Heffernan, T. (2023). 'Introduction', 'Higher Education Through a Bourdieusian Lens', 'Bourdieu's Primary Theories'. In. The Marginalised Majority in Higher Education: Marginalised Groups and the Barriers they Face. Palgrave Macmillan.

 The first three chapters of this book introduce Heffernan's work unpacking the ongoing inequity in higher education. He details how marginalised groups are less likely to complete their degrees, have lower grades and less post-graduate employment and pay. His argument is essentially that a lot has been done to increase inclusion in HE and that marginalised groups now make up the majority of those studying or working at university. However, this has not translated into increased equity and the power is still held by those with privilege i.e. those who have grown up within a habitus that affords them more of the capital that is traditionally valued in the field of HE. In fact, both Bourdieu and Heffernan argue that this maintenance of the power imbalance is intentional, something that is echoed in Gatto's work (1991). Heffernan argues that it is the "role of the marginalised academic and social justice researcher" to drive more effective change (p. 11). His work uses Bourdieusian theory to understand this issue of marginalisation in HE in order that we can improve the current power imbalances. 

My work, I hope, could contribute to Heffernan's by deepening our understanding of the experience of those people who go through HE, particularly those who do so despite needing to step away from their cultural trajectory in order to do so. By exploring people's narratives of their educational experiences to date, it may also help to understand the situation through Bourdieu's ideas that compulsory schooling is likely to "continue or amplify" the effects of the habitus into which a child has been born (p. 27.)

Heffernan also describes the changes in HE over the last few decades that have impacted on the current HE situation. With increased pressure from governments to focus on direct and immediate gains afforded by HE, it seems that HE has lost sight of its original raison d'être - to develop and disseminate new knowledge, thereby improving lives for all. It's almost as though the drive to greater inclusivity has come at the cost of this deeper, less tangible progress that HE creates. Or maybe there is simply correlation here, but not causation? Whichever it is, I think there is work that needs to be done to not just increase inclusivity, but to change the ethos of HE so it is focused more on developing and sharing knowledge and on transforming lives (and, indirectly, society)...which, by default, will require not just inclusion of marginalised groups but active leadership from such groups. HE has potential to really break the cycle Heffernan describes of social capital leading to success in education, which leads to greater social capita.. 

References

Heffernan, T. (2023). The Marginalised Majority in Higher Education: Marginalised Groups and the Barriers They Face. Palgrave Macmillan

Gatto, J. T. (1991). Dumbing us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling. British Columbia: New Society Publishers.