Cultural Capital, Identity, and Social Mobility: The Life Course of Working-Class University Graduates

283 Pages·2012·2.782 MB·English

by  Mick Matthys

Cultural Capital, Identity,
and Social Mobility
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Cultural Capital, Identity,
and Social Mobility
The Life Course of Working-Class
University Graduates
Mick Matthys
Translated by Naomi Perlzweig
O Routledge
j?j^^ Taylor & Francisi GGrr oup
NEW YORK LONDON
First published 2013
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the UK
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,
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© 2013 Taylor & Francis
The right of Mick Matthys to be identified as author of this work has been
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Matthys, Mick.
Cultural capital, identity, and social mobility : the life course of
working-class university graduates / Mick Matthys.
p. cm. — (Routledge advances in sociology ; 79)
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Social mobility. 2. College graduates—Social conditions.
3. Working class—Social conditions. I. Title.
HN90.S65M326 2012
305.5'13—dc23
2012012970
ISBN13: 978-0-415-51027-1 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-09443-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by IBT Global.
Contents
List of Tables ix
Preface xi
1 (When) Working Class-Children Enter Academic Learning:
Problem Formulation, the Field and Method 1
2 A Tough Life? 30
3 Identity, Context and Agency 44
4 A Firm Foundation 65
5 A Successful Transformation 96
6 Career and Life 126
7 Hicks and Proletarians 164
8 Refl ections: The Part I Have Played 195
9 Abstract and Conclusions 223
Appendix: List of Respondents 249
Notes 251
References 255
Index 267
Tables
1.1 List of Potential Respondents, Utrecht University 18
1.2 Classifi cation of Potential Respondents Regarding Gender,
Field of Study and Career Success 19
1.3 Final Selection of Respondents 21
Preface
This study is a qualitative investigation into the course of life and career of
academic graduates who have grown up in the Netherlands and Flanders,
in working-class families, during the second half of the twentieth century.
Participants graduated from college in the sixties and seventies. Biographi-
cal stories have been recorded in the fi nal phase of their careers and are
about the meaning of growing up in working-class families and communi-
ties. The study was performed between 2006 and 2010 at the School of
Governance of the Utrecht University.
One of the respondents, a sociologist, told me that he had always had
a latent curiosity for the meaning of his own background but that he
never could have imagined—before the commencement of his sociology
study—that he would one day be the subject of study and research. Even
though the topic of working-class children and university education has
intrigued me since the time of my own schooling, it was only at the end
of my career that I thought to devote a study to the subject. Nonetheless,
I have always been convinced that my social background has been conse-
quential for the manner in which I have led my life, and that it has given
shape to my scientifi c career. I therefore wholeheartedly—based on my
own experience—endorse the relationship that Deetz (2005: 87) estab-
lishes between his biography, on the one hand, and his theoretical orien-
tation as a scientist, on the other. At the same time, I am aware that this
infl uence can be displayed with a myriad of diversity, depending on the
individual, personal experience, gender, time period, and so on. The fol-
lowing questions arise: What is the source of these forms of experience?
How are these experiences manifested? Are there reasons that we can
assume that they can be recognized by others? It is through this research
that I aim to formulate answers.
The enthusiastic responses to this research, from friends, family and
colleagues, were a powerful source of motivation. It was remarkable how
fascinated all those I spoke with were about the subject. There was great
curiosity about the results and especially notable how a fl oodgate of memo-
ries was triggered in those from lower social origins. The Dutch publication
of this book has received considerable media attention but what stands out,
xii Preface
above all, is how those with shared experiences identify with my respon-
dents. Even with my research focusing on university graduates at the end
of their careers, individuals who have never even taken the step towards a
university education have been able to identify with the book’s biographical
stories. The subject is tangible for many, including those who do not origi-
nate from working-class milieus. But during the process of all the intrigu-
ing interviews, I felt an ever-growing necessity to transcend the point of
anecdotes and “juicy stories” and to initiate a pursuit for constants and
mechanisms.
With the completion of the research, I am entirely convinced that I could
not have taken this on, nor above all have concluded it, at an earlier point in
time. Both my age and my belonging to the target group are relevant here. I
clarify the details, in this regard, in the fi rst chapter. This connection means
more than an intellectual confrontation with the data, and there is an emo-
tional impact as well. The fact that my milieu and origin lie far behind me
has helped me maintain professional distance, essential for a researcher.
This does not mean that I have not been touched by these stories. My wife,
Marian, and, with her, Anton Kramer, reminded me to remain open to the
value of emotions during the unavoidable intellectual assault accompany-
ing a study of this nature. In the realm of intellectual challenge, Joop Maas-
sen was my unfailing steady rock, with more than ample sensitivity to the
emotional aspects of the process. His erudition, philosophical scholarship
and sharp analysis pushed me to refl ect, time and again, on my theoretical
and methodical assumptions.
My genuine gratitude goes to my thirty-two respondents, for allowing
me a view into their lives. Their testimonies contain more than just relevant
information; they are fi lled with authentic life experience, undergone in all
its facets. And this, in itself, is invaluable. I also want to sincerely thank
Peter Leisink and Jan Brands for their theoretical and methodical support.
I also am grateful to the board of Utrecht School of Governance for giving
me the opportunity for this study.
While working on this study, my granddaughters, Sophie and Rosa,
were born, making me a grandfather and presenting me with a new and
uncharted role. These pivotal events have compelled me to pause and wit-
ness life’s mystery and unstoppable fl ow. And even a life’s work could never
contend with the power of their love. And this too undeniably goes for their
parents, Carry and Bernd.
Mick Matthys
Utrecht, March 2012