Roots and leaves: rethinking the relationship between habitus and identity

This article addresses the longstanding but under-theorised relationship between habitus and identity in the sociology of education. While both concepts are central to analyses of inequality, they are often conflated, treated in isolation, or left conceptually unresolved. Building on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice and its feminist and psychosocial extensions -particularly the work of Diane Reay, Nicola Ingram and Louise Archer- we advance a differentiated and relational articulation of habitus and identity. We argue that habitus operates with a certain degree of stability at pre-reflexive levels, guiding what feels natural, possible, or desirable based on early socialisation whereas identity is more situational and potentially reflexive, taking shape through practices of negotiation and positioning. It is from this distinction that, in dialogue with Stuart Hall, our framework articulates habitus dispositions together with four dimensions of identification -becoming, positioning, interacting and enabling- to examine how educational inequalities are lived, negotiated and reproduced.