University Extension Commons^™

Oasis From Learn-To-Earn: Adult, Working-Class, Liberal Arts Graduates Make Meaning Of Their Learning Careers At Harvard, Suzanne C. Spreadbury

Educational Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to learn from 18 adult students, all of whom grew-up working class and many of whom were living working-class lives as adults, the meaning of returning to school and earning a liberal arts degree from an open-enrollment program. Harvard Extension School (HES), which is part of a selective, elite institution: Harvard University. The educational research in the US is sparse on adult, working-class, liberal arts, students. Indeed, these students' experiences go mostly undocumented due to the agreed upon conclusion that adult students, in general, and working-class students, in particular, are more interested in job …