‘By Chance’ or ‘by Choice’? A Bourdieusian Study of Graduates from Elite Universities as Schoolteachers

• In Event: Virtual Poster Session
  In Virtual iPresentation Only: SIG-Bourdieu in Educational Research Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

Grounded in Bourdieu’s theory, this article explores how elite graduates enter teaching ‘by chance’—moves that appear accidental but are structurally conditioned. Reflexive thematic analysis identifies three intersecting mechanisms: (1) converging objective and subjective probabilities amid policy shifts and personal uncertainty; (2) a habitus shaped by altruism and precarity; and (3) the misrecognised conversion of elite credentials into symbolic capital. Rather than viewing chance as mere randomness, the study theorises it as socially patterned through habitus, capital, and field. It contributes by advancing Bourdieusian probabilism, engaging with the overlooked sociology of luck, and reworking Bourdieu’s model to account for irregular, ‘non-modal’ career paths.

Authors

• Ruoxin Wang, University of South Australia

• Guanglun Michael Mu, University of South Australia