Agency and Cultural Capital
Although the theories of habitus evolution enrich the perspective of cultural reproduction, their agentic approach does not explain how excellent working-class students exercise agency to create cultural capital for themselves. In order to examine this issue, this study employed nonparticipant observation and interview methods to collect data about an excellent working-class student. The findings showed that the subject actively adopted creative strategies for discovering and using academic resources available outside her family’s social space. This agency was initiated by the subject’s envisagement of education as a path of liberation from the expected fate of the working classes. Its practice was further supported by significant others, who provided the subject with crucial help, including inspiration, encouragement, instruction and educational resources.
Date: 7 March 2024, 14:00 (Thursday, 8th week, Hilary 2024)
Venue: 15 Norham Gardens, 15 Norham Gardens OX2 6PY
Venue Details: Seminar Room G/H
Speaker: Professor Tien-Hui Chiang (Anhui Normal University, China)
Organising department: Department of Education
Organiser: Dr Maia Chankseliani (University of Oxford)
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editors: Hannah Freeman, Heather Sherkunov