Throughout my doctoral work, I aim to examine how capital, social class worldview, and time shape the experiences of LSES students in New Brunswick’s higher education institutions.  

Bourdieu's sociological theory of capital and habitus provides the foundational lens for understanding how social class operates in educational settings. Liu et al.'s (2004) Social Class Worldview Model complements Bourdieu by examining the psychological dimensions of social class, including class consciousness, classism, and the multi-layered (macro, meso, micro) processes through which inequality is produced and perceived. 

While these models are fundamental, they seem to lack a key element – time.  

Temporal considerations have been mentioned in the context of LSES students, but it is often in passing, in the background, grouped with other elements, or framed as a choice – i.e., “how students choose to invest their time,” or “lifestyle choices.” Moreover, time is typically viewed as institutional “clock time,” referring to the standardized (industrial) temporal structures of higher education: the 24-hour day, deadlines, semesters, and credit-hour expectations. However, what’s missing from this discourse and the existing frameworks is a deeper examination of students’ temporal experiences. For many LSES students, temporal investment is not a matter of choice but of necessity, shaped by work obligations, caregiving responsibilities, and economic precarity. By working to move away from the narrative of “choice,” we can view the work and caregiving obligations of LSES students as structural anchors that impact their educational trajectories.  

Thus, I am exploring the notion of time capital. Time capital, in its current stage, indicates how time, as a resource, can be invested. It encompasses patterns of temporal investment (how are you spending your time – work, family, school, leisure, rest), the experiential outcomes of temporal investment (feeling burnt out, disconnected, relaxed), and the participation constraints that may arise due to temporal investments (limited ability to be involved, join extracurricular activities, networking and socializing. Time capital reveals how structural inequalities become embodied experiences that shape educational trajectories and reinforce class stratification.  

By understanding these temporal riptides, student service professionals can better identify how rigid institutional structures may inadvertently pull marginalized students under, rather than helping them stay afloat.  

This session challenges the assumed "neutrality" of institutional clock time and exposing it as a structural barrier that reinforces class stratification. By reframing time not as a personal skill, but as Time Capital, the presentation centers the lived experiences of LSES students and critiques the Western, industrial temporal structures that often marginalize those with caregiving or economic obligations. This approach promotes equity by shifting the burden of "efficiency" from the individual to the institution, encourages inclusion by validating the diverse realities of New Brunswick's student population, and supports decolonization by questioning the rigid, productivity-based frameworks rooted in colonial norms. Ultimately, the session provides practitioners with the tools to dismantle systemic "temporal riptides," ensuring that the path to a "Bright Future" is accessible to all students regardless of their socioeconomic or cultural background. 

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• Slide Deck (with presenter notes)