Bourdieu - Education and Reproduction
01 Jan 1990-pp 86-108
TL;DR: This paper argued that it is inappropriate to extrapolate Bourdieu's theoretical enterprise solely from the educational writings, since they predate the intensive development of his theory of practice during the 1970s.
Abstract: Many English-speaking commentators seem to assume that Bourdieu’s fundamental work on education is to be found in two major books (Bourdieu and Passeron 1977; 1979) and a number of articles (Bourdieu 1967; 1971; 1973b; 1974: Bourdieu and St Martin 1974).2 But those who think this are mistaken. To the extent that these works constitute the limit of reading they constrain a proper understanding of Bourdieu’s theoretical enterprise, which has blossomed from a continual reworking of his ethnographic material from Algeria (Bourdieu 1962; 1963; 1973; 1977; 1979), and from France itself (Bourdieu 1984). The essential point is that it is inappropriate to extrapolate Bourdieu’s theoretical enterprise solely from the educational writings, since they predate the intensive development of his theory of practice during the 1970s. Hence evaluations of Bourdieu that appear in the educational literature and which do not take into account these later theoretical developments, are inadequate and misleading. This chapter attempts to overcome such difficulties.
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TL;DR: B Bourdieu's Theory of Practice is adopted to illuminate work practices and their circuits of reproduction in a US-based, Fortune 500 manufacturing firm and explores how their situated practices were at odds with the generalized “gatekeeping” practices embedded in a knowledge management technology whose implementation they themselves were advocating.
Abstract: Organizations seeking ways to manage their knowledge assets are increasingly turning to information technology for solutions. As knowledge management systems are being developed and implemented, it behooves both practitioners and researchers to learn from the successes and failures of more established types of information systems including MIS and DSS. According to the Standish Group, the implementation success rate for these systems runs at around 30%. Many argue that these low success rates are, in part, attributable to technologists’ lack of understanding of the situated work practices of the systems’ user communities. This has lead to increasing calls for research on work practice in the field of Information Systems. Unfortunately, it is not always clear what is meant by work practice. Furthermore, the consideration of work practice outside of its circuit of reproduction can be misleading. By circuits of reproduction we mean the reciprocal relationships through which practice creates and recreates the objectified social structures and conditions in which it occurs. In this paper, we adopt Bourdieu's Theory of Practice to illuminate work practices and their circuits of reproduction. Relying on data that were collected during an eight-month ethnography of knowledge work practices in a US-based, Fortune 500 manufacturing firm, we focus on the situated “gatekeeping” practices of a group of competitive intelligence analysts and explore how their situated practices were at odds with the generalized “gatekeeping” practices embedded in a knowledge management technology whose implementation they themselves were advocating. We argue that their inability to see this incongruence until very late in the pilot implementation is associated with an understanding of their work practices in isolation, i.e. outside of their circuits of reproduction.
335 citations
07 Aug 2003
TL;DR: The making of NGOs: the relevance of Foucault and Bourdieu as discussed by the authors, and the role of information in the reproduction of NGO-funder relationships, as well as the challenges ahead: NGOfunder relations in a global future.
Abstract: List of figures List of tables Acknowledgments List of abbreviations Introduction 1. The making of NGOs: the relevance of Foucault and Bourdieu 2. The NGOs and their global networks 3. NGO behavior and development discourse 4. Interdependence and power: tensions over money and reputation 5. Information struggles: the role of information in the reproduction of NGO-funder relationships 6. Learning in NGOs 7. Challenges ahead: NGO-funder relations in a global future Notes References Index.
198 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that the individual mobility of minority-language speakers is far better served by shifting to a majority language than by using essentialism in minority language rights, and that the apparent utopianism and artificiality of'reversing language shift' in the face of wider social and political'realities'.
