Earning the Keys to the Kingdom:
Non-Traditional Students, Stereotypes and the Search for Academic
Agency
by Carol Mohrbacher,
for The Power and Persistence of Stereotyping,
Universidade de Aveiro—
Abstract:
If a student understands and employs academic rhetoric and conventions, that student earns the “keys” to the academic kingdom. That is, understanding the rhetorical and behavioral subtleties of the academic elite provides the older, and/or working class student with clearer opportunities for professional advancement and easier navigation through graduate programs. My own experience informs this paper, telling me that the underlying message to non-traditional students, perpetuated by administrators, educators, and academic class students, specifically in graduate programs, is “We don’t want you, if you aren’t like us.” This message as well as other subtextual messages, and the stereotypes perpetuated by these messages are unpacked in this paper through an analysis of interviews with several former and current non-traditional graduate students from Master’s, MFA, Doctoral, and Ed.D. programs. This analysis is followed by a discussion of what non-traditional students can offer to graduate education, if they are not marginalized by stereotypes.