This paper examines the role of cultural and social capital in
micro-level interactions occurring between welfare recipients and Department of
Social and Family Affairs (DSFA) officers in Ireland, interactions which
determine access to the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) welfare to education
programme. Participants argue that some DSFA officers are experienced as acting
upon signifiers of class and status (see Kemper and Collins, 1990: 34), which
mark out ‘undeserving’ welfare recipients. Participants cited three strategies
which they perceived DSFA officers use to assert their authority in these
interactions. Distinct strategies whereby BTEA participants use their cultural
and social capital to their advantage in these interactions were also
identified. The discovery of these strategies is a key theoretical contribution
of this paper to the existing body of knowledge. I conclude that welfare
recipients possessing valued cultural and social capital can successfully
negotiate obstacles placed in their way and access the BTEA.