ASRXXX10.1177/0003122414565814American Sociological ReviewLareau 5658142015

2014 Presidential Address

American Sociological Review 2015, Vol. 80(1) 1–27­ Cultural Knowledge and © American Sociological Association 2015 DOI: 10.1177/0003122414565814 Social Inequality http://asr.sagepub.com

Annette Lareaua

Abstract Using both qualitative longitudinal data collected 20 years after the original Unequal Childhoods study and interview data from a study of upwardly mobile adults, this address demonstrates how cultural knowledge matters when white and African American young adults of differing class backgrounds navigate key institutions. I find that middle-class young adults had more knowledge than their working-class or poor counterparts of the “rules of the game” regarding how institutions worked. They also displayed more of a sense of entitlement to ask for help. When faced with a problem related to an institution, middle-class young adults frequently succeeded in getting their needs accommodated by the institution; working-class and poor young adults were less knowledgeable about and more frustrated by bureaucracies. This address also shows the crucial role of “cultural guides” who help upwardly mobile adults navigate institutions. While many studies of class reproduction have looked at key turning points, this address argues that “small moments” may be critical in setting the direction of life paths.

Keywords social class, childrearing, cultural capital, transition to adulthood, social mobility

Over 20 years ago, I began a study of African respectful children, greater autonomy for chil- American and white families with 10-year- dren when they engaged in leisure activities, old children. The families occupied different and closer extended family life, the childrearing class positions: middle class, working class, strategies of working-class and poor families and poor. The research involved classroom generally did not comply with the expecta- observations, in-depth interviews with 88 tions of educators. Following Bourdieu (1977, families, and intensive ethnographic research 1984), I suggested that the key issue was not with a subset of 12 families. Drawing on the intrinsic nature of the parenting itself, but these data, I argued in Unequal Childhoods: rather the uneven rewards dominant institu- Class, Race, and Family Life (Lareau 2003) tions bestowed on different types of strategies. that social class shaped a cultural logic of childrearing such that the strategies of middle-class families, both white and black, aUniversity of Pennsylvania were much more in sync with the standards of dominant institutions than were the childrear- Corresponding Author: Annette Lareau, Department of Sociology, 3718 ing strategies of working-class and poor fam- Locust Walk, McNeil Building, University of ilies. Despite the advantages of working-class Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6099 and poor family life, including much more E-mail: [email protected] Downloaded from asr.sagepub.com at ASA - American Sociological Association on January 30, 2015 2 American Sociological Review 80(1)

During the years since the study ended, I negotiate key institutions such as schools and have remained in contact with almost all of workplaces (see, e.g., Calarco 2011; Cherng the 12 families in the ethnographic dataset. 2014; Hardie forthcoming; Yee 2014). Soci- When the youths were 19 to 20 years old, I ologists allude to these forms of cultural conducted follow-up interviews (Lareau knowledge, but most research focuses on 2011) and included the findings in the second individuals’ academic knowledge, achieve- edition of Unequal Childhoods. In this ment scores, and work skills, rather than on address, I present new data on members of the the more elusive and contingent forms of ethnographic sample, collected when the informal knowledge that nevertheless can be young adults had reached age 30. Longitudi- crucial in facilitating advancement (see, e.g., nal data of this kind are rare in sociological Downey, von Hippel, and Broh 2004). In research. Most studies offer a snapshot in addition, researchers tend to focus on well- time, partly because the barriers to longitudi- established life moments or conditional turn- nal work are formidable. Without such data, ing points (Wheaton and Gotlib 1997), such though, it is difficult to fully understand how as the decision to apply to college, the choice certain, important social processes unfold. In of a major, or the pursuit of a particular the case of qualitative research, a revisit can career. There are signs, however, that seem- be especially revealing (Burawoy 2003). With ingly small events—such as getting a low respect to the Unequal Childhoods study, the grade in a key course or receiving timely, addition of longitudinal data over 20 years unsolicited help from a school counselor— provides evidence of how class continued to can threaten a long-held goal, create opportu- shape opportunities as the children grew up. nities, or solidify stages in a life path. Because such revisits are often hampered by The longitudinal data from the families I attrition and hence have a smaller number of followed over 20 years reveal class differ- cases, the goal of the work is conceptual, ences in three forms of cultural knowledge as helping to develop our models of how ine- critically important in the reproduction of quality is maintained (Burawoy 1998).1 inequality. First, the middle-class young adults I focus here on cultural knowledge (i.e., had more knowledge of the “rules of the facts, information, skills, and familiarity with game” regarding how institutions worked social processes), particularly knowledge of (e.g., how to drop a class, what grades are how institutions work, to show the long necessary for admission to medical school, shadow that social class origins cast on life and how to secure a job in a professional field) outcomes. Scholars who study the transmis- than did the working-class and poor youth. sion of advantage often emphasize the role of Second, the middle-class young adults dis- economic factors (Domhoff 2012; Tilly 1998; played more of a sense of entitlement to ask Wright 2005), including the role of economic for help from teachers, coaches, and mentors factors in shaping educational success (Espen- than did their working-class counterparts. The shade and Radford 2013; Reardon 2011). Still working-class and poor youth who managed others focus on the key role of soft skills or to persist in college reported feeling “shy” and non-cognitive skills in education and employ- uncomfortable seeking help. Third, beyond ment (Hurrell, Scholarios, and Thompson having generalized knowledge, when faced 2013; KIPP 2014). Unquestionably, all of with a problem related to an institution, mid- these factors are highly significant in explain- dle-class young adults drew on prior experi- ing life outcomes, particularly during hard ence with and knowledge about the workings times (Clark and Heath 2014; Pew Research of institutions and frequently succeeded in Center 2012). Yet, beyond individual behav- getting their preferences and needs accommo- iors, such as persistence, or specific work dated by the institution; working-class and skills, generalized cultural knowledge about poor young adults were less knowledgeable how institutions function also can be impor- about and more frustrated by bureaucracies. tant, particularly in helping individuals They usually failed to gain accommodations.

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The actions of the middle-class young dispensing specific occupational advice to adults were not intrinsically more desirable high schoolers (Hardie forthcoming). Class- (e.g., middle-class young adults showed related patterns also can be seen in children’s signs of overdependence on parents). But the pre-literacy skills when entering kindergar- actions of middle-class young adults were ten, reading group membership, SAT scores, better aligned with the expectations of the and the likelihood of applying to college, institutions they were dealing with and thus entering college, and graduating from college often resulted in successful outcomes. By age (see, e.g., Collins 2009; Downey et al. 2004; 30, the middle-class youth generally, although Hout 2012; Lareau and Conley 2008; Lareau not universally, had better jobs and were in and Goyette 2014; National Center for Edu- more secure positions than were the youth cation Statistics 2009, 2013; Reardon 2011; who grew up in working-class and poor Stevens 2007). Class also shapes key aspects homes. In fact, significant upward mobility is of family life (Seltzer and Bianchi forthcom- uncommon in the United States (Hout and ing) as well as interactions in daily life (Fiske Janus 2011), and the ethnographic sample did and Markus 2012; Petev 2013; Ridgeway not provide any cases of upward mobility. 2014). For that reason, at the end of this address, I Theoretical models explicating the mecha- introduce data from a second study (Curl, nisms of the transmission of inequality are Lareau, and Wu 2012) that specifically aimed less developed, but in many models, the role at understanding the process and meaning of of economic resources looms large. Indeed, in upward mobility among a sample of adults. a recent theoretical essay, Lamont, Beljean, That research shows that upwardly mobile and Clair (2014) critique this focus on eco- adults often had “cultural guides”—teachers, nomic factors. They stress the need for more coaches, relatives, or friends—who helped fully developed cultural models of the trans- decode institutional rules of the game, gave mission of inequality, and they note the con- advice, and intervened at crucial moments. tingent nature of outcomes: “We argue that . . . The evidence suggests that class reproduc- the inequality-related outcomes of most cul- tion is often the default mechanism unless an tural processes are largely uncertain and intervention or unusual mentorship occurs open-ended.” They also emphasize that (Hout and Janus 2011; Levine and Nidiffer “organizations and institutions contribute sig- 1996; Stephens, Hamedani, and Destin nificantly to both the distribution and recog- 2014). nition” of social inequality (Lamont et al. 2014:584–85). The arguments I make here seek to contribute to a deeper understanding Transmission of Class of the role cultural processes play in the Inequality maintenance of inequality (see also Small, The literature linking family origins to chil- Harding, and Lamont 2010; Wilson 2010). dren’s educational and occupational destina- In particular, I find that Bourdieu’s work tions is impressively strong. Sociologists provides a context for examining the impact have demonstrated the powerful influence of social class position. His model draws parents’ social origins cast on their children’s attention to conflict, change, and systemic life experiences and outcomes. Although inequality, and it highlights the fluid nature of researchers differ in how they measure social the relationship between structure and agency class, studies show that various dimensions of (Bourdieu 1976, 1984). Bourdieu argues that class (particularly mother’s education) are individuals from different social locations are linked to parents talking with toddlers (Hart socialized differently. This socialization pro- and Risley 1995), participating in educational vides children, and later adults, with a sense activities (Downey 2002), enrolling children of what is comfortable or natural (he calls this in activities (Lareau et al. 2011), and habitus). These background experiences also

