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Using Bourdieu's Theory of Practice to Understand Academic Under Achievement Among Inner-City Students in British Columbia: A

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Using Bourdieu's Theory of Practice to Understand Academic Under Achievement Among Inner-City Students in British Columbia: A Using Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice to Understand Academic Under Achievement Among Inner-City Students in British Columbia: A Conceptual Study by Victor Brar M.Ed., Simon Fraser University, 2010 B.Ed., Simon Fraser University, 2002 B.A., Simon Fraser University, 2000 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education in the Educational Leadership Program Faculty of Education © Victor Brar 2016 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2016 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for “Fair Dealing.” Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review, and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. Approval Name: Victor Brar Degree: Doctor of Education Title: Using Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice to Understand Academic Under Achievement Among Inner-City Students in British Columbia: A Conceptual Study Examining Committee: Chair: Laurie Anderson Executive Director, SFU Vancouver Allan MacKinnon Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Larry Johnson Co-Supervisor Adjunct Professor Charles Scott Supervisor Adjunct Professor Wanda Cassidy Internal/External Examiner Associate Professor Jim Anderson External Examiner Professor Language and Literacy Education University of British Columbia Date Defended/Approved: January, 18, 2016 ii Abstract This is a conceptual study borne out of an ongoing practitioner inquiry in which I, as a practicing teacher, am trying to understand, on a theoretical level, why the children at my inner-city school repeatedly underperform in an academic sense in spite of being provided with additional resources. The achievement gap that exists between British Columbia’s inner-city children and their more affluent peers cannot be adequately explained by differences in finances alone, but it has sociological roots, which I explore in this study. To understand the achievement gap, I have chosen to filter it through Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice and evaluate the effectiveness of his theory in being able to effectively explain the who, what, where, when, why, and how of this problem, which has been persistent for me as an inner-city educator. I utilized the interpretive approach of hermeneutics to fuse my horizon with that of Bourdieu so as to develop a deep understanding of his theory of practice and its core concepts of cultural capital, habitus, field, and symbolic violence, and their implications for inner-city school children. Hermeneutics permitted me to uncover multiple layers of theoretical evidence that I used ultimately to make an inductive argument that finds in favor of using theory of practice to understand academic underperformance among British Columbia’s inner-city school children. After concluding that theory of practice can be an effective heuristic for understanding the achievement gap, I made a number of recommendations with respect to how it has transformed my praxis (practical action) and phronesis (practical wisdom), and how it can help other teachers who work in British Columbia’s inner-city schools, as well as the students and parents with whom they work. Keywords: Bourdieu; theory of practice; achievement gap; inner-city schools; cultural capital; habitus iii Acknowledgements I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Larry Johnson, my co-supervisor and mentor for guiding me through the difficult and complex process of the dissertation. Dr. Johnson’s expertise, kindness, and compassion were instrumental to my success. By working with Dr. Johnson, I was able to truly experience the teacher-student relationship in a manner that modeled thoughtfulness, respect, and collaboration, which in turn is something that I will take with me to my students. Dr. Johnson is a true gentleman and a learned scholar who has made me into a better academic and an even better teacher. I would also like to express my appreciation to Dr. Charles Scott and Dr. Allan MacKinnon for seeing merit in my scholarship and choosing to work with me to bring it to fruition. The effort expended by Dr. Scott and Dr. MacKinnon in helping me to achieve a lifelong goal of mine is something that I cannot thank them for enough. They are a real credit to the academy and their willingness to help me as a budding scholar is a testament to their commitment to enhancing scholarship. Lastly, I would like to thank my loving mother and my beautiful wife, two women who have stood beside me during this exciting but strenuous process. My mother is a woman that I can never thank enough. It is by standing on her shoulders that I have been able to reach this height. Being an immigrant woman with little formal education, she did all that she could to educate me and push me on to greater challenges. The times she spent with me teaching me my ABC’s are critical to the writing of this dissertation, and her spirit and wisdom is reflected in my work. I am also grateful to my beautiful wife who supported me throughout this long journey. Many important family moments were missed so that I could complete this work, and I hope that I can make that up to her soon. iv Table of Contents Approval ii Abstract iii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents v List of Figures viii List of Tables ix Chapter 1: Introduction, Problem Statement, and Background 1 Opening and Introduction 1 The Problem and Research Questions 5 Deficiencies in Prior Research 8 An underexplored area. 8 Absence of Canadian studies. 