Cultural capital in the elite subfield of Swedish higher education

Börjesson, Mikael; Broady, Donald; Roux, Brigitte Le; Lidegran, Ida; Palme, Mikael

doi:10.1016/j.poetic.2016.02.004

Cited by 35 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…high test results); in particular, it involved demonstrating high ability-beliefs, being relaxed and being able to manage ECAs. As we have argued, students' perceptions of success are established through interactions within particular contexts (Nyström 2014), and are strongly influenced by the structures and cultures of the programmes, as well as the demands of the profession (Costello 2005;Börjesson et al 2016). For example, although students who excelled on tests were admired, this was not seen as crucial for success among medical or engineering physics students, and for the latter simply passing was a sign of prowess.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This paper is based on data from 87 semi-structured interviews (individual and focus groups) with students (N = 78) and staff (N = 26) in a Master of Law Programme (4.5 years) (N = 25 students; N = 9 staff), Medicine Programme (5.5 years) (N = 21 students; N = 8 staff) and Engineering Physics Programme (5 years) (N = 32 students; N = 9 staff). These professional programmes are in one of Sweden's traditional, top-ranked universities; undertaking one of these degrees is an indicator of social distinction, and they prepare young people for prestigious careers (Börjesson et al 2016). As in Swedish H.E.…”

Section: Research Context and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…How academic success is conceptualised by students is influenced by pedagogical structures and cultures. In our research contexts these conceptualisations were particularly related to career goals and different constructions of professional identity in the fields of law, engineering physics and medicine (Costello 2005;Börjesson et al 2016). We discuss each of these disciplines in turn.…”

Section: Programme Structures and Culturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What counts as success? Constructions of achievement in prestigious higher education programmes

Nyström

Jackson

Salminen‐Karlsson

2018

Research Papers in Education

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Academic achievement is regarded an indicator of the success of individuals, schools, universities and countries. 'Success' is typically measured using performance indicators such as test results, completion rates and other objective measures. By contrast, in this article we explore students' subjective understandings and constructions of success, and discourses about 'successful' students in higher education contexts that are renowned for being demanding and pressured. We draw on data from 87 semistructured interviews with students and staff on law, medicine and engineering physics programmes in a prestigious university in Sweden. We focus particularly upon academic expectations, effort levels, and programme structures and cultures. Achieving top grades while undertaking a range of extracurricular activities was valorised in all contexts. Top grades were especially impressive if they were attained without much effort (especially in engineering physics) or stress (especially in law and medicine); we introduce a new concept of 'stress-less achievement' in relation to the latter. Furthermore, being sociable as well as a high academic achiever signified living a 'good life' and, in law and medicine, professional competence. We discuss the implications of the dominant constructions of success, concluding that (upper) middle-class men are most likely to be read as 'successful students' , especially in engineering physics.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Research Context and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Programme Structures and Culturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

What counts as success? Constructions of achievement in prestigious higher education programmes

Nyström

Jackson

Salminen‐Karlsson

2018

Research Papers in Education

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“…In general, young applicants from affluent urban backgrounds are more likely to end up in prestigious H.E. institutions in metropolitan areas, and into the more elite programmes, which leads to a socio-economically skewed student body (Ahola, 2015;Börjesson, Broady, Le Roux, Lidegran, & Palme, 2016;Kivinen et al, 2012;Munk & Thomsen, 2018;Nori, 2011;Thomsen, 2015).…”

Section: Class-related Disparitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Access and stratification in Nordic higher education. A review of cross-cutting research themes and issues^*

et al. 2018

Self Cite

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“…McCulloch et al 2006, Abeele & Roe 2013. The comprehensive analysis of taste and cultural practices of Sweden's higher education students (Börjesson et al 2016) show the pronounced origins of future differences in the volume of cultural capital.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Cultural Capital: Taste and Legitimate Culture of Czech Youth

Špaček

2017

Sociological Research Online

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The concept of legitimate culture plays a crucial role in the study of the relationship between the differentiation of tastes and the reproduction of social inequalities. Nevertheless, the actual role of legitimate culture in present society is often disputed in light of a supposed crumbling of the privileged structure of the fine arts. Meanwhile, the existing practice of survey research often neglects this institutional dimension of the legitimisation of taste and researchers often withdraw from attempts to develop an empirically-based scale to measure the legitimacy of taste. The aim of this paper is to develop a method of measurement of cultural capital which is based on empirical evaluation of the legitimacy of respondents' taste. Specifically, this measurement links responses to open-ended questions about favourite cultural goods with institutionalized critical ratings. The particular focus is to answer how this methodologically innovative approach relates to prevalent instruments for measurement of cultural capital (highbrow culture attendance, educational credentials) and how it could inform the study of the change of legitimate culture. The study uses data from a survey of Czech youth cultural consumption (N=524). The results show close ties between the institutional measurement of cultural capital and the Bourdieusian application of Multiple Correspondence Analysis as a mean to identify significant cultural differences. While the feasibility of institutional measurement of cultural capital in survey data could be disputed, it is a useful tool to advance our understanding of how legitimate culture operates in present society.

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Cultural capital in the elite subfield of Swedish higher education

Cited by 35 publications

References 16 publications

What counts as success? Constructions of achievement in prestigious higher education programmes

What counts as success? Constructions of achievement in prestigious higher education programmes

Access and stratification in Nordic higher education. A review of cross-cutting research themes and issues^*

Measuring Cultural Capital: Taste and Legitimate Culture of Czech Youth

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Cultural capital in the elite subfield of Swedish higher education

Cited by 35 publications

References 16 publications

What counts as success? Constructions of achievement in prestigious higher education programmes

What counts as success? Constructions of achievement in prestigious higher education programmes

Access and stratification in Nordic higher education. A review of cross-cutting research themes and issues*

Measuring Cultural Capital: Taste and Legitimate Culture of Czech Youth

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Access and stratification in Nordic higher education. A review of cross-cutting research themes and issues^*