Downloaded from asr.sagepub.com at ASA - American Sociological Association on January 30, 2015 4 American Sociological Review 80(1) shape the amount and forms of resources hire employees with whom they can imagine (capital) individuals inherit and draw on as forging friendships. Despite this promising they confront various institutional arrange- new work, we continue to lack sufficient ments (fields) in the social world (Bourdieu understanding of how young people manage and Passeron 1977). Cultural capital (skills their lives in the transition to adulthood (for individuals inherit that can be translated into reviews of the literature, see Arnett 2006; Set- different forms of value as people move tersten, Furstenberg, and Rumbaut 2005; through different institutions) is crucial in this Waters et al. 2011) and how they manage process (see also Lareau and Weininger rules and regulations in gatekeeping institu- 2003). Social capital, which, following tions such as colleges and workplaces. Bourdieu (1986), includes not just social net- Moreover, much of the literature on turn- works but social ties with individuals who ing points in the lives of young adults focuses have access to highly valued resources, is also on moments widely seen as pivotal rather important (see also Lin 1999). than on small moments that may turn out to Extensive research on cultural capital has be significant (Wheaton and Gotlib 1997). emerged in recent decades. As Weininger and Similarly, sociologists of inequality exten- I (2003) argue, however, too often cultural sively address key moments such as reading capital is defined in terms of high-status cul- group assignment; course offerings; track tural experiences (e.g., beaux-arts) rather than assignment; college application, acceptance, knowledge of how to make institutions work and enrollment; decisions about majors; and to one’s advantage (Purhonen, Gronow, and applications to graduate school (see Alexan- Rahkonen 2011; Sullivan 2007). But, some der, Entwisle, and Olsen 2014; Collins 2009; younger scholars have begun filling in the Klugman 2013; Mullen 2010; Pallas and Jen- gap. Calarco (2011), for example, shows that nings 2009).2 Research consistently shows young middle-class children get out of their that parents’ social class often shapes chil- chairs to badger teachers for help, whereas dren’s educational experiences, including in their working-class counterparts, in the same college (see, e.g., Armstrong and Hamilton classroom, do not go beyond raising their 2013; Hout 2012; Mullen 2010; Ostrove and hands. More recently, Calarco (2014) shows Long 2007). Yet, there are also indications that middle-class parents provide direct and that little moments can be significant, as forceful coaching to their children, teaching when pre-med freshmen receive a low grade them how to intervene in schools, whereas in a critical course. In a slightly different vein, working-class parents admonish their chil- there has recently been interest in how people dren not to pester the teacher or engage in any negotiate non-cognitive skills including “grit” potentially annoying behavior. Streib (2011) (particularly persistence) or “soft skills” in shows how daycare teachers create dynamics the workplace (Duckworth et al. 2007; Heck- that often privilege the verbal skills of middle- man 2013; Hurrell et al. 2013). Bourdieu class children compared to their working- railed against the overly deterministic models class counterparts. Yee (2014) highlights how of social theory, stressing instead the contin- middle-class college students are coached by gent nature of life trajectories and the situated their parents and are able to maneuver suc- nature of these paths within fields. This cru- cessfully in a large, public university, whereas cial insight is often overlooked, however. first-generation college students are often Because these small moments may be differ- confused and, importantly, not guided in any ent for various people, and because they are meaningful fashion by academic advisors. In often unique and contingent, they are difficult a somewhat different vein, Rivera (2012) to capture in representative surveys. Fre- documents that hiring standards in elite insti- quently, the significance of these moments is tutions draw heavily on the cultural tastes and apparent only in retrospect, thus creating the preferences of current workers, who seek to need for a longitudinal, qualitative approach.

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Table 1. Definition of Social Class and Data Collection at Age 30

Type of Contact Type of Contact Race of Young Adults Name at 20 Years Old at 30 Years Old

Poor: parents not in the labor force on regular, continuous basis. White Katie Brindle Interview Interview White Mark Greeley Interview Interview Black Tara Carroll Interview Interview Black Harold McAllister Interview Interview

Working Class: neither parent is employed in a middle-class position, and at least one parent is employed in a position with little or no managerial authority that does not draw on highly complex, educationally certified skills. White Wendy Driver Interview Only Internet data White Billy Yanelli Interview Spoke to mother Black Tyrec Taylor Interview No data Biracial Jessica Irwin Interview Contact with mother

Middle Class: at least one parent is employed in a position that entails substantial managerial authority or that requires highly complex, institutionally certified (college-level) skills. White Melanie Handlon Interview No data White Garrett Tallinger Interview E-mailed with mother Black Stacey Marshall Interview Interview Black Alexander Williams Interview Only Internet data

Note: All names are pseudonyms.

Methodology tracked down addresses for almost all of the 12 youths. Using a variety of Internet sources, The original Unequal Childhoods study (Lar- I was able to gather data on the class position eau 2003; see also Lareau 2011) drew on of 10 of the young people. In most instances, classroom observations in third and fourth this information includes their education, grades in public schools, in-depth interviews occupation, and homeownership status, as with parents in 88 families, and intensive well as other facts. I communicated with eight observation of 12 of those families, usually of the families and formally interviewed five daily, for three weeks. Half the families were of the original 12 children: one middle-class white and half were African American. The young adult and all four from the poor fami- sample included middle-class, working-class, lies (see Table 1). Four families (two middle and poor families (see Table 1); families in class and two working class) are lost from the the ethnographic sample were paid for their study.3 For this round of interviews, each participation. One decade later, when the young adult interviewee received a $150 hon- youths were 19 to 20 years old, I collected orarium. Additional family members who par- additional data, conducting two-hour, face-to- ticipated in interviews received a $100 face interviews with all 12 youths. I also honorarium. Most of the interviews took place conducted separate interviews in 11 of the 12 in family members’ homes, but one (with Har- families with the mothers and all of the old McAllister) took place in my university fathers involved in the lives of the young office.4 In general, the young adults greeted adults. I interviewed siblings in 10 of the 11 me warmly, with a hug. In this address, I focus families with siblings. mainly on data from these recent interviews, In 2014, 20 years after the original study, as but to develop a longitudinal analysis, I also the young adults reached age 30, I initiated a draw on interviews conducted when the young third round of interviews. Using people-searching people were 19 to 20 years old as well as data Internet companies (e.g., Intelius.com), I from the original study (Lareau 2011).

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Because I seek to understand how cultural study). I term formal and informal knowl- knowledge shapes mobility, and because the edge about how institutions work “knowl- Unequal Childhoods dataset does not provide edge about ‘the rules of the game.’” My any cases of upward mobility, I also include findings show that as young adults, the mid- here data from a separate study conducted dle-class youth were much more knowledge- with two doctoral students, Heather Curl and able than working-class and poor youth Tina Wu (Curl et al. 2012). That study exam- about these rules (see Table 3).7 ines upward mobility and the forms of cul- Because my data indicate that help-seeking tural learning upwardly mobile adults varied by social class, I also discuss instances experience as they enter new social worlds. in which the young adults sought help from Using a snowball sample, we recruited 30 teachers, counselors, coaches, and employers. adults, age 25 to 50. These adults, all of In addition, the youths reported that at times whom were raised by parents who either professionals and administrators were willing dropped out of high school or received no to bend their organizations’ rules to accom- education beyond a high school degree, had modate the youths’ individualized requests; in completed a high-status advanced degree other cases, their requests were denied. Mid- (e.g., MD, JD, or MBA). The interviews were dle-class young adults appeared to have more face-to-face; each lasted about two hours. success at gaining individualized accommo- Each researcher completed 10 interviews, for dation than did working-class or poor young a total dataset of 30 interviews.5 For the lon- adults. As Table 2 reveals, at age 30, the gitudinal and mobility studies, interviews working-class and poor young adults gener- were transcribed and then analyzed. We read ally had less education and lower-paying, less the transcripts, looking for key themes, desirable jobs than their middle-class coun- searching for disconfirming evidence, and terparts. Nonetheless, this pattern was not producing data matrices (Miles and Huber- universal. For instance, at age 20, Melanie man 1994).6 Handlon, a white woman of middle-class ori- gin, was working as a hair stylist. Although she had been admitted to a four-year college, Institutions and she did not attend (Lareau 2011).8 Still, over- Cultural Knowledge all, the life paths of the young people in the The young people in the Unequal Childhoods study varied powerfully by parents’ social study interacted with numerous institutions class, a pattern amply documented in the lit- between the time they were 10 and 30 years erature (Alexander et al. 2014). old. They attended high schools, community I use a case study approach here, comparing colleges, and four-year colleges; took out Tara Carroll, an African American young loans and received grants; got driver’s woman who grew up in a poor family, with licenses and held jobs; received public assis- Stacey Marshall, a middle-class African Amer- tance and childcare subsidies; were hospital- ican young woman. I selected these cases ized; and (in one case) arrested (see Table 2). because they illustrate themes found in other It is common for these kinds of large institu- cases in my datasets; also, the findings for Tara tions, particularly in major cities, to be rule- and Stacey at age 30 are highly consistent with based, inflexible, and inefficient. Educational the patterns observed a decade earlier. To situ- institutions, for instance, combine formal ate the cases in a broader context, I also briefly rules (e.g., specific deadlines for adding or discuss examples from the lives of other young dropping a class) that are not always well people in the ethnographic sample. In the final advertised or clearly stated, with informal section of the address, to illuminate the role of norms (e.g., the conditions under which a cultural guides, I present the case of Nick Nev- professor will grant an incomplete or rein- ins, a young white man from the study on state a student dropped from a program of upward mobility.9

