McDonnell, Sorca (2023) 'Do you mind me askin, but how did you get in here?’ A collaborative inquiry exploring class and education in Ireland, from the perspectives and experiences of working class women who have attended higher education. PhD thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.

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Abstract

This research is a Collaborative/Co-operative Inquiry (CI) with a group of working class women who have attended Higher Education (HE), in which we explore class and education in Ireland. The challenges of inequality, within our stories, particularly in educational structures, are at the heart of this research. It is also practitioner research where I am exploring and critiquing systems in HE that continue to ‘other’ students and my role as a lecturer within these systems. The importance of voice and story in articulating classed experiences from an insider perspective is important in challenging taken for granted, and individualistic, perspectives of class and choice (Skeggs, 1997; Reay, 2017; Crew, 2020). Pierre Bourdieu’s key concepts of class, are used to explore our experiences and our positions in the social structures, including how they impact our trajectories. Our research group worked collaboratively to explore our stories and to co-construct knowledge based in our classed experiences. The process, underpinned by care and empathy, highlights the expertise in our group on class, access and education. The impact of inequality in wider society, particularly education, on our experiences and trajectories was at the centre of our inquiry. The research highlights the middle class framing of the educational system and how having the right habitus, and cultural capital provides a distinct advantage, with working class students feeling ‘other’ in the system. This impacts our lack of belonging in education at all levels and how moving to HE can change class awareness. Feeling, and being different from the middle class students was linked to deficit perspectives of class which places blame on individuals for their lack of success in HE. Feeling caught between worlds, started in HE and has continued into employment. The role of family, and habitus also impacted our trajectories, when we went to HE and changed relationships and positioning related to succeeding in HE. This research contributes to the small body of research on the lived experiences of class and education in Ireland. It highlights the complexity of classed experiences and challenges narrow classifications and deficit models of class and affirms the inclusion of voice and story in challenging taken for granted perspectives.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Keywords:	collaborative inquiry; exploring; class; education; Ireland; working class women; higher education;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Adult and Community Education
Item ID:	18843
Depositing User:	IR eTheses
Date Deposited:	10 Sep 2024 13:31
URI:
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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