economic resources that each boy is able to draw on and accumulate. Although some of
the most esteemed resources will generally be an embodied form of physicality (sporty,
tough etc), others may also be intellectual (general academic capability and
achievement); economic (money); social and linguistic (interpersonal); or cultural (in
touch with the latest fashions, music, TV programmes, computer expertise etc). Of
course, ultimately, these resources are all symbolic in that their power and influence
derives from their effect, and from what they are perceived to mean and stand for. These
resources will also always exist within determinate historical and spatial conditions.
Moreover, the resources that are available will vary within different settings, and some
may be easier to draw on than others at particular times and in particular places. This
means that the boys who use a set of resources and interactional skills to establish high
status in the dominant pupil hierarchy in one school will not necessarily be able to sustain
this position in another.
Background and methodology
The findings in this paper are based on data gathered in a year long empirical study
between September 1998 and July 1999 set in three co-educational junior schools [3] in
or around Greater London, UK. The schools were selected through personal contacts and
with the help of Local Education Authority (LEA) inspectorate, and were differentiated
on the basis of the social characteristics of their intake (see Table 1).
TABLE I GOES ABOUT HERE
The ethos, or atmosphere, of each school was very different. Highwoods marketed itself
on the twin pillars of academic achievement and excellent sporting facilities; there was a
highly competitive atmosphere and the pupils were tightly regulated and controlled.