Currently reading Mottershaw (2026) on “Class in session: discussing social class in the university classroom”
We like to think of the educational system as a meritocracy, where people are rewarded and advanced purely based on their performance, but at the same time most people know that it is not. In my own work we have looked at first-generation students, students whose parents have not been in higher education, and I have talked with many people about their experiences as first-generation academics. But we have never linked that to social class. I don’t think I have ever explicitly talked or even thought about social class in relation to people who were actually in the room with me, or that I know personally, or in the communities I have lived in. While I am aware that class is an important concept to describe societies, it has also always been something theoretical for me, something that applies to other places and belongs in history. It is not something that is being discussed, at least not in those terms, in places I have lived and worked. But if we want to work against the inequalities and biases that students face, would it help to explicitly discuss class, to name it as something that shapes peoples experiences and opportunities and that has a large influence on how well they perform?
Mottershaw (2026) describes the experiences of “academics of working-class heritage” (who I would probably have called first-generation students), and how many experience “a sense of cultural dissonance, where they might feel disconnected from both the communities they grew up in and from the academic environments they now occupy“. Even though they might not technically be working class any more, they might still enjoy the same hobbies with the same people as before and feel that that is a barrier to feeling fully integrated in, and accepted by, the middle class (which might not even be a goal, since that also creates more distance to where they came from, and that they also might perceive as snobby and not only something to aspire to). But of course having had different experiences and opportunities in the past also shapes the experiences and opportunities of the future, and it is important to be aware of that both as a teacher and as a student.
Mottershaw (2026) describes many benefits of discussing social class in class:
- Promoting awareness and empathy: students can reflect on different challenges and privileges, question existing stereotypes, and learn to respect and value diverse experiences
- Encourage critical thinking: they can understand the influence of societal norms and power relations on people’s lives, experiences, perspectives
- Enhancing inclusivity: acknowledging that some students have an advantage is not a disadvantage to those students, but has a positive (equalizing!) outcomes for the disadvantaged ones
- Preparing students for the future: In future professional roles, it is important that students can “manage, address and help to dismantle real-world inequalities in their careers“, for example as politicians, health care professionals, or educators
Of course, discussing social class comes with challenges, too: It is really complex, intersectional, personal. Both teachers and students might feel vulnerable or fear stigma (both of having been disadvantaged and of having been privileged!). And this comes with potential for conflict. Suggestions for how to talk about class include to start out by disclosing the educator’s own exerience, but to set and enforce clear rules for the discussion, encourage empathy, ecourage sharing perspectives, create conditions where it is as safe as possible to do so, and provide support and offer resources.
What I am wondering, though, is how important it is to make this a discussion of “class” vs just describing different experiences (having academic parents, growing up in a certain type of neighbourhood, having access to certain leasure activities as a child, having to think about money as a kid, …) and the opportunity gaps that come with it. My gut instinct is that in my context it might be more fruitful to not mention “class” as I would expect strong reactions and not being able to relate to the concept in our context with jantelagen and all, but maybe that is exactly what needs to happen first so that constructive conversations can happen later? On the other hand, as important as class might be to describe one set of experiences, people have many intersecting identity facets, and maybe a focus on class would make it difficult to still see and acknowledge intersectional identities. Looks like I need to do some more thinking…
Mottershaw, S. (2026). Class in session: discussing social class in the university classroom. Higher Education Research & Development, 45(2), 374-381.
Grass is getting greener even on this side!
Currently reading Osborne et al. (2026) on “Learning about personally relevant topics in health professional education” - Adventures in Oceanography and Teaching says:
[…] lives“, and that should be the case also in all of my teaching (see my thoughts on discussing social class just now) and in a lot of teaching of sustainability-relevant content! So what can we learn from […]