An immanent social class effect on participation in higher education? A rejoinder to Harrison and Waller

Abstract

This article responds to criticisms, put forward by Harrison and Waller in this issue, of an earlier paper by Noble and Davies. In particular, we argue that our interpretation of earlier quantitative research is correct, that Harrison and Waller have misconstrued the purpose of our previous paper and the analysis it contains, and that they (mis‐)attribute to us a series of propositions and standpoints that are not in our paper. In the light of increasing policy interest in the extent to which providing information can lead to ‘more well‐informed choices’ about participation in higher education, we remain of the view that researching the role of cultural capital in the students’ immanent choices is a matter of considerable importance.

Keywords:

• cultural capital
• widening participation

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Stephen Gorard and Anna Vignoles for their comments on drafts of this rejoinder.