This article examines the school choices of families who have recently experienced downward mobility during the economic crisis in Spain. Based on semi-structured interviews we analyse the educational strategies of the families in a Bourdieusian framework, focusing on how they cope with the loss of their perceived social status. Prior to the…

This paper argues that dual mode provision has a critical role to play in widening participation. The mixed methods study drew on institutional records, an online survey (n = 126) and 17 semi-structured interviews to explore the participation experience of a group of distance graduates (n = 268) from a dual mode university. Derived from the…

Much of the literature on social class and language study in schools argues that for middle-class parents and their children, languages are chosen for their capacity to offer forms of distinction that provide an edge in the global labour market. In this paper, we draw on data collected from interviews with parents and children in middle-class…

This paper examines post-primary school choice processes in the urban Irish working-class community of Portown. Here, there is an awareness of hegemonic neoliberal ideals and how school choice becomes a significantly classed space characterised by market ideologies and structural inequality. This critical ethnography explored the world through…

This paper presents new findings on the experiences of Indian mothers in the roles they play in their daughters' higher education (HE) subject choices. Whilst there are existing studies on White British mothers and parents more generally in terms of parental involvement in education, and a growing number of papers presenting results on Bangladeshi…

Social capital, the value of a relationship that provides support and assistance in a given social situation (Stanton-Salazar, 2001), is a useful theory for understanding the experiences of low-income adolescents who are the first in their families to attend college. According to social capital theory, networks of relationships can help students…