Educational inequality and equitable transformation: Combining Bourdieu’s relational theory and the ‘conduct of everyday life’ concept to illuminate underrepresented students’ experiences and success in higher education

Abstract Current transformations in higher education—such as increasing diversity within the student population—and their impact on the participation of underrepresented groups call for theoretical perspectives that are able to take into account the interplay between the reproduction of educational inequalities and the transformation of parental heritage. In this paper, I present a novel combination of Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts and the ‘conduct of everyday life’ concept to illuminate the complexities students from underrepresented groups can face along their educational journeys. I argue that such a combination can link students’ study-related experiences to their broader life contexts and can bring attention to how other life domains impact the organisation and experience of university life for students from underrepresented groups. This theoretical perspective can also shed more light on the invisible and subtle ways in which inequalities play out. This paper contributes to opening up future discussions about how we can adequately grasp the experiences of students from underrepresent groups to successfully tackle the inequities these students can face and how to move forward to a more equitable higher education system for all.