UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Educated People: Narratives of Ambition and Failure among Poor and Working-Class Young Adult Women in Community College Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1gk8j0t9 Author Nielsen, Kelly Publication Date 2016 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Educated People: Narratives of Ambition and Failure among Poor and Working-Class Young Adult Women in Community College A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology by Kelly J. Nielsen Committee in Charge: Professor Amy J. Binder, Chair Professor Amanda Datnow Professor Isaac W. Martin Professor Hugh Mehan Professor Akos Rona-Tas 2016 The Dissertation of Kelly J. Nielsen is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Chair University of California, San Diego 2016 iii DEDICATION To Sara, Oliver, and Malena for being here every day to help me through, and to my mother, Joy, who could not be here. iv EPIGRAPH We are, I am, you are by cowardice or courage the one who find our way back to this scene carrying a knife, a camera a book of myths in which our names do not appear Adrienne Rich v TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page……………………………………………………………………... iii Dedication………………………………………………………………………….. iv Epigraph……………………………………………………………………………. v Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………… vi Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………….... vii Vita…………………………………………………………………………………. xii Abstract of the Dissertation………………………………………………………… xiii Introduction………………………………………………………………………… 1 Chapter 1 – Beyond “Warming Up” and “Cooling Out”: The Effects of Community College on a Diverse Group of Disadvantaged Young Women……… 24 Chapter 2 – “Fake It ‘Til You Make It”: Why Community College Students’ Aspirations Hold Steady…………………………………………………………… 58 Chapter 3 – Failure in Emerging Adulthood: Narrative Agency in Career, Practice, and Care Institutions among Poor and Working-Class Women…………. 98 Conclusion – The Educated Person and the Pursuit of Freedom………………….. 141 Appendix A………………………………………………………………………… 163 Appendix B………………………………………………………………………… 166 Appendix C………………………………………………………………………… 169 References…………………………………………………………………………. 182 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All who wander may not be lost, but they are subject to university deadlines. If it were not for the tireless dedication of my advisor, mentor, and friend, Amy Binder, I would have surely gotten lost and run even more afoul of the Graduate Division. From the moment I asked her to chair my dissertation committee, she has done more to support me in my scholarly work and academic life than I could have possibly asked for. She worked tirelessly to help me find the right words, the right theories, and the right people to make my work better. She (mostly) excised the passive voice from my writing, and she gave me way too much credit for this work and never took any for herself despite how instrumental she has been. If I would not have reached the end of this project without Amy, I never would have gotten started without Bud Mehan and Amanda Datnow. Bud taught me everything I needed to be a sociologist of education. He wandered with me undeterred and pushed me to really think. He trusted me enough to keep wandering that one day he left me a manila envelope filled with two books by Wittgenstein and several other texts with a note that stated in bold print: Do Not Read. To me as to many, many before, Bud is a role model and dear friend. I can only dream of one day retiring and receiving the outpouring of love that he received for his sociological wandering. Amanda made this project possible as the principal investigator of the Pathways to Postsecondary Success Project. But more importantly, she gave graduate students like myself a prominent role in the project and treated us like colleagues. She read drafts and took the time to talk about the project and life more generally whenever I stopped by her office, and she trusted me to take the project forward and make it my own. Amanda always left vii me feeling confident and enthusiastic about my work. Isaac Martin has been a model of rigor and intellectual clarity. Whenever I imagine someone reading over my shoulder, and I worry if they will be convinced by my work, I typically think of Isaac. Akos Rona- Tas has helped me to see the bigger picture of my work and pushed me to bring forward what so often goes unthought or unsaid, what gets lost when you wander. The data for this dissertation is the product of a group of extremely talented and dedicated researchers. Vicki Park is a brilliant leader and an incredible interviewer. She established a very high bar for this project and I have benefitted enormously from her hard work. Chrissy