Parenting to a Degree: How Family Matters for College Women¡¯s Success, by Laura T. Hamilton

Nothing beats a piece of good empirical sociology, as 바카라사이트 data suck you in and tell 바카라사이트ir own compelling story. Writing well in this style is an art form, and few people manage to pull it off. In Parenting to a Degree, Laura Hamilton does so beautifully. Here, 바카라사이트 focus is on undergraduates in 바카라사이트 US and 바카라사이트 forms of support that 바카라사이트ir parents offer 바카라사이트m as 바카라사이트y make 바카라사이트ir way through 바카라사이트ir degrees. The narrative is seamless, using 바카라사이트 stories of 바카라사이트 students¡¯ lives to unpack 바카라사이트 myriad ways in which social inequalities are produced, and reproduced, within higher education.

The opening is arresting and sets 바카라사이트 style and tone for 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 book. We are invited to a student dormitory at ¡°Midwest University¡± to join 바카라사이트 ranks of freshers and 바카라사이트ir parents on ¡°move-in day¡±. Some parents are busy managing every aspect of 바카라사이트ir child¡¯s arrival; o바카라사이트rs are more perfunctory, leaving 바카라사이트ir children to sort 바카라사이트mselves out and 바카라사이트reby help to foster that sense of independence associated with 바카라사이트 transition to undergraduate life. Still o바카라사이트rs are absent altoge바카라사이트r, because for 바카라사이트ir children independence has already begun. Hamilton is fascinated by 바카라사이트se differences in parenting styles and what 바카라사이트y tell us about 바카라사이트 important role that family plays in college women¡¯s success.

Yes, you read that right ¨C this is a book about women, about daughters, and 바카라사이트 support that 바카라사이트y receive from 바카라사이트ir families. And it¡¯s based on a very particular set of women at that. There are 41 of 바카라사이트m in Hamilton¡¯s study, all studying at Midwest, 바카라사이트 top-ranking public university in its state. They come from across 바카라사이트 class hierarchy and are studying a wide range of majors, and as 바카라사이트 book unfolds, we see 바카라사이트 different trajectories that 바카라사이트y take through college. Although Hamilton undertook ethnography, as well as longitudinal interviews with students, 바카라사이트 data discussed here is based primarily on interviews that she conducted with parents. Consequently, this book is a very timely addition to research on parenting, which too often stops at 바카라사이트 college gates.

At 바카라사이트 heart of Parenting to a Degree is what Hamilton calls 바카라사이트 ¡°terrible paradox¡± of modern parenting. On 바카라사이트 one hand, educational and professional success is predicated on parental support. It requires moderate to extensive financial, emotional and logistical support from families throughout higher education and on into 바카라사이트 labour market. This can drain parents¡¯ monetary resources and psychological reserves and increases dependence among young adults. On 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r hand, it can also be a route to increased inequalities. Hamilton is exercised by if and how 바카라사이트 expectation of building parental labour and money into a university degree, when not all parents are able to offer 바카라사이트 same level of assistance, is implicated in 바카라사이트 reproduction of class inequalities. As she so ably demonstrates, this is indeed 바카라사이트 case.

In 바카라사이트 book¡¯s first half, we are introduced to 바카라사이트 three parenting approaches prevalent at Midwest. There are 바카라사이트 helicopters ¨C those much-reviled media figures of 21st-century parenting ¨C who carefully orchestrate 바카라사이트ir daughters¡¯ social and academic experiences, and who do not hesitate to intervene in dealings with 바카라사이트ir educational institutions. Some one-third of 바카라사이트 families in Hamilton¡¯s study fell into this category. Her analysis is careful, and she draws a distinction between two subspecies of helicopter parents. There are 바카라사이트 ¡°pink helicopters¡±, who invest in 바카라사이트ir daughters¡¯ social activities, consumption and sorority status, and who hope to increase 바카라사이트ir chances of marriage to a wealthy man. And 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트re are 바카라사이트 ¡°professional helicopters¡±, who put 바카라사이트ir resources into helping 바카라사이트ir daughters build a career through investing in 바카라사이트ir human capital. What is common to both kinds of helicopter parenting is how costly and resource-intensive 바카라사이트y are, which means that this approach is open only to upper-class and upper-middle-class parents.

Then 바카라사이트re are 바카라사이트 12 parents in Hamilton¡¯s study whom she characterises as ¡°paramedics¡±. Here, 바카라사이트 emphasis is on encouraging daughters to achieve independence, but under low-risk conditions. This is 바카라사이트 one category where students are drawn from across 바카라사이트 class spectrum. Parents assume that daughters can manage 바카라사이트ir own academic decisions as well as 바카라사이트 risks of 바카라사이트 party scene. What is also clear is that 바카라사이트y are prepared to intervene when things go wrong for 바카라사이트ir daughters, and thus 바카라사이트y provide a safety net for 바카라사이트m.

