Running head: DYNAMICS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND LOW-INCOME STUDENTS 1 DYNAMICS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND LOW-INCOME STUDENTS 7 Research Paper Part 1 – The Foundation Jasmin Brown Strayer University Dr. Jewell Winn EDU 508 May 7, 2018 Dynamics of Higher education and Low-income Students Introduction to the topic The higher-education in the recent times due to high demand for workers with quality skills have become an absolute necessity. As a matter of reality, employers seek for employees who have the best skills and knowledge, and all these are obtained through higher-education learning. On realization of this, the higher education sector has been on the front line to improve the quality of education to make the students who pursue high-education course competent and eligible for available employment opportunities. It is a reality that the world today due to advanced technology has also diversified in areas of specialization, and this has also made the higher education section to be dynamic as well. The dynamic nature of high education has made the higher-education demanding and costly to the extent that a majority of students from low-income class cannot manage to afford. It is for this reason that other higher-education learning institutions have been established that offers the same course for a much lower cost. Nevertheless, issues have been raised that higher-education institutions charging less do not provide the same quality of education as those offering the same courses for a higher price. Purpose of research According to a research conducted by Bastedo & Jaquette, (2011); it was proved that wealthy student's number in different higher-education institutions have been on the rise something that was said to affect the socioeconomic effect of students from low-income class. The reason is that the quality of education is different between institutions that can be afforded by wealthy students and institutions for low-income students. Again, the research proved that between 1972 and 2004, the qualities of education on low-income students institutions have improved, but still equality between the two institutions have not been attained. The findings of the research were that if inequality is reduced between wealthy and low-income students' the low-income communities and the society at large would benefit. The purpose of the research is to determine the inequalities that exist between wealthy students' higher-education institutions and low-income students institutions. Also, the research strives to investigate, how the present inequality can be reduced hence making the quality of education to be the same in the dynamic learning institutions. Problem statement Higher-education learning institutions have established the quality of the education that they provide to the students based on the charges being levied upon students. Institutions for the wealthy students have a higher quality education as compared to instituti ...

1. Running head: DYNAMICS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND
LOW-INCOME STUDENTS 1
DYNAMICS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND LOW-INCOME
STUDENTS 7
Research Paper Part 1 – The Foundation
Jasmin Brown
Strayer University
Dr. Jewell Winn
EDU 508
May 7, 2018
Dynamics of Higher education and Low-income Students
Introduction to the topic
The higher-education in the recent times due to high demand for
workers with quality skills have become an absolute necessity.
As a matter of reality, employers seek for employees who have
the best skills and knowledge, and all these are obtained
through higher-education learning. On realization of this, the
higher education sector has been on the front line to improve
the quality of education to make the students who pursue high-
education course competent and eligible for available
employment opportunities. It is a reality that the world today
due to advanced technology has also diversified in areas of
specialization, and this has also made the higher education

2. section to be dynamic as well. The dynamic nature of high
education has made the higher-education demanding and costly
to the extent that a majority of students from low-income class
cannot manage to afford. It is for this reason that other higher-
education learning institutions have been established that offers
the same course for a much lower cost. Nevertheless, issues
have been raised that higher-education institutions charging less
do not provide the same quality of education as those offering
the same courses for a higher price.
Purpose of research
According to a research conducted by Bastedo & Jaquette,
(2011); it was proved that wealthy student's number in different
higher-education institutions have been on the rise something
that was said to affect the socioeconomic effect of students
from low-income class. The reason is that the quality of
education is different between institutions that can be afforded
by wealthy students and institutions for low-income students.
Again, the research proved that between 1972 and 2004, the
qualities of education on low-income students institutions have
improved, but still equality between the two institutions have
not been attained. The findings of the research were that if
inequality is reduced between wealthy and low-income students'
the low-income communities and the society at large would
benefit. The purpose of the research is to determine the
inequalities that exist between wealthy students' higher-
education institutions and low-income students institutions.
Also, the research strives to investigate, how the present
inequality can be reduced hence making the quality of education
to be the same in the dynamic learning institutions.
Problem statement
Higher-education learning institutions have established the
quality of the education that they provide to the students based
on the charges being levied upon students. Institutions for the
wealthy students have a higher quality education as compared to
institutions for the low-income students (Bastedo & Jaquette,
2011). The main challenge is that providing low-income

