44
Cultural Reproduction, Cultural Mobility and Agency
Abstract Submissions Closed
RC04 Sociology of Education (host committee)
Language: English
Session Type: Oral
According to Bourdieu, as economic capital is the key element in purchasing cultural capital, this one-way converging relation underpins an axiom that education inequity is rooted in the relation between power and social classes. More specifically, habitus, developing within a specific type of social space, in which parents invest a certain amount of cultural capital to their children, directs the actor how to perceive outside information and react towards it. In this case, the dominant classes are able to sustain their privileged status through schools that appreciates the status of the highbrow culture.
While the idea of habitus provides great insights into the phenomenon of cultural reproduction, this structure-led approach provokes some criticism by pointing out neglecting the exercise of agency constituted by the institutionalized settings. The notion of cultural mobility proposes that the interactions between habitus and contexts are not consistent. It is difficult for upper and middle class student to maximize the advantages of habitus in high ranking schools due to their intensive competitions. Because such competitions are much weak in underachieving schools, it is much easier for the highbrow culture to acquire its social recognition.
In responding to the controversial arguments above, the section sets out to elaborate the interplay between cultural reproduction, cultural mobility and agency, so that related themes are welcome:
- Cultural reproduction
- Parental educational action, cultural capital and habitus
- Habitus and academic performance
- Cultural mobility
- Habitus, environment and education attainment
- Excellent working class students and agency