Janice McCabe | Dartmouth College (original) (raw)
Papers by Janice McCabe
Contemporary Sociology, Dec 21, 2017
Based on research from a five-year multi-institutional study of undergraduate students at liberal... more Based on research from a five-year multi-institutional study of undergraduate students at liberal arts colleges, Practice for Life: Making Decisions in College is an important contribution to the literature on today's college students. The authors examined what it is like to be a college student at a liberal arts college and the process of becoming liberally educated. To explore this, the book is framed around decision making in college, focusing on what decisions students make, how students make these decisions, and how students reflect upon and learn from their decisions. Some decisions came from big questions such as: "What should I major in?" or "Should I apply to graduate school?" Other decisions were less substantial, such as: "Should I talk to my parents about this?" or "What should I do this weekend?" Although the book is framed, and titled, as if it focuses solely on decision making, the findings presented extend beyond decision making, providing insight into what drives students to be engaged with their education, how students experience transitions into and during college, and how they make meaning of their experiences.
Social currents, Jul 31, 2016
Researchers have investigated many aspects of college financing. Yet, we know little about the pr... more Researchers have investigated many aspects of college financing. Yet, we know little about the processes involved—that is, the details of students’ understandings and experiences, intersectional differences by race and first-generation-student background, and changes over students’ college careers. Based on students’ narratives, this article addresses these gaps in the literature by developing the concept of pathways to financing college to capture race- and class-based inequalities in the financial, cultural, and social capital students draw on as they navigate college costs and how these resources change over time. We find four pathways: (1) white students whose parents attended college relied on their parents’ financial and cultural capital; (2) white first-generation students initially received financial help from parents, but these resources ran out, leaving a burden on students in the later years of college; (3) black students whose parents attended college pieced together capital from multiple sources, including social capital from parents’ networks; and (4) black and Latina/o first-generation students shouldered the burden themselves. Our qualitative, intersectional, and longitudinal approach sheds new light on the social reproduction of inequalities by documenting inconsistencies in financial, cultural, and social capital provided by parents and counselors throughout students’ college careers and how students lacking such resources often muddle through alone.
Routledge eBooks, Feb 2, 2022
Gender & Society, Dec 9, 2020
Almost 40 years ago, scholars identified a "chilly climate" for women in college classrooms. To e... more Almost 40 years ago, scholars identified a "chilly climate" for women in college classrooms. To examine whether contemporary college classrooms remain "chilly," we conducted quantitative and qualitative observations in nine classrooms across multiple disciplines at one elite institution. Based on these 95 hours of observation, we discuss three gendered classroom participation patterns. First, on average, men students occupy classroom sonic space 1.6 times as often as women. Men also speak out without raising hands, interrupt, and engage in prolonged conversations during class more than women students. Second, style and tone also differ. Men's language is assertive, whereas women's is hesitant and apologetic. Third, professors' interventions and different structures of classrooms can alter existing gender status hierarchies. Extending Ridgeway's gender system framework to college classrooms, we discuss how these gendered classroom participation patterns perpetuate gender status hierarchies. We thus argue that the chilly climate is an underexplored mechanism for the stalled gender revolution.
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2016
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2016
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2016
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2016
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2016
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2016
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2016
TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology, Apr 26, 2010
Gender & Society, 2020
Almost 40 years ago, scholars identified a “chilly climate” for women in college classrooms. To e... more Almost 40 years ago, scholars identified a “chilly climate” for women in college classrooms. To examine whether contemporary college classrooms remain “chilly,” we conducted quantitative and qualitative observations in nine classrooms across multiple disciplines at one elite institution. Based on these 95 hours of observation, we discuss three gendered classroom participation patterns. First, on average, men students occupy classroom sonic space 1.6 times as often as women. Men also speak out without raising hands, interrupt, and engage in prolonged conversations during class more than women students. Second, style and tone also differ. Men’s language is assertive, whereas women’s is hesitant and apologetic. Third, professors’ interventions and different structures of classrooms can alter existing gender status hierarchies. Extending Ridgeway’s gender system framework to college classrooms, we discuss how these gendered classroom participation patterns perpetuate gender status hiera...
