Using Bourdieu’s concept of habitus to explore HE decision-making for working class women on an Access to HE course

This paper contributes a class perspective to the decision-making of 13 mature working class women on an Access to Higher Education (HE) course. It sits within various literatures examining the broader social and political context of widening participation and social mobility. Despite the increasing number of non-traditional students entering HE in England, HE choices remain stratified by social class. Mature working class students are a target group of the widening participation policy, yet little attention has been given to their HE choices and decision-making. This paper draws upon a narrative enquiry study which used creative methods alongside focus groups and semi-structured interviews. It links sociological theory to adult education, through a Bourdieusian framework. It evidences structural constraints and perceptions of belonging that impeded choices. A sense of place and feelings of fit (habitus) were significant for destination decisions. However, Access to HE course tutors were positively influential in helping students challenge embedded habitual ways of thinking and practice and in raising self-efficacy. This paper offers explanations as to why participation rates may be increasing but not widening enough. It illuminates how social class differences (intersected by age and gender) are crucial to understanding HE decision-making and places a much-needed focus on mature students to the widening participation and social mobility agenda.