The Tensions of Teaching Low-Income Students to Perform Professionalism

As institutions of higher education prepare students for their careers, there is often a focus on teaching students how to demonstrate professional behavior to secure employment. Yet, definitions of professionalism may vary across contexts, and many reflect hegemonic norms, which are not reflective of the realities of low-income students. As such, teaching these students about professionalism may highlight the tensions between framing higher education as a lever for social advancement while it concurrently serves as a tool of social reproduction. Acknowledging these tensions, this constructivist qualitative case study examined how a comprehensive college transition program designed to serve low-income students socialized these students to notions of professionalism. Drawing from observational data collected over 4 years, we found that the program largely framed professionalism as essential for students' social mobility and used programming to provide information about professional dress, communication, and interactions through a lens that reflected middle-class, gender normative values. Complicatedly, the program also at times described professionalism as a tool that could be used to advance one's abilities as a leader and to serve one's communities. Our findings have implications for educators working to support low-income students' career preparation and to promote their success.