Nonparticipation or different styles of participation? Alternative interpretations from Taking Part

In England, the Taking Part Survey is the dominant source of information on participation and its relationship with social stratification. Existing work that investigates state-supported culture implies often large groups of people “not currently engaged” in culture. The scope of this survey allows us to identify not only what else those “highly engaged” are doing, but also whether those “not currently engaged” are active elsewhere. Using this survey, I use hierarchical cluster analysis to identify relationships between variables, and kmeans cluster analysis to identify patterns of participation. The analysis suggests, consistent with other work, that about 8.7% of the English population is highly engaged with state-supported forms of culture, and that this fraction is particularly well-off, well-educated, and white. Over half of the population has fairly low levels of engagement with state-supported culture but is nonetheless busy with everyday culture and leisure activities such as pubs, darts, and gardening. Only about 11% of the population is detached from mainstream pastimes and social events outside of television. The results challenge the basis of policies seeking to manage cultural and leisure participation: current policies aimed at increasing participation in state-sanctioned activities are likely to target those with already busy cultural lives.