Inequalities in students’ sense of social, cultural and economic belonging at a highly selective UK university

Boliver, Vikki; Hampshire, Kate; Lambell, Andrea; Lewis, Abigail; Marley, Catherine

Abstract

This paper reports on a survey and follow-up focus groups with students attending Durham University, a highly academically selective and socially ‘elite’ university in the North East of England. Survey data analysis identified three distinctive components of belonging among our study participants corresponding to the three forms of class-based capitals theorised by Bourdieu (1986), namely: (1) social inclusion, (2) cultural fitting-in, and (3) economic capacity to participate in university life. The students in our sample from less advantaged backgrounds – working class, state-school educated, first generation scholar, in receipt of financial aid, and/or in paid employment during term time for reasons of financial necessity – scored significantly lower on each of these elements of belonging in comparison with their more advantaged counterparts, particularly in relation to economic capacity to participate in university life. Excerpts from the focus groups illustrate the interrelated nature of the barriers to social, cultural and economic belonging faced by students from less advantaged backgrounds. Echoing previous studies of other national contexts, our findings point to the need for highly selective universities to do more to facilitate belonging for less advantaged students, not least by tackling financial hardship and promoting an inclusive socio-cultural climate.

Citation

Boliver, V., Hampshire, K., Lambell, A., Lewis, A., & Marley, C. (in press). Inequalities in students’ sense of social, cultural and economic belonging at a highly selective UK university. European Educational Research Journal,

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 18, 2025
• Deposit Date: Apr 3, 2025
• Journal: European Educational Research Journal
• Electronic ISSN: 1474-9041
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3774497
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/eer