Investigating the role of gender, social class and curriculum in the first-in-family higher education experience

Abstract

In all levels of schooling there exist disparities in terms of class and gender. The research presented in this article contributes to the study of how gender, class and curriculum influence the aspirations of students who are the first-in-family to attend university. Drawing on a study of 48 students over a three-year period, we are interested in the gendering and classing of the first-in-family experience according to their chosen area of study, as a proxy for their future aspirations. In making connections between their journeys and international research on class, gender and inequality, the article highlights how curriculum offerings in lower socio-economic contexts often have implications for how non-traditional student populations negotiate higher education.