Abstract: While advocacy of minority language rights (MLR) has become well established in sociolinguistics, language policy and planning and the wider human rights literature, it has also come under increased criticism in recent times for a number of key limitations. In this paper, I address directly three current key criticisms of the MLR movement. The first is a perceived tendency towards essentialism in articulations of language rights. The second is the apparent utopianism and artificiality of 'reversing language shift' in the face of wider social and political 'realities'. And the third is that the individual mobility of minority-language speakers is far better served by shifting to a majority language. While acknowledging the perspicacity of some of these arguments, I aim to rearticulate a defence of minority language rights that effectively addresses these key concerns. This requires, however, a sociohistorical/sociopolitical rather than a biological/ecological analysis of MLR. In addition, I will argue that...
164 citations
Cites background from "Bourdieu - Education and Reproducti..."
...Thus, Bourdieu posits that individuals and groups operate strategically within the constraints of a particular habitus, but also that they react to changing external conditions; economic, technological and political (Harker, 1984, 1990; Harker & May, 1993; May, 1999a)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the forms of capital possessed by young adults with disabilities or teachers' expectations of the role of capital in achieving postsecondary outcomes, focusing on self-determination, parent participation, access to appropriate curriculum, and linkages to adult services.
Abstract: The terms cultural and social capital, conceptualized by education philosopher and researcher Pierre Bourdieu, play an important role in the lives of youth with disabilities during transition into adulthood. Although research, legislation, and practice acknowledge the importance of resources that are established via social networks, insufficient attention has been dedicated to the forms of capital possessed by young adults with disabilities or to teachers' expectations of the role of capital in achieving postsecondary outcomes. Studies of capital inform postsecondary transition research and practice in key areas including self-determination, parent participation, access to appropriate curriculum, and linkages to adult services. Expanding the foci of postsecondary transition to include the study of capital may increase the efficacy of transition planning and instruction for youth with disabilities from other marginalized groups.
144 citations
Cites background from "Bourdieu - Education and Reproducti..."
...…argue that these factors have real potential to influence education experiences (Bourdieu, 1986; Bourdieu, Passeron, & de Saint Martin, 1965/1994; Harker, 1990; Horvat et al., 2003; Lareau, 1989; Lareau & Horvat, 1999; Romo & Falbo, 1996; Stanton-Salazar, 2001; Stanton-Salazar & Dornbusch, 1995;…...
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...Yet Bourdieu and other researchers interested in the social and cultural contexts of education argue that these factors have real potential to influence education experiences (Bourdieu, 1986; Bourdieu, Passeron, & de Saint Martin, 1965/1994; Harker, 1990; Horvat et al., 2003; Lareau, 1989; Lareau & Horvat, 1999; Romo & Falbo, 1996; Stanton-Salazar, 2001; Stanton-Salazar & Dornbusch, 1995; A. Valenzuela, 1999)....
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...In need of additional consideration is the role capital (its transmission, acquisition, and use) plays in the reproduction of societal inequity (Harker, 1990)....
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...By studying capital use and transmission during transition, we begin to investigate societal structures that, as Bourdieu insisted, exert influence in the process of educational attainment (Harker, 1990) and are a part of the contextual variables of postsecondary transition....
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...Bourdieu’s capital theory explicitly acknowledges complexities resulting from the interaction of individuals and societies, rather than focusing on the individual as an autonomous actor in decontextualized environments (Harker, 1990)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the strategies used by international funders to increase their control over information generation within NGOs and the strategies employed by the case NGOs to resist these interventions, arguing that the information requirements of funders affect NGOs not only by placing demands on their attention but also by promoting positivist and easily quantifiable valuations of success and failure.
Abstract: This article examines struggles over information between two nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in India and their key international funders. The author outlines both the strategies used by international funders to increase their control over information generation within NGOs and the strategies used by the case NGOs to resist these interventions. Three main arguments are advanced: (a) The information requirements of funders affect NGOs not only by placing demands on their attention but also by promoting positivist and easily quantifiable valuations of success and failure; this is not an intended effect but a systemic one; (b) NGOs resist funder attempts to structure their behavior through a series of strategies that include the symbolic generation of information, selective sharing of information, and the strategic use of professionals to enhance legitimacy; and, (c) this combination of funder demands for information and NGO resistance to external interference serves to entrench existing information sys...
127 citations