Working-class men's constructions of masculinity and negotiations of (non)participation in higher education

This article draws on discussion group data collected with 64 ethnically di verse working-class men who were predominantly not participating, or planni ng to participate, in higher education. The article identifies how the men drew on various discourses of masculinity in their arguments for and agains t higher education participation, and discusses potential implications of t hese discourses upon working-class men's continued underrepresentation in h igher education. Analysis also highlights how the men's various constructio ns were framed/constrained by their locations within multiple, interlocking systems of inequality. Questions are raised with regard to future widening participation initiatives.