Social class and the mobilisation of capital in physical education-related undergraduate programmes

Expanding Higher Education has increased the focus of undergraduate degrees towards preparing graduates for employment. Much research acknowledges classed inequalities in employability-related learning, yet studies tend to explore these in graduate employability rather than via students’ experiences of mobilising professional knowledge within their degree. Here, we use a Bourdieusian framework to explore how class impacts students’ cultivation and mobilising of professional knowledge. Drawing on interviews from a 2-year study with 17 English undergraduate Physical Education students, the relationship between class and professional knowledge is explored in four ways: (1) connecting experience to academic content, (2) developing relationships with staff, (3) accessing complimentary employment and voluntary opportunities, and (4) utilising university societies to ‘play the game’. We suggest these impact on a student’s capacity to navigate employability-related opportunities at university and influence value judgements made by staff. Consequently, we call for a greater embedding of professional knowledge for all students.