Abstract
Globally, growth in the number of students from diverse backgrounds entering
university requires broader understanding of how persistence and success is
enacted at an individual lived level. We know very little about how learners
draw on ‘internal capabilities’ when persisting in higher education; these
capabilities are not innate but instead develop in interaction with an individual’s environment (social, cultural, familial and political) and are informed by
existing access to forms of capitals. Exploring how internal capabilities and
capitals inform the act of persistence contributes much needed alternative
perspectives to the issue of educational participation. This chapter outlines
how the work of Amartya Sen and Pierre Bourdieu can be usefully combined
and utilised within the higher education setting. In presenting this theoretical
fusion, this chapter defines one approach to exploring what learners bring to
the higher education field (capitals) and how existing capabilities are actioned
to support relative success within this environment. Details of how this
approach was applied within one study are provided and conclusions are drawn
relating to wider applications of this methodological approach
university requires broader understanding of how persistence and success is
enacted at an individual lived level. We know very little about how learners
draw on ‘internal capabilities’ when persisting in higher education; these
capabilities are not innate but instead develop in interaction with an individual’s environment (social, cultural, familial and political) and are informed by
existing access to forms of capitals. Exploring how internal capabilities and
capitals inform the act of persistence contributes much needed alternative
perspectives to the issue of educational participation. This chapter outlines
how the work of Amartya Sen and Pierre Bourdieu can be usefully combined
and utilised within the higher education setting. In presenting this theoretical
fusion, this chapter defines one approach to exploring what learners bring to
the higher education field (capitals) and how existing capabilities are actioned
to support relative success within this environment. Details of how this
approach was applied within one study are provided and conclusions are drawn
relating to wider applications of this methodological approach
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Theory and method in higher education research |
Editors | Jeroen Huisman, Malcolm Tight |
Place of Publication | Bingley |
Publisher | Emerald Group Publishing Limited |
Chapter | 7 |
Pages | 115-129 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Volume | 6 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781800433205 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781800433212 |
Publication status | Published - 09 Nov 2020 |
Publication series
Name | Theory and Method in Higher Education Research |
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ISSN (Print) | 2056-3752 |