a flurry of interest is growing around knowledge concerning the targeting, recruitment and retention of low socio-economic status (SES) students. Working…

In this article, I draw on personal experiences with mentors throughout various periods of my education. More specifically, I address the impact of two scholars, Dr. Michelle Camacho and Dr. Lionel Cantu, in shaping my decision to attend graduate school. I discuss how their ongoing support, in combination with university mentorship-focused…

Raising aspirations has been identified as a key strategy for widening educational participation in lifelong learning policy. This article deconstructs the hegemonic discourse of raising aspirations through Economic and Social Research Council-funded research on men, masculinities and higher educational access and participation.The article…