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Table 2. Status of Young Adults at Age 30

Name Details Poor White Young Adults Mark Greeley • Grocery store worker • High school drop out • Lives with brother in a rental • Has a serious girlfriend • No children

Katie Brindle • Last job at 7/11 • High school drop out • Lives with truck driver who separated from his wife • Raising three of four daughters (1.5, 3, and 13 years) • Lost custody of second child; has visitation rights Black Young Adults Harold McAllister • Dealing drugs • High school drop out • Mother disapproves of drug dealing • 6-year-old daughter; sees weekly, pays child support • Would like to own bar or barbershop

Tara Carroll • Studying to be a nurse • Works part-time as program specialist for disabled • AA degree • Lives with aunt and grandmother • No children Working Class White Young Adults Wendy Driver [No data for occupation at 30 years, data are from 20 years] • Stay-at-home mom • High school graduate • Married to (white) serviceman (Navy) • Lives five hours from mother, stepdad • Children 9 and 11 years

Billy Yanelli • Unionized house painter; works intermittently • GED • Had own apartment, but now lives with parents • Drug problem • No girlfriend • No children Black Young Adults Tyrec Taylor [No data for occupation at 30 years, data are from 20 years] • High school graduate • Construction worker • Took some community college courses • Does not have own apartment, lives with relatives

Jessica Irwin (biracial) • Art therapist • BA and MA in art therapy, Townson State University • Married to (African American) police officer • Sees parents regularly • 8-month-old son Middle Class White Young Adults Melanie Handlon [No data for occupation at 30 years, data are from 20 years] • Hairstylist • High school graduate • Attended community college for several weeks • Lives on own

(continued)

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Table 2. (continued)

Name Details Garrett Tallinger • High-level manager for private transportation firm • BA Villanova • Married to (white) lawyer • 1-year-old son Black Young Adults Stacey Marshall • University administrator • BA University of Maryland, PhD Ohio State • Married to a (biracial) manager • 2-year-old son

Alexander Williams • Medical doctor • BA and MD Columbia University

Note: All information was confirmed when the young adults were 30 years old, except for the information noted in brackets, which refers to status at age 19 or 20. I have no current information on family situation for Handlon, Taylor, or Williams. Tallinger, Marshall, Driver, and Irwin are purchasing homes. Renting was confirmed for Yanelli, Greeley, Brindle, McAllister, and Carroll. Housing information was not available for Handlon, Taylor, and Williams. The family information for Driver was confirmed via the Internet.

Plenty of Grit, Limited help. These factors played a role in her inabil- Cultural Knowledge: ity to get the institution to accommodate her Tara Carroll request for individualized treatment. Tara grew up in an older, low-rise housing Tara Carroll spent seven years, usually taking project, where she lived with her grandmother, six credits at a time, earning an AA degree a deeply religious woman who routinely from a community college. She graduated answered the phone, “Praise-the-Lord-hello.” with a GPA of 3.08 and a debt of $12,000. She They were supported by public assistance and is now, at age 30, enrolled in a hospital-based, under-the-table income Tara’s grandmother accredited nursing program that awards an earned by caring for elderly people in their RN degree. If she successfully passes the homes. Tara’s mother, who had drug issues as state licensing exam, the degree will provide an adolescent, had left Tara and her older access to a professional position. brother in her mother’s care when both chil- Tara’s journey has included many set- dren were young. But, by the time Tara was in backs. Several of these were linked to her fourth grade, Ms. Carroll was sober, employed, limited knowledge of the rules of the game of and a frequent visitor to her mother’s apart- educational institutions. She did not know ment. As Tara’s grandmother told me at the that a student could withdraw from a college time, “Tara’s mother manages the schooling.” class without penalty during the semester, Tara’s mother and I attended the fourth- that timing mattered when protesting an grade parent-teacher conference together. The administrative decision, or that when a stu- teacher, Ms. Stanton, was a bubbly African dent is ill or in a car accident, it is common American woman, who had grown up in a for professors to focus instrumentally on what middle-class home and worked as an educator the student needs to do to catch up in class for more than 15 years. She told us she liked rather than to express concern about the stu- Tara very much. Her remarks throughout the dent’s well-being. Tara’s lack of this kind of conference indicated that she felt Tara was knowledge complicated her higher education “doing well” in school and was a pleasant and experience. In addition, she felt uncomforta- well-behaved child. Without ever explaining ble in college, and she was reluctant to seek why Tara had received a D in math,

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Table 3. Forms of Cultural Knowledge

Knowledge of Rules of the Game (informal and formal knowledge of how organizations Help-Seeking Requests for Individu- Respondent work) Behavior alized Accommodation

Tara Carroll (African • Unclear on how • Shy • Wrote letter to American/Poor) grades influence • Found it hard to ask nursing school acceptance to for help six weeks after selective high • Called professor terminated from schools when in car their program; • Did not know to accident, shocked by she requested formally withdraw focus of professor on reinstatement; from a class she was completion of school request was denied failing work rather than • Misunderstood expressing concern meaning of grades in for her welfare nursing school • Did not know proportion of her financial aid covered by loans or grants nor details of the loans

Mark Greeley (White/ • Wants to work in • Talked to a buddy • Unclear about steps Poor) computers, unclear about his community to get GED; took how to make it college program in course years ago but happen computers not test; does not know if past work will count; unsure how to start again • Filed appeal for unemployment, appeal granted

Stacey Marshall (African • As a freshman knew • At mother’s • Although had American/Middle grades of C and C- insistence, visited combined household Class) precluded medical advisor in college income of around school for help with course $100,000, requested • Knew precisely the selection and granted a interest rate and • Sought advice from “forbearance” on types of loans she doctoral committee loans had accumulated and peers • Attended “cold” an educator of color networking event an hour from her home

Case of Upward Mobility Nick Nevins (White/ • In high school did • When offered help, • Told people in ER Working Class) not know where to met with high school he was waitlisted apply to college; counselor and for Columbia; they was headed toward Dr. O’Flanagan “were a huge help” a low-status state • After getting C’s in getting him off the school or community in midterms first waitlist college semester of college, • Did not know how made friends with to interview well for someone who helped medical school him learn to study • “Shy”; did not attend office hours or seek help

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Ms. Stanton assured Ms. Carroll she should letter back saying that I didn’t get accepted, “not worry” about the math grade. I was so upset. I was crying, but I got over During my visits to Tara’s well-regarded it, though. (but high-poverty) urban elementary school, AL: Do you remember what your grades were? Ms. Stanton and the school counselor told me that to qualify for admission to Tara’s class- TC: I know math, that wasn’t my strongest room, children had to be at least two years area. But I never failed math, like I always below grade level in at least one subject. got C’s or maybe I got a D possibly. . . . But (Tara was at grade level in most subjects, but as far as English and science, I always had 10 she struggled in math.) Because no one had good grades in those classes. mentioned this information to Tara’s mother, Ms. Carroll was unaware of the situation. She Given the competitive nature of the high was anxious for Tara to do well in school. schools, a string of C’s would eliminate a Although she earned poverty-level wages, student from consideration. The district did Ms. Carroll had spent $250 on Hooked on not publicize information of this kind on its Phonics educational materials for her daugh- website, announce it in handouts, or seek ter. She proudly told Ms. Stanton about this other means to ensure its wide distribution. purchase, but the teacher seemed unim- Instead, it was shared informally through par- pressed. She stressed the importance of read- ent networks (Kimelberg and Billingham ing to Tara. 2013; Lareau, Evans, and Yee 2014). Neither Throughout the conference, Ms. Stanton Tara nor her mother (with whom she was then mispronounced Tara’s name, saying “Tie- living) was privy to such networks. rah” rather than “Tear-a (rhymes with Sarah).” For most of her life, Tara has wanted to be Ms. Carroll grimaced at these mistakes but a nurse. At age 30, she described her aspira- said nothing. However, when Ms. Stanton tions this way: was briefly out of earshot, Ms. Carroll leaned toward me and said, under her breath and Ever since I was five years old, my dream with obvious frustration, “It’s Tear-a!” She was becoming a nurse. That was because I did not feel comfortable correcting the teacher used to go [to] church, and my aunt, she was on this relatively small yet important matter. a nurse for the pastor. And I would always Nor, in part because the school did not share see her dressed up in her nurse uniform, and the information, did she understand the intri- a little nurse hat. She, like, [would] always cacies of Tara’s educational progress. A high take care of the pastor, and it looked nice. school drop-out, Ms. Carroll depended on And, like, she was helping people. . . . educational professionals to know how best [Tara’s voice changes.] And I was like, “Oh, to educate her child. She did not feel comfort- I want that feeling. I want to feel good like able intervening, even to ask that the teacher that. I want to help people.” pronounce her daughter’s name properly. When Tara was ready to enter high school, Tara was an ambitious student. She wanted to she, like other students in her district, could go to college. Her mother encouraged this choose to apply to a number of high schools. desire and was particularly interested in Tara She was surprised when she was not accepted going to the “suburbs” for college rather than at either of the two most competitive high to the local city college. But, as when her schools: daughter was in fourth grade, Ms. Carroll left the details of educational matters to school TC: [Sounding agitated] That’s what I didn’t personnel. In Tara’s urban school district, understand, because my grades were good. however, the ratio of counselors to high school . . . I still don’t know to this day why did I students was low. Tara turned to other sources not get accepted. I remember when I got the to guide her college choices. During the year,

