Pierre Bourdieu was a french philosopher who died in 2001. However, his life and work still influences much of what we do in regards to bicultural education today on the other side of the world.
Pierre Bourdieu’s work was focused around the concept of capital. He looks at how possessing different forms of capital is related to one’s class. He introduced the idea that it was not just economic capital but social and cultural capital that distinguished class (Hart, 2018). Bourdieu defines cultural capital as having three distinct forms; firstly, “embodied as a disposition of the mind and body, objectified as cultural goods and in its institutionalized state, for example, educational qualifications” (Nash, 1990). Bourdieu also talks about social capital which he describes as “the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition” (Nash, 1990).
Obviously Bourdieu was not writing for a New Zealand and Maori context, however all of this sounds all to familiar when we look at our Maori students here in New Zealand. Bourdieu explains that the school system is controlled by the socially and culturally dominant classes and therefore is working to reproduce the dominant classes. Bourdieu argues that these forms of capital help reproduce the class system as they are. It is therefore clear that in modern society, schools have become the most important factor for the reproduction of almost all social classes (Nash, 1990). In Nash, (1990) using Bourdieu’s framework, he argues that this factor is the primary reason for lower educational attainment of working-class students. Bourdieu himself states that students with lower cultural or social capital will often “take refuge in a kind of negative withdrawal” when educated in this setting which once again we all know the statistics on Maori engagement, Only 33% of Maori school leavers will obtain level 3 (Ministry of Education , 2019). Hart (2018) also using Bourdieu’s framework states that “Children who feel a sense of entitlement to their education and who are taught in language codes that reflect their own tastes and distinctions will fare better than children who feel out of place and who do not recognize the cultural norms of their educational institution”. This is especially relevant for what we are trying to do in New Zealand, which is the idea of enabling Maori students to feel seen and have their cultural capital valued when they come to school.
In New Zealand there are initiatives currently using Bourdieu’s capital theory to try and raise the social capital of Maori students. Programs such as “In Zone” (in which low income Maori students are moved in grammar zone to enable them to attend the school and gather higher levels of social and cultural capital through status and networking in circles such as “the old boys club”) work solely on the idea that going to grammar will enhance the social and cultural capital of the students and therefore lead to better prospects.
In New Zealand the hangover effects of colonialism means that it is often Maori students that have lower social capital. They do not have the ‘societally valid’ knowledge and networks to allow them to be competitive in western education systems. The systemic valuing of western culture will not vanish overnight but it is something that educators should be aware of in their daily practice. Just because the cultural capital of Maori students is different doesn’t mean it is any less valuable.
References
Nash, R. (1990) Bourdieu on Education and Social and Cultural Reproduction, British Journal of Sociology of Education. 11(4). 431-447.
Hart, C.S. (2018). Education, inequality and social justice: A critical analysis applying the Sen-Bourdieu Analytical Framework, Policy Features in Education. 17(1).
Ministry of Education. (2019) Education Counts: Quick stats about Maori Education.
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