Abstract
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 language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Sport, Education and Society |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1144-1160 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| ISSN | 1357-3322 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Faculty of Science
- Further education students
- Career aspirations
- Bourdieu
- Sports education
- Social class