Momentums of success, illusio and habitus: High-achieving upper secondary students’ reasons for seeking academic success

Carina Carlhed Ydhag,Niclas Månsson,Ali Osman

doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2021.101805

Carina Carlhed Ydhag, Niclas Månsson + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2021.101805

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Abstract

Through interviews with 52 upper-secondary students from different socioeconomic, educational and migrant/native backgrounds, the article examines students’ own stories of what drives them to perform well in school. Different kinds of ‘illusios’ are reconstructed in terms of Bourdieu's sociology; Revanche, Proficiency, Fear of failing and Expectations. They relate to different forms of social energy and emotions, such as the desire for rehabilitation of the self or family in the eyes of the other, and the drive for justification. Some is fuelled with social shame of not reaching the same position as parents, or meaning falling out of the system, while others are driven by an urge to be knowledgeable. These illusios work differently in relation to the students’ habitus.

Highlights

An important goal for many educational researchers is to gain more knowledge about the processes that motivate students to perform well in school and to become high achievers
Relevant sociological literature on high achievers from different social classes and ethnic backgrounds shows the importance of challenging the deficit discourses on students with immigrant backgrounds and to think intersectionally when it comes to high-achieving working-class students and ethnic minorities
In meta-studies, there is strong evidence for a universal effect of family background on students’ academic achievements, it differs in magnitude depending on the education system and overall income inequality (Broer, Bai, & Fonseca, 2019)

Summary

Introduction

An important goal for many educational researchers is to gain more knowledge about the processes that motivate students to perform well in school and to become high achievers. In meta-studies, there is strong evidence for a universal effect of family background on students’ academic achievements, it differs in magnitude depending on the education system and overall income inequality (Broer, Bai, & Fonseca, 2019). Other studies show how myths and discourses of underachievement limit both the students’ and the teachers’ expectations of academic achievement by students from different backgrounds (Asp-Onsjo, 2014; Bæck, 2017; Holm & Ohrn, 2014; Ohrn, 2014, 2014ab), and how students’ own positioning as ‘effortless achievers’ depends on intersections of institutional settings, ethnicity, social class and gender.

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