I skuggan av kulturellt kapital – om konsten att omforma habitus för skolframgång

Abstract

This article focuses on how high-achieving Swedish upper secondary students from families with low educational capital manage to transform their cultural capital and habitus to embark on a successful educational career. The analytical framework of the study is based on Bourdieu’s understanding of cultural capital and habitus. The data analyzed are based on interviews with 23 upper secondary students. Their success is based on a combination of a caring home environment and seeing both trustfully teachers, and like-minded peers as resources for their educational success, together with an awareness that good grades equal desirable position on the labour market.