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Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of three focal cases embedded in a larger study of Welfare Reform and higher education using extended case methods, examining alternative paths to exiting welfare, finding employment, and leaving poverty via education and training. The results show how Welfare Reform’s signature “work-first” approach affects pursuit of educational goals and the role of policy in helping meet families’ needs. Two main themes were revealed: “Authority/Resistance” and “The Culture of Despair” in welfare. Relationships among identity, oppression, and welfare recipients’ ability to advocate to acquire information and resources to achieve educational goals are uncovered, revealing how recipients’ critical analysis of their situations and structural flaws endemic to welfare helps create unique pathways toward their objectives. The culture of welfare can change to be more inclusive, promising hope rather than engendering despair, by shifting focus from culturally bound rules around work toward support for recipients’ self-determination and inclusion.

Keywords

extended case method Welfare Reform higher education

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Inclusion and Participation: A View of TANF and Higher Education Through Extended Case Analysis

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