‘I was worried I’d sound stupid’: institutional interactions and the impact on marginalised students’ university experiences

Abstract Applying a Bourdieusian lens, this study seeks to explore the interactions between secondary and higher education and how these interactions impact marginalised students in an elite university in China. It presents accounts of the educational experiences of 13 marginalised students of rural origin. The findings suggest that for them educational institutions function as the main field of inculcating capital and instilling habitus due to their families’ powerlessness to engage more deeply. When secondary schools and universities are consistent in terms of doxa, available capital and practices, marginalised students are more likely to undergo ‘fish-in-water’ experiences in the elite field, and a synergy is also more likely to occur between individual habitus and the field. Otherwise, the conflicts and incompatibility between different educational stages cause a visibly negative impact on them and lead to a difficult transition into university. This article argues for a better connection between secondary and higher education.