IPS2 - Educational identities and inequalities
- Luke Kandiah
- Oct 27, 2023
- 3 min read
Bourdieu's theory
Extensive application of Bourdieu's theories in education
Useful concepts:
- Habitus - Socialised embodied dispositions shape what is 'for me' or not, formed through classed, gendered, racialized experiences. (Feel for the game.) - There is extensive research that shows that identity/habitus mediates learning.
- Capital - Cultural, social economic and symbolic resources possessed and accrued, shaped by social axes. (The hand you play in the game.)
- Field - Space of positions and position taking. (The 'rules' of the game.)
Inequalities in habitus and capital produce different educational trajectories and outcomes, e.g. school 'choice'. E.g. Buying a house within a desirable school catchment.
Produces sense of whether a subject, like science, is 'for people like me' or not. - This enables focussed engagement or disengagement depending on the disposition
Symbolic Violence - Those who are dominated come toaccept their position (and less favourable chances, resources, outcomes, etc) As justified, 'natural' or inevitable, as the result of their own lesser talents.
The privileged position of dominant groups is attrubuted to their superior talents (and so forth), rather than any inequalities in power and discriminatory processes.
Very common in (secondary) schools in England
Middle-class parents (and right-wing) tend to support strongly.
Associated with notions of 'natural ability', 'natural order' and 'standards' (Francis et al. 2016)
Students statistically most likely to be in bottom sets: boys, FSM, Black students - not just based on attainment.
Top set students feel happy and 'proud' - reflects differences in ability
Middle set students feel 'good'
Bottom set students feel 'bad, or embarrassed', but they want to work their way up.
Symbolic violence is not total - bottom set students questioned the fairness of their allocation and continued position.
Setting 'teaches' young people to 'know their place' - reproduces the interests of the dominant, supporting notions of inequality.
Limitations of Bourdieu
transformation and chance
Bourdieu's work does not entertain much possibility for change or how/why some 'go against the grain' of social reproduction.
Accounts of change tend to be at the level of the individual (habitus).
Less attention to how more equitable and social justice practice might emerge and persist in institutionalised forms in educational settings.
Study showed that Success was hard won - not easy.
Those who succeeded were not necessarily more talented/capable than their peers. Instead they tended to have more of a 'wrap around' of resources supporting identity and capital (over time, across contexts) and 'luck'.
Teachers were not the only important factor - but did play an important role.
Influential teachers:
The luck of having an exceptional teacher who supports identity and capital
Most common form of support among those who bucked the trend
Almost 50% of working class young people who were the first in their family to go to university vs 17% of their non-HE peers had a significant relationship with an exceptional teacher who had influenced their trajectory.
Teachers and schools cannot solve all of societies problems, but htey can make a positive difference.
Equality - treating everyone the same.
Equity - Differentiating and giving more to those who are disadvantaged so that the results are the same for everyone.
Social justice - recognising and taking down the boundaries in the first place.
Developing Critical Reflective Practice
Involves questioning your own assumptions and engaging with issues of power.
Three aspects of critical reflective practice
- Develop knowledge and understanding of equity/social justice issues (e.g. how power and privilege can shape teaching and learning.)
- Critically self-analysing one's own assumptions, values and practices including 'different feelings'
- Engage in international planning and action. ("Act deliberately and intentionally rather than randomly and reactively", Shandmo, 2010)
See the Equity compass below:
Unconscious Bias podcast
The term "unconscious bias" has gained a great deal of popularity as an explanation for continued discrimination in Britain. Unconscious Bias Training has become the go-to solution for businesses and institutions to counter such bias. This podcast questions how useful the concept of unconscious bias is and how effective anti-bias training might be, as well as what other interventions have been proved to increase diversity and inclusion.
Structural Racism
This is the totality of ways in which societies foster racial discrimination through mutually reinforcing systems of housing, education, employment, earnings, benefits, credit, media, health care and criminal justice.
These practices reinforce discriminatory beliefs, values and distribution of resources which will influence how 'at home' or comfortable a student will feel in the classroom.
In relation to white privilege, how can we approach these topics as a teacher:
Definition of white privilege: Start with a clear definition of white privilege, explaining that it is a systemic and societal advantage that white people often receive due to the historical and ongoing discrimination faced by people of colour.
Historical Context: Provide historical context to help students understand the roots of white privilege, including colonisation, slavery, and segregation.
Intersectionality: Highlight the concept of intersectionality, explaining that individuals may experience multiple forms of privilege or oppression based on factors such as race, gender, class, and sexuality.
Listening to Marginalised Voices and Empathy: Showcase the voices and experiences of people of colour and marginalised communities to provide diverse perspectives and experiences.
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