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Higher education, social class and the mobilisation of capitals: recognising and playing the game

Bathmaker, Ann Marie; Ingram, Nicola; Waller, Richard

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Authors

Ann Marie Bathmaker

Nicola Ingram

Richard Waller Richard.Waller@uwe.ac.uk
Professor of Education and Social Justice



Abstract

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. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Citation

Bathmaker, A. M., Ingram, N., & Waller, R. (2013). Higher education, social class and the mobilisation of capitals: recognising and playing the game. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 34(5-6), 723-743. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2013.816041

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Nov 1, 2013
Deposit Date Aug 26, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal British Journal of Sociology of Education
Print ISSN 0142-5692
Electronic ISSN 1465-3346
Publisher Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 34
Issue 5-6
Pages 723-743
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2013.816041
Keywords social class, social mobility, higher education, Bourdieu, capitals
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/936751
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2013.816041
Additional Information Additional Information : This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the British Journal of Sociology of Education in 2013, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/01425692.2013.816041

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