Bordieu On Education (conflict Theory)

Question 1

What does bourdieu suggest

Answer 1

Cultural reproduction model

Habitus- tastes, attributes of individual
Field- cultural framework of specific content
Cultural capital- value a person’s cultural knowledge has within a field

Question 2

How does education lead to cultural reproduction

Answer 2

Because the field is constructed by those with middle-class habitus they will have higher cultural capital including with

• teachers and heads (middle class)
• those that write curriculum and policies are middle class

Working class disadvantaged subject to symbolic violence

Question 3

How does education do this

Answer 3

Language (accents/speech codes Bernstein) 
Dress sense (formal/ mc taste) 
Cultural knowledge (literature selected by middle class) etc.

Question 4

How does this apply to contemporary education

Answer 4

OFSTED- cultural capital
School policies on uniform (oppose mc habitus on wc students) form of covert selection
Curriculum based on middle-class knowledge (little attempt made to fit wc culture)
Teachers judgements

Question 5

Support for Bourdieu

Answer 5

Archer- Nike identities (wc students wear symbolic sportswear)

Raey- psycho-social approach- cleft habitus (conflict with mc habitus and wc friends for males)

Sullivan- students with higher cultural capital achieve higher

Question 6

Criticisms

Answer 6

Functionalist suggest that education is meritocratic

Socialised into value consensus- skills are needed to achieve

Students acquire cultural capital throughout their education