The invisible currency : how social capital fosters (or fractures) belonging in higher education : a Bourdieusian study of ethnic-minority experiences

Despite Flanders' open-access HE-system, democratization remains incomplete, as ethnic-cultural minority (ECM) and low-socioeconomic-status (SES) students encounter significant social and academic challenges. With growing recognition of non-academic factors, fostering a sense of belonging (SoB) has become a key focus. While SoB matters for all students, ECM-students experience greater concerns due to their underrepresented social identities (Ahn & Davis, 2019). This study extends Ahn and Davis (2019) coding framework, which defines four domains of SoB: Academic, Social, Personal, and Surroundings. We examine the role of social capital in fostering a SoB. Employing Bourdieu’s cultural reproduction framework (Bourdieu, 1986; Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977), we conducted a longitudinal qualitative content analysis on 69 interviews with ECM students with diverse SES, tracking their experiences over three semesters. The findings highlight the pivotal role of meaningful social interactions with peers as well as academic staf, in shaping a SoB, with social capital proving essential in fostering these connections. Participants emphasized key factors in friendship-building during their university transition. The urgent need to belong emerged as a central theme. In this context, friendship began with the formation of initial connections, which may or may not evolve into deeper bonds. social capital emerged as a critical buffer against stress and uncertainty, with the urgent need to belong as a central theme. Initial connections, whether deepening or not, expanded social networks and reinforced SoB. Two forms of social capital were identified: bonding social capital, where students connected with peers sharing similar identities, often along ethnic lines, providing familiarity and recognition; and bridging social capital, where cross-ethnic connections offered access to dominant forms of capital. This paper is highly relevant to the conference as it applies Bourdieu’s theories in practice, examining the interplay between social capital and university sense of belonging.