The dialectics between individual and structure is an important issue in any sociomathematical study of students‘ learning conditions in mathematics education. On the basis of a conception of learning as action and intentionality as a basic element in any action, Skovsmose introduced the notion of the student‘s foreground as an element in critical mathematics education. The intention is to make visible learning obstacles as a political instead of an individual phenomenon based only on the student‘s social and cultural background. In this paper, a discussion is initiated to reestablish the significance of students‘ background by integrating the notion of foreground with Bourdieu‘s theory of habitus as systems of dispositions as principles of generating and structuring practices and representations.