Youth and habitus at three Australian schools: perceptions of ambitions, risks and the future in reflexive modernity

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosphy (PhD)This research applies Bourdieu’s theorising of habitus and cultural capital to understand how class mediates young people’s reflexivity and perceptions of risk. It engages with the theories of reflexive modernity, primarily with the work of Beck and Giddens, who both describe recent processes of individualization, detraditionalization and the increasing importance of the concept of risk. The study seeks to critically engage with Bourdieu’s project, reworking some of his key theoretical ideas such as the possibility of ‘reflexivity’ itself being a new form of embodied cultural capital. It also engages with works that see discourses of risk as central to neo-liberal governmentality. The research entails 380 surveys and nine focus groups at three distinct secondary schools in a large regional Australian city – a public high school in an outer suburb low socio-economic area of the city which offers a specialist sports program; an inner suburb academically-selective public high school where pupils gain an offer of enrolment only through rigorous academic testing; and an expensive private college in the middle of the central business district. Year Eleven and Twelve students (16-18 years) at the three schools were asked about their ambitions; the obstacles they think may stand in the way of achieving their ambitions; and about their perceptions and experiences of inequality and risk. The risks discussed include the problems involved in the day-to-day life of young people as well as their engagement with larger risk discourses about technology and the environment. The data highlights how inequality is experienced or denied by some, and analysed from a distance by others. Reflexivity is present regardless of class position, but is expressed in a variety of ways. There are clear and subtle distinctions in engagement with micro and macro level risks. Overall, the data highlights how class continues to shape practice, perceptions and emotions