Vad påverkar gymnasievalet? : en kvalitativ studie om elevers val av gymnasieutbildning

Sammanfattning: This qualitative study, based on interview answers from 31 participants, examines different aspects on how teenagers choose their upper secondary education. More concretely, this study investigates whether Bordieu’s theories regarding habitus, field and capital may be applicable on the analysis of how Swedish teenagers choose their field of study on the upper secondary level. Other factors that have been investigated in terms of influence on how students choose are sex and social class. The study ends with an analysis of the powers that affect the free choice of field of study based on Michel Foucault’s theory of power. The three research questions are: 1) Is it possible to understand how students reflect on their choice of upper-secondary programs based on Bordieu’s theory regarding field, habitus and capital? 2) Do aspects such as sex and social class influence how students choose their fields of study? 3) How is power visible regarding students’ choice of education based on Foucault's theory of power? The results show that the theory of habitus, field and capital may be applied as a means of understanding. Social class and sex do also influence students’ choice, however there are some differences between the vocational and theoretical programs. The main finding concerning power behind students’ choices is that power comes from different directions which means that one single factor is not as influential as many different aspects combined.