Social Context Matters: Bridging Philosophy and Sociology to Strengthen Conceptual Foundations for College Access Research

Abstract

Scholars in distinct academic disciplines may examine the same or similar phenomena, often relying on concepts that are well known within each discipline. In this article, we examine two related sociological concepts—capital and adaptive preferences—each used to explain young people’s choices and aspirations. We make the case that integrating the philosophical concept of the “social context of choice” into analyses using “capital” or “adaptive preferences” provides an interdisciplinary approach to analyses of underrepresented students’ educational choices and aspirations in higher education, beyond what each concept provides alone. We ground our philosophical examination in data from a 2-year empirical study of an educational access and outreach program for low-income students.