{"id":91,"date":"2015-03-04T15:12:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-04T15:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/edsociety\/?p=91"},"modified":"2015-03-06T01:45:15","modified_gmt":"2015-03-06T01:45:15","slug":"roksa-and-arum-inequality-in-skill-development-on-college-campuses-research-in-social-stratification-mobility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/edsociety\/2015\/03\/04\/roksa-and-arum-inequality-in-skill-development-on-college-campuses-research-in-social-stratification-mobility\/","title":{"rendered":"Enduring Inequalities in College Skills"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Photo by ccarlstead<\/a> via Flickr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We posed three questions to the authors. Here’s what they said:<\/em><\/p>\n

1. What led you to do this research?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Current policy discussions in higher education are often focused on graduation. But\u00a0college is not just about getting a credential. It is also about learning. We know little\u00a0about whether and what students learn in higher education.<\/p>\n

2. What should everybody know about what you found?<\/strong><\/p>\n

College both perpetuates and amplifies inequality. We studied development of general\u00a0collegiate skills \u2013 critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing \u2013 over four years of\u00a0college. Students from less-educated families entered college with lower levels of\u00a0general collegiate skills, and that gap persisted over time. In\u00a0contrast, African-American students not only entered college with lower levels of general collegiate skills than their\u00a0white peers but gained less over time, amplifying inequality. Thus, even when persisting\u00a0through four years of college, students from traditionally underrepresented groups are not\u00a0leaving college with the same levels of skills. Researchers and policymakers need to look\u00a0at more than completion rates and consider other, often less visible, forms of inequality.<\/p>\n

3. What are you going to do next on this topic?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are expanding our research to consider subject-specific skills. While general\u00a0collegiate skills, such as critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing, are important\u00a0outcomes of higher education, they are not the only skills students are expected to\u00a0develop in college. Understanding the development of subject-specific skills presents\u00a0another important avenue of investigation.<\/p>\n

Read the full article here:<\/p>\n

Josipa Roksa<\/a> and Richard Arum<\/a>, “Inequality in skill development on college campuses<\/a>,” Research in Social Stratification & Mobility<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n