Analysis of the trajectories of Science graduates: applying Bourdieu and Sen

Abstract

We bring together the theories of Bourdieu and Sen in order to understand the processes that influence the study paths chosen by young people with a general degree from a science university in France. The weighting of economic and cultural capital within study options taken in secondary education and during the premier cycle (the first three years of tertiary education) helps characterise elements of students’ trajectories which either stymie or reinforce a nonetheless dominant reproduction.