Cerven did more than anyone in the field to make sure the project was a success and pushed us to do the hard work of wrestling with so much qualitative data. Jennifer Nations did more than I can possibly list here to make this dissertation what it is. As team members, officemates, and co-authors, we shared so many ideas we lost track of their origins. I cannot imagine doing this research without having Jenn to joke and complain when things got tough. Much of the work here is a result of the countless hours I had to think and learn with her. I also could not have done any of this without the steadfast support of Sheila Keegan. Sheila not only kept this large and complex project running, she also made it possible for me to set out on my own once the Pathways project had ended. Many other people involved with the Pathways project were instrumental. Daniel Solorzano was co-principal investigator and a strong supporter of graduate student work on the project. Moreover, his commitment to social justice and taking the project where tough questions about poverty and education led left a powerful mark on the direction of the research. Mike Rose demonstrated how the research we were doing could be turned viii into beautiful and illuminating text. Gil Conchas gave me the opportunity to publish some of my findings in a volume he edited. And a great deal of other scholars made my time with the Pathways project memorable and rewarding. Beyond the life of the Pathways project, my ongoing research was generously supported by a UC/ACCORD Dissertation Fellowship. The UC/ACCORD community is an irreplaceable resource for diversity research in education and I am humbled by their recognition of my work. Numerous faculty have made my wandering worthwhile. My conversations with Harvey Goldman were not only some of the most enjoyable and edifying of my time at UCSD, they also shaped this dissertation in no small measure. Jeff Haydu treated me like a friend as well as a colleague. Kevin Lewis read parts of this dissertation and pushed me to improve my work. The faculty and staff of the Education Studies Department has given me a scholarly second home and I could not have found a more comfortable place to develop my research. Luz Chung, Makeba Jones, Alan Daly, and Melissa Wolf have been especially supportive. Many students and friends made this dissertation possible. In particular, I have received feedback and encouragement along the way from Heidi Schneider, Rawan Arar, Rachel Soper, Ian Mullins, Natalie Aviles, Alexandra Vinson, Laura Rogers, Wisam Alshaibi, and Franklin Mejia. Aaron Marquette was the most careful and critical reader of my work and never hesitated to help me work through all sorts of problems. Katie Kenny was the greatest, most brilliant neighbor a person could ask for and gave freely of her time and knowledge as we watched our kids on the lawn (her husband Justin was pretty great, too). David Pinzur has been an incredible friend to me and my family and a stalwart colleague. Tad Skotnicki has wandered furthest and most dedicatedly with me ix and I can say without a doubt that my intellectual identity is inseparable from the thinking we have done together over the years. Lastly, Joan Donovan and Nathalie Reid have become a part of my family. Joan has given no quarter in our war of ideas, which thankfully shows no sign of ending. My family have shown me love and unwavering support from start to finish. My father, step-mother, and sister, Paul, Heather, and Leah Nielsen, were always excited by my research even when I could not muster much enthusiasm. My mother-in-law and father-in-law, Peg and Melvin Jensen, gave generously in every way imaginable to make this possible. My aunt and uncle, Tina and Tony Nielsen regularly checked in to make sure I was doing okay. My brother by choice, Ted Reckas, was my closest confidant and interlocutor, who spent countless hours wandering with me in search of the good and worthwhile life, helping me to put this dissertation in the proper perspective. More than anyone, my wife and best friend, Sara Nielsen, made this long and wandering journey imaginable. There is no way to express the proper gratitude to someone who says yes when their partner asks if they can pursue a Ph.D. She has given me the home to wander from and return to, and the immense love needed to keep me from getting lost. That home includes our wonderful children, Oliver and Malena, whom along with Sara I love more than anything. The three of them have given me the greatest reason to do my best work. Chapter 1, in full, is a reprint of the material as it appears in Inequality, Power, and School Success: Case Studies on Racial Disparity and Opportunity in Education , edited by Gilberto Conchas and Michael Gottfried, Routledge, 2015.