Downloaded from asr.sagepub.com at ASA - American Sociological Association on January 30, 2015 Lareau 11 representatives visited her high school and lived on her own. Still determined to become counselors took her on college visits. She a nurse, after earning her AA, she applied and applied to seven colleges she was familiar was admitted to a for-profit, four-year nursing with due to this exposure; she also applied to school that cost $30,000 per year. To reduce the local public university her aunt had expenses, she gave up her apartment and attended. She was rejected everywhere, an moved into her aunt’s house. During her first experience she and her mother found deeply semester, she was given a large grant (for her hurtful. Neither Tara nor Ms. Carroll was first year); she took out loans totaling $2,500 familiar with the complex forms of informal for one semester. She had a difficult fall term, cultural knowledge that lead to finding a good struggling with emotional problems (she was fit between an applicant and a college. For deeply upset by her brother getting involved instance, they were unaware of the critical role in serious trouble) and physical ones (she was SAT scores played in college acceptance. Tara in a car accident that totaled her vehicle and applied to schools where median scores were left her seriously injured). Tara was unable to 200 to 300 points above her scores. Such attend school for a time. She did not know knowledge about finding a good fit, although what steps to take to gain academic accom- not confidential, was not available to her. modations, such as petitioning for an incom- Tara enrolled in community college “as a plete or for a leave of absence. When she last resort.” She was flustered with the fast contacted her professors, she was shocked by pace of her anatomy course and did not like how “mean” they seemed to be: the teacher. She did not understand the mate- rial but did not feel comfortable asking ques- Some of the people wasn’t really receptive. tions. She simply stopped going to class Their disposition was just like, they just (without speaking to the teacher or an advisor) seemed so mean. And I just felt like they and received an F as her final grade. At age 30, just seemed like they wasn’t really, um, she summarized the experience this way: really sympathetic or empathetic. I just felt like they treated it as a business and that was When I initially started out at community that. . . . I told [a course professor] I was in college . . . I didn’t fully know about the a car accident, and she’s, “Okay, well, academic policies [as] far as like withdraw- whenever you come back just make sure ing or dropping a course. Because I was you get your materials for the next lecture.” really always a shy student and I was always I was just like, “Okay, I was in a car acci- afraid to ask questions and stuff like that. So dent and you didn’t say, ‘You were okay?’ instead of me seeking counseling or advis- You just told me to have materials for the ing, I just stopped going to that course. And next lecture.” as a result of that, I received an F on my transcript. Tara’s expectations and the realities of the institutional rules of the game were not in As with other educational matters, Tara’s sync. mother was not familiar with the details of Tara continued to take classes. But, her troubles with this course, nor did Ms. Car- explaining that she was “shy,” she said she roll appear to feel responsible for the out- “had a difficult time asking questions and come. She provided boundless, enthusiastic speaking up,” even though she knew her pride in her daughter’s pursuit of college, but grades were borderline: she was not able to help Tara navigate this new environment. The policy is in that particular school you During the years she spent in community cannot fail two nursing classes . . . in order college, Tara had a job caring for disabled to pass, you had to have a 75 or higher. I had adults, a car, and an apartment where she like a 73 point something in one class, and I

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think like a 72 something in another class. accredited, two-year, hospital-based nursing And so I ended up getting dismissed from program that cost $25,000. The program the program, which was very devastating. awards an RN degree (but not a combined RN/BA, which most hospitals now require for She was confused by the dismissal: employment).11 When I interviewed her, Tara was in her first year of this program. She was I just didn’t understand why ’cause it wasn’t no longer employed full-time, but she worked like I was failing tremendously. . . . That two shifts (16 hours) every weekend. She said hurt me even more. . . . I went through a she was “more disciplined” in her studies stage of depression because, of course, now. Her knowledge of key institutional that’s what I wanted to do for a long time dynamics remained limited, however. For and finally I get the opportunity and I didn’t example, she was unclear about important make it. aspects of her financial package, including the interest rate and payment terms of her Not feeling mentally “prepared” for another loans, which were being deferred while she rejection, Tara waited six weeks before writ- attended school. ing a letter to protest her dismissal: Tara had grit and determination. But as Table 3 reveals, these resources were not cou- I did talk to one of my instructors ’cause pled with the same forms of cultural knowl- they asked me why did I wait so long to, uh, edge the middle-class youth had (discussed in write a letter. . . . I was going through a lot the section on Stacey Marshall). Nonetheless, and mentally I wasn’t prepared, and I didn’t she was excited about her future. When I want to write or try to come back if I wasn’t asked her how her life was going, she replied, focused ’cause I feel like that was another smiling: recipe for disaster. So I did it when I was mentally prepared and when I was ready. . . . So far everything is going great. I’m just I received a letter from the Dean and she very excited ’cause . . . ever since I was a pretty much rejected my [request]. kid, I always talked about becoming a nurse. I finally got that opportunity to pursue my Her instructor’s inquiry implies that had Tara dream and become a nurse and I’m in written her letter sooner, the outcome might school. . . . I’m just excited that I’m taking have been better. Many students face bumps the necessary steps towards my degree in in the road, and most universities have formal nursing. and informal procedures for addressing such difficulties. Faculty typically have discretion Many factors led to Tara’s challenges. None- in matters involving short-term developments theless, a student from a middle-class home that may threaten a student’s academic per- with similar academic weaknesses might formance. But professors want to be apprised have avoided being dismissed from the first of these conditions as soon as they occur, not nursing program by being able to gain educa- late in the semester. For serious problems, tional accommodations. most institutions require more formal steps, in which sequence is crucial and deadlines are rigid. Tara did not know what policies were in Overwhelmed By Bumps In place at her institution. She did not make The Road: Examples From inquiries or ask for help, and no one at her Other Working-Class And school offered her assistance. Poor Young Adults After being dismissed, Tara worked full- time. She then applied and was admitted to The crucial role of cultural knowledge— yet another nursing school. This one was an knowing the rules of the game, how to ask for

Downloaded from asr.sagepub.com at ASA - American Sociological Association on January 30, 2015 Lareau 13 help, and how to gain institutional accommo- into his office and said, “Yeah, if I was 21 dations—was also apparent in the lives of the without a high school diploma, I’d be scared other working-class and poor young adults. to lose my job, too.” Hearing this insult, Mark They all experienced bumps in the road. In “snapped” and threatened to “beat up” the many instances, the complex, bureaucratic man. Although this reaction—threatening the nature of the institutions they confronted manager with physical harm—is consistent overwhelmed these young adults and under- with how some working-class men handle cut their efforts to manage the challenges they insults at work (Lubrano 2004), it did not, of faced. And, unlike the middle-class youths course, comply with organizational policy. who depended on their parents for assistance, Mark was fired.12 When the store was bought these young people negotiated life on their by a new owner three months later, he was own. subsequently rehired, but the conflict had the Consider Katie Brindle. A white mother of potential to derail his life. Overall, he felt four children by the age of 28, Katie grew up stymied in his life. Filing an appeal for an in a poor family and learned to fend for her- unemployment claim displayed important self at an early age. But when she decided to cultural knowledge, but in other key ways, enroll in a community college course, she Mark had difficulty maneuvering institutions. very quickly lost patience with the school’s For example, getting his driver’s license was sign-up procedures: a major life challenge he was seeking to con- quer, and he did not know how to make his I don’t know how to [do it on my phone]—I desire to work with computers a reality. need to go to the school, and tell them, The poor and working-class young adults “Look, I enrolled. I need you to help.” . . . also had difficulty advancing their careers. They want me to schedule a placement test. Harold McAllister, an African American And instead of just calling them and sched- young man who grew up in a poor home, uling it, they want me to go through nine faced this problem. After working in a TGI different steps to do a placement test. Like, Fridays restaurant for 10 years, he felt he was are you serious? Why do you want me to do being passed over for promotion while others, all this online, when I can call you, and we who had been there for less time, were can have a conversation? You set a date and selected. He did not discuss this view with the time, and I show up with my ID and a damn manager. Rather, not trusting his bosses and pencil. convinced he was not their “type,” he quit (see also Levine 2013). This one moment The “nine different steps” proved too much ended up being pivotal. Harold was soon for Katie. She tabled her college plans. drawn into “running the streets,” dealing Others also reported difficulty in manag- crack cocaine. He was arrested twice; he ing organizational challenges. Mark Greeley, insisted that in the second arrest the drugs a young white man from a poor family, has were planted by the police. Hence, when he worked in a Safeway grocery store for 10 was 28 and 29, he spent 16 months in prison years. He told me that what he really wanted because he could not make bail. In the end, was a job “working with computers,” but he the second case was one of dozens of cases had no more specific goal than that (e.g., he dismissed by the District Attorney due to evi- seemed unable to distinguish between an dence of illegal activities by the arresting interest in computer repair versus program- officers. (Harold pled guilty to the first felony ming). Despite his long tenure, Mark had and was released with credit for time served, recently briefly lost his job at Safeway. As he but he was bothered by the injustice of the explained when he was 30, he came to work second arrest.) At 30, he had returned to “run- late because of unavoidable delays on public ning the streets” and lived a life with few transportation. His angry manager called him formal institutional ties. He lacked a driver’s

