ERIC Number: EJ1022961
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-5692
EISSN: N/A
Higher Education, Social Class and the Mobilisation of Capitals: Recognising and Playing the Game
Bathmaker, Ann-Marie; Ingram, Nicola; Waller, Richard
British Journal of Sociology of Education, v34 n5-6 p723-743 2013
Strategies employed by middle-class families to ensure successful educational outcomes for their children have long been the focus of theoretical and empirical analysis in the United Kingdom and beyond. In austerity England, the issue of middle-class social reproduction through higher education increases in saliency, and students' awareness of how to "play the game" of enhancing their chances to acquire a sought-after graduate position becomes increasingly important. Using data from a longitudinal study of working-class and middle-class undergraduates at Bristol's two universities (the Paired Peers project), we employ Bourdieu's conceptual tools to examine processes of capital mobilisation and acquisition by students to enhance future social positioning. We highlight middle-class advantage over privileged access to valued capitals, and argue that the emphasis on competition, both in terms of educational outcomes and the accrual of capital in the lives of working-class and middle-class students, compounds rather than alleviates social inequalities.
Descriptors: Middle Class, Social Mobility, Working Class, Longitudinal Studies, Foreign Countries, Undergraduate Students, Social Capital, Futures (of Society), Social Status, Competition, Outcomes of Education, Social Differences, Extracurricular Activities, Employment Potential, Internship Programs, College Graduates, Barriers, Student Attitudes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (Bristol)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A