11 Inconclusivity of results. 12 Few theoretical studies. 12 Justification for this Research 13 The teacher’s role in furthering the achievement ideology. 14 Understanding the sociological nuances of the achievement gap. 18 Implications for the education and placement of teachers. 21 A personal reason. 23 Situating Myself 24 The Audience 30 The Layout of this Conceptual Study 30 Chapter 2: Methodology 33 Introduction 33 What is a Conceptual Study? 33 The Benefits of Conceptual Studies 35 Hermeneutic Inquiry 36 What is hermeneutic inquiry? 36 Key hermeneutic concepts. 37 Why use hermeneutics to study Bourdieu? 40 Challenges with hermeneutic inquiry. 43 The benefits of hermeneutic inquiry. 44 Hermeneutic reliability and validity. 45 The Inductive Process and Argument 48 The Benefits of Employing Induction 50 Bridging to Theory 51 v Chapter 3: Theoretical Inquiry 53 Introduction 53 Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice 53 Bourdieu’s explanation of capital. 54 Bourdieu’s explanation of cultural capital. 55 Bourdieu’s explanation of habitus. 57 Bourdieu’s explanation of field. 60 Bourdieu’s explanation of symbolic violence. 65 Connecting Bourdieu’s Core Concepts 66 Implications for Schooling 68 The Role of the Teacher 74 Alternative Paths Cultural Capital Can Follow 78 Situating Theory of Practice Within Conflict and Social Reproduction Theories 79 Social reproduction theories and Bourdieu. 81 Three operational mechanisms of social reproduction theories. 86 Bridging From Theory to an Examination of Empirical Research 87 Chapter 4: A Review of the Research Literature 89 Introduction 89 Studies Finding That Cultural Capital Does Affect Educational Outcomes 90 Studies Finding That Cultural Capital Does not Affect Educational Outcomes 104 Studies That Specifically Explore Cultural Capital as it Relates to Teachers 109 Collective, Inter-Methodological Synthesis of Studies 115 Bridging From Theory to Findings and Discussion 118 Chapter 5: Findings and Discussion 120 Introduction 120 The Strengths of Bourdieu’s Work as a Conceptual Framework 121 A bridge between economic determinism and human agency. 122 More than a deficit model. 124 Uses all operational mechanisms. 125 Usefulness of an economic metaphor. 126 Illuminating the role of institutions. 128 Illuminating sociological causes of inequality. 131 Illuminating differences between a lower or higher SES habitus. 131 Illuminating the role of the professional. 134 The Critiques of Bourdieu’s Work 135 Problems of definition. 136 A narrow focus on objectified cultural capital. 141 Multiple sites of cultural capital acquisition. 142 Applying theory of practice to non-capitalist settings. 142 Problems with an economic metaphor and the absence of gender and race. 143 Applicability to multiple countries and the weighting of indicators. 145 Bridging to Recommendations 146 vi Chapter 6: Recommendations 148 Introduction 148 The Recommendations 150 Field should be seen as a primary concept. 150 Summary. 154 Habitus should be given primacy over cultural capital. 154 Summary. 156 The need to apply all of the concepts. 156 Summary. 158 The need for a common definition of cultural capital. 158 Summary. 161 The need to view cultural capital as multi-dimensional. 161 Summary. 163 The need to move away from the terms lowbrow, middlebrow, and highbrow. 163 Summary. 164 The need to reconcile a paradox. 165 Summary. 170 The need to conduct a cultural capital assessment of field. 170 Summary. 171 The need to use hermeneutics and qualitative research designs. 171 Summary. 173 The need to sensitize teachers and institutions to cultural capital and habitus. 173 Summary. 175 Closing 175 References 179 vii List of Figures Figure 1 Concept Map of theory of practice 68 Figure 2 How teachers make their decisions 76 Figure 3 The spectrum of social reproduction theories 82 Figure 4 A matrix showing the relationship of habitus to field 162 viii List of Tables Table 1 Habitus and cultural capital traits 100 Table 2 Differences in the definitions of cultural capital 138 ix Chapter 1: Introduction, Problem Statement, and Background Opening and Introduction According to the European theory, men are divided into classes, some to toil and earn, others to seize and enjoy. According to the Massachusetts theory, all men have an equal chance for earning an equal security in the enjoyment of what they earn . Now surely nothing but universal education can counterwork this tendency to the domination of capital and servility of labor.
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