Downloaded from asr.sagepub.com at ASA - American Sociological Association on January 30, 2015 14 American Sociological Review 80(1) license and a bank account, because these regarding institutional practices, and inter- required showing a copy of his birth certifi- vened in their children’s lives early and often. cate, which he did not have. He could have This pattern was powerfully revealed during attained a copy, but he was frustrated by the the in-depth interviews with these parents. bureaucracy of city hall: More importantly, in the middle-class fami- lies who participated in the ethnographic por- I’m like stuck, and then I don’t have the tion of the study, the pattern persisted over patience to go down nowhere and fill out time and was readily observed when the everything. See the streets make you lazy, children were 10 years old, 19 to 20 years old, and I like to pay my way to the front. I don’t and 30 years old. like to wait for nothing. I’m so impatient. The utility of middle-class parents’ exten- It’s like I can’t wait. If I’m not number one, sive cultural knowledge about educational I can’t be number 73. I can’t do that. institutions emerges clearly when we contrast Tara’s experience with that of Stacey Mar- When he needed an ID, he borrowed one shall, a middle-class African American young from a friend. “It just won’t be me on the ID,” woman almost exactly Tara’s age. When Sta- he said. Harold paid dearly for his lack of cey was 10, her mother had detailed informa- specific types of cultural knowledge: he was tion about how schools operated. Although not comfortable initiating a discussion about Ms. Marshall, an African American woman promotion and so abandoned a steady job; with a master’s degree in math, held a and his frustration with bureaucracies led him demanding professional position and com- to forgo two key components of adulthood— muted 90 minutes roundtrip daily, she worked a driver’s license and a bank account. hard to “stay on top” of her two daughters’ In summary, the working-class and poor lives outside as well as inside the home. She youth had incomplete understandings of how knew of the existence and purpose of the institutions worked, had difficultly negotiating gifted program at Stacey’s school, the criteria conflicts at work, felt deeply constrained in for entrance, the availability of private tutor- asking for help, and often failed when they ing, the names and prices of math-enrichment sought individualized accommodations from summer camps, and the pros and cons of vari- institutions. They felt frustrated and powerless ous gymnastics programs and horseback rid- when they could not get what they saw as rea- ing programs.13 Ms. Marshall’s knowledge sonable accommodation to their individualized was based on research she did and on the preferences. If the community college where social networks she maintained with other Katie hoped to enroll had been more flexible or mothers (“the grapevine”). She activated the city hall more efficient, their lives might have social capital she accumulated. When she had different outcomes. But given the bureau- needed to find the ideal gymnastics program cratic nature of the institutions they confronted, for Stacey, for instance, she deliberately and their own limited cultural resources, such began “listening to some of the parents.” accommodations were unlikely. I started putting my ear to the grapevine, and I heard a number of parents mention, Cultural Knowledge “Well, if the kid really likes gymnastics, you To The Rescue: Stacey send them to Wright’s.” Marshall Similarly, Ms. Marshall was assertive in her When the children in the original study were interactions with school professionals. When 10 years old, parents in the 36 middle-class Stacey barely missed the cutoff for entrance families interviewed displayed deep cultural into the school’s gifted program, Ms. Mar- knowledge, assiduously gathered information shall paid to have her daughter tested

Downloaded from asr.sagepub.com at ASA - American Sociological Association on January 30, 2015 Lareau 15 privately. When Stacey’s score remained two unacceptable and would preclude acceptance points shy of the cutoff, Ms. Marshall lobbied to medical school: school officials. Stacey was admitted to the program. I was just struggling. I was like getting C, I interviewed Stacey’s mother after Stacey C- and I was like, “What med school’s had completed her freshman year of college gonna accept me with like C-’s? I’m gonna at the University of Maryland. It was apparent have to retake all this stuff.” that Ms. Marshall had remained very active in her daughter’s life, although she noted she Stacey’s sophomore year was much more was trying to wean Stacey from overdepend- successful, as she explained to me during an ence. Ms. Marshall had grown frustrated with interview in 2014: Stacey’s late-night telephone calls and seem- ingly constant requests for advice. When Sta- Sophomore year of college . . . basketball- cey entered college, she had been determined wise that was my breakout like season. I to become a pediatrician, but during freshman made All Conference First Team. It was just year, she earned a series of C and C- grades in really good. I met a boy, you know, fell in her pre-med courses. Drawing on her own love, all those fun things. I was doing well extensive knowledge of complex institutional in school. I had a, I finally figured out by the practices, Ms. Marshall advised her daughter time I had declared a major, I figured out to drop calculus (“you don’t want your GPA that I wanted to major in Africana Studies to get too low”) and to seek help by meeting and kind of put the dream of being a pedia- with a campus advisor: trician like, like [I] got over that and had a new dream to, you know, get my PhD. And I said, “Look, you have got to get out of cal- I followed through on it, so just—it was a, culus. Because first semester, you don’t want like important year. your GPA to get too low, because then you can never dig yourself out of it.” And so she By her sophomore year, Stacey had accumu- was calling me about “What should I take?” lated her own body of cultural knowledge. She . . . “In the meantime, you have an academic knew that a medical school would not accept advisor. . . .” I really stressed with her that her with grades of C-. She put aside her dream she needed to establish communication with of becoming a pediatrician. Drawn to the those people. I said, “You need to call Sarah. humanities, she majored in Africana studies, Call Sarah, set up an appointment, and go to established connections with professors, and talk to her. Talk to her about your major. And moved ahead. She won a sportsmanship award see what advice she can give to you. That is in college and was invited to play basketball in what she is being paid for.” Europe after graduation. She chose, instead, to go directly to graduate school (in Africana She wanted Stacey to be more assertive in studies) at Ohio State. While in graduate acting on her own behalf. Put differently, school, she met her husband, Brian (who is Ms. Marshall was training her daughter in biracial), online. Stacey’s cultural and, espe- help-seeking behavior with professionals in cially, occupational knowledge deepened as institutions (and cultivating a sense of entitle- she learned how to do research, successfully ment). Ms. Marshall saw help-seeking as a applied for grants, and traveled to other conti- valuable life skill that Stacey needed to nents. After being awarded her doctorate, she develop for herself. moved to the Northeast where her husband Ms. Marshall was successful. Despite was settled in a job he “loved.” struggling academically as a freshman, Sta- Of course, not every aspect of Stacey’s life cey quickly learned the rules of the game. has gone smoothly. In addition to her poten- Unlike Tara, she knew that a C grade was tially disastrous decision to pursue pre-med

