Higher Education and Working-Class Academics - Class, Precarity

In this review of Higher Education and Working-Class Academics, the bottom line is clear: this is an essential, research-driven account for anyone seeking to understand how class shapes academic life. Teresa Crew combines qualitative evidence and theory to illuminate lived experiences of impostor syndrome, microaggressions and alienation in UK academia. The book's single biggest reason to buy is its nuanced framing of the term working-class academic, showing that class identities are entangled with ethnicity, gender, dis/ability and place and offering grounded ways to think about support and solidarity.

Key Features

• Qualitative depth: Extensive interview and field data provide concrete examples of how working-class habitus meets elite academic culture.
• Bourdieu-informed analysis: Theoretical framing helps readers situate individual experiences within broader social structures.
• Focus on diversity: The book explores intersections of class with ethnicity, gender and dis/ability to avoid a one-size-fits-all account.
• Practical insight: Discussion of impostor syndrome and microaggressions offers ways for working-class academics to support one another and students.
• UK context: Empirical focus on UK higher education makes the findings relevant for policy and institutional change there.

Who It's For

This book is aimed at academics, postgraduate researchers, higher education professionals and policy makers who want a careful, evidence-based account of class dynamics in universities; it is particularly valuable for those interested in diversity and inclusion work within the UK context. Practitioners running mentoring or equity programmes will find the qualitative examples useful when designing support interventions.

Readers seeking a how-to manual for immediate institutional reform or those wanting broad international comparison across many countries may need supplementary texts; the book concentrates on UK cases and theory-informed analysis rather than prescriptive, step-by-step institutional toolkits.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Nuanced treatment of class shows that working-class academics are not a homogenous group.
• Rich qualitative data makes abstract concepts like habitus and alienation tangible for readers.
• Intersections with ethnicity, gender and dis/ability broaden the conversation about diversity in academia.

Cons

• Primary focus on the UK means readers outside that context may need to adapt some conclusions.

Specifications

Title	Higher Education and Working-Class Academics
Author	Teresa Crew
Subject	Class, academia and diversity in higher education
Approach	Qualitative research and Bourdieu-informed analysis
Geographic focus	United Kingdom
Key topics	Impostor syndrome, microaggressions, habitus, intersectionality

Our Verdict

Higher Education and Working-Class Academics is a thoughtful, well-evidenced study that will appeal to academics and institutional leaders seeking to understand classed experiences in UK universities. Its strength lies in combining theory with real-world testimony to show why targeted support and peer solidarity matter; this makes it good value for readers wanting depth rather than quick fixes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this book focus on personal stories or theory?
The book blends extensive qualitative personal accounts with theoretical framing, especially drawing on Pierre Bourdieu.

Is the book relevant outside the UK?
While the empirical focus is the UK, many themes about class, impostor syndrome and microaggressions have transferable relevance; readers should consider local context differences.

Who will benefit most from reading it?
Academics, postgraduate researchers and higher education professionals involved in diversity and inclusion work will gain the most immediate benefit.