Perspectives on Higher Education and the American Dream: A Review Essay

RESEARCH ON HIGHER EDUCATION HAS COMPETING perspectives. On the one hand, colleges and universities are the conduits of upward mobility, allowing children of all financialmeans an opportunity for a better life by discovering advanced information and knowledge, by acquiring research and study skills, and by accessing rewarding jobs and careers. Government encourages opportunity by funding students from every economic background. This vision defines the American Dream model, in which each generation improves its financial standing and life satisfaction to a level above the previous generation. On the other hand, colleges and universities divide families by income, providing access to the best schools for those with accumulated wealth. Lowor moderate-income families are relegated to less prestigious schools, where the resources for advancement are fewer than those provided at better-financed schools. Government and institutional subsidies in financial aid may blunt the trend, but they also saddle low-income students with debt obligations beyond their ability to pay. The pattern of wealthy families sending children to prestigious schools and lowor moderate-income families sending children to two-year or less prestigious schools, or not attending college at all, perpetuates inequalities across generations—the so-called stratification model. We explore it later in the essay. Ideally, social science research would contrast these models, testing which one better explains the circumstances of college students. In Degrees