The Educational Strategies of Danish University Students from Professional and Working-Class Backgrounds

This article studies the educational strategies adopted by university students from different class backgrounds in a Scandinavian welfare regime. Studies show distinct differences among classes relating to economic considerations, risk-averse behavior, and patterns of socialization among university...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comparative education review 2013-08, Vol.57 (3), p.457-480
Main Authors: Thomsen, Jens Peter, Munk, Martin D., Eiberg-Madsen, Misja, Hansen, Gro Inge
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Achievement
Architecture
Assets
Attitudes
Behavior Patterns
Business economics
Choices
College Choice
College Students
Colleges and universities
Cultural Background
Denmark
Economic Factors
Educational Strategies
Family Financial Resources
Foreign Countries
Grade point average
Higher education
Identity
Majors (Students)
Parents
Pharmacies
Qualitative Research
Risk
Risk analysis
Scandinavians
Self Concept
Semi Structured Interviews
Social Class
Social Life
Socialization
Student Adjustment
Student Attitudes
Student behavior
Students
Universities
University students
Welfare economics
Working Class
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Summary:This article studies the educational strategies adopted by university students from different class backgrounds in a Scandinavian welfare regime. Studies show distinct differences among classes relating to economic considerations, risk-averse behavior, and patterns of socialization among university students. We investigate these differences through qualitative interviews with 60 students from six programs. We ask how and to what extent Danish students’ choice of program and their educational strategies, attitudes, and behaviors are class related. We find that strategies are class based, but Danish working-class students do not refer to their class cultural background or to a collective working-class identity as either an asset or a challenge. Furthermore, financial constraints are not perceived as affecting their choice of higher education.
ISSN:0010-4086
1545-701X
DOI:10.1086/670806