Abstract:
Bourdieu's theory of reproduction in education and his concepts of field, capital and habitus offer a useful way of thinking about the ways in which the environments in which people are raised, their conditions of cultural and material existence, shape their attitudes, their means of interpreting the world, and their capacities to engage with the academic curriculum.
This paper draws on data collected for my doctoral research on the influence of school culture on the higher education aspirations of secondary students in one of the most educationally disadvantaged regions in Australia, the outer northern suburbs of Adelaide. In this paper I discuss how my reading of Bourdieu, and particularly his concept of habitus, has contributed to an increased self-awareness of my own positioning within the field of education and has informed the interpretation of my data.
This paper draws on data collected for my doctoral research on the influence of school culture on the higher education aspirations of secondary students in one of the most educationally disadvantaged regions in Australia, the outer northern suburbs of Adelaide. In this paper I discuss how my reading of Bourdieu, and particularly his concept of habitus, has contributed to an increased self-awareness of my own positioning within the field of education and has informed the interpretation of my data.