Downloaded from asr.sagepub.com at ASA - American Sociological Association on January 30, 2015 16 American Sociological Review 80(1) courses as a college freshman, Stacey strug- was in an elite high school. From there, she gled emotionally when her sister, Fern, was transitioned to her new position. arrested in conjunction with a shooting com- Many factors contributed to Stacey’s suc- mitted by Fern’s then-boyfriend. Although cess. She was a talented athlete, won a college Fern was ultimately cleared, her arrest was basketball scholarship, and studied extremely deeply distressing to the entire Marshall fam- hard in graduate school. But in addition to her ily. Stacey also had a heavy debt load, as did hard work, she benefitted from having adults Brian. She accumulated student loans during closely monitoring her progress (even as a graduate school; he still had college debts to young adult) and from having rich, varied, repay. Although their combined income was and extensive cultural resources. She was almost $100,000, their combined debt was deeply grateful to her parents and apprecia- around $90,000. Their home had lost value; tive of the support they provided. When she Stacey said they were “underwater.” But, she talked about that support, however, she displayed institutional expertise in negotiat- referred to emotional support and to their ing institutions. For example, when faced physical presence at her games and other with daycare bills of $1,000 per month, she important events: arranged for her loans to be placed on “for- bearance.” She also knew precisely the inter- My mom is patient. . . . [And] my parents est rates, terms, and duration of each loan. always put that effort in to be [there], to Stacey was just turning 30 when I inter- whatever, whether it was [a] sporting event, viewed her, during one of her frequent visits which most of the time it was, but my mom to her parents’ home. She had just taken a new was always at my chorus stuff when I did job as an administrator in the athletic depart- that. . . . And I was really glad that they were ment of a respected public university. She and both there to see me defend my dissertation. Brian and their 2-year-old son were going to live on campus; the couple would be resident Her parents’ far-reaching knowledge about advisors. When I asked Stacey how her life higher education, and her mother’s “hands was going, she smiled broadly and spoke on” guidance of her education, including in excitedly: college, were powerful forms of help. But, in part because her mother had acted in this I think it’s going really, really great. I have fashion for her entire life, her mother’s actions a lot to be excited about. . . . I think I’m were so natural and invisible that Stacey was gonna be exposed to an amazing place and only vaguely aware of her mother’s help in Brian will be [too], when he’s there. And navigating institutions. Instead, she stressed then, at the same token, it’s a little bit anxi- her emotional support. The working-class and ety [provoking] right now—with how poor young people also benefitted from par- everything’s gonna work. But I’ll figure it ents’ love and emotional support, but their out. That’s life. love did not smooth the pathway in complex institutions (Lareau and Cox 2011). I was struck by how thoroughly Stacey seemed to have learned the lessons her mother taught her. She had extensive social networks Smoothing Out Bumps with high school friends from the racially In The Road: Examples diverse public high school she had attended, From Other Middle-Class dorm friends from college, athletic friends Young Adults from her college basketball team, graduate school friends, relatives, and family friends. In contrast to the working-class and poor She knew how to “network.” Making use of young adults, who appeared to be in charge of weak ties helped her get her first job, which their own lives, at the age of 19 or 20 the

Downloaded from asr.sagepub.com at ASA - American Sociological Association on January 30, 2015 Lareau 17 middle-class youth remained heavily depen- built extensive social networks. A crucial ele- dent on their parents, speaking to them regu- ment in this process was the development of larly, and consulting them on decisions large their repertoire of cultural knowledge about and small. For example, while he was in col- how institutions worked. lege, Garrett Tallinger called home several times per week and regularly discussed major and minor life decisions with his parents, Upward Mobility and The including his choice of major. Alexander Wil- Role Of Cultural Guides: liams, whose mother had worked tirelessly to The Case of Nick Nevins enrich his life when he was in elementary school, continued to benefit from her efforts The Unequal Childhoods dataset did not pro- in his college career at Columbia University. vide any cases of dramatic upward mobility.14 Ms. Williams contacted a community college To highlight the crucial role of cultural guides to find out what courses were available for in the achievement of upward mobility, I now Alexander to take during the summer after his present a case from the mobility study (Curl freshman year in college, and she helped him et al. 2012) mentioned at the beginning of this make sure Columbia would accept the sum- address. Using the case of Nick Nevins, a mer courses he chose. She also asked col- young adult from a working-class family, I leagues about potential internships and helped show how cultural guides helped him learn her son arrange to be a summer volunteer in a the rules of the game in institutions of higher doctor’s office. education and assisted him in gaining indi- Of course, the middle-class youth some- vidualized accommodation. Strikingly, Nick’s times resisted their parents’ help. As a third- success at pivotal points resulted not from grader, Melanie Handlon had a learning specific efforts of his own but from efforts disability that her mother tried to manage others offered to make on his behalf. through active involvement in Melanie’s Nick, who is now in his mid-30s, is tall schooling. Ms. Handlon’s intensive interven- and blond; when we met for an interview, he tion continued as her daughter grew older, but wore pressed khaki pants, a blue oxford shirt, it did not always yield the desired outcome. and loafers; even after a long day, he looked For example, although Melanie had enrolled in crisp. Nick is an anomaly. Although he comes a community college course, she often did not from a working-class family, he is now an attend class, despite her mother’s many cajol- endocrinologist at an Ivy League institution ing reminders. Melanie assured her parents she (Attewell and Lavin 2007; Nunez and Cuccaro- had withdrawn from the course, but she had Alamin 1998). There is no doubt he is aca- not done so formally and thus received an F on demically talented. But, his success also her transcript. Unlike Ms. Carroll, Ms. Hand- reflects help he received from cultural guides lon appeared to feel humiliated by this grade; at three pivotal moments. Without the inter- she felt she should have intervened more. vention of cultural guides, he might not have The efforts undertaken by Alexander’s and been able to benefit from his academic prow- Melanie’s mothers provide evidence of conti- ess. His story should not be seen as one of nuity over time in parents’—especially moth- overcoming deficits, however. Nick viewed ers’—interventions in children’s lives, as well his family background as having provided as middle-class mothers’ deep belief that him with key resources, and he described these interventions were their responsibility. himself as grateful for his upbringing. In addition, as Stacey’s experiences indicate, Nick’s father graduated from high school, these young adults appeared to embrace the joined the Navy, and later become a machin- practices they had seen their parents adopt as ist; his mother dropped out of high school but they gathered information about institutions’ later earned a GED and worked as a “lunch formal and informal rules of the game and lady” in a public school. Nick is the first in

Downloaded from asr.sagepub.com at ASA - American Sociological Association on January 30, 2015 18 American Sociological Review 80(1) his family to go to college. He earned a GPA not, namely that Ivy League financial aid of 4.0, had very high SAT scores (i.e., 1400 of packages would make the final costs compa- 1600, or approximately 2100 today), and was rable to those of state schools: valedictorian of his high school, but neither he nor his parents were well informed about Dr. O’Flanagan . . . was helpful . . . in help- college. A high school counselor intervened: ing me think about . . . options. [Dr. O’Flanagan said,] “We’ll see what they He knew that I had always had an interest offer—what the deal is.” He was good in actually in medicine and . . . got me in touch saying like, “You should look at . . . Ivy with a guy whose name was Sam League places and expensive places but also O’Flanagan. He was [a] thoracic surgeon at we’ll make sure that we have a range,” [a local hospital] and he had a sort of track which I think was helpful. I remember being record of helping high school kids basically surprised when the financial aid came in and with interest in medicine and sort of choos- actually it was very good here [Columbia] ing a college. and there really wasn’t that much of a cost difference between the different schools, but Given the Nevins’s unfamiliarity with the col- I remember being surprised by that. lege application process, Dr. O’Flanagan’s help was valuable, even essential: Nick was accepted at SUNY-Stony Brook, Columbia, and three other colleges. Because It was a pretty amazing experience actually the cost of the state schools and Columbia because we didn’t really have a great sense was similar, he chose Columbia. As a fresh- for how to start, you know, that process. So man, he was lucky to be assigned a roommate we had a meeting with him . . . like me and with a family background similar to his own. my parents and he and his wife actually all Nick recognized, though, that he was in a met thinking about a list of schools, think- “different world”: ing about how to apply. They helped to read my essay for me and helped me revise it. It [Columbia was an] introduction to the fact was a huge help for us. that it’s sort of a different world. There is clearly a big segment of the Columbia under- Nick described his parents as “very grateful” graduate population that comes from a much for this help: more affluent world and, that comes out.

They were very grateful, because . . . they Although he had been an outstanding student didn’t know exactly. . . . My wife, for exam- at his high school and had A’s in all three AP ple, was a good counterpoint. She has stories courses his school offered, Nick realized, in from when they went [to visit colleges]. They retrospect, that “it was not a very academic had a list. As a family [they] went on a tour high school.” His first set of midterms brought one summer and they drove to one college a flood of C’s. This was a shock. If such and looked at it and drove to the next. It was grades had persisted, they would have ended like they spent a week doing that, writing his chances of attending medical school. For- down [what they thought]. Uh, and, we, we, tunately, he made friends with a young man— you know, we didn’t and, um, I don’t think someone who was different from him my [parents], they, they knew. So I think they socially—and they became “study partners.” were grateful to have that assistance. Observing his friend’s approach to studying, Nick “started to learn what he was doing. [I] Nick had been reluctant to consider Ivy really had to figure out how to study.” His League schools because of the cost. Dr. grades rose. Majoring in biology, he gradu- O’Flanagan, however, knew what Nick did ated with a GPA of 3.94.