Contemporary Sociology, Dec 21, 2017
Based on research from a five-year multi-institutional study of undergraduate students at liberal... more Based on research from a five-year multi-institutional study of undergraduate students at liberal arts colleges, Practice for Life: Making Decisions in College is an important contribution to the literature on today's college students. The authors examined what it is like to be a college student at a liberal arts college and the process of becoming liberally educated. To explore this, the book is framed around decision making in college, focusing on what decisions students make, how students make these decisions, and how students reflect upon and learn from their decisions. Some decisions came from big questions such as: "What should I major in?" or "Should I apply to graduate school?" Other decisions were less substantial, such as: "Should I talk to my parents about this?" or "What should I do this weekend?" Although the book is framed, and titled, as if it focuses solely on decision making, the findings presented extend beyond decision making, providing insight into what drives students to be engaged with their education, how students experience transitions into and during college, and how they make meaning of their experiences.
Social currents, Jul 31, 2016
Researchers have investigated many aspects of college financing. Yet, we know little about the pr... more Researchers have investigated many aspects of college financing. Yet, we know little about the processes involved—that is, the details of students’ understandings and experiences, intersectional differences by race and first-generation-student background, and changes over students’ college careers. Based on students’ narratives, this article addresses these gaps in the literature by developing the concept of pathways to financing college to capture race- and class-based inequalities in the financial, cultural, and social capital students draw on as they navigate college costs and how these resources change over time. We find four pathways: (1) white students whose parents attended college relied on their parents’ financial and cultural capital; (2) white first-generation students initially received financial help from parents, but these resources ran out, leaving a burden on students in the later years of college; (3) black students whose parents attended college pieced together capital from multiple sources, including social capital from parents’ networks; and (4) black and Latina/o first-generation students shouldered the burden themselves. Our qualitative, intersectional, and longitudinal approach sheds new light on the social reproduction of inequalities by documenting inconsistencies in financial, cultural, and social capital provided by parents and counselors throughout students’ college careers and how students lacking such resources often muddle through alone.
Routledge eBooks, Feb 2, 2022
Gender & Society, Dec 9, 2020
Almost 40 years ago, scholars identified a "chilly climate" for women in college classrooms. To e... more Almost 40 years ago, scholars identified a "chilly climate" for women in college classrooms. To examine whether contemporary college classrooms remain "chilly," we conducted quantitative and qualitative observations in nine classrooms across multiple disciplines at one elite institution. Based on these 95 hours of observation, we discuss three gendered classroom participation patterns. First, on average, men students occupy classroom sonic space 1.6 times as often as women. Men also speak out without raising hands, interrupt, and engage in prolonged conversations during class more than women students. Second, style and tone also differ. Men's language is assertive, whereas women's is hesitant and apologetic. Third, professors' interventions and different structures of classrooms can alter existing gender status hierarchies. Extending Ridgeway's gender system framework to college classrooms, we discuss how these gendered classroom participation patterns perpetuate gender status hierarchies. We thus argue that the chilly climate is an underexplored mechanism for the stalled gender revolution.
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2016
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2016
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2016
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2016
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2016
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2016
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2016
TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology, Apr 26, 2010
Gender & Society, 2020
Almost 40 years ago, scholars identified a “chilly climate” for women in college classrooms. To e... more Almost 40 years ago, scholars identified a “chilly climate” for women in college classrooms. To examine whether contemporary college classrooms remain “chilly,” we conducted quantitative and qualitative observations in nine classrooms across multiple disciplines at one elite institution. Based on these 95 hours of observation, we discuss three gendered classroom participation patterns. First, on average, men students occupy classroom sonic space 1.6 times as often as women. Men also speak out without raising hands, interrupt, and engage in prolonged conversations during class more than women students. Second, style and tone also differ. Men’s language is assertive, whereas women’s is hesitant and apologetic. Third, professors’ interventions and different structures of classrooms can alter existing gender status hierarchies. Extending Ridgeway’s gender system framework to college classrooms, we discuss how these gendered classroom participation patterns perpetuate gender status hiera...