Affective-habitual dispositions: shame, melancholy, and joy in working-class students’ educational transitions

This paper explores how educational transitions among working-class students are constituted, mediated, and shaped by affectivity. Through in-depth qualitative research conducted in German and Austrian higher education, the study utilises biographical storytelling to prioritise the experiences of students navigating these transitions. Employing a relational lens informed by Bourdieusian sociology, the paper develops the concept of affective-habitual dispositions to illuminate how affects become sedimented within the habitus and shape educational trajectories. The analysis points to distinct affective practices permeating working-class students’ educational experiences: shame, melancholy, and joy contribute to the formation of affective-habitual dispositions, shaping how working-class students make sense of their pathways. By focusing on the often-neglected affective dimension of educational transitions, the study uncovers that affects are pivotal not only in perpetuating inequalities but also as transgressive forces that foster belonging. Ultimately, the conceptual insights derived from this study enhance a critical understanding of affectivity as both reproductive and transformative in relation to social inequality.