Type of Document Master's Thesis Author Simon, Jennifer Renee Author's Email Address jsimon4@student.gsu.edu URN etd-08062007-022822 Title “It’s Not Just What You Have, But How You Use It:” The Impact of Race and Class on the Usage and Activation of Cultural and Social capital in the Study Abroad process Degree Master of Arts Department Sociology Advisory Committee
Advisor Name Title Dr. James W. Ainsworth Committee Chair Dr. Elisabeth O. Burgess Committee Member Dr. Toshi Kii Committee Member Keywords
- Habitus
- Micro-political processes
- Activation of Social and Cultural Capital
- Race and Class Inequality
- Study Abroad
Date of Defense 2007-07-31 Availability unrestricted Abstract Despite efforts of U.S. education institutions to encourage study abroad participation, Black and low income students are severely underrepresented compared with their White and higher income peers. Literature reveals that a combination of individual and institutional factors influences study abroad involvement; however, they fail to address how these factors work to limit the participation of interested students. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 21 Black and White students to investigate how they navigate the study abroad process. Cultural and social capital theories were used to understand their experiences. My findings demonstrate that for students that did not study abroad, Blacks compared to Whites encountered more difficulties when trying to activate their available resources to navigate the process. Also, non participating White students were more likely to make the conscious decision not to invest their class privileges to study abroad compared with their Black counterparts. Together, these findings suggest that race and class play a role in the activation and usage of cultural and social resources to study abroad.Files
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