Science Aspirations, Capital, and Family Habitus

TLDR

Low international participation in STEM after age 16 and evidence that science aspirations form mainly between ages 10 and 14 highlight a critical concern. The study investigates how family habitus and capital influence the likelihood that science aspirations become realistic for children, especially middle‑class ones. Using survey data from over 9,000 10‑year‑old English children and qualitative interviews with 160 participants, the authors apply Bourdieu’s framework to examine family habitus and capital. The authors find that while family habitus alone does not determine science aspirations, unequal distribution of capital and class‑based habitus generate uneven, classed and racialized patterns in children’s science aspirations and future participation.

Abstract

Low participation rates in the study of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) post-16 are a matter of international concern. Existing evidence suggests children’s science aspirations are largely formed within the critical 10 to 14 age period. This article reports on survey data from over 9,000 elementary school children in England (age 10/11) and qualitative data from 160 semi-structured interviews (92 children aged 10/11 and 78 parents), collected as part of an ongoing 5-year longitudinal study in the United Kingdom tracking children from 10 to 14. Drawing on the conceptual framework of Bourdieu, the article explores how the interplay of family habitus and capital can make science aspirations more “thinkable” for some (notably middle-class) children than others. It is argued that while family habitus is not deterministic (there is no straightforward alignment between family habitus, capital, and a child’s science aspirations), social inequalities in the distribution of capital and differentially classed family habitus combine to produce uneven (classed, racialized) patterns in children’s science aspirations and potential future participation.