Social Stratification in Higher Education

Background/Context: Over the past half century, scholars in a variety of fields have contributed to our understanding of the relationship between higher education and social stratification. We review this literature, highlighting complementarities and inconsistencies. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: We situate our review of the literature on inequality and higher education in the context of a behavioral model of postsecondary participation that takes into account the actions of both students and institutions. Conclusions/Recommendations: We recommend that researchers continue to engage in cross-disciplinary dialogues around challenges in postsecondary research and policy, advocate for an increase in the use of experimental designs, and encourage the development of linkages across administrative data sets. We also recommend that future research improve the alignment among behavioral theories, proposed interventions, study design, and analytic techniques.