A Matter of Distinction? A Case Study Examining the Development of a Sporting Habitus Amongst Male Sixth-Form Pupils in a Private School in the United Kingdom

Abstract

This research project explores how upper-middle-class private school pupils are socialised into and through sports. Particularly around major sporting events such as the Olympics, there has often been commentary in the mass media regarding the extent to which former private school pupils tend to be overrepresented in Team GB within many elite-level sports. However, a need remains to research the experiences and underpinning processes that contribute to the sporting participation patterns of private school students. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore private school pupils’ lived experiences and better understand how they are socialised into and through sports. Primary socialisation within the family and secondary socialisation within primary school, private school, and other external agents such as sports clubs were discussed. The research findings show that an individual’s sporting habitus is not static but changes and develops throughout their lifetime depending upon the ‘fields’ they are exposed to. Pierre Bourdieu’s (1984) theoretical ideas relating to [(Habitus) (Capital)] + Field = Practice proved helpful in enabling the research to conceptualise and interpret how parental and family upbringing shaped this relationship and, therefore, provides the theoretical lens used to analyse this phenomenon. Participants demonstrated a robust sporting habitus, regularly engaging in sports and physical activity inside and outside school. The social class background of an individual affects the volumes of economic, social, cultural and physical capital they possess. Members of the upper-middle classes, therefore, seek to invest in developing different forms of capital for their children linked to the sporting ‘tastes’ and ‘distinctions’ of their class (Bourdieu, 1984).