A level playing 'field'? A Bourdieusian analysis of the career aspirations of further education students on sports courses

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

There is currently a distinct dearth of research into how sports students’ career aspirations are formed during their post-compulsory education. This article, based on an ethnographic study of sport students in tertiary education, draws on data collected from two first-year cohorts (n = 34) on two different courses at a further education college in England. The study draws on ethnographic observations, and semi-structured group interviews, to examine in-depth the contrasting occupational perspectives emergent within these two groups of mainly working-class students, and how specific cultural practices affect students’ career aspirations. Utilising a Bourdieusian framework, the paper analyses the internalised, often latent cultural practices that impact upon these students’ diverse career aspirations. The hitherto under-researched dimension of inter-habitus interaction and also the application of doxa are outlined. The article reveals how the two student cohorts are situated within a complex field of relations, where struggles for legitimisation, academic accomplishment and numerous forms of lucrative capital become habituated. The study offers salient Bourdieusian-inspired insights into the career aspirations of these redominantly workingclass students and the ways in which certain educational practices contribute to the production and reproduction of class inequalities.
Original languageEnglish
JournalSport, Education and Society
Volume21
Issue number8
Pages (from-to)1144-1160
Number of pages17
ISSN1357-3322
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016
Externally publishedYes

    Research areas

  • Faculty of Science - Further education students, Career aspirations, Bourdieu, Sports education, Social class

ID: 143919455