Undergraduate students’ academic socialization at a public research university: variations of student experience in relation to cultural capital

Abstract

This article explores which factors contribute to academic socialization among a group of possible components of this process. The topic is set in the context of expansion and diversification of student audiences in Brazilian public universities beyond social groups with high cultural capital. To analyze the academic socialization of university students, a scale was elaborated, composed of sections covering: academic activities prioritized in the student experience; valuation of learning; and difficulties expressed by students. Context variables were also analyzed. This is an exploratory study, with a quantitative approach that employs descriptive analyses, analyzing mean comparisons and correlations. The analyzed data were obtained from 1,185 responses to a survey applied in 2021 among undergraduate students at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. The results indicate a more intense academic socialization among students who participated in extracurricular academic programs. Converging with recent sociological literature, there are cases of high academic socialization related to traditional indicators of cultural capital. However, other training experiences available to students of unprivileged social origins, such as extracurricular programs of research, extension, and teaching apprenticeship, were shown to also lead to higher intensity of academic socialization. Data interpretation suggests that institutional investment in such programs and in the dialogue with the various forms of cultural capital developed by the students may produce better fruition of the university experience.