Success and Failure in the “Land of Opportunities”: How Social Class Informs Educational Attitudes Among Newcomer Immigrants and Refugees

Abstract

Despite the wide-ranging scholarship on the educational attitudes held by native-born members of the middle and working class, few researchers have examined the impact of class on the attitudes of new arrivals. This article addresses this gap using data gathered through an ethnographic study conducted among 30 newly arrived refugee and immigrant youth from varying class backgrounds. Although all the students expressed high aspirations, those from a middle-class background were more likely to view academic performance in individualistic terms than their working- and lower-class peers, who were more critical of meritocracy. Optimistic views of opportunity may motivate students to overcome barriers, yet they may also obscure the significance of class disparities in education and foster a sense of self-blame among failing students.