Educational Privileges Under Pressure. A Study of Educational Strategies of Upper Milieus in Higher Education

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Katharina Walgenbach
• Subject Area: General Education and History of Education
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 410861124

Significant educational inequalities can still be demonstrated in the field of higher education. Simultaneously, by the beginning of the 21st century educational privileges have come under considerable strain due to the increasing educational efforts of all social milieus. Recalling Bourdieu's thesis that the upper milieus are anxious to preserve or improve their position in social space, the research project pursues the following question: Which educational strategies are developed by upper social milieus in the field of higher education, which, even in times of increased participation in education produce differences? Thus, the focus lies on education-related practices of distinction that aim to restore or expand the structure of distances between social positions. As defined by Bourdieu, it is assumed that these strategies may not necessarily have been calculated rationally, but often present the expression of an unconscious relation between Habitus and Field.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants