A Descriptive Case Study Approach to Understanding the Role of Higher Education Programme Completion in Development of Recovery Capital

This study explores the potential role of higher education (HE) achievement on the development of Recovery Capital (RC) in individuals recovering from addiction. The purpose of the study is to examine an ongoing collaborative project which embeds provision of HE programmes into the residential addiction recovery setting, providing opportunities for HE achievement to marginalised individuals. The collaborative project between South East Technological University (SETU), a higher education institution (HEI) in Ireland and an addiction recovery provider is examined through the theoretical lens of RC. This study compares Irish and international research and the existing literature on RC as it pertains to addiction recovery, including HE achievement. The theoretical lens through which the collaboration is analysed identifies consistencies, gaps or deviations between the case study which includes Pierre Bourdieu’s capital theory and Cloud and Granfield’s RC hypotheses to explore potential alignment with the principles of both concepts. This paper has identified opportunities for further research on several elements of RC, such as the contribution of peer support in HE achievement, particularly within a residential recovery setting, the stage of recovery in conjunction with the timing of the educational intervention, and the weighting or value of certain RC ingredients. These elements could form the basis of future national and international research into the impact of HE achievement on RC and long-term addiction recovery outcomes.