Habitus or Reflexivity? The decision-making processes and experiential outcomes of higher education students at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Universities around the world continue to grapple with dramatic changes in the sector over recent decades, including marketisation and significant increases in participation rates among groups that have not previously accessed higher education (HE). Student cohorts have become more diverse and, in turn, HE institutions are developing new policies and practices. Understanding why students pursue HE and the decisions they make during their study is critical for institutions committed to leading the development of the next generation of provision and for government policies.
Concepts commonly used in the sociology of education, such as Bourdieu's notion of habitus (e.g. Ball et al. 2002; Reay et al. 2005), have significantly influenced the field. However, following the intensification of social change, past experiences and routine action are often insufficient in guiding our present and future choices. Society is increasingly de-routinised, choice is unavoidable, and reflexivity is indispensable as individuals evaluate their options and formulate actions. Hence, we need a framework conceptualising student reflexivity, because it enables student decision-making, and informs our understanding of how choices are made within the structural and cultural settings of contemporary university life. My project will provide this by developing new indicators of student choice that can be measured at any stage during the student journey. Universities can then improve student outcomes through practices that enable students to make more productive choices throughout their education and beyond.
Drawing on the work of Margaret Archer, this project will develop an original framework for analysing student decision-making that 'maps' onto a basic theory of human reflexivity. Student decision-making is shaped by the student's biography, the structures encountered at university, and their subjectively defined primary motivations. These influences are mediated via reflexivity - the process by which individuals deliberate upon their options and "define courses of action in relation to their objective social circumstances" (Archer, 2008: 1). Archer established four distinct 'modes' of reflexivity, which can be measured via the well-established Internal Conversation Indicator (ICONI). The modes are not mutually exclusive; however, individuals tend to be 'dominant'
practitioners of one particular mode. In the context of HE, I hypothesize that different 'modes' have different implications for student decision-making processes and, subsequently, for student outcomes.