3. students with a lesser quality education contributes to the
continued non-development and reduced levels of personal
growth. This is a situation that also affects the societies that
low-income students come from and the nation as well because
the inequality makes the employer classify the two types of
students differently.
Literature summary
The issue of inequality in the higher-education sector has
been a bone of contention issue for a long time. Many scholars
and authors have researched extensively on the issue because of
the massive clear difference between wealthy student’s higher
learning institutions and the low-income institutions. According
to Astin, & Oseguera, (2004); in America, there has been a case
of declining equality in higher education where low-income
students do not get a quality education, and hence they exit
learning institutions without ample knowledge and skills as
compared to wealthy students. According to Bielby et al.,
(2011); inequality in higher learning institutions is evident, and
the impact is severe on students of the female gender from the
low-income economic status. In this article, the authors claim
that the failure to empower students equally because of their
socioeconomic status difference is an issue that affects the
individual students, their parents and families, society, and the
entire nation. The reason is that these people continue being
dependent on survival basis.
Jerrim, Chmielewski, & Parker, (2015); in their article claims
that the high-education institutions access requirements set are
the determinants that hinder students from low-income class to
obtain admission. The reason is that in most institutions, the
requirements are costly and this is the point where inequality is
commenced and extended to the quality of education. According
to Posselt et al., (2012); a majority of low-income students are
from minority races in the US, and this can be said to be the
reason why they never get to the same level regarding career
progression as their white, wealthy students counterparts. In
support of this claim, Alon, (2009); states that when a student is

4. empowered with high-quality education, he/she becomes
competitive in the labor market because the student has the
right knowledge, skills, and attitude to approach a highly
competitive market.
Gaps in the literature
It is a good thing that the selected literature have all
focused on one point which is the dynamics of higher education
and the low-income students. However, some gaps exist
between the opinions, ideas, and research findings of the
different kinds of literature used. One of the gaps is that some
literature differs in the contributing factor to higher education
dynamics and how the low-income students are affected by low-
quality education. For instance, some pieces of the literature
base their arguments on gender, others on ethnicity and race,
and others on education sector policies.
Another gap is on the development being realized from
the present inequality in the quality of education. The latter is
in the sense that some works of literature claim that the issue of
inequality is being addressed and remarkable improvement had
been recorded. On the other hand, there is literature that claims
that there is no progress being recorded and that the reality is
different where the situation is becoming worse.
Research hypotheses or question
What are the effective measures that can be out in place to
promote equality in the high education sector to ensure both the
wealthy and low-income students access the same quality of
education?
Research proposed theory
Different factors over the years have contributed to
changes in lifestyles and cost of living and the impact have been
pushed to the education sector as well. Over the years, the cost
of education has tremendously increased, and this has left the
government through the education sector to increase the cost of
education. Sadly, the people from low-income class because
they are not empowered in any way are left in the same position
despite the changes around them. Again, the fact that even the

5. people from low-income class want to get educated than have to
be given an education that they can afford which definitely
cannot equal to the quality of education that the wealthy can
afford to access. Hence, it is only through the government
establishing strategies through which the low-income students
can be supported either through sponsorship or government
grants to help them access same quality education as the
wealthy students. With quality education, students from low-
income class will be empowered to promote the society that
they come from and also extend a hand of help to institutions
offering low-quality education hence reducing the dynamics and
levels of inequality.
References
Alon, S. (2009). The evolution of class inequality in higher
education: Competition, exclusion, and adaptation. American
Sociological Review, 74(5), 731-755.
Astin, A. W., & Oseguera, L. (2004). The declining" equity" of
American higher education. The Review of Higher Education,
27(3), 321-341.
Bastedo, M., & Jaquette, O. (2011). Running in Place: Low-
Income Students and the Dynamics of Higher Education
Stratification. Educational Evaluation And Policy Analysis,
33(3), 318-339. http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/0162373711406718
Bielby, R., Posselt, J. R., Jaquette, O., & Bastedo, M. N.
(2011). Gender dynamics and higher education stratification:
Examining the longitudinal evidence. Unpublished paper,
University of Michigan. Google Scholar
Jerrim, J., Chmielewski, A. K., & Parker, P. (2015).
Socioeconomic inequality in access to high-status colleges: A
cross-country comparison. Research in Social Stratification and
Mobility, 42, 20-32.
Posselt, J. R., Jaquette, O., Bielby, R., & Bastedo, M. N.

6. (2012). Access without equity: Longitudinal analyses of
institutional stratification by race and ethnicity, 1972–2004.
American Educational Research Journal, 49(6), 1074-1111.