Distribution of capital and school-related stress at elite high schools

Abstract

We investigate school-related stress at two very different elite schools in Norway, using a mixed-methods approach. Schola Osloensis (SO) has a high-grade average and students come from backgrounds with large amounts of cultural capital. At Oslo Commercial School (OCS), students’ grades are average, while parents have large economic resources. Data are qualitative interviews of 35 students at each school, photographs taken by students with the mobile phone app MyView as well as focus groups. At SO, academic performance and the struggle for top grades were the most important source of stress. At OCS, much centred on family background and codes regarding style. Lack of integration in key networks was the central cause of stress. We suggest that the most important stressors at the two schools may be shaped by different factors: At SO, surrounded by high aspirations and much cultural capital, stress is a result of the fear of failing academically. At OCS, where tight social networks based in milieus with much economic capital predominate, stress is caused by not getting access to the right social circles. Thus, stress may originate from tensions related to values and codes based on key socio-economic dimensions in social systems.