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The creation of social networks: social capital and the experiences of widening participation students at three elite institutions in the US, England, and Scotland

ABSTRACT As nations continue to use OECD data to ensure preparedness for global competitiveness, questions concerning how inequality is constructed and maintained in different nations are critical. Drawing on Bourdieu and Savage, I argue that social capital continues to perpetuate social inequality both prior to and during university attendance despite decades of widening participation policy in the US and UK. A nested case study of thirty underrepresented students across the US, England, and Scotland is used to illustrate three findings: students who identified as being from the poorest backgrounds indicated having fewer social ties both prior to and during their university experience. Second, widening participation students do not receive the same social advancement from attending an elite university as their peers. Finally, differences in how each of these universities organise students provide clues to how universities can ensure the social acceptance, inclusion and cohesion of the underrepresented student.