Illuminating inequalities in students’ sense of belonging at university from a Bourdieusian perspective

This paper reports on a survey and follow-up focus groups with students attending a highly academically selective and socially ‘elite’ university in England. Informed by Bourdieu’s theory of class-based capitals, the research explores three distinctive dimensions of (non)belonging at university among our study participants relating to levels of (1) economic capital evident in feeling financially able to participate in the extracurricular aspects of university life, (2) cultural capital evident in feelings of ‘fitting-in’ with the dominant habitus of students attending the university and (3) social capital evident in feelings of inclusion in social activities and friendship groups. The students in our sample from disadvantaged backgrounds scored significantly lower on all three elements of belonging compared to their more advantaged counterparts, particularly in relation to economic capital. Excerpts from the open questions in our survey and subsequent focus groups illustrate the interrelated nature of the barriers to economic, cultural and social belonging faced by students from disadvantaged 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 a more inclusive socio-cultural climate.