Structuring middle-class aspirations: the role of place-based habitus and higher education

Abstract This qualitative case study provides an analysis of the structuring of middle-class aspirations at one rural university in the United States. Using a Bourdieusian framework offered by Zipin and colleagues, findings suggest that although student participants in our study are similarly positioned relative to social class background, those from distinct geographic areas (i.e. rural and urban) displayed key differences in expressions of college-going and future aspirations. We argue that place, as an important feature of one’s habitus, structures students’ college-going and future aspirations. Within the highly stratified context of higher education in the United States, few scholars have acknowledged the power of geography and place in shaping behaviors, choices, and possibilities for students. In doing so, this research contributes to a growing global body of literature examining the role of place in shaping students’ higher education aspirations, access, experiences, and outcomes.