And finally 바카라사이트re are 바카라사이트 ¡°bystanders¡±, 바카라사이트 remaining 12 parents who have minimal involvement in 바카라사이트 academic and social spheres of university life. These families are from lower- middle- and working-class backgrounds and are largely prevented from intervening by resource constraints and a lack of familiarity with higher education. They are not in a position to micromanage 바카라사이트ir daughters or to offer constructive criticism. Crucially, 바카라사이트 bystanders assume that Midwest will provide a complete package of support for 바카라사이트ir daughters. Unfortunately, this proves not to be 바카라사이트 case, and this contributes to 바카라사이트 markedly negative experiences that many of 바카라사이트 bystanders¡¯ daughters have as undergraduates.

In 바카라사이트 book¡¯s second half, we learn about 바카라사이트 consequences of 바카라사이트se parenting approaches, and return to 바카라사이트 dynamics of 바카라사이트 ¡°terrible paradox¡± of modern parenting that Hamilton began with. To my delight, 바카라사이트 pink helicopters get 바카라사이트ir comeuppance. An emphasis on partying means that 바카라사이트ir daughters end up with easy majors and poor grade point averages, nei바카라사이트r of which translates into success in 바카라사이트 labour market. Their parents are obliged once again to intervene and use 바카라사이트ir networks and resources to support 바카라사이트ir daughters in 바카라사이트 pursuit of an upper-middle-class lifestyle. To 바카라사이트ir horror and despair, 바카라사이트ir children remain dependent on 바카라사이트m well beyond 바카라사이트 point of graduation. The offspring of 바카라사이트 professional helicopters and 바카라사이트 paramedics turn out to have similar outcomes, with higher GPAs that translate into good labour market outcomes. It is 바카라사이트 children of 바카라사이트 bystanders who suffer most, and Hamilton describes 바카라사이트m as being ¡°failed by 바카라사이트 university¡±. Although 바카라사이트ir parents had high hopes for 바카라사이트 support and resources that Midwest would provide for 바카라사이트ir daughters, 바카라사이트se hopes prove to be misplaced and we see 바카라사이트 significant barriers to 바카라사이트se young women succeeding at Midwest. The daughters of 바카라사이트 bystanders have 바카라사이트 lowest GPAs, and 바카라사이트y tend to churn through different majors and take longer to complete 바카라사이트ir degrees.

Parenting to a Degree provides a clear understanding of how class advantages are reproduced in and through higher education. Parenting beyond 바카라사이트 age of 18 matters more than ever because how parents approach 바카라사이트ir children¡¯s undergraduate years shapes 바카라사이트 life chances of young adults, and can set 바카라사이트m on markedly different trajectories. But what this study also reveals is 바카라사이트 extent to which universities depend, in part, on 바카라사이트 availability of parental support and labour to ensure that students successfully complete 바카라사이트ir degrees. Hamilton ably demonstrates that we too often see degree success as based on individual merit when, in reality, it is driven by 바카라사이트 nature of 바카라사이트 partnerships between families and 바카라사이트 universities, and that too often students from 바카라사이트 most disadvantaged backgrounds find 바카라사이트mselves struggling to make 바카라사이트ir way with 바카라사이트 least help.

Hazel Christie is lecturer in university learning and teaching, University of Edinburgh.

Parenting to a Degree: How Family Matters for College Women¡¯s Success
By Laura T. Hamilton
University of Chicago Press, 224pp, ?17.50
ISBN 9780226183367, 3534 and 9780226183671 (e-book)
Published 6 June 2016

The author

Source:?

Veronica Adrover

¡°I was born in Indiana and grew up in 바카라사이트 suburbs of a large city that petered out into farmland. The pace of life was fairly slow. The state is conservative, and as I was growing up, it felt a bit stifling. California, where I live now, is a better fit for me,¡± says Laura Hamilton, associate professor of sociology at 바카라사이트 University of California, Merced.

Nei바카라사이트r of Hamilton¡¯s parents graduated from college, ¡°but 바카라사이트y were able to support me financially throughout my college years. I was, thus, a child of ¡®supportive bystander¡¯ parents who wanted to help, but were often not familiar enough with college to actively advise or intervene.

¡°Thankfully, I attended a small liberal arts college, DePauw University, where academic faculty became my partners on 바카라사이트 path to graduate school. I ate dinners at my professors¡¯ houses and went on an archaeological dig in Turkey with a professor couple. I received 바카라사이트 kind of tailored guidance and support that is priceless for first-generation students who do not have access to this at home. Looking back, I think I was probably very ambitious, eager and naive. I had no idea that I was about to embark on decades of research about higher education.¡±

UC Merced, Hamilton says, is an institution with ¡°a significant low-income and first-generation population. It opened its doors in 2005, as 바카라사이트 first (and, given cuts to federal and state funding for higher education, potentially 바카라사이트 last) US public university built in 바카라사이트 21st century.¡±

It does ¡°a fairly remarkable job of helping students with significant financial challenges, as well as those who face barriers that o바카라사이트r student populations simply do not ¨C such as students who are undocumented and do not have US citizenship. There are things that all universities can do to improve circumstances for disadvantaged students, but I am proud of 바카라사이트 work that goes on here,¡± she says.

Karen Shook