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Nevertheless, Nick said he often felt like an Despite his high grades and MCAT scores, outsider: “I wasn’t going out to eat, wasn’t he had another moment when he faltered, dur- going out to the bar, wasn’t wearing brand ing the interview portion of the medical [names], expensive clothing, or whatever.” school application process: The cavalier attitudes of other students in his dorm angered him. Nick valued his own, quite I think I interview poorly. I mean, I think different, upbringing. He was hesitant as he I’ve gotten a lot better at it over time, but spoke, but he valued his “groundedness”: I’ve always been a shy person. But I’m also, [I] have a big ego. I did well on the MCATS, [M]y upbringing has been a great strength in I have a good GPA, I was coming from many ways because I think that, um, you Columbia, I had some research experience. know, I understand what the value of a dol- I thought, “This is going to be great. I’m lar is. . . . I think that’s good. I mean, that in going to do well. I’m going to get into med many respects . . . there’s a groundedness I school.” So I applied to probably only five think to some of the things I learned from or six med schools, um, Columbia, Harvard, my background that I think has been a SUNY-Stony Brook, Albany, and one other. strength for me. Things did not go as Nick had assumed they He was appalled at the helplessness and would: dependence he witnessed among many Ivy League undergraduates. For example, in I thought this is going to be fine. So I got doing his work-study job of providing “com- accepted to SUNY-Stony Brook, rejected at puter support for the dorm,” he discovered Harvard, [and] initially, waitlisted at Colum- other students’ apparent helplessness with bia. I was like, “Oh, my God!” I had my basic tasks: crisis. But I was very fortunate in that I had another work-study job, with the emergency I remember thinking . . . “God, these people department [at Columbia]. . . . They sort of have all these brand new fancy computers said, “You’re on the waitlist.” [They] talked and they don’t even know how to open it to some people and they really helped me up.” . . . But my roommate was good actually a lot. That was a huge help. because he didn’t come with a computer. He was like, “My parents said there’s a com- In describing his ER friends’ intervention as puter lab.” “a huge help,” Nick reveals his belief that his informal networks with these doctors made Nick and his roommate had habits of resource- all the difference in facilitating his admission fulness that he felt were missing in his more to Columbia’s medical school, as they helped affluent peers. him get admitted from the waitlist. Like Tara Carroll, who described herself as Hence, in Nick’s experience of upward “shy,” Nick characterized himself as “never mobility, having guides who helped him navi- [having] been good at taking advantage” of gate key steps was crucial. He had a high advising, visiting professors during office school counselor who actively and aggres- hours, or seeking help. He attributed this to sively intervened in the college application “some notion of independence or ‘I can, I can process; a college friend who taught him how figure this out.’” Stacey Marshall and other to study; and people in the emergency room middle-class youth frequently visited their who knew how to intervene on his behalf and professors and teaching assistants to get helped him get admitted to medical school. advice or help. Nick’s approach meant he did These guides all played essential roles, but not receive the same kind of personalized as Nick rightly noted, without the interven- assistance. tion of his high school counselor, the rest of

Downloaded from asr.sagepub.com at ASA - American Sociological Association on January 30, 2015 20 American Sociological Review 80(1) his life trajectory would likely have unfolded that I think I relate well to people and I think very differently. Just as Tara did not know I know how to communicate with people in how to get help in college, Nick and his fam- a way that they can understand and [in a ily had little understanding of the college way] that’s approachable. I do think that my application process, and neither he nor his upbringing has helped with that. parents would have initiated a request for help with the applications. Instead, Nick In summary, Nick’s upbringing had important probably would have enrolled at a nearby, strengths, but it did not provide him with the low-status, four-year college or at the local knowledge commonly associated with a middle- community college: class upbringing—resources that would have helped him get institutions to work for him. In retrospect, if there hadn’t been an outside He was, however, able to secure cultural person . . . to step in and say, “Someone guides at three crucial life moments. The help should help you. This is the person. You these mentors provided Nick was essential: should meet with him,” I don’t know [what] they taught him the requisite cultural knowl- would of happened. I come from a . . . fam- edge in two instances (where he should apply ily full of sort of stubborn, independent to college and how to study) and intervened people, and, you know, the traits that I see, on his behalf in a third (helping him move off like at that time . . . were keeping me from the waitlist at Columbia). saying, “Hey someone. Where should I apply?” My parents, I think, are the same way. They are hesitant to ask people for Discussion help, because they figure that they’ll take Sociological analysis illuminates the pro- care of it. cesses that lead to different outcomes for dif- ferent groups of people. Indeed, male college Here Nick makes explicit a form of cultural graduates are predicted to live nine years reproduction common among other young longer than men who drop out of high school adults but frequently left unstated: he (National Center for Health Statistics 2011). approached institutions in the same way his Educational achievements also are deeply parents did. shaped by parents’ class positions (Alexander His journey has not been without financial et al. 2014). Yet, there is some upward and and emotional costs. He must repay $25,000 downward mobility (Hout and Janus 2011), in loans from his undergraduate days and and upward mobility dramatically alters $135,000 from medical school. The world he mothers’ childrearing (Attewell and Lavin lives in now often leaves him feeling “iso- 2007). Life also contains missteps. Young lated” and estranged from aspects of his past, people miss deadlines, fail a class, decide including his family’s racially insensitive they do not like their career path, or have their comments, meat-based diet, and bewilder- hearts broken. Nonetheless, the contingent ment about the attraction of international nature of life advancement has not been suf- travel (Curl et al. 2012). Still, he emphasized ficiently developed in our sociological mod- that he viewed his upbringing as valuable. He els (Lamont et al. 2014). considered it a strength in his clinical work: Not all missteps are equally consequential. As returns to education have grown (Hout I think it really helps me with relating with 2012), educational success looms large in any patients actually because the way I relate pathway of advancement. As I have shown, with my family is more typical to our educational success is not only about substan- patients than, than my peers’. So I think tive knowledge and test performance. Stu- that’s helpful actually. I mean, I think that dents also need to manage their education by that’s one of my great skills as a clinician is complying with educational organizations’

Downloaded from asr.sagepub.com at ASA - American Sociological Association on January 30, 2015 Lareau 21 rules. Many educational institutions have in the lives of all these young adults. It mat- similar rules and regulations, and informal tered for paying tuition, buying books, and knowledge of these shared patterns is valua- meeting other school expenses. It also mat- ble. Although there are always new develop- tered when working-class youth wanted ments, much of this informal knowledge places of their own and needed rent and appears to be stable. (For example, Stacey deposit money, had healthcare bills, or faced Marshall’s mother could help her daughter mounting childcare costs. Indeed, economic because the rules of college had not changed positions are linked to many aspects of daily much in 20 years.) Ms. Marshall advised her life, including social networks and cultural daughter to drop a class at a crucial moment repertoires (DiPrete et al. 2011; DiTomaso to preserve her GPA. But for the uninitiated, 2013; Fiske and Markus 2012). What my educational institutions are complex, bureau- argument seeks to bring into sharper focus is cratic, and unclear. When Tara Carroll the important role that knowledge, expertise, attended college, she was persistent and and cultural skills also play in navigating determined, but she did not have her mother institutions and shaping life paths. Middle- hounding her on the phone at 11 p.m. at night class youth had parents who began coaching to go to see her adviser. Similarly, Katie Brin- them as young children and continued to do dle could not figure out the “nine steps” to so as they grew into adulthood. They had register. Many memoirs of the upwardly many adults showering them with advice mobile report key pieces of cultural knowl- (Hardie forthcoming). This approach fostered edge that were generally unavailable to young dependence combined with a sense of entitle- adults from working-class families (e.g., ment and transmitted the cultural skills Sotomayor 2014). In the context of these needed to get institutions to act on their complex, obscure institutional dynamics, cul- behalf. By contrast, the working-class and tural guides are invaluable. As in Nick Nev- poor youth exhibited American individual- ins’s case, guides can shine a bright light on a ism. When something needed to be done, they complex system and tell one how to proceed. tried to do it themselves. When they faced These forms of cultural knowledge are not challenges, they often felt uncomfortable and the same as academic knowledge. Nor should did not seek help; nor were they usually they be seen as the same as non-cognitive offered help. In some cases, they were over- knowledge (and soft skills) that are often whelmed or confused. Having the ability to defined in terms of characteristics such as persist in the face of adversity did not solve persistence, self-control, and sociability or, these particular problems (Black 2009).15 put differently, grit or character (Duckworth What can make a difference is offers of et al. 2007; Hurrell et al. 2013; KIPP 2014; help from middle-class cultural guides (see, Moss and Tilly 1996). Rather, they consist of especially, Stanton-Salazar 1997). This pat- knowledge of the informal and formal rules tern is documented in other research on of institutions, strategies for gaining individu- upward mobility. Vallejo (2012) reports that alized accommodations, and the timing and teachers and employers are a crucial source of requirements for implementing any request aid for upwardly mobile Mexican Americans. for accommodation. As Weininger and I argue Gonzales (2011, forthcoming) finds students elsewhere (2008), these forms of knowledge, receive valuable assistance from teachers, which can help individuals advance in domi- counselors, and staff in educational institu- nant institutions, should be seen as cultural tions. Stephens and colleagues (2014) show capital. that providing first-generation college stu- My argument aims to illuminate the role of dents with valuable knowledge of how to noneconomic forces in both key life transi- approach college can close an achievement tions and the little moments that build up to gap in grades. Lareau and Calarco (2012) these transitions. Of course, money mattered report some working-class mothers receive

