Roots and leaves
Rethinking the relationship between habitus and identity
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19217533 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mayra Manzano (0000-0002-1022-2147, Universitat de Barcelona, corresponding author), Aina Tarabini (0000-0002-6096-2450, Universitat de Barcelona), Sara Gil (0000-0001-5407-1902, Universitat de Barcelona) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-17 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | British Journal of Sociology of Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0142-5692 • E-ISSN: 1465-3346 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01425692.2026.2681654 |
| OpenAlex | W7163575137 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 37 |
This article addresses the longstanding but under-theorised relationship between habitus and identity in the sociology of education. While both concepts are central to analyses of inequality, they are often conflated, treated in isolation, or left conceptually unresolved. Building on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice and its feminist and psychosocial extensions -particularly the work of Diane Reay, Nicola Ingram and Louise Archer- we advance a differentiated and relational articulation of habitus and identity. We argue that habitus operates with a certain degree of stability at pre-reflexive levels, guiding what feels natural, possible, or desirable based on early socialisation whereas identity is more situational and potentially reflexive, taking shape through practices of negotiation and positioning. It is from this distinction that, in dialogue with Stuart Hall, our framework articulates habitus dispositions together with four dimensions of identification -becoming, positioning, interacting and enabling- to examine how educational inequalities are lived, negotiated and reproduced
Articulation (sociology) · Field (mathematics) · Frame (networking) · Habitus · Identity (music) · Identity formation · Negotiation · Practice theory · Situational ethics · Educational Theory and Curriculum Studies · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Social and Cultural Dynamics
British-Bangladeshi Women in Higher Education
Habitus and the psychosocial
‘Not girly, not sexy, not glamorous’
Introduction
The Culture Trap
Working-Class Boys and Educational Success
Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth
Reflections on Wallace’s The Culture Trap
The Logic of Practice
Racial Salience and the Consequences of Making White People Uncomfortable
The performances and places of identity
Capital, distinction, and racialized habitus
Student estrangement in higher education
Outsider status, and racialised habitus
Confronting White privilege
Identity Traps or How Black [1] Students Fail
Fitting in’ or ‘standing out’
Miseducation
Putting Habitus in its Place
Radical Interactionism
The emotional landscape of social class in English education
A Useful Extension of Bourdieu's Conceptual Framework
The Chameleon Habitus
The reflexive habitus
Within School and Beyond the Gate
University's not for Me - I'm a Nike Person
Hybridizing Habitus and Reflexivity
Emotion Work, Feeling Rules, and Social Structure
New hybridities, old concepts
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |