Critical Analysis and Social Care Concepts

EF€#.- k*1c' O9 Education

Figure 9.1 Language and class

Language and context Restricted code

Speech forms

Meaning

Communication context

Family structure

CLass

SmatL vocabu[ary and short, simple sentences

Imp[icit

Particularistic and context bound

Positiona L

Working

o Elaboratedcodes. This refers to sPeech patterns where meanings are made explicit. People spe1l out

fu1ly what they mean in longer and more complex

sentences. While restricted codes ate particularistic,

elaborated codes are universalistic. They are context

independent and enable people who do not share a

particular social situation, or who do not know each

other, to communicate.

Educational success requires an abilityto use elaborated

codes. These are the language of instruction. Restricted

codes are no use for essay-writingl Bernstein argued that

while middle-class children can tipically communicate in

both restricted and elaborated codes, working-class chil-

dren are generally accustomed to restricted codes only and

are therefore likely to be less successful in education. He did, however, recognize that schools can teach elaborated

codes to those who have not acquired them beforehand.

These cultural differences were linked by Bernstein to

differences in class situation. Middle-class people speak irr

elaborated codes because their non-manual occupations require more complex verbal skills. There are also differ-

ences in family structure. Working-class families tend to be

positional in character-that is, their members treat each

other according to their position in the family. Relation-

ships are unambiguous and can be expressed through

restricted codes. Middle-class families tend to be person-

centred. They are more individualized and relationships

are worked out through discussion which involves the use

olelaborated codes (Bertlstein lr977\.

This is an influential theorywhich links educational suc-

cess to class culture and class situation through language

rather than values and beliefs. It has been criticized for the

rather crude distinctions that it makes between the middle

and working classes, and for having insufficient evidence

to back up its statements (Rosen 1974). Bernstein (1997)

has rejected such criticisms, however, and claims that the

E[aborated code

Large vocabulary and Longer, more complex

Expti cit

U niversalistic and independent

Person-centred

Middte

1iilrr::u'F: r'i *' #: il T + r!5

Herre Bourdieu

Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002) was born in

France. He trained initia[[y as a philosopherin

earty 1950s. His two years as a conscriptin the.

in Algeria had a major impact upon him. He

the gap between the views of Parisian intel

experiences from the A[gerian war. Atthis ti

move towards sociology via anth ropo[ogy. In

estabLished hi mself as a leadi n g sociologist in

he became a Professor ofSociology atthe

in 1"981. His best-known work on education is

in Education, Society, ond CuLture, pubtishedin

Oth er i nf tue ntia I wo rks ar e Di sti n cti o n (1'984)

Acodemicus (1988). Richard Jenkins (1992)

helpfuI account and discussion of his life and

theory is supported by a large body of research

under his leadership.

CutturaI capitaI The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu argued

'-**{,,{',rn -+ S{rlt

@ Imagine that a parent is telling a child to switch off the television and go to bed. How would

this be expressed in speeeh using restricted and elaborated codes?

consists ofvarious cultural advantages that can

into economic gains. Bourclieu (1997) iden

forms that it can take:

a The entbodied state. This consists of rvhat

depends not just on having appropriate ianl

but on having a broader cultural capital Cu

cails'long-lasting dispositions of the inind at

Put crudely, this is the culture that we calry!

'in our heads'. '

sfafe. Tl-ris is the culture that is tbund in

U ndersta ndi n g education

origin rvho failed had stood little chance ofsricceeding, but failure appeared to be the resuLlt of their own inadequ.rcies.

Furtherinore, some did succeed, which made the systein appear fair and reinforced the idea that those who failed did

so because of their or,vn failings. Acquiring cultural capital \,vas not just a mattel of

passing exams and gaining qualifications. Bouldieu argued

that correct manners, the right 'taste' in, say, dress, and an appreciation of'high culture' were a1i part of cultural capital. They could be crucial in determining r'vhether someone got a high-status job or gained admission to elite circles.

A number of criticisms have been made of Bourdieu's analysis of education (lenkins \992: 15-19). It has been criticized for taking insufficient account of the opportun-

ities provided by education for those of lower-class origin.

It assumes that it is the Iegitimation of ineqr-ralityby educa-

tion that maintains the social order. This may not actually

be the case at a1l and those at the bottom of society may accept inequality not because they see it as justified but because there is little that they can do about it. Bourdier-r also presents a rather circular picture of class structures

endlessly reproducing themselves through static cultural

mechanisms. This makes social and cultr-Lral change appear

almost impossible but both do happen. Bourdieu has, none the 1ess, provided important insights

into the interrelationships betr,veen class, culture, and education. His concept of cultural capital has been widely

used. There has been broad acceptance of the idea that

apparently objective exam procedures actually embodythe values of a dominant culture and load the dice in favour of the bearers of that culture. A similar point has been made

rtences

r Pa ris in r Fren

rs sh

i',n'..r,,rtt tllal c\isls in posse'siort'' such as

or Paintings' or clothing'

itstitutionali.c'lsrnte' This is rypically culture as

;iinted in qua1il.'r:attons'

rm 'cultural capital' is a means ol highlighting

.rrn.. ofa.rlture in occupational success' for this

iurra.p.,la on mrLerial resources' Money alone

lrfrL. , person Lo become' say' a successfuI and ning architect or b'rrrister' becattse

examinations

. pirr.d and p ro lcssional q ual ifi cat.i o ns acqLri red'

izu argueci that success in examinations depended

ssing the right culture. Educational standards

rio be objectively established and unrelated to

but in realitythey reflected this slructure.

ofexcellence in schools were estabiished by the

culture of those who ruled the society. Those

ily backgror-rnds enabled them to acquire the

ticulture before they came to school had a hidden

e; for they already possessed a cultural capital

them to do well in examinations. In this way

simply maintained the existing class structure

those from the top and excluding those from . Education led to the reproduction of class.

ion also maintained the class structure in another

egitimated inequality by making the success of children and the failure of lower-c1ass chil.dren

i,be the result of objective procedures. Those did so because examination procedures

in their favour but it appeared as though perior ability. Similarly, those of lower-class

tua[s a

ehe

:he 1

Pa ri s,

:ge of

t 1,977 : rnd

d that

iuage

ltural .an be

)ntl

lourdi I and

Acquiring'cultural capita['? What do sociotogists mean by this term?

O ALice Chadwick ya

€ FFE o9 Education

S c": b,r* Et* r* f, *m **t,* F.?

Sarah Thornton has taken up the concept of cultural capitaI and

apptied itto sociaI success in the wor[d of ctubbing' 'SubculturaL capitat confers status on its owner in the eyes

of the retevant beholder' It affects the standing of the young

in many ways like its adutt equivatent. Subcuttural capital can

be objectified or embodied. Just as books and paintings disptay

cutturaI capitaI in the famiLy home, so subculturaI capitaI is

objectified in the form of fashionabte haircuts and carefulty

assembled record coltections (fuLtof wett-chosen. fi mited edition

"white [abet" twelve-inches and the Like). Just as cutturaI capi-

talis personified in "good manners" and urbane conversation' so

subculturaI capitaL is embodied in the form of being "jn the

know", using (but not over-using) current slang and looking as

ifyou were born to perform the latest dance styLes' Both cuttural

by those who argue that apparently objective tests for

grum..ru.-school entry in Britain actually favour children

from superior class backgrounds.

Sociat capital It is not only cultural capital that matters but also social

capital. Social capital is a broader notion that goes beyond

the cultural advantages that aid educational and career

success to those conferred by the membership of networks

and the knowiedge of how to use them' A-lthough there are

a number of different versions of this notion, Bourdieu's

approach is again seminal and has been developed by

Siephen Ball (2003a, 2003b) in his recent study ofmiddle-

class families' strategies and practices in education'

Ball takes from Bourdieu two key dimensions of social

capital. The first of these is social networks, 'that is, group

membership, contacts and shared identities, accumulated

exchanges and obligations, and actual or potentiai support

and access to other valued resources" The second is rvhat

Bourdieu called 'the unceasing effort of sociability' (BaIl

2003a:82). The network provides resources but it is the

interpersonal skills of sociability that actuaily enable the building of networks, access to them, and use of them'

The knowledge and inanners provided by cultural capital

(see above) are here crucial to network mernbership and

sociabiliry. Ball's argument is that middie-class families have far

more social capital than lvorking-class families' This is

demonstrated through the competition for places in higher

education and tl-re planning of careers' The families of

students from working-class backgrounds have little

A E

@

and subculturaI capitaI put a premium on the "

their knowledges. Nothing depletes capitaI more

of someone trying too hard. For example, fledgti

15 and 16 years old wishing to get into what theyj

sophisticated dance ctub wi[L often reveaI thejr it by over-dressing or confusing "coolness" with an'

cold blank stare.'

Source: Th ornton (1997 : ?02-3).

I{*v.r tlo ;rou ihirk tirai sr.ibcuttural capitai is "*?,at kkid cf ad..,an+"ag*s dc vau ihink ihat

ra;:ital coniers cn tlLcse vsh* have ii?

@ Ca.:l lt be e *:1v*rted i.ni:* *co!"roi*lc capitai?

knowledge ofhigher education and the best

The families of middle-class students havethat

antl contacts that can help with choice of university, and make the right connections

education and professionai careers.

Social capital could be especially important

crisis, if, for example, an exam has been failed

is on the edge ofdropping out, and an ap

vention can help to restore the situation' This

social capital is not just something possessed b

work, requiring the expenditure of time and

f,( co

.T I rr'

investment of 'emotional capital' (Ball 20034:

Private education played an important accumulation of social capital. As Bail puts it:

ln effect when parenls iavesl in private education for

dren they are bufng into a broad and complexbod

capital that is made availabie to the children and in

*hi.h ,h. young people develop their own investl

This brings out the links between economrc c

social capital, for it is the financial situation of

(Ball 2003a: 86)

that determines rvhether it can buy this soc

pp. 348 -51 t. thepost-1980s emphasis ott provttr"'6

ti..hool and thc growlh oI parental involvement management of sciools has piayed into the

hands

vnith social capitai.