Downloaded from asr.sagepub.com at ASA - American Sociological Association on January 30, 2015 22 American Sociological Review 80(1) mentorship from middle-class mothers on logic of childrearing, and a set of taken-for- how to gain accommodation from educators. granted dispositions for how to negotiate In his classic essay, Turner (1960) discusses daily life, which have been drilled into middle- the notion of “sponsored mobility” offered by class children since they were in elementary educators, but this key concept has not school (Calarco 2014; Lareau 2011; but see received sufficient attention in recent dec- also Horvat and Davis 2011). ades. While there is ample evidence of the As Pallas and Jennings (2009) argue, the utility of help-seeking practices among middle- advantages associated with social class are class youth and the alignment between these cumulative. In describing the lives of the chil- practices and institutional norms and expecta- dren in Unequal Childhoods as they have tions, it is also important for researchers to grown older, I suggest that cultural capital critically assess key practices that are touted affects life chances through specific events as highly desirable. Researchers need to that may not seem significant in real time. In include negative dimensions of the same addition to the educational sphere, these con- practices—for example, when students badger tingent moments might be found in a host of professors to change grades, demand accom- other institutions, including healthcare, the modations for their vacation travel during the world of work, the criminal justice system, semester, and otherwise act in a difficult fash- and the political sphere. Our sociological ion. The point here is not that working-class models of the transmission of advantage can young adults are behaving incorrectly when also be better. There is ample evidence that faced with intransigent bureaucratic institu- many successful people have rejections and tions. Rather, the task is to highlight how setbacks, but these missteps are not woven forms of cultural knowledge learned at home into sociological models. Conceptually, we are unequally valuable in a specific context. need to pay special attention to these near Institutions, however, can also make a dif- misses and setbacks, as well as the educa- ference in facilitating the success of working- tional and occupational successes of young class youth. The City University of New adults. As we draw these portraits, our models York, for example, has created a CUNY will ideally always detail the “rules of the START program, whereby students can take game” in key institutions and look at how the remedial courses they need for entrance to young people use their knowledge to maneu- the CUNY system. This is an intensive, low- ver through these institutions. After all, indi- cost program in which students take all of the vidual effort and grit can only carry one so remedial courses together. After introduction far. In particular institutional moments, cul- of the program, an evaluation report found tural knowledge is crucial. And in some that the pass rate for students who had com- instances, cultural training is not learned on- pleted their remedial courses shot up from 5 the-job as an adult, but appears to be linked to to 31 percent (CUNY Office of Academic lessons in childhood. There are important Affairs 2014). In this and related programs parallels to the lessons children learn in ele- (Tough 2014), first-generation college students mentary school about how the world works are more likely to continue to study, accumu- and how they should act as young adults. late credits, and graduate. Hence, institutional Showing the long shadow of social class on scaffolding can help students develop the life destinations, as well as the experience of requisite skills to thrive in higher education. upward mobility, remains one of the most Nonetheless, these programs are unlikely to important tasks for sociologists in the future. instill a level of ease that middle-class youth display in comparable circumstances (Khan Acknowledgments 2012). After all, these programs are seeking I am grateful to The Spencer Foundation for support of to impart a specific set of skills. These pro- this research as well as to Temple University, University grams cannot usually inculcate a cultural of Maryland, and University of Pennsylvania for their

Downloaded from asr.sagepub.com at ASA - American Sociological Association on January 30, 2015 Lareau 23 support. Many people provided valuable feedback on the also weighed about 100 pounds more than the rec- research for this article. I am indebted to Tim Black, Jes- ommended weight for her frame, although the role sica Calarco, Maia Cucchiara, Judith Levine, M. Kather- this may have played is not clear. She was admitted ine Mooney, Vanessa Munoz, Aaron Pallas, Leslie Paik, to a four-year college, but she declined to attend. At Megan Russo, Amy Steinbugler, Patricia Tevington, and age 20, her goals were to be married, be a stay-at- Elliot Weininger for their written comments on this home wife, and have four children. She did not have piece; I appreciate as well the thoughtful feedback of a boyfriend at the time. At 30, she did not respond to colleagues and doctoral students at the University of the request for an interview. Pennsylvania. I am also grateful to Elliot Weininger and 9. Space constraints preclude the presentation of Amanda Cox for earlier collaborations using some of the additional cases of upward mobility. Still, the key data reported here. All errors are the responsibility of the purpose is to use this case study for conceptual author. development (Burawoy 1998; Luker 2008). For additional discussions of the experience of upward mobility, see Curl (2013); Curl and colleagues Notes (2012); Lubrano (2004); Vallejo (2012); and, for 1. The small number of cases influenced my decision blocked mobility, Silva (2012). to focus exclusively on social class in this address. 10. In some instances, to improve readability, I have Hence, I focus particularly on the experience of deleted false starts, “um,” “uh,” “like,” “you know,” two black women of different social class posi- and other filler words if they did not appear to be tions. Nevertheless, in Lareau (2011) I discuss how particularly meaningful. In a few instances, I shifted the significance of race clearly grew for the young the order of the sentences. black men in ways consistent with other literature 11. Most hospitals strongly prefer a nurse with a bache- (for accounts of the interweaving of race and class, lor’s degree. Tara is hoping to get a master’s degree see, e.g., Lacy 2007; Pattillo 2013). one day. 2. Research in the sociology of work on soft skills 12. Mark challenged the firing. He recounted the story typically focuses on employment-related skills this way: “I filed for unemployment. They denied it. (e.g., interacting with customers) rather than gen- I took them to court. The three managers showed up eralized cultural knowledge about how institutions to court.” According to Mark, “None of them could work (Hurrell et al. 2013). get their story straight. . . . [When] I mentioned to 3. The Williams family (middle class) severed ties in [the judge] what he [the manager] said to me about 2005 (Lareau 2011:318–19). I received no response to my high school diploma, [the judge] actually turned a letter of inquiry I sent in 2014 to Melanie Handlon to the guy and said, ‘What did you expect him to say (middle class) and to Tyrec Taylor and Wendy Driver to you, after that? Like, after you made that com- (both working class) at their parents’ home address. ment, what did you expect him to say to you?’ And 4. Usually, I brought the families a framed photograph by the time the hearing was over, I was leaving, and taken when their now-adult child was 10; some- the judge went, ‘Good luck. You should be seeing times, I also brought along a dessert. your [unemployment check] in about two weeks.’” 5. At the time, Curl (2013) was collecting data for a Three months later, the chain was bought out. Mark related study on upward mobility for her disserta- applied for a job and was rehired. tion, which she subsequently finished. 13. Mr. Marshall, who had a college degree and worked 6. Although I had a team of research assistants to help in a government job, generally complied with his in the data collection for Unequal Childhoods, I wife’s requests and supported her actions, but he collected all of the data for the two follow-ups. But did not closely oversee his children’s daily lives. see Lareau and Weininger (2008) and Lareau and His role conforms to patterns among middle-class Cox (2011) for earlier analyses of the follow-up fathers reported in many other studies (Lareau data as well as Lareau (2011). 2000; but see Friedman 2013). 7. Per Bourdieu, middle-class youth were more 14. Mark Greeley grew up in a family where his mother knowledgeable about the field. A discussion of field worked in a thrift store and received public assis- is beyond the scope of this address (see, e.g., Sal- tance during his childhood. (While she had a drug laz and Zavisca 2007), as is a discussion of habitus problem, he and his siblings lived in foster care.) (Bourdieu 1977, 1984). For a recent discussion of In high school, his mother worked as an entry-level class differences in the habitus of young adults in case worker for the public aid office. Mark dropped terms of their dispositions for the future, see Tev- out of high school; he has worked in a grocery store. ington (2014). He has never received public assistance. Hence, his 8. Multiple factors likely contributed to this out- position is stronger than his family’s situation when come. Melanie’s mother (who was most active in he was a child (i.e., he does not receive public assis- childrearing) had only two years at a community tance). But because he did not have a college educa- college, and she had difficulty negotiating with tion or a highly desirable professional job, I do not institutions. Melanie had a learning disability. She consider him to be a case of upward mobility.

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15. It is theoretically possible that without sample attri- Cherng, Hua-Yu Sebastian. 2014. “The Ties That Bind: tion I might have drawn different conclusions, but The Role of Teacher Relationships in the Adaptation this seems unlikely because I have social class data of Minority and Immigrant Adolescents.” Unpub- on 10 of the 12 adults at age 30. These results are lished manuscript, New York University, Department also consistent with national data (Hout and Janus of International Relations, New York, NY. 2011). More to the point, the purpose of qualitative Clark, Tom, and Anthony Heath. 2014. Hard Times: The research is not to describe frequency of patterns, Divisive Toll of the Economic Slump. New Haven, but to illuminate the mechanisms behind patterns to CT: Yale University Press. show how these established patterns may unfold. Collins, James. 2009. “Social Reproduction in Class- rooms and Schools.” Annual Review of Anthropology 38:33–48. 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Yee, April. 2014. “Major Decisions: How Social Class Race, and Family Life which won a distinguished publi- Shapes Undergraduate Achievement.” University of cation award from the Sociology of Family, Sociology of Pennsylvania, ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publish- Childhood, and Sociology of Culture sections of the ing, 3623672. American Sociological Association. Her first book, Home Advantage, won the distinguished book award of the Sociology of Education section. In 2014 she pub- Annette Lareau is the Stanley I. Sheerr Professor in the lished (with Kimberly Goyette) Choosing Homes, Department of Sociology at the University of Pennsylva- Choosing Schools. She is currently writing a book on the nia. She is the author of Unequal Childhoods: Class, process of doing ethnographic research.

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